Does a game need a (final) boss?
In the old NES games a boss was a way of showing you the end of a level and it was your final obstacle to beat that level, it would often require you to combine what you learned and what you can do to beat him or her. There are the typical repeating pattern bosses and the weak spot (often a spot that glows) bosses that don't pose much of a threat, but later developers created smarter bosses that changed their tactics and would learn from their mistakes. For example Mister Freeze in Batman Arkham City is a good example of that. But do we still need bosses in games? Let's find out!
Bosses don't appear at the end of a level anymore?
In the Megaman days it was easy, well not the bosses but where you would find them, you enter a level and at the end you would face the boss of that level. When you beat the boss you get a new power and that would help you make progress in the game and beat other bosses. But now a boss can appear in the middle of a level and sometimes at the start, then there are bosses you fight at random points in a level all the way up to the end of the level and/or game. Nemesis in Resident Evil 3 is a good example of that, what's also interesting about that boss encounter is that you would have the option to flee so if you didn't want to fight you could try to escape. These random appearances of bosses make games more interesting, especially when they're tough and scary looking.
The boss you can't kill (yet) is lame?
A lot of people hate the bosses you can't kill, it's a waste of ammo and they're usually in the way and won't let you pass just like that. I must admit I'm not a big fan of those bosses either, the creepy monster in the Resident Evil remake (without spoiling her identity) is a good example of that where she can't be killed but you can stop her for a moment by shooting her. This means you get some time to get away, but you can also just try to avoid her. In Metal Gear Solid 2 you also have a boss called Fortune and she can't be hit by bullets, but you're locked up in a room with her so you can't run away. So it's then up to you to just run and hide, this isn't fun and it doesn't surprise me that this isn't something you see a lot in games. If you put a boss in a game and he or she tries to kill you then you should be able to defend yourself!
Boss fight take longer now?
I know that some bosses will take some time to beat, especially the multi staged bosses (bosses that transform or get a new health bar after you deplete the first one) in Final Fantasy games can be time consuming. Which can be interesting and a challenge but sometimes it's just lame, sometimes you just want a boss to die so you can move on. But it's not all bad, yesterday I had a boss fight against Quiet (the sniper) in Metal Gear Solid V the Phantom Pain and that took me two hours to beat her. It was my tranquilizer silenced pistol against her sniper rifle. That sounds lame but the diving behind rumble and evading her shots was exciting and then sneaking up on her and shooting her when she doesn't expect it is a lot of fun. I guess that isn't for everyone and those that just want to beat her quickly will use a sniper rifle with lethal rounds, but for those that like a challenge I can definitely recommend trying the tranquilizer pistol method. It takes some time but it's fun! The best thing is that it's all optional, you decide how you play it and you don't get punished for using another method.
So do we still need bosses in games?
I think we do need bosses in games because they add an extra flavour to the game, it's the obstacle you need to overcome and it's a good way to test your skills in a game. Of course not every boss is a challenge and sometimes it's just easy to beat them, but usually a boss will be a challenge to beat and it's then up to you to figure out how to beat him or her. That tests your resourcefulness and determination to beat the boss, which are good qualities to have! So not only is it often fun to fight against a boss (cool cinematics and music are usually a part of a boss fight), you also learn from fighting a boss and hopefully become a better player in the process. So yeah keep bosses in games!
Bosses don't appear at the end of a level anymore?
In the Megaman days it was easy, well not the bosses but where you would find them, you enter a level and at the end you would face the boss of that level. When you beat the boss you get a new power and that would help you make progress in the game and beat other bosses. But now a boss can appear in the middle of a level and sometimes at the start, then there are bosses you fight at random points in a level all the way up to the end of the level and/or game. Nemesis in Resident Evil 3 is a good example of that, what's also interesting about that boss encounter is that you would have the option to flee so if you didn't want to fight you could try to escape. These random appearances of bosses make games more interesting, especially when they're tough and scary looking.
The boss you can't kill (yet) is lame?
A lot of people hate the bosses you can't kill, it's a waste of ammo and they're usually in the way and won't let you pass just like that. I must admit I'm not a big fan of those bosses either, the creepy monster in the Resident Evil remake (without spoiling her identity) is a good example of that where she can't be killed but you can stop her for a moment by shooting her. This means you get some time to get away, but you can also just try to avoid her. In Metal Gear Solid 2 you also have a boss called Fortune and she can't be hit by bullets, but you're locked up in a room with her so you can't run away. So it's then up to you to just run and hide, this isn't fun and it doesn't surprise me that this isn't something you see a lot in games. If you put a boss in a game and he or she tries to kill you then you should be able to defend yourself!
Boss fight take longer now?
I know that some bosses will take some time to beat, especially the multi staged bosses (bosses that transform or get a new health bar after you deplete the first one) in Final Fantasy games can be time consuming. Which can be interesting and a challenge but sometimes it's just lame, sometimes you just want a boss to die so you can move on. But it's not all bad, yesterday I had a boss fight against Quiet (the sniper) in Metal Gear Solid V the Phantom Pain and that took me two hours to beat her. It was my tranquilizer silenced pistol against her sniper rifle. That sounds lame but the diving behind rumble and evading her shots was exciting and then sneaking up on her and shooting her when she doesn't expect it is a lot of fun. I guess that isn't for everyone and those that just want to beat her quickly will use a sniper rifle with lethal rounds, but for those that like a challenge I can definitely recommend trying the tranquilizer pistol method. It takes some time but it's fun! The best thing is that it's all optional, you decide how you play it and you don't get punished for using another method.
So do we still need bosses in games?
I think we do need bosses in games because they add an extra flavour to the game, it's the obstacle you need to overcome and it's a good way to test your skills in a game. Of course not every boss is a challenge and sometimes it's just easy to beat them, but usually a boss will be a challenge to beat and it's then up to you to figure out how to beat him or her. That tests your resourcefulness and determination to beat the boss, which are good qualities to have! So not only is it often fun to fight against a boss (cool cinematics and music are usually a part of a boss fight), you also learn from fighting a boss and hopefully become a better player in the process. So yeah keep bosses in games!
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