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Video game bosses have it rather rough within their respective worlds. They’re just minding their own business, potentially trying to take over the world, and a whole bunch of ragtag opponents keeps thwarting them at every turn. It’s even worse when they’re a mini-boss because then they just become stepping stones in the hero’s journey to greatness.
There’s a lot of external pressure for a boss to perform. If they don’t do it well enough, they get left behind and forgotten. It’s harsh, but that’s the kind of world they live in.
10 Chances Are, They Are Going To Lose
Bosses are set up to be the big, difficult battle at the end of the dungeon, quest, area, or game as a whole. That means that the protagonist is going to have to get through the boss in order to progress or complete the game.
They have to beat the boss, so no matter how difficult or all-powerful a boss has been set up to be, they are going to lose. In a few instances, they get to win, though only temporarily. Then the protagonist comes back later to beat them anyway.
9 Any Minions Are Not Going To Be Much Use
All of that time put into the recruitment, training, and demanding total loyalty from a bunch of minions goes out the window the second the protagonist enters the field. They might be able to temporarily stall the heroes, but never for long enough for the boss to do what they planned.
In the end, it’s almost entirely up to the boss to try and face the protagonists— who are almost always in a group— by themselves. No wonder bosses have a hard time winning when they are outnumbered. If only minions were more useful.
8 They’re Likely To Be Painted As A Villain
Even if the goal was to create a peaceful utopia or to survive a horrible curse, a boss will almost always be labeled as the villain of the story. History is written in the eyes of the victor and all that.
So no matter what the end goal was for a boss, they’re going to look like the bad guy. It’s even worse for the final boss, who also gets to be tagged The Big Bad even if they really weren’t.
7 The Designs Have To Be Perfect Or They Will Fail To Impress
Bosses absolutely must be where a game shines. If a boss doesn’t have one of the most interesting designs, they’re seen as a failure by the community. That’s not to say they have to be complex in their design, they just have to rock it.
It’s even worse for the final boss, who has to look like a significant portion of the budget went into them or risk feeling subpar and unsatisfying. They absolutely must be the best of the worst, and if they aren’t, will the world hear about it.
6 If The Music Is Lackluster, So Are They
There is little worse than disappointing boss music. It’s the one time that the regular combat music which has been forced on the player for hours gets to change. It’s really what can make or break a boss fight, so it had better be good.
If it isn’t, the boss fight ends up going over in an unsatisfying way and makes it hard for the players to care about them. Bad music drags the whole fight down to the point that the worst thing is when the player has to turn it off just to make the fight bearable.
5 They Had Better Drop Good Loot
The fact of the matter is everyone wants loot. Bosses are the places where that good loot is hidden, so those greedy protagonists are going to fight hard for that special thing.
If a boss doesn’t at least have a chance to drop something worthwhile, it is just going to anger the players. It makes the whole fight even more of a drag if there isn’t going to be something worth it in the end, so a boss had better have good stuff to drop at the end.
4 A Lot Of Them Are Expected To Have A Gimmick
There is little point to having a boss fight that is just like every other fight the player has had to go through up to that point. Therefore, most bosses are expected to have some sort of gimmick or thing that sets them apart.
Gone are the days where a boss is just a tougher version of all the other things nearby. That is not good enough anymore. If a boss wants to be truly memorable, they have to kick it up a notch and do something extra special that those around it can’t.
3 Only Minibosses Can Get Away With Just Existing Anymore
Every real boss nowadays has to have a reason for existing. They need to have a shred of humanity so players can get behind them. They need a personality, goals, and to be doing their thing for more than just the thing itself.
Only little minibosses that are there to stall or serve as a finale to an area can get away without any sort of characterization in the modern world. Those are meant to be forgettable and almost like the period at the end of the area’s sentence; now it’s all over. A real boss can’t be that way without leaving players full of salt.
2 They Need To Be Able To Pose A Real Threat
On top of needing a gimmick, personality, and cool design, a boss has to actually pose a real threat. They have to endanger the party, cause problems for the world, or get in the way of the protagonists’ goals. They absolutely must be something that is a force to be reckoned with, especially if they are the final boss.
If they aren’t, the whole game falls apart. It makes it feel pointless to be going against them and has the game turn into a slog really quickly. One of the biggest complaints is when a boss isn’t difficult enough or even non-existent, so they have to be able to really pose a serious threat to the heroes.
1 If Someone Doesn’t Get Stuck There, They’re Not Good Enough
Gamers aren’t always recognized as being the kindest group of people out there. So when there’s a boss that literally nobody has ever had any level of difficulty with, they get a bit frothy.
It’s worse when the game leads up to a potential big bad boss fight, only to have it torn away from them in a cinematic. The best bosses are always the ones where people make a big deal about how much work it took to actually beat them, with the most memorable ones being those that were too hard. A boss has to be able to deliver the pain and make all that grind pay off in the end. It’s all riding on them to perform.
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