Best EVER: Retro Bosses

[Taco-Calamitous]

So Screw Attack Had this video:

...and I was thinking, "Those are some pretty good choices." I especially liked the mention of Dark Link. And then they posed the question at the end: What are YOUR most memorable retro boss battles?

-Zelda II: The Adventure of Link - The Thunderbird. To me, this is more memorable than Dark Link. The way it just floats on screen, the final dungeon music continues to play, and it will kick your ass (that guy in the video barely survived, after all.) Took me until I played the game a couple years ago to finally beat this guy. Dark Link, on the other hand, is a cinch if you know the right strategy. Really though, the entire final dungeon has you on your toes.

-Crystalis: Draygon (spoiler after boss battle, I guess.) This was my favorite game growing up. Draygon

Spoiler: is the second to last boss. You fight Dyna the computer afterward, which is a real pansy in comparison. So basically, this is the last REAL boss battle.

He can be a bit difficult to beat, trying to avoid all his projectiles, especially the lasers. However, he's no big thing. Fairly impressive for the game and the time, however. The dungeon and the music leading up to him add to the atmosphere, too.

-Mega Man X - Sigma. The rest of the game is a cakewalk compared to this guy. Sigma is bitch. Tried to beat him over and over, and every time you die, you have to replenish those health containers. Those little spark balls he shoots out of his mouth are really hard to dodge, and it's tough to predict what attack he's gonna do next.

SPOILER!!:

-Final Fantasy Tactics - Velius. I put this whole thing in spoilers because people who haven't played Tactics might not want to be told who becomes a Zodiac Monster. This one is Wiegraf. It's sad, because Wiegraf was such a justified, almost likable character up until this point who simply seemed to misunderstand the situation. Then he becomes a hypocrite and turns into the thing he hates, iirc. But yeah; this battle is HARD. You better be ready!

I think that's all I'll do. Here's one more that doesn't really fit, but I immediately thought of. Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Dodie16]

I'd say the final encounter against Bower in Mario 64 would be one of my picks for best ever. Loved the organ music, and it was so satisfying spinning the joystick around so that you could gather up enough force to throw Bowser at the bombs: Super Mario 64 final Bowser fight - YouTube <-- I wasn't as brave as the player in this vid though. I always waited for Bowser to run to me, then flip over him, and grab his tail that way. Got him closer to the bombs too, so that's a plus.

There's a few from Yoshi's Island that I liked too, but I think the one with the crow, the one with the guy who's pants fall down after you hit him, and the Bowser battles are my faves. I also liked how you could skip the piranha plant boss fight if you hit it with an egg before Kamek has a chance to use his magic on it. If you do, Kamek's reaction is hilarious.

I liked the fight against Phantom Ganon in Ocarina of Time. Thought it was so cool when he pulled his face off and when he would run in and out of paintings. Also, volleying the energy blasts back and forth was fun, and really satisfying when it finally hit: The Legend Of Zelda OOT - Phantom Ganon Boss Battle - YouTube

Uh, that's all from me for now.

[Nidogod]

Cool video. My favorite retro boss is definitely Castlevania's Dracula. For one, it took me like 6 months to beat the original Castlevania so it's I pretty big deal for me, but Dracula is cool because after all these years there are still Castlevania titles coming out that I know will inevitably end with me hopping over fireballs and molten boulders and then vanquishing a giant hellbeast. My personal favorite battle with Dracula is in Portrait of Ruin where you have to fight the Dracula and Death tag team. Such a brutal battle.

It seems like less and less games these days are ending with an epic boss battle, so for me Dracula is a symbol of a gaming tradition where you're inevitably going to have to go toe to toe with something big and ugly before you can see the credits roll.

Original Dracula battle from Castlevania
and then the Portrait of Ruin one

[Xanatos]

Some of you might not consider him retro enough, but I'll go with Makron from Quake II. He was fairly easy to defeat, even on higher levels, still, he's supreme leader of Strogg, looks awesome, has great background music and the infamous "big ****ing gun" in his arsenal.

Nightmare, final boss in Link's Awakening is also a great one. His seven forms you need to defeat, one which mimics Ganon's beast form, makes him bloody tough opponent.