Editor's note: The Top X Boss Battles landscape is dominated by heavyweight players such as MSNBC, Gamespot, and...wait, how does Gamewad come up at #1 for 'best boss battles' on Google? Anyway, plucky Mike Minotti is delivering sharp elbows to groin areas with his up and coming, definative top 8 final boss battles of all time. I would not want to be a Gamewad right about now. -Demian

Why do so many game developers feel that final boss fights are somehow optional (yeah, I'm looking at you again, makers of Fable 2)? What was once a staple of gaming has become something of a dying art. It's not good enough to end your game on some emotional highpoint. This is a video game, not a movie. Before the credits roll, I want an epic encounter that makes me earn my Thank You for Playing screen (speaking of, whatever happened to those, anyway?).

With that said, let's look back at some of my favorite...I mean, the unequivocally best final boss fights ever. These boss fights are both bad ass and epic. Also, let's start with Number 1 again this time. Why the hell not? Anything can happen on the Internet!

1. Mother Brain - Super Metroid

It's always amusing when the boss fight of a sequel plays off of one from a previous game. This fight begins just like the final battle in the original Metroid, but Mother Brain soon turns into a giant dinosaur thing that can shoot lasers. Oh shit!

Halfway through fighting the Mother Brainosaur, there comes a point where it starts pwning you with abandon. At the brink of death, the giant Metroid with mama issues comes to save you, ultimately getting all blown up, showering you with its tangy essence. Logically, this gives you the ULTIMATE FINAL WEAPON LASER!

Take notes, everyone. This is how it's done. And once you take those notes, make sure you study them every night. If you're note-taking skills aren't very good, try recording your classes, so you can take notes at your own pace. If you still have trouble, ask a parent or teacher for help.

2. Ganondorf - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Sure, there have been a lot of great Ganon/Ganondorf boss fights. What makes this one the best? You get to stab Ganondorf in the head.

3. The Boss - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Yeah, that last entry was only one short paragraph. What do you want to do about it?

Anyways, the Boss. This fight is great, because it really pulls off that master vs. student feel. The Boss is able to do everything that Snake can, only better. You could just shoot her to kill her, if you're lame, but the best way to take her down is with the same CQC that she taught you. Some would call that irony. I would too.

At the very end, you're forced to push the shoot button to finally put the chatty bitch out of her misery. I swear this did not make me cry, because crying is for girls. Girls like the Boss, who I love killing in video games.

4. Kefka - Final Fantasy 6

The Kefka boss fight was like fighting some sort of boss tower, like the one I approximated to the right. See, you fight all of the sub-bosses, which allows you to rise up the boss tower, each time triggering a new section of awesome music.

When you finally get to Kefka, the music gets even more impossibly dramatic, the screen quakes, and Kefka, now decked out with angel wings, falls from above. He mocks your party for a little bit, then the fight begins.

This is a good example of how important build up can be to the final boss fight. Is Kefka really that much different from any other JRPG final boss? Not really, but the crazy bad guy tower totally sells it.

Also, way before Sephiroth was sporting that one-winged angel thing, Kefka was totally rocking the wings. Only it was better, because he wasn't Sephiroth.

5. Bowser - Super Mario World

You can always count on Bowser for a good final boss fight, as long as you don't count on Super Mario Sunshine. Super Mario World's was my favorite. Maybe it's just because I still find Bowser's weird flying machine so funny looking. There's also that funny face Bowser makes every time you throw one of his wind-up toys at him. Not that throwing Bowser into bombs in Super Mario 64 wasn't amusing either.

It has a nice difficulty progression, too: Bowser starts by just flying around in a predictable pattern, then eventually bounces all over the screen. You ever notice how so many old-school bosses, when on their last leg, resort to hopping all over the place?

Also, Mode 7 was involved, and Mode 7 made everything better. Whoa, look out, he's flying towards you!

6. Dracula - Castlevania

There have been a lot of Dracula fights in Castlevania, but the original is still my favorite. It's often duplicated, but it still has that 8-bit charm that none of the others can match. Well, except for the second and the third ones, I guess.

I love the old final boss bait-and-switch, where the final boss would start off as something you'd expect, in this case Dracula, then turn into something crazy and surprising, like some hopping, giant bat monster. This also helps prove my theory that when cornered, final bosses resort to hopping around the screen.

7. Dr. Robotnik - Sonic the Hedgehog 2

You thought you were good after beating Silver Sonic, didn't you? Oh no, now you have to fight Robotnik, in his craziest robot suit yet! And don't let him kill you, because then you'll have to fight Silver Sonic again!

The boss has spikes for fingers, a homing jump attack, and a rocket punch. Just one of these abilities would make a normal gamer quake in his recently soiled boxers, but this deadly combination is just insane. Also, you're fighting him in space. Hells yes.

8. Nightmare - Kirby's Adventure

I've already established that I love final bosses that play off of bosses from a previous game. In Kirby's Adventure, you first fight King Dedede in a battle reminiscent of the one from the original Kirby's Dream Land. After beating him, however, Nightmare appears, and the former rivals must join forces!

Equipped with the Star Rod, you first fight Nightmare in shmup-like fashion, before engaging him in a more traditional boss fight. In space. Final boss fights that are set in space, when nothing in the game up to that point involved space, always get bonus points.

Alright, that's the list. Looking it over, I noticed that there are a lot of Nintendo games on there, so if you're looking for something to complain about, that wouldn't be a bad place to start.

- Mike Minotti (still jobless, hope I pass my editing test)

See this post and more on my site: Give Mike Minotti A Gaming Journalism Job.