6. Ultimate Alma (Ninja Gaiden Sigma)
The Ninja Gaiden series has always been dedicated to good old-fashioned, punishing hack-and-slash action. While many series have softened over the years, Ninja Gaiden has always seemed interested in providing a challenge, and so it seems only natural that one of their stronger efforts would winds up on here.
There’s nothing particularly distinctive about Alma that’s especially difficult, she’s just a solid culmination of what makes all of the bosses in this game difficult. She has a wide range of attacks, as well as even tiny demons to aid her in your destruction. But it’s not just Alma’s offense, you need to be very precise in your dodging or you’re not going to get out of here alive, and the battle itself is just very long and demanding. It’s a real gauntlet to survive that requires you to be on point the whole time. The smallest error could almost immediately end your run.
5. The Ultra Mega Man (South Park)
Despite being one of the less iconic choices on the list (and maybe even a game that most people aren’t even aware exists in the first place), for whatever reason the Nintendo 64’s South Park game decided that it needed one of the most brutally difficult bosses ever conceived to close it out.
I actually kind of believe that you can’t beat this boss without the invincibility option turned on, and even then, it takes a long time to successfully assassinate the sucker.
The boss itself is very powerful and will deliver an onslaught of attacks upon you, but what’s even more difficult is putting a dent in his health. You hurt this behemoth by continually pelting a power button that gradually reduces his health. The thing is, his health continues to recharge and restore for every moment you’re not hitting this power button. Obviously this makes for a frustrating experience where any moment where you take time to regroup or collect yourself will result in the boss doing exactly the same. You don’t have the luxury of slowing down, and it makes the boss feel like a nearly impossible feat.
4. Yellow Devil (Mega Man)
There are a lot of choices from the many Mega Man titles that could have ended up on this list. While some may not think this is one of the more difficult fights from the series (or even be aware of the boss in the first place), the original game’s Yellow Devil is an incredibly difficult fight, especially for the time, when you might not have been attacking this foe with the help of save states and emulators.
The Yellow Devil looks pretty simple. He’s a boss that will turn into blobs that travel from one side of the screen to the other, where it re-assembles itself. Naturally this leads to you needing to jump and avoid these blobs with precise timing, the sort of battle that the series has turned to a number of times. What makes Yellow Devil particularly challenging though is how many blobs there are and how much space they cover. You really have little room for error and have to be a master of your jumping here or this guy is going to wipe you out fast.
3. Technodrome (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
I’ve got issues with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for the original Nintendo, okay? We don’t have to get into it, but let’s just put it on the record that that underwater dam level is one of video gaming’s greatest punishments. The mere fact that you have to beat that nightmare before getting to the Technodrome is already grueling enough. It’s like having to eat a bowl full of glass, and then finding out you have to eat a bowl full of barbed wire next.
First off, actually getting to fight the Technodrome is a chore and a half. The boss is hidden in a series of caves (and I do mean hidden), and what that more than likely means is that you’re going to lose a lot of health in the process of searching for it, leaving you fairly under-turtled for the actual fight. The fight itself is typical multi-tasking as you must stay aboard the Technodrome, while simultaneously attacking it, avoiding its blasts, and taking down the Foot Soldiers it generates.
2. Ultimecia (Final Fantasy VIII)
Look, there’s likely dozens of final and optional bosses from the Final Fantasy series that could earn a place on this list, but Ultimecia stands out strongly in my mind as one of the more frustrating experiences, simply for its never-ending nature.
Honestly, the first time I did this fight I had no idea if or when it actually would end! It’s not often that after you take down a boss’s third form that they still keep coming at you. That’s usually the capper.
As you struggle to stay alive through Ultimecia’s four forms, you basically need your entire party to be in top form and have no weak links. This battle is going to go on for a long time, and if anyone is under-prepared, they’re going to die pretty quickly. Ultimecia is a perfect example of a game expecting a tremendous amount out of you, and with there being many attacks that can virtually wipe out your whole party at once, it’s a battle that you won’t be eager to be repeating any time soon.
1. Mike Tyson (Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!)
This is it, you guys. This guy is the bane of my existence and what gave me nightmares throughout my childhood. I know that a lot of people think that Nintendo’s Punch-Out!! isn’t that difficult of a title because it’s so pattern and repetition dependent, but even if you know all the patterns behind these bosses, it’s still an incredibly difficult experience, and Mike Tyson (or Mr. Dream, whatever) is the epitome of all of that.
Not only does the game expect you to memorize Mike’s move set, but there’s essentially zero room for errorm and you’ll almost need the reflexes of an actual boxer to land the hits that you need. It’s a classic example of a fight appearing to be simple, but you’ll need to take him on dozens of times to even start to learn how he works and make a dent in his life bar. I know exactly how to beat him and I’ve still never been able to do it.
