Akuma – Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo

Did you think that M. Bison from Street Fighter 2, one of the toughest bosses in any game ever up till that point, was a wuss? Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo’s Akuma is the fight for you. Accessible only by reaching the last stage quickly without any continues in Arcade Mode, Akuma will appear and waylay Bison, then replace him as the final boss. In terms of abilities, he possesses the Zankuu Hadoken (which fires two Hadoken in mid-air), a teleport for quickly closing the distance, and very quick combos that take off chunks of health. Hilariously enough, his playable version isn’t as powerful but was still considered broken enough to warrant banning from tournaments.

Bowser – Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64 was a series of firsts for many Nintendo fans. But it also offered one of the most memorable battles with Bowser ever. It was simple – the Koopa King was huge and Mario was small. The only way to defeat him was to grab his tale, swing the analog stick to get enough speed, aim for the bombs surrounding the arena and release Bowser to damage him. Simple but unique and fairly challenging on the third go-around, Bowser’s 64-form remains an iconic fight.

Voice actor Rick May, known for his role as Team Fortress 2’s Soldier and for playing Peppy in Star Fox 64, has passed away. May suffered a stroke this past February and contracted the COVID-19 coronavirus while in rehabilitation. He would pass away from the disease at the age of 79 years.

The Rekindle School reported on May’s passing here, though access to the site is currently limited. May was a teacher at the school and along with being a voice actor, worked at the Renton Civic Theater and Civic Light Opera. He also appeared in a number of different shows like Death of a Salesman, Fiddler on the Roof and so on.

Though May is most iconic for his role as the Soldier in Valve’s team-based shooter, he’s also known for the “Do a barrel roll” line from Star Fox 64 (and voicing Andross as well). Other credits include Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves and Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition. Our condolences go out to his family and friends who are coping with this tragic loss.

Keiji Shibusawa – Yakuza 0

There’s only room for one Dragon of Dojima in Yakuza 0 and unfortunately for Keiji Shibusawa, it’s not him. The patriarch of Yakuza 0’s Shibusawa family, he’s usually portrayed as someone with a mind for business. However, this hides his sheer ruthlessness as witnessed when he set out to kill the Kazama family. The final battle sees Kiryu nearly kill Shibusawa but Nishiki would intervene, thus ensuring that Keiji went to jail.

Orange Ocean – Kirby Super Star

Kirby Super Star is easily one of the best games made. No question. But Orange Ocean, a level in Revenge of Meta Knight, is kind of annoying. It starts off with Kirby underwater and the game auto-scrolls, which is an immediate tilter. Not only is Kirby slower and unable to use most abilities but you also have to dodge cannon fire. Just make sure you don’t die to the auto-scrolling (because obviously there’s a section where that can happen).

Twinmold – The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Imposing enough initially, Twinmold in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask on the Nintendo 64 isn’t really all that terrifying when Link himself turns into a giant. Hilariously enough, Twinmold doesn’t even attack and damaging its weak points is all that’s required. Majora’s Mask 3D does up the danger by having Twinmold actually attack Link and this becomes a proper boss fight as a result.

SA-X – Metroid Fusion

The Metroid series was creating atmosphere and tension from simple world design as far back as its inception, so when Metroid Fusion took the series on a slightly different path for a handheld game, their masterstroke was introducing the SA-X. The result of her infected Power Suit being pulled together by the mimetic X Parasites, the player is hunted throughout the game by the heartless creature with the full power of a endgame Samus. Powerless to harm the SA-X, should they hear the telltale footsteps and accompanying anxiety, the player can only run or hide throughout the entirety of the game, until the final showdown at least. 

Star Fox is one of Nintendo’s longest running series, which is also probably why it is one of their most beloved. And while a strong case can be made for only the first two games in the series being much good, it is hard to deny that Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Peppy have become beloved icons for millions of players worldwide.

Which is why those players and fans will probably appreciate the newest trailer for the upcoming Star Fox Zero, which is the new entry in the franchise. The trailer features a nostalgic look at the previous games in the series, and it ends with some footage for the upcoming Star Fox Zero for the Wii U. In a way, the trailer shows us how far these have come, and yet how much things still are the same in a sense.

Star Fox Zero will be available exclusively on the Wii U next month.

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Yet more gameplay footage for the upcoming 3DS remake of Star Fox 64.

Though some of it is recycled footage, most of this five minute clip is all new. The narration is in Japanese, but you can just ignore it in favour of some tasty gameplay footage.