6 Terrible Video Game Ghosts That Should Have Stayed Dead

Boos – Super Mario Brothers Series

Ghosts are one of those staple enemies, spirits that pop up in horror-related video games and usually end up stalking the player until they die. However, some ghosts apparently missed the memo. Whether they’re easy to kill or not threatening in the least, here are 6 video game ghosts that should just be ashamed of themselves.

Boos are perhaps some of the most famous ghosts in gaming thanks to their cute demeanor and near invincibility from Mario’s attacks. There is virtually nothing that can stop them, and if they touch Mario at all, he will most certainly die. Yet, somehow, they are too damn scared to even chase after Mario if he is looking at them. Come on Boos, it’s not like holding your hands over your face somehow makes Mario incapable of seeing you. Sure they can eventually go invisible, but there is no excuse for them to not just swarm our favorite plumber regardless of where he’s looking. You’re already dead Boos, what do you actually have to fear?

Shedinja – Pokemon Series

When it comes to ghost Pokemon there are a lot of cool options to pick from; they have some of the most interesting designs and can put in some serious work if leveled properly. The same cannot be said for the travesty of a ghost Pokemon that is Shedinja, essentially just the shedding of Nincada come to life. That’s right, this Pokemon is literally just a throwaway scrap if you so happen to have the space in your team when your Nincada evolves.

This wouldn’t be much of a problem if the Pokemon could actually do something in battle and didn’t just serve as a glorified punching bag. Even though he can learn the powerful move Phantom Force, you are forced to endure 47 levels of hell until he can actually use this ability. Sorry, Shedinja we are going to stick with Gengar for now, but we appreciate the effort.

The Sorrow – Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The Sorrow is a truly fascinating boss fight, despite the fact that all of the ghosts are basically harmless in the end. Acting as Cobra Unit’s “Spirit Medium Soldier,” this apparition appears before Snake and forces him to trek down a seemingly endless river. During this time, a number of ghosts (dictated by how many soldiers you’ve killed) will appear and haunt either side of the river’s banks, causing massive damage if touched.

However, all you have to do is basically just walk to the end of the river, find his corpse, and “die” for this battle to be over. Alternatively, you can just drown Snake and the fight will be over just like that. While the idea of this encounter is to make you stop and consider your actions, it really just ends up being a boring walk while you dodge the slowest ghosts ever. We expected better from you, Cobra Unit.

Ghosts – Dark Souls

For a game known for some of the hardest enemies and bosses in the entire medium, it’s laughable how much of a pushover these guys are. Found in the New Londo Ruins, these ghosts float around and attack with duel-wielding scythes if the player gets too close. Even though there are two variants of these monsters, they can be easily killed with one attack if you go into this section at the proper level.

Yes, we know that you have to be cursed or used a cursed weapon to damage them, but that doesn’t make them any less of a joke. This is Dark Souls, and these guys are a breeze. Plus, they are quite slow, so even if you aren’t under any Curse effects you can just run by them without any trouble. Perhaps there is a reason we haven’t seen them since.

Poes – The Legend of Zelda Series

Poes are probably one of the coolest looking enemies in the entire Legend of Zelda series, so it’s a shame that they are completely easy to kill. Only found at night and in most cases when you’re an adult, Poes really only attack by flailing wildly and throwing slow moving fireballs at you. Sometimes you have to chase them on horseback, which brings up the question as to why these things don’t just fade into the ground when pursued.

In fact, if they have the ability to just disappear at any time, why do they bother sticking around to fight you at all? Not to mention, these ghosts are so weak that you can trap them in regular glass bottles as if they were bugs, which is just embarrassing. We know you’re already dead, but show some spine once and awhile.

Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde – Pac-Man

Yes, I understand that these ghosts are basically the single most recognizable ghosts in all of gaming, but they are so bad at their jobs. First off, somehow these ghosts are constrained by walls which doesn’t make any sense to begin with. Also, who haunts an area that has their only weakness conveniently placed about the corners of the room? These four are asking to be eaten. And it doesn’t help that when they actually die, they don’t leave. They instead stick around thinking that we aren’t going to just go grab another power-up to eat them all over again.