Better than Ganon IMO.

3/17/2008 6:39:15 AM

3/17/2008 8:11:41 AM

^^That was an impressive boss fight.

3/17/2008 8:28:40 AM

Oh, how could I forget, just about THE ENTIRE GAME OF SHADOWS OF THE COLOSSUS.

If you never played the game, there were no "regular" bad guys. There were just 15 giant bosses scattered throughout the land. And when I say giant, I really mean giant. Like you had to do all kinds of crap to bring them down. I remember one guy, you had to ride your horse, stand up on it's back, then jump up and grab onto the fur of the dude's legs then climb all over him while he's trying to shake you off.

3/17/2008 8:53:39 AM

3/17/2008 9:15:42 AM

I never got there myself, but I remember hearing it was rather tough.

3/17/2008 9:45:29 AM

hah. talk about not epic (but i remember it all the same), the ending to dragon warrior:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/102867.html

3/17/2008 9:52:45 AM

The only way you could beat Bubble Bobble was to have two players. You then had to play an extra 10 levels (I think) before you would face the boss again.

3/17/2008 10:52:06 AM

Dark Ages of Camelot Dragons

3/17/2008 11:07:06 AM

3/17/2008 1:16:27 PM

INSERT SECOND CONTROLLER OR MEMORY CARD TO SEE SOME FREAKY SHIT

3/17/2008 1:21:07 PM

I am astonished no one has mentioned any fighting game bosses yet.

That having been said, this fucker is the KING of all fighting game bosses.



Rugal, from the King of Fighters game series, is hands down the most badassed boss character in any fighting game I've ever played. Hell, I own a Neo Geo arcade machine with almost all of the KOF games, and I can recall having beaten '94 and '95 Rugal less than 10 times total.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia entry on Rugal:

Quote :

"On their tenth anniversary website, SNK has stated that Rugal in The King of Fighters '94 was originally based on the concept of the "mightiest (most violent) and most evil boss character ever."[1] (Omega) Rugal is also the developers' favorite SNK villain thus far, which is the main reason why he is always the final boss in the dream match games.[2] Rugal is, by SNK's own claims, the prime example of SNK Boss Syndrome. Rugal as a Boss is typically very passive, waiting for the player to attack before unleashing one of his high priority attacks to punish them. The attack that typically fills this role is his signature move Genocide Cutter, a multi hit, rising kick maneuver which has a large number of invincibility frames. Rugal's Dark Barrier can be used to deflect projectiles thrown by a turtling player. He also has access to a dashing command throw, known as God Press and a version of Geese Howard's Reppuken. These moves together make Rugal capable of sitting at the end of the screen and inflicting damage upon the player for almost any move they make. Rugal also has additional attacks depending on which game he is in, along with a several highly damaging Desperation Moves. Due to his waiting game, it's not uncommon for a player to try to get a time out to defeat Rugal, by dodging his Reppukens and God Presses after landing a few blows.[citation needed]"

Rugal is simply too anticipatory, too overpowered, and has far too high priority at all ranges. I have never seen any other boss character in a fighting game which could hope to match this kind of frustration.

3/17/2008 1:23:04 PM

Goro


[Edited on March 17, 2008 at 2:15 PM. Reason : image]

3/17/2008 1:46:34 PM

totally didn't even think of fighting games

M. Bison in SFA3 Story Mode would rape you

having to beat Voldo in like 30 seconds in the original Soul Blade on one of the characters sword quest took for fucking ever too

3/17/2008 1:47:18 PM

any darksim, is it even possible to beat one of them without getting lucky with some explosives?

3/17/2008 1:49:42 PM

3/17/2008 2:02:19 PM

Volgin in the Shagohod from Metal Gear Solid 3, hands down.

3/17/2008 4:01:49 PM

Quote :

"If we are talking about hardest, it's pretty much every boss from Ninja Gaiden. "

So true, that was an awesome game, never could beat the last boss, even when cheating and using an emulator and saving every few seconds i did anything good.

3/17/2008 4:14:50 PM

Quote :

"M. Bison in SFA3 Story Mode would rape you"

He's actually pretty easy once you learn his patterns. I can fight him and 90% of the time he never hits with the Super Psycho Crusher.

One problem with fighting game bosses is that too often they're just overpowered fighters. Since their AI routines have never been very competent, designers usually stack them with overpowered moves and insane reaction time. The KoF 94 and 95 Rugal sounds like a textbook example of that. I know Shao Khan, Goro, and the like fit the bill too. A good final boss would force you to step up your game but usually I can resort to asanine techniques that beats the simplistic AI.

IMO the best final boss in a fighting game is Ryu in SFA2, but even he could throw you out of supermoves (like Ken's Shoryureppa).

*gets off soapbox*

3/17/2008 5:17:47 PM

C'thun for complexity and fun (and one of our best kill videos, nothing like a lone shaman left standing flying out from him in stage 2 and meleeing him for 46 while air born and killing him with the other 39 of us dead)

3/17/2008 5:36:39 PM

Dunno if you can call it a boss battle, but when you first got the rocket launcher in the original Half-Life and took down that fucking helicopter that had been pestering you for that past two levels, it was goddamn glorious.

3/17/2008 7:55:46 PM

Memorable and Fun Zelda/Metroid Bosses:

-Ganon from LTTP
-Vitreous from LTTP/Wart from MM (i think this was the one you had to hookshot all the things off of it before you could attack the eyeball)
-Mothula from LTTP (this was the one with all the fucking spikes)
-Phantom Ganon from OOT
-Twinrova from OOT (the whole mirror shield thing was really fun)
-Volvagia from OOT (whack a mole, anyone?)
- Ganondorf and Ganon from OOT (epic as hell, awesome song)
-TwinMold from MM (this fight was the shit, you turned into Giant Link)
-Goht from MM (this was the one where you raced him using Goron Link)
-Ganon from WW (while being pretty easy, was radically different from previous fights with Ganon and a lot of fun)
-Stallord from TP (this is probably the most fun fight I've ever had in a Zelda game)
-That dragon from the Sky Temple in TP (epic as hell, fighting a dragon in a thunderstorm is always cool)
-Ganondorf in TP

and my personal favorite, Nightmare from Link's Awakening (multiple forms)

Metroid:
-pretty much every boss from Super Metroid, but the one that stands out the most to me is Draygon (seriously, what the fuck is that thing......not to mention the cool secret of using the grapple beam on that shit in the wall to kill it instantly), and Crocomire (the one where you blast it into the lava pit and it turns to bones)
-Nightmare from Metroid Fusion (this was the one that slowed down time and shit while you fought it)
-Pretty much any boss from any Metroid Prime. Meta Ridley, Thardus, and the Omega Pirate stand out in MP1. Metroid Prime is probably my favorite end boss of any game, ever. MP2: Dark Samus 2, and Quadraxis (the giant robot); that fight was fucking awesome. From MP3: Meta Ridley fight in the tunnels (that was fucking AWESOME), Helios, Gandrayda (seriously, having your enemy morph into Samus is a pretty big deal), Rundas (awesome fucking song, and pretty challenging to boot), Dark Samus at the end (very epic, cool song, intense as fuck).

And while it isn't a Zelda or Metroid boss, King Dedede needs to be on this list not just because his fights are fun, but because he was the greatest theme song ever.

Another necessary mention: Giygas from EarthBound. If you've played that game, you know what I'm talking about. Not exactly challenging, but certainly the most memorable fight IMO on this list.

[Edited on March 17, 2008 at 9:04 PM. Reason : .]

3/17/2008 9:02:16 PM

^^ in response to the Half Life post, I'd have to respond with chasing Breen up to the top of the citadel in HL2. While it's not exactly a boss fight, it's pretty fucking intense having to chase that guy with a superpowered gravity gun after he's been talking shit to you the entire game.

3/17/2008 9:03:43 PM

Quote :

"-Twinrova from OOT (the whole mirror shield thing was really fun)"

ha i remember that, the helicopter from the early levels in perfect dark was pretty crazy too

anyone remember the last boss of res evil two? I can't seem to find a pic but remember him being pretty freaky

3/17/2008 9:48:30 PM

Red Skull in Captain America and the Avengers on Genesis

3/17/2008 10:42:51 PM

^^ Haha, that helicopter was such a pain in the ass. I remember you only had one fucking rocket, and sometimes the targeting shit didn't work out (the rocket would dissapear, explode for no reason, etc) and there was no other rockets in the fucking level to make up for it.

3/17/2008 11:08:04 PM

pics from bosses above:

Vitreous:

Mothula:

Volvagia:

TwinMold:

Goht:

Stallord:

Argorok (dragon from TP):

Nightmare (links awakening):

Nightmare (metroid fusion):

Draygon:

Crocomire:

Meta Ridley:


Thardus:

Omega Pirate:

Dark Samus:

Rundas:

Gandrayda:


Quadraxis:


King Dedede:


Giygas:


[Edited on March 17, 2008 at 11:41 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on March 17, 2008 at 11:46 PM. Reason : damn]

[Edited on March 17, 2008 at 11:52 PM. Reason : this is more trouble than its worth]

3/17/2008 11:26:10 PM

i thought the end of HL2:EP2 was pretty fucking sweet...driving around and taking down striders with your pistol was fucking cool...and nothing beat running over the hunters to kill them

3/17/2008 11:37:40 PM

ragnaros, twin emps, gruul, onyxia from wow
all bosses in mgs1
mr big from streets of rage
robot sonic from sonic cd
ganon from ocarina

3/17/2008 11:54:21 PM

Quote :

"The KoF 94 and 95 Rugal sounds like a textbook example of that. "

Well, I had originally thought that Rugal's AI was just simply too defensive. However, I can very safely say that after having fought him countless times across several years, his AI is sophisticated enough to not have any sort of predictable pattern. I have only ever observed one sort of behavior which can be exploited repeatedly - Rugal powers all the way to "max" when he starts charging. Other than that, his moves aren't even that terribly overpowered although his anti-air defense is incredible.

3/17/2008 11:58:13 PM

my most memorable is the last time you fight nelo angelo in the first devil may cry

i must have practiced for hours to beat him on dante must die

3/18/2008 12:00:26 AM

Quote :

"Red Skull in Captain America and the Avengers on Genesis"

amazing game

3/18/2008 12:07:29 AM

Sonic 2 final boss
Sonic 3 & Knuckles - Death Egg boss, and Doomsday Zone boss and Mecha Sonic
Mega Man 2 - Gutsdozer

3/18/2008 8:20:46 AM

Don't forget Tora and Shogun from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game on the NES. Fond, fond memories of them.

I got the game when it came out in 1990, and I was only 8 or 9 years old. When I got to Tora, it was really intimidating. That big polar bear motherfucker looked a lot tougher than my turtle. I'd been playing for a long time, and by the time I got to Tora, it was bathtime and almost time to go to bed. I paused the game to bathe, but my mom refused to let me try to beat Tora before bed. That led to me leaving the NES paused all night for the first time ever, and I completely bugged out because I thought it would "hurt the game."

I came back and beat Tora, though. I didn't make it on the first try, but I kept plugging away, and it was definitely an achievement for me then. Little did I know how fucking hard Shogun's stage would be. That boss fight wasn't as bad as Tora for some reason, but I'll never forget it, because when you beat Shogun, his torso fucking exploded and you could see this gross stump of spine EW

3/18/2008 8:28:09 AM

Quote :

"i thought the end of HL2:EP2 was pretty fucking sweet"

Oh hell yeah, that had to be one of the most intense action sequences in any FPS I have encountered.

3/18/2008 8:36:07 AM

3/18/2008 8:39:28 AM

3/18/2008 8:44:37 AM

Most memorable (definitely not hardest) was the final fantasy battle (can't remember which one...8 or 9 I think) that they freakin cast auto life on you...worst end battle ever...there was no way to lose

I'm really digging all the pictures though, really takes me back

[Edited on March 18, 2008 at 10:42 AM. Reason : .]

3/18/2008 10:22:27 AM

lol at 006 on Goldeneye, he really was an easy final boss.


I remember playing him with the Golden PP7, instead of running all over the place he just dies right on the spot and it ends.

3/18/2008 10:39:20 AM

wow that sonic pic brings back memories

such a great franchise that just disappeared when everything went 3D

3/18/2008 11:31:29 AM

^It's still around in 3D, the games are just lacking in the quality that the originals had. Sega has never been the same since they stopped making consoles. Sonic and the Secret Rings came out for the Wii recently and got mediocre reviews. I think there is one out for the 360 too which got even worse reviews.

3/18/2008 11:39:44 AM

Ragu O Ragla from Wild ARMs 3

That guy was a bitch

3/18/2008 11:51:29 AM

awesome thread - i agree with pretty much everything previously mentioned (particularly FF/CT/MGS fights)



All three fights against him in DMC3 (probably used 4-5 green orbs on his 3rd iteration in DMD)

Any DMD boss fight in DMC 1 and 3 are among the pinnacle of frustration in videogames; they just seem incredibly cheap the first 20 times you die and then you eventually develop the muscle memory/dexterity to beat them

3/18/2008 11:55:24 AM

and virgil is nelo angelo in the first game

you should watch the videos on youtube people have of fighting virgil in dmc3 - it made me a lot better

this is my personal fav strategy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt4VztnWI4w

3/18/2008 12:17:55 PM

hard mode

very cool strat, though - nevan was fun to use (btw, royal guard against beowulf is fucking badass)

vergil spams devil trigger a lot more in dante must die, regenerating health at a ridiculous rate (offset by spamming ebony and ivory while he's DT'd), and his high(er than Dante's) priority attacks do a loooot more damage

the last fight against him is really about patience, as his attack patterns are relatively easy to avoid (other than the 'super' DT spheres that flood the entire screen) once you memorize them; the thing is...one mistake, you get your shit pushed in

tbh, he was harder in DMC 1 since Dante wasn't nearly as powerful in 1 as he is in 3 (and 3 is a younger Dante...?)

or you can just be absolutely pro like this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHdCIkutFJc&feature=related

[Edited on March 18, 2008 at 12:42 PM. Reason : link ]

3/18/2008 12:33:04 PM

the boss in the jungle on GOldeney
and the boss on the skyrail thing.

3/18/2008 12:38:19 PM

The fight at the end of Sonic 2 with the giant Robotnik robot was one of the most frustrating final bosses I can remember. I remember beating the shit out of the game, having well over 40 lives by the time I got to Robotnik, and I lost every single fucking one of them and got a game over. However, I did end up beating him eventually, but after the experience of the first time around my palms were sweating something fierce when I finally was victorious. It's a shame that Sonic doesn't kick as much ass as he once did, and that he didn't really make the transition to 3D. Stay away from Sonic and the Secret Rings; aside from dull gameplay, it's probably got the worst soundtrack I've ever heard.

And about MGS, don't forget Fatman and how much of a pain in the ass he was. If you don't remember, he was the one who planted bombs around the arena that you would have to find and freeze. Another awesome fight was the one against the 20+ Metal Gear RAYs. I did that shit on the hardest difficulty and I swear you think it's not going to end. Psycho Mantis is a pretty obvious choice, as is The End. Any of the fights in MGS against machines (Tanks, Helicopters, Metal Gears) are pretty memorable. I'm excited to see what they have in store for MGS4 when you can finally lay the smack down on Revolver Ocelot/Liquid.

And this thread needs more Mega Man love: Who can forget killing Metal Man and proceeding to beat the entire game with his weapon? Sigma from MMX is definitely up there, but the Mega Man boss I can vividly remember the most is by far Dr. Wily from Mega Man 7. He's got to be the hardest motherfucker in the entire series.

[Edited on March 18, 2008 at 12:44 PM. Reason : .]

3/18/2008 12:42:26 PM

Quote :

"one mistake, you get your shit pushed in"

oh yeah, they made sure you learned that in the DMC series.

3/18/2008 1:01:55 PM

Kael'thas, in WoW: The Burning Crusade

3/18/2008 1:38:52 PM

If I had to pick a WoW boss fight, I'd probably say Vaelstraz. Even though it was a short fight, it had a much more epic feel than many of the longer fight, and the buffs he gave the whole raid were really cool. It also helps that our first kill came courtesy of a Shadow Word: Pain tick with like 3 people left alive.

3/18/2008 1:45:15 PM