A boss fight in a video game is typically something you’re supposed to overcome. It’s a measure of your progress, a challenge to ensure you’ve been keeping up properly.
However, some bosses aren’t meant to be defeated. Some can only be escaped from in-game, or they otherwise wipe the floor with you immediately.
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JRPGs have some of the most iconic fights in gaming and while most are manageable, there are always a few in each game that give gamers chills.
Sometimes, this can serve as an obtuse puzzle or a subtle means of gating off high-level content. Most commonly, though, a boss fight you can’t win serves as a dramatic flourish to show you just how outmatched you are by a powerful opponent.
If there isn’t some sneaky way to get past them, you might get another crack at them later in the game when it’s thematically appropriate to beat them.
10 Hades
Kid Icarus: Uprising
- Released
- March 23, 2012
- Developer(s)
- Sora Ltd.
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes
After rescuing Palutena from the Chaos Kin in Kid Icarus: Uprising, Pit equips the Three Sacred Treasures to go after the king of the underworld, Hades.
Unfortunately, Hades is exponentially stronger than Medusa, and he casually destroys all the Sacred Treasures with a casual flick of the wrist.
Pit can’t deal any meaningful damage to Hades without the Treasures, and eventually, the evil king decides to suck Pit into his stomach, just for kicks.
Pit attacks Hades’ heart while inside him, but even that only mildly inconveniences him at best.
9 Jasper
Dragon Quest XI
Midway through Dragon Quest XI, the Luminary, and his party reach the heart of the World Tree to claim the Sword of Light. However, they’ve been beaten to the punch by King Carnelian, revealed to be possessed by the sorcerer Mordegon.
Mordegon’s right-hand man, the traitorous Jasper, attacks the party. While you can put up a good fight, Jasper will ultimately unleash the dark power from his magic orb, instantly wiping you out.
There’s nothing you can do to stop Mordegon from swiping the Sword of Light and corrupting the World Tree, launching the world into an era of chaos and darkness.
8 Masked Man
Mother 3
- Released
- April 20, 2006
- Developer
- Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory
- Engine
- M4A sound/music engine
- ESRB
- e
- How Long To Beat
- 25 Hours
At the end of Mother 3, Lucas and company find the last Needle beneath New Pork City. It’s about to be pulled by the Masked Man, who is revealed to be Lucas’ long-lost brother, Claus.
Claus immediately wipes the party with lightning, with only Lucas surviving thanks to the Franklin Badge. However, now that he knows it’s his brother, Lucas absolutely refuses to raise a hand against Claus.
He’ll close his eyes before swinging his stick to miss and outright ignore any attempts to use offensive PSI. All Lucas can do is restore his health and defend himself as he desperately waits for Claus to come to his senses.
7 The Sorrow
Metal Gear Solid 3
- Released
- November 17, 2004
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Sexual Themes
- How Long To Beat
- 16 Hours
- Number of Players
- 1
In Metal Gear Solid 3, Snake jumps from a waterfall to escape from his pursuers, washing up in a near-death state.
In this state, he’s approached by the spirit of the Cobra Unit’s deceased medium, The Sorrow, who seeks to punish him with the resentment of the soldiers he’s killed.
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Since The Sorrow is already dead, Snake can’t actually hurt him. All he can do is slowly make his way through the ethereal swamp, avoiding the tormented souls of any soldiers he’s killed during the game, including the other Cobras.
Ultimately, The Sorrow will knock Snake unconscious, triggering a game-over state. However, this can be undone with Snake’s Revival Pill.
6 Artorius
Tales Of Berseria
- Released
- January 24, 2017
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 44 Hours
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
In Tales of Berseria, Velvet and her gang of rogues infiltrate the Empyrean’s Throne, where she finally comes face-to-face with her hated nemesis, Artorius.
Velvet and Artorius battle, but his connection to Innominat has made him too powerful. No matter how good of a fight you put up, he’ll ultimately wipe out Velvet and the party with his Mystic Arte, Savage Wolf Fury.
In this dire state, Laphicet manages to save Velvet with his healing Artes, unlocking the power to break his bindings to Teresa and escapes with the party.
5 Something Truly Evil
World Of Horror
In World of Horror, whatever case you’re currently working on can occasionally go on a tangent depending on the kinds of events you get wrapped up in.
Arguably, the worst random event you can end up in is attracting the attention of “Something Truly Evil.” If you engage in certain events, Something Truly Evil will become attracted to you, ultimately confronting you in battle.
Something Truly Evil cannot be defeated or banished like most enemies. Your only course of action is to give up your health and sanity and hope that it’ll get tired of you and permit you to escape before you drop dead.
4 Bowser
Paper Mario
- Franchise
- Paper Mario
- Released
- February 5, 2001
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Comic Mischief
- How Long To Beat
- 23 Hours
- Metascore
- 93
At the beginning of Paper Mario’s story, Bowser crashes Princess Peach’s party. Using the power of the stolen Star Rod, he raises the castle high into the sky to take Peach and her guests hostage.
Mario challenges Bowser and, as usual, does a great job of stomping his face in. However, Bowser won’t let him win this time.
With the power of the Star Rod, Bowser becomes completely invulnerable, with Mario’s jumps not harming him in the slightest. Mario can’t stop Bowser from completely pummeling him, following by launching him from the castle with a lightning bolt.
3 Zenon
Soul Hackers 2
Midway through Soul Hackers 2, Ringo and company investigate the whereabouts of Mangetsu Kuzunoha in the hopes of securing his Covenant. When they finally track him down, they arrive just in time to see him being devoured by Iron Mask’s artificial demon, Zenon.
The party attempts to battle Zenon, but with the Covenant in the demon’s stomach, he’s already more than a match for the lot of them. Even if they successfully damage him, as long as he’s contracted to Iron Mask, he can always instantly restore his health.
With no clear way to actually hurt Zenon and reclaim the Covenant, the party has no choice but to retreat.
2 Wasp King
Bug Fables
In Bug Fables, after Team Snakemouth successfully manages to recover several of the artifacts that will lead the way to the Everlasting Sapling. However, the Wasp Kingdom suddenly invades the Ant Kingdom, with its usurper king attacking Queen Elizant directly.
Vi, Leif, and Kabbu rush to the Queen’s rescue and battle the Wasp King. He entertains them in combat for a brief period, but eventually, he gets bored. Tired of playing around, he immediately wipes the party with a pillar of flame.
The Wasp King takes one of the artifacts from Leif, but the timely arrival of Maki prevents him from attacking the Queen and taking the rest.
1 Shadow Rise
Persona 4
In Persona 4, when the Investigation Team tracks down Rise in her dungeon in the TV World, she’s already come face-to-face with her Shadow.
After engaging in a somewhat awkward stripper dance, Shadow Rise transforms into her monstrous form, covered in melting colors with a satellite dish for a face.
The Team battles her normally at first, but after she receives enough damage, Shadow Rise uses her scanning abilities to analyze the whole party.
With this analysis, Shadow Rise becomes completely immune to the Team’s Personas and weapons.
Shadow Rise prepares to wipe everyone out with one last attack, only to be stopped by a last-minute self-destruct from Teddie.
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