"Fought The General with covid" should be one of the achievements listed on wiki pages for Justin Wong

31:16 Gill We all will never forget him. His Seraphic Wing & his RESURRECTION

I'll never forget finally beating M. Bison with Guile using an air throw. Decades later I still see it in my head in slow motion lol. Absolutely love it when bosses are extremely difficult but beatable. There's a fine line between that and input reading quarter munching bosses from hell.

"Just jump kick that horse, man" might my new favourite out of contexts FGC quote

Justin was just locked in a Hell in a Hotel for 2 weeks with The General, give my man therapy Also, Jinpachi was actually in Tekken Tag 2, but as his human self. He was the sub-boss with Heihachi, before Ogre and Jun/Unknown

1:16:18 When Rugal throws Akuma away like trash, you KNOW you're in for sheer chaos

I will never forget Max's Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. boss rage for Mutilator, those many many hours were hilarious

Inferno from SCII will always be my favorite boss. The way you knock the fire off him throughout the fight is super cool, and the scream he makes as he dies is seared into my memory.

I liked the way UMVC3 allowed you to play as Galactus but only in a special mode. He didn’t join the regular cast and you did have to earn him but it was fun as hell playing as the OP boss character. I would love to see more games try something like that

The "insert more coins" design needs to come back for bosses. Like, think of Rugal taking off his vest and having more moves or Ogre absorbing Heihachi . That shit is so cool. Devs should just think about what makes the player go "holy shit that is crazy!"

I believe Justins multi final boss discussion is comparable to how in Capcom VS SNK, under certain conditions, you get either Rugal, Akuma, God Rugal, or Shin Akuma. That's what I think he meant.

I had two roommates who weren't into fighting games when I was playing Killer Instinct, and I managed to get them to play Shadow Lords with me. They both adored it and it became like a weekly event, where we'd each choose a character on the team and see how far we could get as a team while piloting our individual characters. They went from die to literally anything to actually pretty decent at taking on the AI, and the first time we finally took down Gargos we were all so hype. Playing Killer Instinct like a deranged Mario Party was the best challenge mode experience I've ever had in a fighting game.

Jinpachi. Both difficult and unique. I like his fireball attack and his reveal in Tekken 5. He has a good level of difficulty without being broken

Love fighting games bosses, from the usually imposing design setting you up for what usually is hellish A.I. that remains a legacy of the arcade. MK with Motaro and Shao Kahn, Tekken 2 with Kazuya/Devil, and the many SNK bosses from Young Geese to Magaki wilk forever be etched in my mind.

Tabuu from Super Smash brothers Brawl and Order Sol from Guilty Gear Accent Core has to be some of my favorite fighting game bosses. all of Tabuus moves hit like a damn truck and has an instant kill move that pretty much taught me the importance of spotdodging in Brawl and is an amazing final boss to the games story. Boss Order Sol is alot like regular Order Sol but does more damage, has more health and has access to Dragon install and when he activates it you better pray that you dont get hit or else your life bar will pretty much be erased. He is also one of those bosses were you need requirements to face him and if you lose you have to start arcade mode all over again.

I remember my 11yo mind being blown seeing Boxer appear as the boss in SF2, to only have my mind blown AGAIN seeing Claw, and then AGAIN with Sagat and then Dictator!!! One of the top 5 all-time highlights of my experience with video games. More games should do multiple non-playable bosses.

The fact that Hi-Score Girl was mentioned... That makes me very happy 😄

CVS2 made you feel that you may have beaten the final stage, you didn't truly beat the whole game. If you got no boss, the screen reveals the foot of the boss you would have face if you met the requirements. If you did meet the requirements, you either got Akuma or Rugal , but after you bet one of the bosses, the other boss from the opposing side would show up and the castle would explode. That still doesn't give you a satisfying enough ending victory. Only by meeting the requirements to fight either Shin Akuma or Ultimate Rugal & defeating them will get you the true ending

Love this conversation, fighting game bosses are such a cool topic and you guys are really all coming together and synching up now, these episodes are great.

One thing this podcast confirms for me is how likable Justin Wong is

Plot twist: Jinpachi WAS in Tekken Tag 2. He is playable amd was still just as busted

I am here to inform you that Jinpachi was in fact, in Tekken Tag 2. EVERYONE IS HERE!

Actually, Jinpachi was part of Tekken lore before Tekken 5. I remember playing T5 for the first time and when I got to him I was like, "OH $#!+!" Heihachi's dad! Only one other person knew who he was. My friends looked at me like, "Wha?" True you had to be a deep Tekken lore nerd to know of him but he did exist long before.

my funniest AI moment, the final all star event match in ssbm. i got to the final character (captain falcon) with like, 12 seconds left to kill him. it was basically hopeless. the AI just held back, walked off the edge, and i won. i will never understand why he gave me the win but i am forever grateful for AI captain falcon

So glad Matt brought up the Eternal Champion. That boss had 5 fighting styles. And each time you beat him he switched to a different fighting style. But you only had one shot to beat him. And in the CD version, you had to fight the Dark Champion 8 times because not only did he have the 5 styles the regular Eternal Champion did, but he had 4 additional ones that revolved around catastrophes.

Thank you Justin, Matt, and Maximilian for this great episode. My first encounter with a secret boss was playing AoF2 in the arcade and when young Geese (looking like Andy Bogard in a suit) appears, he was just one cheap SOB, it still blew our minds especially since there was no easy way to get him to reappear and since there is no rematch option. As for epic bosses got to say that first fight against Goro in the original MK really surprised the heck out of everyone at the arcade since every other character in the game is based on some martial arts movie and here comes this Harryhausen style stop motion monster as your next opponent. Can’t wait to hear what you are going to do a deep dive on next. Keep up the great work

Secret boss Vermilion from Toshinden 2 was so awesome back in the day. Easy to fight when you realized you can roll your way into victory but still, simple but cool design. Justice (Guilty Gear), White (Fatal Fury), Rugal (KOF 94) and Young Geese will always be my mortal enemies. GRRRR

42:02 That's a good idea. Make players design challenging fights and share them with other players online. Virtually unlimited content, kinda like Geometry Dash, Mario Maker, Happy Wheels, etc.

An acceptable take/answer for MK4: Quan Chi arcade cabinet as he peers into your soul

1:15:55 CVS2 bosses I love how Max called Shin Akuma, "God" Akuma because it is Akuma with the Satsui No Hado & Orochi powers

This is the podcast I always needed. Keep up the great work!!

Matt, Jinpachi is actually playable in Tekken Tag 2, however Unknown/Jun Kazama is the Final Boss just like in the first Tekken Tag. Jinpachi be rushing and annoying the hell out of his UBER driver in order to get to the Tournament in the intro. LOL!

Pyron from the original Darkstalkers was crazy especially with the difficulty cranked in the arcades. I could pick any SNK boss from early SNK games, but that’s a given. Pyron was disgusting.

So many memories came to mind with this episode, thank you guys. I just dust off my PS3 and I'm ready to boot CAPCOM VS SNK 2 and fight God Rugal and Shin Akuma. Let's f**** GO!!!

The more i watch these, the more i would kind of love to see them bring up the Degrees of Ryu topic When it comes to fighting game bosses, i tend to think of the more obscure bosses and give them some love Some examples would be the End of Deathbringer from Battle Fantasia, while he isn't too much different from normal Deathbringer, he's always in his heat up mode and will only take 1 damage if you hit him, the way you're supposed to beat him is enter heat up yourself then for a short time you can deal normal damage to him I'm still trying to get the "You want me to WHAT?!..." Achievement

Thanks as always, your podcast are like a dream come true to me, they are really fun and interesting. keep it up bros! ❤

Defeating Eyedol from original KILLER INSTINCT was one of my hardest and most triumphant bosses I have ever defeated since Karai in TMNT tournament fighters

I would love a topic on what you three love to see in fighting games, combo based?, Over the top or more grounded ?. For me it's over the top combos and ridiculous moves ....each character having unique combo paths to.

White from Real Bout Dominated Mind having that surprise at the end with auto KO is dick move..... But I love it.

Parace L'sia is notoriously known for being extremely hard in Arcana Heart 3: Love Max, even The Quarter Guy has a hard time beating her. I do want to see Max and Justin do a Boss Rage on Parace.

The last truly sadistic boss I've fought in a fighting game was Nightmare Marie in Skullgirls vanilla. She took me hours to beat, plus it was before Fukua and Squigly were added so you couldn't use them to stunlock her.

I know the game he was in was never released but Necrosan from Primal Rage 2 will always be a sentimental favorite to me.

Man this podcast is Amazing!

I fought the General in Kaiser Knuckle. Dear God, I felt the pain and only beat him with savestates. As for SNK bosses '02 UM Rugal, is the absolute worst SNK boss because you get one chance to fight him. Never found MK bosses hard just that the ladder. Tekken bosses even on the hardest difficulty are pretty easy

I do hope they read the comments since there was very little talk about anime fighter bosses here. Which of course makes sense, none of them are really anime fighter people, but there was no talk about Granblue Versus's take on bosses where they basically turned them into a beat-em-up mode and they end up being pretty fun to fight, albeit partially due to the change in gameplay style, but Beezlebub in the arcade mode is also a VASTLY different character from the playable Beezlebub despite being the same character model so thats interesting. Thems Fighting Herds also had an interesting take on bosses where the story mode had unique enemies to it, and the bosses would have additional gimmicks on them to teach you how to deal with specific gameplay styles (so for example, the Zoner character in round 2 turns into a tornado that constantly throws projectiles so you have to figure out how to get through them. Basically taking the playstyle to 11) I think a big issue with FG bosses is that input reading is just not good game design. They mention it here where you usually just beat the boss by either getting lucky or by abusing something they just arent programmed to react to, or even by timing them out because they're waiting FOR YOU to press a button. Its kind of hard to have a boss AI that acts like a human that doesnt just straight up cheat. That being said, I agree that Omega Rugal should've been way harder and SNK underestimated how much having a difficult boss could've even been a DRAW to the game

I personally like fighting games with multiple bosses. Like Capcom vs SNK 2, SVC CHAOS, Ultra Street Fighter 4 & KOF 2002 UM

22:30 I love this quote so much, IDK why. “I mean…. This is my game.”

The best thing from MK deadly alliance is Sub-Zero's skeleton rip fatality. A full skeleton. Never forget.

Since nobody said it. Alpha 3 shithead full screen super psycho crusher Bison is one of my favorite bosses. SFV cfn fight money bosses were pretty decently fun bosses for a recent fighting game.

I don't play alot of FGs but I got super into strive and main nago. The crushing battle against stage 9 boss nago as nago myself was immensely satisfying to get after hours of attempts. Felt like I really had to earn it as he was simply just a better version of my character. The ultimate test for a nago player

Another great episode! ♡ (Forgot SoulCalibur saga crazy boss fights tho!) Keep it up, love it!!

For the Eternal Champion I believe it was 4 rounds you had to win and each round was against a different “form”. He’d switch fighting styles after each time you defeat him. I think it was like dragon, Hawk, tiger, and shark. He was definitely a pain to deal with. As far as the hardest boss I’ve ever fought it’s definitely The General bar none. The dude is completely insane. His AI is ridiculous, his damage is ridiculous, he’s safe on basically everything, just…ugh man. He’s definitely the boss from hell. Lol

"I am the perfect soldier!" - The General, Bison's long lost brother

Great episode! Jinpachi was definitely a hard boss for me when I was younger... And he actually IS in Tekken Tag 2! The Master Hand fights (and all boss battles from Smash in general) are also some of my favourites

I just beat omega Rugal today, kof xv is my 1st kof and I love it

Killer instinct mentioned again I love it

Great video. On the topic of playing against other players ghosts, the arcade version of Soul Calibur 2 had this absolutely nailed in their Conquest Mode, and it kept punters paying over and over to keep their characters and their territories in the lead.

On the topic of a custom character fighting game. It would be interesting if each stage you gain 1 of 3 abilities, which all have like a rock-paper-scissors quality to them. The kicker is, whatever you pick, the final boss gets the ability that beats yours. So by the time you get to the boss, you are naturally at a disadvantage, but you can overcome it if you play smart.

I remember I was showing the KI Shadow AI training mode to a friend. My Jago Shadow AI that I made loved to open with full screen Heavy Wind Kick cause the AI let me get away with that so it learned my bad habits…then he taught my AI how to punish full screen Heavy Wind kick for a few matches straight and played super defensive and then I could never beat my own AI anymore :P

When y'all were talking about chat telling you what to do, I suddenly was reminded of regular chess vs "anti-computer" chess. The way you play against people is vastly different from the way you play vs AI, across all sorts of games.

1:02 Haha, just rewatched Max playing it yesterday. 59:01 Dude, he's even in the intro of TTT2.

43:44 Neo Geo Battle Coliseum It had four bosses. One of them was a clone of Orochi named Mizuchi

Jinpachi is in Tekken Tag 2, he was added later in the game along with a handful of others

Chronos the Phoenix. Bloody Roar 🦁 Extreme. Took me 4 hours as a kid to beat. Amazing game. Never got the love it deserved. Uranus the fight after him is even wilder

Unlimited Hazama from Blazblue Continuum Shift was always someone I dreaded fighting. A lifesteal aura around him whenever he isnt taking damage, powerful chain combos, lightning fast anti air grabs, and of course, SERPENT'S INFERNAL RAPTURE!!

For Me Abyss & Night Terror the Final Form of Nightmare from Soul Calibur 3 was so frustrating.

The thing with fighting the Eternal Champion is that, yes, you fight him five times but he changes to different elemental forms each round. I wanna say I remember that he has drastically reduced health in his sub-forms compared to normal characters though, so while it's TECHNICALLY five rounds it's only two normal rounds worth of life bar. Now as much as I liked the sequel Challenge From The Dark Side, the fact the game expects you to fight that kind of gauntlet match twice in a row with both the EC and the Dark EC, with only getting one shot at each, is kinda BS. Not to mention, on the hardest difficulty, the ULTRA-BS move of locking you into a completely different character than you'd been playing for the rest of the game to face the Dark EC's gauntlet.

I think USF4 has my favorite bosses. There's 4 of them being Akuma Gouken Evil Ryu and Oni, so that's a lot of replayability. Then Evil Ryu and Oni specifically have dialogue upon entering that is specific to whoever your playing so the fight just feels super personal at that point.

Gill on Street Fighter 3 for Dreamcast made me rage quit as a kid.

48:17 Apocalypse (X-Men vs Street Fighter) Giant bosses in the Marvel vs Capcom games were fun to fight against like Apocalypse, Onslaught & Abyss. And there's Galactics & Ultron Sigma.....

39:20 I consider it kinda a callback to the original MK1 cuz you have Goro as the sub boss who big bad heavy dude and then you have Shang Tsung and although he can morph into other characters he’s not that hard or impactful.

Everyone's just ignoring Thems Fighting Herds like it didn't have amazing looking and challenging bosses. The tutorial boss alone feels like a boss from a more open action game.

Jinpachi is in Tekken Tag 2 though.

Wrong Matt Jinpachi Mishima Was In Tekken Tag 2 . Tekken 4 Is Criminally Underrated 🥺

As a huge nerd who fallows all 3 of ya. Thanks for this, I upvote and fallow you on all the things... also thanks for killing time while I wate for my Avalanche to crush in the playoffs. Peace dudes! Can't wait till next week

They forgot to mention Inferno SOUL CALIBUR 2 BABY going Hiyahh on him with Link best fight ever and difficult when I was a kid, now reliving it again all these years now it is still my favorite boss fight, even Jinpachi(Tekken 5) and Ogre (Tekken 3) were my favs as well. Even also reliving Krizalid in Kof 99 and Geese + Bison in CvS 1 and 2 were so cool. But still Inferno will always be my favorite. Shh about Shao Kahn is MK9, fucking hammers and spears nonstop lol plus Dark Kahn in MK vs DC oh my goodness, Kronika(MK11) stop time kill me aieee

I kind of wish they would talk about extra modes! In MVC3 there was a hero vs villain mode I think? MK has the clan wars if iirc. I think alternative reasons to win are great for those who don't want to play ranked.

Reminds me of abusing pause-throws against Stage 9 Nagoriyuki in Strive. Had to to it on PS4 AND PS5 which was tons of fun. Potemkin helps a lot.

Late to the party here but I'd love to see more guests on the show. Ketchup was amazing, my wish list includes JMCrofts, Jiyuna, LordKnight, possibly even Rooflemonger? Keep up the good work the each new episode has been amazing.

To this day I don't know if I have fought a harder boss than Younger Toguro in Yu Yu Hakusho Dark Tournament for PS2. You can definitely exploit him with trial and error but the first time against him was hell.

the first couple of king of fighter bosses are some of the hardest bosses in fighting games .

guys, please consider doing a video on why Pokken Tournament failed in arcades

I like how the answer for the hardest boss universally is the General 🤣

59:09? what you mean? of course he is in the game!!! my brother just choose him and i got hit by a fireball from his belly! 😂

Jinpachi was in TTT2. dezombified i believe lol

I'm suprise you guys didnt touch on the comparison between boss fights in fighting games and boss fights in literally every other genre. Two vastly different design philosophies

Dude, I just started watching Hi Score Girl this week, how funny. But it’s a great fgc homage.

Classic SNK bosses follow the Meta Knight/Kirby tradition and honestly they should bring that back for a game where the fighters have weapons. Let a fighting boss just stand there until you pick up a sword or something.

As far as Giant Fighting Game Bosses go, I think Take-Mikazuchi from Blazblue Chronophantasma has the fondest memories. A large array of attacks, very cinematic distortion drives, and even his own insta kill Astral if you fuck up. Not to mention when it appears in the story the stakes are through the roof.

All I could think about during the Shadow lord part why Max hasn't done a boss rage of it

As a Tekken player, I have to correct you. Jinpachi is in Tekken Tag 2. The only playable character who didn't return in TTT2 was Gon.

“I am perfect soldier!”

Fun fact: Grant Kirkhope played the lead guitar parts for the Gargos theme as he was the best guitar player in the Rare offices

I'm here for a Jwong level 1 Shadow Lords attempt

when you guys mentioned BIG bosses and poverty fighting games I was kinda hoping one of you would mention Giant Akiha from Melty Blood but sadly she was forgotten in time :´3 okay granted, she was an extra bossfight in another mode and not arcade, but it was still hilarious!

40:19 - Max's eyes went...O_O

Them's Fightin' Herds has cool boys battles! Some are enemies exclusive to story mode, like a giant snake that sits in the background while you dodge his tail swipes and globs of poison he spits. Occasionally, he'll reach his head out fo na bite, leaving it vulnerable and targetable. Most regular enemies are story mode only, being eagles and wolves and cougars and bears, while the boss fights are usually the other characters in the game, just beefed up. In the boss fight against Arizona, for example, you fight her in three phases, and she gets progressively more powerful. In the last phase, there's a constant tornado effect pushing you away from her, making her already infuriating zoning all that much more so. I would love to hear your guy's thoughts on Them's Fightin' Herds someday though; they recently got bought by a studio so that can make stuff faster! It's such a great little game. The story mode is kinda like a Zelda, Link to the Past style pixeley thing, you can find secrets and talk to quirky NPCs, it's great. It uses platforming challenges to teach you how to short hop and super jump, and the enemies are there to train you to do specific things, like learn how to anti-air or block high-low mixups.

1:17:16 In this same second you can see Max's smile vanishing, probably remembering some painful memories from Shin Akuma

Guilty Gear XX had a boss version of I-No that had this bullet hell move that wasn't available to the player.

I remember that dragon boss from Bloody Roar 4. If I remember correctly...the game had that character "quest" mode where you could unlock new moves. I had a completely broken Xion that turned in to a murder machine. I think that's who I took through and eventually beat story mode with.