While boss fights have slowly died out in favor of shooting down surprisingly agile helicopters with inaccurate RPG's in games lately, boss fights were usually highlights of many great game levels in the past. They were tests of everything you had learned/collected up to that point, and the best ones usually gave you a very satisfying feeling upon completion. I figured it'd be cool to share our opinions on our favorite boss fights over the years. A few of mine (Spoilers ahoy for certain games):
Kefka in FF6: This is one of those fights that dropped your jaw when it was released. Over the game, the bastard just gets more and more powerful, and you wonder if it's possible to even beat him. Then he morphs into the goddamned angel of death. I remember making it up to him, and my father and mother, who had only just shown interest in my SNES were both there, fixated on him. I remember cheering that I beat him, and my parents telling me to be quiet and wanting to know how it ended.
Rafshoon Diggs from Dead to Rights: In a game with a lot of goofy boss fights, this particular boss had to be something special to differentiate himself. In his case, he stood out by being a black Kiwi boxer with a blonde tribal ponytail who you fought using kung fu in the middle of a gas chamber. In order to beat him, you had to play a game of keep-away wherein you have to knock an oxygen mask off of his face, put it on your face, and fight/evade him until the gas eventually wears down his health bar.
SKX from Condemned: Criminal Origins: The level in which you fight this boss takes place in an abandoned farmhouse in which you must find clues to multiple murders while fighting off enraged hobos. It's a scary level in a very scary game, and only gets scarier when you have to play a game of cat-and-mouse with the serial killer himself, having to both chase down and/or ambush the killer when all you have to go by is his occasional threat. Easily the most tense and scary moment I've ever experienced in a game or movie.
So here's to you Mrs. Robinson. People love you more- oh, nevermind.
Fighter_McWarrior
Title: Gun of Brixton
Joined: Jun 05 2011
Location: Down by the River
Posts: 1087
Posted:
Nov 14 2011 08:10 pm
Hmm....I'll have to give this list some consideration.
Preng
Title: All right, that's cool!
Joined: Jan 11 2010
Location: Accounting Dept.
Posts: 1690
Posted:
Nov 14 2011 09:03 pm
I will admit that Condemned: Criminal Origins may not have the most complex fighting system, but the fact that you are chasing SKX throughout the game - which eventually culminates into a frantic battle with well-matched erratic music - was set up quite nicely. It's too bad that the actual boss was a letdown. At any rate, in the future, when I get better equipment and a capture card, I definitely plan on recording a playthrough of this game.
Metroid Prime's fight against the first phase of, well, Metroid Prime, is also quite fun. Although a lot of it is matching up your current weapon to its current color (Power Beam, Wave Beam, Ice Beam, Plasma Beam), its attack patterns were quite varied, as you had to know by this point how to evade quickly.
Bonus round - one of my least favorite bosses is Gill from Street Fighter III: Third Strike. Yeah, fighting game bosses are usually ridiculous on the basis of making the player spend more quarters, so I will admit it's kind of an expected thing. However, Gill can revive himself if he has full meter on knockout, his medium and fierce attacks cause chip damage, and he can stun or nearly stun your fighter with one combo. I'd say the battle is more of an annoying endurance match than anything else, but there's absolutely no fun in it.
sidewaydriver
2010 SLF Tag Champ
Title: ( ͡� 
Joined: May 11 2008
Posts: 6160
Posted:
Nov 14 2011 09:14 pm
I love fighting Gill. Seth can eat a dick though.
Shake it, Quake it, Space Kaboom.
Syd Lexia
Site Admin
Title: Pop Culture Junkie
Joined: Jul 30 2005
Location: Wakefield, MA
Posts: 24882
Posted:
Nov 14 2011 09:16 pm
The final boss battle in Metal Slug 3, because it specifically requires you to exploit the temporary invulnerability you get when exiting/entering a Metal Slug in order to win without dying.
Granfalloon(Legion) in Castlevania: SOTN: A giant floating ball of dead bodies that shoot lasers at you when you hack away the outer shell of corpses. It was nuts at the time.
Dagon in Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth: On a boat being attacked by a huge Lovecraftian beast. Fucking epic.
Giant snake in Resident Evil: Deadly Silence: Specifically when you have to fight the snake with only your knife using the stylus.
Sinistar in Sinistar: The screaming and yelling, and the relentless chasing was scary as hell when I was a little kid. Not having any sinibombs when Sinistar formed sucked.
Most of the bosses in Earthbound: Strange and unique, nothing like fighting insane cult leaders, piles of vomit, moles and hippies.
Greg the White
Joined: Apr 09 2008
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 3112
Posted:
Nov 14 2011 09:42 pm
sidewaydriver wrote:
I love fighting Gill. Seth can eat a dick though.
What's wrong with a boss that can put in his teleport command faster than any human can input it?
So here's to you Mrs. Robinson. People love you more- oh, nevermind.
UsaSatsui
Title: The White Rabbit
Joined: May 25 2008
Location: Hiding
Posts: 7565
Posted:
Nov 14 2011 10:14 pm
Man, it's hard to pick a couple. This one always stands out in my mind - Cursed Leorina from Klonoa 2
As far as RPGs go, Magus from Chrono Trigger and Zeromus from Final Fantasy IV also stand out for me. I'll add more when I think of more.
The End in MGS3. It was long and grueling, and I think that's exactly how it's supposed to be. (Heck, all the boss fights from MGS3 were fantastic)
The Opponent
Title: Forum Battle WINNER
Joined: Feb 24 2010
Location: The Danger Zone
Posts: 3495
Posted:
Nov 14 2011 10:41 pm
Syd Lexia wrote:
The final boss battle in Metal Slug 3, because it specifically requires you to exploit the temporary invulnerability you get when exiting/entering a Metal Slug in order to win without dying.
Or just good timing and patience.
Related: Ellmac, the third boss from La-Mulana. If the game wasn't thrilling by then, it will definitely be once you face this guy. And due to the way progression works in this game, there's a good chance you'll fight him first like I did.
I'm not a bad enough dude, but I am an edgy little shit. I'll do what I can.
Greg the White
Joined: Apr 09 2008
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 3112
Posted:
Nov 14 2011 10:51 pm
Cameron wrote:
The End in MGS3. It was long and grueling, and I think that's exactly how it's supposed to be. (Heck, all the boss fights from MGS3 were fantastic)
Though I hate the series, MGS2 was the only I was able to finish, and I have to say that all of the bosses were fun and had cool little quirks to them.
So here's to you Mrs. Robinson. People love you more- oh, nevermind.
Bob Dylan`s Blues
Title: Worlds Strongest Man
Joined: Jun 08 2011
Location: Your nightmares
Posts: 520
Posted:
Nov 15 2011 02:03 am
Cameron wrote:
The End in MGS3. It was long and grueling, and I think that's exactly how it's supposed to be. (Heck, all the boss fights from MGS3 were fantastic)
Hell yes! That whole ending from the rail shooting to the last fight with the Boss was epic.
Vertigo from RE4: being trapped with him and trying to kill him without wasting all your health and ammo was scary.
Pretty much every boss in Shadow of the colossus and the God of War series.
Sephiroth from Kingdom Hearts: this fight was a real test of timing and reflexes, my thumbs were sore every time i beat him.
The Great Mighty Poo from Conker's Bad Fur Day: this entire game is total awesomeness and the great mighty poo was the best part.
UsaSatsui
Title: The White Rabbit
Joined: May 25 2008
Location: Hiding
Posts: 7565
Posted:
Nov 15 2011 02:50 am
Greg the White wrote:
Though I hate the series, MGS2 was the only I was able to finish, and I have to say that all of the bosses were fun and had cool little quirks to them.
Ugh. I actually hated every boss fight in that game. Particularly Vamp.
Now MGS1 had a couple of great fights - The Ninja, Psycho Mantis, and Sniper Wolf (both of them).
Bob Dylan`s Blues wrote:
The Great Mighty Poo from Conker's Bad Fur Day: this entire game is total awesomeness and the great mighty poo was the best part.
I don't agree with the first part necessarily, but the Great Mighty Poo battle is epic.
No More Heroes - Harvey Moiseiwitsch Volodarskii
This entire game is filled with amazing bosses, but this is my favorite by far. You fight a magician on his stage, and the entire fight is treated as part of the show. One of Harvey's moves is trapping Travis in a box and after Travis escapes, they both bow to the audience.
ThisIsTunaWithBacon
Slayer1
Title: ,,!,, for you know who
Joined: Sep 23 2008
Posts: 4274
Posted:
Nov 15 2011 08:31 am
Cameron wrote:
The End in MGS3. It was long and grueling, and I think that's exactly how it's supposed to be. (Heck, all the boss fights from MGS3 were fantastic)
I didn't like The End as a boss that much, especially after I killed his bird. It was like trying to shoot grandpa in the back with a shotgun. If i had to pick an MGS boss though, it would be a tough choice between the final battle with The Boss in MGS3 and Liquid Ocelot from MGS4 as they flash from between games.
On of my more memorable boss fights was fighting Faust from Legend of Dragoon. Finding all of the stardust alone was insane, but to fight a super boss like that.
More recently, I went through the process of fighting all the Weapons from Final Fantasy VII and I have to say the satisfaction of beating Emerald alone was so full filling.
Favorite boss though: John Romero's head from Doom 2.
MellowMeek
Joined: Feb 16 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 329
Posted:
Nov 15 2011 01:46 pm
Tor from Iji
At times there can be a lot of stuff going on, but it's still all manageable, fair, and fun. That fantastic music helps.
Vert1
Joined: Aug 28 2011
Posts: 537
Posted:
Nov 15 2011 01:53 pm
PN03's final boss fight. No hiding behind anything bullshit. Just straightup dodge and shoot. The entire game should have been rehashed bosses of that.
username
Title: owner of a lonely heart
Joined: Jul 06 2007
Location: phoenix, az usa
Posts: 16127
Posted:
Nov 15 2011 07:36 pm
IG 88 was fun to fight in Shadows of the Empire the first time. as was the AT ST.
most of the colossi in Shadow of the Colossus were fun to fight.
most boss battles in the God of War games were fun as well.
Symphony of the Night - Fake Grant, Sypha and Trevor
Order of Ecclesia - Rusalka
Silhouette Mirage - Dynamis
Bosses that I hate:
all SNK fighting game bosses ...cheap bastards.
It is a waste of politeness to be courteous to the devil ~ William L. Garrison
sidewaydriver
2010 SLF Tag Champ
Title: ( ͡� 
Joined: May 11 2008
Posts: 6160
Posted:
Nov 15 2011 10:52 pm
Dark Tooth from Twisted Metal 2. I like how you had to use hit and run tactics and if you suddenly saw him turn the corner at you, you'd shit a brick and hightail it out of there.
Shake it, Quake it, Space Kaboom.
Murdar Machene
New Member
Title: bimmy
Joined: Nov 06 2005
Location: the black warriors turf
Posts: 3207
Posted:
Nov 19 2011 12:58 am
Magus in CT was a huge disappointment to me. I don't know why everyone loves that fight, maybe I was overleveled or something but it was really easy and anticlimactic. The Black Omen fights were much more awesome.
Best boss fight ever? I guess I really like Gunstar Heroes, so Seven Force gets my vote.
UsaSatsui
Title: The White Rabbit
Joined: May 25 2008
Location: Hiding
Posts: 7565
Posted:
Nov 19 2011 01:31 am
Murdar Machene wrote:
Magus in CT was a huge disappointment to me. I don't know why everyone loves that fight, maybe I was overleveled or something but it was really easy and anticlimactic. The Black Omen fights were much more awesome.
Best boss fight ever? I guess I really like Gunstar Heroes, so Seven Force gets my vote.
Sniper Wolf from MGS. Mainly because you can sneak use a rocket launcher, and the music kicked ass.
The Helicopter from Revolution X
All bosses from the original Star Fox. Masterpieces of polygon art each and everyone of them.
The Axem Rangers, Knife Guy & Grate Guy, and Domino & Cloaker from Super Mario RPG.
Neo Sigma and Virus Sigma from Mega Man X2.
The Goliath Ride Armor from Mega Man X3 (except you have to sacrifice Zero's sword in order to fight it ).
Super Shredder from TMNT 4
The Submarine battle on Zoness and the Bolse satellite core from Star Fox 64.
Giant Baby Bowser from Yoshi's Island.
There are a lot of what if's in life Donny. What if I hit you really hard in the face, knocked yo shit to the back of yo skull? What if I....had you girl gargle my nuts? The fact remains, you are a fuckin mutant.
)
...cheap bastards.
).