Shack Reels: Top 10 Boss Battles
Boss battles are a key component in video games. Today, Greg Burke takes a look back at some of the best.
Boss battles are a key component of most major action games and they've been a staple of video games for generations. So how do some of the most intense boss battles rank? For today's Shack Reels video, Greg Burke runs down 10 of the best boss battles.
The criteria are listed by:
- 1. Cinematic presence
- 2. Nostalgia
- 3. Personal opinion
So check out Shacknews' Top 10 Boss Battles. If you disagree with the placement of these towering baddies, feel free to join the conversation and list your favorite.
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Shacknews
replyShack Staff posted a new article, Shack Reels: Top 10 Boss Battles
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I dunno. I hear that Greg guy sucks at editing video :P
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They're usually the boss of all the minions you've been killing/stomping on during the course of the game so....maybe?
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Part 1
Okay, obviously, such a list is prone for disagreement, and man... I have some serious disagreements here. I'd actually take the time to do a well thought-out video similar to your own, but I'm playing Pathfinder in an hour, so here we go!
10 - Nihilanth - Half-Life: Man... I remember fighting this boss for the first time. I had very little health and very little idea on what to do against him. It was only after watching friends in my dorm take him down that I was aware that his brain was his weak point. It was a strange, weird end to a great game, but I loved it. Also, VALVE MAKE A HUNTED MODE IN TEAM FORTRESS 2!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70ELaFu0jp4
9 - Tower Knight - Demon's Souls: I was one of those people that actually bought this game when it first came out. I have no idea why, but I did. Anyway, I remember the thrill that filled me when I toppled this foe, and I remember the agony that soon followed when I barely beat any other boss following him. Still though, he was the boss that told you that you were in for some huge-ass enemies. Also, his music is simply rad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPgqAjCRWiQ
8 - Pious Augustus - Eternal Darkness: This was the first playable character you really had in the game, and the completion of his mission left him as the eternal foe of all of the other characters that you'd play from that point on. It was a brilliant way to create the idea of a boss' past self by having you play him to the point of his fall. I award them bonus points for having you play every character that you controlled after him to defeat him, but I sure wish my fat man could run a bit faster!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcMDf6MsRCs
7 - Mike Tyson - Mike Tyson's Punch-Out: Okay, first thing's first... I haven't beaten him... Yet. He's the only one on this list that I can say this about, but mein gott! He is incredibly difficult. I had the code for getting to him almost immediately when I had the game, but I always viewed him as an unbeatable foe that I'd never best. What's worse? His tell is that he winks at you. He truly is my Great White Buffalo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZChSzoYy8D8
6 - Ravel - Planescape: Torment: What can change the nature of the man? Ravel removed your mortality in order to solve this riddle, and it has left you as an unkillable man, who has splintered off into a variety of personalities. Some are heroes, some are villains. When you finally manage to get to her, she simply leaves more questions than answers as you continue to search for peace, but the dialog that you have with her will always be one of my favorite moments in gaming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vneCXW3CWIQ#t=33
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69HAqAwBS_0 (Yeah, 10+ minutes of this fight is dialogue)
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Part 2
5 - Ornstein and Smough - Dark Souls: Three things about this fight: It was a major wall for a huge number of players as you had to fight two aggressive, hard-hitting opponents at once, the last part of the fight could be quite different depending on which character you killed first (which also gave you a different award as well), and you received what could arguably called the best item in the game after finishing the fight (the Lord Vessel). This fight left the player feeling every level of exaltation for winning it. I mean, how often have we actually posted about this fight on the Shack? I haven't looked, but it has to be up there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQv9EIAb3QQ
4 - Balor - Myth: The Fallen Lords: What could arguably be Bungie's finest game ever (Hey! I'll argue it, so it's arguable), Balor was the foe that you forever heard about. He was perhaps Connacht, the hero from the previous age, but he was definitely the scariest of all of the fallen terrorizing the land now. With little hope of winning, you follow Alric's mad plan on drawing Balor out with the Myrkridian banner, and with the help of an Eblis stone, you manage to cut off his head while he's paralyzed and your heroes are dying around you. Finally, you have to rush his head to the Great Chasm and toss it in before Soul Blighter can stop you. Yeah, that all sounds crazy, but it was (and still is) completely rad. Also, mad props to me for remembering those names, 20 some years later!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl6afK8TDkE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciADS3s2--o&list=PL07C0288CE78E09B9&index=25
3 - Bowser - Super Mario Brothers 3: I beat Bowser in the first game, but I barely was aware of who he was. The second game gave me Wart, and what do I care about a mad toad in a dream? Super Mario Brothers 3 gave us the first true Bowser, and he was glorious. I loved the fact that defeating him actually took extended platforming skill, and I was glad to see him and his desire to kill Mario vanish below the brick bridge to Peach. It was a glorious testament to using peace to conquer violence. Also, you felt like a god the first time you conquered this foe. At least I did (and still do).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7aJxY65QDc#t=67
2 - Mother Brain - Super Metroid: The music, the action, and the plight of your long lost friend all turn this into an epic boss battle that still lives on in so many gamers dreams and memories. I know that the actual fight isn't all that hard as it's arranged in such a way that you should always win, but the build up to get to that point was so great that you didn't care. You were just happy to avenge your friend with the GODBEAM and get the hell out of there. It was beautiful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFz3aF1kw5k
1 - MOTHER FUCKING KEFKA! - Final Fantasy VI: This guy begins the game looking as if he's some court jester for the powerful Emperor Gestahl. However, he manages to poison the people of Doma (sending Cyan into a rage), he kills Leo by being a lying jag, and he destroys the entire known world. He then sits upon his tower, marveling at the destruction that he has wrought over the entire world. You actually have to climb through a series of bosses to face him, and when you do, his pose is one of languid recline. He doesn't fear you. In fact, he mocks you. You are like insects beneath him, and he wishes to kill all life, all hopes, and all futures. He is the villain that you can delight in destroying. "Why do people cling to life when they know that I'll eventually destroy them?" Indeed Kefka... Indeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgcbShn9x8g -
5. Every boss in Wonder Boy. jumping and fire!
4. Bubble Bobble! shoot backwards to win!
3. Ghostbusters! having to dodge the marshmallow man was nearly impossible! better go in with three guys!
2. Death Rally. you had to beat the Duke!
1. your mum. always wanting you to stop playing to go outside :/
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Awesome compilation. Talk about a nostalgia overload. :)
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Although I was hoping to see Dr. Robotnik from Sonic & Tails. :(
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Uh? You didn't say Psycho Mantis anywhere on that list.
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My all time favorite boss fights have to be Hades and Hercules from God Or War3,Psycho Mantis and The End from their respective Metal Gear games,and Solomon Grundy and the first Bane fight from their respective Batman games.
As for old school games,I remember fighting four Abobos at once in Double Dragon for NES,which was pretty good.
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