History AwesomeBosses / OtherGames

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[[folder:A - F]]
* For all intents and purposes, the final witness/culprit of each case in the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' games can be considered the case's boss.
** One of the most memorable is the final showdown with [[spoiler: Dahlia Hawthorne's spirit]] near the end of the third game. [[spoiler: It's especially satisfying to take her down, knowing what she's done and tried to do, and that's before Mia steps in...]] Mia and Phoenix collectively crush her so hard that [[spoiler:she's ''exorcised out of existence!'']]
** Manfred von Karma. Franziska wasn't that difficult and she could literally whip the judge into submission. This is a corrupt, abusive prosecuting legend with 40 years of putting defendants, whether they're truly guilty or not, behind bars, [[spoiler:with a minor penalty to his name at worst]], and [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable Phoenix sends him screaming]] and ''banging his head on the wall behind him.''
** [[spoiler:Damon Gant]]. He'd already gotten away with murder two years ago and would've been able to do so again if he hadn't taunted Phoenix into presenting a certain piece of evidence.
** The confrontation with [[spoiler: Ambassador Quercus Alba]] in ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations''. Unlike past games, all the cases are related in some way, and thus all the tragic events, such as [[spoiler: Oliver being Amano's scape-goat and having to abandon his daughter, and the death of Kay's father]], can be traced back to him. And God, does he put up one hell of a fight. No matter how many flaws and circumstances you bring up pointing at him, he will always throw something back at you. Notably, he's one of the few non-lawyer, non-prosecutor characters to have his own '''OBJECTION!''' sound clip, just to drive home how powerful he is. Thus it is ''incredibly'' satisfying when he finally comes down.
** The confrontation with the ultimate BigBad of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', [[spoiler: Bobby Fulbright, A.K.A The Phantom]]. This is without a doubt one of the most unsettling villains in the series, [[spoiler: being capable of ''actively sabotaging the mood matrix by nullifying or outright faking his emotions'']]. It takes a collaborative effort between Phoenix, Athena, Apollo, and Blackquill to finally bring them down.
** ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'' has one of the most intense BigBad confrontations yet: [[spoiler: Queen Ga'ran Sigatar Khura'in, who not only prosecutes the final trial due to being a former Justice Minister, but also literally writes the laws of Khura'in, and has no qualms [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem changing them in her favor.]] JudgeJuryAndExecutioner in the most literal sense, as both a prosecutor ''and'' final culprit she's amazingly satisfying to take down.]] Think what the lawyers accomplish in previous games is impressive? In this one [[spoiler: ''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu you put a dictator behind bars!]]'']]
* The ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' games have a few awesome boss fights worth mentioning.
** ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'':
*** The second to last and last missions are amazing, though lacking in a specific boss [[spoiler: unless you count the SOLG]].
*** The Scinfaxi. Who knew that fighting a submarine from the air could be so intense? Sadly, this doesn't apply to the [[ThatOneBoss Hrimfaxi]].
** If you could count anti-fortress missions, ''04''[='=]s Megalith and ''6''[='=]s Chandelier are epic; facing enemy aces in any of the games is pretty great.
* ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'':
** The final mission. One on one dogfight? Check. Super-advanced enemy fighter? Check. [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Crazy Spanish guitar of awesome?]] Check. [[spoiler: The fact that you're fighting against someone established as your best friend in the war?]] ''Super Check''. The boss' plane is equipped with an ECM system that makes him invulnerable to missiles ''and'' guns. How are you supposed to defeat him, you ask? ''By AirJousting him [[CrazyAwesome head-on and nailing his front air intakes]].'' The speeds involved in dogfighting mean that every time, you have literally a split second to fire your missiles and turn away before he returns the favor. And the whole battle is ''timed'', as [[spoiler:Pixy]] has launched an ICBM that will cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, unless you shoot him down before the reentry phase begins. The blood-pumping flamenco/orchestral battle music does ''not'' lessen the experience either. All in all, ''Zero'''s final mission is indeed a worthy sendoff for Ace Combat's [=PS2=] era.
** The XB-0 Hresvelgr. [[ContinuityNod By extension]], the P-1112 Aigaion and its escorts in ''Ace Combat 6''.
* In the ShootEmUp ''VideoGame/AirGallet'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3V6fCfGKUk your final boss]] is a massive statue of a demon choking other people, with some nice looking attacks and the statue [[TurnsRed changing color]] and shedding TearsOfBlood the more damage it takes. On top of that, [[BattleAmongstTheFlames the final battle with this statue also has flames rising in the background]]! Finally, when you confront its final form, it becomes a simple fighter with a ''skull as its face''.
* The criminally underrated PSX game ''VideoGame/{{Alundra}}'' has its fair share of excellent boss fights, including a duel against a crazed werewolf in plain view of the horrified village, running from an animated stone colossus, fighting a dream demon while simultaneously trying to keep the man whose mind you are in from being sucked into the abyss of its maw, or maybe just the way the final boss battle sees you win through the prayers of all the (rather few at that point) surviving villagers granting you strength... before you finally set him on fire.
* Despite its rather cold reception, even in comparison to its prequel, most if not all of ''VideoGame/{{Alundra 2}}'''s bosses qualify. Highlights include an early boss fight against the giant robotic bull boss (prefaced by an entertaining fleeing scene reminiscent of the aforementioned Goht) and the demonic spider fought on a rapidly-descending elevator (doubly so when she smashes the guard rail protecting herself and Flint from smashing against the walls). The grand prize has to go to the demon whale, however; an enormous mutated whale swallows most of the game's cast, stranding them in a ScrappyLevel spanning its innards. After all the puzzles are finally said and done, the player comes face to face with the whale's mutated, mechanical heart, which defends itself with summoned mooks, beam spam, and more. It's a fair, yet challenging boss, and it's only vulnerable when it hangs down as if to say, "Take out the aggression of being stuck in this damn level out on me!"
* The Jabberwock from ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice''. All the bosses' power is proportionate to their ability to mindrape, and this is the first one to wipe the smirk off Alice's face and make her scream. Tough battle, awesome lines.
* ''VideoGame/AnotherCenturysEpisode 3'' features an absolutely incredible final boss battle with the Shin Dragon from ''Shin Manga/GetterRobo Armageddon''. This is due, in no small part, to the massive size of the mech and the [[SaveBothWorlds incredible stage]] in which you fight it. The Buster Ark from ACE 2 deserves mention as well, quite simply for being the hardest fight in that game by far, as well as the true FinalBoss. To explain why the ACE 3 fight was so awesome, it's because you're in between two alternate Earths being pulled towards each other into a collision, and between you and salvation is a city-sized dragon-like mecha who is to scale. And you are to scale, and chances are you might be in a 4-meter-tall bug mecha.
* ''[[VideoGame/ApeEscape Ape Escape Pumped & Primed]]'' has a light feel to it until you get to the final boss, a [[spoiler: Giant Face from hell, which is actually the core of the entire virtual world in which the tournament takes place.]] It's also the first and only boss to have multiple health bars. Coupled with the fact that it has more attacks than any other boss in the game, which deal a lot more damage, and it's [[ThatOneBoss One hell of a boss.]] Until you realize that Monkey Team's "Goliath Fist" special hits multiple times (due to it being so tall) for massive damage, and that it's mostly stationary...
* ''VideoGame/{{Aquaria}}'':
** The Sunken City boss (an invulnerable golem with hammers for hands, attended by a hard-to-damage wraith) not only works great as a PuzzleBoss and a normal boss battle, but the music is [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic kick-ass incredible]].
** Nautilus Prime, without the Energy Form... or the [[ThatOneBoss boss of the Sun Temple.]] The music for the latter's second form is just that good.
** Then there's the five-part battle against the final boss, [[spoiler: The Creator,]] who is basically a PhysicalGod. It all culminates with you [[spoiler: and your boyfriend]] facing off against a [[OneWingedAngel towering, twisted monstrosity]] with some of the best music in a game filled with excellent music. The final phase isn't really all that difficult (the hardest part is probably the second phase), but the sheer scope of the battle makes it pure awesome anyway.
* Nineball from ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' in all his appearances. Fast, powerful ThatOneBoss set to an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoGMJHbV4Wk incredible badass theme]] that gets you '''pumped up'''? Hells yes.
** Just as gratifying was Ultimate Zinaida from ''Last Raven''. As the last console release before ''Armored Core 4'' changed large chunks of the mechanics, Zinaida was From Software's final challenge for old-skool Ravens. After navigating a series of cramped passageways loaded with suicide bots and taking down the heavily defended generators on the ship, players got to fight Zinaida in her final form. She had higher speed and turning ability than it was possible for a human player to get, her boosters did not consume energy, she suffered no penalties for being massively overweight, could fire her shoulder weapons while moving, and she was virtually impossible to overheat. To make things worse she was a crack shot with her hand-held ''rail gun'' and machine-gun duo and was an expert at getting to your back and parking right over your shoulder, pounding you relentlessly. Even being able to keep Zenaida in sight was an achievement, much less actually beating her. An S-rank on "Destroy the Internecine" was a sign of sublime skill -- and possibly of latent masochism.
* Headlok from ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}}'' in the Grand Prix Mode. After you score a certain amount of points throughout the mode at the end of the Championship match against Max Brass, Headlok shows up and takes control of Max Brass. What follows is a brutal battle where you have to fight an opponent using three pairs of arms. Headlok uses Max's arms to devastating effect and can almost predict your movements; in addition, his LimitBreak attack is an energy ball that will deal half your HP in damage. Note, in multiplayer where three different players face against Headlok controlling a standard character, the battle is still very difficult. Managing to beat this overpowered Headlok on a 1-on-1 will make anyone feel like they truly earned the belt.
* The four legendary ships from ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' are fun and inventive ship boss fights and taking them down is a FinalExamBoss that represents the culmination of the Franchise's naval component. Special mention has to go to the two Spanish ships - ''[[MightyGlacier La Dama Negra]]'' and ''[[LightningBruiser El Impoluto]]'', with the latter being almost ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' worthy as a fight.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity'': Your duel with [[spoiler:Pierre Bellec]]. First because it's essentially a MirrorBoss, but mostly because the duel plays out in a huge Church, which goes from outside the Cathedral to its vast interiors, so your quarry can disappear in the shadows and leap out of nowhere, keeping you on your toes, and he can match your best moves in a swordfight. It also leads to a dark emotional payoff.
* The Queen System from ''VideoGame/{{Astebreed}}'' on Hard. It's even tougher to fight than [[VideoGame/EtherVapor APITEX-EVO]], and it has tons of attacks that just screams BulletHell. In its second phase, it limits the space by having lasers constantly fire and on its third phase, it just goes all out with its bullets, lasers, and power shots. All while this [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic pump-pounding]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWEGMBq6EBE music plays]]. You better have your EX attack, because if not, [[ThatOneBoss good luck]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Axelay}}'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KHRx-z7888 stage 5]]. It's a ''[[NinjaPirateZombieRobot burning cyborg lava ogre]].''
* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'':
** Though the games have many gloriously surreal moments, the battle against Mr Patch in the second game has got to come tops. In it, you fight a giant, inflatable dinosaur, or [[BuffySpeak "Strange Wobbly Inflatable Thing"]], [[BossSubtitles as the game puts it]] with the ability to summon boxing gloves from nowhere, patches you need to blow off with grenades and some of the most [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic wonderfully demented battle music ever]]. Also, his main attack is to ''spit exploding beach balls at you''. Awesome!
** The fact that you spend half the boss fight flying doesn't hurt either. But there's also Lord Woo Fak Fak, more fun when you realise you can fight him in submarine mode. And then the final boss, a witch in a giant [[ThisIsADrill drill]] [[TankGoodness tank]] who gives you trivia questions in mid-battle! (And the trivia level before as well, with hundreds of questions that stretch your knowledge of the game to the limit.)
** The first time Banjo and Kazooie fought Gruntilda, at the end of the first game, was pretty awesome as well. She has all the tactics of a FinalExamBoss, forcing you to use practically every move you've learned at your disposal just to survive. Including the epic phase of the fight where Banjo and Kazooie take to the sky and ''dogfight'' her.
* ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'':
** Just about any time that Giacomo, Ayme, or Folon show up in ''Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean''. The battles against the three of them (especially the last time, immediately after you beat them they recover and you have to fight them a second time) are the best, but solo Giacomo near the beginning of the game can be ThatOneBoss, and solo Folon is pretty cool, too, if only because he's so funny. (He acts like a clown, he has blue skin and a blue-and-red mohawk, and one of his main attacks is called "Worg Laser". What's not to love?) Just to top it off, there's the boss theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B64f48ewdo Chaotic Dance]], complete with incomprehensible lyrics.
** That said, for those who weren't very fond of [[ThatOneBoss Those Three Bosses]], there is also the fight with the "Angel of Darkness" [[spoiler:a.k.a. Kalas]] about three-fourths of the way through the game. Although he too presents an incredibly difficult fight (being able to attack with HP-draining nine-hit combos), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Tx3DWeQcU the electric guitar version]] of [[AwesomeMusic/VideoGames The True Mirror]] is blasting and [[HeroicResolve you can practically feel the party's determination]] to overcome this challenge [[spoiler:and [[IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight bring Kalas back to his senses]]]]. Plus, there's the fact that, y'know, [[spoiler:''[[TheMole you're fighting]] [[FaceHeelTurn the main character]]'', which isn't something that's done in [=RPGs=] all that often!]]
** [[FinalBoss Malpercio]]. Yeah, he's a nightmare to fight, but my god, is it cool. You fight him on top of the Cor Hydrae, in the middle of a dimensional anomaly. As you whale on him, he goes from just stomping on your party to firing giant dark arrows at them, [[BarrierChangeBoss swapping his elemental alignments]], and finally stealing their health with Enchanted Blade. All while [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lB0b0fHbAY Violent Storm]] is blaring in the background.
** The fight against [[spoiler:Shanath]]. Everything about this fight was incredible - the fact that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKPxXRbYl6s Iconoclasm]] was playing in the background, the fact that the [[PlayerPunch player]] had ''wanted to kill'' ''this guy'' for '''ages''', the fact that you get to use [[InfinityPlusOneSword your new attack]] on him...really, any descriptions of this fight just don't do the emotions justice.
** Any fight with [[HumanoidAbomination Wiseman]], be it the first fight where he sics a ''dragon'' on you, [[spoiler:or the second one where he possesses Verus' body and turns into a full-fledged EldritchAbomination.]]
** There's something about "The True Mirror" because when it shows up again in ''[[{{Prequel}} Origins]]'', it's fully orchestrated to lend a feeling of ''awesome'' to the fight with [[spoiler:Baelheit, also subtly alluding to the fact that he's the real spiriter]]. Seriously, the entire three-part confrontation is epic: first, he takes out Sagi's allies, [[DuelBoss forcing Sagi into a one-on-one swordfight]]; when Sagi starts gaining ground, he goes into a MotiveRant explaining his [[FreudianExcuse sordid history]], which Sagi finally interrupts by essentially saying "ShutUpHannibal!"; and finally, Sagi's allies regroup and stand with him for the real fight, during which the boss uses [[spoiler:[[ContinuityNod the same kind of special spiriter finishers Kalas used in the first game]]]]. It's almost a shame [[spoiler:that TheManBehindTheMan has to stab him in the back right then, because the fight with him had no chance of living up to such an amazing confrontation with the BigBad you had been fighting for most of the game.]]
** How about ''every'' late-game boss fight in ''Origins''? After the first half of the game, where you lose nearly every boss fight, it's so satisfying to watch Sagi shred through bosses like they're made of tissue paper. Destroying the machina armas, killing Wiseman, even the bosses of the character sidequests are incredibly fun to fight.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'':
** Mr. Freeze, who COMPLETELY averts BossArenaIdiocy by making sure that once you use a strategy against him once, you can NEVER USE IT AGAIN. He's completely invulnerable to head-on attack and can kill you in under 5 seconds with his ice beam. Beating him requires that you utilize every stealth-based attack you have used since once you have used one trick on him, he'll put up a defense that prevents it from working again. For example, if you try to attack him by gliding off of the top floor rafters and kicking him, it will work at first, but then Freeze will fire his beam into the air, making the air denser which ices over Batman's cape and making gliding impossible. On NewGamePlus mode this will go UpToEleven, where you won't just have to use five or six tricks, you will have to use all of them due to his increased health and general badassery. Oh and on top of that in NewGamePlus if you're the kind of player who abuses Detective Mode by turning it on and leaving it on? Freeze will punish you for that too by jamming it into uselessness unless you turn it off for extended periods of time much longer than the duration you left it on in the first place. Have fun having to actually track Freeze on your own.
** The fight Bruce has with [[spoiler: Ra's Al Ghul]] while tripping on the [[spoiler: Blood of the Demon]] is nearly as good. It has some of the best (and most outlandish) visuals in the game ([[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome which is saying something]]), a tense atmosphere, and gives Batman the opportunity to counter attacks from over twenty opponents at the same time (He's normally capable of a mere three counters at the same time).
** One word: [[spoiler: Clayface]]. Fighting this [[spoiler: HumanoidAbomination]] with [[spoiler: Talia's scimitar]], while dodging its insane attacks and slicing up its {{Mooks}}, while near a [[spoiler: Lazarus Pit]] involved in the awesome FinishingMove against this boss....it's awesome.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' may be considered the weakest of the ''Arkham'' games, but almost everyone agreed that the boss fights vastly improved:
** The ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} boss fight has been particularly acclaimed, as it forces the player to make sure to memorize his attack patterns rather than just spamming the attack button as well as focus on mastering the counter ability, since just rushing in and pressing it as quickly as possible will lead to a very quick death.
** The battle against Firefly is also rather engaging as one has to be quick to dodge his fire attacks and then be quick reeling him in with the grapple to cause any damage or one is forced to repeat the strategy. It helps the battle is stretched through the Gotham bridge making it feel more epic.
** The first fight against ComicBook/{{Bane}} is a huge one for players of the previous games. While Bane was a BullfightBoss in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', the fight against him in this one is a full-on brawl (with elements of BullfightBoss and FlunkyBoss, but mostly a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown).
* ''VideoGame/BatmanVengeance'' is a decent platformer that one heck of a finish. The very last fight in the game is Batman fighting the Joker, freefalling several thousands of feet in the air, with the Joker lobbying several of his traps at Batman forcing him to dodge them all and deliver a series of punches in order to finally knock his enemy out.
* ''VideoGame/BattleGaregga'' introduces us to the G-616 "Black Heart": a high-speed fighter prototype developed by the Federation to combat the Wayne brothers' Garegga fighters. Encountered in Stage 5, which takes place in a thundercloud, the fight goes at high-speeds as you chase Black Heart through the storm, all while it releases difficult bullet patterns, closes in to incinerate you with its twin jets, and unleashes its dreaded SpreadShot attack, which requires extreme precision to maneuver without getting hit. It also counts as ThatOneBoss because, while the previous bosses (Nose Lavagghin, Mad Ball, Earth Crisis, and Satanic Surfer) all had destructible parts you could blow off to stop them from using more attacks, Black Heart has no destructible parts. So you're forced to endure the brunt of its attacks, which get harsher the more you damage it.
* ''beatmania IIDX 15 DJ TROOPERS'''s "Military Splash" extra stages represent your performance in the song with a shooter-like duel with a giant boss figure in the song background window. Hitting notes fires lasers at the boss to deplete its HP, while missing notes causes the boss to hit you. For full effect though, you'll need to be playing one of these songs in Expert mode or with the Hard gauge (both of which make you fail the song if the life gauge falls to 0%), because when you finish the song, the boss dies (regardless of HP left; a full combo will completely reduce it to 0), signifying that you survived the entire song.
* Satan from ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac''. Yeah, you heard right - in the Halloween update's BonusLevelOfHell you have to fight the devil himself. To even get to the level you have to have beaten the extremely cheap TrueFinalBoss at least 10 times, then go through a level full of {{Degraded Boss}}es. Once you get there, he's got [[BaitAndSwitchBoss a fallen angel fighting for him]], which is spewing projectile blood like there's no tomorrow, along with death lasers. Then, at 50% health, [[AsteroidsMonster it splits in two]], making it faster and harder to hit, as well as doubling its firepower. When you finally beat it, Satan finally gets off his throne and grows huge. He's powerful, but his attacks aren't that hard to dodge. When you take him down, he just gets back up, grows another health bar, and flies off the screen, so he can stomp all over you. When you finally really kill him, you're treated to one of the {{Mind Screw}}iest endings ever to grace a flash game. And his theme music is just [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWPWGk0wvcg one of best you'll ever hear]].
** ''[[UpdatedRerelease Rebirth]]'' manages to top Satan with [[spoiler: Mega Satan]], taking the original SequentialBossFight UpToEleven with a ''13-stage fight'', combining his fight with a BossRush against the Super forms of the Sins, the Harbingers, and two angels. While the boss himself gets pretty heavy on the BulletHell, when you get to his final form he then proceeds to put all the danmaku shenanigans of the previous bosses to shame. And his boss theme, which he actually shares with Satan? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LShwB6Zf8bo Just as awesome as the original]].
* ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'': "Whoah! Is that a long health bar or are you just happy to see me?"
* ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger'' has the final battle in the [[{{Canon}} True Story]]. You play Unlimited Ragna, against Unlimited Nu, in a proper ThreeRoundDeathmatch (unlike every other story battle), on an AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield, to the tune of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma5BpLXQ318 the game's theme song]], [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Ao-Iconoclast]]. And it's ''marvelous''. Its sequel, ''Continuum Shift'', uses the same format, with Unlimited Ragna facing Unlimited Mu, after some warm-up battles, some cathartic, some hopeless. The third, ''Chronophantasma'' has an Inverted SequentialBoss; Noel, Jin then U Ragna vs [[spoiler: Take-Mikazuchi]]. Afterwards, you can fight the boss whenever, and with whoever you want.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}''. Where to even begin.
** Father Gascoigne. Difficult, yet ''so'' awesome. Gascoigne begins playing much like the player, dodging around with his Blunderbuss and Hunter's Axe. But, as you whittle away at his health, he slowly becomes more monstrous, until he transforms into a ''[[PainfulTransformation massive werewolf]]'', capable of leaping across the arena and smashing apart previously unbreakable gravestones in his final form. [[WakeUpCallBoss And this is your first mandatory boss!]]
** Though he's not considered a proper boss and fighting him is completely optional, the battle with [[OldSoldier Retired Hunter Djura]] is one of the game's cooler duels. After dodging his [[GatlingGood gatling gun]] throughout most of Old Yharnam, you fight him atop a precarious clock tower roof, preventing you from getting more than a few feet away from him as he relentlessly attacks you with ''a {{Pilebunker}}'', of all things.
** Darkbeast Paarl, the BonusBoss in the Hypogean Gaol area. It has an awesome design, essentially being [[CreepyAwesome a skeletal werewolf covered in electricity]], and the theme that plays when you fight it is quite imposing. The fight itself is extremely difficult, due to Paarl being an extremely fast LightningBruiser, leaving almost no margin for error -- especially if you fight it in the first half of the game, in which case you'll be ''very'' underleveled.
** Micolash, Host of the Nightmare. A [[spoiler: [[GoMadFromTheRevelation scholar gone completely mad due to exposure to the Great Ones]]]], he spends his boss fight alternating between [[GetBackHereBoss running away from you]] [[BeamSpam and shooting at you with incredibly powerful magic.]] Sure, his actual ''fight'' is pretty easy, but his [[MadnessMantra nonsensical,]] [[MemeticMutation yet infinitely quotable]] prayers throughout the fight more than makes up for the lack of difficulty.
** [[spoiler: Mergo's Wet Nurse]] is visually striking with a haunting yet sad theme, has a large pool of cool sword attacks, and can even [[spoiler: duplicate herself temporarily]].
** The FinalBoss on a normal run, [[spoiler: Gehrman, the First Hunter]]. Imagine the fight against Father Gascoigne mentioned above -- except he's faster, stronger, and doesn't even need a second form to kick your ass. You may be much stronger than you were in Gascoigne's fight, but it probably won't help you much.
** The ''Old Hunters'' DLC has [[spoiler: Ludwig the Accursed]]. He may be ThatOneBoss, but the reveal of [[spoiler: the [[RecurringElement Moonlight Great Sword]] and the accompanying music transitioning seamlessly]] makes it almost worth the pain. The boss gets bonus points for being a twofer - in the first stage, [[spoiler: Ludwig, the Accursed]] is already one of the finest large beast battles From Soft have ever produced. But then [[TurnsRed the second stage begins]] and in a huge subversion of the "[[WasOnceAMan formerly-human]] boss slips further into bestial insanity" trope we've already seen several times, [[spoiler:the sacred light of the Moonlight Great Sword ''restores'' the beast's sanity and ''Ludwig, the Holy Blade'']] brings one of the greatest giant swordsman battles From Soft have ever made as well!
** [[spoiler: Lady Maria]], the DLC's ClimaxBoss, who stands out with possibly the best Gascoigne-like [[DuelBoss duel]] in the entire game. The boss is fast, capable of FlashStep spam, employs two swords for swift hit and run tactics. Then the boss TurnsRed, her blades start doing freaking SwordBeam attacks made of ''blood''. Then she TurnsRed ''again'' and [[UpToEleven the blood is now on fire]]. And that's not even getting into the amazing atmosphere, the predictably grand music, or the lore implications. [[spoiler:It's a little bittersweet having to fight the Plain Doll's template, truth be told.]]
** As difficult as the previous fights are, the DLC's FinalBoss is an absolute killer, quite possibly ''the'' hardest fight From has designed: [[spoiler: at the end of the Fishing Hamlet, you fight [[HumanoidAbomination the Orphan of Kos]] on [[BattleInTheRain a rain-swept beach]], right next to the corpse of [[EldritchAbomination Kos itself]].]] It's one of the fastest [[LightningBruiser Lightning Bruisers]] in the game, and easily the most aggressive, constantly slashing its huge weapon around you with few warnings and breaks. That's hard enough, but then it TurnsRed and gains a speed upgrade, a damage boost, and a whole host of new attacks and effects. As the de facto TrueFinalBoss of the ''Bloodborne'' experience, it's the ultimate test of your skills.
* ''VideoGame/BlueDragon'' has a notable boss fight part way through Disc 2. Whilst working through what is - easily - the biggest dungeon in the game at that point whilst set to a 1-hour time limit, the party re-encounter [[TheDragon the final boss of Disc 1]] and his four assistants - all 5 of which are robots who had been destroyed in the last dungeon of Disc 1, one at a time. This time? You get an epic cutscene, then face the four assistants in a 5 v 4 battle where the enemy AI works together with a beautiful set of teamwork attacks, after which you get to re-fight TheDragon who is riding a GIANT FLOATING CANNON. Mere words cannot express how awesome this fight actually is.
* ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'':
** The very final boss of ''Boktai 3''. You're on a motorcycle tearing through a castle that's orbiting the moon in space, and the boss you just thought you killed comes back completely unharmed and chases you down. Since [[WeakenedByTheLight sunlight is fatal to it]], all you can do is run for dear life to techno pipe-organ rock music until the castle orbits into view of the sun. ''And it kicks ass!''
** Trance Dumas in ''Lunar Knights''. He presents an actual challenge (he can drain your health and he's got his own Burst attacks) and his pattern (at the start, at least) mixes it up enough that it doesn't get too repetitive, and if you're smart enough to not hit him rapidly enough to constantly force him into the [[DesperationAttack bat swarm attack that gets faster and spreads further as his health gets lower,]] you can have a [[BraggingRightsReward satisfying conclusion to the battle]] by timing a parry well enough to [[SingleStrokeBattle go THROUGH the guy.]]
* The battle against the Wendigo in the little-known game ''VideoGame/BraveTheSearchForSpiritDancer''. Not only is the Wendigo the upper-half of a giant, red, horned, ''flying'', and flaming skeleton, Brave fights it by shooting at it with an amulet, whilst riding a large Bald Eagle spirit, over a pit of lava, with fireballs, rocks, and explosives flying everywhere.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' saga is an excellent mix of FPS and RPG, perfecting the looter-shooter genre.
** BNK3R, a great high-tech plane.
** The Warrior is a giant alien beast that sure knows how to make an entrance, and is a great fight that is visually stunning. It's very satisfying to unload on his vulnerable chest and land a bunch of critical hits. It has a great balance of being a hard but manageable fight.
** Raid bosses are secondary {{Bonus Boss}}es designed for multiple players. They are very challenging, especially in TVHM and UVHM and at very high levels.
* From the criminally unknown ''VideoGame/{{Breakdown}}'' for Xbox, there is the ClimaxBoss, Solus. Every human enemy in the game involves using cover and the environment well, while the T'lan enemies require you to simply dodge the first hit and then beat the crap out of them before they can recover. Here, Solus is standing in the middle of an arena which is ''floating in mid-air'', and the last time you fought him he utterly curbstomped you and proceeded to stand in front of an exploding nuke without flinching. This time, you have exactly the same powers as he does, and the only way to beat him is to bring the fight to him in an awesome fistfight, countering his superspeed with your superspeed and dodging his energy blasts. The first time you knock him down, he congratulates you, since up until then ''he had never been knocked to the ground. Ever''. When you bring him down to roughly half his health, he simply shakes his head and declares "Your death was meant to be swift." before taking his performance up a notch.
* ''Videogame/BrutalLegend'' - [[ThePowerOfRock huge bosses plus metal soundtrack equal sheer badassery]].
** First boss in the game: Eddie rams a spiked gate through its head and celebrates with a guitar solo and a "Decapitation!!" shriek. And it's only the beginning, afterward you get to fight a metal spider with Brocas Helm's ''Cry Of The Banshee'' as background music, and of course, the final, axe-to-spear brawl with Emperor Doviculus set to the tune of, of all things, [[Music/JudasPriest The Painkiller!!!]]
** The demise of Doviculus makes the player really feel like a metal badass: DECAPITATIOOOOOOON!!
* A few in ''VideoGame/{{Bug}}''. One was Bug facing against a BackgroundBoss octopus who flung fish at Bug, so Bug had to use a tennis racket to swat the fish back to the octopus' head. The other one, while [[ThatOneBoss very difficult]], was the swamp worm- Bug had to stand on a tiny platform floating on [[SuperDrowningSkills instant-death water]] as the worm tried to attack Bug. The awesome part came when the platform started moving, and then both Bug and the boss had to trade shots with each other in what was essentially a ''spitting competition''.
* Every boss fight in ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'', apart from the final one:
** Russell is a ''very'' standard BullfightBoss - who gives you a hint that every boss fight is something to come. He gives you a very clear warning, letting you learn just what bosses are like.
** Darby is an EliteMook without much... but what ''does'' set him apart is that he is a FlunkyBoss - after Jimmy knocks enough health off, he will hop behind a table and yell "Give me a hand in here, boys!" and force Jimmy to fight through some flunkies, before Darby joins again.
** Johnny Vincent is a vehicular boss fight, though you do not have to fight him.
** Edgar is a simple BackgroundBoss who does not engage you directly. This fits his character entirely - he's not a physical fighter, you have to chase him and dismantle his contraptions before he will surrender.
** Ted is a tennis boss. Before you get to him, you must get rid of his praetorian adds... by throwing ''explosive-laden footballs'' at them.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' has had a few great boss battles over the course of its history, mostly in the extra game-types.
** Extinction Mode, from ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts Ghosts]]'' has three great bosses to take on: the Breeder, a large beast capable of spawning additional aliens, and is also fairly heavily armored; the Kraken, a gigantic sea dweller fought on the cargo deck of a ship who can acidify the floor save for a few islands immune to the acid, and you can fight back with [[MoreDakka mounted heavy machine guns]]; and the Ancestors, the BigBad of the saga, who are fought en mass in the finale to the final mission.
** ''VideoGame/NaziZombies'' has a couple of notable boss battles, ranging from defensive ''hold the line'' rounds to true battles against bosses. The first boss battle in the series was the finale to the Mob of the Dead mission, where Weasel has to fight off his co-conspirators on the Golden Gate bridge. In ''Zetsubou no Shima'', the Origins crew must fight a giant Thrasher in order to free the original Takeo; while in ''Gorod Krovi'', the team fights against the original Nikolai who is piloting a mecha.
* ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' does not have a single unfun boss fight in the entire game; but the [[SequentialBoss final boss sequence]] lines up three (normal ending) or five (true ending) awesome boss fights in a row:
** The BossBonanza starts with a fight against [[TheDragon Misery]], who can create blocks that will deal immense damage, fire energy balls, and shield herself with energy balls that turn into bats.
** Then, you fight [[BigBad The Doctor]], who is shielded by the Red Crystal he created and can fire energy balls either straight or in a circle surrounding him. After beating him, the Red Crystal will take control of him and cause him to go wild, at which point he punches you and fires a swarm of bats out of his hands.
** [[spoiler: Then we get the Undead Core, which is the Core fought before but merged with the remnants of the Doctor after he took control of Sue and Misery. The Undead Core attacks differently depending on how the Doctor is showing his face while Sue spins towards you and Misery creates Mooks.]] It is absolutely amazing...
** Then we get to the two bosses of the true ending. [[spoiler: The Heavy Press hides itself behind a wall while firing lightning. Also, two Invincible Minor Minions, Rollings, are attacking the whole time while Butes infinitely spawn. After defeating the Heavy Press, it acts like every other Press in the game and tries to one-hit kill you by falling.]]
** [[spoiler:This act of falling, however, opens the path to Ballos. Ballos will fly at you and hover in midair and fire lightning at you to the tune of one of the main boss themes, Gravity. Then, he turns into a giant head and starts crushing you while creating waves of bones, this time to the tune of a boss theme more reserved for the harder bosses, including the Heavy Press: Eyes of Flame. After Ballos is defeated, he gains eight cycloptic rock satellite things that you need to shoot down and the music becomes Last Battle, previously only used for the Undead Core. After all eight of them are defeated, Ballos takes his position in midair and causes spikes to appear on the ground while platforms start orbiting around the rocks. After this phase is defeated, Ballos finally dies.]]
** Outside the final boss gauntlet, there is the fight with the Core. The boss that drowns you as one of its attacks. The rising water was used amazingly well here as a gameplay element, especially seeing as it impedes your movement. All this backed by SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic.
** The sixth to last boss, the Red Demon/Ogre, doesn't seem like one at first. Then you learn its backstory and you suddenly feel much more awesome. [[spoiler: Congratulations. Arthur would be proud of you, true hero.]]
* ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline'':
** Shadow Destroyer, who, several times during the fight, [[spoiler:floats up and ''tears a rift in reality itself'', plunging the entire battlefield into the Lovecraftian Qliphothic realm, forcing the players to force it back, before they are destroyed by his increasingly powerful attacks, or the realm ''itself''.]]
** Therakiel, who shortly into the fight [[spoiler:moves it to the ground zero of the ''biblical apocalypse''. You can literally see, above and below you, the winged legions of heaven and hell circling towards the final confrontation which you are desperately trying to avert.]]
** And just for the awesomeness of his LargeHam delivery and sheer insanity, Foxbat has become a fan favorite as well.
* In ''VideoGame/ChromeHounds'', there's the Xbox Live Only "Unidentified Weapon Appears" mission, which is one of three examples of an Awesome Boss Fight. They're kinda rare, but damn once you've done one, you'll feel awesome. Nothin' beats a BattleshipRaid with 5 of your buddies.
* Let's give ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' some love. Yes, the last few hours are ''[[DisappointingLastLevel painful]]'', but the fight with [[spoiler:FATE]] is excellent. And the [[spoiler:Dragon God]] as well, even if the fight doesn't quite make up for [[ThatOneLevel Terra Tower]].
* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'':
** Even today, despite the SNES-era storyline, graphics, and music, the ClimaxBoss at approximately the halfway point of the game can't be anything but one of the greatest boss battles of all time. Magus has brilliant build-up, [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic an amazingly kickass battle theme]], is one of the most difficult bosses up to this point, gets a wicked anime-cutscene introduction in [[VideoGameRemake the remakes]], and just generally exudes awesome. Such was the impact and awesomeness of that battle that many gamers think Magus is TheDragon at first.
** And there's also [[spoiler: Lavos']] final form, with the AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield, awesome animation after awesome animation, and methodically [[SubvertedTrope subverting]] every expectation you have about JRPG final bosses.
** Black/Rust Tyranno, basically fighting against a HUGE fire-breathing T-Rex.
* There are plenty of ridiculously awesome fights in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'':
** Showdowns with Praetorians, the Freedom Phalanx's {{Evil Twin}}s (or the Freedom Phalanx ''themselves'' for villains)...
** Player villains taking on [[spoiler:[[RageAgainstTheMentor their own chosen patron]] and eventually ''Lord Recluse himself'']]...
** Romulus Augustus empowered with the might of Nictus...
** Reichsman, who turns out to be [[spoiler:another EvilTwin of Statesman, who fought for UsefulNotes/NaziGermany during World War II in an alternate universe]]. The Reichsman is so powerful that ''he is literally in a class of his own''. Whereas other enemies are classified from something as lowly as "Minion" to something as powerful as "Archvillain" or "Hero" or "Giant Monster," the Reichsman is "Reichsman". [[OhCrap If that doesn't instill fear in the hearts of a poorly put-together pick-up group...]]
* The battle against [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w5neFPat1w The Great Mighty Poo]] in ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'', a giant, opera-singing pile of crap.
* ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'':
** ''Contra III''[='s=] Stage 4 is epic in every way possible, but the boss at the end has you hanging taking down two turrets and core of an airship. What makes this epic? The fact that you're jumping from helicopter missile to missile or else falling to your doom.
** ''Contra: Hard Corps'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1EqF5kWz6Q Super Power Robot Ninja Yokozuna]]. A well-animated KillerRobot that races the train, pushes it to a halt, then fights you on top. It also comes with one of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLO5PDrgO1Q best boss musics ever]].
** [[NintendoHard Red Falcon. Three Lives.]] Eff the KonamiCode.
** The TrueFinalBoss of ''Contra: Shattered Soldier'', the Relic of Morai, and the final boss of ''Neo VideoGame/{{Contra}}'', Master Contra.
* ''VideoGame/CopyKitty'':
** Arikan is hard as hell, but is made awesome by the fact that it's a sword duel where the player is given every badass technique (including an obscure projectile attack, which replaces your default beam) the boss himself can do, and even powers up as he does. Taken UpToEleven in hard mode, where you start with the power of the normal fight's second phase, and then you both ''still power up''. The sheer number of particles and lighting effects will milk your FPS to the last drop, but it's so worth it. In the ''Turbo Edition'', though he isn't the FinalBoss anymore, he gets his own unique battle theme, and if you fight him as Savant, it's a ''drill'' duel rather than a sword duel!
** ''Turbo Edition'' adds a new FinalBoss: Fortress Virs and the Giga Dengrahx (which one you face depends on which character you're playing as), gigantic sized versions of the pilotable BossInMookClothing you've been fighting the whole game. Both of them tower over the player, standing at least 50 feet tall, and unleash attacks that could kill any other boss in the game in two hits. You even have to get inside the boss to fight its core to truly defeat it. The best part is that once you blow up the core... well, the lesser Virs and Dengrahx are pilotable, and ''so are these!'' You then fight the other giant boss with your own giant boss.
** The final boss in the penultimate version is a Yoggval just like those you've fought several times already, except he was destroyed and then reincarnated and puppeted by a magical artifact, turning into Phoenix Yoggval. He has three health bars, more than any boss before it, and his patterns become flashier and more intense as you whittle down his health, and when it is finally done... He reincarnates again, with an even more powerful set of patterns, and the ability to curse Boki, which makes this battle incredibly difficult on the first time, except if you die, Boki will copy the reincarnation power, and power up the same as the enemy, gaining the ability to break his patterns, as well as cursing him, which prevents further resurrections as she kills him for the last time, and then destroys the artefact. The hard mode version of this fight has you facing Spectrum Yoggval, which constantly shifts between different forms, each with their own life bars, and mirroring the stronger Yoggval fights of Hard Mode, and after you whittle them down, you get to face his final form.
** The final boss of the full version is Supreme Thremnat, the leader of the construct forces you've been fighting, and the one who previously defeated Boki in a single attack. You fight him after destroying the gigantic mobile base he was using, which leads to the title of the level 'Among the Wreckage'. It starts as a fight against a humanoid enemy, reminiscent of Arikan, though soon he starts blocking everything with his shield before attacking Boki with the same beam that had defeated her before. Except she copies his shield, and then the fight starts to switch between using the shield to destroy the other's shield, and using the blaster when he is unshielded. But when you are about to destroy him, he fuses with the remains of the base, becoming a gigantic shielded menage with powerful attacks, to which Boki responds to copying his supreme saber, leading to an amazing slashing fight. It is a worthy ending to normal mode.
* ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'' made serious splashes with its announcement trailer, between its beautiful animation, high difficulty, and wacky bosses. It was originally a BossGame and it shows, with ''30'' of them to face, very nearly a record for a RunAndGun type game. All are pretty awesome in their own way (at the very least for visuals alone!) but there are some standouts even among them.
** Hilda Berg is a WarmUpBoss mostly used to demonstrate the side-scrolling shooter mechanics. That doesn't keep her from ''transforming into constellations'' and ''the Moon'' to try and bring you down.
** Wally Warbles introduces us to proper bullet hell mechanics and is notable for [[{{Determinator}} trying his damnedest to kill]] you while being practically dead himself by his final form. He will actually ''kick himself so hard that he vomits out his own heart'' just to take a shot at you.
** Grim Matchstick is a loving ShoutOut to the classic ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'' Wily stage 1 boss, Mecha-Dragon. He's just as tough and as dangerous, though his apologetic and otherwise cheery demeanor keeps him from being as hated for his difficulty.
** The battle against German rat Werner Werman, his scrap-metal-battle-tank, [[spoiler:and the giant cat which eats him]] has at least two awesome twists involved, making it notable even among the other bosses.
** Dr. Kahl in turn is a Shout-Out to Doctors [[Franchise/MegaMan Wily]] and [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Robotnik]], and fights you at the helm of his HumongousMecha. Part of the charm of his fight is seeing how many references to the two the devs managed to sneak in.
** Then there's King Dice and his King's Court, a BossRush of unique bosses whom you have to face in order to reach King Dice and make him pay. You end up fighting through literal personifications of vice in order to reach and beat up the king of sleaze at the end.
** Oh, did we mention you have to fight [[spoiler:''the Devil himself'' at the end? Oh yes, the boys have to go toe to toe with the literal Devil in order to free Inkwell Isles from his subjugation. [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Did you just blast the Devil right in his ruddy huge face]]?]]
* ''VideoGame/DadSeries'': The 'Dadgame has several epic [[ThatOneBoss (and epically hard)]] bosses for a free flash game. The [[HumongousMecha gigantic Final Weapon]] [[spoiler:and its secret counterpart, Final Weapon X]], sporting an arsenal that would make many a mech collapse in shame, including bombs, missiles, plasma bolts, lasers, [[EnergyWeapon more lasers,]] [[UpToEleven and even MORE lasers]], plus an [[PuzzleBoss unorthodox way of defeating it compared to most other bosses?]] [[SelfInsertFic Saku]][[GodModeSue pen]], who fires gigantic beams and explosions at you? Phantom, a [[GlitchEntity living glitch]], and also a PuzzleBoss? And Mecha-Death, who seems to have been made of superconcentrated awesome?
* ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'', in a RhythmGame context similar to {{VideoGame/Bemani}} contemporary ''beatmania IIDX'', presents many such exhilarating bosses, both in the traditional [[BonusBoss Extra]] and [[TrueFinalBoss Encore Extra/One More Extra]] Stages, that sound just as awesome as the feeling of conquering them:
** From ''DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution 6th Mix'': MAX 300, with the distinction of being both the first official boss song and first 10-footer in the franchise's old 1-10 scale, and CANDY☆, as the subsequent One More Extra Stage.
** ''DDRMAX2: Dance Dance Revolution 6th Mix'' gives us the ominous sequel Maxx Unlimited for Extra Stage, and 革命 (aptly translated to 'Revolution') for One More Extra Stage.
** The Legend of Max (Extra) and [[TitleDrop Dance Dance Revolution]] (One More Extra) from ''DDR Extreme'', the former being yet another entry into the MAX series of songs, and the latter being an affectionate homage to the franchise's heyday and an assortment of samples from stepcharts of the most notable/popular DDR songs (Dynamite Rave, Afronova, Celebrate Nite, etc.). Given that ''Extreme'' is something of a "greatest hits" entry and an initially-rumored finale, this is very fitting.
** ''X2'''s ''Replicant D-action'' event pits you against six boss songs—three at level 14, and three at level 17—each with individual requirements to meet before they can be played. Upon clearing all six bosses, one last challenge stands in your way: ''Valkyrie Dimension''. A true measure of skill after toppling six prior challenges and a deeply satisfying feeling upon completing it.
** ''Replicant D-ignition'', the sequel featured in the 2014 edition, only has five boss songs by default, but to compensate for this, upon clearing all of them, you are pitted against not one, not two, but three hidden bosses:
*** ''EGOISM 440'', a high-speed blitz clocking in at [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin 440 BPM]], which after clearing with a high-enough score leads to...
*** ''Max. (Period)'', returning from the Japanese console version of ''DDR Extreme'' which, like the One More Extra Stage ''of'' ''Extreme'', hinted at the end of the franchise. A high-note to end on, already, but months later into ''Replicant D-ignition'', a monkey wrench is thrown at you in the form of...
*** ''Over the "Period"'', the definitive [[TrueFinalBoss last challenge]] of ''Replicant D-ignition''. With the combination of both the shock factor and the [[FlawlessVictory Attack Perfect Full Combo]] requirement tipping the odds against your favor, the triumphant feeling of overcoming this feat is palpable.
** ''Dance Dance Revolution A (Ace)'' continues the precedent with ''Extra Exclusive'', one of the game's two Extra Stage systems (the other being ''Extra Savior''). [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As it states]], these are boss songs exclusive only to Extra Stage and unlocked at a later date. By unlocking these songs, the final Extra Exclusive, ''Endymion'', becomes available, but at the expense of the player's ''Heat Power''. A true challenge retaining the spirit of DDR, heralded by its [[RedSkyTakeWarning ominous atmosphere]], that leads the player to yet another obstacle after it has been AA'd with a sufficient score...
** That obstacle is ''Ace For Aces'', the affectionate [[ClosingCredits credits theme]] of ''DDR A'' composed by franchise mainstays Yasuhiro "TAG" Taguchi and Yuichi "U1" Asami. Nothing says an amazing GrandFinale quite like overcoming a [[GimmickLevel song with a large bag of tricks, from stops to slowdowns,]] with the aforementioned Attack Perfect Full Combo requirement, and being treated by the game [[ThankingTheViewer thanking you for playing]] at the end of the song.
* ''VideoGame/DantesInferno'':
** Lucifer. Man, you fight SATAN himself! And you are only a human!
** King Minos is also cool. A giant half-man, half-serpent who guards the entrance to Hell. The last moment when you have to impale his head on a sharped-wheel is just... gosh, just play the game!
* '''[[BossWarningSiren WARNING!]]''' Huge battleships from the ''VideoGame/{{Darius}}'' series are approaching fast.
** Titanic Lance, hailed by many as ''[[ThatOneBoss the]]'' ultimate boss of ''Darius Gaiden'', despite only being available halfway through the game. Six screens long with a large array of weapons to throw at you.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHjyWMVIav4 Queen Fossil]], the boss of ''G-Darius'' Zone Beta. Although she appears in the earlier ''Darius Twin'' as a standard-size enemy, her ''G-Darius'' incarnation is so huge that you not only pick her apart piece by piece, the level split occurs ''at the beginning of her boss fight.''
** Dual Spin in ''Dariusburst Another Chronicle''. It's Steel Spin from ''Darius II'', except it's [[DualBoss two of them]] fighting you in unison from both sides. One could swear that this boss is made for two or four players. All while the frantic boss theme "Hinder Four" plays in the background.
** [[FinalBoss Gigantic Bite]] from ''Chronicle Saviours''. Truly a great fight to end the game, and it really packs a big punch. All of it attacks are totally something you'd see in a BulletHell game, and loaded with a burst beam, cannons on its belly, drones, and can even attack in the background. The boss is truly a sight to look at. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXd52MxSVC4 The music that plays]] during this fight makes it even more epic.
* ''VideoGame/DarkChronicle'' had the battle with Emperor Griffon's true form [[spoiler: who happens to be a cute bunny child named Sirus who's angry at the humans for killing his best friend]] It's tough as hell, but very satisfying, especially considering the music that went with it. The battles against Gaspard are also pretty damn awesome.
* Pick pretty much any boss from ''VideoGame/{{Darksiders}}''.
** The "Payback's A Bitch" fight against Straga. A boss fight against a giant raging demon with a hammer the size of a large building who flings smaller enemies at you, ''all the while'' you're shooting portals to get to the back of his head and cut it open. Then there's the end cutscene when [[spoiler: you shoot a portal ''into his head'' and destroy him from the inside]]. Chills...
** The single most satisfying boss in the game is not [[spoiler:The Destroyer, Silitha, the Stygian, the Griever, or even Straga]], but the very first real boss you have to deal with, [[spoiler:Tiamat]]. She is the only boss in the entire game where you don't have way more health bars than necessary. The only boss where avoiding every single attack is a puzzle and a challenge in of itself. The only boss that never ends up laying down and submitting to inevitable defeat once the puzzle's solved. [[spoiler:Tiamat]] is thoroughly the best boss in the game because she is the only one that ''will kill you'' if you're playing anything but the best game of your life.
* ''VideoGame/DeadlyCreatures'':
** One of the most awesome Final Bosses ever. Not only do you fight a man with a shotgun, despite being a three-inch scorpion. You also get to stab him in the balls with your stinger. Three times!
** The boss fight against the rattlesnake in chapter 9 begins with you (as a tarantula) encased in a ring of fire, trapped with the snake as it constantly tries to chow down on you. After hitting it enough times, you move to a vertical battle on the gas pump (which is ON FIRE AND ABOUT TO EXPLODE) and finally, you have a sequence where you have to dodge all the rattlesnake's final, desperate attacks against you, culminating in an epic dodge maneuver where the rattlesnake misses and ends up biting ''itself''; then, as you scuttle away, leaving the snake to writhe under its own fangs, the pump explodes. Hell yes.
** And then, for some inexplicable reason, everything blows up.
* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'' is an epic fistfight against the BigBad on top of a building surrounded by a sea of zombies as an AC-130 blows holes in the building in the background. If you get knocked off the platform (and you often will), you have to cleave your way through zombies and avoid the AC-130's cannons to get back up while he shoots at you with his pistol. Alternatively, skip the epic battle and just [[CombatPragmatist have a shoot out with him if you bring a pair of sniper rifles and a bunch of healing items]], popping out of cover, getting a shot off, and rolling back in. Still fairly epic as you have to watch out for the zombies, the AC-130, and his pistol.
* ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' may be overshadowed by its SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', but the lesser amount of bosses in the game is more than made up for by how memorable they are.
** The Tower Knight is, as the name implies, a knight the size of a tower who will absolutely destroy new players until they figure out how to bring it down by striking the only thing within the player's reach, ''its ankles''.
** If you manage to win the HopelessBossFight at the beginning of the game, you get teleported to the chamber of a latter game boss, the Dragon God, who proceeds to reward your victory by killing you with one hit. Give it ten to fifteen hours and you're back there to face him as a PuzzleBoss and return the favor.
** The Flamelurker boss isn't visually impressive and is barely bigger than your character, but it's memorable because it can be a player's first non-PuzzleBoss encounter, instead the fight is a fast-paced one-on-one fight with no trick other than to read the boss' movements and wait for the chance to attack.
** The Maneater deserves mention for fighting you with a very notorious advantage: It can fly, you can't, and the fight takes place in a bridge in the middle of the night. Taking it down is a feat, even more so when another one with a full health bar shows up halfway through the fight.
** The Old Monk ''can'' be this or ThatOneBoss, considering that the fight is not against the boss itself, but rather, either an NPC Black Phantom or another player forced to invade you. If the invader player defeats you, they get a special set of equipment, making this a boss fight where both you and the "boss" are on theoretically equal footing.
** The Storm King is a fight on completely open terrain which starts with the player dodging a large amount of GoddamnBats in the form of the flying manta-rays that have been making the previous world annoying to traverse, up until you grab a sword that fires storms at them and cut them down like butter. And then the boss shows up in the form of a flying manta ray roughly the size of the island you're standing on. The best part is that the player will amass a preposterous amount of souls after the fight, as well as rare items and materials strewn about the island where the fight takes place.
** [[spoiler: Fake]] King Allant is a fight that is built up from the very start of the game, and for many players, it was the last boss they fought before [[spoiler: The Old One]], and he's notable because it's the only boss with attacks that can ''suck the levels out of you'', effectively making you progressively weaker if you're not careful, not to mention his very strong area of effect attacks. It's entirely likely to walk into that fight and lose it because you're suddenly to weak to use your weapon effectively or your armor is suddenly too heavy for you.
* The huge battle against [[RentAZilla Kojira]] at the end of the Japan area in ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans 2''. First you chase a giant, energy-spewing Godzilla lookalike across the countryside, avoiding its attacks and trying to zap it with your saucer's piddly weaponry before ending up in the middle of the city. You then have to ''destroy all the buildings in the city before she has a chance to'' to prevent her from healing while trying to avoid her huge salvos of energy missiles, and then you have to land and chase her about on foot while shooting her with your disintegrator ray. All while the Japanese army is sending out huge battalions of soldiers and laser-equipped tanks to deal with the both of you and your character makes snarky remarks about how unfair her healing is.
* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'': ''The Taken King'' comes with several, averting the usual trend of boring bullet sponges where you can cheese one spot.
** Oryx, as he appears in the final mission of the "Taken King" questline. Not only does he get a very dramatic sequence leading up to his boss arena, his fight comprises ''a second phase'' where he traps you and tries to get the drop on you after you deal with his flunkies.
** S.A.B.E.R.-2. Not only does it change between three elemental modes to deal variable damage in accordance with Year Two's revamped damage chart, it also makes ''full use'' of the boss arena, which is filled with clever lightning traps and many reinforcements, turning the fight into a very hectic slugfest where your cover may bite you in the ass. It's topped by its boss theme, which incorporates a familiar melody from the base game's soundtrack into a fast-paced remix.
** Alak-Hul, the boss of the "Sunless Ceiling" Strike. You get into the boss arena by... dropping down into a pitch-black pit with reduced visibility. Then the boss and his flunkies appear. You're going to get goosebumps every time the axe-wielding behemoth [[StealthHiBye stealthily]] [[RightBehindMe shows up behind your back]].
** The Shield Brothers. You get to whittle down each brother's health to half before they retreat, before coming back together to lay the smackdown on you. Oh, and upon killing one, the surviving one will take the fallen brother's signature abilities, in no way lessening the fight's intensity.
* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' isn't exactly known for its boss fights, but the "fight" against Bob Page is of epic proportions. Page himself is stuck inside a giant impenetrable globe of glass, taunting you as he activates every single base defence TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon is armed with. In addition to minigun turrets, he then starts unlimited spawns of the game's DemonicSpiders. At this time, Page is pretty much a locally omnipotent PhysicalGod. As you come closer and closer to defeating him, his taunts turn to pleading, then to taunts again as he comes closer to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascension]]. You then get to pick exactly how you want to finish Page: Outright kill him, collapse his base taking the entire Internet down with it, or achieve godhood before Page does.
* ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' is no slouch in this department, with some of the most memorable fights involving TalkingTheMonsterToDeath. And they're ''still'' awesome since you either invoke HeelRealization or SlaveToPR to win.
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'':
** The first fight with Nelo Angelo (a.k.a. [[spoiler:Vergil]]) in the [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry first game]]. His introduction is badass as all hell, and after [[ThatOneBoss Phantom]], a down-and-dirty sword fight is just the thing to cleanse the system.
--->'''Dante:''' This stinking hole was the last place I ever expected to find anybody with some guts.
** Every one of the Nelo fights, actually. Most DMC bosses that you face like to do patterns on you. Nelo fights like you, can do moves like you, and if you are not at the very top of your game, he ''will'' hand you your ass. Especially during the final showdown with him, where he brings [[ThatOneAttack those swords]] into play.
** For that matter, ''any time'' Dante, Vergil or Nero crosses swords with another human-sized, humanoid enemy, [[spoiler: including each other]], the [[BishonenLine resulting fight is guaranteed to be]] '''[[BishonenLine awesome]]'''.
** The second duel with Vergil in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'' deserves special mention, because you and your opponent are essentially equally matched. Both the player and the boss have two weapons they can swap between to create combos, both have ranged attacks, both have Style-based abilities and both have access to the Devil Trigger for a temporary boost in stats and some health regeneration. But because Vergil (on most difficulties) does more damage and has more health, it's up to Dante (i.e. the player) to outwit and have better reflexes than his rival.
** [[ClimaxBoss Argosax]] from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'' manages to make up for its [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere coming out of nowhere]] by being by far [[ThatOneBoss THE hardest boss in the game]] and having a detailed moveset that keep the player on their toes, all while you just freakin' annihilate all of the demons you've previously slain [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome in a truly awesome manner.]] [[NightmareFuel Bonus points for being as scary as hell, too.]]
** [[BishonenLine The]] [[ThatOneBoss Despair]] [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Embodied]] from ''Devil May Cry 2'' it just incredible, by not only being [[SarcasmMode legitimately]] [[SNKBoss hard]], but because it manages to do everything Vergil does minus [[SuperMode Devil]] [[TurnsRed Trigger]] and overall make the [[SoBadItsGood hilariously bad sequel]] worth the long slog. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGUSeu56oSQ The theme is also quite possibly the best thing to come from the game.]]
** ''Devil May Cry 3''[='=]s Beowulf. His undodgeable homing projectiles if you get too far away means you are forced into a brutal close-combat slugfest with a brute many times your size who is still fast and capable of instant-death-radius explosions and lots of other attacks.
** In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'', the first fight with Dante is not all that hard in the early difficulty levels, especially when it is used as a tutorial level, but in Dante Must Die mode, this fight ramps up completely, and it becomes quite challenging and fun, and it is just the first boss of the game. Granted, you've already fought all the bosses at this point, but this beginning boss fight in this mode really sets the stage for the rest of the difficulty mode.
** The second time you fight Dante is a memorable, [[ThatOneBoss albeit insanely challenging]], fight. The first time you fight Dante he's holding back but when the second fight rolls around, all the chips are on the table. Expect to have numerous sword clashes with the Devil Hunter and many instances of ShootTheBullet (but be wary of your health because this is no cakewalk; manage your Devil Trigger carefully to both rejuvenate health and deal out additional damage). The final battle against [[spoiler:Sanctus Diabolica]] is kind of deflating compared to the epic struggle against Dante at only the midpoint of the game.
** Also from ''4'' is the fight against [[spoiler:Angelo Credo]]. Think an Alto Angelo but UpToEleven. What's best is being able to [[CatchAndReturn throw his lances back at him]] and open him up to a Devil Bringer attack. Unlike most bosses, [[spoiler:Credo]] is only fought once in the story (and while the battle against Dante does occur twice, it's only the second time that it really gets your blood going, unless you're playing on a higher difficulty at which point both fights can be pretty cool).
** The game may not have found its niche for everyone but ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'' has a couple of good fights. The [[spoiler:final battle against Vergil involves some impressive swordplay and Nephilim magic between the two brothers]] and the fight against the disembodied, digitized head of Bob Barbas is full of surreal, trippy {{Cyberspace}} and even drags you into fake news reports.
** In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', both fights against Vergil. With Dante, his fight mirrors his battles against Vergil in ''3''. With Nero, it shows his determination as he unlocks his Devil Trigger and beats Vergil with it.
* The SoOkayItsAverage game ''VideoGame/{{DICE}}'' based on the [[Anime/DICE2005 same anime]] is completely based on mindless repetitive action and nonsense plot. The Shell, main phlebotinum, is simply equal to [[Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace solarbenite]], so you can have an idea, the game was simply panned by critics. Everything is just stupid until the secret last mission, when you fight the true last boss: the Shell created an EldritchAbomination and it's up to you to impede him to destroy the universe (yes, the universe), with your TransformingMecha, with everything, since the bare hands to the [[{{BFG}} main cannon]]. It's truly the only SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome of the entire game, you just have to earn much patience.
* ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'':
** The HopelessBossFight against Etna, especially if you'd never played the first one before and therefore don't know who she is. You've just plowed through the first three chapters of the game with little effort, and you're ready to take on another boss... but what's this? You're getting your ass kicked by the [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins Disgaea equivalent to Goombas]] and wondering why the boss keeps dodging everything you throw at her... [[OhCrap then you see what her level is.]]
** [[spoiler:[[PersonOfMassDestruction Zenon]] VS. [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo Laharl]]]]. To wit, [[spoiler: Laharl]] [[HopelessBossFight utterly rocked]] the party by virtue of being several hundred levels higher than them, but as he prepares to finish them off, he accidentally [[spoiler: unlocks the true Overlord Zenon from her seal]]. What ensues is a CurbStompBattle ''with the player dealing the curb stomp''. Bonus points for letting the player control [[spoiler: Zenon]], who is otherwise impossible to recruit for your party.
* ''VideoGame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten'':
** [[spoiler: Des-X]], the boss of chapter 8. Basically, [[spoiler: she's the one who killed Fuka because she wanted to be Mr. Kazamatsuri's only daughter, despite being a manufactured demon. In other words, time for revenge.]] The fight itself isn't too spectacular, just an average geo effect layout with some enemies you've fought throughout the chapter... Only for a ''second phase'' to show up afterwards. This time [[spoiler: Des-X]] is giant, has higher stats, there's no geo effects to screw with the fight, and you didn't get healed after the previous fight. Second phases are common in a lot of video games, but keep in mind that ''this is the first time this has ever been done in the series.''
** The free DLC battle with Baal. For a while, it seemed like he was being phased out as the Ultimate BonusBoss in favor of Pringer X, but here he returns with a vengeance. His stats are through the roof (even by this series standards), his attacks are devastating, and he takes forever to go down. But nothing makes him seem more badass than his Evility, which allows him to attack any character you remove from your base panel, immediately. Unless you put in some serious prep time, he will literally kill your entire party before they can take a single step toward him. And when you finally kill Baal, you not only feel like the baddest mother in the cosmos, you ''make him your personal trainer'' so you can spar with him any time you want.
* [[spoiler:[[ProfessionalKiller Daud]]]] from ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'', who is a MirrorBoss, has clever AI that makes good use of his powers and is a great character overall. Better yet, in a [[VideoGameCaringPotential Low Chaos]][[note]]Using stealth and killing very few or no people.[[/note]] run, he'll [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen fight you one-on-one]] rather than employing the help of his minions. And, in a Low Chaos run, once you wound him enough, you have the option to [[spoiler:spare his life after listening to his DespairSpeech... ''without'' it being a CruelMercy]]. For those who don't know what your (and thus, his) powers are, they consist of things like blasting your opponent with wind and ''freezing time''. However, neither of your best powers [[NoSell work on the other]], forcing both of you to improvise. Cue you and your opponent doing awesome shit like [[TeleportSpam Teleport Spamming]] all across the room, clashing blades the whole time, with [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic epic music blaring in the background]].
* ''VideoGame/DistortedTravesty'':
** The final boss, [[spoiler:The Artist]]. The fight is pretty insane, due to Jeremy and Hexor both attempting to screw with the game's code and out-hax each other (giving you all sorts of {{Eleventh Hour Superpower}}s in the process). Meanwhile, you're hopping around, [[spoiler:destroying the Muffins]], and avoiding BulletHell attacks from the boss himself.
** The Shroud Lord. This thing is hard (may even be the toughest boss in the game), has a ton of health, and a love of BeamSpam and BulletHell, but between the epic music, the [[ClimaxBoss context of the story]], and the fact that this thing and its minions have been dogging you for half the game, you'll be having too much fun to be frustrated.
* ''VideoGame/DoDonPachi'', or indeed any Cave game, is practically defined by soul-crushingly hard but extremely satisfying bosses. The [[TrueFinalBoss final boss]] Hibachi really kicks it into 11th gear (twice, given she has two forms) for your fight with her, which is appropriate, given that you have to play the game WITHOUT CONTINUES in order to reach her. Not only that, but the boss music from ''[[VideoGame/DonPachi DoDonPachi]]'' is enough to send shivers down the spine. It's just so epic and pulse-pounding. So memorable.
* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'':
** The Cyberdemon. It's got to be about fifty feet tall, with a rocket launcher for an arm and loads of bionics, in a stage where it is often the only enemy, for which you have ammunition and weapons practically thrown at you, and explodes when killed because '''the ammunition inside it cooks off and detonates, reducing it to a pair of stubs where its legs were'''. The Spider Mastermind and the Icon of Sin might have their fans, but the Cyberdemon, on the 1-12 scale of badness, is a 37.
** In the sequel, in level 20 "Gotcha!", there's a room with a Mastermind and a Cyberdemon. If you get the two to start fighting one another, guess who doesn't win.
** The Mother Demon in ''Doom 64'' earns their place as the FinalBoss. If you deliberately or accidentally miss 2-3 demon artifacts for your Unmaker, she will be able to put up an intense fight and likely be ThatOneBoss. Winning without access to your GameBreaker, the Unmaker can be so gratifying due to her nightmarish offence including lines of cardinal-direction fire on the ground and homing rockets borrowed from the DummiedOut Revenants.
** [[BigBad Maledict]], the commanding demonic dragon made of the evil spirit of [[spoiler:[[MadScientist Dr. Malcolm Betruger]]]], in ''Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil''. You start the battle by landing on a flowing platform in the bottomless space of Hell. You have the [[ArtifactOfDoom the Artifact]] but it's only in limited use. Maledict demands you to hand over it, but the marine simply points the gun at it. The battle starts with Maledict randomly throwing fires and summoning the local cannon fodders at you. You just simply kill them all and then use the Artifact to slow time and then you just fire whatever kind of guns right at Maledict's slow-flying ass. After a while, Maledict decides that its gonna stop bull-shiting around and then just throws ''meteors'' at you, and all you can do is avoid them and not trying to fall over the platform, as well shoot the beast up. And you can't get any healthpack during the battle. That and everything else makes it to one of the most adrenaline-pumping boss fights ever. It really makes up ''Doom 3'''s Cyberdemon's status as the AnticlimaxBoss.
** ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' has the FinalBattle with [[spoiler:Olivia Pierce as the Spider Mastermind. No longer the AntiClimaxBoss from the first game, she is extremely durable and loaded with different weapons, putting up far more of a fight]]. Special points go to the FinishingMove performed at the end of the fight: [[spoiler:shoving the BFG-9000 into her mouth and ''[[YourHeadAsplode blowing her entire head apart]]'']].
** The FinalBattle against the Icon of Sin in ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' [[UpToEleven manages to top that of the Spider Mastermind from the previous game]]. Instead of being a giant demon head stuck on a wall with his brain exposed, he's now a '''towering demon the size of a goddamn Kaiju'''. The battle itself is just as long and epic as it was all the way back in ''Doom II'', coming complete with Music/MickGordon's most intense track to date, and not only is the boss also covered in armor, he isn't limited to just spitting demons at you this time, making it even more difficult. After you tear down his armor and severely wound him, you finish him off by ''shoving the Crucible right into his brain''. Samuel Hayden's PreAssKickingOneLiner upon reaching the Icon of Sin is also what sells it:
--->'''Samuel:''' Now is the time. [[HistoryRepeats Two titans meet - as it was written]].
* ''VideoGame/DotHack'':
** The Boss fight against [[SmugSnake Sakaki]] in ''.hack//GU'' is very cathartic, and was a tough fight that makes you glad you were badass enough to beat the shit out of this creep.
** The crown jewel of ''GU''[='s=] boss fights, though, is undoubtedly the Cubia Core, especially if you don't go overboard on level grinding beforehand. The intensity never lets up thanks to the never-ending tide of [[MultiMookMelee respawning gomoras]], which can do quite a bit to keep you from doing significant damage to the arms or the core and turn the fight into a frantic battle of attrition demanding every single trick in the book for you to come out on top, all the while your ears are assailed by the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic mind-numbingly awesome tunes]] of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoWtIbF4yRc Full Force.]] It ''more'' than makes up for the crap boss fights and pathetic combat system of the original quartet all by itself.
** The several boss fights against [[spoiler:Ovan]]... especially the final one where everything is unraveled, and the incredible amount of emotion displayed afterward. Truly a hard-won and well-worth it battle.
** Azure Kite is always a blast. Especially the final duel against him and the other Azure Knights in ''Redemption''. You are fighting the digital reincarnations of Kite, Orca, and Balmung, in the Hulle Granz Cathedral, with Azure Kite's amazingly epic {{Leitmotif}} playing throughout.
** The fight against Skeith in the first ''.hack//'' game. Especially if you've read the books and seen the first anime up to this point. Nobody has ''ever'' managed to win against this thing. Skeith ''is'' MindRape personified, and it requires an entirely new type of playing up to that point. All the Phases after this is just more of the same copying it. Skeith is so badass that the protagonist of the next series ''is'' Skeith, [[EnemyWithin more]] or [[SuperpoweredEvilSide less.]]
* The TrueFinalBoss of ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon II: [[RevengeOfTheSequel The Revenge]]'' for the NES and PC Engine, the Mysterious Warrior. This boss can only be truly fought on the hardest difficulty of both versions. When you reach the final mission of the game, you find what appears to be Marian waiting for you. When you go to her, though, the BigBad comes down and personally fights you. The boss battle takes place in [[FinalBossNewDimension either what appears to be Hell itself with the Devil watching over you or in outer space]] in the first part. When his health goes down a bit, though, the second part of the fight then has you continue the battle [[BloodstainedGlassWindows inside some sort of church]]. Upon defeating the boss, he goes down in slow motion.
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/DoubleDragonNeon'', [[OneWingedAngel Giga]] [[BigBad Skullmageddon]]. Like in ''Double Dragon II: The Revenge'', the battle is a FinalBossNewDimension fight, and the fight has the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic awesome]] ''Double Dragon'' [[ThemeMusicPowerUp theme]] playing in the background. After defeating the boss, the credits roll, and you hear the villain sing the ending theme, titled "[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Dared to Dream]]", during which Skullmageddon announces, "Here's a medal for your victory!" and the [[UsefulNotes/XBox360 Achievement Unlocked]]/[[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 Trophy Unlocked]] message pops up, and as Skullmageddon finally finishes falling, Marian delivers an ''[[GroinAttack uppercut to his crotch]]''.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'':
** The battle with Dhoulmagus, the one responsible for all this mess to begin with. Since the start of the game, the bastard was running the world, murdering innocent people on his way. And now, it's finally time to make him pay! It starts with him [[FlunkyBoss summoning two copies of himself]] to fight you 3 against 4. Then, he goes full-OneWingedAngel on you. [[spoiler:The guy may have been a DiscOneFinalBoss, but with the [[ClimaxBoss climatic fight]] and the excellent DiscOneFinalDungeon before him, you could be excused to think that he was the FinalBoss]].
** [[spoiler:Rhapthorne]] is an epic battle in and of itself. The first fight vs him has you fighting vs a little [[spoiler: fat roly-poly caricature of a demon with a pipsqueak voice]], the second battle has you forced to fight him [[spoiler:on top of the goddess of light [[ShoutOut from a previous DragonQuest game, Ramia/Godbird Empyrea]]]]. The only thing that detracts from the fight is the fact that his English voice sounds like [[{{Narm}} a Disney villain with bad sinuses.]]
** The bonus boss, [[spoiler:Dragovian Lord]] is also pretty epic. You fight him several times, each time he gives you 1 item out of a set pool, and the next time you fight him he gets stronger. Until the last time, when you fight the first 7 forms and an 8th final form, all in a row, without healing.
* ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'' has the Dragon himself. It's a MultiStageBattle where you have to alternate between fighting him and running away to seek a more strategic location. There are multiple tactics to defeat them, including engaging in a ColossusClimb, you can shoot him with ballistae, and at one point, you have to inch across his back to reach a weak point as he flies above the clouds. And while you're doing this, he is constantly delivering one awesome speech after another in his BadassBaritone voice, ending with [[WorthyOpponent genuine praise]] as you seriously start to wittle him down.
* ''VideoGame/DragonWarriorMonsters'' for GBC, either version, but easier if you've got Cobi's... DARCK. That mofo would NOT go down! Frustrating and enjoyable, because once you've beaten his 4000 HP ass...you win.
** Of course, the DS sequel, Joker, had a BonusBoss battle against a high-powered...um, Estark. Yes, the King of Monsters himself from ''Dragon Warrior IV''. The battle goes on for what feels like ages, with Estark having the usual array of high-powered Dragon Warrior boss powers. Of course, once it's all over, what happens? He joins your team, of course. Honorable mention goes to Captain Crow, pirate extraordinaire, who you run into from time to time when navigating the islands of the Green Bays Archipelago, only for him to throw increasingly-tough monsters at you until he stops screwing around and fights you himself; the fact that this fight is repeatable costs it in the awesome department, especially if you have the aforementioned Estark on your team.
* ''{{VideoGame/Drakengard}}'', the Queen-beast in Ending E is a unique, memorable rhythm-based boss fight that brings Drakengard to an unforgettable conclusion. In terms of gameplay the game is an utter disaster and not many people will reach the last ending, but those who do, will remember this peculiar final boss.
* ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'''s final level: Duke, VS the big bad alien on a grid-iron field covered with powerups and cheerleaders. Come get some!
* Seabook Arno's final story mission in ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam 2'', which teams him with Domon Kasshu of ''[[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam G Gundam]]'' and half the cast of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Gundam ZZ]]'' to take down Master Asia. Master Asia, however, cannot be killed until after you've defeated the Devil Gundam, which just so happens to be ThatOneBoss. Meanwhile, enemy officers show up to harass your allies. By the game's standards, it's a long and involved mission, which makes incredibly satisfying to beat; the MassiveMultiplayerCrossover nature of your allies makes it ''fun.''
* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'':
** Many people consider [[EldritchAbomination Giygas]] one of the greatest final bosses in videogame history, and not for just [[SurpriseCreepy being by far the most nightmarish part of a generally lighthearted game]] and arguably the single scariest Nintendo villain of them all ([[VileVillainSaccharineShow which really says something considering their track record]]). In its third and final form, your party cannot defeat it on their own. [[spoiler:In an interesting twist on breaking the fourth wall, you, the player, kill Giygas with the final attack.]] To elaborate: [[spoiler:Paula has already reached out to everyone the party met on Earth, but Giygas hasn't been defeated. She prays again, but she doesn't know who else to reach out to. Her call is absorbed by the darkness because you're fighting Giygas, the embodiment of evil itself, in a dimension of absolute darkness. Paula prays one last time for someone to help them; the player, yes, ''you'', the person playing the game, begins to pray for them and destroys Giygas.]]
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/{{Einhander}}'', [[spoiler: Hyperion. After being betrayed and outgunned by your own allies, you decide to rebel against them and engage them in one final battle. The final stage is not a normal stage at all, first you battle against the new EOS ships made by Selene, then you battle Hyperion itself. The battle itself is also cool, with the camera spinning in 360 directions, and Hyperion firing a variety of attacks, including a WaveMotionGun. All of which is set to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTWi_wJXGPI this awesome music]]. Then comes the BolivianArmyEnding, where you engage the rest of the Selene nation, and after the credits, ''you actually end up [[OneManArmy winning]]''.]]
* The ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' expansion ''Knights of the Nine'' has a particularly epic final battle. After storming an enemy fortress with more allies than you ever have, continuing on solo, and defeating Umaril's physical form, you chase his soul to the afterlife, battle him miles above the Imperial City, and kill him enough that he stays dead.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'':
** The base game has Ancano, the FinalBoss of the College of Winterhold questline. He is a powerful magic user, and for most of the fight is invulnerable, requiring you to use the Staff of Magnus to make him vulnerable. He also disables any followers you try to take into the fray, and summons [[DemonicSpiders Magic Anomalies]] to aid in the fight. He himself is quite a GlassCannon when not invulnerable, preventing this fight from being [[NintendoHard too difficult]]. Between being a PuzzleBoss and a FlunkyBoss with a unique invulnerability mechanic, he is one of Bethesda’s best and most memorable bosses.
** Say what you will of [[BigBad Alduin]]'s battles, but you can't deny how epic their atmospheres are, given that you, the Dragonborn, is dealing with a DraconicAbomination that's also a son of Akatosh. The first battle takes place on top of a giant mountain called The Throat of the World and the battle comes with a dash of CainAndAbel, as [[spoiler: [[BigGood Paarthurnax]]]] helps you whittle down Alduin to the point where the latter's cowardice casts doubt on his authority for the other dragons. The second and final battle takes place in the [[SceneryPorn stunningly beautiful]] [[spoiler: Sovengarde, where the Nordic heroes]] help you put an end to the diabolical dragon's tyranny, and the battle is accompanied by the appropriately called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfylJop4Dxg Final Battle]].
** ''Dawnguard'' DLC:
*** [[BigBad Lord Harkon]]. The atmosphere leading into the fight is epic in and of itself, as you face him in a partially ruined gothic cathedral. Harkon himself is an entirely unique enemy, darting around the battlefield throwing Gargoyles and health draining spells at you, and tearing into you with his claws if you get too close. You also get the satisfaction (if you kept Auriel’s Bow) of preventing him from healing himself.
*** Arch-Curate Vyrthur is an ancient Falmer vampire whom you fight in an ancient chapel, as he sics a horde of Chaurus and Falmer at you and '''tears down the building around you.''' It's also a great boss fight just in terms of how Vyrthur serves as the ClimaxBoss to the plot of the whole [=DLC=], gives further depth to the story's [[TheNightThatNeverEnds "Tyranny of the Sun"]] prophecy, ''and'' Vyrthur is fought in the Forgotten Vale where the [[spoiler: twin Revered Dragons]] can also be found.
** Courtesy of the ''Dragonborn'' DLC:
*** The final fight with [[BigBad Miraak]], who serves as a near-perfect {{Foil}} to the PlayerCharacter as both Dragonborn struggle against each other with the fate of both Solstheim and all of Tamriel hanging in the balance. The fantastic atmosphere given to their arena and SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic only makes it all the more epic.
*** And to only a ''slightly'' lesser extent, there's the [[BonusBoss Ebony Warrior]], a MetaGuy who can be argued as the true FinalBoss to all of ''Skyrim'', being a NighInvulnerable adventurer who has SeenItAll and [[ICannotSelfTerminate wants you to kill him]] so he can go to [[WarriorHeaven Sovngarde]]. The fact that you fight him in an inevitably awesome duel atop the Throat of the World ''and'' that he has [[MakeMeWannaShout Dragon Shouts]] just like you is just the veritable icing on the cake.
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/EtherVapor'', [[spoiler: APITEX. When fighting the boss, most of your attacks barely do any damage against it. But after it sustains enough damage, a cutscene occurs in which you suddenly go into [[SuperMode Overdrive Mode]], and your weapons become powerful laser weapons. The second form of APITEX, APITEX-EVO, is much more epic, as you and APITEX engage each other with the most powerful weapons that you and APITEX can use.]]
* ''VideoGame/EverQuest'' has The Master of Dreadspire, [[spoiler: Mayong Mistmoore]]. After clearing through all of his lieutenants and minions in his underground castle/alternate dimension, he finally faces you himself, and to date, he is the only boss in EQ raids to have his own theme music. After you defeat him, you learn that [[spoiler: you and your raiding party just [[ThanatosGambit fell into his trap]], and slaying him has had the unintended effect of causing his [[DeityOfHumanOrigin ascension to the Norrathian Pantheon.]] ]]
* ''VideoGame/EverythingOrNothing'': Escaping [[BigBad Diavolo's]] villa -- and, to unlock a new cheat code, you have to do it ''unarmed.'' It's NintendoHard in the very best sense -- damn near impossible, but the crazy awesome GoodOldFisticuffs make it ''way'' too much fun to be frustrating. And the badass [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Spanish bullfight-style music]] barling away in the background doesn't hurt, either.
* [[Videogame/{{Exceed}} [=EXCeed3=]]]: Jade Penetrate Black Package's final boss [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrQKB5LLWXg Celestia Lindwurm]] (note that the battle is supposed to go at about twice that speed). Awesome attacks and the two most [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic epic pieces of music]] in the entire game mean that she is far more awesome than even the BonusBoss.
* TheMentor character in ''VideoGame/FarawayStory'', Ellevark, can be challenged to an [[BonusBoss optional]] DuelBoss battle. He definitely proves himself worthy of teaching the main character, since he can easily kill unprepared players with his rapid-fire casting and diverse moveset that allows him to be quite deadly at any range. This means the player has to learn to judge the best distance to keep from him, as well as knowing the best times to switch from evasion to attack. His sudden LargeHam, use of an AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield, and visually impressive Ruin spells certainly add to the epicness of the fight.
* Belgar, the final boss of ''VideoGame/FinalFight''. While the battle is fun enough, the best part by far is punching the man who kidnapped your daughter (because let's face it, you're playing as Haggar, not Cody) ''through the windows of a skyscraper.''
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'': The battle against [[AntiVillain Arvis]] is a long time coming, the build-up to him goes to really flesh his actions out, and the battle itself is tough, with him having the [[AncestralWeapon legendary]] [[KillItWithFire fire tome]] Valflame and very powerful stats, making the best unit to go against him none other than [[TheHero Seliph]], as his Tyrfing provides a great counter to his sturdy defenses. He serves as a great prelude to the final holy war.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'':
*** Two, both of which are {{Foreshadow|ing}}ed by the ending of ''Blazing Blade'' (or is it {{Futureshadow|ing}}ed? ''The Binding Blade'' came out first, but was NoExportForYou so most non-Japanese fans would've played ''The Blazing Blade'', its prequel, first). The first is Zephiel, the BigBad and apparent FinalBoss. He's the most powerful human enemy you'll face in a GBA Fire Emblem and he has a unique class and an even more unique attack animation. If you've got all the S-ranked weapons intact, however, and Fae still has her Dragonstone, you move on to face TheRemnant, consisting of the last of Zephiel's generals, the (literal) [[TheDragon Dragon]], and TheManBehindTheMan (not in that order, though; TheDragon is last). It's TheManBehindTheMan, [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Jahn/Yahn]], that's the other one. He's also a dragon, and his stage consists of you going from room to room fighting apparent clones/projections of him, getting {{Hannibal Lecture}}d after every one you beat. It's immensely satisfying to finally destroy him once and for all.
*** There's also the battles against the Wyvern Generals: Narcian, Murdock, and Brunnya. Each are powerful bosses with powerful unique equipment and come at the end of long chapters acting a the final obstacle to overcome before you seize the throne and all take a great deal of strategy to bypass them. Add in the unique boss theme: "In the Name of Bern" and they all are memorable encounters.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'':
*** TragicMonster Kishuna, the Magic Seal. The first time he appears, he's somewhat of a [[HelpfulMook Helpful Boss]], nullifying the actual boss's magic. He leaves at the end of the turn in which you attack him, so beating him requires a concentrated attack of powerful non-magic units (here's hoping you've got a few of your other units promoted), and doing so is required to unlock another sidequest, one that gives a lot of backstory for the main villain. The second time he shows up, he's at the center of a maze of ruins and disappears as ''soon'' as you either attack him or open the door to his chamber, so beating him is only possible with a lucky critical hit by an attack-{{buff}}ed Sniper. You get different mooks appearing upon his departure depending on whether you drove him off with an attack or opened the door, so decide based on whether you need magic or weapons. In his final appearance, you learn that he was essentially [[BetaTestBaddie Nergal's rejected experiment]], a morph that could feel but lacked speech and can't attack, and this time when you beat him--and he never retreats this time--you feel like you're [[MercyKill putting him out of his misery.]]
*** Sonia. Like Kishuna, she's only faced in an optional battle, but given everything she's done to this point, it's worth the [[ThatOneLevel hassle of trudging through the]] [[NamesTheSame Water Temple]] to fight her. (Not to mention it works better for continuity since we actually get to see her kill [[spoiler:Brendan Reed]] there, and she [[YouHaveFailedMe gets killed regardless]] by the end of the next chapter.)
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'', (3-13) [[spoiler: [[RogueProtagonist Ike]]]] yeah! Alternatively, (3-7, 3-E) [[spoiler: Micaiah]] Yeah! Unfortunately, the latter three will be missed by most players since 3-7 and 3-13 end after a certain amount of turns and 3-E ends after 80 deaths between the three armies, and in all cases, the boss is at the back of the map. But if you're fast enough you also get [[spoiler:Black Knight]] Yeah! in 3-7 and [[spoiler:Kurthnaga]] Yeah! and [[spoiler:Nailah]] Yeah! in 3-E.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has the final boss, Grima. The battle takes place [[ColossusClimb on his own back]] while flying over the ocean with infinitely respawning enemy units and when you finally reach the point you're supposed to attack to win, Grima in the background responds to the damage done to [[spoiler: his vessel]] and attacks himself from behind instead of [[spoiler: the vessel]] attacking, and these attacks have several different animations instead of just one general. Oh, and you're also given the choice to strike the killing blow yourself [[spoiler: which might kill you, since you are him]] or Chrom with his Exalted Falchion. And of course the entire map, including the actual boss battle is accompanied by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4QTEzsCRIE the most epic BGM in the whole game]].
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' has its three final bosses in each route, much like its predecessor ''Awakening''. It's worth mentioning that they all play [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic End of All]], one of the best themes in the game.
*** The ''Birthright'' final boss is the [[BigBad Nohrian King Garon,]] fought in his Nohrian King form in Chapter 27, in the throne room of Castle Krakenburg, not only getting to him is fairly difficult as the stage is large and full of dangers, but Garon himself is very tough as well, as he's equipped with the Bölverk axe, which not only can deal a ton of damage, but ''has a 90% chance of hitting you, on top of a 10% of critting you, possibly killing your units in the process''. And if you manage to defeat him, he enters his [[OneWingedAngel Blight Dragon form]], who is also one of the very few bosses who can move in the ''entire series'', but only after he uses the four Dragon Veins he has. And while he's not as strong as in his human form, he still manages to be a tricky but amazing boss to beat. All of that coupled with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9J0_RYhWMw one of the most epic themes in the game]].
*** The ''Conquest'' final boss is [[spoiler:Double Anankos!Takumi]], [[ThatOneBoss and boy, he's one tough motherfucker,]] but it pays off by being immensely satisfying as a fitting end for the hell that is the ''Conquest'' route (''especially'' on [[HarderThanHard Lunatic)]]. Unlike Garon, he's only fought in the ''Conquest'' Endgame as opposed to being fought in both it's Chapter 27 and Endgame like Garon since the latter had already been defeated in the previous chapter. But still, after an incredibly aggravating (but epic) struggle to reach him, he reveals himself as an extremely tough boss as [[spoiler:he's basically paired with a clone of himself, with the Bold Stance that basically turns it into the ''Pair Up mechanic from Awakening''.]] All coupled with several skills that make him harder, when you finally beat him you'll likely cry of happiness as you've finally [[JustForPun conquered]] the NintendoHard hell that is ''Conquest''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVKrpiphCuo And it's all accompanied by a slightly different version of the previously mentioned theme.]]
*** The ''Revelation'' final boss, which is also the TrueFinalBoss of ''Fates'' as a whole, puts the other two final bosses and even ''Grima'' to shame when it comes to spectacle. Like Garon, you fight [[spoiler:Anankos]] in two phases between Chapter 27 and the Endgame itself. The mask itself is rather tough, being equipped with the Dragonskin and Status Immunity along with some rather high stats, but after you defeat it, the real deal comes: [[spoiler:Anankos]] turns into [[OneWingedAngel his much larger Silent Dragon form,]] and the whole Endgame is centered about fighting [[spoiler:Anankos,]] which rivals the FinalBoss of ''Radiant Dawn'' when it comes to complexity: you have to destroy his arms, then his head, and ''then'' his heart (the last of which is fought very similar to ''Awakening'''s Grima). All of them are quite tough, as they sport the same skills as the mask form, but on top of that, they hit even harder and can even kill units easily. That, while the camera does some really epic pans to show [[spoiler:Anankos' attacks]] off. Coupled with Vallites swarming you constantly, the boss itself putting you on your toes and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKOEvNOM4DI yet another version of the previously mentioned epic theme,]] making for an epic confrontation, if not as insanely hard as, say, the ''Conquest'' final boss.
* In ''VideoGame/ForHonor'': Gudmundr. Tough but fair, with awesome arenas, and gimmicks that serve to spice up the battle rather than frustrate the player (yes, [[ThatOneBoss Tozen]], that means you).
* ''VideoGame/{{Fraxy}}'':
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx5WVVSEUQs Any]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ1xyo_SkNc boss]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D77d7Npra48 ever]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ww_qa53Ia8 made]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q06Nb6VAX24 by]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=732aI5WE8VM Eboshidori]]. (SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic optional.) Most of these are hard enough to qualify for ThatOneBoss as well, but they make up for it terms of sheer awesome. He even has a Fraxy version of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRD4OJX8Mls Hibachi]]!
** Add [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL7zWdDCtOE True Acala]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7aOqHCP8es Sakra-Devanam Human Type]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80dCdMDb73s Sunyata]] to the list. Awesome Boss Maker?
** Prior to being nerfed, Landshark was more than deserving of its MemeticBadass status.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:G - M]]
* ''Website/GaiaOnline'':
** ''zOMG!'' has this with the second boss, the OMGWTF. After fighting your way through a graveyard, you come to the gate. When you approach, you're forced to fight a small army of OMGs. Then the boss comes out. Part dragon, part scorpion, part [[http://www.gaiaonline.com/marketplace/itemdetail/1586 hat]]. And it wants you gone. Just because words can't properly describe how awesome a dracoscorpiohat is, here's [[http://zomg.wikia.com/wiki/Image:OMGWTF.png a picture]]. Besides looking awesome, it's the first really tough enemy you'll face in the game, so defeating it for the first time really gives you a sense of achievement.
** And then you reach "[[FanNickname The Endboss]]". The buildup in the last few stages of Chapter One is a positive infodump that calls back about a dozen different aspects of the Gaia Online plot-manga from several years ago, and the chapter boss itself must be seen to be believed. It is also ''extremely'' difficult to beat (even in Easy Mode) without being [[ThatOneBoss overbearing]], but rather awe-inspiring, which makes it completely satisfying when the last explosions fade and you teleport back to Barton Town for your rewards.
* Any of the [[HumongousMecha Impact]] battles from the N64 ''VideoGame/GanbareGoemon'' game, but especially the giant peach spaceship.
* In ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar3'', finally getting to have a proper battle with a Brumak on foot was great.
* ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideogame'':
** The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man fight. Blasting away at a 50-foot marshmallowman (who throws helicopters and spits marshmallow minions at you) while dangling from the side of a building only being supported by two other human beings surely defines Awesome Boss. It should be noted that this boss is the only boss that's 95% the same fight between the realistic style game and the cartoon-style game.
** Stay-Puft be damned--what about ''the freaking Collector?'' Damn, but he's got a bitchslap from hell...
** The 2009 ''Ghostbusters'' was just a parade of wonderful boss battles. The Stay-Puft Man? You're dangling over a [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome goddamn building firing proton darts at it]]! The Librarian? You're down in secret passages within the library not opened for ''decades'', sealed in a creepy little chamber with you, her, and the classic team. Cool! The Spider Witch? Beautifully creepy, and double the {{Squick}} for any arachnophobes. You get to see what a Sloar looks like (as mentioned in passing in the [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}} first film]]). And then, there's Shador himself. Oh. Wow. Thank ''you,'' Misters Aykroyd and Ramis!
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vIa7ofNk5I The final boss battle]] of ''Ginga Force''. Just when you manage to disable his battleship, the BigBad launches in his own fighter for one final showdown with you as he goes full-on VillainousBreakdown and fires everything he has at his disposal. It's also one of the most HotBlooded final boss battles in any video game since it has both you and the BigBad [[ScreamingWarrior yelling at the top of their lungs]].
* ''VideoGame/GodHand'':
** Any fight with Azel is awesome thanks to his kickass theme music and the ability to get into a pummel duel with him. Try thinking [[Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar ATATATATATATATATATA]] or [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure ORAORAORAORAORAORA]] for maximum effect. Elvis, while difficult, is still the best boss fight ever. [[MemeticMutation Fuck yes.]]
** Dr. Ion is immensely fun simply because he is much easier than the other bosses, while still retaining a level of challenge, especially the second fight with him. He changes into multiple forms to fight you, and when you hit him with a powerful attack, instead of being blasted away, he breaks apart.
* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'':
** Saturos and Menardi After all of the hype, you finally get to see what they're capable of. Of course, they live up to and beyond expectations. The following battle crosses into ThatOneBoss territory though...
** Saturos alone atop the Mercury Lighthouse, not only is the battle simply amazing, but the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic battle theme]] that accompanies it should be considered the national anthem for boss battle music.
** Agatio and Karst atop Jupiter Lighthouse from the sequel. They split your party, and the first few turns are struggling to survive. Then your reinforcements start pouring in ones and twos saying they were worried about you. Agatio and Karst start to panic as they slowly get overwhelmed. When your party is complete, the battle turns barely in your favor. Barely. Made more epic by the fact that this is one of two battles in the game in which losing doesn't make you have to start over. However, if you lose a party, you now have a SECOND party ready to jump in to continue the fight and you can heal the fallen. That new mechanic alone makes the fight epic because now everyone worked out their differences and are working together as a team.
** The Serpent in the sequel is also pretty interesting. When you first get to Gaia Rock, there's a pretty straightforward route through the dungeon and it leads to a boss fight surprisingly quickly...and it turns out that the reason the dungeon was seemingly nonexistent is that as such, this is a HopelessBossFight, and you actually had to scale the ''outside'' of the rock to get an item that unlocks side paths on the inside and explore these side paths to [[spoiler:shine light on four orbs in its room]], turning down its regeneration to manageable levels. ([[spoiler:Three out of four is still manageable, but harder.]] Of course, with NewGamePlus bonuses, you can actually [[DungeonBypass take it out in one turn, thereby eliminating the need to worry about it regenerating all of its health at the end of every turn.]])
** The mark of a great boss is that he's hard to beat, but doesn't use any cheap tactics that you can't counter. By giving external mechanism for his various tricks, the Star Magician made for a great battle--balancing warding off his Star Ball attack and whaling on whichever ball was most dangerous (Refresh first, then Guard, then get any Anger balls before they self-destruct; leave thunders alone so the magician can't spawn more of them) made for a great battle. The other two guardian bonus bosses, Sentinel and Valukar, were also fun (although Valukar using our Djinn summons against us was pretty cheap.) Dullahan, the ''final'' bonus boss? Um, [[ThatOneBoss No.]]
* ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'':
** Unfortunately, Blados and Chalis don't quite live up to the hype-- their fight is certainly awesome, but just doesn't live up to VideoGame/GoldenSun standards of awesome... especially since they're ''following'' some pretty epic boss fights. If you liked Star Magician, try Sludge, a (surprisingly sympathetic) disfigured crocodilian nightmare beast with similar allies and combat strategies. If you'd rather [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu pluck the feathers of divinity]], try the [[GiantFlyer Mountain Roc]]...
** In the bonus round, defending champions Star Magician and Dullahan return, joined in [[ThatOneBoss That One Awesome Boss]] status by the Ancient Devil, whose claim to fame is [[spoiler: [[BrainwashedAndCrazy enchanting your party members to join him against you]], which depending on who he steals can be [[TierInducedScrappy hilarious]] or [[GameBreaker horrifying]].]] The Ogre Titans seem bland in comparison, except for the part where [[AlwaysABiggerFish newer, stronger ones keep showing up]]...
* ''VideoGame/GotchaForce'' has the final boss, which is basically where you and all of your allies are blown up to ENORMOUS size to fight a giant space station of death. It can be frustratingly difficult, but the pure joy of actually BEATING that boss is magnified once you finally do win.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}} series'':
** ''Gaiden's'' first boss is a giant [[SandWorm snow worm]] called Blizzard Crawler that jumps from the floor to the ceiling and vice versa while chasing after your CoolStarship. It fires a hailstorm of snowballs and [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]] on its back in higher difficulties[=/=]loops. Its introduction and the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic awesome boss theme]] makes a great way to start the game.
** The BossRush stages throughout the series are awesome in their own way, but also in ''Gaiden'' is the BossBonanza for introducing new bosses rather than returning ones, such as Laser Tetran, a modified Tetran where it fires 4 laser beams instead of CombatTentacles, Triple Core Formation, a [[WolfpackBoss trio of core battleships]] where their attacks get more intense the more you take them down, and Deltatry, a triangular core battleship that fires grenades, a sword-shaped WaveMotionGun, and summons [[InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons fiery dragons]] to hound you down. Bonus points for Deltatry being a ShoutOut to the player ship from an obscure shoot-em-up called ''Trigon[=/=]Lightning Fighters'', also made by Creator/{{Konami}}.
** Despite its reduced boss design variety when compared to previous titles, ''V'' still has some rocking bosses, such as Ground Spider, a SpiderTank that chases you down while sweeping the screen with a giant laser, Blaster Cannon Core, a core battleship that fires BulletHell at you and a volley of lasers while the Vic Viper hides behind asteroids for defense, and Elephant Gear, another SpiderTank that's shaped like a battleship instead of a spider and has an epic theme that reflects its [[MightyGlacier slow yet mighty nature]].
* ''VideoGame/GraffitiKingdom'''s final boss fights. The first guy is essentially a giant technicolor Satan that you have to beat twice, and then after that, his own son [who you thought was dead] comes out and KILLS HIS OWN FATHER, then fights you in a six-stage epic complete with [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic the most amazing music in the entire game]].
* ''VideoGame/GrandChase'':
** The Corrupted Divine Tree in the Forest of Life. Four heads in each corner to take out before the main body, constant mook summoning, and when all the heads go, ACID RAIN starts pouring down.
** To even the odds a little, Gaia (the one you're supposed to rescue) periodically summons healing magic at certain spots, which is a full HP heal for you, and also extends the fight somewhat, as this also restores Gaia's HP.
* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', the run-and-gun chase through the streets of Los Santos against Samuel L. Jackson's DirtyCop, Officer Tenpenny.
* Ricardo Di­az from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity''. Boy, is he MadeOfIron (it takes 5 headshots with the sniper rifle to take him out!), but the resulting scene is so awesome it's well worth the pain.
* Jaguar Javier from ''VideoGame/{{Guacamelee}}'', the resident MirrorBoss (given that [[spoiler:he was trained by the same master as you]]). He has no gimmicks; he just hits fast and hard with the same attacks a player has. Also, getting a stagger against him isn't guaranteed, so you have to know when to weave away from a counterattack, and when to press the advantage. Needless to say, he's a more beloved boss than the more standard FinalBoss.
* Lou from ''VideoGame/GuitarHero 3'', if only because you feel like the world's biggest badass after beating him. And you fight to "[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic the Devil Went Down to Georgia]]" and they bleep out the cuss word. And when you beat Lou, you get to play a minute-long solo whilst he just stands there, utterly defeated and reduced to name-calling. Then, at the end, the game utters these final words: [[ThePowerOfRock "YOU ARE A ROCK GOD!"]] As if that wasn't enough, you fly up to Heaven on winged motorcycles and play Music/DragonForce whilst the credits roll.
* ''VideoGame/GundamVsSeries'':
** The final boss of ''Gundam Vs. Gundam''? The [[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam Devil Gundam]]. In its [[OhCrap Devil Colony]] form. It throws giant beams, explosive particles, Gundam Heads, Death Army MS, and even ''its own gigantic fists'' at you.
** In the sequel, the BonusBoss is [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Kira Yamato's Strike Freedom Gundam]], which is fought in three phases. First it fights normally, but after you damage it enough, Kira pulls out the [[MechaExpansionPack METEOR]] and begins assaulting you with BeamSpam and [[MacrossMissileMassacre Macross Missile Massacres]] galore. Once you destroy the METEOR, Kira [[IAmNotLeftHanded decides to be serious]] and enters [[SuperMode S.E.E.D. Mode]] until you finally take him down.
* [[spoiler: Garino Corsione]] in ''VideoGame/{{Gungrave}}: Overdose''. As the final boss of the game, you fight this guy in a ''[[spoiler: alien spaceship/cathedral....thing]]''. He constantly spouts AGodAmI-esque lines while playing an ''advanced-tech pipe organ'', but what really makes this fight awesome is '''Unlimited Demolition'''. Whoever you're playing as gains a [[EleventhHourSuperpower considerable power boost in that the Demolition Shot Gauge regenerates on its own]], allowing you to spam the uber Lv. 3 shots more often. During the second phase of the fight, when you empty the boss' life meter, you're treated to an epic boss fatality cutscene--'''[[spoiler: Triple. Final. Demolition. Shot.]]'''
* ''VideoGame/GunstarHeroes'':
** [[CainAndAbel Gunstar Green]]. First you fight against him and the huge transforming Seven Force robot in an [[SequentialBoss epic]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOCRCEAhluo high-speed underground battle]]. Then a reprisal battle against him with you at the helm of a massive, heavily-armed spaceship. Finally, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UJ--NjV2iI he faces the heroes mano-a-mano]], taking on both gun-wielding heroes with his ''bare hands'' and actually kicking your asses around the map if you don't stay sharp. Throughout it all he's never less than poised and in control, coolly acknowledging your victory even as his mecha explodes around him.
** The Seven Force fight gets better on higher difficulties. Seven Force always starts in the human-shaped Solider Force...but on Easy, you fight two more forms after that, four more in Normal, and on Hard Mode ''you fight a grueling marathon battle against all seven forms,'' each with about as much health to them as Pink's mecha in one of the other stages. All this, and you fight him while riding a gravity-defying mine-cart, constantly worrying about whether you should be clinging to the floor ''or the ceiling'' to avoid the myriad attacks of each form.
* The GBA sequel ''VideoGame/GunstarSuperHeroes'' pretty much reprises all of this, except in the rematch with Green, he doesn't hesitate to use his Seven Force forms mid-battle. The end result? A ninja teleporting behind your back, turning into a giant urchin, rolling at you, then leaping into the air and transforming into a giant crossbow. It's extremely hectic, pushes the system itself to its limits, and the whole fight is framed by a [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic minimalistic, yet heroic, theme.]]
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'':
** The glorious moment where you finally blast the everloving CRAP out of the Combine helicopter that's been dogging you for a level and a half at least. And it's a running battle through {{Absurdly Spacious Sewer}}s and wide-open spaces with plenty of eye candy. Oh, and you're riding a hovercraft armed with [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]] the entire time. ''Insanity.''
** The final battle of Episode 2. Easily the most epic encounter in the entire ''Half-Life'' series.
** Gordon Freeman versus the Strider Army. Who will win? The fifty-foot tall, heavily armed monstrosities? Or the ''theoretical physicist?'' The best part is that they basically send Gordon out there alone... okay, he had help, but they don't last long. They think Gordon can handle the situation alone. And they're right. Completely.
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'':
** ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'':
*** The Scarab Battle. While not technically a boss, when combined with the bgm, and all the other marines rallying behind Master Chief, bringing it down is surely an ego boost for many.
*** Tartarus, Chieftain of the [[KillerSpaceMonkey Brutes]]. He's an 8-foot-tall gorilla with a ''really'' bad temper, who is leading an entire race of crazy apes with nail guns but he has more than a nail gun, instead he has a [[DropTheHammer huge-assed hammer]] which sends enemies 50 meters away and his energy shield is almost indestructible, it takes three shots from a beam sniper to take it down and you still just has three seconds to shoot him as much as possible before the shield is back online.
** ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'':
*** There are no less than ''three'' Scarab battles, which combine both BestBossEver and BestLevelEver in varying amounts. You get to fight a Scarab on [=ATVs=] with Rocket Launchers, then you get to fight a Scarab at the conclusion of a massive tank battle. What could possibly top that? Oh yeah, [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome fighting TWO Scarabs in the midst of a massive aerial battle]].
*** For added awesome in the dual-Scarab battle, play with a friend and have him pilot a Hornet while you jump into a passenger seat. When he flies over one of the Scarabs, bail out and jump right on top of the beast. With luck, the guards on the Scarab will be too busy firing at the Marines above and below them to notice and you can slip right by them and take out the core with relative ease. Have them extract you off of the roof of the Scarab as it melts down or the ground after you jump off and repeat...
*** The last boss, 343 Guilty Spark, for the sole reason that he's an annoying fuck and blasting him was one of the most satisfying acts ever.
*** The last part of "The Ark" is fighting a Brute Chieftain, half a dozen Jump Pack Brutes, and two Jackal Marksmen. A little known fact is that if you don't go in guns blazing, you can actually fight the Chieftain on his own while his allies just watch the fight. So basically, you have the [[SelfImposedChallenge chance]] to beat a [[DropTheHammer Brute Chieftain]] on your own ''with nothing but melee attacks''.
** ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'': The Goblin in Warzone is a MiniMecha with a large variety of powerful attacks, and you ''will'' need teamwork to take it down. Also, it's piloted by a trash-talking [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Grunt]] who's yelling at you through a megaphone the entire time. It's a lovely mix of terror and hilarity.
* Tiberius, the BigBad and FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/HardCorpsUprising''. He has laughable [[{{Narm}} Narmy]] dialogue he uses to taunt you repeatedly, uses a sword as his primary weapon, catches the bullets when he goads you to shoot him, and when he goes onto his OneWingedAngel form, he says, [[ThisIsTheFinalBattle "Let's begin... the final battle."]] The final phase of the battle has you [[FreeFallFight descend from the now destroyed battleship]] [[HighAltitudeBattle while falling from the sky]] as Tiberius tries one final attempt to kill you.
* ''VideoGame/{{HardReset}}'': it was here, with their first major release, that Flying Wild Hog would establish their love for boss battles that can only be adequately described as 'titanic'. Imagine the 3D version of BackgroundBoss and you're getting there. Throw in some excellent and intense music, generous-but-not-too-generous supplies, and what could otherwise be fairly unremarkable or even hellishly frustrating fights turn into epic DavidVsGoliath showdowns.
** First, Atlas, the Titan carrying the Heavens. The Machines smuggled a nanomachine payload into the statue. As Fletcher encounters it, a seemingly unremarkable stone statue comes to life, sprouting massive glowing armor plates and deadly weapons, whilst more hostile Mooks swarm into the arena. You have to destroy all of the glowing plates in order to cripple the Titan, all so that you can ultimately borrow the contents of its 'brain'.
** Second, the Constructor. A colossal shrimp-like ''construction'' machine, it spends the entire battle climbing between giant towers in the distance (making it a literal BackgroundBoss) whilst blasting away at you with a cutting laser as more mechanical mooks swarm up onto the landing pad you're on. You need to balance destroying three of the Constructor's legs with fighting off its minions, dodging its laser, and avoiding the piles of explosives scattered around the arena.
* ''VideoGame/{{Hellsinker}}'':
** The bossfight against Rex Cavalier is both a really [[MarathonBoss long boss]] and very well thought out. All the while, MickeyMousing is in full effect. As the fight goes on Rex changes attacks based on your performance, with everything from missiles to more lasers. And when he explodes and seems to be beaten, his Spirit Kernel takes over the fight in one last struggle while the music picks up and the background starts flying by very fast. And finally, in a last-ditch attack, Rex tries to load over his spirit onto the protagonist. If you stop him it's on to the next stage; if he succeeds, however, you get a NonStandardGameOver where your spirit gets corrupted and is slowly turned into the PRAYERS you have been fighting.
** From the previous Segment, the Apostles of the Seed, [[DualBoss Dusk and Dawn]], who assault you with co-op attacks. After some damage, they switch to tag-teaming, taking turns with a wide variety of attacks, followed by a CombinationAttack where the two spin around and attack you both at the same time again, inverting the screen colors and super-attacking you if you time out this particular attack. Destroy one of them and the other fires at you with all they've got. Finally, after the two bosses are destroyed, you ''then'' have to run through a gauntlet of Unnamed enemies that spew out dense patterns or fire blue beams of death, until your character lands on [[{{BFS}} The Key]] and use it to unlock the next Segment. All to SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic with a combination of [[Laconic/AutobotsRockOut rocking out]] and a OneWomanWail. Of course, it's only an Awesome Boss if you like [[ThatOneBoss challenging bosses]].
** The third-tier FinalBoss, Garland, who you fight over a [[FinalBossNewDimension trippy background]] that [[InterfaceScrew even takes over the interface]]. Who knew that [[spoiler:going to the lost-and-found service]] could be [[MundaneMadeAwesome so awesome]]? If you do unlock [[TrueFinalBoss Lost Property 771]], the massive spray of Mistletoes turns into hearts, allowing you to max out your lives and rake in gigantic Immortality bonuses. 771 is a HoldTheLine boss, where not only must you face its attacks until time runs out with the entire screen inverted in color, but continously shooting 771 will give you large quantities of {{S|coringPoints}}pirits.
* ''VideoGame/HeroCore'''s final boss fights are pretty awesome, at least due to the music. But then again, so are The Elites, Silencer, the Guardian...
* The Magician from ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead''. Just everything about him is cool. His "demon knight" design is striking and fearsome, but also elegant and, unlike his successors, restrained. His pose and gestures exude arrogant power. His theme is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjTBJlO0i-Q great]]. The fight itself is a true ordeal, since the Magician is blindingly fast, and his weak points, despite being an open secret now, are cleverly concealed, and the realisation that the fight has begun but ''you don't know where to shoot'' brought a moment of panic to all who reached him for the first time. How awesome is The Magician? Not only does he return for the sequel, not only does he retain his personal theme despite no longer being the final boss, but his voiceover is actually okay there! Granted, he only has a couple lines, but the inflections are mostly correct, and he sounds neither bored, confused nor whiny. It's like even the clowns in charge of that voiceover realised you do not screw up a boss that epic!
* In ''VideoGame/HypeTheTimeQuest'', Mhasse is the only boss that really requires any tactical thinking.
* The FinalBoss battle in the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn ShootEmUp ''Hyper Duel'', from the creators of the ''VideoGame/ThunderForce'' series. It starts out as a BattleshipRaid as you attempt to destroy the enemy mothership. And it appears as if the BigBad is actually [[EnemyMine helping you]] destroy the mothership! But after you destroy it, the mothership ends up taking the BigBad in, and you fight the BigBad himself while this [[AwesomeMusic/VideoGames awesome]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAGztZg9KmQ theme]] plays in the background, which is also a TitleDrop on the OST.
* Although it was the only boss fight in the game, the battle between Ico and the Shadow Queen in ''VideoGame/{{ICO}}'' was immensely gripping and tense, right up to the moment when Ico drove the spirit sword right into her dark heart!
* ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'':
** The FinalBoss Tor definitely qualifies. He's got attacks where he flies several miles away, and shoots lasers or missiles at you, then flies back. And when he's back, you face BulletHell of epic proportions. From blasts that leave rippling waves on the ground, to missiles that turn into other missiles, to a bolt of energy you have to reflect back at him. And he even has a one-hit kill that not only kills you but wipes your stats. Also, if you've beaten the game before, you can find a terminal and power him up so he has even more HP and attacks more.
** The final fight with Asha. After [[spoiler: trying to (and possibly even succeeding in) killing Iji's brother]], being able to finally put him down for good is immensely satisfying, and the fight itself is suitably epic as well.
* The final portion of the Chapter 5 boss, Tageri, in ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}''. The most awesome instance of PlayingTennisWithTheBoss ever.
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/InFamous'' is one hell of an epic fight in a game loaded with them. You're put in a one-on-one duel with Kessler, the man responsible for the deaths of thousands and the destruction of your city (not to mention killing your girlfriend)in the middle of a huge crater you woke up in at the very beginning of the game. Kessler has powered up versions of all of your moves, plus it's hard to actually hit him since he'll [[FlashStep teleport]] a few feet away every time you shoot him unless it's during one of his moves. Beating him requires skill, patience, and liberal use of the dodge button.
* From ''VideoGame/InfamousSecondSon'':
** "He Who Dwells" [[spoiler: AKA Eugene Sims]], a massive, laser shooting angel who you fight inside of a video game. This results in you fighting in what looks like the fires of Hell against what Delsin compared at one point to God.
** The [[spoiler: first]] battle against Augustine. Coming on the tail of [[spoiler: Reggie's death]], what follows is a very cathartic beatdown where Delsin calls out Augustine over all the crap she did to Delsin and his people. The end result is Delsin ''leveling'' the concrete island they were fighting on.
* The Final Boss of the Flash-based game ''VideoGame/{{Intrusion 2}}'', M.A.C.E. Your character is traveling through a deserted corridor, then this HumongousMecha comes after you, firing its EyeBeams through the windows, biting off the walkway, then using his FingerFirearms to attack you with fireballs and homing missiles. Then your character goes into a building, and the huge robot ''grabs the windows with his hands and picks up the building''. You then have to avoid the junk being tossed around, while firing at M.A.C.E.'s fingers to destroy them and force him to put the building down, after which his fingers attack you again. After this, the real fight starts- it spits out a BulletHell of fireballs, crushes you with its fists, uses EyeBeams, a twirling laser beam attack, and will periodically take a container to dump bad guys ([[BossArenaRecovery and health]]). Like Tor from ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'', he also can fly away into the background to fire out a MacrossMissileMassacre or a huge sweeping laser, the second of which can only be avoided by hiding behind a wall which you need to operate. During then, the missiles will attempt to push the wall back down. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZUj2QyCaIY Words cannot describe the boss in its full glory]].
* ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'':
** Dracula. He throws ''delicious fruit'' on fire, as well as [[VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou the frickin' moon]], at you, sets the floor ablaze several times, and [[spoiler:turns into a Waddle Doo]] at the end, all with [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic epic music]] playing in the background. Hard or not, that battle was pure awesome from start to finish. (Or, considering this IS ''IWBTG'' we're talking about: From start, to start, to start, to start...) He can even kill you in the ''intro speech'', when he [[spoiler:throws his wineglass at you. You have to jump over it.]]
** Mechabirdo's boss fight also counts as you ride huge-ass missiles and the BGM taken from Ikaruga's boss fight made it MORE AWESOME.
* In ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance 2'', about halfway through the game, you get to fight [[spoiler:"Mike"]], a fellow mercenary (the best recruitable merc from ''Jagged Alliance 1''). He's a shameless opportunist and is now hiring out his services to the enemy this time around, basically betraying his fellow mercenaries. In fact, each A.I.M Merc recruitable in the game (there are roughly 50 of them) has special spoken dialogue for when [[spoiler:Mike]] is spotted and for when [[spoiler:Mike]] is eliminated. He's extra bad-ass because he carries a very rare and powerful assault rifle (G11), which you'll definitely want to collect for yourself.
* ''VideoGame/JediAcademy'':
** The truly epic final duel against [[spoiler:Kyle Katarn]] on the Dark Side path, especially on Jedi Knight difficulty. He was every bit the worthy opponent you'd expect him to be, without being the [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard cheating, overpowered]], one-hit-kill murder machine that Desann was in ''Jedi Outcast''. Made all the more awesome because [[spoiler:Kyle]] has moves seen nowhere else in the VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga, if not ''Franchise/StarWars'' video games as a whole... who else, in the middle of a ''[[LaserBlade lightsaber duel]]'', would Force Pull your saber out of your hands so they could wrap you up in a chokehold or deliver some gut punches?
** The final battle against [[spoiler: Marka Ragnos, the "most powerful Sith Lord ''evah''"]] was also pretty good. Sure, he had a somewhat annoying instant-heal-to-full-health move (though he can only use it 4 times before running out), but at least he didn't kill you in 1 hit or have an impossible-to-break force choke like Desann did.
* Just about every damn boss in ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' counts.
** Highlights include a reaper two stories tall, a [[spoiler: HumongousMecha, [[EveryoneHatesHades Hades]]]] himself... and the [[spoiler:[[KnightOfCerebus Chaos]] [[EldritchAbomination Kin]]]]. The latter technically takes up two boss fights - the first time it was [[spoiler: possessing Palutena]] and the second time was a straight-up KILLKILLKILL fight.
** The battle with Phosphora is very cool. It's basically a frantic duel between Palutena's and [[spoiler:Viridi]]'s strongest warriors. The fast pace of the fight is matched by the atmosphere. Even the commentating gods and goddesses agree that the fight is very exciting to watch.
* ''VideoGame/{{Killer7}}'':
** Curtis Blackburn. MOST AWESOME SHOOTOUT EVER.
** Gotta add in Ayame Blackburn, sebaibu!
** Before them, [[spoiler: Andrei Ulmeyda]] manages to be one. In a much more [[TearJerker serious way]].
* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'':
** The class Nemeses, after which the BigBad is anticlimactic. Everyone has their favorite.
** Gorgolok the Demonic Hellseal, with bone shields that must be shattered before using your newly acquired super-critical-bamming attack.
** The Spaghetti Demon, for allowing you to do something you can't do anywhere else: Spam Entangling Noodles, a spell which you have been using at the start of most every fight since you hit level 3.
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters 2002'' Unlimited Match has longtime series villain Rugal Bernstein as a hidden boss. Getting to him in itself is quite difficult. When you do get there, you'll know by the kickass cutscene showing Rugal emerging from his cybernetic coat, ready to crush every dream you ever had. Then the fight starts. The game's camera-panning-down-from-the-ceiling effect with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbEqJIFvZ1A Unlimited R]] playing in time on his brand-spankin' new Blacknoah stage (Which first appeared as an extra 3D stage in the [=PS2=] port of the original, mind you) sets the mood to what is guaranteed to be a hell of a fight. You also can't continue against him, so give him hell before he gives it to you.
* The sorcerer duel with Mordak in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVAbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder''. Graham is an ex-knight, not a sorcerer (that's Alex's department), and still manages to hand the guy his rear with some fast thinking and a borrowed wand.
* Alex's duel with Alhazred in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVIHeirTodayGoneTomorrow''. Using a mostly useless sword and what had to be a crash course in sword fighting (he was raised a slave, after all), he manages to hold his own long enough for Cassima to break out the dagger she concealed in her robes and ''stab the guy in the back!''
* Leorina from ''VideoGame/{{Klonoa}} 2: Lunatea's Veil''. After she goes all OneWingedAngel [[spoiler:unwillingly]], she begins to skate around the arena. You know those lighting enemies you use to go up really high? When she tries to jump on you, you ''fly up using those to hit her in her weak point''. It doesn't sound that impressive, but actually playing it feels like you're playing ''Dragon Ball Z''. It probably helps that the background music is quite possibly the biggest SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic in the series. For added effect, try yelling "SHORYUKEN!" every time you attack her.
* The final boss battle of the LightGunGame ''VideoGame/LAMachineguns'', which is a BattleshipRaid against the giant aircraft carrier terrorist organization Rage of the Machines.
* ''VideoGame/LaMulana'':
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTevN1yVk6U Tiamat]], the Guardian of the Dimensional Corridor. She continuously generates GoddamnedBats to slow you down, has an attack in which she whips out her hair in all directions, a tail whip attack that can chop off a good chunk of life, and gives you a split second to hit her face before she changes direction, should you choose to battle her the hard way (without getting on the infinity symbol you can generate onto her and stabbing her with the knife over and over). Her battle is more or less the game's equivalent of ''Castlevania'''s Death, and it certainly helps that she has one of the most badass boss themes to grace video games.
** Viy is worth a mention just for the [[WaveMotionGun giant laser]] EyeBeams out of nowhere. They strike quickly, fill 2/3 of the screen, destroy platforms, and even vaporize the little helper demons keeping his eye open. The JustForFun/{{HSQ}} goes through the roof during that fight. Also, he finally makes the otherwise useless [[CherryTapping throwing knives]] useful.
** From the earlier part of the game, Ellmac surely counts. Not particularly hard, he's a ''giant frilled lizard'' that chases after you in a MinecartMadness segment with an awesome musical theme while you shoot shurikens in his mouth.
** Sakit, despite being a very difficult WakeUpCallBoss, still deserves a mention. You're fighting a fifty-foot tall giant statue, armed with little more than a whip and a knife, while one of the game's best boss themes plays in the background. If you can get past the step up in difficulty, it's a fun fight.
* The Passing from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2''. Sure, there's the entire fact that, in general, you get to make your own awesome boss fights thanks to the AI Director, but there's something about just getting to the bridge and seeing the [[spoiler: remaining]] original survivors in all their glory, making idle banter with the new four survivors before going down to start the generator. First off, having the original survivors not just stand there like complete goofs but actually take up positions and open fire on the Horde as they try and stop you is awesome unto itself, but having [[ActionSurvivor Louis]], then normally cheery, optimistic, and most carefree of the survivors kill a ''Tank'' with a [[BigFreakingGun Browning .50 calibre machinegun]], ''all by himself'' is nothing short of [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome completely kickass]].
* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain: Defiance''- Kain Vs Raziel. You switch between playing as both during the fight, which is awesome enough. Throw in the fact that this is the climactic fight the series has been building to since Soul Reaver 1, that both have the Reaver (in their previous two fights Kain, then Raziel had the Reaver respectively), allowing for an even duel, plus the terrific vocal performances of Messuers Simon Templeman (Kain) and Michael Bell (Raziel), and you have one hell of a dramatic fight. Add in the fact that the actual gameplay is awesome (two telekinetic swordsmen slashing it up in a gothic cathedral) and the awesomeness quotient is off the scale.
* ''VideoGame/LegendOfLegaia'':
** [[spoiler:After making your way through the body of the Juggernaut/Cort fusion which took over Rim Elm, you meet the now completely deformed Cort. Made even more awesome if you saved those uber summons you just got till this battle and are fully decked out in the Ra-Seru equipment found in the dungeon.]]
** The fights against the Delilas family are epic. All three are {{Evil Counterpart}}s of the main characters, so their techniques and battling style are very similar to your own. Your party is split up to take on each member one-on-one, and the only way to win the battles is to use ''everything'' you know about the combat system to it's fullest potential.
* ''VideoGame/LegendOfDragoon'':
** The dragon bosses, not only was the Divine Dragon incredibly difficult since you couldn't use dragoons, but the Sea Dragon is awesome for its sheer massiveness.
** The Virage in the Valley of Corrupted Gravity. The SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic is horribly desperate and makes you think you're about to lose no matter '''how''' well you're doing. Every Virage is kind of an Awesome Boss, actually.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel IV''[='=]s best boss fight is ironically enough [[spoiler:the protagonist himself, Rean Schwarzer, who lost control of his powers and ends up influenced by the curse of Erebonia. And it's up to his students led by [[DecoyProtagonist Juna Crawford]] to bring him back to his senses. It's also the only boss fight where the boss is fully buffed physically, defensively, and immune against status debuffs and ailments, forcing players to actually play smart. And unlike the three boss fights that came before it, this one requires players to fully defeat Rean and not just reduce his health to a certain point.]] All this and it's set to the opening of the game.
* ''VideoGame/LEGOTheLordOfTheRings'' has both battles against the Balrog. The first has Gandalf skydiving towards his sword to catch it, then hack at the Balrog while it breathes fire. The second is set on the snowy mountain, and Gandalf wins by standing under bolts of lightning, then using his sword to channel the lightning towards the Balrog's weak points.
* ''VideoGame/LEGOPiratesOfTheCaribbean'':
** A cool boss fight in Lego games would be Kraken.
** From the same game, Blackbeard. The way you fight him is also pretty dang unique ([[spoiler:using the Fountain Of Youth's waters to give his health to his dying daughter]]).
* ''VideoGame/LEGOMarvelSuperHeroes'' gives us Galactus. Basically, heroes and villains [[EnemyMine team up]] on the Helicarrier to stop Galactus from having our world for a tasty snack. At the end is a glorious attack that sends Galactus packing:
--> '''''HULK THOR SMASH!!'''''
** The entire Bifrosty Reception level and boss fight, with Loki taunting you every step of the way as the heroes use their powers to great effect to take him on. He even gets alternate dialogue in Free Play mode.
* The Rancor in ''VideoGame/LEGOStarWars 2''. It was awesome. Also, [[DualBoss Two Vaders!]].
** The big finale of the original trilogy. You fight Palpatine, with all his crazy acrobatic skills displayed in Revenge of the Sith. Oh, and to make it fit with the co-op gameplay style? Vader achieves his redemption a little earlier and teams up with his son to fight the Emperor. That's right, two generations of Skywalkers dueling against the BigBad of the whole Star Wars saga. They changed it, now it's ''awesome.''
** Fighting Darth Maul with "[[AwesomeMusic/JohnWilliams Duel of the Fates]]" in the background; in Freeplay mode, you can play as Vader against Maul (or vice versa).
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/LethalEnforcers'', an Attack Apache Helicopter. On the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis version, you were liable to be on your last or next continue, so the pressure was really on to stay alive. You really didn't want all your hard work to go to waste.
* ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet 2''. All the bosses you fight in ''[=LBP2=]'' are... different, to say the least.
** The first boss is a tutorial boss, yes, but it's a freaking giant monkey who throws punches at you and uses an electrified yo-yo while you're dangling from a grappling hook, trying to avoid touching the electricity.
** The second boss has you throwing freaking cake at it while it tries to shock you, vaporize you, and finally just beamspam you to death.
** The third boss is a giant turkey that you can't even fight. The only thing you can do is run away while guiding Sackbots, swinging from giant platforms, and yanking on levers before you get stepped on.
** The fourth boss is a giant scorpion mech that you fight with a flying bee while shooting honey bullets. It tries to shoot you out of the sky with [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]]. The [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic awesome boss theme]] doesn't hurt either.
** The fifth boss is inside the head of one of the creators. You actually shrink down and go into his body. You travel into his brain and shoot the hell out of the virus with the body's own white blood cells.
** Holy crap, the final boss. The BigBad of ''[=LBP2=]'' is a giant vacuum cleaner that you fight in three stages. Words cannot even describe how awesome and intimidating this boss is.
* The major boss battle of Chapter 3 of ''VideoGame/LostPlanet 2'' is a massive Akrid that has to be fought with a [[{{BFG}} massive cannon mounted on a train]]. The best way to fight this boss is with a full four-man party of players since operating the cannon requires a lot of work to take full advantage of it: one person manning the controls, one to load rounds into the cannon, one to energize the rounds for added damage, and one to rotate the cannon. The sheer weight and overwhelming power of the cannon, however, makes it all worthwhile.
* In ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals,'' your first encounter with the Sinistral Gades, Master of Destruction is meant to be a HopelessBossFight. If you encounter him normally he'll kill half your party with his first attack and cripple the other half- your chances of lasting more than 3 turns are practically nil. However he ''is'' beatable if you level grind considerably. ''Beatable,'' but never easy- if you put on about an extra 5 or 6 levels (about 3-4 hours of solid grinding) and apply a very tricky strategy revolving around predicting his actions you can (assuming your luck holds) survive against him long enough to chip away at his massive amount of HP and eventually beat him. This is not only immensely satisfying, it also makes it an incredibly tense and fun encounter and also nets you a powerful sword with a great IP skill. That aside, it's simply an awesome encounter as Gades is an ''[[http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lYKISAmxewU/hqdefault.jpg enormous]]'' opponent and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBnYGYa6l3M the Sinistral battle theme]] is the most awesome, pulse-racing, blood-pumping track in a game filled with fantastic music.
* ''VideoGame/MadWorld'':
** Kojack fight is one of the most awesome things ever. Mostly because you see Jack ramming himself against himself. As Kreese put it: "We are witnessing the most violent masturbation ever."
** Even better is the final boss, [[spoiler: The Black Baron himself]]. It comes out of complete nowhere for anyone playing the game. But when they face him, they realize that this person got Rank 1 because they're STRONG AS HELL. Unlike Kojack, who you fight in an underground secret base with motorbikes, you face [[spoiler: The Black Baron]] in a brutal fist-fight, on an arena on a tower, WAY up high in the sky, with the audience cheering in the background, while an incredibly laid-back song (fitting, considering who the final boss is), which is actually quite refreshing to hear, plays in the background, stating how [[spoiler: Jack is cramping the Baron's style and he wants to basically pimp slap him in the face]]. If you get knocked out of the ring, you get bludgeoned with a spiked bat and then launched back into the ring. It gets even more intense after you take down half the final boss' HP. IMMEDIATELY, the music shifts from the laid-back 'Look Pimpin' into 'So Cold', stating just how ticked off you made him. The boss then gets a potential One-Hit KO, a lightning kick, and a rocket punch that can knock you out of the ring instantly. Throughout the fight, the clashes can be described as 'Multiple Cross-Counters', the two of you basically punching each other until [[spoiler: The Baron]] takes a bit too much damage and you slam the boss' head into the arena. And when you FINALLY drop his health down to zero, you get the pleasure of home-running the boss into a dartboard to finish him.
* The final battle of [[TheDragon Ruru's]] scenario in ''VideoGame/MagicalBattleArena'', where [[spoiler:[[OriginalGeneration Kirara, Sarara]], [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Nanoha, and Fate]]]] appear to help you take down a [[BigBad Nowel]] that's permanently in SuperMode and [[MultiMookMelee accompanied by the usual army of Gadget Drones]] plus the clones of your comrades. Epic.
* Let's face it, pretty much every single boss in ''VideoGame/{{Magicka}}'' is awesome, but here's a few really good examples:
** Khan looks like he should be easy...after all, he's just another Orc, right? But no, the second the fight starts, he's dashing around the screen almost as fast as you can run with Haste activated, hacking at you with his sword, chucking bombs at you, and bashing you across the room with his shield. After five levels of facing down increasingly big and hulking monsters and powerful wizards, facing a single BadassNormal LightningBruiser is a nice change of pace, not to mention fighting someone who uses speed and aggression to beat you rather than just standing there while you blast him with spells.
** The next boss, [[spoiler:Grimnir]], is even better. After trekking through possibly the best level in the game, it's time to face [[spoiler:the most powerful wizard in the world]]. First, he transports you through a series of mini-challenges where you have to fight off waves of every magic-using enemy in the game, including ones you haven't seen yet. Then you fight him physically, and he is [[ThatOneBoss HARD]]. Even though he never even moves, you're fighting him on a tiny space surrounded by void, so one slip-up will send you into the abyss. And you will slip up, because unlike other spellcasters, he doesn't just chuck a few beams your way. No, he summons ethereal duplicates of himself to constantly blast you with powerful projectile attacks while he uses actual ''Magicks'', including Rain, Tornado, and Conflagration. Combined with one of the best music tracks in the game, it's truly awe-inspiring. Oh, and by the way, this is only the halfway point of the game.
** Then there's the Chapter 9 boss, [[spoiler:Vlad]]. [[BewareTheSillyOnes Yes]]. The previous bosses have all been some form of huge monster, powerful magic user, or leader of armies, and your next adversary is an ordinary [[spoiler:Vampire]] armed only with a sword. And it's awesome. Hell, not only does he have an awesome theme (an organ theme, no less), is the only boss with fight dialogue, is very challenging despite being very simple to fight, and is, you know, ''[[spoiler:[[MemeticBystander Vlad]]]]'', but after you beat him, he doesn't die. Instead, he decides you're too annoying to be worth fighting and teleports you into the underworld.
** The boss of the next chapter is no less than [[TheGrimReaper DEATH ITSELF]]. If it so much as touches you, you die instantly. It's constantly teleporting around, summoning minions, and will occasionally surround a player with duplicates of itself that charge towards them one by one, making them set off Life Spells as fast as possible destroy them all. All this makes it one of the most unique and most intense fights in the game. The music here is awesome too.
** Then there's the 11th level boss, [[spoiler:Fafnir]]. A ''Dragon''. He's huge, he's imposing, he's at the end of the hardest level in the game, he spits streams of fire at you, he can only be attacked for a few seconds at a time, he can destroy the ground under your feet, and can even [[InterfaceScrew invert your controls]]. This fight can't be described in any way but "intense".
** The final chapter is composed of THREE awesome bosses in a row. [[spoiler:Vlad]] and [[spoiler:Grimnir]] you've fought before but [[spoiler:Assatur]] is a different matter. He's a CaptainErsatz of a [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos GREAT OLD ONE]]. He can shoot lightning out of his hands, release an almost undodgeable wave of energy, and conjure meteor showers and ''Black Holes''. All this while falling from the sky at the edge of the world, while one of the best pieces of SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic in the whole game plays.
** Finally, there's the final boss of the expansion ''The Stars Are Left''. Nothing more or less than [[spoiler:FREAKING CTHULHU]]. Need we say more?
* ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance'':
** The final battle. [[spoiler:Against a {{Nanomachine}} infested Nick Fury. Fury unleashes the powers of almost a dozen heroes and villains against you, keeping you on your toes and switching tactics-all the while ranting about how you need to submit to the collective.]]
** The Deadpool boss fight. Partly because he attacks an enemy, followed by one of '' your own allies'' on account of disturbing his vacation to look at the cherry blossoms. Partly because he proceeds to get angry at ''[[NoFourthWall the player]]'' for laughing at the fact he came to see the cherry blossoms and announces that it's '''"time for a little BossBattle, SUCKERS!!"''', and partly because you unlock him shortly after.
* Onslaught from the original ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' is even taller than a Sentinel (which he uses in some attacks) and has Magneto's suite of hyper combos to use as regular attacks, on top of being aggressive. And that's just the ''first half'' of the battle! After draining his HP, he vanishes for a moment, only to come back as a [[OneWingedAngel massive beast]], booming "'''''NO ONE IS SAFE!'''''" Now, he's even more aggressive, and his attacks his like a freight train. He's easily [[NintendoHard one of the toughest bosses]] of the series, but holy cow is he a blast to trade blows with!
* Galactus in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'', just for the sheer scale of it. To start, every other fight in the arcade mode, save for the first, is preceded by a page-turning animation of the victory screen to show who your next opponents are. Galactus, just to show how far above the rest he is, disregards this convention and tears apart the victory screen as his entrance revealing the battlefield, a rocky plane overlooking the world. The game doesn't hide what is at stake- the announcer will shout "The battle for Earth!" before his usual stuff, and the HUD even changes in accordance, with "Time" replaced with "Earth Limit" and "Save the Earth!!" added as well. Heck, once Galactus summons his heralds to take care of you, he'll teleport to the background and loom over the planet! If you manage to take the heralds out, Galactus will return to the foreground and slowly approach you, as the camera slowly pans up to reveal how much he towers over you, as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c42hcl2wHuA: a truly pulse-pounding theme sets the mood]]. If you lose at any point, the game will remind you just how much you screwed up - instead of just a "K.O.", the screen will show "EARTH K.O." while the announcer says "Global destruction!", and to hammer it home, you are treated to a scene where Galactus destroys Earth. However, if you manage to beat him, the announcer declares "You have saved the Earth!" while Galactus falls off the stage. Yep, you just defeated a cosmic being that can consume whole planets with a team of three people. It's enough to make anyone feel like a hero. Yes, beating Galactus with a team featuring Thor, Amaterasu, and Doctor Doom is pretty much impressive, but it's even more satisfying if you use BadassNormal characters like Chris Redfield, Captain America, or even Frank West to beat Galactus. Yep. [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Friggin' epic.]]
* ''Videogame/MasterOfTheWind'' has a boss fight during a rock concert. With the lead singer. Who summons a bunch of rock angels. All of whom look different (and awesome) and have music-themed attacks. While you have two {{Guest Star Party Member}}s. And "[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Spirit Never Dies]]" plays in the background (you know, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB92K56U1Vo this song]]) because ''the singer is still rocking out''. Best. Boss. EVER.
* Not ''strictly'' a boss-fight, but the battle with [[spoiler: Nicole Horne]] at the end of ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' is a charming combination of deeply satisfying (after all the shit she has put Max through) and '''utterly fucking badass'''. "What do you mean, 'he's unstoppable?'" '''So''' satisfying...
* ''VideoGame/MechAssault 2'': The SpiderTank boss is absolutely awesome! The introduction to the mech starts off as a quiet empty swamp, and after taking a few steps, the boss mech shows itself: a hulking and menacing robot spider that is ''so huge'' it makes your already HumongousMecha look like Battle Armor in comparison. The spider mech charges towards you before trampling you down with its arms, followed by either a plasma [=PPC=] or a WaveMotionGun! To take it down, you blast off the armor on its 6 legs before laying waste on its exposed body. When it finally dies, the spider mech blows up in a spectacular light show. It helps that [[Music/PapaRoach Papa Roach's]] "Getting Away With Murder" plays as the Spider Mech's theme.
* The train fight in ''VideoGame/MegamanLegends 2'' if for just the sheer awesomeness of the music. It's a two-part battle where you have to face both parts of the QuirkyMinibossSquad on a train outfitted with guns, bombs, lasers, and, in the second part, missiles. It's not hard at all; in fact, it's a cakewalk considering this is one of the last boss fights on Terra. The music changes when you get past the first part of the fight and have to face the Bonnes (again) except this time they start by firing servebot-guided missiles at you (some of them say hilarious things as they're flying out)the hilarity of this fight makes the fight one of the best in the game.
* ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'':
** A majority of final bosses could fall under this, such as the massive battle against the Martian Mothership where you team up with the enemy army in ''Metal Slug 2/X'', the grueling freefall battle against Rootmarks, the leader of the Marspeople, in ''Metal Slug 3'', and the colossal, two-screen tall, demon Scyther in ''Metal Slug 5''. The fact that they're all accompanied by SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic, especially in the case of ''5'', doesn't hurt either.
** Allen O'Neal:
*** He has come back to life three times throughout the course of the series and is fun each time, especially in ''VideoGame/MetalSlug 2'', where he falls off of the cliff and is ''eaten by an orca'', which spits his bones out of the water afterward. The complete randomness of the scene made it that much more awesome. [[AC:"Come on, boy!"]]
*** He is even more awesome than before in ''Metal Slug 7'', wherein you have a ''giant robot duel'' with him set to the hardcore [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3unTWC_DDbQ Assault]] theme.
*** Playing the third Training Mode (ie, Challenge Mode) version of that fight has you fight him on foot. Man vs mech.
** The final boss of ''Metal Slug 7/XX'', the Kraken, which is a gigantic mechanical octopus summoned after the destruction of the time portal. For once, outside of the first ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'' game, you actually fight [[BigBad Morden]] himself as the final boss. That's right, the Kraken is being controlled by Morden. And you fight the boss [[ClimacticVolcanoBackdrop on top of lava.]] And the boss battle has an [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic awesome violin remix]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGUG51NcNr8 of Final Attack]]. And finally, when you defeat the boss, the "Mission All Over" screen shows the characters defeating the final boss.
* Sheltem from the ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' games is probably one of the most badass bosses ever. He gloats about being unstoppable, and he's basically right. [[HopelessBossFight Your party cannot kill him.]] If you try, he calls you fools, waves his hand, and you all die. Even if you get around this, you still don't fight him.
* ''VideoGame/MischiefMakers'':
** Quite a few bosses qualify, but Lunar deserves special mention. Your character rides on the back of a tiny thrill-seeking kitten (only makes slightly more sense in context), while Lunar gives chase in some sort of huge panther motorcycle thing; especially awesome when he screams "EAT LEAD!!!" and fires a machine gun at you, [[EvilLaugh laughing maniacally.]]
** Any of the times he {{Macross Missile Massacre}}s you, you can jump onto said missile and surf it for the greater part of the fight! And since the game's battle system revolves around throwing your opponent's attacks back at them, you can ''catch Lunar's WaveMotionGun beams and throw them back!''
** The final boss should also qualify. What other game lets you grab a 50-foot tall robot by the foot, effortlessly lift it into the air, slam it into the floor like you're beating out a rug, and toss it into the background?
* ''Game Over'' from the first ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare''. You engage in a car chase against Zakhaev and his men until you end up in a bridge. Then, you end up being severely wounded as Zakhaev and his bodyguards close in on you and your allies. Price then throws you his handgun and you personally finish off Zakhaev and his bodyguards.
* ''Endgame'' from ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2''. You pursue Shepherd in his helicopter on a boat until you reach a waterfall after Price shoots down the helicopter. Upon confronting Shepherd, he stabs you in the chest with your own knife and is about to shoot you until Price arrives and fights Shepherd. [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Shepherd then beats down Price]] and you pull the knife out of your chest then you finish off Shepherd by [[EyeScream throwing the knife in his eye]].
* And finally, we have ''Dust to Dust'' from ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 3''. You track Makarov at his hotel in the Arabian Peninsula, fighting off Ultranationalists and hotel security along the way, all while wearing Juggernaut armor. After shooting down a Little Bird helicopter, the chopper crashes into the elevator and your armor is destroyed. You then have to fight your way to the restaurant but as you arrive another Little Bird helicopter destroys the restaurant with missiles and you have to run to the roof and jump onto the helicopter to stop Makarov from escaping. After killing the pilots and the helicopter crashing back onto the roof, you struggle to get the gun only for Makarov to beat you to it, but before he can kill you, Yuri shoots Makarov and Makarov kills Yuri. Then you deliver an awesome NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to Makarov and finally kill him by hanging him with a steel cord and breaking the glass roof, causing both you and Makarov to fall. Then the words "Objective Completed" appear and you smoke a cigar as the police arrive.
* The battle of wits with [=LeChuck=] at the end of ''VideoGame/{{Monkey Island 2|LeChucks Revenge}}''. Never at any other point in the series has the villain (who's usually played for laughs) been this bloody terrifying. Any player who doesn't jump every time he enters the room with his crashing theme and that voodoo doll of his clearly must be a robot incapable of fear. And this takes place at the end of a point-and-click Adventure game where you can't even die. How many Adventure games have done a final boss that can actually stand head and shoulders with bosses from other genres?
* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'':
** Technically almost everything you fight is a boss in comparison to the way most games are played, but the fight against Lao-Shan-Lung stands out for several reasons. First off, it's a [[OurDragonsAreDifferent frikin' huge dragon]], and secondly the music once you get to the final area comes with what is possibly the best out of the game's various SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic.
** And then ''MH Tri'' is released, and Jhen Mohran comes along. A dragon the size of Lao that swims in the sand. You get to fight him on a boat; a boat armed with cannons, ballista guns, and a dragonator (A giant clockwork spike). If this isn't enough, during the final segment of the fight, striking Jhen with the dragonator triggers a remix of the music heard while fighting Lao. And it's every bit as epic.
** From ''Monster Hunter 4'': Zamtrios is a massive amphibious ThreateningShark, with all the cool factor that follows. It has several ice breath attacks, can burrow under the ground with its dorsal fin up, can [[SwallowedWhole swallow the Hunter for its pin attack]], and has a rage mode where it gains a sheet of icy armor. It can go into a special mode where it then inflates and looks like a massive beanbag chair; ''hilarious'' to look at, but that doesn't mean it's any less dangerous, as it can spew ice chunks all over the place and pound and roll over you.
** ''4 Ultimate'' introduces Gogmazios, a massive Elder Dragon of unknown origin that attacks with explosive tar, bears an ''entire Dragonator'' in its back that it stole ages ago, and is fought in the special Battlequarters area which offers a variety of artillery weapons for you to attack it with, including a massive Demolisher cannon that fires a concentrated blast of Dragon-elemental energy. In the second phase, this massive dragon can take to the air and carpet-bomb the entire area, most likely forcing hunters to take cover until everything's all clear. The Demolisher takes a very long time to charge up, but land a successful hit with it and not only does the Gogmazios take a lot of damage, but (assuming it's still alive) [[ThemeMusicPowerUp the music changes to "Proof of a Hero"]].
** Raging Brachydios' boss fight in ''World'' proceeds mostly the same as the regular variant's (albeit with less time to react since its slime explodes faster), with the monster using the shifting terrain of the Guiding Lands to its full advantage...until it nears death. Instead of retreating to its lair to sleep like most monsters, it ''[[TakingYouWithMe seals the exits to its lair]]'', rigs the whole place to explode, and goes ''absolutely batshit insane'' trying to throw everything it has at the Hunters, making explosions so massive it even damages itself in the process. It gets a revamped theme with OminousLatinChanting during all of this, too!
** ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld World]]''[='=]s siege against Safi'jiiva, presented as "The Red Dragon" event quest. Thematically, newcomers to the series are finally treated to a fight against a threat that's taken as seriously as the infamous Black Dragons from previous installments. Massive and quick on its feet, Safi'jiiva boasts moves that are a spectacle in itself, with 'Sapphire of the Emperor' being the most visually stunning explosion you'll ever see, made even better by the music collapsing as the detonation happens. The combination of the energy drain mechanic and the parts breaking also encourages your team, sometimes your entire gathering hub, to pick different objectives spread out over potentially multiple hunts before finally killing the beast at the bottom floor. Then there's its [[AwesomeMusic/MonsterHunter awesome boss theme]], which gets even more epic as you get down to the final area and hear a snippet of "Proof of a Hero", signaling your imminent victory even as Safi'jiiva unleashes one ultimate attack after another.
** While Safi'jiiva's raid quest is certainly impressive, Kulve Taroth's Master Rank quest deserves a mention too. First and foremost, the golden Elder Dragon has taken a significant level up from her High Rank quest. Previously, she preferred to ignore your attacks and run away. Here? She ''knows'' you're coming, and jumps into the fray as soon as she sees you. Like the original, you have to corner her by forcing her to retreat deeper into the Caverns of El Dorado from heavy damage. However, if you don't break enough parts off of her in a time span of about eight minutes per area, she decides ''[[NotWorthKilling you're too weak for her]]'' and leaves. The original objective of the siege was [[InstantWinCondition to break her horns and carve them.]] You can still do this here...''[[{{Determinator}} but she doesn't run away.]]'' And once you finally corral her into the fourth area? She almost ''immediately'' [[TurnsRed becomes furious]], pulling out even more stops and partially melting ''the floor itself'' to her advantage. She even gains a visually ''[[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome stunning]]'' (and very deadly) attack where she blasts the ceiling with her heat breath to make a ''lot'' of melted gold fall down at once. But the ''really'' awesome part comes in when you actually ''slay'' her. Yes, Kulve Taroth, previously thought unkillable even by a group of 16 Hunters, can finally be slain, and she puts up one hell of a fight to the bitter end.
** ''XX'' gives the Atoraru Ka, seemingly just a large leaf mantis. And then it uses its glowing webs to utilize gears, pillars, and the Dragonator drills you've been using for so long to damage Elder Dragons as weaponry against you. If that doesn't sell it, then it uses all the rubble in the area to create a giant mecha dragon to crush you with sheer force that you can climb onto for all sorts of treasures and to whack every web until the thing falls apart. Stories tell of this thing crushing entire armies, but once the mech's destroyed for the second time, [[ThemeMusicPowerUp Hero's Proof]] plays to remind players that they've taken on a threat that should be far beyond their power, and are going to kill it soon.
** ''Iceborne'''s fight against Fatalis deserves special mention for each of its phases:
*** The fight starts with nothing but you, your Palico, and the Excitable A-Lister trying to take down the Black Dragon, with the latter healing you with an infinite supply of Dusts of Life if you slip up. Once Fatalis gets angry enough, he unleashes the first iteration of his "Demise of Schrade" move, an all-out assault that effectively amounts to ''a tidal wave of flames'', with your only option being to hide behind a huge hunk of metal. Knowing that you're not going to make it, the Excitable A-Lister tosses you behind the metal wall and takes the brunt of the blast. And ''survives''. This lets you [[BigDamnHeroes call in other hunters]] to assist in the Herculean task of slaying Fatalis...though at that point, it's highly probable that ''[[OneManArmy you might not need to.]]''
*** Fatalis' first "Demise of Schrade" attack blasts away a bunch of the rubble cluttering the arena, doubling it in size and unlocking various siege fortifications, including a roaming ballista. Once he gets angry enough, he puts out ''another'' iteration of the "Demise of Schrade" attack, this time forcing you to pull up an iron barricade to weather the firestorm.
*** Once this is said and done, the dragon pulls out the [[TurnsRed big guns]]: he transitions into Hellfire Mode, where his chest starts glowing red and his flames will routinely deal ''massive'' damage. The only way to depower it is to break its horns, a task easier said than done while it's throwing ''absolutely everything it has'' at you, including ''more "Demise of Schrade" attacks.'' And how do you survive ''these'' blasts with nothing to hide behind? Why, go ''[[ViolationOfCommonSense towards]]'' Fatalis, of course!
*** After a certain amount of time, you then get to skewer Fatalis with the Dragonator. And then...''[[ThemeMusicPowerUp Du-du-du, du-du, du-du-du-du-du, du-du-du, du-du, du-du-du-du-du, DU-DU-DU, DU-DU, DU-DU-DU-DU-DU!]]'' The series' tried and true "Proof of a Hero" begins rallying you forth to seize the moment and slay the strongest monster in the world, just like the rest of them! And when the smoke clears, when the battle is finally over...[[WorldsStrongestMan Fatalis]] is finally dead, after giving you the greatest display of savagery and firepower the franchise has ever seen, reminding you that you're the [[PlayerCharacter Sapphire Star]] for a damn good ''reason''. And to put the icing on the cake of badassery, you did this in ''30'' minutes as opposed to the standard 50!
* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
** Goro, whose moves included grabbing you with two arms and beating you with the other two, or his four-arm version of the power slam.
** Goro's ''entrance'' deserves a mention. The match just before is a fight against two opponents, set in Goro's Lair. Once you beat the last guy, your points are tallied up...and then, with no transition, Goro roars and ''smashes through the ceiling and starts the fight.'' No announcer, no respite, just immediate ass-kicking.
* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'':
** The final fight of [[spoiler:Cyber]] Sub-Zero's chapter in the ''MKIII'' act of the game. He goes up against both Goro and Kintaro, the game's two SNKBoss MidBoss characters in a tag-team (while Sub-Zero's on his own) and the game expects you to be able to win.
** Another mention goes out to Onaga, the final boss of ''Mortal Kombat: Deception''. Let's see... he starts off every battle with a great roar, his grab is sheer awesome, and it takes place in a spike-laced arena where the six Kamidogu stand on pedestals circling it. [[spoiler: And with each one you break, Onaga gets a little easier to fight. On top of that, he ''notices'' when you approach one and ''rushes to stop you.'']] Whoever came up with that subtle touch is ''amazing.''
* ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'':
** So many bosses. Whether it was [[RobotMaid Li'l Miss Marshmallow]] "spilling hot tea" on you or [[DreadfulMusician Lord Passion]] "making you cry by playing a sad song", almost all the bosses are worth mentioning!
** The entire final BossRush. First, you go up against the Natural Killer Cyborg, an enemy so massive its sprite completely fills up the screen. Then, you go through the [[spoiler:Porky Bots]], a horde of minibosses. Then, you come up against [[spoiler:Porky himself]], who you've undoubtedly wanted to beat up ever since you found out he was behind everything (and is gloriously hard to boot). Finally, you get to the final boss, who is covered below.
** Earlier in the final chapter, there was Miracle Fassad. The fight starts out as a powered-up version of the New Fassad fight in which Fassad uses all of his new technological enhancements on the party. However, he later goes OneWingedAngel and reverts to his New Fassad form. At this point, he reveals a little secret: [[spoiler:he can use PSI. Fassad goes berserk at this point, using PSI shields and using the Omega form of Freeze, Fire, and Thunder, as well as PK Starstorm. In short, a two-part fight that tests both physical and special abilities and renders your physical shields worthless at the halfway point.]]
** Though not [[UniqueEnemy actually a boss,]] Negative Man. Moreover, like the previous ''Mother'', the game featured a [[PuzzleBoss unique final boss.]] In it, [[spoiler:the rest of your team is incapacitated, leaving you to face the Masked Man, your brother Claus, one on one. Any attempt to attack him is made impossible, as Lucas can't bring himself to attack his brother. Claus continues to attack you, though, so you must guard at every turn to slow down the damage ticker and heal whenever your health gets too low. Over time, your deceased mother reaches out to the two of you and asks Claus to stop his assault. Claus continues to attack, but [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments his attack strength decreases as he gradually uses weaker and weaker PSI attacks.]]]] Eventually, he dies when a lightning PSI attack is reflected off of your Franklin Badge and strikes him.
* ''VideoGame/MusashiSamuraiLegend'' gives you a final stage where you get to beat on all of Gandrake's directors, followed by the man himself. Rothschild is particularly fun, what with his magic tornadoes and such.
* ''VideoGame/MushihimesamaFutari'', TrueFinalBoss aside, has the Stage 1 boss. You've been flying forward for nearly the whole stage, when all of a sudden, you drop down a cliff and ''a T-Rex-like dinosaur starts chasing after you.''
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[[folder:N - S]]
* Mr. Big, the BigBad and FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/{{NARC}}''. He appears in the form of a giant head that shoots fire from his eyes and can only be defeated if you attack him in the eyes. Knock his sunglasses off and hit him a few more times, [[YourHeadAsplode his head explodes]] and you confront his true form, a skull that can only be destroyed by shooting at the vertebrae. This boss was so good that was even featured briefly at the Foot's arcade in ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles''.
* From ''VideoGame/NarutoShippudenUltimateNinjaStorm3'':
** The final boss battles with [[spoiler: Madara Uchiha and Tobi. In the former, you take charge as Tsunade and fight off each of his attacks in different stages until, while flying on Gaara's sand, engaging him on literally the top of the world while he's in Susano'o which you have to smash and hammer to defeat him. Against the latter, you engage the Edo Jinchuriki Six Paths of Pain...then face them in their Biju Forms. Naruto then gains ''Biju Mode'' and kicks the asses of Six Biju at once (one more than in the manga) and finally fights Tobi one on one and manages to shatter his mask with a last-ditch punch while in ''base form''.]]
** The game [[ActionPrologue opens]] with Hiruzen Sarutobi vs [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever the Nine Tails itself.]] You end the fight by calling on ''every single ninja in the village as a support, to bombard the beast with a swarm of fireballs.'' And that's just the ''first boss!'' Things get even more awesome from there. From Natuto and Sasuke clashing again (you even get a choice of which prior fight to flash back to), Naruto taking on the Nine Tails himself in a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind [[spoiler: aided by his mother]] to facing six of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist ALL AT ONCE, Darui soloing an entire battlefield by himself and Choji [[TookALevelInBadass Taking A Level In Badass]] and fighting a giant demonic statue, cumulating in [[spoiler: All five Kages vs [[InvincibleVillain Reanimated Madara Uchiha]] while Naruto fights all the tailed beasts and their hosts.]] This series is pretty much Awesome Bosses: The Game.
* ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'' with Ko-Shi and Ro-Shi, a machine lifeform formed by combining two multi-legged, Goliath-class units; two bosses in one. Near the finale of the game, players switch between the two controlling characters, A2 and 9S, each facing off against one half of this boss duo. All the way to the top floor of the tower, culminating in a climax with the final confrontation between the protagonists.
* ''VideoGame/NarutoUltimateNinjaStorm'':
** You have Naruto vs Gamabunta, Naruto vs Gaara and Shukaku, and Tsunade vs Orochimaru and Manda. For the last one, as in the anime, all three Sannin have their bigass monsters summoned, and instead of characters for supports, like the rest of the game, your supports consist of GAMABUNTA AND KATSUYU. You throw Manda against a MOUNTAIN. And at the end, Orochimaru just kind of lies down somewhere in pain, looking absolutely hilarious.
** The sequel, ''VideoGame/NarutoShippudenUltimateNinjaStorm2'' maintains its fair share as well, such as adding in a Naruto vs. Sasuke fight that was only a minor scuffle in the original manga, which calls back to the final battle in the first game while showing how much the two has diverged since then. There is a fast-paced dogfight through the streets of the Hidden Sand Village between Gaara and Deidara. Sasuke loses control of himself to Orochimaru, who takes on a battle-of-the-titans between an eight-headed serpent and Itachi's Susano'o in the stormy ruins of the Uchiha Hideout. We have Jiraiya taking on Animal Path Pain, then three Pain bodies, then all of them plus his animal summons. This is taken even further when Pain fights Naruto, with him using every trick he used against Jiraiya, plus standing on a boulder he's levitating with his gravity powers while raining 100-foot meteors down on Naruto. Every boss fight has acrobatics and devastating moves the anime's budget could not possibly have done, even with the movies.
* The remake of ''VideoGame/NBAJam'' by EA Sports has the Magic Johnson boss battle. He's a literal one-man team.......because HE CAN TELEPORT! He'll lob the ball up and teleport to finish an alley-oop dunk, pass and teleport to where the ball is going, pump fake and teleport, and so on. What especially makes this so awesome is that the first time Magic pwns you, you'll be geeked out and amazed at how Magic effortlessly beat you. And you'll NEVER get frustrated. It takes time, but instead of thinking, "DAMMIT I LOST AGAIN" you think, "I'm getting there!"
* Two battles from ''VideoGame/TheNightmareBeforeChristmasOogiesRevenge'' come to mind.
** The first is the battle against Lock, Shock, and Barrel. Even though Oogie is the BigBad, LS&B have been doing most of the work. They fight you when you're trying to reach plot points, they close off parts of town until you find keys, and generally share a role as TheDragon. You finally get to fight them in moonlight on the roof of the mayor's house. While they ride around in their mobile bathtub, charging into you, the background song is Jack berating them for refusing over and over again to stop causing chaos. They get a verbal comeuppance, they eventually fight you all at once, when previously only one was fought at a time, and you're on the roof of the mayor's house.
** Then you have the final boss, Mega Oogie. Throughout continuity, Oogie Boogie has been a DirtyCoward. Even here, he's never fought you directly, only used his LivingShadow. Now he leads you into the twisted junkyard that comprises the space between Holiday Towns and commands his insects to bring him garbage. This is built up around him to form a gigantic body made of holiday memorabilia and filled with boxes and cans. This oversized Oogie (slightly taller than the highest point you can reach.) can only be defeated by attacking his feet without being stepped on or by shooting burning gas at him. Then, when you defeat him, you still have to do one of the dance battles you've been doing for the whole game, with the catch that all missed buttons come out of your health. Not bad for a licensed game, hmm?
* ''VideoGame/NiNoKuniIIRevenantKingdom'' had some people criticise the game's bosses for mostly being EliteMooks who were not very special, just damage-rushes or [[BullfightBoss bullfights]]. However, a few examples stand out:
** Each of the Kingmakers. They all have very interesting music as well as a gimmick (that [[FinalExamBoss returns for the final boss]]) that rewards the players for looking for and aiming at their hidden weakspots. They're all frantic battles that keep you on your toes and force you to observe the battlefield since very few bosses actually take the environment into account.
** The Imp Queen. Despite being an EliteMook, she manages to make you play defensively due to her AreaOfEffect attacks, [[FlunkyBoss the flunkies she summons to distract you and protect her]], and the fact that if you take ''too'' long, she starts healing herself.
** From the same chapter, Mausinger. He's ''not'' an EliteMook, or a simple GetBackHereBoss. While the Imp Queen is ''far'' more chaotic and tests your blocking abilities, Mausinger is a test of the player's dodging abilities. Much like the Imp Queen, this is another boss you cannot beat by just flanking and then going AttackAttackAttack.
* The new ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' series has a few. Granted, the ''Ninja Gaiden'' series is infamous for being NintendoHard, but Fiend Genshin ranks as one of the most fun and challenging bosses ever, particularly on [[IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels Master]] [[HarderThanHard Ninja]], where it's just you and the WorthyOpponent with a redonculously powerful set of moves in a nerve-wracking fight where a single mistake means your doom.
* ''VideoGame/NocturneRebirth'' has the BonusBoss battle against [[WolfpackBoss Main, Tae, and Serena]], who can use gimmicks such as {{Combination Attack}}s, a barrier that allows individual members to revive after a few turns, and the ability to [[InterfaceScrew hide the ATB gauges]]. The rematch against them is even harder and is balanced for a max level party, but the player no longer has to hold back their characters' growth now that they don't have to worry about Brave Clear levels.
* ''VideoGame/NoituLove 2'' has 2: The final boss, and 02-JOY, both due to music and innovative ways you take them down/expose them.
** The level 3 boss fight against Rilo Doppelori also deserves mention. On normal difficulty level, it doesn't seem that hard, but she will kick your ass back and forth on the higher difficulty levels if you haven't brought up your game enough.
** O2-JOY from the first Noitu Love. From his unreachable perch he's completely invincible, so how do you beat him? Bang keys at random on the piano until you piss him off enough that he drops his guard!
* ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'''s final book is basically a BossRush [[BestBossEver of awesomeness]]. Bonus points to Leventhan, who is his own stage, and Darkova, for being such a tearjerker. In terms of gameplay (in the remastered version), King Onyx stands above the rest. Unfortunately, not when you fight him as a character you ''should'' fight him with in the final book, but when facing him before, in Oswald's story, he's one of the most enjoyable bosses in the game - his pattern is hard to avoid even after you've learned it, and he doesn't rely on wearing the player out by being a damage sponge, and/or on summoning hordes difficult-to-neutralize mooks, like other hard bosses, like [[spoiler: Gallon]], The Cauldron and Wagner do.
* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'':
** Particularly amazing is the fight against Lechku and Nechku, [[OminousOwl enormous clockwork owls]] with top hats, canes, and monocles. In this fight, you're joined by SHIRANUI, Amaterasu's pre-incarnation from 100 years earlier, who's essentially Amaterasu amped up to 11 - you can in fact just sit back and let Shiranui take care of the boss herself the first time you fight them. The second time, Shiranui AND Oki fight alongside you, and in order to damage them, you have to stun them, then get Oki to FIRE AMATERASU LIKE AN ARROW at them. Oki and Shiranui also attack the bosses themselves. It's the boss fight that you don't fight on your own, and Oki and Shiranui are truly badass allies. Shiranui ''also'' has the Celestial Brush on her side. Think your Cherry Bombs are strong? Shiranui has a goddamn ''holy nuke.'' Galestorm, powerful? Shiranui doesn't even ''need'' the upgraded version to damage.
** The Ninetails fight. A boss with similar moves to you! Ninetails's surprise ability to de-inkify you with its own brush if you're too slow to draw your attacks is just one of the many aspects of that fight that made it one of the game's most memorable. There's also the emotional lead-up to the battle [[spoiler: After Ammy finds Himiko dead, Rao reveals she's now just the vessel of evil bent on plunging the world in darkness, and mockingly thanks Ammy for foolishly handing over the Fox Rods she needed to unleash Yami]] and the wonderfully dark atmosphere of the stage itself. Just have a listen to Ninetails's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdMFVSR7oNg awesome track]]. It's extremely satisfying when Ninetails almost haughtily raises its lightning sword high up in the air like it's invincible, and you know exactly what to do...
** ''[[spoiler: Yami]]''. You have to use ''[[FinalExamBoss every single brush technique to fight him]]'', including the ones perceived as useless. In the last round[[spoiler: Ammy gets knocked out for the count and due to everyone's prayers ''gets restored her to her former glory.'' Cue howl, Intro music to one of the best boss tracks in this game. And the showdown with the final boss's final form.]]
* In ''VideoGame/OnePiece Pirate Warriors'', the final boss. After [[spoiler:[[EnsembleDarkHorse Ace]] gets downed by [[GeneralRipper Akainu]], instead of seeing Luffy break like he did in the original series, the player gets to [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome MAKE LUFFY BEAT THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF AKAINU]], with Ace's spirit aiding Luffy in a similar way to how [[Anime/DragonBallZ Goku helps Gohan in the Cell Saga]]]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Onimusha}}'' series:
** Fortinbras, the final boss from the [[VideoGame/OnimushaWarlords first game]] is a fantastic battle against a demonic god. If you were lucky enough to grab the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Bishamon Sword]] beforehand, you're in for a real treat.
** Following that, all three [[MasterSwordsman Gogandantess]] fights from the [[VideoGame/Onimusha2SamuraisDestiny second game]] qualify but the [[VideoGame/Onimusha3DemonSiege third game]] is where the boss fights ''really'' shine. Not only do you finally get to fight [[MadScientist Guildenstern]], a bad guy who you've wanted to slice and dice for three games straight, but also [[EvilOverlord Lord]] [[BigBad Nobunaga]]. ''Twice'' in a human([[EvilMakesYouMonstrous ish]]) form and once more in a "[[OneWingedAngel One Winged Demon]]" form. The only time you and he went head-to-head previously was in a single demon form in the previous game before you fought a giant golden statue that fired spiky masks at you.
** The [[VideoGame/OnimushaDawnOfDreams fourth game]] has its share of epic bosses, paired with SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic. The very first boss battle consists of [[DarkIsNotEvil Soki]] curb-stomping a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Giant Mecha Demon with Cannons in his chest]] and a BigFuckingSword while Soki's epic {{Leitmotif}} plays. That's nothing when compared to what awaits you though. The fight against [[spoiler:Hideyoshi]] close to the middle of the game is ClimaxBoss, fairly challenging yet not [[ThatOneBoss too much]], and it's also [[spoiler:the first time Soki awakes his Oni form]]. And all of that takes place under cherry trees. Shortly after you also get to fight [[spoiler:Gargant]]. And at the end, [[spoiler: Fortinbras the God of Light. You have to take down his gargantuan, White Serpent form first using the powers of the God of Darkness while flying in the air and slashing him with his sword. The following battle with his human avatar is probably the most difficult and awesome fight of the series.]]
* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'': Pick a fight with Eve. Any fight with [[BigBad Eve]]. But the two best have to be where you fight her while running from one side to the other on a flaming horse and buggy, and the final fight with her [[spoiler: at the wrecked remains of the Statue of Liberty]]. Especially the second one, where you get a great ShutUpHannibal moment against Eve and go on to what is easily the toughest boss battle in the game. And every fight with her is highlighted by the game's iconic operatic score.
* The final battle of ''VideoGame/PerfectDark Zero''. Facing off with the Graal-empowered Zhang Li in a [[FinalBossNewDimension floating coliseum]], accompanied by equally SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic.
* ''VideoGame/PerfectWorld'': [[TheEvilPrince Tyrant Prince Mushi]], final boss in Flowsilver Palace (barring [[BonusBoss Belle Leun]], [[FlunkyBoss the Mad Princess]], who appears exclusively in Judgment Mode), is a melee-oriented boss who will periodically fire off an area-of-effect attack that [[PhlebotinumOverload fills the Chi meter of all players to maximum]]. Unless you've been [[OneHitKill struck down because your Chi meter was already full when it happened]], you're now at liberty to use all your strongest (Chi-costly) special skills. Especially awesome if you're playing a [[MultiMeleeMaster Blademaster]], the class with the widest variety of such moves to choose from. (Just make sure that if you can't get out of the way when Mushi goes "berserk" at 20% health and hits a hell of a lot harder for about twelve seconds - or aren't a super-tanky Barbarian or a super-evasive Assassin or Duskblade - you can time your use of an invulnerability potion or Genie skill just right to safely ride it out.)
* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarIV'' surely has the greatest bosses in the series. Including the new games.
** Zio. Just... Zio. Smug, twisted, genuinely TERRIFYING once he cuts the cultist crap, and he can and WILL rip you to shreds... and oh yes, the first time you fight him, he will finish the battle by plot-killing [[spoiler: Alys Freakin' Brangwin.]] Killing him is sweet revenge indeed.
** Dark Force. Three times. The first time can count as a That One Boss if you haven't been paying attention, the second time is in a tower of meat, and the third time... well... [[spoiler: let's just say Seth never saw it coming...]]
** [[spoiler: The Profound Darkness.]] Three forms, devastating attacks, and the ability to use The Strongest Spell Ever (before Online and Universe nerfed it anyway). Even using the almost cheatery fifth character doesn't even come close to giving you a definite win.
** [[spoiler: Re Faze's Alys.]] The most painful way to get a killer spell ever...
* ''Videogame/PhantasyStarOnline2'':
** The game introduced one of the best boss fights in the series with the content update that added the mines exploration mission. The thing you are pitted against at the end of the mission, the Big Varder, is an enormous land battleship with turrets and missile launchers all over that constantly harass you to prevent you from climbing up to the deck. And when you're finally on the deck, the battleship's core turns into a HumongousMecha with destructible parts that, unlike with other bosses, actually do something specific and hamper the boss' capability to fight when destroyed. And all this while SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic is playing in the background to keep you pumped.
** A top contender for the throne is Magatsu, a massive Kuronian that looks like it could piggy-back on Big Varder if it felt so inclined. The battle, itself, is like something ripped straight out of ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': players must slow down the gargantuan foe as it marches through a town, preventing it from breaking through walls as it advances towards its destination.
** The Phantom Battleship Yamato quickly proved popular with players. After fighting across a frozen ocean to destroy the turrets on the ship's deck, the Yamato takes flight, requiring players to continue the battle using the [[InstantAwesomeJustAddMecha ARKS Interception Silhouettes]].
* Even if ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse'' isn't necessarily well-known for having awesome bosses, one has to admit that the battle against [[spoiler: Dulk Fakis' second form]] is pretty awesome. The battle takes place on a glowing platform in space with a panoramic view of the entire Gurhal system. Some of the boss' strategies are a nice homage to Dark Falz and Olga Flow from ''Online''. Oh, and the boss [[spoiler: ''[[SlapOnTheWristNuke fires a giant meteor at the stage and blows up the entire arena.]]'']]
* ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'':
** ''Pikmin 2'''s battle against the final boss, the [[spoiler: Titan Dweevil]], which is pretty much a living tank that can shoot fire, water, electricity, and poison.
** The Man-At-Legs. It's essentially a giant [[ClockworkCreature mechanical spider]] that attacks with a ''laser-guided MacrossMissileMassacre system.''
** ''Pikmin 3'' gives us the battle with the Quaggled Mireclops, which currently holds the title for biggest creature in the ''entire Pikmin series'' (and considering the game is set in a {{Lilliputians}} environment, this is saying a lot). It's essentially a giant sentient land mass on three legs and can create giant puddles of water just by moving around. Seriously, [[http://www.pikminwiki.com/images/d/d2/Paludambule-Pikmin3.jpg this thing's huge!]] [[note]]Those blue Pikmin swarming all over it? They're only about an inch tall. Try to put ''that'' in perspective.[[/note]] Just the sheer size of it in relation to your tiny captains and Pikmin makes it epic, but for those of you wondering, yes, [[ColossusClimb you can totally go]] ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' [[ColossusClimb on it and ride it around once it gets back up.]] (Although, nine times out of ten, it'll knock you off shortly after it gets back up.)
** Just something to mention, even the lowliest boss fight in ''Pikmin'' bears more than a passing resemblance to ComicBook/SquirrelGirl vs. Doctor Doom.
* [[KarmaHoudini The Coachman]] from the video game version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}''. You actually get to kill him!
* The fight (in a sense) with [=GLaDOS=] at the end of ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''.
** The dialogue in that fight's the icing on the [[MemeticMutation you-know-what.]]
** The fight with [=GLaDOS=] at the end of the Prelude mod is even more epic, spanning the ''entire building'' and not featuring one god damn NintendoHard fling puzzle (the same, sadly, could not be said of the ''rest'' of the mod).
* ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'':
** The "fight" at the end of VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}, which, if it doesn't top the original, at least is just as awesome. Especially the ending. ''Lunacy.''
** [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Concept versions]] of that fight were considerably more awesome. [[spoiler:Wheatley]] had access to [[MoreDakka turrets.]] And [[AdvancingWallOfDoom mashy spike-plates.]] And ''[[KillItWithFire flamethrowers.]]''
* ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' features a MeleeATrois between Alex Mercer, [[ZombieApocalypse the infected]] (and their [[EvilMatriarch Mother]], Elizabeth Greene), and the [[SemperFi Marines]] and [[ArmiesAreEvil [=BlackWatch=]]]. In Times Square. And Elizabeth's OneWingedAngel form is practically a Kaiju. And Mercer gets to take her down. The final boss battle is slightly less epic, but a Melee with the closest thing to an EvilCounterpart the game throws at you, onboard an aircraft carrier, while a nuke is ticking away and the carrier's fighter wing is bombing the deck is definitely awesome.
* A possible ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome (and SugarWiki/{{Funny|Moments}}) Boss would be "Kochamara" from the Lungfishopolis level. He's not that hard to beat, but he manages to lampshade both a bunch of combat video game tropes and the entire giant-monsters-in-Tokyo type genre as well.
* ''VideoGame/{{Pulseman}}'' has the MirrorMatch against TheRival Veil; you're tasked to fight against someone with your moves and your powers, but who is also invulnerable to your standard attacks, including your Slash Arrow. What do you do? Well, the two of you both have access to the [[ShoutOut Volteccer]] move, and you can bet that Veil will use it at the earliest opportunity. The solution is to also turn yourself into a hyperactive BouncingBattler and ''fling yourself bodily at Veil'' while he tries to do the same to you. Eventually you two will collide, [[FearfulSymmetry your identical inverse electrical energies will cancel each other out]] in a screen-shaking shock that actually lags the game into momentary slow-motion, and Veil will be stunned for a moment until he gets his feet under him again. In that small window, you have to get close to him while both of you are falling and slash him before he lands because that's the only time he's vulnerable. All the while, the BGM playing for this battle is with the fast-paced and awesome [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjfyVw6X4Fc Metamorphoser]] track.
* ''VideoGame/PunchOut'':
** The titular FinalBoss of ''Mike Tyson's VideoGame/PunchOut''. Hits hard, especially at the very beginning where it's 90 seconds of nothing but OneHitKO uppercuts. Beat him, and he [[GracefulLoser congratulates you on your]] [[BreakingTheFourthWall finger]] [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments speed]].
** The Wii version's BonusBoss: [[spoiler:'''Donkey. Freaking. Kong.''']] What makes it even better is the sheer difficulty of this fight. He's constantly taunting you, he offers few opportunities to get stars, he hits hard, and his patterns are hard to predict. A truly epic battle from [[spoiler:a character from the ''Mario'' universe, of all places.]]
** Mr. Sandman in the Wii game's Title Defense mode makes for one heck of a FinalBoss. He gains the ability to wink and QUICKLY follow it with an uppercut that can wipe out a third of your health bar, and he delivers increasingly long barrages of these at the start of each round and after each knockdown (yours OR his) before resuming his normal patterns. If you knock him down enough times, he'll fly into a rage where he'll do nothing BUT wink and uppercut for a whole minute! However, if you can survive the onslaught, Mr. Sandman tires out and leaves himself completely open; you can punch him freely for as long as you like, gaining a star with every third punch, before finally putting your accumulated Stars into one last Star Punch to finish him off! Epic off the charts with this fight.
** The Club Nintendo Premium match against Doc Louis, mainly the "Sparring" difficulty, where you really see Doc is more than a fat guy who keeps taking your bike.
--->'''Doc Louis:''' I ''INVENTED'' the Star Punch!
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/{{Purple}}'' gets irritated by his health display, so he throws his Ultra Frisbee at it, cracking it and rendering it useless. You go through the rest of the battle with no indication whatsoever of how much health he has left.
* Lord Bane of ''VideoGame/PuzzleQuest: Challenge Of The Warlords'': He will kick your ass fast. He will kick your ass hard, with 4 devastating spells, each requiring only 5 of ''one'' type of mana. So when you manage to return the favor, the sense of satisfaction is major. Particularly if you didn't take time out to load up on uber-spells like Berserk Rage, Stone Gaze, and/or Death Gaze.
* Due to the fact that ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'' has about two dozen of bosses (none of them which are recycled) witch almost every single one of them seems to determine to kill you using every trick in the book, you'll experience a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome very often (at least if you are a skilled player).
* ''VideoGame/{{Raiden}}'':
** The TrueFinalBoss of ''IV'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il_9pV3OeDw Horda Gestorada]], also qualifies, being one of the only {{True Final Boss}}es in the ''Raiden'' series with the other one being from ''Raiden DX''. The boss is only accessible on the second loop, and the boss consists of the Red Crystal being attached to a huge battleship, with three phases for the battle. The battle is even better if you don't use any bombs on the boss. Oh, yes, and just before the final battle with the boss, you hear an [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic awesome]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyqLANgXHko remix of Raiden II's first stage theme]] leading up to this boss.
** Divine Rampart from ''V'' took it UpToEleven. It deserves a ShoutOut to that [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Photoshop Flowey and Asriel Dreemurr combined]]. Or if you prefer, [[VideoGame/PokemonSuperMysteryDungeon Dark Matter]].
* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal'':
** The battle with Courtney Gears. A firefight with an insane robotic pop star on an MTV-esque stage while a remix of said robot's hit single "Death to Squishies" blares in the background? Awesomeness.
** The final boss fight against Dr. Nefarious is an awesome, intense fight. After the [[ThatOneBoss insanely difficult battle]] against [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 Drek]] and the [[AnticlimaxBoss absolute pushover]] that was [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando the Giant Protopet]], Nefarious hits the sweet spot between the two, possessing attacks that force you to stay on your toes, and won't punish you overly if you mess up. It's nice in concept as well -- Nefarious might be a bumbling fool while in cutscenes, but when he's forced to fight, he's very capable of holding his own.
* The battle with Dr. Nefarious in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime''. He's one of the few you can't RYNO spam to death and he shoots freakin' laser beams and does all sorts of crazy stuff.
* ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'':
** Reflux from ''Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc''. The champion of a race of feared warriors, who you have to battle in an underground arena surrounded by lava. While the rest of his people watches the fight. Who keeps hurling fireballs at you and calls down flaming rocks. Epic.
** The first boss fight against Hoodstomper. You have to activate switches to get a missile power-up to fire at him, while running around and avoiding his legs (ItMakesSenseInContext), and making sure that he doesn't destroy the missile power-up before you can get to him. After you defeat him, YOU get his contraption, which you then use to annihilate waves of Hoodlums effortlessly, all while awesome music plays and hilarious commentary is played.
** Strictly speaking, it's more of a complex level than a boss - but "My Heartburn's For You" in ''Rayman Origins'' is just as epic as its name is punny. Rayman plunges into a dragon's digestive system, dodges flames in his stomach, and makes his way back out!
* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/RazingStorm''. [[spoiler:You encounter a huge freaking battleship and begin by dismantling the cannons and lasers on its underside with a rocket launcher. Then the rear hatch opens and you proceed to blow away troops firing down at you ("Have a nice flight, sucker!"). After more BeamSpam, the battle culminates with you facing off with the front of the battleship, which has A SKULL FACE WITH A [[WaveMotionGun WAVE MOTION GUN]] ON IT. "Let's show them who the real soldiers are!"]]
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'':
** ''Resident Evil 3'''s Nemesis. As if the fact that his name's in the title doesn't hint that he's a tough bastard, he pretty much ruins your day constantly throughout the game. Near the end, where you're in the Dead Factory, ''he literally won't stop until you blast his limbs and head off''. The fight where he mutates into a giant monstrosity's also memorable since you finally get to kill him. With a railgun the size of a truck.
** He only got better in [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake the remake!]] The first boss battle has him pull out a friggin' '''[[KillItWithFire flamethrower]]''', which he uses with frightening efficiency. His incredible agility and tentacle grabs ensure he will always have you in range of the flamethrower, making for a tense and desperate struggle. This time around, he also has a new form looking like a ''[[XenomorphXerox xenomorph]]'', which trades away weapons for ferocious close-range attacks while still retaining his intelligence. As for the final battle, while the Railgun is a bit smaller this time around, you get to show it straight down his throat for the kill.
** Also from ''Resident Evil 4'', we have [[spoiler:Jack Krauser]]: coming nearly immediately after another taxing boss fight, this epic three-parter boss fight is the one everyone remembers. Crazy ambushes? Check. Rambo-esque traps? Check. Crazy awesome quick time events? Oh yes. Your knife, normally a desperation weapon, doing as much damage as a magnum? Or how about his super-human abilities, the fact that his primary weapons are a knife an exploding bow, grenades, and a machine gun, or him entering his One-Winged Angel form as he sets up explosives, giving you a time limit that, while generous, truly kicks up the adrenaline. Combine this with over-the-top machismo and enough {{foeyay}} and two-way motivation rants with Leon, and it's enough to make any gamer squeal with delight.
** The [[spoiler: Ndesu]] fight from ''Resident Evil 5'' definitely qualifies. Fanservice? Check. Satisfying weapon? Check. Unlimited ammo? Check. A sudden break away from the slightly repetitive third-person action? Check. Mass destruction? Check. Balance? Check. It. Is. Awesome.
** [[spoiler:Wesker]]. The QTE events, the smack talk between characters, the EPIC cutscene that takes place in the assault bomber? Also doubles up as a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}: succeed in counter-attacking certain boss abilities, and Chris will shake his fist around after nearly breaking it on the other guy's face.
** The Wesker fight at the end of the ''Resident Evil 5'' DLC Lost in Nightmares is a timed mission that is completely intense and frantic, causing you to be on your toes the entire fight.
** The final fight with Simmons in the Leon campaign of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6''. He takes on the form of a giant monster fly, with blades, absorbs zombies wandering around to heal (which double as a way to farm ammo if needed - and you'll probably need it.) Stabbing one of those zombies with a massive pole to use a lightning rod so when the boss tries to heal using that zombie, so it'll get a massive electric shock. Simmons being a Determinator from the point you do start fighting him, though, makes the final decisive rocket to his big fly face, massive drop, and impalement all the more satisfying.
** From ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'', the first two fights with [[ImplacableMan Jack Baker]] are some of the highlights of the game. The first one has you scampering around a garage collecting items and evading his attacks, ultimately starting up Ethan's car, resulting in one of two outcomes: [[spoiler: you get it started fast enough to [[CarFu repeatedly run him over]] until he manages to get on the roof and wreck it]], or [[spoiler: you take too long and he rips you out of the car, ''gets in himself'', and [[RefugeInAudacity starts drifting and doing donuts]] around his garage, taunting you all the way as you attempt to shoot him]]. The second battle is [[spoiler: the most ridiculous, yet terrifying close-quarters [[ChainsawGood chainsaw duel]] ever, forcing you to duck and dodge around his gigantic chainsaw scissors and repeatedly saw his face open.]] ''Damn.''
** The fight with Jack's wife, Marguerite. You're locked in a dark, [[NothingIsScarier extremely ambient]] greenhouse, which consists of two floors of tight spaces and blind corners. [[spoiler: Marguerite has [[BodyHorror mutated into a long-armed, bloated monstrosity]] that crawls around inside the walls and on the ceiling, and can thus [[ParanoiaFuel pop out to attack from any angle with no warning]]. All you can do is pray you find her before she finds you.]] It's among the most terrifying fights in the whole series.
** The FinalBoss of the last ''Resident Evil 7'' DLC, "End of Zoe". [[spoiler: It's your final battle with a heavily mutated and degrading Jack Baker, which is already awesome, but this one is a straight-up [[GoodOldFisticuffs fist fight]] in the foyer of the Baker house. You have a PowerFist, he has CombatTentacles, and all you can do is brutally wail on each other while [[MountainMan Joe]] reminisces about his and Jack's childhood together. It ends with you finally [[MercyKill putting Jack down]] for good... by delivering a MegatonPunch so strong that it completely disintegrates his head ''and his entire upper body along with it''.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Rez}}'':
** The final sequence [[spoiler: (with the four minibosses and the big room)]]. That's an experience that no game will ever recreate.
** The Area 4 boss, where you chase a giant shapeshifting creature of cubes through corridors while the pounding rave tune "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiHIyqgAteI Rock is Sponge]]" plays.
* ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' brings us the duels against the [[IHaveManyNames 13th Racing, Lizard Nightmare, or its most used moniker - the Rivelta/Soldat Crinale]]. It's always the same: a dark supercar/[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_prototype sports prototype]] with devil imagery, a scorching top speed, and super-skilled AI. You have to be on your game to win against it, and it's a tense duel every time, and worth it when [[DefeatMeansPlayable victory means parking it in your garage.]] Its counterpart, the Kamata Angelus (originally known as White Angel), counts as well, especially considering that it's usually even harder to beat than the Crinale. Of course, you also unlock it if you beat it.
* ''VideoGame/{{Rift}}'': [[EldritchAbomination Akylios]]. When first introduced, it was apparently a guild-raid level challenge worthy of any [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft WoW]] encounter, such that it was celebrated with a [=YouTube=] video commemorating its first defeat. Even watered down to casual level play as part of an [[PickUpGroup "Intrepid Adventure"]], and [[ZeroEffortBoss presented in a format]] it's nigh impossible to ultimately ''[[ZeroEffortBoss lose]]'' to, he's still a hell of a cinematic set piece, and a meat grinder easily capable of [[OneHitKill killing]] inattentive party members ''[[DeathIsCheap repeatedly]]'' - [[ClimaxBoss at the end]] of a gauntlet that will [[FinalExamBoss test]] ''all'' your basic and core play skills.
* ''VideoGame/{{Ristar}}'':
** Adahan, another example of the sheer fun resulting from fighting in an endless vertical shaft, with the bonus of showing up early enough to take on before the game gets hard enough that you ''really'' wish you could save your game or earn a password...
** How about [[EternalEngine Automaton's]] boss? It's against a large, brutish, ogre-like alien with cyber-armor. No strategies here, just headbutt! Occasionally, he faints, and you have to headbutt a CRANE ARM to cause damage to it. About halfway through the fight, it even shoots HADOUKENS at you!
** Even better is the final boss, [[BigBad Kaiser Greedy]], who throws bullet-shooting drones and red versions of the mushroom-like enemies seen throughout the game, black balls with eyes that can only be described as enemies' CORPSES, [[ThatOneAttack nigh-unavoidable]] lightning strikes, and even rips open ''one-hit kill black holes. And you can avoid being sucked into them.'' Did we mention that you're a cute little star with stretchy arms and sneakers? ''And you win?''
* ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures'':
** The first fight against [[EvilCounterpart Axel Gear]]. You just spent the entire level being [[AdvancingWallOfDoom chased by Axel in a giant robot]]. At the very end of the level, you cross a series of platforms only to be confronted by ''another'' robot. Only this one is empty. At which point, It is officially On.
** That pales in comparison to the last fight against Axel Gear. After an already epic [[DuelBoss one-on-one]], he shatters the spaceship's hull, and you spend the next few minutes duking it out with him while clinging ''horizontally'' to a set of exposed plumbing with debris flying past you into vacuum. [[spoiler: Your last hit detonates his jetpack, and the screen [[DeliberatelyMonochrome fades gray]] as he's flung, trailing fire, into open space in slow motion]]. It wasn't just an awesome boss, it was an Awesome Moment for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis ''itself''.
** Then there's the final boss battle against the [[ItMakesSenseInContext pig supercomputer]]. He rolls out a pretty slow series of attacks for a while, with the music being a rather odd choice for a final battle. After a few hits, though, the supercomputer teleports to the top of the screen, a sped-up version of the normal boss music plays, and the boss starts firing out those slow attacks ''way'' faster. After defeating it, the player makes their way to a nearby escape pod out of the space station, and the player is treated to an end-game cutscene of the pod escaping just in time to escape the...wait, what's that behind Sparkster's pod? OhCrap. Cue the core of the supercomputer chasing you ''through space itself'', with you being defenseless inside your weaponless escape pod. How do you win this battle? [[spoiler: The boss is so hell-bent on killing you that it chases you into the atmosphere, where it ''burns up and explodes due to the heat of re-entry.]] Yet another Awesome Moment for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis itself.
* ''VideoGame/RType'':
** The third level, the trope codifier of BattleshipRaid in video games. Yes, [[LevelInBossClothing the whole level is the boss]], and you spend your time flying around blowing bits off it.
** ''R-Type'' was in love with that kind of fight. Stage 4 of ''Super R-Type'' is just your small craft flying in and around a giant ship, culminating with a fight against its power supply. ''R-Type Delta'' did this with a huge legged battleship walking across a frozen lake at night. ''R-Type FINAL'' had Stage 3.0, where you do the same as in the original R-Type, but in 3D (and with all the interesting quirks that that implies), plus this one has a city-destroying laser that sucks you in while it charges. (Of course, you can destroy the laser for some massive points, if you're feeling adventurous.) The boss is, again, the core of the ship, except this one has much more BulletHell going for it.
** Of course, then there's level F-C of ''R-Type FINAL''. It's the best-hidden ending, and...wait, it doesn't have a boss! No matter; what it has instead is ''the longest and hardest level in R-Type history''. Heroic music blares throughout, the story implies you're traveling through time to stop the Bydo before they ever cause the universe any trouble, and your skills ''will'' be put to the ultimate test. The lack of a single large enemy might make this fit better under BestLevelEver, except ''you only get one life.'' The challenge is above and beyond anything a simple boss could ever provide, exemplified near the ''halfway point'' by a HUGE wave of the standard mook spacecraft. It sounds unimpressive, but in-game, it's completely overwhelming to be caught in a huge wave of starfighters for a full minute.
* ''VideoGame/SaGaFrontier'' - Metal Black 3. Especially if [[spoiler: Red learned Al-Phoenix before fighting him, then after Metal Black 3 uses Dark Phoenix, when Red uses Al-Phoenix again it becomes an even stronger version of that attack called Rei-Al-Phoenix. Bonus Points if Metal Black 3 uses Dark Phoenix on Red, makes it seem more rewarding.]]
* In ''VideoGame/SakuraWarsSoLongMyLove'', pretty much every battle from the second battle against Ranmaru at the end of Chapter 6 up to the first battle with [[spoiler:Nobunaga]] in chapter 8. The two battles that bookend this period are sheer awesome {{Marathon Boss}}es, but in between you also get some bitchin' awesome defense missions and a PuzzleBoss in the form of the third Ranmaru battle...oh, right, and [[spoiler:[[EnemyWithin Dark]] [[EnemyWithout Shinjiro]]]].
* ''Videogame/SaltAndSanctuary'', being a [[Videogame/DarkSouls Souls-like game]], is bound to have some highly memorable, enjoyable bosses.
** The Kraekan Wyrm. BattleInTheRain atop a massive castle, against a fire-breathing dragon straight out of some of the bloodier fairy tales out there. The bosses so far have been mostly humanoid, so this is pretty much the point where the game starts flexing its capabilities and showing you it doesn't mess around; he's also suitably challenging, but never cheap.
** Kraekan Dragon Skurzh, one of the most impressive designs in the game, an excellent moveset, and a hugely atmospheric battle against the god-like creature that actually had your ship sunk, and your mission ruined. Not too difficult, but definitely entertaining.
** The FinalBoss itself, [[spoiler:The Nameless God]]. No weaknesses, no cheap shots, no cheese, no gimmicks. Just you and him in a battle of raw power and skill, to put an end to centuries of misery once and for all.
* ''VideoGame/ScottPilgrim'':
** Matthew Patel, the first boss of ''Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game''. As soon as he jumps out of the background and your character deflects an attack from him, you know epic shit's about to go down. It also helps that his theme music is [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic one of the best in the game]].
** From the same game, Nega Scott, who is a combination of this trope and ThatOneBoss.
* Ugh-Zan III, the final boss of ''VideoGame/SeriousSam: The First Encounter''. He's 330 feet tall and has rocket launchers and laser rifles the size of buildings! And the music is pretty epic too.
* ''VideoGame/ShadowComplex'' deserves a mention for its final boss. An entire lake drains away to reveal a huge gantry that has missile silos and launches an AirborneAircraftCarrier. You can't attack it directly; your only option is to fight through the army of SpiderTank and [[HumongousMecha Strider Robot]] enemies and respawning soldiers to use the base's own missile silos against the carrier. It's pretty awesome. And in order to get one of the achievements, you've got to forsake the powered armor and other upgrades in the game and do this armed only with a pistol, grenades, [[AbnormalAmmo a foam gun]] and the clothes on your back.
* ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'':
** The final DuelBoss against Fox Face, helped a lot by [[TearJerker the scene that comes before it]]. There's also [[ScrewDestiny Atman]].
** In ''Covenant'', we have the battle with Astaroth. After a truly awesome ShutUpHannibal, "Astaroth", the best song in the game, starts playing and the throwdown begins.
* Pretty much every one in ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus''. This is, after all, the game that named the ColossusClimb.
** Nearly every colossus in the game was pants-wettingly awesome, particularly the battle with the 13th colossus. A simply ''gigantic'' flying serpent which soars over the desert, you have to puncture the three gas sacks on its underside with arrows to cause it to lose altitude until its fins are trailing along the ground. Then you have to chase it down on your horse until you're riding alongside one of its fins, leap from your speeding horse onto the fin and climb up the fin until the colossus returns to the sky again. Running along its massive back towards it vulnerable points as it soars hundred of meters in from the ground is an ''incredible'' thrill.
** Phalanx, the 13th colossus (physically the largest Colossus, [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2V4IJLW1U14/TmMYpPnQOyI/AAAAAAAAAc0/cMzvd7WoDjg/s1600/Colossi+size+chart_800x600.jpg even including Malus]] (the last one)), is also notable for how emotionally powerful the fight is. While all the other Colossus to some degree fought back and thus you could always see them as enemies, the 13th Colossus ''never fights back at all''. He runs from you frantically the whole fight, trying to escape the desert bowl he seems to be trapped in, really hammering in the MyGodWhatHaveIDone theme of killing the Colossi.
** Search Website/{{Youtube}} for Avion, otherwise known as Colossus #5, and you might find a particular stunt where the player hangs from one wing, waits for the colossus to bank sharply in one direction, then drops straight down and grabs hold of the other wing without even touching the main body. Also, it's relatively easy to leap from the body almost to the tip of the tail in one jump when the colossus is flying straight since you have strong air currents at your back.
** The final colossus is a titanic and menacing colossus fought on a stormy night, which hurls devastating bolts of energy at you from range. You have dash from cover to cover and dive into trenches even to approach it, then you have to climb it. And while the entire game is about climbing colossi, this is almost unquestionably the greatest challenge in the game- it's not as much of a puzzle as some of the other colossi, it's simply ''hard-'' and unbelievably awesome. He also has some of the most [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic epic music]] in the history of epic music in the entertainment industry. It's even more intense if you decide to ditch the whole cover thing and do [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLF3bZ48Qzs this]].
* The first ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'' game has the Twinkle Palace boss. It's a freaking game of ''VideoGame/{{Joust}}''!
* ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', Pyramid Head. Whether it's the HopelessBossFight (in which he can't be damaged), whether it's when he becomes ThatOneBoss (in which there's suddenly ''two of them''), or whether it's simply fleeing from him in the Labyrinth, it's easy to see why this utterly terrifying monster (literally and figuratively) of an ImplacableMan is one of the most iconic elements of the series.
* From ''VideoGame/SinAndPunishment: Successor to the Earth'', while it's hard to pick just one, the fight against Fake Earth was suitably awesome. Let that sink in for a moment. You fight ''an entire planet.''
** Its sequel, ''VideoGame/SinAndPunishmentStarSuccessor'', has a lot of fantastic boss fights as well. Just to name one, the Gryphon Keeper -- it is two previous bosses of the stage combined Anime/{{Voltron}} style!
* The boss fights from ''Soul Reaver'' (at least, most of them... oddly enough, the fights against Kain were the least interesting in a lot of ways) were all great because they all involve using the bosses' environment in some way against them, although the challenge pretty much goes out of all of them once you figure out how you're supposed to wipe them out. They also have awesome intro sequences...in one, the boss has turned into a giant immobile insect whose body is gradually engulfing the building and you walk into some weird organic-looking halls before actually getting to him. In another, you climb a spiral set of "steps" in the spectral realm to emerge above the water and go back into the real world, to find the water you were just in contains a giant shark-monster.
** In ''Soul Reaver 1'' you learn that [[spoiler:Kain resurrected you and your vampire brethren from the souls of six Sarafan knights, warrior-priests dedicated to ridding Nosgoth of the vampire menace.]] At the end of ''Soul Reaver 2'' you [[spoiler:break into the Sarafan stronghold and kill those same knights, ending with a climactic duel against your mortal self. Incredibly. Awesome.]]
* ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur]]'' has the following:
** The hidden fight against [[spoiler: Night Terror, a winged version of Nightmare with WINGS and that enjoys shooting [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]] at you.]] in ''Soul Calibur III''.
** Floor 60 ascending in Tower of Lost Souls in ''4''. You get three characters against a single Algol. And for good reason: he has 200 Health, Attack, and Defense, and uses some of the most epic combos in the series.
** One of Algol's combos merits its own mention. Algol knocks you into the air, hits you a couple of times, and then uses his THRONE as a BASEBALL BAT!
* ''VideoGame/SpaceChannel5'' has amazing bosses in the series, but there are two that really stand out from the rest. The first is King Purge, a primate-like robot with speakers on its hands, and you have to use the power of Michael Jackson to beat it. The second is Great Purge, where you sing the main theme song with the final boss.
* Another one from Sierra. ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest 4'''s fight against Vohaul. Holy crap. The MasterComputer is on a countdown to self-destruct and Vohaul has pulled a GrandTheftMe against Roger's KidFromTheFuture. Roger, who isn't the most athletic of guys, is fighting ''hand to hand'' with his hijacked kid, manages to knock him back, gets the disk, manages to swap his kid back into his body, and Vohaul to disk just as the counter runs down. Whew!
* The ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} battle in ''VideoGame/SpiderManShatteredDimensions''. A chaotic confrontation against ''three'' Deadpools, none of whom [[MotorMouth stop talking]], some great bits of comedy (such as 'Pool teleporting in with a card to announce the start of the next "round" or two Deadpools interviewing Spidey-as a grapple attack.[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUt2hLd4Thg A great score]] helps too.
* ''VideoGame/{{Splatterhouse}}'': The new remake features Biggy Man, an enemy with CHAINSAWS FOR HANDS!!! The fight starts out with you blasting him with a shotgun before he disappears and drops you through the floor, separating you from your gun. Next, you have to duck and weave, avoiding his chainsaw attacks and hitting him between attacks. If he hits you with one of his attacks, he'll vanish and reappear, trying to cut you down from behind. During the final phase, you rip off one of his arms, then use his chainsaws against him, giving you a chance to pay him back for any difficulty this fight gave you, before finally going in for the big finish.
* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' FinalBoss DJ Octavio is an epic, five-stage MarathonBoss against a HumongousMecha. The amount of destruction he'll be hurling towards you at any given time rapidly becomes just silly: [[MacrossMissileMassacre swarms of homing missiles]], grenade-hurling summoned enemies, and [[DeathRay the Killer Wail]], among other things. And you'll be dodging these salvos, trying to [[TennisBoss return what you can]], while bouncing about on sometimes precariously small platforms which can rapidly become covered in hostile, damaging ink. The [[https://youtu.be/wCCUEbZKEYg battle]] [[https://youtu.be/idXni2gNNec themes]] really sell it, and [[{{Woolseyism}} the American localization]] tops it all off with [[LargeHam wonderfully]] [[PungeonMaster insane]] BossBanter.
* ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'''s final boss takes everything that was amazing about the last game's final battle and ramps it UpToEleven. DJ Octavio is back, and he's brought a friend--Callie, Marie's missing cousin, brainwashed into playing for the Octarians. Cue a pitched battle against Octavio's new machine, with the same kind of wild diversity the first game had. Bomb Launchers, rocket punches, showers of ink, and even takoyaki grenades are hurled your way until Marie swoops in to [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight snap Callie out of her mind control]]. Again, what really sells this as an amazing finale is the background music, dramatic arrangements of Callie and Marie's theme songs ''performed by a full orchestra''. Special mention goes to the final phase of the fight--Sheldon lends you a modified ''Rainmaker'' (the PurposelyOverpowered weapon from the multiplayer mode of the same name) as you ride grind rails high in the air and shoot down Octavio's rocket fists before finally slamming the Rainmaker down ''hard'' on his head to finish him off. All this while the newly reunited Squid Sisters belt out a TriumphantReprise of "Calimari Inkantation". To call it incredibly satisfying, especially after DJ Octavio's abuse of such a beloved character, is selling it so short it's almost a joke.
* ''VideoGame/SpongeBobSquarePantsBattleForBikiniBottom''[='=]s FinalBoss is one of the most epic things in the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarepants'' franchise. Its battle is long and hard and has two forms. One is the Final Robot Boss Fight, which with every hit becomes increasingly difficult and fast-paced, as he adds new moves, as well as attacking faster and faster, to the point where you're gonna take a hit unless you're either extremely lucky or good at this boss. The second boss is a level. A freaking entire level where you have to destroy the generators inside Robo-Spongebob's head, destroying tons of robots and robot generators, all while using the many skills you learn in the game while dodging Robo-Plankton's onslaught of laser blasts. And the best part is it has the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic best music]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBBwrWY_oYg ever]], which sounds like something out of ''Final Fantasy''. Very memorable to any gamer who has played this game. Also the cutscenes are very amusing with a HoYay joke. TheMovie's final boss can also be mentioned, and its music is also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAxEBhoQ8UU great]].
* The final battle with Ripto in ''VideoGame/Spyro2RiptosRage''. The Ominous Latin Chorus, the orbs you've collected throughout the game can be used to unleash destructive power that both you AND the boss can use, and the finale where Ripto blasts the entire ground apart, converting it into a lava pool, forcing you and Ripto to use Golden Orb powerups to fly and shoot fireballs at each other.
* Many of the boss fights in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory''. The final boss of the PSP remake [[spoiler: Gabriel]] comes across as extremely badass when he states in prior to the battle [[spoiler: That he didn't need anyone else and getting this far barely phases him]]. This along with her attacks and boss music fit the atmosphere of a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome perfectly.
* ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'':
** The battle against the Marquis of Dragons, Crosell. Battling a huge dragon while one of the game's best battle songs plays in the background? Amazing.
** While many final bosses have some alternate form or transformation. Crosell [[spoiler: just gets back up and ''stops fucking around''.]]
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsRogueSquadron'':
** The first time you get to go head-to-head against an insanely huge Star Destroyer in your dinky lil' B-Wing is... memorable to say the least.
** It gets better. A later mission has you versing ''two'' Star Destroyers at the same time, with hordes of TIE fighters exploding everything around you (literally; you and possibly your two wingmates are the only Rebel fighters remaining at the end of the mission). A similar mission in ''Rogue Squadron III'' goes even further, tasking you with disabling ''three'' Star Destroyers only to launch an attack run against the freaking ''Executor'', a ship at the ''very least'' eight times the size of a Star Destroyer, ending with you [[RammingAlwaysWorks ramming into its command bridge, causing it to crash into the Death Star]]. Absolutely incredible.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheForceUnleashed'':
** Even though the rest of the game was okay, the best part is the boss fight against an entire FRIGGIN' Star Destroyer.
** The battle against the Star Destroyer is at least an awesome concept, if executed poorly. Darth Vader, on the other hand, pulled off both concept ''and'' execution.
** Both the Emperor ''and'' Darth Vader; you fight the latter at the end, then for your final boss fight you choose between one of them by moving towards and attacking one or the other. Warning: if you choose Vader you not only get the Dark Side ending, but he's NintendoHard.
** At the [[spoiler:second]] mission to Raxus Prime, PROXY reveals that he's kept one of his forms hidden for years until just this moment -- [[spoiler:and he transforms into ''Darth Maul, as the Duel of the Fates theme starts blasting into your ears.'']]
* ''VideoGame/StreetFighter'': Any game where Akuma is a boss usually has a fun, albeit difficult fight with him. Akuma's AI is noted to be the one most similar to a real human player's, so the challenge comes from outfoxing him.
* ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage 2''. Shiva. An amazing example of a DualBoss. A DuelBoss from the first game gives people nightmares, but they re-appear in the third game with a new look and a new set of moves. They are ironically easier to beat, and it's much faster paced and more manic.
* ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'':
** The ClimaxBoss battle against Luca Blight, often voted as one of the most memorable boss battles in RPG history. Finally taking down this psycho is satisfying enough, but pelting him with countless arrows, battling him three times with three squads of your most powerful characters, pelting him with more arrows, and ''then'' defeating him in a one on one duel is [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome just unbelievable]].
** There's also Lord Gorudo, late in the game. After the evil bastard [[spoiler:hits Nanami with an arrow, possibly giving her a fatal injury]], the hero and his former best friend Jowy, who were enemies but moments ago, are QUITE pissed, and team up to whip his ass to hell and back. Quite literally to hell and back, seeing as Jowy has several attacks that seem rather demonic, thanks to his Black Sword Rune. Attacks that stand out are one that heavily resembles a hellish version of [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Gilgamesh's]] [[StormOfBlades Gate Of Babylon]]. The other attack seems to throw the victim so hard into [[PowerOfTheVoid the Void]] that [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV Exdeath]] would be jealous.
* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'', being made of Epic and Awesome by its very nature, manages to deliver quite a few bossfights of this nature. Others verge on NintendoHard.
* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'': Come unprepared, and Dark Brain can be the most annoying boss, ever. But if you do get prepared, then get ready to face the hardest, best, and probably most epic boss battle in OG Gaiden. Dark Brain himself has tons of HP, regenerating greatly and has powerful attacks, and has TWO forms (both still have huge ass [=HPs=]). Taking both forms at one turn each does prove to be a challenge on your party formation (who support attacks who), what Seishin skill to use, etc etc. It even out-epics the final battle with Shu in Alpha Gaiden (and as a result, [[spoiler:fighting against Shu after DB is beaten feels easier]]) And that's not even counting the fact that he has possibly [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGSt2FsJOdI&translated=1 the single most destructive attack animation of any game, ever]]. [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Super Nova?]] Puh-lease.
** ''2nd Original Generations'' is full of awesome bosses throughout the climax of the game, namely final bosses from several of the other games in the franchise, including [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsMX AI-1]], [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsDestiny Perfectio]], and [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha Nashem Gan Eden]]]]. Then comes the TrueFinalBoss, [[spoiler: the Adamatron, piloted by Euzeth Gozzo]], which is essentially a combination of [[spoiler: the AI-1 and the Gan Eden]]. Also it has what is probably the longest attack in the franchise yet.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'':
** ''Melee'' introduced Crazy Hand, the destructive yang to Master Hand's creative yin. Even better, its appearance was at first a total surprise - you cruise along the Classic mode, fighting hard against an old, familiar foe as the final boss... then [[EvilLaugh that cackle]] erupts, and Crazy makes its appearance. The rules had changed, and it was time to face up to the beatdown.
** The final boss of Adventure Mode, meanwhile, is a giant Bowser. Nothing special, right? Well, get to him within 15 minutes on normal difficulty or higher, and you're in for a surprise once you beat him. Bowser's trophy rises back out from the abyss, and [[OneWingedAngel transforms into a more monstrous form]]. Say hello to ''Giga'' Bowser, who, if you haven't played the [[LateArrivalSpoiler later games in which he's Bowser's Final Smash]], is basically Bowser on ''fucking steroids'' and then some. If you beat him, give yourself a pat on the back - you just went up against a Final Smash, one-on-one, and ''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu you just kicked his ass]]''. Just don't try and kill him with a [[MemeticMutation Falcon Punch]] - the resulting explosion of kickass might kill you.
** [[spoiler: Tabuu]], the final boss of the Subspace Emissary in SSBB. You're fighting [[spoiler:basically a hologram humanoid--think Fighting Wire Frames from Melee but on MAJOR 'roids. He's spent much of the game manipulating The Ancient Minister, AKA the ''playable'' ROB, into sacrificing his robotic brethren so that Tabuu can invade from Subspace.]] He's mind-controlling Master Hand, which, in a case of Fridge MindScrew, kind of implies he's '''the player''' (as Master Hand was in turn implied to be a child playing with his toys, which is effectively the player if usually minus the "child" part). At one point, he simultaneously one-shots the entire playable roster, resulting in terror when you go to save the game and all your character icons are ''gone''. And that's just before you actually fight him, which involves instant teleport-explosions, throwing you with the chain he was using on Master Hand, various lasers (including one which involves him growing huge and his massive head approaching from the side of the stage), and, oh yeah, OFFWAVES. If you don't know how to spotdodge or roll with precise timing, or you're not playing a character that can stall offstage for a while, or you're on an Easy difficulty, it's an unavoidable kill. And with obligatory SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic to boot. Surprisingly, he's not that hard until you get to upper difficulties, since he moves slowly on lower ones (and his every move isn't an OHKO). SSE had a couple other epic fights, such as Rayquaza, Duon, Galleom, and Meta Ridley.
** ''[=3DS/WiiU=]'' upped the ante with Master Core. If you're on a high enough difficulty, Master Hand and Crazy Hand go down early... then Master Hand's glove rips apart and a giant black swarm of ''stuff'' comes flying out— and it's gunning for you. What follows is a tense battle dealing with Master Core's multiple 'swarm' forms (from two up to [[spoiler:four]], depending on the intensity level). Each form has a different set of attacks; one will even ''lift Final Destination'' from time to time. Once you've knocked its entire mass away, Master Core reveals its final form: [[spoiler: a dark smash ball]] that you can beat the stuffing out of before finishing it off with a smash attack. [[spoiler:If you don't take too long, that is....]]
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Syndicate}}'' remake, enemy Agent Tatsuo makes for a hectic battle as you chase each other round the train station, trying to get behind him before he gets behind you while Tatsuo [[FlashStep flash steps]] everywhere and deploys [[DoppelgangerSpin holographic duplicates to confuse you]]. When you finally manage to wear him down, you get to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hack his hologram projector and blow it up in his face]]. Not to mention Music/{{Skrillex}}'s remix of the main theme playing in the background.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:T - Z]]
* The ''VideoGame/TheTaleOfAlltynex'' trilogy is a host to a number of wonderful boss battles.
** ''VideoGame/{{KAMUI}}'' is the oldest game in the series, but still has a number of memorable encounters.
*** Stage 3 boss, Yellow Spider aka. Ougumo, is a real WakeUpCallBoss. It uses both bullets and lasers to limit your movement and force you on the defensive and in the latter half of the encounter, you both fly up a disposal tunnel, with your craft constantly dodging laser beams, claw attacks, homing missiles, and homing explosives. It really does turn up the pace.
*** At the end of Stage 4 you face a wing of the mass production version of your Kamui craft. This fight alone is quite frantic, with the enemy fighters using the very same lock-on thunder your ship is equipped with (except there's a [[BeamSpam whole wing of them doing that]]), but when you manage to take them out, the real boss appears - [[SuperPrototype Kamui Test Unit #0]]. This one is quite a formidable enemy, using lock-on projectiles, multiple laser beam drones, and a WaveMotionGun. And just when you deal enough damage, it spreads the [[PowerGivesYouWings Zodiac wings]]...
*** ALLTYNEX. A MasterComputer that appears to also be a RealityWarper, as it teleports you to other arenas and summons lesser bosses to fight you before engaging you directly by creating colorful hexagons that fire various weapons at you. Plus the boss itself [[RuleOfCool looks really cool]] and has SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic playing in the background.
*** Finally, we have the second FinalBoss itself, the Adjudicator. Which just so happens to [[BrainUploading contain the mind]] of the protagonist's father.
** ''VideoGame/RefleX'':
*** Your first introduction to awesomeness is the Stage 1-B boss, Virgo Type-Human. A huge birdlike craft that wrecked your carrier back at the start of the game, it attacks relentlessly with streams of bullets and a [[WaveMotionGun huge laser cannon]] that actually pushes your Phoenix all the way down when blocked. All to the tune of the SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic "Crazy Goddess Virgo".
*** Eventually you get to the boss of 2-B, the iconic Scorpio making its comeback after ''KAMUI'', this time as a fully-fledged boss. You both race at extremely high speeds along a gravity catapult leading into outer space while Scorpio uses its signature [[WaveMotionGun dual laser sweep]], does [[StuffBlowingUp bombing runs]], and fires a whole goddamn lot of [[{{Roboteching}} homing lasers]], sometimes even attempting to suddenly [[RammingAlwaysWorks smash your craft with its tail]]. Both the boss and the stage background are designed to give you a feeling of a [[HighSpeedBattle frantic, ultra-fast duel]].
*** After wrecking the Earth fleet along with its flagship, the Sagittarius, you encounter a new craft, Cancer. You first square off travelling through the hyperspace, eventually emerging at the Moon, where your duel takes up an entire stage. Here, the Cancer turns around and tries to smash you with its claw, all the while literally filling the entire screen with ungodly amounts of bullets and homing lasers. The duel could probably last even longer, if it wasn't for a blast from the back [[OhCrap delivered by third party]]...
*** Stage 7 is basically one long boss fight against Raiwat Virgo (angelic HumongousMecha), in which, partway through, the boss delivers a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown that even your reflection shield-equipped fighter cannot possibly withstand, causing you to die and your ship to be destroyed. Then your ship [[PowerGivesYouWings grows wings]] and becomes the ZODIAC Ophiuchus and it gains the ability to survive just about ''everything the increasingly-desperate Virgo throws at it'', including the aforementioned beatdown, and WaveMotionGun blasts so huge that they cover ''the entire screen!''
*** The final Area, set years after Area 7 and the ZODIAC Ophiuchus's destruction of ten other ZODIAC units ([[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome which we don't get to see]]), [[SubvertedTrope though at the expense of a huge majority of the Earth's population]]. It's a free-for-all deathmatch battle in Earth's orbit against the final ZODIAC, Libra, '''and two freaking Kamui fighters''' with all the artillery from the previous game, all the while a [[ThePowerOfRock a rock-powered]] DarkReprise of ''VideoGame/{{KAMUI}}''[='=]s stage 1 theme plays. Late into the battle against ZODIAC Libra, it charges up a massive WaveMotionGun and fires it upward at you and any remaining Kamui units. The Kamui units explode spectacularly, but of course the Ophiuchus's infinite-use shield holds out against it. Libra tries it again and ''[[HeroicRROD damages itself in the process]]!'' Finally, the penultimate phase of Libra consists of {{Attack Drone}}s firing blue bullets at you. If you know of the Ophiuchus's special weapon, the Photon Blaster[[labelnote:*]]reflect bullets, but before they disappear, release the shield button[[/labelnote]], you can use the shots to kill Libra before it has a chance to go into its final (and [[ThatOneAttack exceptionally brutal]]) phase!
** ''VideoGame/AlltynexSecond'', the latest installment, also has a number of exciting enemy encounters, especially since the camera ofter pans and rotates to show them off during their introductions and subsequent phases and since the player craft has to come really close to them to use its blade and do any serious damage.
*** Area 2 is a variant of the BattleshipRaid, where the player attacks an enemy space station in order to prevent it from wiping out the human fleet. After it is destroyed though, Adoni, the real boss, appears. Adoni is the first really challenging encounter in the game because it tends to move a lot in its first two phases and fire a whole lot of homing lasers. And when it loses its wings, it just grabs new ones from the station debris, first grabbing two long, straight pieces, then two curved pieces making a tight arena with Adoni's position looking awfully similar to [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Big Core MK-I Rev.2]].
*** Continuing with the [[ThemeNaming theme of starting every boss name with A]], Area 4 boss is called Alacran. At first, neither the name of the boss nor its appearance will seem familiar, but mid-fight Alacran will transform into the iconic Scorpio form and do its signature laser sweep and homing laser barrage. The rematch (or the first match, since every game is a prequel) is just as frantic as the one in Reflex, especially since the arena is noticeably tighter than the last time. And if you're curious (or Spanish), you find out that in a flash of BilingualBonus, Alacran is Spanish for... [[RecurringBoss Scorpio]].
*** The [[spoiler:penultimate]] boss, Alltynex, is quite memorable for the fact that, unless the player cuts down its cannons as fast as they appear, it manages to fill almost the entirety of the screen with [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]]. ''Then'' it activates two rotating drones that do the same thing, forcing the player to move along with the safe space on the screen. Meanwhile, dealing actual damage to it requires coming ''extremely'' close to the core or spamming the [[WaveMotionGun buster rifle]], which will drain the ship's power supply long before the fight is over. This version of Alltynex definitely puts up much more of a fight than the one in ''VideoGame/{{KAMUI}}''.
* The Final battle of ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' is also terrifying. In theory, you know you don't have a health meter of any kind, but the fantastic voice acting will make you feel like you really can't take another hit.
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'', [[spoiler: [[EldritchAbomination The Traveler]]]], is among the absolute best bosses Creator/TelltaleGames have ever designed. Most climactic battles in their repertoire are simple PressXToNotDie sequences, and this one is no different ([[spoiler: with the exception that you're controlling a giant robot instead of a normal-sized human]])... at first. However, after a period of standard attacking and dodging sequences, your opponent is still standing and mostly unaffected. What do you do? [[spoiler: Because the robot gains combat abilities by pulling techniques out of the pilot's mind, you pull ''your whole custom-selected Vault Team'' into the control room.]] Once this happens, the whole engagement turns from usual Telltale fare to a balls-to-the-wall ''Franchise/MortalKombat''-style fighting game, with you executing long strings of button combos to execute [[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome stunning moves]] based on the favored techniques of [[spoiler: the people you chose to bring in]]. It's a long string of [[ShoutOut references]], [[ContinuityNod franchise nods]], and [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments unifying]] [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome badassery]] designed to get the player hyped up, all culminating in [[spoiler: a ShoutOut to ''Film/PacificRim'' with the robot forming a massive sword out of nowhere and dicing the Traveler to bits]]. One couldn't ask for a better conclusion.
* ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime'', when Super Shredder turns into a teleporting magic ninja capable of shooting trails of flame, crescents of ice, and an instant-kill bubble shot that de-mutates the turtles. Yes, he only has three attacks, but his life bar is huge and he moves ''fast.'' All those years of calling themselves ''Ninja'' Turtles finally comes to fruition, as the fight moves at blinding speed.
* ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime'':
** The first Shredder fight in the Technodrome, for the home console versions. That highly amusing CameraAbuse {{mook}} toss? Actually has a use, and is the only way to defeat Shredder.
** Super Shredder is difficult but entertaining, with each of his attacks requiring a unique way to dodge (jump over the fire, stay on the ground when he shoots ice, avoid the green mutagenic fireball), and him only being open to attack after launching one of his attacks.
* Play ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 6''. Arcade mode. Make it to [[SNKBoss Azazel]]. Beat him. CELEBRATE!
* ''VideoGame/{{Tenchu}}'':
** In the first game, the first fight against Onikage definitely counts; on top of a Shogun's palace, on a moonlit night, with Onikage's awesome LeitMotif. So epic.
** In ''Tenchu 2'' there is Ayame versus Tatsumaru. You just wanted so badly for it to happen, and it was very delivered.
* ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}: The Grand Master 2 PLUS''[='=]s "invisible roll" is one minute of playing ''[=TGM2=]'' at instant-drop speed with the pieces turning invisible upon locking down. Achieving the conditions for this is a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome in itself, and then there's ''surviving it'', which rewards you the titular Grand Master rank. You can watch someone complete it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7WGNx4OiPE here]] (starting at 8:32).
* The ''VideoGame/ThunderForce'' series of {{Shoot Em Up}}s has plenty of awesome boss fights.
** In ''V'' when you fight [[spoiler: the Rynex ship you pilot in ''Thunder Force IV''/''Lightening Force'', which docks into several giant mech armors during the course of the fight, all while the awesome intro theme from ''TFIV'' plays in the background.]] Also, the newest game in the series, ''Thunder Force VI'', has [[spoiler:giant versions of ''Thunder Force III'', ''IV'', and ''V''[='=]s player ships as bosses.]]
** Made even more awesome if [[SelfImposedChallenge you don't use]] [[LimitBreak Over Weapon]] or Syrinx's [[GameBreaker Wave]] shot to cheese through these bosses.
** ''Segagaga'' for the Dreamcast parodies the TF bosses with a ShootEmUp that ends with you fighting a Sega SG-1000...which then morphs into a Mark III (aka Master System)...then a Genesis (complete with Sega CD and 32X addons)...and finally a Saturn. All the boss forms except for the Saturn consist of the system shooting sprites from its various games (the Mark III fires off Fantasy Zone bosses for example). All this punctuated by truly epic boss music.
* ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'':
** Jack Mathers, the Stage 2 boss of ''Time Crisis 4''. Captain Rush teams up with you and ''wrestles him'' throughout the battle. The final boss battle, which has you in a last-ditch effort to destroy the BigBad on top of a [[spoiler:human pyramid and stop squadrons of unmanned bombers from nuking major U.S. cities]], would qualify too, if it weren't for the fact that the ending of this boss battle is AlwaysClose. But it does make up for that with OminousLatinChanting.
** The first boss, Marcus Black, is worthy of note: after pursuing him in the streets of a big city while he's on a truck, you're in a helicopter and the enemy's tanks try to stop you in all manners, you finally blow his truck's tires with a sniper rifle making it slip and fall down. NoOneCouldSurviveThat, right? WRONG: the boss literally blows his way out of the truck and says "You want it? Then come over here and... take it!" before starting to shoot you with AN ANTI-TANK RIFLE. Cue guitar riffs, boss fight, and StuffBlowingUp.
** Every battle with Wild Dog is awesome, especially in ''3'', where Wild Dog and his partner, Wild Fang, fight you together in a 2-on-2 battle. And of course, Wild Dog never forgets his [[RecurringRiff iconic]] {{Leit|motif}}[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV7maJgaxuI motif]].
** In the fifth game, we have [[spoiler: [[FightingYourFriend the sword fight between Keith and Robert]].]] It's very much like the fight between Rush and Mathers in the fourth game, only this time, it's much more fun and more challenging.
** Also in the fifth game, there's the showdown with [[spoiler: [[TheDragon Wild Fang]]. When he's close to dying, he'll generate a huge attack to use against you and will kick your ass when it reaches 100% if you don't finish him quick enough.]]
** And finally, there's the epic FinalBattle with [[spoiler: Robert Baxter.]] ''Holy crap.'' [[spoiler: When you finally fight him, he summons this HumongousMecha that looks like a cross between an [[Franchise/RoboCop ED-209]] and either a Franchise/{{Gundam}} or a [[Anime/{{Macross}} Valkyrie]], and he even attacks on a floating platform. After you defeat his soldiers, Robert will then pilot the robot personally and attack you with it, firing a series of lasers and [[MacrossMissileMassacre missiles]]. And after destroying the robot, [[HeroicSacrifice Cathy will attempt to ram her chopper into Robert to stall him and destroy the missile before it launches]], which leaves you to [[FinishHim finish off Robert]] [[CoupDeGraceCutscene in a cool quick time event]], sending the traitor [[DisneyVillainDeath falling to his death]] and destroying Robert's aircraft.]]
* ''Franchise/TombRaider'''s [[FanNickname Bacon Lara/Doppelhoe]]. She's a PuzzleBoss who copies Lara's every move in a symmetrical room [[spoiler:except for a small pit of lava she can fall into]].
* ''VideoGame/ToontownOnline'' had the epic CFO, CJ, AND CEO.
** CFO (Chief Financial Officer) has his boss battle located in a warehouse. To win, [[spoiler: you have to drop a safe on him, by using one of the magnetic cranes hanging from the ceiling! This is the only time in the game where you can actually use those cranes!]]
** CJ (Chief Justice) has his/her boss battle in a Cog Court of Law. It was metaphorically a great big case, where [[spoiler: you would go to the witness' stand and take evidence. The evidence is literally a scroll, that you throw into a big scale in the center of the court where you are supposed to make your side of the scale go to the bottom, where you would win the case.]]
** CEO (Chief Executive Officer) has his boss battle in a ''Golf Club'' where you [[spoiler: are supposed to go on the tables and use seltzer bottles to try to squirt him into submission. You can also use the golf balls on the side of the stage to slow him down.]]
* Morganem [[spoiler:or to be more precise, Uthurak Incarante]], the FinalBoss from the ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' custom campaign "VideoGame/ToTheBitterEnd". In a custom campaign that has a number of intense and very difficult [[BossBattle boss battles]], he really takes the cake. First, the player discovers that the enemy they've been trying to defeat the whole game has [[spoiler:become the gateway for an EldritchAbomination that wants to unmake the entire universe]]. Then, [[MarathonBoss the entire last Chapter is dedicated to this one climactic battle]]. As well as being ungodly tough, the boss gets [[TurnsRed progressively harder and smarter]] throughout the fight. You only have a chance of winning because damaging him causes [[BossArenaRecovery "Mana Splinters"]] to spawn in the area. By the end, the entire BossRoom is filled with enemies, earth-shaking spells get thrown back and forth, and Morganem even tries to usher in the Apocalypse and all the while [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic wicked music plays in the background]]. If you survive against all the odds, you're rewarded with a [[CutscenePowerToTheMax suitably impressive end cinematic]] to round it all off.
* ''VideoGame/TitanFall2'' features battles against the Apex Predators, a cadre of ruthless mercenary thugs led by Kuben Blisk. While the boss fights with the various Apex Predators are usually something in the vein of with 'harder version of their normal Titan counterparts,' the fight against Viper is unique for quite a few reasons. For starters, he's demonstrably the most professional of the Apex Predators and as such he does ''not'' mess around. Furthermore, his custom Northstar zooms around with its infinite-flight engines, meaning you have to endure its constant bombing runs. He engages you on top of your own DropShip and so the battle is a nerve-wracking and therefore utterly exhilarating experience from start to finish.
* ''VideoGame/{{Transformers}}'':
** The [[Anime/TransformersArmada Armada]]-based game for the [=PS2=] reminds you of just what "Robots in Disguise" really means in the Mid-Atlantic stage when the aircraft carrier you've infiltrated [[ThatsNoMoon turns out to be Tidal Wave]].
** Starscream. You get to fight him twice, being kept on your toes a lot of the time by his dashing sword attack, almost unavoidable semi-WaveMotionGun laser cannon blasts, and his aerial missile barrages against which the only real defence was to transform to vehicle mode and drive like hell. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH67e9Qh-TI kick-ass battle music]] adds to the awesome. And in his first appearance, he [[UnflinchingWalk unflinchingly walks]] [[OutOfTheInferno out of an aircraft hangar that just blew up around him]].
* ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'':
** The first boss fight against Trypticon. You're in jet mode, blasting him as he plummets from orbit to crash into Cybertron. In freefall. It was a thing of beauty.
** Then comes the ACTUAL fight with Trypticon, which is just as awesome. And of course, five levels before in the Decepticon campaign, you have the fight between Megatron and the last line of Autobot defense, Omega Supreme...the game has other bosses besides those two, but they pale in comparison.
* ''VideoGame/TransformersFallOfCybertron'':
** Its final battle is the one vs. one showdown with Optimus Prime and Megatron...and you get to play as either to determine the ending. Play "The Touch" during this fight and you've got your recipe for Awesome.
** The last stage is full of awesome and has one heck of a boss for the Autobots. You must play as Jazz against the apparently unstoppable super-combiner Bruticus. You're a lone special operations head agent with a shotgun, and you have to face one of the most dedicated killing machines on Cybertron. As might be expected, standard weapons...really don't amount to a lot, as even your best guns will just annoy him. You're not going to defeat a monster that size with just firepower--you're expected to bring Bruticus down with the same three tools Jazz always uses: mobility, cleverness, and style.
** The fights against the three main Insecticons Kickback, Hardshell, and Sharpshot aren't necessarily the best mechanically, since they're, naturally, all manner of {{Flunky Boss}}es, summoning hordes of Insecticon drones to do their fighting for them. However, bashing the stuffing out of the Insecticons that have given Grimlock and his Dinobots so much grief is ''incredibly'' rewarding. Kickback simply sends in a swarm and [[DirtyCoward attempts to flee for his life when he thinks he's cornered]], only to have Slug politely drop a door on him with a humorous CallBack to the original [[WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie animated movie]]. Hardshell then tries to fight from a turret while sending more Decepticons to stop Grimlock, but the angry Dinobot just grabs ExplodingBarrels and chucks them at Hardshell, then pulls the Insecticon from his destroyed turret afterwards and bashes his face against an optical security scanner--which lightens the mood by accepting ''that'' as a valid scan. Finally, Sharpshot gets it in his crazy head to torture one of Grimlock's Dinobots while deploying endless hordes of Insecticons to try and stop him. This is a ''horrible'' idea, since Grimlock's incredibly protective of his team, and when electrical feedback [[ExplosiveInstrumentation blows up Sharpshot's control console]] and knocks him down to Grimlock's level, we're given another brief Callback to the movie before Grimlock [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath mauls the ever-loving scrap]] out of Sharpshot. Not stunningly inventive as boss fights go, but it definitely feels good to give the three psychotic, sadistic bugs a taste of their own medicine.
* ''VideoGame/TransformersDevastation'': The penultimate boss fight of the game starts out as a hectic free-for-all battle royale between the entire team of Autobots in the game and the Constructions. Defeat all six of them, and they merge into Devastator to continue the fight... [[spoiler:and then when you get Devastator down to half his health, '''Menasor''' joins the rumble, meaning it's you and your team of CPU-controlled Autobots vs two giant, merged robots four times your size.]] Incredibly tough? Definitely. Still ridiculously fun in spite of that? Hell Yes.
* Destroying Savato in ''Videogame/TraumaCenter: Second Opinion''. The level is hell in the DS version, but on the Wii, it's not only made easier (that is, beatable) but significantly more fun, and still presents a good challenge.
** Similarly, Cardia from ''New Blood''. Not particularly hard, but the fact that it transforms into a glowing jellyfish monster right on cue to the OminousLatinChanting just seals the deal. The boss is actually designed so that the player must use every tool with most of them being equally essential; most surgeries until now use multiple tools but rely heavily on one or two.
* ''VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh'':
** The Kernel. He's truly a WorthyOpponent, and you end up facing each other DeadlyDisc against DeadlyDisc. Fuse it with the fact Jet's trying to ''rescue his enemy'' and a side order of EscortMission as Alan is trying to stay out of the way of the combat.
** There's also the FinalBoss - the digitized abomination that Crown, Popoff, and Baza became when they digitized themselves. You're battling them ''inside'' the transit beam going back to the analog world on a series of floating platforms. The artwork is ''beautiful.''
* ''VideoGame/TronEvolution'' has Abraxas. Man, he is actually [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]]! Covered in TronLines!
* ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}'': Thunder is a genetically engineered bio-mechanical TyrannosaurusRex, armed with rocket launchers, flame breath, giant teeth and claws, shockwave stomp, and '''a freaking photon cannon on its head.''' That [[TurnsRed gets faster as you damage it]]. And can survive not one, not two, but '''[[MadeOfIron all three shots from your]] [[NukeEm fusion]] [[{{BFG}} cannon]].'''
* Any fight with a vehicle in ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves'', these are definitely large parts of why the game rates so high.
** The first vehicle is a helicopter that attacks you, destroys a sky bridge while you are in it, and chases you across rooftops and into a hotel, where it ''blows holes in the side of the building to get at you!'' The best part? It eventually gets fed up and [[spoiler: blows up the building's foundations, causing it to collapse ''while you're inside of it!'' You're forced to jump out, then fight the copter with grenade launchers to send it down.]]
** The second chopper fight is definitely more awesome. It's broken into two parts. The first, you have to flee from it while it blows cars off the train you are on. You escape (barely) by going into a tunnel, just as you were about to be crushed by a car flung about by missiles! When you see it next, it's still following the train, but this time you fight it by using an AA gun mounted on a tank that is strapped to the train. The resulting fight has you keeping missiles from hitting your tank as you try to gun the helicopter to the valley floor a thousand meters below, with snow swirling everywhere as the entire party careens along the side of the mountain. Just awesome.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtuyxVLc8ak The final boss battle]] in the BulletHell shooter ''VideoGame/UnderDefeat''. It's a big ass [[TankGoodness tank fortress]] with a {{BFG}} and with ''[[MoreDakka tons of guns]]''. [[TurnsRed The more damage it takes, the more bullets the boss will unleash on your helicopter]]. And that {{BFG}} the boss has? When it fires, it sends you flying backwards, and unleashes bullets from behind you. Finally, upon defeating the boss, like all other bosses in ''Under Defeat'', [[StuffBlowingUp the entire boss explodes all over the screen]] until the screen goes off in a massive explosion. And the boss resembles the Chandelier from ''VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation''...
* ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'':
** The two second-to-last boss battles in the main series. In this first game, you ([[spoiler:and your DarkSide-turned mentor]]) are piloting mechs that are large enough to circle the globe in about a dozen steps. It only gets bigger in the next game. In the second, Six Machine (said mech) turns into the head of a much larger giant robot. And this time, it can circle a star system in a few short seconds. And the boss mech is bigger than Jupiter.
** Both are then followed by mano a mano battles sans mecha.
* ''{{VideoGame/Vindictus}}'':
** Most of the raid battles qualify to some extent or another, but the battle against Echulus is one that rivals the Elder Dragons from the Monster Hunter series. The target is a massive dragon with deadly wind and fire attacks, but what puts this battle on this list is the sheer scope of the battle. It's a 16-24 player fight, but often times most players won't be fighting directly, they'll be supporting each other with ALL the neat tricks available in that arena. The damage over time effect of Echulus's breath attacks doesn't expire on its own, it needs to be extinguished by dipping into water-filled trenches that need to be manually refilled, meaning some players will start a bucket train (like something out of an old-fashioned firefighter movie) just to keep the rest of the party alive. There are bunkers that provide cover from area of effect attacks, but they need to be built and manually repaired, and often look like military field hospitals as healers try to heal and resurrect their comrades while trying to keep the defenses up. There are large ballistas that can be manned to bring the dragon down to earth when it flies around dropping airstrike-like fireball attacks, but resources are few so when a crack shot manages to snipe him, it's cause for celebration. And to top it off, the fight takes place on some beautiful floating islands and has a beautifully orchestrated soundtrack. It's a wonderfully tense battle with lots of tactical options, and an absolute blast.
** The battle against Shining Shakarr makes for a very enjoyable DuelBoss in its own right, but what catapults it onto this page is that the game locks you into your normally extremely limited Transformation for the ''entire fight.'' Under normal circumstances, a full-powered Paladin or Dark Knight Transformation only lasts for 70 seconds and can only be used once per real-world hour, but not here. This means the fight is a one-on-one duel, with you being able to cut loose and hold absolutely nothing back. Especially on higher difficulties, Shakarr's immense healthpool and potent attack power make him an opponent worthy of going all out. The fight even counts as a daily raid, with the rewards that entails.
* The final stage of ''VideoGame/WanganMidnightMaximumTune3'''s Story Mode pits you against the manga's two major characters on one long 25-something-kilometer stretch of the high-speed Wangan Line. By this point, your car is powerful enough to blast down the expressway at a constant 340 km/h (211 mph).
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'':
** The fight with Lephantis is pretty exciting. You start off in a giant room fighting this Infested monstrosity with 3 heads based off the games' main enemy factions, and each with different attacks. After taking down Lephantis' heads, the floor crumbles and drops you into another room [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever where you fight his real form]].
** Vay Hek's fight has you chasing him through a jungle while he spawns enemies and is [[LargeHam effectively screaming at you.]] He eventually leads you to a giant pit where he summons his [[HumongousMecha Terra Frame]] and starts raining death from above. Not to mention, with [[HateSink how much of an ass this guy is]] it's wonderfully cathartic to fill his wrinkled, laughing face with lead.
** Sargas Ruk may not be as "epic" as the previous two, but if you're going it alone he's an almost perfectly-balanced WakeUpCallBoss. He trumps around the room with [[EvilSoundsDeep a gravelly voice]] and [[PlayingWithFire massive flamethrowers]], dealing enough damage to keep you on your toes without coming across as unfair, with several moves that can knock you over and leave you vulnerable without being outright one-hit kills. The room he spawns in compliments [[MightyGlacier his relationship]] with [[FragileSpeedster the player]] perfectly, boxing you in if you don't pay attention but giving you lots of escape options if you do.
** The Exploiter Orb fight in Venus' Open World is a fight many fans love to death, partly due to it being an AuthorsSavingThrow from the much less-loved Profit-Taker fight in the same region and partly due to how it expands on the lore of the local [[AllianceMeter syndicate]], Solaris United. The first phase of the fight starts out in [[AbandonedArea Deck 12,]] where you melt ice off of the Exploiter Orb that she uses to make her cooling vents NighInvulnerable by throwing highly volatile material canisters at them, all the while avoiding the various [[MiniMecha Mite Raknoids]] she's spawning in a frenzied battle. The second phase in turn has you throwing those same canisters at the Exploiter Orb in order to cause her to overheat, all the while [[ShootTheMedicFirst taking out any Coolant Raknoids that might try to get to her before you can.]] The biggest highlight of the fight is that as you overheat her, you can initiate scripted cutscenes where your Warframe leaps up on to the Orb itself and ''rips out pieces of its infrastructure'' in a sequence that wouldn't look out of place in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance''. The final part of the fight is you scrambling to get away from Exploiter as it ruptures in a colossal explosion. Plus, it's a way to get a good, cathartic hit in on the Corpus' answer to [[HateSink Vay Hek]], Corpus big-wig and BigBad for the Vallis region Nef Anyo.
* ''VideoGame/WarioLand The Shake Dimension'':
** The second boss. Basically, Wario in a unicycle complete with spring-loaded boxing glove, in a high-speed battle against a race car going at jet speed down a long road. HighSpeedBattle indeed. Neat music too.
** The final boss. You can only wish Bowser would wisen up and use that many attacks in a future [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] game. Basically, four-stage battle with The Shake King, complete with a final form using multiple laser beam blasts, lightning attacks, and shooting fireballs around.
* ''VideoGame/WarioWare Gold'' concludes pretty awesomely. After making it past the Ultimate League, you confront Wario only to find he's gone mad with power and used all the prize money for himself, essentially turning into the BigBad for the first time since ''VideoGame/MarioAndWario'', complete with SlouchOfVillainy. Using his self-entitled position and new crown (which is actually a [[spoiler:potty]]), he faces off in the ultimate Microgame showdown, putting all of your skills thus far to the test. And when Wario starts messing with the player, new character Lulu jumps in to stop him so you can focus on the Microgames ahead. The boss minigame involves the return of ''Smooth Moves''' Wario Dance Company, this time with a samba that acts as a FinalExamBoss that utilizes all the tools on the 3DS. And throughout most of the fight, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__yK_8AaQBU THIS MUSIC]] plays even as you go through the microgames. Bad. Ass.
* ''VideoGame/WildArms1'' has Zed and Boomerang, mostly for theme music (in the [[VideoGameRemake remake]], ''Wild Arms: Alter Code F'', said themes were made worse and better, respectively). And in Zed's case, because the man sure knows how to make an entrance.
* The FinalBoss, [[spoiler:Lord Blazer]], of ''VideoGame/WildARMs2'', which combines SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome, SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic, ThePowerOfFriendship, CombinedEnergyAttack, DuelBoss, and ClimaxBoss into one ''incredible'' experience.
* [[spoiler:Nega Filgaia]], the final boss in ''VideoGame/WildArms3''. THIRTEEN consecutive forms each with their own ability, strengths, and weaknesses. Unless you have Violators, this is an epic battle that will test your endurance and skill to their very limits. Good luck - you will need it.
* ''VideoGame/TheWitcher''
** The King of the Wild Hunt. He's been tailing, menacing, and even personally attacking Geralt throughout the game. When he makes his final appearance, he basically tells Geralt he's been his bitch the entire time. Fighting him is optional, but it gives Geralt the best lines, a thrilling fight, and the more awesome climax to the game.
** Berengar is another that deserves mention, coming as it does shortly after being knighted by a Goddess and given an InfinityPlusOneSword. This is a character Geralt has been chasing and hearing shady reports about, and when finally found has been brusque, evasive, then openly provocative, lying, and taunting. Also an optional fight; sparing him grants less satisfying lines and [[spoiler: he goes on to die rather lamely and inevitably during another boss fight Geralt must finish himself unless you are really really lucky.]]
** The fight with Zeugl is pretty awesome as well and it is not optional. You have to fight its tentacles and cut them off, and then its head comes out of the water and you have to hit it.
** The second game gives us the Kayran, a gargantuan, magically mutated Aeschna that Geralt can impale on a special harpoon trap, then slice off its tentacles with his silver sword and ride one of them around the clearing until it brings the ruined bridge down on top of it before stuffing a Clock Punk device filled with Grapeshot bombs down its gullet and blowing it up from the inside out. CrazyPrepared at its finest.
** The final battle against Eredin in the third game. It's not only very satisfying to finally cleave the elf a new set of lungs for all he's done, but it's one of the rare cases of AntiClimaxBoss being somewhat of a good thing - it makes one feel the fight is not a titanic struggle against a martial equal, but an effortless display of power on your behalf, against a leader who is more ArrogantKungFuGuy than a true badass, only kept alive in the interim against the beast that is Geralt due to Aen Elle armour superiority and his cheap navigator magic. Magic lights to the White Wolf.
** The boss fight with Olgierd Von Everic in the ''Hearts of Stone'' expansion. The atmospheric setup: a duel in the middle of a thunderstorm, with the backdrop of a burning manor house and cheering mercenaries, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVKPvspyyyQ "You're... Immortal?"]] playing in the background. And the battle itself: a high-speed sword duel with an incredibly skilled and fast opponent. Olgierd doesn't use any fancy tricks or gimmicks like the Wild Hunt warriors do; instead he's just nightmarishly quick, using a sort of demonic FlashStep to get in close to Geralt, and attacks with unrelenting combos. The only way to beat him is just to be as quick and skilled as he is, dodging, parrying, and countering his attacks. It makes for one of the most spectacularly intense duels in the entire series.
** The final battle with Dettlaf in the ''Blood and Wine'' expansion starts out pretty normal in the first phase, but when he goes into his next phase, he goes into a OneWingedAngel form, launching clouds of bats at you. The very last phase takes place in a WombLevel. It is an epic fight from start to finish.
* ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' had you fighting UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler himself [[StupidJetpackHitler in a suit of mechanical power armor]] with four miniguns attached in the last level of Episode 3. Enough bullets would take his armor off, but he would still carry [[GunsAkimbo a minigun in each arm]]. Luckily, it didn't take much more after that to kill him and watch him melt into a puddle of gore, complete with replay!
** General Fettgesicht from the last level of Episode 6 in the same game may have to qualify as well. While he isn't as memetically memorable as Hitler, he's just as awesome because of his chaingun and rocket launcher combo. What other boss can you think of is able to wield these two weapons at once and look badass while doing it?
** In ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein 2009}}'', we have the final battle with [[spoiler: [[TheDragon Hans Grosse]].]] B.J. enters the Black Sun dimension and faces off against [[spoiler: Hans and Deathshead]] and both B.J. and [[spoiler: Hans]] have their very own Veil wielding powers. After such a long battle, you end up [[spoiler: sacrificing all your veil powers to destroy Hans, first the Shield power, then the Mire power, and when you destroy the machine, you then destroy his Empower ability]].
** ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'' has [[spoiler: the [[TragicMonster Prototype Robot]] and more importantly, the final showdown with Deathshead. When fighting Deathshead, he'll be piloting a giant robot that has a shield powered by the [[DramaticThunder storm]], forcing you to destroy the Zeppelins to destroy the shield. Then, when you fight him in the second phase, he'll also say, [[PreAssKickingOneLiner "Die, Allied schweinehund!"]]]]
* The FinalBoss of ''[[VideoGame/TheWonderful101 The Wonderful 101]]'', [[spoiler: Jergingha]], will go down in history as one of the single most ridiculous, overblown boss battles ever conceived. Just about [[SequentialBoss all three]] of his forms count to a degree, but none more so than his final [[spoiler: Planet Destruction]] Form. While the setting on its own is awesome enough ([[spoiler: fighting a HumongousMecha ''half as big as Earth'' while battling in outer space]]), the fight itself is decently difficult, is set to [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic a bombastic boss theme]], and can take upwards of ten minutes to beat. Yet, none of that compares to the grand finale of the whole thing: [[spoiler: after the characters unload all they have on him, Jergingha stops messing around and reveals his [[WaveMotionGun CHI-Q Marble Buster]], a weapon guaranteed to wipe Earth out of existence. The Wonderful 101 respond by charging up a laser of their own using the combined cannons of the Virgin Victory, Vorkken's ship, and Immorta's ship. The resulting lasers from the Wonderful 101 and Jergingha clash in a glorious BeamOWar, with the player being forced to mash the A button for roughly a full ''30 seconds'', with even the Wonderful 101 themselves joining them in the ButtonMashing. When all is said and done, the laser transforms into a gigantic W, and proceeds to consume and destroy Jergingha for good, with the player surrounded with an air of simple satisfaction and ''[[RuleOfFun joy]]'']].
* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'':
** Uzuki and Kariya. Their fighting style is similar to yours, right down to having a light puck and fusion, and [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic the rock music in the background]] is ''excellent''.
** [[spoiler:Draco Cantus]] is pretty awesome. It's [[spoiler:the only one-player fight in the game, because your partners are ''part of it'', and once you get its health down to zero, [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Neku and his partners do a four-way fusion, at which point he summons a giant Player Pin symbol and fires a]] WaveMotionGun [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome from it.]]]] The aforementioned boss also fires [[BeamSpam so many fireballs]] that the DS literally ''lags'' a bit trying to keep up. You feel a bit badass just having beaten it... unless you eventually get frustrated enough to hit "retry on Easy" since switching to Normal would have meant fighting [[SequentialBoss the two preceding boss fights]] again.
** Higashizawa is also quite the fun boss, with his fight making for one hell of a WakeUpCallBoss, what with his attacks making it so that you can’t just overwhelm him with brute force. Not only that, but it also takes place in a BattleInTheRain, with him flinging [[ShockAndAwe lightning bolts and orbs]] at you to boot.
** [[MadMathematician Sho Minamimoto]]. Not only will he summon an onslaught of [[EliteMook Taboo Noise]] to try and whittle down your health as well as rapidly teleport across both screens to keep you on your toes, but he will also rapidly transform into his [[OneWingedAngel Noise form]] [[PantheraAwesome Leo Cantus]] to rush at you multiple times. All the while [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Someday]] plays in the background.
** The Giant Bat on Day 2 of Week 3. Mainly because of the hunter/hunted relationship it has with Neku when the bats on the top screen are covering up the stage lights, then the utter pwnage of pummeling it to death once the lights are on. A nice change of pace after getting ThatOneBoss after ThatOneBoss. This one also counts for another reason, since it's an upgrade of the first true 'boss' Noise you fought way back in early week 1. Back then, You had only half a clue what's going on, a few weak pins, no stat-ups, and you were still coming to terms with the combat system, creating a grueling fight out of something you ''know'' should be simple. When you see this thing again, you have a full suite of high-level abilities, stats that look much more impressive both on paper and in practice, and you've got combat down pat. Fighting this thing again on proper terms is ''very'' satisfying.
** Megumi Kitaniji. He has one of the highest HP in the game, has several powerful attacks that will test your reflexes, and will even ''[[TimeStandsStill flat out stop time itself]]'' just to launch a volley of attacks at you. Not only that, but [[spoiler:brainwashed Shiki]] will also make things incredibly challenging for you.
** Panthera Cantus in Another Day. A very challenging fight and a test of your skill without being a MarathonBoss.
** If you decided to fight it at the earliest opportunity, Progfox. It's the introduction to the Fox Noise, which change forms depending on the number of tails they have. They range from a defenseless mushroom to a masked Neku. The Progfox is the only one that can obtain [[GeniusBonus nine tails]]. If it does, it does a Fusion Attack ''by itself''.
* In the ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' series:
** ''Legend of Mana'' gives us the battle with Irwin. World at stake? Check. Battle on top of the dragon he's trying awaken? Check. Epic music? Big Check.
** One of the reasons ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' is [[SacredCow brought up as one of the best games of its era]] is the awesome bosses, especially the SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome. For example, pick a Benevodon. Any Benevodon... except for maybe Xan Bie and Lightgazer (who fall into ThatOneBoss and GoddamnedBoss). They're all just plain awesome for whatever reason.. and they even shake things up by casting Saber spells on ''you''.
*** Dangaard the Benevodon of Wind is an aerial battle... atop ''Flammie''. The remake keeps this just as impressive making you run across Flammie's wings.
*** Dolan, the Benevodon of Moon. You get to the very top of the tower and hear [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Vf4kVvE2Y music unique to this boss]]. The boss doesn't appear right away, so you have some time to apply stat-ups. Then the tower shakes and two big hairy arms rise up and the battle with this wolf-beast {{kaiju}} begins. As Website/GameFAQs' boss guide put it, "Now THIS is a God-Beast!"
*** Mispolm, benevodon of Wood. The dungeon itself is a mechanically unusual level, to some the BestLevelEver due to not being a "Forward running dungeon crawler" but a sideways dungeon. The battle is fought on a pseudo-sideways screen, something unfortunately lost on the remake
*** Zable Fahr, the unusual and thus highest health of the Benevodons (and always the last one fought) who attacks out of nowhere, trapping you in its own dimensional void where you must take out two heads just to make the main head appear. It's incredibly creepy in the SNES version since nothing moves and the music is overall [[NothingIsScarier silent]].
*** The Penultimate bosses against the BigBad's [[TheDragon Dragon]] is awesome no matter the character. The remake manages to make them even more intense on higher difficulties since they constantly warp around and show you that just ''nowhere'' is safe from them.
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'':
** Finally completing the chapter-spanning, drug-busting sidequest that started all the way back in Satorl Marsh with 'Preventing Starvation', you at last get to fight the lynchpin behind all this: [[spoiler: Bana the Betrayer]], all the more surprising considering [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter what the race is normally like.]] The battle isn't necessarily flashy or anything although [[spoiler: Bana]] does fight you from the Bionis equivalent of a pterodactyl and hits ''hard''. 'Tragic Decision' plays rather than the typical boss music, hitting home the entire tragic nature of this quest.
** When the party reaches the control room of Mechonis, [[spoiler: Egil reveals he is now controlling Mechonis and you must fight him and his mech Yaldaboath.]] When he takes a certain amount of damage, he activates three Energy Devices. If these aren't destroyed before the bar runs out in 2 minutes, the Mechonis will inflict '''infinite damage''' on the Bionis, killing everyone on there and resulting in a definite Game Over. You will be ''desperate'' to bring down your foe to save the entire world. The emotions in this is truly wonderful as at the end of the battle, Shulk and [[spoiler: Egil]] are able to make peace and understand each other's point of view. Everything seems to work out at last. [[spoiler: But then Shulk gets shot by Dickson...]]
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'':
** The fight with [[spoiler: Ga Jiarg and Ga Buidhe]] in the [[SceneryPorn beautiful continent of Sylvalum]] Chapter 9. The first part of the fight takes place on the ground; once that's over, [[spoiler: Ga Jiarg]] boards [[MiniMecha his own Skell]] and prompts you to do the same. The result is one of the best fights in the game.
** While of questionable plot relevance, Chapter 10 is one big boss fight against the [[HumongousMecha Zu Pharg]], the largest boss in a game with a lot of large enemies already, and this isn't CutscenePowerToTheMax either. Like the previous story boss fight [[spoiler: with the Wrothians]], it also takes place in Sylvalum, except this time, the whole continent is the battle arena. The first phase is against its flying-saucer form, which come equipped with a contingent of Fal-Swos and [[MiniMecha Galdrs]]. Once that's over, it transforms and shows off how big it really is. It's a difficult battle even without the flight module (let alone Skells) but it can be done. For bonus points, this is the first story boss you can use the Skell flight module against, and the scale of the fight suggests it was designed with it in mind.
* Fighting Victor Creed as Wolverine in the fairly decent game adaptation of ''VideoGame/XMenOriginsWolverine'' is incredibly brutal. Since both Wolverine and his half-brother Creed have a HealingFactor, they beat the everloving shit out of each other through various means. Since one of the game's main mechanics involves throwing enemies into dangerous objects, and the game refreshingly lacks ContractualBossImmunity, there's plenty of things laying around that you can use to [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential impale, bludgeon, crush, and otherwise horribly maim your dear brother]]. Of course, [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame he can do all the same to you.]]
* Speaking of X-Men, the Sentinel Core from ''VideoGame/XMen2'' on the Megadrive was one of several moments of awesome from the game - a [[WakeUpCallBoss tricky]] boss fight against a holographic nightmarish apparition of the Sentinel, armed with eyebeams and lightning bolts and one hell of an electronic wail. This finishes off with a [[LoadBearingBoss Metroid style escape sequence]] where you must escape from the factory it is contained in, complete with alarms, earthquakes and explosions galore. Combine this with some pumping music, you have one of the most memorable sections of the game. The best part? It's the FIRST boss.
* The second ''VideoGame/XMenLegends'' game has Apocalypse as the final boss. On his own, he's not a pushover, but depending on how powerful your team is, he's not too hard either. Then he summons his 4 Horsemen who you've beaten individually at the end of the previous 4 acts, turning it into a Battle Royale With Cheese. After one or two occasions of knocking his health down to zero, only for him to respawn almost instantly, do you realise that he's also a ''Puzzle Boss''. After using his machine to power yourself up the same way he has, you have to tear through mooks to smash up generators for his machine (as well as Apocalypse himself who teleports to it in order to guard it). Only once the machine is destroyed is the boss fight over.
* ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' tends to have really fun bosses on the whole, but the battle with Jenocres in ''Origin'' stands out. Between the boss [[BulletHell shamelessly filling half the room with death]] and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HRybmCCeTw rowdy jazz arrangement of series legacy theme Tension blasting trumpets all over the place,]] it's rather difficult to not start cackling like a madman.
* ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'' has a few awesome boss fights to its name.
** Nohman and Anubis from ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders 1'' and ''2'', mostly by benefit of his world class buildup. You first meet him at the end of the first game, and in a stunningly unexpected sequence he ''beats the hero''. Soundly. He then appears right at the beginning of the second game to do the same to the new main character. As a result, you're really spoiling for battle by the time the final boss fight against him starts up... only to find out that said boss fight is really against your girlfriend in a remotely controlled Anubis mock-up. The real Anubis then appears behind you and instantly takes out the hero of the first game in a really cheap sneak attack before squaring off against the player in a final showdown... and he shoots you with an orbital cannon. What follows is undoubtedly the two most satisfying boss fights in gaming history, where you ''finally'' get to beat the crap out of the guy (in a heavily damaged mech no less).
** Then you get an upgrade that essentially makes Jehuty the HumongousMecha equivalent of a ''PhysicalGod'', after which you get a playable sequence in which waves of enemies that were previously a challenge (including multiple clones of a boss you had to fight ''three times'' to finally kill) come at you and you rip them apart like so much ''papier mache'', and then fight Nohman, who got a similar upgrade, ''inside aumaan itself''. ZOE2 ending, pretty much one long CMOA. Not to mention the fact that ''both'' of you are now capable of TeleportSpam, which makes the last fight one long frantic slugfest where you're both teleporting all over the place while you beat the crap out of him.
** Halfway through the second ''Zone Of The Enders'' game, one enters a mech fight against Vic Viper. Yes, [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} THAT Vic Viper.]]
** Also worthy of mention are Inhert, where half of the fight is conducted in pitch darkness, and Zakat, the planetoid-sized genocidal superweapon.
[[/folder]]
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* The ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' saga is an excellent mix of FPS and RPG, perfecting the looter-shooter genre. The saga in general has very epic bosses but it is worth mentioning in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' :

** Raid bosses are secondary {{BonusBoss}} designed for multiple players. They are very challenging, especially in TVHM and UVHM and at very high levels.
** Despite being a mini-boss, Saturn is worth mentioning too.

* Oh the Borderlands saga is an excellent mix of FPS and RPG, perfecting the looter-shooter genre. The saga in general has very epic bosses but it is worth mentioning in ''Videgame/Borderlands2'' :

** 'The Warrior, it's a giant alien beast that sure knows how to make an entrance, it's a great fight that is visually stunning. It's very satisfying to unload on his vulnerable chest and land a bunch of critical hits. A great balance of being a hard but manageable fight

*** Despite being a mini-boss, Saturn is worth mentioning too.