James writes, "The boss battle… its one of the most epic moments of a gamers childhood, you’ve battled your way through countless trooper class enemies and mini bosses to get to this one moment. It’s a moment where your palms get sweaty, where your grip tightens on the controller in your hands, this is what you bought the game for, the feeling of victory that you knew awaited your patience and dedication."
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Most games these days that have them are Japanese games though.
from the very start, in Shenmue I, they showed you what Lan Di is capable of doing.. i still remember the feel of intense terror when he showed up in front of Ryo for the first time in Shenmue II, i was completely unprepared for this encouter and Ryo's skills were not fully realized yet, he was still no match against Lan Di's, his emotionaless and cold pearcing eyes alone are enough to strick fear, i thought i'm finished.
i won't spoil what happened next.
it's a great shame the game was never concluded after one of the greatest cliffhangers in gaming history.
Shadow of the colossus is basically one boss battle after the next.
And through out the years Metal Gear games have had some really great boss fights(making you plug your controller into second port...hilarious)
It does seem like there are fewer and fewer these days, and not nearly as difficult.
So the question I have to ask is, WTF are all the platformers???? I mean Mario is testament that a good 3D platformer will sell a ton & even sell consoles.....but apart from Mario (which is getting old fast, Ratchet has in fact been a better series for past 2 gens (apart from A41), & ACIT was far better than Galaxy 1 or 2), Ratchet & Clank (which will probably be gone soon, when EA tanks Overstrike & Insomniac go under (why didn't you sell to Sony...Insomniac is Sony, along with ND & I'd still be able to enjoy Resistance, which is 1 of the best shooters series this gen). After Ratchet & Mario, we have only Alice:MR (great game), Kameo (horrible reflection of what MS have done to Rare along with the embarassing PDZ), & after that EVERTHING is a HD remake of a PS2 game/series. I mean, Rayman: Origins is outstanding (anyone who played the demo & didn't really think much, like me, needs to try the full game as is much better than crappy demo illustrates), but it, like Limbo & other great little games, is a 2D platformer..
Now, I love 2D platformers, so don't get me wrong, but the question still begs, where the hell are the 3D platformers. The PS1 & N64 were the introduction to the genre, & Mario64 became the standard for 3D platformers with an awesome gameworld, excellent boss battles, & smooth controls.
Then we moved to PS2, GC & Dreamcast (god rest it's soul), & IMO Jak & Daxter took it to a whole other level, along with Ratchet & Clank (although Jak 2 & on became too GTA/Ratchet wannabe's thanks to kids & adults alike penchants for blood, guts & guns).
So, just when developers had all the core elements right for the platform genre, the genre all but dissapeared. I mean, 8 bit consoles were the rough copy for sidescrolling platformers & then 16bit perfected the genre, as technology & know how were there, as 16bit sprite based graphics were near as good as you could get, controls, & all other fundamentals had been laid by games like Alex Kid & Mario, so the Sonics & Donkey Kong Countries could reach there fullest (which they did, as I bought DKC for Wii & it sucks compared too original).
So, if developers had given up on the 2D platformers after the 8bit era, we wouldn't have had so many great SNES & MD/Genesis games, as well as everything since.
So it pains me that the 3D platformer has almost been killed right off, when they would be better than they could ever be, as well as better than every COD wannabe shooter making the rounds.
R&C games are more like 3D versions of sides rolling shooters, not a ton of actual platforming. Still really fun, but the only reason they've ever been considered better than Mario is because Sunshine sucked. It seems devs are really hesitant about taking platformers into 3D. There were actually quite a few quality 2D platformers this gen. Super Meat Boy is another that stands out.
I really wish Nintendo still had Banjo-Kazooie. Microsoft and Rare are letting one of the greatest platform series quietly fade away.