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[Greenpanda]

Most games with final bosses usually just make them a super-powered version of the sort of encounters you've had up to that point.

But some of the most memorable final boss fights for me have been the ones that revolve around some mechanic besides "do a lot of damage to to the boss":

Chrono Cross -

Spoiler

You don't even try to do damage to the boss at all. Instead, you have to figure out how to cast a series of spells in order (without getting interrupted). Requires a totally different strategy than any of the previous encounters, but makes good use of the game's magic system.

Zelda Wind Waker -

Spoiler

Instead of whittling down Ganon's life, you just have to hit him once with the correct timing; the battle consists of trying the light arrow / stab combo until you can nal the timing and get in that killing blow.

Earthbound -

Spoiler

You just keep using the Pray command while healing until you win the battle. (OK, this one is actually kind of lame :/ )

What are some others?

 

[rs7k]

The one in BG&E where the controls are inverted. Total mindfuck when you do it the first few times.

 

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Final Fantasy X i suppose ... was it even possible to lose that fight?

what a letdown in comparison of the finales of FF7, et al

 

[Snaku]

The one in BG&E where the controls are inverted. Total mindfuck when you do it the first few times.

QFT, I was completely thrown off. Combine that with the dream-like visuals and I felt like I was on some kind of hallucinogen.

 

[Sinatar]

Final Boss in the Jedi Knight Expansion (mysteries of the sith) was a friend of your character, the hero of the franchise and the only way to beat him was to bring the good out in him. To do that, put away your weapon and let yourself be killed, he stops at the last second.

The only clue for that fight? A bas relief on the wall of a jedi in a peaceful meditative trance.

 

[Greenpanda]

Final Fantasy X i suppose ... was it even possible to lose that fight?

Spoiler

Not the ones against Yu Yevon and the Aeons, no ... but the fight with Jecht is really basically the actual final boss fight.

Although if you did any of the sidequests, it's hardly possible to lose that one, either

 

[Hayami]

 

[Greenpanda]

The End isn't a final boss

I suppose MGS2 could be included, though, inasmuch as

Spoiler

you're fighting with a sword instead of the guns you've been using for 95% of the game

 

[GitarooMan]

Banjo-Kazooie -

Spoiler

The board game (right before the final fight), and then the jinjo statues, etc, and all the stuff in the final batlle

 

[Suburban Cowboy]

DEFINITELY the second phase of Baby Bowser in Yoshi's Island, thats got to be my favorite boss fight of all time

 

[Hayami]

The End isn't a final boss

do you even REALIZE how ironic that is? DO YOU?


no.

 

[Community Forum]

The final boss in Donkey Kong 64 was so awesome! I still to this day don't understand all the hate for this game

Great bosses all around.

 

[ManDudeChild]

Final Fantasy X i suppose ... was it even possible to lose that fight?

what a letdown in comparison of the finales of FF7, et al

I think so, but you really had to suck donkey doodle to lose it. I suppose you'd just have to be revived and not have enough MP to finish off the Aeons, Yu or whatnot.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Every boss fight in Killer 7.

But since this is about the final boss...

Spoiler

The boss is a fat guy who hung himself. He is hanging on the end of a noose but will raise a golden pistol and shoot you with it. He'll only shoot you if he isn't swinging from his neck so you have to shoot him on either side to build up momentum. If you build up enough momentum his pants fly off. Then you need to shoot the massive glowing red spot between his legs. Once you blow his nads off (along with the rest of the lower half of his body) you are attacked by 7 Heaven Smile that are invincible to all weapons but the the golden pistol (that the fat guy dropped). None of your personas can use the pistol so you have to let each die until you are left with just Garcian who can then pick up the pistol and finish off the half a fat guy hanging by his neck still.

 

[Tain]

 

[Morts]

Banjo-Kazooie -

Spoiler

The board game (right before the final fight), and then the jinjo statues, etc, and all the stuff in the final batlle

I completely forgot about all of that. I love that game.

 

[Mike Works]

Every boss fight in Killer 7.

But since this is about the final boss...

Spoiler

The boss is a fat guy who hung himself. He is hanging on the end of a noose but will raise a golden pistol and shoot you with it. He'll only shoot you if he isn't swinging from his neck so you have to shoot him on either side to build up momentum. If you build up enough momentum his pants fly off. Then you need to shoot the massive glowing red spot between his legs. Once you blow his nads off (along with the rest of the lower half of his body) you are attacked by 7 Heaven Smile that are invincible to all weapons but the the golden pistol (that the fat guy dropped). None of your personas can use the pistol so you have to let each die until you are left with just Gacrian who can then pick up the pistol and finish off the half a fat guy hanging by his neck still.

What the FUCK? Do I have to rent this game?

 

[Jive Turkey]

What the FUCK? Do I have to rent this game?

YES.

 

[GaimeGuy]

The final boss in Donkey Kong 64 was so awesome! I still to this day don't understand all the hate for this game

Great bosses all around.

While the battles and boss fights were quite awesome, the majority of the game (that is, the platforming and the collecting of bananas) was mind-blowingly tedious.

You had to collect blueprints.
You had to collect bananas to beat levels.
You had to collect gold bananas.
You had to collect stuff to get more stuff, and then collect that stuff to get something else.

The advancement of the game revolved around collecting, and it's collecting was executed in a way that was tedious and unenjoyable, unlike, say, Banjo-Kazooie or Mario 64 (and BK was about as bad as it could get without becoming unenjoyable).

 

[GaimeGuy]

Every boss fight in Killer 7.

But since this is about the final boss...

Spoiler

The boss is a fat guy who hung himself. He is hanging on the end of a noose but will raise a golden pistol and shoot you with it. He'll only shoot you if he isn't swinging from his neck so you have to shoot him on either side to build up momentum. If you build up enough momentum his pants fly off. Then you need to shoot the massive glowing red spot between his legs. Once you blow his nads off (along with the rest of the lower half of his body) you are attacked by 7 Heaven Smile that are invincible to all weapons but the the golden pistol (that the fat guy dropped). None of your personas can use the pistol so you have to let each die until you are left with just Gacrian who can then pick up the pistol and finish off the half a fat guy hanging by his neck still.

 

[Wario64]

What the FUCK? Do I have to rent this game?

Do it. This game is pretty f'd up. You'll likely to go WTF a few times through out the game

Just don't expect too much from the gameplay and you should like it


And I'm gonna have to play Killer 7 again cause I certainly do not remember that from the final boss...

 

[Servizio]

Didn't Devil May Cry totally switch up the formula for the last encounter?

 

[Version 3.0]

I was just about to say Devil May Cry--WTF, all of a sudden I'm in a space shooter?

...although that was just "form 1" of the end boss.

 

[Mr.Sparkle]

The whole end sequence in Metal Slug 3, where your character gets kidnapped by aliens, and you have to switch to someone else.

 

[cvxfreak]

Resident Evil CODE: Veronica X's final boss certainly was weird as fuck for an RE.

As is Outbreak File 2's.

 

[Rlan]

The final boss in Sly Raccoon was very different. He grabbed a Jetpack and fought in the air.

Also every single Sonic boss since Sonic & Knuckles has been a damn Super Sonic Vs. Eggman/Creature fight. How I wish they bring back the old Super Sonic in LEVELS thing :\

 

[..pakbeka..]

the final boss in Onimusha 2 certainly was very different from the whole game


and while it's not a final boss, I think the RPG boss from Kirby Super Star deserves a mention

 

[cvxfreak]

Good mention of the Onimusha 2 one. Strange indeed.

 

[Defensor]

Another vote for the Nyx in Resident Evil Outbreak File#2. I was like WTF is that thing when I first faced this boss.

You have to damage him enough so that he gets down on one knee clutching in pain. Once hes down, you have to attack the head of the tyrant that he absorbed to open up the heart. With the heart exposed you have to concentrate all your attacks on it for a few seconds before the Nyx gets back up. Repeat attack the legs of the Nyx until it gets down on one knee again and expose the heart to attack.

The Nyx also has some weird move where he raises his hand in the air slams it down on a close opponent to try and absorb the character. If a character doesn't press the face buttons on the controller rapidly, he will get absorbed and will be stuck inside the Nyx until the teammates slay it(Your virus meter accelerates unti 100% and you die). The Nyx also has the cheapest attacks I've seen in a RE game. If you try to get in too close when attack it, it will try to swipe you with its hand, hit you with its 2 tentacles on its back, launch its leg tentacles to put you in a bleeding state, or shoot its dead body parts at you.

Truly one of the weirdest and most unconvential final boss fight I have ever played.

 

[Joeholley]

The final boss of PS2 Shinobi was unconventionally IMPOSSIBLE.

In all seriousness, surprised that no one is mentioning SotC. The only thing that makes the final boss there remotely 'conventional' is that you fight 15 other colossi before you reach it.

 

[Chairman Yang]

Half-Life 2. Unconventional ending, too.

 

[M3wThr33]

The Biolizard was sure unexpected

 

[..pakbeka..]

The Biolizard was sure unexpected

especially with a space station shoved up it's ass

 

[Goreomedy]

Please someone tell me you remember this too.

Incredible Hulk for SNES. An average platformer starring Hulk, that has you reverting to Banner every once in a while when you lose "gamma strength". When you become Banner, you are worthless. You can't punch, kick, anything! You just flee. If you manage to find a gun, though, you can fire two, yes, TWO, fucking shots.

At the end of this short game, you run into this Mega Man like room with a boss shooting projectiles from the other side. Hulk can't leap the chasm that separates the two. So, your strength is dwindled until you turn into Banner. Then you fire your gun once, the boss dies instantly. Credits.

The weakest, yet most memorable in a WTF sense, boss fight I've ever had.

 

[cvxfreak]

especially with a space station shoved up it's ass

:lol

 

[ManDudeChild]

Please someone tell me you remember this too.

Incredible Hulk for SNES. An average platformer starring Hulk, that has you reverting to Banner every once in a while when you lose "gamma strength". When you become Banner, you are worthless. You can't punch, kick, anything! You just flee. If you manage to find a gun, though, you can fire two, yes, TWO, fucking shots.

At the end of this short game, you run into this Mega Man like room with a boss shooting projectiles from the other side. Hulk can't leap the chasm that separates the two. So, your strength is dwindled until you turn into Banner. Then you fire your gun once, the boss dies instantly. Credits.

The weakest, yet most memorable in a WTF sense, boss fight I've ever had.

The Genesis (never played the SNES version) was freakishly difficult when you were Banner.

 

[Goreomedy]

The Genesis (never played the SNES version) was freakishly difficult when you were Banner.

Exactly. The game pretty much trains you that, if you turn into Banner, you're dead. So, when you finally get to that last boss, and can't reach him as Hulk, it was so frustrating. I wonder how many people just turned off the game and returned it to the video store unbeaten.

 

[LakeEarth]

Another vote for the Nyx in Resident Evil Outbreak File#2. I was like WTF is that thing when I first faced this boss.

You have to damage him enough so that he gets down on one knee clutching in pain. Once hes down, you have to attack the head of the tyrant that he absorbed to open up the heart. With the heart exposed you have to concentrate all your attacks on it for a few seconds before the Nyx gets back up. Repeat attack the legs of the Nyx until it gets down on one knee again and expose the heart to attack.

The Nyx also has some weird move where he raises his hand in the air slams it down on a close opponent to try and absorb the character. If a character doesn't press the face buttons on the controller rapidly, he will get absorbed and will be stuck inside the Nyx until the teammates slay it(Your virus meter accelerates unti 100% and you die). The Nyx also has the cheapest attacks I've seen in a RE game. If you try to get in too close when attack it, it will try to swipe you with its hand, hit you with its 2 tentacles on its back, launch its leg tentacles to put you in a bleeding state, or shoot its dead body parts at you.

Truly one of the weirdest and most unconvential final boss fight I have ever played.

I love that thing. Fucking awesome look to it.

 

[LordPhlegm]

I've always been a fan of Zelda II Adventures of Link's final boss. That was so kick-ass sweet.

 

[Senretsu]

Do it. This game is pretty f'd up. You'll likely to go WTF a few times through out the game

Just don't expect too much from the gameplay and you should like it


And I'm gonna have to play Killer 7 again cause I certainly do not remember that from the final boss...

Spoiler

Though that was the last "final boss" encounter in the game, there's another last boss was at the end and is really a choice, basically its that guy sitting in the chair waiting for you to shoot him in the head (he gives you the choice). And I guess the real final final boss of that game is the quick chase at the end as you chase the guy in the red suit to a deep basement corner, he's completely defenseless, so the only thing left to do is just shoot him until he dies.

fucked up game indeed.

 

[belgurdo]

Last boss of Sonic Heroes, where Knuckles gets to

Spoiler

toss man-sized fireballs and throw airships at it.

Cool, but massive WTF-age

 

[bjork]

The last boss of Moonwalker on Genesis, where it went from platforming stuff to

Spoiler

outerspace flight sim bullshit

.

Ruined the ass end of that game, not that it was a gem to begin with, but still.

 

[Sax Russel]

Fighting Andross in typical Star Fox shooter fashion was a nice touch to SFA, though the rest of the game was meh.

 

[demi]

Samurai Legend Musashi

You beat this gigantic boss and it even transforms into a huge crystal god thing

So you beat it and everyone is happy

Suddenly the same guy appears AGAIN - this time in human form - and is like

"hey we arent done yet lets fight"

So they're like "go Musashi you can do it!"

So the [final] battle is you and this guy in the center of a circle of people

You stand there...stand there...then you have to hit the X button at the right time or you die - a Samurai standoff

That's it

 

[Unison]

That part of the last boss in God of War where you turn into Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots was horrid.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

the "NYX" looks like a butthole.

 

[Servizio]

Oh yeah.

Wasn't there a whole thread about The Matrix: Path of Neo ending recently too?

 

[Rlan]

How could I forget:

:lol :lol :lol

 

[cvxfreak]

the "NYX" looks like a butthole.

Certainly uses one against the players, too.

 

[emerge]

Chrono Trigger for the fact that you can beat the final boss 10 Minutes into the game with the first two characters only (and on many other occasions before the "real" end of the game). Also for the fact that of the 3 targets on screen in the final battle it is not the most menacing looking one you have to kill.