Top 10 hardest Wonder Boy bosses
Mar. 29th, 2021 09:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pan2000Note: Only includes bosses from Monster Land, Monster World and Monster Lair, because I only played these games.
Wonder Boy is a franchise that was my childhood. I used to be horrible at it while I was five, but now I beat three games of the series. I also love boss fights, they are as valuable in action games as heads in snakes for me.
Many of these bosses are very easy, some even insultingly.
Not these guys.
10. Ghost (Monster Land)
Monster Land is not the hardest of the bunch. However, this boss is one of the two that can be cheap. It has a beam that is unblockable and also has a long length, being nearly impossible to fully parry or jump over. This attack alone puts it in the list because it's the cheapest attack in the whole game.
9. Dracula (Monster Lair)
The game has two castle levels with bats, and these have two big bat bosses. The first one is the Giant Bat, which is piss-easy. The second one is Dracula. Dracula doesn't have his weak point (his heart) always exposed, he instead randomly teleports to one of nine scripted positions and unleashes giant bats you need three or four bullets to kill. Then you have two or three seconds to hit him. He is fair, easy to survive, but really, really hard to hit.
8. Knarrg and Klarrg (Monster World)
The toughest early boss in all three games I played. They attack as a pair, spitting pebbles and rolling boulders at your path. They can be beaten with good timing and their rematch in the end is too easy to even be cathartic, but in the proper fight you are so undergeared you will struggle. Notable because the dungeons before and after don't have half as hard challenges.
7. Great Demon (Monster Lair)
There are two in the series. In Monster Land, where he is vulnerable to tanking, and in this game. You have one advantage and three disadvantages in Monster Lair's version. The good news is that you can shoot from afar, which would make the Monster Land version harmless. The bad news? The flames surrounding him are now blocking your shots. Now only his head is vulnerable. And finally, he can oneshot you. Good luck!
6. Biomeka (Monster World)
This is the final boss of the game, and the point the bosses become very hard. I don't count the beginning, where it's hopeless until the Prince of Dark World weakens the boss for you. Biomeka has two phases. One that you can just stand still, jump at the right time and win, and the second phase is where you will sweat. Because the floor starts moving and a buzzsaw also comes in your way. That buzzsaw is very hard to avoid, but I assure you, this is a fair final boss.
5. The Fearsome Cactus (Monster Lair)
I hate this boss so much. It's hard to hit and very easy to ram you. And in Monster Lair, ramming means instant death. Really, the ease of instakill is why half the list is Monster Lair. Well, this guy is invincible while moving towards you, and will stop then to laugh at you. Then it's your chance. But the boss is fast, has a long reach, and you can shoot only in ONE direction, so the boss can land in a safe position. If you kill it with one coin, I tip my hat to you.
4. Master Myconid (Monster Lair)/ Almighty Demon King (Monster World)
These guys deserve a tie becauss they are hard for the exact opposite reasons. The Myconid is in all three games, annoying in Land, easy in World, an absolute terror to hit in Lair! Its pattern is easy to avoid and it might even heal you... but to harm it, you need to first land a few good hits, then it will activate a slot machine and either throw fruit that heal you, beach balls that damage you, or expose its heart for you to hit and actually deal damage. Technically, you can be fighting for ten minutes with neither dead. Almighty Demon King just needs 18 hits to his head, vulnerable at all times. Sorry, I mean heads. The severed ones still attack you and he can combo you to death very very easily in the third phase, which is why he is harder than Biomeka. That and that he can weaken Biomeka for you.
3.
The hardest part of the game is the final boss by far. In the beginning, if you have the ruby, his organic form is easy. Then comes the true fight. His fiery breath has great range and damage, but your shield can block it. What makes the boss so hard? His only weakness is the head, and you can't strike him more than once before the boss retaliates. You HAVE to stand under his jump and fiery breath, then jump and strike as he lands. He has a ton of hitpoints, about twenty-four strikes with the best sword. So, patience can save you, right? Right? Wrong! Because the time limit WILL run out in this fight, especially if you are careful, and you WILL take damage. Oh, and unlike every other boss fight, this one has permadeath. Yes, permadeath. So that mandatory damage can make all your efforts worthless.
2.
The hardest of the three final bosses. No time limit this time, so thank goodness for small favors. Instead, this boss has two phases like the other two, only BOTH are hard this time, with attacks that are difficult to avoid, and even has a nasty instakill in the first phase that's also hard to avoid. In the second phase, the boss loves ramming you and summoning thunderbolts. But ordinarily, he would be easier than the cactus or the Myconid. Buuut... I mentioned only the time limit being gone. Permadeath is back and glorious. So, if you are unlucky, you can see all your coins towards the boss, even if you still have plenty, wasted by one attack.
1.
The penultimate boss, which is designed to be as cheap as possible. It can fire damaging beach balls like a machine gun, but that's not the bad part. It's invulnerable unless it makes a homing attack that is a very very nasty rocket punch. Said punch will chase you very fast, can't be stopped, it's for a very long time and will kill you in one hit when it connects. And of course, you HAVE to shoot the fucker while avoiding that thing. It has no permadeath, meaning you can tank in an emulator, but it will eat about twelve coins, and make you ragequit. So, it does not need permadeath, unlike its master. Though I could switch them... The final boss can kill you and you will have to start the game over... Fighting Mecha Knight again. Brrr.
Wonder Boy is a franchise that was my childhood. I used to be horrible at it while I was five, but now I beat three games of the series. I also love boss fights, they are as valuable in action games as heads in snakes for me.
Many of these bosses are very easy, some even insultingly.
Not these guys.
10. Ghost (Monster Land)
Monster Land is not the hardest of the bunch. However, this boss is one of the two that can be cheap. It has a beam that is unblockable and also has a long length, being nearly impossible to fully parry or jump over. This attack alone puts it in the list because it's the cheapest attack in the whole game.
9. Dracula (Monster Lair)
The game has two castle levels with bats, and these have two big bat bosses. The first one is the Giant Bat, which is piss-easy. The second one is Dracula. Dracula doesn't have his weak point (his heart) always exposed, he instead randomly teleports to one of nine scripted positions and unleashes giant bats you need three or four bullets to kill. Then you have two or three seconds to hit him. He is fair, easy to survive, but really, really hard to hit.
8. Knarrg and Klarrg (Monster World)
The toughest early boss in all three games I played. They attack as a pair, spitting pebbles and rolling boulders at your path. They can be beaten with good timing and their rematch in the end is too easy to even be cathartic, but in the proper fight you are so undergeared you will struggle. Notable because the dungeons before and after don't have half as hard challenges.
7. Great Demon (Monster Lair)
There are two in the series. In Monster Land, where he is vulnerable to tanking, and in this game. You have one advantage and three disadvantages in Monster Lair's version. The good news is that you can shoot from afar, which would make the Monster Land version harmless. The bad news? The flames surrounding him are now blocking your shots. Now only his head is vulnerable. And finally, he can oneshot you. Good luck!
6. Biomeka (Monster World)
This is the final boss of the game, and the point the bosses become very hard. I don't count the beginning, where it's hopeless until the Prince of Dark World weakens the boss for you. Biomeka has two phases. One that you can just stand still, jump at the right time and win, and the second phase is where you will sweat. Because the floor starts moving and a buzzsaw also comes in your way. That buzzsaw is very hard to avoid, but I assure you, this is a fair final boss.
5. The Fearsome Cactus (Monster Lair)
I hate this boss so much. It's hard to hit and very easy to ram you. And in Monster Lair, ramming means instant death. Really, the ease of instakill is why half the list is Monster Lair. Well, this guy is invincible while moving towards you, and will stop then to laugh at you. Then it's your chance. But the boss is fast, has a long reach, and you can shoot only in ONE direction, so the boss can land in a safe position. If you kill it with one coin, I tip my hat to you.
4. Master Myconid (Monster Lair)/ Almighty Demon King (Monster World)
These guys deserve a tie becauss they are hard for the exact opposite reasons. The Myconid is in all three games, annoying in Land, easy in World, an absolute terror to hit in Lair! Its pattern is easy to avoid and it might even heal you... but to harm it, you need to first land a few good hits, then it will activate a slot machine and either throw fruit that heal you, beach balls that damage you, or expose its heart for you to hit and actually deal damage. Technically, you can be fighting for ten minutes with neither dead. Almighty Demon King just needs 18 hits to his head, vulnerable at all times. Sorry, I mean heads. The severed ones still attack you and he can combo you to death very very easily in the third phase, which is why he is harder than Biomeka. That and that he can weaken Biomeka for you.
3.
Meka Dragon (Monster Land)
The hardest part of the game is the final boss by far. In the beginning, if you have the ruby, his organic form is easy. Then comes the true fight. His fiery breath has great range and damage, but your shield can block it. What makes the boss so hard? His only weakness is the head, and you can't strike him more than once before the boss retaliates. You HAVE to stand under his jump and fiery breath, then jump and strike as he lands. He has a ton of hitpoints, about twenty-four strikes with the best sword. So, patience can save you, right? Right? Wrong! Because the time limit WILL run out in this fight, especially if you are careful, and you WILL take damage. Oh, and unlike every other boss fight, this one has permadeath. Yes, permadeath. So that mandatory damage can make all your efforts worthless.
2.
High Baroom (Monster Lair)
The hardest of the three final bosses. No time limit this time, so thank goodness for small favors. Instead, this boss has two phases like the other two, only BOTH are hard this time, with attacks that are difficult to avoid, and even has a nasty instakill in the first phase that's also hard to avoid. In the second phase, the boss loves ramming you and summoning thunderbolts. But ordinarily, he would be easier than the cactus or the Myconid. Buuut... I mentioned only the time limit being gone. Permadeath is back and glorious. So, if you are unlucky, you can see all your coins towards the boss, even if you still have plenty, wasted by one attack.
1.
Mecha Knight (Monster Lair)
The penultimate boss, which is designed to be as cheap as possible. It can fire damaging beach balls like a machine gun, but that's not the bad part. It's invulnerable unless it makes a homing attack that is a very very nasty rocket punch. Said punch will chase you very fast, can't be stopped, it's for a very long time and will kill you in one hit when it connects. And of course, you HAVE to shoot the fucker while avoiding that thing. It has no permadeath, meaning you can tank in an emulator, but it will eat about twelve coins, and make you ragequit. So, it does not need permadeath, unlike its master. Though I could switch them... The final boss can kill you and you will have to start the game over... Fighting Mecha Knight again. Brrr.
