The 20 greatest bosses in video game history

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PHOENIX MEDIA

In honor of National Boss Day, thePhoenix.com presents the ultimate kingpins

By: RYAN STEWART AND MITCH KRPATA

10/23/2006 5:18:43 PM

You know Sephiroth will be on this list . . .

National Boss Day, this year on Monday, October 16, doesn’t usually command much of a celebration. So instead of leaving goopy Hallmark cards on the desks of the higher-ups around here, we’re taking the opportunity to grant some much-needed recognition to some of our favorite video game bosses by counting down the 20 best kingpins in gaming history.

Some bosses are supreme beings of evil. Others are cartoonish bumblers. Some square off against a hero in epic battles. Others simply taunt their good-guy adversaries. Some great bosses debuted twenty years ago. And three of our top twenty come from games released in 2005. But all share one thing in common: they elevate the gaming experience to another level in one way or another.

Click here to start the list, and leave your comments below.

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Though they were not technically a "boss" the Penguins in NHL 93 were killer

POSTED BY bondemurd AT 10/16/06 3:54 PM

FUCK YOU for making me click thru 20 pages just to bump yer page count so you could lie to your advertisers.

POSTED BY badmotherfucker AT 10/19/06 2:05 PM

This article....where to even begin....its just so oppinionated and biased in my oppinion. First problem I have with it is how general and vague it is. I mean, all off foxhound is listed under ONE NUMBER! Pick and Choose. 15 was DEFINITELY biased, mainly because the only reason Hitler is there is because its like "OMG NO WAI! U CAN KILLZ HITLER OMG ROFL!". Then theres Metal Man, who isnt on there because hes a boss, but because of the attack you get after beating him. If you wanna include the metal blade thing, make a top 20 powerups or weapons article, dont just throw it in here. "Bark at The Moon" TECHNICALLY isnt a boss, but a really hard song. its like saying Legend of Maxx from DDR is a boss. Ganondorf technically didnt make an appearance in Zelda until Ocarina of Time. The Collossi, once again, pick one, dont be general and get them all. You can say they were all great, but pick one out of them that you though was best. Abobo is just doesnt deserve as high a place as he does, I mean, Kefka has a cult fanbase and HE's not on the list, and hes probably far funnier than Abobo will ever be. Bowser threw the hammers, he didnt shoot them out of his shell. nice spoiler in the sephiroth pictures.... and once again, technicalities ensue as shodan isn't technically a boss. ok, my rant on everything wrong with this article is over.

POSTED BY Magnafiend AT 10/19/06 10:02 PM

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