In the mood for bosses

I've been thinking about bosses all day (mostly because I've been re-playing Kingdom Hearts II, and the combat is so satisfying), and I have been hankering to expound on a topic which Anthony, Ryan, Joe and I would often deliberate: the best boss battles of all time.

Now, my gaming experience is somewhat limited (mostly to RPGs, platformers, and the like), but reliving the climactic clashes is particularly satisfying. And so, for no good reason than "I feel like it," here's a non-comprehensive list of my favorite battles.

For all those following at home, feel free to point out any glaring omissions. I'm working extempore here. Oh, and spoilers ahead. This means you, Ryan Lucas.

1. Rufus Vs. Cloud, Final Fantasy VII
I think this one should pop into the mind of any RPG aficionado when they think "slick boss battle." FFVII's hard-rockin' boss theme, the top of the ShinRa building with helicopter circling, Rufus Shinra all decked out in a white trenchcoat toting a shotgun-- it's just unparalleled coolness. It's one on one, too, which always ups the dramatic stakes. The low camera angle aids the cinematic feel. It's not the most difficult of fights, but then it's not the most difficult of games. Classic.

2. Last Stand of Luca Blight, Suikoden II
Suikoden II contains a whole slew of slick battles (Neclord? Can I get a "what what?"), some of which are even cooler for being duels (a concept somewhat abandoned in recent entries to the series), but nothing, nothing, compares with the horror that is the assault on Luca Blight. You fill the man full of arrows and it still takes you three parties of six people each to finish him off, and then you still have to duel him. And it's tough. The man is inhuman, and he doesn't go easily. Accompanied by a slick piece of music appropriately entitled "The Chase," this battle is forever and away one of the coolest in all RPG history.

3. Time Crash Ground Zero, Chrono Cross
You don't want to fight Miguel. You really don't. And yet, no matter what you do or don't want to do, he's going to wipe the floor with you and there's not a thing you can do about it. The music playing is mournful, somber, and you're getting your ass handed to you by a middle-aged man in a pith helmet. To add insult to injury he's a white element, which you'd do fine against if your main character wasn't trapped in the body of his mortal enemy. The scenery, of a shattered world caught in the final moment of its last sunset, only accentuates the phenomenal coolness of this boss.

4. Magical Weapon Nash, Lunar: Silver Star Story
I'm probably alone in this one, but if Ryan were to read this I am well sure that he'd be able to back me up. Nash is a delightfully weasely character, and one that you're glad to have in your party-- but one that you want to kick the crap out of at least once before the end credits roll. Lunar gives you that chance, and dresses your erstwhile ally with the Ace Ventura 'do up as a giant robotic chicken just for the occasion. The battle's even accompanied by unique battle music, and it's not particularly hard, just so you're never in danger of the embarrassment of losing to that magic-wielding little twerp.

5. Battle on the Bridge, Xenogears
Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Xenogears is another entry in the long list of exceptional Squaresoft games with innumerable awesome confrontations, but this one might just take the cake. Your party (which better be leveled up, or you are STUCK, sir) probably consists of Citan, Bart, and Billy (and God help you if it doesn't), and you are fighting the slickest motherfucker of them all: Id. He lays the beats real funky, I assure you, and he is most definitely blocking your way out. It's a shame Fei's not there to help you out-- where could that boy be? I wonder...

6. The Dolls, Final Fantasy IV
I'm putting this one up here even though I'm an uneducated heathen who has yet to actually complete FFIV, because I know that if I don't David will be sure to point out that I am remiss. Creepy music, creepy dolls, and a creepy setting all make for a particularly memorable battle. I mean seriously-- marionettes? They must have intended for little kids to get nightmares.

7. Grand Finale, Final Fantasy VI
As long as I'm doing SNES games, why not bring up the climax of the opera scene? It sure doesn't last long, but thrashing Ultros in front of an audience of hundreds with orchestral accompaniment is sure to give anyone a smile. The octopus's delightful outbursts aren't half as annoying as his tendency to turn your party members into Imps, but it's all worth it to wipe that smug, toothy grin of his mollusc face. Anything for the theater, right?

8. Battle with Magus, Chrono Trigger
This one is particularly brilliant because it's also a false endgame, and if it's not the most convincing then it's certainly one of the most entertaining. After sloughing your way through Magus's Castle (a long and arduous battle), you find yourself in the dark basement, and as you proceed down the unlit path torches spring to life at your feet-- revealing one of the least friendly RPG characters ever to actually join your party. With Frog wielding the Masamune, it's a particularly spectacular showdown.

9. Duel with Riku at the Door to Darkness, Kingdom Hearts
I've got a special place in my heart for this particular fight. It's something that can only be appreciated when you've graduated from the kind of "attackattackattackCUREattackattack" gameplay that Kingdom Hearts sometimes lends itself to. When you learn how to dodge, when you learn how to parry, when you learn how to place Sora exactly where he needs to be to avoid being torched, then this fight ceases to become a frustrating exercise in keeping yourself alive and instead becomes a clash worthy of the greatest movie swordfights. When properly executed, there's only one word to describe this fight, and that word is "smoov."

10. Final Battle, Brave Fencer Musashi
That's right, I went there. I needed a tenth to round out my list, and I felt bad using Neclord, so here it is. I've been deliberately avoiding final boss battles because they are by their very nature insanely cool (except when they're not, see "Vandal Hearts" for more information), but Musashi as a whole isn't exactly a "cool" game. Indeed, if you manage to endure the ridiculous annoyance which is pretty much all of Musashi's story, your reward is very justly earned: a final boss battle which is far slicker than the game has any right to. Atop a giant magical tower, against a being of pure light, Musashi's final climax is surprisingly awesome, and awesomely surprising. It's worthy of the list, I think.

Okay, any thoughts? Can I get some "right on"s? Or have I made some terrible, glaring omissions? (Note, thought, that about three items into my list I decided to stick solely to RPGs, which does not in my mind include Zelda games-- no, no, I have an entire other list for other games, one that may be forthcoming if I get bored, which does not seem unlikely). Did I stir up any deep cravings? Should I have included Roof of Riovanes? It's just so short, though...