Souce by: Mika Baumeister on Unsplash
Dragons in video games are the cherry on top in any game’s storyline. We’re pretty sure you have your favorite video game dragons already coming to mind now that we mentioned them. Some of them may be friends, while some of them are the best foes that will prove your video game hero’s worth.
So we’re sharing our own favorites with you in this awesome list of dragons in video games. Because sharing is caring, right?
And we know you can use this list as your lookbook for a dragon costume that will surely turn heads. Newbies to dragon games will find this list useful too!
Without further ado, here are our top 15 dragons in video games who simply slay as friends or foes!
#1 Alduin - One of the Famous Video Game Dragons from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Source by: Rain Love AMR
Have you ever heard of any video game dragons described as the “World Eater”, the “harbinger of the apocalypse”, and the “creator of dragon civilization”? Alduin is one such dragon with heavy titles not because he looks scary but because he walks the talk.
He’s the main antagonist in the video game “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” who’s able to bring forth destruction and command authority over human beings. He does this through his powerful abilities to destroy the world and blast opponents with a destructive fiery or frost-laden breath.
Fun fact: Alduin’s signature voice was provided by Star Trek: Enterprise actor Daniel Riordan.
#2 Bahamut - Final Fantasy's Iconic Dragon
Source by: Douglas Tofoli
We mean it when we say Bahamut‘s iconic. The Dragon King is one of those video game dragons who earned the reputation because of three incredible gaming experiences:
- the difficulty in winning a battle against him (players get to prove their worth if they win)
- his powerful abilities as a summon: Mega Flare and the ability to summon another summon
Bahamut appears in different mysterious and powerful forms in nearly all of the Final Fantasy series from the first to the 15th game. He’s also so iconic that he’s even worthy of having his own game, “Bahamut Lagoon”.
Fun fact: Bahamut has a guest appearance in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
#3 Charizard - Pocket Monsters' Beloved Fiery Dragon
Source by: Pokémon Figuredex
Charizard is one of Ash Ketchum’s most beloved Pokemon next to Pikachu. The flying orange dragon landed itself a spot in fans’ hearts because of two memorable traits:
- its fierce temper in the TV series
- and an equally fierce set of fiery abilities in the video games
Charizard’s evolution to Mega Charizard X is its most powerful form as a dragon where its intense abilities even change this Pokemon’s color to black and its flames to blue. Additionally, Charizard’s awesome moves that cement it as one of the best video game dragons are:
- Dragon Breath
- Flamethrower
- Fire Spin
- Overheat
- Blast Burn
Fun fact: Charizard is “rizaadon” in Japanese which is a combination of the words lizard and dragon.
#4 Deathwing - World of Warcraft Cataclysm's Most Menacing Beast Out of All Its Famous Video Game Dragons
Source by: SobControllers
Dragons in video games are often tied to fear-inspiring titles and Deathwing is no exception. He’s called the “Aspect of Death”, “The Worldbreaker”, “The Destroyer”, and “The Black Scourge”. These all point to his menacing personality and abilities that characters from the game even utter his name with a sense of foreboding.
Deathwing’s three major abilities that bring the terror onto the battlefield are:
- Assault Aspects – Deathwing attacks the platform with the most players on it up to a range of 50,000 yards.
- Cataclysm – a powerful attack that deals a fiery damage of 44,976 onto players.
- Elementium Bolt – a force to be reckoned with as players deal with a 10,046 fire damage plus 644 more as each second passes.
So if you’re going to dress up as a powerful dragon, Deathwing’s a good choice. Amp up your dragon game at the party with an interactive dragon costume that looks like Deathwing and lets you make dragon-like moves.
Source by: Only Dinosaurs
Fun fact: Deathwing has an HP of 858M which is the highest set of health points in the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.
#5 Elder Dragons - The Rare & Powerful Video Game Dragons from Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
The Elder Dragons are Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin’s mightiest creatures players get to encounter. They’re also rare and powerful video game dragons who convey mystery and adventure with their unique personalities and abilities.
To get to know them better, here’s a quick rundown of abilities from The Gamer why they’re much-coveted monsters to own and exciting to fight:
- Nergigante – super high stats for health recovery and non-elemental attack, good defense
- Kirin – one of the game’s highest stats for speed and lightning attack
- Velkhana – has an ice attack that’s the best overall the monsters in the game, lets you fly in Monster Hunter
- Kushala Daora – fast, recovers quickly, and has a high rate for a critical hit
- Teostra – high health points and has a fire attack that beats out all the other monsters in the game
Fun fact: According to Game Rant, all Elder Dragons have eggs with distinguishing colors that identify them. A lighter color for the background and a darker color for the star in the middle.
#6 The Ender Dragon - Minecraft’s Ultimate Dragon Boss
It’s this boss mob’s unique traits that have made it a fan favorite and the standard to qualify that you’ve “beaten the game”. Here are gaming experiences that explain why players love the Ender Dragon and made it one of the world’s famous video game dragons:
- beating Ender Dragon gives players huge amounts of experience points (12,000) that take them from Level 0 to Level 68 real quick.
- a Dragon Egg is dropped after winning a fight which serves as an exclusive trophy for defeating the Ender Dragon
- the thrill of fighting Minecraft’s ultimate boss who can quickly defeat players with its dragon’s breath and fireballs
Fun fact: Minecraft’s 10th anniversary last 2019 also marked the year in which 176 million copies of the game have been bought. This means The Ender Dragon has been enjoyed by 176 million fans worldwide. Incredible, right?
#7 Gore Magala - Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate's Deadly Dragon
Gore Magala is an Elder Dragon in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate who establishes itself as a formidable foe with its strength and deadly scales. Its threatening capabilities are:
- a damaging tail attack that knocks you back
- pollen from its scales that turns monsters dangerously frenzied and reduces’ players’ health.
Fun fact: This dragon is the first of its kind to have the ability to infect other monsters in the game.
#8 High Dragons - Dragon Age: Inquisition's Mythical Video Game Dragons
These mythical beasts are dragons in video games who aren’t just powerful but enigmatic too. High Dragons lie hidden for a century before reappearing again to feed themselves while leaving villages and fields devastated in its wake. A battle with them ensues when a player steps into their lair provoking their territorial nature.
In this installment of Dragon Age, High Dragons have greater defenses against elemental attacks. Players need to use the opposite element to win a battle against them.
Fun fact: High Dragons drop rare materials that players can use to build powerful weapons.
#9 Onaga - Mortal Kombat's Villainous Dragon King
Source by: B1bl1kal on Villains Wiki Fandom
Onaga is known as the Dragon King and Mortal Kombat’s primary enemy. This is one of those video game dragons who’s so terrifyingly powerful and wicked that you wouldn’t want to mess with him.
Onaga’s wickedly awesome moves include fire blasts, strong gusts of winds from his wings, and regeneration. Add to that his army of the undead, named the Dragon King’s army, who can come back to life after every defeat.
Fun Fact: Onaga’s name in Japanese means “great dragon”.
#10 Paarthurnax - One of the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's Famous Video Game Dragons
Source by: colmmcsky
Paarthurnax is a meditative but formerly destructive dragon in Skyrim. He used to be Alduin’s lieutenant who laid mind-blowing cruelties against mankind until Alduin made a claim of godhood that made Paarthurnax turn his back on him.
He’s part of the roster of video game dragons who are helpful to the hero as players can learn the game’s “words of power”. These words give you perks like increased resistance, offensive stagger, and fire damage, and health regeneration.
Fun fact: Paarthurnax can be considered a friend because of the perks you get from him. But he can also be considered a foe based on his past storyline which is why the game gives you the option to complete a quest to destroy Paarthurnax.
#11 Rayquaza - Pocket Monsters’ Legendary Dragon
Rayquaza is one of Pocket Monsters’ legendary Pokemon who’s lived more than a hundred million years flying in the earth’s atmosphere. It’s also one of Pocket Monsters‘ video game dragons who’s mysterious and overpowering at the same time.
Proof of its strength was seen in how Rayquaza overpowered two battling legendary Pokemon – Kyogre and Groudon – and put their fight to rest. Rayquaza also has the move “hyper beam” which is the very same move it used to blast a meteor to pieces.
Catching Rayquaza isn’t easy as it only has a catch rate of 11.9%. But once you do, having this legendary dragon in your team will make every effort worth it.
Fun fact: Rayquaza’s diet consists of meteors.
#12 Rathalos - Monster Hunter World's Fierce Wyvern
Monster Hunter abounds with great video game dragons that make every second of game time worth the fight. Rathalos is part of that roster because of its poisonous claws and burning breath that make it a chilling enemy. Its physical built features a thick clubbed tail and large wings which increase the difficulty of taking it down.
Fun fact: This fierce dragon hates the game’s dinosaurs called “Anjanath”. You can witness an epic battle between dragons and dinosaurs when Anjanaths wander into the battlefield.
#13 Ridley - Metroid Series' Defiant Space Dragon
Ridley’s one of those video game dragons who keep coming back for more epic battles as he spawns back to life after each defeat. His powers include fireballs, lasers, and mind-boggling strength that’s able to overthrow battleships.
Fun fact: Ridley stands out from the other dragons in video games because he’s the only one who’s from outer space. And he’s a pirate too! We’ve heard of dragons from the ancients but a pirate and one from another galaxy? Now that’s pretty cool!
#14 Seath The Scaleless - Dark Souls’ Mad Dragon
Imagine a luminescent white dragon full of ambition and unimaginable power — that’s Seath the Scaleless in Dark Souls. He’s one of the series’ famous video game dragons thanks to those traits.
Add to that his dark story of betraying his own kin because he was obsessed with immortality. That obsession eventually drove him mad and led him to imprison himself so no one would have a chance to take away his immortality.
Fun fact: Seath has a good following of admirers despite being mad. His admirers in the game include scholars and Big Hat Logan the sorcerer.
#15 Spyro - Spyro The Dragon's Spunky Hero
We’ve talked about scary dragons who are often enemies but Spyro’s different. He’s one of those dragons in video games who are fun to be with because of his spunky personality and small size.
Plus, you get to be the dragon too! Spyro’s the hero of the game instead of the usual set-up where the dragon’s the enemy. Fans who grew up playing video games in the 90s surely have fond memories of this purple fire-breathing dragon and his sidekick Sparx.
Fun fact: Spyro’s voice actor, Carlos Alazraqui, is the same actor who voiced Rocko from the hit 90s cartoon “Rocko’s Modern Life”.
The Big Idea Behind Dragons in Video Games
Source by: Branden Skeli on Unsplash
There are similar themes that run across the dragons in video games we just shared. Think about your favorite video game dragons and you’ll notice similar details too.
Themes like the ability to breathe fire, a wicked personality, an ambition to rule and destroy their realms. Additionally, details like a serpent-like appearance, the ability to fly, and otherworldly intelligence.
These things all reflect the stories and legends of the world’s cultures. Dragons in Europe have strong personalities and abilities. While in Eastern cultures, dragons have benevolent personalities and powers to bend the elements.
Source by: Only Dinosaurs
These are what you’ll notice in video game dragons. Alduin is a good example of a dragon from European mythology while Rayquaza is a close match for Eastern perceptions of dragons.
Pretty cool food for thought, isn’t it? So whether they’re a friend or a foe, there’s more to dragons in video games and our personal preferences than meets the eye. You can check out our ultimate guide on western and easter dragons to get a bigger picture.
There you have it! We hope your favorites were on this list too and that you enjoyed what we just shared.
