Grudge Match

There’s a moment in the Super Metroid finale, somewhere in between being brain-blasted by a creature that looks like it escaped from Attack on Titan and being saved by a flying alien parasite, that the whole nature of the battle is suddenly revealed to be entirely scripted. The idea of scripted battles, an idea that was still incredibly new back in the 16-bit era of the SNES, made for something of a rarity in the mid-90’s.

There’s a particularly telling moment toward the end of Final Fantasy VIII that really lets you know what kind of finale you’re in for. After a climactic space battle with the sorceress, Adel, players are blasted through time, 1000 years into the future, to face their true foe. When they arrive they find the last members of a dead army, their dead army, still valiantly committed to fighting the war against evil. Unfortunately, they have failed. As the party traverses a desolate landscape, littered with their dead comrades, a mournfully operatic tune evokes a sense of menace to this already horrific future. Finally the player crosses a giant chain, one of many, that holds Ultimecia’s Gothic castle aloft in the sky.

Shadow of the Colossus Team Ico Sony Computer Entertainment PS2 For something that means the world, would you obliterate the world itself to save it? The persevering hero Wander of the 2005 innovative masterpiece, Shadow of the Colossus, sought to not only move mountains but slay them in a bid to awaken his dear Mono …

In a game so chock full of memorable boss encounters, it’s tough to settle on just one. With that said, though, the front-runner, and immediate stand-out in Resident Evil 4’s gruesome gauntlet of titans, is the midway throwdown with the village chief, Bitores Mendez.

For fans of the show, South Park: Stick of Truth is a faithful representation of the series. From the art style to the driving force behind characters actions, everything about this game oozes South Park. Though there are many engaging and entertaining battles, there is but one that will keep players struggling to stay in their seats-the final battle for control of the universe with Princess Kenny.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Rockstar North Rockstar Games PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, PC, Mac, Android, iOS What makes a boss battle good? Surpassing that, what makes a boss battle great? A better question; what makes a boss battle the best? A combination of using the skills you’ve learned, coupled with a good motivation …

In the brutal gauntlet of boss encounters in Dark Souls, there are an almost daunting amount of epic and memorable battles to consider. From the soul-crushing difficulty of battling four undead kings in the darkness of the void, to the haunting duel with a fallen hero in a blasted coliseum, to the tragic encounter with a giant wolf who is simply guarding his master’s grave, this is a game rife with intense boss moments, but none carry more nerve-racking danger than the encounter with the former heroes of the kingdom, Ornstein and Smough.