Post by Darth Peccatus on Jan 8, 2005 20:05:43 GMT 1
Similar to Little Kokirin's villain thread, but I'm not counting votes or anything. And the canditates don't have to be 'archfiends' or anything, just boss enemies that left a mark on you, whether through insane difficulty, clever method of defeat, or simply a memorable personality in some way. Just say who you think of as the most memorable bosses you've ever seen, and please, explain why. My turn is, of course, first - which is what you get for not making this thread yourself, nitwit.
- Bowser/King Koopa, Super Mario Bros. Showing his big horny shell numerous times in the game, Bowser/King Koopa functioned as the final villain you needed to defeat in order to clear one of the game's many castles. Rather than his heavyweight appearances in recent years, starting with Super Mario 64 onwards, this Bowser jumps around - just like Mario himself - and shoots blasts of flame. Obviously, being covered in spikes, jumping on his head is out of the question. It was possible to beat him simply by blasting the crap out of him with fireballs, but that required you to face him with fireballs enabled, which might be tricky. A better option would be to rush over/under him and jump on the handy lever behind him, that removes the floor beneath him and sends the scaled one plummeting into a lake of lava - though not before, hilariously, he freezes in midair and twitches his toes, as if feeling for a floor which isn't there. It's just so...cute, really.
- Psycho Mantis, Metal Gear Solid 1/Twin Snakes. What really made this game, and the series, popular wasn't the gameplay; I mean, at the core, MGS is really quite basic. Rather, it's the mix of an intriguing plot, ace characterisation, and ingenious bosses. Mantis, of course, was easily the greatest of the first game - and dare I say, the entire series to date. The buildup to facing him, with his 'parlour tricks' presenting hallucinated versions of himself before you, and taking over the mind of Meryl, generate a real feeling of tension...which certainly makes up for the fact that the man himself is just a skinny, scarred bloke with a gas-mask and a gimp suit. Then, of course, the fight itself; not challenging at all, but clever nonetheless. Believe it or not, my friend was playing this game for a full three years before he figured out you're supposed to switch controller ports to stop Mantis reading your mind. And who can forget him reading your memory card, eh? "You've been playing Super Mario Sunshine, haven't you?" Chilling.
- Tidal Wave, TransFormers. You've probably never heard of this guy, because you've never played the game. Well, here's the lowdown: He's a Decepticon, i.e. evil TF. He transforms from an aircraft carrier into a robot. He's a couple thousand or so feet tall. And he's unquestionably the largest boss guy ever to appear in a 3D action game. Granted, he's a bit easy to beat - just nail him in the head with a Sniper Rifle over and over, since no other weapon has the range to hit his head - but he's just so physically impressive that it doesn't matter. He could crush Optimus Prime with his little toe. Few things are more terrifying than that notion.
- Thardus, Maetroid Prime. This game has many excellent enemies, but this guy, to me, sticks out simply because of his appearance. He's...rocks. Lots of rocks, floating in midair to form a semi-humanoid shape. That occasionally rolls around with all the subtlety of the Incredible Hulk in a wine cellar. The fact that he's so large is only compounded by the insanely small space you have to fight him in; you're morphball-rolling for your life every five seconds, since there's no way you can move quickly enough on foot. Claustrophobia + Giant Rock-Troll Thing = awesome, for some reason.
That's all I got right now. Might add more later.
- Bowser/King Koopa, Super Mario Bros. Showing his big horny shell numerous times in the game, Bowser/King Koopa functioned as the final villain you needed to defeat in order to clear one of the game's many castles. Rather than his heavyweight appearances in recent years, starting with Super Mario 64 onwards, this Bowser jumps around - just like Mario himself - and shoots blasts of flame. Obviously, being covered in spikes, jumping on his head is out of the question. It was possible to beat him simply by blasting the crap out of him with fireballs, but that required you to face him with fireballs enabled, which might be tricky. A better option would be to rush over/under him and jump on the handy lever behind him, that removes the floor beneath him and sends the scaled one plummeting into a lake of lava - though not before, hilariously, he freezes in midair and twitches his toes, as if feeling for a floor which isn't there. It's just so...cute, really.
- Psycho Mantis, Metal Gear Solid 1/Twin Snakes. What really made this game, and the series, popular wasn't the gameplay; I mean, at the core, MGS is really quite basic. Rather, it's the mix of an intriguing plot, ace characterisation, and ingenious bosses. Mantis, of course, was easily the greatest of the first game - and dare I say, the entire series to date. The buildup to facing him, with his 'parlour tricks' presenting hallucinated versions of himself before you, and taking over the mind of Meryl, generate a real feeling of tension...which certainly makes up for the fact that the man himself is just a skinny, scarred bloke with a gas-mask and a gimp suit. Then, of course, the fight itself; not challenging at all, but clever nonetheless. Believe it or not, my friend was playing this game for a full three years before he figured out you're supposed to switch controller ports to stop Mantis reading your mind. And who can forget him reading your memory card, eh? "You've been playing Super Mario Sunshine, haven't you?" Chilling.
- Tidal Wave, TransFormers. You've probably never heard of this guy, because you've never played the game. Well, here's the lowdown: He's a Decepticon, i.e. evil TF. He transforms from an aircraft carrier into a robot. He's a couple thousand or so feet tall. And he's unquestionably the largest boss guy ever to appear in a 3D action game. Granted, he's a bit easy to beat - just nail him in the head with a Sniper Rifle over and over, since no other weapon has the range to hit his head - but he's just so physically impressive that it doesn't matter. He could crush Optimus Prime with his little toe. Few things are more terrifying than that notion.
- Thardus, Maetroid Prime. This game has many excellent enemies, but this guy, to me, sticks out simply because of his appearance. He's...rocks. Lots of rocks, floating in midair to form a semi-humanoid shape. That occasionally rolls around with all the subtlety of the Incredible Hulk in a wine cellar. The fact that he's so large is only compounded by the insanely small space you have to fight him in; you're morphball-rolling for your life every five seconds, since there's no way you can move quickly enough on foot. Claustrophobia + Giant Rock-Troll Thing = awesome, for some reason.
That's all I got right now. Might add more later.
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