Greatest Bosses of All Time in Gaming? (POLL)

[Shirrako]

In preperations for one of my upcomign videos, I ask the GTPlanet members what are your favourite boss fights in the history of gaming?

When posting make sure you include these 3 necessary information pieces...

1. Game Name
2. Boss Name
3. Why "boss" is awesome?

i'll list a few franchises I know that have amazing boss fights in the poll.

The video will be made by the end of February 2015 and it will include the 10 winners from this poll and/or my personal favourite bosses aswell.

So, what is your favourite boss ever?

 

[Sanji Himura]

I know that because I like Final Fantasy, and have voted for it, doesn't mean that all bosses from that franchise are equal.

The game and boss in question is Final Fantasy 6's final boss gauntlet. Not as much as fighting the angelic Kefka at the end, but what you had to do to get there. I have actually heard that the three bosses prior to that Kefka fight are actually references to the novel Dante's Inferno. The first section represents hell with a devil-like creature, part 2 represents Purgatory. Part 3 represents the lady and her son (a supposed reference to Jesus on Earth), and part 4 is supposed to represent Paradise where you fight Kefka himself.

Actually, a lot of Final Fantasy final bosses have anti-religious implications.

EDIT: Corrected an error in the post.

 

[sirjim73]

I voted for other as the boss that comes to mind for me is the final boss in uncharted 2 (if only I could remember his name right now... ). The reason is partly because it's a cracking fight once he becomes immortal and partly because you have so much invested by the time you get there, and you know so much about him from the story leading up to it) that it becomes much more than just fighting a generic character, it's a fight you have to win because he mustn't get away with what he has done.

 

[Willfred_1]

The best bosses were the shadow of colossus, colossuses. The sense of anticipation and awe as you got to each battle area. For me is probably one of best gaming memories. I refuse to play it again so i dont spoil my memory of it. However if you haven't played it you need to.

 

[Luminis]

The best bosses were the shadow of colossus, colossuses. The sense of anticipation and awe as you got to each battle area. For me is probably one of best gaming memories. I refuse to play it again so i dont spoil my memory of it. However if you haven't played it you need to.

Have to agree with this. SotC had the best boss design in recent gaming history. Especially since you actually felt a sliver of remorse and guilt every time you actually went and slew one of the colossi to further your goals. The mechanics were extremely solid as well; the whole idea of climbing up on the colossi was great and added to the sense of scale nicelyl. Personally, I'd nominate the first colossus you encounter as the best of the bunch, just because of the impression you're left with the first time you encounter - and kill - one of the colossi.

From the list of franchises named, I'd pick MGS3 and The End. Long, drawn out battle - and a sniper duel at that. Quite intense. Plus, the two additional ways to kill The End made actually engaging in the proper boss battle even more rewarding, imho.

Honourable mention goes to Ragnaros, World of WarCraft. First raid boss in the game, left a huge impression on me. And probably anyone for whom he was the first bosskill in a big raid encounter in their personal gaming history. That's purely nostalgia, though; the mechanics weren't particularly creative or impressive, or anything...

 

[Willfred_1]

Have to agree with this. SotC had the best boss design in recent gaming history. Especially since you actually felt a sliver of remorse and guilt every time you actually went and slew one of the colossi to further your goals. The mechanics were extremely solid as well; the whole idea of climbing up on the colossi was great and added to the sense of scale nicelyl. Personally, I'd nominate the first colossus you encounter as the best of the bunch, just because of the impression you're left with the first time you encounter - and kill - one of the colossi.

Sotc your 100% right about the first one. during the game you do feel guilty about killing these majestic beasts. however i'm struggling to think of memorable boss battles. I can think of memorable moments but boss battles don't generally feature. Does killing michael or trevor in gta5 count?

 

[Shirrako]

The first colossus is amazing but only for the first time, he can literally be beaten in just over a minute or so the next time you fight time and know what to do.

I found the third colossus the best and most memorable from Sotc.

 

[sesselpupser]

Obvious MGS fanboy reporting in:
MGS had the Psycho Mantis fight, prefaced by things like seeing Snake through Meryl's eyes, Meryl going a bit funny Mantis reading your memory card (to comment on your play style and other Konami saves) and vibrating your controller, there was also the fact that you had to switch to controller 2 so he couldn't read your inputs and the 'HIDEO' thing which was just perfect.

MGS2's bosses weren't quite as good but there were still a few nice touches like how you could shoot out the lights in Vamp's room to prevent him from paralysing you, causing an underwater explosion to make him surface for air or even just how you could shoot his knives out of the air, just typical Kojima attention to detail.

MGS3 was undoubtedly the best, The End is the single best boss I've ever encountered but I think The Sorrow, if he counts, was also innovative. The End could be killed before you even fought him, you could also kill his parrot to annoy him, kill him by natural causes by waiting a couple of weeks to resume a save made during the fight, you could also stalk him to hold him up during the fight... I once ran out of ammo trying to knock him out and had to sneak up on him to use the handkerchief and cigarettes on him instead of the Mk.22. I loved that that was possible.

MGS4's were all pretty good except Raging Raven (I seem to recall that was mostly a case of evading some missiles and shooting at her with whatever gun you felt like) while Peace Walker's were quite lazy, though that did have the whole AI board/parts thing which forced you to think about how to beat each boss - aim for the pod if you want parts, aim for everything except the pod if you want AI boards.

Hopefully The Phantom Pain will work in some of the choices that made The End fun, apparently some bosses can be avoided altogether and instead made into allies, but who knows.


Also, I think Deus Ex deserves a mention. Two of the bosses can be killed with dialogue choices...

 

[Downhill Dino]

I thought I'd see Ratchet & Clank show up, great game for boss battles. More so with the little challenges it gives you for Skill Points.

 

[Shirrako]

Don't focus on the poll only guys!

let everyone know who is the best boss in gaming by posting in this thread, the poll is just there to pick the best franchise for bosses, not individual bosses.

 

[Danny]

1. Game Name

Soul Blade/Soul Calibur Series

2. Boss Name

Nightmare

3. Why "boss" is awesome?

Creepy evil sword that creepily possesses a creepy suit of armour and creeps me out. Also he was so bloody difficult. This guy was the cause of more than a few broken controllers as I was growing up.

 

[alex1369]

God of war 3

 

[Wolfe]

Plenty of RPGs do the "a group of teenagers use magic to kill a god" thing, but I think I have to go with Sanji Himura and vote for Final Fantasy VI, against Kefka and the three gods. It's not a difficult or complicated fight if you've prepared for it, but the encounter is a fulfilling and completely integral resolution to the plot, more so than the average RPG, and backed by one of Uematsu's masterpieces of boss music (in four acts, tying into the game's opera influences). Some games fizzle out at the final dungeon/boss, but FFVI draws you in, invites you to pulverize that cackling clown for everything he put you and your characters through, and rewards you with one of the longest and most cathartic ending sequences in videogame history.

From more of a gameplay standpoint, I would vote for the eponymous Metroid Prime, a battle that is demanding without becoming overwhelming or awkward, does a fine job of utilizing the gameplay mechanics you've learned throughout the game, and conveys the desperate feeling of being trapped at the bottom of a very deep cave with a very dangerous alien. Its imposing stature and arachnid-like movement work particularly well in getting the heart pumping (not to mention that unsettling instant when you first look through the door). You also feel like a badass in your powerful armored suit -- a couple times during the fight, Metroid Prime retreats to a deeper cavern, and the game waits for you to step forward to finish the job.

I also have to give an honorable mention to the final confrontation with Mother Brain in Super Metroid, which is a textbook showcase of storytelling in the videogame medium, though not very challenging. The climax of Shovel Knight is similarly evocative and well-executed.

 

[lbpomg95]

Borderlands 1 - Crawmerax the Invincible. He's crazy big, he's purple, and he drops beasty loot. Plus, he's purple.

 

[Willfred_1]

So apart from being memorable what makes a good boss in games?
I'm intrigued in the responses

 

[Liquid]

Best - The End, Metal Gear Solid 3

Toughest - Jinpachi, Tekken 5

Most Intriguing - Rounds 17 & 18 Thruxton, TOCA 2 Touring Cars
You must win to progress and on expert mode these races in foggy weather are immeasurably difficult with rubber band AI and physics that favour the computer. For a racing game, a car game, to be one of the toughest 'bosses' I've ever had to get past makes it rather memorable to me personally.

 

[lbpomg95]

So apart from being memorable what makes a good boss in games?
I'm intrigued in the responses

Being purple helps.
Honestly, for me, it's a couple of things;
- Being imposing. Helps if said boss is the size of a building.
- Where the first thing you think upon seeing the boss is 'how in the bollocks am I going to manage this?' - though this would probably apply more to optional bosses.
-Being nearly impossible to defeat, yet with the right technique, almost easy. The beauty of Crawmerax the Invincible was there was a glitch spot to camp in, where you could kill him with relative ease, which allowed you to get the right guns to kill him legitimately (eventually).

 

[Sanji Himura]

If it helps anyone, Final Fantasy VI's end boss theme, called Dancing Mad, is a whopping 17 and a half minutes long if you bought the OST. The only song that is longer is the ending theme by less than four minutes.

 

[SomePlayaDude]

Mein notables.

- I remembered fighting my first giant boss in Demon Souls which is the Tower Knight. Easy, but the fact that his theme is spine chilling, and he was surrounded with archers make it a terror to fight. Dark Souls has me in when you face Seath. Again, the theme, and you can't win.

- Liquid Snake is my role model for villainy as much as Handsome Jack. The battle with REX is simply put a show in the gameplay and the emotion. Also: Did you like my sunglasses?

- Dragon Age Origins is one of my favorite RPGs out there, and it has its share of bosses too. To avoid spoilers, I'll say something about a swamp dragon.

- Monster Hunter is literally a farming boss battle simulator. And why not mention Michael Bay monster Brachydios from Generation 3? His role with his fists is to punch you with explosive goop and blow you sky high.

- In Team Fortress 2, a mod called VS Sacton Hale allows your band of mercs to face off an unfair battle against the juggernaut and manly CEO of Mann Co. himself. With an OHKO punch and jumps that make Mario short, it takes a lot of tactics to beat this player controlled boss fight.

- Shovel Knight. Spoilers. Sorry.

- Mario Galaxy 2 had the best final boss theme. Too bad it's so easy and short.

- For a racing game, nothing trumps Crash Team Racing's boss fights, and N. Oxide especially.

- Pokemon. Gold Silver Crystal and remakes. Third Gym. Miltank. MILTANK!

 

[Shirrako]

Persona and Tales of series have quite epic boss fights aswell.

SPOLERS

Persona 3 Nyx (Final Boss) was like the god of death in it's best outfit, amazing boss.
Tales of had a very enjoyable duel fight in Xillia 2 against your..own brother.

 

[SVT Cobra GT]

Out of that list for me it's Crash Bandicoot, mainly because when I was a kid beating these bosses without my dads help for the first time felt such an achievement.
N. Oxide in CTR especially! Beat him twice to get 100% in the game and I was really pleased with myself!

Other worthy mentions would be Dr. Robotnik in Sonic, Jordan Sheperd in Resistance 2 and Red in Pokemon Silver.

 

[sesselpupser]

So apart from being memorable what makes a good boss in games?
I'm intrigued in the responses

I'm not sure how to explain it, but Vulcan Raven was more terrifying to me than any boss in, say, Resident Evil 4 or 5. I mean, as far as I can recall, they were a matter of dodging attacks while shooting them with the most powerful gun while Vulcan Raven was a case of setting traps, using missiles and avoiding head-on confrontations at all costs because he was charging around like a crazy person with a 20mm cannon in his hands.


I'd like to use this thread to mention the very worst bosses I've ever encountered, if I may? Borderlands 2 was one of my favourite games, in fact it still is one of my favourites, I've played it for 706 hours now. Most of the bosses were entertaining enough; nothing too special but they were pretty tough and varied enough to not just be a case of showing up with a big gun and shooting them until they died; they forced you to take cover, deal with the various attacks and so on.

Then Gearbox decided to outsource the first three DLCs to idiots.

I won't go into details (I just wrote out a post where I did but it was boring), but let's just say the bosses to these DLCs totally missed the fact that every other story quest except the ones in which they appear are designed to be doable by just one person, then suddenly, for no discernible reason, you have to have other players in your party to be able to progress. Why?! Why do these a couple of these bosses reflect all attacks? Why do they have weakspots that you can destroy? Why does one of them not die even if you destroy all of the weakspots? They make no sense and they are just awful.

 

[MeanElf]

I voted for other as the boss that comes to mind for me is the final boss in uncharted 2 (if only I could remember his name right now... )...

Zoran Lazarević - good choice as an individual.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Some of my favourites include (in no particular order):

El Impoluto in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - the game contained four "Legendary Ships", saved for a time when conventional battles became easy. And El Impoluto was the toughest: fast, agile, armed to the teeth and carrying a ram that was absolutely devastating. The concept was repeated in Assassin's Creed Rogue, but the toughest ship, Storm Fortress was cheap because two high-level ships joined the fight at the last minute.

Final Fantasy IX's Black Waltz III might have been a relatively easy boss by comparison, but I remember him being the first video game boss that I really wanted to beat. The first encounter with him felt really tough, and even though he annihilated me a dozen times, it was extremely satisfying to beat him. The fight against Ark was also tough because I took two magic-users to a dungeon where magic was useless. And the three-part fight against Silver Dragon, Garland and Kuja at the end of Disc 3 was tough.

 

[Shirrako]

New requirements!

seeing how this can become quite a massive poll, I've decided that I will pick the winner franchise once the poll reaches 150-200 votes.

As for separate bosses it all depends on the ideas in the posts.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Also, all of the optional Esper fights in Final Fantasy XII were both ridiculously difficult and awesomely satisfying to finish. Especially the ones that came with additional constraints placed on them - like Cuchulainn, who rapidly depleted your health and Chaos, who was immune to physical damage. And, of course, Ultima, who changed fight conditions every two or three minutes, forcing you to change strategy on the fly.

 

[Luminis]

Speaking about satisfying... Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder.

Not that he was the most difficult boss in Dark Souls or the most frustrating (say hi, Capra Demon), but beating Gwyn meant you beat the game as well. And that'll make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, given what game you just managed to complete.

Plus, the atmosphere of the fight is top notch, underlined by a terrific score. I still get goosebumps when thinking about how you're overwhelming the hero-turned-villain, only to accept your own doomed fate and take your place in the perpetual, gruelling history of Lordran...

Oh, and Sif was probably the biggest tear jerker among bosses in gaming. I'll still consider the colossi in Shadow of the Colossus to be better all around and more impactful, but Sif made me feel more remorse and guilt than any other boss, ever. I was like, "Yeah, 🤬 this game, 🤬 Miyazaki for making me kill him!"

 

[TrentDog1]

The first colossus is amazing but only for the first time, he can literally be beaten in just over a minute or so the next time you fight time and know what to do.

I found the third colossus the best and most memorable from Sotc.

I love this game with a passion, but let me say, this is my least favorite battle from this game. He's brutal, cause he never stops moving. Don't get me started on the Hard Time Attack for him. #15 was the same.

But yeah, I agree with the people in the Shadow of the Colossus group.