cited the Eggplant Wizard as emblematic of series' wacky design and stated that fans would be excited to see him appear in Kid Icarus: Uprising. Hardcore Gaming 101's Kurt Kalata called the Eggplant Wizard the most challenging part of the NES game. UGO Networks's Chris Plante included "being turned into an eggplant" in his list of the 20 most memorable NES moments. GamesRadar included the Eggplant Wizard in their list of the "top seven edible enemies in gaming". They stated that he was "one of the strangest, most talked-about weirdos in all of gaming" and questioned why he is in a game about Greek mythology. GamesRadar also claimed that the character was "clearly-designed-by-a-madman old bastard of the NES baddo fraternity" and that his "oddness belied a far more insidious property". Eggplant Wizard has been suggested as a playable character or item in the Super Smash Bros. series by Game Informer, Nintendo World Report, and IGN. Chris Morgan for Yardbarker described Eggplant Wizard as one of "the most memorable characters from old school Nintendo games". The Eggplant Wizard has been viewed as synonymous with the Kid Icarus brand even outside the gaming community. For example, to celebrate the release of Kid Icarus: Uprising, ABC News's Lauren Torrisi featured several eggplant recipes. A GameStop promotion for Kid Icarus: Uprising gave away a selection of augmented reality 3DS cards, one of which features Eggplant Wizard. A Wii tribute album made by the band Uncle Monsterface features a song titled "Bring Back the Eggplant Wizard (song for Gunpei Yokoi)". References Eggplants Fictional wizards Kid Icarus characters Nintendo antagonists Fruit and vegetable characters Video game characters introduced in 1986 Video game characters who use magic