You’ve vanquished the creatures of the night, prevented a secret society from enslaving humanity, and barely averted nuclear war from breaking out worldwide. Congratulations never feel quite earned however until you’ve taken down the big bad responsible for the whole ordeal. The final boss fight has been a staple ever since video games began to have endings at all with King Koopa holding the princess in another castle, but with games pushing into new and exciting narrative territory, we’re seeing more titles go without that climactic final set piece. Or at least the final set pieces they do offer aren’t against a singular antagonist, as it traditional. Spoilers ahead, but please do share your favourites in the comments.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
While the mid-game confrontation against Metal Gear Sahalanthropus is an epic battle across Afghanistan against a giant mech in that kooky Kojima fashion, there is after all, over half the game to go once Venom Snake and his Diamond Dogs take down the machinations of Skull Face and his strange vendetta against English. Chapter 2 conversely doesn’t have quite the same impact when you face down a few larger conflicts at seemingly random points in a casual playthrough. The ending of the game sends our heads spinning for different reasons, but the lack of those amazing Kojima final bosses makes us wonder if Hideo was really the man who sold the world.
