Well, I have finally returned from a much-needed vacation and I am excited that I can finally post my first list. I decided to begin with the Metal Gear series for two reasons. 1) The Metal Gear games are undoubtedly my favorite series and 2) I feel that my experience with these games will allow me become familiar with these posts and make future series easier to tackle. So, let's not wait any longer and get to the list!
If you are reading this, I assume you have heard of the Metal Gear games and have some knowledge of the characters and scenes below. The Metal Gear series is full of visually stunning and creatively challenging boss fights. While the list below is NOT demonstrating the most difficult boss fights, the level of thought put in to defeat them is a factor on where they placed in the top 10. I call this list the "most entertaining boss fights" and these happen to be the 10 best based on this criteria.
1) How visually appealing the battlefield/battlesite is.
2) The creativity of the boss/creativity of the puzzle (most bosses have a trick to beating them)
3) Overall enjoyment of the player/The adreneline factor
I will also include some bonuses at the end. These are boss fights that are worthy of recognition, but the ones who made the list were just better. Please keep in mind that these lists will not include the portable titles. As soon as I finish "Peace Walker", I will re-visit my Metal Gear section and include those games (Ac!d, Portable Ops, and Peace Walker). Finally, the following lists are judged based on the "Hard" and "Extreme" difficulty modes. Some battles lose not only a degree of challenge, but also entertainment when played on difficulty levels below "Normal"
The Top Ten Most Entertaining Boss Fights: Metal Gear Series
10. Metal Gear Ray(s) (Metal Gear Solid 2)
SPRAY AND PRAY BITCHES!!! This is the ultimate run and gun fight of the series and it deserves a spot on this list. Now I understand that many people feel that this fight is visually bland, but isn't that the idea at this point in the game? You are not supposed to know what is real and what is not at this point. Is that just fog from the Hudson River while you are battling on top of Arsenal Gear, or have you been immersed in virtual reality the entire time? Storyline aside, this battle is entertaining as hell. After we had faced Metal Gear Rex in MGS1, everyone wondered what the next incarnation of the Metal Gear weapon system would be. Well, if Rex was an 80's IROC Camaro with a backyard stroker motor and chipped paint, Ray was a streamlined Lamborghini ready to rock n' roll. The first appearance of Ray made fans shutter at the thought of the upcoming battle that was just hours away...HOLY FUCK!!! There's more than one of them!!! Yes, when you finally get the chance to stretch out your Stinger missles, it is not just against the prototype Ray, but against an entire unit of them. Surreal or not, here are the facts: 1) Sure they go down like they are made of fiberglass and aluminum, but for every one that you disable, another pops up in it's place to remind you that this is not a sprint...it is going to be a marathon. 2) Raiden's acrobatics finally pay off when you find yourself cartwheeling all over the goddamed place trying to evade the ridiculous spewing of ordinance from 3 Metal Gear Rays at a time. The miniscule life bar given to you becomes readily apparent upon the first time you take a solid hit from one of these behemoths. For these reasons, this fight takes the number 10 spot. A confusing game, yet more necessary to the storyline than most would realize.
9. Vamp (Metal Gear Solid 2)
Fuck Twilight, this guy is badass. While didn't find out the reason behind his supernatural gifts until MGS4, we can still look back and admit that this man is one of the coolest characters in the Metal Gear series. He takes out an entire team of Navy SEAL's and we are supposed to kill this guy? WHAT THE FUCK? I just watched him lick their blood off of his hunting knife. No thank you, I wanna go home. Well, we can't. This fight makes it to number 9 on this list because the Metal Gear Series is brilliant at building up anticipation. You KNOW you have to fight this motherfucker, and it is not going to be pretty. He's fast, he's deadly, he's charismatic, and he WANTS YOU TO TRY AND KILL HIM! The best part about this fight is the fact that you have very limited space to work with. Only a narrow walkway surrounding a pool of instant death is given to you. Vamp constantly walks the rails above you in a manner to say, " I dare you to shoot me...not like it is going to do anything". The best thing about this fight is the strategy. If you want to get on his level, you are only four shots away. Shoot out the lights and fight with only the glow of the doorway illuminating the room. Yeah, come fight me man to vampire asshole. Everyone has to die sometime and he believes he's already there, so what do you have to lose?
8. Metal Gear Rex vs. Metal Gear Ray (Metal Gear Solid 4)
HAHAHAHAHA! YES!!! Who didn't love this battle in Metal Gear Solid 4. Think about the last "Rocky" movie. Apparently Hideo Kojima wanted to see Rex and Ray fight it out, and of course he had to make you the underdog. Remember my comment earlier about the Camaro and the Lamborghini? Well this fight proves that it is not always about the car, but, the driver. You, as Solid Snake, pilot Metal Gear Rex in a showdown of doomsday weapons versus Liquid Ocelot, behind the wheel of Metal Gear Ray. This battle was just fucking fun. It really wasn't that difficult, it was just the Metal Gear version of a dream match. That is the only reason I believe it was put into the game. Snake finally got to pilot one of these beasts instead of always fighting them. Nostalgia is the only explanation for this battle, but you know what? It worked!
7. The Hind (Metal Gear Solid)
"What's a Russian gunship doing here?" Oh, Snake. Why did you even ask the question? Well, we really didn't have any reason to assume we would be fighting this formidible piece of machinary when we played Metal Gear Solid for the first time, but we would learn soon enough that this new generation of Metal Gear games would be unforgiving. Realism aside(it really only takes one Stinger missle to take out a Hind), this battle was a milestone for the Metal Gear series. Sure, Vulcan Raven hides in a tank that we have to throw a few grenades at earlier in the game, but this is the first vehicle fight that made us run for cover. Not only do we learn vital information regarding the relationship between Solid and Liquid Snake, but it is the first of many battles to come in the series where you truly feel overmatched.
6. The Shagohod (Metal Gear Solid 3)
If you do not think that this battle is fun as hell, then you have not beaten MGS3. You are Naked Snake (soon to be renamed "Big Boss") riding in a sidecar while your impromptu partner Eva is driving the motorcycle. The Shagohod is the grandfather of the Metal Gear project. It is a highly mobile, first-strike weapon and it is piloted by a fanatical sociopath. What more could you ask for? You are vulnerable and depending on your driver to circle around this crazy asshole while you peck away with RPG's! It is classic James Bond, as you fire away at this desperate madman's last attempt to escape with the doomsday weapon that will change the face of war. A truly unique twist on the "stop the final weapon" part of the Metal Gear series (straight outta the 60's).
5. Sniper Wolf (Metal Gear Solid)
Solid Snake is a member of FOXHOUND. This unit is trained in survival, hand-to-hand combat, various weapons systems, and most importantly for this battle: concealment and counter-sniping. Well best of luck to you dude, cause this girl is BAD! Sure, we got a sample of her skills when she used Meryl as bait to lure Snake to his capture, but later we have a chance to exact our revenge on this sexy, sniper vixen.
I really don't know if anyone had the vertigo enducing battle that I had with this little lady, but, DAMN. We're in the snow, she's dressed in white, and there's only one option: Thermal goggles. Yea, now put those on and look through the scope. Where are you? If you can answer that then you are better than I. It is incredibly easy to take that first shot, but then it becomes a game of "should I shoot at the small warm spot or not"(no sexual pun intended)? On top of that, you have to deal with your new friend Otacon's crying and bitching when you realize that she really did mean something to him. It is a long line of heartache that he has to endure throughout the series(am I really his friend after all this?). Anyway, Sniper Wolf, Snake's first shot at counter-sniping and a damn awesome battle that you kinda hate to win.
4. Laughing Octopus (Metal Gear Solid 4)
This bitch is TWISTED! Okay, the first time we see the entire team of "beauties" they run shop on an entire detachment of rebels. Later, we see this crazy girl popping out of her camo just to terrify and torture a prisoner of war before unceremoniously dispatching him in front of his comrades. Why? Just because it is all she knows! She inflicts all of the pain that she has felt and she abuses the "gifts" bestowed upon her from her nanotech boosting and her biosuit technology. Yes, all of the "beauties" are pained and unwilling participants in the game they have been thrust into. They are all tortured souls, but, this one is special. SHE IS CRAZY. This fight is amazing because it is visually incredible and terrifying. She mimics all of the surroundings(including the medical equipment) and you are confined to a small cabin with this psycho. The first of the "beauties" gets my vote on this countdown because we expect to fight this unit, but the first battle is the most adreneline inducing fuck-fest of them all.
3. The End (Metal Gear Solid 3)
Okay, I understand that if you want to fly through this game, you have to dispatch The End on the dock while he's being wheeled back into the base. That's fine. Why would you play this game without this boss battle though? Sure, the book gives you this little secret to save you time if you are going for high-end emblems, but, is there really any battle that can match this sniper duel as far as re-playability? This is the only battle in the Metal Gear series that is random EVERY time you play it. Sniper Wolf may have given us the first taste of Snake's ability to counter-snipe, but our skills as a player were put to the test against this battlefield veteran. I have personally fought this battle a dozen times and have been traquilized twice. On "extreme" difficulty I have beaten The End in as little as 45 seconds, and, it has taken me as long as an hour and a half. That is testament enough that this battle can never be taken for granted. It will always be different, EVERY time you play it, therefore it will forever be entertaining. As engaging as the story is in Metal Gear Solid 3, this is the battle that brings gamers together. Metal Gear games are very personal to their fans, yet, this is the battle that strangers can sit down and drink a beer over. As deep as that game was, our common ground is the boss battle with The End. Everyone enjoyed the frustration, the strategy, and the dedication it took to put an end to The End.
2. Liquid Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid 4)
Every Metal Gear game culminates with a one-on-one battle to settle the score and maintain the balance of badassness. Metal Gear Solid 4 was the supposed to be the final installation of the main story, therefore it needed the ultimate man-to-man showdown to finally prove the victor. The visuals are right out of a movie, even down to the action being taken to an on-screen command system at certain points. The life bars cycle through all of the "solid" series graphics and the music montage takes us through all of the games we have played leading up to this point. Yes, any one of the one-on-one battes could have made this list, but why have a list of just final battles? This is the single struggle that we all craved: MAN-TO-MAN TO DETERMINE THE FUTURE. Liquid Ocelot, I hate you so much, but this battle deserves to be here.
1. Psycho Mantis (Metal Gear Solid)
Alright, Alright, ALRIGHT, I GET IT!!! Yes, this battle has probably reached cult status more than anything, but, really let's not judge. If you played it again for the first time you know you would be laughing you're ass off. It is hilarious! The breaking of the 4th wall not once, not twice, but THREE times in this battle. Yes he moved our controller with his mind(if you had a dualshock controller), he read our minds (if we had saved data from other Konami games), AND we had to switch to controller port two if we wanted to hit the asshole at all. This fight was so creative and at the same time very tense if you didn't know what was going on. It may be cliche' at this point, but the Psycho Mantis battle set the stage for EVERY boss battle that we would see throughout the rest of the series. For that reason alone it deserves the number one spot as the the Most Entertaining Boss Battle in the Metal Gear Series.
Bonuses:
Big Boss (Metal Gear 2)
This fight didn't make the countdown only because most people will argue that it is graphically inferior to all of the other entries. I personally believe that it is one of the most entertaining battles in the series. You have no weapon and you are faced with Big boss and his assault rifle. After his pre-fight speech (which unveils many story elements that come to fruition later in the series), he proceeds to chase you around the battle arena while you frantically search for an improvised weapon. This is where it really gets interesting. After collecting all of the key cards and finding the only items that you can macguyver into a weapon, we can countdown the real entertainment value of this fight: 1)you have no weapon until you fashion one out of items found. 2)Big Boss is fast, but you have cover and rooms to hide in. 3) The Payoff: Zippo Lighter: $15
WD-40: $7
Telling your backstabbing former boss off at the business end of an
improvised flamethrower: Priceless
The Sorrow (Metal Gear Solid 3)
Okay, this one didn't make it only because there is no real "fight" with this boss. Still, how badass was this scene? It was incredible. If you were playing through for the first time and you were a genocidle maniac, then you suffered for it. If you were going for stealth the entire time, then you got away relatively easy. Nonetheless, you were going to hear what The Sorrow had to say and suffer the cries of those you had mercilessly slaughtered on your path to beating this game. This part of the game gave players a glimpse of the cost of war that many take for granted when they take lives with the push of a button. For that reason I believe it needs to be mentioned, but it just can't be added to this list because it is not a true boss battle.
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