7 Hardest Early Bosses That Unexpectedly Kicked Your Ass

From Bloodstained's demon-hunting samurai to the angry orange flower from Cuphead, these are the early bosses that saw us getting quietly confident about playing a new game and said: not on my watch. Consider these and subscribe, why not, for a video like this on the regular?
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[@BuildinWings]

I love AAA games but the smaller devs are hitting it hard lately. I'd love to see you do "7 Great Indie Games We Overlooked The First Time."

[@joelrobinson5457]

Translated to "I'm a pay pig but lately even I've known triple A products as so bad I can't stomach them..." Edit, sorry if that's a bit too on the nose, I've just seen ssquad and skull and bones come out recently and people have been defending that vehemently

[@SimuLord]

There's a big indie-dev showcase next week that I hope Oxboxtra pays some attention to-something for Luke and Ellen to talk about on the couch on Not Show of the Weekend Anymore, perhaps.

[@BuildinWings]

@@joelrobinson5457 Imagine being this upset that somebody said they also like AAA games. Peak internet behavior.

[@joelrobinson5457]

@@BuildinWings more upset there are so many bad ones,

[@BuildinWings]

@@joelrobinson5457 And therefore insult me. Very cool and normal response.

[@lamtazar]

For us super casuals the list is much longer 😂

[@President_Starscream]

Yeah I feel that one.

[@EndertheWeek]

lol - I must admit when I saw Elden Ring in the list I thought it would be the Tree Sentinel.

[@bast713]

Yep!

[@johannord4778]

I bet a normal enemy would make the list of a super casual 😂

[@buggr]

They said unexpected

[@dogkingify]

Cerberus in DMC3 codified the trope "Easy mode is now selectable." with how difficult he was.

[@ronicstyle]

On God! I saw DMC4 and was like cerberus isn't in that one!

[@SigmentKurosai]

Honestly. I thought they were gonna say Berial (who's still not as hard), but Credo? He doesn't even really count as an "early boss," nor would I call him all that hard.

[@Gakulon]

I'm gonna be honest, I probably took more tries on the tutorial boss than against Cerberus... 😔

[@kerkalex]

Cerberus was my first thought when I saw the title of the video!

[@mathsalot8099]

I think Luke would agree that the troll from Skyrim should be on this list.

[@envee1014]

“GAMES ARE BACK!” 😂 That reference on her shirt instantly made me laugh.

[@arenasviscatanius]

I like the Sunnydale/Sunnyvale shirt

[@JoeJaJoeJoe]

The tutorial level in Armored Core 6 basically goes: - Hold X to hover - Target missiles with L2 - Fight a helicopter gunship with a sword

[@kiranikib42]

honestly sounds like what infested chopper shoulda been in dmc2

[@TheDarkEnigma]

6 was my first AC game. That helicopter nearly made it my last LEVEL. That fight is honestly brutal to a newbie. Im a few missions on and still have no clue what im doing.

[@LoekZuijderwijk]

Yeah, that stupid helicopter was also what instantly came to my mind. But the "spirit of motherwill" from 4A is also a nasty upgrade. (That one was telegraphed in the opening sequence though)

[@thanarinonett899]

Literally when I saw this list, this was the first boss that came to mind.... I'm glad I stuck through the game, but it has some damn hard filter bosses early on.

[@damiencouturee6240]

​@@TheDarkEnigma It was my first AC game as well, let me give you a tip. You want to be aggressive. No, more aggressive. Do not let your enemy breathe, do not let them get away, do not let up. You dont want to kick them while theyre down, you want to fuckin annihalate them while theyre down. And yeah the difficulty in that game is uhh.. whatever it wants lol. Normally you want difficulty to go like "1 2 3 4 5" throughout the game, but AC 6 kinda goes "8 1 1 2 1 10 1 1 7 2 3 10 1" lol

[@hopefullyhigh]

"May your cyborg ninja god help you" has been added to the lexicon

[@WhiteFangofWar]

The Matador of SMT: Nocturne will always be the king of these. He even observes that the Demi-Fiend is still weak when he duels you. Not that pity will stay his blade or capote.

[@Brian-tn4cd]

Here's a tip, just Sukukaja, like blade wolf and parries, Matador is a gate for players who dont understand all the game mechanic from fusions to buffs

[@TheDeisasori]

Great choice, but we already know assist moves by then. For me, I prefer Minotaur from SMT 4 or Nuwa from 5. They really hit you hard with how ruthless they are.

[@permafrostyx]

Minotaur from 4 too

[@midwestyle]

The Botanist in SiFU. I heard about the game's difficulty, but I breezed thru the first level and was like..."Is this all?". Then, the Botanist happened.

[@PrinceVegeta719]

BRO EXACTLY!!! I didn’t play it myself, I watched my partner play it, and he was like 25 or so when he got to the Botanist. He finally beat the Botanist at like 38. It was rough to watch.

[@darthkarl99]

SiFU?

[@grapesoftime]

Nah nah nah, Sean in the club was an even worse test, he made people learn the game mechanics

[@rich_in_paradise]

"harder than a diamond-coated bastard" really got me 🤣

[@jamesphillips4009]

Gotta shout out to Aztec Falcon from Mega Man Zero! You won't have any equipment or combos by the time you fight him, you'll likely have lost lives on the level leading up to him, and you need to finish the fight in under two minutes or your new friends are crushed to death.

[@thegameplayer125]

cerberus from dmc 3 would be a perfect edition. he's basically 1 of the primary examples of how dmc 3 is indeed the most difficult of the dmc games

[@RanzuSC]

I remember kingdom hearts one when Sora first got to Tarrytown. I had to fight Leon with his gun blade. Kicked my ass as a kid 😂

[@jardex2275]

and unlike most bosses, you only get one shot at it, unless you left a save conveniently close by. You do get to fight him again at the arena though, once you're much stronger.

[@Jamesssssssssssssss]

David Hayter and Doug Cockle just use the same voice for all their roles, and im here for it. They sound like what a fresh cup of coffee tastes like.

[@SimuLord]

Doug Cockle voices the male satnav voice in Euro Truck Simulator 2 and one of his options is "Gruff", which is just Legally Distinct Geralt. It's a hoot when driving through Poland.

[@typacsk]

(googles) ...Apparently I was thinking of Dennis Haysbert, but I think it applies to him too

[@NatVirgo]

So many fights that I thought were a scripted loss boss fight due to how hard they were early into the game.

[@xiahouduin]

Your list is missing THE hardest early boss, first boss of Xbox's Ninja Gaiden. Incredibly tough man using nunchucks.

[@vergilthemotivated8012]

Oh man speaking of ninja gaiden how about 3rs 2nd boss the masked man which is just as hard as the last battle he's in

[@wesleyforbes5849]

This is the only 💯 correct answer. And that boss was supposed to be training lol...was ridiculous tough fight so early game.

[@Jeffmetal42]

yea, that would have been a great pick.

[@rosemangofairy]

Yeah, I'm surprised no games from Team Ninja are mentioned, they're usually known for their extremely complex, extremely hard fighting mechanisms. Wo Long and Nioh comes to mind

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Gotta hand it to Bloodstained, they did well with their voice actor picks. For one, Dominique is voiced by Fryda Wolff, the same gal who did Sara Ryder in Mass Effect: Andromeda and the Collector in The Owl House. Hey, don't diss on Angelo Credo's style. (That aside, at least his sister didn't become mad and turn into a far stronger anomalous foe than even her brother was. Think Iris from the Zero route of Mega Man X4.)

[@gruggerduggerhoose]

What does solid snake say when eating popcorn at the cinema? Hrrnngghh. Kernel… Fav “ya boi” david hayter joke right there 😂

[@TrickyTalon23]

“Blade Wolf is ChatGPT with a chainsaw tail” is such a great joke

[@deathbykonami5487]

It's funny cause you can beat Blade Wolf without knowing how to parry. Monsoon, on the other hand, good luck.

[@MarkDeSade100]

@@deathbykonami5487 Monsoon was the most frustrating boss fight in the game, when I did it there was a lot of cursing involved.

[@eaglezaruma]

​@@deathbykonami5487Monsoon and Armstrong were the hardest ones for me starting out, Bladewolf was just fun to fight. No real issues with parrying our chainsaw weilding K9.

[@user-qy8kk8yx4q]

Oh hey, you're that WOF guy I see all the time on painterrest!

[@ApesWithEgos]

The hardest boss as a writer is always the first thing you face: The Blank Word Processor.

[@StageRight123]

Back in my day, we called it paper.

[@CindyHelms]

Whitney. Just…! Whitney and that stupid Miltank! Technically, Whitney is the third badge, not entirely early, but still!

[@marhawkman303]

yeah, SOME players would just slap it and not even worry about it.... MOST though.... yeesh. It's a good wake up call for the "think strategically" aspect of Pokémon though.

[@SirStanleytheStumbler]

Geodude: "Geo-Dude?"

[@marhawkman303]

@@SirStanleytheStumbler honestly.... I found forcing the thing to flinch or sleep the best ways. :p Geodudes can learn flinch attacks, but are too slow.

[@SirStanleytheStumbler]

@@marhawkman303 Geodude can just wall it and spin the wheel of fortune with Magnetude. (Obviously future games you can't do that now)

[@marhawkman303]

@@SirStanleytheStumbler Yeah, I remember trying that, and realizing it only works if you start there, and don't wait to switch. Also isn't this high enough level to use Graveler or Golem?

[@littlefurnace]

On the upside, Cagney Carnation's theme music is an absolute banger, best in the game. Which is good, because you're gonna hear it a lot.

[@BJGvideos]

It's what they picked to be in Smash Bros after all

[@littlefurnace]

@@BJGvideos They did? Lmao, Smash Bros is wild XD

[@ZackRToler]

The only time these kinds of bosses are good, is if you're actually able to beat them. I really don't like boss fights that are designed to be impossible to win. The worst kind of boss fights though, are ones where you have to win or you get a game over, but story says you didn't win that fight.

[@hoid9407]

Hate that switcheroo. You're wiping the sweat off, barely made it through that encounter... And then the cutscene says, "Nah, you lose."

[@StraightShot2977]

There are several of these in Mass Effect and to this day I have a problem with the whole series because of it.

[@archellothewolf2083]

Mass Effect 1: Either boss fight on Therum. You're encouraged to go there early to get the last of your companions but if you don't gear up with some side quests first, both the Geth Colossus you're forced to fight without your tank, and the Krogan Warlord who can 1-shot you 3 different ways can catch you by surprise really easily.

[@armelior4610]

That charging krogan ! The horrible sound of the elevator during this boss fight (I think it was that) still gives me PTSD

[@fireblade295]

'Early' as in story, but not the proper way to play: story when everything else is done. Never struggled.

[@Macrochenia]

The Geth Armature (it wasn't a full-blown Colossus) was actually pretty easy once you figured out that the area off to the left of your starting location was safe and you could hide out in there, popping out only long enough to hit a geth target with some attacks/powers before ducking back into it before it could fire its cannon again. The Krogan Warlord, on the other hand, had to be hit with a power that knocked him down as soon as the fight started or you were toast.

[@riksweeney]

Whoever did the capture for Final Fight should have used Guy, he's the best one! (Apart from Haggar).

[@unknownentity222]

Luke's sassiness is lovely.

[@merlinasmith4102]

I actually remember Sly 3's first boss being rough. Not only is it one of the first points in the game that you get to play as Muray (the first time you get to fight with him as the other if you tried you failed his mission), but the second stage of the fight is rough if you are not well. . . used to it. Especially since Octavio can use his sonic scream on you at point blank range or sometimes, he will just sit on the tar geyser singing his song of your doom at you so you can't slow him down lol.

[@yourboyrussell6738]

And since Murray doesn't have access to Power-ups like the Fists of Flame to make the fight easier, hell yeah, it's pretty rough.

[@TheAleksanderB]

You just landed on Rubikon in your starting AC with little to no knowledge how to pilot it and then out of nowhere you are fighting a helicopter with the size of a four story building.

[@Gamer3427]

Then just a handful of missions later, you're faced with an asshole with too many missiles and a barrier you can basically only get rid of with a couple of weapons at that point in the game. Personally I'd say he fits the list theme a little better purely because he's meant to be an example of "learn to bring the right loadout or you're screwed". I swear until near the end of your first playthrough you don't fight anything as remotely difficult as him.

[@5t3phan]

@@Gamer3427 Yeah, Balteus brings that "build check" energy. If you don't know how to make an effective AC, it's time to learn. I remember having to punch him to death first time I did that fight, cause I ran out of ammo on all my guns when he had a sliver of health left. Also, that heli is bigger than a four story building. It's at least 500 meters long, going off the size of the apartment blocks you sometimes see in the game compared to your AC. It kicked my ass so hard having never played an AC game before, or any game like it.

[@damiencouturee6240]

​@@Gamer3427Yeahhh Im glad they nerfed Balteus a bit, I fought him again on a new game recently and got him first try no problem. I got the game on release and he stopped me dead, though I did manage to beat him right before the nerf so Im kinda proud of that lol, but he needed that nerf it was just annoying tbh. And then after you get past that wall of a boss everything for the next like 15 missions dies in one hit lmao. Idk who designed the difficulty curve in that game but I think they had a seizure when drawing it lmao.

[@haydes1285]

I would also say final fantasy tactics’ first fight against wiegraf as it is the first time you fight against one of the sword magic classes and he has considerable support from his monks, knight, and chocobo which can cover most of the map and heal every time it’s up

[@Daktangle]

THANK YOU for pointing out that Elden Ring assumes you are actually exploring is world and leveling up before challenging the bosses.

[@clockworkdimetrodon1001]

Ooooh! The ice troll on the 7000 steps in Skyrim would be a good entry here as well

[@qrowbranwen1864]

No mention of Fuoco from Lies of P? Third boss in the game, and introduces ranged attacks like no other. Huge shift from the melee based first two bosses

[@deathforefox]

I honestly thought I was playing amazingly until he rocked my world, repeatedly.

[@deathbykonami5487]

@@deathforefox I'm almost at that part myself, but for new players who suck at Sekiro and haven't mastered the deflect mechanic, the Parade Master is an absolute freaking nightmare.

[@qrowbranwen1864]

​@deathforefox same. Circus Leader: yeah, ok, I'm new to Souls-like. Watchman: ah, electric won't work. Fuoco:😵

[@ButMadNNW626]

Mad Donkey is a required boss fight, so Fuoco is fourth. ;)

[@qrowbranwen1864]

​@@ButMadNNW626actually forgot about him, he was so easy😅

[@Agamemnon2]

Shimano in Yakuza Kiwami 1 was a kind of a pain, mostly because they gave him Mr Shakedown's powerful moveset from Yakuza 0, and you're likely unable to properly negate his self-healing phases so early on in the game (it takes a particular attack you've likely not unlocked yet).

[@kurosakikun96]

You can also use the lanterns in the arena to knock him out of the heal, but at the same time have to agree, his health is huge for that point of the game, and while his damage doesn't have anything on the Shakedowns themselves, putting him at the end of an extended battle sequence made me think I was supposed to lose first time through

[@Michael_Lindell]

What about '7 Easiest Late Bosses You Expectedly Kicked The Asses Of'?

[@SimuLord]

Kind of an obscure choice but fresh on my mind because I've been playing through the game again this past week: On the second level of Ingalls' Mine (a lategame dungeon) in My Time At Portia, the boss is a "Pig-Bot" that tries to be a Soulslike boss with powerful attacks you have to dodge and counter...but the boss is so piss easy that you can just get out of its attack range and stun-lock it to death with repeated combo attacks.

[@sparkydeltorro]

Not sure if Yu Yevon at the end FFX even counts as a boss since you basically can't lose.

[@FelisImpurrator]

The Protopet from Ratchet and Clank 2. It's notoriously the most pathetic boss in the franchise because the RYNO II deletes it in moments.

[@aimeeg4809]

Corypheus in Dragon Age: Inquisition. The fight was over so quickly that I thought there must be a catch or additional phase, but no, it was just unexpectedly straightforward.

[@SolaScientia]

Soul of Cinder isn't too bad if you've gone and done both DLC before fighting him. A lot of late game Elden Ring bosses can be easy, especially if you've been farming certain locations. Doesn't apply to Radagon and Elden Beast, but those fights are bs, especially Elden Beast.

[@corradosecchi6810]

Nice video, keep up the good work! As far as early bosses go, I would say the first Corruptor you face in Horizon: Zero Dawn. You were just done with a difficult but manageable fight and suddenly you are attacked by this huge never-seen-before machine that moves fast and hits like a truck. This is at the beginning of Aloy's journey, when your weapons and armor are extremely poor (and you might have used up most of your resources during the previous fight). At higher difficulties the robot can very easily kill you in two-three moves. In the same game, later, you have to fight a Scorcher as an introduction to the tougher robots you find in the Frozen Wilds DLC. Again, a new monster that is quick and hits hard, this one with huge areas attacks as well.

[@everythingstrength1485]

Gotta be Gas Snake, its the only one we haven't met yet 😁

[@LordYggdrasill]

It's not that early, but the "Hell House" in _Final Fantasy 7 Remake_ is absolutely ridiculous on your first playthrough.

[@danishnande9629]

I found it to more of a slog than difficult. It wasn't until my hard playthrough that I really had to learn the mechanics

[@LordYggdrasill]

@danishnande9629 I forgot how hard it was for me on my Hard run. Rufus was certainly a prick, tho. Anyway, the first Hell House made my friend rage quit and uninstall the game. :(

[@goranisacson2502]

Honestly, I've forgot. Not the Hell House, I'll never forget that bastard, but the mechanics and tricks. What were you REALLY supposed to be doing to beat him, that wasn't just chopping at his tank-defenses and hoping it didn't suck you inside it?

[@jakestolar8457]

@@goranisacson2502 he changes elemental barriers, zap him with the opposite element

[@Fireshot844]

Gattuso at Ehmead in Tales of Vesperia. You don’t have recovery skills to cure poison unless you over level a ton and just get wrecked. Grinding at that point was also such a pain while all the other hurdles were a breeze prior.

[@permafrostyx]

Yeah and they gave him his stats from the demo i think so he was way too strong

[@MarkDeSade100]

I spent a few hours grinding levels so I could beat that boss and get the secret achievement. And the worst part is, after the fight your characters say something like, "That was so easy lol".

[@madalice5134]

13:48 Nice to see a cameo from the most annoying boss in games, gravity.

[@KeithFraser82]

"Ah, gravity, my old nemesis."

[@HalfMoon95]

Shimano from Yakuza Kiwami for me. You've barely started, you have no money for healing items, few if any substories are available for leveling up, you'll still be learning the combat of your three different stances, you run a gauntlet through Tojo headquarters AND you just had to fight Goro Majima, and then this big tub of muscle rolls up on you with super armor and repeatedly throws you around like a toddler.

[@LordYggdrasill]

What's maximum bullshit about Shimano is that you don't even have access to the Kiwami moves to stop his healing at that point in the game. The game prompts you to use the Kiwami moves during that battle, but you're incapable of doing it in that fight unless you're on NG+.

[@j0njn]

The Tree Sentinel you encounter when you first emerge into the open world of Elden Ring might “just” be a field boss, but he introduced my tarnished to several worlds of hurt before I decided to bypass him. This was before I got introduced to Torrent... Also, great vid as always, please keep up the great work.

[@aimeeg4809]

When I saw Elden Ring on the spoiler list I thought it would be about the tree sentinel. That guy took me about ten attempts on my first play though, I just couldn't get the pattern right.

[@YourD83]

Half expected the Feathstroke fight from Arkham Origins to be on the list. Most Arkham bosses can just be dealt with by dodging, punching and sprinkling in the occasional Batarang. Deathstroke will teach you a lesson in following the contextual button prompts you've been ignoring until now.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Darn shame he lost his touch years later in Arkham Knight.

[@edmg7]

Tales of Vesperia, Gattuso. That is all.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

"Everybody loves a boss that becomes invulnerable and heals itself" My experience with Alpha Protocol.

[@Seisachtheia]

I think Letho from Witcher 2 is a more difficult early boss than Nithral, but Nithral is definitely tough if you run right to that quest. Also, honorable mention to Prince of Persia: Lost Crown for the Vahram fight. Even though you're supposed to lose in that fight the mechanics of it and how it comes back around later in the game is amazing. One of the best fights in any game I've ever played

[@justinbuergi9867]

For me, the first boss from Neir Automata really kicked my butt. I wouldn’t say it was particularly hard once I learned how to fight properly but getting back to it each time was a ten minute slog that made it feel way more intimidating. Kinda like fighting the god tamer in hollow knight. It’s a pretty easy boss but after 17 rounds of fighting, you’re on edge and terrified you’ll die and start the whole thing over again

[@SaHaRaSquad]

That's why I haven't played it so far. The moment I realized I had to replay the level just for another attempt I decided to do something else. Great game from what I've heard but if the rest of the game is like that I'm not interested.

[@mattBLACKpunk]

Ironically, the rest of the game is a *lot* better with save points before boss fights. Iirc there's even checkpoints between boss phases but I'm not 100% on that ​@@SaHaRaSquad

[@SSJ3CyLink]

that's just the intro specific thing, everythings pretty fast after that as far as i remember- if you're worried can always lower the difficulty and then put it back up after the boss

[@Chris_Sizemore]

@@SaHaRaSquad The really strange thing is that Neir is much, much, much easier after you get past the tutorial boss. You start unlocking upgrades, the next few bosses aren't as strong or relentless as the tutorial boss. You honestly don't start to struggle in Nier after the tutorial until you get to near the end of the character arc. The tutorial would be much better if it had a checkpoint, but after you play Neir quite a bit you get the feeling that the Director wanted you to understand that B2's cycle of destruction isn't just a game mechanic, but something that has occurred numerous times.

[@Gobbygoblin]

@@SaHaRaSquad thats only part of the intro the rest of the game is not like that. play it

[@johnfoelster507]

Deathstroke in Batman: Arkham Origins was pretty unpleasant.

[@joenesvick7043]

I always go to Keira all the way to the crones before seeing the Baron, that way Ciri's story is in order. I do everything I can in White Orchard before diving for the buckthorn So I'm usually at a high enough level

[@Yanaros07]

how about the dog boss in Tales of Vesperia Gattuso is such a skill check for as early in the game he shows up

[@MarkDeSade100]

It's because that boss was the end of the demo, and they made it hard so people wouldn't finish the demo too quickly. They were supposed to lower his stats for the full game but the developers forgot to do it.

[@SargeWolf010]

The 1st High Dragon in Dragon Age Inquisition kicked my arse more times then I care to admit...

[@Skywolve1998]

I feel like Hornet from Hollow Knight fits this Bill. She's the 2nd full boss most players will encounter and even though she's pretty easy when you're used to the game, I remember her being quite hard when I first played.

[@paulgrotebeverborg1119]

Hornet definitely qualifies

[@darthkarl99]

@@paulgrotebeverborg1119 Akina!

[@fredv7349]

As someone who did far too many side quests and exploring in witcher 3, I was surprised to hear level 5 at that stage. I was like 15 by then lol

[@SaHaRaSquad]

Level 15 is in the Novigrad range, long after that.

[@fredv7349]

Yeah I had went up there as well lol.

[@MarkDeSade100]

That's how you're supposed to play RPGs, only casuals do the main quest first.

[@aznmavboi]

I'd argue that Red Skull's laugh in the Captain America and the Avengers arcade game is probably weirder than Damnd's laugh... Wait...7 weirdest laughs in video games?

[@BJGvideos]

Hm I'm debating between two which are just the same laugh but played differently. Kefka from Final Fantasy 6 has an iconic bizarre laugh...but Norstein Bekkler from Chrono Trigger just has Kefka's laugh but slowed down, which does make it weirder, but while Kefka is a major character, Bekkler is just a weird floating face that runs a carnival event

[@TheSandkastenverbot]

Nioh's Hino Enma freezes you 1 second into the fight and then kills you. Each successive try you learn to survive maybe a second longer.

[@KigaiOkasu]

Aztec Falcon from Mega Man Zero. He's got answers for both your buster and saber which are both probably underleveled if you didn't know that the game had a weapon-based leveling system going into the fight, and since he appears just before mission selection becomes available, he can't be skipped for later. Can this fight get any worse? Oh, I forgot, it has a time limit!

[@AdisonTeixeira]

13:35 To quote Max0r: He is the hardest boss so far and the easiest boss for the rest of the game

[@SaHaRaSquad]

I wouldn't say easiest, he's harder than most of the optional dungeon bosses because of all the delayed attacks and combos. But very well designed imho, especially as Morgott.

[@MrFutago87]

This just made me think of Matador from Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne, and then I got PTSD flashbacks. It really says something about the boss when it's considered a huge difficulty spike in a game that is already super hard from the beginning.

[@waltlock8805]

Minotaur from SMT: IV - a very early boss that keeps you from the rest of the game. Have you mastered all of the mechanics? Go back and train until you have (oh, and hope RNG is on your side, too).

[@bireland2012]

@@waltlock8805Fortuna and Zhu Tun She were lifesavers against him and Medusa.

[@Brian-tn4cd]

*Jonathan uses Agi*

[@permafrostyx]

​@@Brian-tn4cdthat was walter Johnathan uses bufu which helps

[@Brian-tn4cd]

@@permafrostyx woops confused the two, been a while

[@mr.anjang6283]

We all knew the really early hardest boss in Cupcake was indeed the tutorial itself..

[@anthonycifuentes3981]

The dancer of the boreal valley from Dark Souls 3 can be considered an early boss if you’re stupid enough to kill the old lady early 💀

[@gruggerduggerhoose]

Even as a soulsborne vet, even i haven’t been confident/dumb enough to tackle ol’ bootylicious as boss 2 ever 😅

[@omnitiontpictures]

.....I did....the horror.....the horror.....

[@Mini_Squatch]

Ya know, i appreciate Haddar's straight forward, hands on approach to his mayoral duties

[@owendennis1761]

Genichiro from Sekiro was such a huge hurdle that really make you learn the game. You either learned it and mastered it or you died

[@armelior4610]

The Witcher 3 one also happens at the end of a dungeon that you can't quit until you've cleared it. If you're too low level, or don't have repair kits for your broken items or healing items, or your build is not up to snuff... I hope you like redoing the whole same dungeon again

[@matthewdykeman8149]

The Mantis Lords from Hollow Knight. They're the third boss you really have access too, but you're expected to fight them closer to the end of the game. Oh and of course if you do somehow beat them early your only reward is getting into Deep Nest wich is just mean.

[@G00N3R7883]

"Good luck finding another game about cups" What about Prey, where you can use the alien powers to turn into a mug and roll around.

[@chrishughes7408]

"The most uncomfortable chair in the world" from Disco Elysium is just fun to think of as a boss fight.

[@agwasp]

I think it was an oxboxtra video which aptly described Barrett from Deus Ex:HR as a ‘walking difficulty spike’

[@Bal9016]

Deadlift from Borderland’s Pre-Sequel

[@redwolfxl69]

Murai from Ninja Gaiden needed to be on this list. He schooled even experienced game players on their 1st go.

[@BJGvideos]

How can they be experienced players on their first go?

[@piedpiper1185]

I just made a post about him. Dude is a freaking wall of a boss and blocks damn near everything you throw at him.

[@LouisGraham]

The first time fighting Megaera in Hades is a pretty tough wake up call - got to her on my second run, thinking I was doing well - took me at least 5 times to get past her

[@drtauntsalot]

Great video as always! My suggestion for this list is the Draugr in BPM: Bullets Per Minute. He's the first boss you'll run into, and while so far you've just been shooting bats and spiders, the Draugr is fast, has a bunch of AoE attacks, and throws a whole lot of projectiles at you all at once. Personally, I rate him harder than most of the other bosses, with the exception for the fourth boss Gullveig and the final boss Nidhogg.

[@OooItsBlue]

You can put the spectral steed whistle on your shortcuts on the right of the menu. It keeps it from being on the same bar as your estus so you dont have to switch between them 😬

[@MrMixmaster25]

I’m surprised Genichiro Ashina didn’t make the list. Aside from the scripted loss you get whether you defeat him or not in the beginning, like Blade Wolf, Genichiro makes you learn the sword mechanics and not just hammering the attack button.

[@Ys500seid]

I’ve played all the Devil May Cry games A-Lot. I had no trouble with Credo. Not even the first time, I think anybody who regularly plays DMC probably didn’t have much trouble with him either.

[@XxTriKzR4KiDzxX]

Not a boss you have to fight but the xenoblades 1 and 2 have a lvl 81 enemy called territorial rotbart that patrols an early game area close to where you need to go for the main story. A vast majority of players share some experience of fighting some weak enemy, then suddenly hearing boss music and getting 1-shot by an angry gorrilla

[@codydevine552]

6:45 love this game and what’s funny is I beat it without learning to parry for years. I can do it now but it’s funny that parrying took me the better part of 6 years to figure out because I don’t play tutorials

[@AgentMonochrome]

Cagney Carnation is one of my favorite bosses! His music track is my favorite as well! I struggled a lot with Hilda Berg

[@AdrianColley]

The Venn diagram of Outside Xbox and Outside Xtra just became a single circle.

[@SimuLord]

Jane subbing in for Ellen earlier this week made sense, since from what I've heard Ellen's been going through some health issues (get well soon, Ellen!) Luke showing up with nary a trace of Mike and Andy makes me wonder "are they at WrestleMania and is Mike trying to organise a celebrity motorsport event at the nearest raceway?"

[@victorangelo319]

“Let’s all get wearing them.” I smell a new presh mem.

[@alexbarriga983]

I wanna know how many takes it took Jane to say the 'getting your ass kicked' joke without breaking.... also an oxbox/oxextra blooper reel would be awesome.

[@Hunter-Chidster]

Other early bosses that came to mind were Father Gascoigne, Genichiro Ashina, Brooding Mawlek, Starscourge Radahn, and Ghirahim.

[@chefrowlet]

that delivery of "..... Snake?" was so good

[@lindseycaldwell9559]

Lol, the floral fury level was what I was on at Easter when my little cousin saw the game on my switch and wanted to try... he did not have a good time.

[@dexxpheonixgameonpointtv]

Best video ever in spite of the fact that I have never played most of the featured games. "Snake?", made me laugh even though I myself am not a Metal Gear Solid oficianado. I'm very thankful for the writer or improv on these segments as long as "IT" was not chatgpt. 👏👏👏

[@jaxonswallom7722]

List idea: times in video games where they said video game things with the utmost sincerety and/or seriousness

[@MaRaMa-ARTZ]

"Horrible horny hairy hombre" was an amazing description. lmao

[@sarunokoguard211]

I was honestly expecting Ba'al feom DMC4, not Angelo Credo. Ba'al always managed to kick my arse and he shows up several missions earlier than Credo. Credo is a challenge yes, but Im not sure he qualifies as an early game boss, considering he appears at the midpoint in the game, almost in the exact median mission.

[@shyviolet2161]

"nice ass wrapping paper" shorts merch when🤣

[@gezblair]

Somewhere I can hear the gunship from the latest Armored Corp asking you to hold their beer (or helicopter gunship juice).

[@JoeJaJoeJoe]

Oh God the gunship from AC6. I died 9 times, watched some videos, then died 3 more times before I defeated that damn gunship

[@SolaScientia]

The amount of players that copter filtered still never ceases to amuse me, and bewilder me as well. AC6 was my first AC game, but it still didn't take me long to realize that I needed to stay in close to that thing and use the laser sword on it. That said, trying to S-rank that mission is annoying since I can just rock up with the build I'm used to running. That and the copter does cheat by going out of bounds when we can't do that ourselves.

[@gezblair]

@@SolaScientia ha, yeah, imagine not being able to get past the gunship, what a bunch of losers 😳

[@gezblair]

@@SolaScientia ha, yeah, imagine not being able to get past the gunship, what a bunch of losers 😳

[@SolaScientia]

@@gezblair It's more to the point of people not realizing how the game works and not trying different things before just rage-quitting.

[@phillipminer3554]

No chopper boss from Armored Core 6? That was *the* intro boss that turned so many people away from the game, that FromSoft had to nerf it to get those players back. Very surprised it’s not on this list.

[@ShinyHubCaps]

Recently bought a Switch for an upcoming flight and bought Cuphead despite having played it already on my brother's computer, I beat Cagney Carnation just yesterday! Not bragging, just astonished at the coincidence.

[@claratalbot7613]

What about Martyr logarius? If you go to Cainhurst too as soon as your able to this boss will mostly likely destroy the player if they're not careful. If he is too late in the game than the Blood Starved Beast as he's very agressive & does slow poison damage which makes you scramble to find an antidote while he's trying to slice you to ribbons

[@FutureJacket]

Very glad MGR:R was mentioned. That blade wolf is easy if you understand how to play the game but it's so early in the game that it becomes quite frustrating.

[@EmployedDisc]

Wolf was the real parry tester for us

[@aerthreepwood8021]

The first boss in Ninja Gaiden with the nunchucks beat my ass as a kid but I recently replayed it and he was easy as fuck.

[@sebastianalhares]

Well, he’s also the final boss, so.

[@XGustavoX100000]

I was going to say that. Everytime i think of a hard first boss in gaming is master murai.

[@aerthreepwood8021]

​@@sebastianalharesAnd is still much easier than when I was a child.

[@zacharysmith4856]

I have no additions. Just wanted to get a good laugh. I succeeded. Thanks Luke and Jane!

[@biohazard724]

Speaking of early game parry checks, in Dark Souls 2 when the Persuer ambushes you before his real fight. You don't have access to the ballistae you're meant to fight him with and need to parry him while being harassed by fodder undead.

[@thegaymingavenger]

"Early in act one" Me, who hasn't gotten there on either one of my save files: … Oh, also: the first boss of Oninaki. I literally couldn't beat it, even when switching to easy mode (though by then I'd tried a few times already and got so frustrated that I likely wasn't playing well). An early-ish boss from I am Setsuna also stopped my progress completely. I think it was like the third or fourth boss? No matter what I did, I wasn't getting anywhere near killing it.

[@mostmelon8243]

Gattuso from Tales of Vesperia absolutely wrecked me. And at the end of the fight, the party has the nerve to proclaim, “That was easy.”

[@permafrostyx]

I think its because they gave him his stats from the demo and didnt scale him down

[@derrinerrow4369]

2:07 Maybe the reason why fighting Zangetsu feels like you are fighting a video game protagonist is because he actually was the main protagonist of the first Bloodstained game.

[@Drewbo21]

Snake? I had the exact same thought when I first played Bloodstained and was absolutely delighted to find its the same voice actor, David Hayter ❤