If you’re trying to craft a compelling story, usually the character development of a formidable villain is just as important as that of the protagonist, and that is equally true within the medium of video games.
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It’s amazing just how many unremarkable games have been brought to prominence with the introduction of a standout villain, but equally, the inverse is very possible.
An underwhelming villain can bring down a great game, and to prove that, here are some examples of when a laughable villain stunk up the joint.
10Final Fantasy 16
Ultima Underwhelmed
Final Fantasy 16
Final Fantasy 16is a wild ride. It’s got some thrilling combat, an interesting story, and some of the best characters in the series.
The biggest issue with the game is without a doubt, the villain.
The look is there, the ominous voice is there, but the presence sadly is not. We barely see this guy. He’s lurking in the background for most of the game and while his presence is a threat, we only directly interact with him or see his deeds play out a couple of times.
Of course, he comes back later in the game to enact a terrifying plan that does end up happening, but the reveal of his goals makes him all the less appealing as a villain, and he ultimately becomes yet another “time to fight god” moment in a JRPG.
I don’t think JRPG developers can help themselves at this point. They want us to fight god, and we’re going to do it and we’re going to like it. Oh, well.
9Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
No Darth Vader Here
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Star Wars Jedi: Survivoris a great second entry in thesoon to be trilogythat explores a much darker side of the Jedi Order and with it comes the best combat a Star Wars game has seen to this point.
All good Star Wars stories need a great villain, but Jedi Survivor misses the mark here. Dagan Gera has a great setup too, which makes it all the more disappointing.
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Cal revives him, seemingly gaining a powerful ally in the process, but instead revives a vengeful former Jedi who is angry at everyone.
Dagan Gera is that Jedi and we find out that his discovery of the sacred planet of Tanalor that is bursting with the force, is ignored by his order and not only that, but he is forced away from it.
This leads to his ultimate betrayal, and he’s now taking it out on every Jedi he can find. It’s unique as far as motivations go, but not all that interesting.
Cal has no real reason to fight with him other than his pursuit of Tanalor and their battles lack the great, emotional weight that Star Wars villains have always had.
8The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Alduin Isn’t Enough
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
It’s difficult to find problemswith one of the greatest games of all time, but despite the unending success of Bethesda’s mega hit,Skyrimhas one glaring issue that can never be fixed.
The problem is that Alduin, the main villain, is nothing more than another dragon. In a game where you are fighting dragons a decent amount of the time, making the villain a dragon needs to have far more to it.
As a presence, he’s intimidating, but he never really strikes fear into you the way he’s meant to.
In his first appearance, he destroys a small town, but nothing too world ending there.
It’s probably due to the fact you may never really communicate with him, you rarely see him after the first scene of the game and that his plan is just to kill everything.
Even at this point in time, the gaming world was past the “kill everything " villain. We were already getting more depth than that, and even Bethesda knew this, asOblivionhad a much more layered threat to deal with.
7Chrono Cross
The Cat Man
Chrono Cross
Chrono Crossis anamazing gameand my favorite in the short-lived Chrono series. The art style is unmatched, the combat is fantastic, and the story is one of the best in JRPG history.
Holding it down, however, is the lack of any meaningful villain. Lynx takes center stage in that role, and he’s fighting an uphill battle from the start.
As you may see from the picture, Lynx is a cat person. Not a scary cat person either, just a big cat. With a hat. He’s a cat in a hat.
Sure, there is the whole body swap move that he pulls off with Serge and the “I killed your girl” moment that Square Enix and other JRPGs were really into in the 90s, but other than that?
Not a lot stands out and, again, he’s a cat person in a relatively serious story.
He luckily gives way to a much more interesting threat in the latter half of the game, but he will be your main villain for most of the game, and that’s something that can’t be fixed.
6Mass Effect 2
Collectors Don’t Hold a Candle to the Reapers
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2is known as thebest game in the seriesand while that is certainly up for debate, one area where it manages to fall short is with its villains.
Each of the individual characters you go to recruit has their own mini-villains to deal with, but the overarching threat is The Collectors.
They are a mysterious race of bug-like aliens that are kidnapping everyone they can find and nobody knows why, and it’s up to a resurrected Shepard and crew to stop them.
This is a case of over saturation when it comes to using your villains. You fight these guys so much that, eventually, the thrill wears off, and it feels like a chore to take down yet another group of them with yet another Harbinger takeover midway through the battle.
The Collectors are just kind of there, and that’s because they are just re-purposed Protheans with no individual thought, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are boring as far as villains go.
5Cyberpunk 2077
V Needed a Foil
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077in its present state is one of themost unique experiences out there. It’s a fascinating look into a not so far away future and the way the world comes to life before your eyes is something most games can only dream of doing.
The villain of the game, for all intents and purposes, is Yorinobu Arasaka, the son of Saburo Arasaka, CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world.
Fairly early on in the game, we see Yorinobu kill his father in secret and immediately, he’s propped up as the main villain.
Then, we barely ever see him again. The main villain is far from your grasp and basically remains that way.
It’s a shame because there are many villainous presences throughout the game, that are fair far better, mostly because we get to see some of their actions.
Everything Yorinobu does is behind the scenes, only guesses without proof, whereas a villain like Adam Smasher definitely deserved more time as his presence was terrifying and his lore was built up well.
The Weakest Villain of All Time
Fable IIis a fantastic, whimsical experience that you don’t really see these days. It’s one of the first games to offer you the freedom to play how you want and form your character how you want.
The biggest problem with the game, though, is Lucien. While his ambitions are basic enough, world domination and all that jazz, the main issue with him is how much of a non-threat he seems throughout the game.
Maybe they were going for something like a James Bond villain, who isn’t physically imposing, but their insanity makes you fear them.
Whatever the method, it doesn’t work here, and it’s all exemplified in perhaps the worst final boss in gaming history.
The fight consists of Lucien talking about evil things he’ll do and you being forced to use a music box item, which kills Lucien instantly.
It’s a baffling choice, and the buildup to fighting Lucien is let down in an instant when this incredibly out-of-left-field event occurs.
3Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords
The Real Villain is Much Better
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lordsis an epic game filled with everything a Star Wars fan could want, from great characters to exciting combat and amazing worlds.
The Sith Lord in question here is Darth Nihilus, who checks most of the boxes: an intimidating look, committed atrocities, and shrouded in mystery. It’s all there for an iconic villain.
But then, it’s like Bioware forgot to do anything else with him. He’s there for a great final fight, but that’s all we get. We learn almost nothing about him, we don’t get to talk to him, and his big build-up is short-lived as he exits the main stage shortly after.
Darth Nihilus was nothing more than a red herring, though an incredibly powerful and intriguing one with none of the fleshed-out backstory needed to complete a great villain.
2Dragon Age: Inquisition
Should Have Died With Dragon Age 2
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Inquisitionis a sprawling game by any measure. Thejourney from a lowly prisoner to a leader of the Inquisition and flag bearer against the oncoming apocalypse isoneI recommend any RPG fan take.
The major letdown with the game is its villain, Corypheus. He was semi-involved in the previous game, but in the third installment, he takes center stage and immediately stumbles on it.
Seriously, Corypheus is supposed to be an absolute terror in this game, and yet he comes across as an old man who is a bit miffed, and he has to wait in a long line at the DMV.
The power he wields doesn’t come across too clearly either, as his big first appearance at Haven is less threatening and more hilarious as he shambles through the snow in what appears to be otherwordly high heels.
In short, with a villain this bad, maybe less is more.
1Batman: Arkham Knight
I Know Who You Are
Batman: Arkham Knight
Batman: Arkham Knightis a bit polarizing due to the overuse of the Batmobile, but if you’re able to get past that, it’s easily thebest game in the seriescombat-wise, graphics-wise, and overall quality-wise.
The main villain is named Arkham Knight, and right from the get-go, if you’ve ever read a Batman comic or know the Gotham universe in general, you know exactly who it is.
It’s unfortunate because the initial reveal of Arkham Knight is great, but they bash you over the head with who it is so incessantly that it’s an insult to think Batman, the master detective, doesn’t figure it out sooner.
Other problems arise with the villain, such as we never get to fight him in hand-to-hand combat.
Instead, we’re treated to fighting him with some ridiculous machinery that doesn’t even come close to making sense based on whom the villain is and a fight while he shoots at you with a sniper rifle.
It’s just such a let-down because everything else going on in the game is great, but Arkham Knight just isn’t close to the quality we expect from Batman, and considering his impressive rogues' gallery, there was no need to go with him as the bad guy to round off this legendary trilogy.
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