Nintober 2014

The first pirate to discover the secret of Monkey Island was the fierce Captain LeChuck: A discovery that would lead to his untimely, yet impermanent, demise.

With his ghostly crew, LeChuck terrorises the seas of the Tri-Island area and seeks the hand of Elaine Marley, the beautiful Governor of Melee Island. Even her marriage to the "mighty pirate" Guybrush Threepwood hasn't dulled his desires – choosing to take "till death do us part" as literally as possible.

LeChuck has taken many forms over the years. His original ghostly form was defeated with a can of voodoo root beer, his reanimated corpse was blown to smithereens by a voodoo bomb, and his fiery, demonic form was crushed beneath a mountain of ice. In every case, Guybrush was involved somehow.

But LeChuck always returns, fuelled by revenge and a twisted voodoo curse.

Related Games

• The Secret of Monkey Island (PC)
• Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (PC)
• The Curse of Monkey Island (PC)

Flamboyant and overconfident, the self-titled Lord Ghirahim has just one goal: to capture the Spirit Maiden named Zelda and use her hidden power to revive his master, the Demon Lord Demise.

While successful in capturing Zelda from Skyloft and drawing her to the surface world, his plan was immediately beset by problems. A mysterious woman named Impa managed to free Zelda and escape with her, and a knight-in-training named Link was constantly at his heels, interfering with her recapture time and again.

A competent swordsman (swordsdemon?), Ghirahim and Link duelled time and again, but he was never able to gain the upper hand thanks to the Goddess Sword. Unable to prevent the destruction of his Master, Ghirahim took advantage of the celebration to steal Zelda away through a Gate of Time to resurrect Demise in the past. Revealing himself to be the soul of Demise's Sword, the final battle with the true Demon Lord began.

Related Games

• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
• Hyrule Warriors (Wii U)

From his floating fortress of Castle Keldor, the Evil Wizard Zaks exerted his dominion over the world. Using black magic, he lured entire kingdoms into joining his forces. Races he couldn't control through magic he controlled with violence, including the peaceful and carefree Yolkfolk.

Dizzy, one of the Yolkfolk, found a stone slab, revealing the secret recipe for the Avawiffovee Potion, said to be powerful enough to destroy Zaks. Dizzy gathered the ingredients and made his way to Keldor, where Zaks blasted Dizzy with ice magic. The little egg was too nimble, dousing Zaks with the potion and watching as the wizard melted away, breaking the spell over the land.

But Zaks made "arrangements" regarding his premature demise. Seeking revenge, he sent the Yolkfolk through a portal to Magicland. Dizzy was able to help his friends and acquire the Wizardslayer Trident. Thrusting it through Zaks' black heart, Dizzy finished the job by casting the wizard's ring into the Cracks of Gehenna.

Related Games

• Dizzy: The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure (ZX Spectrum)
• Magicland Dizzy (ZX Spectrum)
• The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy (NES)

In the 21st Century, society crumbled. Earth's cities were reduced to rubble by natural disasters, and mankind entered a bleak period of despair. The only source of entertainment was the Battle Game, where pilots of Standing Tanks (STs) fight in one-on-one battles. It was during one of these battles that Mike Anderson's father was brutally murdered by Anubis, pilot of ST Thanatos.

As Mike sought revenge by training his body and mind for the Battle Game, Anubis used his power to gain control of the Earth, promoting the best in the Battle Game to Chiefs of each of the Earth's ruined continents. Anubis ruled over the planet from Babel, a tower that connected the Earth and Moon, Mike fought his way to Anubis and the ST Thanatos, destroying them both in a heated battle.

Anubis returned three years later along with an invasion force of Eltorians, a war-loving race. Mike discovered that Anubis was merely a cloned agent of the Eltorians. How many more exist out there, beyond the stars?

Related Games

• BattleClash (Super NES)
• Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge (Super NES)

Three people should never ride in the same time travel machine. Didn't you see "The Fly"?

Nevertheless, Bernard the nerd, Hoagie the metal-head, and Laverne the medical student didn't listen to Doctor Fred Edison. All three leapt into the one remaining Chronojohn and returned to yesterday to stop Purple Tentacle from mutating into a maniacal conqueror.

Upon arrival, the three emerged from the Chronojohn as a three-headed chimera of Bernard, Hoagie and Laverne. After agreeing to stop bickering (and complaining about Hoagie's eating habits), they overpowered Purple Tentacle's future-army and mailed elder Tentacle to Siberia, successfully shutting off the Sludge-O-Matic.

Afraid they would have to spend the rest of their lives on the talk show circuit, they appealed to Dr. Edison to help separate them. After examining them with an X-Ray, he diagnosed that they were in fact no more than three goofballs trapped in one set of clothes…

Related Games

• Day of the Tentacle (PC)

The Dark Knight of Vandor, sent on behalf of the Dark Mage, to fight in the Mushroom Kingdom. However, the kingdom proved uninhabitable to his kind, and Culex remained sealed in a dimensional rift behind a sealed door in Monstro Town.

Mario and friends broke the door's seal using a Shiny Stone, and confronted the being of unimaginable power. Culex sought to challenge this world's strongest knights, and a cross-dimensional battle began.

Assisted by four elemental crystals, Culex wielded advanced magic, such as the devastating Meteor Blast, and the dreaded Dark Star. Nevertheless, Mario proved himself to be the world's strongest knight, and Culex was defeated. They parted on good terms, and as the seal closed, Culex left behind the Quartz Charm.

It's said that the Piranha Plant who lived next door was irritated by his muttering about "evil and crystals and stuff", but secretly missed him once he was gone.

Related Games

• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES)

Mono had been sacrificed by her people due to her cursed fate, leaving Wander heartbroken and distraught. Seeking a way to revive her, he travelled to the Forbidden Lands and placed her upon the altar at the Shrine of Worship.

It was there that the God Dormin revealed that there may be a way to revive her. Wander would have to travel the Forbidden Lands and slay the Colossi, giant beasts that roamed the land.

South of the shrine, Wander clambered up a cliff to a clearing where the first colossus was found. Made up of stone, fur and abandoned architecture, Valus towered over the little human, and wielded a broken stone tower as a club. Wander began climbing up the creature like a parasite, thrusting his sword into glowing sigils and draining the creature's life energy.

As the giant fell, black tendrils erupted from the wound, enveloping Wander in darkness.

Related Games

• Shadow of the Colossus (Playstation 2)

A terrible warlord who has led his armies across the land of Yuria, invading villages and massacring the people in their thousands. To complete his conquest, he has kidnapped the King and his daughter, seizing the Golden Axe for himself.

But you can't kill that many people without making a few enemies: Ax-Battler, Gilius-Thunderhead and Tyris-Flare were all experienced warriors who had lost family to Death Adder's murderous rampage. They marched on the palace, hacking down Death Adder's strongest warriors until they faced the vile dictator himself. After a drawn out battle, Death Adder eventually fell to his own blade.

Many years later, Death Adder was revived, and began his rampage anew. Constructing a palace to himself on top of a mountain, he watched as his armies once again trampled the land in his name.

Related Games

• Golden Axe (Arcade)
• Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder (Arcade)
• Golden Axe: Beast Rider (Playstation 3)

As the Yoshies crossed the rocky plains of Yoshi's Island, they came upon a large castle sat atop a lava lake. Expertly riding the platforms over the magma pools, Yoshi reached a tall tower.

Entering through the sewer system, Yoshi avoided the spike traps and climbed closer and closer to the top. The tower took on a more natural look, with overgrown areas exposed to the dusky sunlight and keys hidden inside flower vases.

Suddenly, Kamek appeared, casting his magic on yet another vase. A huge ghost emerged. As Yoshi tried to push the vase towards the edge of the ledge, the ghost spat blue fire and thrashed about, while two Shy Guys nudged him back towards the center.

Yoshi overcame this tug-of-war and eventually the jar topped over the edge. Upon hitting the ground, the spell was broken and the apparition was defeated.

Related Games

• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Super NES)

Ness's cowardly and devious next-door neighbor from the little town of Onett. Pokey Minch and his brother Picky were the first to investigate a meteor landing site, but when Picky went missing, Pokey begged Ness for his help.

After Ness's adventure began proper, Pokey appeared several times to interfere: first as a high priest of the Happy-Happyists and later as a business consultant to Fourside's Mayor Monotoli. Fearing Ness's power, Pokey simply ran away every time.

Somehow, Pokey became the right hand man to the corrupt alien force known as Giygas, and began using time travel to strengthen his new master – changing his appearance in the process.

But when Ness and friends were able to take Giygas down, Pokey fled through time, leaving only a curious message: "Come and get me, loser! Spankety spankety spankety!"

Related Games

• EarthBound (Super NES)
• Mother 3 (Game Boy Advance)