The Unfought/Playing With

Basic Trope: A major antagonist in a Video Game is never faced in battle for some reason.
 * Straight: Duke Eugene Darrows has been a thorn in the heroes' sides ever since he joined Emperor Evulz. However, they never get a chance to fight him head-on during their quest.
 * Exaggerated: Though it looks as though they'll be able to take out the Duke several times, he always manages to evade them and sic minions on them instead.
 * Justified: Duke Darrows doesn't have any fighting skills and wouldn't stand much of a chance against the heroes, so he avoids a direct confrontation at all costs.
 * Inverted: Duke Darrows is a badass who could dismantle the heroes with ease, so they must avoid fighting him at all costs.
 * Every battle in the game is against Duke.
 * Subverted: The heroes chase him down and take him on.
 * Double Subverted: However, after the battle ends, the Duke they fought is revealed to a body double minion.
 * Parodied: Duke Darrows looks like a total Badass but at the final boss fight he simply leaves and you fight a minor mook from the beginning of the game that Took a Level in Badass.
 * Deconstructed: Duke Darrows ends up a Karma Houdini and the party ends up embittered that the man behind it all got away.
 * Reconstructed: Sir Alexander has a change of heart and slays Darrow so the heroes won't have to deal with having human blood on their hands.
 * Zig Zagged: ???
 * Averted: All major antagonists are faced in battle.
 * Enforced: The creators want to avoid an Anticlimax Boss, so they keep the player from ever fighting the Duke.
 * Lampshaded: ???
 * Invoked: ???
 * Defied: Duke Darrows tries to run away. Rosemary chases after him swearing that she'll kill him painfully for what he did to her village. She catches up to him for a Duel Boss fight against him.
 * Discussed: ???
 * Conversed: ???
 * Played For Laughs: Duke Darrows is obviously a simpering coward who flees any sign of danger -- frequently tripping all over himself and even getting hurt in the process of running away.
 * Played For Drama: The Duke betrayed Becky's homeland to The Empire, and she joined the heroes hoping for revenge. But he just keeps slipping through her fingers...