In video games, a boss is a significantly powerful non-player character created as an opponent to players. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight. Bosses are generally far stronger than other opponents the players have faced up to that point in a game. Boss battles are generally seen at climax points of particular sections of games, such as at the end of a level or stage or guarding a specific objective. A miniboss is a boss weaker or less significant than the main boss in the same area or level, though usually more powerful than the standard opponents and often fought alongside them. A superboss is generally much more powerful than the bosses encountered as part of the main game's plot and is often an optional encounter. A final boss is often the main antagonist of a game's story and the defeat of that character usually provides a positive conclusion to the game. A boss rush is a stage where players face multiple previous bosses again in succession.
Mega Man & Bass is a 1998 action-platform game developed and published by Capcom. It is a spin-off game in the original Mega Man series and was originally released in Japan for the Super Famicom on April 24, 1998. It was later ported to the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld in 2002, and localized in English and released the following year.
Kirby's Pinball Land is a 1993 pinball video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It was HAL Laboratory's third pinball video game after the MSX and NES title Rollerball and the Game Boy title Revenge of the 'Gator. It was also the first spin-off and second Game Boy title in the Kirby series, as well as the second pinball video game Nintendo published after the NES title Pinball. The game was rereleased on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console service in July 2012.
Kung-Fu Master, known as Spartan X in Japan, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up developed by Irem as an arcade video game in 1984, and distributed by Data East in North America. Designed by Takashi Nishiyama, the game was based on Hong Kong martial arts films. It is a loose adaptation of the Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao film Wheels on Meals (1984), called Spartan X in Japan, with the protagonist Thomas named after Jackie Chan's character in the film. The game is also heavily inspired by the Bruce Lee film Game of Death (1972), which was the basis for the game's concept. Nishiyama, who had previously designed the side-scrolling shooter Moon Patrol (1982), combined fighting elements with a shoot 'em up gameplay rhythm. Irem and Data East exported the game to the West without the Spartan X license.
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, released as Renegade in the West, is a beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed by Taito for the arcades in 1986. In the original Japanese version Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, the game revolves around a high-school delinquent named Kunio-kun who must stand up against a series of rival gangs frequently targeting his classmate Hiroshi. In the Western version Renegade, the player controls a street brawler who must face four different gangs in order to rescue his girlfriend being held captive by a mob boss.
Final Fight 2 is a 1993 side-scrolling beat 'em up video game released by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the direct sequel to the 1989 coin-operated arcade game Final Fight, which was previously also released for the SNES. Final Fight 2 was developed by Capcom's consumer division with no preceding coin-op version. The game was re-released onto Wii's Virtual Console service in 2009 for the North American and European regions.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, or Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Tournament Fighters in Europe, is the title of three different fighting games based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, produced by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, and Super NES and released during a period between 1993 and 1994. Konami produced a different fighting game based on the franchise each featuring a differing cast of characters for the platforms. All three versions of the game were re-released as part of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection in 2022. with online play using rollback netcode for the SNES version of the game.
Red Earth, released in Japan as Warzard, is a fantasy-themed 2D fighting game released by Capcom as an arcade game in 1996. It was the first game for Capcom's CP System III hardware, the same hardware which Street Fighter III and its derivatives ran on. After not being released on a home platform for 26 years, it was announced on February 20, 2022 that Red Earth would receive its first port as a part of the Capcom Fighting Collection on June 24, 2022 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Hotel Mario is a puzzle video game developed by Fantasy Factory and published by Philips Interactive Media on the CD-i format on April 5, 1994. The player controls Mario, who must find Princess Toadstool by going through seven hotels in the Mushroom Kingdom; each hotel is divided into stages, and the objective is to close all of the doors on each stage. Each hotel ends in a boss fight with one of Bowser's Koopalings, culminating in a battle with Bowser.
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, officially abbreviated MPO, is a 2006 action-adventure stealth video game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation Portable. The game was directed by Masahiro Yamamoto and written by Gakuto Mikumo, with series creator Hideo Kojima acting as producer.
Elevator Action Returns, also known as Elevator Action II, is a 1994 run and gun video game developed for arcades and published by Taito. It is the sequel to Elevator Action (1983) with a grittier, more realistic setting. It retains the elevator-based gimmick from the original, but expands the gameplay system and replaces the spy motif with a new scenario involving a paramilitary team fighting against a terrorist group.
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy is a fighting video game published by Midway based on the Cartoon Network animated television series of the same name. The game was developed by High Voltage Software and released in North America on September 25, 2006, for the GameCube and PlayStation 2, and on November 17, 2006, for the Wii as a launch title. A companion game for the Game Boy Advance, featuring sidescrolling beat 'em up gameplay, was developed by Full Fat and released on October 31, 2006. The Wii version was released in Australia on March 15, 2007, and in Europe on March 16, 2007. The game pits characters from the series against one another in 3D arena battles using various attacks, items, and environmental hazards to eliminate opponents and be the last one standing.
Metamorphic Force is an arcade game released by Konami in August 1993. It is one of Konami's last side-scrolling Beat 'em up games to appear in the arcades along Violent Storm.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie is the title of four different video game adaptations of the film of the same name which were released for the Super NES, Genesis, Game Boy and Game Gear. While the games are ostensibly based on the film, they also feature characters and plot elements from the second season of the original TV series. Like the previous game versions of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, none of the four versions of the movie game are ports of each other.
Gauntlet IV is a 1993 action video game developed by M2 and published by Tengen for the Sega Genesis. It includes a four player port of the original Gauntlet, as well other exclusive modes such as a new RPG Quest Mode and head to head battle mode, it was well received by critics.
In video games, a quick time event (QTE) is a method of context-sensitive gameplay in which the player performs actions on the control device shortly after the appearance of an on-screen instruction/prompt. It allows for limited control of the game character during cut scenes or cinematic sequences in the game. Performing the wrong prompt, mistiming the action, or not performing any action at all results in the character's failure at their task, resulting in a death/failure animation and often an immediate game over or the loss of a life, with some games providing a lesser but significant penalty of sorts instead.
Godzilla Generations is an action game developed by General Entertainment and published by Sega for the Dreamcast in 1998. It was exclusively released in Japan as one of the system's four launch titles. The game is based on the Godzilla franchise and involves the player controlling various giant monsters in an attempt to destroy real-life Japanese cities.
Hey Arnold!: The Movie is a 2002 platform video game developed by Altron and published by THQ, based upon the TV show's film released the same year. It is the only video game to be exclusively based on Hey Arnold!.
Dexter's Laboratory: Robot Rampage is an action video game published by Bay Area Multimedia for the Game Boy Color and released in the United States on November 28, 2000. It is a graphically redesigned version of the game Elevator Action EX, also developed by Altron, with characters from the American animated television series Dexter's Laboratory from Cartoon Network.
Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion is a 2011 crossover fighting video game developed by Papaya Studio and published by Crave Games, for the Nintendo 3DS. It features characters from various Cartoon Network programs battling against one another. The game was released in June 2011 in North America and in April 2012 in Europe. An upgraded port, Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL, was released for the Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 less than a year later.
