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The 20 greatest bosses in video game history

In honor of National Boss Day, thePhoenix.com presents the ultimate kingpins
By RYAN STEWART AND MITCH KRPATA  |  October 23, 2006
061013_sephiroth_main
You know Sephiroth will be on this list . . .

National Boss Day, this year on Monday, October 16, doesn’t usually command much of a celebration. So instead of leaving goopy Hallmark cards on the desks of the higher-ups around here, we’re taking the opportunity to grant some much-needed recognition to some of our favorite video game bosses by counting down the 20 best kingpins in gaming history.

Some bosses are supreme beings of evil. Others are cartoonish bumblers. Some square off against a hero in epic battles. Others simply taunt their good-guy adversaries. Some great bosses debuted twenty years ago. And three of our top twenty come from games released in 2005. But all share one thing in common: they elevate the gaming experience to another level in one way or another.

Click here to start the list, and leave your comments below.

20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
| More
35 Comments / Add Comment

Parallax

I agree that Goro was an incredibly hard sub boss and much easier to Shang Tsung but that all went out the window once you figured out that you could get a flawless victory if you kept your distance and jump kicked him in the head.
Posted: October 13 2006 at 3:31 PM

bondemurd

Though they were not technically a "boss" the Penguins in NHL 93 were killer
Posted: October 16 2006 at 3:54 PM

WeApOn

I was enjoying this article until I saw this: "We think Metal Man, one of the most easily defeated bosses in the second game is more deserving. Why? Because the Metal Blades you receive upon defeating him are far and away the most useful weapon Mega Man can be equipped with in the entirety of the franchise." I'm sorry, but in NO way should any award be given to anyone because of what you from them. This has NOTHING to do with, in this case, the boss Metal Man. Go to school.
Posted: October 17 2006 at 3:32 PM

thoreau

two words... Sinistar hungers!
Posted: October 18 2006 at 1:01 AM

sdg

wwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaattttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no dracula come on, man.
Posted: October 18 2006 at 2:07 AM

CenTur10n

WHERE IS PYRAMID HEAD =(( ?????? Silent Hill Rulezzz....
Posted: October 18 2006 at 5:34 AM

Magnafiend

This article....where to even begin....its just so oppinionated and biased in my oppinion. First problem I have with it is how general and vague it is. I mean, all off foxhound is listed under ONE NUMBER! Pick and Choose. 15 was DEFINITELY biased, mainly because the only reason Hitler is there is because its like "OMG NO WAI! U CAN KILLZ HITLER OMG ROFL!". Then theres Metal Man, who isnt on there because hes a boss, but because of the attack you get after beating him. If you wanna include the metal blade thing, make a top 20 powerups or weapons article, dont just throw it in here. "Bark at The Moon" TECHNICALLY isnt a boss, but a really hard song. its like saying Legend of Maxx from DDR is a boss. Ganondorf technically didnt make an appearance in Zelda until Ocarina of Time. The Collossi, once again, pick one, dont be general and get them all. You can say they were all great, but pick one out of them that you though was best. Abobo is just doesnt deserve as high a place as he does, I mean, Kefka has a cult fanbase and HE's not on the list, and hes probably far funnier than Abobo will ever be. Bowser threw the hammers, he didnt shoot them out of his shell. nice spoiler in the sephiroth pictures.... and once again, technicalities ensue as shodan isn't technically a boss. ok, my rant on everything wrong with this article is over.
Posted: October 19 2006 at 10:02 PM

badmotherfucker

FUCK YOU for making me click thru 20 pages just to bump yer page count so you could lie to your advertisers.
Posted: October 27 2006 at 11:08 AM

Built_to_game

aries should be #1 god of war rocks
Posted: November 03 2006 at 8:30 AM

Jack Red

Dr. Robotnik was always a unique boss to take on in Sonic the Hedgehog Series even on the Genesis.
Posted: July 11 2007 at 2:15 AM
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