00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at some of the most influential boss battles in gaming history.
00:11To be clear, we're focusing on bosses with historical significance, not necessarily the greatest boss fights of all time.
00:18That's right. This is no trick. It's true, pal.
00:37While he might look like a standard fighting game character, Ryo Sakazaki's appearance in SNK's Fatal Fury special changed the
00:44course of fighting game history.
00:46Ryo was the protagonist of SNK's other fighting series, Art of Fighting, and made a guest appearance in the third
00:52Fatal Fury as a secret final boss.
01:02This would inspire SNK to create a series that combined both franchises, known as the King of Fighters.
01:08Beginning in 1994, it grew to become far more popular than the original two franchises.
01:14SNK released at least one game each year until a short break in 2013, but the series is still going
01:20strong.
01:20An entire thriving fighting game empire was born out of a simple crossover.
01:36Super Mario 64
01:45We don't need to tell you how monumental of a moment Super Mario 64 was, it has been praised since
01:51release as a stunning step forward in game design.
01:54Naturally, Mario's fights against his arch-nemesis Bowser were some of the game's standout moments.
01:59With staggering height that made us feel like David going up against a Goliath, and a fun hook of swinging
02:04him towards bombs by the tail.
02:15Bowser confronts Mario several times in the game.
02:18The final fight feels especially climactic, set amid a dark, otherworldly backdrop, with bits of the arena falling away as
02:25the fight continues.
02:25This sense of epic scale and grandiosity is something that future fights against the iconic villain would build on.
02:35Buh-bye!
02:35Buh-bye!
02:41Buh-bye!
02:43Buh-bye!
02:43Number 8.
02:45Ornstein and Smough.
02:46Dark Souls.
02:48Buh-bye!
02:52In the current era of video games, the souls-like is one of the most popular genres around, although Demon
02:58Souls preceded it.
02:59FromSoftware's original Dark Souls popularized and improved upon the formula.
03:04Of the many bosses in that game, Ornstein and Smao have the grandest legacy of pummeling players into the dirt.
03:10Two bosses with varied weapons and abilities to act as a major test of whether or not you can study
03:16and react to their deadly patterns.
03:28It feels as if the now everlasting phrase of get good was born in this very room.
03:33It wasn't just that they were hard though, they personified the studio's style while giving players a greater sense of
03:39accomplishment than anything else in the game when you were finally victorious.
03:53Number 7, Giygas Earthbound
04:03Although it wasn't successful at release, the passionate cult following behind Earthbound can tell you how influential and utterly original
04:11it is.
04:12Among the many things it is still praised for, the fight against Giygas, the malevolent cosmic entity seeking to bring
04:18ruin to the world, is one of its most memorable.
04:21Beyond Giygas' importance to the story and the disturbing design that was seared into our memories, how the fight progresses
04:28is also unique.
04:29Because no matter how hard the party fights, Giygas cannot be defeated.
04:33Not until Paula uses her psychic prayer to reach everyone around the world, even the player by name in a
04:39fourth wall break, to exploit Giygas' one weakness, human compassion.
04:53Number 6, Sephiroth Final Fantasy VII
05:06He's one of the most recognizable villains in JRPG history, with a climactic clash after tremendous buildup accompanied by one
05:14of the best boss battle themes of all time.
05:16Of course, Sephiroth is here.
05:19After tormenting us for hours, the literal backstabber transformed into a winged beast and towered over us with intimidating power.
05:26Still, that was nothing compared to his final form, Safer Sephiroth, a fitting final obstacle to cap off an incredible
05:33game.
05:44Final Fantasy had seen several great final bosses in previous entries, but this felt like a turning point in the
05:51series, in the JRP genre, and in video games as a whole.
05:54Through strong storytelling and impressive might, Sephiroth ensured his place in pop culture history.
06:10Number 5, Ganondorf
06:13The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
06:22Equally as impressive a jump to 3D as Mario's in Super Mario 64 was Link's in Ocarina of Time.
06:28It revolutionized the action-adventure genre, with one of its greatest gifts being the targeting system.
06:34Yet, when Link faces the big bad Ganondorf at the climax, Navi, and your ability to lock on, is taken
06:40away.
06:41It's a clever rug-pull on Nintendo's part, affecting both the gameplay and story.
06:45There's also this exciting sense of culmination, built up through Ganondorf's heinous actions, and an incredible use of 3D space,
06:53with a fun, Dead Man's Volley gimmick.
07:06Navi and the targeting system return later, for Link's fight against Ganondorf, a tremendous second phase, and end to the
07:13adventure.
07:20Number 4, The Golden Dragon
07:23D&D
07:24Have you ever wondered what game featured the very first boss fight?
07:28Well, wonder no more.
07:30Released in the ripe year of 1975, D&D, as you might have expected, is based on Dungeons & Dragons.
07:37Although simple by today's standards, it was really impressive for the time.
07:40Players can build a character, and delve into a dungeon in search of a magic orb.
07:45Along the way, you gather loot, face monsters, and fight the very first video game boss in The Golden Dragon.
07:52It's only natural that the first video game boss came from a game based on Dungeons & Dragons,
07:57one of the most significant and celebrated pillars in game history, tabletop or otherwise.
08:03Number 3, Dracula Castlevania
08:14Although he existed in pop culture long before becoming a lead villain in Konami's Castlevania series,
08:20Dracula remains one of gaming's most important boss fights.
08:23The game follows the now-famed Simon Belmont, venturing into Dracula's castle to vanquish the vampire lord, like his ancestor
08:30before him.
08:31As the driving force behind a horde of monsters seeking to wreak havoc on the world,
08:35Dracula became symbolic of every player's drive to make it through some of the toughest enemies on the NES.
08:50It allowed him to take on a new role in a new medium,
08:53and also shape it by being one of the first bosses to have a second phase,
08:58which was a pretty big deal in 1986.
09:11Number 2, Cyberdemon, Doom
09:21Much like Demon's Souls to Dark Souls, Wolfenstein 3D walked so that Doom could run.
09:26And as fun as fighting against Mecha Hitler was, the Cyberdemon became an enduring staple of its series,
09:32and was one of the most thrilling combat encounters in the original game.
09:36Considering how important Doom is to the first-person shooter genre, that's saying a lot.
09:46The second boss fight in the game, the Cyberdemon came with a design destined for iconicism,
09:51a vicious minotaur mixed with cybernetic elements and a rocket launcher arm.
09:56Strafing around his arena, dodging his barrage of rockets, is one of the best moments of the original game.
10:02We can't say we're too surprised the Cyberdemon took on something of an emblematic position for the series.
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10:45Number 1, Psycho Mantis, Metal Gear Solid.
10:50No, there's no need for words, Snake.
10:54I'm Psycho Mantis!
10:56When we think of boss fights that are both wholly unique and help shape the perception of their games for
11:02the better,
11:02it's hard to think of anything more remarkable than Psycho Mantis.
11:06The boss famously used his psychic abilities to read Snake's mind before the fight,
11:10a setup for multiple fun fourth wall breaks.
11:13You like action games?
11:17You enjoy role-playing games?
11:22I see that you enjoy Konami games.
11:25He would scan the PlayStation's memory card to comment on what games you liked
11:29and made you think the TV channel had been changed.
11:32To stop him, you had to change what port your controller was plugged into.
11:35Not only was it clever boss design, but it felt like the developers were actually playing with us.
11:41Psycho Mantis is a fantastic boss fight,
11:44and played a big role in solidifying the franchise's meta approach moving forward.
11:56Know of any other bosses that influenced video games for the better?
12:00Let us know about them in the comments.
12:01And how can you become first?
12:03In As Thought Oo
12:04Also, last episode ofräume
12:05Daddy Canals See
12:05you later See
12:06it work? Would you
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