I Don't Want to Miss a King

The villainous King K. Rool made his first appearance in Donkey Kong Country – where he stole a bunch of bananas from Donkey Kong for reasons I don’t fully understand. K. Rool has developed a habit of surprising his enemies by playing possum and getting up after the credits roll. Clearly, King K. Rool is a dastardly and heartless foe. (You could even describe his actions as… cruel.) K. Rool is surprisingly athletic for his size and is a master of disguise, but he is also his own worst enemy and frequently repeats the same mistakes over and over. He often attempts to injure his enemies by throwing his crown at them, but this leaves him open for an attack and makes his head a vulnerable target for the Kongs to jump on. K. Rool is both comical and maniacal, and he seems to become increasingly more unstable with each defeat.

After inheriting a baron kingdom from his father, the young King Leo set out to rebuild. In order to establish a peaceful and prosperous kingdom, King Leo makes use of a power crystal that can magically create a variety of buildings from the ground up. As the settlement grows in size and population, it’s Leo’s responsibility to make sure the new residents have the necessary amenities. Building bakeries, weapon shops, and emporiums will go a long way to boosting morale. Leo will also have the opportunity to recruit townspeople to go on various adventures for him. (Naturally, Leo funds these adventures with taxes collected from the villagers.) The task of rebuilding an entire kingdom is quite daunting to say the least, but Leo becomes an effective leader simply by listening to and accepting help from his citizens.

King Frost is a recurring demon in the Megaten franchise who has made appearances in dozens of games as both a boss and a playable character. Despite his friendly exterior, King Frost is a ruthless leader who wields tremendous power. He rules over an infinite number of diminutive Jack Frosts as the King of Snow and he seems to be on a perpetual power trip. In the event that King Frost is called to battle, he will act as though his summoners are his subjects. (He basically treats everyone he meets like one of his servants.) King Frost apparently has the ability to freeze the entire globe, and his ultimate goal is to create a world filled with ice and snow. He’s a little bit naive and not especially intelligent, but he seems to have a lot of fun. There’s no point in being a king if you can’t enjoy yourself.

The gluttonous and greedy King Dedede is Kirby’s rival and the self-proclaimed king of Dream Land. Dedede is known for being mischievous and self-centered though, so he often commits acts that are unbecoming of a king. Dedede usually puts his own wants and desires over the inhabitants of Dream Land. On one occasion, King Dedede steals all of Dream Land’s food supplies. On another occasion, he goes so far as to remove all the stars from the sky. Despite his selfish nature, King Dedede has a good heart and occasionally has good intentions for his kingdom. In Kirby’s Adventure, for instance, Dedede protected Dream Land from invading nightmares by breaking up the Star Rod and disabling the Fountain of Dreams. Dedede is easily one of the most unpredictable kings on this list, but that’s what makes him so interesting.

The King of Red Lions is the peculiar talking sailboat who acts as Link’s advisor and companion in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. In addition to transporting Link across the sea from one island to another, the King of Red Lions frequently gives Link advice on what he must do in order to conquer evil. Eventually, it’s revealed that the King of Red Lions was really King Daphnes of the long-forgotten land of Hyrule. Via the use of magic, the King of Hyrule had been controlling the talking ship in an effort to guide Link toward his destiny as the Hero of the Wind. King Daphnes should be commended for sacrificing his own comfort in order to protect the future of his kingdom. It couldn’t have been easy. After all, living vicariously through a talking ship isn’t exactly the most glamorous of existences.

Born into a long line of valiant knights, Graham’s birth was a blessed event and he received a Fairy Godmother who watched over him as he grew up. Graham was well-travelled in his youth and joined Daventry’s army after finishing Knight School. He fought hard to defend the kingdom’s borders and was later called forth to recover treasures that had been stolen. Graham was not a large man, but he developed a reputation of using his wits instead of his fists. Having proven himself the bravest and noblest knight, Graham was named King of Daventry. As king, Graham would continue partaking in courageous quests. On one occasion, he ventured to a far away land where he rescued a fair maiden named Valanice from an evil witch. Graham eventually took Valanice as his queen, and the two would started a royal family.

Created by a powerful demon lord from the soul of an Orcish shaman, the dreaded Lich King was initially trapped within a mystical block of crystal known as the frozen throne. While he was encased in the crystal, the Lich King harnessed his psychic abilities and began to enslave the undead. The Lich King’s power only continued to grow over time, and his armies continued to expand. His ultimate goal was to scourer humanity from the planet, and his army of undead warriors was appropriately known as the “Scourge.” The notorious Lich King is easily one of the most well-known entries on this list, and millions of gamers pay monthly subscription fees for their chance to end his wrath. With 2.4 million copies sold on day one, the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King expansion is the fasted selling PC game of all time.

Edgar is a masterful mechanic and a self- proclaimed ladies man who came into power under the most unusual of circumstances. The lives of Edgar and his twin brother, Sabin, took drastically different paths after the death of their father. Their father’s last wish was for the two brothers to rule the kingdom of Figaro together, but neither brother wished to inherit the crown. This rather unlikely dispute had an extremely civil solution, as the brothers decided to settle the matter with a coin toss. By using a double-sided coin, Edgar ensured that Sabin would win the toss and choose the life he wanted. Sabin opted to leave Figaro Castle in order to escape the corrupt world of politics. Edgar, on the other hand, was left to take the throne and all the responsibilities that went along with it. Also: his castle has the ability to move underground!

Corobo is a rather unassuming boy who came into power as the result of sheer luck. After stumbling upon a crown in the forest, Corobo was blessed with the power of persuasion. Due to this newfound power, Corobo was appointed ruler of the kingdom of Alpoko. Hoping to raise the kingdom from the depths of mediocrity, Corobo set out on a quest to expand his influence and unify the world. As king, Corobo is responsible for providing appropriate employment for his citizens in order to ensure a productive kingdom. World domination isn’t easy, so Corobo has to take on various quests in order to raise his popularity or earn valuable items. Naturally, Corobo won’t be able to take over the world by himself, so he has to recruit a variety of citizens in order to acquire the necessary manpower to accomplish his mission of enlightenment.

Bowser is the King of the Koopas and Mario’s arch nemesis. One of the first monarchs to ever appear in a video game (and likely the most recognizable), Bowser is probably most famous for his repeated kidnappings of Princess Peach. His ambitions to take over the Mushroom Kingdom are quite clear. Even though Bowser’s plans are usually foiled by Mario, the Koopa King has yet to be removed from power. Regardless of how many times Bowser faces defeat, he is always able to pick himself back up. He hasn’t been successful in his attempts to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, but Bowser still has countless fortresses, airships, and weapons of his very own. It’s as though he has infinite resources. More importantly, Bowser has a plethora of devoted servants who are willing to die for him. You can’t buy loyalty like that.