7 Most Frustrating Video Game Enemies in History

Carlos Rivera
Games Xbox
Games Xbox PlayStation PC Gaming

Like any form of entertainment, video games have characters we identify with, characters we love, and characters we hate. Those last two categories can often become blurred because while we all support the hero, there’s nothing more exciting than a good villain.

Some of those enemies earn a place in our lives not by being good or memorable, but because they are so annoying that we cringe every time we encounter them. Fill your bag with repels, infrared scopes, and swords and let’s embark on this quest to find the most annoying enemies in video game history.

Regeneradors (Resident Evil 4)

The Regeneradores are ugly, terrifying and can easily kill you if you are not prepared.
The Regeneradores are ugly, terrifying and can easily kill you if you are not prepared.

In a game plagued with disgusting and terrifying enemies, you may think that genetically engineered monsters could be just one more of the same. But these gray nightmares in Resident Evil 4 pack a dark secret. Well, 2-5 dark secrets to be more precise.

The parasites inside the Regeneradores seen using the Infrared Scope.
The parasites inside the Regeneradores seen using the Infrared Scope.

Turns out that to kill the Regeneradors you have to use an infrared scope and locate 2-5 really small parasites inside their bodies and shoot them. Every other damage inflicted can be easily regenerated, including shooting their limbs off.

Besides, you always encounter them in small spaces and you have to kill them super fast. All while protecting Ashley and dodging their attacks. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Skeleton Wheel/Wheel Skeletons (Dark Souls)

If hell actually exists, it is plagued with these things.
If hell exists, it is plagued with these things.

Skeleton Wheels are a great example of annoying enemies that are necessary. I assume that the idea behind them was to teach you to be a hunter: silent, deadly, and fast. Because if you’re not, then you are just in for some constant disappointment.

Dark Souls is a punishing game, but come on, fast enemies that attack in packs and break your guard (no matter what you do) causing you to be staggered, even if you are equipped to prevent this? These are just plain unfair, even by Dark Souls standards.

These nasties, who first appeared in the first Dark Souls game, are ready to group up and run down anyone foolhardy enough to drop off the cliffs in the Catacombs. By rolling into you, their rapid attacks would deplete your stamina and effectively stunlock you. We enjoyed a brief respite before they snuck into a side area in Dark Souls III.

Pole Vaulting Zombie (Plants vs. Zombies)

These guys are a nightmare in the early levels of PVZ.
These guys are a nightmare in the early levels of 'PvZ.'

For gamers like me who place all of our plants symmetrically, the pole vaulting zombie in Plants vs Zombies was a nightmare. He usually jumped over your first line of defense, leaving whatever was behind completely helpless.

This is where most of us started to freak out because you had to hurriedly put some plant there. And if you already used all of your last resource plants like the Cherry Bomb, it meant some poor sunflower had to suffer a slow and agonizing death, or worse, you got a game over screen. Definitely an annoying and frustrating nightmare.

Malboro (Final Fantasy)

You eventually learn to dread those two words.
You eventually learn to dread those two words.

Malboros are dreaded by almost every Final Fantasy fan, and not just because of them being strange and ugly-looking creatures, but rather because of their signature attack — Bad Breath. These two simple words mean that one of your party members is going to be afflicted with most, if not all, possible status ailments in the game.

If you weren’t properly prepared to deal with status ailments, you can easily see how a single Malboro wipes out your entire party. Because these creatures don’t only inflict status ailments, after they’ve done so, they proceed to relentlessly attack your party.

To add insult to the injury, Malboros often have a decent amount of HP and are also kind of heavy-hitters. A round of applause for the FF character creators.

Creepers (Minecraft)

These things are silent, deadly, and destructive.
These things are silent, deadly, and destructive.

Minecraft was a phenomenon that most gamers didn’t understand at first. But once you got the hang of it and started to enjoy the freedom of its open world, everyone did the same: build a house.

So you spent hours farming for the materials needed to create your dream house and when you finally stepped back to admire your polygonal architectural prowess, you suddenly hear that hissing sound. And voilà! Just like that, hours of your life are lost because one of those green hell-spawns decided to spawn close to you. Thank you so much, Markus.

Monks/Missionaries (Age of Empires II)

Their praying fx was one of the most dreaded sounds in AOEII.
Their praying fx was one of the most dreaded sounds in 'AOEII.'

The Monks and Missionaries were very interesting units in Age of Empires II because they introduced a very cool mechanic: converting enemy units so they instantly became part of your army. A bit overkill, but so far so good, right? No! The thing is, developers also added a healing function transforming the Monks into one of the most powerful (and overpowered) support units in the entire game.

Monks are sneaky, cheap to create, hard to counter, and, in great numbers, capable of converting entire villages. You knew you were screwed when your precious (and very expensive) Trebuchets, Elephants, and War Wagons suddenly faced an army of monks because when they started to pray, there was no turning back.

Zubats (Pokémon)

Your final Pokémon is about to faint? It would be a shame if you couldn't scape...
Your final Pokémon is about to faint? It would be a shame if you couldn't escape...

Caves in Pokémon games are often really dark and full of wild Pokémon. Literally, every step you take has a 50/50 chance of triggering an encounter. That could be great if you got to meet lots of different Pokémon. However, caves feature mostly one Pokémon: the Zubat.

These non-menacing looking bats have one prominent ability: Supersonic. This is a non-elemental attack that confuses your Pokémon leaving them with a 50% chance of causing themselves damage instead of attacking the other Pokémon.

Pair that with the fact that escaping isn’t guaranteed and you are in for a frustrating encounter where if your luck runs out, a single Zubat can whip your entire party.

Carlos Rivera
Carlos is an entertainment writer who will tackle everything you put on his way with the speed of Koro-Sensei. If he is not working as a freelancer or playing on his 3DS, he's probably binge-watching shows on netflix with his dog while eating pizza. #I❤Anime