Most memorable or best boss fight in a video game?

nsonthi77@hotmail.com · Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:27 pm

What are some of your most memorable boss fight, or what are some of the best boss fight that you've encountered in a video game? Here's mine...

1. Mike Tyson in Mike Tyson's Punch Out! (It took me whole weekend to beat him and my thumb was sore...and I was only 10! lol)

2. Einhinder last boss. The most adrenaline rush boss encounter in a shooter, I just love the "cool" factor of it.

3. FF7 last boss on disc 1. Wow, just Wow! My all time greatest boss fight ever and it has so much feelings goin on. The sad, yet peacfull ochestrated music playing in the background...all you hear was the sound effects of your weapon and summoning spells b/c of the slow/soft nature of the music. Yea, and I cried like a little girl after it ended....

4. The End in MGS3 sniper match- It took me an hour and 30 min to beat this old geezard sniper. The huge open environment(seriously, huge is an understatement) and the tension you feel with each step you take closing on yout target, or the tension you feel about getting shot at, even when you think your're safe?A truly majestic boss fight.

5. Tyrant from the first Resident Evil- Probally the most feared boss of anyone I've face yet.

6. Metal Gear Rex in MGS1. Its a great feeling to beat a boss that's 30 times as big as you. That Ed-209 type boss was enormous!

7. The Hydro in Gods of War- Its the first boss but also the most memorable in the game. The best use of context sensitive plus the hack-and-slash style.

8. The last boss in Gunstar Hero- There're like 3 stages you have to beat and each are very diffrent from each other. It has the best use of special effects in a 2d game, especially that spinning room.

9. The last boss in Philosima- The most bizzare and intense boss fight that made you go "WTF?" in a shooter that has several stages you had go through.

10. Vergil last form in DMC3- An epic battle between two brothers and is possibly the hardest boss fight ever(Dante mode). Pure skills is needed to beat him and then some.

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:45 pm

1. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence: The Forgotten One...biggest boss I have ever fought.

2. Any BOSS in Change Air Blade...BECAUSE YOU CAN PLAY AS THEM...MWAHAHAHAHA!!!

3. Warning Forever...because you never fight the same boss twice.

4. Ikaruga...Tageri...best music ever for a boss battle.

5. Shadow of the Colossus...Boss #3...because trying to outwit a giant with a friggan big stone sword is fun.

6. Super Robot Wars Alpha 3...Zephield, Dark God of the Balmar...he just EXUDES coolness. Especially when you fight him with Wing Zero among other mecha.

7. Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker...Ganondorf...best swordfight I've had in a long time.

8. Final Fantasy Tactics....Altima: first Form...has some awesome music and I loved her design.

9. Guilty Gear Isuka....Boost Mode...Kakusei (Awakened) Sol + Ky....dueling these guys in their most powerful incarnations is what I live for.

10. Final Fantasy 8....Ultimecia (+4 incarnations)...talk about prelude to something dark...the dungeon leading up to her is something out of a victorian haunted house. Unlocking your abilities by taking on the bosses and then having to deal with her, a Guardian Force, her junctioned to said Guardian Force, and then her final incarnation...plus the music was awesome...plus Omega Weapon was hard and fun to fight.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:11 pm

For me it'll always be Ken Oh (first boss from Shinobi). He's just a badass, taunting you on the first two levels until you get to face him, and then blasting you with fireballs. The final boss fight in Metal Slug 2/X was very memorable as well.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:29 pm

the first time i saw the giant crab in MS3. purely memorable from a visual stand since the actual fight is not so much good. i remember seeing the the review of the Neo cart in Gamefan and wanted to play it so bad (cause of the art, as i hadn't played a metal slug game at that point). when it was ported to xbox, i was amazed at the level of animation going on in that game. still am actually.

the giant female head thing at the end of Curse. still $5 well spent.

any boss like stage 4 ddp (one in gunbird 2 i know). with the two lasers, and you have to move with the boss, and alternate sides to avoid death. rythm gold.

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:50 pm

No one even mentions the bosses from Darius Gaiden? What the hell.

Mutoid Man from Smash TV was the shit, so was the Announcer at the very end of the game.

PaCrappa · Post by **PaCrappa** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 7:12 pm

I'm still playing Silent Hill 2 and I'm pretty sure he's not the final boss or anything but Pyramid Head has been incredibly disturbing to my poor fragile psyche.

Also from recent memory, the final boss in Hacha Mecha Fighter is a ferris wheel full of bunny rabbits that fire carrot launcher bazookas at you.

My fave boss ever of all times is the cat spider thingy in Guwange. There's none better than that IMHO.

Pa

FatCobra · Post by **FatCobra** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 7:41 pm

Fighting Bowser in SMB3 when I was a kid. I had a tough time figuring out how to kill them, when I realized that the bricks break when he stomps. So I cleverly tricked him into stomping out the floor and falling to his doom. I've also made it though the castle with the hammer suit, Bowser dies from one or two hammers. Kind of anti-climatic, but getting there with the suit intact was no easier feat!

jp · Post by jp » Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:15 pm

**SPOILERS***

Spoilers for Thunder Force V and Soukyuugurentai.

In no particular order:

1. Super Mario Bros 2 (US) - Wart. I always thought it was a cool ass fight.

2. Thunder Force V - When you fight the ship from TFIV. Fucking awesome.

3. Blast Wind - Final boss. Great music. Great fight.

4. Panzer Dragoon - The Dark Dragon. YEAH!

5. Hyper Duel - Final battle over the planet earth. The actual "Hyper Duel". Really cool.

6. Radiant Silvergun - Xiga. 'Nuff said.

7. Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru - Final boss. The amount of reflex you have to have to block his attacks, the setting, and the music. Amazing final fight. Especially on "Hard".

8. Soukyuugurentai - Remixed music from the first boss fight in a fight against the first boss remixed. Fucking hardcore.

9. Skies of Arcadia - Ramirez's final form. Craziness.

10. Final Fantasy 6 - KEFKA 4 LIFE!!!!

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:51 pm

Mine HAS to be something from a Parodius game...

The only one I played as a child was Parodius Da on the SFC though.... Hmm... maybe the can can lips? If only because if you used a screen clearing bomb earlier on in the stage, you could see nekkid people in the background.. You know how kids are... OMG NEKKID!

Permanently etched into my memory. Mmm... nekkid...

J-Manic · Post by **J-Manic** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:34 pm

jp wrote:Skies of Arcadia - Ramirez's final form. Craziness.

How can I forget this battle. Probably one of the hardest in any RPG.

Other unforgettable bosses:

- Blue Giga ship battle in Skies of Arcadia (quite an experience)

- Galamoth in Castlevania: SOTN (very risky optional boss)

- final boss in DDP, after the Queen Bee (the craziest boss in any manic shmup!)

- final boss in Border Down (awesome big design)

- both final bosses in Giga Wing & Giga Wing 2

- Jin Chonrei in Garou Densetsu 3 (Fatal Fury 3)

- M. Bison in Street Fighter 2

- Gill in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (what a cheesey bitch!)

it290 · Post by **it290** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:47 pm

How can I forget this battle. Probably one of the hardest in any RPG.

Eh? I defeated him quite handily without even really paying attention to what I was doing.

MSZ · Post by **MSZ** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:59 pm

J-Manic wrote:Gill in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (what a cheesey bitch!)

NO kidding, Gill is one cheap son of a bitch.

Other memorable boss fights:

-Neo Granzon in SRW3, SRWEX(secret boss) and SRW4.
-Blaster Cannon Core in Gradius V
-Shin Gouki in SFZ2
-The final boss in Falsion

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:09 am

The spider boss in Shikigami No Shiro. Dear Lord.

Also, another nod to Gill.

Hell, while we're on fighters, why not Shin Akuma and Devil Rugal from CvSNK2?

Acid King · Post by **Acid King** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:17 am

Zankuro from Samurai Shodown 4.

Stage 2 boss from Ikaruga.

Alma from Ninja Gaiden.

Cyberdemon and Spiderdemon from Doom/Doom2

Dagoth Ur from Morrowind

The three tiered monster at the end of Final Fantasy 3 (or 6 if you want to be a douche about it)

Magus in Crono Trigger.

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:19 am

J-Manic wrote:
jp wrote:Skies of Arcadia - Ramirez's final form. Craziness.
How can I forget this battle. Probably one of the hardest in any RPG.

Weird. Maybe I over-leveled or something because I thought Ramirez's final form was a push over. He looked cool though.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:42 am

-The shmup boss stage in Wario Ware 1
-various other bosses in Wario Ware games
-Rabbit Basketball in Wario Land 2
-Clown boss in Wario Land 3
-Sentai robot boss in Trouble Shooter
-Purple Tentacle in Maniac Mansion 2 (not sure if this counts)
-Fawful in Mario and Luigi
-Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Solid ("You have played Castlevania", "I can make the controller move by itself")
-Taisen Puzzle dama boss in Goemon 4
-Robot boss battles in Goemon 2 and Goemon's Great Adventure
-Spider-Man boss in Revenge of Shinobi
-Core bosses in various Gradius games
-Core boss in new version of Quarth with Goemon DS
-Moai boss in Gradius Gaiden

J-Manic · Post by **J-Manic** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 3:37 am

it290 wrote:
How can I forget this battle. Probably one of the hardest in any RPG.
Eh? I defeated him quite handily without even really paying attention to what I was doing.

Really?? Hmm, I must've missed something, or did something wrong beacuse I was fighting him for a long time at the end.

Damocles wrote:Hell, while we're on fighters, why not Shin Akuma and Devil Rugal from CvSNK2?

Yeah. Both are pretty tough. But I found God Rugal to be 10 times harder than Shin Gouki for some reason. His Kaiser Waves and Genocide Cutters killed me.

The n00b · Post by **The n00b** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 3:37 am

1. Pummeling a prophet to death in Halo 2. Imagine a linebacker jumping on top of an oldman's electric wheelchair and beating the crap out of him...

2. Killing the cyborgs in Deus Ex

3. Killing the Master in Fallout/Killing Frank Horrigan in Fallout 2. These guys only wanted what was best for the world so why are they the villains?

4. Killing Jon Irenicus and his demons in hell in Baldur's Gate 2. GO FOR THE EYES BOO! No whiny angsty jrpg villains here... This dude was tough and so evil even hell couldn't fully contain him.

5. "Fighting" the Transcendent One in Planescape Torment. I can't even mention how cool fighting this guy is without completely spoiling the game.

Keranu · Post by **Keranu** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:06 am

Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys had plenty of awesome boss fights in it, it was really outstanding. The whole Ys series pretty much had great boss fights, but they were really above their game in Dawn of Ys.

landshark · Post by **landshark** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:11 am

1st boss (hydras) in God of War.

Most of the bosses in that were pretty good. But the 1st was outstanding.

The last guy of GUN was done very well too.

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:54 am

Psycho mantis MGS1

Just the nice touches like the controller vibrating, plugging into controller port 2 to evade his psycho kinetic brain reading capabilities.

Fire and Ice from Ocarina of time, followed by Um Bongo

sjewkestheloon · Post by **sjewkestheloon** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:10 am

got to be alma from ninja gaiden. pure punishment ending in a popped head

oh and the dragon at the end of stage 6 of gunbird simply because i can't beat the bastard. the bullets are too fast for my poor little brain so every 1cc attempt ends here even though i can one life the final stage. it really pecks me head.

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:45 am

the airplane carrier robot from transformers, fuckin awesome the first few times you face him (untill you discover the cheap tricks needed to defeat him).

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:32 pm

The n00b wrote:1. Pummeling a prophet to death in Halo 2. Imagine a linebacker jumping on top of an oldman's electric wheelchair and beating the crap out of him...

2. Killing the cyborgs in Deus Ex

3. Killing the Master in Fallout/Killing Frank Horrigan in Fallout 2. These guys only wanted what was best for the world so why are they the villains?

4. Killing Jon Irenicus and his demons in hell in Baldur's Gate 2. GO FOR THE EYES BOO! No whiny angsty jrpg villains here... This dude was tough and so evil even hell couldn't fully contain him.

5. "Fighting" the Transcendent One in Planescape Torment. I can't even mention how cool fighting this guy is without completely spoiling the game.

I'm inclined to agree with all of these. The Baldur's Gate series was filled amazingly hard as hell bosses throughout.

The Master and Frank Horrigan were cool but both were too easy. Particulary Frank if you deactivated the sentry guns in his room and talked the squad in front of his door out of fighting you. However, gassing everyone in the building and wasting the new "president" in that game was AWESOME!

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:16 pm

The n00b wrote:3. Killing the Master in Fallout/Killing Frank Horrigan in Fallout 2. These guys only wanted what was best for themselves

Fixed.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:22 pm

I just thought of another one... it's that gross baby turtle ass face thing that pukes at you in the first stage of Shin Contra.... and I only remember this one since I never got past stage 2...

Guwange had some gross stuff too.

pablo · Post by **pablo** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:03 pm

iatneH wrote:I just thought of another one... it's that gross baby turtle ass face thing that pukes at you in the first stage of Shin Contra.... and I only remember this one since I never got past stage 2...

Guwange had some gross stuff too.

Yeah, Neo Contra's first boss. And the whole "running on helicopterblades" in the fourth stage. The game itself is a mighty fine throwback to such games as Ikari Warriors and MERCS.

Must say the big pile of all bosses in DmC2 too. That one was just weird.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:49 pm

Who remembers this classic 'boss fight'?

ST Dragon · Post by **ST Dragon** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:51 am

Just a few from the top of my head, in No particular order:

Gradius V – The Fight against this Boss:

I think it’s the Level 4 Boss?

R-Type Final – “Fine Motion” Boss at Stage 5.0 - Dimension 26.

Ikaruga – Stage 1 Boss, Mech with sword & shield. Very memorable and ends with a nice explosion too!

Ninja Gaiden II – The three forms of the final Boss!

Heretic – The fight against the four Minotaur Bosses guarding the portal that leads to D’Sparil’s domed city.

Heretic – The fight against D’Sparil and his minions!

Hexen – The Caped Grand Hierarch Boss (With the Purple, Green & Blue Mana orbs circling over his head) at the Citadel.
This guy had three different spells based on the three color orbs, one of which was a defense spell that could not even be broken with the level 4 Quietus Sword!

Hexen II – The fight against the four horsemen of the Apocalypse:
Death, Famine, Pestilence & War!

Hexen II - Portal of Praevus – Final Buddha Demon Boss.
This is one kick-ass fight! One of the few I can remember in a FPS where the temple and the surroundings gradually crumble and ultimately collapse from the awesome fire power unleashed by the fight! A shocking experience indeed!

Doom – The fight against the Cyber Demon. I got my ass pulverized about 2 dozen times by those crazy rockets trying to strafe my way out!

Quake II – The fight against the flying Hornet Boss as it ascended from the bottomless pit at the Big Gun citadel..

Thunder Force V – The Fight against the original Rynex craft that morphs into deferent shapes by adding extensions.

Thunder Force III – The fight against G-Lobster at Hades stage. Best Boss fight in the game and that specific Boss music is just perfect for the fight!

Mario 2 – The Fight against the Final Toad Boss. Yeah, this guy was cool!

Turtles IV – Turtles in Time – Most Boss fights were cool, especially against Shredder & Crang.

Radiant Silvergun – Xiga - He kicked my ass the 1st time I encountered him real bad. What a bastid!

CastleVania SOTN – The Lord of the Flies. One of the most disturbing zombie Bosses ever!

Transformers – Tidal Wave Boss. That guy was one mighty freckle-kicking dude!
His chest cannons could blast your sorry ass to oblivion!

Zone of The Enders 2 – The Final fight against Anubis inside the core with all the awesome lighting effects and the fight before that as you fly through the catapult whilst fighting Anubis!

Unreal 1 – Fighting against the Alien Queen at the hive.

Quake IV – Most Boss fights were unforgettable. Fighting against the Strider Mech Bosses (while destroying the surrounding), the flying Guardian at the three towers, The Nexus it self and so many more.

Doom 3 – All 4 Boss fights were amongst the scariest and most memorable I have encountered. The Spider Queen inside the hive, the Guardian at Hell, the stroggified Sarge Tank & the final confrontation with the Legendary Spider Demon him self!

Air Combat – Shooting down the final boss and chasing after the multi-continental nuclear warhead to shoot it down before it reaches the city!

Sonic 2 – Robot Sonic Boss. This guy was tough as nails!

Gaiares – Fighting against Z-Bandusy’s Mech Boss with the Galaxy in the background.

Gaiares – Fight against Death Boss Mech at the Space Citadel.

Turrican II – The final fight against the Machine’s Mech guardian after having to search your way through an alien infested hive.

Gynoug – The grotesque Ghoul Boss at the end of level 4. A disturbing chap that can only be surpassed by Lord of the Flies in CastleVania SOTN.

Raiden II – The level 1 Twin Walker Bosses that end with 2 nice thermo-nuclear explosions.

Metal Slug Series – Most Bosses of the series. Some very memorable fights and the boss music is the best!

Axelay – The ED-209 Boss at the end of level 2. The best animated, fully articulated Boss on any 16-bit console imo. I remember drooling over some magazine flyers of that specific boss! When I finally got the game the fight was exactly as I imagined it!

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:59 am

Bowser in Super Mario World; it was the first game I ever beat (must have been around 6), and not only was it creepy as hell, but hard (for a 6 year old, at least).

Giant robot boss from the third level in Contra III -- come on, was that just not the coolest shit you've ever seen? It was insane, I must have been around 6 at the time I got to him, too.

The Dark Knight in the first level of Castlevania: Bloodlines. It was so beautiful and scary (the way he moved and the clanks, I was so young) at the same time.

Devil May Cry -- all of them were incredible experiences.

MGS2 -- read above. Personal favorite? Probably fighting the RAYs.

The Red Skull android at the end of Cap America & the Avengers for the Genney. Haven't played it in years, but when I was a kid I loved it.

Any of the bosses in Mischief Makers; the Migen Father & Son fight, Alpha (riding on top of a cat at breakneck speed? YES), etc...I am very ashamed to admit I never went very far past Alpha, but one day I'd like to beat the game.

As far as beat 'em ups go, Sodom in Final Fight, Shredder in TMNTIV, Mother Alien in Aliens VS. Predator, etc...some real classic stuff in there.

I find it interesting and a little disheartening that my favorite boss battles were basically ones I had during my childhood. Guess I haven't really been wowed too much these past few years, save a few. The ZOE games had some sweet battles.