Your Top Ten Favorite/Memorable Boss Fights (Potential Spoilers)

[BlackMamba]

Got this idea from a thread somewhere else. Anyway, what are your top 10 favorite (or memorable) boss fights of all time? You can justify your reasoning however you'd like.

Please use the format below for consistency

1. Boss Name 1 (Game) - Reasoning (if necessary)
2. Boss Name 2 (Game) - Reasoning (if necessary)
3. Boss Name 3 (Game) - Reasoning (if necessary)
4. Boss Name 4 (Game) - Reasoning (if necessary)
5. Boss Name 5 (Game) - Reasoning (if necessary)
6. Boss Name 6 (Game) - Reasoning (if necessary)
7. Boss Name 7 (Game) - Reasoning (if necessary)
8. Boss Name 8 (Game) - Reasoning (if necessary)
9. Boss Name 9 (Game) - Reasoning (if necessary)
10. Boss Name 10 (Game) - Reasoning (if necessary)

Mine are (I purposely picked bosses from 10 different games because a couple titles had multiple bosses that could potentially make my Top 10)...

1. Bowser (Super Mario World)
2. Magus (Chrono Trigger)
3. Luca Blight (Suikoden 2)
4. Yourself (Final Fantasy 4)
5. Axem Rangers (Super Mario RPG)
6. Velius (Final Fantasy Tactics)
7. Kraid (Super Metroid)
8. Sniper Wolf (Metal Gear Solid)
9. Eyeball guy with shifting parts (Megaman 3)
10. Sinistrals (Lufia 2)

Honorable Mention:
The Moth Lady (Shinobi) - if only because I didn't know you could build up Tate. The first time I fought her, I literally ran around the wall, slashed at her once (or if I was lucky twice) and repeated. It took over 45 minutes to get her health down to the last bit.

Last Bosses (Kingdom Hearts 2) - The thing is, I didn't even play this game - I just watched my brother. Great ending sequence of bosses - very stylish with the preset special moves. Catchy music too!

Kidnapper Stadium Boss (Silent Scope - Arcade) - pretty tense scene. You have about 20 seconds to shoot the guy before he escapes the stadium. Keep in mind he's holding the president's daughter over his shoulder.

[Shin-Ra]

The End (MGS3)

Too lazy to think of ten at the moment.

[Goodintentions]

Liquid snake/ocelot ( MGS4 ) that was jsut one truly epic final fight man .. from hte music to the structure it was absolutely awesome

any major boss fight in FFVII ... those all were pretty intense back then i rmemeber one of them took me well over an hour to beat

[Solok]

Saren - Mass Effect
AI - Portal - I guess this may not be considered a full game, but after playing this for hours, I loved how it ended.
Sun - Gyruss - This was an old space SIM game for the NES. Your objective was to go from planet to planet in the solar system, starting with Pluto, and ending at the sun. Each planet had 4 stages, the fourth always being a boss. The final two levels of the Sun though, always sticks out in my mind. The third stage being nothing but trying to stay alive while you try and dodge fireballs coming at you for probably a good ten minutes (Can't shoot them, can only move out of the way). And finally the final boss to reach the sun. Great old game, might have to dust off the old NES to play this again.

Of course there are many others, but these are the three I can think of at the moment.

[fsavoie]

psychomantis MGS1 I loved the "put your controller down"

[LifeOfAPirate13]

1. The Ultimate Weapons (FFVII) - For the time if you didn't do everything right these boss battles were pretty hard to do. In some ways I would say they are more challenging than Sephiroth in the end.
2. Multistage boss before the end boss (Ninja Gaiden)- The only thing to ever make my throw my controller at a wall. I never beat this cheap multi-boss because it was so frustrating after dying about 75 times in attempts to make my way to the final boss...ARGGGGHHHH!
3. Ultima (Final Fantasy Tactics) - By the time you get to this boss it was so easy I just love FF: Tactics and think that it will forever be one of my favorite games in my lifetime. I spent countless hours collecting all items, characters, and getting the job classes I want. The final boss is easy but I remember finally getting to him like it was yesterday.
4. Nemesis (RE3) - Where to start with this one probably one of most fun RE games since starting on normal mode you were given tons of weapons to choose from, even though I wouldn't put this as one of my favorite RE games since there are other installments in the series that are better it was still fun trying to solve puzzles and having the Nemesis bust through walls and cause a royal pain in your butt if you were low on ammo.
5. Dahlia (Silent Hill) - God I loved this game for the dark atmospheric tone it had. My first time through I wanted to get the chainsaw so badly I remember finally getting to the final boss in this game and just like in FF:Tactics this boss is pretty easy just loved how it played out. And I finally got the UFO ending haha.
6.Psycho Mantis (Metal Gear Solid) - I was so confused fighting this boss until I got the hint to plug in the controller to port 2. Mantis was my favorite character in MGS and it was a fun boss fight for the times.
7. Tyrant (Resident Evil) - Oh the joy of finally getting to the end of this game. The Tyrant wasn't too difficult if you could actually control your character, the old spinning around in circles trick worked like a charm once you learned that he can't hit you when you do that. I remember shooting the rocket launcher at him after about 5 minutes of wondering how in the world this boss can get taken down.
8. Diablo (Diablo 2) - Another game where it took time if you did it legit to make it to the boss fight. He is a tough sucker if you aren't equipped with the right gear and so on. When you character got up high enough I remember it being possible to beat this boss in a matter of seconds.
9. Motherbrain (Super Metroid) - Being one of my favorite games as well the boss fight was awesome ontop of after you beat it if you were bad a remembering your way our as well as messing up at the double jump then you were probably having a hell of a time trying to get off the ship in time. I always tried to get the "special ending"
10. Carnage (Spiderman: Maximum Carnage - If you could make it to this boss I'd say you should be awarded an achievement. This game was awesome for its time. Carnage was a tough sucker along with every other boss you had to fight up until him. It was a great day the day I beat this guy.

[phranctoast]

God Of War: Ares
God of War: Minotaur
God of War 2: Sisters of Fate
God of War 2: Zeus
Ninja Gaiden Sigma: Dragon Lich
Shadow of the Colossus: Almost all bosses. (flying ones most notable)
Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction: On rails boss where you fight upside down.

[Xerios]

Ganon / Gannondorf (OOT)
Diablo (D2)
Dark Link (OOT)
Garland (FF)

[SoCalTiger]

Most of the MGS4 bosses
Bowser (Mario)
The boss in both Gradius and Metroid on the NES

That's all I can think of.

[Septimus Prime]

Hiruko (Shinobi, PS2) - This guy is possibly the hardest boss ever made and most certainly the hardest I've ever faced. I mean, the game he's in is no joke to begin with, but he's harder than all the rest of it, combined. I'll never forget this son of a birch due to how many times I lost to him.

The final boss of Paladin's Quest (Paladin's Quest, SNES) - This is the RPG equivalent of Hiruko. He's basically impossible, and I've never even gotten close to beating him (and I've beaten pretty much every other noteworthy RPG super boss).

Gill (Street Fighter III) - I still think Seth is a joke compared to him. He doesn't just outright steal the best moves from the game; his moves are simply better than everything else in the game.

Liquid Ocelot (MGS4, PS3) - The music makes the fight amazing.

Vergil (Devil May Cry 3, PS2) - This fight is just plain fun because Vergil isn't super broken, and he's one of the few final bosses in any game who has to obey the same rules as the player. Yeah, he's really strong, but he still staggers when he gets hit, and he's one of the only bosses of any game where the skills and combos you've been building for the rest of the game actually matter.

Dante (Devil May Cry 4, PS3) - This is sort of like the Vergil fight, but it also shows off how much more badass Dante is than Nero. He's not the final boss of the game, but you just know he could beat the crap out of the actual final boss if he felt like it.

Zeromus (FFIV) - He's probably the last FF final boss who's actually able to present some sort of threat to your party. In every FF afterward, the final boss is nothing but a low hurdle you have to step over to see the ending.

Meta Ridley (Metroid Zero Mission, GBA) - I really didn't expect his ass to show up after I killed Mother Brain, and I sure didn't expect him to hit as hard as he did.

Ragu O Ragla (Wild Arms series) - With two notable exceptions (WA3 and WA Alter Code F), this guy is always hard, and he's in every game in the series. I was going to write Emerald WEAPON here instead, but Ragu just has so much more stage presence. Also, I thought FFXII's Zodiark was harder than Emerald.

Trema (FFX-2, PS2) - I totally didn't expect this fight to be the way it was when I first got there. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't played it, but it's pretty hardcore, since Trema fights like no other boss in the series.

[dpomp]

sephiroth FF7

[dereksworl]

1. Sephiroth- FFVII
2. The Boss- MGS3
3. The End- MGS3
4. Unknown Lifeform 1-4- Parasite Eve
5. Darth Malak- Star Wars: KOTOR
6. The first time you fight the Giant and the dog helps you(f***in sweet!) - RE4
7. The Hive Mind- Dead Space
8. Metal Gear Rex Boss- LittleBigPlanet MGS Pack

[Cordre69]

Kevin + Shion (Xenosaga III)
That comes to mind. Everything else is posted here already.

[Septimus Prime]

I forgot one:

Selvaria (Valkyria Chronicles, PS3) - There are very few bosses like this in any game. She's either really easy or really hard, and it all has to do with your strategy and planning. Take too long to execute your strategy, though, and she'll kill you, and it's impossible to approach her head-on because she has a 100% dodge rate and is powerful enough to counter and kill you from across the screen.

[BlackMamba]

nice picks guys, keep 'em coming! Ragu O Ragla - nice sleeper pick there.

[Septimus Prime]

Another one (which makes 12 for me now, and I have another after this, probably):

Navarro (Uncharted, PS3) - That guy is such a dick for the whole damn game that it feels so good that you finally get to beat the shit out of him. Of course, you're completely outgunned for most of the battle, so you really have to devise an attack plan that doesn't leave you exposed. And then the final moment of that battle looks all dramatic and feels so satisfying.

[Septimus Prime]

Yep, another one:

Anubis (Zone of the Enders 2, PS2) - This is what a final boss fight should look like. It's crazy fast, over the top action that you control! Plus, every attack looks really cool when the game is moving that quickly, and Anubis is another one of those few final bosses that are your size and kind of have to obey your rules.

[BlackMamba]

Originally Posted by Septimus Prime

Yep, another one:

Anubis (Zone of the Enders 2, PS2) - This is what a final boss fight should look like. It's crazy fast, over the top action that you control! Plus, every attack looks really cool when the game is moving that quickly, and Anubis is another one of those few final bosses that are your size and kind of have to obey your rules.

That game had so much style to it. Hope they make a third.

[BlackMamba]

Originally Posted by LifeOfAPirate13

9. Motherbrain (Super Metroid) - Being one of my favorite games as well the boss fight was awesome ontop of after you beat it if you were bad a remembering your way our as well as messing up at the double jump then you were probably having a hell of a time trying to get off the ship in time. I always tried to get the "special ending"
.

That reminds me - I'll probably take one of the bosses off my list to put Kraid in. That game had great bosses (and it's probably on my list of top 5 SNES games of all time as well). Also, thanks for following my formatting guidelines!

EDIT: Just had a shakeup in my top 10. Kraid and one of the final bosses in Megaman 3 (whose name escapes me) are now in

[hardcorefrokid]

The Thorian - Mass Effect

Is that a boss battle?