Video game villains who refuse to die

Key foods

  • Villains like Orochi, Bowser, and Heihachi tend to be resurrected multiple times to continue the narratives.
  • Resurrected villains continue to appear in various forms and further the overall storyline in their respective game series.
  • Developers bring back villains not just for fan service, but to shape the roles they play in different game scenarios.



Villains are often a narrative necessity. Whether they're controlling or simply benefiting from the status quo a hero is trying to undo, their continued existence or power is what keeps some stories going. However, some villains don't die. In video games, the exact reason for this fact can be different.

Often times, the need to revive villains, ironically, stems from the status quo that the creators impose on the show. This is especially common in certain game genres, often where the villain is one of the playable characters on a fixed roster who must both live and die in order to continue the narrative.

5 Orochi (Orochi Warriors series)

A confused miasma mystic

Orochi X in Warriors Orochi 4


It primarily serves as a crossover between the two dynasty of warriors and Samurai warriors, Warriors of Orochi Warriors showcases these two eras that intersect in dimensions of the title's own creation. Various warriors come together to fight Orochi and kill him, sending them back to their respective time periods. This Orochi is not exactly the same as the mythical Yamata no Orochi, but a composite being that uses various forms of mythology to establish its culture. In each subsequent game, Orochi continuously dies and is reborn in various capacities, first as Orochi X in Orochi Warriors 2.


Orochi is shown in various forms Warriors of Orochi 3Hydra, a creature that represents the raw will of Orochi's dimension, has taken on his identity. Hydra is notably favored by many of Orochi's previous subordinates, as the likes of Daji, Keiji Maeda, and Masamune Date defected to the Alliance due to not technically being the original Orochi. Shoten Douji, a demonic being who is also an offshoot of Orochi, joins the alliance, slowly remembering his past as Orochi, but wanting to forge his own path. Orochi's own history as Yang Long, a mystic general, is also revealed in this book final spread from Warriors of Orochi 3. Ying Long was a heroic but brazen mystic who became an Orochi after being exposed to a dark miasma because he was tricked into believing that the Heavenly Emperor was secretly controlling the demons he was supposed to exorcise.

Orochi is briefly resurrected alongside Orochi X (who is once again the form taken by Hydra). Uruchi Warriors 4with the two reborn from Shoten Douji's body. The pair end up fighting each other and end up dying at the hands of the coalition. After this, they returned to Shuten Doji, which presumably remains Orochi's current form. according to Samurai warriorsone of the two main series involved in the reboot, coming from Warriors of Orochi It is unclear, but if there is another sequel, Orochi will probably be reborn in a different form.


4 Bowser (Super Mario Bros. series)

Colossal King Koopa

Mario and Bowser Jr. face Bowser's Fury.

Bowser is Mario's ever-present enemy who acts as a boss in most casual platformers. Super Mario Bros series Most of his failures come with suboptimal results that would otherwise be fatal. Sometimes, he remains unseen after they occur, which means death. Nevertheless, he is always ready to return, sabotage, steal and even kidnap the princess.


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Bowser's repeated returns can be explained outside of resilience or a level of immortality, by looking at the larger context. mario series Miyamoto likened the cast to a group of actors from an old cartoon. Given the exact roles these characters play, whether it's a platformer or a sports showcase, the characters fill the roles planned for them in the current script rather than having an overarching story. To that end, many of Bowser's implied deaths can be seen as an extension of his “role” in each game. Perhaps the same can be said for Mario, given his many lives.

3 Heihachi Mishima (Technology series)

A fearsome fighter and failure of a father

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Fighting games are famous for resurrecting their big bads. Since they are often among the most popular playable characters in their respective franchises, fans tend not to see them die for long. One of these villains is Heihachi Mishima, one of the many pervasive villains in the world tech series


Heihachi specifically threw his son Kazuya off a cliff, the exact reason being to determine if he had the devil gene or was strong enough to inherit it. This provoked his son's revenge, causing him to throw his father off the same cliff to his death. However, he survived and retaliated by throwing Kazuya into an active crater where the younger Mishima once again survived. Heihachi himself was later thrown into magma by Kazuya in retaliation. It was assumed that this killed him for good.

However, Tekken 8 The DLC revealed this to be a ruse, as Heihachi was rescued by the Tekken Monks, albeit with serious amnesia. Tekken monks believed that he had a healthy body, mind and soul. However, after destroying a meteor, Heihachi regains his memories and with them, his old sinister ways. He destroyed the monks' technique and now wishes to defeat Kazuya once again for good.


2 Vile (Megaman Series X)

A rebel Reploid competitor

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Vile is a reploid that is a persistent thorn on X's side. He was defeated at various points by X and Zero but was finally destroyed by X-Tailor after their last fight of the year. Megaman X. He returned as Vile MK II Megaman X3 After being resurrected and given a new body by Sigma. This will not be his last appearance as he returns as Vile V Megaman X8with a new color scheme and an even more indifferent personality than before. He once again appears as a recurring enemy type, before his proper boss battle, which ends with his defeat.


Outside of conventional appearances, Will is resurrected several times in the resurrection Project X Zone series, where he once again has an ax to grind with X, putting him alongside a number of video game characters, including even Heihachi Mishima from tech. The second game reincarnated him as Vile MK II and appeared alongside Sigma, who was responsible for this resurrection in canon material.

1 Dracula (Castlevania series)

A vengeful vampire villain

Mages Dracula Castlevania video game

wide Castlevania The series features the evil Dracula as its final boss in most of its episodes. His origin in Lament of innocence. Chronologically, he was first a strategist named Matthias, who tragically lost his first wife to illness while engaged in a campaign elsewhere. His untimely death caused him to curse God and became a motivation for his immortality.


This led to a cycle of deaths and rebirths, where he spent several lifetimes fighting against the Belmont family, with his former comrade, Leon Belmont, swearing that his clan would defy him every time. In the distant future of the series, after his supposed final death, he is reincarnated as the hero Soma Cruz. However, Death, Dracula's former right-hand man, seeks to resurrect his master. Like every other attempt in the past, this revival ended in yet another failure for Dracula. Most of the Castlevania games will likely continue the cycle of Dracula's life and death and his never-ending quest to defy God and destroy humanity, as Dracula believes their ailments will bring him back.

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