The 38 Most Memorable First Enemies
- October 22, 2008 23:37 PM PST
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Check out 38 enemies that made an immediate impression on us.
In gaming, first impressions mean everything. Particularly, your first fight has to be a good one. Sometime it means having a pushover of an enemy to inflate the player's confidence. Other times, it means shocking the player with something creepy to instill fear. Whatever the means of their introduction, the following 38 first enemy encounters will never be forgotten.
38- Penny Arcade: Fruit Fucker
First encounter:
With Penny Arcade Adventures protagonits's crushed house providing him the fortitude to pursue its crushing transgressors, your custom-built hero then proceeds down the street of his cul-de-sac where he eventually comes across the small, thrusting robots known as Fruit Fuckers.
We remember it because...
Any enemy called a Fruit Fucker is going to be easy to remember, just like any enemy who engages in copulation with produce would be easy to remember. And in this particular enemy's case, both attributes apply.
37- Devil May Cry: Marionette
First encounter:
The Marionette doesn't make his its appearance immediately known in Devil May Cry, and it takes a little bit of castle exploration before Dante happens upon. However, after its discovery rest assured that a combination of swords and bullets make the Marionette appear about as life-like as a sock-puppet.
We remember it because...
For starters, the prolonged castle exploration sequence makes the eventual combat segment that much more jarring and distinctive in comparison, and secondly, the enemy is so unusual, creepy, and unique looking that it easily makes a strong impression. The game was also extremely well done, and thus was often played
36-Bomberman: Security Guard
First encounter:
From the second the Bomberman first steps foot in that diabolical maze, those balloon-shaped security guards repeatedly attempt to put a halt to his gratifying bombing exploits. Unfortunately for the guards, balloons don't withstand blasts from bombs very well.
We remember it because...
Bomberman is a title that has transcended every generation of videogame consoles, and somehow remained enjoyable and engrossing. And while the series, and this title specifically, is remarkable for a number of reasons, it's tough not to appreciate a sentient balloon who has the toughness and heart to attempt to stop a man with unlimited bombs at his disposal.
35-Battletoads: Psyko Pig
First encounter:
Shortly after the player's chosen Battletoad is lowered onto the screen, a pair of large spikes puncture the ground, and as they recoil, they leave behind the terrifying Psyko Pigs. These red swine then attempt to axe those fightin' toads; however, they frequently fail in their endeavor.
We remember it because...
What Battletoads lacked in accessibility (it was extremely difficult), it made up for in graphics and creativity. The game looked great, and is usually remembered as one of the NES's most graphically accomplished games, a characterization that held true for its distinguishable enemies as well. The forceful entrance those unique-looking, pig soldiers made also enabled them to be forever stamped in gamers' collective subconscious.
34-Ninja Gaiden: Helmeted, Life-Preserver Wearing Clubber
First encounter:
As player-controlled Ryu runs to the right, a trio of Helmeted, Life-Preserver Wearing Clubbers approaches with their aforementioned clubs raised in anticipation; however, they usually end up taking a sword to the gut before exploding and disappearing.
We remember it because...
These ridiculous enemies rarely posed a threat, and usually only got a shot in when Ryu was occupied with defeating other tougher foes. However, the combination of motorcycle helmet and life-preserver, coupled with the fact that Ninja Gaiden was a great and notable game, made these opponents ones to remember.
33-Ghosts 'n Goblins: Zombie with Red Mullet
First encounter:
Following the kidnapping of Princess Prin-Prin during her picnic in the graveyard, Arthur--the player-controlled hero/knight--immediately jumped to his feet where he was at once met with a pair of zombies sporting bitchin' red mullets.
We remember it because...
When playing one of the most difficult videogame titles to complete, one takes special note of the aspects that aren't so difficult, and certainly killing these mulleted zombies was not. They also attack in large groups, so not only would the players be repeatedly subjected to the zombies' bad taste in hair styles, they would see and kill hundreds of them.
32-Gears of War: Locust Drone
First encounter:
Regardless of the divergent path the players chose at the beginning of Gears of War, eventually they would find themselves on an exterior bridge in a duck-and-cover gun-battle with one, or several, Locust Drones.
We remember it because...
Gears of War is one of the current generation's most successful games, and it ultimately represents the pinnacle of modern gaming. Its firefights were intense, and as a result every encounter--especially the first few--were ones to remember. Also, GOW's graphics were so striking and explicit that it made all of its detailed enemies tough to forget.
31-Earthworm Jim: Killer Crow
First encounter:
The arrival of a massive earthworm at New Junk City quickly prompted a crow whose eyes were bigger than his stomach to attack. Unfortunately for the crow, that massive earthworm was equipped with a high-tech ray-gun, and he unsurprisingly was opposed to being eaten. Thus, the crow was frequently blasted, ironically causing his beak to separate from his head.
We remember it because...
Like nearly every aspect of Earthworm Jim, the crow and its subsequent death is laced with humor, and it isn't difficult to see the irony of a crow losing its beak after getting shot by the worm it wanted to consume.
30- Bionic Commando: Nazz Soldier
First encounter:
After Captain Nathan "Rad" Spencer landed from his parachute infiltration, a solitary Nazz Soldier can be seen running back and forth, blindly shooting his gun, whether an enemy was present or not. Since the soldier didn't react to movement, it was best to attack him while he was blindly shooting in the opposite direction.
We remember it because...
Remembered as being the only platformer where the hero couldn't jump, Bionic Commando was remarkable for many reasons beyond its unusual method of traversing platforms, one being, its not so subtle suggestion that its antagonists were Nazis. This was not only noticeable from the enemies' similar spellings (Nazz and Nazi), but from their evil leader's eerily similar appearance to Hitler.
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there is also one more I will always remember, the helmet guys on mega man.
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Red Vested Woman Puncher... what an a-hole! Cool list... intersting read! I would have to add the first enemy in Dead Space... scared the crap out of me!
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BS. Zombies entrance from RE1 was EPIC! Goombas just kinda appear onscreen
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ZanonX wrote:
there is also one more I will always remember, the helmet guys on mega man.
Ah, good one zanon. We considered it, but the fact that you got to pick your first stage meant that you may not have fought the Met (his official name, if I recall) first.
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I think that giant statue that you fight at the very start of God of War 2 should be on here. That was the most awesome opening ever.
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