"Great Video Game Bosses" or "No Mecha-Hitlers Allowed"

Seil · 03-12-2013, 11:15 PM

Before you ask, yes, there was a Mecha-Hitler. It was in Wolfenstein. Now, I'm replaying Knights Of The Old Republic, and I was thinking about Malak. (Spoilers beyond this point for... everything. Everywhere.) Now, about three quarters through the game, you meet Malak; the end boss. He's a chump. Really.

While he remains that way for the end fight, (though a bit stronger in his ATK stat) he has several people in jars in his lair. Force jars. Whenever he gets low on health, he walks over to one of these jars and drains their life. He's got about twenty jars, and they can only be destroyed by specific force powers that you may or may not have. This makes for a frantic battle with a character who, let's face it, has been painted as a coward and an opportunist the whole game. So it makes sense that he'd give himself this advantage story wise and game play wise makes for a tough boss battle.

It's interesting; a really good boss is someone (or something) that has been painted as bad ass all the way through the game, and can back that up throughout the final battle. Whether it's a dragon laying waste to an army, or an evil person that transforms into some eldritch abomination, or maybe just space aliens... A really good, tense fight against someone (or something) that you saw level a city, an army, your best friend/parents/home village can be very satisfying. There's also the boss' attacks to take into consideration. A great boss isn't filled with cheap attacks that decimate your entire party, light you on fire or disintegrate you.

Up there I said "No Mecha-Hitlers." Why? Because, while cool, (like the Cyber Demon from Doom) they're not really fantastic bosses in terms of story or characterization. They're just tough dudes. Who do I pick? Well, I already mentioned Malak up there, from KOTOR. I guess I'll go with the Arishok from Dragon Age 2, because while you knew you were going to fight him, it was a pretty cool setting what with the Kirkwall nobility cheering you on. For my third boss, I think I'll go with GlaDOS. Yeah, it wasn't really a "fight," per se, but it was still interesting and I think the best you could expect from an FPS puzzle game. (Besides, Portal 1 was way better than Portal 2.)

What's your favorite boss?

What's your favorite boss?[/color]

03-12-2013, 11:15 PM	#1
Seil Super stressed! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: British Columbia Posts: 8,081	"Great Video Game Bosses" or "No Mecha-Hitlers Allowed" Before you ask, yes, there was a Mecha-Hitler. It was in Wolfenstein. Now, I'm replaying Knights Of The Old Republic, and I was thinking about Malak. (Spoilers beyond this point for... everything. Everywhere.) Now, about three quarters through the game, you meet Malak; the end boss. He's a chump. Really. While he remains that way for the end fight, (though a bit stronger in his ATK stat) he has several people in jars in his lair. Force jars. Whenever he gets low on health, he walks over to one of these jars and drains their life. He's got about twenty jars, and they can only be destroyed by specific force powers that you may or may not have. This makes for a frantic battle with a character who, let's face it, has been painted as a coward and an opportunist the whole game. So it makes sense that he'd give himself this advantage story wise and game play wise makes for a tough boss battle. It's interesting; a really good boss is someone (or something) that has been painted as bad ass all the way through the game, and can back that up throughout the final battle. Whether it's a dragon laying waste to an army, or an evil person that transforms into some eldritch abomination, or maybe just space aliens... A really good, tense fight against someone (or something) that you saw level a city, an army, your best friend/parents/home village can be very satisfying. There's also the boss' attacks to take into consideration. A great boss isn't filled with cheap attacks that decimate your entire party, light you on fire or disintegrate you. Up there I said "No Mecha-Hitlers." Why? Because, while cool, (like the Cyber Demon from Doom) they're not really fantastic bosses in terms of story or characterization. They're just tough dudes. Who do I pick? Well, I already mentioned Malak up there, from KOTOR. I guess I'll go with the Arishok from Dragon Age 2, because while you knew you were going to fight him, it was a pretty cool setting what with the Kirkwall nobility cheering you on. For my third boss, I think I'll go with GlaDOS. Yeah, it wasn't really a "fight," per se, but it was still interesting and I think the best you could expect from an FPS puzzle game. (Besides, Portal 1 was way better than Portal 2.) What's your favorite boss? What's your favorite boss?[/color] Last edited by Seil; 03-13-2013 at 01:43 AM.