by Aleks Canard

Created on: July 26, 2009

All great heroes need a rival. Usually it is only their rivals that can match their strength and ability, resulting in epic showdowns that lay waste to the surrounding area. They will tend to show up when they are not welcome and constantly hammer the hero/heroine with goons until they feel like actually stepping in. Some rivals are cowards, some are just pathetic but some really are worthy of being a last boss countless times over.

Here are possibly the best rivals of all time. They aren't in any particular order because once you become this awesome, classifying them would be rather pointless. Watching them do battle is a privilege and really is something special.

-Link and Ganondorf. Does it really get more epic than these two? They have been duking it out for the power of the Tri-Force time and time again since the days of the Nintendo Entertainment system and since then have starred in countless games together. Link holds the power of courage and Ganondorf holds the power of strength. When these two fight each other it is truly spectacular. The young village boy rises up against the King of Darkness and shows how the underdog can manage to pull through time and time again. Ganondorf may hold near infinite power, making him almost unbeatable but he can't beat the power of a small boy in green, with only courage and the Master Sword to draw on.

-Cloud Strife and Sephiroth. Sephiroth is a rather unusual foe. Enhanced by the power of the JENOVA gene he can hit harder, last longer a bring the hurt to Cloud every time they do battle. Appearing together in Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children and Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 they sure know how to put on a show. Cloud's darkness however, and his memories of Sephiroth just keeps calling him back without mercy. Cloud will never truly be able to defeat Sephiroth for good until he can vanquish the darkness in his heart and until Cloud can manage to do so, he does battle the only way he can. The Buster Sword. When Masamune (Sephiroth's blade) and the Buster Sword clash, it makes for an extremely heated battle.

-Mario and Bowser. A slightly less hardcore pairing than the last two but intense nonetheless. Starting off on the NES, Bowser is just no match for Mario's feet or his ability to pick him up by the tail and fling him further than the eye can see. Poor Bowser, not all the Power Stars or Goomba's in the world will trump Mario and his jumping capabilities, but he keeps on trying. If he stopped stealing Princess Peach, Mario would have no reason to go after him but like I said, some rivals are just annoying. Better luck in the future Bowser.

-Sonic and Dr Eggman. The blue streak started running all over Eggman since 1991 where he attempted to steal the Chaos Emeralds. More often than not, Sonic will have to defeat Eggman in his various contraptions at the end of each stage, getting more difficult as they progress. Eggman is more comical and mislead than evil. His zany inventions will never be able to match a Hedgehog who can run at the Speed of Sound. Gotta go faster next time.

These rivalries are classics and will be remember for years to come.

They are pitted in an eternal struggle against their mortal enemy. The ultimate struggle of good vs evil.

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