Top Ten Bosses You Don't Want To Defeat

[@joshscorcher]

I realize I mispronounced Artorius' name. I unfortunately had a bit of a dyslexia moment and no one noticed lol. And for Sif? I legit thought Sif was a dude, my bad.

[@astralphoenix7905]

I used to think Sif was a guy as well

[@rockerrocket7559]

Another great list though, thanks!

[@Randerson2409]

Is cool. We forgive. Awesome list, btw

[@thewolfking3054]

It's fine. Not many people actually realise sif is a girl

[@avatarbestfangirl]

In all fairness, I actually don’t know if Sif has a confirmed gender in game. I always assumed Sif was a girl just because of the namesake, but I still hear people call Sif a boy, and Sif is never referred to as either in Japanese side material

[@DarkNSinth]

You forgot the worst part of the Sif fight. At low HP, Sif starts limping, still fighting on despite obviously being badly wounded.

[@hariman7727]

Low enough, and Sif can't even successfully execute attacks. Poor pupper! Sif is best doggo!

[@ModernAegis]

Before Sif: Ugh! Dark Souls is so hard! I wish these bosses could get easier! After Sif: I TAKE IT BACK I TAKE IT BACK I TAKE IT BACK

[@AntasmaTheBatKing]

Don't forget to mention that Zacian is actually BASED off of Sif.

[@yoshinpixels9924]

Still hurts my soul Sif is a good fucking boy

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

...a part of me genuinely wishes there was an option in dark souls to not kill him, healing him instead, and letting him stay until the final boss, where he does no matter what

[@BugsyFoga]

Josh: "No one wants to kill a poor innocent dogo " Peta:"Are you sure about that "

[@tsukinoakuma]

PETA? Don’t you mean Naughty Dog?

[@TheIcyHunter]

Hirohiko Araki would like to know your location.

[@BugsyFoga]

tsukinoakuma nope , I meant dio

[@shelbybayer200]

@@tsukinoakuma No it's true if The Dogs at PETA rescue shelters aren't adopted they put them down

[@fanfictiondreamer7836]

Yeah, the iilluminaughii made a video about PETA and why that would be. Watch her vids, they're great

[@goldencyclone4984]

I can and will defend the ice cream line to the grave. Having ice cream WAS Roxas's entire world outside the Organization. It was the symbol of what a close friend was to him. If you really think about it, Roxas is nothing more than a scared, co fused young boy who has literally less than a year's worth of living. It makes perfect sense that THAT is what friendship is to him: eating ice cream on the clock tower. Edit: Glad you mentioned Maruki too. The entire third semester was just incredible with its storytelling, and Maruki is one of the best non-villain antagonists I've ever seen. He's such a great character, and he never once acts selfishly. All he wants is to make everyone happy.

[@amirgarcia547]

Thank you! It may seem cheesy without context, but it drives me up a wall how many people misinterpret that dialogue, and even said as much in my own comment.

[@FloofPuppy]

THANK YOU!!!

[@LuccianoBartolini]

@@amirgarcia547 It's not just people misinterpreting the dialogue, but even considering it bad writing as if there was a better line that could've been said.

[@JABRIEL251]

@@LuccianoBartolini It was just really clumsy. Reminds me of that Martha line in BvS, yeah it makes sense, that doesn't make it good and man does it take you out of the moment.

[@MirrenTheDragonKnight]

Oh good, I didn't have to say it this time.

[@DeltaHunterL]

For me, killing my own students in Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the worst feeling. You know all of them are good kids thrown into this war for reasons beyond their control. Ferdinand especially, since he's the hardest student to recruit and Dorothea has a speech about how "We killed Ferdie" afterwards.

[@Aster_Iris]

Oh gosh poor Ferdie post-timeskip if you don't recruit him...(thankfully managed to snag him first on my first run because he grew on me really fast) Poor Petra for that matter (come her final stand if you don't recruit her, did anybody say Stockholm syndrome?). Also poor Bernadetta. Poor...most students really. Fighting any of them is really hard, even the ones that didn't grow on you as much. Being forced to strike down Lorenz...it was so harsh that I had to bend over backwards to make sure no one else would bite the big one. Guy wasn't anywhere near my favorite character but the circumstances of him just coming to fill in for his father and thinking it'd be a quick mission and he'd come back to his parents soon enough...it hurt.

[@yoshifan3077]

That's why I cannot play these kind of games because I hate making those decision

[@leeterry96]

Black eagles was my first and it sucked but when playing Blue lions it hurt me I felt pain from fighting edelgard I hated myself

[@omafivargas9712]

Even on my first play through, Edelgard's "I wanted to walk with you" broke me, because she was right. I could have walked with her, if I chose her path. But I did not

[@adrianadamsson6757]

@@omafivargas9712 I never felt right fighting Edelgard, "I wanted to walk with you" broke me as well. I had already played through Edelgard's route, I wanted to respond to her . "I did walk with you, this is an alternate timeline where I wanted to know what would happen if I didn't. I am so sorry Edelgard. You deserve better than this "

[@rockerrocket7559]

These fights don't end with a bang, but with a whimper.

[@manuelalbertoromero9528]

...Ok, we mean in a underwheming way or an emotionally sad way?

[@rockerrocket7559]

@@manuelalbertoromero9528 The emotional route.

[@manuelalbertoromero9528]

@@rockerrocket7559 Aahhh...😉

[@LuckiSir]

Couldn’t have said it better myself

[@DisgaeaDragoon]

...OUR whimper.

[@FloofPuppy]

I have to disagree vigorously with that statement on that line with Xion and Roxas. Sharing seasalt ice cream was his way of spending time with his only friends. That's how he see it. And he's only been "existing" for a year-ish.

[@feiradragon7915]

Indeed. With Roxas' experiences and understanding up to that point, "Who else will I have ice cream with?" translates to "Who else will be my friend and spend time with me?"

[@pokefanlight]

@@feiradragon7915 Wonderful.

[@austinmeyer_238]

Could’ve been delivered way better though.

[@GunthersLoyalSoldier1307]

I think the “Who else will I have ice cream with?” line just shows that Roxas doesn’t understand much about friendship, being a nobody and all. So I think that line says more about how even such a small thing like eating ice cream may be small and insignificant to us but to a person or being that only knows battle means way more to them! I think HMK did a whole video series on it.

[@gamester512]

With Sif, I believe it's also a case of Sif wanting to *protect you* from possibly suffering the same fate as Artorias, even if Sif knows that by defeating Artorias you are supposed to finish what Artorias had started, she still is trying to protect you from possibly becoming corrupted by the Abyss (the very fate that befell her master) even if that means *killing you* to do so (though, with you being Undead, death is mostly just an inconvenience more than anything else).

[@wobblewokgaming655]

For Dr. Maruki, his boss fight is probably one of the best bosses in gaming history. Especially with his final phase, which is the equivalent of saying "hey, remember when you summoned that gigantic badass Persona in the form of Sataniel? Good, now it's time to taste your own medicine via Adam Kadmon"

[@RemnantElementor]

He was such a great boss fight! I loved every moment.

[@WillRennar]

I love how well they developed Wally in ORAS. In the original he's just another Trainer to fight. Here? Throughout the game, you can check the statues at the Gym entrances and find his name on there long before yours. You took this timid kid and turned him into a Trainer with such skill and prowess that _he completely surpasses you._ Let's be real here. The Elite Four were merely a formality; _this_ battle was going to decide who the next Champion would be.

[@TheKyrix82]

They did a fantastic job with ALL the characters in ORAS

[@ArcCaravan]

Reaching a gym first is hardly surpassing.

[@elijahpadilla5083]

@@ArcCaravan Reaching and beating it first, with only the small amount of time you were tangling with Team Aqua/Magma to build up that lead, is definitely impressive, especially given that he had to double back to beat Roxanne, Brawly, Wattson, and Norman.

[@ArcCaravan]

@@elijahpadilla5083 Saying attendance means surpassing the Trainer still feels like a stretch.

[@ColetheFlame01]

@@ArcCaravan Not to mention that means Wally got a mega stone, a full team, mostly, and evolved them faster than you did. He trained at like twice the speed and caught up to you, for all the rushing he had to do, he put up a heck of a fight against you. since has 5 pokemon, if he had a 6th one I think he'd be even stronger than you, especially since mega gallade is insanely good.

[@ChiefScarneck]

Let's see here: Kingdom Hearts entry? Check Shadow of the Colossus entry? Check Fire Emblem entry? Check Undertale entry? Check Dang Josh, you're meeting your usual checklist to a T!

[@mocharoll3486]

I'm glad he brought up Nier! Not many people talked about it, just Automata, and glad it got some recognition from Automata's success too! Really excited for the remake next year

[@dbemerald4178]

Josh: _shows footage of CF Marianne fighting Hilda at the start_ Me: Oh no

[@CountShaman]

I picked that clip. She's not technically a boss, more like a miniboss, but it is a moment that made me wanna scream in pain.

[@hiitscath118]

Oh noooooooooooooooooo

[@leighbelk769]

WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR!?

[@medusathedecepticon]

That's too sad XC

[@zimonzieclown1633]

And this is why you just avoid Hilda. And you definitely do not fight her with Marianne.

[@masterofchaos7282]

Optional alternative for the fire emblem entry: Mustafa from Awakening. I think we can all agree that if there was a way of recruiting Mustafa or at least a way of making him retreat, we’d do it every time.

[@darklordxerinic]

I think Mustafa’s biggest weakness is a lack of screen time. Like all the other chapter bosses, you don’t even know he exists until his chapter begins. It still works of course. But when you make him compete with the buildup Xander and Ryoma had. (Who both have early optional encounters where they are way too strong for you to properly defeat) It’s easy to see why they beat Mustafa for this list.

[@littlekuribohimposte]

Seteth and Flayn in Three Houses: Crimson Flower. By this point you know who they are and they and Rhea are the last left of their race. So what do you do? You butcher them because Edelgard is a paychopath who does whatever her abusers want.

[@darklordxerinic]

Adam Uhrynuk You can spare them if you beat them with Byleth. So they don’t count because you can just let them live.

[@Apolleh]

@@littlekuribohimposte You claim Edelgard is a psychopath except Crimson Flower is ironically the route that causes the least named character casualties and debatably overall casualties. I'm not joking. in CF you can spare the most characters possible even outside of recruitables. Edelgard herself can opt to spare Claude if you defeats him, and she shows no dissappointment in letting him live. Hell, she even expresses a desire to spare RHEA of all people in her tea time event, but knows in CF Rhea is too far gone. Hence why when Rhea is more rational in other routes she isn't killed but simply taken prisoner. Same logic could apply to Dimitri, he could be spared if not for the fact that he's to far gone so letting him live would result in more conflict. As for the war itself, not only does the campaign end much shorter meaning a lot less people die, but the battle of gronder is completely avoided meaning SIGNIFICANTLY less deaths there too. You could possibly argue a potential spike in losses when Fhirdiad is set aflame, but even then that was 100% Rhea's doing. not Edelgard's. So yeah, go and claim Edelgard is a bloodthirsty psychopath when it's obvious you didn't even bother to learn her character.

[@nikoladedic6623]

At least Mustafa is now part of the Heroes cast.

[@Mars_over_seer]

A thing I liked about the Kingdom Hearts Manga is that it game more characterization with the characters. This especially helped with Xion, since we get to see more of her perspective.

[@thewolfking3054]

Kinda hope the follow the manga for the rumoured tv show

[@sofaris576]

I did not read all of it but I like the part where Xion adopts Pluto while Pluto works as a spy fore Riku.

[@Apolleh]

I think Xion and Luxord were my absolute favorite in the manga adaptation. I kinda wish a bit more time was spent with the Castle Oblivion organization members too before they left but the remaining organization members were still quite enjoyable.

[@smashmaster521]

Has anyone read the Kingdom Hearts Novels? Those are great retellings of the games.

[@Mars_over_seer]

They also fixed the Ice cream line, “Didn’t we promise to go to the beach together?” Still cheesy but it has a better meaning to it.

[@Nicky2414]

I'm going out on a limb here, an Undertale character is going to be on this list. *Edit:* Huh, Number 2, not bad.

[@brennabrodbeck5183]

*Claps hands together in Alucard’s voice* Nailed it

[@tahamohammad8842]

Yep

[@luminocuratoria1335]

Obvious stuff

[@jacobaltredes7384]

*Badgerclops whispering* Pay me

[@brennabrodbeck5183]

Jacob Altredes no

[@atticusv668]

Something about Wally's fight that sticks with me is the fact that the flowers in the background are Asian Red Spider Lilies. Japan considers them symbolic of final goodbyes and rebirth, which is initially disturbing considering Wally is chronically sick, but might actually symbolise Wally saying goodbye to his old meek self and being reborn as the trainer he is now. Sometimes Pokemon hits hard...

[@voltingmaster5458]

I hope that when Josh does top 10 water bosses his opening skit goes like this. Josh: How many times do we have to teach you this lesson old man?! Demyx: I love the young people.

[@psychie8625]

If we're talking jokes, the boss I don't want to defeat the most is Dreamy Bowser from Mario and Luigi Dream Team. He's too awesome in every way.

[@PatrickCervantez]

The Dark Souls Bosses I never killed were Priscilla and Gwyndolin. Out of all the characters in the game, Priscilla only wants to remain undisturbed in the Painted World. Gwyndolin, although he's preserving a lie, is a doing his best to preserve what little is left of his father's legacy. So I let him be. Because no matter what, his story ends tragically.

[@TheTriforceDragon]

Yeah and Dark Souls 3 outright confirms that Gwyndolin survived Dark Souls 1 and implies that Priscilla did as well, so not killing them is arguably canon.

[@smugscylla4481]

Gwyndolin and Priscilla's lives are so fucking sad dude

[@flamesoul3778]

23:23 “And anyone who hurts [Papyrus] is gonna have to deal with me!” I’d join you my bro, we must protect the precious Skeleton

[@punmaster247]

Agreed papyrus protection squad assemble

[@beelzebuzz1713]

Losers

[@deathbykonami5487]

Another sad fact about the Sif fight: since Direwolves get bigger as they grow and mature, and since Sif is a female. Her den must've been close by and so she was fighting to defend Artorias's grave, to keep you from following in Artorias's footsteps, and to protect her children. So not only do you kill a giant version of Hachiko, but there's also the possibility of you taking a mother away from her pups

[@michigosinister1508]

#9: I really like Wally as a rival, he's number 1 to me. I loved watching him grow and see me as his rival. During that last fight on Victory Road, I would not have been mad if I had lost the fight. Also I think in the Manga it was said that Wally has Asthma. I'm not sure about that one. #5: Oohhh Xion. That's a stab in the heart. Not just the fight but everything leading up to it. Not to mention what happens right after it. #1: Oh no. Not Claus. That was so sad. He didn't deserve for that to happen to him.

[@ForrestFox626]

And people say nice rivals have no place in Pokémon.

[@Santoryu90]

Darius Brown Some people seem to just more guys like Blue or Silver even though a rival doesn’t always mean someone who’s an asshole to you

[@ArcCaravan]

@@Santoryu90 True, but after a while the nice rivals blend together.

[@Acacius1992]

@@Santoryu90 Honestly? I like Wally and Blue. But I freaking HATE Silver and Hau

[@irrespondible]

@@Acacius1992 What about Bede?

[@CMGThePerson]

Note to self: Don’t allow Josh to go on a genocide route. Ever.

[@powerbolt9495]

We wont let him

[@codysonic1]

I dont think he would do so

[@darkjammin79]

I'm a little surprised Mustafa from Awakening wasn't the fire emblem entry. The stage, song and part in the story all set up Chrom's rage and sorrow. But as Robin, you hear and see Mustafa as a man doing what he must. He wants to let Chrom and company go, but he can't without losing his own family. Even his soldiers question the point of that battle. Shortly into the battle, he gives everyone permission to simply leave. Volunteering to take the blame of insubordination upon himself, including his life. When you deal the killing blow to him, he asks you to spare his men. As the player, you will kill a battalion of soldiers mostly unwilling to fight and their general who desired his men to survive and see Plegia know peace. Meanwhile I also consider Lyon and Three houses. Fire emblem knows how to build up characters, a shame Fates story was what it is. Support Xander and Ryoma are great! Edit: Also love Wally too. I got hyped from seeing him instead of May meet me at the final rival battle.

[@lpfan4491]

Thinking back on it over and over again, one really realizes how tragic mustafas chapter is aside from the obvious thing of him being basically the only camus-character in the series who is forced to do his job instead of wanting to do it because of duty. Mustafa basically approached them like:"alright, we are not here for beef, follow us to plegia and maybe we can figure something out". And then chrom just says no and that is the only reason he is in the situration anyways, because now either he dies, they die or he lets them go and his relatives die for letting the enemy escape. And then they literally just leave and forget about him entirely.

[@deathbykonami5487]

who was pissed of that Gangrel was recruitable over Mustafa?

[@medusathedecepticon]

Ashe's adoptive father would have been a great option too. The man just wanted to avenge the death of his son who was executed without a fair trial. Before the battle his soldiers even decided to stand by and protect him even if it meant laying their lives down. Everyone even talked about how great of a man he was and how peaceful he was before things went wrong. There's not much way to spare his men but at least it was possible to spare Mustafa's men so that's why I restarted le chappie

[@Underworlder5]

@@medusathedecepticon him too. honestly, it was a pretty impactful fight. the students start to question how just it is to kill a grieving father, and it is the first sign of the church showing its darker side (pretty much telling the students to get over it rather than consoling them). by the way, his name is lonato

[@medusathedecepticon]

@@Underworlder5 ah yes that was his name! My apologies, he is one ofy favorite bosses in the series along with Mustafa but my mind just drew a blank... Also Yeeah that was pretty unexpected from the church, made the situation even sadder than it already was....

[@Dark_Tale_2077]

If you want a better gut punch for Xion, Everglow does a fantastic job of going back, expanding the story during his Timeline videos and really going all out with them. Can't recommend them enough. Dude freaking went back and modded specific scenes that were only mentioned in the game and put them on full display. So that fight at the end, really hits home by the time we reach it.

[@ryanmills892]

fighting against Ryoma and Xander practically destroyed me on an emotional level; watching Elise and Xander die by Corrin's own sword brought me to tears while watching Ryoma die with honour in committing seppuku forced me into crying his name in grief.

[@joegreen3802]

Actually it was Xander’s blade that killed Elise

[@ryanmills892]

thank you for the correction.

[@medoagamer9497]

Judging by the title and thumbnail, I can already tell that either fates, three houses, or both will be somewhere on the list. EDIT: called it! Know fire emblem was going to be on here.

[@aquahyacinthh]

I really expected Persona 5 Royal's final boss to be on here, not going to spoil incase someone doesn't know who it is, but damn that fight..

[@fanfictiondreamer7836]

I have reason to believe that the Green Scorpion really dislikes Fire Emblem Fates, Conquest and the third one for a number of reasons.

[@chromso]

@@aquahyacinthh the entire ending as well damn.

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

@@fanfictiondreamer7836 ...

[@philbox3productions]

@@fanfictiondreamer7836 well it's cause the story is actual trash and that's coming from a huge fire emblem fan

[@kaspersaldell]

The reason why Sif guards Artorias' grave isn't just because, but because he's trying to stop people from accessing The Abyss and succumbing to the same fate as his master. He's not fighting us to guard his master's grave, he's doing it to protect us from the abyss.

[@Teachermook]

Ok not quite my idea for bosses who join you.... but this is close enough.

[@alijahaskew4644]

Like boss Yo-kai joining you in Yo-kai Watch 2.

[@EliasTankMain399]

Magus in chrono trigger

[@CrashJakFan1994]

One boss that’s worth a mention is Alister Azimuth from “Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time.” Spoilers, by the way. Throughout the game, Ratchet managed to connect with someone else from his own kind who even becomes a father figure. Then Azimuth wants to use the Great Clock to correct his mistake in the disappearance of the Lombaxes. However, he doesn’t know that the Clock cannot be used as a time machine because it would destroy the universe. He’s so determined to correct his mistake, though, that he won’t listen. He serves as the game’s final boss. The thing is, both Ratchet and Azimuth don’t want to kill each other. Ratchet: I can’t let you do this! Azimuth: You don’t have a choice! Ratchet: So you’re just gonna kill me? Azimuth: Kill you now, save you in the past. It’s one of the many reasons why “A Crack in Time” in the series. It’s a lot more emotionally gripping.

[@s.p.d.magentaranger1822]

This. 100% THIS!

[@theinsaneone_]

I'll agree with Ryoma. That scene is the one I show when I argue why I like the hoshidan characters, as Ryoma's sacrifice was the only one in fates that made me feel really bad and somewhat guilty to have caused. Xander however...... I do feel some pity for, but ultimately everytime I think of that "fight"(I one shotted him and I was just rushing through the story, not as bad as Ryoma tbh) I think about the cutscene before that. Elise's death takes away any sadness for Xander. I don't remember her whole dying speech, but what I do remember directly is, "Xander.... lay down your sword....." her final wish is for xander to stop and to just this once let corrin do what is best. She knows their father is no longer who she is and she explains why she wants him to. She knows Garon will die, and that Nohr is going to need a strong leader, one that is kind and fair. A leader that xander is. Once she is dead though, he picks up the sword and shouts that Corrin killed elise and tries again to kill you, completely ignoring his sister's own death wish. That's one reason why I can't sympathize with Xander's end. At least with Ryoma when I beat him he seems proud that you got this far, but as you mentioned his sacrifice is to save you from guilt. Even after iago mentions to him that Sakura is captured, Takumi took a swan dive off the great wall of shame, and that hinoka is dead and presents her spear to prove it, he doesn't blame you. He accepts the fact that his family is probably dead now, and he can now at least join his siblings. Another reason I play conquest every so often, because that scene with Ryoma is one of my favorites in the game even to this day. Sorry for long post

[@Underworlder5]

the idea about that xander fight is that he could no longer live with himself after killing his youngest sister, who he outright says is the ray of light in the otherwise dark and depressing nohr, and commits suicide by forcing corrin to fight him. still means he spits on her dying wish though. here is my idea for how it could turn out xander sympathizes with corrin, and understands their decision, but has to defend garon, or else risk a civil war in a country that really cannot afford it. elise tries to convince him to back off, but he will not budge, and decides to fight corrin personally, resulting in the boss fight against him. after the chapter is over, he stops holding back, successfully incapacitates corrin, and prepares for the final strike, but elise takes the hit instead. after she makes her dying wish, he can no longer convince himself that he is fighting for a just cause, and confronts garon himself. when garon throws elises death aside, xander snaps and fights him, but gets killed as a result. i feel like this turn of events would make him a lot more sympathetic, while still having the "xander and elise die" route

[@amirgarcia547]

Welp, I’m definitely not depressed after watching this video. Toroko: painful. Xion: even more painful. Any Undertale bosses: 5X more mainful. But frickin’ Claus was EXCRUCIATING. And the fact that Lucas refuses to fight him for the entire match and he only gets done in by coming to his senses and effectively committing suicide after the reality of what he’s done and the machine Porky warped him into is just...AGH... Also I swear, if I see one more person misinterpret that dialogue from Xion’s death scene I will make Undertale Genocide look like Teletubbies in comparison. Sure, it might seem cheesy at first, but literally the only thing Roxas looks forward to, a Nobody who can’t feel emotion (at least until that was retconned in DDD...blegh) is sharing ice cream with his best friends. If Sora or Riku said it to Kairi, yeah it’d be totally dumb, but it at least makes sense for Roxas character-wise.

[@frogglen6350]

What you did in SOTC wasn't for nothing. Dormin keeps his promise. And I can't say he used wanderer, because Dormin literally warns him that there will be consequences Good list tho

[@GodOfOrphans]

The fact that Dormin actually kept their end of the bargain in the post credits scene honestly makes me think that it was actually the good guy the entire time, the collosi are all fragments of Dormin anyway aren't they, because if so then you aren't actually killing them, but rather making them whole again. Dormin also refers to itself as plural which reinforces that theory.

[@hariman7727]

@@GodOfOrphans Keeping a dead does not equal being good. Dormin also attempted to kill all the knights/priest/etc who were trying to stop Wander, and then left Wander cursed, leading to the eventual events of ICO. The Colossi were more likely a prison for a destructive something known as Dormin, with the forbidden lands being forbidden to keep anyone from releasing him.

[@GodOfOrphans]

@@hariman7727 Knights and priests who attacked and tried to stop them, Dormin was defending itself. This is all headcanon anyway I don't particularly care one way or the other it's just fun to theorize. Still I'm much more inclined to take the side of an entity that both gave fair warning and keeps it's word over a group that attacks you for reasons that aren't fully made clear, it's clear that they're trying to stop Dormin but what their beef with each other is, is not fully explained. Are we just supposed to assume Dormin is the bad guy because he's a big scary shadow? Isn't the theme of the game meant to be how things aren't always cut and dry, the simple task of slaying the giants like a classical hero has a dark twist, some of them aren't even aggressive, why not apply the same train of thought to Dormin, he looks like a big monster but perhaps it's the church that are the bad guys for sealing him away in the first place history is written by the victors after all.

[@TheGreatBackUpVIDEOS]

@@GodOfOrphans ...Great, now I sympathise with the supposed bad guy XD

[@rick30521]

@@GodOfOrphans The church has been bad in almost every game they're in, I'd not be surprised if this was another case too. Also, in real life religion has also done more bad than good.

[@zeraothunderstruck3446]

Wow, the speech to Wally is very emotional and a show of respect for the kid.

[@sofaris576]

I dont find that line abyssmal at all. I actully like. I also enjoy Clouds "you owe me a pizza" line in FFVII Remake. Those lines have a connection to the happy times these characters shared with there dying friends.

[@joegreen3802]

10) No surprise there. 9) I don't hate Wally, but he's not really my favorite rival. 8) Poor thing 7) Don't deal with the devil kids 6) Poor doggy 5) ICE CREAM!!! 4) I feel a bit more sorry for Ryoma than Xander, mainly due to Conquest's terrible story. 3) Darn... 2) Never forget 1) Kind of saw that one

[@DigitalxGamer]

I have a harder time feeling bad for Ryoma in Conquest. He's more of an asshole than any of the Nohrian siblings are in Birthright.

[@joegreen3802]

Digizel the Bui he has more of a right to be. You are helping the people invading his home and slaughtering his people.

[@TheAxeLordOfFire]

Eh, Conquest wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be IMO. I actually really liked it for the most part, and in acknowledgement to some of the more _colorful_ writing flaws. Helps that I actually liked Corrin the most in that route, and how his idealism didn’t match up to the reality of the gradually-escalating situation.

[@joegreen3802]

@@TheAxeLordOfFire Gameplay wise it's good. But I hate its story. Your idea of Corrin doesn't really work for me because things still work out too well and the ending doesn't really show him/her any different for someone who's ideals didn't meet up to reality's expectations. Plus there is the fact that your goal remains the same as in Birthright of killing Garon, but in that route, you at least don't let many innocent lives get slaughtered in the process by Hans Because of that, the ending feels the most forced to me.

[@TheAxeLordOfFire]

Joe Green That’s fair, but I still disagree with you respectfully. I’m not going to defend some of Fates’ more bone-headed choices (I mean, look at Ch. 15), but at the same point it’s made pretty damn clear that this _isn’t_ an ideal scenario, least not as ideal as Revelations anyways. Neither CQ or BR are really idea; the former had a perfect case of the road to hell leading to good intentions when your attempts to peacefully reform don’t pan out, and BR has you destroy another nation without even trying to save it. Yes, the leaders “determine” the morality, but given how both end with the opposing nation rightfully calling you a pariah, I don’t think things would’ve worked any worse than it did. _However,_ I think Fates’ problems lie less with the plot threads so much as the highly questionable narrative devices _used_ to tread the story along. Things like the Crystal Ball, the Valla Curse and all the other miscellaneous crap was what made the story far worse overall, owing to the fact the means to _reach_ that story were densely-packed at the best of times, downright convoluted and suspension-of-disbelief shattering at worst. So I don’t disagree with the story being bad. However, I think it also isn’t as bad as you say. Practically the vast majority of Fates’ cast is on par to 3H IMO, albeit much more simpler; problem is how deep you have to look into it. Fates’ issue was simply not really living up to the hype as much as it should have; its baseline ideas were _brilliant,_ and hell, I’d argue it’s not a case of it being bad execution given just enough seeps through. I do strongly think, however, that it just needed to be conveyed better, given I love Fates as my second favorite FE for the _good_ rather than the bad. All in all, I wasn’t debating it’s flaws, I just don’t think its as bad as you say. I’ve encountered stories with a _far_ more unbearable cast and baseline ideas, and can easily list them on hand if I have to. That said, I do think Fates does deserve a retake when the remake comes out; I feel it deserved a lot better given it’s miraculous it came out in the state it did when IntSys was so heavily divided, so yeah.

[@Nazo-kage]

My thoughts on the Zero vs Iris fight. (The “what am I fighting for?” Scene showing as the transition card) Zero is shown throughout the cut scenes of mega Man X4 to be one of those stereotypical warrior class fighters, they aren’t interested in talking the enemy down, they just see them as a means to have a good fight. Even in the cut scene for Colonel. On the X side you have to legitimately fight him, but on the Zero side, it’s relegated to a cut scene. And when you actually look at it, zero goes to the meeting place not only looking for a fight he hides in the corner and jumps him. There’s no honorable combat in this. And it takes Iris showing up to end it. Then in the actual confrontation (Second one for X) The Colonel refuses to surrender and insists on going out fighting. But then there’s the first boss fight of the space station. Where he is forced to have to fight Iris herself, and if you look at the way that the fight goes, you are not attacking her, you’re attacking the crystal that is the source of the armors power that she’s using. So in the end he’s not trying to kill her. For the first time, he’s fighting an opponent he doesn’t want to take down. but in the end the destruction of the crystal means the destruction of the armor and she’s damaged beyond repair, dying in his arms. And even though the dialogue is cheesy and cringe worthy. (it’s not like that was a new development when it came to Capcom games) he asked himself a legitimate question: “What am I fighting for?” Until X4 zero was that enigmatic powerhouse. The player knew whether he was an ally or an opponent this was a character who was going to give as good as he gets. He forces Vile back at the beginning of the first game, sacrifices himself to force vile into an even playing field with X, then it’s a race to collect his pieces, or be forced to have one tough fight before having to deal with sigma. Then in the third game he’s a bad ass, there are only select moments in which you can use him and if he loses at any time that’s it but at the time his weapon is actually a one hit kill. It isn’t until X4 that you truly realize there was nothing driving him towards the conflicts just that there’s an opponent and he’s going to fight them. The eventual reveal of Zeros past drives it home even more.

[@smashmaster521]

Huh...I never looked at Zero's characterization prior to X4 that way. Makes you glad that he finally found the answer to his question in the Zero series.

[@Ramsey276one]

MASTERFUL

[@antonhagbox02]

And in Zero 4, his last words essentially convey that he finally has an answer to that infamous question: "What am I fighting for?"

[@cragl3yman343]

Genuinely surprised Dr. Maruki wasn't in the top 10 honestly was one of the best things in Persona 5 Royal

[@Ramsey276one]

Still too soon? Maybe?

[@ethanhartman5908]

Same. At first I thought maybe he just hadn't played Royal yet, but then when I saw Maruki in honorable mentions i thought "How is he not on the list?!"

[@caitlynnhatch9254]

I think its an honorable mention because you DONT have to fight him. You can chose to live in the false reality. Which, is frankly unsettling. It just... feels wrong.

[@ArcCaravan]

@@ethanhartman5908 Probably lost to Big Boss and the the rest of the list.

[@ahmedfalahy9337]

The *Camus* archetype in Fire Emblem or even in any other game. _Those who have a good heart and reason...but still bound by loyalty or life debt to their evil lords_ You can't hate these "Camuses" amd 9 times out of 10 you cannot persuade them to join your team or at least step aside.

[@sobelle109]

Pronounced "Camoo"

[@ArcCaravan]

Heard Camus archetypes can be hated for blind loyalty to obviously horrible people.

[@AbysswalkerYuri]

99,9% of them are just stupid. But I still love them.

[@Lux_the_Lost]

Ironically, Camus himself went on to break his own rule later. Granted, he did so under a different name and no banner whatsoever, but his "Sirius" persona is honestly not much of a disguise.

[@Underworlder5]

well, some can be rather dumb. selena from sacred stones does not really get any points from me, especially when you compare her to her fellow generals. both duessel and glen notice something is wrong, and that nothing good can come from what grado is doing. duessel outright defects because he thinks fighting grado is better for it in the long run than blindly following vigarde, while glen considers defecting, but is killed by valter before he can make a decision. meanwhile, selena still holds on to her "vigarde was nice to me and i owe him a debt" mindset without considering the bigger picture, and is still considered by the narrative to be a fine figure whose death grado needs to answer for

[@flamewolfscout3978]

Phrases I never wanted to hear in a video like this: "This...is Toroko." Never have I ever had my heart shattered by so few words...

[@deathbykonami5487]

another reason for me not to play that game, my heart wouldn't be able to take it i still cry at bambi, and Toroko would be bambi's mum x10

[@Julian-lz5pd]

Thank you for at least mentioning Maruki. That fight still hurts like no other and it's been a bit.

[@wolfknightleon3264]

For those still wondering, the transition song is Who's Crying Now by Resister

[@jackattacktron1000]

This might be weird to say but I think Adachi and Akechi from Persona 4 and 5 are sad because when you really think about you spend the time getting to know both of them and you get to see both their best and worst things about them and in the end when they give into hate instead of love you not only have to fight to save your friends but, save the good that’s left in them and as we saw in persona 4 ultrimax and persona 5 Royal it worked.

[@infernape100]

Oh boy...your wife doing the mac and cheese part was precious. Very precious.

[@captainseg]

This list in a nutshell: WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR?

[@smashmaster521]

I want to say the people you believe in because that is Zero's reason for fighting.

[@DoctorTex]

“You need to kill Toroko with your sword” *Uses the Lv3 Machine Gun the whole time*

[@revaslatts4301]

Sword, machine gun, it still hurts killing Toroko!

[@Blahblahblah28504]

Because you mentioned Nier, I immediately remembered the fight with Angelus from Drakengard 2, your dragon from the first game. Didn't want to kill her, but at the time of the fight, she's gone insane. One of the only good things in that game.

[@MrAuthor3DS]

(10) Who knew the fight against The Joy would be so sad... (9) Personally, I think it's a matter of how much you can respect the opposing Trainers' character. It's, uh, difficult for me to respect Blue because he's so flat, but easier to respect Bede because of what he goes through. (5) Leave it to Kingdom Hearts to make "Who else will I have ice cream with?" one of the most heartwrenching lines you'll ever hear... (4) Not to mention, Takumi or Elise will be going down with them as well! And they're my favorites from the two families... (2) You know you're in a bad place when even your Nice Cream can't really compliment you anymore. (1) Sure, there's some sort of respite after "The End?"...but it feels so taunting that we don't actually get to see how everyone's faring!

[@Acacius1992]

Honestly I the only rival I cant respect in the Slightest would be Silver.

[@TheQuarterGuy]

14:20 Continuity! Add another notch to the "Let's Count Up Your Wins" counter!

[@yoshifan3077]

Yay

[@sarahtelles1931]

Who's crying now, I am, I was reminded of best little sister Elises' death

[@paperboy1116]

Conquest gets even worse; the same dragon god possessing the main boss of Birthright possesses one of the siblings in Birthright and they become the final boss in Conquest.

[@thestormwizard6447]

It is possible to save Toroko. There's a secret route you can take as soon as you enter the desert area before you're spotted by Curly as a shortcut to her house. It leads to one of the dogs you save coming and interrupting Balrog before he gives Toroko the flowers. Both her and King survive if you do this.

[@FenrirWolf203]

To add tragedy to Sif's boss fight, if you deplete great part of the boss health, it starts stumbling, not being able to walk properly and his swipe is a lot slower, in that moment he looks like a beaten up puppy. When you see it, is just heartbreaking. Also, I loved the dialogue you made for the battle against Wally, and would want that to be in the videogame.

[@arzothespiritwarrior2330]

Shriek from ori and the will of the wisps is the biggest one that hurts for me. It shatters my heart and soul 😭😭😭

[@XX-sp3tt]

25:33 "Let's create a world where everybody is happy!" "NO! PEOPLE NEED TRAUMA AND MISERY TO GROW!"

[@deathbykonami5487]

Without trauma and misery, humanity can't become stronger. We are defined as people by rising above that strife and being better for it. Maruki had good intentions, but they wouldn't helped anyone in the long run. Take the phantom thieves for example, they endured horrible injustices by society but by confronting them they became better people

[@larrychilders6599]

A world where only Reploids exist

[@ranferimondragon357]

Spoilers for Fire Emblem Fates: Revelations. Later it's reveled that Corrin isn't Hoshiden at all. And if you piece it together, Corrin and Azura are actually cousins.

[@derrickhaggard]

Along with the fact in Revelations(Aka the canon storyline) we actually get to see Corrin act like the genius tactician he is because manages to create an alliance between himself and his various siblings, figured Anthony was leading him into a trap before hand, knew right away that his resurrected mother was lying to him, and trying to lead him into a trap during that chapter, and figured out that Gunter his personal bodyguard was the assassin of that one girl you were allied with, and personal slave to Anakaos from just the smallest piece of evidence, and when he assumes his rightful place as the king of Valla he ushers in a permanent peace between Hoshido, Nohr, and Valla and is heralded as the kingdom of Valla's greatest ruler because he ushers in what is called "Valla's great golden age".

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

So in other words his parents were dead a long time ago?

[@ranferimondragon357]

@@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32 Corrin's biological father had died a long time ago. Mikoto escaped Valla with a newborn Corrin.

[@Underworlder5]

@@derrickhaggard while i agree with you for the most part, the anthony part is just plain wrong. corrin was basically the only character out of the entire army who still trusted anthony by the time the trap was sprung

[@derrickhaggard]

@@Underworlder5 Actually Corrin did know it was a trap beforehand and Anthony was both shocked and ashamed by this. Basically he was shocked that Corrin knew it was a trap and despite knowing that he was leading them into a trap still gave him the benefit of the doubt, and ashamed when Corrin said "I wanted to trust you fully Anthony I really did, I was hoping that I would be wrong about you leading us into trap but looks like sadly I wasn't." And Anthony after he is turned into a monster and killed in battle with his dying breath asks Corrin for his forgiveness for leading them into a trap and betraying Corrin's trust. And Corrin forgives him and after Anthony's death Corrin mentions that Anthony is just one more innocent victim whose blood is now on Anakaos's claws and will answer for.

[@ejelecflametails6657]

First off, transition with Iris, brings back bad memories of fighting her. Second, no words can describe how I feel of Xion being back in KH3. Third, I've only played Birthright, so Xander and Elise are the bigger tear jerker. And I preferred Three Houses anyways. Fourth, it's one of the with the concept of Undertale, it's the sole reason I refuse to play it again. And lastly, Lucas deserved a HELL of a lot better

[@deathbykonami5487]

not to mention Mother 3's ending made Klaus's death pointless and made Porky Minch the biggest scumbag in video games (and he has some serious competition in that category)

[@thewolfking3054]

Welp that list was depressing... guess I'll just go watch some of Josh's rage induced countdowns to cheer myself up

[@xtiandg0914]

One I would highly suggest would be Infel from Ar Tonelico 2. A shadow archetype of one of the heroines Cloche, Infel had a very similar terrible past like her, from having a falling out with her father only to regret it when she found it was a misunderstanding and he was trying to save her only instead of her initial though he was going sacrifice her and by the time she did it was far too late since he was very likely to be dead, panicking due to the ritual she needed to complete to summon a paradise for the people required their complete cooperation which her partner Nenesha assured her it would work, only for humanity to let them down by walking out on them, which indirectly led to a war which killed Nenesha and numerous casualties and her taking the full blame and left completely isolated. And during that time she gained a warped view on happiness, ultimately scheming to merge everyone's being into one inside a lucid dream due to her lack of trust. And the worst part is when she with a newly revive Nenesha attempted it by singing a song called SUBLIMATION, you genuinely see they truly wanted peace but their twisted methods came from people turning on them. Just listen to EXEC_SUBLIMATION and you'll see their genuine feelings for peace ultimately culminating to a boss fight which led to Nenesha's death once again leaving Infel distraught. There's also Nishiki from Yakuza Kiwami. Betrayed, given a position of power that he wasn't ready for, only to then fall into darkness himself due to his intense jealousy for the MC Kiryu, fighting him is heartbreaking since you do see how he became the way he is. The Song "For Whose Sake" contrasts his previous boss theme in the last game "For a Friends Sake" which shows how he loss himself from his descent to evil. It doesn't help the flashback which literally punches you in the face.

[@Arexion5293]

Artorias. It's Artorias, not Astoria. But hey, mistakes happen.

[@jinhunterslay1638]

Holy crap...when I see you mention “Artorias” before watching the video I thought you mean Artorius from Tales of Berseria and I thought he’s going to be on this list. Well, thank god he isn’t because I friggin HATED Artorius and felt no remorse for beating him at all!

[@smugscylla4481]

It was bothering me too like you are leaving a clear R and S off of the name lol

[@rustkarl]

Honestly that scene with Marianne and Hilda in Three Houses was more painful than either Fates route.

[@skynet0912]

A few of my picks would be: Alistair: Ratchet and Clank A crack in time: The mentor, ally and father figure Ratchet never had, but who is so grief stricken about failing the Lombaxes, that he is willing to kill Ratchet in this time, to have a chance at saving everyone in the past, despite Clank and Ratchet telling him it won't work... All my students i didn't convert to my house in Fire Emblem Three Houses: You get to know all of them, you might even have a beginning bond with them, but because you didn't spend enough time with them, or didn't make sure they could see themselves in your skills, they weren't willing to trust you enough to come back and help you fight back after 5 years away... Doctor Octavious: Spider-Man on PS4: The guy you spent the first hours of the game working for, and who is a mentor and friend to Peter, who you eventually have to take down to save the city... That final confrontation still haunts me, even though i knew from the start he would turn bad, i didn't think i would come to care for him the way i did. Jin: Xenoblade Chronicles 2: He stabbed you LITERALLY in the back, but you never feel like he does anything bad to you out of spite or hatred, but out of sorrow and regret... At first i wanted to beat his ass for no other reason than revenge and satisfaction, but the more you learn about him, especially through the Torna DLC, i grew to like him, and it was only because he chose to stand against my ideals and mission to reach Elysium that i had no choice but to beat him...

[@RogueOmega]

My own list, to join in on all the commenter lists already being posted: (In no particular order) -Tankmon (Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth) -Selena (Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones) -Primal Dialga (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky) -Isabeau (Shin Megami Tensei IV) -Takuto Maruki (Persona 5 Royal) -Marble (Tales of Symphonia)

[@derrickhaggard]

Oh now I'm definitely going to start crying he never wanted to be a targeting program for a US military attack satellite(In the Japanese version of Cyber Sleuth it's confirmed the country that created him was the US) so he left and went into Japan's internet servers to do some harmless target shooting and was going to leave peacefully once you told him that his target shooting area of choice was an area inhabited by innocent humans. That is until Kodamatsu shows up at the worst possible time and also at the worst time possible blurts out that you're a PI which leads to Tankmon to go ballistic and lose control of his rage and attack you and your Digimon team as he assumes that you were hired by the US Government to find him and forceably bring him back against his will, and after defeating him he laments that maybe all his entire existence is to just be a weapon of destruction so he basically commits suicide in order to ensure the US or any other country doesn't use him as a weapon of destruction. And the debriefing back at Kyoko's office doesn't help much either as your lamenting over the fact you basically deleted a pacifistic Digimon who never wanted to be a weapon, and Kodamatsu admits that he basically royally screwed up on two accounts the first being that you were close to resolving the incident in a peaceful manner Tankmon was going to willingly leave the residential area to some Japanese Network out in the rural part of the country to live so he can do his target shooting without endangering innocent lives once he realized that he was doing his hobby in a area full of innocent people, and how by showing up, and blurting out that your a PI he basically ruined any chance of the incident ending peacefully, the 2nd way he reveals that he screwed up is a massive one basically due to the fact Tankmon was created by the US Government there's a chance that the US will view Tankmon's deletion as act of aggression committed by the Japanese Government and possibly launch a military counterstrike against Japan since he in his authority as a TMPD Officer hired you a PI to deal with the situation.

[@LezzyBugO3O]

I'll be honest, I haven't played a majority of these games on the list... but with how well you told their stories and why they deserved the spots they did? Some tears were shed. Well played

[@BugsyFoga]

"WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR " - Zero

[@ForrestFox626]

That's a good question.

[@psychie8625]

@@ForrestFox626 I know that reference.

[@smashmaster521]

He fights for the people he believes in.

[@christopherbravo1813]

@@smashmaster521 "the people he believes in"? he KILLS the people he believes in!

[@The_Omega_Dragon]

Normally, I'm never one to hold back in a boss fight. I may be nervous, not knowing whether or not I'm truly powerful enough to fight the boss, but I still go through with it. But one boss that truly had me almost too reluctant to battle against was Avitus from Chaos Rising. Yes, he is a traitor to the Imperium. Yes, you must exact retribution upon him for his treason. But when you listen to him reflect on all of his actions in the past, particularly his slaughter of imperial guardsmen during the Kronus campaign of Dark Crusade, and the fact that he comes to truly and fully understand the universe of Warhammer 40,000 itself, it dawns on you why he turncoat. He's sick of it. All of it. That's why he betrays the Blood Ravens, but still abhors their enemies. They're all nothing more than pawns in the game that we the fans play.

[@heroofmobius6616]

Any time I come across a boss like these all I can say is “I HATE THAT YOUR MAKING ME DO THIS!”

[@NeoWishblade]

Once again I can enjoy being a monster for killing the colossi with no remorse. Not even at the end. Sucked that I messed up but at least I completed my goal. I'll be over in the corner.

[@KirbyLinkACW]

I feel like Dr. Maruki (Persona 5 Royal) is in here somewhere, but oh well.

[@AutumnForHire]

exactly what i was thinking

[@superstar1thechannel928]

Me too I feel like he should have been on the list

[@jewels7018]

I was about to comment. I cried when I beat the game.

[@timmyreobed5043]

Honestly I disagree. Maruki is certainly sympathetic and well-intentioned, but the entire fight feels like a "get ahold of yourself" thing. If he wins, humanity would essentially be trapped in a lotus-eater machine, living out what is essentially a false paradise. Ultimately I think of his fight the same way I do the fight with Marie/Kusumi-no-Okami from P4: you want to win the fight to hopefully bring Maruki back to his senses.

[@jewels7018]

Timmy Reobed I think most of the pain comes from the fact that beating maruki means giving up that “perfect” world for the protagonist no matter how wrong it is. There’s also the fact that throughout the game you learn about maruki and he seems very trustworthy and compassionate. Pair all of that with the conviction he exhibits towards his cause, and that makes the fight pretty heartbreaking imo.

[@fink_rat]

Maruki hits _really_ hard. He's probably someone the player draws to not only for his charm, but his amazing tones of grief and longing. All throughout the confidant he talks about trauma, the pain of the heart. You can tell that he has an ulterior motive for trying to aid other's mental scars, but just can't pin it down. Then you explore his palace and everything becomes clear. You feel even worse for him, and realize he's just trying to help others so that they don't feel the anguish he did. But as Akechi says, it's not his path, it's Maruki's path. A luxurious birdcage is still a birdcage, it's a prison. Which is why I'm kinda disappointed with Maruki not being on the list.

[@kurodayuki3074]

Hm I get the mentality behind the Wally reasoning, but I can't really agree with Wally being a fight I dont wanna win.

[@symantares9171]

Realizing the second fight with Wally is about to start: "Arceus no, don't make me crush this child's dreams!" At final battle: " Well kid, you've come a long way, now let's see how strong it made you!"

[@cybercritic8834]

It's kinda funny. I knew about Xion's eventual end in Days since that's one of the first scenes my friend showed me from the KH series, and it still hit me just as hard when I got to it. And yes, I was overjoyed to find out she'd come back in 3.

[@smashmaster521]

That's probably because Xion's death only works as well as it does BECAUSE you had to play through Days. Without the actual game, all you get with Days is a collection of disjointed cutscenes showing snapshots of Roxas' life as a member of the Organization and not the full story.

[@EvilPikachu]

I think what pushes the Maruki fight from P5R for me is knowing that if you lose, your reality is forever altered. If you win, then your biggest rival and kinda/sorta friend is destined to die. There's no way to resolve it without causing massive damage to yourself one way or another.

[@ArcCaravan]

For all the "goat mom" love Toriel gets, I see her as a kidnapper trying to force the player into being her child. Plus she abandons you until True Pacafist ending, not unlike a certain spoilery bit of backstory. I don't see why I'd want to live with her instead of trying to go home.

[@MrOrcshaman]

But you don't even know what's at home for frisk, for all you know they came to the mountain to kill themselves from living a horrible life, and toriel might have been the first person to offer them kindness

[@ArcCaravan]

@@MrOrcshaman Exactly, we don't know about Frisk. Their home life being bad enough to cause suicide is just a possibility. There's just as much a chance they were exploring, fell on accident, and just wants to go home. The game never hints one way or the other.

[@Underworlder5]

@@ArcCaravan what makes me dislike toriel is the free pass she gets despite what she does. undertale is a game about consequences, where your actions will eventually catch up to you. alphys is saddled with the responsibility of the amalgamates, and implied suicidal feelings. asgore beats himself up over an anger induced declaration of war he made, and knows he cannot back off. asriel never really gets a happy ending. toriel, on the other hand, leaves her husband when he needs her the most, puts a black hat on him the entire game, and she never apologizes for or gets confronted about what she did. in a game that rubs your face in how actions have consequences, how come toriel gets to walk away guilt free? at least have her apologize for her cruel treatment of asgore near the end, or acknowledge that she is not as good of a person as she likes to think she is

[@OrionoftheStar]

I don't know if you can really be said to be used as a puppet in Shadow of the Colossus. The Dormin warned Wander that it would have a terrible cost, but he wanted to revive Mono so much he did anyways. And... well, Wander got what he wanted. Not that he necessarily wanted to die, but he was willing to sacrifice himself to restore her, which is what happened. Dormin carried out his part of the bargain.

[@shaekelley6500]

I knew mother III was going to be the top. One of the saddest final bosses ever.

[@KigaiOkasu]

Sephiroth from Crisis Core. Okay, I know it sounds weird for the main villain from Final Fantasy VII to be someone you don't want to fight, but you'd have to play Crisis Core to understand. When you first see Sephiroth in Crisis Core knowing what he'll become in the main game, there's a cognitive dissonance that you have to get over and remind yourself that he's not a villain yet. That's when you might start scrutinizing him and trying to find the tells that would belie his evil nature deep within only to come to a startling realization: he's not inherently evil at all. Sure, he never loses his cool until the Nibelheim incident, but he's willing to put his career on the line to help his friends, gets frustrated when he can't help them, and becomes a good comrade and mentor to Zach once Angeal is out of the picture. Of course, by the time I fully accepted Sephiroth in this new light, Nibelheim happened, but when it came time to face him, I started to see him as much a victim as a villain. It doesn't excuse what he does, but it does add perspective after all the horrible stuff you've seen Shinra do up to that point.

[@kratkartan1486]

Not going to lie. As soon as Sif's theme started playing, I cried. That fight with her is so heart breaking to me. I felt bad killing Artorius as you had to mercy kill him, but Sif hit harder. Not only did I have to fight a friend, to see her hurt and limping made that already horrible feeling so much worse.

[@Rhy2412TitanGamer]

Here's many worthy candidates for your honorable mentions. Alice from No More Hero's 2, President Haltman from Kirby Planet Robobot, Rundus from Metroid Prime 3, William Birkin from Resident Evil 2, Jack & Marguerite from Resident Evil 7, Javier and his family from Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles, Mr Freeze from Arkham City, Angeal from FF 7 Crisis Core, Zeke from Infamous 2, Sam from Metal Gear Rising. The list could have been huge honestly (not to disrespect you though.) I saw number 1 coming a mile away. Great list though.

[@shawnfields2369]

Wait, why Birkin? He's no longer human. He wants to literally impregnate his own daughter with his monster embryo, yeah, I get it, Birkin injected himself with his own creation, and it's sad to see that he's literally turned himself into an abomination, but it's not something I don't want to do. Sure, he's disgusting, and disturbing, but ending the guy's suffering just makes sense. Yeah, I know, he says in the original RE2, "I know, G, will save me!", but it doesn't and causes Raccoon City to basically become a horror movie, and then, get nuked. Alice Moonlight, the 2nd ranked assassin from NMH2: Desperate Struggle, that one I agree with. A very sad fight, especially the ending, where Alice kills herself, because Travis STILL can't bring himself to kill a woman, which I get. He was like that in the first game. Sam from MGR, I agree. Sam's a great rival to Raiden. He doesn't seem like that bad of a guy, despite him chopping you into pieces, and assisted in kidnapping but you know you have to beat him, to stop Senator Armstrong. But, you can play as Sam in the dlc. And Zeke, is especially heartbreaking. In the first game, sure, he betrays you, but by the end, he comes back, and helps stop the bad guy. And in InFamous 2, Zeke's just trying to make up for what happened in the last game, but if you choose the evil side, Zeke has no choice but to take the thing Cole needs, and Zeke, needs to be stopped. Even if it meant Cole killing his best friend. And Zeke tries to stop Cole from becoming fully evil. But, Cole had no choice but to kill Zeke. Which is why I went with the good ending instead. Where Zeke honors his best friend instead, when Cole sacrifices himself. Although both endings are sad in some way, the good ending with Cole dying, while sadder, is better than Zeke dying. If only there were a 3rd ending, where neither of them died! Why wasn't there an ending where they both lived!? Was it so they could make InFamous 3? With that new guy? I mean InFamous Second Son wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that good either. Oh well, I think Zeke should've made the list, but it wasn't really a boss fight. But, I get the point. Sorry this was a long message.

[@Rhy2412TitanGamer]

@@shawnfields2369 Birkin isn't an angel, but the G-Virus overtook his own humanity & twisted it to fit the instincts of the G-Virus's objective. G accidentally caused the Raccoon City Incident. William was in a lose-lose situation. Die from the bullet wounds or trade your humanity & conscienceness to continue living. Lisa Trevor got her revenge at least though.

[@littlekuribohimposte]

Wally’s theme in the remake is a total bop. So that sets the tone

[@SWARVB]

I still get teary at Sif. First time I ever fought him, and saw that limp. My soul was crushed.

[@TerravancerYoh]

It's a good thing I finished persona 5 Royal the other day; because that boss in the honorable mentions is a pretty big and heavy twist; though 100% deserved

[@completelyclevername]

idk the "who will i have ice cream with?" line has never been stupid for me. whenever roxas hangs out with his friends they eat ice cream. he associates friendship with eating ice cream, which is fair considering that he's like a year old. maybe i'm just looking too far into it but i think it's a sweet line

[@KirbyChan]

Great list! I’m kinda sad Maruki was only an honorable mention but I’m glad he got a shoutout anyway. I hope one day you can talk about a moment in Persona 5 in detail on one of these lists!

[@RageMixParadise]

Honorable Mention: Slagged Bloodwing - Borderlands 2. The violin part is funny but the battle, and Mordecai's comments throughout and after the battle (full berzerk mode), are worth a mention.

[@danthewarrior1019]

Man hitting me hard with that last one, masked man always make me tear up. Nice job Josh you do an amazing job Keep up the great work you amazing

[@Netherwolf6100]

I'd like to add Paarthurnax on here. On my first playthrough I didn't take that Blade's sword Dragonbane so in order to get it without stealing, you're told to kill Paarthurnax, the dragon who befriended, trained and helped you. Killing him gives you access to the Blades but at the same time, you killed a mentor for no real benefit. Never killed him by the way.

[@saphiriathebluedragonknight375]

My number one is Dimitri/Edelgard in Three Houses. I cry every time I'm forced to kill one of them.

[@Commander_Appo]

Honestly I felt so sad about the backstory of Sif. I didn’t even know that before now, and it hurt so much to hear.

[@azurestarseliph5926]

"Welp we're talking about Fire Emblem" Me: *Heart nearly sinks because I thought it was gonna be about Three Houses*

[@medusathedecepticon]

Alot of people give Fates flack for its story, but I honestly loved it. It's second favorite game for me for a reason you know. Having to choice between the family you grew to love or a family you never known was a really deep part to story in my eyes. You get to see everyone's relationships grow and how certain actions affect those around you. It may not be the most serious game in the series but it has its moments especially during the battle where you had to fight your birth family in order to save your little sister Elise's life. There are even moments where the ones you are forced to fight wish that it didn't have to be this way, (like the battles with Flora and her tribe) and it really hurts the most when your forced to fight them because of the cause each side is fighting for and because of the events that had transpired beforehand. It's story really hits home to me despite any imperfections it may have, and helped me get through a rather tough year so it is a game that is very near and dear to my heart.

[@WolfDB]

Possessed Zelda from Twilight Princess deserves a mention from me. A boss that not even Midna wanted to attack in the cutscene, and yet you have to fight her to exorcise Ganondorf from her

[@Ori_Kohav]

How about Jinpachi in Tekken 5 when you play as Wang? They were very close friends, and Wang is very reluctant to harm his friends. But Jinpachi, in his last bit of conciousness, begs his old friend to kill him, knowing that if nobody does that, it'll be the end of mankind. It makes the final cunscene even more emotional.

[@LucasMBoysOurRoy]

“At least the characters were still good”

[@joed2431]

Lucas will always be known as one of the strongest video game characters for me. The entreaty of Mother 3 was just such an endurance test. physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

[@CaylenHeeler]

Ari: “Would some Mac and cheese Mahd you feel better? With little Hot Dogs in it?” Josh: (tearfully) “Yeeees...”

[@azelfpromaster]

As saddening as it was to see Toroko end up that way, really enjoyed the fight itself. Gravity, the song that plays during the fight, I feel was made for this fight specifically, and you can see that with the intro. The fight itself can be quite challenging while staying fair, which is why it’s a boss that I can’t wait to revisit time and time again. Also to add salt into the gashing wound when you kill Toroko, King ends up dying as well...

[@Arexion5293]

A few more: Isabeau - Shin Megami Tensei IV Maiden Astraea - Demon's Souls Richter Belmont - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Alister Azimuth - Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time Cybil - Silent Hill Emma - Sekiro Nix - inFamous 2 The Judge - OFF

[@Ramsey276one]

Isabeau... THE REASON I AM SUFFERING THE NEUTRAL PATH CHECKLIST

[@dustinarmstrong1168]

Lemme add two more to your list: Terry (on one specific decision path) and Rando from LISA: The Painful.

[@Ness_and_Sonic]

I'm surprised Jennifer from the original Splatterhouse wasn't on your honorable mentions. The whole reason Rick goes to the mansion is to save her and he fails as she's turned into a monster, despite asking for Rick to help her. Anyway, I do agree. Mother 3 deserves the top spot.