The 8 Strongest Nintendo Characters, Officially Ranked

Summary

• Nintendo has created many powerful, god-like heroes and villains, as well as some actual gods.
• While characters like Donkey Kong have immense physical strength, other characters like Kirby have special powers.

You may not expect some of gaming's strongest demigods to come from the same company that made Animal Crossing. As cute and friendly as they look, many of Nintendo's heroes wield immense, unthinkable power, capable of controlling time, creating life, and even consuming the entire universe.

12 Best Nintendo Characters Of All Time

These characters are the GOATs of Nintendo.

And that doesn't even cover Nintendo's god-like villains, many of whom are terrifying deities capable of conquering or destroying the world in the blink of an eye. Not to mention, some Nintendo characters are literal gods responsible for creating the universe. From sword-wielding warriors to otherworldly demons, the following characters are the strongest in Nintendo's history.

Updated on August 31, 2024, by PJ Molloy: With each new Nintendo game, we get more and more powerful characters with mind-boggling abilities. We've updated the list to include heroes and villains from Zelda, Pokemon, and much more.

For this ranking, we're focusing mostly on lore. In-game stats are considered, but non-canon factors like Smash Bros. tier lists are not.

8 Donkey Kong

A Lovable Ape With One Heck Of A Punch

Series

First Appearance

Species

Powers And Abilities

Mario, Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong (1981)

Kong

Super strength, super agility

In terms of raw strength, Donkey Kong is among the most powerful mortal beings in the Nintendo universe. After all, he canonically punched the moon out of the sky in DKC Returns. When his fists start flying, he can deliver dozens of devastating rapid-fire blows in just a few seconds before sending his foe soaring off into space.

But it's not just his punches that you need to look out for. As seen in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, DK can put out massive fires simply by clapping his hands. If that wasn't enough, he can also lift bosses ten times his size and throw them around like rag dolls. Needless to say, you do not want to mess with his banana hoard.

7 Culex

Mario's Strongest Enemy

Series

First Appearance

Species

Powers And Abilities

Mario

Super Mario RPG (1996)

Unknown

Elemental magic, interdimensional travel, god-like strength

Mario has faced many villains over the years, but Culex stands out as the most powerful. This interdimensional demon is the embodiment of evil, capable of seeing the future and consuming time itself. You know he means business when he nearly kills Mario's entire team with just a flick of the wrist.

Super Mario RPG: Who Is Culex?

He's certainly not your average Mario villain.

As a master sorcerer, Culex has four elemental crystals at his command - fire, water, earth, and wind. These grant him catastrophic magical abilities, including summoning a meteor, conjuring a blizzard, creating tornadoes, and much more. He's the toughest fight in the game and one of the hardest bosses in the whole series.

6 Kirby

Small, But Mighty

Series

First Appearance

Species

Powers And Abilities

Kirby

Kirby's Dream Land (1992)

Unknown

Flight, inhale, copy ability

While he might not look intimidating, Kirby is a god-slaying star warrior with an unquenchable hunger. Thanks to his ability to inhale pretty much anything in sight, the pink puffball can gobble up almost any threat, steal their power, and use it to demolish other enemies and bosses.

Kirby has no shortage of powerful moves in his arsenal. After absorbing a Super Ability, he can summon a ferocious fire dragon or a colossal butcher knife. Plus, his Hypernova ability from Triple Deluxe is so strong he can even inhale the game's UI. Don't let his adorable smile fool you. This guy is out for blood.

5 Link

The Hero Of Time

Series

First Appearance

Species

Powers And Abilities

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda (1986)

Hylian

Sword fighting, magic, time manipulation, reincarnation.

The Hero of Time is arguably the most powerful Nintendo hero ever. Link is destined to reincarnate whenever Hyrule is threatened. Armed with the Master Sword and the Triforce of Courage, he has countless times slain vicious demons, ancient evils, and world-ending demigods. As an expert swordsman and sorcerer, there is no challenge he can't overcome.

There have been many versions of Link over the years, each with an impressive lineup of weapons and abilities. The Bombos Medallion allows him to summon devastating explosions; the Fierce Deity Mask grants him god-like strength and magic; and the Ocarina of Time can slow down, speed up, or rewind time. Is there anything he can't do?

4 Giygas

A Horrifying Villain Beyond Human Comprehension

Series

First Appearance

Species

Powers And Abilities

Mother

Earthbound Beginnings (1989)

Alien

Mind control, incomprehensible cosmic power

No Nintendo villain is as bizarre or terrifying as Giygas. Known as the Universal Cosmic Destroyer, this Lovecraftian alien entity did what few other Nintendo villains could - he actually conquered the world. His cosmic powers are beyond human comprehension, but whatever they are, they're strong enough to paralyze or kill whatever they touch.

Arguably, Giygas's scariest ability is his mind control power. When put under his influence, humans, animals, and even inanimate objects are compelled to do horrible, violent acts. His power is so vast that it takes the entire population to join together in prayer to stop him. Otherwise, the planet will forever be under his control.

3 Ganon

The King Of Evil

Series

First Appearance

Species

Powers And Abilities

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda (1986)

Gerudo

Sword fighting, super strength, magic, possession, reincarnation, near-invincibility

As the owner of the Triforce of Power, Ganon is undoubtedly the strongest Zelda character of all time. In his Gerudo form, the King of Evil can rip through metal and concrete like paper, create shadow versions of himself, and survive a sword to the chest. The Master Sword is the only thing that can kill him, and even then, he never stays dead for long.

Legend Of Zelda: Every Version Of Ganon Ranked By Power

Ganon has appeared in various forms across The Legend of Zelda series, and here is every version ranked.

In his beast form, Ganon becomes a towering monster with god-like abilities. As Calamity Ganon, he possessed the entire army of Guardians and completely obliterated Hyrule. Even his comparatively smaller forms, such as the one from Ocarina of Time, are near-invincible deities that can only be sealed away rather than destroyed.

2 Hades

Ruler Of The Underworld

Series

First Appearance

Species

Powers And Abilities

Kid Icarus

Kid Icarus: Uprising (2012)

God

Creation, teleportation, regeneration, god-like strength, resurrection

What's stronger than a god-like being? How about an actual god? Hades from Kid Icarus is Lord of the Underworld, capable of creating monsters, reviving the dead, summoning twisters, and crumbling entire mountains with the flick of his wrist. And those are just a few of his seemingly endless powers.

His most valuable skill, however, is his regenerative abilities, allowing him to regrow severed limbs or his decapitated head in a matter of seconds. His only weakness is the Great Sacred Treasure, yet even that is just barely able to defeat him.

1 Arceus

The Strongest Nintendo Character

Series

First Appearance

Species

Powers And Abilities

Pokemon

Pokemon Diamond & Pearl (2006)

Pokemon

Multitype, flight, telepathy, creation, interdimensional travel

Arceus is, by far, the strongest Pokemon in terms of lore and stats. According to the Pokedex, Arceus created the universe with its 1,000 arms, making it the god of the Pokemon world. Not only did it design time and space, but it can also freely create life and bring legendary Pokemon into existence.

In terms of statistics, Arceus has the highest base stats of any Pokemon, with a whopping number of 720. It's also the only species with the Multitype ability, allowing it to change its type into whatever plate it's holding. Because of this, Arceus is, theoretically, super effective against every single Pokemon and has no clear weaknesses.

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