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Final Boss fights with great tension/buildup
- Thread starter BlackJace
- Start date
Deified Data
Banned
lol, and it turns out everyone's the villain! You fight both factions whether you sided with them or not. Very lame.
The music's what really makes it greatfor me.
Can't post a link, but it was a great remix.
Seven Force
Banned
nintendoman58
Member
Are we not forgetting something?
dark_chris
Member
Lol. Thats what sucks. No matter whose side you choose (besides trophy/achievements) there is no difference. Everyone is the bad guy! I hated it but least the gameplay was fun.
Are we not forgetting something?
How the Hell did we forget this? Red felt like an outside figure that could decimate your team with ease. Godlike, you could say. Climbing Mt. Silver was a great buildup.
uncleslappy
nethack is my favorite dark souls clone
This is a great thread. My heart is racing just seeing some of these - I think the Magus one from Chrono Trigger is by far one of the most memorable.
Fantastical
Death Prophet
Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations.
The entire game builds up to the final showdown.
EDIT: I have no idea why I typed "guy" instead of "game".
The entire game builds up to the final showdown.
EDIT: I have no idea why I typed "guy" instead of "game".
Ace Harding
Member
Not sure if it counts as a boss, but as a recent example (Red Dead Redemption spoilers)
killing Edgar Ross was pretty damn satisfying. I didn't kill the rest of his family though. That is some cold shit.
CaptainSchwann
Member
HyperCubed4
Member
So fucking intense.
"KEEP PRAYING! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, KEEP PRAYING!"
Utter shock. I completely forgot I had
So intense.
Edit:
I forgot about this. All of the Phoenix Wright games were amazing. I managed to loathe every single "final boss" in the first Phoenix Wright games. I wanted every single one of them to die the worst death imaginable.
Every.
Single.
Fucking.
One.
"KEEP PRAYING! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, KEEP PRAYING!"
"Mark kept praying."
Utter shock. I completely forgot I had
put in my full name right at the beginning of the game.
Edit:
I forgot about this. All of the Phoenix Wright games were amazing. I managed to loathe every single "final boss" in the first Phoenix Wright games. I wanted every single one of them to die the worst death imaginable.
Every.
Single.
Fucking.
One.
Goddammit! That's another one I could've used. Godot was the very definition of that game. One man caused that much. Chills.
Are we not forgetting something?
That fight blew my mind 11 years ago. I was exploring some sort of cave, and then all of a sudden RED shows up. Silver was a game that kept on deliviring at every turn.
Out of Working Order
Member
Definately Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. Nothing has compared for me.
Felt like the Saruman of videogames before I even knew Lord of the Rings existed.
I also found the lead up to the final 'boss' in Rayman Origins to get the adrenaline going.
Felt like the Saruman of videogames before I even knew Lord of the Rings existed.
I also found the lead up to the final 'boss' in Rayman Origins to get the adrenaline going.
The boss before the secret world, that is. All the pictures of Mr. Dark hint that the Magician has been Rayman's arch enemy all along, and the frantic chase feels like it'll end in a showdown and great reveal. It doesn't happen, and it turns out it's an impersonator, but it's still a great buildup, and I think it's cool that they left Mr. Dark's whereabouts a mystery.
So fucking intense.
"KEEP PRAYING! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, KEEP PRAYING!"
"Mark kept praying."
Utter shock. I completely forgot I hadSo intense.put in my full name right at the beginning of the game.
I really should play earthbound. What's the best way to get my hands on it?
Barrel Cannon
Member
Wasn't really the final boss but finally meeting Darth Revan near the end of KotoR was amazing.
But he wasn't a final boss, but eh, it could go either way. It was a pretty neat fight and set up though. The same could be said of Red/Blue/Yellow. You fight your whole way throughout the land and finally beat the Elite 4, then BAM! Rival time.
Absolutely. The final corridor of the castle feeling just slightly different from the rest of the game and then that huge door. Then you get to this fight and it's a completely different look. The only thing familiar is the item box, but otherwise it's just a clean framed boss fight.
Are we not forgetting something?
I don't think he counts since he's awesome not because of the build up, but because he comes out of nowhere.
Although the climbing up the mountain with crazy strong Pokemon does set the mood somewhat. It makes you think, "what's waiting at the top?"
kingkaiser
Member
Metroid Prime
Changing the Beam weapon on the fly to harm that thing while dodging its attacks and shooting down those missiles...pushing it further and further down the impact crater...man just only thinking about this battle makes me so tensed
Changing the Beam weapon on the fly to harm that thing while dodging its attacks and shooting down those missiles...pushing it further and further down the impact crater...man just only thinking about this battle makes me so tensed
EatinOlives
Member
So fucking intense.
"KEEP PRAYING! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, KEEP PRAYING!"
"Mark kept praying."
Utter shock. I completely forgot I hadSo intense.put in my full name right at the beginning of the game.
Not just this but the buildup to it.
You find out he's way too powerful to fight him head on in the present. You have to go to the past and fight him when he's significantly younger, and to do it you have to have all the members of your party transplant themselves to robots to go to the past. Then you get there and it's an eerie colorless canyon of nothingness with a male choir in the background. BUILD DAT SHIT UP.
Yeah, and technically she's constantly being built up further over the span of 3 games until the rather good finale. She almost literally puts on a dazzling performance in the final fight of 3.
I really wish there was gif of her doing that slow-mo jump and creating clones.
PIMPBYBLUD
Member
Red can technically be defined as a Final Boss because of the conditions in which he was fought. Mt. Silver was essentially HIS dungeon. Aside from a few rare items and Pokemon, Mt. Silver was the buildup to him. The credits even roll when you defeat him, and he even shares the same theme as the "real" Final Boss.
HyperCubed4
Member
Good question. It's not on the Virtual Console. I don't know what to tell ya.
Yeah, agreed. The build-up to that battle was pretty intense. I do think the last battle of Mother 3 was full of tension, as well. I almost cried, I won't lie. Pretty damn heart-wrenching.
Nocturnowl
Member
Hmm I never really looked at Chaos that way, you can add that the flashbacks with Tikal helped add to the build as well, for a great big monster with no personality they actually did pretty well with Chaos, a shame though that most following Sonic games tried to ancient evil angle numerous times again but with none of the flair and effort of Chaos leading them to feel either tacked on or not present except for a final boss showdown that typically controls like ass.
Now as for my example, well it's not so much a boss fight in the traditional sense but from Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations *spoilers since it's a very story focused game*
Also Blue/Gary from Pokemon Red/Blue, that guy was a constant nuisance all the way through the game, beating you to the punch all the time and even still managing to brag upon you kicking his teams ass, it was fitting that he would be the final obstacle in the Pokemon league. And that battle theme!
Now as for my example, well it's not so much a boss fight in the traditional sense but from Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations *spoilers since it's a very story focused game*
Dahlia Hawthorne
In this game our main villain crops up in 3 of the 5 cases as part of an overarching storyline from various periods of time, usually your standard Ace Attorney villain can be quite likeable in their own twisted way but Dahlia is not, she's does her job well, the prim and proper demeanour and elegant appearance hide her hateful side well to some characters but we are well aware of the vile person hiding behind the façade and it's more than enough to make you want to deliver the most objecting objections possible (hey it's not like there is any other way to handle things here!) . Despite the fact that the very first case has her all but defeated as you save the bumbling younger Phoenix Wright from her framing plot she reappears courtesy of an even further back flashback case, initially this seems kind of odd since there doesn't seem to be much point in bringing her up again but there is of course reason to this aside from deepening characters history, this case also includes a rare instance of the villain basically getting away with it and ending on a sour note.
So it's surprising that she manages to have a big hand in the final case of the trilogy despite being dead, she actually aims to get revenge from beyond the grave because mystical spirit channelling is like a thing here, that's pretty tenacious and as such there wasn't really much you can do to a spirit, or so you'd think, fortunately her final act of villainy hasn't gone according to plan so you basically exorcise her by pointing out that she has multiple failures under her belt and even in death she still fails. Still at one point I thought she might actually have got away with more vile deeds so yes I thought there was great tension here and it had plenty of build up across the game itself.
And hell that's not even the end of the case! some have mentioned Godot and the final moment does build up to his actions fantastically but let us not forget who the real villain of this game is, in fact Godot is in the state he's in because of Dahlia.
In this game our main villain crops up in 3 of the 5 cases as part of an overarching storyline from various periods of time, usually your standard Ace Attorney villain can be quite likeable in their own twisted way but Dahlia is not, she's does her job well, the prim and proper demeanour and elegant appearance hide her hateful side well to some characters but we are well aware of the vile person hiding behind the façade and it's more than enough to make you want to deliver the most objecting objections possible (hey it's not like there is any other way to handle things here!) . Despite the fact that the very first case has her all but defeated as you save the bumbling younger Phoenix Wright from her framing plot she reappears courtesy of an even further back flashback case, initially this seems kind of odd since there doesn't seem to be much point in bringing her up again but there is of course reason to this aside from deepening characters history, this case also includes a rare instance of the villain basically getting away with it and ending on a sour note.
So it's surprising that she manages to have a big hand in the final case of the trilogy despite being dead, she actually aims to get revenge from beyond the grave because mystical spirit channelling is like a thing here, that's pretty tenacious and as such there wasn't really much you can do to a spirit, or so you'd think, fortunately her final act of villainy hasn't gone according to plan so you basically exorcise her by pointing out that she has multiple failures under her belt and even in death she still fails. Still at one point I thought she might actually have got away with more vile deeds so yes I thought there was great tension here and it had plenty of build up across the game itself.
And hell that's not even the end of the case! some have mentioned Godot and the final moment does build up to his actions fantastically but let us not forget who the real villain of this game is, in fact Godot is in the state he's in because of Dahlia.
Also Blue/Gary from Pokemon Red/Blue, that guy was a constant nuisance all the way through the game, beating you to the punch all the time and even still managing to brag upon you kicking his teams ass, it was fitting that he would be the final obstacle in the Pokemon league. And that battle theme!
Aww man, having that dick always being one step ahead of me made me so mad as a kid, but it was awesome.
The tension of fighting Chaos became even greater for me recently when I remembered that one of Sonic's weaknesses is the inability to swim.
In all honesty? Get very lucky and find it at a used game store. Otherwise you could try some online dealer, but that goes for about $185 at the cheapest.
I was lucky enough to find my copy for $40 used in working, but otherwise a bit crummy condition. Luckily a little bit of alcohol and wipes cleaned it up.
->
Agreed. Still pretty much the standard for an excellent build-up. Not only has the entire game been about stopping Ganon after numerous failures, but the final hour refocuses the plot back on him a way that builds the tension even further and reminds you what's at stake.
Agreed. Entire game felt like a culmination of the Timm/Dini Batman/Joker arc, and then the game drops the ball at the very end into cartoon territory. Not only was it out-of-character, it was just a crappy boss fight in general.
aparisi2274
Member
A Huge Battleship
Member
The Armageddon Book in Odin Sphere, leading up to the final battle against Leventhan. So many games where the end of the world is threatened, but rarely has it been pulled off with such atmosphere and intensity.
Also Soul Nomad's Demon Path where the player is essentially the final boss and practically the entire remainder of the cast are trying to kill you. It's difficult to put into words how badly I wanted to win that battle.
demosthenes
Member
FFXI. Most of the story fights (exclude PW & AV) were fantastic.
I love the game to death but this was an awful fight. The whole last part of the game was pretty dull, honestly.
(System Shock 2)
Gsak
Member
Yeah, but build-up.
big black woman
Member
probably my favoritest ever, the music, the surprise save, the escape... beautiful.
This is the correct answer. The quick exchange of dialogue between the man and your party just beforehand is great too.
You sound like chapters from a self-help booklet!
Deified Data
Banned
This art so matches my impression of Red in G/S/C.
Random kid atop a cold, forbidden mountain. He doesn't speak. He vanishes after defeating him. His old room back in Pallet Town is covered in dust from disuse.
Red sought power, and in finding it lost his soul.
PeakPointMatrix
Member
I also loved how the menu's/intro cinematic's music was also the main theme for the final battle. Everything just came full circle the moment you hear the letters PERFECT CHAOS being typed across the screen. You knew this was it. Hearing Open Your Heart play in full in such a climactic moment is a gaming experience I will never forget. It's a shame the second half of the battle uses some generic turmoil music.
*BULLY SPOILERS*
To answer the OP, this fucking kid right here, Gary:
The game builds up so much fucking hate for this psychotic tool. By the end I was itching to finally get the chance to beat the daylights out of him. Of course it's not enough to just fight him. The build up to the boss is incredible. The school is in shambles, kids are rioting, thunderstorm rolling in. Finally, you must pursue Gary to the top of the School's bell tower. The music grows more intense the higher you go, dodging the shit he throws at you. At the top of the bell tower you finally get to utterly destroy this piece of shit, and man does it feel good.
Incendiary
Banned
Nyx in Persona 3. The depressing end game vibe really made me feel like I was taking on something that was unbeatable. Long as fuck boss battle btw. Very satisfying.
Yup. Definitely one of the best final bosses in the history of gaming. Also one of the best final boss themes of all-time, too.
Two additions from me:
First you fight Baby Bowser, which is a neat battle and you have to figure out how to beat him. Then Kamek comes in and uses his magic...epic music starts and the final battle ensues, completely different from the rest of the game but very intuitive and very satisfying.
Second, more recently:
Isn't technically the final boss now with the Wrath of the Lamb expansion, but the build-up to this boss fight in Binding of Isaac is pretty great, considering it's a three stage fight accompanied by great music. Especially since you have seen the statue in Devil Rooms a whole bunch up until this point.
Anticitizen One
Banned
Metroid Prime for sure
HigherLevel
Member
Ocarina of Time was amazing. The fight up the tower, the fight with Ganondorf on the tower, the race back through the collapsing tower, and then the final fight with Ganon.
I'll also agree with the people who said the fight with Red in Pokemon G/S/C.
I'll also agree with the people who said the fight with Red in Pokemon G/S/C.
donkey show
Member
The entire game including the end of ZOE1 was an amazing buildup!
There you sit, under an enormous sky at the most isolated point on the planet, on the eve of what might very well be the last day the entire planet has left to live. Offscreen is the enormous meteor hurling towards your planet like it was right out of Melancholia. It's been there a while now, growing larger and larger as it comes closer and closer.
You and your team, what amounts to a bunch of screw-ups and a talking dog, have no idea if you can save the planet at this point. It has been made abundantly clear that the planet is already dying, and even if you do manage to do the impossible your planet will still die one day, just as all things do.
So what do you do? You do all you can to give the planet a fighting chance. You can't destroy the meteor (you've already tried that), but you can go after the guy who summoned it. Sephiroth. He's been ahead of you this whole journey, playing everyone like fools as he gets away with more than any villain has a right to. He's at the bottom of an enormous crater, chilling with his Lovecraftian Space Horror of a mother as they both wait to ascend into godhood. Fuck them. You won't go down without a fight.
*roll music*
The whole game has been building up to this confrontation. Where some RPGs pull their bosses out of left field somewhere in the latter portion of the game, you pretty much already know who you'll be fighting at the end of this game back on Disc 1. Sephiroth. The game has repeated his name over and over to the point that you couldn't possibly forget it.
Yes he gets more credit than he deserves. Yes there are much deeper and more interesting bosses in other games. Yes One-Winged Angel is overhyped and overplayed. But to have played your way up to the final boss fight back in 1997, to hear that music and watch as Supernova destroyed our solar system... it was awesome. It was the pinnacle of what RPGs wanted to become, made all the better by saving its absolute best for last.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner I believe. You caught the part when the letters of Perfect Chaos were typed across the screen combined with Open Your Heart playing. Also, you could hear Chaos's roar subtly as well. That is when I felt that the buildup exploded in my face. Like you, I will never forget it.
*bro fist*
I love all of your replies btw, guys.