Boss/Bosses Appreciation Thread!

[Scotty Scotty]

Every game should have health bars for bosses; Or, at the very least, some kind of damage indicator (think of bosses flashing red from an old Capcom game like "Magical Quest" or "Bonkers").

 

[Ikagura]

I liked how Borderlands 2 had an "on-screen" health bar for major bosses (compared to smaller ones like regular enemies).

 

[Bakuma1997]

YES

I can't describe hpw much Dopamine it releases seeing the attack or item i use versus a boss suddenly chop chunks of that boss' lifebar while i previously couldn't even dent it

 

[ShadowsofCreationAga]

Just like with any other mechanic, it completely depends on the game. For example: having Health Bars in horror games is a terrible idea.

 

[Retro Doomer]

I wish I could have seen the health bar on my boss
Anyhow it depends if they don't kill the athmosphere of Le game than i prefer it its always good to know how much my damage sucks.

 

[PSVitaForever]

I like them, it feels good to see it change with every attack or special skills; in old turn based games I always mentally take notes of the numbers, especially if I read them in a guide!

Post automatically merged: Oct 28, 2025

Love em? Want em gone? What's your take? View attachment 123005

Which game is this?

 

[King Torro]

Maybe a boring answer but depends on the game.
I don't necessarily need to see a health bar in a game where the information is communicated well in another way ( visible wounds / behavior change like in Monster Hunter ) or parts falling off / smoke / fire coming out of a mechanical opponent ) or we're dealing with something like a horror game monster where retaining the atmosphere / immersion is important and a health bar would make it less scary.
A standard HP bar is good tool to have in a lot of action games. I think Hollow Knight lacking a boss HP bar seemed questionable imo given how long a lot of those fights can go.

HP bar can also be a part of the game's visual design - Love it when some games do stylish health bars or the boss' health bar "vibrates" when they take damage! Or you deliver a big damage hit and it shows the damage you did with that yellow extension thing that you see in fighting games.

 

[Aldia Aldia]

I like them, it feels good to see it change with every attack or special skills; in old turn based games I always mentally take notes of the numbers, especially if I read them in a guide!

Post automatically merged: Oct 28, 2025

Which game is this?

Salt and Sanctuary, it's avaliable for the Vita, pc and Switch (as well as Playstation 4/5 and Xbox devices)

 

[JPchicre]

The only games i Played where they were not there, and were not needed were like Mario games where you just had to hit the boss 3 times.

 

[Anoobis]

If there isn't a health bar, I like games like Monster Hunter or FF8 that have the enemy become visibly damaged and weakened as they lose health.

 

[Firenoh]

Usually the devs known when to put a heath bar or not. I haven't played a game yet when I strongly wished for health bars where none were available.

 

[Turbo Kid]

I don't care either way. Arcade games never had them. Instead they would lie to you by having bosses start flashing after a certain number of hits, making you think you were close to winning, then making you hit them another 50 times.

 

[Mechablade-X]

Really depends if they want to include it or not, but it looks cool and suitable for stylized games for example: Viewtiful Joe (Which i like)

 

[Ikagura]

I feel that the lack of a health bar for bosses in turn based games amps up the tension and require you to have a good management, rhythm and endurance then when you see the boss dying with flashes it makes it so cathartic.

 

[Ikagura]

I'm wondering why it was quite popular to see a ring shaped level for bosses in the late 90's to mid-00's then they've stopped

Even non platformers got some (like some ARPG such as Ys Origins)

 

[CheesyExplosive]

2D movement left and right that's why.

 

[RestoredaftrLostv2]

Limited spacing...

Yoshi's Island did it great with the moon fight.

 

[Ikagura]

2D movement left and right that's why.

And no camera issues since the boss is always in the center.

Limited spacing...

Yoshi's Island did it great with the moon fight.

Like an early Mario Galaxy.

 

[Yousef Yousef]

I'm wondering why it was quite popular to see a ring shaped level for bosses in the late 90's to mid-00's then they've stopped
View attachment 125918View attachment 125919
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Even non platformers got some (like some ARPG such as Ys Origins)
View attachment 125921

They can be quite fun. I assume they were just easier to design, or give some illusion of 3D in games that didn’t let you interact with the Z-axis in any way.

 

[Ikagura]

They can be quite fun. I assume they were just easier to design, or give some illusion of 3D in games that didn’t let you interact with the Z-axis in any way.

I've just noticed that two of the examples are from 2.5D platformers, this may be their compromise for their lack of a z-axis.

The other two are fully 3D but it's hard to keep the boss in line while fighting. Either doing that or making the camera top down for them.

Fully 3D without a lock on for the boss could be more of a hassle.

 

[Anoobis]

Fully 3D without a lock on for the boss could be more of a hassle.

That's how Spyro 2's bosses were.

 

[Mago]

I replayed this game recently and I can't stop being confused about this. I've seen this constantly listed as the best boss fight in the game and while I don't think Ocarina of time has particularly great boss battles to begin with, this one felt especially poor even though as I said its often considered the best. I mean the first half is kinda neat with you having to aim your shield to deflect the beams at the other sister. The second phase though is just dumb though. The idea is interesting in concept but the fight itself isnt just easy, its basically nothing. Since Twinrova always shoots the same three elements in a row, all you have to do is lock on and hold out your shield while she essentially defeats herself. Aside from going to slice her up after she knocks herself down its basically a fight where you stand there and do nothing. The only reason you would have trouble is because it introduces a new mechanic out of nowhere. Its really disappointing for both a late game boss and the one usually considered the best in whats considered the greatest game of all time.

Sorry I just needed to ask this somewhere.

 

[CHEESE ENJOYER]

For 1998 in its genre it was pretty good I suppose. I can't really think of any games until Gen6 that were really any better. The boss fights and combat in general aren't things that have held up super well compared to games like it that came after. I think it's most of everything else about the game, the exploration, dungeons etc. that people fondly remember the game and call it one of the best of all time for. It was pretty groundbreaking in a lot of ways but the combat was fairly rudimentary and the boss fights mostly simple gimmicky fights.

 

[Deleted member 856878]

I actually don't understand it either because the fight against the two of them is nothing special. I find the two witches harder to defeat in Oracle of Age and Seasons.

 

[Mago]

For 1998 in its genre it was pretty good I suppose. I can't really think of any games until Gen6 that were really any better. The boss fights and combat in general aren't things that have held up super well compared to games like it that came after. I think it's most of everything else about the game, the exploration, dungeons etc. that people fondly remember the game and call it one of the best of all time for. It was pretty groundbreaking in a lot of ways but the combat was fairly rudimentary and the boss fights mostly simple gimmicky fights.

Personally speaking I think Megaman Legends boss fights were considerably better and that game came out a year earlier. Also obviously a later game but I do think Majoras Mask improved on the boss fights. Personally I can easily forgive flawed boss fights, Twinrova in particular just gets lots of praise even though even compared to other fights in the game it feels especially weak.

Post automatically merged: Dec 4, 2025

I actually don't understand it either because the fight against the two of them is nothing special. I find the two witches harder to defeat in Oracle of Age and Seasons.

I need to go back and play those two games.