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BEST RPG BOSS BATTLES
Posts
Max McGee
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ClosePretty much what it says on the can.
What do you think is (are) the best boss fight(s) in a commercial RPG (preferably a turn-based one), and, crucially...why?
It may be odd that I'm not contributing my own opinion to start things off, but my whole reason for making this thread is that I am, oddly, drawing kind of a blank here.
What do you think is (are) the best boss fight(s) in a commercial RPG (preferably a turn-based one), and, crucially...why?
It may be odd that I'm not contributing my own opinion to start things off, but my whole reason for making this thread is that I am, oddly, drawing kind of a blank here.
Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song
This is it. This is the final battle out of all the final battles. This is where you finally nut up and throw down with the God of Destruction himself after a journey with dozens of quests, over 20 possible characters, tried and tested roles, formations, and classes, 50+ techniques and spells, hundreds of weapons and armors, an endless choice on how to customize them, and the strategy on how to mix it all together.
Saruin is one of the most challenging bosses of all RPGs. No matter how much you think you've prepared, he can and will crush you if you don't know what you're doing. Even more so, you can elect to even make him more powerful by way of offering artifacts. The buildup and the work it takes to get to this point can't be understated. Let's see what you got.
Also, the music.
This is it. This is the final battle out of all the final battles. This is where you finally nut up and throw down with the God of Destruction himself after a journey with dozens of quests, over 20 possible characters, tried and tested roles, formations, and classes, 50+ techniques and spells, hundreds of weapons and armors, an endless choice on how to customize them, and the strategy on how to mix it all together.
Saruin is one of the most challenging bosses of all RPGs. No matter how much you think you've prepared, he can and will crush you if you don't know what you're doing. Even more so, you can elect to even make him more powerful by way of offering artifacts. The buildup and the work it takes to get to this point can't be understated. Let's see what you got.
Also, the music.
author=Jude
Dragon Quarter
I'd much prefer something like what Feld posted to two-word-posts like this.
Feld: That's really interesting. Care to go into the mechanics of the battle itself? Does the boss have any "gimmicks" or any "puzzle-boss" elements or is it just a straight-up extremely challenging fight?
It's a mix of all of the above. The beauty about a boss like Saruin is that unlike many RPG bosses/final bosses, his difficulty is based from more fundamental barriers to overcome.
He has an innate ability to deflect attacks (which Deflect is a move that some enemies have and that all party members can learn; it totally renders direct attacks as a miss when it activates), but with a really high probability, it has an attack that always does more HP damage to one target than max HP a party member can have, he uses group attacks in a game where group healing is rare, he employs status effects where having the wrong person with the wrong status can screw you, and he can either totally obliterate you offensively or wither you down defensively in a battle of attrition.
His two big bad boys are two moves; one reanimates a downed party member and mind controls them, and the other is a hit all attack that can be decreased in strength the more you damage him, but it also acts as a self regenerating shield that reduces damage.
Dude. Is. Nuts.
He has an innate ability to deflect attacks (which Deflect is a move that some enemies have and that all party members can learn; it totally renders direct attacks as a miss when it activates), but with a really high probability, it has an attack that always does more HP damage to one target than max HP a party member can have, he uses group attacks in a game where group healing is rare, he employs status effects where having the wrong person with the wrong status can screw you, and he can either totally obliterate you offensively or wither you down defensively in a battle of attrition.
His two big bad boys are two moves; one reanimates a downed party member and mind controls them, and the other is a hit all attack that can be decreased in strength the more you damage him, but it also acts as a self regenerating shield that reduces damage.
Dude. Is. Nuts.
... My memory fails me :'D
However I've been playing SMT: Nocturne a lot lately, and have generally enjoyed the bosses! My favorite out of the recent batch of (endgame) bosses has been Ahriman, though the fight is quite gimmicky. Youtube to the rescue - first form here; second one here. During the first form, he bans various actions and I never bothered to find out what happens if you disregard him. (Probably something bad.) The second form has no limitations - he hits hard, you hit back harder.
It's not complex, nor is the gimmick particularly memorable, but I feel like it's representative of an important part of the battle system: having a versatile set of skills and not relying on one particular option for everything. The second boss from the same "set" had a fun idea, (he shifts elemental resistances each round; you pick up on the obvious/ocassionally not-so-obvious clues and respond accordingly.) but I couldn't stand the actual battle. It got repetitive real fast. I think shifting strategies is important for any long fight, to prevent that sense of repetition.
I remember really liking the Moirae sisters, too. Again, not a very complex fight - Atropos focuses on damage, Lachesis on buffs, and Clotho on healing, but you got to fight each of them separately beforehand and "preview" their abilities, so to speak. I liked being able to know what I was up against ahead of time, that way I could prepare properly. It wasn't a hard fight for me, but I got to feel super smart and good about myself for being ~so clever~. :P I don't think difficulty is directly correlated with fun, although I like hard fights. I get enjoyment out of feeling prepared and thinking on my feet, or strategizing BEFORE a battle without reloading.
Special mention to the fiend battles; every one of them was a blast for various reasons I can't really articulate right now. Also if anyone really cares they can google about it themselves. Some of them were frustrating, (fuck you Trumpeter) but they all gave me those "oh man I am so pumped up LET'S DO THIS" feelings that I usually identify as "fun". With the Fiends, I think a lot of my enjoyment came from the set-up. Little things like the pre-battle conversations and cutscenes set the stage very nicely, and I always felt like I was up against something awesome.
Also Albion. As he lined up the fleet and turned up the heat, I thought it all was pretty neat.
However I've been playing SMT: Nocturne a lot lately, and have generally enjoyed the bosses! My favorite out of the recent batch of (endgame) bosses has been Ahriman, though the fight is quite gimmicky. Youtube to the rescue - first form here; second one here. During the first form, he bans various actions and I never bothered to find out what happens if you disregard him. (Probably something bad.) The second form has no limitations - he hits hard, you hit back harder.
It's not complex, nor is the gimmick particularly memorable, but I feel like it's representative of an important part of the battle system: having a versatile set of skills and not relying on one particular option for everything. The second boss from the same "set" had a fun idea, (he shifts elemental resistances each round; you pick up on the obvious/ocassionally not-so-obvious clues and respond accordingly.) but I couldn't stand the actual battle. It got repetitive real fast. I think shifting strategies is important for any long fight, to prevent that sense of repetition.
I remember really liking the Moirae sisters, too. Again, not a very complex fight - Atropos focuses on damage, Lachesis on buffs, and Clotho on healing, but you got to fight each of them separately beforehand and "preview" their abilities, so to speak. I liked being able to know what I was up against ahead of time, that way I could prepare properly. It wasn't a hard fight for me, but I got to feel super smart and good about myself for being ~so clever~. :P I don't think difficulty is directly correlated with fun, although I like hard fights. I get enjoyment out of feeling prepared and thinking on my feet, or strategizing BEFORE a battle without reloading.
Special mention to the fiend battles; every one of them was a blast for various reasons I can't really articulate right now. Also if anyone really cares they can google about it themselves. Some of them were frustrating, (fuck you Trumpeter) but they all gave me those "oh man I am so pumped up LET'S DO THIS" feelings that I usually identify as "fun". With the Fiends, I think a lot of my enjoyment came from the set-up. Little things like the pre-battle conversations and cutscenes set the stage very nicely, and I always felt like I was up against something awesome.
Also Albion. As he lined up the fleet and turned up the heat, I thought it all was pretty neat.
Otokonoko
60
Staying in the SMT universe: Both Persona 3 and 4 had awesome war of attrition final bosses.
Persona 4's is a HUGE FUCK-OFF SPOILER so I'll stick to explaining Persona 3's.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 - Nyx Avatar
Note that that's part 1 of 4 for this particular run. This is a MARATHON of a final boss, and each phase can and will kick your teeth in. Oh, and unless you're playing P3 Portable on the PSP, you only control the main character directly. Your other three members are AI controlled.
Here's a description of abilities, stolen from the SA Persona 3 LP:
Death: The moment man devoured the fruit of knowledge, he sealed his fate...entrusting his future ot the cards, man clings to a dim hope. Yet, the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. Beyond the beaten path lies the absolute end. It matters not who you are. Death awaits you.
(Death uses attacks from every element, along with two unique attacks. One is Night Queen, which deals a crapload of damage and also hits everyone with a random status effect. This sets up for Moonless Gown, which is a counterattack stance - if anyone attacks Nyx Avatar with an element they don't block while Moonless Gown is up, they're as good as dead. This is a pretty big problem if people are Enraged, and even if they're not you have to disable your party members' AI by telling them to Stand By or they'll kill themselves on it. All in all, this is easily the most grueling and painful battle in the game, even at high levels.)
... Oh, and I forgot to mention, this is AFTER taking out her other 12 forms, each representing the major arcana:
Magician: (Fire attacks) The moment man devoured the fruit of knowledge, he sealed his fate...entrusting his future to the cards, man clings to a dim hope. Yes, the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. Attaining one's dream requires a stern will and unfailing determination.
Priestess: (Ice attacks) The silent voice within one's heart whispers the most profound wisdom.
Emperor: (Wind attacks) Celebrate life's grandeur...its brilliance...its magnificence.
Empress: (Lightning attacks) Only courage in the face of doubt can lead one to the answer.
Hierophant: (Physicals) It is indeed a precious gift to understand the forces that guide oneself.
Lovers: (Status effects, specifically Panic and Charm) There is both joy and wonder in coming to understand another.
Chariot: (Power Charged physicals) One of life's greatest blessings is the freedom to pursue one's goals.
Justice: (Light attacks) To find the one true path, one must seek guidance amidst uncertainty.
Hermit: (Status effects, Dark attacks, Makarakarn and Tetrakarn) It requires great courage to look at oneself honestly, and forge one's own path.
Fortune: (All elements simultaneously) Alongside time exists fate, the bearer of cruelty.
Strength: (Rakunda, Rebellion, and Power Charged physicals) Only with strength can one endure suffering and torment.
Hanged Man: (Mind Charged Almighty attacks, Mudo attacks) In the face of disaster lies opportunity for renewal.
(After defeating the previous Arcana, Nyx Avatar enters its final form:)
Persona 4's is a HUGE FUCK-OFF SPOILER so I'll stick to explaining Persona 3's.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 - Nyx Avatar
Note that that's part 1 of 4 for this particular run. This is a MARATHON of a final boss, and each phase can and will kick your teeth in. Oh, and unless you're playing P3 Portable on the PSP, you only control the main character directly. Your other three members are AI controlled.
Here's a description of abilities, stolen from the SA Persona 3 LP:
Death: The moment man devoured the fruit of knowledge, he sealed his fate...entrusting his future ot the cards, man clings to a dim hope. Yet, the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. Beyond the beaten path lies the absolute end. It matters not who you are. Death awaits you.
(Death uses attacks from every element, along with two unique attacks. One is Night Queen, which deals a crapload of damage and also hits everyone with a random status effect. This sets up for Moonless Gown, which is a counterattack stance - if anyone attacks Nyx Avatar with an element they don't block while Moonless Gown is up, they're as good as dead. This is a pretty big problem if people are Enraged, and even if they're not you have to disable your party members' AI by telling them to Stand By or they'll kill themselves on it. All in all, this is easily the most grueling and painful battle in the game, even at high levels.)
... Oh, and I forgot to mention, this is AFTER taking out her other 12 forms, each representing the major arcana:
Magician: (Fire attacks) The moment man devoured the fruit of knowledge, he sealed his fate...entrusting his future to the cards, man clings to a dim hope. Yes, the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. Attaining one's dream requires a stern will and unfailing determination.
Priestess: (Ice attacks) The silent voice within one's heart whispers the most profound wisdom.
Emperor: (Wind attacks) Celebrate life's grandeur...its brilliance...its magnificence.
Empress: (Lightning attacks) Only courage in the face of doubt can lead one to the answer.
Hierophant: (Physicals) It is indeed a precious gift to understand the forces that guide oneself.
Lovers: (Status effects, specifically Panic and Charm) There is both joy and wonder in coming to understand another.
Chariot: (Power Charged physicals) One of life's greatest blessings is the freedom to pursue one's goals.
Justice: (Light attacks) To find the one true path, one must seek guidance amidst uncertainty.
Hermit: (Status effects, Dark attacks, Makarakarn and Tetrakarn) It requires great courage to look at oneself honestly, and forge one's own path.
Fortune: (All elements simultaneously) Alongside time exists fate, the bearer of cruelty.
Strength: (Rakunda, Rebellion, and Power Charged physicals) Only with strength can one endure suffering and torment.
Hanged Man: (Mind Charged Almighty attacks, Mudo attacks) In the face of disaster lies opportunity for renewal.
(After defeating the previous Arcana, Nyx Avatar enters its final form:)
Necrosaro blew my mind when I first fought him in Dragon Warrior IV. He has 7 forms... 7 FORMS!!
Giant belly face was super creepy, too.
Giant belly face was super creepy, too.
kentona
Necrosaro blew my mind when I first fought him in Dragon Warrior IV. He has 7 forms... 7 FORMS!!
Giant belly face was super creepy, too.
I beat him my first try in the DS version, but the entire time I was like WHAT IS HAPPENING WHERE ARE ALL THESE LIMBS COMING FROM
I wouldn't say that he was a good final boss, though. I've never really been wowed by a DQ boss's execution, only their style and atmospheric elements (greyscale phoenixbirdthing and the Rhapthorne-possessed greyhound in DQVIII come to mind). DQVIII in particular eventually just gives up on interesting bosses; the last five or so just spam that spell that removes all of your buffs and tension, the key components of the DQ battle system.
kentona
I was an impressionable youth.
I'm not saying it's not a cool fight; like I said, DQ games are pretty good at setting up scenarios. It's just not interesting in terms of a final boss being unique outside of his constant growth of limbs (which looks badass in the DS remake).
author=Otokonoko
This is a MARATHON of a final boss, and each phase can and will kick your teeth in. Oh, and unless you're playing P3 Portable on the PSP, you only control the main character directly. Your other three members are AI controlled.
That's funny. I recall that final boss being REALLY easy when I played it on the PS2. Visually I liked it, but in terms of how hard and how much strategy I had to use for it--it wasn't really that memorable for me.
The bosses I usually find memorable are the ones that are more integrated with the story than the gameplay mechanic. Like in Mother 3 (spoilers from here on) the final boss. You get yelled at for attacking him (or your character just won't even hit him), you just have to survive because what's the point of attacking him? To win? That's not the point really. It blends the story and the final boss together and when a game does that, the boss means more than just another foe to kill. That kind of boss is more memorable for me than any boss where I have to spam attacks in a strategic order and all that.
author=CrazekentonaI beat him my first try in the DS version, but the entire time I was like WHAT IS HAPPENING WHERE ARE ALL THESE LIMBS COMING FROM
Necrosaro blew my mind when I first fought him in Dragon Warrior IV. He has 7 forms... 7 FORMS!!
Giant belly face was super creepy, too.
I wouldn't say that he was a good final boss, though. I've never really been wowed by a DQ boss's execution, only their style and atmospheric elements (greyscale phoenixbirdthing and the Rhapthorne-possessed greyhound in DQVIII come to mind). DQVIII in particular eventually just gives up on interesting bosses; the last five or so just spam that spell that removes all of your buffs and tension, the key components of the DQ battle system.
Craze, what boss fights do you think are awesome? Can I hazard a guess that they're from SMT?
The bosses I usually find memorable are the ones that are more integrated with the story than the gameplay mechanic. Like in Mother 3 (spoilers from here on) the final boss. You get yelled at for attacking him (or your character just won't even hit him), you just have to survive because what's the point of attacking him? To win? That's not the point really. It blends the story and the final boss together and when a game does that, the boss means more than just another foe to kill. That kind of boss is more memorable for me than any boss where I have to spam attacks in a strategic order and all that.
That's cool, but I'm way more interested right now in boss fights that don't especially rely on CONTEXT.
author=Ronoveauthor=OtokonokoThat's funny. I recall that final boss being REALLY easy when I played it on the PS2. Visually I liked it, but in terms of how hard and how much strategy I had to use for it--it wasn't really that memorable for me.
This is a MARATHON of a final boss, and each phase can and will kick your teeth in. Oh, and unless you're playing P3 Portable on the PSP, you only control the main character directly. Your other three members are AI controlled.
Ah-haha, echoing this. It ended up annoying for me by the end, but I mostly just got antsy having to sit through such a long fight. I love boss forms and all, and got why there was the full arcana, but it just seemed like too drawn-out of a fight.
Perhaps I have the attention span of a gnat. Who knows? Not me. It's been so long since I've played things other than survival horror and freaking Baten Kaitos, I'm trying to remember other RPG bosses I actively liked rather than beating and then forgetting about. OTL Edit: And I feel compelled to state that I think bosses that only rely on elemental shenanigans as their "gimmick" are fairly shallow; it really boils down to an endless chain of rock-paper-scissors without the unpredictability.
author=Max McGee
That's cool, but I'm way more interested right now in boss fights that don't especially rely on CONTEXT.
author=Max McGee
What do you think is (are) the best boss fight(s) in a commercial RPG (preferably a turn-based one), and, crucially...why?
I answered your question from the first post. I like boss fights with context. So I don't know why you're telling me you aren't interested in a boss fight that I explained. It was merely answering your question. Maybe you should edit your post and say you only want peeps to talk about boss fights in a specific way?
I don't really like the SMT formula much at all, especially the bosses.
Here are a few bosses I've enjoyed due to a combination of execution and atmosphere:
-DESTATI from Diablocide (yes, this is my own game, but general player feedback was: HOLY FUCKING SHIT. Although the game has serious issues I still enjoy replaying it myself which is extremely rare with my projects)
-Luca Blight from Suikoden II (I normally think that Suikoden battles are fun but mindless; Luca Blight took three battle systems, three parties and some decent ability to take down. There wasn't anything interesting on Luca's end, really, but the fact that you had to know how to use your three separate parties (and have eighteen capable characters) was fascinating and highly engaging)
-Every boss from Xenosaga 3 (...taught you a new mechanic, had a unique twist, and was genuinely awesome. XS3 is my favorite console RPG, but the best battle was Albedo overexerting Abel in the Omega Metempsychosis. You can't really beat the freakiness of fighting in giant robots against a recurring boss that just keeps growing bigger and bigger, run by a small child who is being forced into contortions and screaming as the robot uses special moves)
-The Sloth demon from Dragon Age: Origins (While I prefer DA2 on every level, this battle has always stuck out to me in DA:O. You are transported to the Fade, a dream world, and must confront the demon that sent you there after a harrowing (heh) puzzle dungeon; the demon has multiple forms and was one of the hardest fights, especially since he is one of the few enemies with the ability to pull your allies to him from afar, something not even the final boss can do)
-Manasvin Warmech (third fight, at Lake Bresha) from Final Fantasy XIII (FFXIII has a number of great boss battles (roughly: all of them) but this one is the first fight where you get to play with paradigm shifts, the most important battle mechanic. It's a chaotic fight and very possible to die, and it comes at pretty much the worst possible moment for the party. This is a very player-sided boss fight; the boss itself is simple, but...)
Possibly my favorite boss of all time outside of Xenosaga 3:
Havoc Skytank (FFXIII again) is the end of a particularly great series of scenes that I suggest watching, as they really summarize a lot of FFXIII without really spoiling it. Anyway, the boss itself is one of the "has helpers that it revives" fights (with four of them), and is a "cannot use melee attacks" boss like some of the Sin battles in FFX due to it being a giant warship.
What does the boss itself do? It, uh, it hits you a lot. For damage. That you should probably heal.
Why is it so great? The animation, the chaos, the emotional charge from the prior scenes and the length of the battle all factor in to make it feel incredible. On top of that, it follows rules that Final Fantasy excels: clear gimmicks. FF bosses are not that great, and I think that pre-FFXII battle systems are pretty terrible, but they do succeed in showing you what the difference for THIS boss is. Havoc Skytank has helps, and Havoc Skytank is a ranged-only boss.
Context is hella important for bosses. Pure numbers doesn't make a boss good.
Here are a few bosses I've enjoyed due to a combination of execution and atmosphere:
-DESTATI from Diablocide (yes, this is my own game, but general player feedback was: HOLY FUCKING SHIT. Although the game has serious issues I still enjoy replaying it myself which is extremely rare with my projects)
-Luca Blight from Suikoden II (I normally think that Suikoden battles are fun but mindless; Luca Blight took three battle systems, three parties and some decent ability to take down. There wasn't anything interesting on Luca's end, really, but the fact that you had to know how to use your three separate parties (and have eighteen capable characters) was fascinating and highly engaging)
-Every boss from Xenosaga 3 (...taught you a new mechanic, had a unique twist, and was genuinely awesome. XS3 is my favorite console RPG, but the best battle was Albedo overexerting Abel in the Omega Metempsychosis. You can't really beat the freakiness of fighting in giant robots against a recurring boss that just keeps growing bigger and bigger, run by a small child who is being forced into contortions and screaming as the robot uses special moves)
-The Sloth demon from Dragon Age: Origins (While I prefer DA2 on every level, this battle has always stuck out to me in DA:O. You are transported to the Fade, a dream world, and must confront the demon that sent you there after a harrowing (heh) puzzle dungeon; the demon has multiple forms and was one of the hardest fights, especially since he is one of the few enemies with the ability to pull your allies to him from afar, something not even the final boss can do)
-Manasvin Warmech (third fight, at Lake Bresha) from Final Fantasy XIII (FFXIII has a number of great boss battles (roughly: all of them) but this one is the first fight where you get to play with paradigm shifts, the most important battle mechanic. It's a chaotic fight and very possible to die, and it comes at pretty much the worst possible moment for the party. This is a very player-sided boss fight; the boss itself is simple, but...)
Possibly my favorite boss of all time outside of Xenosaga 3:
Havoc Skytank (FFXIII again) is the end of a particularly great series of scenes that I suggest watching, as they really summarize a lot of FFXIII without really spoiling it. Anyway, the boss itself is one of the "has helpers that it revives" fights (with four of them), and is a "cannot use melee attacks" boss like some of the Sin battles in FFX due to it being a giant warship.
What does the boss itself do? It, uh, it hits you a lot. For damage. That you should probably heal.
Why is it so great? The animation, the chaos, the emotional charge from the prior scenes and the length of the battle all factor in to make it feel incredible. On top of that, it follows rules that Final Fantasy excels: clear gimmicks. FF bosses are not that great, and I think that pre-FFXII battle systems are pretty terrible, but they do succeed in showing you what the difference for THIS boss is. Havoc Skytank has helps, and Havoc Skytank is a ranged-only boss.
Context is hella important for bosses. Pure numbers doesn't make a boss good.
Here are a few bosses I've enjoyed due to a combination of execution and atmosphere:
-DESTATI from Diablocide (yes, this is my own game, but general player feedback was: HOLY FUCKING SHIT. Although the game has serious issues I still enjoy replaying it myself which is extremely rare with my projects)
Can you even conceive of the amount of shit I would get for saying something like this?
Anyway, I watched that video and was...hopefully lost to understand what was going on in it. That battle system moves REALLY fast!
I sat back and tried to think of what RPG bosses had a big impact with me and I came up with:
So I'm going to stretch the genre definition to fit in the Yakuza series because it is filled with awesome bosses. Yakuza is an adventure brawler game and while its combat can be somewhat clunky compared to God Hand and the bosses don't do crazy or gimmicky shit. They test your skill of beating the shit out of other people against enemies that are a lot tougher than your average mook and sometimes in different environments. It's a solid and fun game but that is only part of the reason why I love some of the boss fights. The other is the context. Yakuza knows how to build up to the big throwdowns, how to open them, and how to end them. I wish I could explain it but words by themselves can't do it.
Maybe some boss music will help show it.
Plus I love (to hate) Saito. He's just a super asshole prison guard who loves his job way too much. He's the recurring midboss equivelant in Yakuza 4 who only wants to wreck your face. During the prison break he just keeps coming back again and again and always with either a cool intro or a surprise QTE of where he runs up behind you and you have to hit X to not get a baton in your face. When he shows up I would go "god damnit" not out of frustration of having to deal with the asshole again but that getting out of prison wouldn't be that easy with this dickwad on the job. Then you get out and a few hours later he shows up again and tries the whole recurring boss in a stage again with the surprise pursuit QTE. It's endearing in that "fuck you just stay down did you see how hard I wrecked your face five minutes ago?" kind of way.
I am being unfair to RPGs, I just beat Yakuza 4 last week so it's fresh in my memory. I'll try to think of some RPG bosses again later (well there's Magus from CT but that's all I go so far)
So I'm going to stretch the genre definition to fit in the Yakuza series because it is filled with awesome bosses. Yakuza is an adventure brawler game and while its combat can be somewhat clunky compared to God Hand and the bosses don't do crazy or gimmicky shit. They test your skill of beating the shit out of other people against enemies that are a lot tougher than your average mook and sometimes in different environments. It's a solid and fun game but that is only part of the reason why I love some of the boss fights. The other is the context. Yakuza knows how to build up to the big throwdowns, how to open them, and how to end them. I wish I could explain it but words by themselves can't do it.
Maybe some boss music will help show it.
Plus I love (to hate) Saito. He's just a super asshole prison guard who loves his job way too much. He's the recurring midboss equivelant in Yakuza 4 who only wants to wreck your face. During the prison break he just keeps coming back again and again and always with either a cool intro or a surprise QTE of where he runs up behind you and you have to hit X to not get a baton in your face. When he shows up I would go "god damnit" not out of frustration of having to deal with the asshole again but that getting out of prison wouldn't be that easy with this dickwad on the job. Then you get out and a few hours later he shows up again and tries the whole recurring boss in a stage again with the surprise pursuit QTE. It's endearing in that "fuck you just stay down did you see how hard I wrecked your face five minutes ago?" kind of way.
I am being unfair to RPGs, I just beat Yakuza 4 last week so it's fresh in my memory. I'll try to think of some RPG bosses again later (well there's Magus from CT but that's all I go so far)
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
I didn't want to respond to this because I'm running a boss design contest. But then I remembered I'm not the one judging it, so hey, whatever.
Kefka, final boss version
Being on top of a tower of body parts, statues and monsters that you have to fight your way up before facing Kefka himself all in a single battle, resulting in a boss fight with something like 12 different enemy targets, is pretty neat. And all the abilities that he and the other pieces of the fight use add a LOT of different things to deal with, if you haven't managed to break the game and become invincible by that point. But Kefka's most notable feature is that he is the only battle in the game where you get more than 4 party members: you get everyone. Each time someone dies (and stays dead for a little while), they get replaced by the next person you chose.
Riovanes Castle
This is both the best and worst set of boss battles in FF Tactics. It's the worst because it tricks you into saving your game right before the only set of battles in the game where you can't leave and get stronger, so it's possible to get totally stuck. But it's the best because it of how it tests you - it gives you three really unusual scenarios in a row and makes you figure out how to make use of the job system to overcome them, instead of just letting you keep doing what you've been doing for the whole game but slightly better like most bosses. First you are limited to only your main character in a 1v1 battle against an enemy who attacks for what's likely to be more than half your max HP, can probably survive four or five of your own strongest hits, and can heal. Then the rest of your team shows up and the boss fully heals, but your main character is still on the verge of death - and is suddenly surrounded by greater demons, probably on the other side of the map from your healer, where he'll likely die pretty quickly. So you have to with with only him, then win without him. Then for the third battle, you simply have to win before the enemy gets a turn - against two extremely fast enemies who are out of range of 95% of your abilities. So Riovanes Castle doesn't test how well you've already learned the system, it tests how well you can learn the parts of the system you've been ignoring. If it just warned you not to overwrite your old save, it would be a glorious set of encounters.
World of Warcraft
Like, every boss in the game from level 50 on. Except moreso when they were new and you actually had to overcome the bosses' strategies and gimmicks, instead of now where you can just become so strong that you can defeat them before their strategies and gimmicks matter. I really, really, really hate how every time WoW releases a new dungeon, they effectively delete all the gameplay from the previous one. So if you want to play the game now, you can't. It's gone. Makes me want to faithfully remake the entire game in RPG Maker, but with each dungeon as it existed at the time it was released.
Kefka, final boss version
Being on top of a tower of body parts, statues and monsters that you have to fight your way up before facing Kefka himself all in a single battle, resulting in a boss fight with something like 12 different enemy targets, is pretty neat. And all the abilities that he and the other pieces of the fight use add a LOT of different things to deal with, if you haven't managed to break the game and become invincible by that point. But Kefka's most notable feature is that he is the only battle in the game where you get more than 4 party members: you get everyone. Each time someone dies (and stays dead for a little while), they get replaced by the next person you chose.
Riovanes Castle
This is both the best and worst set of boss battles in FF Tactics. It's the worst because it tricks you into saving your game right before the only set of battles in the game where you can't leave and get stronger, so it's possible to get totally stuck. But it's the best because it of how it tests you - it gives you three really unusual scenarios in a row and makes you figure out how to make use of the job system to overcome them, instead of just letting you keep doing what you've been doing for the whole game but slightly better like most bosses. First you are limited to only your main character in a 1v1 battle against an enemy who attacks for what's likely to be more than half your max HP, can probably survive four or five of your own strongest hits, and can heal. Then the rest of your team shows up and the boss fully heals, but your main character is still on the verge of death - and is suddenly surrounded by greater demons, probably on the other side of the map from your healer, where he'll likely die pretty quickly. So you have to with with only him, then win without him. Then for the third battle, you simply have to win before the enemy gets a turn - against two extremely fast enemies who are out of range of 95% of your abilities. So Riovanes Castle doesn't test how well you've already learned the system, it tests how well you can learn the parts of the system you've been ignoring. If it just warned you not to overwrite your old save, it would be a glorious set of encounters.
World of Warcraft
Like, every boss in the game from level 50 on. Except moreso when they were new and you actually had to overcome the bosses' strategies and gimmicks, instead of now where you can just become so strong that you can defeat them before their strategies and gimmicks matter. I really, really, really hate how every time WoW releases a new dungeon, they effectively delete all the gameplay from the previous one. So if you want to play the game now, you can't. It's gone. Makes me want to faithfully remake the entire game in RPG Maker, but with each dungeon as it existed at the time it was released.
