Kefka (FF6), Sephiroth (FF7), Ozma (FF9), Saren Artesius (Mass Effect), The Archdemon (Dragon Age: Origins) would probably be my favorites.
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Gaming Your Favourite Boss Battles
- Thread starter Moby
- Start date
Talking of FF, my favourite final boss fight is probably Ultimecia In FF8. The several stages combined with the music makes for one hell of an end fight.
You go in with full soul and shaman stone, spell twister, and grubsong equipped then you hit him when he's bowing to get him in the pufferfish state and you basically shriek him, iirc you need to get him to pufferfish state twice to beat him if you get all your shrieks off. Obviously this doesn't really work for the pantheon so if I want to do pantheon 3 I need to learn to beat him. Not sure if I'll ever bother with NKG though. I just don't have the patience to grind bosses, radiance took me ages cause I quit after 20 mins of trying every time and then leave weeks between tries.How did you even cheese Grimm?
Both Grimm battles are great as they both require you to get locked in the rhythm. And like other dream versions the two have completely different strats. I didn't beat NKG in the main game but got him in Godhome.
Agree with THK. I guess a lot of people are disappointed given it is the titular character and obviously from a difficulty perspective Pure Vessel is what the real deal. Haven't reached that yet. But definitely from a lore perspective THK is awesome. And even more when you go with voidheart. As you anyway get the Radiance right after to satisfy your combat needs.
Also Any% speedrunners love THK given you have to fight him with zero nail upgrades and only level 1 Vengeful Spirit and no quick slash or strength or shaman stone (I think you can get Shaman Stone on Any% but not sure). That makes that an awesome fight. Just pure dodge and smash.
Yea, I get why people would be disappointed a bit with THK fight wise cause he's the "final" boss and fairly easy to beat but they couldn't make him too hard cause if you have to keep grinding him for radiance it's gonna get even more tedious and frustrating. I guess they could've somehow made him more difficult if you go for the "bad" ending. But lore wise I love that fight. In my first playthrough I only had the Hornet ending and defeating the Radiance but in my "speedrun" I really enjoyed the THK fight with the music and him dragging himself around, really adds a layer to it.
Speedrunners make it look so easy but then you give it a try and three hours in you're still fighting watcher knights. Amazingly I even died a few times to Uumuu in my first speed run attempt
Exactly. Everytime I think of doing Any% Watcher Knights are the first thing that make me turn away.Speedrunners make it look so easy but then you give it a try and three hours in you're still fighting watcher knights. Amazingly I even died a few times to Uumuu in my first speed run attempt
I disliked that mostly cause she came quite late in the game, and wasn't properly fleshed out.
Yeah but you have no soul.
That’s a really stupid opinion. I once owned a dog that was smarter than you.
Looks fun although less challenging than a usual BB boss. The first phase was similar to the cleric beast with a much bigger area. Also you can pause to switch consumables?!
Thinking of picking this up soon. Need the price to come down a bit.
Hollow Knight
- Sisters of Battle: my favourite fight in the game. Such a rhythmic and fast battle, even if it's not all that difficult. Avoiding the fast, overlapping attacks just feels so good.
- Pure Vessel: another relentless battle that requires peak concentration. When fought well, you can find yourself doing it hitless, but at the same time one mistake can throw you off completely and ruin your entire run.
- Nightmare King Grimm: similar to Pure Vessel but a lot more forgiving. Seems impossible at first and becomes almost trivial with sufficient practice, but it always remains fun.
- Absolute Radiance: a love-hate relationship. It frustrated the hell out of me during the several hundred practice runs but eventually I started to really enjoy the fight. On repeat POH runs, without the stress of chasing that first win, reaching this battle feels so epic. I love that intro with its title card and bombastic music.
- Paintmaster Sheo: I just love the visuals here. The colourful paint sticking around after attacks looks great.
- Hornet II: SHAW! Who doesn't love Hornet?
I could go on but I think that's enough Hollow Knight.
Dark Souls
- Knight Artorias: an epic showdown with the legendary fighter, tragically lost to the corruption of the Abyss.
- Ornstein & Smough: should be obvious. Still one of the best duo fights in video gaming. Extra points for the brilliant soundtrack.
Dark Souls 2
- Fume Knight: tough as nails but lots of fun. A pure fight.
Dark Souls 3
- Dancer of the Boreal Valley: such a stylish battle. Dancer almost hypnotizes you with her elegant movement.
- Slave Knight Gael: I love the wasteland setting, the bleakness of the battle. By the third stage he is throwing so much stuff at you but it never feels too much.
Bloodborne
- Gehrman: great setting and my favourite hunter fight. Anyone who fights with a giant scythe is cool as feck.
- Watchdog of the Old Lords: the one-shot rush attack is not so fun in the defiled chalice but I like everything else about this fight. There's very little margin for error, it keeps you on your toes throughout.
- Ludwig: the switch from relentless, mindless beast to composed and majestic knight halfway through the fight makes this so memorable.
- Lady Maria: beautiful setting and fantastic, fast-paced swordfight. So cool when she adds blood and eventually fire as well.
Sekiro
- Owl Father: the first fight is cool but facing him at full strength is the real test. A pure and fair duel.
- Genichiro: a classic skill check. Impossible at first but once you've mastered the mechanics you'll faceroll it while still feeling like a parry god.
Metal Gear Solid
- Psycho Mantis: a cool character and I loved the whole fourth wall breaking stuff back then.
- Sniper Wolf (second fight): mainly for the cutscene after the fight. It always got to me and made me sad to win the fight. It's a great sniper duel but I admit I've cheesed this with Nikita missiles more often than not.
Metal Gear Solid 3
- The Boss: obvious. Beautiful setting and such an emotional fight.
Returnal
- Hyperion: the climb to the boss with the swelling music gives me the chills. Once you realise what the music symbolises, it becomes even better. A stunning fight and a visual and auditory feast.
I think I'll stop now.
- Sisters of Battle: my favourite fight in the game. Such a rhythmic and fast battle, even if it's not all that difficult. Avoiding the fast, overlapping attacks just feels so good.
- Pure Vessel: another relentless battle that requires peak concentration. When fought well, you can find yourself doing it hitless, but at the same time one mistake can throw you off completely and ruin your entire run.
- Nightmare King Grimm: similar to Pure Vessel but a lot more forgiving. Seems impossible at first and becomes almost trivial with sufficient practice, but it always remains fun.
- Absolute Radiance: a love-hate relationship. It frustrated the hell out of me during the several hundred practice runs but eventually I started to really enjoy the fight. On repeat POH runs, without the stress of chasing that first win, reaching this battle feels so epic. I love that intro with its title card and bombastic music.
- Paintmaster Sheo: I just love the visuals here. The colourful paint sticking around after attacks looks great.
- Hornet II: SHAW! Who doesn't love Hornet?
I could go on but I think that's enough Hollow Knight.
Dark Souls
- Knight Artorias: an epic showdown with the legendary fighter, tragically lost to the corruption of the Abyss.
- Ornstein & Smough: should be obvious. Still one of the best duo fights in video gaming. Extra points for the brilliant soundtrack.
Dark Souls 2
- Fume Knight: tough as nails but lots of fun. A pure fight.
Dark Souls 3
- Dancer of the Boreal Valley: such a stylish battle. Dancer almost hypnotizes you with her elegant movement.
- Slave Knight Gael: I love the wasteland setting, the bleakness of the battle. By the third stage he is throwing so much stuff at you but it never feels too much.
Bloodborne
- Gehrman: great setting and my favourite hunter fight. Anyone who fights with a giant scythe is cool as feck.
- Watchdog of the Old Lords: the one-shot rush attack is not so fun in the defiled chalice but I like everything else about this fight. There's very little margin for error, it keeps you on your toes throughout.
- Ludwig: the switch from relentless, mindless beast to composed and majestic knight halfway through the fight makes this so memorable.
- Lady Maria: beautiful setting and fantastic, fast-paced swordfight. So cool when she adds blood and eventually fire as well.
Sekiro
- Owl Father: the first fight is cool but facing him at full strength is the real test. A pure and fair duel.
- Genichiro: a classic skill check. Impossible at first but once you've mastered the mechanics you'll faceroll it while still feeling like a parry god.
Metal Gear Solid
- Psycho Mantis: a cool character and I loved the whole fourth wall breaking stuff back then.
- Sniper Wolf (second fight): mainly for the cutscene after the fight. It always got to me and made me sad to win the fight. It's a great sniper duel but I admit I've cheesed this with Nikita missiles more often than not.
Metal Gear Solid 3
- The Boss: obvious. Beautiful setting and such an emotional fight.
Returnal
- Hyperion: the climb to the boss with the swelling music gives me the chills. Once you realise what the music symbolises, it becomes even better. A stunning fight and a visual and auditory feast.
I think I'll stop now.
Yeah I was gonna mentioned Hornet Sentinel as well, pretty sure she actually goes mental with combos in her last phase, don't remember much because you are just looking to end it at that point.
Heck, even Hornet Protector is actually one of my favourite ones when I did it the first time. Being new to the game, strolling around smashing little bugs and BAM - what's this. Took me a while at that point and it's the best learning experience the game gives you on what's to come. I regard it similar to Father Gascoigne in BB. A proper preview of what's gonna happen in the game plus both characters are of the same class as your player. The more I play these two games the more similarities I find. Definitely overall the best so far for me as well - although once I was using the charged R2 more with the LHB it can reduce the poor old guy to minced meat pretty quickly. But that wind attack later on is still mental. Also that along with Laurence are probably my favourite characters in the game - funny as they were the ones who fecked it all up.
Boss battles are generally shit imo, you learn the moves and timings then just repeat for 20 fecking minutes. Usually get some mad hit in the last 10hp and have to redo the bullshit all over again.
Not to mention you kill them and they resurrect with some extra super power.
Plus their absolute mint weapon they're smashing you with, when they drop it, it's as much use as a wooden leg.
Not to mention you kill them and they resurrect with some extra super power.
Plus their absolute mint weapon they're smashing you with, when they drop it, it's as much use as a wooden leg.
Came here to say this. Pretty much all of them were great, mind.
Ornstein and Smough.
And I'm not talking to those who already knew what was coming and grinded to suit, I'm purely talking to those who played the game without help and came across those two. Definitely one of my proudest victories beating them with a straight sword after about a million tries.
And I'm not talking to those who already knew what was coming and grinded to suit, I'm purely talking to those who played the game without help and came across those two. Definitely one of my proudest victories beating them with a straight sword after about a million tries.
That was how I went about with Ludwig. Had only seen that mid fight cut scene in a lore video but zero idea about his moves. First attempt - lock camera, miss dodge, 5 seconds, dead. Second attempt - unlock camera, pick your spot and go! Absolute end to end action and before I could even catch my breath the dude had lost his head.
That's why I so absolutely love this game and what I've heard in so many sources from people who have played all Souls game - and pretty much experienced myself - every single time you decide to take matters in your hand and trust your own style - you are a god. feck ever learning what the other guy is gonna do. No waiting. No shield, blocks, parry, anything. Just pick your spot, do not wait, and smash. And play the whole fight just trading blows. Which is where the rally system plus the stun locks are awesome. I actually don't enjoy parry in this, I get that is a hard skill and you need great timing for most foes but for me it is a bit of a cop out because you just deal insane amount of damage. Fighting in a rhythm with getting constant blows out is satisfactory to another level. (I get that you can do the same in other Souls games as well but as this guy explains, unless you are a massive hardcore fight loving maniac, most people just don't encouraged to take up that style due to the other possible styles.)
Mate, you've seen the wrong people talk and play with the Souls games. In fact, you've stumbled on the secret of what makes the soulsbourne games work so well.
There's no right or wrong way. I've played and beat all 3 souls games with no shield, I've beat BB with parrying as my main weapon. Dark souls 3 is well and beyond BB in those terms btw, it's the perfect match of both worlds. Do yourself a favour and just try them for yourself. They are great games and completely misunderstood by BB fans, they give you much more of a choice about how you play than BB ever did, way more variety (which is the main reason BB isn't at the top of the list for me, I love the setting but it's way too simplified in all areas).
As for parrying being a cop out...well...no, it's a skill in the Souls games but not supposed to be one in BB. BB is a much easier game because of that, it was designed that way in mind it was designed for people to hack and slash more. That's the whole point of it, it's why it's not a Souls game but a spin off. It's exactly why Sekiro is the same, but the opposite as that is ALL about the parrying. FROM know what they are doing, it's why they are the best at what they do.
Edit: That's in no way trying to imply BB is dumbed btw, it's more the genius of picking the elements of gameplay which worked on the PS4 at that time. I love BB, I've played it so much it's ridiculous
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