Octopus Overlords

The original Diablo just showed up on GOG and that got me thinking about one of my favorite moments in the game.
The Butcher fight at the end of Act 1.

I think sometimes that first big fight is the best in the game. Great intro bosses have personality and character, introduce exciting new mechanics or concepts, and sometimes propel you into the main narrative of the game. Mid game bosses can be good but are usually not as memorable, and although there are some great end game bosses they can be too hard or too easy and often feel anticlimactic. ...and then you beat them and all that's left is credits and perhaps a long wait for a sequel.

So what are some other great intro boss fights?

Ra-Sep-Re-Tep from Wizardry VII comes to mind for me.

The first that came to mind was the hydra from God of War. I'm sure it doesn't hold up, but I remember at the time being amazed at how large and spectacular that boss was.

Butcher is totally #1 for me. Scares the crap out of anyone who doesn't know Diablo, but on later plays you're all "FU Butcher!" It's like knowing the jump scares in a favorite movie.

Recently I was surprised by the beginning of Nier Automata, it has a few boss fights when you start a new game. Or when you revisit the start of the game. But like the Butcher the first time is the best, because you can't save before it (after 10 mins of intro fights, that are totally not like the fight you are in now). Because you are a noob and you must git good to proceed.

killbot737 wrote:Recently I was surprised by the beginning of Nier Automata, it has a few boss fights when you start a new game. Or when you revisit the start of the game. But like the Butcher the first time is the best, because you can't save before it (after 10 mins of intro fights, that are totally not like the fight you are in now). Because you are a noob and you must git good to proceed.

Also the thing that caused me to quit Nier Automata.

I can't think of anything that compares to "Fresh meat!"

Some others....

Um....

I thought of another one, but it's more of a mid-game fight. Scorpitron! That thing shows up out of nowhere (in the middle of the street, though...) and F's you up!

I've thought of one I hate.
The Barghest in Witcher 1.

It took a bit to get to, but I believe the Centipede was the first real Boss fight in Alice. You had to wait until it raised up and showed the soft underbelly to actually do damage to it, all the while that ear grating music was playing.

Funny Butcher Story:

I was showing it to a friend online (33.6 modems, FTW!) and on this Butcher level, the room was circled by a corridor. My buddy sees the room the way you could in the isometric view and says, "What's this?" and opens the door before I could warn him.

He strolls into the room to look at all the tortured bodies, etc, and the Butcher comes running out after me!

I start running away, running in circles around the room. My buddy could see me periodically while I ran in front of the open door, with the Butcher shouting "How sweet, fresh meat!", and he kept asking me to come in and check all this out, while I'm running for my life!

This is a good question, but it's hard for me to remember the first boss fights of games. I'll go along with Diablo and God of War, and add:

Bioshock (first Big Daddy fight)
Metal Gear Solid (Revolver Ocelot)
Shadow of the Colossus (yeah, the game was all boss fights, but the first one really set the pace)

Hipolito wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2019 5:26 pm This is a good question, but it's hard for me to remember the first boss fights of games.

It's hard to google too, that's part of why I asked here.

Well, it may not mean much to folks that had played other Fallout games, but in Fallout 4 when you come across that first Deathclaw early on in the game, taking him on with the minigun that you found on the wrecked flyer was pretty fun.