Group: the Gamer Group

I thought it would be fun to share my top 10 PS2 bosses I love to hate:

10. Phantom - Devil May Cry
DMC is a title I played very early in my PS2 days. I played it in my first year and my collection was probably under a dozen games. So why Phantom the giant demon spider-thing? It was at the point in the game where I said "screw this", and traded it back in. If I played it again today, it may be a different story, but I remember this thing from several years ago as a serious point of frustration. I just couldn't figure out how to hurt this stupid monster.

9. The Abomination - Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
This one was frustrating for a different reason. Poor camera control and unhelpful lock on feature for the arena I was fighting in made this last fight much more chaotic than it needed to be.

8. Klunk - Secret Agent Clank
Although originally launched for the PSP I did play the PS2 port of this one. The final boss was annoying not because it was hard, but because it reached punishing status with the lack of check points. You needed to do things so flawlessly, and one mistake at any point in time would almost certainly seal your doom. Combine this by making it a 3 stage boss battle with cut scenes in between, but not allowing you to continue from any point along the way puts this one in the #8 spot.

7. Paavo - Alter Echo
Like Phantom, this one goes back quite a ways. It was yet another multi-stage, no-check-point battle. It was so long ago, I don't remember a lot about this fight, other than it was brutal. A boss fight where your opponent was not only faster and stronger, but one step ahead of you every step of the way. A lingering feeling of anger keeps Paavo on my list.

5. Phalanx - Shadow of the Colossus
This game made it into my top 5 PS2 games of all time, but that doesn't mean it was perfect. The Phalanx was a frustrating boss, but only for part of the fight. He's a giant flying dragon like thing. What made it so upsetting for me was how the controls didn't feel right for this fight. What you need to do is first shoot Phalanx so he comes close to the ground (no problem). Once he's flying low, you have to close in on him to jump on one of his wings (or fins I guess you could call them) before he takes to the air again. That was frustrating in itself, but when you can accomplish this jump you have to make your way to the top then jump from the fin to the body. This is where the controls seems to falter for me, or at least where I couldn't figure out how to do it right. Wanderer (your character) would always stumble, or fall off, or get stuck so I couldn't move. This made for one of the most unnecessarily prolonged battles I had with the colossi.

5. Unicron - Transformers
Timed missions are a pet peeve of mine... let alone timed boss fights. When done right, they can be exhilarated. When done during a challenging fight, in an unknown environment using a newly introduced control scheme for your character just for this battle, what you get is an aggravating fight with Unicron.

4. the Moon - the Adventures of Cookie and Cream
The Adventures of Cookie and Cream is one of those games that is easier with 2 players, as long as you can co-operate. So when you're playing single player in a fight that felt like it had more to deal with luck than talent thanks to an unpredictable boss with no discernible pattern, loud, naughty words will be your only partner.

3. Gran Blue, The Shark - Viewtiful Joe
The Shark. Some claim he's one of the toughest bosses in Viewtiful Joe, some say he's the easiest. Out of the bosses I made it through, it was the one that made me say "What is going on here" the most. Just a painful fight for me to go through.

2. The Vizier - Prince of Persia: the Two Thrones
Many of the games I've mentioned are excellent games overall, and the fights I've mentioned are and exception to the rest of the game-play. The Two Thrones for example is my favourite of the PoP series on the PS2 but has the worst boss fight out of the three. Again we see a multi-stage, no check-point boss fight (can you tell I hate those) with a guy that, by the final stage, is shooting fireballs I could barely see, and the only way you can avoid them is keep moving forward. But moving forward consists of a getting through a platforming section that has some trial and error accompanying it. So if you make the "error", your bound to have to start the stage all over again. And rewind doesn't provide much help, as it usually just puts in a spot where he can shoot you down again. Thankfully, they didn't let the game end with the Vizier, and it continued on to one more task to provide a very satisfying ending; because I hate finishing a game angry.

1. Dark Yabu -Vexx
Maybe it's just because it's the most recently played boss I've faced on my list, but the thing that puts this guy in my number one spot is a combination of some of things I've already identified, and something new. Of course, my biggest pet peeve (multi-stage, no checkpoints) is present. Also combined with trial and error areas where if you "error" you're back to the beginning. How can you practice if it takes forever to get back to that spot? Come on! It's also one of those things where if you take too many hits in the first part, then you might as well give up for the rest of the fight and start over. Nothing like continuous punishment for an early mistake! And lastly, it's a frustrating battle that follows a game with a gratuitous amount of controller snapping moments sprinkled throughout the whole thing. Nothing like taking a poor experience, and making it worse. Eventually I gave up. As of today the game still holds it's victory over me... and I don't like it when a game beats me.