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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.
Gyruss is shoot 'em up arcade video game designed by Yoshiki Okamoto and released by Konami in 1983. Gyruss was initially licensed to Centuri in the United States for dedicated machines, before Konami released their own self-distributed conversion kits for the game. Parker Brothers released contemporary ports for home systems. An enhanced version for the Family Computer Disk System was released in 1988, which was released to the North American Nintendo Entertainment System in early 1989.
Ikari Warriors, known as Ikari in Japan, is a vertically scrolling run and gun video game released for arcades by SNK in 1986. It was published in North America by Tradewest. At the time there were many Commando clones on the market. What distinguished Ikari Warriors were rotary joysticks and a two-player cooperative mode. The rotary joystick controls were in turn based on SNK's earlier TNK III (1985). Ikari was originally intended to be an official licensed adaptation of the film Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), but SNK were initially unable to acquire the rights to the film.
Bosconian is a scrolling multidirectional shooter arcade video game developed and released by Namco in Japan in 1981. In North America, it was manufactured and distributed by Midway Games. The goal is to earn as many points as possible by destroying enemy missiles and bases using a ship which shoots simultaneously both the front and back.
Twinkle Star Sprites is a competitive vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game created by ADK and published by SNK in 1996. It was ADK's last production for the Neo Geo. Two players are each in separate, side-by-side, vertically scrolling levels. Combinations of shots and timed power-ups damage the other player. These attacks also serve as counters to the opponent's attack.
Alpha Mission, known as ASO: Armored Scrum Object in Japan, is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by SNK and released as an arcade video game in 1985 by Namco in Japan and Tradewest in North America. It was later ported to the Famicom in 1986 and released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987.
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Front Line is a military-themed run and gun video game released by Taito for arcades in November 1982. It was one of the first overhead run and gun games, a precursor to many similarly-themed games of the mid-to-late 1980s. Front Line is controlled with a joystick, a single button, and a rotary dial that can be pushed in like a button. The single button is used to throw grenades and to enter and exit tanks, while the rotary dial aims and fires the player's gun.
Astro Fighter is a space shoot 'em up game released for arcades in 1979. The cabinet was released in three different styles: upright/standard, cocktail, and cabaret. It was developed and distributed by Data East in Japan and was distributed in North America by Sega/Gremlin.
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Pulstar is a horizontally scrolling shooter released for arcades by SNK in 1995. Players control a starship in its mission to eradicate the Solar System of a hostile race of aliens that threaten mankind. Its gameplay has been compared to the R-Type series for its similar premise and mechanics; players must complete each of the game's eight stages by destroying constantly-moving formations of enemies and avoiding their projectiles. There are power-ups that can be collected that provide additional abilities for the player. It runs on the Neo Geo MVS arcade system board.
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Zarzon, also known as Satan of Saturn, is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade game developed and manufactured by SNK and licensed to Taito for North American release. The gameplay is a variation of Space Invaders.
T.A.N.K. is a 1985 vertically scrolling multidirectional shooter developed and released in arcades by SNK. It was published in North America as TNK III by Kitcorp. Versions of T.A.N.K. for home computers were released by Ocean Software for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC in 1987. A sequel was also released for the Nintendo Entertainment System titled Iron Tank.
Sky Soldiers is a vertical scrolling shoot em’ up developed by Alpha Denshi and released to arcades in 1988 by Romstar in North America and SNK in the rest of the world. The game features a time travel theme as well as an organized weapon select screen at the beginning of each stage.
Empire City: 1931 is a shooter game developed by Seibu Kaihatsu that was originally released into arcades in 1986, by Taito in Japan and Europe and by Romstar in North America. The game has players taking on the mafia in 1931 New York City by gunning down mobsters one by one.
References
Citations
- ↑ Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 18. ISBN 978-4990251215.
- ↑ GameMachine 1981, p. 2.
- ↑ Museum.
- 1 2 Moyse 2020.
- ↑ Greenbaum 2022.
Bibliography
- Moyse, Chris (14 February 2020). "SNK obscurity Sasuke vs. Commander returns on PS4 and Switch". Destructiod.
- Greenbaum, Aaron (26 July 2022). "What Was the First Video Game Boss Fight?". Den of Geek.
- "Sasuke Vs. Commander". International Arcade Museum.
- "ベストスリー 本紙調査 (調査対象1980年) 〜 アーケードゲーム機" [Best Three Book Survey (Survey Target 1980) ~ Arcade Game Machines](PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 159. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 February 1981.