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Video games have the unique ability to elevate a villain’s role through direct player interaction. Unlike films, where audiences passively observe heroes battling their adversaries, video games empower players to take action, allowing them to wield the sword or firearm and savor the triumph of defeating the antagonist themselves.
However, not every villain lives up to their reputation. Some rely heavily on striking appearances or inherent allure, rather than proving formidable in combat or executing effective schemes. Their allure might stem more from their visual design than their actual menace.
These villains may appear to be marquee-worthy, yet often fall short in practice. Their notoriety is largely fueled by exposure rather than genuine villainous deeds, earning them the label of overrated.
Some villains might be suitable for the marquee, but aren’t actually that cool in practice. This is how they earned the title of overrated: they’re all about the exposure, not the villainy.
Pokémon’s Team Rocket Can’t Compare To The Best Villains In The Franchise
Image Via The Pokemon Company
Team Rocket has been coasting on the fact that they’re the first ever villain team in the Pokémon franchise and that people loved Jessie, James, and Meowth in the anime. The latter villain teams, like Team Aqua, Magma, and Plasma, were far more interesting, but don’t get nearly as much attention from the franchise.
They were originally stylized as a criminal organization with ambitions for taking on the world, but outside of killing a Marowak and cutting off a bunch of Slowpoke tails, they never accomplished much. Team Rocket even spent the entirety of the second generation trying to call their old leader out of retirement, after he was beaten by a child. Of course, Team Rocket is trapped in a kids’ series and can only do so much without affecting age ratings.
Final Fantasy XIV’s Zenos yae Galvus Deserved Better
Zenos’ existence feels like the developers of Final Fantasy XIV panicked one day and realized that they needed a big Garlean villain for the player to punch. Rather than turning him into the overarching foe that the series needed, he kept getting sidelined in future games, becoming more of a pest by Endwalker.
His design also feels derivative, like the team wanted their own version of Sephiroth, but just copied Tetsuya Nomura’s homework. He also feels over-designed, even for a Final Fantasy game (which is saying something), being more akin to an ’80s anime villain than an actual person.
The fact that Zenos acts as the player’s mount during the battle with the actual foe in Endwalker cements his status as a jobber. He deserved far better treatment than he received, and should have been the true opponent throughout the rest of the series, rather than that role being given to a goth teenage girl who was introduced right at the end of a 200+ hour story.
Tekken 3’s True Ogre Is A Lackluster Final Boss
Image via Namco
Fighting game end bosses have a reputation as among the most difficult challenges in video game history, especially those from the arcade. SNK is notorious for throwing some of the most unfair, cheating scumbag foes at the player. And then there’s True Ogre from Tekken 3, who is inhibited by his massive body size, making it extremely easy to stunlock him with combos. This is surprising, considering this is a creature dubbed “The God of Fighting” in the game’s lore.
Luckily, True Ogre’s weakness doesn’t detract from the game, as Tekken 3 is far better as a multiplayer experience. Just don’t play as True Ogre when facing another person, as this mythical being is going to be turned into mulch if they face off against Eddy Gordo’s kicks.
Prince Sebastion LaCroix Is An Overrated Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines Villain
Image Via White Wolf
Prince LaCroix might be the self-styled vampire ruler of Los Angeles, but his domain is in shambles, with factions vying to boot him off his throne and take the city for themselves. LaCroix might be able to boss the player around for most of the game, but all his plans fail around him, with the player easily able to find allies who will put the upstart down.
It’s telling that LaCroix dies in most of the endings, with the one where he lives implying that he’s going to be meeting a very sticky ending soon. Ultimately, people love LaCroix for one reason: his voice. Andy Midler did a sublime job bringing this slimy, sniveling upstart vampire to life. It’s almost sad to watch him go at the end, as that’s the point where players won’t be able to hear his silky voice anymore.
The Joker Goes Down The Wrong Path In Batman: Arkham Asylum
Mark Hamill absolutely kills it as the Joker throughout the entire Arkham series. He brings the same signature, sinister charisma from the animated series into the video games, with a foe impossible to look away from.
It’s just a shame Joker succumbs to Arkham Asylum’s biggest issue, as the boss fights are mediocre at best and boring at worst. That’s why Joker undergoing a Bane-like transformation that makes his boss fight feel like everything that’s come before so frustrating. It’s an extremely disappointing ending to what’s one of the best Batman games ever made.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Orin the Red Gets Too Much Credit
Image Via Larian Studios
There’s no denying that Orin the Red is oozing with style. Just because she’s a Chosen of the God of Murder doesn’t mean she has to be boring while she’s skinning people alive. As one of the three main villains among the humanoid cast of Baldur’s Gate 3, Orin is presented as one of the greatest challenges of the game, especially for the Dark Urge, as she had previously supplanted their position.
Unfortunately, Orin’s shapeshifting plot, which involves kidnapping a party member, is really undercooked and easy to complete. She’s also really easy to defeat in combat outside of the harder difficulties, as it’s easy to reach the level cap and be decked out with high-level gear by the time players meet her.
Ridley Doesn’t Live Up to The Hype In The Metroid Franchise
Nintendo has a killer’s row of iconic villains that fans associate with the medium itself, such as Bowser and Ganondorf. And then there’s Ridley, the face of villainy in the Metroid series. Ridley is this overbearing presence in the Metroid franchise, to the point that he was chosen as the villain representative in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, following years of fan requests.
The only issue is that Ridley is a really boring villain, with little personality or character. He’s just a big dragon who shows up for boss fights and then flies off. Ridley is somehow one of the most prominent figures in one of Nintendo’s acclaimed first-party franchises, despite being little more than a generic boss monster.
Genesis Rhapsodos Doesn’t Deserve His Fanbase In Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Sephiroth might be the face of evil in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, but he wasn’t the only villain around. In Crisis Core, that title went to Genesis Rhapsodos, another member of SOLDIER who was incredibly powerful and obsessed with unfinished play, who was also based on a famous Japanese musician.
Genesis has a rabid fanbase who still love him and are eager to see his return in the Final Fantasy VII Remake continuity. This is despite how he was crowbarred into the story of the original story and didn’t have much of an impact, with Dirge of Cerberus ending with his return, with a plot hook that will never be resolved. Despite his popularity, Genesis never amounts to much in the story, as most of his deeds are retroactively linked to events that have already occurred.
Mass Effect Sidelined Harbinger
Image Via BioWare
The Mass Effect trilogy lacked a central villain. Sure, there were evil factions, with the Reapers being the main ones faced throughout the game, but they lacked a face for Shepard to shoot. Mass Effect 2 tried to give the Reapers a focal point, with Harbringer being the leader of the Collectors, and eventually taking part in the invasion of the galaxy. Harbringer is presented as a direct foe for Shepard, one that they would eventually have to destroy.
In the end, despite its popularity, Harbringer was sidelined in Mass Effect 3, shooting Shepard at the end of the game, before flying off. While he’s presumably destroyed or controlled, depending on the ending, the player is robbed of that awesome final battle they were expecting. It’s one of many reasons Mass Effect 3‘s ending is notoriously disappointing.
Darth Nihilus Isn’t As Cool As He Looks In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2
Darth Nihilus is initially set up as the Sith version of Galactus from Marvel Comics, someone whose mastery of the Force was so absolute that they could destroy planets, turning him into easily the most powerful Dark Jedi in history. In theory, Darth Nihilus is the Death Star in humanoid form, someone with power so great that the Empire had to spend unthinkable resources just to mimic what he could do naturally
Knights of the Old Republic 2 is one of the greatest Star Wars games of all time, but there are major problems with Darth Nihilus. He talks in intelligible grunts and moans, so other characters need to act as his emissaries, and on top of that, he’s really easy in battle. It seems that blowing up planets is easier than fighting a handful of rebels, as the actual end boss of the game puts up far more of a fight.
