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A boss battle in Mega Man X.
A boss battle in Mega Man Battle Network 3.
A boss (ボス bosu) is a type of enemy character in the Mega Man games that is stronger than the enemies encountered before him and is usually found in the end of a stage or in certain parts of the story, and must be defeated to progress in the game.
Some bosses from the series were created in boss character contests.
In games where Escape is available, it is not possible to use it in stages that were not cleared in platformers and during a boss battle in RPGs.
Variations
Mid-boss
A mid-boss (中ボス[1][2] naka-bosu), also known as middle boss, sub-boss, and mini boss, is a strong enemy with high amount of life energy that is usually found in their own room or area. Usually, mid-bosses are the only one of their kind in a stage, are found around the middle of the stage, are stronger than enemies and weaker than bosses. However, there are some exceptions, such as mid-bosses that are fought two or more times (e.g. Nightmare Snake), optional (e.g. Pteranoid), have more health than the main boss (e.g. RT-55J), and fought after the main boss (e.g. Giganto Bole).
There is usually a difference between a mid-boss and a main boss, the mid-bosses does not have a life gauge in most games, or has a life gauge but no Warning message in Mega Man X4-X6, while in Mega Man X DiVE they have a Caution message. However, some main bosses also do not have a life gauge (e.g. Break Man), so the difference between the two is not absolute. Some games also contain an additional boss that act like a mid-boss, like the Nightmare Police in Mega Man X3.
The big enemies are not to be confused with mid-bosses, although some enemies are somewhere between the two, such as Friender and Mole Borer.
Eight big bosses
The eight big bosses (8大ボス[3][4][5] alternatively "eight great bosses") is a nickname for the eight boss characters available in the game's Stage Select Screen that can be challenged in any order, such as the Numbers from the original Mega Man series and the Maverick Reploids from the Mega Man X series. After defeating them, the player obtains a Special Weapon that is the weakness from another boss. Their amount and availability may vary, examples including the first Mega Man game having six bosses instead of eight, and only four stages being initially available in Mega Man 8, with the second half appearing after completing the first half. In most games they reappear in a Boss Rush.
Usually the player proceeds to the final stages after completing all eight stages, but in Mega Man 3 the player must revisit four stages to defeat Doc Robot bosses, Mega Man IV and Mega Man & Bass have additional obstacles blocking the path, and in Mega Man X5 and Mega Man X6 it is possible to advance without completing the eight stages.
Other types
- Opening boss, the game's first boss, fought in the Opening Stage.
- Bosses from the stages available after the Stage Select Screen, such as Wily Stages and Sigma Stages.
- The final boss that must be defeated to complete the game.
- Optional bosses that are not needed to be defeated to proceed in the game, like Proto Man in Mega Man 7 and PharaohMan.EXE in the first two games from the Mega Man Battle Network series. Some optional bosses are also known as a "super boss" due to their higher difficulty, like Ninetails and many versions of Bass.EXE.
Boss themes
Most platformer Mega Man games have at least two music themes for bosses, one for the bosses from the Stage Select Screen and one for bosses in final stages. Many games also have an unique theme for the final boss.
See also
External links
References
- ↑ Kodansha Manga Hyakka 6: Rockman & Rockman X Daizukan.
- ↑ Comic BomBom Special #99: Ketteiban - Rockman 7 & Rockman X3 Chouhyakka
- ↑ Kodansha Manga Hyakka books.
- ↑ Rockman 7 Himitsu Daihyakka
- ↑ Comic BomBom Special #99: Ketteiban - Rockman 7 & Rockman X3 Chouhyakka