Boss Fights That Can Secretly Be Made Easier in Gaming

We're going on a secret strategy hunt, boys.
SOURCES:
Bloodborne:
• Bloodborne Father Gasc...
• Bloodborne - Father Ga...
• Demon's Souls - Announ...
• Bloodborne - How to fi...
Dead Rising 3:
• Dead Rising 3: All Bos...
• Dead Rising 3 - Time f...
• Dead Rising 3 Kinect G...
• Xbox One - Kinect Trailer
• dead rising 2 snowflak...
• Dead Rising 2 - How To...
Kingdom Hearts:
• Kingdom Hearts Final M...
• Kingdom Hearts Series ...
Metal Gear Solid 3:
• Metal Gear Solid 3 Sna...
• The End Dies of Old Ag...
• MGS3: Take Out 'The En...
• Metal Gear Solid: Psyc...
• MGSV- Quiet Boss Battl...
• Metal Gear Solid 5: Ma...
• MGS5 How To Beat Man O...
• The Man on Fire vs Wat...
• Metal Gear Solid 5: Qu...
• metal gear snake eater...
Oogie’s Revenge:
• Nightmare Before Chris...
Resident Evil:
• Resident Evil 3 - All ...
• Defeat Salazar Very FA...
Zelda:
• Dark Lord GANONDORF Bo...
• Zelda Wind Waker HD: G...
• The Legend of Zelda: O...
• Ganondorf vs. Fishing ...
• Legend of Zelda: Twili...
• Is it possibe to defea...
• Tears of the Kingdom h...
• Zelda Skyward Sword Fi...
• The Legend of Zelda: T...
• Zelda lttp ganon battl...
• Legend of Zelda: Link'...
Etc.
• Jedi Survivor - Rick t...
• This Is Halloween (Fro...
• Mortal Kombat vs DC Un...
• Loading and firing the...
• Sunrise and Sunset Tim...
• Hell's Kitchen's Most ...
• GTA San Andreas - Walk...

[@Void-gk1bx]

Ganondorf: “I am the embodiment of darkness itself, there is nothing you can do except watch this world crumbl- ooh, what is that fascinating contraption?”

[@GugsSuggsTV]

22:26 You can't just drop a Hell's Kitchen reference so casually man this killed me so bad 💀

[@Spirit_of_Yubel]

Yes, using the Fishing Rod against Ganondorf is intentional. It started in A Link to the Past, where the Bug-Catching Net could reflect Agahnim's magic right back at him. Since, whenever they could, Zelda games have always offered a "Joke" option when combating some bosses. Ocarina of Time/Wind Waker has the Empty Bottle being used to reflect (Phantom) Ganon's magic, with Twilight Princess keeping the tradition up with Puppet Zelda herself. And Skyward Sword has the Big-Catching Net have use against Girahim and Demise, too. I'd say Wind Waker's Kale Demos secret was a better fit. See, typical procedure is the 3-cycle beatdown of use dungeon item to expose weakness, and beat on weak spot. However, it was discovered that pouring Forest Water on Kale Demos instantly defeats it. And the bigger thing is, the secret wasn't discovered until like....around the 2010's, 2015's? Basically, a long time after the initial release of Wind Waker.

[@Dovah_Slayer]

The only games I can't think of a joke tactic in is the open world Zelda games

[@somethingelse_2568]

14:19 was a crazy cut ngl💀💀

[@Fadiopeel]

Absolutely love that you can essentially just dangle some keys in front of Ganon to distract him. Incredible

[@Yesnaught]

12:58 Hold the fuck up, you can Konami Code and reveal his position? That's something I've never seen anyone use...

[@jimazo]

I'd also like to shout out the battle against the boss Draygon in Super Metroid (where you can destroy the turrets on the wall before the battle to expose the electrified wires underneath, and then grapple the wires when Draygon grabs you to electrocute the boss) and the penultimate boss from Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows (where if you don't touch the controller for forty seconds, the boss commends you for your restraint and is automatically defeated)

[@bobthebuilder9509]

11:57 As an addendum, I believe you can also use your support team and binoculars to call in a weather change and create rain. Of course, this does come at the cost of restricting your rank (and forfeiting that coveted S rank), but it makes life a lot easier if you’re just focused on completing that mission’s tasks and getting out.

[@Boi_Fluff]

I'm expecting Watcher Knights from Hollow Knight to be on this list. Edit: They're not on the list.

[@noahpagnozzi432]

What’s their exploit?

[@Boi_Fluff]

@@noahpagnozzi432 you just go above the arena, break the chain holding up a chandelier, and boom, you only have to fight 5 of them instead of 6 (I know it seems like a small thing, but it actually makes it so much easier)

[@Levyathyn]

I literally beat them three or four entire times without ever knowing about that. And the day I found out, I was a little upset. I mean it's nice that it's only one, but on my earliest runs when I really could have used it the most, that extra one definitely carried its weight.

[@MaxiemumKarnage]

Learned this while doing Steel Soul, made me so mad as I died the previous run there

[@Nutty_Menendez]

@@Boi_Fluff i wish i knew that before

[@misuvittupaa8068]

El Gigante gets health back when the wolf comes to help

[@fchater9541]

c shift drop on the bday LETS GOO

[@barghest94]

Happy Birthday!

[@cshift620]

Happy Birthday to you!

[@GrotesqueMaximus]

I now know your birthday...

[@fchater9541]

@@GrotesqueMaximus whatever will i do 😱

[@its_renren7292]

happy birthday dude!

[@Bennijin]

The final boss of Tales of Symphonia is resistant to all elements, however there are three sub-bosses in the final dungeon that each remove some of those resistances when you beat them. The thing is you're highly likely to fight them in a normal playthrough anyway, so you're making the boss easier without knowing.

[@RandomCBRN]

If you've unlocked the weather control options in MGSV, you can also just call for rain on the Man on Fire. Most expensive option of the three, but the fastest.

[@michaelmacvittie6977]

In Mass Effect 2, shocking one dude in a renegade choice causes a ship to not be fully repaired when it inevitably fights you.

[@jordanekl5383]

Heres a tip for Agahnim to make it way less imtimidating. His name is based off the word Agony. Just replace the "Y" with "IM" lol XP

[@jordanekl5383]

Also if anyone hassles someone for saying an unspoken name wrong, they can go lick a frozen metal pole.

[@tsnap4]

Bruh, not only do you have a reference to Oogie's Revenge, but you also dropped some hidden lore I didn't even know about!? You're awesome!

[@andrewschweyer4485]

There's another semi-secret way of beating Pagurus the Ravenous in Another Crab's Treasure (so, SPOILERS for a new game here.) There's a stoner prawn stuck in a bong (yes, I'm serious) that tells you a secret on how to beat Pagurus, which you break him out with the mantis punch ability. He then tells you that Mr. Ravenous is allergic to bananas (which you can wear as a shell that give health for its durability.) 1 banana does a decent amount of damage, 2 will kill. So, you can either spec into the hammer ability and purchase some shell insurance for the banana, then remove your current shell and access the "bonfire" to equip the banana, leave and equip the shell as a hammer, and repeat, OR spec into getting a rebuilt shell after it breaks, and equip the banana. Oh, and some unique dialogue plays if you reach the prawn and have beaten Pagurus already

[@mystuhree8827]

If you ever return to this topic, a suggestion would be the final boss of Chrono Cross Spoilers below... In the area leading up to the final boss there's a repeating pattern of music notes, colors, and encounters that are all hinting at a secret way to beat the final boss. If you use spells in the order of yellow, red, green, blue, black, white and then finally use the Crono Cross spell, the battle ends immediately giving you the true ending.

[@anubion42]

I thought Captain Hook was weak to fire thunder and blizzard, not just fire. But I might be mixing it up with port royal.

[@SSBBPOKEFAN]

Yeah, you are. He's actually completely immune to Thunder, using his sword as a lightning rod.

[@Osc473]

23:59 ADHD moment

[@MadQuickScotsman]

As an ADHDer, I approve. As a reward for your comedic genius, I offer you...

[@jackmcmorrow9397]

in DmcV, you can prevent the familiars from healing themselves twice by destroying the vines and knocking one of the pools off a cliff.

[@majestichumding1005]

You are sincerely one of the best KZbinrs I have seen on this platform, and I always get a big goofy smile when I see you uploaded. Keep doing what you're doing! You're going to get big, real big!! I can feel it in my gut

[@Roach1]

fun fact about your gascoigne entry, they did the same thing in elden ring, margit's a pretty tough first main boss but if you go and explore (which the game encourages you to do) you can find patches fairly early on and he sells you margit's shackle, which does basically the same thing only without the premature phase 2

[@Dovah_Slayer]

Bro, rick, the door technician was the most powerful entity in all of Star Wars. Also fun fact sneaking up on the end without being seen nets you a free camo

[@Hugelag]

In Undertale, If you keep the pie you get from Toriel and use it during the Asgore boss, it makes the fight easier.

[@Triforce_of_Doom]

I like to imagine that Ganondorf's reaction is pure shock at Link's audacity for just pulling a fishing rod out during a fight to determine Hyrule's fate.

[@MaxiemumKarnage]

Any boss in Dusk can be insta-killed by throwing a bar of soap at them

[@jameslars7391]

So FromSoft games actually could have had a few entries on this list. In Dark souls 3 you can complete Seigwards quest so he helps you out in the Yorm fight and in Dark souls 2 there is a windmill that you can light on fire to help with the Mytha fight by getting rid of the poison

[@thebosstin2420]

Mohg and morgott in elden ring also have items that can stun them

[@Deusexmachin4]

In DS1 Iron golem can be pushed off his arena, and ceaseless discharge can be made to chase you away from his arena and be fought by the cliff, where he can't use his moves.

[@tylervanpeursem7627]

Don't forget sniping king allant (in og demons souls) through a slight gap in the fog wall

[@thebosstin2420]

@@tylervanpeursem7627 I don't think that's really intentional

[@a_faceinthecrowd8762]

​​@@Deusexmachin4Tarkus can also solo the Iron Golem. You can spectate the entire fight. Also if you line it up just right you can make the Taurus Demon fall off the bridge too.

[@kylele23]

Shout out to sekiro letting you cheese corrupted monk twice: once in the phantom encounter by spamming snap peas at her, and once in the boss fight where you can end phase 2 with a cheeky stealth attack to take off a health bar. If you wanna count it then the Hunter encounters from Halo CE die in a single hit to the magnum because they're meant to die to precision damage from the sniper but the magnum works the same way.

[@amberhernandez]

Hearing "I didn't expect a FromSoft boss to be on this list" when there's a few I can immediately tell makes me feel like a bigger nerd than I anticipated.

[@misk-ivus2990]

Surprised you didn't bring up Naval Piranha from Yoshi's Island, where you can step an inch into the room and throw an egg at the boss before their transformation cutscene to skip the fight, complete with unique dialogue.

[@cshift620]

Funny story about that, actually! I was considering adding it to the list, but I scrapped it at the last minute because I already added the other entries and figured that I could save it for a potential sequel video. Whenever that does happen, I’ll be sure to include it. Thank you for tuning in!

[@Smuggy97]

I remember the spider boss from Undertale could be made easier by buying some baked goods from a spider bake sale at the beginning of the game

[@karmicrespite5737]

To specify, I think you need to buy one of the spider treats at the very start of the game, and during her boss fight near the end of it you need to then eat one of said treats at which point she'll realize that you did support spiders in the Ruins and she stops fighting. Since you can't go back to the starting area after leaving it and you may see this as "Just a silly shop", new players would likely use one of these items to heal before getting to Muffet. She also sells an item for an absurdly high price of I think 999 shortly before her boss fight, and while it's a long grind to try to farm it up you can go to an earlier area in the game for an infinite money trick to be able to afford it. Buying this item from her directly will have her see you as a friend, and you can just walk out without even fighting her.

[@selena3467]

​@@karmicrespite5737You don't need to eat those items at the end of the fight. You can eat one of these items on the first turn and immediately spare her before she even used one attack

[@karmicrespite5737]

@@selena3467 Sorry, I wasn't specific enough: by "near the end of it" I meant "near the end of the game" not "near end of the fight". You need to keep the spider treat for over half the game with limited inventory space, so new players who don't know likely would not keep the spider treats by the time they get to Muffet.

[@selena3467]

@@karmicrespite5737 Oh yeah sorry I see what you meant now. My bad

[@zk0rned]

Just casually giving Ganondorf a Superman style lobotomy 25:00

[@cshift620]

Lol you’re right dad, are you proud of me?😂

[@zk0rned]

@@cshift620 Always son nice video 🤣

[@LittleZbot]

22:06 Honestly shocked I called this one. Good picks all around. EDIT: It’s definitely not a glitch. Nintendo Power called it out shortly after the game's release, giving the first person to discover it a nod and a wink.

[@sticklyboi]

0:26 i will always further respect a person that shits on kotaku so thats to say i respect most people

[@BurgerDan]

Once again great writing and editing! As someone who never played many Zelda games, the fishing rod trick really cracked me up! Isn't this guy supposed to be evil and powerful and all? 🤣

[@MadQuickScotsman]

Every Skyrim player does this kinda thing by doing side quests before finally getting around to fighting Alduin.

[@lindseyparker2492]

my favorite channel! 🎉

[@scarface.e]

man your videos are awesome. glad to be here before you blow up, you definitely deserve it. keep grinding man👏

[@pastaroni8683]

my personal favorite example is the krotchy fight in postal 2, which can be skipped by giving the boss an autographed copy of gary colemans autobiography

[@AlienRino]

Great video as always :)

[@CuteFifthWall]

Ah yes, the "rather brisk" episode of C-Shift.

[@DrPonk]

The Tiny Music Box absolutely works on beast Gascoigne, but only once.

[@tori_girlonline800]

Hey, your videos are super cool and deserve more views. Hope you keep creating!

[@LoLSmileyFACE650]

when you started talking about a fromsoft game having a secretly easier boss. I was almost 100% sure you were gonna mention Ceaseless Discharge from the first dark souls game. for anyone who doesn't know: Ceaseless Discharge is actually a pretty difficult boss if you attempt to fight him normally. he has specific windows where you can attack his tentacle arms while avoiding a myriad of AoE attacks that cover pretty much the entire boss arena. however. if you run in the fog and go all the way through and around to the gravesite of his sister on the far side of the arena to the right around a corner. steal her clothes. and then run back as fast as you can towards the fog (making sure to take the path between the two mountain type things rather than running around the outside edge where he can hit you). Ceaseless will desperately try to catch you and in his haste and anger for you stealing his dead sisters clothes. lunge off the side of a cliff and hang onto the path leading to the fog gate by his single tentacle. which doing literally any damage to it a couple of times. even just punching with your fists. will make him lose his grip and fall into the lava deep below. instantly killing him. while father Gascoigne is a really cool niche entry. I'd think ceaseless's mechanic qualifies for a secret "easy mode" way more :P either way. great video C-shift! been really enjoying your content :) keep it up

[@flamingburritto]

Frank Horrigan, Fallout 2. "Ride's over mutie"

[@meatypatte7125]

It’s sort of like a boss fight but in wwe 2k14 the beat the streak mode is very difficult however if you immediately leave the ring and grab the ring bell you can beat taker up with it then easily beat him

[@IAmTh3Doom]

Yeah... You are going to be 100l subs by the end of the year. This is such good content.

[@wanderingnoble]

keep up the great work. i always love your videos.

[@NatetheNerdy]

I'm surprised you wouldn't recommend Bloodborne, because I've heard it was the best FromSoft game to get people started. For some reason people who tried other games and couldn't "get it" would play Bloodborne and everything would click, then they could go back to those other games and beat them. Although now I think Elden Ring would be the best to start on, it has so many options available to the player, and if you're stuck on a boss there's generally 3 or 4 other places you could explore and level in.

[@heroshadow42]

Is Darth Vader from Super Empire Strikes Back commonly known? I remember finding him hard until learning you can slide into his body and slash away. Only his lightsaber is a hurt box unless he is guarding.

[@Levyathyn]

I'm going to be honest, I guarantee it's not commonly known because to be commonly known they would have to be somewhat common for people to have ever made it to the Vader fight. I would wait here that's not the case, specifically because I believe that Super Star Wars and Super Empire Strikes Back have actually killed dozens if not hundreds of people.

[@urdad9252]

I am surprised you didn’t put Mohg and his shackle from Elden Ring on this list

[@RainDebJoys]

Ok fine, I'll sub to your channel. Darn you for making such fun videos to watch! Lol

[@e-spongebob7787]

This channel needs to be bigger

[@QuintetMagician]

MGS3 is my favorite game of all time, and I have never once beaten The End normally lmao. Way too hard. I always skip time forward.

[@xnateeverhartx]

Still have my copy of Oogie's Revenge. Needs a proper re-release. Absolutely love that game.

[@sydh-b3771]

The mgsV quiet exploit does NOT work to this day

[@Shingo-ok1lz]

Hell yeah early gang [I'll change this later if I remember]

[@Nyanbinary]

Nice outro❤

[@sergiomoreno1922]

You are amazing and deserve so many more subscribers, i feel like i just struck gold with your channel, thank you.

[@DthBakesh]

20:00 oh, which sidequest in FromSoftware isn't melancholic? And yes, they are cheap bastards, because utilised the very same concept for one Sekiro's bosses

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

which konami code? Everyone knows ther eare multiple konami code. I only know one of 'em... the TMNT 2 konami code : B, A, B, A, Up, Down, B, A, Left, Right, B, A, Start (i have to google the other if i need it)

[@nakarilexfortaine2897]

The one I always hear of would be the Contra Code: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start/Select then Start if you want 2-player. I think the PlayStation line switches B to circle and A to cross, but that might be reversed depending on region(Japanese games often used circle to confirm and cross to back out). This code can also be used in Metal Gear Rising to unlock Revengance difficulty immediately. Use it on the title screen, you have to plug in a controller if on PC.

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

@@nakarilexfortaine2897 yup i think you're right, the AVGN says it out loud sometimes too

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

@@nakarilexfortaine2897 i should learn the ontra code and try to complete contra. TMNT2 i dont need it, i mastered the game, raphael ven i can finish it with max kills like the twin galaxy record, my "official" score to not surpass kill count allowed (50- per spawn of infinite enemis to not farm) i end up 2 kills behind in third place behind ex-aequo #1s. No continue full game mastery!

[@DrPonk]

In almost every game featuring it, it's the Contra one. It's the one most people know. I wasn't even aware there was another version.

[@Veeando]

another fire video?

[@theonlybilge]

Sshhhh, it's a secwet.

[@TheReZisTLust]

My fav unconventional boss skip is in re5 where you can just shoot the first boss dead isntead of burning him in the trap. Found it after using ng+ and a Lhawk with my lil bro pissing him off that I didnt kill hin correct.

[@Bennijin]

I think he also has loot that only drops if you don't use the furnace, too.

[@Greenleaf_]

1:32

[@Curri95]

Kotaku is going to call you a fascist for that joke hahahaha

[@sidguysid]

zoinks scoob

[@samstevens2945]

I know you were asking for advice on the title, so I would recommend removing “In gaming” since that’s kinda redundant

[@Ramej]

include chapters inside the description next time

[@fellow9939]

i for one absoloutely agree with that shadow of the erdtree review and saying "just git gud" is the behaviour of the fatherless who keep gaslighting themselves into thinking their real dad will come back with the milk and save them from having to endure the stepdad bossfight they have to beat every night when he comes home drunk.

[@Avacado-lh2jz]

i am leaving a comment

[@kicksandswords]

Dude seriously the sim thing you put in every video is lame and utterly stupid, please do not make this your gimmick, even south park got tired of killing Kenny.

[@theking_oftoday9901]

The quiet supply drop truck isn’t an oversight because she is programmed to dodge it on the extreme difficulty version of the fight 🫡