It's been an extended hiatus for this segment of SuperPhillip Central, but Best Boss Battles in Gaming History is back with Part Six! Here we put under the microscope and examine the greatest, most epic, most sensational boss encounters of all time! If you haven't read one of my previous entries, why not get yourself caught up? Here, I'll even give you the links so you don't have to search for them!
Koloktos - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
After all of the trials and tribulations of the Ancient Cistern dungeon in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword have been completed, the primary antagonist, Ghirahim, sits atop a golden structure, awaiting Link's presence. With a teleportation away, the golden machine comes to life, awakening its multiple arms in the process. The ancient automaton Koloktos is now ready and able to battle, much to the chagrin of our green-hatted hero.
The first part of the fight has Koloktos chucking axe-like projectiles that act as boomerangs when Link is too far away from the boss. Link must play a cat-and-mouse game with the gold clad boss so it slams one of its arms down onto the ground. Then Link can use his recently acquired whip to latch onto the arm, and pull it right off of the villain. Once Link heaves off another arm, Koloktos gets desperate and slams both of his throwing arms to the ground. This is the perfect opportunity for Link to latch onto one arm, pull it off, and then grab the other, taking it off forcefully as well. The boss's red, pulsing core is now vulnerable to attack. Link can strike the core as much as possible, but the boss respawns its extremities and the process begins anew.
When the arms are once again removed and the core is attacked enough, the encounter enters into its second stage. With all of its might, Koloktos plants all of its arms onto the ground and strains to pull itself up, growing legs and gaining sharp blades on all of its six arms. Koloktos slowly saunters over to Link's position and swipes at him with one half of his arms. If Link successfully evades, he can use his whip to pull all three arms off. This time around, however, he can grab one of the boss's blades that winds up on the ground and use it against the golden gargantuan. When the boss uses its remaining arms to attack, Link can pick up one of Koloktos's blades and use them to slash the wide open arms off or even hack its legs off, allowing the core to be once again vulnerable.
Link won't be able to finish the boss off with just one round of sword strikes. Instead, the boss revives its legs and arms and starts wildly swiping its sword around while marching around the enclosed arena. It can also call for some enemies to assist it. However, the tactic to beat the boss is still the same: pull off the arms, hack the legs, and then attack the core until Koloktos is but an ancient memory. A well-deserved Heart Container caps off Link's victory.
Bowser - Super Mario World (SNES)
The finale of Super Mario World took Mario through a castle of many rooms. Players got to choose which rooms they wished to venture through. The final battle takes place on the castle keep of Bowser's castle. He fights inside his flying Koopa Car. His method to attack is to throw two Mechakoopas to Mario's level while zooming around the sky. Mario must jump on a Mechakoopa to stun them, pick them up, and chuck them so they land on top of Bowser. Two Mechakoopa hits takes Bowser out. He retreats, fire falls from the sky which Mario must dodge, and then the King of the Koopas returns for round two. Not before Peach throws a Mushroom out to assist Mario in his clash with Bowser.
In the second round, Bowser flies overhead Mario as close as possible. He also occasionally turns his Koopa Clown Car upside down and unleashes a large cannonball to run over Mario. The goal of attack is the same, however. Wait for two Mechakoopas to be thrown out, leap on them, grab them, and chuck them so they hit Bowser from above. Once two more hits have been accomplished, Bowser jets out of sight.
Final round of battle! Bowser's car bounces from sky to ground in an attempt to squash Mario. The wicked grin on the Koopa King's clown car says it all. Bowser means business. Of course, if he was smart he wouldn't let loose more Mechakoopas for Mario to launch into his mode of transportation, but Bowser was never a smart one. After two more hits, Bowser is defeated, Peach is (once more) rescued, and Yoshi Island is free from Koopa tyranny!
The Great Mighty Poo - Conker: Live & Reloaded (XBX)
Also in the original N64 cult classic, Conker's Bad Fur Day, The Great Mighty Poo is an opera-singing pile of fecal matter. Hope you aren't eating lunch, friends! If only this boss didn't have the fierce desire to open his mouth and sing, he wouldn't be so easy to beat. The battle isn't so significant because of its complexity, but more so the actual lyrics of the fight itself. This delightful dung pile chucks poop at the player. All Conker needs to do is move around the arena while avoiding falling into the sea of crap that surrounds the battlefield and its pathways. When the boss opens its mouth to practice its vocal chords, standing on a specific spot allows the foul-mouthed squirrel to chuck toilet paper down the boss's throat. After some more attacking by toiletries, the tempo of the song quickens, the boss attacks much more frequently, and Conker must race around the arena much like he did in Diddy Kong Racing when he was a good little squirrel. Once the boss has had a mouthful of toilet paper, he gets dazed, giving Conker enough time to collect his money reward and flush the pile of poop down the drain for good. No amount of air freshener is ever going to be enough to get the stink off that squirrel, though.
Bowser - Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
Mario has gone through a lot in his quest to retrieve the once again kidnapped Princess Peach, but nothing compares to the final showdown with the King of the Koopas, Bowser. It all starts out innocently enough, Peach is tied to a flagpole as Mario enters into the tower after launching himself from two cannons. Suddenly, a cry out from Peach as Bowser falls into the room from above, his fist smashing into the ground. The floor gives out, sending both Mario and Bowser to the unknown depths below.
What follows is Mario doing his best to dodge Bowser's advances while making his way up a hazardous pathway of stairs and platforms. Shortly after Mario lands, Bowser chucks spiked balls atop crumbling-to-the-touch platforms. Each time Mario gets close to reaching Bowser, the Koopa King retreats further along the path. Of fireballs and barrels, Bowser shoots and chucks everything he can muster to stop Mario from advancing.
As Mario reaches the top, the only separating him from a button that will send Bowser plummeting to the sea of lava below is a series of bridges. Bowser unleashes a flurry of fireballs which Mario must avoid. When the boss leaps into the air, Mario must quickly take this opportunity to run underneath him. Little by little, Mario reaches a trio of pillars. The only way to progress is to let Bowser's tail twirl technique destroy them. Of course, Mario needs to jump over Bowser's tail as he performs this maneuver. Finally, Mario reaches the button, steps on it, and sends Bowser seemingly to his doom.
But what's this?! Bowser's leaps back into action, and he's madder than ever, breathing behemoth-sized fireballs at Mario as the portly plumber must leap across perilous pits, crumbling platforms, and other timed feats of platforming prowess. When Mario makes it to the top, the final stretch begins. Mario must run towards the screen, hopping over blocks, as a burly Bowser makes chase. The final button is in sight, Mario stomps it, and sends Bowser falling to the fiery abyss, rocks smashing into him as he tumbles helplessly to his doom. Princess Peach is finally saved, and Tanooki Mario and his prize go flying into a glorious sun-filled sky.
Medusa - Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)
Chapter 9's long level concludes with the fight against the Underworld's ruler, Medusa. She immediately pushes Pit outside of the arena and it is his goal to fly with help of the goddess Palutena back so he can get some shots off on the snake-haired villain. Avoiding large rocks and red lasers that circle around is key to staying alive in this part of battle. Soon, Pit finally arrives face-to-face with Medusa. Of course, that doesn't stop her from teleporting all around the arena. Being this up close and personal with the goddess of the Underworld isn't exactly safe. She will unceremoniously swipe her right hand at Pit with as little hesitation as possible. She also shoots deadly lasers from her eyes as... well, she's Medusa, right?
Once the first part of the fight is taken care of, we enter stage two. Palutena has chained Medusa's feet to the ground, so she will no longer teleport. However, this makes her much more desperate and violent. Her lasers now seem to home in on Pit, and she has an attack where she holds out her hand on a portion of the screen. If Pit gets caught inside the range of the offensive maneuver, he will not only lose a fair amount of health, but he will be temporarily poisoned. While Medusa goes down fairly easy on lower difficulties (or intensities), she is quite the troublesome tyrant on more challenging intensities.
After enough damage has been inflicted, Medusa's face turns from a human-esque disposition to a total monster and severs itself from its body. Now Medusa's head and Pit soar around the arena, locked in combat. Medusa has even more tricks up what was left of her sleeve. She can unleash an immensely powerful wave of purple energy, she can launch hazardous orbs, and she can still shoot off lasers from her eyes. However, Pit is here to save the day, and he is more than capable. Medusa retreats to her body as Palutena's humble servant lets loose a final attack at her eye to banish the Underworld's ruler for good. The end, right?
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I hope you enjoyed Part Six of Best Boss Battles in Gaming History as much as I enjoyed writing it. Also this week, I plan on crafting the first review of April, so please look forward to that. Until later, have a great Tuesday!
Nintendo heavy one this, but a good list - can't disagree with any of those. Some classic boss moments there. :)
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