Top Ten Surprise Bosses

Surprise! This video not only contains ten bosses that surprised us the most and still managed to be GOOD, but this video is sponsored by the Waifu Handbook! Supporting this kickstarter supports the channel!
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[@joshscorcher]

This video is sponsored by the Waifu Handbook! Supporting this kickstarter supports the channel! getwaifu.loadingcrewcrafts.com/

[@aliastheabnormal]

This makes Raid Shadow Legends look like a legitimate business model.

[@fanfictiondreamer7836]

Huh, they don't look too bad. They might actually pass in the standard of being kid friendly whenever they have to be. I wonder if there is someone who can help with multiple designs of my OCs.

[@bluexdalek1997]

Praise the Madman who made this, now I can throw this at my DM and go "Your homebrewing days are no more."

[@jordanhunter3375]

*spittake* WHAAAAAT!?

[@w1ndgeneral226]

When you think you beat the game, but one more boss goes: "Surprise mother@#$%er!"

[@delphoxhoopa7289]

Cynthia is a living reminder why it's a bad idea to break into someone's house. You don't know true terror until you stare down her Garchomp!

[@MrSailing101]

If you make it to her Garchomp.

[@jameslawrenson1208]

She has great security!

[@denniswaske4839]

Say it with chugga now: "CRAAAAPPPP!!!!"

[@Fellkun]

Oh I know that terror and didn't help that I didn't buy another revives and only had 4 pokemon left to fight her and lost to her 2nd pokemon

[@JoshuaWebbYT]

Speaking of which, has anyone ever found out what happens when you beat her at that moment?

[@mr.mystere4999]

As far as The Phantom goes, Edgeworth never actually mentioned WHEN the real Bobby Fulbright was killed, so there is always the possibility that we may have actually met him.

[@littlebigb5370]

Well, Edgeworth did say that the body of the REAL Fulbright was found (but unidentifiable) a year before that case, so he'd been a fake for at least that long. And only just FOUND. I'm sure the Phantom knows how to hide a body well, so who knows how long the real Fulbright had been dead for?!

[@Shidyk]

Fulbright being the Phantom definitely was a jaw dropper when I first played through the game. I mean, the guy was a goofball who believed in "justice we trust" bit, but then when I thought about it for a bit, I realized there was a clue as early as the case he first showed up. "In Justice we Trust" could also read as "Injustice We Trust" as in he trusts in injustice, the opposite of lawyers/prosecutors. Then again, I could just be reading too much into it. lol

[@jordanhunter3375]

And that is why Oscar (Green Scorpion) always says... NEVER TRUST THE CLOWN!

[@skyfiredspade9787]

I'm gonna be honest, when I first played Dual Destinines, I hated Fulbright. I also had played Spirit of Justice before DD so I expected some sort of reason for why he wasn't in that game and he was the villain was one of them. I did start to like him when he goes through his crisis of faith phase, but I especially loved his plot twist. Also watching Pixel Partners helped me like his character before the plot twist.

[@GenesisSonicN64Mario]

@@skyfiredspade9787 I also watched the Pixel Partners playthrough of Dual Destinies! I think I was spoiled on it, but I didn't understand the spoiler until it actually happened. The reveal that the real Fullbright was dead completely shocked me.

[@goldlight1322]

My only gripe with Nemesis is that he would have worked better as Silver Snow’s final battle.

[@oathkeepers-oblivion]

Truth.

[@pokedude720]

Yeah, I feel him and Rhea would have been better on the opposite routes.

[@goldlight1322]

@@pokedude720 Exactly

[@DarkEinherjar]

I was never surprised by Red... Blue was a dead giveaway, honestly. Walking into Cynthia's house in Black & White, on the other hand...

[@Shantae1188]

Volo’s fight was a surprise for me. I knew he was related to Cynthia, I just didn’t realize it would also be in bad way.

[@kylestubbs8867]

@@Shantae1188And he’s surprising for… kind of the same reason as the #1 entry. He starts out _just_ quirky enough to seem trustworthy, if a bit annoying.

[@hour236]

This is a extra note about Morpho Knight. People have been saying Morpho Knight is also a example of the Kirby developers breaking traditions such as having you fight Galacta Knight and Soul bosses. Thought I should throw that out to you all.

[@LunaP1]

I thought I could beat Morpho Knight, just a little challenging. I was wrong and wanted to lie on the floor crying.

[@emodarkstalker001weir7]

MORPHO IS AWESOME

[@Quetzal00358]

Hi Josh! Once again I want to congratulate you on becoming a father. I’ve been watching your channel since I was a kid so I’m proud of you. Congratulations!

[@ShaDHP23]

2011 for me. It's been a wild ride.

[@gimmeyourrights8292]

2012 for me, I feel so old.

[@IdentifiantE.S]

1900 for me but its not a competition

[@WhiteFangofWar]

The biggest surprise of all! Congrats Josh!

[@joshscorcher]

I appreciate that!

[@alvaroperez2349]

Honestly, a Surprise Boss is rather Hit or miss, it really all depends on how it’s handled, the shock value can only do so much.

[@IdentifiantE.S]

You’re 💯 right !

[@VitaEmerald324]

“Shock valve” Is that what happens when Half Life 3 is announced?

[@alvaroperez2349]

@@VitaEmerald324 no, I meant to say “value” but the autocorrect...

[@emberfist8347]

For me the best suprise is the one that is staring you in the fact the entire time. It is right there under your nose and you don't see until it happens. Take for example Clayface from Arkham City. The game foreshadows he is there for a long time, Harley notes that Joker looks perfect at one point before realizing that isn't the Joker she is talking to. Joker explictly says that the way to keep a secret from Batman is to put it under his nose and wait. During an earlier boss fight, "Joker" had no skeleton in Detective Vision. In Arkham Asylum, Clayface's name was on the Party List despite him being limited to an Easter Egg in that game. It is all there, but it is still a shocking twist for first time players particularly as "Joker" was stabbed just moments ago and the game made it clear it wasn't afraid to kill off some of its big names just moments earlier with Strange and Ra's deaths.

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

Example of a bad shock value boss: Shroswer stealing the shroobs spotlight

[@toumabyakuya]

For me, the best AA surprise Boss is its best Boss: Simon Keyes!. Not only he manages to subvert all expectations and turns out being way more important than he first let the players believe he was, but he also does this in a way that doesn't feel forced (unlike Junko). No, the clues were always there, is just that the player didn't understand them yet. Also, the fact that he managed to beat both a High Prosecutor and a President of a foreign country as a mere clown? Incredible.

[@IWasCaptainPanda]

Without spoiling which case, I'd say the biggest surprise is one that breaks the most sacred rule of Perry Mason mysteries: the time it's Phoenix's own client. Simon Keyes is very close to that, too, I guess (and a great villain, but not quite the same surprise for violating "basic sense").

[@lilsunny7399]

I was expecting the obvious Matt Engarde. Here's this pretty boy teenager looking dork being accused of a murder that there's no way this little twink could have done right? Well he didn't....he hired an assassin and masterfully manipulated everything to force phoenix into getting him off the hook by having Maya a hostage. and later he flips back his hair to reveal a scarred face and pulls a glass of wine out of nowhere.

[@toumabyakuya]

@@IWasCaptainPanda If you are talking about the character I think you are talking about then I would say that the problem is that his personality makes the twist less surprising. At least Simon played the part of being innocent really well.

[@trickytristan1]

Honestly when it comes to Ace Attorney villains, I still really like the way Matt Engarde was done. Like he's built up to be just your ordinary Ace Attorney suspect, kinda dumb and goofy but well meaning and innocent. Then over the course of the whole case information you've been given around the case just isn't adding up until you're finally able to break his psych locks and reveal that he actually WAS the killer, and he's the one who hired Shelly de Killer to hold Maya hostage to ensure that you'd get him a not guilty verdict.

[@OmnicidalClown1992]

7:10 I love how Josh mentions King Hippo using a manhole cover as armor being allowed, despite the fact that Aran Ryan has roughly 2 dozen methods of cheating and infractions. Which includes using an old and worn out boxing glove by making it into a flail, or how he has loaded horseshoes in his boxing gloves.

[@silverflight01]

Or Great Tiger excessively using magic Or Bear Hugger hiding a squirrel under his hat

[@LucOfLegends]

Josh truly is Dual Destinies' strongest soldier.

[@BJGvideos]

Wow NONE of my guesses were on here. I was thinking Beni (Pokemon Legends Arceus, hiding in plain sight the entire game), Bundt (Mario RPG--you're expecting *a* boss but the one you thought you would fight steps down amicably and then CAKE TIME), Ultros (Final Fantasy 6, just pops up at you out of a river for no reason), and Chernabog (Kingdom Hearts--go down a random hole and suddenly Slavic Satan is bursting out of a volcano!)

[@DarkFrozenDepths]

Lesser known game, but I feel like the last fight in the Rabi Ribi DLC known as "Is the Order a Rabbit?" counts. Your only hint of fighting her more or less was the DLC's title, but the majority of the game is rabbit themed anyway. Plus that fight was amazing and the DLC did answer some questions that was left unanswered. Shame not too many know about that underrated game

[@plagueamer4877]

Beni huh? Well points for not going for the obvious one I guess.

[@BJGvideos]

@@plagueamer4877 Volo you have prior warning for though, with the scene at the broken statue. Beni you have NO warning.

[@KrimsonKattYT]

Did you mean Volo? "Beni" isn't a character in Legends Arceus. Chernabog feels so out of place in Kingdom Hearts 1 because he was sort of squeezed into the final world in the second edition of the game, Kingdom Hearts International, which was the version we got. That version also included Sephiroth and Phantom as new content. Japan never got international but later they got Kingdom Hearts Final Mix which includes all the content of International plus additional content like the Unknown and Kurt Zisa bosses, balance changes, and new Keyblades. That's why in the official OST (which is Japanese) a lot of content that was in the base game over here is only with the final mix tracks in Japan, which includes Charnabog.

[@KrimsonKattYT]

@@DarkFrozenDepths Rabi Ribi is amazing and more people need to play it. Such a good metroidvania, but too many people ignore it because they think it's a hentai game or something. Heck, I too thought it was just a horny game at first which peaked by curiosity, and sure enough it wasn't a horny game, just a metroidvania which convinced me to pick it up. I was not disappointed. The only annoying thing is that the game is BRUTALLY difficult so I HIGHLY recommend you play on the second lowest difficulty (easy) so you don't rip your hair out, and even on that difficulty the game gets VERY hard in places. (most notably the last boss of the main story and most of the postgame bosses) Also the music is godlike and some of the best and most underrated music in gaming.

[@alijahaskew4644]

I'm so glad Josh included a boss from Punch-Out Wii. That game is such a wonderful gem.

[@Goleon]

Usually I’m not upset over spoiling myself over a twist but I am for number one.

[@thomasthecoolkid7228]

Then there's the surprise _after_ Morpho Knight, that being how Forgo actually played that man like a fool and assimilated part of his power to reach and even _transcend_ his original form as Fecto Elfilis. ...yes, Chaos Elfilis is a surprise, and it's absolutely insane when you consider what Morpho Knight is from a lore perspective. He is basically the _grim reaper_ of the Kirby universe.

[@Geomaster97]

What's shocking about morpho knight is that forgotten land implies the butterflies have been trying to assimilate Kirby for years, but kirby's power is too limitless

[@Rabbitlord108]

Are we sure that they aren't secretly from Taranza's neck of the woods?

[@OmniGman]

Regarding #8: There's actually a little Easter Egg that hints at Clayface's upcoming appearance. The movie theater you go to to confront Joker has posters for a horror movie, "The Terror", which Basil Karlos/Clayface starred in before he got his powers.

[@emberfist8347]

And more importantly having Clayface in the theater does make more thematic sense. He is the Batman villain with a movie gimmick being a former actor and this is the same theater where Bruce Wayne was inspired to be a superhero. Also I enjoyed the fight for giving Clayface more attention and displaying how dangerous he is. He is one of those villains people who don't read comics tend to dismiss out of ignorance.

[@Shantae1188]

Number 9: Another knock against it could be that should you meet him and lose, you can still fight him in the mode where you fight the bosses for achievements

[@geekdaparaiba]

10 - Two bosses in the same position!? Cool. I liked Lumine more. 9 - Donkey Kong? Finally someone who is not Mike Tyson or Mr. Dream... 8 - Clayface is a very nice surprise. I remember him from “The Batman” via Ethan Bennett. 7 - Baigan. I didn’t expected him to be in the list either. 6 - Red is the definition of True Final Boss. (Laughs at “Live a Live Boss” written in the bingo) 5- I like Morpho Knight. Butterflies are cool (and pretty) 4 - Ridley? LOL. He’s so common that his absence in Metroid Dread was a surprise. 3 - Nemesis wons the bronze medal. He doesn’t remember a big creature. 2 - Elder Princess Shroob reminded me of Shadow Queen. Perhaps something involving nobility. Silver medal for her. 1 - The Phantom!? Ace Attorney!? Wow, that’s the biggest surprise for a gold medal. Honorable Mentions: Nice to see Flowey, Monsoon and Fake Peppino here.

[@claytonrios1]

Sometimes a surprise boss can come out of nowhere and ruin a games ending like with Necron but other times it can be a genuine thrill when a boss comes along that you don't see coming. Like Dr. Letz Shake from No More Heroes 2. I would have liked to see an Assassin Battle Royale but this works too!

[@voltingmaster5458]

Also Jeane from the first No More Heroes.

[@claytonrios1]

@@voltingmaster5458 I like to think that Ryujis fight is what a battle against Dark Star would have been like.

[@AloisAgos]

The shadow silhouette at 28:11 is Artillerex, a monster from the Pokemon-like game "Cassette Beasts" (Recommended by the way). So it will either be another Pokemon countdown, or a countdown of great monster catching games that are NOT Pokemon. Either that or maybe Top 10 Dinosaur or Gun Bosses?

[@DarthMolgy]

His wording very much implied it's going to be Prehistoric bosses

[@danielhawkins2402]

Is the next boss countdown Dinosaur Bosses? Because if so, I AM ALL FOR IT!!!

[@thetalltitan2235]

As a person who loves dinosaurs (almost as much as dragons per se), I’m excited for that list as well. (I was so obsessed with prehistory as a kid)

[@salsamonkey65]

I expect Monster Hunter and Ys will both be represented lol

[@DarthMolgy]

I think "Prehistoric bosses" would be more accurate. Professor Sada is probably going to be there.

[@golisobro5296]

The silhouette at the end was of Artillerex from cassette beasts which isn’t a boss in the game, so perhaps just a countdown on dinosaurs in video games in general rather than dinosaur bosses specifically

[@uprising4c19]

I saw a Morpho knight duel coming for Forgotten Land (saw exact same butterfly taken by portal), just unclear how it'd be, still surprised though

[@C_Arson]

I accidentally spoiled myself on Morpho Knight being in the game, but it still caught me off guard because I thought it would only be a non-canon (or at least dubiously canon) extra boss; I didn't expect them to incorporate Morpho Knight into the canon storyline so plainly!

[@jrpludacrous]

Idk why people didn't like the Ridley fight It bridges the Prime series to the mainline series and it's a good explanation to how the Space Pirates knew about the baby Metroid And that's on top one of, if not, THE best Ridley fight in the series

[@C_Arson]

Some people just weren't a fan of them altering Metroid 2's ending in that kind of way, since the original's ending was seen as more quiet and introspective compared to the more "explosive" finales of most Metroid games. By adding the Ridley fight, the introspective aspect is sort of lost. I love the Proteus Ridley battle myself, though I can understand where non-fans of it are coming from to a degree.

[@KrimsonKattYT]

The Predator Ridley fight is bad for two reasons: 1: It ruins the quiet, somber ending of the original game boy title by adding in a bombastic final boss and still having enemies in the world, while the original game had EVERY enemy disappear after you beat the Metroid queen leaving a completely empty world, adding greatly to the atmosphere. 2: It implies that Prime is canon to the main games, with contradicts statements from Nintendo saying that Prime and the 2D mainline games are different continuities and that's why Samus's appearance and personality in Prime contradicts to heavily with her characterization in mainline. Nintendo basically let Retro do whatever they want with Prime and they made Samus into a gritty, emotionless action hero which isn't who Samus is. Thus, near the announcement of Dread Nintendo confirmed that Prime and Mainline are different continuities, putting the canonical validity of Samus Returns compared to the original game boy game into question due to tjd greatly altered ending. The actual fight and the cinematics that go along with it are incredible and some of the best in the series. The problem comes with the tonal and continuity issues it brings to the overall story, especially in linking prime with mainline where according to Nintendo they're supposed to be seperate.

[@C_Arson]

@@KrimsonKattYT Please name where I can find these statements that say Prime is in a different continuity. I've found sources that contradict that info, such as one from a Yoshio Sakamoto interview translated by Nintendo World Report back when Other M was new, where he clearly states that Prime is on the same timeline. Also, Nintendo didn't just let Retro do whatever they wanted; Retro wanted to add bounty hunting missions to Prime 3 and Nintendo stopped them, claiming that it didn't fit Samus's character. Evidently, they were okay with how she was depicted in the final product.

[@voltingmaster5458]

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

[@kingmagnus4009]

Well, this caught me by surprise alright.

[@DarkEinherjar]

I think Golbez fighting us in person in the Dwarven Castle was more of a surprise than Baigan... I mean, we never expected the main villain to get his own hands dirty this early in a JRPG.

[@KrimsonKattYT]

Dwarven Castle is actually a good 60%/70% through the game. Yeah it's not "near the end" but it's still more than halfway through the game.

[@mystic_absol7808]

I really wish you were to talk about Skylanders at some point, I was sat here hoping for the darkness from superchargers or the 2nd caos fight in swap force to at least get an honourable mention

[@newageBoundhippie]

plot & lore wise The Darkness was an awesome surprise boss....gameplay wise though, it's a rather disappointing fight given it boils down to just "drive forward & avoid stuff, repeat until win". Definitely agree on wanting to hear Skylanders talked about more in general though, it's starting to feel extremely underrated as a franchise these days

[@mystic_absol7808]

My guess as to why it doesn't get mentioned is because it isn't on pc, it's expensive to get a lot of characters and it is probably hard to emulate

[@newageBoundhippie]

it's happened a few times now but having to fight the Dragon of Dojima himself, Kazuma Kiryu....always a good surprise, and a damn tough fight. Yakuza/Like A Dragon has a knack for surprising boss fights with other protagonists

[@Hilversumborn]

I was more surprised that you had to fight Majima and Saejima at the same time

[@jenniferhamlin3481]

Oh and congrats 4 being a dad, FieryJoker 😊

[@peachymiku6432]

This whole list is a surprise but I am not complaining! A surprise boss I have always liked is the second time you fight Garr in Breath of Fire 3. I got to say, I wasn't expecting it, but like you said, a second playthrough works wonders to connect the dots. And it all starts with Bailo and Sunder as they reveal your secret of being a dragon to him. When you think about it, each move up till that second fight was to ensure you reach Angel Tower. Claiming you as his prizes because he is aware of your predicament, releasing you so you are free, protecting you from the same group who captured you prior, and then eventually he just guides you there. Then you hear Garr referred to as Guardian Garr and then you reach one spot in the tower, where he makes sure it's just you and him. He learn the truth about what he has done and then the battle commences. It may not be the greatest, but I say it's worth an honorable mention at least!

[@LeahLovesNature]

Thank you for the #4 entry! That whole sequence part of why I like Samus Returns so much. And while I accidentally spoiled the #1 twist for myself before I got to that part (that's what I get for looking on Fandom Wikis too soon), I still felt the impact upon learning it.

[@Titanking6475]

0:40 TBH, I like the live action bits more. That doesn't mean that the new portraits should be removed entirely, but the live action bits have a sense of charm that can't be replaced, especially after OVER A DECADE AND with Ari by your side, and I'm sure that many people would agree with me on that. Plus, the avatar's 'current' design, assuming it can/would be reworked, isn't really clicking with me. I'm sorry. I'm not saying I hate this change, but it is still worrisome, at least to me.😟

[@BlueflagAlpha]

Agree. Using a cardboard animated figure isnt as expressive as looking at an actual person

[@funtimetuber093]

What's even better for The Phantom is that we're never told that the real Bobby Fulbright is dead UNTIL the last case Also, if you want another great surprise villain from Ace Attorney, Simon Keyes from AAI2 is also great.

[@AtomBacon]

While I don't think Dread needed Ridley, I am a little dissapointed on 1 front. Dread has some of the best nonverbal characterization of Samus in her body language of any game in the series. Seeing how she reacts to Kraid, I would have loved to see how she would have reacted to Ridley. It was funny playing Dread and Prime so close together because Samus feels so much more confident in dread, comparing to seemingly somewhat Timid at times in Prime. Though it makes sense considering that if you count the prime games, Prime 1 is "Metroid 2" and Dread is "Metroid 10" (11 if Pinball is canon, and I didn't count Federation Force).

[@lionheart1013]

I love the Nemesis Boss so much, Im just really mad its in a Route that has NOTHING TO DO WITH EM!! Ya wanna know what route he would have sure as hecky work? Silver Snow Route

[@RandomTransGurl]

Okay so yeah countdown is as amazing as always BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE JOSH PORTRAITS THEY ARE SO ADORABLE!!!

[@rosecandy8922]

PARTNERS IN TIME AND PIZZA TOWER APPRECIATION LET'S GOOOOO

[@jaketaller8567]

My honorable mentions: Chef Saltbaker (Cuphead Delicious Last Course) He may have seemed friendly and helpful on the outside, but on the inside, he was a black hearted monster who wanted to steal your soul to create the Wondertart. Chica’s Magic Rainbow (FNAF World) It’s time to defeat PurpleGeist once and for… Nevermind, this thing just showed up and killed him for us. Oh well, I guess we’re fighting her now. BTW, She’s voiced by Jimmy Neutron herself, Debi Derryberry The Darkness (Skylanders SuperChargers) Just when you thought it was over after beating Kaos, now you gotta beat the one who gave him his powers in the first place. Heinrich (Conker’s Bad Fur Day) In a game already stuffed to the gills with pop culture references, It makes all the sense in the world that the final boss would be a fricking Xenomorph from Aliens. Kamek (Yoshi’s Crafted World) I bet you weren’t expecting Baby Bowser’s surrogate father to be a secret super boss. Kenny (South Park Stick Of Truth) Oh my god, they made Kenny the final boss! You bastards! Tonberry (Final Fantasy 7 Remake) When you see a little green guy carrying a lantern and a knife, start running!

[@Goleon]

I’ll admit that Kenny did throw me off a bit and omg he’s so hard to beat.

[@AznOmega]

For Tonberry in Remake, new players would see a cute green guy with a knife. Those who played any Final Fantasy game was panicking and thinking "How the hell did those guys get a freaking tonberry? Who's the sadist that gave it a time stop ability!?" Reminds me when I saw that mission in FF13, where instead of an undying Cieth (been a long time since I played it), you see a Tonberry gank it before it turns towards your party.

[@alexandreberiault6425]

Speaking personally as an uncle, I can't blame you for relying on animation right now.

[@silverflight01]

The crazy thing about Proteus Ridley in Samus Return to me was, I actually THOUGHT he was in the original as well! Samus Returns was my first real exposure to Metroid. I didn't know jack about the original and its story, so I was absolutely surprised when I learned that Ridley never showed up in the original GB game. So yeah, I basically had the inverted reaction of Metroid fans.

[@amirgarcia547]

One of my favorite surprise bosses in recent years is definitely Volo from Pokémon Legends Arceus. I mean, he’s basically Cynthia’s ancestor, is helpful to us for the entire game and one of the few people willing to help us once we get exciled from Jubilife Village. And so to learn in the postgame that he was actually the one who opened the dimensional rifts that made Noble Pokémon go berserk for the entire game, but conspired with Giratina, the literal Satan of Pokémon, to do so. All because he wanted Arceus to give him some kind of penance for all he’d been through, and when he never answered his pleas, he sought to use the legendaries to recreate Hisui instead. Just Cyrus once did, and he even admits that he grew jealous of and even resented the player the due to Arceus favoring them instead. Oh yeah, and having his team being a big throwback to Cynthia was essentially perfect, along with his named, Volo, coming from the latin phrase “Volo Ergo Sum,” which translates to “I want, therefore I am.” Since all Volo wanted was to gain Arceus’s favor and power due to believing that it was owed to him, and went to any lengths to achieve it: all while having no clue of his real intentions until the very end.

[@michaelmann7816]

As far as the Ridley fight in Samus Returns goes, I personally just like that it fills the gap between Prime 3 (leviathan boss as Omega Ridley, with the power that suggests) and Super (intro boss, can be damaged by the generic power beam)

[@emberfist8347]

And continuity wise he is more organic in Samus Returns but still has some of the cyborg components from his time as Meta Ridley showing how he went back to fully organic by the time of Super.

[@thelonemask]

Okay seriously. How are you able to still keep up a consistent upload schedule while also taking care of two infants? I’m honestly impressed.

[@CountShaman]

That's what we editors and writers are for. We babysit his workflow while he babysits his kids.

[@supremeseregios6810]

A good surprise boss I remember is Balore from Castlevania Aria of Sorrow. Here's the setting for those who don't know: The main character Soma has just witnessed the villain of the game, Graham, stab Yoko Belnades in cold blood, and is now heading to the second-to-last area before Graham himself; The Arena. An asortment of enemies flood the arena, all of them being new and deadly. When reaching the boss room however, a swarm of bats combine into one Giant Bat. The initial reaction of any Castlevania fan would be "Oh come on, not ANOTHER Giant Bat Boss!". But then, the bat gets completely crushed by a large hand stemming from the background. From there, the giant Balore rears his face at Soma before the real battle begins. For a GBA game, this certainly has the most spectacle of any boss.

[@emberfist8347]

Or what about Julius Belmot from Dawn of Sorrow? I mean the fact you are playing the franchise's big bad and the amnesiac guy you were friends with until this point is the Belmont who last put him down and is now trying to kill Dracula again is a pretty suprising twist.

[@TheChilipepper77]

That clay face reveal was legendary

[@emberfist8347]

Yep the best twist in Arkham Games. That and the return of Joker in Arkham Knight because when you start the game cermating his corpse you would think he was deader than dead (My only guess was he would appear in a few flashbacks from fear gas to his worst deed not that he was going to be a consistent hallucination through the story)

[@tinydeskeevee4735]

23:19 what I believe people fail to realize that the last bowser fight is literally the elder princess shroob’s last desperate attempt to kill the Mario bro’s, no matter what. Especially considering the one thing you end up destroying is her spirit

[@psychochiken4111]

Doesn't really qualify under the parameters but here's an honorable mention of my own: Chernabog, KH1. No buildup, but it is one hell of a surprise when you reach him at the final area! Woulda been really cool if he'd been depicted as Ansem's 2nd in command.

[@ModernAegis]

May I nominate Flandre Scarlet from Touhou Luna Nights? The way she disguised herself as Nitori for the whole game was pretty clever, especially considering it makes more sense than the final boss *actually* being Nitori.

[@tenebris9182]

28:08 I KNOW THAT SPRITE! THATS FROM CASSETTE BEASTS! I love that game! That and Lenna’s Inception!

[@Kehman86]

Bravely Default. The final boss and big evil is a member of your team from the very start of the game. You have conversations and travel together for at least 50+ hours on your first playthrough.

[@lennydickson8845]

Fun fact about Morpho Knight, the thing that really got me: This dude was Meta Knight’s original design. They almost went with this design from the beginning for Meta but decided to scrap it, only to make it its own monster.

[@buildingblock1518]

Surprised Black Baron wasn’t on the list. Dude was literally in your face the whole game, and yet no one suspected he was the final boss the whole time

[@BJGvideos]

Being the in between example puts him at honorable mention

[@matthewhyman8795]

"DARN YOU PHANTOM!!!!!!!!" Suspect EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!

[@DanHeroPhantom]

I love the moving portraits, nice way to save on filming live scenes.

[@emberfist8347]

From the looks of him Ridley did retcon one part of Metroid Namely it showed he went to an organic body in Super Metroid after being a cyborg in the Prime series.

[@24hourPrince]

I think my favorite part of the Fulbright/Phantom twist is that knowing the Phantom's MO, there's some chance that in the earlier cases in the game we could've been interacting with the real Fulbright. We never know when the Phantom takes his place.

[@TimedRevolver]

For anyone wondering, the song is Look Pimpin! by Sick YG. It's from the MadWorld soundtrack.

[@s.p.d.magentaranger1822]

Look Pimpin! is great!!

[@eraser2592]

I can’t find it on Apple Music

[@LunaP1]

I love this list. Also, I'm all for a Top 10 Ancient Boss list.

[@SpongicX]

Heinrich come Conker's Bad Fur Day was unexpected. The game is building up to a fight with the Panther King, yet he gets killed out of nowhere by a Xenomorph from Alien, and we have to fight it in the style of Bowser from Mario 64. Andross from Star Fox Adventures was also a very misleading boss fight, once again by Rare.

[@citrushubnetwork1052]

I knew it. I KNEW IT, I knew they were gonna include a Wormy jumpscare when talking about Morpho Knight! That episode scared me for life!

[@KittyKatty999]

Now I feel really old, knowing Josh from some of his oldest videos, before the PNG Tuber days. XD Jokes aside, congratulations on the awesome art! I fully support this. Good luck with your family!

[@aaronraynor663]

Here's yet another thing about Morpho Knight, his design has existed before as an unused design for Meta Knight, adding even more to the surprise of his appearance with the fact that an official Kirby game actually reused this previously scrapped design

[@newbiegamelover4767]

It's too bad that the snail from Cuphead: Last Course didn't count, as it's a genuinely good surprise for a boss fight. Unfortunately, he's technically only a surprise phase meant to troll players that think they've already completed the whole boss fight.

[@AkemiTheSunbro]

Eyy the new portraits have the classic jacket It’s been a minute, good to see it again

[@kaijuge6934]

When you brought up Phoenix Wright, I thought you would be talking about the final prosecutor of the final trial of a certain puzzling crossover... Ah, well.

[@funtimetuber093]

Are you talking about Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright?

[@conmanwolf405]

On the topic of Number 6, Red... Who remembers Twitch Plays Pokemon? They went on to play Crystal, and made their way through that game bit by bit. Ups and downs, only to come face to face with Red. His team was the very same team Twitch had used in Red version. With the sixth spot empty, all of Twitch gathered for a battle. Because if they failed to defeat Red by the end of that day... The story would end, and Twitch Plays Pokemon would have ended then and there. Forever. When they triumphed... The universe breathed a sigh of relief.

[@TurquoiseStar-tv9je]

Edelgard would have been a good candidate for the Three Houses villain emblem, but they didn't do it because she's a player character Emblem(alongside Claude and Dmitri at the same time)

[@kiracaroso]

Cool to see the avatar. Going to miss the live action segments a bit, but considering the more hectic schedule to happen, it is 100% understandable.

[@DavrenHelsmere]

Dual Destinies being my first Ace Attorney game and the twist of the Phantom was how I knew I was in for a very special series that I'd grow to love.

[@sawkman2092]

A good surprise boss in my opinion is *spoilers* the Bunker in Borderlands 2. Leading up to the fight, it is described as the 2nd out of 3 security hurdles to get to Control Core Angel and the Vault Key. Getting there is a huge uphill battle through swathes of bots and soldiers till you climb up the top of the enormous cliff. You need to kill the turrets shooting down your air support and then you probably expect to fight some guardian loader bot. All for the great reveal, that as Handsome Jack put it: "You really think all I'd have to protect Angel is a bunch of bots and some flimsy turrets? See, you're not at the Bunker, the Bunker isn't a place..." as the top of the spire pulls a Transformer and turns into a flying death fortress. Great visual design, awesome attacks (small issue with the overlapping hitboxes making it easy pickings for b0re Zer0 builds, but it is still an awesome twist). Even drops one of the best shields in the game, sometimes.

[@KIRBY2.0353]

I was actually quite surprised that black baron wasn’t on here, it caught me off guard that he was my final opponent in mad world. Thanks for referencing him during switching between bosses, though!

[@johanstenfelt1206]

Huh, yet another very interesting topic, i will look forward to the next one. Also, i wonder what other Surprise Bosses there is?

[@SuperGoker64]

5:56 Dr. Wily has a cat face. You can never un-see it now.

[@ClockwerkSamurai12]

Faupino: Well, even though I was not given a segment on this list, it’s a dishonorable to be nominated!

[@ReggieKSanshire]

Something I never noticed during the Elder Princess Shroob fight: One of her attacks has her open a time hole to send a kamikaze attack into to use later. *Interpret that however you will.*

[@SmokeTheHorsehog]

What makes Morpho Knight more interesting, and fitting (at least the first time around), is that the design and concept of Morpho Knight was one of the original concepts for Meta Knight, the same character who Galacta Knight was meant to be a more valiant, and yet still more sinister counterpart to. (If you're doing a Top 10 Ancient Bosses, the original Galacta Knight is a good contender.) It also helps that we already had Galacta in three games, prior to the bait and switch with Morpho Knight. So yeah, a nice change of pace, after the same hidden or late or post boss over and over to the point where it gets repetitive.

[@DarthMolgy]

That wasn't a concept design for Meta Knight, but a completely new character for the cancelled GameCube Kirby game

[@simonbriggs203]

I was kind of expecting Fae from Finding Paradise. The reason it's such a big surprise to me is because she is the only boss in a game series that otherwise just poked fun at battle systems once per entry (I haven't seen all of Imposter Factory yet). And given Faes implied composure throughout the story, you'd be surprised to learn that she's actually sentient and capable of overriding the system.

[@ericb3157]

something i saw in a different video, called something like "trickiest bosses"... in the Ace Attorney games, you have some sort of gadget or magical item that enables you to tell is someone is lying... BUT, one particular villain in one game is ABLE TO FOOL IT! this forces you to change your tactics completely, and spend extra time searching for clues and evidence and make a REALLY tight case!

[@smartboy201]

"Jubileus as the free-space" Josh, the free space will always belong to your standard outro. We have to at least _mostly guarantee_ we'll get the damn space...

[@ProfessionalNamielleLewder69]

4:20 - *YES!!! MY BOY SUNSTAR!!!*

[@KrimzonFlygon1]

21:01 OH MY GOD EDELGARRRRR(breaks down cackling like a lunatic)

[@dcloud3791]

Amazing video as always

[@thevenomspino]

Literally the only things we would change about Ridley in S.R is two things. 1. Maybe remove some more cybernetics. The idea is that he is healing from his Meta Ridley form, explaining why he looks like Meta Ridley but with more flesh exposure, but maybe have some more cybernetics remove in order to get that feeling more. And 2. Have Space Pirates on SR388 either right before you fight the Queen Metroid (maybe with corpses, or just them in areas you explore after you unlock the way to her), or have them after you get the Baby in some area where the baby access. That way it doesn't feel as shoe horn in. We love the fight and it makes sense as a bridge between Prime and the Super, but these would make the boss cooler and be less out of nowhere, which seems to be the problem many have with it.

[@blockeontheleafeon]

Welcome to the club, Josh. Glad you could join the ranks of the Portrait-based Countdown KZbinrs.

[@BlueflagAlpha]

I will miss his live action scene

[@blockeontheleafeon]

@@BlueflagAlpha Same. Those were pretty funny.

[@ddjsoyenby]

this was surprisingly great and i love the sponsor lol.

[@warwulf1889]

26:31 I believe it was revealed that the real Fulbright had also been murdered and his body hidden until the last day of the trial.

[@VaraxEstin]

In the original Kirby's Dream Land, the cutscene for the very first stage shows Kirby chasing a butterfly and then being mobbed by a bunch of them. You think that maybe that first little butterfly has been harboring a deep-seated hatred of the pink puffball for all this time and has been biding its time, watching and waiting, until the moment comes that it can achieve ultimate power and finally have its vengeance?

[@ShiroCat33]

Minor prediction: Next countdown will be Top 10 Ancient Bosses. Also, excellent top 10 as usual!

[@emberfist8347]

That seems a little broad. For example would the fight against Darth Revan in Star Wars the Old Republic count as he is over 300 years old by that point?

[@Nicky2414]

While I am going to miss the live action portions of your countdowns, Josh, I understand that you are now a busy parent and will respect your decision to use portraits from now on.

[@C_Arson]

My first time fighting Morpho Knight in Kirby Star Allies might just be one of my fondest gaming memories. At first, I was disappointed by them using Galacta Knight again since he was also one of the extra bosses in Planet Robobot, but then they threw a massive curveball and had him get absorbed by a butterfly of all things! When I realized that Morpho Knight was that old concept design of a butterfly knight from Kirby GCN brought to reality, my mind was BLOWN. Admittedly looking back, the fight is extremely simple in Star Allies (outside of the EX version anyway), but the concept alone instantly sold me.

[@dimentiorules]

Two of my favourite surprise bosses that aren’t on here are Senator Armstrong and The Lord of Lightning from Mario Odyssey.

[@GerudoKing_]

Love the new intro, Josh.

[@StormRulerKazunagi]

I love how out of nowhere Orlok Dracule as a boss is in Bloodstained: RItual of the Night. There is a chance you might not fight him at all on a first playthrough, which makes the surprise of him popping up before the final boss even more jarring if you're just farming enemies or just running back from the save point. Not only is the condition to make him appear absolutely hilarious (you didnt return his library books), he is the HARDEST boss in the game. It's essentially what Alucard from Castlevania would be like if he was a boss (with time powers on top). The outcome from beating him is really funny too

[@cdesigner9178]

Well, the Waifu Handbook being a sponsor for this video is quite the pleasant surprise. Let's see if these bosses can compare. 10. Capcom makes a lot of mistakes. Keep giving us Wiley and Sigma rather than something new so that when they actually make the final boss not one of them, it's a miracle. Not giving us a new Darkstalkers when the game they released for the 7th time sold very well, but not to the level they wanted. Just a few examples. (Sunstar & Lumine (Mega Man V & X8)) 9. The whole Punch-Out franchise is full of cheaters, as we saw in Bumble McFumble's vids on the subject. (Donkey Kong (Punch Out Wii)) 8. If I'm not mistaken, Clayface here gets a redemption arc and becomes a member of the Bat Family. It takes all kinds. (Clayface (Batman Arkham City)) 7. When the Impostor is sus... aaaaaand sorry, I didn't know what to say here. (Baigan (Final Fantasy IV)) 6. This just reminds me how sad it is that Ash is going to be leaving the franchise, even though Ash and Red are not the same characters. Didn't expect to miss him, but that final battle with Leon in Ultimate Journeys... that made me cry, y'know? (Red (Pokemon Gen 2)) 5. I personally think that Morpho Knight in Forgotten Land was more of a surprise because technically, the first fight with him wasn't canon. We STILL haven't technically had a canon fight against Galacta Knight, so seeing us fight Morpho Knight in canon before Galacta Knight is a big surprise. (Morpho Knight (Star Allies & Forgotten Land)) 4. You just can't put a cool space pteranodon pirate thing down for long. (Ridley (Samus Returns)) 3. I keep seeing how cool the stories and bosses of Fire Emblem are. And I keep feeling bad that I know that I probably wouldn't enjoy the gameplay, permadeath or otherwise. (Nemesis (Fire Emblem Three Houses)) 2. Why doesn't Nintendo make more Mario RPGs besides Paper Mario? No shade towards Paper Mario, of course, but you know what I mean. Remaking the OG one is a step in the right direction, though. (Elder Princess Shroob (Partners In Time)) 1. The only console that I have that I think could POSSIBLY have Ace Attorney games on it is the Switch. PLEASE, Capcom and Nintendo, port the games onto the Switch. I don't care about improved graphics, I just want to explore these stories on my own. PLEASE?! (Phantom (Ace Attorney))

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

The first three games and Great Ace Attorney games are already out and the DS/3DS trilogy has been confirmed to be ported on Switch for next year!

[@emberfist8347]

8: That comics change didn't last. Batwoman killed him off or so that is now Clayface is too big to be killed off particularly the Basil Karlo version. That is a problem with DC these days when they aren't rebooting their comics every five minutes, they are trying to maintain the status quo and not giving the people what they want.

[@timothyhannon4078]

Yeah definitely a fan of the new animated Josh. All that’s left, is to have him and Firebrand in the same room, come on we all know how hilarious that would be!!!!!

[@BlueflagAlpha]

Speaking of which, he needs to upload more on his other channel

[@MystiDrifti-um1nb]

I think one of my fave surprise boss is the Dark Matter Clone in Kirby Planet Robobot. I don't think anyone was expecting that tbh.

[@LunaP1]

We even get a mask of Dark Matter and it's many incarnations.

[@jaketaller8567]

Sectonia Clone and Galacta Knight make a bit of sense, but I doubt anyone predicted that a clone of the OG eldritch horror of the Kirby franchise would make a return.

[@Zerethos]

Numbers 10 through 4, number 2 and fake Peppino (the latter two I probably won’t experience) were all absolute shockers for me.