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[JediLink]

Yeah that was a pretty good one too , in a way it kind of reminds me of the final boss battle in MGS3 , "We think you should have mastered CQC by now. Now use it instead of your puny weapons!".

Am I the only one (other than DSP) who had the complete opposite reaction to that? I thought that

Spoiler

since the Boss had been beating Snake in CQC the whole damn game, there was no way that CQC would ever work. I spent like an hour on that fight and eventually killed her with weapons.

 

[Rhapsody]

From what I remember of the fight, you shield bash him and then flail. The second phase has you doing the skyward strike, but again it's a matter of performing that and flailing from what I can remember.

EDIT: My memory may be a little foggy on this. The game was sort of a blur. I did a 100% run the Christmas it came out. I didn't sleep for 36 hours.

Shield bash definitely made the fight so much easier for me when I used it. Kinda made it too good for that fight.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Shield bash definitely made the fight so much easier for me when I used it. Kinda made it too good for that fight.

Well I beat the game without using a shield at all. I was that good. Robot Pirate was the toughest to deal with.

 

[Wensih]

Am I the only one (other than DSP) who had the complete opposite reaction to that? I thought that

Spoiler

since the Boss had been beating Snake in CQC the whole damn game, there was no way that CQC would ever work. I spent like an hour on that fight and eventually killed her with weapons.

I didn't know you were suppose to use CQC either. I think I used a machine gun to kill her.

 

[GavinGT]

Simply finding the final dungeon in LoZ was the real challenge for me. I searched everywhere for that shit. Then, out of desperation, I employed my new-found ability to read and started perusing the manual. That's when I read that Ganon's hideout was in the mountains to the north. That narrowed my search window and it was only a matter of time before I bombed the right spot.

 

[flatearthpandas]

Wind Waker was my favorite.

Agreed that the final dungeon of the original Zelda is the real challenge.

 

[LegendofLex]

Demise.
The only reason for the motion controls to exist.

Demise was pretty thoroughly ruined by the easy-to-exploit strategy in the second phase, though. Started off nicely, though.

Favorite final bosses: AoL, LttP, OoT, MM, SS

In that order, I guess. The rest are either too easy or just not fun.

 

[entremet]

I thought it was amazing for the time and tech. Ganon was using invisibility magic, like any good wizard.

 

[Just_myles]

haha I say what some have already said, in Zelda 2 if you had a turbo pad(i had an NES max) I would take him in the corner and downthrust on him or just go up and down rapidly. Easy W.

Simply finding the final dungeon in LoZ was the real challenge for me. I searched everywhere for that shit. Then, out of desperation, I employed my new-found ability to read and started perusing the manual. That's when I read that Ganon's hideout was in the mountains to the north. That narrowed my search window and it was only a matter of time before I bombed the right spot.

That is a beautiful thing. I think I was around that time too.

 

[BadRamen]

Link's Awakening's final boss, Nightmare, really gives me the feels with that monologue and the fact that beating this boss and in fact the whole game is centered around this idea for you to leave the dream, you must end the dream, which means essentially erasing the existence of all the inhabitants, bad and good.

This affected me at a young age

 

[Hyperactivity]

Shield bash definitely made the fight so much easier for me when I used it. Kinda made it too good for that fight.

Sheild bash basically almost broke the game. Time it right and it was THE ONLY way you could pull off waggling. A no shield run is probably harder than a hero's mode run, I would wager

 

[JordanN]

What is your favorite Zelda final boss battle GAF?

Wind Waker.

Because Link makes the most funny face towards the end of the battle.

It's better in action 'cause it looks bad in stills.

It's also the only battle where Link throws his shield.

 

[SweetDonuts]

I think they've all been great. Ocarina has to be my favourite not just for the nostalgia, but it's extremely good, the atmosphere there is everything. Twilight Princess would be 2nd because it felt so grand.

 

[anotherVegan]

There was no online guide to everything in 1986. If you were lucky, you had a Nintendo Power subscription and got a few hints. Or you knew someone that heard something from someone else... It was a different era and figuring out that puzzle was quite the achievement.

Spoiler

And if you made it to Ganon without getting the silver arrows, you were dead.

My personal favorite has to be Twilight Princess. Disappearing pig bullfighting as a wolf, then

Spoiler

Midna sends you away to take on Ganon herself. The next scene is Ganon crushing Midna's crown to dust while laughing at you. I thought for sure Midna was dead and I just about lost my shit.

Then chasing him down on horseback followed by an epic sword fight. Just amazing.

 

[Azure J]

Argorok from Twilight Princess stands out in my mind.

No lies, I used to keep a save file right before this fight just because of how hype this boss was.

 

[Mak]

Try beating A Link to the Past without upgrading the Master Sword and you'll be in for a more difficult fight with Ganon.

 

[BY2K]

Wind Waker.

Because Link makes the most funny face towards the end of the battle.

It's better in action 'cause it looks bad in stills.

It's also the only battle where Link throws his shield.

"Zelda, if that doesn't work, Imma shove that sword up your ass, I swear on me mom."

 

[Slixshot]

Demise.
The only reason for the motion controls to exist.

Hot fuckin damn that ending was SO cool.

 

[AdmiralSnackbar]

There was no online guide to everything in 1986. If you were lucky, you had a Nintendo Power subscription and got a few hints. Or you knew someone that heard something from someone else... It was a different era and figuring out that puzzle was quite the achievement.

Spoiler

And if you made it to Ganon without getting the silver arrows, you were dead.

My personal favorite has to be Twilight Princess. Disappearing pig bullfighting as a wolf, then

Spoiler

Midna sends you away to take on Ganon herself. The next scene is Ganon crushing Midna's crown to dust while laughing at you. I thought for sure Midna was dead and I just about lost my shit.

Then chasing him down on horseback followed by an epic sword fight. Just amazing.

The thing that irked me anout the TP finale was how Zelda Deus Ex Machinas the light arrows from out of nowhere. Actually a lot of stuff in that game had no buildup, just "here's that Zelda thing!".

 

[Terrible_Majesty]

Best boss battle WW ganon.

What do you like most about Zelda, the dungeons or the boss fights?

 

[NeonZ]

The thing that irked me anout the TP finale was how Zelda Deus Ex Machinas the light arrows from out of nowhere. Actually a lot of stuff in that game had no buildup, just "here's that Zelda thing!".

To be fair, even originally the light arrows were pretty much introduced out of nowhere too.

 

[Aesius]

The game was designed 30 years ago and still holds up amazingly well today.

I think it gets a free pass for having an "underwhelming" final boss fight (which isn't even true).

 

[terrisus]

What is your favorite Zelda final boss battle GAF?

Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link
Dark Link

 

[petran79]

I remember that I couldnt find the red ring, so final dungeon was even more difficult. I reached Ganon once but lost immediately since there was no energy left.

I replayed that game on Nesticle with save states, 13 years afterwards and managed to finish it

Regarding Zelda 2, most difficult boss fights was the Ogre in the 5th castle. You had to time every hit exactly or else he'd shatter you with the iron chain.

Dark Link was difficult too but it was more of button mashing so that you kept him at bay

 

[pixlexic]

no it was great because you had to know to shoot him with the magic arrow. that was the whole point.

 

[terrisus]

Dark Link was difficult too but it was more of button mashing so that you kept him at bay

And then you find out about the trick to beating him, and can do it without getting hit.
The Thunderbird was always much more of a pain.

But, the Dark Link fight was still great.

 

[McNum]

I didn't know you were suppose to use CQC either. I think I used a machine gun to kill her.

I used the rocket launcher. Like a club.

If there was any way that was supposed to be a serious moment, it totally was broken when madman Snake running around with a rocket launcher over his head trying to get a good solid hit in with it. Caveman tactics beats CQC.

 

[Brandon F]

Agreed that the final dungeon was such a gauntlet that by the time you hit Ganon the rush occurring from wrapping it all ends with such a unique conclusive fight that it never felt bothersome. Not the most complex duel, but married to the massive grindhouse maze it takes to reach him the result is hardly worth extolling as a problem.

Almost every Zelda since has had some of the most lackluster final dungeons by comparison even if the actual fight is more climactic.

 

[Waylon Drums]

All this Zelda II talk has reminded me that I never finished it because I ran out of dungeon keys. What a dumb fucking decision to let people use any keys anywhere. I'm literally stuck outside a dungeon item because I have no keys and the

Spoiler

fairy ability that lets you fly through locks also disallows you from picking up items

. The perfect storm of maddening bullshit.

 

[Vandole]

First time I got to Ganon in the original Zelda I didn't find the silver arrows. I knew I needed them to beat him too. It was so sad... as soon as I entered the room and saw the doors close I knew I had a death sentence.

That being said there was nothing wrong with the final battle. It was lot more interesting than what most games did at that point, which was pretty much "here's the same boss you've fought a few times before, with something to make him just a little bit harder." It may have required a little too much luck rather than skill, but for that era there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[Capndrake]

I'm probably the only one to think this but I thought the final boss in Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland was really fun, if incredibly easy.

 

[KittenMaster]

All this Zelda II talk has reminded me that I never finished it because I ran out of dungeon keys. What a dumb fucking decision to let people use any keys anywhere. I'm literally stuck outside a dungeon item because I have no keys and the

Spoiler

fairy ability that lets you fly through locks also disallows you from picking up items

. The perfect storm of maddening bullshit.

Spoiler

Fairy spell DOES allow you to pick up important items that you can grab by touching (not ones that require you to hit it with your sword which are only random drop items.); it's often used by experts to grab items while easily avoiding enemies guarding them.

 

[Spieler Eins]

Zelda 1 is the series' only game I've never played. When you gotta fight it's Ganon in NES Remix, I was like wtf is this? The other bosses were cool though.
Best in the series is Zant. Also, he was boss rush done right for once (in all of gaming).

 

[thefro]

The other thing to keep in mind is with the original LOZ nobody had any idea what Ganon looked like until you got to the end of the game, so just seeing him was pretty shocking by itself.

The boss fight was perfectly fine for the time period. They hadn't established the Zelda boss tropes at the time.

 

[GiantEnemyGoomba]

Definitely Demise. The whole thing is super epic. OoT's is amazing as well. Really though, the majority of Zelda final bosses are amazing except WW.

 

[Shion]

Ocarina of Time, by far.

The setting, the atmosphere, the scene of Ganondorf playing the organ, the escape sequence, Ganon's castle falling, Link losing the master sword during the final phase.

The final battle in Ocarina, alone, was more memorable than Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks and A Link Between Worlds combined...

 

[Windam]

Wind Waker Ganondorf forever

When did I post in this thre--oh, wait, what the fuck?

 

[InsuRn]

This is one of the best final battle ever against Ganon(dorf) !
I played that battle like 15 times.

And I agree about the LoZ Ganon fight. This game is my favorite Zelda game. When I saw Ganon the first time I was like "Oh my god! This is gonna be hard as hell!" but I was so disappointed when I killed him. Link to the Past corrected that feeling with the awesome Ganon fight.

 

[butalala]

They're all really great. The ending of WW still kinda blows my mind. My favorite thing about it is implications for future Zelda games. I still hope that we get to pull the Master Sword out of a stone Ganondorf's head (probably releasing him in the process).

Saying this brings me back to my Gamefaqs Zelda Timeline days, so i'm going to stop there.

 

[Conrad Link]

The last fights of Twilight Princess were epic as f**k. Maaaan that game is awesome.

Best atmosphere since Ocarina of Time's ending sequences - which are, untoppable.

 

[Vlade]

There was no Internet when Zelda 1 was made and played. Ideas could be left in games and players asked to discover how to approach it. Not that it was sooo great, but to flippantly describe it doesn't really capture what it was.

 

[RagnarokX]

Skyward Sword and Wind Waker have some pretty epic final boss fights. The way they hinted at what you were supposed to do in the Demise fight and the realization of it had me smiling ear to ear. It was an easy fight but I was pumped.

But the true champion of Zelda final boss fights is Spirit Tracks. It just brings the whole game to a climax like no game before it. The story leading to it, the characterization, the music, the gameplay; all executed flawlessly. In gameplay terms it's similar to Wind Waker's final battle, except you actually control Link and Zelda simultaneously; using Link to distract Malladus while you position Zelda behind him and fire arrows into his back. And it all culminates with Zelda joining Link in the final sword thrust to end the fight. A truly marvelous end to a criminally underrated game.

 

[Waylon Drums]

Spoiler

Fairy spell DOES allow you to pick up important items that you can grab by touching (not ones that require you to hit it with your sword which are only random drop items.); it's often used by experts to grab items while easily avoiding enemies guarding them.

Spoiler

Hmmmm, does it let you pickup keys? I definitely remember not being able to pick something up when I was a fairy...but attention to detail isn't my strong suit so I might have missed something obvious.