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Thread: What game do you feel has the best boss fights ever?

  1. #16
    Steve Steve Steve Steve Iceglow's Avatar
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    Best bosses in a game?

    Metal Gear Solid 1.

    The icy terror that took ahold of my body when I faced Revolver Ocelot. It still grips me as I type this. I'd used C4 inventively to blow holes in the wall, and on this high I swaggered in to rescue President Kenneth Baker. I felt like I was Solid Snake.

    Then I saw him. Him. I am the proud owner of a pair of original leather unisex Sancho cowboy boots. Snug and smart, I receive a lot of compliments on them. Some from men, but even more from women. Yet then I glanced upon them. The man before me, his silver moustache resplendent, bore cowboy boots. And what's more, they were far more imposing and grand than any I could ever comprehend. Frankly, I wilted. Wilted like the flower I had given Svetlana on our third date to The Stag and Crown in Hampstead Heath. Incidentally you can get a very good Roast Haddock cake there, most exemplary.

    "Six bullets!" the Russian mercenary in front of me crowed. "More than enough to kill anything that moves." My flight or fight instinct failed me, and I froze. My phallus instantly became flaccid. It flapped around loosely inside my BHS dressing gown, like a baby button mushroom. I was in real trouble. I ran around in frantic circles, desperate to shake off my furious foe.

    "Don't you want to settle this?" he taunted. I tried to keep my eyes off my misfiring member and onto my SOCOM. I returned a volley of fire, but it was no good. Ocelot was entirely too nimble for me. The writing, and my brains, would soon be on the wall. Fallen, to the first boss. My shrivelled winky and I felt such shame.

    And then I heard it. President Baker moaned. And moaned. And he moaned. It reminded me of a girl I had met on the Jubilee Line last Thursday, Katrin, from Tallinn. She had commented on how handsome I was, and in particular how masculine my ears looked, and I told her I had once presented them to Noel Edmonds (for those of you not from Britain, Noel Edmonds was THE hottest property in the UK in 1993. He ran a very successful game/talk show called Noel's House Party which featured celebrity guests, the gunge tank, hidden camera pranks, fantastic prizes, call ins. It was set in Noel's mansion in Crinkly Bottom, a fictional British village. The jewel in the Noel's House Party crown was Mr Blobby, a hilarious character in a pink and yellow polka dotted suit whose antics and shenanigans would frequently derail Noel's endeavour with a dose of slapstick comedy and a dash of chaotic anarchy) which she found to be most impressive. Long story short we ended up in bed together. And her moans sounded just like ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker's.

    The song of President Baker invigorated me, just as a bard would do in an RPG party. My loins stirred at the sensual grunting. Something uncurled. My tallywhacker had awoken and not with a minute to spare. I lost control of my SOCOM. Round, after round, after round. All of them pumped out the barrel of my tightly gripped pistol. Ocelot didn't stand a chance.

    Do you ever notice how you fall into a rhythm of play when fighting a boss? Snake fired his SOCOM. Ocelot grunted in pain. Baker moaned. I hardened. Snake fired his SOCOM. Ocelot grunted in pain. Baker moaned. I ENGORGED! And... amid the sulphite, the smoke, the sounds of battle faded. My nemesis... had he... finished? The feeling that came over me was carnal ecstasy. I had faced a crack Russian duelist in a battle of life or death, and I, Steve, Solid Snake, was most certainly alive! Was this what it was like to beat a video game boss? Well well well. I understood what the fuss was about after all this time. My thoughts drifted to Svetlana. To Katrin. To Delia Smith. I was unable to watch the ensuing cutscene, and what happened in the story at this point will forever be a blur. The fight replayed in my head again and again. On autopilot, I called Mei Ling to save my game, and began tapping out a furious text message. Katrin would have a Crinkly Bottom tonight.

    I couldn't get past that next boss though, the Gunner in the tank. Still, a good game, I'd recommend it if you ever get the chance to play it.

    Alternatively, Vagrant Story

  2. #17
    disc jockey to your heart krissy's Avatar
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    I don't think we have ciddies anymore but that post would've won most of them this year

  3. #18

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    I've got to say the Yakuza series has the best boss fights. Yakuza's battle mechanics just tend to work best when you're fighting one-on-one, and each new boss fight requires you to up your strategy game (unless you're spamming Tiger Drop, which I totally do as soon as I unlock it ). I also really like the way the boss fights are framed by the story. Boss fights frequently mark the end of a chapter, and it's rare that they blindside you with surprise fight. It often feels like the entire chapter is leading up to that single fight, to the extent that sometimes the story will get ridiculously side-tracked just for the sake of the fight. In most games, boss fights feel like they're a consequence of the story's events. But in Yakuza, it can feel like the boss fights themselves are driving the story. While this can result in some bloated storytelling in the game as a whole, it tends to make each fight a lot more meaningful. That plus Kiryu's theatrics always manage to make every boss fight feel like a fight to the death for the fate of the world, even if it's nothing more than a bar brawl.

    It'll be tough to narrow it down for my top ten, but I'll try:

    10) Kazuma Kiryu (Yakuza 4) - It's really trippy fighting the guy who was the protagonist for the first 3 games, but it makes the stakes feel higher than they actually are. Also, Kiryu's just a really good match for Saejima's fighting style. He manages to counter Saejima's brute strength in a way that not many can.

    9) Gigantaur (Final Fantasy XIII) - The animations for this thing are ridiculous, but aside from that it's also a pretty fun fight.

    8) Yiazmat (Final Fantasy XII) - Easily the longest I've ever spent fighting a boss, and that's if you don't inclulde all the times I died. How did anyone ever did this on the PS2 without 4x speed I'll never know. But it felt awesome when I was through.

    7) Akira Nishikiyama (Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami) - Not much I can say that Vermachtnis didn't already say, so I'll just quote them:
    Quote Originally Posted by Vermachtnis View Post
    The final mission is tiring. You, the player, is tired. Kiryu is tired. There's just one loose end. Your ex-blood brother. And he comes in with six health bars. And as you're trading blows it'll flash back and show scenes of them from Zero and Kiwami.
    6) Flemeth (Dragon Age: Origins) - She turns into a dragon, which was completely unexpected. She was also the first dragon I ever fought in Dragon Age, so it was a cool milestone. Pretty tough fight, though, I had to leave and level up a bit before I could manage it. But honestly at that point in the game I cared more about Morrigan than I did about fighting the Archdemon, so it was worth it. Of course, she still managed to come back and screw with Morrigan's head in Inquisition . But it gave Morrigan peace of mind for a decade, so that's something .

    5) Goro Majima (Yakuza 5, Final Chapter) - This has a similar vibe to the fight with Nishiki in Yakuza Kiwami, but it has even more impact, since you've gotten to know and love/hate Majima over the course of 5 games.

    4) Daisaku Kuze (Yakuza 0, Ch. 6) - Again, Vermachtnis said it all:
    Quote Originally Posted by Vermachtnis View Post
    The second fight is crazy. He charges Kiryu on a motorcycle and hits him with a iron pipe before the fight even begins. And goes on a whole Rocky spiel about how it's not about how hard you hit, but how you get hit and keep standing up. And he hates Kiryu at this point.
    3) Bituitus, the Pillager (Final Fantasy XIII) - The deadly combination of Miasma and Bituitus's generally high stats made this one of the more difficult bosses in the game for me, but also one of the most fun.

    2) Goro Majima (Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami, Ch. 11) - Majima pretty much always fights with the same style, but this one's my favorite for a couple of reasons. First, at this point in the series you can still take Majima seriously as a villain. Pretty soon you start to realize he'll never actually hurt Kiryu or Saejima, but here he's still very plausible as a bad guy. Second, during the course of this fight, you end up breaking through the marble floor and falling into the basement. It's a really cool transition in a series that usually sets its boss fights in static arenas.

    1) Gol and Maia Acheron (Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy) - A lot of 3D platformers have really bland boss fights, but not so in Jak and Daxter. Defeating Gol and Maia requires mastery of all of the game's Eco powers, making it feel like the perfect culmination of the game's mechanics. It's a pretty satisfying ending to the story, as well. And it features Daxter's only really moment of character development in the entire series, which is pretty impressive.
    Last edited by remy5623; 09-28-2020 at 08:21 AM. Reason: Added my top ten
    Playing Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood

    Final Fantasy Games Completed

    II, IV, VI, VII, X, X-2, XII, XIII, XIII-2, Lightning Returns, XV, Type-0

  4. #19

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    Shadow of the colossus was legendary
    Last edited by viktorlovisa; 06-19-2021 at 04:38 PM.

  5. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Iceglow View Post
    Best bosses in a game?

    Metal Gear Solid 1.

    The icy terror that took ahold of my body when I faced Revolver Ocelot. It still grips me as I type this. I'd used C4 inventively to blow holes in the wall, and on this high I swaggered in to rescue President Kenneth Baker. I felt like I was Solid Snake.

    Then I saw him. Him. I am the proud owner of a pair of original leather unisex Sancho cowboy boots. Snug and smart, I receive a lot of compliments on them. Some from men, but even more from women. Yet then I glanced upon them. The man before me, his silver moustache resplendent, bore cowboy boots. And what's more, they were far more imposing and grand than any I could ever comprehend. Frankly, I wilted. Wilted like the flower I had given Svetlana on our third date to The Stag and Crown in Hampstead Heath. Incidentally you can get a very good Roast Haddock cake there, most exemplary.

    "Six bullets!" the Russian mercenary in front of me crowed. "More than enough to kill anything that moves." My flight or fight instinct failed me, and I froze. My phallus instantly became flaccid. It flapped around loosely inside my BHS dressing gown, like a baby button mushroom. I was in real trouble. I ran around in frantic circles, desperate to shake off my furious foe.

    "Don't you want to settle this?" he taunted. I tried to keep my eyes off my misfiring member and onto my SOCOM. I returned a volley of fire, but it was no good. Ocelot was entirely too nimble for me. The writing, and my brains, would soon be on the wall. Fallen, to the first boss. My shrivelled winky and I felt such shame.

    And then I heard it. President Baker moaned. And moaned. And he moaned. It reminded me of a girl I had met on the Jubilee Line last Thursday, Katrin, from Tallinn. She had commented on how handsome I was, and in particular how masculine my ears looked, and I told her I had once presented them to Noel Edmonds (for those of you not from Britain, Noel Edmonds was THE hottest property in the UK in 1993. He ran a very successful game/talk show called Noel's House Party which featured celebrity guests, the gunge tank, hidden camera pranks, fantastic prizes, call ins. It was set in Noel's mansion in Crinkly Bottom, a fictional British village. The jewel in the Noel's House Party crown was Mr Blobby, a hilarious character in a pink and yellow polka dotted suit whose antics and shenanigans would frequently derail Noel's endeavour with a dose of slapstick comedy and a dash of chaotic anarchy) which she found to be most impressive. Long story short we ended up in bed together. And her moans sounded just like ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker's.

    The song of President Baker invigorated me, just as a bard would do in an RPG party. My loins stirred at the sensual grunting. Something uncurled. My tallywhacker had awoken and not with a minute to spare. I lost control of my SOCOM. Round, after round, after round. All of them pumped out the barrel of my tightly gripped pistol. Ocelot didn't stand a chance.

    Do you ever notice how you fall into a rhythm of play when fighting a boss? Snake fired his SOCOM. Ocelot grunted in pain. Baker moaned. I hardened. Snake fired his SOCOM. Ocelot grunted in pain. Baker moaned. I ENGORGED! And... amid the sulphite, the smoke, the sounds of battle faded. My nemesis... had he... finished? The feeling that came over me was carnal ecstasy. I had faced a crack Russian duelist in a battle of life or death, and I, Steve, Solid Snake, was most certainly alive! Was this what it was like to beat a video game boss? Well well well. I understood what the fuss was about after all this time. My thoughts drifted to Svetlana. To Katrin. To Delia Smith. I was unable to watch the ensuing cutscene, and what happened in the story at this point will forever be a blur. The fight replayed in my head again and again. On autopilot, I called Mei Ling to save my game, and began tapping out a furious text message. Katrin would have a Crinkly Bottom tonight.

    I couldn't get past that next boss though, the Gunner in the tank. Still, a good game, I'd recommend it if you ever get the chance to play it.

    Alternatively, Vagrant Story
    thank you for this. this is an incredible, beautiful post

  6. #21
    GO! use leech seed! qwertysaur's Avatar
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    I did enjoy the megaman battle network bosses.

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Golbez View Post
    And yeah, that certainly extends to the whole series, but I think it's particularly applicable to the first one (not to diminish from creative fights, like The End in MGS3, but I just don't think the other games match MGS in terms of the bosses as a whole).
    Quote Originally Posted by sharkythesharkdogg View Post
    Game: MGS 3
    Boss: The End
    Yes, props to mentioning The End!

    Quote Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno View Post
    Alright, so to add some life into this thread, what are your ten favorite boss fights of all time?
    Hmm, not sure I can come up w/ a listed 10, but I can do a sort of hybrid list of answering the games w/ best bosses and specific bosses that stood out and put them in order... Ehh, I can probably do a top 10, but there may be some games repeated.

    Hyper Light Drifter - Masterfully designed boss fights, imo. They were extremely hard, but I NEVER felt cheated or as if they were unfair. I think this was one of the few action games whenever I died on a boss, I never got angry (yeah, I rage at times... ). The bosses were all sorta "same-y" (dodge/reflect stuff, dash in and attack, dash out, rinse and repeat), but man, they were all a great, fair, and fun challenge.

    Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - the only soulslike game I ever beat, or even cared to beat really (Nioh is close, tho). I'm not a fan of soulslike games. I hate stamina management, corpse running, and the save/respawn systems. Sekiro doesn't have the former 2 and is the only reason I bothered to play it. Now I'm glad I did, b/c it's a Top 15 all-time game for me. It was one of two games ever that I ever felt compelled to play again or play NG+ (the other being Mark of the Ninja). I only wanted to play NG+, so I can keep fighting the bosses that I had become addicted to. Some bosses did feel cheap for whatever design or hurtbox/hitbox reason, but overall, they were pretty great as a whole. Sadly the Guardian Ape was spoiled for me, or else I think it would definitely resonate w/ me more had I experienced it unspoiled. Also, after beating Sekiro, I felt a calm about myself...that my days as a rage gamer were over. ...then I played ScourgeBringer. And Cyber Shadow...

    Final Fantasy VII - Emerald Weapon, Ruby Weapon, Sephiroth...all of these are still vivid memories in my mind.

    Metal Gear Solid series - as stated above...The End was just incredible. Not just an all-time boss fight for me, but an all-time gaming experience. Psycho Mantis, Vulcan Raven (for just being cool), The Sorrow, Sniper Wolf, Crying Wolf...the MGS series is loaded w/ memorable boss fights. It's funny, MGS2 is hands-down my favorite MGS, but I also acknowledge it easily has the least interesting and memorable boss encounters.

    Shadow of the Colossus - pretty self-explanatory. The encounters were solid mechanically (tho I remember hating that lightning boss in the colosseum), but the actual sense of scope and scale, made it just so epic.

    World of Warcraft - too many to list or even remember, tbh. And so many whose names I forgot. I was a dedicated raider from the end of vanilla through WotLK. I did some raids in MoP and Legion, but just casually, LFR stuff. But even those were great. I was the ball-runner on G'huun and just that is incredibly fun (dps had to have 2 ppl each on the left and right platforms rotating picking up a ball and throwing it in some some biological receptor thing). I never learned the full boss fight itself, just mastered my role of running a ball back and forth lol. I wish I got to truly experience Yogg-Saron. When Ulduar was new, I only got to the 3rd to last boss. A buddy and I tried to 2-man Yogg when Ulduar was like 3 expansions old, and we still couldn't down him lol. I could probably put 5+ WoW bosses on a Top 10 list across all games, but I'll try to be as discerning as possible. And also, honestly, these experiences ARE a bit skewed, since they are co-op, and essentially influenced by the people you play with. But I'm still trying to be objective, as if I was playing w/ a raid of silent AI teammates lol. Oh and the WoD raid bosses...i didn't do those til I outleveled them just for mog runs, but I can tell, plenty of them were unique as heck.

    Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal - a lot of the boss fights themselves are decently memorable, but what stood out to me was the build up or the scope of some of the encounters. Truly badass and epic.

    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Divine Beasts and Lynels. 'nuff said. Or is it...*hint hint*

    Okay, my Top 10. I will add, this weighs mostly the encounter, but also does weigh secondary/tertiary things like the buildup, story flavor, even music, etc. - sort of the "whole" experience.

    Honorable Mention: FEAR - Paxton Fettel (SPOILER)not really a boss FIGHT, but...play the game!
    10. Razorgore the Untamed (WoW)
    9. Sniper Wolf (MGS)
    8. Hysteria (Sundered)
    7. Flaahgra (Metroid Prime)
    6. Naydra (BotW)
    5. Paragons of the Klaxxi (WoW:MoP)
    4. Emerald Weapon (FF7)
    3. The End (MGS3)
    2. Folding Screen Monkeys (Sekiro)
    1. Mantis Lords (Hollow Knight)

    Wow, I'm actually surprised I came up w/ so much diversity. I thought it'd just all be FF and MGS and Sekiro bosses lol.

    Thanks for this fun thread.
    Last edited by cheesesteak; 04-11-2021 at 01:01 AM. Reason: clarification
    - Dr. Cheesesteak


  8. #23

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    Especially for the extra boss and dungeon added, Persona 5 Royal takes it for me. Some of the bosses felt extremely personal by the end and the satisfaction in knowing that you were changing the world in both small and large ways felt gratifying. Granted, a few of the fights verged on the annoying with what felt like an endless stream of minions being called into battle but for the game to wrap up with the final fight, I definitely give it my vote.

    Take care all.

  9. #24
    Recognized Member Jessweeee♪'s Avatar
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    Most of my favorite bosses are from FFXIV. The incredible music may be influencing that. So far my favorite from all of them is Warrior of Light. Love the use of the random order of "mini phases" within the last phase, and sharing a buddy through all the mechanics. Its a bonding experience. And that opening bass line



    Also a bit of an unpopular opinion, I love the last boss of Mass Effect 2. The first time I thought it was really cool. Suddenly this SPOOKY SKELETON pops up behind you and goes BWWWAAAAAAHHHHH! Now I think its adorable. Like a kid trying to surprise you by saying "boo!" and you act like you're all scared.

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