And so my series continues, because I didn't see anyone else doing it and video game bosses stand out as some of my most poignant virtual memories. Whether it be Mother Brain, Bowser, Ganon, Tyrant, or some overpowered mother fucker from Final Fantasy, bosses are integral parts of video games. I want to focus on the emotions I felt when facing these horrors over the mechanics of actually fighting them. Hopefully this feature will help trigger some of your special memories.



King Dedede


Kirby’s Adventure is one of my favorite games. It was one of the very slim selection of games that I could convince my Mother to play with me. Looking back on it, I think she had fun, but she was probably only playing with me because she wanted to spend time with me. Either way, I cherish the time that I was able to share my hobby with her. Thankfully, I don’t just love this game from nostalgia. It also has one of the most epic boss fights of all time.

I had to struggle my way through the last world, with one level being a tower populated by six minibosses, and another containing a plethora of traps and baddies, I was starting to get pissed. I couldn’t wait to kick that blue bird Dedede’s ass. When I completed the final world, which is also amazing, I was ready. You pissed off the wrong pink puff ball Dedede, and I was going to retrieve the Star Rod.



It took me a while to figure out his attack patterns and how to dodge them. Hell, he defeated me a couple of times, but I kept coming back for more. When he did finally go down, I didn’t feel as good as I thought I would. Was that really all there was to the final boss of such a great game?

It was then that I was treated to a scene starring Kirby and the recently weakened Dedede. I watched as Kirby walked to return to the Star Rod to the fountain of dreams, and as Dedede desperately tried to stop him. Did he really hate his own people that much? Why couldn’t he just let it go? Kirby did a triumphant leap onto the fountain, and returned the Star Rod back to its rightful place.



However, something was wrong. A dark ball of energy was released from the fountain when Kirby had returned the Star Rod. As it turned out, King Dedede has been on my side all along. He promptly sucked me up and shot me after the ball of energy, and the final battle began.

The Nightmare


The game had just become a SHMUP, and I was going to have to destroy the ball of darkness before he could escape. Shot after shot was sent towards him, and he returned the favor in kind. Eventually, I had weakened him enough that he felt the need to retreat, and I hastily followed after him on shooting star. I was still filled with feelings of resentment towards myself. After all, if I had simply not played the game this monster wouldn’t be terrorizing the citizens of Dream Land.

I had caught up to him, and he revealed his true form. I found this version of him to be significantly easier, though it still tested my gaming prowess. I was weakened, and being hit once would mean my doom. Thankfully, my skills surpassed his, and he was quickly defeated. Nightmare’s would no longer torment dreamland.



I was treated to an end sequence recapping the events of the last half hour on the bottom of the screen, while Kirby and Dedede flew back to the fountain of dreams. Outside of Mega Man, I never thought I would get this much satisfaction out of a NES game.

Afterthoughts
The music used in the Kirby’s Adventure is amazing, and the graphics could have been at home on the SNES. I’ve said it before, but you should definitely check this one out if you have a Wii or a working NES emulator. Hell, just go to http://www.virtualnes.com/ to get your gaming fix. Thanks for reading another one of my longwinded blogs, I’ll see you again next time.