Bosses that were 10/10 in the buildup and atmosphere, but pretty disappointing mechanic wise

[Lightjolly]

Now.....don't kill me era

but my choice would be Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time

The buildup, finally making your way up the tower, hearing the sound of an organ playing, you run up the revolving stairs and enter a gorgeously lit room with stained glass, Zelda is trapped in a crystal above and Ganondorf is just there playing the damn organ like a boss. The whole buildup and setup was beyond amazing even to this day.

But man the battle itself seemed much more epic as a kid. Stand in a spot and play some electric tennis.....ok.

 

[SofNascimento]

Malenia.

There was so much hype around her, both in game and marketing. And then because of a single broken attack the battle is very frustrating.

 

[CountCorvinus]

The Hollow Man in Redfall.

The approach to his house was really cool, but the fight itself was just your basic three stage boss fight, killing adds between each phase.

Also, The Black Sun at the end of the game.

 

[mrbogus]

Probably Dracula in Super Castlevania IV.

You just got finished with the hardest boss in the game, Death, and then the moody intro music starts while you walk down a hallway with the lights coming on as you pass by them.

Then you get to Dracula's chamber and he appears after a dramatic lightning show and you fight him with your theme music playing.

However the fight itself is pretty easy. Dracula gives you lots of tells and he even gives you chicken legs to restore your health. Plus he only has one form, which was not the case in the game IV is a remake of where Dracula turns into a giant winged creature.

Its a bit underwhelming, but the setup was great for a 16-bit title.

 

[Wrexis]

I hate to say it, but the final boss of the Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shore recently.

Graphically stunning with a gameplay mechanic you've seen a thousand times before.

Basically just shoot heat sinks until the boss overheats.

 

[The Unsent]

Jedi Survivor,

Spoiler

Darth Vader, great entrance scene and an epic battle leading up to it, when you die you get a traditional game over, so it's a proper boss, but when you win he still kills the (Guest) playable character in a cutscene so it feels like the game cheated. Obviously it's canon Vader must survive but still bullshit in my opinion to waste the player's effort.

 

[Starlatine]

Probably Dracula in Super Castlevania IV.

You just got finished with the hardest boss in the game, Death, and then the moody intro music starts while you walk down a hallway with the lights coming on as you pass by them.

Then you get to Dracula's chamber and he appears after a dramatic lightning show and you fight him with your theme music playing.

However the fight itself is pretty easy. Dracula gives you lots of tells and he even gives you chicken wings to restore your health. Plus he only has one form, which was not the case in the game IV is a remake of where Dracula turns into a giant winged creature.

Its a bit underwhelming, but the setup was great for a 16-bit title.

Click to shrink...

probably dracula in most castlevanias

the fun fights are always with some other entity or some post-game stuff. dracula disappoints 9 out of 10 times despite being freaking dracula

 

[DaciaJC]

Malenia.

There was so much hype around her, both in game and marketing. And then because of a single broken attack the battle is very frustrating.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, this would be my pick.

I so very much want to love her boss fight, because she has a fantastic aesthetic and most of her moveset is really enjoyable to learn to dance with. But Waterfowl Dance ends up trashing the experience every single time.

 

[OgTheEnigma]

Spider-Man 2 Mysterio.

Although, that was the point of that boss battle

 

[reclaimerzzzzz]

Deathstroke in Arkham Knight. You've just dealt with the Knight and then Deathstroke shows up and you think this will be a big boss fight as payback for Origins but it's just a stealth Batmobile battle.

 

[Lucia]

Sephiroth in og Final Fantasy VII. Excellent build up until the boss fight, pretty underwhleming.

 

[War95]

A recent one, the boss in the wind temple of Tears of the Kingdom

 

[Bentendo24]

I think Bowser in Galaxy was kind of too easy but my God, the music, the staging, and the most menacing bowser up to that point really made me believe I was in for a crazy fight

 

[Gonzito]

I must admit that del lago in re4 remake dissapointed me a bit, i love the remake and it has become one of my favourite games of all time but this boss was a bit of a let down compared to the original

 

[Layell]

Arkham Asylum could have had the GOAT ending with the buildup, but it just turned into Joke on steroids.

 

[Astral]

Most recently for me is Lost Judgment's final boss. I think it was mostly the hype surrounding it online. On YouTube I would always see the final boss theme being heralded as the greatest thing ever but I thought it was just alright. And while the fight itself has cool moments, I kinda just didn't see much in terms of mechanics. I destroyed him by a using basically the same combo that gave me a bunch of armor to ignore attacks.

 

[boogybro]

Now.....don't kill me era

but my choice would be Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time

The buildup, finally making your way up the tower, hearing the sound of an organ playing, you run up the revolving stairs and enter a gorgeously lit room with stained glass, Zelda is trapped in a crystal above and Ganondorf is just there playing the damn organ like a boss. The whole buildup and setup was beyond amazing even to this day.

But man the battle itself seemed much more epic as a kid. Stand in a spot and play some electric tennis.....ok.

Click to shrink...

Followed by one of the best fights of all time.

 

[SEATLiens]

TOTK

Spoiler

The build up to every temple has been cool but every boss fight has been pathetically easy. All the atmosphere surrounding the world bosses are cool too but yet again they are piss easy

 

[ChaserX]

Spoiler: FINAL FANTASY VII

The final duel in Final Fantasy VII. Look I get that this is a victory lap after the Safer Sephiroth, but you're kidding yourself if you thought it was going to be like that when you first played. There's no option but Omnislash, and if you choose to not attack, Sephiroth strikes you, and you automatically counter and end the fight flaccidly. Not asking for a full battle here, but just a little back-and-forth before the huge finish.

 

[NightmaresHunter]

Malenia

Boring, uninteresting moveset without anything special, they had to give her an annoying ability, and broke one of her attack to maker her harder.

One of the most disappointing FROM bosses, let alone in the media

 

[Lord Vatek]

TotK

Spoiler

The final phase of the final boss is easily one of the weakest Zelda bosses of all time but damn if it isn't cool visually.

 

[ChaserX]

Here's one more:

Spoiler: Persona 5 Royal

Adam Kadmon. The build up simply beautiful, and you just got done fighting a phase that truly tested you on your knowledge of the combat system. You're feeling both hype and dread, and what are you greeted with? A phase more conceptually simple and shorter than the first palace boss (just attack and heal), and phase where you do next to no damage and are scripted to not die. At least the story stays good throughout this entire sequence.

 

[Shiz Padoo]

OP, I was thinking of a Zelda game but it wasn't OoT. Gotta say the BotW Ganon was pretty mid.

 

[ajoshi]

Yakuza the topic
atmosphere and QTEs are great but the combat system doesnt do them much justice

 

[Kinsei]

Followed by one of the best fights of all time.

Click to shrink...

OoT Ganon is the epitome of this thread. All you do is roll between his legs and smack his tail while Ganon just flails about helplessly.

 

[bye]

Malenia.

There was so much hype around her, both in game and marketing. And then because of a single broken attack the battle is very frustrating.

Click to shrink...

Nah this is an amazing boss fight

 

[Bishop89]

Spoiler: Bioshock

Frank Fontaine, a generic boss fight

 

[Isilia]

I'd say Luca Blight has the best tension and build up I've ever seen in a game ever.

As far as being disappointing, he really didn't pose any challenge battle wise by the time I got to him.

But dear lord, I really wanted to hurt this man.

 

[Sumac]

Spoiler: Elden ring

the last blob looks wonderful but it is probably the most anticlimactic and simultaneously tedious thing ever, the running after it with slow souls running is just a mind bending decision

 

[Spork4000]

Man-eaters from demon's souls to me, just for how jank those bosses are and the fact that I was expecting some weird Eldritch horror after seeing the monsters at the bottom of the tower. I got 2 really stupid, glitchy gargoyles.

 

[boogybro]

OoT Ganon is the epitome of this thread. All you do is roll between his legs and smack his tail while Ganon just flails about helplessly.

Click to shrink...

STILL one of the best fights ever, though I will agree the mechanics are very basic. So still very much on topic.

 

[Delaney]

Tantalus in Skyward Sword

The dungeon and the way the boss gets introduced is so cool and original… only for you to get greeted by Melissa McCarthy and face yet another slash tentacles-arrow to the eye boss in the series.

 

[Ananasas]

pretty much all TOTK bosses so far

 

[SpongeVizio]

Funny you say Ocarina of Time cause Majora's Mask would be my answer.

Some of the most fun bosses in Zelda along with great atmosphere and buildup all game culminates in...a pretty mediocre 3 phase fight where you just slash Majora over and over. Made even easier thanks to the God Mode Mask the game can give you a few moments earlier.

At least it looked cool tho.

 

[Boy]

Now.....don't kill me era

but my choice would be Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time

The buildup, finally making your way up the tower, hearing the sound of an organ playing, you run up the revolving stairs and enter a gorgeously lit room with stained glass, Zelda is trapped in a crystal above and Ganondorf is just there playing the damn organ like a boss. The whole buildup and setup was beyond amazing even to this day.

But man the battle itself seemed much more epic as a kid. Stand in a spot and play some electric tennis.....ok.

Click to shrink...

When i think about a boss fight in general, my mind defaults to this fight. As a kid, I thought this was such a cool fight and it has left an impression on me after all these years.

 

[ket]

GoW Ragnarok's two final bosses couldve and should've gonna a lot farther than they did. The final boss of GoW 2018 was more bombastic and creative by comparison.

 

[Fart Master]

Spoiler: Bioshock

Frank Fontaine, a generic boss fight

Click to shrink...

This is the best example for this lol, talk about anti climatic.

 

[BossAttack]

Yeah, this would be my pick.

I so very much want to love her boss fight, because she has a fantastic aesthetic and most of her moveset is really enjoyable to learn to dance with. But Waterfowl Dance ends up trashing the experience every single time.

Click to shrink...

Agreed.

 

[sazz]

Dragon God in Demons Souls

 

[thejpfin]

Quake bosses, but to be fair I'm not sure was there really any serious buildup for those boss fights.

 

[SirKai]

Death's Hand in Jade Empire. Killed him effortlessly in probably less than 2 minutes, the same as any other random enemy in the game.

 

[GamerJM]

Funny you say Ocarina of Time cause Majora's Mask would be my answer.

Some of the most fun bosses in Zelda along with great atmosphere and buildup all game culminates in...a pretty mediocre 3 phase fight where you just slash Majora over and over. Made even easier thanks to the God Mode Mask the game can give you a few moments earlier.

At least it looked cool tho.

Click to shrink...

This one is also disappointing because there's no dungeon leading up to it, just some optional trials that are less well designed than basically everything else in the game.

 

[Pharaoh]

I've just beat Calamity Ganon (BoTW) a couple hours ago, so that one.

 

[Hentz]

Not going to spoil anything but the first phase of the final fight in Tears of the Kingdom was such a let down, and honestly the entire fight even though it was epic was kind of... lame and lacking a little bit

 

[Spork4000]

Dragon God in Demons Souls

Click to shrink...

Actually, yeah this. All of that buildup for a gimmick boss was a let down.

 

[vixolus]

Actually, yeah this. All of that buildup for a gimmick boss was a let down.

Click to shrink...

Storm king though? Legit

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Spoiler: Bioshock

Frank Fontaine, a generic boss fight

Click to shrink...

I had loads of homing rockets saved up by that point and he died after about 6 shots in probably around 10 to 15 seconds.

 

[Tommy Showbiz]

Everything about Gwyn thematically and narratively is fantastic, but the fight itself is way too easy if you are even remotely competent at parrying.

 

[Ashler]

 

[Doskoi Panda]

Here's one more:

Spoiler: Persona 5 Royal

Adam Kadmon. The build up simply beautiful, and you just got done fighting a phase that truly tested you on your knowledge of the combat system. You're feeling both hype and dread, and what are you greeted with? A phase more conceptually simple and shorter than the first palace boss (just attack and heal), and phase where you do next to no damage and are scripted to not die. At least the story stays good throughout this entire sequence.

Click to shrink...

I'd say that the slap battle is one of those times where the storytelling and emotional weight make up for the mechanical disappointment. It felt like a fitting way to end such a well conceived and emotional final chapter.