Villains are standard in video games; they constitute an obstacle for the player at one point or the other. You measure the difficulty of a game by the number of villains you have to encounter or how tough they are to defeat.
Video game developers can be naughty, though, as they make some villains so tricky to find, and when you find them, it is an uphill task to beat them. Sometimes, a player has to survive multiple tiers of warfare to get to see certain villains—then the final battle begins. We are not basing our list on video game villains that are difficult to defeat in battle but rather on villains that are difficult to meet. You will need to travel to hell and back to book a fight with these villains:
10 Death Bringer—Golden Axe
Golden Axe is an old-school game that was released by Sega in 1989. At the time, video game developers ensured that the enemies moved faster than you and sometimes tried to swarm you. The Death Bringer is the most difficult villain to handle in Golden Axe. He sits on the throne with an army of two skeletons fighting alongside him. The skeletons disappear as soon as you are able to knock Death Bringer’s axe out of his hands.
It’s easier to imagine killing Death Bringer than actually doing the deed. Firstly, a player needs to use all their magic to weaken him—we mean weaken only, not kill. Also, the player must use jump attacks to land a blow on Death Bringer because that is the only practical way to avoid his army of skeletons. You need to jump and time your hits so that you land a blow on Death Bringer while simultaneously avoiding his minions. Once a player kills Death Bringer, they have reached the end of the game.[1]
9 Mundus—Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry is the first game in the Devil May Cry series. The protagonist is Dante, whose arch-enemy is Mundus. The storyline is that Mundus, a demon lord, murdered the mother of Dante, which put Dante on a revenge mission to eradicate all demons from existence. The plot of the game is straightforward: Dante gets to kill demon after demon until he reaches the Demon Lord, Mundus.
Mundus’s physical form is grotesque; he is a writhing mass of living tissue with three eyeballs and several hands. His personality is as bad as his appearance. He is depicted in the game as a sadist who has no compassion or empathy for his minions. Devil May Cry is no easy game. Only the most formidable players get to see Mundus as you must successfully battle from one demon to another.[2]
8 M. Bison—Street Fighter II
M. Bison is a video game villain in Street Fighter II, a game that was made in the era when video game supervillains were particularly difficult to beat. His attire consists of a red military uniform adorned with large silver shoulder plates topped off with a cap. M. Bison is one of the most difficult video game evil bosses to encounter. A player must get rid of all other opponents before booking a fight with him. The opponents in this game are not easy to fight either, yet you must kill them all before you get a chance to fight M.Bison.
In the game, M. Bison is the leader of the criminal organization named “Shadaloo.” He is capable of performing several stunts to defeat the player of the game. Some of his moves include the Psycho Crusher, Double Knee Press, Head Press, and Somersault Skull Diver.[3]
7 Ozma—Final Fantasy IX
Ozma is a villain in Final Fantasy IX. To be able to find this villain, a player needs to reach the Chocobo Air Garden. Unfortunately, getting to this level is a challenge because a player must get upgraded to the Gold Flying Status. This is your ticket to the Chocobo Air Garden, and it takes several hours of play before a player is qualified to meet Ozma.
Not only is it difficult to get to meet this supervillain, but it is also difficult to fight him. Ordinarily, he can resist all physical attacks without suffering harm. The only way to make him vulnerable to physical attacks is to complete the “Friendly Monsters” side quest. This is an ordeal on its own—and remember that the purpose of this side quest is to make Ozma vulnerable to physical attacks, not to kill it. Completing this side quest does not make the game easier in any way, though. We have no doubt in our minds that this supervillain deserves to be on this list.[4]
6 The Cow King—Diablo II Resurrected
The Cow King is a supervillain in the video game Diablo II. It exists in the secret cow level. A player needs to kill Baal on each of the levels to be able to access their respective cow levels. The Cow King is a legend because only the most skillful players can access him. After killing Baal, the player will combine a Tome of Town Portal with Wirt’s leg in the Horadic Cube while in the Rogue Encampment. This is how to unlock the secret portal where the Cow King resides.
Take note that it is so much work to get to book a fight with the Cow King. The secret cow zone contains an army of Hell Bovines that will try to swarm the player and kill him. You must have honed your skills and amassed a lot of weapons to be able to survive the secret cow level.[5]
5 Moon Presence—Bloodborne
Moon Presence is a video game supervillain that deserves to be on this list. Moon Presence is unique because he isn’t the most difficult villain in the Bloodborne game, but for a player to get to fight him, such a player must have been through hell. Aside from killing villains like Lady Maria, Ebrietas, and Gehrman, a player hoping to confront Moon Presence must have consumed three umbilical cord items found throughout Yharnam.
Do not be deceived; not all the umbilical cords come easy. You must fight your way to get to some of them. It is only after these umbilical cords have been consumed and Gehrman has been defeated that the Moon Presence descends into the arena for the final battle of the game.[6]
4 Akuma—Super Street Fighter II Turbo
Akuma, otherwise known as Gouki in Japan, is a video game supervillain only tough players get to face. In order to meet Akuma, the player can play any character but must defeat all the preliminary opponents without losing a single credit. This is how tough it is to meet this video game supervillain. Booking a fight with Akuma is achievable but nearly impossible. To meet Akuma is comparable to surmounting Mount Everest, and the villain is a toughie to fight even if a player manages to meet him in the first place.
Akuma has the ability to easily escape from corner traps or bad situations with teleport. He is an overwhelmingly strong character with high-damage combos and specials. Akuma is capable of throwing two Hadokens in mid-air, and his higher attack strength and priorities mean that players who will survive the fight against him must be on their toes throughout the encounter.[7]
3 Sigrun—God of War
Sigrun is a Valkyrie Queen and an optional video game villain in God of War. She is the leader of the nine Valkyries. Every Valkyrie in God of War is tough, but Sigrun makes the others look easy. Of course, we are not really surprised—that is why she is their queen, after all. To find Sigrun, a player must conquer the other eight Valkyries scattered in different locations within the game.
Once a player is done with the other eight, they proceed to the Council of Valkyries. This is a large open area filled with crumbling stone thrones. Once the player gets to the circle of seats, they need to take specific steps to summon Sigrun. The player places all the heads of the slain Valkyries on their respective seats. This conduct will make a black orb appear in the middle area, then the battle with Sigrun begins.
Sigrun is a quick and versatile villain who can quickly spell defeat for an inexperienced or ill-prepared player. Sigrun has the capacity to jump into the air with ease, which makes her quickly disappear from the view of the player. In order for a player to stand a chance to defeat her in battle, such a player must keep their eyes on Sigrun at all times.[8]
2 Nemesis—Returnal
Returnal is a PS5-exclusive game. There are several villains in the game, but the most difficult of them all is Nemesis. This supervillain can be found in the third Biome. Before a player can think about challenging Nemesis, they need to have defeated other supervillains in the first three biomes. The list of threats in this game is endless—at one point, a player will have completely autonomous guns shooting at them, and a player will also get to meet the Kerberon, an alien lizard, and the Lamiadon, a flying creature, among other villains.
When you are done with all of these in the Overgrown Ruins, you then proceed to the Crimson Waste. If you are successful here, you head to the Derelict Citadel. This is where Nemesis is located. Nemesis does not fight alone; he has accomplices that will make your job of killing it much more difficult. Nemesis is a tough video game villain to beat, but that is not why he is on this list. He is on this list because a player needs to fight gallantly to get to him.[9]
1 Yiazmat—Final Fantasy XII
Yiazmat is the final Elite Mark villain that a player will get to fight in the Final Fantasy XII game. There are 32 Marks and 12 other Elite Marks villains in the game. Each of these 32 Marks and 12 Elite Marks will be encountered in different locations and under different circumstances. A player must overcome them all before they will able to book a date with Yiazmat. Final Fantasy XII is one of the toughest video games ever made. Not only does it take you so much to come this far, Yiazmat itself is the most difficult of all the villains in the game.
We have no doubt that Yiazmat is the undisputed ruler of the video game villains that are the hardest to reach. In fact, only the best of the best players can book a date with it. Yiazmat has several devastating attack capabilities, and each of its moves has a five percent chance of causing instant death to the player it is confronting. It takes the average player two hours to be able to defeat this supervillain. At a point during the fight, the player confronting Yiazmat may need to hide to recoup their strength or even go to get more weapons to enable them to win the fight.[10]