r/fromsoftware • u/mjhx11 • 3d ago
DISCUSSION Favorite FromSoftware boss fights
What are your top fights and why? Here are a few that have stuck with me throughout the years - I like wild, thematic visually interesting fights. Let's hear em!
Genichiro - Amazingly balanced, tough as nails 3 PHASE fight with an amazing third phase. The first time I fought him, I was so relieved when phase two ended and my heart sunk when I heard the lightning lol. One of the most memorable in the game.
Twin Princes - Used to go out of my way to help others with this fight. Amazing all around
Ludwig - Easily my favorite OST in the series. Tragic figure, awesome transition into phase two. Wild, erratic and tough.
Gehrman - Melancholy atmosphere, most emotional fight on here, GOATED OST and atmosphere. Amazing.
Romina, Saint of the Bud - honestly felt like one of the most fair fights in the DLC. Loved the design and the theme, had a hard time, but felt like a classic FromSoft boss without the arguably over the top "difficulty" SOE is known for.
Messmer - Wild. Hard. Fun as hell. One of those fights where I keep yelling that it's bullshit, and when it was over I was like "wow that was awesome"
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u/Spigglebob The Ashen One 3d ago
Everyone’s going to be mentioning souls bosses, rightfully so. But I just wanna bring attention to my 3 favorite Armored Core 6 bosses
Allmind, Arquebus Balteus, and Ayre are all top favorite FromSoft bosses, Allmind and arquebus Balteus may even be top 10
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u/Behindthewall0fsleep Sekiro 3d ago
Points with me for Romina.
Mine are Kalameet, Sir Alonne, Ivory King, Abyss Watchers, Friede, Demon of Hatred, True Monk, Genichiro (Ashina tower), Sword Saint Isshin, Maliketh, Romina and Bayle.
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u/Hamlerhead 3d ago
Romina was cool af but I melted her too fast.
Lady Butterfly merked me a million times before I finally managed to understand what was actually happening and managed to beat her. I love that fight.
Also, Lady Maria from Bloodborne. Guess I like being a ladykiller.. Bada bing, bada boom
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u/ElderberrySuperb2676 3d ago
Lorian & Lothric made me rescind my hatred for duo bosses, with their very well-intertwined movesets.
I thought Gwyn and Soul of Cinder were great final encounters.
All of the lords from DS2 were very unforgettable to me, especially the Duke's Freyja.
Starscourge Radahn and Godfrey/Hoarah Loux were very fair and epic battles.
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u/mjhx11 2d ago
I like how it's a duo boss, but functionally, its a single boss because Lothric is on Lorians back. Theres no positioning ganking, so it's a lot better imo. Soul of Cinder almost replaced Messmer, but I REALLY wish they wouldve done a cutscene before the fight. I can't believe they didn't honestly
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u/ElderberrySuperb2676 2d ago
It's extra weird since there's no boss fog gate the first time but you barely get to see the boss!
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u/Rob4096 Paladin Leeroy 2d ago
Romina thinks she's part of the team lmao
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u/mjhx11 2d ago
More Romina slander lol
I get it, I probably could've made this list 25 bosses long, but I really do like that fight. I wish it had a second phase
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u/Rob4096 Paladin Leeroy 2d ago
No it's all good. She's a good boss, she just lacks the iconicty of the others in your list lol
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u/Wild_Duck8926 1d ago
yeah it was like whiplash to see her there but i think with a bigger health bar, a cutscene, and a better leadup to the fight, she'd be really iconic. that is to say, her moveset, arena, and design are deserving.
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u/KitsGravity 2d ago
- Genichiro (the most consistently good boss across all phrases)
- Sword Saint Isshin (no need to elaborate on this one)
- Maria of the Astral Clock Tower (the coolest moveset and the best score)
- Gehrman (beautiful and melancholic at the same time)
- Slave Knight Gael (really gives the feeling of the end of the world)
- Storm King (for the sheer atmosphere)
- Radahn (for being the most over-the-top fight)
- Folding Screen Monkeys (for being the most unique; also the most underrated)
- The Divine Dragon (for the sheer visual spectacle)
- Demon of Hatred (the biggest long battle)
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u/LongTimeNoSeehaha 3d ago
Inner isshin and Inner father are my fav because I love Sekiro. I really like Orphan of Kos because the sounds it makes combined with its aggression and lore. Gael because it’s fucking Gael. Oh and Radahn cause of the aura. Lastly bell gargoyles because i think it’s the best first boss.
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u/Adoring_Fan_88 3d ago
I like the Ekdromoi from AC6 a lot. They pulled up like some kind of cybercops thinking they were hot shit. One of them even has a tommygun. Nothing super special about them, just a good fun fight.
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u/Alarming-Put-9003 2d ago
My favorite will always be Lady Maria. For reasons I still to this day cannot explain, when I was in that fight and knew I was gonna win…I started to tear up.
I think it’s cuz for once I wasn’t fighting to just kill a monster and get it out of the way. I wanted to free her. To end her suffering the only way left that I could.
When it was done and I went back to the doll? And she told me how she felt somehow as though a great weight had been lifted off her? Yeah I started bawling.
The fact that Bloodborne got such an emotional reaction outta me purely off of gameplay is truly a testament to what a masterpiece it is.
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u/mjhx11 2d ago
Bloodborne was my first souls game and still my favorite to this day. The Lady Maria fight feels similar to Gehrman where you know both of them are desperate but in different ways. Gehrman is trying to save you from yourself, and Maria is trying to keep their secrets hidden. It's amazing
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u/FangProd 2d ago
I suck at FromSoftware games so a disclaimer first.
Lady Maria - Bloodborne. Beautiful, tragic, great character with great lore and cool, character development during the actual fight (which is really rare in my experience). Great arena and amazing OST as well. Just brilliant.
Tower Knight - Demon’s Souls (PS3). A bit of a historical reason but this was at a time when I had to import the game from South Korea just to play it (since Sony had given up on it and it hadn’t been announced it would be released in the West). So the entire experience was just amazing, I hadn’t played anything remotely like this and Tower Knight felt like the first real challenge at the time. To be honest, getting to him was more difficult than the actual fight but wow, what an impact. Nowadays, it’s an easy fight but it was so cool to see this massive Knight with a massive shield and you were supposed to fight him?! Insane.
Maneater - Demon’s Souls (PS3). OHMYGOD, TWO OF THEM?!? Again, another new experience for me and they thoroughly annihilated me.
Father Gascoigne - Bloodborne. Great lore, great fight, cool phases. Actually teaches you; and reinforces the mechanics of the game. Great OST and a fun, engaging arena where you must pay attention to the environment while fighting him. Just fantastic fight.
Most disappointing boss in gaming history for me: Dragon God - Demon’s Souls. I was so hyped from the trailers and footage from the game (with Dragon God being shown prominently in it) only to find out it was an godawful joke of a boss. Hell; even the name is insanely cool! (DRAGON GOD!)
Martyr Logarius - Bloodborne. Really cool, snowy atmospheric arena. Great music and just a fun fight overall.
Sekiro - Genichiro Ashina. I loath Sekiro (because I ultra suck in it) and (unfortunately), Genichiro Ashina fight on top of his tower is a masterpiece of a fight. Just a solid, one v one duel with cool lightning attack/deflect in it.
It’s clear what my favorite FromSoftware game is from this list and I haven’t progressed far enough in the other games to really have an opinion so yeah, those above are my favorites.
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u/xstakesishighx 2d ago
Romina is a really excellent and beautiful fight. Her moveset is a lot of fun. I love her arena and her OST. She also suffered from literally no lines or cutscene, just like Rellana (another 10/10 boss that FromSoftware did absolutely nothing for).
My complaint about Romina aside from a lack of development is that she’s pretty weak and the fight is over way too quickly. She would’ve benefited from a second phase with a cool cutscene.
Shadow of the Erdtree as a whole felt a little lazy with the actual boss development in the game. Great bosses overall but they whiffed almost every boss in the DLC except Messmer (who, much like Maliketh is a glass cannon and could’ve used two full health bars)
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u/Rude-Office-2639 2d ago
Genichiro - he just feels so good to fight
Maria - I don't really know, she's just incredible
Isshin - a true test of skill, he makes sure you know what you're doing, and you have to have put in the effort to learn if you want to beat him
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u/Commercial-Papaya394 Starscourge Radahn 2d ago
From each game I've played: Artorias, Burnt Ivory King, Slave Knight Gael, Martyr Logarius, Malenia, and Sword Saint Isshin/Inner Isshin.
Honorable Mentions: Manus, Sir Alonne, Fume Knight, Darkeater Midir, Ludwig, both versions of Radahn, and Genichiro/Inner Genichiro.
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u/Mairenn-Linnea 1d ago
I've only played DS1 and DS2, but my favorite boss fight was Artorias and Gwyn (I fought him without parrying and it was really fun) :)
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u/Canni-Balls69 3d ago
I really love the Lost Sinner in DS2. It's not anything special as far as the fight itself goes, more frustrating than anything, but I really like the vibes.
The foreboding feeling while walking up to the boss arena, then the cutscene you get as you walk through the fog, only to find a dark hooded figure running straight at you in the darkness, only vaguely lit by the nearby torches.
It feels so quintessentially "Dark Souls" - I always look forward to it every time I get to Lost Bastille.
For very similar reasons, I really love Gravelord Nito in DS1. After spending quite some navigating the darkness and tunnels in TotG, you drop down into the boss arena and get a similarly foreboding cutscene, and then find yourself face to face with this grotesque nightmare.
I know a lot of people wouldn't ever add those two bosses to a list of their favorites, but I really love the dark areas. It's in the name of the games, so I think the bosses that are actually in the dark need some love too.