The word hero implies a person who is overpowered in some way, to begin with, so their adventures are likely to leave a path of wanton destruction. As long as they rescue the princess or save the land from a godlike tyrant, they can blow up or smash as much as they want, and the player will have fun helping them do it.
Nintendo has created several heroes in the course of improving and expanding its game library, and many of them have been hilariously or ironically destructive. This is a situation where the player has to take some responsibility for the character's actions since none of it could happen without their help. Good thing this is only a game and nobody has to clean up this pixelated mess.
8 Donkey Kong
He started out as one of the most notorious and intimidating villains in Nintendo history, but now that everyone's favorite giant ape is a good guy, he hasn't lost any of his destructive power. Since being introduced as the main antagonist in 1981's Donkey Kong a whole franchise has grown from his ability to punch, smash, or destroy anything or anyone that gets in his way.
Mario and Kong were mortal enemies at one point, with Mario long understood to be the construction worker trying to scale the metal scaffolding to reach the female figure who might be Princess peach. However, the only crossover material they appear in together these days is fighting games.
7 Pikachu
No wonder this perky little Pokemon doesn't feel the need to evolve. His powers of destruction are impressive just the way they are. Unlike some other characters on this list, Pikachu has a whole character arc in an anime series that exists outside of video games, and how he deals with his powers is a central part of the storyline.
The design of the character was one of the first for the Electric-type of Pokemon, and he might have intended to be overpowered as a challenge for Ash as a new trainer. That determined young man earned his training experience, taking as many shocks as Pikachu's legions of defeated opponents.
6 Link
Link has saved the world of Hyrule yet again, but did he really have to indulge in so much random property destruction? If you had a house in Kakiriko Village it would be difficult to appreciate Link's heroism past the ruins of every single piece of pottery in your house, never mind how the garden looks.
This isn't entirely Link's fault, since the townsfolk must share the blame for hiding essential gems, potions, and other essential items in their kitchens. Want Hyrule saved? Deal with the destruction.
5 Mario & Luigi
These two deserve to be in the same entry since each one enables the wanton destruction of the other, and that's how their relationship has been since they first appeared as the heroes in Donkey Kong. Mario and Luigi are two of Nintendo's most beloved heroes, so much so that many consider Mario to be the face of the whole company and one of gaming's most recognizable icons.
Why so much love? Well, it could be proportionate to the sheer level of wreckage these brothers leave in their wake. Nothing is safe from them, and their variety of destructive powers includes fire, swinging tails, bombs, and stomping.
4 Fox McCloud
Combine this anthropomorphic fox with a mighty Arwing fighter, and the result is a destructive force that leaves a veritable trench across the galaxy. He's one of the best pilots in the universe thanks to the battles he's won and the enemy fighters he's destroyed.
Fox was also famous for refusing to fight for profit. He preferred to liquidate the proceeds of his victories for the benefit of those fighting tyranny, and destroyed not only his enemies but also their personal fortunes.
3 Kirby
What makes Kirby's powers so impressive is how shocking and grotesque they are. This character doesn't shoot enemies, stomp them, or blow them up. He eats them and spits them out, like one of those monsters from Attack On Titan except that he's adorable.
It's not just Kirby, but the whole tone and setting of this game that make the visceral destruction easier to take. If Kirby has to resort to destroying half of Planet Popstar in order to save it then that's what's going to happen.
2 Mega Man
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Mega Man actually started as a fairly benign robot that was designed to be helpful in a laboratory but after a wanton attack that leaves said lab in ruins, he was built into a weapon of war. Being destructive is part of his job, and he can actually absorb the destructive powers of others like some sort of adaptable Borg power.
Every time Mega Man defeats a Robot Master, he gains that Robot Master's special weapon. The more the player progresses, the more destructive he becomes.
1 Samus Aran
Don't think Samus is destructive? Ask the Metroids. Samus has been around since 1981, just as long as the original Metroid game, and it's hard to imagine the carnage and destruction she's been responsible for in those decades.
These days, she has a whole franchise to rampage over, to the joy of her fans, and since it's all bad guys and their stuff, there's not as much guilt involved. It's not like we're breaking into a stranger's house and smashing their kitchen crockery.