- Splatoon (Wii U)
- Transformers: Devastation (Multi)
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
- Donkey Kong 64 (N64)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (GEN)
Fifteen installments? It seems like only yesterday I was waxing poetic on my favorite boss battles. Now it's this long-running series of popular articles on SuperPhillip Central. Well, no point reminiscing, as we have five more awesome boss battles to cover with part fifteen of the Best Boss Battles in Gaming History. This time we're delving totally into final boss encounters! These are memorable, fun, clever, and sometimes completely fresh takes on the boss formula. After you've looked at the five entries this time around, I'd love to hear which boss battles you've enjoyed most!
Since there are possible spoilers to be found, the rest of this article will be posted after the break! Before that, check out all past parts of Best Boss Battles in Gaming History with these links!
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight
Part Nine
Part Ten
Part Eleven
Part Twelve
Part Thirteen
Part Fourteen
DJ Octavio - Splatoon (Wii U)
A great boss battle takes everything you've learned and all of your abilities and puts them to good use in one final exam of sorts. That's exactly what you get with Splatoon's final boss, the DJ that promises to remix your face, DJ Octavio.
The fight has you fighting back against DJ Octavio's massive remixing station. This is done by shooting the machine's fists as they launch out at you before they hit the ground. The fist will then get propelled back into DJ Octavio's ugly mug, damaging him, and sending him careening back, allowing you to advance forward. This is all the while dodging various attacks by Octavio, including a barrage of cleverly named Octorpedoes, and eventually a giant purple wave of destructive energy as well as enemies.
Eventually a giant missile pops out, aiming for your ink-credible agent. Here is where you need to play what is essentially a game of tennis, hitting the missile back and forth between you and DJ Octavio until he finally can't return the shot, taking serious damage.
As the battle goes on, you have much more limited real estate to you, making avoiding attacks all the trickier. After holding DJ Octavio back enough to have him retreat more and more, some help comes in in the form of the Squid Sisters. Octavio's last line of offense is ahead, but the platforms are much narrower, so evading is much harder. However, after another missile rally, DJ Octavio is defeated and peace returns to Octo Valley.
Megatron - Transformers: Devastation (Multi)
Platinum Games is known for their excellent character action games, and the combination of their studio and the Transformers license was something I didn't even know I wanted until I got it. It just seemed like a pipe dream that couldn't possibly happen, but it did with Transformers: Devastation.
The final showdown is a two part affair against none other than Megatron. The first battle takes place on Earth on a derelict and foreboding seafront. The second, the more climactic of the two (and the first was already climactic enough!), takes place in space. It's a battle that puts everything you've learned and every skill you've acquired to one final showdown with Megatron.
One of the coolest parts of the battle is near the end where Optimus Prime and Megatron grab onto one another and you must mash a button to overcome Megatron's massive grapple. Once you've reached a certain amount of presses, Optimus breaks free to Megatron and delivers a mighty blow to him, yelling, "It's over, Megatron!" A climactic end to a climactic battle that held the fate of the world in its balance.
Yuga Ganon - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
With the power of all seven elders, Yuga transformed into the mighty Ganon, armed with the Triforce of Power. At the end of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Link faces off against Yuga Ganon in a two part showdown to determine the fate of both Hyrule and Lorule.
The first part is highly reminiscent of Link's battle with Ganon in A Link to the Past. Yuga Ganon transports around the room, thrusting his gigantic spear at Link. When an opening is there, generally after Yuga Ganon attacks, Link can carve the villain up with his blade. Eventually, Yuga Ganon starts to throw his spear, circling like a propeller, around the arena. It initiates its movement from where the beast threw it, and ends when it returns to its beastly master. After enough hits, Yuga Ganon seems to be defeated.
However, Yuga turns Princess Hilda into a painting and absorbs her power, turning him into an even more savage beast than usual. The final fight is on, and all the chips are indeed down. Yuga Ganon throws a ball of evil energy at Link who must hit it with his sword. Like the battle against Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Link must volley the ball of energy back and forth between hero and villain until Yuga Ganon cannot volley it back, causing damage.
He enters the wall, seemingly invincible, until Princess Zelda calls Link from her portrait prison. She gives Link the legendary Bow Light to defeat Yuga Ganon for good. While Yuga Ganon is in the wall, a shot from Link's newly acquired Bow of Light can damage him, sending him out from the wall and able to be slashed a few times by Link's sword. The pattern repeats until the final shot where Link fires an arrow across the perimeter of the wall to hit Yuga Ganon in the back, sealing away his evil for good and saving Hyrule in the process.
King K. Rool - Donkey Kong 64 (N64)
Back in the Nintendo 64 era, developer Rare was on a massive hot streak. Game after game was excellent and showed amazing creativity. Donkey Kong 64 was one of these games, though it was not without its share of problems, such as a massive amount of mandatory things to collect. Still, if you could persevere and stick with the game, you'd wind up at a massively clever boxing match-style boss battle with the Kongs against King K. Rool.
The battle is a five round affair, and each round has a different Kong using a different strategy to deal damage to King K. Rool, dressed in boxing outfit and wearing a gold championship belt. Unfortunately for the Kongs, they're not on their home turf in this match, seeing as the crowd is against them, and so are the Kremlings timing the match. Notice how they call for the bell to indicate the round's time is up whenever King K. Rool is close to being determined as knocked out.
Each Kong uses a different method for beating King K. Rool, whether it's Donkey Kong shooting himself into the Kremling king via a rocket barrel or Diddy Kong using his jet pack to blast lights down from the rafters on top of K. Rool's head. After all five "knockouts" from each Kong, King K. Rool is defeated and through a joint effort by Candy Kong and Funky Kong, is literally booted out from Kong Island.
Big Arm - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (GEN)
One of my favorite boss battles in the 2D Sonic the Hedgehog series apart from the Doomsday Zone encounter with Dr. Robotnik is Robotnik's last stand in the final zone of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. After taking on defeating multiple machines of mechanized destruction, Dr. Robotnik uses his trump card, Big Arm.
This machine has spikes on its head, titular big arms that can grab and smash Sonic the Hedgehog to smithereens, and some special tricks in the form of tricky movement patterns. It takes precision and accuracy to jump at the right time and with the right angle to hit Robotnik's machine in its weak point, the face.
It helps that this fight feels so epic, and the theme that plays is a tremendous proponent in that feeling. Few original Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog game boss battles feel like there's so much on the line, but Sonic the Hedgehog 3's Big Arm is one of them. This fight is so important to the Sonic the Hedgehog series that it was featured again in the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations.
No comments:
Post a Comment