Born in the Purple

The Dragonlord is a power-hungry sorcerer who steals the Sphere of Light and unleashes hordes of monsters upon the land. He further demoralizes the kingdom by kidnapping the princess, and it’s his intention to make her his bride. He always has a plan, so it’s surprising how quickly he falls in battle. You’ll have to jump through a lot of hoops before you can fight him, but he’ll typically go down with a few attacks. At this point, his true form will be revealed. It turns out that the Dragonlord was actually a ferocious dragon! He’s much more dangerous when he’s not holding back, and his ability to breathe both fire and darkness makes him a formidable foe. Dragon Quest didn’t feature nearly as many dragons as I had anticipated, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the most powerful dragon of them all had been hiding in plain sight.

In Shin Megami Tensei, players are encouraged to fuse their demon companions together in order to create more powerful allies. Even though demon fusion has many benefits, I’ll sometimes keep weaker demons in my party intentionally. The overall tone in SMT is inherently gloomy, so I like having colorful allies at my side to lighten the mood. This is where Yaksini comes into play. The fertility goddess can hold her own in battle and has a friendly personality, but I mostly keep her around because she’s easy on the eyes. When things are at their bleakest, her purple tits are like a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark world. She’s also an ideal choice for anyone who values diversity. My party will invariably include a number of grotesque demons, after all, so a shapely gal like Yaksini can help foster an inclusive atmosphere.

Pikmin are diminutive creatures that sprout up from the ground like flowers. Although they’re not especially useful on their own, they can achieve all sorts of amazing things by working together. The first game in the series featured three different colors of Pikmin that each had their own perks. When the Purple Pikmin emerged in the sequel, they immediately overshadowed their contemporaries by virtue of the fact that they were ten times stronger than the other Pikmin. To put things in perspective, a task that would require fifty Red Pikmin could be achieved with only five Purple Pikmin. Whether they were lifting heavy objects or battling other creatures, the Purple Pikmin were in a class of their own. Some maintain that the Purple Pikmin were overpowered, but I know who I’d want on my team if I was attacked by an Emperor Bulblax or a Burrowing Snagret.

Many Kid Icarus characters were derived from Greek mythology, including Medusa, Uranos, and Pandora, among others. By all accounts, the Eggplant Wizards probably shouldn’t even exist! The sentient eggplants pass their time by aimlessly walking around while throwing a never-ending supply of smaller eggplants at you. If one of them hits you, you’ll turn into a walking eggplant and lose the ability to defend yourself. The eggplants don’t actually hurt you, so their only real purpose is to annoy you. Against all odds, the Eggplant Wizards managed to make me hate eggplant even more than I already did! It’s oddly appropriate that a one-eyed monster would turn out to be a total dick. There’s no denying that he’s a strong advocate for the color purple, however. After all, he’s the only one on this list who tries to turn other characters purple too!

Kazuya Mishima’s mother was taken over by a demonic alter ego when he was still a child. When he questioned his father about her condition, he was thrown off a cliff for his efforts. Kazuya wound up having the same illness as his mother, and this incident awakened the so-called Devil Gene. This latent gene allowed Kazuya to host an immaterial creature known as Devil, and it also granted him an assortment of abilities that included everything from the power of flight to eye lasers! This gave him a leg up on his father and allowed him to win the King of Iron Fist Tournament. Unfortunately, it also exacerbated his negative emotions and turned his skin purple. Kazuya wrestles with his emotions, but he always embraces the color. His wardrobe is filled with purple tuxedos, and he reps the color even when he’s in his regular human form.

Final Fantasy VI is an emotional roller coaster that deals with heavy subjects ranging from child abandonment to planetary destruction. This doesn’t mean that there’s no room for levity, however. Ultros isn’t tied to any of the game’s factions or their overarching conflicts, and he exists almost entirely for the purpose of comic relief. The bizarre octopus is a mass of teeth and tentacles, and he wears a goofy expression on his face even though he’s supposed to be threatening. It’s unclear what motivates Ultros, but he has a habit of popping up out of nowhere and causing trouble. His schemes wouldn’t be out of place in a Road Runner cartoon, and at one point he tries to squash a famous opera singer with a four-ton weight. It’s easy to laugh at his lecherous comments and corny jokes, and he steals every scene that he’s in.

Ridley is a high-ranking space pirate and the arch-nemesis of Samus Aran. Whether he’s stealing Metroids, leading attacks on space colonies, or outright murdering innocent bystanders, it’s a safe bet that he’s up to no good. Although he’s usually a secondary antagonist, the dragon-like creature is arguably the main villain in the series. He revels in death and destruction, and his long claws, giant teeth, and razor-sharp tail help him achieve his sadistic goals. Ridley’s color fluctuates from one game to the next, but he’s most often depicted with purple skin, however. For some reason, the cover art on international versions of Super Metroid changed his color to red even though he was purple on the Japanese release. I refuse to be gaslit in such a matter, and I’ll never be taken in by the red Ridley propagandists! Purple Ridley for life!

With a sinister grin and a mischievous mind, Gengar has always reminded me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. Both characters have a tendency to appear out of nowhere, and they’re also inclined to hide in the shadows. Gengar can absorb heat from its surroundings, but a sudden chill will be the least of your problems if it perceives you as prey. Numerous Pokédex entries relay stories about the haunting creature stealing lives from unsuspecting victims. This sounds dark and foreboding, but it doesn’t stop children from collecting them as pets! As it turns out, people will excuse its shitty behavior because they’re amused by the way it sticks its tongue out. It’s purple fur likely contributes to this phenomenon, and it makes it difficult to perceive the creature as a threat. That’s probably why there’s so much Gengar merchandise.

Dragons are often depicted as ferocious beasts, but Spyro is a plucky younger who’s defined by his playful energy. In this capacity, he was meant to mirror his target audience. Despite his small stature, he’s constantly saving the world from evildoers. The little guy was born to be a hero. Although the power of flight often alludes him, his gliding abilities are paramount to his success. He can also breathe fire, in addition to lightning, ice, and bubbles! The Spyro series was created as a PlayStation exclusive but it’s now owned by Microsoft. Spyro has been passed around like a hot potato, and he’s undergone several design changes over the years. His color scheme has been largely unchanged, however, and it’s the physical trait that defines him the most. Purple dragons are a rarity in Spyro’s universe, so you can tell he’s special with a simple glance.

The Purple Tentacle was created by a mad scientist who was in need of a lab assistant. He had a relatively small role in Maniac Mansion, but fate had bigger things in mind for the lowly mutant. After drinking toxic sludge from a river behind the laboratory, the Purple Tentacle developed a pair of arms and an insatiable thirst for world domination. The scientist tried to resolve the situation by killing his own creation, but the Purple Tentacle had too much tenacity. His plans were formulated to perfection, so the only way to stop him was to go back in time and prevent the Purple Tentacle from ever being exposed to the toxic sludge! Before he became a deranged super genius, the Purple Tentacle was almost entirely defined by his color. His creator never bothered to give him a proper name, so he was stuck using an uninspired (albeit accurate) moniker.