Boss Battle Time.

    The Boss Battle, and the double edged sword.

Boss Battles have been around almost as long as gaming itself. It's been a long and established part of the gaming experience. Some games rely entirely on boss battles as a core element.  With all of that being said there are many times when a game just doesn't need one. How about we look at both sides of this dual edged sword?

Bowser, Super Mario Bros.

Some villains have been around so long they actually are as notable as the hero of their stories. Take this Koopa King for example. Boswer is one of the oldest and most classic examples of antagonists in games.  Whenever people load up a Super Mario title they look forward to fighting this giant, spiked, Koopa. Some fights out-shine others like the ending to Super Mario 64, but the scope and scale remain larger than life. With everything from scaling a tower to a tense fight on a bridge to get to an ax to chop down the bridge. While almost every fight is pretty basic, it's a satisfying ending for the player. They get to take out all of the frustrations of some of the tough levels behind them on this admittedly doofy villain. Bowser shows us that a boss battle doesn't have to extremely complex in order to draw the player in, and deliver a memorable experience. 

Shadow of the Colossus Remastered.

When it comes to games that rely almost solely on boss battles Shadow of the Colossus for PS2 blew the idea into a whole different level. It rests on a simple gameplay loop of, prepare to fight a large monster, track down said monster, defeat it, collect your reward, move on to the next one. All while having a mysterious story looming in the background. The fights were tense affairs, requiring you to climb, aim, shoot, and outsmart your foe. It still stands as a shining example of the boss battle formula, and it is beloved by so many people. So much so that a remaster is planned to come out in 2018, thirteen years after its first release. 

Now on to the bad eggs of the bunch. Please I hope this doesn't sound like these games are bad or that I hate them, they just had distasteful ending which overshadowed an otherwise great games.

Batman Arkham Asylum came out in a age where comic book games were so laughably bad that it would take something special to buck the trend.The game had immense commercial and critical success. Now when you think of Batman what is the next thing you think of? I'm willing to bet about 95% of you will think of a certain Clown Prince, also know as the Joker. However there are still many amazing adversaries in the comics, and here it is no different. It also has boss battles both great, and not so great. Let's start off high with the Scarecrow fight. Scarecrow has this whole obsession with fear and the psychological. So it's only fitting that your fight with him breaks the fourth wall. Bugs, whispering, a shattered reality, running from a larger than life version of scarecrow, a never ending morgue housing his dead father and mother, and a "crash" with laughter that replays the opening of the game.  Only difference being the Joker and Batman revering roles. It's haunting, creepy, and shows the player that nothing is safe. Most importantly it takes the rule book, lights it on fire, then tosses it out the window. Now onto the main event, 

Mr. J.

The Joker. Batman Arkham Asylum

Now I want to meet the man who thought that it was a good idea to turn this.....

Into this.... Thing.

But seriously, the ending of Arkham Asylum has the Caped Crusader facing off against a drugged up version of the Joker who has injected himself with "Titan." Basically what makes Bane super strong and scary. Remember that rule book I mentioned earlier? Well you could write a what not to do from this fight. Annoying phase where goons come after you while the boss throws objects and attacks from afar? Check. Brief times of vulnerability activated by a button mashing quick time event? Check. It's a weak, sad excuse for an ending that left a bitter taste. But what if you ended the game without a boss battle? Instead of a pathetic shoehorned in battle, why not have the Joker do what he is best at. Cutting Batman to his core. Let me present this ending. Batman enters a darkly lit room with a fire dying in the fireplace, a high winged back chair takes presence in the room. Laughter, horrid shrieking laughter. Seated in the chair is Joker laughing and coughing in equal measure. He seems to waste no time challenging Bats as he talks to him about his parents, eventually driving him to the point of blind rage. Joker continues, not letting up the pressure, until our hero snaps. In a blind rage he grabs Joker and begins beating the Clown, all while Joker laughs. The police burst through the door and are able to tear Joker away, as they take him away you can hear him calling out to you, "Seems like we are more alike than you want to admit!" Disturbing? Sure, but it would be so much more fitting way to end this feud.

Final example of how a game doesn't need a final fight ending.
Dying Light.

Dying Light

Rais is the villain of Dying Light, and boy does he have problems. I won't get into details of what he does, but it's along the lines messed up murder with zombies. Oh and forcing people to fight to the death for the cure. Rais, even though horrible and messed up, is just a person. The lead-up to the final fight is an amazing, tense, well paced, run from the horde that puts all your skills to the test. "A pay off is surely on the way!" You think to yourself, as you race to the top of the skyscraper. Only to be greeted with the only Quick time Event in the game. Then it ends....That's it, a QTE, then nothing. It just feels hollow, and half done. There is so much potential here as Rais sees himself as a king. Why not have him toss you a saber and challenge you to a duel on top of an unfinished skyscraper? For both the title of king and the information you need. Or maybe a tense conversation, that ends with a short, sharp gunshot. Killing Rais in an unconventional way would be the perfect way to cap off a game about your resourcefulness as a player.

Boss Battles have to fight themselves more often than not.

Which is the product of a genre defining trope that most developers aim to shoehorn in. Not really giving much thought as to the context of the situation. Or whether or not it really needs it. Boss Battles have such a rich history and it's something that is unique to gaming in a way. Which is why it has to be handled with such care.

Thank you all for reading, and have a wonderful day.