History VillainDecay / VideoGames

* Mundus in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' he starts of the game established as a GodOfEvil EldritchAbomination whom only TheAce and DefectorFromDecadence Sparda could defeat. By the end of the game he gotten his ass kicked by Sparda's son Dante and revealed his true form of a blubbering Spaghetti-like mess while petulantly cursing the protagonist before Dante and Trish send his ass back to the Underworld. Lore-wise Mundus's overall threat is still preserved since he unable to be killed only sealed away, though odds are with where Dante and Vergil are at by now in ''5'' he'd be easily defeated especially since Vergil as [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Urzien]] ate the same fruit that gave Mundus his power in the first place and still lost.

* [=LeChuck=] from ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland''. In ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'' he is quite creepy, as is his ship and crew, if a bit LaughablyEvil. By ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'', he has been [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] into a rather humorous albeit sadistic character who enjoys hurting Guybrush for the hell of it. It's even worse in ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'', where he's not even the main antagonist, but instead the (reluctant) [[TheDragon Dragon]] for one-off villain Ozzy Mandrill. ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' furthers this even more, and after the intro he's transformed into a genuinely nice guy whom Guybrush is suddenly worried about Elaine legitimately falling for. [[spoiler:Then the end of Chapter 4 manages to reverse four games worth of decay in a few scenes by reverting [=LeChuck=] into the evil bastard he used to be and makes him more of a threat by having him actually kill Guybrush.]]

*** This particularly applies within the aforementioned ''Paper Mario'' series itself. In the first ''Paper Mario'', he is the sole BigBad and is a very serious threat, having not just kidnapped Peach, but stolen the Star Rod, captured the Star Spirits, became invincible, taken over the Mushroom Kingdom, and even defeated Mario at the beginning, nearly killing him. In ''Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door'', he is the comic relief who has little to do with the main plot and is always one step behind Mario. In ''Super Paper Mario'' and ''Paper Mario: The Origami King'', he becomes a significant ally to Mario, though more of an antihero for most of the former. While he is the main villain again in ''Paper Mario: Sticker Star'' and ''Paper Mario: Color Splash'', in the former he doesn't speak, and in the latter he is not the main villain of his own accord, but becomes possessed as a result of mixing the paint due to lack of warning sign of the consequences of this.

* Goro Majima from the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series starts off as genuinely intimidating in his [[AxCrazy insanity]], but over time becomes more and more goofy, less outright evil, and even [[TragicVillain tragic]], to the point of being PromotedToPlayable in certain games. Definitely a case of Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad, as this change made him ''the'' most beloved character in the series.

** Justified with Team Rocket as a whole. They're a Mafia-inspired force in ''Red and Blue'', capable of taking over cities if left alone. In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gold and Silver]]'', they are TheRemnant led by four fairly easy-to-beat admins. They ended up like this after Giovanni left them and their decay is because they are only focused on getting him back on their side. Despite that, Team Rainbow Rocket shows in ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'' as a major force, led by Giovanni and composed by the other main villains, all from {{Alternate Universe}}s where [[TheBadGuyWins they won]] because [[ForWantOfANail no main characters existed to oppose them]], playing with this trope.

** Akuma is a unique case of this, within the mainline Street Fighter games themselves he’s managed to avert this, having never lost a fight to the heroes (Gouken has explicitly defeated him but it was when they were younger before Akuma became the Satsui no Hado demon he is now) and in general Akuma gets a healthy amount of shilling with most of the cast being frightened of facing him in combat and only really Gen and Oro are badass enough to match him in canon but neither have defeated him. In fact it until the DistantFinale manga ''Ryu Final'' for Ryu himself to be depicted defeating Akuma and that’s questionably canon. In the expanded media however Akuma falls head into this, in ''VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2'' he gets royally stomped by God Rugal in a cinematic and [[HoistHeroOverhead unconsciously held up one handed]], in VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroesVsStreetFighter as Cyber Akuma he’s embarrassingly [[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/o_Y61CVMhRs/sddefault.jpg defeated by Dan]] [[JokeCharacter of all people]] and he doesn’t fair too much better in VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 with Ryu’s ending in the ultimate edition having him beat the shit out of Akuma as the new ComicBook/IronFist. Further not helping matters is the Udon Comics where Ryu is able to beat Akuma in his OneWingedAngel mode Oni or ''VideoGame/Tekken7'' where Akuma spends his crossover appearance failing to kill either Heihachi or Kazuya whom he promised Kazumi he would assassinate with Raging Demon seemingly just fatiguing Heihachi.

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Sephiroth is an extremely menacing BigBad -- a phantom, unstoppable killing machine cutting a swathe of death across the world, always one step ahead of the heroes, and all while manipulating Cloud into a TomatoInTheMirror from within his own mind; all so he can simply [[MoreThanMindControl mind control]] him into giving him the ArtifactOfDoom ''right after'' putting six feet of steel clean through his ally in a single strike. With a smirk. [[ManipulativeBastard What a bastard!]] But in subsequent appearances, all he seems to do is appear out of nowhere with [[OminousLatinChanting his theme song blaring]] to deliver a HannibalLecture and kick the hero's ass for a while before he gets owned. Again. What makes this worse is that in the original game, Sephiroth doesn't care about Cloud beyond his use as a puppet. In fact, he doesn't even ''recognize'' him when they meet. Then in later appearances, he's completely obsessed with Cloud to the point of having no other motive than to defeat him (save for the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series, in which ''Cloud'' is the obsessed one, though with the lack of motivation from his original game). ''Dissidia'' plays around with this. He actually starts out wanting to control Cloud as a puppet... and it grows into an obsession by the last time you fight him.

** Shang Tsung has fallen hard. Remember when he was the final boss of [[VideoGame/MortalKombat1992 the first game]]? He was then revealed to TheDragon to the real BigBad Shao Kahn and still remained an activate player in the plot. In ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'', he teams up with Quan Chi and manages to kill both Liu Kang and Shao Kahn. However, in the quasi-reboot ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', Shang Tsung's role is greatly diminished in favor of Quan Chi, who takes most of Shang Tsung's old role during the ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 MK3]]'' part of the story and is given a rather awkward [[DroppedABridgeOnHim death]]. In ''Aftermath'', the DownloadableContent sequel to ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', a main plot point is reversing Shang Tsung's Decay. He's back to being the manipulative, power-hungry sorcerer he used to be, and he's unbelievably competent. By the time of the final boss battle, he's drained the souls of countless revenants, Raiden and Fujin, [[spoiler:the equally un-Decayed Shao Kahn and Sindel]], and [[spoiler:Kronika herself]]. Now in possession of [[spoiler:Kronika's]] Crown and Hourglass, only [[spoiler:Fire God Liu Kang]] can defeat Shang Tsung -- and, [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential if the player picks Shang Tsung for the final battle]], [[spoiler:Liu Kang loses]].

* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'': Zig-zagged with M.Bison. In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' Champion Edition, he ''conquers the world'' if he wins the tournament, and in ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Alpha 3]]'', he can wipe a city completely off the map with his Psycho Power. Unfortunately, by the ''VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom'' games, he's reduced to nebulous {{plan}}s, and by ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'', the only consequence of him triumphing is a somewhat unpleasant conversation with Juri. However, he regains his credibility in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', where his Black Moons' electromagnetic pulses amplify his Psycho Power to the point of making him a PhysicalGod. Even with one of the satellites detonated, [[spoiler:he's still so powerful that it takes a HeroicSacrifice by Charlie using an anti-Psycho Power ability to weaken him enough for [[TheHero Ryu]] to finally put him down for good]].

** Justified with Team Rocket as a whole. They're a Mafia-inspired force in ''Red and Blue'', capable of taking over cities if left alone. In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gold and Silver]]'', they are TheRemnant led by four fairly easy-to-beat admins. They ended up like this after Giovanni left them and their decay is because they are only focused on getting him back on their side. Despite that, Team Rainbow Rocket shows in ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'' as a major force, led by Giovanni and compossed by the other main villains, all from {{Alternate Universe}}s where [[TheBadGuyWins they won]] because [[ForWantOfANail no main characters existed to oppose them]], playing with this trope.

** Retroactively, the original version of Ganon in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' underwent this throughout the "Downfall Timeline". In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', Ganondorf was a cunning king of thieves who gained the Hylian king's trust and waited for Link to go into ForcedSleep before obtaining the Triforce of Power, turning the land of Hyrule and the Sacred Realm into a CrapsackWorld. In the Downfall Timeline, he even manages to [[TheBadGuyWins defeat Link in open combat]], and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast the next game in the timeline]] has him use a RemoteBody, named Agahnim, to orchestrate his return. However, [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames a botched resurrection]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds a merge with his Lorule self]], and yet ''another'' resurrection later, his mindset has deteriorated into that of an AlmightyIdiot (or an IneffectualSympatheticVillain in the [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda cartoon]]), and while he succeeds in stealing back the Triforce of Power and kidnapping Princess Zelda, he's far from the man that he was in centuries past.

** Dracula has been thrashed by the Belmonts and their friends more times than can be [[JustForPun Counted]] ([[Series/SesameStreet vun hundred and fifty two! Vun hundred and fifty three! Vlah ah ah...]]), usually only a brief time after his resurrection, meaning that he rarely has ''time'' to do anything particularly evil. He was finally, perhaps wisely, retired in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow''... and ironically replaced with new villains who seem a whole lot more inept and ineffectual than Dracula himself ever did. After all, they are ''canonically'' Dracula wannabes.

** Slogra and Gaibon, who debuted as powerful bosses in ''VideoGame/SuperCastlevaniaIV'' (albeit made waaay too easy by all the food between them), had found their way down to [[DegradedBoss mid-range Mook status]] by ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin Portrait of Ruin]]''. Before that, they were a weak boss pair in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony]]''.

** King Boo started off as the BigBad of ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'', where he subjected Mario to a fate worse than death, while most other ''Mario'' games since have reduced him to just another one of Bowser's minions. This is finally reversed in ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'', where King Boo is once again the BigBad and has become [[TookALevelInBadass even more powerful than before]] ([[TookALevelInJerkass and even eviler]]), and ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'' inverted it even further by having him [[UnstoppableRage completely unhinged]]. Amusingly enough, ''VideoGame/MarioKartTour'' opted to have [[DecompositeCharacter two versions of the guy]] as unlockable racers; regular King Boo and ''Luigi's Mansion'' King Boo.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

** A meta example: In previous games, the Villain Team is typically the central antagonist faction led by supervillains and usually involved in world-threatening schemes involving Legendary Pokémon. Starting from Generation VII, however, the villain teams tend to be annoying delinquents lead by someone [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold who's pretty far from evil]] who are either patsies to the true main antagonists (Team Skull) or largely non-malicious (Team Yell).

** Shang Tsung has fallen hard. Remember when he was the final boss of [[VideoGame/MortalKombat1 the first game]]? He was then revealed to TheDragon to the real BigBad Shao Kahn and still remained an activate player in the plot. In ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'', he teams up with Quan Chi and manages to kill both Liu Kang and Shao Kahn. However, in the quasi-reboot ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', Shang Tsung's role is greatly diminished in favor of Quan Chi, who takes most of Shang Tsung's old role during the ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 MK3]]'' part of the story and is given a rather awkward [[DroppedABridgeOnHim death]]. In ''Aftermath'', the DownloadableContent sequel to ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', a main plot point is reversing Shang Tsung's Decay. He's back to being the manipulative, power-hungry sorcerer he used to be, and he's unbelievably competent. By the time of the final boss battle, he's drained the souls of countless revenants, Raiden and Fujin, [[spoiler:the equally un-Decayed Shao Kahn and Sindel]], and [[spoiler:Kronika herself]]. Now in possession of [[spoiler:Kronika's]] Crown and Hourglass, only [[spoiler:Fire God Liu Kang]] can defeat Shang Tsung -- and, [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential if the player picks Shang Tsung for the final battle]], [[spoiler:Liu Kang loses]].

** A meta example: In previous games, the Villain Team is typically the central antagonist faction led by supervillains and usually involved in world-threatening schemes involving Legendary Pokémon. Starting from Generation VII however the villain teams tend to be annoying delinquents lead by someone [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold who's pretty far from evil]] who are either patsies to the true main antagonists (Team Skull) or largely non-malicious (Team Yell).

** King Boo started off as the BigBad of ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'', where he subjected Mario to a fate worse than death, while most other Mario games since have reduced him to just another one of Bowser's minions. This is finally reversed in ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'', where King Boo is once again the BigBad and has become [[TookALevelInBadass even more powerful than before]] ([[TookALevelInJerkass and even eviler]]), and ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'' inverted it even further by having him [[UnstoppableRage completely unhinged]]. Amusingly enough, ''VideoGame/MarioKartTour'' opted to have [[DecompositeCharacter two versions of the guy]] as unlockable racers; regular King Boo and ''Luigi's Mansion'' King Boo.

* Most of Batman's rogues in ''VideoGame/LegoBatman 2''. While it takes the entire game to bring them down in the original, most of them are curb stomped in the first level of the sequel. It doesn't help that all of them have tiny health bars, and Freeze and Croc don't even make it out of their cells. The only exceptions are the Joker, who [[spoiler:manages to destroy the Batcave]], and the Scarecrow, who takes a level to catch and has a big health bar and a Nightmare Fuel-filled boss battle where he turns into a giant.

** Retroactively, the original version of Ganon in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' underwent this throughout the "Downfall Timeline". In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', Ganondorf was a cunning king of thieves who gained the Hylian king's trust and waited for Link to go into ForcedSleep before obtaining the Triforce of Power, turning the land of Hyrule and the Sacred Realm into a CrapsackWorld. In the Downfall Timeline, he even manages to defeat Link in open combat, and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast the next game in the timeline]] has him use a RemoteBody, named Agahnim, to orchestrate his return. However, [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames a botched resurrection]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds a merge with his Lorule self]], and yet ''another'' resurrection later, his mindset has deteriorated into that of an AlmightyIdiot (or an IneffectualSympatheticVillain in the [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda cartoon]]), and while he succeeds in stealing back the Triforce of Power and kidnapping Princess Zelda, he's far from the man that he was in centuries past.

* Zant in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' starts off as a fearsome and competent threat, but grows increasingly more manic and unhinged as the game progresses. By the time he has his VillainousBreakdown and reveals that he is [[HijackedByGanon Ganondorf's servant]], he is basically a [[NerdInEvilsHelmet joke]], with his PsychopathicManchild tendencies on full display, and his climactic boss battle is a wild medley of chaotic [[RealityWarper reality bending]] and frantic flailing, with [[UnskilledButStrong the power of his dark magic]] being basically the only thing that makes him even remotely a threat to Link. Ironically, this gets [[InvertedTrope flipped on its head]] in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', where Zant is immediately shown as chaotic and unhinged, fights as chaotically as he did in ''Twilight Princess'', yet can also be [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass scarily intelligent and competent]] when he needs to be, generally moreso than he was in his debut appearance.

* Summerill the [[spoiler:{{Disc One|FinalBoss}}]] FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/AgarestSenki'' gets turned ''into a WarmUpBoss'' in ''VideoGame/AgarestSenki2''. Can't get any lower than that.

** The third campaign, ''Specter of Torment'', has you fight him as a boss again. Unlike the other bosses (who Spectre Knight must defeat to get them into the Order of No Quarter), he's already the Enchantress's minion, but he's been getting lazy and she sent Spectre Knight to light a fire under his gilded ass. This time, he's somewhat tougher and has a few new moves.

** Dracula has been thrashed by the Belmonts and their friends more times than can be [[JustForPun Counted]] ([[Series/SesameStreet vun hundred and fifty two! Vun hundred and fifty three! Vlah ah ah...]]), usually only a brief time after his resurrection, meaning that he rarely has ''time'' to do anything particularly evil. He was finally, perhaps wisely, retired in the ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Sorrow]]'' series... and ironically replaced with new villains who seem a whole lot more inept and ineffectual than Dracula himself ever did. After all, they are ''canonically'' Dracula wannabes.

* Zant in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' starts off as a fearsome and competent threat, but grows increasingly more manic and unhinged as the game progresses. By the time he has his VillainousBreakdown and reveals that he is [[HijackedByGanon Ganondorf's servant]], he is basically a [[NerdInEvilsHelmet joke]], with his PsychopathicManchild tendencies on full display, and his climactic boss battle is a wild medley of chaotic [[RealityWarper reality bending]] and frantic flailing, with [[UnskilledButStrong the power of his dark magic]] being basically the only thing that makes him even remotely a threat to Link. Ironically, this gets [[InvertedTrope flipped on its head]] in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', where Zant is immediately shown as chaotic and unhinged, fights as chaotically as he did in ''Twilight Princess'', yet can also be [[CrouchingMorinHiddenBadass scarily intelligent and competent]] when he needs to be, generally moreso than he was in his debut appearance.