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00:00 There are moments in games where, after a massive build-up, the culminating boss fight
00:05 is just a bit… well, crap.
00:08 What about the complete opposite, though?
00:10 Games that themselves aren't anything to write home about, or were otherwise hated
00:13 for a myriad of reasons, with major redeeming factors tied to boss fights.
00:18 I'm Jess from War Culture, and here are 9 incredible bosses in terrible video games.
00:24 9.
00:25 Never Dead - Sangria
00:27 Never Dead could have been so much more.
00:30 Protagonist Bryce is immortal, with limbs that detach like a crash test dummy, more
00:34 so they can be reattached in ridiculous ways, like rolling around as just a head with two
00:40 arms, firing machine guns.
00:41 A neat idea, terribly executed.
00:44 Even the majority of its boss fights are boring, except for one.
00:48 Sangria.
00:49 No, not the fruity drink, but a jester.
00:51 Sangria will hurl abuse and taunts, disappear out of sight, throw things, and tackle you
00:56 to the point of exploding all your limbs.
00:58 It can get frustrating as you carefully put Bryce back together, but that's part of
01:02 the charm, leading to whatever combinations of limbs you need to deploy to gain the literal
01:07 upper hand.
01:08 8.
01:09 Metal Gear Survive - Seth
01:11 Metal Gear Survive is a tragic waste of a franchise license, but Seth - blend as the
01:17 name sounds - is a pleasant surprise amongst the muck.
01:20 Survive's story is too dumb to condense here, but the gist is that Seth is one of the first
01:25 to be whisked away into a mysterious portal that opens up.
01:28 Retaining most of his autonomy, he becomes infected by the dread dust and sabotages proceedings
01:33 for the player.
01:34 The fight itself is pretty straightforward, capitalizing on one of the best parts of MGS5,
01:40 the combat, and putting it front and center.
01:43 Seth is just a big dude, covered in spikes, that needs taking out however you can.
01:47 You'll lay down your best traps, fire off a bunch of weapons, and stay on top of dodging
01:52 his charge attacks, too.
01:53 There's actually a tight back and forth to this encounter, and while it's nothing
01:57 to write home about - seriously, where a MGS5 even happened - it's the only genuinely
02:02 fun exchange in the whole game.
02:05 7.
02:06 Ninja Gaiden 3 - T-Rex
02:08 The first two rebooted Ninja Gaiden games are teeming with incredible boss fights.
02:12 The third, though, not so much.
02:15 In fact, it kinda killed the IP's momentum stone dead.
02:18 Considering the reputation Ninja Gaiden had, it was a massive downgrade in almost every
02:23 area.
02:24 Every area except… a body armor wearing Tyrannosaurus Rex.
02:29 It's such a cool fight because it seems so out of place.
02:32 Yes, there's the fantastical element, something Ninja Gaiden is no stranger to, but it's
02:37 a friggin' body armor wearing T-Rex.
02:39 Thankfully, this isn't as hard as armor from the first game, but there's a tactical
02:43 edge in how to dismantle the armor before killing the creature.
02:47 All round, this is a notably stylish fight, imbued with the spirit and fun of the earlier
02:52 games.
02:53 6.
02:54 Daymare 1998 - The Abomination
02:56 Daymare 1998 sadly gets everything wrong.
03:00 What could have harkened back to the classic days of Resi 2 instead has bad character animations,
03:06 flat visuals, and unmemorable boss fights.
03:09 Bar one, The Abomination.
03:11 A classic homage to a Resident Evil boss, it's tough, large, and conveniently situated
03:17 near some explosive tanks.
03:18 It also does the Resi classic staple of being multi-staged, coming back to bite you when
03:23 you least expect it.
03:25 It's ironic the bosses called The Abomination given that it's the only thing the game did
03:29 right.
03:30 5.
03:31 Devil May Cry 2 - Aries
03:33 Devil May Cry 2 is not a great game.
03:36 After the breakthrough of the first one, the sequel should have been so much better.
03:40 The idea of running along and up walls while firing twin pistols was awesome on paper,
03:46 but animation across the board just felt lifeless, indicative of a messy development we were
03:51 glad to forget when part three finally arrived.
03:53 And yet, DMC2 did have Aries, an eccentric antagonist at its helm.
03:59 Fought in Dante's missions, Aries is the big bad behind the game's events.
04:03 Coming at you in a manner similar to the antagonist of the first game, this time you'll be tasked
04:08 with taking out some goons around the man himself.
04:11 Once they're dispatched, though, it's taking out Aries that spices things up.
04:15 He's quick and will catch you off guard by fighting faster than any other enemy.
04:19 Besides Dante's new look, Aries is the sole highlight of Devil May Cry 2's entire runtime.
04:26 4.
04:27 Hitman Absolution - Sanchez
04:29 The term "boss fight" is not something synonymous with the Hitman series.
04:33 There's targets, and there's achieving the best death whilst remaining unseen.
04:37 Then there's Hitman Absolution, and more so, the fight against Sanchez.
04:42 Absolution went for a more grindhouse look - some of it stuck, other parts didn't.
04:47 The story, for example, was just wacky.
04:50 Killer nuns sharing a shooting range with Lynch from Kane and Lynch and super soldier
04:54 programs.
04:55 In the middle of this, Sanchez, Dexter's bodyguard.
04:59 The big man looks like Danny Trejo if he ate bulking powder and all of the steroids.
05:03 Oh, and he wrestles in cage matches.
05:07 This fight can be avoided in typical Hitman fashion, but given that there's a challenge
05:11 attached to it, why not?
05:13 Agent 47 vs. an oversized wrestler quickly became one of the images that tanked Absolution's
05:18 reputation almost immediately, but the fight itself is great fun.
05:23 Playing out mostly as a quick-time event, that's not the awesome part.
05:26 No, the best bits are watching Agent 47, the nimble assassin, go all Lucha Libre and bust
05:32 out a host of moves you never knew he had.
05:35 And if you think about the likes of 47 playing the drums in the 2016 reboot or flapping his
05:39 arms to fly away, the idea of 47 doing anything came into its own right here.
05:45 3.
05:46 Dark Souls 2 - Lookingglass Knight
05:49 As is often pointed out, Dark Souls 2 is the weakest of the Souls trilogy, let alone from
05:53 Software's catalogue.
05:54 Granted, it's been patched and overhauled into the Scholar of the First Sin re-release,
05:59 the one all fans will direct any newcomer towards, but that original version always
06:04 had a mixed bag of bosses to break down.
06:07 Some are generic, others are gimmicks, yet there's one that stands out above all the
06:11 rest, with one of the coolest mechanics FromSoft would never bring back, the Lookingglass Knight,
06:17 and the ability to not only summon NPCs into the field, but other players too.
06:22 For the latter, you'd have to place down a specific summoning stone and kinda just
06:26 hope for the best, then you could get to ruining someone's day.
06:30 On the receiving end, suddenly having a formidable foe leap out of the mirror itself for a good
06:34 old-fashioned PvP showdown was one hell of a trick, as any Souls veteran knows, being
06:39 outflanked is an easy trap to fall into.
06:42 2.
06:43 Shenmue 3 - Lundee
06:46 Shenmue 3, the highest crowdfunded game ever, is… disappointing.
06:51 Let's not beat around the bush, after 20 years, the formula just hadn't moved with
06:55 the times.
06:56 Defenders will say that's a good thing, anyone else was hoping for some forward momentum.
07:01 Regardless, what Shenmue 3 does get right is establish the revenge motive set out in
07:06 the first one.
07:07 Ryo Hazuki, in the politest terms, gets his ass handed to him in the first game by Lundee.
07:13 Then because Shenmue plays the long game, quite literally, he's absent until the third
07:18 game.
07:19 After such a long wait, 20 years in fact, fortunately the fight delivers.
07:24 Combining everything Ryo's learned over three games, once Lundee's henchmen are
07:29 out of the way, this kung fu battle is impressive.
07:32 Well choreographed and with such a long wait behind every punch, the only drawback is that
07:37 there's no real conclusion.
07:39 Shenmue 3 yet again ends on an open note, despite creator Yu Suzuki saying immediately
07:45 after that there are no concrete plans for a Shenmue 4.
07:48 For one of gaming's most diehard fanbases though, at least they got to take out some
07:53 frustration on the man who killed Ryo's father.
07:56 1.
07:57 Resident Evil 6
07:58 Yes, Oostenak.
07:59 Resident Evil 6 gets ragged on for a lot of things, one of them being its massive deviation
08:05 from the horror part of survival horror.
08:08 Granted, the fourth game ditched most of it, but it still had some horror elements.
08:13 By comparison, Resident Evil 6 is more action and, despite a campaign dedicated to aping
08:18 that older feel, far less scares.
08:21 But in that weird backhanded way, there's one action-packed boss fight that does evoke
08:25 some of that terror the series had established.
08:28 It comes from none other than the half-bioweapon, half-farmyard machinery mashup that is the
08:33 Oostenak.
08:34 Like a nemesis that fell into a thresher and won, the Oostenak is a relentless beast that
08:39 forms part of Jake Muller's campaign.
08:42 A multi-part fight, the main tenant is having to escape a few times before finally squaring
08:47 off against it near the end.
08:49 It's a bit annoying at first as the game hoodwinks you into wasting ammo when it's
08:53 not the final stage.
08:54 But give Capcom the benefit of the doubt and this was all to make the final showdown more
08:59 satisfying.
09:00 That's it for our list, but do let me know down in the comments if you can think of any
09:05 other incredible boss fights in just terrible video games.
09:10 As always, I've been Jess from WhatCulture, thank you so much for hanging out with me.
09:14 If you're liking, come say hi to me on my Twitter account, where I'm @JessMcDonald,
09:19 but make sure you stay tuned to us here for plenty more great gaming lists.