Only a few video game bosses are so iconic that players don't mind fighting them again in future titles. Hence, they keep coming back despite taking some big fat losses. One does have to commend these bosses though; despite losing in every game, they not only keep returning for more, but they also do it in style.
Because they always come back with a different attitude, set of powers, or a renewed fashion sense. This way, they get more motivation for taking over the world or just ruining the player's day. Perhaps they just want to show off the new look to the players before they're defeated once more? In any case, these bosses always keep up with the latest trends.
8 Ganondorf – The Legend Of Zelda
Ganondorf is almost unrecognizable in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Before, he had the form of a man with a glorious fiery mane. Breath of the Wild transformed him into some kind of blob creature. It's called Calamity Ganon in that game but it's unmistakable, it's still Ganondorf with the face and mane included.
Prior to that, Ganondorf has also had numerous redesigns dating back to the 1986 original for the NES and Game Boy Advance. Initially, Ganon looked more like a half-animal monster but his new Ganondorf iteration introduced the more iconic fiery mane look. Since then, that one has stuck and has been in use in future titles — albeit with significant modifications.
7 Vergil – Devil May Cry
He's been around as early as 2001's Devil May Cry as the angsty sword-toting edgelord villain, though truth be told, Vergil is still unmistakable in his appearance. He still sports that white hair that makes non-fans confuse him for Dante (a.k.a. the good Vergil). His original appearance was a little generic, however.
In the 2001 game, he looked more like the usual evil dude with a big sword. All this changed in Devil May Cry 3 after he became an otaku and brandished a katana. Since then, that has been his go-to getup with a few coat color changes, a couple of updated demon forms, and a more mature phase in Devil May Cry 5.
6 Bowser – Super Mario Bros.
Bowser is in a similar spot to Ganondorf. The Super Mario Bros. franchise just keeps bringing him back as the main villain, because it's probably hard to create a more iconic archenemy for an Italian plumber with a fixation for mushrooms and coins. But despite his numerous changes, Bowser is still the most recognizable villain in gaming.
There's no mistaking that spiked turtle shell and cranky look on his face. He's seen a lot of generational and graphical updates from his original 8-bit and 16-bit form but he's gotten a lot of powerful upgrades with some even including actual wings and red glowing eyes.
5 Rathalos – Monster Hunter
Rathalos, also known as Monster Hunter's poster boy, is a wyvern monster who just doesn't know when to quit. Or rather, its species as a whole remains so persistent in the franchise that it has to be present in every game. Not just in one form, but in several variances, including a blue one and a pink one.
The color also dictates how they behave when being hunted or during their mating rituals. Needless to say, this monster has its own personality that a lot of players will come to recognize. Each game changes up the design and adds some claws or some new markings or maybe a new color to spice things up.
4 Albert Wesker – Resident Evil
As a Resident Evil villain, Wesker deserves to keep coming back as he's one of the few in the franchise who isn't an eyesore. He has his skin intact and has good style, even if he looks like he belongs in a 2000s action film. That's exactly how Wesker has managed to look in most of his Resident Evil appearances.
His powers and villainy, however, kept getting more and more sinister. At one point, he even became qualified enough to be on the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 roster because of whatever he injected into his bloodstream. Regardless, it would be interesting to see just how far the franchise can push Wesker's engineered abilities while still retaining his human facade.
3 Liquid Snake – Metal Gear Solid
Speaking of someone who sacrificed his humanity to become powerful, Liquid Snake knows no boundaries. He even went as far as taking over an old man's body just so he could continue his feud with Solid Snake. This happened after Revolver Ocelot use Liquid Snake's severed arm on himself; and the rest, as they say, is nanomachines.
But of course, Liquid Snake looked a lot more magnificent before assuming Ocelot's aging form. He had long, flowing blonde hair and the skills and intelligence to rival Solid Snake as Big Boss' clone. His other forms included his Lord of the Flies childhood phase as seen in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.
2 Cyberdemon – Doom
As far as boss fights go, Cyberdemon was one of the most memorable in the Doom franchise. That's because this demonic champion sums up Doom's aesthetics in a nutshell. He's an unholy union between machine and evil. It's just that his original form didn't exude this aura too much because of the aged graphics tech back then.
Afterward, Cyberdemon got reinvented in Doom 3 and Doom 2016 as a formal boss before Doom Eternal finally reverted him back to his original mini-boss form that's a faithful recreation of the original, but in contemporary graphics.
1 Diablo
There have only been three main Diablo games (and an upcoming fourth one) but in each one of them, Hell's head honcho has gone through an iteration. The first one is the original form, the second one is based on the corrupted hero from the first, and the third one took on a female form due to its new vessel.
There's also one form in Heroes of the Storm and Diablo Immortal but it takes after the other forms. Regardless, Diablo's appearance is bound to have yet another dramatic facelift should he appear again in the upcoming Diablo 4. Everyone's fairly certain that he will, as per the game's title.