Throwing the Controller: Eggplant Wizard

In Throwing the Controller, we look back at the most infuriating enemies, levels and screwovers in NES history.

Eggplant Wizard, one of the most notorious enemies from Kid Icarus, is also one of the few NES characters to have of honor of being prominently featured on the classic Captain N: The Game Master cartoon, where he teamed up with King Hippo as Mother Brain's most-trusted flunkies.

It's easy to see why Eggplant Wizard was chosen for the show, because he's the target of burning hatred of Kid Icarus players everywhere. His eggplant throwing attack is one of the most infuriating things that can happen to you on the NES and makes him one of the best reasons to throw your controller.

That's a classy cloak, though.

The Wizard shows up in the labyrinth areas of Kid Icarus, usually just before the boss room. He throws normal-sized eggplants (his children, maybe!?) around the room with the reckless abandon of a self-loathing vegetable. If one touches you -- and, because the trajectory of the vegetaprojectiles is random, so they're tough to dodge -- Kid Icarus turns into a eggplant with human legs and can't do anything other than jump until you go all the way back to the beginning of the labyrinth to visit the eggplant-removal surgeon. Seriously.

-Ross