Category talk:Villains

What is a villain?
Is a villain anyone who opposes the player, regardless of their intentions? Is it anyone who's cruel-hearted, regardless of their role in the story or the gameplay? Does it encompass every enemy and every boss? Does it only include the main antagonist of a given story, or do lesser antagonists also apply? How "cruel" or mean does someone need to be so that they're considered a villain? The obvious examples are, well, obvious enough, but when characters like Jr. Troopa, Gooper Blooper, Orbot, and Factory Chief are currently being tagged as villains, it really begs the question: what is a villain? 23:32, 31 July 2017 (EDT)


 * The first one. Pretty much any antagonist in the story, I guess (which is what the term usually refers to), regardless of how cruel they are (e.g. Waluigi, who can be seen as an antagonist in Mario Power Tennis, is listed, though he's never done anything at Dimentio levels of cruelty). The ones you mentioned would qualify, except for Orbot, as he's never played such a role in the Mario franchise like he does in the Sonic games. 08:19, 1 August 2017 (EDT)
 * So it's entirely a narrative distinction? Would subjects like Mummipokey and Cheepskipper also be tagged? 08:25, 1 August 2017 (EDT)


 * Eh, actually, I always saw a villain as someone more major and human-like than that. (I might be starting to see what you're getting at with the "cruel" thing.)


 * "Villains" are antagonists, we know that, but I think it best describes major antagonists that have clear evil intentions and/or hatred towards the protagonist(s) and a human-like desire to vanquish them. So obviously, the main antagonists would apply here, as would certain other major antagonists, but yeah, characters like Jr. Troopa, whose only intention is to get in the way, and the NSMB bosses you mentioned, which strike me as characters that attack on instinct, wouldn't qualify in this case. As another example, Wingo would be one, but not Draggadon. I hope that answers your question? 04:02, 2 August 2017 (EDT)