The Antagonist

The Antagonist is an anomalous entity discovered in a unique copy of Super Mario Bros. for the NES. It's purpose, what it is, or who made it are unknown, though that doesn't seem important to it. It takes up the form of an abstraction of King Koopa, with a far more formal and corporate appearance to him.

Biography
The Antagonist is an interesting case when it comes to anomalous entities. It doesn't seem act malicious toward a player of it's game in the slightest. It is instead content making sure the player has the most enjoyable experience possible while playing the game.

It does this using its innate abilities to modify levels to its whim, placing about whatever it desires to make the challenge for the player. It takes this to the extreme, however, wanting the player to continuously keep playing the game, even to the point where it would be physically degrading or even impossible to do so.

It purely wishes to give infinite, unadulterated fun to the player.

Behaviour/Mannerisms
Antagonist presents itself being very formal. It speaks fluently in near every modern human language, seeming to have a different voice for each of its many linguistics, and always with formal tone. It speaks to please the player, frequently apologising if a player fails a level for example.

It will always coerce the player into playing the game, even at its own deprecation. It always keeps a smile, despite its mood.

If a player were to purposely lose, turn the game on and off or generally avoid playing the game while Antag is able to perceive it, he will become irritable. During this, his personality will slip to be more in line with Bowser, his design's clear inspiration. If pushed hard enough, this can lead to softlocking of the game.

Abilities
Code Manipulation | Due to being interwoven completely into his game, Antag IS the game he's within. This gives him control over everything from spawning and placing assets to colors to the very rules of the game he's within. This includes crashes. Hardware limitations still apply.

Reality Awareness | Antagonist is both aware of the player and actively speaks to them through Mario throughout a playthrough. He will only directly refer to the player if the playing situation is frustrating him.

Weaknesses
Antagonist's one and only weakness is the fact that he has no control over anything outside of his play space. He cannot modify or access physical hardware or leave the game in any way shape or form. This basically means if the player turns off the game, he's off with it. If the game cartridge is broken, unless it's repaired, he's gone forever (as far as we know.)

Trivia

 * While Antagonist has only been found in one Mario game, it gives references to games as recent as Super Mario Odyssey through dialogue interactions with the player.
 * While its distinct, formal personality very much contrasts Bowser's, it can occasionally adopt his mannerisms, particularly when angry.
 * The Antagonist's physical body is all made of a hard, bone like material.
 * He has no eyes, despite being able to see everything.
 * It notably has a fear of lava, and rarely uses it in levels and worlds it creates.