Boss Analysis # 74

[@SenatorArmstrong2018]

Only Git can keep me entertained with a 50 minute video about games with only one boss.

[@HotelKatz]

The boss in the Mickey Mouse version is the Horned King from the Black Cauldron. Tokyo Disneyland seemed to love him during the 80's and 90's.

[@Kwyjor]

Defunctland had a great video about that - specifically Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour.

[@Dukstless]

I can't believe the solution to the boss in Torneko The Last Hope is basically "legalize nuclear weapons"

[@Lar_me]

"Speak softly and carry a big nuke" -Torneko, probably

[@greenhowie]

I like how Tomator could have just walked into the Vikings and wiped them out but insists on using hi-tech weapons. Hubris or something.

[@tibby4503]

My favorite lonely boss is Dr Zomboss in Pvz 1.

[@superkonijn988]

Hot single lonely bosses in your area

[@ARandomTrout356]

2:24 'DW, it's not a lonely boss! It's an ONLY boss. A lonely boss is what you'll be when I sell you!'

[@alex_-yz9to]

If you're curious Git, the NES version actually includes a handy dandy Hp counter for the bubble bobble boss where the Floor number used to be... up there at the top of the screen!

[@rcblazer]

Yeah, the level number (on NES you fight the boss on either level 100 or level B-3 if you took the secret door on level 99) changes to the boss' HP. Every bolt of lightning reduces its HP by 1, and he goes into the bubble to pop him when at 0.

[@raziyatheseeker]

26:28 Dude, I love this analogy so much. Such clever and specific things like these are a big part of the reason why I love your videos. Especially because I resemble such things, heheh.

[@raziyatheseeker]

43:12 Also, this nearly killed me

[@medusathedecepticon]

It's nice to see the Horned King get to be a boss. Also I really love this video, particularly the Lost Vikings section.

[@polybius32]

... OK, I laughed for longer than I should after learning they named a final boss "Darkevil"

[@jvts8916]

The TACT spin-off also decided to turn final boss transformations into separate characters. As a result, you can pull for a monster literally called Dragonlord's True Form. Even better, it isn't classified as a dragon, but a ???.

[@bubblegumxo]

That Bubble Bobble song gives me both comfort and a surprising amount of anxiety. I don't remember which level it is exactly, but eventually in the 60s or 70s you just hit this road block where you have to do some weird technical bubble riding platforming that you never had to use before, to clear it 😮. I never legitimately completed this game as a result. I always thought it was such a cute and fun game, the first version I played must have been on the PS1 when i was basically a fetus. But just the thought of that level has prevented me from playing this for like the past decade now 😂. Most recent i played was the HD 360 version which is pretty good, but maybe I'll download a ROM for the PS1 version and try again.

[@Baburun-Sama]

a super Drunk from MY OWN GAME?!

[@lrgogo1517]

31:06- Missed opportunity to play that freeze-frame name-card sound-cue from the cartoons when the footage pauses

[@jvts8916]

Zettai Hero Project would be my go-to example for how to make boss fights in a Mystery Dungeon... and how *not* to. The main story bosses add a puzzle related to the dungeon's design. Navigating the room to get to the bosses to finish them off is usually the big part of the fight. Unfortunately, the *postgame* bosses did not get the memo. They are in a barren room and the way they try to make them stand out (aside from being iconic Disgaea universe characters) is by making them comically overleveled compared to the rest of the dungeon. It's like making the shopkeeper fight mandatory. They became even worse when the NIS Classics ports ditched every single Dengeki Bunko dungeon, so there's no other places to go to make grinding less boring. Most forums recommend you use an exploit that creates infinite enemies so you can reach the same level. To add insult to injury, the third game, The Awakened Fate Ultimatum featured a completely different team that decided to just reduce the boss fights to the infamous one room, one enemy template.

[@SeventhRingBlueWhale]

@@jvts8916 I was hoping to see ZHP get brought up here lol

[@MrBertieDastard]

>The Lost Vikings mentioned Wishing I could hit that like button several times in a row

[@1rn1u2]

43:50 : holy cow O_O Hugo who's took the dare of replace Mickey Mouse/Bugs Bunny ^^; a lousy anecdote : Hugo was known thanks to a french TV program called "Hugo Délire" with telephone concept (not the recent one, the old one, not portable btw) or any one lucky client can take control of...this weird character called Hugo by taping on any number of the phone, showed on the TV BUT latency between the moment you tap the number button and what's happen on TV is pretty huge and at final, despite all best you give, it's already Game Over :( (+ there's some stuff to win like a summer vacation or a little goodies or what)

[@Bloodlyshiva]

Not just French. Children's TV in the UK did the same thing.

[@ddank54]

Man i remember my mom playing Bust-a-Move in the snes (the only game she ever played and finished), she spent the night beating the 100 levels only to be stuck in the last boss, hes so OP in Bust-a-move is almost criminal, after one long night until morning me and my brother woke up in time to see mom beating his ass.

[@thelunchlady8276]

Nice. I remember waking up to go to school and my mom was bleary-eyed from playing SMB3 all night.

[@Mysticshade59]

One game I can think of that only has one boss (Unless I'm remembering wrong) is Behemoth from Mario Sports Mix. A battle that fuses aspects of all the 4 sports into one, definitely a creative idea.

[@TetRm]

The last phase of Brevon from Freedom Planet is also interesting. While he isn't the only boss in the game, he's the only one with a health bar, so it kinda makes him the only proper boss.

[@miraitan]

1:08 a very beautiful use of LeChucks ship there 😘👌🏼

[@ShadeMeadows]

These videos are ALWAYS a treat!~ ✨️

[@SirBiscuitman]

Another example (that admittedly i’d guess you wouldn’t cover) is how a lot of flash/website games, like the ones on coolmath games I played in like middle school, only had one boss at the end. Some examples are stranded isle, johnny upgrade, and MetroCubeVania. There’s also a game outright called ‘just one boss’, but i’m not sure that counts considering the entire gimmick of the game is that there’s only one boss.

[@konoikurozora5851]

It's the Horned King in the Mickey Mouse version of the Bugs Bunny game! He was pretty popular back then in Japan so it makes sense!

[@thelunchlady8276]

Never noticed Tomator looks like a Skrull.

[@jaru4564]

2:56 There's also Pete in Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibouken. There are 6 boss fights in that game, but all of them are Pete.

[@thejedisonic67]

Despite it's arcade structure throughout the series, only Twisted Metal 1 has a single boss. Most games land between having 2-3 bosses throughout a single run, although Twisted Metal 4 has a boss at the end of each stage so that means you fight 8 bosses in total, one of them being a dual boss of Super Slamm and Super Auger

[@Spiritnick]

Sweet merciful Palutena, that last boss is absolutely brutal. Who allowed that to get through testing?

[@carshowprince2]

Since the game is practically a boss rush, maybe you could do NES Punch-Out!! You could do the whole series!

[@ShadwSonic]

After so many times beating Tomator in Lost Vikings, I can confidently say that the toughest part is between the Baelog and Erik phases. That last jump, trying to insert a key midair over electric floors...

[@qu1253]

I remember playing this old DOS game from the 90s called Abuse (a title that makes it very difficult to search for in Google). It plays like a side scrolling shooter, but with nonlinear levels and mouse aim and it's got some great atmosphere. But good lord, the last (and only) boss is insufferable. I genuinely don't know how to beat it. I kind of just shoot it with my most powerful weapons while occasionally dodging and hope for the best. It feels almost entirely dependent on luck.

[@mateuszodrzywoek8658]

me seeing the Hugo version of that Gameboy game hit me like a truck, i used to have two Hugo games on my laptop as a kid and played them a lot

[@Kwyjor]

The Game Boy version of Bubble Bobble features three other bosses in addition to Super Drunk. Each one is a large version of a different enemy. You get a fireball potion to fight them, but the one at level 50 is a proper git. Super Drunk is largely the same - not so difficult, even though you can only see a small portion of the screen at the time. At least there's a hit counter that measures your progress.

[@RagingRowen]

And two of those bosses were also in the Master System version.

[@someguy764]

Odd how these kinds of games' bosses are either comically easy or maddeningly hard. An example I always think of is Madagascar's Fossa King. The only boss (who has a health bar, there is a crocodile, but he just has a hit counter akin to Sonic Adventure's rival fights) invented for this game, and for whatever reason, for this very last fight, Alex gets a three hit combo. And he is a pushover, although fun to fight. Sonic Riders, as well as Zero Gravity both have a lone boss on a solitary track that is pretty much just boosting into them three times.

[@crazybobby14]

12:40 Yes! We got the "DVD Video" logo as a final boss!

[@Dragorosso95]

43:33 Looks a bit like the Horned King from The Black Cauldron

[@KawaiiKaabii1993]

I had no idea that PeyserConley was a boss. This should be interesting.

[@RaceBandit]

The joke flew over my head.

[@furiouscorgi6614]

We've done a video on games with only one boss, but what about games where every enemy feels like a boss? Not necessarily difficult (there are plenty of easy bosses), but where random encounrers are treated with extreme gravitas, just like what a boss would be- or even games wirhout random encounters at all, where every encounter is handmade to feel challenging, similar to a good boss fight.

[@acesamm]

@@furiouscorgi6614 So, something like Ninja Gaiden Black?

[@carshowprince2]

Mega Man is an obvious pick but a good one

[@Entelarmer]

I saw that last boss and my reaction was a growing feeling of "what is that and WHY is that?". Oh, look, you have dared to hit the boss, have some if the strongest ir most annoying enemies in the game!. Although yeah, i guess they have tested the fight assuming you DO farm items from other dungeons…

[@Faapu]

I don't know how you feel about suggestions but Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero is ripe for boss analysis in my opinion, especially that bastard Sir Sweet

[@jvts8916]

I really hate that boss because the game's stun mechanic allowed you to fight other bosses effectively without having to resort to mashing buttons. Then here comes Sir Sweet and suddenly it's carpal tunnels for everyone!

[@mattb6522]

Good video! As a kid, I could never beat the NES version of Super Drunk in Bubble Bobble! I would always die to him in like under 30 seconds. He was just so annoying and it didn't help that he had a massive amount of health! I also remember getting so irritated by Tomator in The Lost Vikings and it took me dozens of tries to finally beat him! Unfortunately, I only had Genesis version and 3-button controller, which added to the frustration. Geez...that Torneko final boss looks awful! Whoever designed that one should be given a swift kick! It looks like a fun game otherwise, but, man, that is pretty ruthless!

[@Streetcleanergaming]

Lost vikings?!?!?? I knew that game was real my dad used to play it with me never thought id see it anywhere

[@ShadwSonic]

Crazy Castle is a weird one... I believe I've beaten two of them (one with Mickey and one with Garfield, both different entries than this and each other), and both involved a witch as the boss, so using Hazel makes sense. Very surprised Disney went with the villain of The Black Cauldron for their take on this game in particular, they usually brush that movie under the rug.

[@WhiteFangofWar]

How about the opposite- the games with the MOST bosses? I submit Wild Arms 3 for a strong contender, possessing EIGHTY bosses if you include all the optional ones and refights with villains and rivals count if they've gotten stronger and/or gained new moves.

[@ritachikorita6916]

Elden Ring has 163 excluding the DLC IIRC, even if roughly half of them are repeats.

[@OdinTheUniverseTraveler2003]

Cool vid and I know there are more of these lonely bosses. Like I said in your post for this upcoming vid. Spyro Enter The Dragonfly is another game. That only has 1 boss with it being Ripto.

[@KeishaRobinson-ry1ym]

Have you played Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly? Ripto is the only boss of this game, even though you do have to defeat him three separate times to unlock the ending. I believe that he is qualified to be in this category because he fights you completely by himself all three times. The only change is that there are two phases in the second fight and three phases in the third fight because he gets more powerful each time. You can then fight him as many times as you want after you unlocked the ending. You only need to enter the game file(s) you unlocked the ending on. He won't continue to get more powerful though; he'll remains at the level of power he had when you fought him the third time.

[@ooferrell]

Please do one on buzzlightyear in the toy story on snes ... that creeped me out as a kid 😂😂😂

[@LightsolP]

I give Azure Dreams PS1 a lot of credit for being one of the only games in the Mystery Dungeon genre who didn't bother with a final boss, as the Konami devs realized it was pointless and wrecked the style of the game. So the "final boss" is an enemy you let wail on you, and then it dies in one hit with the weapon you steal from it when it gets you low on health.

[@user-unos111]

Would the Overmind from the original Starcraft count as a boss? Technically, it is a unique unit who is also the final BBEG you have to kill. But as an enemy it is utterly pathetic: Just a building with 5000HP, the ability to detect invisible units... and no attacks whatsoever. Granted, it is surrounded by a huge army of its minions, but by itself is totally defenseless. It is not even a particularly hard stage either. I'd say RTS is another videogame genre where it is very difficult to create good boss battles.

[@RaceBandit]

Why does this make me want to see a "Boss structures" video? Although Starcraft had other boss structures, such as the Ion Cannon at the end of the Rebel Yell chapter, so the Overmind wouldn't work for Lonely Bosses... You'd also have to exclude Brood War since Duke (in the Norad III) and Fenix (in a Dragoon) are bosses halfway through the Queen of Blades chapter.

[@user-unos111]

@RaceBandit The ion cannon is more of a target than a proper boss (Then again, the same can be said about the Overmind) and I said "the original Starcraft" because I didn't count the expansion. Also, you forgot the closest thing Brood War has to a proper boss: The Torrasque.

[@user-unos111]

@@RaceBandit P.D.: I now remember in the remastered version the ion cannon actually attacks you. I don't know if the Overmind got new tricks, though.

[@galenthehedgehog529]

what about Jaffar from Prince of Persia? would he count in this?

[@CybeastID]

4:56 The *Sega Master System* version has you fight those giant enemies.

[@Davtwan]

Guessing the bottles in the PS1 version have a consistent square hitbox regardless how the bottles spin. Evil. (And you have a square hitbox too that doesn't include your tail.)

[@cartoonfan9million468]

Well Whoisthisgit, if you do more boss analysis videos for Bubble Bobble, maybe you can do more about the drunk family like Hyper Drunk from Bubble Symphony and the Great Dark Dragon from Bubble Memories. Also I guess Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle II is the only Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle game to have a boss battle, like you shoot at Witch Hazel, whereas in the others you avoid the enemies or in 3 or 4 taz and etc. I also believe that Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle Series has to be the series with the most dolled up and different skins, like it is either Roger Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Hugo, or even Woody Woodpecker, I never saw any franchise get more variations of characters despite the gameplay being the same and etc.

[@TheLeadElite]

45:39 Yes! Someone agrees with me. I played Genso Wanderer, a Touhou mystery dungeon game, and the bosses are total cancer. Because there’s no way to know if you’re strong enough or have enough supplies or the correct abilities to beat them until it’s too late. Which leads to trial and error or having to look things up on a third party source which imo are hallmarks of bad game design.

[@jvts8916]

@@TheLeadElite i feel like the sequel Lotus Labyrinth did them better... game breaking bug on final boss not withstanding

[@ericwijaya2119]

@@jvts8916 as someone who's played both games, I feel like Genso Wanderer and Lotus Labyrinth are inverses of each other in terms of strengths and weaknesses. To start off, Genso Wanderer has engaging gameplay but at least from personal experience, any bosses that aren't the first three final bosses (aka Buyking, Crimson Raven, or Kokoro) really make you question whether or not they playtested some of these bosses before launch (Clownpiece my despised). And then you have Lotus Labyrinth where the gameplay is substantially more inferior than Genso Wanderer (partly due to the absence of Nito Fusion), but most of the bosses (aside from Clownpiece and the "final boss") are actually a lot more balanced than the ones of their predecessor. I can't really provide commentary on Foresight as I refuse to touch that game out of fear since all 3 games are expensive enough as is, and the fact that Foresight released with a constant overall reception of Mixed when its 2 predecessors managed to obtain critical praise for its gameplay, as flawed in some aspects as they may be, it's not really a good sign, especially since where I'm from, the prices these games are sold at make it way too risky for me to find out whether or not I'll enjoy this game, especially since LLR's inferior gameplay already seeded some doubt into my mind about this third title being better.

[@tristinhambrick4617]

54:45 / I haven't seen every Boss Analysis yet, so who was the first boss to receive the award, and what video?

[@juveline12789]

Steam World Dig:Fistful of Dirt also got one boss, same with Jaws for NES, Spelunky Classic also got one boss

[@JahNiemann-m6v]

You should play Asuka Kenzan if you want a Mystery Dungeon game with good (and varied) bosses

[@carltonleboss]

Another great video.

[@jonathanhenriquerodrigues7262]

Great vid, git. Thanks

[@DahHourglass]

For a sequel you could do the flash game wow wow wubzy Atlantis adventure

[@ZioNello_]

12 years of boss analisis... I don't remember if there was also Chrono Trigger... or the dancer in Parodius (She doesn't count as boss :\ )

[@royalking-ob4op]

We. Need more bosses videos