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Consider this: Mario, that plucky plumber, is only able to go out on all those adventures into the Koopa Kingdom and the skies above because his direct superior, the building super in Brooklyn, covers for him. So why is it fair that while Mario -- and his brother, to a lesser extent -- have been living large in the limelight for decades, we've never even heard a single word about the guy who hired Mario in the first place?
It isn't. Not at all. That's why we decided to celebrate gaming's thankless blue-collar wage slaves, the landlords.
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20. Glasses-Wearing Lady (Jones in the Fast Lane)
OK, we know landlords aren't the most exciting things in video games, but this sassy lady with extremely dated glasses was one of the high points of this computerized board game simulating the workaday/bills-paying adult existence. With feisty one-liners like, "Don't forget to tell your friends about m- I mean us," this woman who was never given a name was actually one of the better-written characters in the game. Maybe if you get a job as a groundskeeper or an apartment manager, you can put in a work order to become her friend.
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19. Ingo (The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap)
Ingo is why landlords get a bad name and also a great example of the Peter Principle. In Ocarina Of Time, when Link is young, he proves himself as a master farmhand, but when Ganon promotes Ingo to head up Lon Lon Ranch, the power and his egotistical managerial style go to his head. When he resurfaces in The Minish Cap, he's a surly and money-grubbing landlord. But given his can-do attitude ("I always have to do all the work around here!") it's no surprise he's moved up the ladder so quickly in the real estate game.
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18. Carl Stucky (Alan Wake)
Stucky is smart and diversified by owning both premium cabins and the local gas station. He also has a no-nonsense attitude about his job as a landlord, often spouting off his advice on business ethics, but (spoiler alert) it's also his love of the almighty dollar that turns him evil in his dealings with Alan Wake. It's unfortunate that Alan Wake wasn't a greater success than it was -- after all, it did let gamers live out their fantasy of killing their landlord.
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17. Margaret Patrice (Last Window: The Secret of Cape West)
Margaret Patrice, or "Mags," as she's known in this Europe-and-Japan-only sequel to Hotel Dusk, is the sort of landlady we'd all be so lucky to have. She's cold, sticks to herself, and best of all doesn't go around broadcasting her personal life. In Last Window, she manages the sizable Cape West apartment building, and when the game starts, she's actually in the process of shutting the place down. So, sadly, she must part ways with her tenants -- but considering someone was murdered in her building 20 years ago, it'll be a nice change of pace for everyone to live somewhere new without wondering whether every time they check their mail might be their last.
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16. Landlord (Breath of Fire II)
Even fantasylands and fantasy heroes need landlords. Ryu Bateson, an orphan since childhood due to dragon attacks, much later in life lives in a building managed by a nameless landlord. The reason his name is never revealed is likely because he's a total pushover -- refusing to bother people by dropping his name, and preferring instead to be referred to as his chosen profession. Upon Ryu's comings and goings, the Landlord gently reminds him, "Oh, Ryu... Have a good day at work! And... please pay your rent!" or "You must do your best!" Just goes to show that beating down the door and yelling at your tenants isn't the most effective way of getting your gold pieces.
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