Boss fights can really make or break a video game - or at the very least, play a huge role in presenting a thrilling, "edge-of-your-seat" experience. It's these epic showdowns that players are ultimately striving to reach and overcome. They usually act as climactic points in games. A sort of centralized goal the player is coaxed towards. They tend to make for the biggest in-game trials for the player, and a way for them to demonstrate how (or if) their skills have developed.
Yet, there are cases where bosses are pushovers. Fights that can be ended in just a few easy strikes or less and with little effort. Whether through exploits, overpowered characters, or developer laziness, some pretty easy boss fights stand out.
With this list, we'll cover 10 of the simplest, most disappointing boss battles ever crafted.
10 Rocksteady (TMNT NES)
Ironically, despite the debut Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game on NES being maddeningly tough, the game's second boss - a bum-rushing Rocksteady - is actually quite easy. You merely need to have Donatello in your Turtles lineup.
Simply switching to this Turtle while hopping on the ledge, then ducking, and poking downward with your staff will coax the boss to run mindlessly against the wall and bust out a slight leaping move. This move will elevate this dimwitted boss just high enough for you to land some strikes while keeping out of his reach. Landing just a handful of hits will take him out - then it's onto more punishing gameplay. Enjoy the simplicity while it lasts!
9 Lucien (Fable II)
Those who have played the sequel to this colorfully unique RPG for the Xbox 360 know of the sinister man that is Lucien, and the pain he's inflicted on our protagonist. By way of ritual sacrifice, he killed Sparrow's sister and wounded Sparrow as well.
This just makes it all the more surreal when this seemingly powerful and evil antagonist is swiftly defeated by simply playing a music box to wipe out his shield. Then, as he's just standing around, you merely have to land a single shot, and voila! The man who caused you so much grief is dead. A showdown Fable II spent countless hours building up to, is a done deal.
8 Dracula (Castlevania II: Simon's Quest)
Similar to the Rocksteady face-off in TMNT for NES, the final showdown between Simon Belmont and Dracula isn't simple by default, but rather, made much easier by way of an in-game exploit. Rather than taking advantage of a sort of snafu in the game's physics, however, here you just paralyze Dracula and bust out the potent Holy Water item, which will melt through his health fairly quickly.
To further add to this simplistic, anti-climactic boss fight, the entire palace leading up to the final room is completely empty. Whether Konami wanted to invoke a feeling of an eerie, desolate solitude, or simply got lazy towards the end of development is unknown. Regardless, this whole process can be a cakewalk if you use the right items.
7 King Bob-omb (Super Mario 64)
It's a bit strange to have one of the obtainable stars in Mario 64 built up by a lengthy mountain climb, only to be greeted by a large Bob-omb who turns out to be a pushover. Despite this explosive bomb creature's intimidating size, he can be taken out relatively simply and quickly. With how slow this clunker of a boss saunters about the hill, you only need to have Mario be moderately quick in order to get behind him and toss him around a few times to annihilate him.
The funny part is that even if you do manage to get nabbed by this guy's pudgy mitts, he'll merely toss you a short distance, which won't even kill you, and likely won't even cause you to fall down the hill.
6 Papu Papu (Crash Bandicoot)
3D platformers can tend to be at least a bit tougher than their sidescrolling counterparts. Just the act of taking out baddies in a 3D space - let alone bosses - can be a trickier endeavor than their cartoonish aesthetics might lead you to believe. Yet, this isn't the case with the boss Papu Papu from Crash Bandicoot on the Playstation.
While the recently-released N.Sane Trilogy has ramped up his difficulty a tad by requiring 5 bonks on Papu Papu's head, he still makes for a pretty easy face-off. His slow movements, spinning, and staff swings are almost comically easy to anticipate and dodge effectively.
5 Very Gnawty (Donkey Kong Country)
While the Donkey Kong Country series is renowned for its 2D platforming excellence, it's not exactly known for its amazing boss fights - especially in earlier portions of the first DKC.
Sure, you might say that since this was the first boss in a new series, Rare wanted to ease players into this game's unique feel. Still, they could have done without a boss that basically comes off as a slightly oversized enemy you'd run into during most stages. This chuckling, buck-toothed beaver does naught but clunkily hop around, quickening his pace and jump distance only slightly with each hit.
You only need a moderate sense of speed and timing yourself, as you're tasked with just hopping on the beaver's head, before waiting for him to chuckle at you and doing the same thing 4 more times.
4 Mysterio (Spider-Man 2)
The fact that this showdown takes place in a small shop should definitely tip you off to the fact that this "boss fight" is meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Still, while this may invoke some laughter and a sigh of relief after seeing Mysterio's health bars building up, that doesn't excuse the fact that this is one of the easiest boss fights ever. A pushover is a pushover, regardless of the intention behind it.
Evidently, Spider-Man doesn't just shoot webs and swing from buildings. He apparently also has fists of steel, sufficient to deliver a knock-out punch that puts this "boss" down with just one tap.
3 Waddle Dee (Kirby Super Star)
Sure, you could say that the charming, easy-going gameplay has long been a staple of most Kirby titles. Still, even for the pretty meager standards of the puff-ball platforming series, this arena face-off with Waddle Dee manages to be underwhelming.
You can basically catch this guy on his heels with little effort - just spam your abilities and quite literally see him backed into a corner as he's pummeled and his health bar melts. It's all the more amusing that this brief, anticlimactic battle takes place in this grandiose gladiator arena.
2 Ganon (Link: The Faces Of Evil)
You probably wouldn't expect a particularly dynamic, thrilling boss fight if you know anything about this amusingly cheesy and shoddy Zelda title for the Philips CD-i. Still, even with this game's convoluted mechanics and lame point-and-click gameplay, you'd at least expect a fairly decent effort for the final showdown between the sword-wielding hero Link and the sinister Ganon.
Well, unless your idea of "epic" is throwing up your shield for a bit to deflect projectiles then tossing a magical book at Ganon, it doesn't pan out. Yes, this one quick item toss is all it takes to defeat the great and powerful Ganon. Breath of the Wild, this is not, folks...
1 Bob The Killer Goldfish (Earthworm Jim)
You've got to at least give Shiny Entertainment credit here, as they've managed to create a pretty amusing boss in Bob the Killer Goldfish. He meshes perfectly with this zany, comical game. Still, once you've had your laughs by just shattering this "killer" boss' fishbowl to kill him, and the novelty's gone, you're left with the simplest "boss fight" of all time, funny or not.
It feels particularly bizarre given that both Earthworm Jim and its even crazier sequel toss some maddeningly tough platforming gameplay at you. In a way, though, this just makes this fight funnier.