Who Are the Top 10 Dragons Across Gaming Media?

Today, we’re firing up our list of the top 10 dragons in gaming. These fire-breathing fighters have scaled up the challenge in some of our favorite game titles, from tabletop roleplaying to classic arcade cabinets. Whether you’re playing with cards or a cartridge, these dragons represent the top of the treasure heap — they are the biggest bosses or the most amazing allies the game has to offer.

Read along to find out which of these epic dragon enemies and heroes have leveled up the gaming landscape as we know it. Let’s get started!

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10. Ender Dragon – Minecraft

The Ender Dragon is a flying boss mob featured in the blocky world of Minecraft.  This massive obsidian-tinged creature was the first boss added to the simulator game, located in the netherworld of the End. It can be fought and defeated with difficulty, dropping enough experience to level a player from Level 0 to Level 78.

The resources required to successfully reach the End, and then to stay alive in this strange dimension, make the Ender Dragon a massive threat for players in the otherwise mostly peaceful (Creepers, we’re looking at you) world of Minecraft.

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9. Light Dragon – Tears of the Kingdom

Fans of The Legend of Zelda have always faced immense dungeon beasts and sky leviathans. With Ganon on the scene, you can be assured Hyrule’s most dangerous creatures will be even more formidable. And that includes dragons.

All across Hyrule, there are various elemental dragons in Tears of the Kingdom. Dinraal embodies flame, Naydra summons ice, and Farosh channels electricity. There are also mini-bosses called Gleeoks which resemble ferocious dragons as well. But the elusive Light Dragon is undeniably the star of TotK lore. Without giving too much away, this immortal deity of the sky is crucial to Link’s journey.

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8. Chroma Conclave – Critical Role

What’s more terrifying than a single dragon? A horde of dragons, of course. Critical Role is a high-flying fantasy adventure series. Among the series’ multiple campaigns, Vox Machina faces the Chroma Conclave — five chromatic dragons who usher in destruction wherever they land.

Fortunately, Vox Machina is more than capable of vanquishing these scaled foes. Still, it’s no easy feat. Chromatic dragons employ various lethal elements, and not just fire, to terrorize. Only a united front could ever hope to free Tal’Dorei from the Conclave’s reign.

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7. Alduin – Skyrim

Alduin the World Eater is the primary antagonist in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and is considered the harbinger of the apocalypse. As the last Dragonborn, or Dovakhiin, players are tasked with learning how to use Dragon Shouts of great power to protect the world from Alduin’s return.

From the early moments of the game, this devastating dragon makes his presence known, and you spend the main quest absorbing dragon souls in order to finally slay Alduin- who explodes upon death after declaring that he cannot truly be killed.

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6. Ridley – Metroid

This extraterrestrial dragon is known by many names in the Metroid franchise: Ridley, but also Geoform 187, and the Cunning God of Death.  Imbued with Space Pirate technology, this monstrous being is responsible for the death of Samus Aran’s parents.

Ridley is capable of quickly regenerating from even the most devastating of wounds by consuming biomatter to fuel his strength. He began in the series as a subordinate of Mother Brain, but eventually this fully sentient dragon beast became a cybernetic warrior and the leader of the Space Pirates.

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5. Bahamut – Final Fantasy

Bahamut the Dragon King is one of the most prominent summons in the Final Fantasy series that players can call into battle after besting him and earning his loyalty.

Several encounters in the early Final Fantasy games are scripted so that players cannot summon him or defeat him on the first meeting. He is one of the most powerful summons in the main storyline and appears consistently throughout the series in over 10 titles as a being of immense power, known for his Megaflare ability.

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4. Spyro – Spyro the Dragon

Sony’s purple dragon Spyro is the sassy protagonist of his own Playstation game series, accompanied by his magical dragonfly friend Sparx. He journeys across the Dragon Kingdom to rescue a number of dragons in order to defend their treasure from the clutches of the Gnasty Gnorc and other foes.

This lovable video game icon is courageous and a bit bratty, leading to a lot of situations of mischief that ultimately result in his saving the day from whatever nasty enemies try to attack the Dragon Kingdom. His main abilities include breathing fire and gliding with his small wings.

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3. Deathwing – World of Warcraft

Deathwing the Destroyer is a colossal molten black dragon and serves as one of the five Dragon Aspects in the immense World of Warcraft franchise. Once known as Neltharion, Deathwing was sent to watch over Azeroth until the old gods swayed his heart and caused him to turn from the aspect of Earth to the Aspect of Death.

He became the scourge of Azeroth and the most powerful servant of the Old Gods, plated in adamantine armor. He has taken human form in order to fight against the Alliance, and later allied with the Horde. He is a nightmarishly monstrous foe that plagues the adventurers of Azeroth in much of the World of Warcraft timeline. Though he was destroyed by the Dragon Soul artifact, it is said that fragments of his blood still live on in the land.

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2. Tiamat – Dungeons & Dragons

With her name taken from a mythological Mesopotamian goddess, Tiamat is a supremely strong dragon goddess in the legendary roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons. Arguably, she is one of the greatest enemies in D&D history, and is one of the most well-known dragons in the game.

Tiamat has five heads and is the queen Chromatic dragon, creator of all evil dragonkind. She first appeared in the Greyhawk supplementary rulebook written by Gary Gygax and Robert J. Kuntz, and this was arguably the most important supplement to the original D&D rules. Tiamat has been aligned both as lawful and chaotic evil, and sometimes manifests herself as a human sorceress to disguise her dragon form.

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1. Charizard – Pokémon

For our number one choice on this list, we had to go with the most coveted dragon of all. While many of the others on this list serve as evil bosses in their various games, no dragon is quite as big a status symbol as the über-cool Charizard from the Pokémon franchise. While Pikachu serves as the mascot for these popular pocket monster games, players and Pokémon Masters alike see Charizard as the most desirable, most popular evolved form of the original starters.

Despite being dragon-like, its typing in the game is actually Fire and Flying, only recently obtaining the temporary Dragon typing with the introduction of Mega Evolutions. Regardless of his classification, as many fans can attest, no Pokémon card is more universally sought after than the holographic Charizard card from the first edition Pokemon card set.

For the #1 spot on our list, Charizard, we choose you.

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So, was this list of dragons totally on fire? Or did we crash and burn? If we missed someone that you think should be on the list, don’t hold back — let us know!

Join the conversation with other dragon fans over at Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!