Discussion Main / AntiClimaxBoss

I've been seeing this trope used to describe bosses that are considered disappointing, not because they are easy. To list a couple of examples I have seen:

Spyro: Year of the Dragon

• Anti-Climax Boss: The Sorceress is built up as one of the most powerful threats Spyro has had to deal with, but the two battles she has have issues.
  • The first battle has been criticised for only using one of Spyro's friends (Agent 9), having no dialogue between Spyro and the Sorceress and an overemphasis on using different vehicles to damage her, which falls in with the game's Gameplay Roulette but is considered underwhelming regardless. Early game versions also had a particularly Narmy glitch: the boss fight plays the Sunrise Springs overworld theme, sapping the battle of the intended intensity. Thankfully, the latter issue was fixed with the Greatest Hits rerelease.

Nothing about this entry lists this boss an example because it's too easy.

God of War Ragnarök

• Anti-Climax Boss:
  • For all his build-up as the mighty God of Thunder who can stand toe-to-toe with Kratos, Thor himself falls into this. You only fight him twice, once near the beginning and then not until the ending, to which you remain in the same spot of fighting him in front of Odin's hut the entire fight - a criticism that also applies to Odin (the location merely switching to a cave instead), and you can beat both of them relatively quickly (compared to Baldur in the previous game whom you fought three times, with the second and third battle utilizing huge set pieces and scenery, such as fighting on top of a dragon and Freya controlling the giant Thamur to intercept their final battle - both Thor and Odin's battles are surprisingly small in comparison).

The last two boss fights in this game are listed because they don't have as much going or because they don't have as much interesting scenery to them.

This feels like a misuse of this trope.

Edited by FateStayWho

Is it an anti climax boss if you exploit a glitch? I'd like to know before editing the page.

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Why are so many examples missing? So many non-video game works have this trope on their YMMV page like Ace Attorney, Rise of Skywalker, or the Pokemon Anime yet non video game examples are basically non exostent

Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Why is Anti-Climax Boss treated as not YMMV even though it is?, started by Angeldeb82 on Oct 18th 2011 at 5:47:21 AM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

I have ditched most of the non-video game examples since they were almost all Square Peg Round Trope. I have no idea how or why people got the idea that this page could be used for anticlimactic stuff in general when it clearly has a much more specific definition than that.

The sad thing is that I am seeing the same kind of misuse on YMMV pages.

Edited by MyTimingIsOff Hide / Show Replies

Yet another removal due to debate.

• Every boss fight in Deus Ex: Human Revolution is one. The first one can be easily killed with two to three explosive/gaseous barrels which are all over the room and even without the strength-aug can be thrown from halfway across the room. The second one can be taken down with ease with your PEP or some EMP grenades, and if you have augmented yourself to be immune to electrical attacks the fight just becomes sad. And the third one can defeated with a single attack due to a Good Bad Bug. The fourth boss can be taken out in seconds with the laser rifle, which penetrates her shield. The fourth boss is also the easiest in terms of avoiding damage.
  • However it's also fair to say that, unlike most of the examples on this page, many players only work out these weaknesses after dying several times or consulting a guide. In fact Barrett in particular is often considered a That One Boss by first time players due to his ability to render almost your entire arsenal of weapons and augmentations completely worthless if you decided upon dedicating yourself to a stealth and/or pacifist playthrough.

I'll leave those more knowledgeable about the game to decide if it's an Anticlimax Boss or a Puzzle Boss.

Don't take life too seriously. It's only a temporary situation.

I'm just wondering why this trope is considered YMMV. I don't get how 'your mileage may vary' when you spend an entire game fighting through massive armies, armadas, and fleets all to face a final boss who just sits there and lets you shoot him.

To be honest, several of the YMMV-flagged tropes don't make sense as YMMV items...

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Not sure about this example: (Listed under Renegade/Kunio Kun)

• This is not the case in the Enhanced Remake of River City Ransom for the Game Boy Advance. The final boss, Slick, has psychic powers that he uses to throw various weapons at you from across the screen. If you can pick one of those weapons up, however, you can just keep bludgeoning him so he doesn't have the chance to keep doing it. On the original version, however, he's quite pathetic compared to the Dragon Twins.

Soo.... Is he, or is he not? First it says he's not an Anticlimax Boss, but then describes how he's easily taken out...

In hindsight, I'll restore the part about the original, as Slick is quite easy compared to the Dragon Twins. Not sure about the GBA remake, though.

Don't take life too seriously. It's only a temporary situation.

Removing some entries that don't sound right. From under Iron Storm:

• The Big Bad of the game also counts. Though he's not a soldier or armed and you could easily kill him, you discover that he's become a Punch-Clock Villain over the years. You don't have the will (or chance) to kill him now, so you just leave. Mission accomplished. And then comes the pretty shocking Twist Ending...

Sounds like more of a Zero-Effort Boss.

• Tron Two Point Oh might qualify, since all you really need to do is stand in one specific spot where the final boss can't see you and keep throwing "grenades", as the AI here doesn't quite seem to grasp the concept of "walk around obstacle".

Hmm, would taking advantage of weak AI count?

• Averted in House of the Dead: OVERKILL. The final boss, Mother, emerges from the pit, howls for blood... SCENE MISSING. Cut to the aftermath of the fight. Just as you think it's over, however, it turns out Mother was a Sequential Boss and you only skipped Part One. Cue Part 2...

Aversions aren't noteworthy enough to mention. Sounds like a separate trope, as well.

Don't take life too seriously. It's only a temporary situation.

Removed the example after a nattery reply:

• Heinreich I from Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a massive letdown, considering the entire storyline has been a big build-up to his resurrection. Sure, in the old days he was pretty much unkillable with swords and axes. He's even ungodly resistant to assault rifle fire. But all it takes is about 15 to 20 seconds of minigun fire to splatter his legendary "indestructible" behind into chunky giblets. Plus, he's fairly slow and has absolutely no ranged attacks, showing why you should never bring a sword to a minigun fight.
  • In fact he DOES have a ranged attack. Remember those ghostly skulls the mummies hurled at you throughout the whole game? Heinrich has a kick-ass version of these, he attacks using something that looks like a ghostly knight. These wraiths are homing, they fly much faster than you can run, they BLIND you when you are hit, and if you are hit they do not dissipate, but just fly through you and attack again! You can survive a single wraith if you rush to health kits, but if he uses two of them, you'll reload the game.

Not sure if it applies or not. Somebody care to give more detail?

Don't take life too seriously. It's only a temporary situation. Hide / Show Replies

Just drop a note that I'm going to remove Quake example, since it should be classified as Puzzle Boss. Thing seem invinccible until you figure out how to beat it, then it's easy. Yes sure, because figure out how to beat it is the challenge. All puzzles aren't as fun once you know the solution.

Edited by Kuruni

Took the following example out.

• The last Harry Potter book. Throughout the series, Voldemort is built up as this unstoppable force of evil and the seventh book saw him at his strongest. And how does Harry actually end up defeating Voldemort? A Curse Escape Clause that is both horribly convoluted and based purely on him being extremely lucky.
  • To be fair, the gang did mutilate his Seven Evil Artifacts Of Power, even the unintentionally created one, causing him to freak out. Furthermore, it is heavily implied that the greatest thing Harry feared about Voldemort was his massive knowledge about the world and its magic and how he could do anything with it; once Voldemort is shown to be a moronic killer with a pointy stick (and little willpower), Harry overcomes his inner fears (the ones that stopped him from being fearful of Voldemort in the way every other wizard is), and all that's left to do is zap the bugger.

So is it an Anticlimax Boss or not? Somebody with more knowledge of the series fix it up to get rid of the "To Be Fair." Is it a legitimate point or just Natter?

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It appears that Example as a Thesis style trope descriptions are no longer kosher. I don't really agree, but that's the word from on high. Either way, this page's description has been cut down. For posterity, I'll repost it here, since I rather enjoy it.

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Moved the following:

• In the game Aidyn Chronicles: The Last Mage for the N64, it turns out that both final bosses (you fight them back to back) are susceptible to the spell Wall of Bones, which acts an instant kill.

There was also some This Troper natter, but I removed it. He mentioned that it was a low hit chance. Makes me wonder how low, and thus if it really counts as an Anticlimax Boss.

Don't take life too seriously. It's only a temporary situation.

What happens if the game has an Excuse Plot? I can't figure out if the end of Path Of Scylla from Hydorah is an example or not.

Basically, the level description and design appear to be leading up to a really difficult boss at the end, but there's only a swarm of easily defeated normal mooks instead of an actual boss.

It is definitely an anticlimax, however there is zero relevance to the plot.

Anyway, I'm going to add it unless someone else says otherwise.

Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's Play Hide / Show Replies

Removed some Natter. Specifically, did a Search and Cut on "To Be Fair."

From Mass Effect:

• To be fair, ME 2's final boss at least looks and sounds impressive, and he can be a threat if you mess up or let yourself get mobbed by his powerful underlings. Saren, from the end of Mass Effect, is just embarrassing even at level 60 and on Insanity mode.

From Syphon Filter:

• To be fair, it's nerve gas you're using against him (that's right, you're countering his rocket launcher with a WMD), and it kills everybody instantly. Including yourself.

Don't take life too seriously. It's only a temporary situation.

Fable 2, someone should mention it. You fight through armies to get at the guy who has the ultimate power, only to defeat him with a -music box-. He then gives a big speech that is cut off by either you or the Chaotic Evil NPC follower with a single shot from even the weakest of guns, or even crossbow.

I know it sounds like cutscene death, but it's not. It may as well be, but it really isn't.

Edited by 71.14.32.110 Hide / Show Replies