Do boss battles have a place in modern games?

Interesting topic, I think this discussion will be a good one. Kudos, Cid~

I suppose it depends largely on the genre. Like Kuda mentioned, Touhou and Pokémon are obviously central on boss battles because, in the case of the former, the characters having their spell card battles is integral to the way it runs. Pokémon could be less so, but the gym leaders is a structural thing... in the event that RtW would be turned into a game, or there would be an MMO Pokémon, then I think it becomes a little different because there is less emphasis on linearity and story progression.

I'll give this some thought and revisit this thread, because it is a discussion that interests me a lot.

 

Like with Eebit, I think that it all largely depends on the type of game that you're playing- actually, more or less the game itself. There's just too many truly unique experiences out there in both games of old and new to really box any element in. I don't see very many games in the puzzle genre having boss battles, for instance, but then there's games in that genre that truly innovate it and do involve what are technically boss battles that prove pretty effective towards enhancing the core experience, like Puzzle Quest or Puyo Puyo. Then, you have not-so-run-of-the-mill adventure-types that don't incorporate bosses at all but might well be better off that way, like Bioshock Infinite.

So, it really comes down to game mechanics here, and therein lies the true art of the games industry: there's boundless possibilities so long as one sliver of imagination manages to remain in this world. Boss fights do and do not belong, and it all depends on where you look.

 

According to the OCRemix forums, apparently June of every year is considered to be 'boss month.' So, in celebration of their tradition, I thought I would plug a link to their BadAss Boss Themes album, which can be found HERE, and I highly recommend you check it out. There are some wicked tunes in there.

But on top of that, let's open up a discussion. What is the most memorable boss battle you have played through in a video game? It seems fitting, and I am actually kind of curious as to what makes a boss battle so awesome.