Top Ten Hard But Fair Bosses

[@sorinsilverheart3200]

One more thing to add on to Cynthia's BDSP team. Not only does she have competitive items and movesets, her entire team is fully EV and IV trained

[@blazesona12]

That bit caught me off guard so badly.... if it wasn't for friendship giving a focus sash effect to a floatzal I'd likely of spent like 20 attempts on her without grinding levels or using pokemon home to get a team together to bulldoze her into oblivion....

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

Minus porygon z... for obvious reasons

[@Brolylomaniac]

Heres an idea for a list: Top ten unfair but fun bosses What I mean by that is bosses that break the established rules of the game but still manage to be fun.

[@pierre-mariecaulliez6285]

Warcraft III : Reign of Chaos, Archimonde. the dude is literally unbeatable, stacked regen, insane AoE damage, one-shot spells, when he decides to advance, that base is lost, no matter how well you were doing up to that point... and then, just a few minutes from the end of the mission, he comes for YOUR base ! You didn't neglect building up your own defences, did you ?

[@the24thcolossusjustchillin39]

Kind of contradicts though, since unfair fights to be unfun

[@pacattack2586]

Crash Racing brings you the final boss - who doesn't wait for the lights to all go green before he goes

[@Geekwithapencil2048]

Volo could DEFINITELY fit there-Dude comes at you with EIGHT POKEMON, you can't heal between battles and all in all-is just absolutely INSANE. But at the same time I had an absolute BLAST!

[@blockeontheleafeon]

"Top Ten Unconventional Bosses" sounds like a better title, since they break the norm, but can still be considered fun in the respective game that Boss appeared in.

[@claytonrios1]

"They are bosses that are a little "standoffish" as we might say. Which is a big big word meaning "tough but fair. But now that we're family I can make it up to you. I can be the ultimate boss!" -Count Olaf

[@noahharristheawesome]

Awesome quote there

[@claytonrios1]

@@noahharristheawesome I love that movie.

[@noahharristheawesome]

@@claytonrios1 Me too. There’s also a Netflix series.

[@marshalloverturf9040]

I love that series

[@sonicANDtailsfan157k]

Darn he actually said that, i can never seem to watch the entire movie beginning to end for one reason or another, so I wouldn't know, I mean I know how it ends though more or less but still.

[@MorePower8679]

For those who don’t know, the Book and Glasses are helpful in the Sans fight. They give you extra invincibility frames, so you will get hit less often and have less “poison” racked up.

[@ladyerisrose]

The Burnt Pan and Stained Apron also help by giving you slightly more healing

[@FrahdChikun]

That's something a lot of people forget about the fight. Sans has the weakest stats in the game, but his attacks deal 1 point of damage per frame. It doesn't matter what armor you use, his damage will always be the same, so instead you need to focus on the bonuses the armor and weapons provide you.

[@genericusername3334]

@@FrahdChikun actually, the notebook and glasses will give you I-frames in the fight. They don’t last long at all, sure, but it means you take at least a little less damage the longer you stand in his attacks compared to normal.

[@FuryMcpurey]

Funny to me how the *eye frames* give you *i-frames*

[@sammy_slammy]

@@ladyerisrose They would, but you can't access the Pan or Apron in Genocide. Both get locked away behind forcefields and shit. It's like how Temmie Armor would theoretically be the best since it's also like the Apron and can be bought, but it is deliberately locked behind Deluxe Temmie Flakes on Genocide so you can't get it.

[@andrewhaase1826]

Honorable Mention: *Nergigante - Monster Hunter World -His attacks are punishing when they land, don't get me wrong, but his moves don't require the dame amount of demanding timing that the more aggravating monsters and the series. You're gonna need to make full use of the superman dive. *Kale Vandelay - Hi-Fi Rush -The final boss of Hi-Fi Rush is holding nothing back, but if you can master parry timing, Kale's attacks effectively rendered mute. *Yaldabaoth - Persona 5 -After the first phase where you sever the Holy Grail's connections to humanity to stop it from healing, it transforms into a colossal titan known as Yaldabaoth. He can summon a one of 4 arms to the fray. One with a bell, one with a gun, one with a sword, and one with a book. With these arms, he can inflict status ailments based on all the previous sins the previous palaces were based on. Lust charms a party member, vanity covers a party member in that same paint similar to the Madarame fight, gluttony doubles the cost of persona skills, wrath enrages a party member, greed casts hunger on a party member, envy makes a party member attack an ally when they heal or buff anyone other than them, and pride will auto-attack the entire party if Yaldabaoth is attacked. You are able to destroy the arms temporarily and exploit damage weaknesses but they will come back while dealing with Yaldabaoth himself. He also has a full-party nuke that does serious damage. But if you know what you're doing and use almighty moves like Megidolaon, you can make it to the final stretch and slay this god.

[@AzureMoebius22]

An interesting detail I never noticed until my latest fight with Yaldabaoth. Each arm covers the different types of damage you can do. Gun - piercing/gunshot (duh) Bell - nonelemental Book - elemental Sword - physical (duh)

[@gimmeyourrights8292]

Kessler from Infamous 1 is another great example. He teleports, summons drones after you, shoots lightning blasts from across the screen and sends clones after you but the fight never felt unfair.

[@noobkilerv2]

Not to mention that twist. Oof.

[@drswag0076]

during the credits, Saltbaker sings about how he regretted his actions and made up with the trio and rebuilt his bakery. the lesson is to never fiddle with recipes the requires living souls.

[@WillieManga]

Toby Fox knew he made Sans to be fought over multiple battles where you learn his attack patterns as evident when Sans comments on how many times you die as Frisk gets increasingly frustrated. Pretty genius, not gonna lie.

[@AutisticPhantomOtaku]

That ending was hilarious! Didn't expect him to do a Dragon Ball Z reference! 🤣 Also, I'm excited for his sales list for 2023! Mostly because I'm excited to see what kind of song he's doing for that list.

[@lozangekitten-gamer7626]

Looking forward to it as well, 2020's version of We didn't start the fire was lit, idk the ref for 2021, and Family Guy's Stewie list 2022 edition were awesome. All it took was someone mentioning that idea back in the top 10 Nintendo Fails when Warcraft 3 REFUNDED happened right after ActivBlizz puked on it back then

[@genius11433]

@@lozangekitten-gamer7626 2021 Fails' opening song parodies "Welcome to the Internet".

[@ReturnOfSilence]

@@lozangekitten-gamer7626 2021's source was Welcome to the Internet. I only know this because I very much wanted to know where Josh got it from, too. I'm so very eager to see this year's song. ...or is it technically next year's?

[@MasterShadicTH]

Yeah, something with The Completionist, sadly..

[@ChrisX_212]

.... Sales list?

[@jvts8916]

The Elite Four of Blueberry Academy are just as happy to tell you their type early as any other Gym Leader. But they're also fighting in Double Battles and quite a lot of game breaking moves like Earthquake make a lot more sense when you have collateral damage to worry about. It also means that they have more time to set up moves like Hiperbeam or Solar Beam on top of knowing how useful Intimidate and Levitate can be.

[@Superluigi881]

They've zapped and crippled my Gyarados with electric attacks so often that I changed her tera type to ground out of spite.

[@zaneheaston8254]

One boss I’d like to mention is Fecto Elfilis from Kirby & the Forgotten Land, despite HAL admitting they may have went too far making the normal final boss too difficult, I’d say the fight is incredibly fair

[@Shantae1188]

That fight was supposed to be hard? Chaos Elfilis yeah, but not Fecto Elfilis

[@princesspixel3151]

“And here we are”

[@amirgarcia547]

Honestly I didn’t have too much trouble with Fecto Elfilis, but Chaos Elfilis…good lordy…

[@Shantae1188]

@@amirgarcia547 Yeah, Chaos Elfilis is much harder than the final boss. Final boss was pretty much kinda forgettable for me.

[@blazesona12]

​@Shantae1188 same pretty sure i went the fully upgraded drill power (or fire) vs the regular final boss and had not much of a problem (never faced chaos cause i am not confident i can handle half hp vs EVERY boss in the game on ex)

[@sidhantpindiproli9112]

I just wish that you can FINALLY talk about a boss from Octopath Traveler. And since you mentioned Galdera in your Top 10 God Bosses, you should talk about him.

[@GoldLight73]

Galdera is definitely not a boss that I’d consider “fair.” Vide, on the other hand...

[@isenokami7810]

Uh, Galdera itself is debatable, the circumstances are not. Not fair at all. No saving after the point of no return, with a boss rush between you and Galdera, a rush that takes hours even when it’s easy with Octopath’s battle system. So even if Galdera itself is fair-and even if someone like me knows why I got slaughtered immediately when I tried fighting it-you have approximately a three hour time toll on any attempt before it even truly starts. That’s why I never beat Octopath: I knew what I did wrong, but I wasn’t going through the entire boss rush to try again when that alone took a whole evening.

[@GoldLight73]

@@isenokami7810 Exactly. I likewise never beat the first Octopath for that exact reason, and it doesn't help that the actual reward for beating Galdera is apparently just some armor and a bunch of gold... Which you should frankly have no use for at that point. That's why I praise Octopath 2's final boss. It feels like the concept of Galdera done perfectly: a super intense final fight against a dark god that utilizes all your party members. It's long, it's tough, but you don't have to go through an arbitrary boss rush and you absolutely have all the means needed to overcome the challenge.

[@Apolleh]

@@GoldLight73 Further proof Octo2's final boss is well designed? I grinded to level 90 for the super boss (praise Alrond) so i could have all sidequests done before beating the game, and I STILL had some trouble with the final boss despite being overleveled. Sure it would have been harder if I wasnt, but speaks volumes that it still was tough.

[@shadowldrago]

Charon is such a fun boss. Also, much like all Hades bosses, SO much easier with Divine Dash. ... Now I want to go for a few more rounds of Hades.

[@Future_Doggo]

My pick is definitely Isshin, The Sword Saint from Sekiro. Probably the most vicious boss I've faced in a game...yet every death felt like it was MY mistake. Every combo has a tight but learnable parry pattern, and he doesn't have any BS cheap shots like Malenia's waterfoul dance or Orphan's lighting attack.

[@lindlekindle]

Hell, he even tells you how to beat him. "Hesitation is Defeat"

[@Natalie_the_Fae]

10:38 To make Josh actually hate fire is an accomplishment

[@jamesstigall4885]

Josh I think you have some of the most creative top 10 I've ever seen.

[@ArcherSlamBAM]

My problem with Sans' fight is that I didn't feel like I was improving in any way. It just felt like I was slinging corpses at the fight until the game said "Stop." 126 attempts was how long it took me. Megalovania still slaps, though.

[@KingsBard]

I did NOT expect Josh to reference Microwave Society, I remember watching their VeggieTales videos back when they had very little subs.

[@salvadorgarcia9897]

Personally I would put Sigrun from God of War on here. She’s challenging, she’s relentless, she’s a huge difficulty spike. But she’s also fair. It’s expected that the Valkyrie who commanded the others would be the most difficult and once you’ve fought the others, you’ve already gotten a handle and a taste of their fight patterns. So when Sigrun shows up, you are overwhelmed at first but then the patterns start making themselves clear. You recognize the previous patterns and realize that you have beaten them before. You just need to stay on your toes, recognize what attacks are coming your way and fight accordingly. You also need to have Atreus help you as much as possible. Especially when she goes off her AOE attacks that either blind you or deal significant dents to your health. I think the biggest signifier that Sigrun is fair, at least in my opinion, is that I never once got angry or frustrated with the fight. I recognized it was all due to my mistakes of why I lost. Reading an attack wrong, not reacting fast enough, reacting too fast, not keeping an eye on her, not having Atreus take care of one of her attacks, etc. You gotta customize and go in with the optimal set of armor and attacks to help defeat her and even then it’s still a challenge. So yeah. Personally I’d put Sigrun somewhere on this list.

[@EeleyeDD]

You know, for Megaman I think the super bosses from the Battle Network and Star Force games would have fit better. Bass GS, Bass BX, Serenade, Rogue DX, Sirius all were very varied, very strong, and really challenged your folder building and execution.

[@TheDarkAngel969]

Funny thing about Omega, his fight in ZX was how the final phase of his zero 3 fight was supposed to be

[@tracemacmillan9718]

I think a good idea would be a top ten cameo bosses list. Like bosses that appear as a character or creature from another game or even franchise and shows up in the world. Like sephiroth appearing in kh2 and kh1, or Demi fiend from shin Megami tenses, chronos, Edna and Eizen from tales of arise, or the behemoth and leshen from monster Hunter world

[@BaxterAndLunala]

I love that the transition shows Super Mario RPG while the music is the Gladiator's theme from DOOM Eternal.

[@Floki_lucifer]

At the second entry I thought you were going to be talking about volo... And then I remembered that the title was hard but fair bosses, not hard because everyone kept cheezing Ultra Necrozma and the developer of ultra sun and ultra Moon had a grudge.

[@ReturnOfSilence]

A very intriguing list. And that is an amazing top pick...I hadn't heard of most of these (I'm not half the gamer you are), but aye, it doesn't get any harder or fairer than someone showing you proof that you can do it with enough skill and effort. ...and I am not exaggerating: I've been eager to see the new list and the new song since January. Just two more weeks to go...

[@AncestorEmpire1]

How IGN sees a difficult boss: please don’t hurt me….. How I see a difficult boss: *Joe Swanson yelling “BRING IT ON” at a mutated rat* Also: my main weapon is Pocket Sand

[@KageDarkAngel]

I just kind of want to make mention of this for the number 9 spot: Spiritomb can actually have a weakness to Fighting Type moves but only if you use the following: 1. Using Foresight on Spiritomb and following up with a Fighting move (Foresight allows the user to ignore Ghost Type resistances with their Fighting and Normal type moves and I have tested this during one of my runs in Pearl and Platinum on the DS, it does work), or 2. Using a Miltank or Kangaskhan with the ability Scrappy and using a Fighting type move with said Pokemon though that one is only available Post-national dex or if you traded with HGSS (You could get Pokemon you normally couldn't until National-Dex this way in both series). Yes, Spiritomb normally would have 0 weaknesses otherwise but I just wanted to mention that it would have a Fighting type weakness if you used either of the two methods listed above. Also a nice little tidbit: Foresight can't be blocked by Wonder Guard so it was one way to overcome the hacked WonderTomb some players would try to employ in battle.

[@silverflight01]

4:53 The Great Garchomp, Destroyer of Trainers' Hopes and Dreams

[@Arexion5293]

One's that come to my mind: Malenia - Elden Ring While everyone complains about her waterfowl move, it is consistently avoidable with numerous different methods like running jump and fastroll. I personally use the running jump which I figured out on my own. I figured learning the circling dodge method wasn't mandatory and was completely right. The rest of her moveset is simply about learning when her hyperarmour kicks in and when one can get away with heavier attacks, when one should rely on the weapon's range rather than attacking up close. Yozora - Kingdom Hearts 3 Consistent, learnable, no odd ai quirks to learn like with Lingering Will, yet still brutal even once you learn him. Demi-Fiend - Shin Megami Tensei V Unlike the DDS fight, this one has more ways to manipulate specific danger moves, making the boss a lot more fair. The DDS version can wipe out the player when ever it feels like it, while this version uses certain moves due to specific circumstances that the player can counteract.

[@TheTriforceDragon]

For Malenia you can also interrupt Waterfowl with a Freezing Pot (as long as she is not currently under the effect of the Frost status as it is the status proc that interrupts it). The timing is a bit tight, but if in melee, a good tell for when Waterfowl is coming out is if she makes a short leap directly backwards away from you as there is a good chance she will follow that with Waterfowl.

[@Arexion5293]

@@TheTriforceDragon The tell for when she's about to do waterfowl is when her hyperarmour seems to activate for seemingly no reason, because the hyperarmour for waterfowl starts before the animation itself. She can do waterfowl when ever she feels like it once she's below 80% hp. Hence during her fight it's important to learn when her hyperarmour frames usually activate, how long her recoveries are and how your own weapon's staggers and recoveries work. Once these are understood she becomes incredibly consistent. I've only ever used melee myself, not even items.

[@thelightningpython7444]

Love the DBZ reference for the 2023 fails teaser. Hope you do DBZ recap for that list as well next year.

[@arthurmiles3776]

Wow im surprised you didn't put a kingdom hearts fight on the list im impressed

[@a1joryj]

Massive props for the Shadowtrap inclusion, without a doubt in my mind one of the hardest fights in the game but definitely satisfying every time I get him. …unless that one glitch happens where he comes back with all his health in which case I threw my 360 into the dumpster

[@flint5two5]

Thanks for talking about clock work and sly cooper and the thievious racoonus as he is difficult but not so hard it's annoying or so easy it's sad. He is definitely a once you know the pattern of attacks he launches he's much easier but that's after fighting him just too many times to remember or at such a young age that spam is the only thing you know

[@MarioCraft20--]

I would've refrained myself to include only 1 final boss, due to their nature of being (in most cases) the hardest challenge of the game; some personal picks for me would be Duke Fishron, Galacta Knight/Aeon Hero, Luke (Secrects of Grindea), and Nightmare King Grimm

[@rhyperiorhunter7339]

My personal favorite boss of this genre is Monster Hunter's Akantor it's huge, covers a lot of ground with its attacks, inflicts severe defense down, and hits like a train but it's also quite slow, telegraphs its attacks quite well, and it a large target, making it a case where the punishment for screwing up is harsh but it doesn't feel unfair or overly cheap

[@greenhydra10]

Its hitboxes leave something to be desired at times.

[@rhyperiorhunter7339]

@@greenhydra10 personally I only had that problem with it's big wind tunnel attack but otherwise it's hitboxes were fine

[@Acejak1234]

im proud to say a few weeks back i was able to beat the creator on very hard, unlocking the last fzero racer in the game, took many attempts, but as skywardwing says, i downloaded that track to find the best way to beat that damn staff ghost

[@Springdude11]

The first thing that came to mind when I saw the title was a good amount of bosses from Metroid Dread, I was frustrated, but it was like, in a good way, since they difficult, but I had to learn or something. I like them Also, I'm pretty sure the tedious nature of Undertale's genocide route is intentional, especially considering the goofnut who made it

[@banterlegends5347]

I’m so happy to see F-Zero GX get some love. Beating that camPAIN was hella hard. ESPECIALLY if you’re a true glutton for pain and do the VERY HARD mode which requires beating the Hard mode of a stage. That staff ghost becomes damn near PERFECT.

[@matthewmagnani2915]

27:37 ON NORMAL DIFFICULTY!!!

[@marisdotter]

I'm kinda shocked that Minos Prime from Ultrakill was not at least an honorable mention. He fits perfectly as a fair yet ungodly difficult fight.

[@Koopa126]

One honorable, hard but fair boss I will mention is Magolor Soul from Kirby Return to Dreamland Deluxe. In the True Arena, Magolor Soul was a lot tougher than it was in the original port with enhanced attacks and new moves. However with enough patience, you can prepare for whatever attack it uses. It's a true test for all Kirby players and looking back, I cheered when I defeated it.

[@derrickhaggard]

Walter the final boss from Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon's good ending not only is your handler a challenging boss but he's actually pretty fair as the lore you pick up surrounding your handler via the various bits of in-game dialogue and e-mails pretty much give the impression that your handler is a experienced veteran AC pilot who will kick your ass in a AC battle if you two ever had to fight and yeah he lives up to the rep, as he is hard as his AC is equipped with some of the best armor, and weapons including the rare Coral-Powered weapons which if you're lucky will only have 1 or 2 as part of your loadout and yes he will put all of your knowledge of the controls and mechanics to the test so prepare to get sent back to the loadout/customization screen, and the checkpoint prior fight multiple times as if you're not careful Walter will take you out with ease. As when I played the STEAM version it took me 9 tries to beat him and various loadout combos before I finally beat him and got the good ending.

[@toumabyakuya]

Another Boss I would ad to this list would be Frog from Everhood. Basically take the mechanic of Guitar Hero and reverse it (so instead of playing the notes you are avoiding them) and add the complex mechanics from Sans's battle and you have Frog's revenge. It even fittingly mirrors Sans's motivations by this being a Boss Battle only accessible in a Pacifist playthrough.

[@emberfist8347]

I feel the best case of a boss that is hard but fair even more than Mr. Freeze is Deathstroke the Terminator. You can’t force him into a corner to make the fight easier, and the challenge is fair because it is all about the most fundamental parts of the game. And He is still a challenge after you beat him while Freeze is pretty easy if you know what you are doing. Plus Deathstroke’s difficulty makes sense as he is canonically up there as one is the best fighters in DC’s roster and a super soldier. Another honorable mention is all the duels with the Second Sister in Jedi Fallen Order. Like Deathstroke the Terminator it is all about parrying your opponents attacks and finding your opening. Most bosses are like this, but the Second Sister is more notable as lacking many of the special attacks or cheap tricks the other bosses use. Honestly these duel bosses with similar moves to you are the best for this type of list. Nothing is more fair that can’t pull anything the player themselves can’t.

[@sonicbrian1]

Intresting video, But I do hate the fact that he spoiled the secret boss of Super Mario RPG every time the number shows up. I was planing on getting it for chrismas. Thanks a lot T ~ T

[@OmnicidalClown1992]

Here's another idea for a Boss Countdown video, Top 10 Best Bosses that die in One Shot. The idea of this list are bosses that, no matter how strong they are, or look, they can be taken out in one hit. Now, this may sound like it's impossible, as virtually everyone hate anticlimaxes and nothing is worse than a boss that can be taken out in one shot, and yeah I too agree with that. With that being said however, this list also focus on how difficult it is to deliver the one shot needed to end the boss fight, as well as the story behind the reason involving the killing blow. Some examples include; ShadeMan.EXE from MegaMan Battle Network 4. In this fight you can't harm ShadeMan. Mega Buster, Battle Chips, whatever weapon you use on him, ShadeMan will disappear the instant you attack him. Instead you need to wait for a Dark Chip to appear. When it does, you have to use it in order to defeated the vampiric NetNavi. Sephiroth, the final encounter in Final Fantasy VII. After beating his angelic form, Cloud and Sephiroth have one last clash. The idea is that you're supposed to use Omnislash to kill your adversary, but if you want, you could use any attack to one-shot the One Winged Angel. Or alternatively, you couldbhave Sephiroth attack, you won't die, and Cloud with instantly counterattack Sephiroth, killing him in the process. Sans from Undertale. Do I even need to explain? Electrocutioner from Batman Arkham Origins. Foe a guy who has electroshock gauntlets and is one if the right assassins hired by "Black Mask," he's all bark no bite. (Debatably,) Virtually any Legendary Pokemon that can be captured. True, there are some Legendaries that need more effort to beat like Ultra Necrozma or Eternamax Eternatus, but others like Mewtwo, Rayquaza, Zacian and etcetera, can theoretically be taken out in one shot if you have a strong enough Pokemon and they have a powerful move that's super effective. Or alternatively, you could always throw a Master Ball and instantly win like that.

[@shadowlinkbds]

Mysterio from Spiderman 2 the movie game would also come to mind.

[@AmericanBrit9834]

I'm guessing you mean bosses that CAN be one-shot but not neccesarily will be. As in they have a tactic that is programmed to instantly kill them like metal-man's weakness to his own weapon.

[@OmnicidalClown1992]

@@AmericanBrit9834 Not really. As I've with some of the examples, there are bosses that can only be defeated via the one-shot attack. Going back to the example of ShadeMan.EXE, mainly during his second fight in Battle Network 4, ShadeMan is immune to everything except the Dark Chips. And in order to progress with the story you have to use the Dark Chips that appear in your card slots in order to one shot him.

[@AmericanBrit9834]

@@OmnicidalClown1992 I mean maybe. But I don't really see how one could talk about that for very long without just saying: "He dies in one hit. Funny"

[@Diablo_Himself]

Diggernaut does seem like a pretty cool fight, that makes a change.

[@SmokeTheHorsehog]

I know you never count fan games, but I'd like to mention the first MX chase from Mario '85. The biggest difficulties are, a. Slippery AF controls to emulate the original SMB, and b. unskippable cutscenes before and in the middle of the chase, which resets EVERY TIME YOU DIE.

[@joefire567]

Lord Brevon from Freedom Planet (Lilac's story) comes to mind

[@jaketaller8567]

My honorable mentions: Pretty Much Every True Arena Final Boss (Kirby Series) Whether it’s Marx Soul, Magalor Soul, Soul Of Sectonia, Star Dream Soul OS, Astral Birth Void, or Chaos Elfilis, all of these bosses are sure to kick that Kirby to the curb if you’re not careful.

[@brentramsten249]

"the hollow knight was underwhelming" an interesting way to describe my favorite fight in that game... even if his health reflects the fact that your supposed to speedrun him on the way to my second least favorite fight in that game: the radiance.

[@בראשיתחממה]

7:08 BROODING NINJA HIGHSCHOOL PARKOUR SCOUT IS A REAL ANIME! FIGHT ME!

[@FrahdChikun]

The first boss I could think of upon seeing the title was Diggernaut from Samus Returns. I was beyond happy seeing it at #10!

[@aliastheabnormal]

Putting salt in cake is apparently a common cooking technique. Apparently adding salt to sugary sweets helps to accentuate the sweetness of the cake.

[@munchrai6396]

Dang this was a good one. The gap in spectacle between Cynthia and Shadowtrap is astounding and it only goes up from there. The only minor gripe is hating on the Hollow Knight fight when its still a very satisfying fight despite its mediocre difficulty. Good choice for the list though

[@kirbstagoontheaxolotl]

As much as I like Sonic Unleashed, the bullet hell of Egg Lancer combining both the Egg Beetle and Egg Devil Ray combined with the camera angle THEN the quick time event to even CONTINUE the boss in PS2/Wii (It's either you pull it off or you lose lives) is a whole ass nightmare, the only reason I can do it nowadays IS BECAUSE I PLAYED THE GAME SO MUCH

[@BJGvideos]

"I don't want salt on my candy" idk salted caramel is pretty good. Fun fact, Volo's team is more diverse than Cynthia's! And you brought up their looks and teams but not how they have the same theme music!

[@Shantae1188]

I think it’s because it’s pretty much a given.

[@derpymuffin02]

I remember fighting shadow trap for 2 hours not dying just fighting him and it was brutal but very fun

[@rpgfan1187]

Cool to see Sisyphus Prime get an honorable mention! I didn't know Josh had played Ultrakill.

[@Shantae1188]

Number 10: I love that fight’s music Number 9: Proud of myself for being able to beat her remake team first try. Number 6: I was proud of myself for finally being able to beat it 4 years ago in April. Keep in mind, I have had that game since 2010. Side note, the remake makes it so that he only has about 5,000 or so HP. But Speed Star breaks that game in half Seeing the preview for 2023 Fails, besides the usual Nintendo taking down fan projects, what else could they have done this year? No seriously, I really don’t recall seeing them in the news about anything heinous.

[@voltron77]

Bowser’s inside story is actually much harder than superstar saga and it’s superstar saga which gets criticized for being too easy.

[@GoldLight73]

My personal pick would be Knight Captain Julius from Ender Lillies. Spent the better half of an afternoon fighting him the first time, but it was so much fun.

[@vulpinitemplar5036]

The lack of Ravenbeak even as an honourable mention is a real shame, I've never had anywhere near as much fun getting bodied as I did fighting him :b

[@cofagrigusfan24]

i have another boss for this list Giga Cardia from Shovel Knight: King of Cards after a challenging card battle, Cardia becomes an actual boss she makes sure to challenge your King Knight platforming skills, quickly moves after being hit and unlike the normal final boss in King of Cards, Cardia actually gives you a floor to rest on

[@captainseg]

I got a feeling the rewrite would be the Game Awards of this year and... possibly a few other things that has happened in the last few days that may have made it to the list

[@Shantae1188]

I haven’t seen too much news on gaming past TGA. What happened?

[@captainseg]

@@Shantae1188 Massive AAA layoffs to start.

[@Shantae1188]

@@captainseg Ah.

[@piemaster1288]

I honestly don't know what the biggest fail will be this year. There are so many bad contenders, and when we thought we had seen the worst there was to offer, we just kept getting more!

[@BoopaKing]

One of my favorites has to be from Little Witch Nobeta. The final boss of that game uses all your spells against you on a massive scale, though at that point in the story you're so blatantly overpowered they don't prove too much of a challenge. Until the Trial Tower, that is. Another fun boss that I love is Darkeater Midir from Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City Any attack that hits you will put you either at or through death's door, but all of his attacks are either very clearly telegraphed or super consistent on when he'll use them so it's all about learning the method to reading and avoiding whatever he throws at you.

[@justsomesimplenuclearbirbs4313]

You wanna know how to make Bowser X an even bigger challenge? Daredevil Boots. After getting the highest rank possible for the Jump Helmet in the Cholesteroad you'll unlock the Daredevil Boots which those who have played Super Mario Galaxy are probably already feeling the dread from just seeing that word pop up again. But for those that don't know, basically, one wrong move and the bro wearing the boots is *dead.* The Daredevil Boots give a significant boost to your attack, but the tradeoff is whichever bro that equips them will be made of *very* cheap glass and can be KO'd regardless of what his max health is, so slipping up just *once* is enough to force you to use a 1-UP Mushroom or risk losing the other brother from sluggish dodging and countering. So pairing that with the turn limit, limited healing and revival items as well as Bowser X removing Bros. Attacks *and* the Challenge Medal powering up foes equals the most intense fight you'll ever get to experience even with the most ideal gear setup.

[@JohnDoe-i7f]

I can’t believe not a single fighting game boss made it onto the list. Like, I would’ve thought at least Shao Khan or Azazel would’ve made an honorable mention at the least.

[@abbieplate1785]

Your jokes never fail to make me laugh Fiery Joker. Merry Christmas to you, Ari, and your twins. : )

[@cameroncooper5941]

Pure Vessel is in close contention for my favorite boss in Hollow Knight. I loved the atmosphere the original fight had, and PV makes the difficulty match. However, I'd like to give an honorable mention to Nightmare King Grimm. He's just as tough, mainly due to his speed: you'll be lucky to get even one hit in between attacks as he teleports away in the literal blink of an eye. But his attacks are consistent, you can learn from them and persevere. Plus he's one of the few bosses with a tell for his current health outside of a phase change: doing a screen nuke every 25%. Once you know that, it's easy to know how much of the fight you have left.

[@Thedragonlover95]

Number 9. Screw that fight, and F that F#ing None Dragon shark! Also Water serpent Sweep, Seriously Dragon Dance and you cracked the code

[@takeshiair]

huh...i figured mister freeze was gonna be on here since he is a boss you need to adapt to because the same trick wont work on him twice but at the same time he does feel fair (to a degree)

[@stevenchoza6391]

If the The Escapist drama isn’t on the fails list, we’re going to have problems.

[@LeviathanTamer31]

Isshin Ashina is one that I would've put on here. Truly a perfect Final Boss. Every attack is tight but fair. There's no extra mechanics, no grapple points, no items, no size difference, nothing. It's just you, against a boss, testing you on all the core combat mechanics.

[@DarkFrozenDepths]

Lastly, gotta bring up Rabi-Ribi again. Mixing bullet hell with Metroidvania makes for some interesting boss fights and some are tough EVEN ON CASUAL (the LOWEST difficulty). But you can still learn ALL of the attack patterns. The SP bosses in particular though... they're still fair but could cause some rage quits.

[@MrSolomonGaming]

Josh I didn't know you played Toontown for the Raids segment. Though CEO was a good example for vanilla/rewritten as he can somewhat be stun-locked with the right timing for a cheese kill. Corporate Clashes OCLO on the other hand... Try doing a Bullet Hell with Tank Controls after fighting a tricky and semi-random duo of managers.

[@Leonstrife1999]

Ive been looking forward to this years fails list, this will be intriguing

[@diamonddust4486]

Oh god. I just noticed Ultra Sonichu in the intro and now I can't unsee it.

[@TheAccursedHunter01]

I was so sure that the Metroid pick would be Raven Beak. One of the best and hardest bosses in the series. For Diggernaut, once you know what to do it's actually pretty easy for me. Raven Beak on the other hand can still be difficult once you know his moves and tells.

[@SandyDawn17]

Honorable mention you missed from Kingdom Hearts. In KH2FM they added the Roxas fight to the story, while the base Roxas isn’t Too bad, Data Roxas, designed for the endgame superboss rush of KH2FM, is incredibly difficult but perfectly balanced around a level 100 Sora with Limit Form. I’d say the only “unfair” attack is a move referred to by the community as the “D.U.M.B” which is an attack that you can’t evade once it hits you or fall out of.

[@antoninoelieserjfmagalhaes6913]

I wonder what Josh is cooking for the 2023 Fails list.

[@jeffreysap521]

Fun fact in pokemon bdsp Cynthia team are all iv trained

[@warlisduverge5762]

#1 is only a staff ghost in lap 1, 2 and 3 are 1 to 1 copies of your previous laps. I. E. Lap 2 copies your lap 1 and lap 3 copies your lap 2. In short, the better you race the it races, knowing this you can cheese this race. Not knowing will make it into a true test of mastery.

[@jokerofspades-xt3bs]

i love the use of merg's no hit run of sans for the gameplay (which you guys should all sub to him btw)

[@ZeroJinKui]

i dunno WHY so many people hate on the gen 4 remakes... i think people were just forced to face their nostalgia and realized they didn't actually enjoy D/P... cause the remakes were EXACTLY what they should've been. 1:1 remakes, but with QoL updates and extra content... i loved brilliant diamond, personally.

[@quiethere45]

gf gave the fans what they asked for a GEN IV REMAKE

[@shadow-scope-fsm7165]

Tough to really quantify which bosses would fit this criteria, but one that comes to my mind is Metal Kor from Jak II. Yeah, he has some tricky to dodge attacks, yeah, you have to watch out for his minions, and yeah, you will have to master the game's controls and know when to shoot and when to dodge. However, seeing as the game up to that point is already fiendishly difficult, it's not like the game's throwing you a curveball with a difficulty spike, and you will naturally expect a tough fight. Not to mention, when you do get the moves down, and pick your moments well, it all clicks, and it does feel satisfying to beat a really hard boss/game.

[@centurynerdbr]

Hey Josh, if you do a Top 10 Earth Bosses, I would like to suggest adding Dohalim from Tales of Arise to the list. Ok?

[@gamerk1058]

I hope in the 2024 year we get A boss list that dedicates to the rivals that challenge the hero’s

[@yeetusmcdeletus8954]

Damn, I was hoping Sisyphus Prime would at least get top 3, but I'll take an honorable mention

[@Lux_the_Lost]

Very glad Pure Vessel got a spot here. The whole fight is fun as hell, even if it is (in the eyes of many) the single hardest fight in the whole game. Hell, I've never beat it and probably never will, but I attribute that more to my own limits. Also glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks Gray Spaz Zote is an utter abomination, but thankfully there is a nice detail to it - if you never fought him in the adventure or if you just let him die, he just won't show up in the Pantheons; they'll skip him completely.

[@MarioCraft20--]

The Nightmare King holds that for me, though I've haven't gotten to the Pantheon of Hollownest, so maybe it's just me (For reference, it took me 2 months to beat NK Grimm)

[@codydees9681]

@@MarioCraft20-- Pure Vessel: I'm the hardest boss! Nightmare King Grimm: No, I'm the hardest boss! ???: Amateurs PV & NKG: What was that punk!?! Ascended/Pantheon 5 Markoth: Amateurs!

[@Lux_the_Lost]

@@codydees9681 Personally, I find Markoth less "hard" and more "annoying". Although it more less depends on who you ask; some think it's Grimm, some think it's Pure Vessel, some think it's AbsRad.

[@HelloSayEm6]

A Joshscorcher video with challenging but fair bosses not including Kingdom Hearts in the actual top 10?! What wizardry is this?!

[@kingsdayinfirmi]

So Fun Fact about Cynthia Her BDSP was actually the Highest Level Trainer fight in the Series up until about 3 Days Ago. With a Level Average of 85.5 she beat HGSS Red (85 Across the Board) She was only beaten by (And Spoiler for the Indigo Disk Dlc) . . . Kieran at 85.83. Needless to say Cynthia is prolly gonna remain a top Character for years and I doubt she'll ever be truly topped.

[@matteste]

I can think of a couple of bosses from the shmup genre. One that I can think of at the top of my head is the final boss of Ikaruga. Oh, and before I forget, Soul of Cinder.

[@thegamerator10]

I hope this channel can talk about Einhänder one day.

[@sonicsaiyan07]

If Metroid was gonna be on the list, I was expecting Raven Beak

[@dyingstar24]

I always thought the knight in hollow knight was called "Ghost" cuz that's what hornet kept calling them

[@EmicalFire055]

Alright final countdown of the year. Next list is a fails and I love how it was hyped up. 10. I can admit that this digger is hardcore 9. Yeah but her BDSP fight took several tries from me. And yeah it is dull, I took a long break because I couldn't think of that final team member. 8. Can't say I've seen this boss. I'm not a fan of first person shooters. 7. A certain black mage made this pinocchio villain/Final Fantasy Final Boss known to me 6. Dang Bowser wears the Super Boss title well 5. QG's fanboyism is strong with this one 4. And now Gajin Goomba's putting his hand in 3. Never fought this boss, and I never will! 2. I won't be fighting this boss either. Just his possessed form will work for me. 1. Geez I haven't even played this game and I know how hard the boss is!

[@bubbabrick428]

I think it’s freaking cool you finally acknowledged the existence of racing games, let alone made one number one of a list!

[@daniellejackson6543]

My pick is Jevil from deltarune. You could argue that the fact that the bullets spawn at a random area is chance based but no matter the placement you can dodge the attacks correctly.