Best Boss Fights of all Time

Boss fights are a staple of video games. You work your way through a tricky level and then come face to face with an especially mean character. Here is our list of the best boss fights of all time.

Poseidon: God of War 3 – PS3

There are loads of bosses from the God of War series that could have made this list, but we picked Poseidon because of the impact this battle has. It’s essentially the first 40 minutes of God of War, and the sheer spectacle is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. It’s utterly incredible.

Tidal Wave: Transformers – PS2

Transformers on the PS2 is still the only video game to do the alien robots justice, although it’s sadly still quite unknown outside of the hardcore. The fight against transforming aircraft carrier Tidal Wave would have made our jaws hit the floor, our jaw bones been elastic. One of the best massive bosses of all time.

Phalanx: Shadow of the Colossus – PS2

This is a game all about fighting big creatures, but Phalanx is without a doubt our pick of the bunch. For one thing, this beast could fly. For another, he was massive. And finally, you could leap onto its gigantic wing from the back of your galloping horse. It’s one of the most amazing moments you can have with a PS2.

T-Rex: Tomb Raider – PlayStation, Saturn, PC

We played this again recently and the T-Rex isn’t so cool, being rather blocky for a living creature, but back then it was quite unbelievable. To see such a beast stood in a massive valley and have it charge straight at you. Without a doubt one of the defining moments of the PlayStation generation.

Sephiroth: Final Fantasy VII – PlayStation

After drama, heartbreak and more random battles than anyone cares to admit, epic JRPG Final Fantasy VII ended with perhaps the most well-known boss fight of all time. Cloud and co had been stalking the silver-haired Sephiroth throughout the game, and finally, at the Northern Cave, the face-off we all had been waiting for kicked off. The climax of the fight, which saw Cloud use his iconic Limit Break Omnislash, was epic in the extreme. Just… brilliant.

World of Warcraft

There are loads of boss fights in Blizzard’s MMORPG World of Warcraft, but our favourite is the one against huge dragon Onyxia. Back in WoW’s early days, Onyxia was one of the hardest boss fights any 40-man group could take on. She sprayed fiery breath down on all who dared to look at her, and hit so hard the poor tanks would take a pounding. But killing her was worth the effort; doing so would spawn her head hanging from the left arch in the entrance to Stormwind City or stuck on a large pike near the front of Orgrimmar. Wicked.

Scarab: Halo 3 – Xbox 360

We wanted massive battles in Halo 3, and the Scarab gave us that, but not quite in the way we imagined. Instead of fighting against hundreds of on-screen enemies, the Scarab filled the screen with its enormous mechanical limbs. You could even get on top of it and wander about inside the walking behemoth.

Psycho Mantis: Metal Gear Solid – PlayStation

“He’s reading my mind!” screamed gamers across the world after this mental boss reeled off information about the games you’d been playing. He even made the controller move after you’d placed it on the floor. Thinking about it, it’s hard to actually remember what the fight was like, but the character will live long in our memory.

Del Lago: Resident Evil 4 – GameCube, PS2, PC and Wii

Resident Evil 4 dripped with atmosphere, and this lake monster managed to encapsulate everything that made the game so brilliant. You saw the lake earlier on in your adventure and knew you’d be back, and when you finally faced off against huge-mouthed nasty while sat in a tiny wooden boat, it was hard not to freak out. Your spears against a crocodile version of the Lock Ness Monster. It wasn’t a fair fight.

Ugh Zan III: Serious Sam – PC

Size matters, if you’re talking about game bosses anyway. This multi-storey, rocket launching hulking monstrosity blew our socks off at the time. We’d never seen anything like it. You could run away for what seemed like ages, yet he’d still be filling the entire screen every time you turned back. We don’t know how to pronounce his name, but my god, he was big.

Did we miss out your favourite boss fight? Let us know in the comments below