Boss Analysis # 58

[@Logans_Login]

In Shadows of Valentia, you can actually ruin Alm’s final moment in more ways than the original. Nosferatu can still hit Duma during his “sealing” phase, (this time as a feature) but on top of this, you can still hit him with the ally unit summoned by the Marth and Roy amiibos. I just find it so anticlimactic that the final blow can be stolen by an illusory copy of another games protagonist, including one who’s alive on a neighboring continent no less.

[@pokedude720]

Marth, I get as he has another Falchion from Naga; but how does Roy Work? The Binding Blade was for War Dragons, not Divine ones.

[@aegisScale]

​@@pokedude720 it was designed to seal away the Dark Dragon, who made the war dragons, but was originally a divine dragon (which is why the other legendary weapons aren't effective against her). The blade just so happens to also be effective against other dragons.

[@someguy764]

I adore Punch-Out's special animations for knocking out opponents, it makes it feel like you did something right, and the fact that this is guaranteed to happen with Mr. Sandman makes it all the more satisfying when you finally defeat him.

[@mintymechanic8420]

If you really fish for it, you can just KO him without the special animation.

[@someguy764]

@@mintymechanic8420 yeah, but considering this is the one fight that the game really wants you to get the special KO animation, you are unlikely to get the regular KO animation without going out of your way to get it.

[@WhiteFangofWar]

'Look at the croissants!' -Game Grumps when KOing Glass Joe

[@Mecceldorf]

One of my favorite moments is title defense Bald Bull. Usually you can pack him in the face right before he can charge into you, leading to an instant knockout. His rematch has him nearly fall, then pull some ultra instinct bullshit out of his ass and laughs in your face. Forget the final uppercuts of Sandman, that’s exactly the kind of thing that lowers my guard. Of course, next time you pull it off BB goes down for real, but it’s a much more satisfying fight.

[@WhiteFangofWar]

@@Mecceldorf In Title Defense he only gets knocked out by Star Punches, a talent he apparently developed by letting bulls repeatedly charge into him. And yes, it potentially makes him even tougher than TD Sandman.

[@scottcameron3030]

The Mother Brain death from Super Metroid is cool, but the one that I always thought was both awesome yet disturbing was Crocomire. Dude boils alive and yet somehow comes back as a skeleton and then disintegrates!

[@cosmicspacething3474]

No only that, you gotta be the one to force him into the lava. Poor guy…

[@kyuubinaruto17]

@@cosmicspacething3474 And Crocomire was only chilling out. He won't attack you unless you attack first. He'll only shake his arm at you like he just wants you to leave him in peace.

[@PinBBro]

Always love when you beat a giant monster or person in a game and they’ll slowly collapse to the ground accompanied by a screen shake. It’s a good way to pull off a more realistic death while making it still satisfying and cathartic for the player.

[@HarbingerYT]

That finisher alone in the Xemnas fight cemented it into my top 10 final bosses of all time. Showing Sora and Riku teaming up to watch each others backs as the lasers flew in their direction, Riku pushing Sora back to take the full brunt of Xemnas' attack, to Sora grabbing Riku's Way To Dawn Keyblade and using that and his own to launch Xemnas into the air so they can finish him off using their combined power of light using Sora's keyblade. It's an absolute spectacle.

[@hyperfairy7779]

Agreed, kinda blows KH3's outta the water, ((though KH3s was good, it really should if been Sora Riku and Kairi in a more epic version of this as the finisher))

[@the1stwing]

So, I think the idea behind Mr. Sandman getting winded is in reference to Mike Tyson's defeat, where his opponent played super defensively and wore Tyson down, before going in for the KO

[@captaincortez4917]

Yeah... Title Defense Sandman is a huge Mike Tyson reference. All the way to how the fight ends. Both Sandman and Tyson put explosive force into their offense and expected Little Mac and Buster Douglas respectively to be intimidated by it. But they weren't, and that perseverence gave the underdogs wins.

[@np9946]

I absolutely adore the kingdom hearts hp bar too. It's just SO SATISFYING. Same goes for increasing your own hp bar in the game.

[@greekgeek4074]

Wheatley’s defeat in Portal 2 is always fun, GLaDOS finally having enough of his crap and just whacking him into space always makes me laugh. That and the entire finale of his boss fight is crazy enough to make it feel worth it.

[@gren4586]

kinda surprised the final bosses from modern kirby games weren't even given an honorable mention. star dream and void termina's deaths in particular were really satisfying to watch

[@DeltaOdyssey]

Absolutely. Don't forget the most recent one either, probably one of the coolest one's I've experienced with some of the best music in the forgotten land

[@gren4586]

oh god yeah i forgot abt that one while writing my comment... god yeah, that one was definitely the best one

[@platy4700]

Git didn’t go with them just because he doesn’t like the modern Kirby games

[@SmudgedSketch]

Sectonia's death is also awesome

[@Dragorosso95]

18:01 Technically, having no heart means you don't feel emotions, so you are not technically "evil" since you have no empathy. Sure you could say that even with no heart Xemnas was guided by the malicious intents oh his original self so... yeah, he's evil.

[@pyromaniacforhire]

But in later games you find out the "no heart" thing was a lie. All of the XIII members had hearts.

[@Dragorosso95]

@@pyromaniacforhire I think it meant that in time Nobodies can “create” their own heart, after all we saw Roxas, Xion and Axel having a true, deep friendship with each other and not just following the memories of their former selves. Still I doubt that Xemnas managed to create his own heart, since he lacked true bonds and was just obsessed with the power of Kingdom Hearts. Still he manipulated his companions with lies for his own gain, after all he needed them to create his Kingdom Hearts. I’d say he’s still evil, after all.

[@pyromaniacforhire]

@@Dragorosso95 Oh, no doubt! Evil af. Still, at the end, while the other Xehanorts were playing 20D Chess with everyone and everything, he just wanted what he didn't have: a heart. I sort of pitied him, if only a tiny bit.

[@Kojirremer]

Ah, the train depot in Star Fox 64. I remember fondly the rumble pack going absolutely batshit during those explosions. No other game I played made it work so hard.

[@jerrym1218]

Dude, I said the same thing and have those same fond memories of Star Fox 64. Ahhh those were great times 🤔🫠.

[@jvts8916]

Most of the Nightmares in Mary Skelter Finale will try one final attack when their HP is almost fully depleted. The Devouring Armada Nightmare, on the other hand, will attempt to heal your entire party right before you put them to rest, as if they accept defeat or secretly regret what they had done before the fight. Going into details would be a spoiler.

[@VonFirflirch]

I really like the Ys VIII boss deaths. They collapse or twitch, as light engulfs the entire screen (conveniently setting up for a "fade out" transition), coupled with their wails and a very satisfying sound I don't know how to describe, like the darkness sfx from Paper Mario TTYD... but not fear-inducing x)

[@averytubestudios]

Ah, Xemnas. What was not only my favorite KH boss and my favorite video game boss of all time. Truly, a work of art.

[@abrittishpanfish6269]

any monster hunter game where, partway through the final boss, it's music fades out and you hear the buildup of "Proof of a Hero" playing... this activates my bones, and they're all in kill formation

[@314Pirasy]

15:30 Using Nosferatu in a boxing match sounds like the least insane Aran Ryan trick in the book.

[@DonnieDoodles]

I always thought that particular detail at 23:46 was because the boss was holding the wall open to stick it's head through and now that it's dying, it can no longer keep a grip on the walls and they suddenly slam down on it's neck.

[@tseriesisadisease3090]

Final Xemnas will always be one of the greatest finales to any video game for me. The transformations. The various mechanics. The music. The environments,the laser reflecting and TEAMING UP WITH RIKU! It’s all there and done perfectly and is one of the many reasons KH2 still holds up years later as one of my favourite games of all time.

[@jerrym1218]

At 6:20 I always remember the beauty of the Rumble Pack going nuts after that train explosion. God, playing Star Fox 64 for the first time is an experience that stays with you forever.

[@WhiteFangofWar]

Xemnas was one of my favorites too, exceeding even Xehanort in the epic department. Interesting how the 'laser dome' speeds up at the end, making it more likely you'll take a few hits. God of War 3 gives us a very satisfying button-mash method of finally killing Zeus. Similarly, the 3rd Prince of Persia Sands of Time game gives you a great speed kill sequence where the prince nimbly rips off the Vizier's monstrous wings and arms before finishing him through the heart with the Dagger of Time. His final words: 'This is not what the Dagger promised!' Should've known- magic daggers aren't good at keeping promises. Unless the promise is to stab you. SNES has to be the king of multi-explosion deaths, as seen in the Mega Man X series.

[@rcblazer]

I think the Powder Gangers from Fallout New Vegas put it best. "Never gets old when something blows up."

[@HYDEinallcaps]

Something not many people have noticed about the final Xenmas fight in KH2: When he says "we shall go together," think about the context of the fight: You're in an empty void, Xenmas's plans have been utterly ruined, and him, Sora, and Riku are seemingly trapped in there. Xemnas knows he lost, and he's basically saying that he's going to take Sora and Riku down with him.

[@noodleone4788]

When I saw the theme of this video I instantly thought about Asura's Wrath and how each boss from it would fit here

[@ace-trainer-aj]

Xemnas' final boss outfit reminds me of a zebra *FULL ZEBRA POWER!*

[@WhiteFangofWar]

It's supposed to look similar to Sora's Final Drive outfit, but... yeah.

[@Mysticshade59]

A personal boss death that I love a lot is RAAM's death in the original gears of war 1, followed by the train wreck was just an amazing moment, especially since he was incredibly tough on insane, even by knowing his weakness he was hard to beat.

[@izukazephoenix]

in my opnion, i think also being able to shut down sandmans last uppercut rush is pretty cool too. as if saying 'I'm even better then when i last fought you, don't even try.'

[@ericwijaya2119]

I'm pretty sure all the Legion of Stationary deaths aside from maybe Hole Punch and Scissors in Origami King can count as brutal and awesome

[@aureliodeprimus8018]

One of my favourites is Argorok from Twilight Princess. The way he struggles before flying up, losing all his strength before stopping to move and exploding. And that perfectly in sync to the music.

[@meloelebi1996]

Personally the killing blow you can get from it is pretty awesome as well, Link takes a couple seconds to ready his sword on top of him, impales, and straight to cutscene iirc.

[@aureliodeprimus8018]

@@meloelebi1996 Right, completely forgot about it.

[@isekaiseeker8149]

Any enter the gungeon boss would fit in this list giant explosions slow down big boss collapses usually leaving behind an empty shell from what they were which you can break too to bring even more satisfaction

[@averysmalman8191]

The Xemnas battle makes me wish I enjoy KH more than I do, it looks like a lot of fun. Duma's NES sprite has always confused me. I know he's a dragon, but his pose looks like a giant deformed chicken covered in Gak

[@jambon2730]

Meanwhile,every boss ever randomly explode in shantae XD

[@ArcadeStriker]

This was a really fun video to watch, though I'm surprised that you didn't mention anything related to the Megaman X, Zero and ZX games; the best thing from beating bosses in those is to see them blow up in a bunch of explosions after landing the finishing blow!

[@nintenboss64]

Don't forget about the zero bosses getting cut in half if finished off by the z saber

[@Koppter42]

@@nintenboss64 ZX too!

[@SuperFitzieZX]

Kingdom hearts finally gets a boss analysis!

[@freddywilliams9837]

If I have a contribution to this, it's MACE from Intrusion 2. Just this massive robot slowly and surely showing more and more wear and tear until It's head finally explodes, and the building in the background finally collapses... It's really satisfying.

[@kpounder4908]

22:32 this reminds me of cuphead where all bosses when defeated have loads of small cartoony explosions across the whole sprite and the screen fades to black before the boss dies

[@somethinganonymous1723]

I remember watching my sister fight through the finale of Kingdom Hearts 2 as a kid. I was always so entranced by the dancing black and white lights while she managed to just barely get to the end of the fight... only for the screen to freeze and the music to lock, with a weird static square in the corner of the screen. I don't remember if she ever managed to recover from that to finish the game proper. I think something similar happened in the middle of the end credits for the first game, too...

[@cosmicspacething3474]

Mario and Luigi paper jam is an okay game, but man is killing bosses in it satisfying. Since your attacks are made of quick time events they could easily die in the middle of them, however they turn black and white to signify they’ve been defeated, but you can continue your attacks for overkill damage and finish your combos satisfied.

[@darkentity7981]

Going with the theme of "breaking multiple segments off of bosses", a boss (using that term kinda loosely here) I somewhat enjoy that is kinda like that is Gravios from the Monster Hunter franchise. There's a good few monsters from said franchise that's covered in breakable parts, but it's a *huge* part of Gravios's design specifically. The way the monster is designed, it's effectively like a giant, towering, walking tank that's got great defenses; but underneath its rocky armor is a noticeably squishy and weak interior, namely its belly. And when it comes to breakable parts... it's head, back, stomach (twice), boths wings, and both legs can be broken and its tail can be severed, a total of *9* part breaks at least off the top of my head. It can be annoying to fight at times, but it's really satisfying to break this thing's rocky carapace to bits as you wittle its health away.

[@penitente3337]

Honorable mention to Dragon Quest 8's final boss for having a pretty satisfying yet pretty stupid death animation. Seriously his face at the end is too funny for me to take it seriously-

[@SolCresta3405]

Macbeth was epic.

[@benro6564]

Fuck yeah wonderful 101! Such an underappreciated game. And I love that in game the characters are als9 furiously button mashing lol

[@curlybrace4984]

I never knew about TD sandman getting tired and giving you 3 star punches. That's so fucking cool.

[@ricesneeze7107]

Spoiler Warning for Kirby and the Forgotten Land: One of my personal favorite recent boss kills is Fecto Elfilis from Kirby and the Forgotten Land. He literally gets fucking Isekai'd, truck and all. Also the scenario of driving up rubble to stop Popstar from crashing into the planet is really cool, and the music is really intense.

[@AnAverageGoblin]

could use a spoiler warning

[@ricesneeze7107]

@@AnAverageGoblin my bad

[@Farimere]

In Shining Force Max has a final attack animation against the last head of Dark Dragon while wielding the Chaos Breaker. It is a Hero pointing the sword towards his foe and sends an energy shockwave to finish him off. I was getting hopeful the moment you brought up FE2's final attack but I guess this can go elsewhere. Still loved the video.

[@Laurmachi]

"Don't get too cocky, Star Fox!" "Let's see how you handle our new ships!" "Too bad dad's not here to see you FAIL!" "..... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

[@TheLakabanzaichrg]

In that regard punishing Bayonetta's bosses is very fun to do

[@unnath1762]

For those interested, there is a gba version of alm's attacks including the shield throwing one by nuramon kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoOXephnbrF7e9U Skip to 3:59 if you want to see only alm attacks

[@zeospark9715]

Man I grew up with Contra 3 and I could never for the life of me get past that third level as a kid lol

[@yoshifan2334]

Oh yeah, happened upon the original gaiden finisher in a "all fire emblem final bosses" video and that really stood out to me, love that they did it again in radiant dawn (though at least Ike just has to get the last hit, not solo the last half of the final boss' 120 hp pool)

[@retropipes8863]

Neat. Boss deaths are so satisfying sometimes!

[@mechzilla569]

26:35 he is a Disney character and remembered his child was delivered today

[@dyingstar24]

If you want some pretty good boss deaths, library of ruina's last two floor realizations and final boss are truely a spectacle. Then theres limbus company, with the final bosses of Cantos 3 and 4 giving some really satisfying endings to their story arcs

[@napoleoncomplex2712]

Blance will forever live on in our hearts.

[@mechzilla569]

Dang W101 in the first seconds means that this vid would be a banger

[@notspoileratall5471]

13:23 Oh so that's how you're supoosed to win? I managed to beat him by counterattack every one of his punches in berserk mode, at least in this last part, and I have never waited to him to tire and let me 3-star him

[@wilfridekoue1405]

oh yeah the answer towards your question about xehanort is the latter cause of BBS (birth by sleep) and KH3

[@delmarquisclark1590]

My favorite from Star Fox 64 are rhe multi explosion. ESPECIALLY the supply depot. And playing it on 64 where it laggs out the explosions

[@Ankhtheanimator]

**(Contains Spoilers for persona 5 Strikers)** The final all out attack on the final boss felt very enticing, because it uses all of your party members and make them contribute in the attack and helping you take out the Spheres powering the final boss gave off a epic feeling which bodes well with the music.

[@albertusaswin2012]

Ah yes, one of two my equally favorite series. The other one is The Strongest Characters.

[@RaceBandit]

YMMV on if beating Mr. Sandman during his final rush is _actually_ an anticlimax. Think of it as beating your opponent when they're giving it their all instead of just ... waiting for them to run out of steam and picking them off then. 19:56 - Wait, I was _that_ close to beating KH2? I died because I didn't know I could also block the lasers with Sora.

[@christlevania5933]

I always liked how the bosses died in megaman x.

[@aureliodeprimus8018]

Agreed. The bosses changing into their "got hit"-sprite, then followed by the starting explosions and finished off by the big one. Really conveys a reploids energy source breaking down before exploding. The victory melody and X doing a victory pose are the cherry on top.^^

[@schmatthewneyan87]

Dream Drop Distance retconned the no heart thing for specifically the Organization 13 members, so Xemnas had a heart this whole time. LOVE Dream Drop Distance, THANK YOU Dream Drop Distance

[@KyuubiNaruto41]

I didn't mind the top-down stages at all except when playing 2-Player Mode B which forces both players on the same screen. Anthell, stage 5 boss, just needs to burn though on Hard I will eventually just give up because of all the spinning and start spamming bombs right on top of him til he dies.

[@antonyc.7173]

If you want even more cool boss deaths, 1944: The Loop Master and 19XX: The War Against Destiny are the games to check out.

[@antonyc.7173]

Honorable mentions go out to 1943: The Battle of Midway (arcade version), 1941: Counter Attack and 1942 Joint Strike.

[@tyfp3854]

The world spins.

[@nixbg1417]

20:05 *I'M PRESSIN' IT*

[@Wildribbons]

Will we get more of these random acts of spite? And hopefully get one in a video?

[@kstanni87]

Why did they even allow the spinning boss to be in Contra 3?

[@andrewmiller5126]

23:23 Don't worry, I haven't either.

[@angelotorres1]

the last mission from ace combat zero could be included coz it awesome (also didnft finish the video yet so dunno if its there)

[@nikoladedic6623]

Not sure he has played AC before.

[@rual9822]

Analyze pacman world 1 "anubis rex" boss, its the second boss yet it is one of the hardest bosses ever in video games, its the gates of hell in video game format, the difficulty spike and game design is terrible, i would love if you analized it

[@lunatic0verlord10]

9:22 Already own it :)

[@ShadeMeadows]

TAKA!!

[@mrnobody2683]

3:51 scream you faker

[@чеченскиемультикидлядетей]

good

[@HunterIsRad]

One of my current favourite death scenes is definitely… (SPOILERS FOR ZERORANGER) Despair, from Zeroranger. After 8 Levels of shmup nonsense, learning all of the backstory and just how doomed humanity is, and after reconciling with Grapefruit, you finally face off against the leader of Green Orange. The first phase is already annoying, with the constantly resurrecting orbs being a total nuisance, but once you get past that, the true fight begins, and all hell breaks loose. The dark throne room of despair transforms into an astral plane, as she sheds her cloak and goes all out, unleashing some of the most dangerous patterns in the game without any hesitation. Each time you whittle down a health bar, it knocks her out of her current attack, as quite possibly the most kickass track in the game blares. Finally, you take out the last health bar, and Despair’s form starts to grow unstable. Even then, she refuses to back down, and brings out one final wave of attacks, as her true final health bar whittles away. Finally, her form grows more and more unstable, before the screen shifts to an orb, which finally breaks in half. As soon as that happens, Despair is enveloped in light, screaming in agony as their form is obliterated from existence. Of course, afterwards is a great escape sequence and (if you’ve not already beaten the game) the Primeval Fighter sequence, but that short bit between Despair’s death and the ensuing destruction of Green Orange is simply beautiful. God bless, Zeroranger.

[@casecyrus2500]

Um actually legion is a girl 🤓🤓🤓🤓

[@PunchyDonk]

23:59 I liked most of these boss fights but there’s something about hanging off and jumping from fired missiles while shooting at another aircraft that’s just 🤌