Bosses that you JUST. CAN'T. BEAT.

[Arnoxthe1]

EDIT: Also Ninja Gaiden, not the retuned version Black but the original... Alma, that *****. It made me break 4 controllers and gave me a series of serious fucking migraines. I finally just decided to break the damn disc.

The trick to beating that chick is to get ballsy and Flying Swallow her during her vulnerable periods. Thing is, the game randomly decides when she's vulnerable or not so you need to keep hitting her with it and hope for the best. Also, KEEP MOVING ALWAYS and make yourself AS HARD A TARGET as possible so she'll have massive troubles hitting you with anything.

Follow that, and you should nail her in a couple attempts or less. But uh... If you broke your disc... Ah well.

In the original Ninja Gaiden...couldn't you just spam flying swallow on all the bosses? I remember reading that they changed that in Black because it made the game too easy.

Yep. Most enemies in Black will now either block it or counter attack you if you try to spam it now.

 

[Twyce]

Snip!

Thanks for the tips. And you hit it dead on with "if it's their first SMT game and they have no idea what to expect." That was exactly my problem. I had no idea how hardcore the games were, I just picked it up because I loved the art style and the idea of recruiting demons. It was a hard (but fun) lesson to learn q_q

Sniparoo!

Like Scorp said - he was tough if you had no idea what was coming. I was still fresh faced and wide-eyed to world of RPGs (yea, yea... I was a very late bloomer). I had no idea the game would get so hard so fast. Especially when I was skipping half the random battles because I wanted to see Dante, haha.

 

[joest01]

EDIT: Also Ninja Gaiden, not the retuned version Black but the original... Alma, that *****. It made me break 4 controllers and gave me a series of serious fucking migraines. I finally just decided to break the damn disc.

The trick to beating that chick is to get ballsy and Flying Swallow her during her vulnerable periods. Thing is, the game randomly decides when she's vulnerable or not so you need to keep hitting her with it and hope for the best. Also, KEEP MOVING ALWAYS and make yourself AS HARD A TARGET as possible so she'll have massive troubles hitting you with anything.

Follow that, and you should nail her in a couple attempts or less. But uh... If you broke your disc... Ah well.

In the original Ninja Gaiden...couldn't you just spam flying swallow on all the bosses? I remember reading that they changed that in Black because it made the game too easy.

Yep. Most enemies in Black will now either block it or counter attack you if you try to spam it now.

Ahh, Ninja Gaiden. I have beaten all the bosses but I spent literally months one time trying to get past Zedonius during my mentor run in NGS2 with no Ninpo and almost no healing items left. The no Ninpo was the problem. I got him down to close to nothing a few times but his lackeys make it completely hit and miss. Before you ask, this is the first Zed, the "easy" one. In the second battle you can just run to another island and avoid his buddies ...

 

[Diablo2000]

Snip!

Thanks for the tips. And you hit it dead on with "if it's their first SMT game and they have no idea what to expect." That was exactly my problem. I had no idea how hardcore the games were, I just picked it up because I loved the art style and the idea of recruiting demons. It was a hard (but fun) lesson to learn q_q

Sniparoo!

Like Scorp said - he was tough if you had no idea what was coming. I was still fresh faced and wide-eyed to world of RPGs (yea, yea... I was a very late bloomer). I had no idea the game would get so hard so fast. Especially when I was skipping half the random battles because I wanted to see Dante, haha.

Believe me, I had no idea he was coming. What most likely happened was since I went blind I got lost really early on so I griding the whole way throught until I eventually found myself, so I was probably more leved up and had better demons than most players would have been.
One thing that I learned about SMT over the years is that always, ALWAYS will have that one moment, enemy or boss that will scream "Welcome to Shin Megami Tensei, ************! Have a nice day!" and murder you.

Now I got stuck on Belius in Tales of Vesperia, she would be a easy enough boss if not for the fact that half way trought the lights in the arena go out and she clones herself.
"Ok, then" I thought "I just use Rita to relight the lights using fireball, that way the clone will go away.", except that fireball takes for FUCKING EVER to cast and all party mates seen to die before they are any use as distraction, also Belius can and will put the fires I managed to light out. So... Yeah. Fuck.

 

[Lord Kloo]

Not technically a boss but its a boss style section of Planetary Annihilation. There are 4 or 5 or so factions that exist on the galactic campaign map (single-player mode) and each faction has a home planetary system on which you face 3/4 enemy commanders. for reference the usual number you face in battle is one. It becomes especially difficult when they exist on other planets and have the technology to bombard your forces to oblivion with asteroids, happily sacrificing one of their own to annihilate you...

I wouldn't mind too much if I got another go but if you lose then you lose the entire campaign and have to start again...

 

[Quazimofo]

I'm honestly a little surprised no one brought this up earlier: Musclefoot from Starfox Adventures.

I think my game was glitched or something, because I couldn't beat him with a TURBO CONTROLLER!

For anyone unfamiliar: there's a point in Starfox Adventures where you wind up in a dinosaur village and have to do a couple tests, one being a test of strength where you have to mash A on the gamecube controller to shove "Musclefoot" into a poit (via some double-ended paddle contraption).

I never got past that. I swear to God. Turbo Controller.

Ahh you've refreshed my memory about that. I raged hard at that part until I realized it's not about pressing the A button as quickly as possible it's about establishing a steady rhythm. No matter how fast you hammer the A button you'll lose. Just do a rhythmic, repetitive speed and you'll win. The whole event is just really odd.

......

You're shitting me. Is it really that simple?

Well fuck. That's good news. Now I know that when I rebuild my Gamecube collection (boy do I regret selling it) I can actually beat Starfox Adventures for the first time ever.

 

[Nadia Castle]

The boost boss in Metroid Prime 2 Echoes. It's tough as nails, has attack patterns that are impossible to predict AND you're taking constant damage from the environment! Never beat him so I still don't know what happened between Metroid Prime and Corruption!

 

[sageoftruth]

People will probably laugh at me for that, but:

The goat boss in Dark Souls... I didn't have any problems with the game until that enemy appeared. Either he or his dogs kill me before I even have the slightest chance to reach the stairs behind him.
That boss made me quit Dark Souls...

I guess I can't blame you for that. It's a real burden getting to him, and the outcome of the battle is usually decided in the first 3 seconds, making it a chore to do over and over.

 

[sageoftruth]

The sword fight with Ayame in Tenchu: Shadow Assassins. That is one game that I am not ashamed to play on the easiest difficulty, since difficulty only affects how hard it is to pull off all the crappy wii motion quicktime events. Basically, I got through everything using stealth, and then the plot takes me into an unavoidable sword fight that's all about positioning the wii mote in just the right place several times. Naturally, I was looking for stealth, not wii motion quicktime events and this boss fight pretty much hammered home that this game wasn't for me.

 

[SerithVC]

Tiamat in Darksiders is the most difficult boss battle I've ever had to suffer through. She is insanely difficult. From moves you have seconds to dodging, from wiping out almost all of one lifebar in one hit. She is the first boss in game and going by what others have said, the most difficult. Took me at least twenty tries, multiple console shut offs, and even one controller throw... on fucking easy. It has been sometime since a game has pissed me off as much as Darksiders. I'm still pissed off at a rage quit from earlier today. The game is the most infuriating game I've ever played.

Really? I played that game on normal and never died more than once to a boss. Tiamat was exceptionally easy. Hell, I think the only boss that was easier than Tiamat, that i can think of, was the last boss in Kingdom Hearts 1. As per the original question... I honestly can't think of any boss battles that were really difficult (outside of a few Demon's/Dark Souls bosses). I've had a few difficult battles in games because i was under leveled, but in general, most boss battles have been really really easy.

 

[Kricketz]

Kurt Zisa...Kingdom Hearts 1,5 HD ReMix...Proud difficulty. I still to this day cannot beat him. I've managed to beat Rock Titan, Ice Titan, and Phantom but I cannot beat Kurt Zisa. This asshole has been haunting me since I was 14 playing the original Kingdom Hearts...

 

[THEMILKMAN]

God damn Fire Leo from Viewtiful Joe.

 

[Padwolf]

I don't know if it counts, but the final mission in part 2 of Bully, the boxing tournament for the Nintendo Wii. Now, it wasn't as though I can't beat the guys, as I have done them before on the PS2 original version. When the new versions came out I figured the wii wouldn't be too different. I couldn't beat these guys on the wii simply because my arms couldn't take the strain anymore. The Wii version used all it's motion control powers and you had to pretend to box. And my god it hurt, it got to the point where the boxing was in round 20 and more. In the end I just gave up, sold it and bought the Xbox version instead.

Otherwise, the most I spent grinding on a boss was FFX, and just to be safe for all I'll just put them in spoilers.

Spoiler

The Seymour at the end of Mount Gagazet, gods that was a killer. I spent hours and hours grinding for him, only to find out that I only really needed to get Holy on Yuna. That spell is so powerful. The other boss I had trouble with was Yunalesca. Her third form just kicked the crap out of me. It took me months to do!

The only bosses I have yet to beat are the dark aeons. I just can't do it. You have to be insanely quick for that.

 

[SousukeSeg]

hmmmm... well the one boss that crosses my mind more then most is actually the last boss in Tomb Raider Legend HD (from the HD Trilogy re-release), all in all it was not that hard, I played and finished the first release of the game on normal with no problem, however with the HD version I got cocky and played it on hard, still not a problem, but then I encountered a bug (specifically added in the HD version) where if I attacked and dodged would cause me to insta-kill myself out of nowhere... and yeah in TR:L attacking and dodging is expected of you, it's the very core of the combat mechanic, that is what severely crippled me. Any sane human being would have put the game down, but I just got through the entire game on hard mode and my pride wouldn't let me give up until the b1tch was dead, sure enough after an hour I managed to work out a new attack method that circumvented the suicide bug and finished the game... and to celebrate the fact that I had just unlocked the God Mode cheat, I went back to that fight and killed the boss over and over and over again, vengeance is sweet.

Aside from that, I guess most of the bosses from God of War II on Titan Mode were a b1th to get through... but then again your playing GoW2 Titan Mode, if your not a masochist why do you bother.

Oh and of course Sephiroth and The Phantom from Kingdom Hearts.

 

[OrpheusTelos]

Yeah if you've got some advice for me I'm more than happy to take it on board. It will be awhile before I attempt him again though. I've got the HD remake but I haven't got far into it yet.

For the original Kingdom Hearts 1, there are a few things you can use. For one, get the Ribbon, as it not only buffs all resistances to elements by 20%, it raises defense by 3. Then try to stack the dark resistance, as Sephiroth's attacks are considered dark element. Another thing is Sephiroth's Heartless Angel move, the one that cause you to lose all magic and health down to one. He has a windup for that, and if you manage to hit him during it, he will instantly teleport behind you. If he does get it off on you, he will also always teleport behind you, so dodge roll or guarding helps. To interrupt Heartless Angel it also helps to have Strike Raid because you actually have invincibility frames while using it.

For Final Mix, it's a bit easier to manage because of some new abilities added into Final Mix that weren't in the first game. For one, Leaf Bracer helps since you have invincibility frames when casting cure on yourself, so timing it right helps. Another ability that helps is Slapshot, which can be abused to negate half of Sephiroth's attacks because of the constant and quick attacking you do. Finally, Sliding Dash helps you get closer to Sephiroth for Heartless Angel.

Now you need to keep in mind, Sephiroth will vocally use Heartless Angel for a while, but when close to death, he won't vocally say it any more, so always keep a lock onto Sephiroth. Using Aeroga helps lower the damage you take as well, so it helps to keep it constantly cast on yourself. And stack all your items with just Elixirs, as using Mega Elixirs would be a waste.

Hope this helps.

Something I tried doing is using Strike Raid during some of his longer attack sequence, you won't take any damage and can land a few extra hits in if you time it right.

Just beat him for the first time in 1.5 Remix.

EDIT: I suppose I should contribute to the thread!

While I was finally able to beat him in 1.5, Kurt Zisa from Kingdom Hearts 1 (the desert boss) was the bane of my twelve-year-old self's gaming career.

Don't even get me started on Sephy. ;_;

 

[Roxas1359]

Something I tried doing is using Strike Raid during some of his longer attack sequence, you won't take any damage and can land a few extra hits in if you time it right.

Just beat him for the first time in 1.5 Remix.

I used the Strike Raid method in the original Kingdom Hearts, and in the PS2 version of Final Mix (imported it and LPed it before 1.5 was ever announced) I didn't use it and instead used the slapshot method since you can't negate most of the attacks. Same with the Unknown as well with Slapshot, except they nerfed him greatly in 1.5 because in the original the command prompt to get out of the curse was one the command menu constantly shifting around, but in 1.5 they made it that you just had to hit the triangle button at the right time.

 

[Johnny Impact]

I never beat Metroid Prime. Specifically, I could beat Prime's physical form about half the time, but the Ghost just tore me a new asshole over and over.

Took me a long, LONG time to beat the boss of Dungeon Master (obscure reference of the day!). I pounded on Chaos for literally hours. Once I figured out he was invulnerable, it took maybe 30 minutes to get him Caged. So I guess this doesn't count?

FTL, the flagship. Play 30 or so games before getting a good enough loadout to engage boss. Barely defeat first stage, die like ***** to second stage. Play 30 more games, die like a ***** again. Now do it again. Now do it AGAIN. It wore thin. I still like the game but I only play it idly, I no longer expect to get anywhere near the end.

Final Fantasy X had that breeder guy who made optional monsters for you to fight. I fought this one beast for about 40 minutes. Every time I hit it, it retaliated by killing a party member. Each round, it healed itself for like 200 points less than I had inflicted on it. There must have been a gimmick to it but I never figured out what.

Viewtiful Joe. Not one boss, exactly, but the level that's just every boss fight over again. They were challenging at the end of stages when the gauge had filled up but Jesus fucking Christ on a cracker they were IMPOSSIBLE with min gauge.

Currently the boss I can't beat is my own life. Each week I'm working more hours than the week before. =P

 

[FPLOON]

Kurt Zisa...Kingdom Hearts 1,5 HD ReMix...Proud difficulty. I still to this day cannot beat him. I've managed to beat Rock Titan, Ice Titan, and Phantom but I cannot beat Kurt Zisa. This asshole has been haunting me since I was 14 playing the original Kingdom Hearts...

Really? After finding out that you can summon Tinkerbell before the whole "can't cast spells/summons" stick begins, everything else was basically either constant attacking the orbs/head (given the situation), spamming Thunderga when he starts floating around in that sphere, and doing "timed" dodge rolls when he starts top-spinning towards you...

Everything else (like equipping Second Chance, MP Rage/Haste, etc.) is basically "standard" for most boss battles, anyway...

 

[loophole92]

For some reason I couldn't beat General Kim in the Good Ending to True Crime: Streets of LA. I stopped playing out of frustration and didn't come back to it for about a year.

Beat the bastard on my first try and I was sort of annoyed by how easy it seemed. I think something just clicked and I realised his pattern.

 

[Ghaleon640]

So I'm feeling kinda salty right now

I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not...

Anyway, I can think of a few really annoying enemies.

The Final Boss of Lunar: Silver Star Story on the PS1 was just bloody insanely hard. Every turn he could attack twice and most of his spells hit the entire group and did so much damage you would have to heal every turn and may not even be able to fully heal with your healer's group heal spell. He had one skill that instantly killed one party member. Another that drained HP from the whole party basically undoing one turn of damage. Oh, and physical attacks only do 1 DAMAGE, so you have to hit him with magic and special attacks, but he has so much HP that you will run out of MP on every character before you can kill him, probably multiple times, so you better have plenty of MP restoring items. By the way, this game has a very limited inventory system and character's have to equip items to carry into battle. I only beat this guy once and I saved immediately afterward. Happy I did, as the game has a cheap game over that I didn't see coming.
[sub]From what I've read the PSP remake is even worse.[/sub]

Breath of Fire 3 had two rarely encountered random enemies that were actually harder than the final boss. The Beserker started off confused, but had insane physical attack power and a ridiculous attack that hit the whole party. And there was a Mage type that restored 500 Hp at the end of every turn. They didn't have as much HP as the Final Boss, but since all their attacks were borderline One Hit KO due to sheer power. I don't think I ever actually managed to beat them.

Yay! I found someone else that found him hard! I find the battle really tense but can generally win on my first or second try. Watching for him to telegraph his AOE effects, I'll have Alex use the white dragon shield a lot. i remember that it took every FULL MP item I could find in the locked chests in the game. Once I had run out, I got lucky the battle finally ended. Still, its probably my favorite fight to date, especially when your entire strategy has to change when he one hit KO's someone you were relying on for the next turn.

Edit: I uh.... played the game multiple times, obviously. I remember losing a lot the first time, and when I finally won, man it felt like a triumph. .... he's still picture