Halloween Special - Top 25 Boss Battles in Video Games

Did you really think I could top creepypastas? Of course not. There is nothing that can ever top something like that. So instead, I decided that when it comes to villains in video games, there will of course be boss battles. Now this has been around since gaming began and there have been quite a few which as a result, made it difficult for me to find the best ones. So as always, this list is my own opinion, it will be boss battles from games I have played and one boss battle per franchise if the game is part of a franchise. So as we celebrate another Halloween, let's look at my top 25 boss battles in video games (and there may be spoilers on the way. You have been warned):

Just to also say that all entries will feature YouTube videos of the boss battles so all credit goes to the content creators. You guys are awesome.
25 - Reflux (Final Fight) (Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc)

There was a time where Rayman was among the greatest of platformers and while that time has since passed, some of us will remember the days of Rayman 3. The third game of the series that had a lot of epic moments I have to say. But the best thing about it for me, was the final boss battle against Reflux. Now Rayman has fought him before earlier in the game, but now with the power of Andre the black lum inside him, he's more powerful and a much tougher boss to take down. Its separated into about 4 parts. He starts small, then grows big, then he starts floating, then he flies and is finally killed after Rayman turns Andre back into a red lum. It is a tough battle, but of all the Rayman games I've played, it is the best one of them all and just makes things more better and tougher as it carries on.

24 - The Great Mighty Poo (Conker's Bad Fur Day)

Viewer discretion is advised before watching the above video. So Conker's Bad Fur Day is one of those rare video games or films which while has a child friendly look and feel, is secretly more mature than meets the eye. I mean there's swearing, sexual references, alcohol and drug use just to name a few. But the thing that really is the highlight of the game is when Conker goes up against in lack of a better word, a piece of s**t. But not just any piece of s**t. A piece of s**t that is an opera singer. The battle is pretty straight forward as you have to throw toilet paper when he opens his mouth and eventually flush him down. I like it because its bizarrely funny and its not often that you would battle something so gross and so dirty and smelly (and foul mouthed) as this.

23 - Metal Overlord (Sonic Heroes)

A lot of people didn't like Sonic Heroes for various reasons. As you may have recalled in a previous post I did, I stated that this game was the first 3D Sonic game that I played and to be honest, its not perfect, but it knows how to challenge and entertain people. So after completing everyone's campaign and acquire all the Chaos Emeralds like you do in all Sonic games, all the teams and Eggman come together to stop Metal Sonic who up to this point, has acquired information on all the teams and has transformed into a big badass monster. So the battle begins with teams Dark, Rose and Chaotix doing what they can to weaken Metal Overlord and then its up to Team Sonic with the power of the Chaos Emeralds to take him down. The battle from this point gets a little bit repetitive, but of all the bosses seen in the Sonic games I've played, this is the one I liked the most because its unexpected, is not in any way predictable in that Eggman doesn't have a part to play in the fight (other than to advise Team Sonic to use Team Blast like everyone else) and its epic with a kickass song to boost. I mean yeah the final boss in Unleashed was pretty kickass as well, but I played the Wii version of that game so I didn't get much of a kick out of it than others would've.

22 - The Uruk Captains (Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor)

This is kind of cheating in a way because these are not just one enemy, but several. However because they all have a leadership role, I'm going out and calling them optional bosses. Optional in the sense that you can either battle them, or use them to your advantage. Either way, its going to be a tough fight as every fight with them, will make them stronger and adapt to your way of playing the game. Its one of the things that makes this game both great, but challenging and frustrating. But hey at least its a gameplay mechanic that works well for this type of game.

21 - The Spider (Limbo)

Again, not much of a boss, but you would be scared if you had a giant spider coming after you, wouldn't you? Limbo is a dark game where everything is out to kill you. The spider was a tricky one, but satisfying once you know how to take it down. Like I said, it can be scary, but you'll be happy once its dealt with.

20 - Human Reaper (Mass Effect 2)

The Mass Effect series has a number of great boss battles. The annoying Kai Leng, the Reaper as well as Saren, but when it comes to who is the best, it goes to the Human Reaper. For one thing, its a big boss, but unlike the Reaper where its pretty straight forward and isn't too difficult, this one can be a big nuisance. But when you think about it, if this got out and became part of the Reapers invasion of the galaxy, who knows what would happen. But anyway, its a very intense, but great boss battle and one that really makes the suicide mission that more difficult.

19 - Galactus (Marvel VS Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds)

Marvel and Capcom have some great characters, but none of them come close to the power of Galactus. The devourer of worlds and Marvel's answer to DC's Anti-Monitor, this guy can kill off each of your team mates until one of you is left standing and what makes this great is what characters you could use to defeat him and the results can be pretty hilarious if you use the most obscure characters against him such as MODOK or even Deadpool. Its not one of the best boss battles out there and for many hardcore Marvel fans, it's a pretty predictable final boss to take down. But as I said, the best thing about it is what characters you can use to defeat him if any.

18 - Doctor Adrian Baker (Heavy Rain)

Just to say it wasn't easy finding the right video for this game, but I hope this one suffices. Might not be in English, but you get the picture. Anyway, so Heavy Rain has a number of quick time events that mostly revolve around a character's struggle against an enemy. It wasn't easy to pick the best one, but in the end, I went for Dr. Baker. Quite simply, this man is a messed up old man who can drug Madison or if Madison winds up in the wrong place of his house, he will put her in a torture chamber. At this point in the game, players can very easily kill Madison or not, but either way, you'll have to be quick if you want this messed up doctor to be stopped. You could even avoid this battle altogether if you play your cards right. But in all honesty, this is the first time in the game in which you can really feel regret if you get Madison killed because it is the first instance in which a character you play can be killed and who knows what the doctor would do to her body when she dies, if you make her die that is.

17 - Big Daddy (BioShock)

Well I can say that YouTube on Blogger is a pain in the ass when it comes to finding the videos you want. It just comes up with random videos and nothing on what you actually want. At least the actual website and app works better than it does here. Anyway, so kind of like with the captains in Shadows of Mordor, the Big Daddies are optional bosses and will put up a good fight if you go up against them. They have a powerful drill and their main purpose is to look after the Little Sisters which are required to either kill or save as you progress through the game. The final boss is a joke in my opinion, but if you're wanting a good fight, the Big Daddies are the ones that will give you just that. They are tough, but everything about them is probably why they are so iconic and are considered the mascots of the BioShock franchise as a whole.

16 - Ganon (Hyrule Warriors)

This may come as a surprise to a lot of you, but I haven't played that many Legend of Zelda games. I mean I have briefly played a majority of them, but the only games of the franchise that I have been able to plow through until the very end, are Link's Crossbow Training and Hyrule Warriors. Both are good games and give me enough knowledge of the Zelda franchise, but I will agree that its not really enough to have myself considered a hardcore fan. But anyway, so we come to the end of Hyrule Warriors and as predicted, we have to fight an all powerful Ganon, while dealing with his minions in the process. I love Hyrule Warriors for how its able to show so many enemies on one screen and it really feels like your in a warzone and battling Ganon just makes things that little more epic. Its great, though very challenging to say the least.

15 - Bowser (Final Fight) (Super Mario Galaxy)

Bowser has had many fights with Mario so it was hard to pick the best one. In the end, I went with the last fight he has with Mario in the first Super Mario Galaxy. Now some of you might say that the fight in Galaxy 2 was better as Bowser was a giant in that game, but I find that this one is more epic as you're making your way to Bowser and are ready to take him on for the last time and as the fight goes on, it eventually end up with both Mario and Bowser at the core of a lava world. If there was ever a fight that is epic, its this one. Everything about Mario Galaxy was great. The music, the idea of using gravity and jumping from one planet to another and just having theorists everywhere trying to figure out where Rosalina fits in to the Mario world. But this boss fight was just great from the start.

14 - FizzCo Building (Sunset Overdrive)

Its not often that bosses are buildings. But in a game like Sunset Overdrive, anything is possible. So your at the final mission and every living thing is coming at you and just when you have the edge, the building then moves and starts spreading chaos in the city. Yeah that's as bizarre and insane as a final boss can get in this game. Its very bizarre and weird, but you'd be expecting this in such a game like Sunset Overdrive.

13 - Bob Barbas (DmC: Devil May Cry)

Just doing God's work, eh? Might want to change that catchphrase when you battle a news reporter turned demon. The Devil May Cry games are full of all sorts of demons for Dante (regardless of the original or new designs) to take on, but Bob Barbas is among the most bizarre. The game starts out as having him as a simple news reporter, but eventually Dante is given the task to take him down because Bob is secretly a demon. We then spend 3 levels getting to him (with some help along the way) and eventually we come to his domain and its a battle that uses news reporting images as the camera angle while you battle Bob's head. All ending with the news reporter being put in permanent retirement. All wonderful stuff if you get annoyed with some of the rubbish news reporters say.

12 - Haytham Kenway (Assassin's Creed III)

So I've now discovered that if you put in the actual URL from YouTube in the search box here, it will actually get you what you want. They could've told me sooner, but hey. Now I know that The Tynarry of King Washington had some creative boss battles and most other Assassin's Creed bosses are either too repetitive or boring, but the one that's most memorable to me was Conner going up against his father Haytham. Its an emotional fight between father and son, assassin and former assassin turned Templar grand master and a man who won't stop till its over and a man who wants nothing more than power. Whats interesting about this fight is that prior to the fight, Conner is in a battle zone and as such, is in no fit state to fight the guards and initially, he wanted to fight Lee, but he got Haytham instead. You have to use environment things to take Haytham down in this fight. This ultimately leads to Haytham having the upper hand and convincing Conner that he is a Templar and nothing will turn him back into an assassin, promoting Conner to stab his neck with his hidden blade. And then after an emotional but grateful farewell, Haytham dies leaving Conner with only one Templar left to kill. It is a great fight and its a much better and well executed fight than any of the other boss fights in the series to date and although the King Washington fights are creative as well, I just don't remember them that well.

11 - Gnome Warlock (South Park: The Stick of Truth)

There are just some things that can never be unwatched again, like this boss fight. Honestly while the Gnome Warlock puts on a good fight against the player's character, the only thing I remember from this fight, was what was happening in the background. I mean seriously, there has not been a boss fight so hilarious and so messed up as this, but that's what you get in a South Park game. Basically you're fighting a Gnome while the player's parents are having sex which can be an advantage at times when their bits start to get in the fight and would either help you out or not. There are no words that can say any more about this fight than that. It is just something you would want to unwatch, but can't. Welcome to South Park. The home of crude animation with some controversy thrown into the mix.

10 - Tabuu (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

It was a tough decision when it came to Smash Bros, but in the end, I decided to pick the boss who had more of a purpose for its existence. In many of the Smash Bros. games, its always implied that Master Hand is the true villain, but in Brawl, there's a new person in the mix known as Tabuu who's one purpose is to take over the world (like every other villain) and turn all the Smash fighters into trophies so that they don't get in the way of his plans. However in the end, his plans for world domination fail when King Dedede manages to outsmart everyone and forms a small team to save the other fighters and take Tabuu down after going through his maze and recruiting Sonic in the process. It is a very tough fight (more tough if you go for the highest difficulty), but it's one that really tests your fighting ability and skills against a boss who can easily take all your fighters down with just one hit per fighter (at least for one of his moves anyway).

9 - Wheatley (Portal 2)

So at the start of Portal 2, the core known as Wheatley tries to help you escape which leads to GLaDOS taking you in for testing and eventually Wheatley finds you and as your plans of escaping go according to plan, he takes GLaDOS's place and then betrays you and sends you and GLaDOS to the depths of the facility where for a while, you get the pleasure of hearing J. K. Simmons as you find GLaDOS and make your way back to where Wheatley is, but when you find him, he's turned the entire facility upside down and so you must stop him. Eventually you enter his lair and its just a case of throwing as many cores at him as you can before you can put a portal on the moon, thus getting rid of him forever (until LEGO Dimensions that is). He is an interesting villain who is able to use his friendly personality to his advantage to manipulate Chell into making him the new GLaDOS. What a villain he is and a great boss fight to go with it.

8 - Theodore Lagerfeld Jr. (Dead Rising 3)

In the Dead Rising games (at least in 3 anyway), you'll come across not only a lot of zombies, but you'll also meet some psychopaths who act as optional bosses. In one side mission where you need to find a set of keys to open up a weapons facility inside a police station, you are led to the mansion of one Theodore Lagerfeld Jr. Unlike the other psychopaths in the game, Theo doesn't attack you directly and instead uses his security drones to take you down, but like the others (well except for one other) will eventually lose and die. I like it when games try to be clever with the bosses in that it doesn't get too repetitive and gets more creative as you go and this one certainly does just that. I mean yeah the drones will put up one hell of a fight for you, but you'll manage it soon enough.

7 - Brooke Augustine (Final Battle) (InFAMOUS: Second Son)

I like the InFAMOUS games. The idea of being good or evil has always been something I like playing with in video games that try this out. So whether you are one or the other, the final boss Brooke Augustine is going to put up one hell of a fight against you. And the worst part about it, is that once she gives you her powers, you can't do anything until you gain some powers with help from Eugene as the fight goes on. It is a very intense fight, but one that is thought provoking in that it questions on who is the saviour and who is the monster out of Delsin and Brooke. Well whatever route you choose, one big fight will await you so you better be ready.

6 - Zoran Lazarevic (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves)

Everyone knows that when it comes to the fights in Uncharted, its going be pretty darn epic. Now as far as which game is the best, most people will say that the second game was the best and honestly, I agree. So Zoran Lazarevic is pretty heartless and will do anything to get what he wants. But when it comes to battling Nathan Drake, he's going to make it tough (Zoran that is). Because he's drank something in this world that has granted him some powers of sorts, its going to be a tough fight and one where shooting from a distance is all Nate can do to keep himself alive. But shooting things that explode can help. It is a difficult fight and more difficult if you do a Crushing playthrough because that playthrough is a b**ch, but totally worth the effort in the end. But of course, Elena won't be the same after this game.

5 - Cronos (God of War III)

Its one thing fighting and killing gods, but quite another fighting and killing titans. God of War III is a blood heavy game that sees Kratos on a murder spree in killing all gods that dare try to cross him, but nothing in the games could ever beat the fight against Cronos. Not only would you be defeating this titan, but it also serves as an entire level of beating up enemies as you kill this titan. Boss battles where the boss is a giant are always considered to be the best, and Cronos is no exception. Its a great fight which as I said, doubles as an entire level and whatever happens in the new game, its probably not going to be able to beat what we see here.

4 - Darth Vader (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II)

The Force Unleashed II is far from being a great game especially seeing as unlike the first game, you're all powerful from the get go. But with power such as this, it won't mean all fights are going to be a piece of cake, especially when going up against the greatest sith lord of them all, Darth Vader. This boss fight is exactly what I would expect to see if someone were to go up against Vader (and actually have proper fighting and not just swing your lightsaber around). Crazy force powers, the power to cause all sorts of chaos and for once, we might actually get to see Vader in a more vulnerable position than what we saw in the previous game. Doesn't get any better than that in the galaxy that is far far away.

3 - Chernabog (Kingdom Hearts)

The Kingdom Hearts games are full of great boss battles from the big and grand to the complicated and annoying. But as this is a crossover between Disney and Final Fantasy, I decided to pick a boss fight that best resembles one of those franchises and because most of the game is Disney with a few Final Fantasy characters thrown in for good measure, I went with a boss fight that involves a Disney character. No not Donald or Goofy, but a character often referred to as the devil. That's right, its Chernabog. Now across the games, you will be battling this guy twice and I think the first time you fight him is the best. That's because you're up close, you're flying and while he'll put up a great fight, you get to hear the music that you heard when you saw him in the first Fantasia film which funnily enough, became a world in Kingdom Hearts later on. Plus what a great villain he is to go up against before the big fight against Ansem (later revealed as the heartless of the series main antagonist) in a world that isn't quite there like others before it. One could call it a wasteland where the remains of what were worlds are now consumed by darkness. But yeah, its a great fight and one that better represents Disney in the games.

2 - Clock-La (Sly 2: Band of Thieves)

Before Nathan Drake came around, there was only one treasure hunter that Sony had and that was Sly Cooper. In a franchise that plays out like one of those Saturday morning cartoons, Sly has been up against a number of villains, but nothing could ever beat Clock-La. It is an intense fight and probably the most intense fight there is in the franchise. There ain't no robbing here, this is a fight that could tear the fabric of space and time apart. So you better be ready because I don't think Sly and friends will be able to take this one down alone. No honourable mentions this time as most of the bosses I have fought and enjoyed fighting are seen in this list and there is no one else I can think of putting on here. So let's move on to number one.

1 - Mr. Freeze (Batman: Arkham City)

Really the only reason why Freeze is at number one is because this a boss fight where every hit you do to him, has him make you not do the same one again because all he'll do is do something to his suit to make it more difficult to hit him. Its quite clever in that it truly feels like a proper Batman fight that tests Batman's brain as well as his brawn and to be honest, it was really a no brainier when it came to the Batman games because all the others are nothing but punching your enemies and using gadgets to help and while its the same here, its done in such a way that once you do it once, you can't do the same move again and have to beat him a different way. That's why Mr. Freeze is number one. Its not about the epicness, the humor (if any) or things at a grand scale, its all about brains and brawn and that is what makes Batman, well Batman.

So I hope you enjoyed this list and feel free to comment on what your favourite boss fights are. I haven't played every single game as you know which is why some bosses who appear on everyone's list are not on mine. But maybe one day, I'll go back to this list and add some more bosses. But we shall see.

In the meantime, have a happy Halloween.