Greetings out there in Dtoid Country. I'm quite bored today so I've decided to do something a little different. Well, it's different by my standards at least. Since I don't want to burden you fine folks with more tales of my Ikaruga hardships, I figured I'd make a list. Why? Well, everybody likes lists. And again, I'm fucking bored.

As you'll be able to tell from my list, I don't have many detailed memories of boss battles when I was younger. I can vaguely recall taking an like an hour to beat Emerald Weapon in FF7. That's about it, really. And I barely count RPG battles. I love me some turn based combat, but I can't put a battle decided solely by strategy over something that involves reflexes. Dunno why. Anyway, my HS years didn't have a lot of serious gaming, mostly sports and fighting games with my friends. And as a small child, I played pretty much only Nintendo games until the age of 6 or 7. Everything after the age of 10 is pretty much a blur.

Also, this isn't intended to be a list of the best boss fights. If you're looking for something of that sort, check out Excremento's C-Blog. Knowing him, he's probably got something of the sort posted there, and with more information.

Sorry for the fail.

Anyway, my 5 Favorite Boss Fights.


Number 5

The Hydra

God of War



This particular boss fight is well known in most of today's gaming circles, partly because the game is so recent, but also because the fight is so damn win. I won't bother going over the mechanics of it all here, but as you can see in the video above, it's serious business. the scope of it all was incredible at the time. And that's really why it's such a great fight. It let gamers know they were in for a heck of a ride, considering this was the first level of the game. Between the awesome introduction to context sensitive button pressing and the great cinematic presentation, this one was a classic. By the time Kratos was done killing this beast, his status as a first rate badass was cemented in the minds of gamers everywhere, and the tone of the game was set: This shit was going to be epic.


Number 4

The Garrador

Resident Evil 4



Note:This video is not an accurate portrayal of the boss fight. It's the best I could find on youtube. At least you see the boss.

The Garrador is one of many amazing boss battles in Resident Evil 4. For those that do not know, he's the huge guy with gigantic claws. When we first meet him, he's locked up in a prison cell, seemingly harmless, asleep. Of course, his mere presence strikes fear into the player's heart, but we trudge on, hoping for the best. Capcom gets a good scare here when he wakes up and decided to lunge at you with his giant fucking claws. Very effective way to get us all riled up, heart pumping. This is a hallmark of RE4's boss battles. The pressure, the fear, they are used against us and for our benefit in the game's boss battles. Can you handle the pressure? Well, if you could, then all you had to do was shoot this big guy in the back, preferably with a Shotgun, but anything will do. The hard part was getting behind him. Sure, he's blind, but unfortunately for us his ears are on steroids. Luckily you were aided by two bells which could be shot to distract him. I guess having good hearing isn't always a good thing. A masterfully crafted boss battle, courtesy of the folks at Capcom. Also of note: You'll face this guy again, in a smaller, more confined space, with other enemies besides him. Oh, and again after that, except two of them at once.

Gotta love RE4.


Number 3

Bouldergeist's Daredevil Run

Super Mario Galaxy



Note: Again, not accurate. This is Bouldergeist on normal. In Daredevil form, you can only take one hit.

I'm sure there's a few of you that are scratching your head reading this, but IMO it's the truth. He's not necessarily that hard of a boss, if you can even call him that. He's more of a sub-boss, and not an extremely difficult fight for that matter. But when playing against him with a Daredevil Comet in orbit is truly a nerve racking experience. You can only take one hit in SMG's Daredevil mode, something he's sure to manage the first few times you try this. To defeat Bouldergeist, you'll have to dodge all of his attacks (remember, one hit and you die) whilst simultaneously throwing bombs at him. After you've weakened him enough (destroyed his armor), you'll get a chance to hit him with some more bombs. From there it's pretty much wash, rinse, and repeat, but of course it's never quite that simple. He gains some hands to whack you with and becomes a bit stronger and faster. The mechanics of it all work brilliantly and the idea is simple enough, but the execution is the hard part. If you don't think a boss from a Mario game could be difficult, give Bouldergeist a try on Daredevil mode and see how many times you die. I personally lost count........


Number 2

Jack Krauser

Resident Evil 4



Yes, more Resident Evil 4! And why not? It's pretty much the greatest thing since condoms were invented IMO. This time I'm talking about the Knife Fight. Not the regular fight against Krauser, which was pretty great by itself, even giving players a reason to use their knife besides breaking boxes and getting bit by snakes. And yes, fuck you, it's a boss fight, because I say it is. It's certainly one of the most memorable sequences I've ever encountered in a game before. This fight is all context sensitive button commands. It was simple: Hit the button as it pops up on the screen. But hit it too slow, or touch the wrong button, and you were dead. That's it, say goodbye. This creates some serious tension, and again, gets your heart pumping and your mind racing. In short, it fucking scares you, and why wouldn't it? Nobody wants a knife stuck in their heart. And besides all of this, the presentation is top notch. I enjoy watching someone else do this almost as much as I do playing it.


Number 1

Ganon

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time



Yeah, I know, it's overdone. People cite this battle as their favorite all the time, for a number of different reasons. But why argue with them when I agree? Perfect pacing, perfect mechanics, some emotional drama - it's all here in this one fight. The stage was set perfectly. This fight would be the big one, the final battle for Hyrule. Our mute hero Link had to succeed, or Zelda and Hyrule would fall. That alone is pretty epic, but then the actual fight starts. The first phase, Ganondorf, is probably the harder part of the fight, although how he's defeated is quite simple. The general idea was to deflect his attacks and shoot him with Light Arrows at the right time, and then of course run in and kick his ass with your sword. Not much too it, but it's quite difficult in practice. And it's a lot of fun. Ganondorf even coughs up blood in a Nintendo game.

Then comes the awesome (and arguably easy) part. After running away with Zelda, Ganondorf makes one last attempt to defeat you. Most of you know what happens here, so I'm not getting too detailed. He turns into a giant monster. You get to stab him right between the eyes. That's all you need to know, really. It was fucking amazing, and of course it had the nostalgia effect, what with having to use your special arrows like in previous games.

So, that's it for my list. Yes, not too original, nor well written, but I was bored. Hopefully you at least enjoyed the videos and all, and if you feel the same way about these fights, even better. If not, sorry. At least it's some content.

I love you all. Really.