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Top 10 Octopi in Gaming

If you’re a genius like me, you notice patterns in retro video games. I personally noticed that there are a lot of octopusses… octopie… umm… cephalopods… in video games. So that got me thinking, what are the best octolopods in video games? Well I’ll tell you.

10.) Eight Arms

I hate this octopus, but he’s so iconic the 16-bit era and the Ecco the Dolphin series that he just squeezed on this list and thus the octopus from the Tom Sawyer game had to be cut, and the robotic octopods from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Eight Arms is a character mentioned numerous times by the other dolphins in Ecco the Dolphin. He’s also a giant jerk. I don’t know if I ever mentioned this, but I cannot stand the Ecco series. I know it’s fondly looked at by others but I despise it.

It’s also a very stressful game. You are constantly watching out for predators and always running out of air. Anything that slows down Ecco can kill him, and Eight Arms is one such character. He acts more as a guardian than anything else. While he doesn’t really move or chase after Ecco, if you swim to fast past Eight Arms he will swipe you down with a giant tentacle. In a game where speed if important, this is a terrible thing… Fuck Eight Arms.

 

9.) Octillery

I always liked Water Pokemon, but Octillery just confuses me. He’s a red and yellow octopus, and that’s really it.

However, there are a few things I don’t understand. Why is Octillery named by combining the words Octopus and Artillery? Also how does a little silver fish that attaches itself to Mantine evolve into a bright red octopus? I don’t know, but Octillery is still pretty cool.

 

8.) Bubbler the Octopus

Many say Diddy Kong Racing is the best Mario Kart clone, but I believe that honor goes to Crash Team Racing. Nevertheless, Diddy Kong Racing is a fantastic and fun game… except for the Bubbler boss race.

Whether you’re playing the Nintendo 64 or the Nintendo DS version, you hate Bubbler. You have to race against this sly cephalopod twice and while the first isn’t too bad, the rematch is tough. Bubbler is fast, and he constantly drops bubbles that will trap and slow you down.

If you hit a bubble, just restart the race because you already lost.

 

7.) Octoman

Octoman reminds me a lot of Zoidberg. He’s a humanoid octopus alien who is arrogant about his plant and his race’s superior intelligence.

F-Zero is another game series that needs some Nintendo love. Seriously, there are more franchises than Mario and Zelda so start exploiting the nostalgia from them! Octoman is a character from the F-Zero franchise and he was my main racer. Mainly because I always though his car, “Deep Claw”, was easy to manuever.

Octoman races for the money. He wants to fund his kids’ education and use the rest of his winnings to bail out his planet’s economy. He’s a giant octopusman who is also a great dad and donates to charity… What’s not to love?

 

6.) Octopus – Game and Watch

I’ll be honest here, the only reason Octopus from the Game & Watch series is on this list is because Mr. Game & Watch was one of my favorite characters to play as in Super Smash Bros Brawl and in his Final Smash he turns into a giant octopus.

Well that Octopus is from Game & Watch game called Octopus… wow that was an oddly worded sentence. Octopus, is a classic game where you play as a diver collecting as much treasure as possible. Meanwhile, you need to avoid the random octopus tentacles.

It’s simple, it’s fun… but it’s only on here because of Brawl.

 

5.) Octo the Huge

Octo the Huge, not to be confused with a later entry, is from the beloved game, StarTropics.

Octo the Huge is the second boss and while he’s not too difficult, he’s memorable for being a challenge and for the amazing picture above. Octo the Huge will fire pellets at you and charge you. A quick yoyo smack or some snowman magic will make quick work of this octopus opponent.

There! I talked about StarTropics in one of my lists… ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!?

 

4.) Launch Octopus

While I love the original Mega Man series, I am not too familiar with the Mega Man X series. I’ve only beat Mega Man X and Mega Man X4, even though I own most of em.

I beat Mega Man X when it was released as part of a collection on the PS2, and the Maverick I had most trouble with was Launch Octopus. His homing missiles and whirlpool attack often drained the majority of my health.

Despite my difficulties, I really enjoyed this boss design and the fight. I especially enjoyed cutting off Launch Octopus’ tentacles… because I am a sadistic bastard.

 

3.) Octoroks

If you played ANY Legend of Zelda game you’re familiar with this enemy. Now I’ve heard a few people say Octoroks aren’t Octopodses because in many sprites Octoroks are only seen with 4 limbs. Well… if you think that, you’re wrong and stupid.

Octoroks made their debut in the original Legend of Zelda and have since appeared in nearly every game in the series… even the loathed CD-i games. Octoroks have gone through a few changes, a few sub-species, and even were bosses sometimes like Bigocto from Wind Waker, and Ocarina of Time.

However Octoroks generally stay the same. They’re usually red or blue octopus-like creatures who shoot rocks out of their mouths… Octopus + Rocks = Octorok! There have been a few changes, but it wouldn’t be a Zelda game without an Octorok.

Also, I’m so hungry, I could eat an octorok!

 

2.) Tako Family

Do yourself a favor and play and Parodius game you can find. If you like Smhups like Gradius or Life Force, then you’ll love Parodius. It’s similar to those games, with fantastic music, tight gameplay, and a weird Japanese sense of humor.

One of the characters/ships you can pick in the Parodius games is an octopus. This octopus is most likely a member of the Tako family. The Tako family is a family of space octopuses who shoot enemies and use their infants as Options. That’s right, Parodius is a family affair because if one Tako isn’t enough then you can use the spawn of Tako for even more firepower.

The Tako family is so iconic to the Parodius series and gaming in general that they’ve made several cameos in other games and were even bosses.

I can’t really explain why I love this character so much. However, I do know that for three years my Fantasy Football team has been named “Octopus Agenda” because of the Tako Family.

 

1.) Ultros

Don’t tease the octopus, kids!

Especially if that octopus is Ultros from the Final Fantasy series.

Ultros is a comic relief villain who is most known for his many appearances in Final Fantasy VI. He is a recurring villain who attacks your party multiple times. We don’t really know why he is a villain or why he wants to attack, just that he’s hungry and wants to eat everyone.

Ultros is a character that everyone either loves or hates. I’ll admit the fights against him were a bit tough, but I just couldn’t get enough of this octopus. He’s always cracking corny jokes, hitting on the female party members, and just being a jerk… but he’s such a lovable jerk that he takes the spot of the number 1 octodude in gaming… wait… in Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultros has only 7 tentacles, thus making him a septopus?… well… screw it!