Bosses - Oh, the (im)possibilities...

Bosses. They are the big nasties of every game. Big and strong, these are the main antagonists of games and provide the player with a more difficult challenge prior to obtaining some goal. If you need to enter ten dungeons to collect the ten Keys of Nature, then you can bet that each dungeon will have a boss right before that key.

The real purpose of bosses is to provide a sense of climax. If the evildoer you've been chasing the whole game is no more difficult at the end than your average orc, the player is going to feel let down. To this end, the boss should be difficult, but not impossible.

Of course, there are two large exceptions to that rule. The first is scripted losses, and the second is super bosses.

A scripted loss goes by many names: automatic loss, unwinnable fight, and supposed to lose fight are a few examples. These fights take a few forms, but as the name implies the main point is that the player is not expected to win the fight. Sometimes the player characters meet a main antagonist early and are wiped out by their power, coming back years later to defeat that person. Golden Sun has the player meet the two main antagonists as small children. They are soundly squished with no chance of winning. Those same two are fought as the final bosses of the game.

Other times, the battle could/should have been avoided. Skies of Arcadia has the player meet the final boss twice before the final confrontation. Both times the player may either surrender to him, or resist. You are supposed to surrender, as the game rewards you with an increase in renown when you do. Resisting neither gives nor takes renown, but you earn a solid thumping and are usually KO'd in one turn by his Silver Eclipse attack. The main character both times advances to attack, but is warned off by another character who knows him and warns that he is too powerful.

The final commonly used fight of this type is one where the player is encouraged and expected to run from the fight. Final Fantasy III has the player investigate Bahamut's lair early in the game. When Bahamut returns unexpectedly and challenges the player, the character all shout "Run Away!" and the player must either select the run command, or get descimated.

Next, we have super bosses. These guys are for the completionists and the players looking to get more fun and challenge from your game. Such bosses are usually completely optional, hard to even get to, and much stronger than the final boss or any other enemy. The fights are characterized by absurd amounts of health, BS attacks, and much frustration on the player's part. My example for you today is Dullahan from Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Notable parts of his battle include: he moves three times per turn, can use a summon which has a high chance to instantly kill all members of your party, can change his weaknesses at will, and can put all of your Djinn in recovery mode. To those of your who don't know what Djinn are, think of it as having a boss strip you of all your equipment, ultimate attacks, and forgetting half your moves and you have to run around picking it all back up and putting it on while he continues to whale on you.

Dullahan. This guy makes it look easy (most of the time anyway). Fight starts at about 1:00 and about 2:56 is where the player has his closest scrape with death.


There is really so much more that can be said about bosses, but this covers most of what can be said about a couple types of them. Make sure you don't bog your player down with too many scripted losses, they'll feel powerless. A game need not include any at all. But most players will appreciate a super boss, and those that wouldn't can simply pass them by.

I never did beat this guy...

Him: "Descend... heartless angel..."

Me: "Aw... CRAP!"