What is Your Ideal Final Boss?

[Ventus]

We've had several bosses, most of the epic type (Ganon most specifically highlights this position; despite his ease of defeat, many view this ultimate boss as *the* final boss of Zelda, simply due to its scope and setting). There have been quick bosses as well, namely Majora's Mask and its two other incarnations. We've had one on one duels, fights against dreams themselves, and simply pure evil barring us from the credits.

This isn't in relation to Zelda Wii U or Zelda 3DS, however, we *can* relate them somewhat I suppose. The question at hand, though, is what's your ideal final boss? As in, what elements, setting, scope, et cetera would you like the boss that bars you from the credits theme to have? Attacks, speed, patterns, etc are inclusive in this thread as well.

 

[A Link In Time]

My ideal Zelda boss was already manifested in the form of Twilight Princess's Ganondorf. What I desire is a final foe who tests Link's capabilities in every department-as a careful observer, as an aggressive attacker, as a cavalier, as a sword fighter. No ultimate battle since TP's has created the same sense of wonder because the battles were more limited in form. While fitting for a game titled Skyward Sword, Demise was merely a sword duel and nothing more; moreover, an easy bout which left me feeling unfulfilled. It's a shame too because most of the game's boss battle save the Imrpisoned were exceptional in execution. Why save a sub par dangerous denizen for last? With the Wii U able to deliver more sprawling world and possibilities, I'd expect nothing short of or surpassing TP's Ganondorf battle as the final confrontation between good and evil. I'm confident Ninty will deliver.

 

[JuicieJ]

I don't really have an ideal final boss. I just want my final bosses to have a proper buildup, presentation, and fight. It doesn't really matter what it is so long as it meets this criteria. Perfect examples of this would be Spirit Tracks and Skyward Sword.

 

[Sir Quaffler]

I'm gonna sound like a broken record, but the entire final section of Skyward Sword was IMO the perfect way to end a game. With the battle against hundreds of the enemy forces in a mad dash to stop a calamity, the final battle against the being who has been pestering you the entire game, with multiple tiers and different means of attack in each tier which test all your abilities, and the end-all battle with the origin of all evil that puts your mastery of the sword to the test. I honestly think Nintendo outdid themselves on this one, I mean I still consider the buildup and battles against Ganondorf in OoT and TP to be two of the best in gaming, but this outshines them all.

Though, truth be told, this is entirely subjective on how hard you found Demise to be. Most consider him to be far too easy or only moderately difficult, but he was by far the most challenging being I've ever fought.

 

[Spirit]

Firstly i want something that feels epic. Ganondorf in TP felt epic to me and still feels it now despite how much of a push over the actual fight is. I want Fights that relate to the story and the mythology, i want some surprises. Again in TP we even had to draw swords against Zelda herself, the horseback fight was something new and the one on one fight with Ganondorf at the end really felt and still does feel special. So with any end boss i want it to be meaningful and not just putting something down that needs putting down like so many other Zeldas have done in the past.

For the actual fight itself i want it to bring forth some new elements not seen in previous fights during the game, TP Ganondorf again with the horseback fight is a good example as is the Wind Waker when you're fighting alongside Zelda who is firing arrows for you to deflect, i enjoyed that tandem action during that fight.
The fight itself doesn't have to have numerous phases but i would like to see a level of progression. In TP it felt like Ganondorf was trying to stop Link with everything he had based on the many forms he took and i'd like it if between the battles it would show Link tiring as if it were a battle pushing him to its limit just to have that grander and more epic feeling.

Boss size... i like big bosses, Shadow of the Colossus still fills me with an intense feeling when i run towards the biggest and baddest of them like an insignificant human flea, but again like TP and WW showed, bigger doesn't mean better.
Attacks, I want bosses to come at me and i can't believe I'm saying this but Scervo form SS did what i wanted. Kind of. In SS if you missed Scervo would hound you and make you wish you hadn't, for me Scervo was the hardest part of SS because he was so aggressive and i'd like more bosses to be that aggressive in the future, not so much his battle set up but the way he didn't give you much of a chance or opening.

So yeah.. make it feel epic and make it feel like the boss actually wants you dead.

 

[LinkontheRink]

A sword duel is always a must. Like in TP, that was great. I also like different stages which require different items you got through the game, like MC, that utilized the jar, the cane and the lantern. It keeps items from being only useful in their area.

 

[willsfairysword]

I don't have a big ideal for a final boss in a zelda game pretty much just what juiciej said

 

[Link-of-Lylat]

Majora. I don't know why or how. Maybe it's because it's the fate of the apocolypse at stake. I freakin love steak!

 

[Ouroboros]

I just want a unique, challenging final battle, with a great build up. As we've seen in Zelda games, bigger bosses don't mean much, most of them are easier than their counterparts. I really have no preference to size, methods to defeat him, etc; It just has to be engaging, challenging and unique. I felt Skyward Sword did this perfectly up to Demise, the Bokoblin rush was awesome, and Ghirahim was a blast to fight, Demise was a great battle as well.. But to be honest, it was a bit of a let down, and I had more fun fighting Ghirahim. I think good examples of what I enjoy in a final boss would be Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks and Majora's Mask.

 

[DuelMark]

Ganondorf in Twilight Princess
Demise from Skyward Sword

The had swords, they had epic music, they had great build up... they were excellent

 

[Terminus]

Building on the TP experience, I'd like a final boss battle/battle sequence to include:

Some form of Death-Match Tennis

Atlernate form of Final Boss (i.e. Ganon, not Imprisioned again...)

Something unique to that game (Like TP's horse battle [I know that wasn't a TP original, it was just the first/only time the concept was expanded]).

Aaannndd of course, the good old-fashioned sword duel.

 

[Shadsie]

Boss size... i like big bosses, Shadow of the Colossus still fills me with an intense feeling when i run towards the biggest and baddest of them like an insignificant human flea, but again like TP and WW showed, bigger doesn't mean better.
Attacks, I want bosses to come at me and i can't believe I'm saying this but Scervo form SS did what i wanted. Kind of. In SS if you missed Scervo would hound you and make you wish you hadn't, for me Scervo was the hardest part of SS because he was so aggressive and i'd like more bosses to be that aggressive in the future, not so much his battle set up but the way he didn't give you much of a chance or opening.

So yeah.. make it feel epic and make it feel like the boss actually wants you dead.

Imagine a beast-style Ganon (ala Ocarina of Time) about the size of Barba (the sixth Colossus, beareded minotaur) or even the size of Malus (the final boss, the great FRIGGIN' TOWER)!

Parody Oekaki art I did a while back:



The problem here, if he was like any of the Colossi, would be speed. Ganon could possibly make up for it with magic somehow, or just be made a quick giant.

Scervo wasn't as tough for me, but I found Ghirahim's final form a challenge. He was tougher for me than Demise just because his battle had multiple stages with no chance to save. First the horde battle with the Minion Red Shirt Army - then the Endless Plunge (three stages), then having to shatter his sword to get to his chest-diamond- a couple of times, was it? Demise was more or less a straightforward fight with a little lightning added mid-battle... it wasn't as complex.

That's what I like about the Twilight Princess Ganon/dorf battle, too - it was multistage and complex. Puppet Zelda with the traditional "tennis," followed by a couple of stages of beast vs beast, followed by a battlefield chase with aiming arrows, then the final swordfight. However, it disappointed by being too easy on the final stage.

When playing Skyward Sword, I felt lit was the TP final battle all over again - cool stuff to lead up to it, only to have a fairly simple, straightforward final stage.

So, I guess what I am saying is that it would be nice for a final Zelda boss battle to be very complex and staged and perhaps have an enormous awe-inspiring final form of the Big Bad.

(Making him a puzzle-boss like the Colossi couldn't hurt, either. SotC is a simple game that makes up for that with having the complexities in the bosses themselves). While Zelda does that to a degree with their dungeon bosses, I think they could learn with Demise/Ganon/other Final baddies.

Vaati in Minish Cap was complex, and while I complained about it on this very board, in the end, when I beat him, it felt wonderfully victorious, to the point where I came to appreciate how many different forms he had.

 

[r2d93]

Any boss can be ideal for me as long as the,y have proper buildup, and they are actually threatening. Plus, creative challenging battles. Prime example would be Vaati in TMC. He was very challenging, very threatening, and in fact his forms used the first and second dungeon items obtained. Plus the entire battle was split up into like 6 sections (counting the bridge parts and the darknuts before you get to Vaati).

Malladus was also a spectacular final boss

 

[Ventus]

Well, let me take a shot at this.

what's your ideal final boss? As in, what elements, setting, scope, et cetera would you like the boss that bars you from the credits theme to have? Attacks, speed, patterns, etc

My ideal final boss, like many pointed out, is simply one that feels epic to me. I don't care if it actually is epic, things just must feel epic. What elements this foe should have? I don't know, really. A sense of amassed contention all in one final fight (or it can be a phased final fight lol). Settings? Doesn't matter, just needs to be EPIC and HARDCORE. The scope? As I said earlier, there needs to be a sense of a lot of contention between the player character and that final boss, it can't feel "out of the blue". For attacks, I would like for this boss to be multi-tiered meaning that it can attack physically and using elements of the terrain. This boss would have to be quick and sometimes slow, overall an unrelenting foe. Patterns? I don't know, I'd like a spontaneous boss, one that isn't really predictable the first time through. The lasting feeling, after defeating this arduous enemy, should NOT be "was that it?". I don't want to be left with a feeling of wanting more...this is the final boss of the story, the climax of the game. This boss should conclude my story as far as satisfaction goes. The lasting feeling should be "f-finally...I can rest" even if my player character is dead at the end or some other predicaments happen. :/

 

[Seth]

I think it would be amazing if we had the final boss with destructible environments. At the very least have the battle cause all kinds of destruction in the process, blowing through walls, making craters etc. That would be cool.