God Save the Queen

The Shadow Queen is an immortal demon of legend who was sealed away in an ancient palace for a thousand years. When a powerful witch devised a plan to revive her, Mario and his friends set out to stop the queen from being reborn. Unfortunately, the Shadow Queen was able to return to the physical world by using Princess Peach as a vessel. By possessing Peach, the Shadow Queen forced Mario to fight the very woman he had saved on so many occasions. The Shadow Queen had various magic spells at her disposal, but Peach somehow blocked her power and made her uncomfortable enough to reveal her true form. With the Shadow Queen distracted by the good wishes of the ethereal Crystal Shards, Peach gave her remaining power to Mario. This ultimately allowed him to defeat the Shadow Queen and seal her away.

Most people would be content with ruling over a single kingdom, but the Dark Queen wants to take over the Earth and conquer the entire galaxy! To that end, the space-faring sorceress relies on her dark magic, an army of mutants, and her powers of seduction. (The story for the Game Boy version of Battletoads sees the Dark Queen disguising herself as an exotic dancer in order to distract her enemies.) The Dark Queen is one of the earliest examples of a femme fatale in a video game, and she deserves recognition as one of the hottest women of the 8-bit era. The shapely vixen may have been ranked higher on this list if not for the fact that her insults are really lame. At one point, she describes the Battletoads as “Cattle Loads” in a cringe-worthy attempt to demoralize them. WTF does that even mean?

Sindel once ruled as Queen of Edenia with her husband Jerod. Unfortunately, an evil emperor named Shao Kahn invaded her realm, killed her man, enslaved her people, and took her infant daughter as his own. With all hope lost, Sindel was driven to suicide. This would normally have been the end of her story, but Shao Kham revived Sindel with dark magic before subsequently brainwashing her and claiming her as his wife. With no memory of her past, Sindel showed steadfast loyalty to Shao Khan. With the help of her daughter, Sindel came to realize that she was being manipulated and vowed to bring Shao Khan to justice. Her story was modified in the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot, however. In this outing, Sindel was decidedly more ruthless and ended up killing most of the heroes in a single battle.

Mikoto stands out on this list like a shining beacon of light. While most of her contemporaries are defined by wickedness and treachery, Mikoto is a generous soul who cares deeply for her people. Mikoto ruled Hoshido with her husband for some time, but her reign as queen was not easy. Tensions between Hoshido and the neighboring kingdom of Nohr escalated after her husband was killed and her child was kidnapped. Mikoto agonized over her lost child, but she raised her late husband’s four children as her own. All the while, Mikoto kept her kingdom safe by creating a magical barrier. More so than anyone else on this list, Mikoto is a matriarchal figure with incredible patience. She’s absent-minded at times and is described as an accidental jester, but she keeps her composure when necessary and acts like a wise sage.

Protea is the Queen of Granorg, but she could not be less interested in the pleas of her people. She cares only about herself and indulges herself in luxury at the expense of her kingdom. After her husband dies, Protea allows herself to be manipulated by her advisers and is swept up in the glamor of royalty. Within a matter of years, dead bodies are littering the alleys and her subjects are starving to death. Protea is a vain, cruel, and stupid woman who has no idea how to rule in a responsible manner. (Incidentally, the king had only married her for her looks.) Protea taxes her kingdom into poverty, she has hundreds executed on flimsy charges, and she sets her own city on fire just to kill a single rebel! She also treats her stepdaughter like garbage and frequently locks her in her room. What a bitch.

Morrigan Aensland might not fit our preconceived notions of royalty, but the lascivious succubus is the rightful ruler of the demon realm of Makai. As a princess, Morrigan sought constant stimulation and developed an obsession with the human world. Her adoptive father, Belial, was a legendary figure and a benevolent ruler, but Morrigan only began to take her royal responsibilities seriously after his death. After ascending to the Aensland throne to become the ruler of Makai, Morrigan was destined to hold the position for 1,200 years as Queen of the Night. Her rebellious streak became less pronounced over time, but the hedonistic thrill-seeker still enjoyed the excitement of battle and was willing to prove her worthiness by fighting other demons. She might be royalty, but she still knows a good time when she sees it.

Queen Brahne Raza Alexandros XVI ruled the Kingdom of Alexandria with her husband for many years. After her husband died, a mysterious sorcerer named Kuja began manipulating her from the shadows. The once-peaceful monarch became obsessed with power, and she caused a great deal of death and destruction as Alexandria waged war on neighboring nations. Her bid for domination was bolstered by the creation of a magical army that would blindly follow her commands. Brahne’s greed was so insatiable that she disregarded the safety of her own daughter. People around her used terms like “elephant-woman” and “fat-ass” to describe her, but her ugly exterior masked a kind heart. Brahne asked for forgiveness before she died, and she was fondly remembered by her people despite all of the horrible things she did.

Alexstrasza the Life-Bender is the Aspect of the Red Dragonflight and guardian of all life in Azeroth. As one of five great dragons empowered by the titans, she lead the resistance to Azeroth’s corruption throughout her existence. Because of her supreme wisdom and limitless compassion, Alexstrasza was crowned the Dragonqueen by the titans and given dominion over her kind. Although she’s willing to defend her lands when necessary, she prefers to keep the peace. To that end, she sometimes adopts a humanoid form in order to see what encroaching mortals are up to. Altruism and power make strange bedfellows, and most of the women on this list would do anything to obtain more influence. Alexstrasza, in contrast, is a selfless leader who was willing to sacrifice herself and her flight to save Azeroth from utter desolation.

Queen Zeal had dominion over the most magically advanced civilization in Chrono Trigger. It was under her rule that humanity was first introduced to magic, and the floating Kingdom of Zeal was the center of art, culture, and technology. As time progressed, the queen became dangerously fixated on using magic to gain influence and power. She became so obsessed with the pursuit of immortality that she began to exploit the talents of her daughter to further her goals. Incidentally, a parasitic alien called Lavos was the source of Zeal’s power, and her psychological degeneration became more pronounced as she continued to draw on its energy. Although Zeal was corrupted by Lavos, the ancient being appeared to follow her commands to a certain extent. It’s no wonder her own people were terrified of her.

Queens usually marry into the position or inherit the role through their bloodline, but Sarah Kerrigan installed herself as queen. A gifted human with powerful psychic abilities, Sarah served the Terran Confederation as an operative within their secretive Ghost program. After she was captured by an alien race known as the Zerg Swarm, she usurped the Zerg Overmind and declared herself their leader. Standing atop the broken bodies of her enemies, Sarah proclaimed herself the Queen of Blades and made it impossible for anyone to dispute her rule. She’s not a traditional monarch by any stretch of the imagination, but she wields more power than anyone else on this list. Sarah pays no heed to soldiers or space ships, and she proudly describes herself as the Queen Bitch of the Universe.