Playing video games can be a pretty rewarding experience. We get to see how the main character deals with whatever tragedy is going on, improve skills, and eventually, become strong enough to one-shot every boss in the game. But sometimes, the game will throw a curveball and bring about the greatest enemy gamers may ever face; themselves.
Yes, occasionally the newest obstacle in the game won’t be some Lovecraftian nightmare, but instead the guy we werejustplaying as in the previous game, using all of their learned skills against the player and their new replacement. To avoid any upset a favorite isn’t here, this is not a top ten list. Just a small list of pretty cool bosses. That said, here are a few main characters who become way scarier when they aren’t being controlled.
10/10Lingering Will - Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix
Lingering Will is quite easy to explain since the name does all the heavy lifting for you. He is the lingering will of another character. However, he is not just any wandering spirit, but one of the three protagonists from the prequel games! Wronged by series big bad and his sidekick who looks suspiciously identical to Sora, the spirit of Terra’s pretty upset.
Unlike the main character, Sora, Terra was a bonafide Keyblade master with more than enough experience to take him down. Add that with the new techniques he picked up over the years and the Lingering Will becomes aterra-flying force to be reckoned with! Arrows that lock commands and deal massive damage if the wrong button is pressed, cannons that can fire heat-seeking energy orbs that relentlessly chase Sora down, drones that follow the player and fire one by one as he attacks - the Lingering Will has it all! That’s not counting the most fun part of his weapon like it transforming into a motorbike to run Sora over.
99/10 Alex Mercer - Prototype 2
Alex Mercer was the brooding anti-hero of the sandbox murder simulator, Prototype, in which the player takes control of a superpowered amnesiac as he tries to remember his past. In Prototype 2, however, you play as a soldier who Alex blesses with the same mutated powers. Unfortunately for dear old Alex, this new protagonist, James Heller, has a small grudge against him. In other words, Heller is more than eager to use his newfound abilities to smash Alex’s teeth in.
Since he’s had some experience with these powers, he knows exactly how to counter certain attacks. Swinging with the same weapon will spawn a cutscene of him upstaging Heller and telling him to try something else. What a good sport. Should the player take this advice, expect to see Alex’s signature Groundspike, and even chucking helicopters out from the skies. While Alex doesn’t use every move he learned in the last game, he does make for one scary final encounter.
88/10 Dante - Devil May Cry 4
Devil May Cry is a series known for its flashy combat, amazing bosses, and sleek gameplay. Without the series protagonist, Dante, styling on his opponents, it’s hard to imagine what the game would be like today. In fact, some of you may even feel a bit sorry for those poor hellspawn. After all, they were just doing their job! But then Dante has to show up and not only obliterate them but make fun of them as well? When does it end? Well in Devil May Cry 4, players can see firsthand what it’s like challenging the famous demon hunter to a battle… and all the terror that comes with it.
When first starting the game, we play as newcomer Nero with Dante serving as the tutorial. As the player continues, Dante comes back to remind them that this is stillhisgame and becomes much more aggressive. Unless the player knows exactly how to fight him, most strategies will not work. Shooting him will just lead to him deflecting the bullets. Trying to grab him will result in doing no damage and getting pushed back. Was it mentioned he can read inputs? Because he can. The moment any button is pressed that will leave Nero exposed, be ready to come face to face with the tip of Dante’s blade! Or if lucky, a shotgun blast. But if all of that still isn’t enough, any damage dealt to him while he’s in Royalguard can be absorbed and blasted right back. There are genuine moments where the demon slayer seems untouchable! Now we know why he has such a reputation in the series. And to top it all off, he does indeed taunt during the fights. Rubbing salt in the wound, Dante…
77/10 Noctis - Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ignis
Prince Noctis of Final Fantasy XV has been featured in several games as a guest character. In these, players get a taste of what it would be like if the magical prince was actually an enemy. Sure, in his own game, he can spar with his friends but that’s when playing ashim.Surely there is a way to face Noctis in a proper 1v1 in his own game. Well, luckily FFXV’s Episode Ignis DLC has us covered. After completing the DLC, the player is rewarded with a “friendly match” between Ignis and Noctis. This friendly match is anything but. Everything is here. From his huge arsenal of weapons to his dodge. It almost feels like the AI was copying a real person playing the game.
Players will get to see firsthand what the enemy feels when Noctis is effortlessly evading every attack with MP. The fact that he constantly looks at Ignis while his friend is trying so desperately to land one hit just makes this feel more insulting despite players doing the same in the base game. He’ll eventually run out of MP and be able to take damage. But just like in the base game, Noctis can always just teleport out of the fight and come back recharged. But this is a friendly match, right? Do too well in this battle and Noctis forgets that and uses the more powerful tools in his arsenal. This includes the sacred, magical weapons found in the base game and fatal spells like Death. In case the name doesn’t already make it clear, Death causes instant death! All of this is overshadowed though when he pulls out the Ring of Lucii, a powerful ring that can summon a black hole to completely eviscerate opponents. And he uses it on his butler. What happened to “friendly match,” Noct?
66/10 Red - Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
When Pokémon first debuted in 1996, players took control of the original protagonist, Red, who with the help of the player, actually succeeds in collecting almost every single Pokémon in his game. That’s including the legendaries like Lugia and even Mewtwo! That is quite the achievement for a kid who’s barely old enough to drive.
So, when facing him in one of the many sequels, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver (or HG & SS for short), the player is already expecting a tough challenge. It would be more than a little unfair for the hero of the first game to use every pokémon he’s captured. That’s over 140 after all. So instead, Red uses a small fraction of his arsenal, sending out high-level pokémon to take down the player. There is no given reason why Red is even here or where he goes when defeated, making this fight as mysterious as it is challenging.
55/10 Asura - Asura’s Wrath
If there is one thing one can say about Asura’s Wrath, it’s that the game’s bosses rarely ever disappoint. From facing off a giant deity larger than the earth itself to battling a powerful swordsman on the moon but no one ever says “hey, remember that time Asura was the boss?” After being stricken with grief and rage from seeing something traumatic, the main character, Asura becomes a being of pure wrath, slaughtering everyone in his way as the player takes control of his half-brother, Yasha.
As one would expect, eventually these two playable characters cross paths with each other, creating a memorable moment where the player must calm Asura down using the only method he’d listen to. Fists! Asura will fly across the arena with astonishing speed but stumble over himself as he does. But perhaps the most interesting thing from Asura’s arsenal being carried into the fight is his intense hatred for monologues that would replace the Skip option during bosses. Unfortunately, Yasha ishisboss battle, and Yasha really wants to monologue during cutscenes. In between boss phases, Asura will wildly swing at Yasha, forcing the player to respond to increasingly fast quick time events or suffer damage before the fight even starts. Geez. Now we know how the giant boss felt…
44/10 Corvo - Dishonored
When playing Dishonored, Corvo ascends from being a simple bodyguard to the mute but ultra-powerful assassin capable of taking out an entire army through lethal or mostly humane methods. In short, he becomes someone no one would want to go against. So, let’s go against him. In the first game’s DLC, the player can take control of the very man who set the plot in motion and killed the empress.
And who is there to greet him but none other than Corvo, himself for some good old-fashioned vengeance. In this dream sequence, the player must fight off Corvo as he uses his signature abilities to exact his revenge. Depending on what the player does in the main story, the battle becomes significantly harder. Should the player spare everyone in the main game, Corvo will be a cakewalk for most. However, if the player leaves more corpses, Corvo uses his experience in stabbing to further enact his revenge. This makes him seem increasingly impossible to defeat as he shrugs off arrows and blades. Good thing no one died in the main playthrough, right? Right?
33/10 Caim - Drakengard 2
Before Nier and its dark post-apocalyptic setting, there was Drakengard, a fantasy-style adventure following an array of characters who are different from game to game. In Drakengard 1, the player takes control of the brutal Prince Caim. In the sequel, he’s back, angry, and the player is someone who happens to be in his way.
Introducing Nowe, the nephew of Caim and the one players will have to take control of to stop this bloodthirsty swordsman. To protect the main character’s friend, the player must battle the character they helped hone the strength and magic of, in a difficult 1v1. There is no gimmick here to be seen. There is no running around to a safer distance. It’s just the player and Caim in an enclosed arena as he uses all of the spells and abilities in his arsenal. The player absolutely must be light on their feet… er, thumbs, to evade the magic and the powerful sword the former protagonist is wielding, and it doesn’t look like Caim is willing to pull his punches for family.
22/10 The Future Warrior - Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2
In the self-insert come to life, Dragon Xenoverse, the player takes control of the Future Warrior or Hero, a customizable character of very few words as they team up with Trunks to stop criminals from tampering with time. This is called a Time Patroller, and they get paid rather handsomely for a job well done. But the job is essentially time police. How often does people tampering with time really happen in this series? A lot… apparently. But hey, more work for them.
In Xenoverse 2, the player starts as a new character in a time while the first Hero has been immortalized as a holographic statue after mysteriously disappearing. Kidnapped by the villain of the game, the Hero trained to save time in the last game was brainwashed and turned against the innocent. So, it’s time to snap them out of it with old-fashioned fisticuffs! Like others here, the Hero will use their abilities from the previous game but in their case, will only use the moves that were previously equipped before starting the sequel. Since the Hero was trained by several characters, them having the moves of every character would be a little overkill.
11/10 Bayonetta - Bayonetta
In the hack n slash, Bayonetta, the player is tasked with killing waves upon waves of enemies while still looking as stylish as possible. Should the player manage to do this and complete every Alfheim stage, they are rewarded with the Angel Slayer. 51 stages of nonstop, back-to-back action with a few bosses sprinkled in between.
After conquering every single enemy in the game and dispatching the Jeanne bosses more than one would reasonably think was required, the final enemy to greet Bayonetta is… Bayonetta. She fights similarly to Jeanne, who is already made to fight exactly like Bayonetta. But what makes this fight different from the others is the full-on health bar and boss music blaring in the background. More than that, the enemy Bayonetta hits like a truck! But at least the reward for sitting through this gauntlet of enemies and a difficult boss is a new unlockable character… who dies in one hit. Worth it?
