The Dark Queen was well received by critics upon her introduction, having been twice nominated by "Nintendo Power" for the Nintendo Power Awards in the category villain of the year for 1991 and 1993. Dark Queen was included on UGO's 2008 list of the top 50 evil women in all media, and on Geek World's list of the greatest villains of the 8-bit era. In 2011, "Complex" ranked her as tenth on the list of "most diabolical video game she-villains" while Universo Online ranked her ninth on the list of ten most beautiful and deadly game villainesses. Ryan Bates of Game Revolution placed her fourth on his 2014 list of top "mean girls in gaming", stating that "though the Dark Queen is often noted for her sex appeal, she was one of the first antagonists to set the bar for villainesses in video games," having "showcased she can be as cruel and calculating as the men."