Final Boss Analysis

Final bosses are my favorite part of video games, they are the culmination of a video game’s themes, and have to represent the game itself in a way. Here, I strive to analyze and dissect various final bosses in video games. If you have a suggestion, leave a note and i’ll get to it at some point.

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Final Boss Analysis #5

Radagon Of The Golden Order

Elden Ring

“…”

After overcoming countless challenges across the lands between, you finally arrive back at the foot of the erdtree. The wall of thorns now burned, the Tarnished enters to become Elden Lord, but one last challenge stands in their way.

Tragedy of Radagon

A champion serving Marika, and a stout believer in the Golden Order, Radagon strived to be complete, studying all manner of sorcery and incantation. Recognizing his mistake in invading Raya Lucaria, he dissolved his sins in celestial dew, and married Rennala. For a time, all was well.

However, at some point, he would leave Rennala to marry Marika, and become the second Elden Lord. Unbeknownst to the lands between, or likely even the player, it turns out that Marika and Radagon shared the same body. Whether they were always like this, or it happened after they married is unclear. After Marika shattered the Elden Ring, Radagon attempted to repair it to no avail, sealing the Erdtree in an effort to maintain the status quo, and make sure no one could reach the Marika, whatever their intentions with her power may be.

Change Comes Anyway

Despite his best efforts, the tarnished reaches the Kiln, and burns the Erdtree, turning Radagon's seal to ashes, and allowing entry.

After defeating Hoarah Loux, the Tarnished enters, and sees Marika hanging limp on a cross. Radagon, recognizing he has failed, takes control, and wields the hammer that shattered the Elden Ring to be its last line of defense.

Moveset

Radagon is a mere shadow of his former self, weakened by the shattering of the Elden Ring. In this way, I would compare him to Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder, who is also on the chopping block. Nonetheless, he's a formidable opponent that can catch you off guard easily.

In Phase 1, he'll primarily dash at you for a hammer combo, occasionally making the ground erupt with a golden shattering. Sometimes he'll pin you with a holy spike for a grab, in which he'll use you as practice for hammering a nail. If you're far away, he'll also try to throw holy bolts at you. Also, don't even try to hit him with projectiles, he will parry that shit.

Once he reaches 50% health, he enters a pseudo phase 2. He'll start teleporting, which can damage you if you're too close. He also gains an additional move, where he brings the hammer up and crashes down 3 times, causing a massive AOE shockwave and imbuing the pattern of the Elden Ring on the ground.

Theme: The Final Battle

Radagon's theme is The Final Battle, an epic reprisal of the game's main theme, and my personal favorite. The shot of Radagon lifting the hammer as the choir gets ready to sing their throats out is just divine.

While not much needs to be said, there is a small detail that I love in this track that isn't featured in the title screen version is the bridge. Midway through, you can literally hear the Elden Ring shatter, and a few discordant smithing noises after, symbolizing Radagons attempts to repair it.

Overall, Radagon is a fun and fair fight, unlike...

Elden Beast

After putting down Radagon, the true antagonist reveals itself. Elden Beast, a vassal for the Greater Will. Also, if you look closely, Radagon got turned into a sword, which is pretty amusing and a horrifying fate.

If you were disappointed by Radagon in terms of difficulty, first of all you're stupid and second off, congratulations, now you get to fight one of the most bullshit bosses.

Moveset

Thanks to a patch from our lord and savior Miyazaki, we can mount Torrent to help us dodge some of the Beasts attacks. Emphasis on some.

Elden Beast only has 1 phase, but it'll constantly swim to the other side of the Arena, resulting in a wild goose chase where you stumble to get like 4 hits in before it runs away again.

Among giant sword swings, holy flames, bullet hell attacks, and rings, the thing you need to look out for the most is Elden Stars, a projectile which sends out tinier projectiles in all directions. You can only avoid this by running around like a madman and hoping you don't get hit.

It's Theme

Elden beast's theme is an extension of the harp section you hear at the beginning of the title theme. An orchestral piece led by a female choir, the theme really puts the fact that you're fighting a god into perspective.

Conclusion

Theres a big theme with Radagon: Repair. I can fix the Lands Between. I can fix my wife and kids. I can fix the Elden Ring. He literally wields a hammer when fighting you. Despite this, the land lies in disrepair, he couldn’t even save himself from becoming a shattered, broken man.

Firth was pretty silly so heres a pallet cleanser. Probably gonna do a suggestion for the next one. Stay tuned.

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Firth Trading Card Follow-Up

Conveniently, the new Crab Souls update just dropped, and brought some Tarot-Themed Steam trading cards with them, including Firth, which has some interesting information.

His is of "The Magician".

"What you can achieve is only limited by your willingness to imagine..."

The Magician has all the tools he needs to bring about his desired reality, symbolizing one completely in control of his own fate.

This is easy to tie back to Firth, with the Whorl in his possession, he had the power to do anything he wanted.

A literal meaning, The Magician holds many tools, just as Firth holds many shells.

It's important to remember that The Magician isn't inherently a "good" card. Just because someone has the ability to bring forth their ideal world doesn't mean it'll be a good one.

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HIIIII I discovered this blog through your analysis of Firth, which I absolutely LOVED, so I wanted to come in here and maybe request Ballas from Warframe? He's not exactly the final boss, since the game has been constantly updating its content, but he was the finale of a huge story arc and he's probably the closest thing we have to a final boss at the moment. The banger theme alone could justify treating him like a final boss honestly

I will have to do some research, as I haven’t played Warframe, but it can be arranged. Thanks for the suggestion!

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WARNING: Spoilers for the Final Boss of Another Crab's Treasure. Go play it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Final Boss Analysis #4 Firth, The Crab Who Stole The Whorl Another Crab's Treasure

"That's the cool part about being a GOD, I don't need you to let me do anything! It's just gonna happen!"

What seems like the weirdest decision for a final boss from a story standpoint actually fits perfectly within the games themes. Let’s dissect what makes Firth such a great final boss.

Firth is an asshole (Foreshadowing, also)

Among the sea critters Kril meets on his journey to get his shell back, Firth might be the worst and most despicable type of person: A cryptobro.

It's not surprising if you picked up on the themes of Another Crab's Treasure, being mostly a critique of capitalism and those who perpetuate it. Being an aspiring adventure crabitalist, Firth is seen multiple times throughout your journey, and by god is he never stopping that grindset. Every time you see him, he gets progressively shinier and cooler shells, which foreshadows something very important later.

Let’s kill god (Then do it again)

Shortly after telling Kril to KILL HIMSELF (Yes, he says this)

Kril fights basically a metaphor for the oceans pain and pollution. Somehow, he wins.

So we killed God, basically. That was the final boss. The macguffin, The Perfect Whorl, is afoot, which will turn whoever wears it into basically a god, which Kril will use to solve all of the oceans problems. Freaking sweet.

However, while Kril is distracted by his dying friend (Anti Grindset Behavior) Firth, ever the entrepreneur, takes this opportunity to yoink it for himself, unaware of it's power.

The Crab Who Stole The Whorl

Empowered by the Whorl, Firth basically becomes a God.

While he is now capable of fixing everything in the ocean, he instead plans to dump literally all the trash in the ocean directly onto the city in an attempt to revive and revitalize the economy there. Of course, this would just cause everyone to get polluted faster (And Kril needs the shell to save his friend (Anti Grindset Behavior)) so now we need to fight him.

Moveset

Firth's first phase is a mirror of Kril's fighting style and abilities he's gained throughout the game, since they're both hermit crabs. The difference being that he fights with a spoon, the inferior cutlery. It's a test of knowledge, not of your enemies abilities, but your own. He can hide in the Whorl and parry you as well.

His second phase has him pulling out all the stops, summoning tendrils and tornadoes while throwing projectiles at you. One thing I love about this phase is the sound the tendrils make as they swing, the reversed piano chord really puts into perspective the godliness aspect of him.

Soundtrack

His 1st phase theme, The Crab Who Stole The Whorl, is a fast paced mostly electronic theme. It's a stark contrast from the laid back vibe of the previous songs, while also sounding (And I cant find a better way to put this) Amateur in nature with its use of simplistic soundfonts, which show the gap in skill between Kril and Firth. (Kril actually working for his strength, while Firth just Stole The Whorl. (Took Another Crab's Treasure. (If you will.)))

His 2nd phase, Avatar Of Waste, showcases the finality and intensity of the battle. Long, drawn out notes backed by an intense drum section.

His Purpose and Symbolism

Firth symbolizes two things.

The literal embodiment of the phrase "Don't attribute malice to which is adequately explained by stupidity." While the economic boom seems well meaning, he's too self justified to consider the long term consequences of doing so. In general, he doesn't really seem to care about actually helping people, just that he's the one doing it.

2. Perpetuation of capitalism. Imagine If you could take out all the support structures, somehow demolish the ideology, and wipe it from the map. Kill god, if you would. Nonetheless as long as greedy people still exist in the world unopposed, the risk of capitalism being built again stands. Kril's fought all matter of embodiments of greed, so it makes sense that the final hurdle would be the embodiment of what builds it up and keeps it going.

Conclusion

Well, it wasn't Iwami but I'll get to him. (Sorry for lying.)

Mirror matches are pretty much the coolest trope in history, so the only way you could make that better is if its the final boss. He's also just got such an asshole personality that I can't help but like him. Helps that he's voiced by Micheal Reeves, the perfect voice actor for an asshole.

Another Crab's Treasure is just a great game. I was already a fan of Dark Souls, but the art direction just sucked me right into it. Leave a note if you'd like to see a specific boss covered in the future.

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Final Boss Analysis #3

Yasutaka Shirakaba

Lost Judgment: The Kaito Files

Guess who just finished The Kaito Files? Here we have a shorter analysis compared to the last two, but he's a noteworthy and unique final boss in RGG nonetheless.

Shirakaba is not a Judgment Final Boss

Throughout the Judgment games, we've seen a stark contrast between the final bosses of the Yakuza games, and those of the Judgment games. While Yakuza titles usually consist of manly men ripping their shirts off to duke it out for their ideals, the trend of Judgment final bosses seems that they're going to be more dark characters, like Kuroiwa, Kyoya Sadamoto, and partly Kuwana.

Shirakaba clearly does not fit the description of dark, or mysterious. He's timid and lonely, but he's good hearted, and strong enough to protect those he cares about. Keeping Mikiko in the dark was questionable at first, but when you learn the alternative is her getting gutted by Sadamoto, it actually seems pretty reasonable.

The Duel

Here we have two shirtless manly men duking it out for their ideals. See? Yakuza final boss.

Mikiko and Jun are finally safe. However, Shirakaba still has unconfessed feelings for Mikiko, even though he knows he will probably get turned down, he resolves he needs to get it off his chest anyway, even if it ends in denial. Knowing Kaito, and his feelings for Mikiko, he sends him a letter, asking him for a duel, giving Kaito a chance to show Mikiko his dedication, and Shirakaba a chance to show off the guns he was secretly packing all along.

The Theme: Duel Of Love

The soft guitar, violin, and piano take the center stage here, backed by an electric guitar and some subtler electronic sounds. It has feelings of happiness, determination, and finality. There is no "off" sounding note here. Everything down to the instrumentation seems intentional, not hiding anything from the listener. Other Yakuza final bosses can be well intentioned, but are usually held back by ambition, emotion, or jealousy. But I can say with confidence to Shirakaba is a good man, through and through. (A first for Yakuza final bosses. (Kinda))

Fighting Style

Shirakaba's style is karate, and he is exceptionally skilled. Sadly most of his moveset is borrowed from Shibusawa from 0, but he does have a few unique attacks to keep you on your toes. Once you drain all his health, he'll regenerate everything, and enter heat mode.

Heat Aura

Shirakaba's aura is pure white, untainted by any ill will, or anger. It's kind of reminiscent of Kiryu's Legend Style aura from 0.

After The Duel

After losing to Kaito, he simply accepts defeat, thanking Kaito for helping him communicate his feeling for Mikiko.

Conclusion

Well, that's another one checked off the list. Apologies for the shorter format here. Next up i'll probably take a look at Tsuneo Iwami from 6, or maybe i'll do a non-Yakuza villain.

Blah blah leave comment for boss ok bye

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Final Boss Analysis #2

Specimen 9

Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion

He’s a final boss that seems confusing or even simple, but with some research you can find the hidden layers to this boss.

The Game

Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion is an indie horror game developed by Akuma Kira in 2015. The game has you wander through 1000 rooms of nothing and sometimes you get the occasional cardboard cutout jumpscare and it fucking sucks.

Deception

At least, thats what you think for the first 50 floors, then the game quickly takes a sharp turn from cutesy adventure time inspired mansion to a truly horrifying experience.

One important thing to keep in mind is that all the monsters in this game are inspired by various horror media, which will be important for dissecting the main guy later.

Specimen 9

He takes the form of a decapitated flayed floating head made out of clay. The thing about him is, while all the other specimens are guranteed encounters, you may not even see Specimen 9 before the final boss encounter, but it is possible.

Behavior as a regular enemy

There are 2 ways to encounter Specimen 9 before Room 1000.

1. AFK. Standing still for long enough will spawn Specimen 9 in all his decapitated glory. In the HD Remake, he charges you and kills instantly on contact, and is faster than your run speed. In the original game, he takes 2 hits to kill you, and is slower than your run speed. You can despawn him in both games by simply going into the next room.

2. Find the endless hallway. Theres a rare room with 3 paths, 2 to either side of you, one being an empty room, and the other being the exit door to the next room, the path in front of you is seemingly endless, with a light at the end that never gets closer. Eventually, continuing the path will cause the walls to slowly start closing in on you, before completely trapping you. At this point, Specimen 9 spawns in, rushing and killing you instantly.

The Cat-DOS Entry

“A small skull shaped mass of clay that seemed to gain more form as subjects were TAKEN TAKEN TAKEN TAKEN TAKEN TAKEN

Specimen was deemed too hard to contain and was killed and dismantled by GL Labs.”

Well, obviously he is still alive, albeit the dismantled part seems true. It’s intentionally vague, and theres not much more in terms of information at this point, so, at last, we can ask why this guy is the final boss.

Final Boss: The Taker

At Room 1000, you’re told you have to complete one last test before you can escape. You’re transported into a strange, dusty room with a table and a rotary phone. The voice on the phone states

“I’m taking all those “Logs” they keep throwing out… and i’m nailing them together”

Continuing along the hallway reveals a door with the room number 731. Opening this door reveals Specimen 9, who regains his original form, undecaptitating(?) himself.

The fight

Specimen 9 is not a hard boss. Turns out he’s actually more threatening when he’s just a head. He has a total of 4 attacks:

1. Summoning telegraphed pillars of screams (?????)

2. An outstretched hand shadow that tracks you and stops when the attack launches. Easy to dodge by sprinting out of the way.

3. Summoning clay minions to chase you down, these can be killed with your axe.

4. An orb of fire (or multiple). Trying to reenact ocarina of time by hitting it back will make Specimen 9 temporarily vulnerable to your attacks.

Conclusion

So, it sucks. He’s just your average scary red guy with no story, compared to the complex and inspired specimens that roamed the halls. Why does he deserve to be the final boss? Well…

Reprise Of Deception

Clearly we’re missing something here, the question is what? Well, to answer that, we need to investigate that number from earlier.

731

What is the significance of this number? Well, trigger warning for atrocious acts against humanity, but this is a reference to the real life Unit 731, where unethical experiments involving chemical and biological warfare were conducted against prisoners, who were referred to as “Logs”.

It’s highly implied that somehow, and in some way, Specimen 9 is a survivor of these experiments.

Signifigance

So, what does it mean? We have backstory now, but it doesn’t answer why he deserves to be the final boss.

It’s simple. Every other specimen is based on fictional horror media. Specimen 9, on the other hand, is based on a real life tragedy. That’s why he deserves it.

Actual Conclusion

Well, that was a stark contrast from Nishiki. Definitely check this game out if you haven’t! The original is free and the HD Renovation is cheap!

Suggest a boss if you’d like by leaving a comment or a message!

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Final Boss Analysis #1:

Akira Nishikiyama

Yakuza 1/Kiwami

SPOILER WARNING! I’m assuming you know the events of both Kiwami and 0!

Akira Nishikiyama is the main antagonist and final boss of the first yakuza game, and he plays the part well, with a boss fight that is as epic as it is sorrowful.

0: The Place Of Oath

Late 1988

Kazuma kiryu and Akira Nishikiyama, both sworn brothers from sunflower orphanage, are low ranking yakuza grunts trying to make a name for themselves in the yakuza underworld.

Throughout the events of 0 we see Nishiki’s loyalty to Kiryu, and the Tojo Clan, get tested again and again. However, he ultimately stays loyal to his brother.

The Culmination Of 0

After the defeat of Keiji Shibusawa, Kiryu finds himself in a state of absolute rage. He thinks of everyone who has suffered, and lost their lives in the battle for The Empty Lot. Enraged, Kiryu prepares to deliver the final and fatal blow to a beaten Shibusawa.

However, Nishiki stops him before it connects. He tells Kiryu that he can’t cross that line yet, no matter what. He resolves that if Kiryu and him have to cross the line one day, they’ll do it together, as brothers.

He did not know of the fate that would befall on him 7 years later.

Kiwami: To Live Is To Not Run Away

In 1995, Kiryu and Nishiki, along with their barkeep friend Reina, and fellow sunflower orphan Yumi, are living a relatively peaceful life, 7 years after the events of 0. Kiryu has finally made a name for himself as the Dragon Of Dojima, and Nishiki is hyping Kiryu up at the prospect of starting his own yakuza family. Things seem great, until…

Patricide

After Tojo Captain Sohei Dojima attempts to rape Yumi, Nishiki shoots and kills him, traumatizing Yumi. Kiryu arrives, and convinced Nishiki to let him take the blame, knowing Nishiki is some of the only family he has left. Nishiki take Yumi, and runs. This is the catalyst for the fallout between the brothers.

Nishiki’s downfall, The Koi’s upstream journey

After Kiryu goes to prison for patricide, Nishiki slowly changes over the course of 10 years. Subjected to Yumi’s disappearance, constant comparisons to his brother, and the death of his sister, Nishiki becomes a cold, and calculating man of ambition, only thinking of rising to the top, and ultimately besting his brother, taking control of his fate at last.

Confrontation

After everything, Kiryu and Yumi unexpectedly meet Nishiki in Yumi’s bar after the defeat of Jingu. Kiryu and Yumi attempt to talk him down, which sets off an inkling of doubt in Nishiki’s mind, until Yumi once again compares Kiryu to Nishiki.

At that point, there was no other way, the two brothers had to settle it, one way or another, which finally leads us to

The Fight: For Who’s Sake

Theres a lot going down here, so lets analyze this piece by piece, starting with…

The Music

Nishiki’s theme, For Who’s Sake, is a melancholic and masterful theme that represents the sorrowful fight between brothers, and the downfall of Akira Nishikiyama. There are 2 versions of this song, so I’ll analyze both.

For Who’s sake

The original and first final boss theme in the Yakuza series, this track represents both Nishiki’s determination to rise to the top, and Kiryu’s determination to take him down, and settle the score with his brother. Unlike the rock elements of the other songs in 1, For Who’s Sake has an acoustic guitar up front and center, creating a melancholic feeling throughout the song. There are electronic elements scattered throughout that emphasize the growing coldness of Nishiki towards his brother.

For Whos Sake: Kiwami

The extreme remix of the original song, this track shows the downfall of Nishiki, along with the reprise of some elements of the original song. The acoustic guitar takes a backseat for some melodic bells. The track starts off determined, and fierce, but corrupts throughout, showcasing Nishiki’s fall to ambition, and jealousy.

Nishiki’s Fighting Style: Koi At The Dragon Gate

He retains his fighting style from 0, with some additions. He gains some moves from Kashiwagi, and Joji Kazama’s moveset. His style is reminiscent of street fighting, creating a pseudo mirror of Kiryu’s Dragon Style. He’s also among the only bosses to use heat actions against you, further emphasizing this. He’s a tough foe, but can easily be overwhelmed by a skilled player.

Heat aura

Nishiki has the same heat aura from 0, albeit paler, showing his descent from so long ago.

QTES

The QTES here are mostly one sided, consisting of Kiryu pummeling Nishiki throughout the bar. They have unique flashback segments, showing Kiryu reflecting on their relationship, and what lead to this.

Summarizing

What makes Nishiki a good final boss?

Nishiki may not be the hardest boss from a gameplay standpoint, but from an emotional standpoint, especially after 0, every blow you land against Nishiki genuinely hurts. A stark contrast from the other final bosses in the series, this is not a battle of honor, but one of sorrow.

Welp, this is the first post, finished. I don’t expect it to be good or blow up by any means, but I hope I improve at this more and more.

If you have a suggestion on a final boss to analyze, don’t be afraid to leave a note or comment!