Boss Deaths

Having recently come across the Chain Reaction Destruction trope, and having played a wealth of different games, I've wondered what the many different ways to show a boss has been defeated are. White flash? Slow motion? Freeze cam? Turning the screen negative? Gigantic explosion? Releasing a bunch of lights/maple leaves/plot essential things?

And so, I humbly ask if anyone can contribute any interesting examples. Perhaps with a visual aid, if possible.

I like a lot of the Resident Evil boss deaths. For example Mr. X's wobble and collapse. It's adorable, somehow.

I like the way Kingdom Hearts 2 did it. Freeze and then slow mtion. And it had to be the end of a combo to kill them which made it even more awesome.

Robotnik is well known for his impressive ability to explode and survive said explosions.

Also Patapon 3 has a quick freeze on the last attack followed by the boss dramatically falling, usually flat on its back.

edited 31st Jul '11 7:40:59 PM by stevebat

Bayonetta kills bosses with STYLE.

The deaths in No More Heroes and Mad World are pretty over-the-top as well.

Hmmm... I recently added this entry to Adventure Kingdom so...

Well, other than Robotnik, I can't seem to recall other examples.

Legend of zelda A link to the past has a neat death animation.

Also dragon age always has finishers.

I'm a fan of FF 6's, myself. *flash* *flash* *flash-rumble...*

Half Life has the Nihilanth getting killed by opening up its head and opening fire on its brain.

Not a boss battle, but the Payload Explosion in Team Fortress 2 is satisfying.

Heavenly Sword has a pretty nifty example. The final boss has his eyes pecked out by a giant demonic smoke raven.

I like a lot of the Splatter House boss deaths. keeps you on your toes.

edited 1st Aug '11 2:44:56 AM by Schitzo

>releasing a bunch of maple leaves

Y HALO THAR EVERY BOSS IN MoF AND SA.

Urban Chaos Riot Response has some brutal finishers on it's named enemies, such as falling off a building and landing on a Helicopter Blender or getting a Toaster In The Bathtub. The final one takes place in a Meat Processing Plant. Do the math.

Asuras Wrath, Punching a giant Finger the size of Tennesee hard enough to make the user of said finger explode.

Do the math:

Twilight Princess. A cutscene showing the boss dying with an awesome fanfare to go alnog with it. Other Zelda games did, sure, but Twilight Princess did it best.

Shadow of the Colossus. The First Colossus Valus.

All of Bayonetta, Shadow of the Colossus, and especially Kingdom Hearts 2, particularly the final boss.

Palenque's death scene in the Wii Ware remake of La-Mulana is rather impressive.

By which I mean it will kill you instantly if you don't attack him with your main weapon after he leaps out of the cockpit. Kaizo Trap at its finest.

Baphomet in the Wii version also gets a similar treatment.

During his death animation, massive pillars of flame will cover most of the screen, and unless you hide in a corner they'll deal you massive damage and likely kill you.

edited 1st Aug '11 8:05:20 PM by Zennistrad

I loved the first boss's send-off in Time Crisis 2. (Death at 7:08, watch till after the stage complete screen.)

A lot of the bosses in Metal Gear gave speeches when they died. But not Vamp, he just offed himself as soon as he could.

Hm...The bosses from Contra:Hard Corps always went out in amazing way. Of note is the giant mecha that ends up rammed by a train, and the three combining robots that end up combining into a giant explosion.

Mystical Chain has two examples I remember fondly: the stage 2 bosses, who end up killing each other, and the secret final boss, who ends up going berserk for 60 seconds once you deplete its health before finally blowing up.

Indeed. Especially with the music, it's a nice satisfying conclusion to any boss fight.

This.

I was also fond of how a lot of FF 8's bosses died.

No one's mentioned Castlevania? Even the normal enemies gets pretty nifty deaths at times.