The final battle sucks

JoeX111

JoeX111

CAGiversary!
I've noticed this in a lot of games recently and wanted to see if others felt the same. When I am playing a game like, for instance, Gears of War 2, I really like the mechanics. If I didn't, I wouldn't keep playing. I like ducking, sniping, jumping from cover to cover, etc. And yet, when I reach the final boss, the climax, the ULTIMATE BATTLE, it (spoilers) turns into a total on-rails sequence! (Spoilers end!)

What the hell?

I want my final battle be the ultimate test of my gaming skill. I want every last mechanic I just poured the last 10+ hours into learning to be used in taking down a villain of incredible complexity. And, I want to pump my fist and scream once I've done it.

Instead, it seems like developers are so enthralled with the idea of being "cinematic" that they forget that, on the most basic level, we play games because we like the way it plays and we want more of it. Why, then, do they insist on giving us quick-time events, rail shooter sequences and unstoppable end-game weaponry when, really, we just want more of the same?

Am I alone in feeling this way?
 
Depends. Change done well? Half-Life 2, with its super-charged gravity gun (though a whole game of that wouldn't have worked all that well). Change done poorly? Gun, where you're stuck playing the world's slowest rail shooter and the final boss is arbitrarily immune to everything but steam. Well? Metroid Prime 3, where the enemies heal you and the environment hurts you. Poorly? Fire Emblem 10 (GASP!), where enemies are given new, unexplained abilities. One of the most important things in a Fire Emblem game is that nothing is unexplained - the math is always there for you to see. Not so at the end of Radiant Dawn, where the bosses suddenly gets a bunch of attacks with completely unexplained mechanics that they can use whenever the fuck they want.

Also, remember the
spoiler tags
in the future.
 
dood I was PISSED at the final boss of Gears of War 2!!

overall the game was underwhelming to me,
not enough good bosses
... then I see this
awesome boss and I get all excited and shyt!!

but instead of
fighting it I just hover my mouse cursor over it and double click that shyt

and then like I beat the game and I'm like wtf
 
Unlike movies, which most people finish watching, how many people finish a videogame that they start? Alot less than movies I'll wager.

If a developer saves all the 'Ohh Ahh' moments for the end of the game, alot of people will never see them. So I think they tend to put the better stuff in the beginning and middle of the game, so the most people get to see it.
 
I'm not saying the final sequence should be the best part of the game, I'm just saying the final battle should be the biggest challenge based on the mechanics the game has implemented.
 
[quote name='JoeX111']I'm not saying the final sequence should be the best part of the game, I'm just saying the final battle should be the biggest challenge based on the mechanics the game has implemented.[/quote]
Yes ... that would make the most sense in games, making sure you understand fully all the mechanics and put you to the final test.

Although I remember playing Gauntlet Seven Sorrows on a rainy day with some friends and it was awesome. Except the ending wasn't satisfying (it was along the lines of Yay you win).

And Bioshock ending was a big disappointment, despite the having 2 possible ending you can get.
 
Mirror's Edge had a disapointing finale, and not just the ending but the last fight (if you can even call it a fight)
 
[quote name='Rodimus']Mirror's Edge had a disapointing finale, and not just the ending but the last fight (if you can even call it a fight)[/QUOTE]

Especially that infuriating room with the servers. I played through the game without using guns, and I seriously wanted to kill somebody after the 20 millionth try of that part.
 
[quote name='Mr. Anderson']
Especially that infuriating room with the servers. I played through the game without using guns, and I seriously wanted to kill somebody after the 20 millionth try of that part.
[/quote]

I feel your pain. That acheivment was a pain in the ass. Also the garage fight was pissing me off too.
 
[quote name='JEKKI']dood I was PISSED at the final boss of Gears of War 2!!

overall the game was underwhelming to me,
not enough good bosses
... then I see this
awesome boss and I get all excited and shyt!!

but instead of
fighting it I just hover my mouse cursor over it and double click that shyt

and then like I beat the game and I'm like wtf[/QUOTE]

Agreed. I just beat the game a few days ago and felt the same exact way.
 
[quote name='Rodimus']Mirror's Edge had a disapointing finale, and not just the ending but the last fight (if you can even call it a fight)[/quote]

Amen.
 
I find that relatively common. The only recent game with a final boss that I was really impressed with was MGS 4, but I suspect as many people absolutely hated that fight as loved it.

This is why RPGs now go with extra bosses. I wonder why more FPS/action type games haven't added extra optional challenging fights - I suppose this is what the bioshock PS3 downloadable stuff is (I haven't played it so I'm only assuming from what I've read)
 
Hate to beat an old chest nut but remember the ending to FF7?

Man that two button press finisher kinda spoiled it, I was hoping for an awesome 1v1 but heh the game was still amazing :]
 
The last fight in Half Life 2 Episode 2

Where you use the hot rod and Magnusson device bombs to take out the striders?

Really enjoyed the game right up until that last fight.
 
Well, I dislike final battles that are so redicously hard that I never end up beating them. In fact, I never beat Beyond Good & Evil because of that.

However, it seems like it has become a trend to start having really easy final battles. Gears 2 and Mirror's Edge both come to mind here. Which also disappoint me, because it leaves me feeling unsatisfied.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']Depends. Change done well? Half-Life 2, with its super-charged gravity gun (though a whole game of that wouldn't have worked all that well). Change done poorly? Gun, where you're stuck playing the world's slowest rail shooter and the final boss is arbitrarily immune to everything but steam. Well? Metroid Prime 3, where the enemies heal you and the environment hurts you. Poorly? Fire Emblem 10 (GASP!), where enemies are given new, unexplained abilities. One of the most important things in a Fire Emblem game is that nothing is unexplained - the math is always there for you to see. Not so at the end of Radiant Dawn, where the bosses suddenly gets a bunch of attacks with completely unexplained mechanics that they can use whenever the fuck they want.

Also, remember the
spoiler tags
in the future.[/quote]

Well, at least for that they spelled it out for you. "You Will Die" pretty much sums it up and did kinda freak me out when they said it initially.
 
yea as far as gears 2 last fight goes i was expecting something as challenging as the first gears final boss, wanna talk about a hard ass last boss, play NG2 the last boss has 2 forms
 
[quote name='Jesus_S_Preston']I don't know why Splinter Cell: Double Agent has a final boss.

Or why I can't beat him.[/quote]

Huh? I have played through that game 3+ times and I can't remember any final boss, or especially a very challenging one.
 
[quote name='darthbudge']Huh? I have played through that game 3+ times and I can't remember any final boss, or especially a very challenging one.[/quote]

I don't even know. Did you play the last-gen version or the PS3/360 one? The previous-gen version ends with
essentially a shootout between you and whatever the bad guy's name is, I don't know, I haven't played it in over a year, where I come out of cover and immediately get raped.
 
[quote name='KingBroly']Well, at least for that they spelled it out for you. "You Will Die" pretty much sums it up and did kinda freak me out when they said it initially.[/quote]
Yeah, and it was a fantastic sequence.

Less fantastic? KotOR. fuck that shit. Infinitely respawning enemies is something that I don't like, but infinitely respawning enemies coming at you from both sides? fuck that noise!
 
[quote name='Jesus_S_Preston']I don't even know. Did you play the last-gen version or the PS3/360 one? The previous-gen version ends with
essentially a shootout between you and whatever the bad guy's name is, I don't know, I haven't played it in over a year, where I come out of cover and immediately get raped.
[/quote]

Oh, I never finished the last gen version of it. Just the 360/PC version.

[quote name='The Crotch']Yeah, and it was a fantastic sequence.

Less fantastic? KotOR. fuck that shit. Infinitely respawning enemies is something that I don't like, but infinitely respawning enemies coming at you from both sides? fuck that noise![/quote]

KOTOR had a great ending. You just apparently were not man enough to take it. :cool:
 
Hey, my
Revan
got through fine. Juhani and Jolee? Not so god damn much. Running back to choke whatever motherfuckers had them tied up every minute or so got old fast.

...

Mr. Never-beat-Beyond-Good-&-Evil.

EDIT:
Pussy.
 
If you notice , it's often FPS and tactical shooters that offer the weakest last bosses. Either the last boss is a chessy gimmick match , or it's an unbalanced brawl (Gears 2 would be an example of the former , Gears 1 the latter).

I think back to when Halo came out and everyone wondered why there was no last boss fight , and they basically said last boss fights in FPSs suck. They ended up giving us ones in Halo 2 and 3 and basically proved that point.

The Metroid Prime series seems to be one of the only ones that did it well.
 
[quote name='SuxoR']Hate to beat an old chest nut but remember the ending to FF7?

Man that two button press finisher kinda spoiled it, I was hoping for an awesome 1v1 but heh the game was still amazing :]
[/QUOTE]
Eh, that doesn't really count ;) I always thought of that as an interactive cutscene more than anything else.

For me, the worst final boss ever is easily the one in Final Fantasy X.
Having Auto-Life on the entire party automatically? CHEAP. Also, once you figure out the trick to beating Yu Yevon, it's a total cakewalk.
 
It's a fine line to walk to make the ending of a game satisfying. Generally I enjoy the games climax to be a culmination of all the skills I have learned throughout the game, with maybe a slight twist to keep it interesting. It doesn't have to be a single last boss, especially not in the contrived mega boss form that breaks all previous game mechanics and renders everything you have learned up to that point useless. I find a lot of games will teach you to use combos throughout the game, and then make you play the last boss one hit at a time.

I think a lot of game designers use the philosophy of, "let's make this last battle as hard as possible." I know people want to feel challenged in the final battle, but I think there are better methods of making the last battle climactic than just a frustrating final battle.
 
[quote name='Gourd']The last fight in Half Life 2 Episode 2

Really enjoyed the game right up until that last fight.[/quote]

WHAT

that battle was incredible. very challenging and hectic and had a great sense of urgency. was my favorite part of the whole game by far.
 
I'd have liked it a billion times more if the sawmill hadn't exploded on the second fucking Strider. Having to drive half-way back to the base just to load up another Magnusson was a pain in the god damn ass.

Also, pussy allies. Everyone just... hung back at the base with their AR2s and their RPGs while I fought the Hunters and Striders all alone.
 
[quote name='blueshinra']
For me, the worst final boss ever is easily the one in Final Fantasy X.
Having Auto-Life on the entire party automatically? CHEAP. Also, once you figure out the trick to beating Yu Yevon, it's a total cakewalk.
[/quote]

I was so disappointed with the last boss in FFX! I actually killed it in 1 hit with the damage-limit removed.

[quote name='tehweezner']
WHAT

that battle was incredible. very challenging and hectic and had a great sense of urgency. was my favorite part of the whole game by far.[/quote]

Agreed, that whole sequence was genius.
 
What i hate are boss's in Turnbase RPG's that are based in the middle of games... That have SET times that stuff happens so there is no way to do it faster or before help comes ect... with super NPC's that can 1 shot all your units.. after your 1 hour into a fight (roughly) Im looking at you Valkirya Chronicals... i love you.. but you kill my desire to play you!
 
OK after beating Gears of War 2 I completely agree that was an absolutely terrible final battle. I didn't know what was going on, it didn't make any sense, and it was almost over before it even started.
 
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