Are final bosses becoming an endangered species?

[winb83]

Seriously several high profile titles in recent history have came out without a final boss. The IGN review says Bioshock Infinite ends in a much organic way than with a final boss. Are game developers waking up to the idea that creating these final bosses for the sake of having them is just awkward? A game like Metal Gear Solid 4 had an interesting take on the final boss that was pretty enjoyable but not conventional.

 

[Orbital-Fetus]

i like Final Boss fights...it's like putting an "!" at the end of the story and let's you put to use all of the skills you learned throughout the game in a final battle.

 

[Camammal]

yeah, alot of games are like this now days. Tomb Raider had a poor excuse of a final boss but it never really had any real bosses anyway, but yeah im not feeling the anticlimactic endings.

 

[radio rahiem]

Rugal
personally, for action games, I prefer a final sequence than a boss fight. as I get older, I lose patience on one dedicated fight.

 

[storyteller]

I like boss battles, but any way the developer can just give me a major challenge that will leave a sense of accomplishment will work for me. I have to say though, some of my most memorable moments in gaming are straight up boss battles that blew my mind...God of War 3 had 'em, Psycho Mantis fight, Luca Blight, Shadow of the Colossus monsters (collosi?).

 

[Bud Bundy]

Not really sad to see them go. A complicated boss fight always stops the flow of the story.

 

[billsburydoughboy]

The Final Boss in Uncharted 2 on crushing difficulty was .

Then in Uncharted 3 they replace it with a dumb action sequence.

However, I did enjoy the action sequence in Metal Gear Solid 4. That was epic.

I just think boss battles this gen have been watered down. It saddens me that we'll rarely see something really challenging like a Kingdom Hearts Sephiroth.

 

[GoldenGlove]

Metal Gear Rising dropped last month so no

 

[winb83]

I like boss battles, but any way the developer can just give me a major challenge that will leave a sense of accomplishment will work for me. I have to say though, some of my most memorable moments in gaming are straight up boss battles that blew my mind...God of War 3 had 'em, Psycho Mantis fight, Luca Blight, Shadow of the Colossus monsters (collosi?).

I'm not saying all boss battles but final boss battles. Like take the original Bioshock. That final boss felt forced and unnatural just for the sake of having one.

 

[Mowgli]

If they cant do a final boss its the stupidty of the game developers. There is usually one guy you have to take out at the end of the game so setting up some sort of epic final confrontation with him is important being that hes the head honcho. They either have to make 1 stage as *the final boss* where its a seqence of epicness to destroy some weak regular character or a straight upboss battle where you're fighting a powerful one man army of a goon. God of war ascension had a nice final boss. Devs who dont do them need to make the player feel like he overcame all the odds. This isnt a fukkin movie its a video game.

 

[storyteller]

I'm not saying all boss battles but final boss battles. Like take the original Bioshock. That final boss felt forced and unnatural just for the sake of having one.

Oh! Got you now...That makes much more sense. It's a thin line though, I don't think I could have been more disappointed than Halo 3's finale where you just drove your truck away from lava. The level of creativity required to make a final level that gives the same sense of completion as a final boss is pretty high.

I think the issue though, is when you get a game with no main antagonist that is a true threat...the final boss battle becomes a forced character that the player could give a fruck about. Add to that games where they make a great villain but the boss battle disappoints and now you've got a lot of ways to screw up big conclusions (I'm looking right at Arkham Asylum).

 

[krexzen]

The Final Boss in Uncharted 2 on crushing difficulty was .

Then in Uncharted 3 they replace it with a dumb action sequence.

However, I did enjoy the action sequence in Metal Gear Solid 4. That was epic.

I just think boss battles this gen have been watered down. It saddens me that we'll rarely see something really challenging like a Kingdom Hearts Sephiroth.

Co-sign on Uncharted 2 and MGS4. Infamous wasn't bad either. Even if the final boss isn't the greatest, it's still better than no boss at all.

Spoiler

Me3 spoilers

Spoiler

at Me3 for denying me a last true boss fight. The lack of a true decent final fight is what pissed me off the most (way more than the ending). Nobody cares about a verbal battle. I was running towards the beam hoping to on the reapers. I didn't know they would deny me a last fight. Just wanted one more battle

 

[LucaBrasi]

This shxt is saddening to me

The final boss was one of the incentives of playing a game to the finish, Like Zelda, Mario or any good Capcom game

 

[Mowgli]

Its not a trend the entire industry should follow but if it works for one game than it works. Never having a final boss in a game would be pathetic. A game like Beyond: 2 souls(Playstation 3 EXCLUSIVE) i dont think needs a final boss, but a game like Metal Gear, DOES.

 

[iamstr8fire]

To me it depends on the game. For FPS games that really focus on military multiplayer action (Battlefield, COD, etc) I don't really expect a final boss battle as it doesn't really make a lot of sense.

For action titles I either expect a crazy final boss battle, a ridiculous sequence at the end, or both. As I've played more games I've come to expect that from the ending. For instance the ending to Far Cry 3 was meh to me. I ended up pressing 'X' through some of the most vital parts .

Certain games like Assassin's Creed don't really lend themselves well to final boss battles. In a situation like that I would like to see a really tense complex sequence to make me feel like I've closed out something epic.