Video Game Bad Guys Better Than the Hero

Video Game Villains Better Than The Hero

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Top 10 Video Game Villains You Liked More Than the Hero

If you didn’t feel like a saviour, don’t forget; There was always someone better than you. Welcome to Watchmojo! And today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Video Game Villains Better Than the Hero. Let’s be clear, it’s not that the hero is trash or unlikable or anything of the sort… It’s just that the villain is so interesting, so entertaining or so badass that we just couldn’t come to hate them despite actively aiming to thwart their efforts.

“Command & Conquer: Tiberium Sun” McNeil is the closest thing you can get to a hero in this legendary RTS franchise, but despite being brought to life by the legendary actor Michael Biehn, both him and James Earl Jones are upstaged by Joseph D. Kucan’s portrayal of Kane. He may have been introduced within the franchise’s inception, but the 2nd game in the Tiberium saga really established Kane as a force to be reckoned with. A self appointed messiah with a crazy god complex who somehow doesn’t seem to age, the mystery and charisma solidifies him as one of gaming’s greatest advisories … unless you choose to follow him.

#9: The Joker

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“Batman: Arkham Series” (2009-15) Whenever it comes to the Batman fandom, it’s almost common knowledge that charismatic and psychotic Joker will always chew all the limelight away from the reserved and brooding Batman. The Arkham series is no exception, as throughout the trilogy, Joker will constantly find ways to mock Bats while putting on the performance of a lifetime. Even his shocking death in “Arkham City” doesn’t put an end to his shenanigans, as a serious of hallucinations in “Arkham Knight” will always remind the player of who the real star of the show is.

#8: Mr. X

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The Most Evil Hero In Video Game History

“Resident Evil 2” Remake (2019) Despite being a remake of a PS1 title, and having the leads far more fleshed out with professional writing, it was the T-103 Tyrant (better known as Mr. X) that came in and stole the show. While he never says a word throughout the game, it’s his enormous physique, thunderous footsteps, and unstoppable thirst to slam our heroes into the ground, which made him the stuff of nightmares. If you thought that the Resident Evil 2 remake would be a simply retelling for a modern audience, this guy certainly put you in your place.

“The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” (2011) Let’s get this right out of the way: Ghirahim – Oh, Sorry! LORD Ghirahim – is not lacking for confidence. And, to be honest, nor should he, as this suave demon lord is the definition of cool. He’s well groomed, incredibly stylish, and is so calm and collected you’d swear he was barely breathing! Though growing frustrated with Link’s efforts, Ghirahim barely shows it in his early form, calmly walking ever-closer to a Link’s blade, easily dodging his attacks, and even grabbing Link’s sword with his bare hand… Now that’s badass! Heck, even in his final phase – despite turning out to be a maniacal sociopath – he still maintains his cool, calm demeanor while in battle. While we love Link as the hero, Ghirahim was just such a breath of fresh air as opposed to battling Ganon again and again; and, he proved to be the perfect contrast to the humble underdog Link.

“Portal” (2007) Standing for “Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System,” GlaDOS is really the heart of the “Portal” games. While we play as Chell, she’s a silent protagonist and essentially just a vehicle by which we (the player) attempt to escape the Aperture Science ‘s Enrichment Center. While not much is known about Chell, luckily we don’t really need to know much (if anything) about her due to the highly entertaining (and informative) performance from the world’s foremost wisecracking, villainous A.I. program, GlaDOS. Despite trying to kill you, GlaDOS gives form to the hero Chell through her side splitting commentary on the game’s events, and you eventually develop a fondness for that monotone female voice that’s constantly making fun of you. It’s a rare feat that we come to… dare we say love… a video game baddie that’s actively trying to kill us.

“Borderlands 2” (2012) While the Borderlands series always offers lots of choice for the character class we play the game as – from sirens, assassins, gunzerkers, etc. – these protagonists are largely silent and develop through their interaction with other larger-than life characters in the environment. And, there’s very few larger-than-life characters in video games (period) that play the villain we love to loath as much as Handsome Jack himself. He’s arrogant, snarky, threatening (and above all deadly!) and yet… well… he’s just too entertaining for us to want him to go away! Did we mention he’s also the dictatorial leader of the mega-cooperation Hyperion out to pillage Pandora of all its resources too? Yeah… He’s literally everything we hate in real life – authoritarian, corrupt, evil -- and yet in games his mocking, sinister tone is more like music to our ears.

“Devil May Cry 3” (2005) Bear with us… We love Dante and truly enjoyed jumping back into the “DMC” franchise as the stylish demon hunter in the fifth title. But, there’s just something so intriguing about Vergil… Perhaps it’s the fact that he turned toward his demon nature after his mother died while Dante chose to follow his humanity? That surely plays a part, but so too does his reserved, cold nature that’s in stark contrast to the over-the-top Dante. There’s only so much flash, and so many one-liners, we can handle before we truly desire a villain who acts first and talks later – regardless of the consequences. Also, Vergil’s backstory is seriously tragic as well – what with being under Mundus’ control and suffering unimaginable torture – so we’re not ashamed to admit that we have a big ole soft spot for Vergil that just can’t be wiped out no matter how fun Dante is.

#3: Sephiroth

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Sephiroth's Villain Origins | Final Fantasy VII

“Final Fantasy VII” (1997) “Final Fantasy VII” was a landmark game in terms of storytelling and there’s no doubt that Sephiroth’s tragic origin story played a huge part in making the game’s overall narrative so enthralling. In the 90s, villains tended to be one-dimensional and played up stereotypically evil tropes to get the hero of the story over as much as possible. But, Sephiroth turned that idea on its head, what with his incredibly sympathetic backstory of going from a famed war hero, to discovering he was the subject of inhuman biological experiments, to becoming the world’s most evil super villain. Sephiroth’s motives are complex and there’s a lot of grey in what’s typically a starkly black or white world. Now matter how much we loved Cloud, we just empathized with Sephiroth even more. Oh, and he looked like a super-cool rock star as well. That didn’t hurt!

#2: Sarah Kerrigan

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Sarah Kerrigan - Her Complete Origin

“StarCraft” series (1998-) Like Sephiroth, the story of Sarah Kerrigan is one underlined by tragedy and heartbreak. And, like Sephiroth’s story, we just can’t get enough of Sarah’s journey from hero to villain. In fact, her story and character development alone are probably more interesting than the overall narrative of the “StarCraft” series. Her transformation from the young Terran Ghost assassin to the Queen of Blades is undoubtedly one of the best character arcs in gaming. In fact, her story was so beloved that a series of novels depicting her early years were later released starting in 2000 with “StarCraft: Uprising.” In the largely male dominated profession of evil villain, Sarah breaks boundaries and ranks among some of the absolute best.

#1: Vaas

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Why Vaas Is still The Best Far Cry Villain

“Far Cry 3” (2012) “Do you know what the definition of insanity is?” Why, yes, we do! And it’s all on account of everyone’s favorite video game psychopath, Vaas Montenegro. This famous scene from “Far Cry 3” still delivers chills each time we see it, but… honestly… most of Vaas’ monologues are the stuff that nightmares are made from. Gamer’s admiration for this villain is largely based on a cautious respect – and not sympathy like some other baddies on this list – due to Vaas’ erratic, frightening personality. While we applaud Ubisoft for creating such a fearsome bad guy that truly inspired anxiety in gamers’ hearts, we still don’t know how they didn’t make Vaas the final boss in the game… We mean, come on! The defeat of Vaas is such a gruelling, emotional victory that anything else that comes after it feels secondary. But, then again, that’s the sign of an amazing villain!