Most of the best video games are nothing without a great boss battle. Bosses are tough. But getting to them is one of the biggest motivations that players prepare for throughout the game. Here’s what we want from video game bosses: they should feel like a challenge, they should be tough, intelligent, but at the same time, not impossible to beat. Here is our list of the very best bosses in video game history.
10. Ender Dragon – Minecraft
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You might laugh at the popular sandbox adventure game Minecraft and its pixelated world. But for many of the few millions of people who play it every day, the boss fights are the big goals right from Day 1. The Ender Dragon is probably one of the coolest (and toughest) bosses that you can meet, stranded on islands in a blank, dark void eerily called The End, armed with weapons and potions of your making. The dragon is notoriously difficult to kill, and waiting for the player to fall off the pillars are nightmarish tall and slender Endermen who you mustn’t make eye contact with. The setting and the tough boss makes this one of the best video game bosses. Do you agree?
9. Bowser – Super Mario Bros
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Probably one of the toughest appearances of Bowser in Super Mario Bros is the final boss battle in World 8-4. In this stage, Bowser waits for the player on the other side of a lava pit, throwing hammers like a mad turtle-like creature that it is. There’s no way to actually fight and defeat Bowser here. Your best bet is not to think too much. Just time your move so that you can run at him and slide under him when he jumps. How often do you come across bosses that you can defeat without actually fighting them?
8. Ceph Warship – Crysis
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Even if you’ve got the Nanosuit, it doesn’t mean anything against this towering beast of a boss that rises out of the ocean, with shields and turrets. Most of your weapons are literally powerless against the this monster. Then you have to deal with the attack drones that it sends out when
7. Psycho Mantis – Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
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Have you ever had a boss talk directly to you, the player, and not the character. Psycho Mantis – you’ll find him in the Nuke Building B1 – actually stands out in the minds of many players because he speaks directly to the screen. He breaks the fourth wall, challenging the player to drop his controller – and that’s when the controller starts to rumble. This spine-chilling moment is what makes this one of the most memorable bosses in video game history.
6. Reaper – Mass Effect 2
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Probably one of the most imposing bosses in video game history is Reaper, the dark mechanized monster that you meet in space. The moment when the beast powers up its lethally accurate death ray is one that many players meet with a quickening pulse. When you’ve managed to defeat it, the dying beast’s last words – the university is doomed – adds to its memorability.
5. King of Evil, Ganondorf – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
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Many people consider The Legend of Zelda’s classic Orcarina of Time one of the best games ever, for Nintendo. Ganondorf is probably one of the best video game bosses ever. Ganondorf is probably one of the most fun bosses to fight against, because the strategy feels very real and intelligent. He is tough – a castle falling on him and a shower of arrows isn’t enough to finish Ganondorf, whose enormous sword smashes through stone. All in all, Ganondorf will probably go down as one of the top bosses in video game history.
4. Major Radec – Killzone 2
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One of the most legendary bosses in video game history is Major Radec of Killzone 2 has tactical genius, fantastic combat skills and in the final battle, tough-as-diamond armor that the player has a hard time penetrating. Meanwhile, the Major comes at you with both melee and ranged attacks. He also tends to disappear often. One way to get around this is to torch him as often as you can. Even if this fine example of video game bosses does commit suicide, the fight against him can be great fun.
3. The Witch King – The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
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The Witch King that you’ll battle in the Pellenor Fields can be a tough, long-drawn out fight. But it’s also possible to use some smart tactics to get one of the best video game bosses down on his knees. The trick is to first disable the Witch-King’s counterattack and then remove the armor with Morgul Decay.
2. Father Gascoigne – Bloodborne
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The battle with the hunter Father Gascoigne probably doesn’t have any special fight mechanics – he uses many of the attacks you will too, while counterattacking with a ranged weapon. But the things that make him one of the best video game bosses is the entire package – the atmosphere and the action. Without giving too much of the game away, we’d like to suggest that you get the Tiny Music Box to make things a little easier for you.
1. Orphan of Kos – Bloodborne
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Drumroll…the number one place that goes to Orphan of Kos, probably one of the most challenging and intense boss fights you’ll come across. It’s not a surprise that Bloodborne’s bosses make two places on this list. The game offers a helluva range of enemies that will test your best video game battle skills. The Orphan is tough without being impossible. This is a boss that more games need.
Do you agree with this list? If not, which bosses were you most impressed by? Let us know below, and share this list if you liked it!
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