Nintober 2016

Deep within the ruins of the Palace of Shadow, hidden beneath the city of Rogueport, the Shadow Queen has been sealed away for 1,000 years. The seal was broken by Grodus, leader of the X-Nauts, who offered a pure-hearted vessel for the queen – Princess Peach! But the Shadow Queen had no desire to serve Grodus and swiftly destroyed him. Only Mario, with the power of the Crystal Stars, could stop her.

Related Games

• Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (2004, Gamecube)

This gargantuan guardian of the Arbiter's Grounds was revived when Zant plunged the Scimitar of Twilight into its skull. Standing at least 10 storeys tall, with the ability to summon legions of the undead, the Twilit Fossil was a formidable foe. Even after Link shattered its fragile spinal column with the Spinner, Stallord returned as a flying, fire-breathing skull. Only by knocking the Scimitar out would Link be able to tame the titanic beast.

Related Games

• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006, Wii)
• Link's Crossbow Training (2007, Wii)

Litwick appears to guide lost souls through the darkness with its flame. But following it is a mistake – that light is draining your life energy. Lampent are found near hospitals, seeking sick and dying souls to feed the fire. Exposing Lampent to a Dusk Stone will evolve it into the Luring Pokémon Chandelure. No longer waiting for its victims to perish, it hypnotises prey with its four flames, drawing them closer until the spirit is totally burned away.

Related Games

• Pokémon: Black/White Version (2010, Nintendo DS)
• Pokémon X & Y (2013, Nintendo 3DS)

Dr. Psymad was a brilliant and respected scientist – that is until he became patient zero for a zombie outbreak that decimated the population of Hobbiville! Drinking from a vial of the virus, Psymad's already-rotting body mutated into the ultimate zombie: Super Psymad! The squishy pink creature peering out from the dome in his skull is actually an alien life form. By zombifying all humans, it seeks to conquer the world!

Related Games

• Battleground Z / StreetPass Zombies (2015, Nintendo 3DS)

A mysterious and powerful being who corrupted the Mirror World in order to conquer it. He populated the world with shadow clones who reflected the worst attributes of their Dream Land personas. The problem? Kirby was so kind, he teamed up with his shadow counterpart to bring down Dark Mind. Could he be the Mirror World manifestation of Dark Matter and Nightmare? We will never know.

Related Games

• Kirby & The Amazing Mirror (2004, Game Boy Advance)

King of the Octarians, sworn enemies to the Inklings ever since their race lost the Great Turf War 100 years ago. In retribution, Octavio stole the Inkopolis energy source, the Zapfish, to power his Octoweapons. The Octobot he pilots doubles as a state-of-the-art turntable and speaker system, whose thumping beat brings all the Octarians together under his control. He really likes wasabi.

Related Games

• Splatoon (2015, Wii U)

Akuma the demon had been sealed away for thousands of years by Jesus Christ, and sought revenge by destroying him. The time-travelling hero of this game tracked Akuma to Bethlehem and interfered with the demon's plan. But upon returning to his own time, the hero found a world devastated by war. Rather than destroying Jesus, Akuma had possessed him, ushering in the end of humanity. The hero had to Time Twist one last time to seal the demon away forever.

Related Games

• Time Twist: Rekishi no Katasumi de… (1991, Famicom Disk System)