Difference between revisions of "Boss rush"

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[[Image:Space Harrier - ARC - Screenshot - Stage 18.png|thumb|256x256px|''[[Space Harrier]]'' features one of the first boss rushes in video game history.]]
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[[Image:Space Harrier - ARC - Screenshot - Stage 18.png|thumb|256x256px|''[[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 defeat all the bosses from earlier in the game all over again. This is usually done in a non-stop gauntlet, however, the player is usually more powerful than the first time they faced the bosses, which makes the battle tolerable.
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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 [[Sega]] in the mid-1980s, but, by the late 1980s, it was adopted by several other game developers.
  
I usually enjoy boss rushes. In most games, by the time you've reached the end, you've become a lot more powerful than when you first faced the boss, and it's illustrated by how much easier the boss is to defeat at full power. Occasionally, the bosses will be super-charged, and the battle is insanely difficult, which I don't enjoy.
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There are several variations of the boss rush. The most primitive form is to simply have the player re-fight all of the bosses, unchanged, in sequence, like in ''[[Space Harrier]]''. 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 2]]''.
  
==Games==
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I enjoy boss rushes when the player's character has grown more powerful and the bosses are unchanged, like in ''[[Chrono Trigger]]''. By the time you reach the boss rush, you're so powerful, you can defeat the first couple bosses with a single hit each 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 ''[[Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja]]''. I'm usually okay with boss rushes where the bosses are supercharged to provide a match for the developed character, like in ''[[ActRaiser]]'', but I do see this as a bit of laziness on behalf of the developers.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of games that feature a boss rush, but rather those games that are important to me.
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==Examples==
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This is a list of games which are important to me that feature a boss rush, for the full list, see the [[:Category: Game Mechanic - Boss Rush|category]].
  
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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| ''[[ActRaiser]]'' || 1990-12-16 || Bosses are faster than before.
 
| ''[[ActRaiser]]'' || 1990-12-16 || Bosses are faster than before.
 
|-
 
|-
| ''[[Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja]]'' || 1988-04-?? || Bosses are a bit weaker, some are zombified, and the order is different.
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| ''[[Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja]]'' || 1988-04-?? || Bosses are a bit weaker, some are zombified, and the order is different. Player's character doesn't become more powerful as they progress in this game.
|-
 
| ''[[Bonk's Adventure]]'' || 1989-12-15 ||
 
 
|-
 
|-
| ''[[Bonk's Adventure (Game Boy)]]'' || 1992-11-27 ||  
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| ''[[Bonk's Adventure]]'' || 1989-12-15 || Health may be replenished between bosses.
 
|-
 
|-
| ''[[Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow]]'' || 2003-05-06 ||  
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| ''[[Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow]]'' || 2003-05-06 || Has an unlockable boss rush mode.
 
|-
 
|-
| ''[[Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance]]'' || 2002-06-06 || Has a boss rush mode.
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| ''[[Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance]]'' || 2002-06-06 || Has an unlockable boss rush mode.
 
|-
 
|-
| ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' || 1995-03-11 || You're way overpowered at this point.
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| ''[[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.
 
|-
 
|-
| ''[[Double Dragon (NES)]]'' || 1988-04-08 ||  
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| ''[[Fantasy Zone]] || 1986-03-20 || Bosses are more powerful, but you'll have more upgrades.
 
|-
 
|-
| ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' || 1987-12-18 || The four elemental fiends.
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| ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' || 1987-12-18 || You have to re-fight the four elemental fiends and they're more powerful.
 
|-
 
|-
| ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'' || 1991-07-19 || The Four Elemental Lords.
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| ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'' || 1991-07-19 || Just the four elemental lords.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| ''[[Illusion of Gaia]]'' || 1993-11-27 ||  
 
| ''[[Illusion of Gaia]]'' || 1993-11-27 ||  
|-
 
| ''[[Kirby's Dream Land]]'' || 1992-04-27 ||
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
| ''[[Kirby's Adventure]]'' || 1993-03-23 ||  
 
| ''[[Kirby's Adventure]]'' || 1993-03-23 ||  
 
|-
 
|-
| ''[[Kirby's Dream Land 2]]'' || 1995-03-21 ||
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| ''[[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.
|-
 
| ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past]]'' || 1991-11-21 || A partial boss rush of the light world bosses with harder environments.
 
|-
 
| ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening]]'' || 1993-06-06 || Has a miniboss rush.
 
|-
 
| ''[[Mega Man]]'' || 1987-12-17 || The 6 robot bosses in basic square rooms as part of the last couple levels.
 
 
|-
 
|-
| ''[[Mega Man II]]'' || 1988-12-24 || The 8 robot bosses in basic square rooms. You can choose the order, but you have to fight them all with only a large health boost after each boss.
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| ''[[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 III]]'' || 1990-09-28 || The 8 robot bosses and bosses from ''Mega Man II''.
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| ''[[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 IV]]'' || 1991-12-06 || The 8 robot bosses.
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| ''[[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.
 
|-
 
|-
| ''[[Undertale]]'' || 2015-09-15 ||  
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| ''[[Space Harrier]]'' || 1985-12-?? || Different order, but they're unchanged, so this is quite difficult.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| ''[[Wonder Boy In Monster World]]'' || 1991-10-25 ||  
 
| ''[[Wonder Boy In Monster World]]'' || 1991-10-25 ||  
|-
 
| ''[[Wrath of the Black Manta]]'' || 1989-11-17 || Japanese version has full boss rush in any order, US version has only one boss of player's choice.
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
 
==Link==
 
==Link==
 
{{Link|TVTropes|https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BossRush}}
 
{{Link|TVTropes|https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BossRush}}
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* [https://www.giantbomb.com/boss-rush/3015-1465 giantbomb.com/boss-rush/3015-1465] - Giant Bomb.
  
  
 
[[Category: Game Terminology]]
 
[[Category: Game Terminology]]
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[[Category: Game Mechanics]]

Revision as of 15:35, 27 September 2019

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 Sega in the mid-1980s, but, by the late 1980s, it was adopted by several other game developers.

There are several variations of the boss rush. The most primitive form is to simply have the player re-fight all of the bosses, unchanged, in sequence, like in Space Harrier. 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 2.

I enjoy boss rushes when the player's character has grown more powerful and the bosses are unchanged, like in Chrono Trigger. By the time you reach the boss rush, you're so powerful, you can defeat the first couple bosses with a single hit each 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 Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja. I'm usually okay with boss rushes where the bosses are supercharged to provide a match for the developed character, like in ActRaiser, but I do see this as a bit of laziness on behalf of the developers.

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-?? Bosses are a bit weaker, some are zombified, and the order is different. Player's character doesn't become more powerful as they progress in this game.
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 more powerful.
Final Fantasy IV 1991-07-19 Just the four elemental lords.
Illusion of Gaia 1993-11-27
Kirby's Adventure 1993-03-23
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

Link-TVTropes.png