ShipTheCheese
Member
This thread just makes me realize how lacking this generation has been in providing similar encounters, with all that build-up and excitement as you actually engage in the final boss fight. Makes me a little sad 
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Final Boss fights with great tension/buildup
- Thread starter BlackJace
- Start date
Gsak
Member
Yeah but
surviving that and the Athena's death (though that was downplayed somewhat in the sequel)
Awesome build-up, could not be done better.
You spend the entire last level escaping death at the hands of a retarded AI who is ripping apart Aperture for the sole purpose of crushing the fuck out of you. One of my favorite final boss sequences ever because it feels like you are interacting with him for the entire level.
This thread just makes me realize how lacking this generation has been in providing similar encounters, with all that build-up and excitement as you actually engage in the final boss fight. Makes me a little sad
Yeah I kinda made the thread to remember all of the great Final Boss buildups in the past. There are some really good ones now, but just significantly less.
TheJollyCorner
Member
Silent Hill 2
The entirety of Silent Hill 2, from the very first frame, is slowly building up to either James' redemption or damnation.
The primary source of this is his late wife: Mary.
Although cause for plenty of debate, James' decision to end his wife's suffering (which is revealed in the last act of the game), right or wrong, still has to be faced via a horrifying manifestation by the town of Silent Hill.
Even though the final battle is a pushover gameplay-wise (complete with the image of Mary/Maria nailed into a rusted, spiked bed-frame, upside down, surrounded by dirty butterflies, floating, head twitching in a mixture of pain and ecstasy), the build-up to it, including James accepting his actions, facing his punishment, having to relive the painful final conversation he had with his wife prior to taking her life, is just a masterstroke in video games.
Working your way through the lonely, rotting town of Silent Hill, running into other lost souls, eventually to be lead to a place of happy memories and hopes for the future only to find it empty and haunting, to face repressed memories and potential punishment. Man.
I was also a fan of:
Red Dead Redemption
Final moments with Dutch. Very powerful scene.
The entirety of Silent Hill 2, from the very first frame, is slowly building up to either James' redemption or damnation.
The primary source of this is his late wife: Mary.
Although cause for plenty of debate, James' decision to end his wife's suffering (which is revealed in the last act of the game), right or wrong, still has to be faced via a horrifying manifestation by the town of Silent Hill.
Even though the final battle is a pushover gameplay-wise (complete with the image of Mary/Maria nailed into a rusted, spiked bed-frame, upside down, surrounded by dirty butterflies, floating, head twitching in a mixture of pain and ecstasy), the build-up to it, including James accepting his actions, facing his punishment, having to relive the painful final conversation he had with his wife prior to taking her life, is just a masterstroke in video games.
Working your way through the lonely, rotting town of Silent Hill, running into other lost souls, eventually to be lead to a place of happy memories and hopes for the future only to find it empty and haunting, to face repressed memories and potential punishment. Man.
I was also a fan of:
Red Dead Redemption
Final moments with Dutch. Very powerful scene.
Unmarked spoilers abound, of course
Honestly, as a 12 year old, this battle and the build-up towards it blew my mind at the time. The demon that turned out to be the Shadow Queen was only mentioned intermittently before the final chapter, so you didn't really get a feel for the demonic evil that was about to awaken.
Then you entered the Palace of Shadow, and this haunting tune stays with you throughout the first half of your journey:
Palace of Shadow
Hearing this dark and eerie take on the usually bouncy Underground theme really sells the underlying sense of danger that grows the deeper you get into the palace. It doesn't help that the enemies in this palace are pretty intense, with Bullet Bills and Dark Wizzers aplenty. The rooms themselves are presented with roses and ornate patterns, but are filled with many deathtraps, including spikes and fire bars. The frantic nature of exploring this place contrasts greatly with the music, giving off that malevolent "aura" that Goombella tattles on about throughout, you really get the feeling that the palace itself is trying to get you.
After a while of going deeper underground, you then come across a huge room with only a blue Dry Bones to greet you. You approach it, and then suddenly...
...You find yourself surrounded by hundreds of Dry Bones. This scared me as a kid, even thought it already happened previously in the game. So after bopping the Dry Bones a new one and solving a looping passage puzzle further on you eventually come across this:
This is in huge contrast to the palace you've explored up to this point. There is no creepy music, and aside from a few enemies, the place is awfully serene and it even feels a bit safe, despite the rather unwelcoming exterior. However, that illusion of safety is shattered as soon as you move on through the door and encounter...
...Gloomtail. Not only an ancient pet of the demon, but also the brother to a boss you've already defeated! Fantastic. After defeating him, he gives up the Star Key whicih grants you full access to the Riddle Tower. Easy enough, that place looked relatively peaceful, right?
Wrong. Just listen to the music one you get inside:
Tower of Riddles
This creepy remix of Bowser's Castle helps give the tower a huge amount of atmosphere, which is helped by the fact that there are no enemies (apart from one room) to fight. It's just you, your partner, and eight riddles to solve. Every riddle you solve grants you a chest that reveals itself by rising up from the depths in a black aura. Make no mistake, despite the calmer nature of the place, you are getting deeper into the abyss.
So after you complete all the riddles, you activate this ancient piece of machinery that caused the corridor leading to Gloomtail to collapse and reveal a lower area. So you exite Riddle Tower only to be confronted by a renewed Shadow Sirens with Dooplis in tow. Fun battle, if nothing else. Then you go back towards Gloomtail's corridor and you are greeted with this piece of music as you descend:
Deeper into the Shadows
This piece takes the dark Underground remix you heard previously and takes it up a few notches. You're getting closer to the end now, while at the same time getting that feeling of also getting closer to grave danger.
You solve this huge puzzle involving cogs and go through to this huge chamber. Suddenly the music had stopped, there is just this dull groan and no enemies. You walk past the pillars and find a save point. This is it.
You walk through and find yourself into the throne room, where Grodus is waiting. Finally, you get to settle this once and for all with him, the main atagonist. The fight itself is actually pretty easy, but it's still fun. Once you've got him cornered, Grodus resorts to threatening to kill Peach should Mario attempt to impede his plan any further. Now left at the mercy of Grodus' free hits, it seems all hope is lost. Until...
...Bowser drops in. Literally. On Grodus. It made me laugh at the time because it was just so unexpected, and that it lightened the overall mood somewhat. Of course, this mood is shatters when Bowser and Kammy challenge you to a fight...without letting you recover from your previous battle. So now, not only are you fighting Bowser, you're also doing it in a weakened state. That's not fair. The music of the battle really helps highlight the desperation and intensity of the battle:
Bowser Battle
It's clear you need to hurry and beat this guy before something bad befalls Peach. You beat Bowser and of course, Grodus has recovered and now is taking Peach behind the throne room and into a crypt! As this song plays out..
Ship Under Attack!
...you rush in pursuit and find yourself in the deepest part of the palace: the crypt.
The final, final battle.
Arriving too late, you see Grodus finally achieve his goal of awakening the demon that doomed Rougeport long ago, the Shadow Queen:
As soon as she awakens, you see every previous location you've visited get covered in a veil of darkness as this brillaintly creepy music plays:
Shadow Queen's Theme
Grodus presents Peach as a vessel for this monster, and Shadow Queen duly obliges. For me, what happened next shocked me to the core. As I've said before, I was young at the time of playing this game, and was accustomed to my Mario games being about Peach getting kidnapped, journeying to rescue her, and then to finally rescue her and complete the game. So when I saw the Shadow Queen turn the normally innocent and pure Peach into this:
It got to me. Shadow Peach instantly made an impact by zapping a hapless Grodus and making a demand: submit or die. Of course, I chose to fight and the battle began. Y'see here's the thing, it's not so much that the battle was particularly difficult, it was the fact that you were fighting the one person who you've been trying to save all this time. It was a great twist, and the sombre mood I felt was accentuated by the music:
Shadow Queen (Peach Form)
So the fight is moving along well enough, it seems like a simple enough fight. Then the Shadow Queen reveals her true form, and in the process becomes invincible by harvesting the audience. Seriously, not only has the demon committed mass murder, but she's now so strong that not even your strongest attacks have any effect.
Invincible Shadow Queen
The music and the situation give that sense "Oh shit, I am totally screwed", and for a while it seems that Mario and the player are just that. Then a miracle occurs as the Crystal Stars appear and disperse to locations around the world. The various friends and comrades that Mario has met communicate with him through the Stars, egging him on, all while this music plays:
We're Counting on You, Mario
The overload of positivity and hope allows Peach to temporarily regain control and give Mario her power before she fades back into the darkness. With everyone in the world behind you, you jump into battle to finish things once and for all, all while this suitably intense and dark music plays:
Final Battle
So you defeat the demon and seal her away for eternity. Peach and the world is saved, and she, Mario and the partners part ways to continue their lives happily.
--
So that's it. I felt this long-arse post was needed to fully explain why I love this boss and the buildup to it so much. In contrast to the tone of usual Mario games, the Palace of Shadow is extremely dark and foreboding. But it's almost as if the palace itself knows this, taunting with you with darker remixes of old Mario tunes as you progress.
I just love how it seems as if the palace is toying you with you as you proceed, and you never once feel safe while inside. What really makes this build-up work is how it keeps the sense of urgency even through its quieter moments. It convinces you that this demon and her machinations are something that should not be underestimated, and it builds you up to a conflict with an enemy that you know is dangerous without even seeing her.
Then when you do see her, jeez! Not only does she cover the world in darkness and zap the main antagonist only seconds after appearing, but she also represents a challenge to what Mario fans have been used to in her possessing of Peach. Hell, even if TTYD had been your first Mario game, Peach had always been the end goal to all your troubles, so to fight her at the end must have been shocking. As someone who had grown used to rescuing her, the fight had an even greater impact on me.
Just a great piece of gaming all around really. Keeps you on your toes and challenges your perceptions of what you expect in a Mario game. I mean hell, I think this is near the darkest that Nintendo has ever gotten, and definitely the darkest that Mario has. Maybe it's my nostalgia-tinted glassed over-exaggerating slightly, but this battle and preceding build-up is one of my favourite gaming moments. It was unexpected, it was shocking, it was intense and it was damn awesome.
Honestly, as a 12 year old, this battle and the build-up towards it blew my mind at the time. The demon that turned out to be the Shadow Queen was only mentioned intermittently before the final chapter, so you didn't really get a feel for the demonic evil that was about to awaken.
Then you entered the Palace of Shadow, and this haunting tune stays with you throughout the first half of your journey:
Palace of Shadow
Hearing this dark and eerie take on the usually bouncy Underground theme really sells the underlying sense of danger that grows the deeper you get into the palace. It doesn't help that the enemies in this palace are pretty intense, with Bullet Bills and Dark Wizzers aplenty. The rooms themselves are presented with roses and ornate patterns, but are filled with many deathtraps, including spikes and fire bars. The frantic nature of exploring this place contrasts greatly with the music, giving off that malevolent "aura" that Goombella tattles on about throughout, you really get the feeling that the palace itself is trying to get you.
After a while of going deeper underground, you then come across a huge room with only a blue Dry Bones to greet you. You approach it, and then suddenly...
...You find yourself surrounded by hundreds of Dry Bones. This scared me as a kid, even thought it already happened previously in the game. So after bopping the Dry Bones a new one and solving a looping passage puzzle further on you eventually come across this:
This is in huge contrast to the palace you've explored up to this point. There is no creepy music, and aside from a few enemies, the place is awfully serene and it even feels a bit safe, despite the rather unwelcoming exterior. However, that illusion of safety is shattered as soon as you move on through the door and encounter...
...Gloomtail. Not only an ancient pet of the demon, but also the brother to a boss you've already defeated! Fantastic. After defeating him, he gives up the Star Key whicih grants you full access to the Riddle Tower. Easy enough, that place looked relatively peaceful, right?
Wrong. Just listen to the music one you get inside:
Tower of Riddles
This creepy remix of Bowser's Castle helps give the tower a huge amount of atmosphere, which is helped by the fact that there are no enemies (apart from one room) to fight. It's just you, your partner, and eight riddles to solve. Every riddle you solve grants you a chest that reveals itself by rising up from the depths in a black aura. Make no mistake, despite the calmer nature of the place, you are getting deeper into the abyss.
So after you complete all the riddles, you activate this ancient piece of machinery that caused the corridor leading to Gloomtail to collapse and reveal a lower area. So you exite Riddle Tower only to be confronted by a renewed Shadow Sirens with Dooplis in tow. Fun battle, if nothing else. Then you go back towards Gloomtail's corridor and you are greeted with this piece of music as you descend:
Deeper into the Shadows
This piece takes the dark Underground remix you heard previously and takes it up a few notches. You're getting closer to the end now, while at the same time getting that feeling of also getting closer to grave danger.
You solve this huge puzzle involving cogs and go through to this huge chamber. Suddenly the music had stopped, there is just this dull groan and no enemies. You walk past the pillars and find a save point. This is it.
You walk through and find yourself into the throne room, where Grodus is waiting. Finally, you get to settle this once and for all with him, the main atagonist. The fight itself is actually pretty easy, but it's still fun. Once you've got him cornered, Grodus resorts to threatening to kill Peach should Mario attempt to impede his plan any further. Now left at the mercy of Grodus' free hits, it seems all hope is lost. Until...
...Bowser drops in. Literally. On Grodus. It made me laugh at the time because it was just so unexpected, and that it lightened the overall mood somewhat. Of course, this mood is shatters when Bowser and Kammy challenge you to a fight...without letting you recover from your previous battle. So now, not only are you fighting Bowser, you're also doing it in a weakened state. That's not fair. The music of the battle really helps highlight the desperation and intensity of the battle:
Bowser Battle
It's clear you need to hurry and beat this guy before something bad befalls Peach. You beat Bowser and of course, Grodus has recovered and now is taking Peach behind the throne room and into a crypt! As this song plays out..
Ship Under Attack!
...you rush in pursuit and find yourself in the deepest part of the palace: the crypt.
The final, final battle.
Arriving too late, you see Grodus finally achieve his goal of awakening the demon that doomed Rougeport long ago, the Shadow Queen:
As soon as she awakens, you see every previous location you've visited get covered in a veil of darkness as this brillaintly creepy music plays:
Shadow Queen's Theme
Grodus presents Peach as a vessel for this monster, and Shadow Queen duly obliges. For me, what happened next shocked me to the core. As I've said before, I was young at the time of playing this game, and was accustomed to my Mario games being about Peach getting kidnapped, journeying to rescue her, and then to finally rescue her and complete the game. So when I saw the Shadow Queen turn the normally innocent and pure Peach into this:
It got to me. Shadow Peach instantly made an impact by zapping a hapless Grodus and making a demand: submit or die. Of course, I chose to fight and the battle began. Y'see here's the thing, it's not so much that the battle was particularly difficult, it was the fact that you were fighting the one person who you've been trying to save all this time. It was a great twist, and the sombre mood I felt was accentuated by the music:
Shadow Queen (Peach Form)
So the fight is moving along well enough, it seems like a simple enough fight. Then the Shadow Queen reveals her true form, and in the process becomes invincible by harvesting the audience. Seriously, not only has the demon committed mass murder, but she's now so strong that not even your strongest attacks have any effect.
Invincible Shadow Queen
The music and the situation give that sense "Oh shit, I am totally screwed", and for a while it seems that Mario and the player are just that. Then a miracle occurs as the Crystal Stars appear and disperse to locations around the world. The various friends and comrades that Mario has met communicate with him through the Stars, egging him on, all while this music plays:
We're Counting on You, Mario
The overload of positivity and hope allows Peach to temporarily regain control and give Mario her power before she fades back into the darkness. With everyone in the world behind you, you jump into battle to finish things once and for all, all while this suitably intense and dark music plays:
Final Battle
So you defeat the demon and seal her away for eternity. Peach and the world is saved, and she, Mario and the partners part ways to continue their lives happily.
--
So that's it. I felt this long-arse post was needed to fully explain why I love this boss and the buildup to it so much. In contrast to the tone of usual Mario games, the Palace of Shadow is extremely dark and foreboding. But it's almost as if the palace itself knows this, taunting with you with darker remixes of old Mario tunes as you progress.
I just love how it seems as if the palace is toying you with you as you proceed, and you never once feel safe while inside. What really makes this build-up work is how it keeps the sense of urgency even through its quieter moments. It convinces you that this demon and her machinations are something that should not be underestimated, and it builds you up to a conflict with an enemy that you know is dangerous without even seeing her.
Then when you do see her, jeez! Not only does she cover the world in darkness and zap the main antagonist only seconds after appearing, but she also represents a challenge to what Mario fans have been used to in her possessing of Peach. Hell, even if TTYD had been your first Mario game, Peach had always been the end goal to all your troubles, so to fight her at the end must have been shocking. As someone who had grown used to rescuing her, the fight had an even greater impact on me.
Just a great piece of gaming all around really. Keeps you on your toes and challenges your perceptions of what you expect in a Mario game. I mean hell, I think this is near the darkest that Nintendo has ever gotten, and definitely the darkest that Mario has. Maybe it's my nostalgia-tinted glassed over-exaggerating slightly, but this battle and preceding build-up is one of my favourite gaming moments. It was unexpected, it was shocking, it was intense and it was damn awesome.
Typhoon_Ex
Member
Yep, my thoughts exactly
So... why single out TP for this, when LoZ/ALttP/OoT/SS do it too?
Besides, it fits with TP, because Ganon is smug for a reason: he thinks he's blessed by the gods and is untouchable. I think a lot of people missed what was going on with his character in that game...
This generation: Red Dead Redemption: Even though it was not a boss fight, the missions they gave you after Dutch establishes family ties with John's son and wife. Then the past gets hold of him. I really liked how he looked through a little crack to see a swarm of soldiers waiting for him, but nevertheless went out to face his fate. Great ending and build up
All the time: Ocrania of Time hands down. The way you get up the stairs, the lighting, the music! Everything screams "epic" in that build-up.
All the time: Ocrania of Time hands down. The way you get up the stairs, the lighting, the music! Everything screams "epic" in that build-up.
victreeb3l
Member
The final lvl in super Maria 3dland comes to mind. Definitely great music and momentum sequel at the end
i was surprised by just how awesome that whole end sequence was. came out of nowhere and it was just awesomee
Dragon's Dogma for me as well. That whole boss fight was amazingly atmospheric.
Desperately running the temple walls, climbing the towers. Blasting through the sky on the dragon's back at extremely high speeds, clawing your way up his spine to recover your heart, and then down to the ground for the final showdown with the beast.
Just completed this last night. Though the buildup could have been a bit stronger throughout the game, the actual encounter was incredible.
I really need to pick this up. Is it worth it for the boss fights alone?
victreeb3l
Member
definitely. gave me a kingdom hearts vibe too for some reason which i liked
Aye, I thought it was a return to form for Bowser. The Galaxy fights were too easy and too repetitive.
Romancing SaGa PS2. Saruin. The build up conversation is short but sweet, packs alot for the upcoming fight, and then the duration of the second half of the battle will have you on the edge of your seat. He actually pulls a slight troll at the end of the fight:
.
Also any SMT universe title.
looks like he's getting ready to do one more ultimate spire attack, but then he'll flinch in pain half way through and start to die
Also any SMT universe title.
Me too, the dialogue in the battle and explanations beforehand mixed with the cutscene afterwards, epic stuff.
In OoT he had what he wanted, and was spending most of his time waiting for Zelda to show herself. He also got what he wanted in LttP via Agahnim, I don't think he was even aware Link was wandering around in the Dark World; in TP he was well aware that Link was coming to wreck his shit, just like he had done before. I don't really know what the deal with LoZ is considering the whole country is just a barren wasteland anyway.
Yeah, Skyward Sword's was dumb.
D
Deleted member 80556
Unconfirmed Member
Arkham City end boss. It's so awesome because you're actually not expecting. But the files you find on different villains do tease what's going to happen.
I think that sets one hell of a mood. Climbing up Mt.Silver I was thinking that obviously there is some rad level 80 legendary waiting at the top ready to fuck my shit up.
Nope, just Red and his team of level 70-80's. I think I only had one level 70 when I first fought him.
999 didn't have a boss fight, really, but that final challenge was built up to wonderfully and the payoff was magnificent.
that was one tense fucking fight, to be sure. the buildup kinda came out of nowhere, but it ratcheted up in such a way that it made sense within the story.
I think the final boss/the ending of Infinite Space was something special and somewhat depressing.
It's hard to describe if you haven't played the game (sadly, like hardly anyone has)
But for me, that was the perfect pay of for that 50 hours build up
that was one tense fucking fight, to be sure. the buildup kinda came out of nowhere, but it ratcheted up in such a way that it made sense within the story.
God, this is going to sound so nerdy...
TP took place in the child timeline. Ganon was executed in the child timeline after OoT (as seen in TP's cutscene); he had no knowledge of his defeat in the adult timeline. He had no prior knowledge of Link wrecking his shit "as he had done before" because that never happened in this timeline. In fact, he was arrogant because the sages tried to kill him and he somehow survived. He thought he was blessed by the gods, but it was really history sort of correcting itself, because he was always destined to get the Triforce.
Nothing in this timeline had stopped him yet, so there was no indication that anything could stop him. He already had what he wanted, and without much effort. That's why he's a smug prick.
Alright, fair enough then!
Although he still spent a lot of time sat at the top of his castle, I don't think any of the NPC's in the game were even negatively affected by the fact he was sat up there.
anotherVegan
Member
Ah, so you've decided to meet your end in battle after all. It pleases me greatly to see such misplaced valor, human. Take a moment to appreciate your surroundings, for where we stand shall serve as your tomb for eternity.
The hate for the gods that has boiled in my veins... You will taste all of it in the bite of my blade. The only question left is how long you will manage to remain standing before I take your life. Try to keep it interesting for me, would you?
And when you do fall, know that your world and everything in it is mine to dominate. Mine to subjugate. Mine to rule! When I finish with you, you can take solace in knowing you friends and kin will soon follow, as I wipe all who oppose me from the face of this world!
...It won't be long now. At last, the almighty power I've sought for millenia... I will take the Triforce for my own... And the world shall be under my foot for eternity!
The hate for the gods that has boiled in my veins... You will taste all of it in the bite of my blade. The only question left is how long you will manage to remain standing before I take your life. Try to keep it interesting for me, would you?
And when you do fall, know that your world and everything in it is mine to dominate. Mine to subjugate. Mine to rule! When I finish with you, you can take solace in knowing you friends and kin will soon follow, as I wipe all who oppose me from the face of this world!
...It won't be long now. At last, the almighty power I've sought for millenia... I will take the Triforce for my own... And the world shall be under my foot for eternity!
All these posts about Ganon, and no one mentions Demise. All the mentions of Gharahim's master throughout your adventure, but you never see him. Then you finally confront him, and he is the most bold, arrogant, and just a badass Zelda villain. He swears that he will murder you, your friends, your family, and rule the world for all eternity. That speech gave me chills when I first fought him.
Added spoiler tags.
Some members here (myself included) would consider this entire post one huge spoiler.
The buildup on Nocturne's TDE almost made me soil my pants.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=581XyoO2P44
The same could be said for the buildup for
.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kE9ldZ6ks4&t=4m40s
More than the music, the PS2-esque area (I mean, it looks like the PS2 menu itself!).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=581XyoO2P44
The same could be said for the buildup for
fighting Kagutsuchi
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kE9ldZ6ks4&t=4m40s
More than the music, the PS2-esque area (I mean, it looks like the PS2 menu itself!).
Agreed on that one. Halfway through the game, the threat to the world straight up disappears. Hyrule Castle gets encased in some magic shield and nobody gives a shit. Totally killed the story pacing, menace, and world-building in the second half of the game, along with any motivation to save it.
It's even more incongruous in light of OoT, which had been so good at setting up the repercussions of a destroyed world in its second half.
anotherVegan
Member
Added spoiler tags! Thanks for the heads-up!
The first three Phoenix Wright games had excellent buildups and payoffs with their final "bosses".
In the first, if you count Von Karma as the final boss, and not the extra DS episode, you have the toughest court battle of the entire game so far, and finally manage to prove Edgeworth not guilty... which then turns out to have been what Von Karma wanted all along. Cue his real plan, and Edgeworth getting accused of another murder. Everyone is shock, even Edgeworth thinks he might have done it. The case looks like a slam-dunk win for Von Karma. Maya freaks out and asks Phoenix what he's going to do. "I'm preparing our case." And then the stage is set for the final and craziest case in the entire game, against an opponent so crazy-prepared that Batman would consider it a little overkill. When you finally piece it all together and Von Karma is defeated, it is awesome.
The second game's final boss wasn't the prosecutor. It was the client. That sweet, innocent, trustworthy client who passed the magic lie detector test. And then... "Hello. I'm Matt Engarde."
An impossible dilemma. Which, again, makes it so very, very satisfying when you finally manage to solve it by... nah. That would be telling. The choice you get at the end of the final case after you've won is so satisfying, no matter what you pick.
And finally, the third game. From the start, you meet Dahlia Hawthrone. A sweet, innocent, murderous, despicable woman. And she will haunt you, literally and figuratively, through the entire game. So when you finally, in the last case, manage to beat her for good, it's great. Especially since
. And then it turns out, the game doesn't end there... You still have one last Objection! to call before the end... And this one, if you get it right, was built up to from the second case of the first game. And it is so awesome when you do, in part thanks to the musical cue. The only time that song is used in the entire game, and what a callback it is.
I haven't played Apollo Justice, so I can't say if it's as good at this as the first three.
In the first, if you count Von Karma as the final boss, and not the extra DS episode, you have the toughest court battle of the entire game so far, and finally manage to prove Edgeworth not guilty... which then turns out to have been what Von Karma wanted all along. Cue his real plan, and Edgeworth getting accused of another murder. Everyone is shock, even Edgeworth thinks he might have done it. The case looks like a slam-dunk win for Von Karma. Maya freaks out and asks Phoenix what he's going to do. "I'm preparing our case." And then the stage is set for the final and craziest case in the entire game, against an opponent so crazy-prepared that Batman would consider it a little overkill. When you finally piece it all together and Von Karma is defeated, it is awesome.
The second game's final boss wasn't the prosecutor. It was the client. That sweet, innocent, trustworthy client who passed the magic lie detector test. And then... "Hello. I'm Matt Engarde."
Turns out, he DID do it, but if you don't get him acquitted, the hitman he used will kill Maya. So, a killer walks free, or Maya dies.
And finally, the third game. From the start, you meet Dahlia Hawthrone. A sweet, innocent, murderous, despicable woman. And she will haunt you, literally and figuratively, through the entire game. So when you finally, in the last case, manage to beat her for good, it's great. Especially since
you perform an exorcism by verbal smackdown
I haven't played Apollo Justice, so I can't say if it's as good at this as the first three.
The fights with the big enemies is incredibly fun, especially at first when you're a lower level, and it takes a long time to chip away at their health. Clinging to a Griffin while it flies through the air, hacking at its wings and causing it to crash to the ground so your team can go all-out on it is pretty damn fun.
Those fights are a huge selling point, but I think the whole game is very fun. Has its niggling issues, and the difficulty is high at first, but quickly drops as you climb in levels. Luckily there is a post-game where enemies are much tougher, which makes for some amazing boss fights.
Nocturnowl
Member
Not quite as strong as the first three but the underlying satisfaction is still present.
Personally I loved it, one of my favourite breakdowns, if you enjoyed the previous games you should give AJ a shake.
Dark Souls Last Boss spoiler below
Gwyn, Lord of Cinder from Dark Souls
Go through a small corridor of light with disembodied souls walking through it to what looked like a land of utter ruin. The path leading to Gwyn it devoid of enemies except five Black Knights, each of which can kill you easily if you don't know how to fight them.
Once you get to Gwyn there is no epic speech from the final boss, just him rushing you and staying on top of you until you kill him.
Gwyn, Lord of Cinder from Dark Souls
Go through a small corridor of light with disembodied souls walking through it to what looked like a land of utter ruin. The path leading to Gwyn it devoid of enemies except five Black Knights, each of which can kill you easily if you don't know how to fight them.
Once you get to Gwyn there is no epic speech from the final boss, just him rushing you and staying on top of you until you kill him.
I haven't been able to find it, I kind of hoped it would have gotten a WiiWare port like the previous three. That's how I found them.
The build up was great though, and the first couple of times you fight him or if you aren't great at parrying(like me) he can be a tough fight.
Awesome build-up, could not be done better.
You spend the entire last level escaping death at the hands of a retarded AI who is ripping apart Aperture for the sole purpose of crushing the fuck out of you. One of my favorite final boss sequences ever because it feels like you are interacting with him for the entire level.
Thanks. Hadn't finished Portal 2 yet. Have a back log due to new baby. Thanks for this.
Yeah, Portal 2 spoilers are AWESOME. Just barely started it myself.
As far as my selection goes, I'd have to say
Kunino-Sagiri
even though he isn't really the final boss
The
kidnapping of Nanako
Then you run into the boss... those visuals, that music, the fact that, at the time, my team averaged out at about Level 60. All of that made for a pretty intense battle, way better than anything in P3.
Eppy Thatcher
God's had his chance.
..... it's a final boss fights thread. Potentially every single post is a spoiler. Hard to feel sorry for you man ...
Ah, so you've decided to meet your end in battle after all. It pleases me greatly to see such misplaced valor, human. Take a moment to appreciate your surroundings, for where we stand shall serve as your tomb for eternity.
The hate for the gods that has boiled in my veins... You will taste all of it in the bite of my blade. The only question left is how long you will manage to remain standing before I take your life. Try to keep it interesting for me, would you?
And when you do fall, know that your world and everything in it is mine to dominate. Mine to subjugate. Mine to rule! When I finish with you, you can take solace in knowing you friends and kin will soon follow, as I wipe all who oppose me from the face of this world!
...It won't be long now. At last, the almighty power I've sought for millenia... I will take the Triforce for my own... And the world shall be under my foot for eternity!All these posts about Ganon, and no one mentions Demise. All the mentions of Gharahim's master throughout your adventure, but you never see him. Then you finally confront him, and he is the most bold, arrogant, and just a badass Zelda villain. He swears that he will murder you, your friends, your family, and rule the world for all eternity. That speech gave me chills when I first fought him.
Added spoiler tags.
I posted it before, and i shall repeat it...
it kinda kills the tension when
he lets you return to restock on potions / faeries / save the game
it would have been perfect if you HAD to fight him right there, right at the moment after battling the hundred imps and defeating Gharahim
it would have been perfect if you HAD to fight him right there, right at the moment after battling the hundred imps and defeating Gharahim
In SS
Demise was imprisoned for aeons and wasn't full power yet, he needed time to absorb Zelda/Hylia's soul completely, so it makes sense that he would step back to buy time and grow more powerful. Groose mentions this as soon as Demise says that he will arrange a place for them to fight.
Not only that, he was impressed by Link's courage a, so it's safe to assume he wanted to fight him at full power and test him.
Not only that, he was impressed by Link's courage a, so it's safe to assume he wanted to fight him at full power and test him.
It's of course, a gameplay decision, but it's clearly backed up by the story.
Having played this, this picture captures that scene really well. Although inaccurate since
they're not robots
Statute of limitations has long ended on that one.
anotherVegan
Member
I'd have to agree. But the first time I fought him,
I said "screw it" and barged in right after fighting Gharahim like a boss. I only had one fairy. And I lost.