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So, now that we have established what goes into writing a video game villain, it is time to beat the crap out of 'em. You've fought your way closer and closer to the antagonist; risking everything for revenge or the betterment of humanty. In my opinion, the ultimate disappointment in a game is a lackluster final boss fight or a game that just chooses to not have one. There is all this build up to a final confrontation and then the game takes the easy way out or has the most uninspired fight that you just can't help but groan in frustration. Any game that builds up to a final boss fight should make sure it is fun, memorable, and leaves the player satisfied after coming out victorious.
After doing some "research", I found a lot of the people I asked preferred final boss fights that had fun or interesting mechanics to them. Very few people actually bothered to point out a fight that effectively wrapped up a character arc or the story, but I've already talked about the writing so now we can just focus on the mechanics of the fight itself. There will be no cop out *one hit kill* finales, or QTE "fights" here.
One thing that can make boss fights satisfying is scale. A normal person taking down some kind of gigantic monstrosity is great because the player is now, physically, the underdog. They will need to struggle even harder to take down this ultimate evil and really (so long as it doesn't end too soon) this alone can make for a satisfying conclusion. Not to mention, a giant enemy provides good opportunities for sound and visual design such as rumbling, falling debris, and the ground shaking to really add to the scale of the battle.
Another aspect of the scale is the number of combatants, and I don't mean waves of respawning enemies. This really applies more to RPGs but, more often than not, a group of people taking down one enemy doesn't have as 'epic' a feel to it. What can be more satsifying and fun is having a group go in with the main character and a larger scale battle breaks out with the main character and their allies going against the final boss and its minions. In order for this to really feel heroic, the minions can't just be cannon fodder. Cannon fodder is fine for leading up to the final battle, but the main villain should have his best guards around him and they should add to the challenge.
A good final boss is not too repetitive in its attacks. A boss that just constantly hurls boulders at the player for 10 straight minutes is boring and quickly becomes predictable. Instead, a boss should be designed with a variety of attacks and movements to keep the player guessing up until the end. This doesn't mean the boss should have 800 different attacks, but even a few can be enough if the boss mixes them up. Also, for most games, a boss shouldn't be stationary. Constantly shooting or swinging at an immoble target, again, just doesn't have that epic feel to it. This won't apply to all games, but a boss that constantly moves around, chases the player, or darts in and out of the environment can add variety and tension to an otherwise dull battle.
A good final boss battle also has to feel like a final battle. This should be the most diffuclt foe in the entire game, but not so difficult that the player gets beaten into the ground within seconds. The player should have a chance, maybe even be close to equal strength with this final boss, but there must still be a test of all the skill/gear/power the main character has obtained through the game. Of course the 'feel' aspect also has to do with environment and the final boss music. Those alone can certainly make a final boss battle stand out. In my mind; however, the actual mechanics (and story elements) behind a final boss battle are what make them fun and unique.
Ideally, a good final boss fight should not only wrap up the story and character arcs, but also be fun and challenging. Making a fight be a QTE or not even having one even though there is build up for it is just a cop out and will only leave players disappointed by the end of the game. Visual design, environment interaction, variety, and pace are all important aspects to making a good final confrontation. In writing this article, I actually came to the conclusion that I could not remember any final boss fight that left me satsified in terms of the fight itself. The few final bosses that do stand out in my mind do so because they were interesting characters and their desmise wrapped up the plot. So now I would like to pose a question to all of you.
Which final boss battles were your favorites and why?
Comments
11 years, 3 months ago
Arkham City had an amazing final boss fight that introduced a twist ending and wrapped up the Joker story. On top of that it was a fun fight.
11 years, 3 months ago
I can't say I really have had a truely favorite boss final boss. I feel that the final boss should really make you work with everything you have learned throughout the game to win. Although I haven't played them myself Portal and Portal 2s final bosses stand out to me. Although you can beat them rather quickly if you know what you are doing they take everything you learned from playing the game and makes you use them.
Boss fights in which your character is also given an entirely new game mechanic just for that level really ruin it for me too. Lost Planet with its new flying mech controlls that you never used in the game is one that really stands out to me and is the reason why I quit that game. Another terrible final boss was in God of War between you and Ares, with each sharing their life bars.
I'm playing Darksiders right now and all the bosses stand out because each of their fights are used to teach the player how to use new equipment that you get. To put this in an analogy, the boss fights are lessons on your equipment/moves/etc. and the final boss is be the exam. In an ideal world that should be the formula.
11 years, 3 months ago
Despite having yet to beat the game, (I've seen playthroughs though) Gwynn is my favorite end boss. He's literally your equal, but you can read into the story so much to make him a tragic villain at the same time. In reference to Darksiders, all the bosses in the first one are great, but the end boss isn't, in my opinion. Though that may just be because I accidentally stumbled across the abyssal armor and basically became unkillable. Another of my favorite end bosses is the end boss of Dragon Age 2, though I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me on that. I just love the mechanics of all the fucked up tortured slave statues coming to life and changing their shapes over the course of the fight.
11 years, 3 months ago
I feel the game with the best boss fight has to be Persona 3. A large part of it is down to the fact that the game builds up to this fight for a while, with this sense of foreboding. Then the boss monster appears and it's one of the best looking designs you'll see. The music to go along with it is on a par with One Winged Angel for epicness. Not only that but it was a good boss battle. Difficult, but not overly so and never felt cheap (looking at you FFXIII-2). It was a long battle too which added to the effect.
11 years, 3 months ago
The final boss of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask comes to mind, not because it was particularly challenging, but because it was so weird. Everything after you get sucked into the moon in that game is like some strange cheese-induced nightmare. I'm also a big fan of the last confrontation in the first Portal.
11 years, 3 months ago
How about Gruntilda from Banjo Kazooie? It's also what made Handsome Jack so great in Borderlands 2; an antagonist that mocks you the whole game, and makes you look forward to shutting them up once and for all
11 years, 3 months ago
I like multi-part boss fights, the kind where "This isn't even my final form!" happens multiple times during the fight. These boss fights typically force the player to use multiple strategies and items to finally beat the boss, tying together everything the player has been taught throughout the game. Sometimes these fights are memorable by how epic they are (FF7 & FF8, Dante's Inferno) or through how frustratingly difficult they are (FF13, Folklore), but either way, they provide a great end cap to finish the game.
11 years, 3 months ago
The first No More Heroes had a decent final boss, but the secret post game boss was awesomely hard
Also, some really weird ones here, Yu-Gi-Oh:Dueslist of Roses and Bakugan Battle Brawlers had some good final bosses...though the Bakugan one ended in all the kiddy cheesiness you'd expect.
The similarity in these is that they were all challenging bosses, they looked cool and I felt accomplished from the challenge. Whether it was the investment in my stats paying off or using skills from different levels and opponents, everything felt boss-like.
I don't want like what happens in Force Unleashed or No More Heroes 2 where bosses are repetitively sequenced, annoying and hard because of the bad design. I want to take this fool on myself, push myself for a good ten minutes and laugh at the end laying on the floor in sweat. My effort should amount to something in the end.
11 years, 3 months ago
I really liked the Macho feel in the fight with Ryuji Goda in Yakuza 2. The Finale in Mystical Ninja 64 was very cool in the regards that you were in the giant robot Impact in the showdown. Ocarina of Time 's was my favorite in visually telling the player this is the final battle with the perfect storm brewing, Gannondorf's final monstrosity appearance, and the ring of fire that shows Link no means of escape and must confront your true enemy and fulfill his destiny. God Hand could've done better with having more final Roulette moves/techniques since Gene recieves both God Hands for his finale. with all my examples, I really wouldn't be as invested some of them if the music wasn't up to par with the emotions of the Finale. One last Finale I liked was Nier's because of the depressing feel of the game came full circle and with characters giving out their final curtain calls was really touching. Nice Article.
11 years, 3 months ago
I may be alone here, but I believe the Kingdom Hearts series (PS2 ones) had some really good boss fights throughout the games.
11 years, 3 months ago
Sephiroth from Kingdom Hearts 1 to me covered all of those, though he wasn't a final boss (except maybe for the arena.)
He had cool, varied moves. Ran around. Epic music in the background. And, he was a true test of skill.
11 years, 3 months ago
The boss fight of the Tower of Latria (Demon's Souls) was the most memorable for me. Of course it varied from player to player, but I had a blast.
11 years, 3 months ago
I really liked the Krauser and Saddler fights in RE4. MGS4 and DKC2 also had awesome final bosses.
11 years, 3 months ago
It's already been said, but holy shit was the fight versus Gwyn, Lord of Cinder just epic. He's only slightly larger than the character, and uses a fighting style similar to one's you use. He seems huge and powerful, and also surprisingly agile, in the heaviest way possible. After an entire game of fighting massive creatures, and then getting your ass handed to you by someone your size, it makes you feel like you are truly facing a god.
11 years, 3 months ago
The Portal 1 boss i think stands out because the gameplay involved in it was so unique to the game. Unfortunatly today, beating a boss is just doing the same things you would do to a norm enemy, just for longer.
I wasnt a big fan of the Joker in arkham assylum because i felt that the last thing that perfectly paced and atmosphereic game needed was a final boss fight.
I really liked the final boss in the New Super Mario Bros Wii, it is one of my favorites along with Andross from Star Fox 64, the Droid Control ship from Star wars Starfighter, the Eclipse from Star Wars Empire at Way Forces of Corruption, and even the original Mario 64 ranibow bowser fight.
I actually do not prefer final bosses as the end to a game, prehaps what i consider to be one of the best endings to a video game woudl be the exciting, fast paced Holy Sh-- last level of the original Halo. I much prefer a good final sequence as opposed to a simple boss fight.