Top 10 Video Game Bosses

The boss battle has almost become a staple of video games. They come in a wide variety of different forms, but all sharing one thing in common. They're fucking hard to beat. Here is a countdown of my 10 favorites of all time.

Warning: there may be some spoilers in some of the video links. Don't say you weren't warned.

I also must mention 'The Great Mighty Poo' that just missed out on this list. It's hilarious and great fun, but unfortunately isn't as epic as the entrants on this list. make sure to watch the video though, not many bosses have hilarious songs to taunt you with.

#10 Pokemon Rival (Pokemon Red/Blue)

We begin with something a little different, this isn't your typical boss, in fact you even get to name this one. For me this battle will always have a special place, and you don't just get to beat him once, you can do it again and again in the course of one game. This feature has appeared in every single Pokemon entry, but Red/Blue is my pick for the best It was just such a good idea, and I just like the idea of my best friend becoming my arch rival. It was more than just an achievement, it was a personal victory.

This guy was also a little shit. He never understood that you were just better than him, even ten battles later and he was still claiming to be the better player. It wasn't as if he was difficult to beat, he had a similar set of Pokemon, which would at least make the battle interesting, but he really wasn't that difficult to defeat. But having said that, this annoying bastard became a recurring feature of the series, and I will admit that the idea is both exciting and original. So there you go, just a good idea can sometimes be enough to make an awesome boss.

#9 Dr Wily (Megaman 9)

Seriously, how many times have these two faced off. It was a difficult decision picking the best, but for me the ninth installment will always be my favorite. After eight difficult battles you finally came across Wily, for about the 500th time in that game, and it seemed a relatively easy battle, until he got out his humongous robot tank thing. That machine will absolutely slaughter you. It was challenging, but never frustrating, which is why I rate this battle so highly. But come on, Wily versus Megaman, what can possibly go wrong.

#8 Saren Arterius (Mass Effect)

This one doesn't appear on many lists, which is a shame as I do think it's a great example of a modern boss battle, or maybe that's just my massive crush on Mass Effect. Saren is a Turian Spectre, which basically means he's an elite soldier that can operate outside the law. As expected this guy is built like a tank, and so it doesn't help when he joins forces with a Reaper known as 'Sovereign'. To cut a long story short 'Sovereign' cybernetically enhances him to make some fucking awesome robot that will screw you up in an instant with its lasers and annoying teleporting.

I don't know what I like about this more, either that it follows one of the greatest endings to any video game ever, or that it never gets the credit it deserves. I guess you could say its placement on this list is a protest vote. After all he does appear on what is the greatest designed level of all time, a fact that everyone seems to ignore, I'll even challenge you to find a better one. And all this is accompanied by that amazing Mass Effect soundtrack. To me it really is one of the all time greats.

#7 Mother Brain (Super Metroid)

Probably the most menacing and brutal boss on this list, and that's because it's a woman. I put it to you this way, nothing is more frightening than a bipedal lady without a skull. You can forget about the missiles and the lasers, when this thing looks as scary as this you know it's going to be an excellent boss fight. To me this battle concluded what was a stellar game, this was the icing on the cake, and it felt like such an achievement when you finally defeat her after hours of toiling away. It's amazing that such a simple idea will go down as one of the all time greats, and shows that good storytelling and excellent level design really do make the boss battle. That feeling of nostalgia has already hit me. 

#6 Mike Tyson (Mike Tyson's Punchout)

This is the most difficult on this list, no doubt about that, it's pretty much impossible.Yes, lock away your daughters, for their own safety, it's Mike fucking Tyson. This maniac would just annihilate your puny little fighter with incredible ease. His unforgiving style has made him a cult legend over the years, with tales of many gamers losing the will to live over the difficulty of this challenge. But fear not, if you lose to him you can just start the game all over again, because he wasn't frustrating enough already.

I can't say I was really surprised, he was the heavyweight champion of the world at the time, but even that doesn't justify how difficult the fight really is. If you want any chance of getting through the first round then you will have to recall all of your gaming skills and tricks to at least survive. Tyson is the only boss in this list that's based off of a real person, just a shame it had to be Mike Tyson, otherwise it may have been possible. A classic memory for an absolute classic of a game.

#5 Ganondorf (Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)

From what is widely considered the greatest game of all time comes this brilliant boss battle. Ganondorf is just simply awesome, he looks and feels so epic, and provides a brilliant antagonistic role to a stunner of a campaign. There are very few people who can claim to have anywhere near the presence of this man, and so when you see him and that scintillating music starts you know it's going to be one epic battle. There is truly only one king of evil, one that can make an otherwise mundane boss battle feel that much more special.

The impact of this battle is mainly caused by a plot trick that you rarely see in video games these days, and that's seeing very little of the villain until the climax. The final battle in this game came after only hearing about Ganondorf, and so when you finally saw him, the effect was momentous to say the least. The actual battle requires a lot of skill, the player will need to use the whole expertly crafted map and acquired abilities to their advantage if there is any chance of success. The ending is, well it's a fucking cheap shot, but who really cares when you have a villain and music as epic as this. Best game of all time? Not in my opinion, but a great boss battle anyway.

#4 Goro (Mortal Kombat II)

In the days of yore it used to be an honor to go down to the local arcade machines and face the ladder of Mortal Kombat, and this would be the guy at the end. Two was a momentous game for the series, it expanded the franchise to more accessible levels, and with this expansion came some new bosses. The original boss, Shang Tsung, was a worthy challenger for best Mortal Kombat boss, but he really doesn't compare to the brute strength of 'Goro'. In the storyline 'Goro' has been champion of Mortal Kombat for over 100 years, and it's easy to see why, in the second game he is impossible to beat, and future games would be nothing compared to the insane challenge that he possesses here.

No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't do it. It's such an incredible difficulty spike that it hist you like a ton of bricks when you finally faced him. He's just so overpowered, and you can't get anywhere near him due to the fear of being ripped in half. Fuck the kombos, you can't even hit the guy. Other Mortal Kombat bosses, like Shang Tsung and Kintaro, may have their strengths, but there really is only one true champion of Mortal Kombat, and most of the time it isn't you.

#3 General M. Bison (Street Fighter II)

This battle was almost as awesome as his 'Yes' chant, and that really is something special. The guy is just so awesome that he's actually scripted to win the battle, and that's against fucking Ryu. He was just so damn good, I remember picking him every single time because he was just so much better than any other fighter in the game, and that game happens to be one of my favorites of all time. This ridiculous ability of his to utterly destroy people comes from his psycho power energy, that in short just owns everything. He's such a brilliant character to spam attacks with, and playing with him was so easy and satisfying. You could infuriate the other player by just spamming his devastating moves. He is quite simply the ultimate boss, a legend of the video game industry.

#2 Ornstein & Smough (Dark Souls)

From what is a criminally overrated game comes this battle, which is both epic and frustrating at the same time. The video doesn't really show that level of difficulty, as the guy manages to beat it with a guitar, but trust me, it's fucking difficult. Ornstein is the smaller one, he's a dragon slayer who presumably only just missed out on the role of 'Dovahkiin', and so takes out all his anger on you. Ornstein is also a fucking huge knight that also happens to be bloody quick on his feet, get anywhere near him and your face will end up in his spear. Smough is even bigger, a lot fucking bigger. He's an executioner by trade, although judging by his size he must be the executioner of Chris Moyles, or something of a similar size. If Ornstein hasn't already slashed you to pieces then Smough will just crush you with his immense hammer, making this duo a deadly combo of opposing enemies.

But because beating two of them wasn't enough of a challenge, the last one standing absorbs the soul of the other, meaning they become twice as powerful, just to give you that false sense of hope before you inevitably die, again. If you thought 'Dark Souls' was a difficult game, and trust me it is, then you will no doubt never actually complete it. This battle is a large difficulty spike, even for a game as tricky as this, and death is the most likely outcome every time you try again. Out of all the entries on this list this is by far the most frustrating, even more than Mike Tyson.

#1 Bowser (Super Mario Bros.)

What else could it be? Who else has become as synonymous with boss battles as Bowser? Nobody, that's who. Bowser is quite simply the most recognizable bad guy in the history of video games. He has almost become the main event in the legendary 'Mario' franchise, and has a firm place in the mind of any gamer around the world. But there could only be one winner of the many battles over the years, and that had to be one of the originals, even though many other battles could also be on this very list. This in my opinion has been his most intense mission to date. It had everything from a tricky trip through Bowser's Castle, to the inevitable battle which certainly didn't disappoint. It was also one of the harder battles, to stand any chance you really had to get through the castle unscathed, which is a lot easier said than done.

I just love that Bowser's image has not been degraded over the years despite being repetitively beaten up by a small Italian plumber. It gives you an indicator into how much the gaming world really does love 'Bowser', and I'm sure any veteran gamer will remember this battle fondly. He is quite simply the original video game boss, a model example for the various other epic entries on this list, but I don't think any of them can quite topple the living legend that is 'Bowser'.