Boss rush

Space Harrier, released in 1985, features one of the first boss rushes in video game history.

A boss rush is a common trope in video games where the player is expected to re-fight all the bosses from earlier in the game. Different games handle this in different ways, but the most common approach is to fight them all in a gauntlet without giving the player a chance to replenish their character or save the game. This trope was pioneered by companies like Capcom and Sega in the mid-1980s, but, by the late 1980s, it was commonplace among several other game developers.

There are several variations of the boss rush. The standard form is to simply have the player re-fight all of the bosses, unchanged, in sequence, like in Space Harrier. Ghosts 'N Goblins, which predates Space Harrier by a few months, requires you to fight all of the game's bosses in stage 6, but they're spread out over the course of the stage, so it's not really a "rush," and there are only three bosses anyway. Some games will make the bosses weaker since they have to be defeated non-stop, like in Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja. Some games make the bosses even harder to account for power-ups the player has collected through the course of the game, like in Fantasy Zone. Other games leave the bosses in their original form, but they're much easier to defeat because the player has become stronger throughout the game, like in Chrono Trigger. Some games give the player limited replenishment between bosses, like in Mega Man II.

Personal

The first boss rush I remember seeing was from the NES port of Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja. My favorite type of boss rush is when the player's character has grown more powerful and the bosses are unchanged, like in Chrono Trigger, and you're able to make short work of bosses that were once difficult which serves as a reminder for how far you've progressed in the game. However, I don't care for boss rushes when your character is still just as weak as the first time you fought them, like in Space Harrier. I'm indifferent with boss rushes where the bosses are supercharged to provide a better match for the more developed character, like in ActRaiser. It's a bit fun, but not that impressive.

Examples

This is a list of games which are important to me that feature a boss rush, for the full list, see the category.

Title	Released	Notes
ActRaiser	1990-12-16	Bosses are faster than before.
Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja	1988-04-??	Some are zombified, and the order is different. Player's character doesn't become more powerful as they progress in this game, but the bosses are weaker than when you first encountered them.
Bonk's Adventure	1989-12-15	Health may be replenished between bosses.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow	2003-05-06	Has an unlockable boss rush mode.
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance	2002-06-06	Has an unlockable boss rush mode.
Chrono Trigger	1995-03-11	You have to re-fight each of the bosses, in the same order, but they have the same stats from your first encounter, so they're a lot easier to defeat.
Fantasy Zone	1986-03-20	Bosses are more powerful, but you'll have more upgrades.
Final Fantasy	1987-12-18	You have to re-fight the four elemental fiends and they're even more powerful.
Final Fantasy IV	1991-07-19	Just the four elemental lords.
Ghosts 'N Goblins	1985-09-19	In stage 6 you have to fight the unicorn demon, dragon, and red guard all over again.
Illusion of Gaia	1993-11-27
Kirby's Adventure	1993-03-23	Stage 2 of Rainbow Resort has you climbing a tower where each floor has a room with one of the game's past bosses. You have to defeat them again in a single life, but all of the bosses require fewer hits this time around.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past	1991-11-21	Has a boss rush of just the light-world bosses in slightly more dangerous environments. However, since you have much better equipment and more life, they're much easier.
Mega Man	1987-12-17	The six robot bosses are fought in a basic square room as part of the last couple levels. They are unchanged, but you have are guaranteed to have the optimal weapon to fight them.
Mega Man II	1988-12-24	You have to re-fight the eight robot bosses, each in a basic square room. You can choose the order, but you have to fight them all with out weapon recharges and only a single large health boost after each boss.
Mega Man III	1990-09-28	You have to re-fight the eight robot bosses from Mega Man II, two per stage. You also have to re-fight the eight robot bosses from Mega Man III in any order with only a single large health boost after each.
Space Harrier	1985-12-??	Different order, but they're unchanged, so this is quite difficult.
Wonder Boy in Monster World	1991-10-25

Link

 

• giantbomb.com/boss-rush/3015-1465 - Giant Bomb.