The 10 Best Video Game Boss Battles
Though it seems like a distant memory, there was a time that video games captured my attention based on the intense boss battles I encountered. Throughout the years, boss battles got bigger and better, then at some point, they kind of fell off the face of the earth. There were a few big baddies I came across that got me super excited that I had to go back and face them again just to feel the rush countless time again. So, I am going to share my them in no particular order and not care what you think.
#1 Sonic the Hedgehog: Death Egg Zone
The music for this really got to me and as a kid this was the first real boss battle that made my baby hair rise. Being a fan of the Sonic the Hedgehog, this boss battle blew my mind for the series and I still find myself humming the theme, hell, it was even my ringtone at one point.
#2 Super Mario 3D World: Meowser
Bowser is a cat… not only is that adorably terrifying, there’s 3 of them. Enough said.
#3 Chrono Trigger: Giga Gaia
Have you played Chrono Trigger? Have. You. Played. Chrono. Trigger?! Easily one of my top favorite RPGs of all time, this game was full of big bad bosses, but the most memorable for me was Giga Gaia and mainly because of the level of difficulty it gave me. In Chapter 20 of the story, you come across this beast and it was one I recall having to face plenty of times over and over and over again. That’s what a true boss battle is supposed to be… sorry Lavos
#4 Marvel vs Capcom 2: Abyss
Abyss was a boss character with 3 forms, as time went on the battle became easier and easier to the point where I had it memorized, that’s why it’s on this list. Despite the fact I knew when every jump or wave of lava would come at me, it was still a fun battle because each character gave me a different challenge. The design for Abyss is also pretty badass and I like the idea of them coming up with an entirely new villain to face in this crossover.
#5 Batman Arkham Asylum: Killer Croc
The best way to play any Arkham game is in the dark and this particular battle terrified me (and my girlfriend at the time) to the core. in this boss battle, the Dark Knight who is used to being hidden in the night, was faced with a foe hidden under the sewer waters and with nothing else to stand on but wood plants. At random moments, Killer Croc would pop up from the water and unleash a brutal attack. It was all based on the worlds greatest detective to figure out how to take down the monster reptile.
#6 Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver: Red
There are a thousands of ways to do a boss battle, but making the final boss of a game the main character from the previous game (essentially you) was genius and you don’t get pokemon battles like this one. Definitely one of the hardest trainers you’ll find in any Pokemon game, Red was sporting a Lapras, Snorlax, Blastoise, Venusaur, Charizard, and Pikachu all ranging between levels of 80 and 88. Reds team packed a serious punch, so potions and full heals were a must.
#7 Final Fantasy X: Yunalesca
Leave it to Final Fantasy to have a boss who starts off pretty hot then goes through 2 more faces to get pretty terrifying and pretty more bad ass. As the battle goes on she becomes more demonic and each form has a separate HP pool. FFX is my personal favorite out of the series and this boss battle was memorable because of the many surprises that was thrown at me, once I thought I “defeated” her.
#8 The Hosue of the Dead 2: The Magician (Type 0)
Despite the fact that this game will always go down as one of the funniest arcade games of all time, when you finally meet up with The Magician, you (and possibly a friend) find yourselves frantically shooting at his various weak spots as he sways from left to right. If it wasn’t for the fact that this game was available for home consoles, I probably never would have beat him. So many quarters…
#9 Parappa the Rapper: Cheap Cheap the Cooking Chicken
it’s debatable if this is considered a boss battle, it’s almost debatable to say that this game had ANY boss battles at all, but who cares? This game had a rapping cooking chicken and her flows are sick. Almost as sick as the idea of a seafood cake (which is what she makes in this level). Still, I cannot let this character go unnoticed simply because of this one flow “Every sing day, stress comes in every way, I aint got no time for nobody, my style is rich, dope fat in which, we’ll make a cake today that looks rich!” Hella flows…
#10 Super Smash Bros 4: Master Core
Or should I say, Master Giant, Master Beast, Master Edges, Master Shadow, Master Fortress, and Master Core. 6…there’s friggin 6 of them. Earlier, I complained about 3, but Super Smash Bros for the Wii U and 3DS boasted a whopping 6 stage boss battle and it was obviously no east task. Master and Crazy hand will always have a place in my heart from the previous Smash games, but this boss battle on most levels was pretty balls hard to take out. I loved the character design for each form and I really appreciate the level of difficulty for each form…except the final form, which was just a ball… but still, everything else was pretty badass.
This story is part of The Codex, a collective of independent thought. Subscribe to our newsletter to get a weekly digest of our best stories and be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
