Hi there! If you’re joining us now, the month of march is gonna be all about platforming games – 2D, 3D, maybe even 2.5D.

What with being an older genre with a penchant for colorful striking character designs, platformers have served up their share of iconic heroes and villains. With how long-lived certain franchises can be, certain hero-villain combos can reappear in perpetuity, achieving iconicness in the vein of stuff like Tom and Jerry, where the rivalry just IS. Other times, it’s Kirby taking on a changing roster of eldritch Gods.

So: Which platformer games features the most memorable, iconic villains? Any where the villain massively outshines the hero?

Bonus: What platforming franchise should try out a new villain? Or even try a new one every time?

Extra Bonus: What platformer villain should be playable?

Extra Bonus Deluxe: Which platformer villains would make for a fun team-up

TOMORROW: Levels or worlds? Freedom or linearity?