Who are your favorite videogame bosses?

I do not think I really have any bosses that I like.

Jesus Christ I need to play MGS. Yes, I have never played any of them :/

Off the top of my head, (since I played it for so long) my favorite boss would be Kirin from Final Fantasy 11 (MMORPG). It was just a typical boss, but it was fun because we would all get together and use different types of strategy to run through that place. Good times.

I watched the first one. I don’t get it. What do you like about these things? It looks so tedious to me.

I’d say Death in Castlevania. Such a frustrating boss, but that’s what makes him so great.
Hitler in Wolfenstein 3D. Eva…auf Wiedersehen!

@wundayatta, it’s not tedious when you’re sword-fighting. Your character in the game moves his sword the same way you move your controller. You also have to hold up your shield (by moving your left hand) to block his attacks at the right time. It’s pretty intense!

I have a lot of favorite bosses, many of them from Final Fantasy IV, myself. There are different reasons why I have favorite bosses…some look so cool, some are fun to fight, others gave me such a pain, while yet, others have memorable reasons attached to them…Milon (Scarmglione) and his zombies taught me quite a lesson, back when I didn’t understand RPG’s very much…I had such a hard time with that guy, and when I beat him, I was all happy and went on my merry way…only to be decimated by the Second Coming. You know what I’m talking about. While the video has absolutely nothing to do with what I mean, watch it anyways. :D

I also love the reoccurring Castlevania boss, Legion. It’s a huge ball of dead bodies, and the bodies fall, and come after you. To me, that’s just…wow. Fuck angelic bosses, they have nothing on Legion.

Speaking of which, I wanted to post a video featuring the triptych boss of Final Fantasy VI including Kefka at the end, but I can’t find anything under fourteen minutes…

But the coolest boss ever I think, is Henzo the Fiend from Ninja Spirit on the TG16.

It’s like some giant mummy ninja thing swinging around an oversized katana. Fuck Sephiroth, I shouldn’t have to explain why that’s awesome.

By the way, what’s a “boss,” in the gaming context?

Most games are separated into levels, stages or areas. Traditionally, you fight through one area, and when you reach the end, you need to fight one big strong enemy, before you can clear the level and move on to the next. Most games also have final bosses, which is the end guy, usually stronger than most.
There are always variances; Super Mario Brothers 3 has maps with several levels that don’t have bosses (or no real ones) and only the last area in that map has a boss for you to fight. But there’s usually always a boss, somewhere.

You gotta remember though, that video games have many genres, and these days, it’s out there enough that the line gets a little blurred. For example, Quingu lists the thirteenth colossus as a favourite boss. That’s from a game called Shadow of the Colossus, where you run around defeating 16 huge ass muthas. No enemies, just bosses.

You get role playing games like the Final Fantasy franchise, which has formulas that work exactly like any game, but they integrate that concept a lot more into the characters, story and the environment, so you have a reason to fight a boss which is elaborated on a lot more than some other games, rather than just fighting it for the sake of there having to be a boss. For example, go after some guy who stole some artifact, and he uses it to transform himself into a big ass monster or whatever. Beat him, and he sees his folly, blablabla.
Fighting games also have bosses. Those are one on one martial art based games, where you pummel the fuck out of someone. But there’s always some super strong guy at the end, or several of them, you need to defeat before you can clear the game.

In gaming rules, bosses are a must have, aside for a few exceptions. Most genres have them, and no matter the shape they take or the concept they’re in, gamers automatically and always recognize them as bosses.

What computer skills do you need to beat a boss?

If you’re playing PC games, then I guess basic PC gaming skills. (mouse controls, keyboard for functions, like shooting) I’m not a PC player, so I ain’t got no real clue. I play console games, where you use a controller. No computer skills required.

So what are the functions of a controller, and what do you have to do to be good at using them?

A game controller is a device used with games or entertainment systems to provide input to a video game, typically to control an object or character in the game. A controller is usually connected to a game console or computer by means of a wire or cord, although wireless controllers are also widespread. Input devices that have been classified as game controllers include keyboards, mice, game pads, joysticks, etc. Special purpose devices, such as steering wheels for driving games and light guns for shooting games, are also game controllers. Devices such as mice and keyboards can be emulated with a game pad through the use of programs such as ‘JoyToKey’.

From Wiki.

Basically, you either use a directional pad for control, or an analog stick/joystick. And then you press the buttons which all relate to certain actions and the like for whatever game you’re playing.
How do you get good at it…that highly depends on what games you like to play. For RPG’s that aren’t action based, you just input commands and let it flow…but for fighting games, the controller really needs to become part of your hands.

@wundayatta, wait, are you being serious? :)

I hope so, otherwise I coulda spent that time beating something, instead of being an ass. :D

What you need to beat a boss is to determine the memory address of your healthpoints and then freeze the value.
Obviously.

I’ve never played any video games except Ms. Pacman, back in the day. I’ve never held a controller. I don’t know what buttons are on it, nor can I even begin to imagine what they do. RPG games don’t make sense to me. Like, don’t you tell your character to go here or there and pick up stuff? You get health points and I don’t know what else. I can’t imagine how a controller would work with this. Maybe you just need a keyboard?

But I watched that video of the sword fight, and I wondered how you would do that. Do you just press a button and the sword swings? Can you make it thrust or parry? The characters jump a lot. Do you do that, or is it part of the programming? Does pressing your sword button fast help? Or is there some skill to it? If you have gotten to this stage, does that mean you have enough whatever to win the fight, or would you be defeated and have to start all over again? Or go back and find another health thingy?

Honest. I know nothing about it. I would love to have it explained in basic terms that I can understand. You have to remember, I really don’t even know what a controller looks like. But I also bet that, if you answer my question, you will find out things you don’t know about how you interact with it because I’m forcing you to pay attention with the eyes of a newby.

Noooo, that’s the cool thing with Zelda: Skyward Sword. In other game’s you’d press a button and make the sword swing, but in that game you play it with a wand-shaped controller. You wave the controller around, and the green dude swings his sword the same way.

If you hold the wand-controller above your head, then the sword charges with energy. In that battle, if you hold it like that, it gets struck by magic lightning. Then your next swing shoots out a blade of power.

The skill involves not just the timing, but also the direction of the swings. You also have to avoid the other dude’s attacks by blocking with your shield—which you do by holding up your other controller (connected to the wand by a cord).

The hearts represent your health. Throughout the game (it takes 30–50 hours) you collect tons of shit like magic items that add to your health or give you special abilities. You can use them in the fight but you don’t have to to win.

http://redlettermedia.com/game-station-2-0-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword/

That review is stupid.

The motion controls in Zelda are the best and most innovative thing in videogame control since the analog 3-D control in the N64.

Is there any haptic feedback on the controllers? Like can you feel the sword strikes on your shield controller?

PlayStation 1 2 and 3 controllers have the ’‘rumble’’ function, where it vibrates when some intense stuff might be going on. you can put it between your legs and it feels nice, try summoning Diablo in FFVIII Although that rumble feature is kinda lame, in my opinion, and doesn’t add much to most games. Other consoles may or may not have it, I think the Dreamcast did, but eh I don’t remember.

Yes, it rumbles.

Functionally, you can only swing your sword eight directions* (vertically, horizontally, and diagonally), and you can thrust/stab. The enemies in the game usually hold swords or shields that block swings from certain directions. So you have to pay attention to how they’re blocking and swing the other way. They also shift their guards. And you have to “fake” certain enemies out by feinting so they guard one way and then slashing from the opposite direction.

* To be more precise, if you just wave the wand-controller around, your character moves his sword in basically the same way. Enemies will look at how you hold your sword, too, and guard accordingly. But if you wave it FAST—in other words, if you swing it—the game approximates your motion to one of eight swing types.

Really for Zelda, it’s probably easier to just watch this video to get how the controls work, rather than read my half-baked explanations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_aGjL1bwN0