Some of the talk over in the Tifa thread got me thinking about boss fights.

I want to hear what bosses everyone found to be the best either gameplay wise or because of the story.

One that I would have to put near the top would be Shinobu Jacobs from the first No More Heros. It was such a fun battle not too many gimmicks mostly just learning to read her tells and reacting.

Though pretty much every boss in the first one was great...Except Bad Girl fuck her. Stupid instant kill trap.

One of my all-time favorite boss battles was fighting the Colossus of Rhodes for the first time in God of War II. The thing tries to fuck you up throughout the level, popping up without warning at times and keeping you on your toes, and then by the end you get to take the fucker down from the inside out. So awesome.

Yeah, it was fun dodging his attacks, as he was being all silly.

And not killing him.

You bastard.

Just for overall atmosphere, I'd say Vicar Amelia and Ludwig, the Accursed [spoiler=or rather]/Ludwig, the Holy Blade.[/spoiler] from Bloodborne. Amelia isn't one of the most challenging bosses, but both have awesome themes and are imposing in their own rights. [and the latter just gets outright ridiculous]

Also Gabriel Celeste and Ethereal Queen, they're both recurring post game bosses in Tri Ace games, with their own vaguely implied lore, but particularly, their appearences in Radiata Stories, for...drastically different reasons. [<<youtu.be/sqVCXUb_AJw?t=272|Jack's face says it all>>]



Okay, no, like...I never got past Sans in the end but the whole snowdin segment was absolutely the roughest part about the genocide run. Undyne gave me enough trouble that I kinda' stopped feeling bad about killing her, and Tori was surprisingly less heartrending than I thought it would be, but papyrus...papyrus. Even after you fuck up all his expectations, he still holds out for the chance you'll change your ways.

[Though since Undertale's come up, Sans, either version of Undyne and neutral run Asgore are all pretty fun bosses too. Music still plays a large part in each case.]

The Wizard from Castle Crashers always sticks in my mind because of the brilliant fake out half way through the battle, and the seven phaseiness of him.

I also like Liam in Gods Will Be Watching, but that's more because of the theme behind the fight than the fight itself.

Mr Hat from Shovel Knight was a conceptual masterpiece and I only wish they had don more with his unique power.

I may add more to this if I can think of them...

For me, the best boss battle has to be Megatron in Transformers: Devastation.

First thing that comes to mind is Luke vs Asch in Tales of the Abyss.

ENOUGH EXPOSITORY BANTER. IT'S TIME TO FIGHT LIKE MEN, AND LADIES, AND LADIES WHO DRESS LIKE MEN. FOR GILGAMESH, IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!

That's honestly one of my favourite lines bless you.

it's one of those lines where if you don't say it with the most bombastic and hammy voice you can manage. then you're doing it wrong

Kezzler , INfamous (no spoilers)

Undyne the Undying, Undertale (SUPER no spoilers)

Akuma/Shin Akuma, Super Street Fighter II TURBO/A bunch of others down the line (If you never knew he was there, and fought him? You'd understand.)

The first robot master you killed with his weakness (That moments you figure out they have weaknesses explodes the game up with possibilities)

The first Super Sonic boss you fought. (Could NOT decide between these, Doomsday Zone, Perfect Chaos, Finalhazard, Metal Overlord, Devil Doom, Solaris, Perfect Dark Gaia, they all have the same effect the first time you see it.)

Mr. Freeze, Batman Arkham City (Oh dear god what a PERFECT fight. The only complaint I have is that I wish it'd gone longer! Using every possible advantage you can get to take down a foe that will annihilate you in straight combat was tense as hell, and satisfying as fuck.)

Ornstein & Smough
Fume Knight
Nameless King

Best boss from each Dark Souls game (still waiting on DS3 DLC to come out though).

Scarecrow in Arkham Asylum a tremendous amount of fun. He is my favorite Batman villain for one thing.

In the follow up Arkham City, I really dug the boss fights with Ra's, Mr Freeze and Calyface. The last one in particular really gave me a good laugh.

The recent DOOM game has some really solid boss fights imo. I'm on the final one but they all have a pattern that once you die a couple of times, you figure it out and beat them at their own game. Shame that they're bullet sponges and come back for seconds, tho.

I'll never forget when I first fought Luca Blight in Suikoden II. The guy who killed dozens of his own country's young army recruits (framing another country) and causing a second war while peace conferences for the first were being held, <<www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhNCbGDE4GI|burned entire towns to the ground>> and was overall responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands, both directly and indirectly.

You need to fight this guy 3 times with a total of 18 people just to weaken him, and he's no pushover; he can easily kill an unprepared party since his attacks can hit up to 3 targets for a good chunk of their HP or he can just hit 1 character 3 times (this easily kills any characters who weren't properly leveled). My first time fighting him my first party got wiped pretty quickly (I'm pretty sure that you don't have to beat him with all 3 parties, only the last, but I didn't know that).

Once the 3 fights are over, he's still walking around and screaming with rage, barely phased by his wounds. He walks away, forcing you to chase after him (fighting a bunch of enemies along the way). Once you catch up <<youtu.be/QLH8fpElZ6w?t=6m9s|a cutscene begins>>.

Even after fighting off 18 people and getting shot by a volley of arrows he's not done. He rushes the main character and fights him in a one-on-one duel. After defeating him he doesn't seem afraid; he just laughs, tells you that his death will change nothing and says one my favourite quotes:

"It took hundreds to kill me but I killed humans by the thousands!!!! Look at me!!!! I am sublime!!!! I am the true face of evil!!!!"

In the end, he was right: his death didn't end anything - the dead were still dead, the people of both countries wanted vengeance and the war continued.

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I also have a couple of boss fights that I loved just for the challenge of them, especially ones from the Etrian Odyssey games. The superbosses are each a mountainous challenge for level 99 parties with the best gear. There are always gimmicks that you can use to beat them in a few turns, but where's the fun in that?