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Whether they lack imagination, are easily defeated, or are just plain ole boring to square off against, these final bosses didn't live up to expectations. For this list, we’re looking at the most disappointing boss encounters at the end of otherwise amazing games.
Transcript
00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 20 Worst Final
00:11 Bosses in Great Games.
00:18 For this list, we're looking at the most disappointing boss encounters at the end of
00:22 otherwise amazing games.
00:24 Whether they lack inspiration and imagination, are easily defeated, or are just plain old
00:29 boring to square off against, these are the final bosses that made us wish we would have
00:33 just went straight to the end credits.
00:35 Which final boss do you think is the worst?
00:38 Let us know in the comments below.
00:41 Number 20.
00:55 Jasper Bat Jr.
00:56 No More Heroes 2 - Desperate Struggle
00:58 The final battle against Travis' brother Henry
01:08 Cooldown in the original No More Heroes was one of the most badass in gaming history,
01:14 so to say this one was disappointing is an understatement.
01:17 Throughout the whole game, Travis is seeking out revenge on who killed his pal Bishop,
01:21 and it ends up being this dweeb with his hovering vehicle.
01:24 If that wasn't lame enough, his cartoonish superhero second form is insanely cheap, with
01:29 broken, undodgeable attacks.
01:31 The cherry on top is his final gigantic mascot form, which you just wail on until it's over.
01:36 Not only is this one of the worst boss fights ever, but the most disappointing as well.
01:47 Number 19.
01:48 Neo Cortex
01:49 Crash Bandicoot 2 - Cortex Strikes Back
01:58 Crash and Neo Cortex have had some fantastic battles over the years, but sadly, this is
02:02 not one of them.
02:04 After making your way through some incredibly challenging levels, Crash will finally battle
02:07 his arch-nemesis.
02:08 Except, this doesn't really happen, as Neo Cortex just flies away without even attacking
02:13 Crash once.
02:14 All the player has to do is follow him on an extremely simple path, avoiding meteorites
02:18 and then spinning into him three times once they are close enough.
02:22 Why he didn't put up more of a fight, we don't know.
02:30 Number 18.
02:31 Nihilanth - Half-Life
02:39 The Zen area at the end of Half-Life was already incredibly poorly received by fans of the
02:43 game, and this final boss just made things even worse.
02:47 Floating in the middle of an open area, Nihilanth is a bullet sponge who will constantly fire
02:51 balls of light at you as well as teleport you to other places.
02:54 Eventually, its head will open up, and you'll be tasked with finding a way to damage it
02:59 all while dodging its incredibly annoying attacks.
03:02 Thankfully, this boss fight was made infinitely more engaging by Crowbar Collective in the
03:06 Black Mesa remake.
03:15 Number 17.
03:16 King Allant - Demon's Souls
03:23 After defeating what many at first thought to be the final boss, Old King Allant, the
03:28 player must journey below the Nexus to take on his true form.
03:31 As it turns out, King Allant has mutated into a disgusting ball of flesh who can barely
03:36 move, let alone attack.
03:38 This pitiful creature slowly crawls around the area and makes some of the most pathetic
03:42 strikes you'll ever see in video games.
03:44 The battle doesn't last very long as he's completely open to your onslaught of attacks.
03:48 For a game filled with tough bosses, this one was certainly a massive shock.
03:59 Number 16.
04:01 Seth - Street Fighter IV
04:08 The fighting game genre is no stranger to almost impossible to beat final bosses designed
04:12 to take your quarters and Street Fighter IV was no exception.
04:16 This genetically engineered fighter has been programmed to react to the player's input,
04:20 meaning it will always have an answer to whatever way you try to fight them.
04:24 Seth also possesses an annoying teleport ability, meaning they can appear right behind you,
04:29 throwing off your directional inputs and immediately grabbing you.
04:32 Making matters worse is their vortex that will pull you towards them as well as their
04:35 vast array of moves taken from other characters such as Sonic Boom that doesn't require
04:40 charge and a shoryuken that hits three times.
04:50 Number 15.
04:52 Time Eater - Sonic Generations
05:01 The best 3D Sonic game in years unfortunately did not seal the deal with its final boss.
05:07 After making their way through classic stages in the franchise, the two Sonics finally confront
05:10 their Eggman counterparts alongside the Time Eater.
05:13 What follows is a confusing final boss fight that gives you absolutely no guidance on what
05:18 the heck you're supposed to be doing.
05:20 The battle is essentially you pressing random buttons until the game decides to advance
05:24 itself.
05:25 Couple this with trying to gather rings to stay in the fight and the annoying repeating
05:29 voice lines and you have the worst Sonic final boss in the franchise.
05:38 Number 14.
05:39 Rodrigo Borgia - Assassin's Creed 2
05:48 After assassinating his way through multiple villains, fan favorite Ezio finally confronts
05:52 the root of all evil happening in the game, the Pope himself.
05:56 Instead of using all the skills and equipment he has gained throughout his journey, our
05:59 hero bizarrely opts to instead have a boxing match against Rodrigo Borgia.
06:04 This battle is essentially just a generic guard enemy with a massively inflated HP bar
06:09 and a few different attack animations.
06:11 The boss fight ends with Ezio choking him out and then deciding not to kill him which
06:15 just feels insanely out of character.
06:28 Number 13.
06:29 Atok Navarro - Uncharted - Drake's Fortune
06:38 Uncharted Drake's Fortune was an excellent first entry to what is now a mega franchise
06:42 but the first encounter left a lot of people thinking "that was it?"
06:46 In a dramatic showdown on top of a cargo ship, Drake must take out the mercenaries all the
06:51 while avoiding Navarro's annoying attacks.
06:53 Once you chase him down to the end of the boat, all Nate has to do is hide behind some
06:57 boxes and then get close enough to hit him with the dreaded quick time punches.
07:02 Immediately follow that up with another round of punches and the boss fight is over leaving
07:06 much to be desired.
07:16 Number 12.
07:17 The Didact - Halo 4
07:23 The Halo franchise is not exactly known for its memorable boss fights but the fourth entry
07:27 took things a step further and elected to make something downright awful with this clash
07:32 against the Didact.
07:33 Piped up as an unbeatable big bad throughout the game, when Master Chief finally confronts
07:37 him, instead of your standard fair FPS boss fight, you're subjected to the dullest quick
07:42 time event you could ever imagine.
07:44 Master Chief is supposed to be a powerful super soldier but seeing him struggle in what
07:48 is essentially a cutscene with a few button presses was just pathetic.
08:01 Number 11.
08:02 Lucian Fairfax - Fable 2
08:20 It's the epic final showdown between the protagonist and the dastardly Lucian Fairfax who has antagonized
08:25 us throughout the game.
08:27 As he gives his evil pre-battle speech, you're prompted to just shoot him, taking him out
08:31 in one hit and instantly ending the battle.
08:41 Even if you decide not to shoot him, Reaver will do it for you instead.
08:45 We know exactly what they were going for here and admittedly it is quite funny.
08:49 But after everything we've been through in the game, we would have rather they used this
08:52 punchline on another boss and not the dramatic finale against the main antagonist right at
08:57 the end.
08:59 Number 10.
09:00 Far Cry 3
09:11 Why is Hoyt the final boss in this game when it already has one of the best, most sinister
09:15 bad guys in gaming history in Vaas Montenegro?
09:18 Please give us an answer.
09:20 Vaas' definition of insanity cutscene still gives us the chills nearly six years later
09:24 and gives us a bit of trepidation when thinking of replaying this game again.
09:29 He's one evil dude.
09:35 Hoyt on the other hand, comes out of nowhere, dressed in a nice suit and is dispatched largely
09:40 through quit time events.
09:41 We prefer Vaas, thank you very much.
09:49 Number 9.
09:50 The Canned of Sauron - Middle-Earth, Shadow of Mordor
10:01 Yet another final boss that's done away with using quick time events.
10:04 This one is especially disappointing however, considering all the incredibly cool and novel
10:09 enemy encounters due to the game's excellent nemesis system.
10:17 There are plenty of regular battles with high-ranking Uruk in this game that had more tension and
10:22 excitement than the final battle against the Black Hand.
10:25 Luckily, after he's defeated, we can hop right back into gameplay and do battle with more
10:29 rival baddies en route to creating even more enemy adversaries.
10:33 Heck, even retreating from enemies is more fun than battling the Black Hand thanks to
10:37 the nemesis system.
10:44 Number 8.
10:45 Blue Yevon - Final Fantasy X
10:55 So let's get this straight.
10:57 An immortal being that tormented Spira for centuries as the creator of Sin appears in
11:01 the final battle as a tick?
11:04 Strike one.
11:05 And for some reason, all members of our party have auto-health so basically this final encounter
11:11 is one we cannot lose?
11:13 And strike two.
11:14 Final Fantasy X is an epic adventure but we wish that the battle against Braska's final
11:19 Aeon was the final boss though many consider it to be just that instead of Yu Yevon.
11:25 There's just something lacking in a game where the final encounter is one that's ultimately
11:29 already decided.
11:35 Number 7.
11:36 The Destroyer - Borderlands
11:43 All that talk of vaults and treasure only to end up doing battle with a generic blob
11:47 with an even more generic name.
11:49 Yes, the lead up to the final battle with the Destroyer is magical in Borderlands due
11:54 to gun customization and a great sense of humor but the final battle itself leaves much
11:59 to be desired.
12:00 The Destroyer is basically just a giant immovable target that requires endless amounts of ammunition
12:05 pumped into him with little to no creativity whatsoever.
12:09 Your advice is to tackle the baddie with a friend who can penetrate his shield so it's
12:13 not so time consuming and frustrating.
12:22 Number 6.
12:23 Colonel Augustus Autumn - Fallout 3
12:31 For a long awaited battle with the diabolical man who killed your father, we'd expect
12:35 it to last just a little longer and offer a challenge but by the time we reach Colonel
12:40 Augustus Autumn in Fallout 3, we're so overpowered that this final boss is almost laughable.
12:45 Sure, there are final bosses that are too hard and too much of a challenge which makes
12:50 them a poor note to end the game on but in all honesty, we'd prefer that to a final
12:55 baddie who's just way, way too easy.
12:58 Give the guy some armor or superpowers or something.
13:05 Number 5.
13:06 The Human Reaper - Mass Effect 2
13:15 This game won many awards upon its release in 2010 including Best RPG and Best Xbox 360
13:21 Game at the Spike Video Game Awards with many people considering it to be a damn near perfect
13:26 game.
13:27 But critics and fans alike were not impressed with the final boss encounter with this giant
13:32 human-robot hybrid thingy that looks like something out of the Terminator.
13:43 For all the grand mythology in this game, we expected something a little more unique
13:47 and space-agey and not something that looks like it's out of an early 90s arcade shooter.
13:59 Number 4.
14:00 Alduin - The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim
14:03 Oh, how we love Skyrim.
14:09 The first-person exploration, the cave-dwelling battles with evildoers and the amazing storyline
14:15 are some of the finest moments in gaming.
14:17 But the final encounter with Alduin is pathetically easy and anticlimactic seeing as you have
14:22 a swarm of NPCs accompanying you.
14:24 We prefer the first battle against the giant dragon as it's much harder and Alduin seems
14:29 like a genuine threat.
14:36 The fact that we had to face him again had us worried but ultimately it was a bit of
14:40 a letdown as there are much harder and more interesting battles to be found in the game's
14:44 open environments.
14:51 Number 3.
14:52 Bowser - Super Mario Galaxy 2
14:55 We've squared off against the big bad Bowser so many times now that we need something unique
15:04 and special to take place in order for it to stay exciting.
15:07 Unfortunately, that didn't happen in Super Mario Galaxy 2 as Bowser is far too easy to
15:12 hold any clout as a final boss.
15:18 Despite being big in size, he's really just one more enemy to stomp on before the final
15:23 credits roll.
15:24 But at least the triumphant music and neat presentation were pretty cool, right?
15:28 We could listen to this all day.
15:38 Number 2.
15:39 Frank Fontaine - Bioshock
15:47 Another example of a nearly perfect game held back by its final boss battle.
15:51 After a very creepy, intriguing game, Frank Fontaine feels weirdly out of place, almost
15:56 like the developers just wanted a big hulking boss fight for the sake of a big hulking boss
16:00 fight.
16:01 And unfortunately, defeating him is a complete bore as it's basically a rinse and repeat
16:06 formula of dodging attacks and draining his life bar.
16:09 We were hoping for something much more imaginative and unique.
16:13 To be honest, we had more fun whacking around Andrew Ryan with his own cane, but that's
16:18 just us.
16:39 Number 1.
16:40 The Joker - Batman Arkham Asylum
16:42 We're still wondering how this final boss fight got so messed up.
16:51 We were given an amazing Batman game in Arkham Asylum and our favorite villain in Joker to
16:56 boot, but then they go and turn him into some weird Bane-like ripoff.
17:01 Why not just fight, um, you know, Bane?
17:10 And beating him wasn't that much fun either as the swarms of regular enemies were much
17:14 harder than anything the Joker put forth in this battle.
17:17 The Clown Prince is such an intelligent and cunning enemy that it was disappointing to
17:21 see him downgraded to just a hulking beast.
17:36 What do you think?
17:45 (upbeat music)