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best boss fights?
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C- Warrior
Banned
Spike Spiegel said:
How many people do you think actually got past the 1st mini-boss before giving up :lol
Mine are El Gigante from Re4 and Nelo Angelo (fight #3) from DMC1.
Azure Dream
Member
Don't kill me... Sonic Adventure 2, Finalhazard. Hear me out. (Major spoilers abound, but an entire post blacked out by a spoiler tag wouldn't have been that easy to read.)
The beast Shadow fought previously has merged itself with the space station, and is physically dragging it toward the planet in the hopes of setting off a chain reaction and destroying everything, to fulfill the revenge plan of a man dead for 50 years. So Sonic and Shadow both go Super, and race out to stop it.
As you fly through space (not "flat" sky/space flight like in Heroes, full 3D space flight), Sonic and Shadow are talking/yelling to eachother, with the other characters on the Space Station feeding you advice and support. Unlike SA1, you didn't directly collect rings, what would happen is that the character you weren't playing as would be supposedly collecting them while you were fighting, and if you were low on rings, you flew over or below the boss to "tag out," and the other would take over with the opposite of what you had within a set limit of 50 rings. Basically, for every second you lost a ring while fighting, the other was supposedly collecting one. This means that there's no real way to "tag out," and not have enough rings to tag back again (short of an attack by FH intervening), since you'll end up with either an equal or greater amount of rings.
Anyway, Finalhazard at first starts shooting a few red bubbles at you, akin to his original ground attack in his Biolizard form. You wail on the puffed-up/inflamed spot in his armor (yeah, it's mocked a lot, but you already trashed his blatant power source hit point previously, and this lets the point appear in different places), then tag over to the other fighter. Finalhazard's attacks increase, growing to a spherical shield of red bubbles flinging at an increased rate, and double rotating lasers. Meanwhile, other plot points are being set up, including that Shadow is having trouble keeping his Super form like Sonic, and late into the fight, depending on if you're Sonic at the right time, he has a revelation that Sonic might be the true ultimate lifeform (either via legend, or by Gerald Robotnik's hand, explaining why Shadow the prototype was a hedgehog too). It's an interesting point that the Sonic games have since abandoned in favor of keeping Shadow's "I'm the best!" ego.
Once you've destroyed him, Sonic and Shadow both team up to teleport the station back into place, but Shadow doesn't teleport along with the station (whether he used his energy to help save Sonic or just gave up, it's uncertain), and he falls into the atmosphere and disappears. Sonic and Co. have a bit of a somber moment, with even Eggman a bit concerned by what lengths his grandfather went to to gain revenge. (Eggman in his better-written moments isn't someone who wants to destroy the world, just rule it.) A nice somber note unfortunately ruined when Sega realized how popular Shadow was. (To be fair, I like the design, but it was just too much of a death cheat, and him dying will never matter again.)
Back on the bossfight, one of the details a lot of people don't see is that, unlike Perfect Chaos or Metal Overlord/Madness, rings aren't your only deadline. I believe you only get 5 minutes, and as it gets closer to the time limit, the screen starts getting redder as you enter the atmosphere, with particles burning up in front of you. Finally, as you reach the last few seconds, the support cast on the space station start screaming for you to give up and get out of there. I can't remember for certain, but I think the screen whites out. The effect is excellent, but again, most people either die from running out of rings or beat him in time.
The beast Shadow fought previously has merged itself with the space station, and is physically dragging it toward the planet in the hopes of setting off a chain reaction and destroying everything, to fulfill the revenge plan of a man dead for 50 years. So Sonic and Shadow both go Super, and race out to stop it.
As you fly through space (not "flat" sky/space flight like in Heroes, full 3D space flight), Sonic and Shadow are talking/yelling to eachother, with the other characters on the Space Station feeding you advice and support. Unlike SA1, you didn't directly collect rings, what would happen is that the character you weren't playing as would be supposedly collecting them while you were fighting, and if you were low on rings, you flew over or below the boss to "tag out," and the other would take over with the opposite of what you had within a set limit of 50 rings. Basically, for every second you lost a ring while fighting, the other was supposedly collecting one. This means that there's no real way to "tag out," and not have enough rings to tag back again (short of an attack by FH intervening), since you'll end up with either an equal or greater amount of rings.
Anyway, Finalhazard at first starts shooting a few red bubbles at you, akin to his original ground attack in his Biolizard form. You wail on the puffed-up/inflamed spot in his armor (yeah, it's mocked a lot, but you already trashed his blatant power source hit point previously, and this lets the point appear in different places), then tag over to the other fighter. Finalhazard's attacks increase, growing to a spherical shield of red bubbles flinging at an increased rate, and double rotating lasers. Meanwhile, other plot points are being set up, including that Shadow is having trouble keeping his Super form like Sonic, and late into the fight, depending on if you're Sonic at the right time, he has a revelation that Sonic might be the true ultimate lifeform (either via legend, or by Gerald Robotnik's hand, explaining why Shadow the prototype was a hedgehog too). It's an interesting point that the Sonic games have since abandoned in favor of keeping Shadow's "I'm the best!" ego.
Once you've destroyed him, Sonic and Shadow both team up to teleport the station back into place, but Shadow doesn't teleport along with the station (whether he used his energy to help save Sonic or just gave up, it's uncertain), and he falls into the atmosphere and disappears. Sonic and Co. have a bit of a somber moment, with even Eggman a bit concerned by what lengths his grandfather went to to gain revenge. (Eggman in his better-written moments isn't someone who wants to destroy the world, just rule it.) A nice somber note unfortunately ruined when Sega realized how popular Shadow was. (To be fair, I like the design, but it was just too much of a death cheat, and him dying will never matter again.)
Back on the bossfight, one of the details a lot of people don't see is that, unlike Perfect Chaos or Metal Overlord/Madness, rings aren't your only deadline. I believe you only get 5 minutes, and as it gets closer to the time limit, the screen starts getting redder as you enter the atmosphere, with particles burning up in front of you. Finally, as you reach the last few seconds, the support cast on the space station start screaming for you to give up and get out of there. I can't remember for certain, but I think the screen whites out. The effect is excellent, but again, most people either die from running out of rings or beat him in time.
D
dicklaurent
Unconfirmed Member
One of the Gradius V bosses, maybe the asteroid-level .. or the one before that.
Yeah, same here. I was always afraid, he would lash at me. So I stayed within range of the shotgun until I had used the ammo that I had allotted then switched to my pistol and finished him off with that. The very next day, I am talking to a friend of mine at school and he tells me that you can jump on his back. I wasted so much ammo on that part so I reloaded my previous save right before him.Vlad said:
Sea-Dragon
Member
Perhaps not on quite epic scale as many others listed here, but I was pretty impressed with:
Matador from Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne - in his introdution he seemed pretty bad-ass without being downright irritating. He also ground me into a greasy pulp until I discovered a good defense (as opposed to having discover a good offense, which is a nice change.)
Matador from Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne - in his introdution he seemed pretty bad-ass without being downright irritating. He also ground me into a greasy pulp until I discovered a good defense (as opposed to having discover a good offense, which is a nice change.)
There's a couple from me but 2 games stand above all others, either through emotional attachment, brilliance... probably a combination of both. Top 3...
Bizarre. Surreal. Intense. Brilliant. Fun. I think enough's been said about this. What's so great is that the game is so non-linear that there's a bunch of ways to fight this battle. It's really incredible. I feel like they placed us in a sniper's boots. The fight just has every sense working. Not only that but just about every boss fight had something cool attempted. The western feel of Ocelot's, innovative fights, interesting face-offs. Kojima is truly in top form on this game. Amazing graphics, gameplay, story, boss fights.. Just an AMAZING game.
Not only was the fight an amazing atmosphere but it was even emotional as you can get for a fight. And the moment snake eater hits.. Perfect.
Shenmue II's final boss fight was unforgettable as said. Using the moves you've learned and Ryu growing as a fighter while meeting eye to eye with Lan Di. Un-frickin-believable. It was a bit of a challenge to and just incredible to see as Ryu was the only one on the rooftop who could have done what he did. You really feel like a bad ass by that point, ready to jump on the helicopter. Then the whole game excels even further after that. That and MGS3 were not just great in boss fights, they were some of the top, if not the top 2 gaming experiences ever.
Bizarre. Surreal. Intense. Brilliant. Fun. I think enough's been said about this. What's so great is that the game is so non-linear that there's a bunch of ways to fight this battle. It's really incredible. I feel like they placed us in a sniper's boots. The fight just has every sense working. Not only that but just about every boss fight had something cool attempted. The western feel of Ocelot's, innovative fights, interesting face-offs. Kojima is truly in top form on this game. Amazing graphics, gameplay, story, boss fights.. Just an AMAZING game.
Not only was the fight an amazing atmosphere but it was even emotional as you can get for a fight. And the moment snake eater hits.. Perfect.
Shenmue II's final boss fight was unforgettable as said. Using the moves you've learned and Ryu growing as a fighter while meeting eye to eye with Lan Di. Un-frickin-believable. It was a bit of a challenge to and just incredible to see as Ryu was the only one on the rooftop who could have done what he did. You really feel like a bad ass by that point, ready to jump on the helicopter. Then the whole game excels even further after that. That and MGS3 were not just great in boss fights, they were some of the top, if not the top 2 gaming experiences ever.
Azure Dream
Member
belgurdo said:
Nope. Shadow in Battle
is a robot/clone
is the real thing. Later dialogue gives it away, and they changed a line of Omega's dialogue during the Team Dark ending in the final version to make it clearer, versus a prototype version leaked at one point. I can't remember which is which offhand, but I think the prototype said, "If our Shadow is a fake, then the real Shadow must still be out there somewhere." And the final release says, "You know about cloning. The real Shadow must still be out there somewhere." Very few lines were changed between what was leaked and what we ended up with, so while I think they toyed with the idea of explaining the current Shadow as a clone or replica of the past one, they got cold feet and just decided to resurrect him.
Dumah from Soul Reaver gets my vote, not only was the actual way you iniate the fight amazingly interactive, but the way you kill him just blew my mind. That was probably the most open-ended boss solution I've seen in a game. I love games that force you to use your brains as much as your brawn and the boss fights in this game had the perfect balance of the two.
The first fight with Kain was amazing too, not so much the actual fight, but just how emotionally charged you are when you fight him. Not to mention Kain being so powerful he could even zap you through the walls. I remember climbing up the wall and hiding in the hall upstairs thinking I was so safe and then I see a huge bolt of lightning come out and still zap me, I nearly had a heart attack I was so shocked.
The first fight with Kain was amazing too, not so much the actual fight, but just how emotionally charged you are when you fight him. Not to mention Kain being so powerful he could even zap you through the walls. I remember climbing up the wall and hiding in the hall upstairs thinking I was so safe and then I see a huge bolt of lightning come out and still zap me, I nearly had a heart attack I was so shocked.
Leatherface
Member
LakeEarth said:
And that's him very very far away. At the time, it was the most impressive final boss I had ever seen.
Stole my post you bitch! =P
I agree, best end boss fight EVER.
Runner up would be Metroid Prime boss battles though..
MGS3: The Volgin Chase Scene
I was literally breathless after it was over. I haven't felt that way about a boss battle/sequence since I was a kid.
And I've always professed my love for Psyco Mantis... it's the whole moving of the controller and switching ports that made me go: whoa.
I was literally breathless after it was over. I haven't felt that way about a boss battle/sequence since I was a kid.
And I've always professed my love for Psyco Mantis... it's the whole moving of the controller and switching ports that made me go: whoa.
pancakesandsex
Member
Vic Viper in Zone of the Enders 2
nuff said
nuff said
GrimReaper
Member
The most memorable for me.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
The coolest boss battle ever. All other bosses had descriptions and whatnot for them, but Ganon is simply Ganon. There is nothing else to say.
BuckRobotron
Member
Some that come to mind...
RAIDEN: first tank bosses, pounding one down until it is close to blowing up, then laying off to do the same with the second one that scrolls into view. Depending on what system/version of Raiden you are playing, the simultaneous dual explosions could choke the system.
FINAL FANTASY VIII: a very different type of game and boss fight, but tops for its genre. Colossal fight, sequence after sequence ("there's more?"), always relatively challenging for an rpg even when you've got everybody set up perfectly.
PARASITE EVE 2: challenging, requires careful footwork and power maintenance
--actually lots of bosses in PE2, including the good ol' Burner...
PANZER DRAGOON ORTA (and all PDs in basically): I love the demand for aiming precision in the final battle, never mind the awesome sights and sounds
RAIDEN: first tank bosses, pounding one down until it is close to blowing up, then laying off to do the same with the second one that scrolls into view. Depending on what system/version of Raiden you are playing, the simultaneous dual explosions could choke the system.
FINAL FANTASY VIII: a very different type of game and boss fight, but tops for its genre. Colossal fight, sequence after sequence ("there's more?"), always relatively challenging for an rpg even when you've got everybody set up perfectly.
PARASITE EVE 2: challenging, requires careful footwork and power maintenance
--actually lots of bosses in PE2, including the good ol' Burner...
PANZER DRAGOON ORTA (and all PDs in basically): I love the demand for aiming precision in the final battle, never mind the awesome sights and sounds
Man, this topic really drives home how forgettable most boss battles are. I can't even remember one from a lot of the games I've played.
A really great one, though, was Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Don't remember his name, but he was the huge guy jailed in the background, whose giant hands you had to dodge. The fight itself wasn't anything too special but he had the greatest intro ever:
SOTN has some great ones, too. Who can forget the giant rotting corpse on meathooks or the huge ball of bodies?
A really great one, though, was Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Don't remember his name, but he was the huge guy jailed in the background, whose giant hands you had to dodge. The fight itself wasn't anything too special but he had the greatest intro ever:
you enter an empty room, and a bunch of bats start coming together in one point and form into a giant bat. "Oh, cool, the first boss from NES Castlevania," you think. Immediately, however, the real boss' giant hands rush in from either side of the screen and smash the bat, complete with a huge splatter of blood. The hands move apart and the boss' huge face emerges from the shadows in the background. Absolutely amazing.
SOTN has some great ones, too. Who can forget the giant rotting corpse on meathooks or the huge ball of bodies?
Not the best boss by any stretch, but I'm playing through Pikmin 2, and the Water Wraith was scary as shit. That is, it was until you finally got to battle it, when it turned out to be a bit of a pushover after all. Pikmin 2 has lots of great bosses, actually. Massive, noisy and often incredibly intimidating until you find their weak spot.
Leatherface
Member
Error2k4 said:
Quadraxis baby! this fucker is just awesome.
edit: wow I though I was the only one that liked fighting against Quadraxis
hell yeah!! that boss was crazy!
Do not click if you don't want to be spoiled
Those who have play the game should know, seeing this motherfucker's true form sent chill to my spine the first time I saw it, hard as fuck also.
Those who have play the game should know, seeing this motherfucker's true form sent chill to my spine the first time I saw it, hard as fuck also.
Dr. Strangelove
I'M COOCOO FOR COCO CRISP!
jman2050 said:
Hell yes. I can still remember the sweaty palms that fight gave me as a kid.
Alma in Ninja Gaiden. Hearing about her being so hard, seeing her crash through the stained glass window, and then the irritating fight that followed. Awesome.
Nelo Angelo in DMC. I was blown away by this fight. The design, the setting, the challenge, just a superb boss.
Metroid Prime. A massive, devious boss. The boss design, music and use of everything you learned make this an all time classic.
The Deus System in Xenogears. Goddamn this fight was ridiculous. The four orbs Harlute, Marlute, Metatron, and Sundel made this fight a bitch. It was such an endurance test that I can still vivdly recall it here 7 years after the fact. Very rewarding.
The fiends in SMT3. Although a few of them were pushovers, the majority of them were forces to be reckoned with. The build up to the fights were always cool as hell and the design was fantastic. The moment that candelabrum flickers you know shit is about to go down.
In recent memory...
God of War - Kratos vs. Giant Hydra
The camera angles using perspectives was nice. Really felt how much power Kratos had when pulling those Hydra with the Blades of Hades.
Metal Gear Solid 2 - Raiden vs. Metal Gear Ray
The first time I played it I didn't know how many of them I'd have to fight, it was overwhelming.
Anubis: Z.O.E. - Jehuty vs. Anubis, etc.
I think pretty much any of the boss fights towards the later half. They really nailed this game so well. One of the best PS2 action games ever.
Shenmue 2 - the final boss fight
From the battle to the end scene...man it was really great. They shouldn't have added another chapter after that because then the game's ending felt so anti-climactic :-/
I'm sure there's more with older games...I'd say Castlevania, Contra have a lot of cool boss fights.
God of War - Kratos vs. Giant Hydra
The camera angles using perspectives was nice. Really felt how much power Kratos had when pulling those Hydra with the Blades of Hades.
Metal Gear Solid 2 - Raiden vs. Metal Gear Ray
The first time I played it I didn't know how many of them I'd have to fight, it was overwhelming.
Anubis: Z.O.E. - Jehuty vs. Anubis, etc.
I think pretty much any of the boss fights towards the later half. They really nailed this game so well. One of the best PS2 action games ever.
Shenmue 2 - the final boss fight
From the battle to the end scene...man it was really great. They shouldn't have added another chapter after that because then the game's ending felt so anti-climactic :-/
I'm sure there's more with older games...I'd say Castlevania, Contra have a lot of cool boss fights.
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