Comedic Relief Bosses

[Dagger Dias]

We've all encountered them. The game is in a very serious moment with the heroes all concerned about what's going on or what to do, then all of a sudden they are ambushed by a joke of a boss that seeks revenge on them for all of the previous times the heroes had already defeated him/her. These guys just never seem to die and they have a bad habit of showing up at the most random times. This usually results in a very amusing scene, followed by yet another battle against the annoying (but funny) rival. Here are some notable examples:

Recognize any of those guys? They all have things in common. They are strange rivals for your characters who show up several times demanding rematches. The fact that they just won't die, always have something funny to say, for whatever reason think that they stand a chance against your characters in each encounter, and often show up at an extremely random moment. These things make them comedic relief bosses.

So here are the dicsussion questions....

1. Who is your favorite comedic relief boss and why? What game are they from?

2. Are there any games that do not have one that you think should? Why or why not?

3. Do you have any fun memories or epic victories against these characters?

4. Would you like the idea of a joke boss ever becoming the main villain in the end through a storyline spoiler? Why or why not?

I'll go first. My favorite, which should come as no surprise, would have to be Ultros from Final Fantasy 6. His extremely random comeback during the Opera House events redefines the word random, and the scenes that follow are hilarious. In my opinion he set the standard for comedic relief villains because they weren't very common until after him and few have been better at their job. I can't think of very many games that do not have one that I think should, they fit well in RPG's but not always in other genres.

A fun memory of fighting these bosses would be when I defeated Ozzie in Chrono Trigger for the first time. What happens next is one of the funniest moments in the history of video games. It's so random and stupid that it's funny.

Spoiler

He taunts you after the battle saying you'll never defeat him, then a cat runs into the room and flips a switch that opens a trap door, making Ozzie fall to his death. Random much?

I think it could work for a joke boss to end up the main villain in the end but it would have to be done right. If they develop his character enough and the revelation of his plans is written in a way that makes sense, then it could work. Look at Garland in Final Fantasy 1, for example. He was a joke of a first boss that nobody took seriously but ended up being the villain in the end. This is only cool when it's done rarely and done right though, in my opinion. Comedic relief characters make better joke bosses than villains.

So now it's your turn, let's see what the rest of you have to say about joke bosses. Discuss!

 

[ThUnDeRpHoEnIx]

I honestly cant remember any right now.But it would be funny if you defeated the final boss who is incredibly hard to have a joke boss come fight you.You are like shit shit shit and have to vs him thinking he'll own you.You hit him once and he dies though.It would make the ending so much funnier.

 

[.]

1. Who is your favorite comedic relief boss and why? What game are they from?

I don't know if this one qualifies as a comedy boss but i always felt the gigantic Mudcrab from Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion which is just a gigntic version of any regular mudcrab but yet it does the same damage and dies as easily as any other normal mudcrab. I loved this as it becuse i remember seeing that and thinking "HOLY *%@#. I took out my bow shot it and it simply died. I laughed at it so i consider it a comedic relief boss.

2. Are there any games that do not have one that you think should? Why or why not?

I believe that maybe one of the Fallout game scould've done with a comedic boss(I don't believe they even have bosses at all) as it would've made the game fun to find the boss(Not saying that the game is boring).

3. Do you have any fun memories or epic victories against these characters?

Yes as i said above the mudcrab scared me but i hit it once with my bow and it simple died and i had a quick laugh to myself.

4. Would you like the idea of a joke boss ever becoming the main villain in the end through a storyline spoiler? Why or why not?

No. I believe the final boss in a game should be a completely serious moment and not one people play through just to have a laugh at in the end. I believe the ending should be a moment where you feel connected to your character and you want to win and get the dramatic end to the game. So in short, no there should never be a comedy boss as the final boss in a game.

 

[Slowdude]

I've got one. GLaDOS from Portal. It essentially was a boss fight and it really was more of a comedic relief as GLaDOS's lines as you destroy her were funny as hell as she because more and more childish with her insults. Then with a song sung by GLaDOS in the credits just tops the icing on the cake. Which we find out does exist (despite Ratman's scribbles) right after we are dragged back into the place you just blew up.

The boss in a game really depends on the game itself. If you are playing a serious game then having a comedic boss to end it wouldn't make much sense at all.

 

[Xemmy]

I've got one. GLaDOS from Portal. It essentially was a boss fight and it really was more of a comedic relief as GLaDOS's lines as you destroy her were funny as hell as she because more and more childish with her insults. Then with a song sung by GLaDOS in the credits just tops the icing on the cake. Which we find out does exist (despite Ratman's scribbles) right after we are dragged back into the place you just blew up.

The boss in a game really depends on the game itself. If you are playing a serious game then having a comedic boss to end it wouldn't make much sense at all.

You have to admit though, that GLaDOS was pretty cynical. If I was 13 when I played that game, she would have scared me to the point of not playing. On top of that, most comedic bosses aren't considered a serious threat. GLaDOS' seductive voice change, along with the neurotoxin made her much creepier, and even though her lines were funny, they were EXTREMELY dark.

"Speaking of curiosity, you're curious about what happens after you die, right? Guess what? I know. You're going to find out first-hand before I can finish telling you, though, so I won't bother. I'll give you a hint: you're going to want to pack as much living as you possibly can into the next couple of minutes....."

-GLaDOS

Comedic relief isn't dark. It's something to take the edge off of a serious situation. And if anything, her sick jokes and taunting made the battle all the more serious.

 

[Kashagi]

First that comes to mind is Mysterio from Spiderman 2.

I loved that game while it lasted, and find myself restarting it every half year or so, simply to enjoy it all over again. When I first learned how to web swing, absolutely perfect. But one part in the game sticks out to me, that being the Mysterio stages. I remember them because the first time playing, they were easily the most difficult part of the game. If I remember right, he sets fire to a theatre and makes rescuing people very frustrating in such a tight environment. Not to mention his circus of doom, absolute pain the first time through.

After these, frustrating missions, I genuinelly expected an interesting boss fight, and I am sure I wasnt the only one, perhaps just as frustrating as his levels were. You encountered Mysterio in a shop, the first time you have seen him in the flesh, the boss fight simply consisted of him standing there laughing at you, until you punched him once. That was it, no more annoying puzzles, just one jab to the gut and that was it.

So satisfying

 

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

1. Who is your favorite comedic relief boss and why? What game are they from?

I've always been fond of Wally from Pokemon Ruby/Saphire/Emerald. You meet him in the beginning of the game when you go to visit your father. Wally walks in, and you teach him how to catch a Pokemon. He catches a Ralts. While utterly useless in the beginning of the game, that Ralts does manage to evolve into a Gardevoir when you battle Wally in Victory Road. Still, even though you end up battling Wally in Victory Road later in the game, he's still pathetically easy to beat.

2. Are there any games that do not have one that you think should? Why or why not?

I've always thought that the Megaman Battle Network series could use a comic relief boss. Especially a game like Megaman Battle Network 5. In that one you go around on long and tedious "Liberation Missions" with your team. After beating annoying viruses, and the Mission Boss, your health has probably depleted severely. You're also probably frustrated because it may have taken you a few tries to beat the Mission Boss. A comic relief character would be perfect in that situation because then you think you have to beat another hard boss, only to find that it's some sort of pushover character. Your blood pressure rises, but then you laugh at how easy that comic relief boss truly was.

3. Do you have any fun memories or epic victories against these characters?

Getting back to Wally, I once beat him using only my Blaiziken, which had about 65 HP. Took out all of Pokemon in a snap. At the end of the battle, I was left with maybe 40 HP left on it.

4. Would you like the idea of a joke boss ever becoming the main villain in the end through a storyline spoiler? Why or why not?

No. The final boss is supposed to be the "Be all, end all" in a video game. It's supposed to be the one character you've worked extremely hard to get to. Simply put, it's the final battle. I sure as hell wouldn't want to spend hours on a game trying to get to the final boss, only to realize it's some joke of a character. I want a challenge as my final boss.

 

[LSN80]

1.Who is your favorite comedic relief boss and why? What game are they from?

Irving, from Resident Evil 5. You spend all this time trying to track down this 5'0 tall smuggler, and the little weasel's tough to get to. Once you get to him however, he turns into the easiest sea monster you're ever going to find after injecting himself with plasma. He manages to channel his inner Leonardo DiCaprio with lines such as "Im the King of the World" as you blast him with grenades and machine guns from his very boat. He goes down quite quickly, and even while dying he manages to slip in a few sarcastic one-liners before expiring. Your left with the expression of "poor little bastard" befor he ultimately dies.

2. Are there any games that do not have one that you think should? Why or why not?

Not really. Perhaps the latest installment of the Final Fantasy series. Ive always found the comic relief bosses to be quite easy and I like to be challenged when I'm fighting a boss, especially after all the hard work I put in just to get to said boss. if you work hard to get to the boss, and he's easy to defeat once there, it feels very anti-climatic.

3. Do you have any fun memories or epic victories against these characters?

Yeah, like I said, when I first fought Irving, he cracked jokes the whole time you were lighting him up with grenades. Even as he was getting lit up with grenades, he was proclaiming himself the "King of the World." The joke was they were grenades for turrets mounted on his own boat, and it took 3 or 4 well placed hits for him to go down. It really exposed what a joke of a boss he was, and gave me a good chuckle at his one liners.

4. Would you like the idea of a joke boss ever becoming the main villain in the end through a storyline spoiler? Why or why not?

No, and Ill use a wrestling analogy to make my point. When John Cena was trying to get to Wade Barrett, he took all of Nexus out one by one before finally getting to Barrett. It took him becoming a part of Nexus and ultimately fired by Barrett before he was actually able to get to Barrett. A final boss should be the same way. I like the video games that allow you to get so close, and then said final boss turns the tables on you, or sicks one of his underlings on you. It makes the final victory all the more sweet when you finally take the boss out. It should be an epic, serious battle, not one that cracks jokes or just serves as easy fodder for your penultimate victory. I personally need a dramatic victory, and to be one, it needs to be serious.

 

[UniversalBomb]

Spider-Man. Shattered Dimensions.
Spiderman himself in that game just makes you want to laugh at his rips on Juggernaut, vulture, etc. But the most funniest boss I have encountered on there is Deadpool. Play the game yourself or youtube it. You're gonna like it.