Top Ten Holy Bosses

Maybe this would be good to think of it as Top Ten Sacred Bosses? Nah. Top Ten Holy Bosses is better.
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[@ProfessionalNamielleLewder69]

11:04 - *Fun Fact:* Shinya Kumazaki, the director of modern Kirby, is also a *HORROR ARTIST.* Explains a lot, doesn't it?

[@ripme123l7]

Huh. No wonder why final bosses in Kirby have been these demons ripped straight out of anyone’s worst nightmares.

[@WhiteDarkness3113]

@@ripme123l7 doesn't he run an enterprise ?

[@littlekuribohimposte]

"Alright, drew a circle with feet. Done your main character design." "Well we paid you for the whole day. Think you can make some enemies too?"

[@MegaMet98]

He clearly managed to turn Kirby's world into a horror masterpiece with the amount of lore added, all while keeping many of the stories episodic.

[@KevinKess]

To be precise, Kumazaki-san's art is all about cosmic horror more than anything.

[@lynxfresh5214]

Similar to how demons, devils and eldritch can be separated into distinct categories I appreciate the distinction between light, holy and gods.

[@thetalltitan2235]

Funny you mention eldritch since that’s a list I’d put Hegemon Edelgard on if I was Josh; for the sake of mentioning all 3 final bosses of Three Houses that is…

[@odettefahy4568]

Where does the divine/divinity lay

[@theenderdestruction2362]

​@@odettefahy4568to be divine is to be a god so with the gods category

[@odettefahy4568]

@@theenderdestruction2362 k

[@mikkie8082]

I love the idea that Kirby cleared the entire story mode, and defeated Galeem and Dharkon all by himself because this is just a typical day for him.

[@ArcCaravan]

I wanna do the "But for me it was Tuesday" speech, but I can't quite get it right for this.

[@supergenesisstation1991]

And then galeem comes back only to be given despair by sephiroth

[@genemelendez8157]

One boss that I’m bummed didn’t get a mention here is Julius Belmont from Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow The strongest Belmont who over lived, the one that managed to actually slay Dracula seemingly for good in 1999. The fight with him is the hardest in the game, as he’s fast, hits hard and spams crosses, holy water and throwing axes as much as a Belmont main in Smash Ultimate

[@WhiteFangofWar]

Seconded, great fight and a rare chance to fight a Belmont. Brainwashed Richter doesn't count.

[@denniswaske4839]

What about lords of shadow 2, the Belmont fight there; does that count?

[@xdsmile5359]

Didn't you fight a Bennet as Alucard?

[@denniswaske4839]

@@xdsmile5359 1. Nope. Checked the game video.

[@WhiteFangofWar]

@@denniswaske4839 Guess so. I also forgot there is a fight against Trevor in Curse of Darkness.

[@LightbladeRiulo]

Loved the chat’s reaction to Merkabah’s reasoning to go against Isabau. It’s so out of context I love it.

[@krimsonkatt]

Its still funny even IN context. Basically the main characters grew up in a facist theocratic oligarchy based in a caste system seperated from the rest of the world where all knowledge beyond the essentials is forbidden. Eventually they end up past the walls of their kingdom and realize that they're living in a world that's already been destroyed where nukes destroyed everything and their isolated kingdom is the only place in peace. In their kingdom all knowledge from the "old world" is forbidden, and there is a mysterious masked man giving people random pieces of literature who's shocking content ends up turning them into monsters. Isabeu is given Yuri/Yaoi (can't remember which one) manga from the outside world and ends up actually enjoying it. Since Yaldabaoth (not [redacted] since he's based mainly on the gnostic demiurge personality and goals wise, not the true Christain God who would be more like a flawless Maruki from P5 in terms of goals and personality) and his servants are based on a radical reading of the bible + gnosticism where God is evil, obviously gay stuff is a no-no and Isabau had to be purged for being a fan of gay romance manga. Despite the games dark and depressing atmosphere, this is still really funny even in context especially since it only happens in the darkest route. Law is basically the bad ending route in that game. Chaos is bittersweet more leaning on bitter and Neutral is almost entirely positive. So yeah, still really funny.

[@ddjsoyenby]

yup merkabah also k1lls itself and flynn for being too unholy.

[@thiffio9134]

How fitting that a mortal man who brands his content in fire makes a video about the heavenly blaze.

[@Mr-Moron]

9:08 For those who don’t know BBEG means “Big bad evil guy” and is often referred to the basic “Person evil, go kill person” villains that populate role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons.

[@azazeltheundyingdamienkali5700]

Yeah, I figured that wasn't an acronym for a BlazBlue game, mostly because there isn't one that has that as an acronym. But, what if there was? What would it be called? "BlazBlue: Equilibrium Genesis"?

[@dracone4370]

For the "official" Christmas season, I think it might be amusing to see a list of the best "Santa" bosses. Yeah, the Holly Jolly one himself as a boss you need to fight; of course, it could be just as interesting to see a list where you play as "Santa Claus" or someone adjacent to him or even a list of games where he does a great job as a supporting character could be fun to see.

[@WhiteFangofWar]

I always wanted to see a Christmas Top 10 Kind-Hearted characters, though that might have some overlap with Top Healers

[@krimsonkatt]

The only actually good game I know of with Santa Claus in it would be Kingdom Hearts 2. All the rest kinda suck. IDK if the Nightmare Before Christmas DMC clone has Santa in it, but if it does it might count as a "good game with Santa Claus in it." But overall 99% of "Santa Claus games" freaking suck. Santa Claus Saves the Earth on PS1? (FYI the GBA version is even worse) Rodolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in Wii? Elf Bowling 1&2 on DS? So many bad games. That list will 100% fail, and I'm pretty sure Josh already did a "Top 10 Christmas Bosses" list a previous year.

[@WhiteFangofWar]

@@krimsonkatt Secret of Mana. But I get what you mean, jolly old St. Nick isn't present enough in video games to make an adequate list. That why I thought top 10 kindest-hearted characters would be better.

[@1lluusio]

Honestly I’m so glad to finally see Astral Chain be in a gaming top 10 list. The game is amazing so its a little sad you dont really see anyone mention it.

[@thetalltitan2235]

He’s mentioned Astral Chain before in Wind Bosses (said boss list of which was posted AN ENTIRE YEAR AGO before this list, ironically enough).

[@cameroncooper5941]

Wholeheartedly agree. I was sold from the first trailer, and given it was made by Platinum I expected it to get more attention just by association.

[@inbako9855]

The only reason why i haven't played it is cause i don't have a ps for it. Yet.

[@blackbirdrds]

Surprisedly it sold over a million copies

[@DocTIM-VoidLogic]

slightly unrelated but seeing a blinx the cat reference in one of the MLP review made my year.

[@emberfist8347]

I would say Rhea is an antagonist just from the description. It is possible for both sides to be wrong and the whole burning the city despite the alleged lack of civilian casualties is a thing villains do.

[@silverflight01]

Gotta love SMT and how it and its spin-offs involve the holy and unholy

[@ogre589]

I think thats because SMT never plays favorites. Holy beings are seen as so controlling, you never have the freedom to make your own decisions while unholy is so lawless and chaotic that anyone who isn't super powerful just dies or is enslaved...either way you're fucked.

[@WhiteFangofWar]

@@ogre589 Moral of the entire series: balance between order and chaos is essential to a livable world. Demonstrated by neutral always being the hardest path to take.

[@krimsonkatt]

@@WhiteFangofWar Neutral isn't always the best ending/route. Case in point: Strange Journey Redux. Yeah old Law/Chaos are the worst endings, but New Law AND New Chaos are some of the most positive endings in the series counting the neutral ones. SJR Neutral old and new in comparison are kind of just depressing. SMT1 also had all three endings equal with their ups and down. And while it's still arguable, LAW of all routes is arguably the most positive route in Devil Survivor 1. SMT5 is similar to SMT1 in that all the endings are about the same with their own ups and downs, as rather than being about law vs chaos they're more like monotheism vs atheism vs polytheism, with the so-called "true ending" being the agnostic/become as gods ending. So neutral isn't always the best ending, we are just made to believe that it is based on more recent games namely the SMT4 duology and the original Strange Journey. Also Nocturne kinda sorta as that game is super weird with it's endings with law (reason endings) being further divided into law, neutral, and chaos, neutral having two endings with vastly different results, and chaos/true demon while having by far the most content gameplay wise (one entirely new dungeon and 10+ brand new bosses including the true final boss and the fiends) is one of the worst endings story-wise. Basically, in terms of story nocturne is ranked like this: 1: True Neutral/Teacher's Reason (by far, the only actually good ending) 2: Law-Neutral/Best Friend's Reason 3: Neutral/Demon 4: Chaos/True Demon 5: Law-Chaos/Girlfriend's Reason 6: Law-Law/Cultist's Reason In terms of gameplay, they're ranked like this: 1: Chaos (By far) 2: True Neutral & Neutral 3: Every Law Ending (you don't even get to fight the final boss)

[@ddjsoyenby]

agreed an underappreciated series.

[@davidtimmer596]

Arianrhod from Trails. I know, I know, I talk about this franchise as extensively as Josh talks about Kingdom Hearts and Fire Emblem, but it's inescapable for me at this point. A bit of backstory for Arianrhod. 250 years ago, she was the daughter of a count, whose skill with a lance was unparalleled. During the War of the Lions, she met Dreichels and fell in love with him. She was also chosen as one of the 7 Awakeners, with her Divine Knight being the Argent Knight, Argreion. Sadly, she died at a young age, but was later revived, checking on Dreichels, and spoilers for Cold Steel 4, she joined with Ouroboros as the 7th Anguis in order to destroy Ishmelga and rid Erebonia of his curse. Osborne, in a desperate attempt to save his son, Rean, makes a deal with Ishmelga. While she was officially introduced in Azure, it was only for a small fight, and that pretty much it. I'm counting her involvement in Cold Steel specifically, because she was more active there. If I can describe her fight in Cold Steel 3 in one word, it would be majestic. You're fighting a historical legend, an imposing figure. She of course has her knights, the Stahlritter, with her, but old Class 7's party consists of Aurelia LeGuin, a former Noble Alliance general who mastered both Arseid and Vander sword styles, Rean, the instructor of the New Class 7, and 8 Leaves practitioner, Sara Valestein, his former teacher now bracer, Gaius Worzel, one of Rean's former classmates who's training to be a knight of the Septian Church, Millium, the Intelligence Division's White Rabbit, and Jusis Albarea, the current Duke of the Kreuzen Province. She can hit very hard with an AOE spin attack, as well as turn one of your party members into a pincushion. Her S-Craft, Grand Cross, can even kill you if you don't make use of Millium's White Decoration Order.

[@silverargreion7548]

I appreciate this, so thanks :)

[@krimsonkatt]

Not reading because it contains spoilers since I'm only on Trails in the Sky 1!

[@deucesommerfeld1248]

On the topic of Rhea and Edelgard and how easily Edelgard defenders are to criticize Rhea's actions... the same can be said vice versa and that's honestly the brilliance of it. Both have suffered from cruelties unending, and both have to make decisions that change their worlds they live in DRASTICALLY. Rhea already made those choices and created the crest system, alongside the first Hresvelg. Edelgard, thanks to the suffering she endured because of the crest system, is going to end it. It's why I always choose Black Eagles and yet I still enjoy Rhea as both an antagonist and a supporting character

[@thetalltitan2235]

Either way, as a die hard Edelgard fan, I still stand by the Crimson Flower route for my favorite that I cannot bring myself to play the Silver Snow route; especially since, let’s face it - the whole purpose of Three Houses was for you to pick a house a bond with the students you get out of that house, especially before New Game Plus, whereas the Chruch of Serios really isn’t much than just something Byleth was born into via his parents.

[@4wheal]

Rhea didn't actually create the crest system through and her religion actually speaks out against it and claims its a sin. Rhea is simple to passive to do anything to stop the system and pufers not to create chaos so ends up defending the current order. Also Edelgard suffering has nothing to do with the Crest system or chruch it's all to do with the Agarthans who simply used her as weapon to kill Rhea

[@lukestarford7608]

@@4wheal except it doesn’t or well in the original Version / JP. As the English version is heavily mistranslated with there being over 300 changes. I know this as there a there group of fans who are either fluent in Japanese or are native to Japan who have made a website comparing English text in game to what the text should have said. The Book of Serios, the thing you are reference is mistranslated as it makes book sounds like a rule using the word “Dare not.” While the JP using the “You” with using a mixture of words like “Shall not” or “Must”. Importantly the one mentioning about not abusing Crest or gift from the goddess is the very vague. “You must use the power given to you by the lord justly.” This gives a different message from English version which ultimately says along the lines of don’t abuse the power. While the JP version give the idea of ‘who gives the idea of what is justified or not’. This question is recontexualised differently for each character in the game. For Rhea, Seteth and the Church. It’s them that makes the idea of what justify or not. We see this a multitude of time in 3 Houses where they be judge jury and executioner as well as censor thing and controls information. For the Kingdom, it the people with the crest but also the King. Dudue battle dialogue in CF in JP version makes this the most clear since Dimitri is fighting for vengeance here and the Kingdom is following him in that goal. For the Nobles it’s themselves since the Goddess gave them that position by birth. As much as I love Josh and this channel. His comments against Edelgard fans feel back handed because we do criticise her character. We just don’t do it to the extent as we do it for Rhea and Dimitri who are characters the story heavily criticised more within it larger narrative. It also the fact that I know a lot of people who have been harassed by the comment and had hate campaign after them just for liking the character as well.

[@4wheal]

@@lukestarford7608 The Kingdom fight for revange makes sense as they are a victim of Edelgard aggression its not just because they blindly surport Dimitri but they have there own reasons. Sure they are changes in the script but that dosent change the version we were given and most people don't have the time to search them all up. They also don't surport Edelgard claims either through combined with 3 hopes having Rhea having no issues with Edelgard and Dimitri reforms gives her less credibility. Hell Hanneman working at the chruch dispute his goal of removing the need for Crests also shows that she is not that keen on keeping it around. Honestly Edelgard has the smell thing going for her as the second she takes power she gets blind surport with zero issues to go along with it the empire becomes her yes men and there are no issues. Dimitri, Rhea and a lesser extent Claude all suffer issues from there choices and have people with in there own groups who cllange them or outright hostile to them. Edelgard only gets the Agarthans who are treated as a outside threat and have no real issues with the Empire itself. Honestly I would say 80% of my interactions with Edelgard fans have them be completely on board with everything she says and believing she has no faults compare that with fans of teh other lords who are more willing they have faults and talk about them it dosent paint the best picture. I am not saying it is all Edelgard fans and they have claimed down in the last few years but at least a very loud amount of them refused to hear anything bad about her for the longest time and that sticks with people. So I don't think it's unreasonable for Jose to still think they are like that definitely depending on what sights he looks at and his own interactions.

[@lukestarford7608]

@@4wheal Not really. Sorry if I come off rude or condescending in my comments here. In both CF and all the routes in both Games. Edelgard declare Wars on Church of Seiros first. Not the Kingdom or Alliance. She does this because of their corruption. In SS, AM and VW. Dimitri, Claude, BL and GD helps defend Church meaning they side against Edelgard and the Empire. That is how allies in war work. Edelgard then attacking the Kingdom and Alliance isn’t unprovoked or victim of aggression when leaders of the Kingdom and Alliance allies with the people she is against. Edelgard also makes it constantly clear in all routes that if you don’t get in her way. She won’t go for you. In CF, it’s different since Dimitri and Claude are actually involved in set up of the route. In the introduction of the route. We find out that war hasn’t continued for 5 years. The reason why is because Dimitri and Kingdom allied with Rhea and Church and have been safeguarding and slowly been combining the two army into a single army to then attack the Empire with. The route makes it clear that Dimitri and the Kingdom does this because they want revenge against Edelgard and the Empire for Tragedy of Duscur with both the exploration dialogue and battle dialogue. Dimitri is ultimately using Rhea for his own goals the same way Rhea is using him. This isn’t a Ike and Elicia situation and the game makes it clear. Faerghus is also a very bad place. A place who history is all about invading and colonising people and wars. Claude on the other hand is manipulating the Alliance so then it remain in tact rather then splitting as Gloucester, Ordelia and Edmund are wanting to join the Empire while Gonriel, Judith House and Riga’s are siding with the Kingdom. Due to both Claude manipulation and Dimitri. The war hasn’t continued. To go onto your 3Hopes point. It kinda a bad argument since you argument is “Why isn’t Rhea doing something about it” When she does. In AG, she gives the information they need for farming, which Faerghus needed due to being at a constant state of Famine. Which only happens because of Edelgard war which is bad thing since it kinda telling that Rhea is blind to the situation around her. it also the fact that Faerghus Famine situation is only fixed in non- AM route in 3House. With CF Byleth ending with Ingrid being the best ending in terms that Faerghus become the Fodlan newest Bread basket not because Gronder field got burned down but because it had very fertile soile. While for SB, Rhea quite literally does. The way Edelgard next axe was found was because Rhea was refusing the Reformation of the Southern Church which forced Edelgard to task Gareth with finding Sacred Weapon to use them a Bargaining Chip. You point on Hanneman doesn’t really work as once war starts. Unless you recruit him. He sides with Edelgard and the Empire. Same with you lot yesman argument as in SB, we are actively shown Nobles opposing Edelgard the same way there are nobles opposing Dimitri after his execution of Rufus. If you are saying the Beagles are Yes man. Then not to be rude but they aren’t as the game gives personal reason for all but Linhardt siding with Edelgard. Even then we have SS where they completely oppose her. If anything BL are yes man because culture of Faerghus being loyalty to the Kingdom. They are willing to follow Dimitri even when he full boar mode. Dimitri is never really challenged within his own routes but instead treat as morally white character. Character who oppose him are bad people like with the Western Faerghus despite him killing innocent peoples with his purges of western Faerghus in 3 Hopes Ultimately is disagree with a lot with what you says here because the game doesn’t back up what you are saying. I get that you might think that we defend everything she does and that we bring up text to do so. But only doing so to defend ourself. A lot of us have been harassed by the community with being called Nazi or Facist. Despite the fact that there are people who are Jewish, who had Granparent within Holocaust who just so happened to like Edelgard get called a Nazi. Majority of the time, it has been Dimitri/ BL fans who thinks Dimitri does nothing wrong is morally the best guy. These people made a hate campaign after a person over liking Edelgard and making top tier analysis post on Reddit and continued to harass people all the time. I know this isn’t all Dimitri fans online but when you meet people in real life who had the same experience. You tend to forget. This isn’t me saying Edelgard fans are innocent as people who liked and enjoy multiple characters are caught in cross fire of feud between Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude and Church fans. I’m also not innocent as I have snap at people who headcannoning information of the game and making stuff up.

[@superspider64]

For the whole "Smash Bros Villains are Society" bit, Galeem and Dharkon could be seen as the stifling industry vs the rabbid fans, with both sides doing whatever they want with the characters we love while the ones who just want to play fun games are stuck in the middle

[@WhiteFangofWar]

What is Tabuu then? I always thought Smash Bros. was someone (someone wearing white gloves) who was playing make-believe with their Nintendo action figures, hence the intro of the original Smash 64 and why Master/Crazy Hand is a common final boss.

[@superspider64]

@@WhiteFangofWar Tabuu is the societal need to "grow up and stop playing with toys" hence his ability to completely freeze everyone in their statue forms and his control over Master Hand

[@Shantae1188]

Remind me where that theory came from?

[@superspider64]

@@Shantae1188 from Game Theory's observations of the World of Light campaign

[@Shantae1188]

@@superspider64 Ah. So questionable at best most of the time.

[@CreativeStoryArtist2]

I would add Corvus from Dragon Quest 9. While his "twist" was kind of expected he was genuinely one of those holy fallen heroes (and his fight was tricky if you didn't grind enough)

[@shadowlinkbds]

We'll have to cleanse our sins after the last list with this one. Though angel bosses like demons can be pretty fun and even chaotic too.

[@ArcCaravan]

I figured we'd cleanse after this while the last list was cleansing. Going from slaying demon (or devils, I forgot) bosses to slaying holy bosses.

[@necrozmaIV]

As someone who has played Fire Emblem Three Houses I honestly think that both Edelgard and Rhea are to interesting antagonists.

[@thetalltitan2235]

You ask me, Edelgard’s more of a tragic anti-villain if you look closely at her (but that’s at least coming from a die hard fan of her like myself)…

[@adrianadamsson6757]

Whenever Rhea or Edelgard can be considered a villain really depends on your point of view. Both are great and complex characters abd the fact that neither can easily fit into a box is a testament to this games amazing writing. But it does seem that both Edelgard and Rhea have vastly inaccurate views on the other, both considering the other to be a power hungry tyrant that has to be stopped at all costs. But this is true of neither of them. In truth they are more similar than either want to admit. This misunderstanding makes this story a tragic one.

[@nathanael9159]

Indeed.

[@nathanael9159]

@@adrianadamsson6757 I totaly agree with you.

[@nathanael9159]

@@thetalltitan2235 Yeah no.

[@thechatteringclown]

16:08 about that, I like the idea that Galeem represents Nintendo and Dharkon is the fanbase. Galeem (Nintendo) takes control of the characters for themselves and pumps out soulless copy after copy of the same thing for their own profit. Dharkon (the fan base) meanwhile is a giant unstable infighting mess (represented by its erratic movement) trying to take control of the characters for themselves and forcing their own will and ideas onto them. The characters meanwhile represent the game creators, having to deal with both and trying to hold on to their own freedom and integrity.

[@ArcCaravan]

That was a Game Theory episode that completely ignores what Sakurai said about the story.

[@thechatteringclown]

@@ArcCaravan first, may have been, though it was definitely around before that. Second, out of curiosity, what did Sakurai say about the story? Third, just because Sakurai said one thing, doesn't mean the other can't be true. It doesn't have to be an either or scenario.

[@ArcCaravan]

@@thechatteringclown I don't remember exactly where (I wanna say the presentation that first mentioned World of Light or Spirits, maybe a column), but I think he said it was basically Spirits are characters that are brought into a crossover before going home to their own franchises.

[@Vampocrat]

My pick for best Holy Boss personally to me is the First Hero from Skul: The Hero Slayer, because he's the only boss of Carleon that didn't give in to corrupt power, and his second phase makes it feel like you are going up against the ultimate hero, especially in how crazy hard the fight is, and even when you beat his divine second phase, there's still a third phase where he fist fights you, and even at his weakest, he's still plenty dangerous. Plus the ultimate twist in the story really sets in stone just how awesome Skul himself is.

[@ryanhoule4415]

The little anecdote about The Horsemen was interesting, like you said, in any other game; they would, and have, been the villains but what about the times they were the heroes? You ever think of a countdown about unorthodox heroes?

[@Iridescent_Astraea]

Since you mentioned Gods in this list, any thoughts on Ancient bosses? The idea being that of a legendary warrior or figure, whether in stasis, revived, or hidden from the world is fought, but in the same vein as Holy vs demonic (and devil which you plan to do later), Ancient bosses would be figures who weren't made as godly beings but rose to a legendary status. Only got me thinking because you mentioned Gabriel and that just made me think about Minos Prime and all the layers of lore surrounding him, not to mention his insane fight.

[@BJGvideos]

Maz Koshia may qualify

[@Wolfbane420]

Fun fact: In the Fate franchise the Holy Hand Grenade of Anatoc(sp?) is actually apart of the lore.

[@Michael-yf6bl]

Honestly I'm surprised eriqus from kingdom hearts birth by sleep isn't on here. In a usually black and white series the man was willing to kill not just one but two of his apprentices in order to stop xehanort from having the literal key to end the entire universe.

[@ArcCaravan]

I was thinking similar, but maybe there's a differentiation between light and holy. I was also expecting FFXIV Shadowbringers, but despite designs it is still light as an element rather than holiness.

[@godsil11]

huh, wasn't expecting Rhea, but its nice that you actually chose to appreciate the nuance of the character rather than just instantly jumping to one side or the other, I feel like a lot of people get so caught up in the 'war bad/church bad' discussion that they just kind of gloss over it to make their points

[@ultrawinggaming9764]

Here are some other Holy bosses that I think deserves a mention. White Night - Lobotomy Corporation. The Toughest Optional Superboss in a teeth grindingly difficult and tedious management sim. I'll explain how it does since it's an obscure Indie game. It blesses 12 of your employees in its previous form, the Plague Doctor, and then turns them into the 12 Apostles once 12 Employees are blessed and turns into what is basically the anti christ. You need to bring your Best agents with the best E.G.O gear you got because this will take you multiple tries to do with the Hostile Apostles, the waves of Pale damage, and any other abnormality that may breach during the fight. Julius Belmont - Castlevania Aria of Sorrow Flipping the script for castlevania. This time we are playing as the reincarnation of the Lord of Darkness Dracula against a holy Vampire slayer of the Belmont clan. Very cool fight.

[@cordyceps182]

Don't forget that you can get not!Jesus to instantly kill WhiteNight if you get the traitor to pray for forgiveness.

[@yetravellingsonc8372]

Another detail with the Jena boss is that, at a glance, her final phase is just a giant Homunculus with Andross Hand Syndrome. But then you realize soon after that her ACTUAL arms are chained to the wings behind her. The entire fight she's struggling to break free and the rest of her 'body' is acting on its own. So yeah, not only was her transformation accidental, but she's actively unable to even control the resulting monstrosity and is unable to fight back even when she manages to break free from the chains. And GUESS what happens to the player character like 3 minutes after we deal the final blow.

[@Prich319]

I'm kind of surprised Innocence didn't make it on the list.

[@ShiroCat33]

Surprised that Amalthus from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 wasn’t here. But either way, good top 10 as usual 👍

[@Spikey_Spike]

I just want to take a moment to bring how the music for all three of Jena’s phases is amazing. Seriously, those are some of my favorite soundtracks in games I’ve played.

[@eyeof3ndr364]

2:49 HOLD IT! Abaddon didn't want to conquer earth! His initial plan was to kill all of hell's generals in one fell swoop, using earth as a battleground. It wasn't until Lilith convinced Abaddon to fall that he intended to rule it and lost sight of his true purpose as Heaven's champion. Sorry. Lore nerd. Happy to see Darksiders getting mentioned tho, it's such a great game series and it needs more love.

[@amitamaru]

I'm surprised Innocence from Shadowbringers didn't make at least honorable mentions. Still, my roommate is huge into SMT so they'll be happy with this outcome.

[@darkfire1044]

A boss I'm kind of sad that didn't get an honourable mention or a slot is (SPOILERS FOR FINAL FANTASY 14'S HEAVSWARD EXPANSION) Archbishop Thordan VII/King Thordan VII and his Knights Twelve. Utilizing corruption via blackmail and fearmongering of his own people using the war between Ishgard and the Dragons he rose to the ranks of archbiship and would do pretty much anything to keep his position while disregarding any opposition as heresy, especially to those who would dare uncover the city of Ishgard's founding. Caused a major character death which still breaks hearts to this day. And in a twist of irony, used the draconic eye of Nidhogg to become his primal form of King Thordan the 1st, commiting heresy by his definition of those his regime punished to gain such power just to try and kill you while trying to access the power of THE WARRING TRIAD to achieve his goals. His battle is nothing to scoff at either, especially the Extreme version demanding perfect team positioning otherwise you lost before the second phase even ends.

[@TSGJamesR]

Not just The Minstrel's Ballad: Thordan's Reign (Extreme) but also Dragonsong's Reprise (Ultimate) in Endwalker. It's a "what-if scenario" in the grand scheme of things, but still worth mentioning, especially with how excruciating a challenge DSR is.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

Honestly didn't think Merkabah was going to show up here but I'm glad he did. I love Keita Amamiya's designs for the Angels, Lilith and Merkabah in SMT4, even if it was just a Horror from Garo only it was light themed as opposed to dark.

[@dreamer9398]

I have to admit, Rhea/Seiros’s theme in GW route is my favorite because sort of parallels with Nemesis in VW. And once again, Rhea and Edelgard are probably best antagonists 3Houses/Hopes. One try to so focus on the past and the other on future, creating a lot bloodshed in the process

[@angeldude101]

I honestly don't know if it would qualify, but while you mentioned Hyness as a Kirby boss in the Honorable Mentions, I was more interested in seeing Star Dream. It's a computer... that looks like an angel. I also appreciate how its robotic behaviour actually make it act more like how I'd imagine an actual angel would; it has a singular objective, and Kirby just happens to be a threat to that objective. That objective in question is fulfilling Haltmann's wish of Infinite Prosperity. That is what was requested, and Star Dream will grant that wish or die trying. Neither morality nor malice ever end up factoring in. It starts out seeing Kirby as little more than an annoying insect, at least before realising just who he is and discovering what this emotion mortals call "fear" is. Why does this make it feel more like an actual angel? Well, because angels aren't supposed to be the big bad. The word literally means "messenger." and I've seen a few interpretations where they don't even have much free will. They simply carry out the tasks that Big G assigns to them, without question or hesitation. After all, Big G is infallible, so there should be no reason to doubt his judgement. Honestly makes them sound like divine servant robots doesn't it?

[@Anton-de5vu]

The fun part about koshia is that you can distract him with bananas like the yiga goons. It’s either because he belongs to the same shika people, or it’s just that he’s hungry after meditating for so long

[@JacktheLightningRipper]

Really happy to see you talk about the fight with Jena.

[@TheNightmareAngelYT]

These bosses goes to show that even if you're divine, darkness isn't that far behind.

[@Deathclaw-lh5tl]

What's next Josh? Love bosses for Valentine's Day? Merchants? Best chefs? Love stories in video games? Interactable toilets? Best save rooms? One-armed bosses? MCs in wheelchairs? Bosses in wheelchairs? Puppet bosses? Narratively hate able bosses? Top ten racist bosses? Top ten sexist bosses? Top ten video game politicians?

[@piecheese1214]

PLEASE let Gabriel from Ultrakill be on this list 🙏 *EDIT:* Ok, an honorable mention isn't too bad.

[@leshyaedawnfire]

To answer you questions about Galeem and Darkon fitting into the "Smash Bros Bosses are Society Ark", I would like to give you my take on it, which I got from a Game Theory video on the subject. Galeem is the embodiment of Corporate Nintendo, attempting to turn Smash Bros into even more of a cash cow than it already is regardless of Sakurai's desires, stripping out the spirit of it and making the world a shell of it's former self. Darkon is an aggregate of the toxic side of the fanbase, trying to force their own view of the world into reality, and clashing with Nintendo whenever they feel they are being ignored. Leaving Sakurai and the characters caught in the middle.

[@ArcCaravan]

You got that from Game Theory.

[@leshyaedawnfire]

@@ArcCaravan YEP! It makes sense to me, so I adopted it! Thanks for reminding me of who I heard it from! I was having trouble remembering. I will edit my comment to clarify that! 😁

[@alvaroperez2349]

You know, when God said: “Let there be Light.” I don’t think this is what he meant, but what do I know?

[@lynxfresh5214]

Tbf in the many genres, light and holy/divine are often treated as separate elements.

[@starmaker75]

Well one of the devil form is Lucifer, who said to have a holy appearance. Also fallen angel in general and “holyness binding people”

[@SonicBlast4444]

ASTRAL CHAIN BEING ON THIS LIST IS AMAZING! I saw number 2 coming. Genuinely not shocked(not the astral chain entry).

[@thetalltitan2235]

Ironically enough, the Number 2s of both THIS AND Demon Bosses share the same publisher/developer; Nintendo/Intelligent Systems!

[@SpiderandMosquito]

17:12 That is the last thing I expected to see today, and I am so happy. Ooooooooooooooooooooh, how I miss them so.

[@cybercritic8834]

outside of Bayonetta's Balder, maybe the Radience can show up.

[@lynxfresh5214]

I mean she did make several Hollow Knight players go "holy shit!".

[@krimsonkatt]

She's considered a "god boss" so she can't show up. That's for another list.

[@WildArmACF]

Funny thing.. The only Character i managed to beat Galeem with.. .was Kirby. XD

[@ShinyGaara65]

WOO! Disgaea 1 made it to the honorable mentions! I didn't even think those games had made it on your radar!

[@Heavenlyhounds96]

This is gonna sound strange but have you done a "Festive Bosses" list? (Holiday-themed bosses if you will. Whether it's overly-patriotic and MURICA a la 4th of July, Holly Jolly fuckery with Christmas, or...perhaps the easiest of all, Spooky Scary Halloween shenanigans)

[@Xeromm]

Woo hoo! Another mention of Bomberman64 Second Attack! That game is so underrated. 😁

[@squeethemog213]

I am so happy my suggestion was picked. Let alone where it was placed 😄

[@ArcaneSeason3]

The number transition being Oliver and his unique battle theme made me so happy

[@Ori_Kohav]

Your intro anticipated 2 lists that would be very fun to watch. God bosses, and devil bosses.

[@zereaux56]

The second he mentioned Darksiders, i knew immediately he was gonna mention Archon. Still one of the best fights in gaming history with rocking theme music.

[@Godzillawolf1]

Nice list. I would like to suggest looking into Blue Reflections' final boss Daath for the God bosses list.

[@williamcote4208]

About Rhea burning down the blue lion’s capital… yeah, no the civilians were still in there. Catherine straight up asked Rhea if they should let the civilians evacuate before they set the city on fire and Rhea pretty much tells her to burn it all down with everyone still inside… and I think, tho I’m REALLY not sure on that one, to not let any civilians leave the city.

[@CountShaman]

Nope, they didn't mention civilians at all in that whole conversation. The only people they notioned to hurting other than the enemy are their own soldiers. It's not completely implausible that civilians were hurt, but that can be attributed to gameplay-story dissonace.

[@4wheal]

Yay but it's not like Edelgard is much better as VW makes it clear no evacuation orders where given for Enbarr and her army is actually using the civilian population as human shields during the invasion.

[@CountShaman]

@@4wheal She didn't give evacuation orders, but to be fair, she didn't actively send civilians to fight and die either, nor did she let Thales bomb Enbarr. So I guess that's just Claude being a dick to Edelgard, but after the previous bombing, I don't fully blame him for that suspicion.

[@4wheal]

@@CountShaman No Claude and the other characters are actually watching her army use the civilian population as human shields that's not a guess on his part but what he is seeing with his own eyes. None of the other characters in the sence disagree with him or claim he is wrong so they also agree with what he is saying.

[@CountShaman]

@@4wheal I checked the scene again and it shows that he was informed of it rather than actually seeing it. So I don't know, it's probably just gameplay-story dissonance again. The only instance where civilians are actually being shown to be used as human shields in the game are chapters 8 and 9 when the Agarathans are in charge. Honestly, I wish the game isn't too afraid to do that with Edelgard or Rhea if they really wanna show that the two would sacrifice civilians to meet their ends.

[@keeganguyer5237]

For the Darkness Boss list, I want to see if Emet-Selch from FF14 will make it

[@OmnicidalClown1992]

I don't know how to name the idea for this hypothetical countdown, but how a video focusing on bosses that were originally playable characters in a previous game, only to return as a boss? I believe it would called something along the lines of Top 10 Previously Playable Bosses in Video Games. Some characters that could potentially fit this list would be; Dante - Devil May Cry 4 (Dante's been playable in 3 games thus far, and Nero seeks to kill the Demon Hunter for killing the leader of his cult.) Red - Pokemon Gold, Silver, Crystal and their Gen IV Remakes. (What better way to prove you're the best then by battling the character you played as in the previous generation?) Big Boss and/or Venom Snake- Metal Gear (If we go by the timeline, then Big Boss was playable in Metal Gear Solid 3, Portable Opts, Peace Walker and the Ground Zeros version of Metal Gear Solid 5, while Venom Snake was playable in The Phantom Pain, and both versions of Big Boss become the main antagonist in Metal Gear 1 and 2.) Alex Mercer - Prototype 2 (Main Protagonist in the first game, Main Antagonist in the sequel.) Colonel.EXE - MegaMan Battle Network 6 (He was your ally, friend, commander, one of the playable characters and temporary partner in the Team Colonel version of Battle Network 5, now he's a member of WWW and is halting your progress.) (Debatably) Lingering Will and/or Anti-Aqua - Kingdom Hearts (Alternate/Corrupted forms of Terra and Aqua respectfully, both of which were playable characters in Birth by Sleep, and Aqua gets bonus points as she was playable in that Kingdom Hearts demo that takes place in between the event of the original Kingdom Hearts game.) Bowser - Mario & Luigi's Dream Team (Bowser was the overall main playable character in Bowser's Inside Story) Kazuya Mishima - Tekken 2 (The overall main protagonist in the original Tekken game, becomes the final boss in the sequel.) Jill Valentine - Resident Evil 5 (One of the major protagonists in the franchise, she was declared dead, only to come back and brainwashed by Albert Wesker.) There's a few others, but I currently can't think of them at the moment.

[@ashenwolf3846]

As a huge Thee Houses fan, I'm more than happy to see any representation of it on here and number 2 no less (ironically, 2 seems to be Rhea's unlucky number, since that's the same number of times she ends up being the final boss of TWO different games), am I happy that our tragic, yet powerful Archbishop was the runner up for this top 10 list.

[@thomasthecoolkid7228]

I saw Balder from Bayonetta 2 and thought I'd see some talk about his fights in _that,_ both as himself and as the Masked Lumen. I certainly would've put him there. Dude kicked my ass. Was surprised by you putting his Bayonetta 1 version instead. Especially since the second game's Balder is _not_ corrupted by Loptr and thus _should_ be more holy than his first game incarnation. He's genuinely just misguided in his actions, wanting to take revenge on the one who took everything from him... and both going after the wrong guy _and_ attacking Bayonetta just because she's protecting said wrong guy. Also, he's more like a mirror boss in Bayo 2, especially as the Masked Lumen. He hits fast and hard, is pretty damn hard to hit when he wants to be, and he even has his own entourage of angels to match your Infernal Demons. It's fun, if not... ridiculously hard- I swear I'm not salty about Witch Trial II.

[@heitormedina7098]

Machine, turn back now Gabriel from ultrakill

[@heitormedina7098]

27:51

[@crimsonflame2k]

Can I just say that I highly appreciate the use of a clip of one of OSQ's skits?

[@aeon87]

Love that Disgaea got an honorable mention. I hope you make a Disgaea characters or bosses list. That would be fun.

[@gagejoseph91]

I am legitimately surprised that Mithos from Tales of Symphonia is not on this list.

[@BitterMillenial]

I thought he would at least be an honorable mention, but to no avail.

[@ozziethefool691]

2:32 the sheer joy I felt at seeing a Moral Orel clip

[@Archon762]

Archon was the first "Holy" boss I thought of for this list and seeing him where he is was more of a surprise as I thought someone else might have just beat him out

[@thetrophygamer3606]

We have the most holy of number transitions thanks to the most holy and beautiful man in gaming…Oliver

[@cosmicspacething3474]

Should’ve saved this one for Christmas

[@geekdaparaiba]

I expected Father Balder from Bayonetta, Credo Angelo from Devil May Cry 4, Galeem from Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Malthael from Diablo III and Seiros/Rhea from Fire Emblem Three Houses. I wasn’t disappointed. Lilith and Mihaele, on the other hand, was a bit of a surprise for me - Not everyone cares about Bomberman 64 nowadays (albeit Bomberman’s fanbase as a whole is pretty much fragile). It’s alvays nice to see a representative from the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, given it’s lore of “light vs darkness”.

[@alcatrazjyh6293]

Does anyone else find it funny that Sephiroth gave zero fucks during his reveal trailer? He literally one-shot Galeem before turning his attention to the fighters who were currently struggling with the so-called Master Hand Kingpin! I guess that's one way to break someone's concentration.

[@FrankenXANA]

Great list Josh. To be honest, I was expecting the "Demon Bosses" list to be a "Ghost Bosses" list before it premiered. Here, the choice to go with Demons comes together with these divine bosses. I think I'd still like to see a "Ghost Bosses" list sometime. Perhaps next Halloween?

[@thetalltitan2235]

I’d only count on Ghost Bosses cause it’s a Pokémon type.

[@FrankenXANA]

@@thetalltitan2235 Frankly, I was also thinking of Ghost Bosses in terms of various bosses that are ghosts. There's a whole slew of ghosts to pick from in the Luigi's Mansion games, bosses like Bongo Bongo, Jalhalla, and Death Sword from the Zelda games, and of course Phantoon from Metroid.

[@geekdaparaiba]

The Phantom Train from FFVI

[@Cata-qp6fi]

On your post I talked about False God Otto, Aponia and Herrscher of Human: Ego from Honkai Impact 3rd, they made them holy to the NEW LEVEL!!!

[@Sapphirerosewolf]

"Who wrote this?" I laughed FAR harder than I should have.

[@Shantae1188]

Number 9: What about the sequel fight? Number 5: Fun fight, but definitely kinda random. Reads description: Smart choice. Sacred, doesn’t always mean holy.

[@ArcCaravan]

Agreed on 9, I think Bayonetta 2's Masked Lumen would have been better as he was mislead rather than corrupted and was more of a mirror match.

[@jeremytung1632]

If good omens taught us anything, it’s that heaven is more than willing to throw us under the bus if it means beating hell.

[@theenderengineer1943]

YES!! A Disgaea boss was on the honorable mentions!! LOVE that franchise.

[@ArcCaravan]

Off the top of my head a good holy boss is St. Joan II from Skul: the Hero Slayer. The Archbishop of the Leonia Order starts just sitting in her throne while the titular protagonist breaks towers that give her a barrier. During this time she summons enemies you fought throughout the Fortress of Fate while sending holy magic from the center, sides, or above the stage, even causing a giant laser from above that homes in on you. Then after the barrier gets destroyed and the second phase starts, you gotta follow her in the air while she teleporting with more holy attacks and you need to use new platforms to avoid the damaging floor. A particularly painful one is her covering the screen in circles that you have to avoid before a practically full screen attack. After going through a level of tanky holy knights and a randomly determined upgraded adventurer mini-boss, she is the bane of my runs in this rogue-like game.

[@ahmanetbones9496]

I adore your videos with all that I am but my immediate like for this video was because of Darksiders getting a mention in this list. It's my second favorite video game franchise ever. Keep up the amazing work!

[@RavenStarMedia]

A list of misguided/dark religious zealot holy bosses which is one of my favorite concepts, Astral Chain being included, and a Death Note reference? This list is freaking awesome.

[@JayEmPlays]

Was waiting a mention towards Disgaea, was satisfied.

[@bigles025]

Hand of the inheritor from wrath would definitely be nice addition here

[@Roxas2099ZX]

I kidna wish Lumine from Megaman X8 made the honorable mentions.

[@fuzclock8561]

You know, the more I play FE : Three houses, the more I found that Seiros and Edelgard are echoes of each other...

[@Wlightning25]

I was definitely expecting Final Fantasy specifically XIV to be somewhere on this list.

[@filipvadas7602]

Was not expecting a Darksiders shoutout, even if its the bottom of the list I'm glad the franchise and one of its *best* boss fights is getting some love

[@mr.mystere4999]

I'm actually surprised there were no Final Fantasy references on this list, especially FFXIV with its myriad of bosses that fit this list quite perfectly.

[@LeviathanTamer31]

Seriously, you'd think that at least Alexander would've made it on here. Mr Holy Divine Judgement himself and all that.

[@BJGvideos]

the video is for some reason tagged as a FF14 vid

[@mr.mystere4999]

@@LeviathanTamer31 Not just Alexander. You've got King Thordan and his Heavens' Ward, the Lightwardens of Shadowbringers, and the Warrior of Light himself from Patch 5.3.

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

23:23 actual fact. In the edelgard route with the black eagles, sothis actually points out how twisted that ritual is, especially after learning the context, so I can't exactly call rhea good if her "saint" of a mother calls her a demonic child

[@cdesigner9178]

I still want Top 10 Nights in Gaming. Not even Knight Bosses, just Knights. 10: I REALLY need to finish the first game, then play the second. Death looks SO COOL! (The Archon (Darksiders 2)) 9: He actually seemed pretty cool before his corruption in the second game. (Father Balder (Bayonetta)) 8: I think I ended up soft-locked from this game, so I never got to see this proper. (Credo Angelo (Devil May Cry 4)) 7: ...Wot? (Lilith & Mihaele (Bomberman 64 TSA)) 6: Not a game where I expected to be fighting a seraphim. (Jena Anderson (Astral Chain)) 5: I mean, I think that Matpat theorized that Galeem is basically Nintendo, while Dharkon is the embodiment of the salt of people who didn't get their favorite characters in Smash. (Galeem (Smash Bros Ultimate)) 4: Remember, people. Goku is a monk. At least if we're going off of D&D monks, which totally count. (Maz Koshia (Breath of the Wild)) 3: I got instantly mad after hearing the "B" word. (Malthael (Diablo III)) 2: And this is why I don't play Fire Emblem games. (Seiros (Fire Emblem 3H)) 1: Sorry, I am afraid. (Merkabah (Shin Megami Tensei IV))

[@AgentSkyblueM79]

I wasn’t even sure if Shin Megami Tensei would make the list, let alone where it’d end up, but that’s pretty much the boss I was already thinking of.

[@ddjsoyenby]

same.

[@Starcat5]

17:12 It took 3 Google attempts before I finally found this song.

[@Flutterdark_]

surprisingly i must say that the 3 hopes immaculate one fights are worse then the 3 houses ones. not only do monster enemies in 3 hopes have super exploitable weaknesses but also those telegraphs really hurt it alot since you can just dodge.

[@dustinvance243]

Game theory actually did a video about Galeem and Dharkon years ago when the game first released. Basically the theory posits that Galeem represents Nintendo. It controls the master hands which are the creators of the world. Dharkon represents the fans. It controls the crazy hands which represent the players. The battle for control between them is so big and chaotic that the characters and spirits of the game have become an after thought. In the true ending destroying both of them sets the spirits free so that they can ascend from the conflict altogether. Supposedly, this is the end of the story that Sakurai sought to tell. And we likely won't know if that's the case until the next smash bros. game. That is if there is one or if Sakurai even decides to be involved.

[@emberfist8347]

Game Theory should be taken with a grain of salt. They also did theories for Undertale and FNAF that were such bad takes that the creators called them out on it and sometimes made videos that positied theories the narrative itself addressed but acted as it was groundbreaking (The infamous Harry is not the chosen one theory).

[@dustinvance243]

@@emberfist8347 true, but when it comes to their theories on smash, they have a pretty solid track record. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think that the smash narrative representing society idea originally came from them.

[@emberfist8347]

@@dustinvance243 Their theories from Smash also said Wario was 10 feet tall.

[@dustinvance243]

@@emberfist8347 their math has been readjusted since then. As has Nintendo's considering the efforts they've put into making sure their games can be measured correctly.

[@Wolfs0n]

So happy Darksiders made the list!!

[@gamerofgamers1417]

I played Little Witch Nobeta recently and the fight against Vanessa is really good.

[@gamerman0252]

Don’t know if anyone said that or not but The boss at 18:00 You forgot to say one of the other weaknesses he has. He is still Shika. They love banana. If you drop a banana on the ground he will completely forget about the entire fight and just eat the banana XD

[@YaoiFanaticXD]

Good video as always, but I was surprised that FF XIV wasn't mentioned once. No Thordan and Knights of the Round fight? No Lord Vauthry/ Innocence battle atop MT. Gulg? These are some prime holy bosses. Heck, the whole thing with ther Shadowbringers expansion is the waves of light engulfing the First Reflection and the Sin Eaters picking off Humanity. Heck even those still alive call each other sinners! But its your list and I don't know how much of a FF XIV fan you are.

[@centurynerdbr]

Should Malthael also count as grim reaper or undead boss for a future Top Ten Undead or Grim Reaper bosses?

[@MultiBoxingKid]

I don’t know, does ever die before you fight him? I agree that he is a good reaper candidate, but undead? I don’t see it; of course I don’t know his story.

[@matteste]

Upon seeing the topic I was initially afraid of YHVH from SMTIVA was going to be number 1. Though I am glad that you called out that game for the narrative trash that it was. While I still found some of the other divine bosses in the series better, Merkabah is at least passable.

[@marcoantoniodominguezcid1936]

Like how you’re grabbing from various sources for jokes, it feels fresh🙂

[@tyrant-den884]

Shout-out for it Yggdrasil from Tales of Symphonia.

[@doodlertoodlert8728]

Man I’m kinda sad Shaher or the fallen Angel twins from Battle Ogre: Night of Lodis didn’t make the list but the ones you chose are really good bosses!