Line #42 AwesomeBosses/TalesSeries


1	Whatever Tales are being told, odds are they include some awesome bosses.
2	----
3	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'':
4	** The battle over Midgard. For [[SequenceBreaking players who had bought a Mecha-Halberd well ahead of time]], being demoted to the Gungnir was a bit of a letdown, but ''flying into the sky riding Pegasus'' surely wasn't. The whole thing culminates in fighting a hell of a dragon boss in midair. Seeing as how the game was right in the middle of shifting into high gear here, this fight was nothing short of sweet.
5	** The optional arena fights. Cress enters alone, fighting through a variety of mooks seen over the course of the game, when he's offered a special bonus for just one more fight. If you accept, Cress is healed, he demands, [[NoFourthWall "Start the music!"]], [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic "Fighting of the Spirit" starts up]], and you fight the Wyvern boss one-on-one. It's basically a PaletteSwap of the dragon boss described above, but it's NintendoHard in the best way possible. The fight tests your fighting prowess to its absolute limit, especially since you can't bring your own items into the arena. It's just a sweet-ass fight between man and dragon, set to amazing music.
6	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'':
7	** The iconic fight with former party member Leon Magnus. The fight and what follows are a dramatic peak of the game that sets the tone for the entire second half and its a tough fight with awesome music. In the Remake's "Leon Side" the encounter has even more buildup and is redone so you have the chance to play the other side, fighting Stahn, Rutee, Philia and Garr as Leon.
8	** Most humanoid bosses in ''Destiny:Remake'' qualify since they are so tough. One that particularly stands out is the new fight between Stahn and Dymlos.
9	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia''.
10	** [[OptionalBoss Sekundes]] is the {{Expy}} of the BigBad of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' and the series' original WellIntentionedExtremist Dhaos. He has all of his trademark attacks and the battle has a remixed version of his original theme, Decision. Once Sekundes is below 50%, if you manage to hold him off long enough, Keele or Meredy will recite the incantation for Indignation and hit for 100,000 damage.
11	** The cameo battle in the arena against Cress and Arche. Some gamers keep a save file just to have the freedom to fight them any time.
12	** The battle against Rassius. Depending on your skill, the difficulty setting, and your levels, he's either really easy, or a guy who will break you mid-combo and counter with his own that include two unique attacks, and thus will beat the crap out of you, alot. Either way, the guy is so cool that fighting him is awesome in itself.
13	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'':
14	** Barbatos is programmed to counter your own actions, making it more interesting than the standard boss practice of "run up and throw everything you got".
15	** The PSP remake has the Leon fight in the BonusDungeon, using a fairly similar moveset to the one he has in the remake. It's tough, but fun, and is made even more epic if Judas is in your party.
16	** The final fight against Fortuna also qualifies, simply because you're facing off against a ''goddess'' throwing spell after spell at you.
17	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
18	** Lloyd's DuelBoss battle against Kratos. [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Kickass music]], [[ClimaxBoss awesome build-up]], and the resolution of [[LukeIAmYourFather the subplot about Kratos being Lloyd's father]] makes for what's easily the best boss fight in the game.
19	** Fighting Yggdrasill for the third time at the end of the descent into the Tower of Salvation, when you can- and have to- win. It's quite satisfying to finally be able to fight equally with him and actually be potentially able to withstand his attacks instead of getting one-shotted. The final battle with him in his child form Mithos is not necessarily disappointing, but doesn't have the same impact, although you are essentially beating up the legendary hero who took on all the Summon Spirits by himself.
20	** The third Sword Dancer. He's got tons of HP, with strong physical and magic attacks (not to mention a crapload of TP). Ya best be of high level, especially if you're playing alone; having other people tends to make battles [[ArtificialStupidity a lot easier,]] not to mention way more fun.
21	** Much earlier on there's the battle against Kvar, whose actions resulted in the death of Lloyd's mother and Kratos' wife and whose defeat is made even more satisfying by Lloyd's line at the end of the battle and the cutscene that follows.
22	** In the [=PS3=] version, the BonusDungeon pits you against Magnius, Pronyma, and Forcystus all at once! Three of the most significant Grand Cardinals against four of your own party members in one big, badass battle. It's seriously an awesome experience; be sure you're stocked up on items and your finest equipment.
23	** Remiel. After spending an entire quarter of the story as the party's guide, accepted by the party and by the girl herself to be Colette's father and guiding her from harrowing trial to harrowing trial as she loses more and more of herself for the sake of world regeneration, this ''absolute SOB'' turns on a dime, callously laughs in the face of the notion that he was ever Colette's father, and all but forcibly extracts the final piece required for Colette to fulfill her duty as Chosen: her soul. Then, delighting in the idea that his actions will net him status and influence, Remiel declares the party "inferior beings" - thus revealing himself to be one of the Desians that have regularly been causing them misery - and proclaims that they [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness are no longer of use to him]] before attacking. In a single stroke, the tension that has been slowly building over the course of the entire game up until this point ''shatters'' and what ensues is easily one of the most climactic, emotional, and viscerally satisfying boss battles in the entire franchise, all tied together by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BZPiZEautg arguably the best battle theme]] in a game brimming with them from top to bottom.
24	* Anytime in the series where you can go to an arena for a pleasant OptionalBoss experience, but the one that comes to mind is ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld: Narikiri Dungeon 3''. The arena there is all five ''Tales'' heroes in the game (Cress, Stahn, Rid, Kyle, and Lloyd) in sequence, one-on-two versus your matched pair of OriginalGeneration kids. All of them have their full spread of attacks, outrageous HP, unmatched tenacity, and their signature [[LimitBreak Hi-Ougis]]. But the true win comes if you fight your way through all five of them - and meet up with Stahn's sister Lilith, who will proceed to kick your ass by ''channeling lightning through a frying pan''. And if you beat her? You get the ability to dress your heroine up as her and gain all her attacks. '''Thunder Sword!''' This was a real treat for the hardcore Tales fans, considering she was DummiedOut of the original ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'' and the remake had not been announced yet.
25	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' have some of the best examples in the series:
26	** Without a doubt, the most iconic would be Luke and Asch's [[DuelBoss final duel]], with the brilliant [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SHM-7qMiDs "Meaning of Birth"]] as BGM. Not only is it an exciting duel to play, but also it has an amazingly cathartic scenario, since Luke and Asch finally settle down the score and give closure to their respective arcs. Both characters finally stop defining themselves based on the other one, Luke completely overcomes his CloneAngst and Asch acknowledges once again his identity as the original Luke fon Fabre. The final battle, although it does provide a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome in its own right, actually pales in comparison to the emotional impact of this duel. One of the most unforgettable Boss fights ever seen in an EasternRPG during the 128-bit era, if not ever.
27	** Nebilim has the best Strike and Fonic artes in the game. She has absurdly high stats. She also sports a plethora of Mystic Artes like Big Bang, Mystic Cage, Rending Saber, and Innocent Shine. She also brings a brand new Mystic Arte that will horrendously slaughter anyone caught in it. Prepare to die over and over and very painfully each time, especially when Nebilim uses Indignation or Fragmented End. Did we neglect to mention that that she's wearing skin-tight leather and sounds like she's really..."excited"?
28	--->'''Nebilim''': "Know your place! Know what true power is! [[CallingYourAttacks Fragmented End!]]"
29	** Cameo team battle. You fight [[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Reid]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Mint]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Philia]], and [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2 Nanaly.]] The battle is basically a mirror fight; Reid is the sword-user, Mint is the healer, Philia is the black mage, and Nanaly is a hybrid of melee/caster. The cameo team can and will revive their teammates and use their own Mystic Artes, including Reid's trademark LimitBreak, Aurora Wall, which will revive all dead party members and kill anyone caught in it. Aurora Wall is complete with its very own ThemeMusicPowerUp with a remix of Eternal Mind from ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia''.
30	--->'''Reid''': We will not LOSE!
31	** The FinalBoss is an epic, three-stage (four if you count the last part with Tear singing the Grand Fonic Hymn) clash against one of, if not ''the'', best-written antagonists in the whole series. The music is some of the best in the franchise, Creator/MichaelMcConnohie's voice work is just ''[[LargeHam tremendously]]'' [[LargeHam glorious]] and the fact that every character gets their own special take on the scene if they're the party leader is just the icing on the cake. It's a wonderful way to end the game and, in hindsight, it's a beautiful sendoff to the [[WellIntentionedExtremist morally grey antagonists]] that the series became loved for during the GC/[=PS2=] generation.
32	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'':
33	** The DuelBoss battle against Flynn. Some feel it loses a whole lot of impact due to the whole FightingYourFriend aspect, rather than the ultimate clash of Flynn's and Yuri's ideals it could have been if they were fighting as enemies. Others find the duel against Flynn to be awesome for ''precisely'' that reason. It ''is'' the ultimate clash of their ideals, it's just that they're [[HeterosexualLifePartners such good friends anyway]] that that's how they work things out - by beating each other up. Indeed, part of what makes the fight awesome is how they're [[TalkingIsAFreeAction so casually having a conversation]] ''while they're beating each other up.''
34	--->'''Yuri''': You keep getting better!\
35	'''Flynn''': You do too!\
36	'''Yuri''': Guess life's taught us both a few things.\
37	'''Flynn''': How many years has it been since we fought like this?\
38	'''Yuri''': Uh... we fought in the coliseum. You forget already?\
39	'''Flynn''': Of course not! Just, y'know...a lot of stuff has happened. It's-\
40	'''Yuri''': Yeah?\
41	'''Flynn''': It's just different.\
42	'''Yuri''': Yeah...It feels different for me too.\
43	'''Flynn''': I wonder what it is.\
44	'''Yuri''': Does it matter? I am ''so'' gonna kick your ass!\
45	'''Flynn''': No no no no no. ''I'm'' gonna kick ''your'' ass.\
46	'''Yuri''': [[PreAsskickingOneLiner Oh, it's on now!]]
47	** And if that fight really wasn't good enough, maybe one of the game's many {{Optional Boss}}es are. Specifically, the cameo battle. ''Tales'' fans must have been wondering when a character from the Gamecube / [=PS2=] generation (i.e., ''Symphonia'', ''Legendia'', ''Abyss'') would show up as an extra boss in the main series. Such a character was finally chosen for the boss fight at the end of the optional Labyrinth of Memories. That character? ''Kratos [[TheStoic motherfriggin']] [[AntiHero Aurion]]'', the only character to ever beat out [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Leon Magnus]] in [[PopularityPower Tales popularity polls]] (besides Yuri himself, ironically), voiced by Cam Clarke as the original was, using all the same powerful techniques, including the first appearance of his [[LimitBreak Mystic Arte]], Shining Bind, on Western shores. Clashing swords with him is just as awesome as it was back in Symphonia, if not more so.
48	** Team battle mode in the coliseum of the Platform/{{PS3}} version. Your chosen party of four will fight Schwann and his brigade (Leblanc, Adecor, and Boccos), then Clint, Tison, and Nan plus a helmeted Karol, ''then'' all four previous Tales cameos - Barbatos, Shizel, Dhaos, and Kratos...and ''then'', just when you think the awesomeness has already overloaded, ''the rest of your party'' comes in to fight the four you chose. Each of these battles is like a full-blown fight against a rival adventuring party, especially the last one, for obvious reasons, and the fact that it's all in a row makes you wonder if even the [=PS3=] is powerful enough to contain such epicness!
49	** The fight with Estelle. Most of the second act has been building up to the [[BigBad The fight with Alexei]] and when you finally get there, he's not only got Estelle there to torment you, he forces you to fight her! And after he gets what he's after, he leaves everybody except Yuri immobile, and then forces Estelle to try to kill them again, thus leaving you in a one-on-one battle against her, to [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic The Moon]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BXr3BSy6JM and The Shining Star]]. All signs point to Epic.
50	* Whatever you may feel about the ContestedSequel ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'', it's hard to deny how awesome the final boss fight against Richter is. Firstly, the party gets down to business after a relatively short conversation, a welcome reprieve from the villain going "JustBetweenYouAndMe" for ten minutes before any action starts; second, as they're fighting him, the party tries to [[TalkingIsAFreeAction talk some sense into him]], reminding him of his {{catchphrase}} and ideals; third, the boss is [[IncendiaryExponent on fire]]; and finally, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr23K-m2bng the battle theme, "The Wilderness of Sadness",]] is one of the most badass final battle themes ever. Seriously, the game is probably worth it for that song alone. And also, the two fights after that if you got the true ending.
51	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' has the gloriously chaotic fight against Chalcedony, Peridot and Pyrox all at once. Noteworthy in that while most Tales games have the rival character you will have a one-on-one battle with, Hearts puts you up against an entire rival team all at once, resulting in an incredibly fast-paced and frantic fight where managing your party members is more essential to winning than it ever is in any other fight in the game. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FPHtv9Mz9U The music is spectacular too.]] The only real downside is that the game can absolutely lag like ''mad'', but this is much ''much'' improved on the Vita version.
52	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'':
53	** The FightingYourFriend duels aren't all that dramatic, but they're ''very'' satisfying. The battle system is a lot of fun, but with four people on your team and multiple enemies it sometimes feels like just a lot of colour and noise. With just Asbel facing down Hubert, Sophie or Malik, though, it turns into a real test of skill. Beating Hubert by the well in Strahta is ''especially'' satisfying after his unwinnable boss fight earlier in the game. Oh, and special mention to Cheria's duel against Pascal for the same reasons, although slightly cheapened by the fact that she's just doing it to get Pascal to take a bath.
54	** The Fodra Queen at the very end. Not the FinalBoss, but the TrueFinalBoss. The boss actually uses a StanceSystem (somewhat similar to Asbel) and alternates between them at certain points of the fight, forcing the players to adapt their strategies and watch more than just "In front of them".
55	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'': The BadEnding may be dark and depressing as heck, but the route's FinalBoss is well worth it, as Ludger fights the entire party. Alone. All of them: Jude, Milla, Alvin, Eliza, Rowan, Leia, Gaius and Muzet, turning on them to protect his brother. It's a brutal BossRush that matches the difficulty of Ludger's choice.
56	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'': Heldalf's final phase is frantic and really gives the feeling of an endurance battle. Oh, and you only fight its torso - because that's just how ''big'' Heldalf has become.
57	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': Just about all of the fights against the four Abbey members, Oscar, Teresa, Shigure, and Melchior are loved, partly due to how frantic Oscar's is, how Shigure is liked in general, and how cathartic it is to finally get to beat up Melchior. It helps that Oscar is the first armatized enemy with a Malak, and uses artes very similar to Sorey and Rose when armatized with Zaveid or Dezel.
58	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'':
59	** The fights with each of the Renan Lords are both awesome and difficult. And if the regular fights were not hard enough, there are the optional rematches during a sidequest.
60	** While not as difficult as other optional bosses, the fight against Zephyr is satisfying to see him take on the whole party including Law in one last moment. Even better, this boss is conjured from the desires of Alphen to fight an opponent who holds nothing back and intentionally gives them a difficult time. This is Alphen's crew fighting Alphen's ultimate wish fulfillment against his most idealized image of Zephyr at his absolute ''peak'', and the party still overcomes it.
61	** The two part fight against the Great Astral Spirit. Though not a FinalBoss, it is a difficult fight and the culmination of the party's effort to finally put a stop the suffering for both Dahna and Rena.

Context AwesomeBosses / TalesSeries