Fun fact about Theseus and Asterius in Hades: You know the Ariadne Thread? The item that guarantees an Epic Boon if you get one during your run? Well, if you bring one to the fight... Theseus will sweat PROFUSELY, And for a DAMN good reason: In the story, Theseus, aside from being tasked to slay the Minotaur, also met a woman in Crete who gave him a spool of thread so he could find his way out of the Minotaur's Labyrinth after slaying the creature (Remember, Daedalus built the maze to be nigh-impossible to escape from). When the deed was done, the woman, who is the daughter of the Cretean king Minos, accompanied Theseus while he was sailing home to Athens. Unfortunately, after a stop on the island of Naxos, Theseus... left her there. By accident. While she was sleeping. And did not return. And also forgot to change the black sails of his ship into white ones like his father, King Aegeus told him to do if he was victorious (Black Sails would mean it was a total fail with Theseus dead), causing King Aegeus to name an area of the sea around Athens after him... while jumping off a cliff. The name of the woman who was stranded on Naxos and eventually was wed to Dionysus? ARIADNE. Heck, if I recall, if you pick a Dionysus Boon (Probably prior to fighting Theseus and Asterius) at some point, Dionysus has some... specific negative comments regarding Theseus, and EVEN ASTERIUS would scold Theseus regarding what he said about Ariadne if you have the thread in the next run! Fitting, since Asterius IS a son of Pasiphae after many hijinks involving Poseidon being pissed off, that makes him and Ariadne SIBLINGS.
@@Ramsey276one Funny, Asterius USES a Labrys. But yes, Asterius AND Ariadne are both children of Queen Pasiphae of Crete. Asterius being the elder brother born after Pasiphae slept with a bull that was supposed to be a sacrifice to Poseidon. Except it was ILL. Because King Minos was being a smartass towards Poseidon, leading to said god driving the bull mad. Pasiphae slept with it, while wearing a cow disguise made by Daedalus and... Minotaur was born. YES, Greek Mythology is Screwed up.
@@Ramsey276one Yes indeed. In fact, remember the whole story about Persephone? When she got kidnapped, Demeter, who was understandably pissed, became even MORE pissed when she discovered that Hades had kidnapped her and there's nothing even Zeus can do, she resorted to GENOCIDE. Yeah, she was willing to let everyone on Earth die to get her daughter back. The only problem with that? Hades was more willing to open the gates of the afterlife and let the dead flood back into the world than give Persephone back. And the final nail in the coffin? Persephone actually did fall in love with Hades and also learned some humility.
Theseus and Asterius was definitely a roadblock while playing Hades. I haven’t even completed the full game yet because I haven’t gotten used to the sword and the gun.
As far as I'm concerned, those two are the hardest boss in the game. The furies, being the first boss, aren't that difficult to put down. The Hydra can be annoying if you get a bad roll for the main head, but for the most part tends to attack too slowly and predictably to really be much of a threat. And the final boss, while hard as it should be, has tells and patterns that can be learned after a few runs. Theseus and asterius though are difficult because you have two wildly differing Styles coming after you, forcing you to split both your attention, and your tactics in an effort not to get hammered from behind. Asterius is the relentless force of nature that flat out refuses to give you a moment to breathe, forcing you to either play ridiculously defensively, or have outright mastered frame perfect dodging to avoid getting ripped into by that ax of his, especially once he hits half health and starts busting out the shock waves. Meanwhile Theseus is the exact opposite, playing extremely defensively and sniping you the moment you turn your back on him. The fact that he rotates to follow you and is flat Invincible to anything that isn't a back attack only makes him more difficult to deal with. And Gods help you if you bring him down to half Health before you've taken out Asterius, because at that point you have to divide your attention three ways to deal with the field effects coming down on you as well. Don't even get me started on the Extreme Measures version....
Magni and Modi from God of War. The sons of Thor hunting down Kratos was a cool enough idea but then they got really cool design. Then you learn that Modi is incredibly jealous of Magni. It's an incredible fight with nice lore behind them. On top of it ÓÐR BRÓÐIR BLINDR!
The Minotaur is named Asterius because in Greek myth and Roman myth, his name given to him at birth was Asterius or Asterion. His name Minotaur comes from the fact that he was revered in stories as a half bull and half human by people outside the maze (Labyrinth)
@@dustinvance243 Well, no. He isn't the son of Minos, he's the son of Minos' wife (or daughter, I don't remember) and a bull, which iirc, was spurred by either a witch or Aphrodite.
@@aesiro1336 Poseidon gifted the Creighton bowl to King minos as a way of adding the king, but he did so on the condition that Minos would sacrifice the ball afterwards in Poseidon’s name. Minos declined to do that and instead chose to give Poseidon a completely different bowl. This offended Poseidon so he contacted Aphrodite to make Minos’ wife fall in love with the bull
Not only do I believe the #1 spot's characters deserve their own game, especially by comparing them to Jessie and James, which is a nice touch in hindsight, but if Hades were to get an anime adaptation, there should also be a filler episode that could lampoon cop shows of the 70s and 80s with these guys.
My honorable mentions: Bebop and Rocksteady (TMNT Turtles In Time SNES) A swashbuckling battle against the iconic mutated Warthog and Rhinoceros, in pirate form. Beerus and Whis (Dragonball Xenoverse) Pretty much the hardest bosses in the game. They don’t call them Gods Of Destruction for nothing. Bwario and Bwaluigi (Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle) I just love how clever their names are. Daddy Dearest and Mommy Mearest (Friday Night Funkin) A Christmas themed rap battle against Girlfriend’s demonic parents. And you thought your parents were embarrassing. Galeem and Dharkon (Super Smash Bros Ultimate) The ultimate battle against light and darkness. Who will win? Answer, you. Ribby and Croaks (Cuphead) These dueling amphibians borrow attacks from Dhalsim and fuse into a giant slot machine in the third phase. King Dedede and Meta Knight (Kirby Fighters 2) Both of the pink puffball’s greatest rivals fight alongside each other for the first time ever. Shoutouts to their masked forms in the final chapter N Tropy and Fem Tropy (Crash Bandicoot 4) Not a great boss compared to the others in the game, but at least the grinding section at the beginning is cool.
Beerus and Whis in their boss form for me lose A LOT due to the fact that the whole thing they have going for them is the multiple level of boss-only superarmor. hell, their's is stronger than the lower end raid bosses from the sequel
I’m glad you included Twinrova, being that it’s probably the most quintessential duo boss and the first that comes to mind for me. Being that you not only face Koume and Kotake separately first and need to make use of that dungeon’s main item, the Mirror Shield, in order to reflect their elements back at the other (literally giving them a taste of their own medicine), but later on they fuse into the fearsome (and gorgeous) Twinrova and combine both their deadly abilities in the process. It’s probably the most memorable boss fight in Ocarina besides the final boss, and definitely a great way to cap off the dungeon.
Bosses that came to mind after seeing the title were Reno and Rude in FFVII Remake, Agni and Rudra from Devil May Cry 3, and Majima and Saejima from Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Well why have one boss when you can fight two at once. Granted not every game does this duo boss mechanic but when it does it's interesting and pretty epic.
Another great showcase of Theseus & Asterius' strength as a duo is the fact that depending on the run, they can end up feeling harder than HADES HIMSELF
Honorable mention: Ac7 DLC bosses Rage and Scream. You try to lock onto one, the other attacks you! But in keeping with Ace Combat's phenomenal scoring, it's not the gameplay that changes when you kill one or the other. It's the music. Their combined theme, Mimic, is a wonderful piece mixing hard rock and synthesizers, with some psychedelic moments. If you kill Rage, Scream breaks down into an incoherent mess at the loss of her brother, screaming at you to die. Her song features equally incoherent drumlines, as you wonder how she can even stay airborne with how unstable she's become. Kill Scream first, and the electric guitar overpowers the other instruments as Rage focuses all of his, well, rage, onto a single point. You. Their backstory is equally tragic, as they grew up as war orphans with only eachother to rely upon, and now working as masochistic mercenaries to satiate their bloodlust. Killing them doesn't feel triumphant. It feels like putting down two rabid animals.
i was just about to mention those two but you did an amazing job describing them, i have ac7 but i dont have the dlc yet, hopefully soon after im done with the main game or something
More tragically, one of their lines IMPLIES they tried to be heroes much like the legends of the sky (Cipher, the Demon Lord of the Round Table and Solo Wing Pixy. Mobius One, Scarface, etc and so forth) only to fail and become as bitter and broken as they are.
I am surprise Agni and Rudra from DMC3 are not here since they are a super fun fight when fighting them together but you need to be careful since as soon you kill one the remaining one get a massive boost and new attacks
I really thought and was hoping they would make the list. Every time we got to a new entry i was sitting here like “NOW is the agni and rudra spot” but it just never showed up
Time for a dose of double trouble 10: A brotherly boss fight with a pesky prince. 9: Double the Mario means double the Bowser 8: This fight can get out of hand for if you let it. 7: The not Jedi father and son duo. 6: Golden and Sliver Demon Owls 5: Death and Dracula teaming up, awesome. 4: Ah the Classic Fromsoft Duo. 3: A MMO Boss and a crossover boss? Talk about doubling up. 2: Twinrova, Fire and Ice not so nice. 1: Ah yeah! Hades duo fight!
Yesterday after more than 14 years together I had to say goodbye to my Kai at the age of 15, right from the first moment he was my best boy who greeted me every day with his cute little meow and snuggles when I was sad, he helped me survive my brother’s death and other losses since ... now though my boy is gone, it hasn’t even been a full day and I’m a wreck, not even the Josh’s newest video makes me laugh like it usually does, because it feels like I’m missing one half of my duo 😢😢😢 I’ll leave you with these words: go find your fur/feather/scale/etc babies, give them a hug and tell them you love them because tomorrow is never a sure thing. Thank you for the new video Josh and stay safe all 💙🙏🏻💙
I know the feeling. I had to let my beloved cat Molly go on Monday. She was my best friend and my companion for 19 years which is a great life for a cat. I miss her everyday. Its so hard to lose an animal friend, but we know we gave them the best life we could.
@@emmaishida4386 thank you Emma, I knew it was going to have to happen one day but now that it has it just feels far too soon. Sorry for your loss of Molly, she sounds like a beautiful girl 😔😔😔
Gotta say Seltas and Seltas Queen would also be a good choice. Having the Queen turn the standard Seltas into a hulked out drone, the Seltas giving brief instances of flight to his Queen, and the absolute lunacy of seeing the Queen bash the Seltas into the ground until it dies just for a snack is just glorious. Also it’s a huge Gurren Lagann reference.
I once saw fanart of Thesius and Asterius in samurai outfits. I imagined the idea of Supergiant games making a game based on Japanese mythology and have both of them show up as side or secret bosses with the only explanation being that they were on a "road trip" and somehow ended up there. Instead of a spinoff, I would honestly think it would be hilarious if Supergiant games just decided to have Thesius and Asterius cameo in all of there future games no matter how out-of-place they would seem.
The team of Goro Majima and Taiga Saijima in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, or Ryu Ga Gatoku 7 for those that prefer this franchises Japanese title. Not gonna go too far into detail due to potential spoilers, but these two are fan favorites of the franchise, are absolute LEGENDS in the criminal underworld in the games lore, and have been both playable characters as well as separate boss fights on their own in previous games in the series. The two work Incredibly well together, serve as the games largest difficulty spike, and have a brutal and awesome tag team attack will leave you cheering for THEM. I'm serious, you are fighting them, but most people that have played previous entries in the series pop off in excitement and then sweat in fear once they realize they have to fight these two. And even better, you can't even be mad if (more likely when) you lose to them the first time because they are such legendary badasses that you're like "yeah, that's about how well that SHOULD go for me" after they knock you down a peg or three.
Honorary mention for Argoyle and Ugoyle from Megaman ZX: Advent. They were really fun, and getting that Gold Medal by killing them at the same time is a real challenge.
The second you mentioned 24 players I knew Hansel and Gretel had to be on the list. It COULD have been another duo boss (I guess technically the final boss of the newest raid counts), but it was just the one that made the most sense.
Great list, as usual ! As an additional (dis?)honorary mention, I would put forth the twins/brothers Psycho brutes from OutLast. You see them almost immediately upon the POV “brilliance” decision to not leave immediately after finding trained soldiers killed in the mad house gone mad, and as you survive area after area, they are always following you, preventing you from going back. While they don’t engage with you until near the end, unless you are an idiot , you can almost always hear them talking to each other when they are near about what they want to do to you.....it isn’t nice. So shoutout to the phycological warfare you battle against with these two!
This is going to be a more out there pick but one pick I'd have for honorable mention is the second fight against Mothiva and Zasp from Bug Fables. They enter to their own theme music by effortlessly pushing the boss you fought earlier aside, basically declaring their own intent to be the ones to be the heroes, even if it means risking losing peaceful relations with the Termite Kingdom and essentially dooming all of Bugaria. Kabbu, essentially the leader of Team Snakemouth, and normally the one who tries to be the reasonable one, outright SNAPS, yelling at her and calling her a witch for LITERALLY NOT CARING THAT SHE MIGHT BE DOOMING THE ENTIRE LAND JUST TO ONE-UP TEAM SNAKEMOUTH, as well as getting on Zasp's case for blindly following her no matter what she does, especially cause its shown without Mothiva around, Zasp GLADLY helps Team Snakemouth, at one point even saving the team's life from one of the bosses, albeit trying to disguise it as just making sure they're even. During the fight Zasp will attack with close up attacks, while Mothiva uses ranged music notes, both of which you have to time your guaed to avoid taking major damage. However if you attack Mothiva, Zasp gets a MAJOR power boost meaning his next attack will do more damage, and he'll even use items to not only heal himself and Mothiva but also buff their stats. The setpiece for the fight is a colosseum stage, with Mothiva's Grand Stand playing as the fight goes on, which is one of the best battle tunes in the game in my personal opinion. Its a fun battle that lets you teach that stuck up diva a lesson after all the crap she's thrown at you through the whole game, alongside her extremely loyal, yet more well meaning #1 fan. My other choice would be Majima and Saejima from Yakuza 7, but I wont go into detail cause others in the comments have already done so.
Pretty surprised Agni & Rudra aren't on here from DMC3. I always found them to be pretty fun and awesome, on top of pretty difficult. They also have a fun personality and story to them. After defeat they become really cool weapons! Just kind of surprised they weren't on here at all.
Another honorable mention I want to add: Boom and Bewm from Borderlands. Not the most challenging fight but one of the first 5 boss encounters you'll get Also idea for list: Vengeance by brother. I can think of two examples where you beat a brother in one game and his other brother wants revenge in the second. There's the Flynt brothers (Baron and Captain) from the previously mentioned Borderlands I forget his name but the clown in Dead Rising 2 wants revenge for you killing his brother in the first one and both were psychotic Edit: Adam was in Dead Rising 2 getting revenge for his brother
I think the Elise from Azure Striker Gunvolt would've been worth a mention. You have to kill them both at the same time otherwise they'll revive each other
I'm surprised that the HMS Fearless and the Royal Sovereign from assassin creed black flag weren't honorable mentions if not for the novelty alone , the fact their signature move was trapping you between them and firing off their broadside cannons on both sides of you, and that when you took out one the other immediately sets itself on fire and sails right at you.
I'm personally a fan of The Conductor and DJ Grooves (Killing Two Birds) from A Hat in Time. It's beautiful irony that they're trying to outdo each other when they're basically both as bad as each other.
Fun Fact: Ornstein and Smough? *They hate each other.* Calling Ornstein a Brute is putting it lightly. He's a bloodthirsty monster who's only helping defend Lordran because he's also so damn strong. Ornstein despises Smough just on principle of being a somewhat decent person. Case in point, if you defeat Ornstein first, you don't actually kill him. You've knocked him down and out but he's still alive and his hand is actually still moving... *and then Ornstein crushes him.*
Perhaps a better idea is to write a romance fic of Asterius and Theseus to delve into how they came to be so close with eachother. And I shall dub this pairing the "Ship of Theseus"!
Good list! A dual boss I find interesting is an optional DLC fight in Tales of Arise: The SAO crossover DLC. In this fight you fight use Alphen and Shionne to fight Kirito and Asuna. Depending on your level it can be a good fight and something special happens if you take one of the iconic duo out first. Take out Asuna first and Kirito duel wields and I believe starts using Starburst Stream on you. But if Kirito goes down first... you lose. Asuna will go goddess mode on you and strike the entire arena with an insta-kill move that can't be blocked or dodged to my knowledge
Honorable mention: Hugin and Munin from Ace Combat 7. They have Mihaly's flight patterns, but incorporate synchronized formations, and replace the machine guns, standard missiles, and railguns with agile missiles, mini drones, lasers, and more lasers. And when you think they're down, they'll jettison their flight units and one will engage you while the other makes for the space elevator's access tunnel, forcing you to destroy the first one and chase the other in the franchise's latest tunnel run. And don't get me started with the mission theme, "Hush". It's one of the best final boss themes in the franchise.
How the hell are Balio and Sunder from Breath of Fire 3 not in this?! They're amazing bosses that hassle you through the entire first half of the game. They have great chemistry and their combination is an amazing fight.
I thought that Agni and Rudra would make on here since you have to fight both of them at at the same time and they make use of the gimmick of if one dies they get powered up from their fallen comrade like smourgh and ornstien
That number 1 pick made me especially happy. Hades is one of my favorite indie games and it was my second favorite game I played for the first time last year
A bit sad that you didn't at least mention Galeem and Dharkon from Super Smash Bros Ultimate. The two are a very special "duo" boss. They fight each other, and you come in the crossfire to take down the two of them at the same time. And yet, they sometime work together for some of their attacks, like the light and dark waves or the x and + bombs. A really fun fight.
Ayaha and Otoha from Dragalia Lost. The Flame element representative of the Agito, they're particularly unique in that they're a 2-for-1 special, or as they put it, "Two bodies, one heart!"
I'd love that minotaur and thesius combo game. A co-op based arena game like that would be badass. Especially if it is using two friends playing the game at the same time on one screen.
ngl, I absolutely fangirled when Hansel and Gretel from Tower at Paradigm's Breach not only made the list, but made it to Number 3. And no bullshit, it's entirely because FFXIV. X3 I legit have over 5k hours in that game, and am...well, *mostly* all caught up right now, so any representation for my number 1 favorite MMO of all time on these lists is an absolute win in my book. >w
I’d like to give an honorable mention to the Majima/Saejima boss fight in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It wasn’t the first time you fought another playable character in the series, but with Like a Dragon serving as kind of a soft reboot of the series, it’s a nice little ‘passing the torch’ fight from the previous generation to the new generation and it’s just a hype ass moment to have these two iconic bash-brothers try to bash _you._
I'm surprised Agni and Rudra(the fire and wind twins) from Devil May Cry 3 didn't get any mention at all. It's similar to the Smough and Ornstein, but admittedly they have the same moves and the only difference is when you kill one that the other augments their preferred element with the other.
One dual boss that stood out to me was the Apostles of the Seed from Hellsinker. They are an interesting duo that constantly tag team you or combine their attacks in different ways, even having some joint moves towards the end.
Josh, I AM glad that you at least showed footage of Church and Jorge’s second bossfight from Madness: Project Nexus 2; even if you didn’t mention them!
One of my favorites is Cloaker and Domino from Mario RPG. Sure they're easy but they give a sense that if you beat one, depending on which one you kill first, the second phase can go either way
- Echoing the earlier comments about “WTH are Agni & Rudra” - Wild Dog & Wild Fang (Time Crisis 3)-a really fun evolution of the Wild Dog fight (he’s been in every TC to date) and one of the better boss fights in rail shooter history - not that I would have expected you to know about it, but Yuki & Mai (Mystic Square)-a really fun twist on how Touhou normally does their bosses and their 2nd phases are awesome in their own rights - could probably name a whole gaggle of bosses from various beat ‘em ups over the years…but one of the most recent ones, the Y Twins (Streets of Rage 4) have some story behind them, are built up to very well in-game, and lead to one of the better final bosses I’ve ever seen
Before all these, there was Bebop and Rocksteady teaming up in nearly every game they were in to crush four wisecracking turtles. Their 'replacements' from the 1991 film, Tokka and Rahzar, also get their own duo battle where one gets stronger after the other goes down. All four of them might be dumb muscle characters but they're still capable of forming friendships with each other. 'Master say have fun!' indeed.
My honorable mentions - Tiki (Dragalia Lost's FE crossover 2): Just like with Crazy Hand, you start out only fighting Tiki; but once she gets to ~1/2, she call Mar-Mar (Marth) for help. - Bathysmal Vishaps (Genshin Impact): Can drain your energy, Hage combo attacks and can revive the other if both aren't killed quick enough -Tate and Liza (Gen 3): Gen 3 introduced Double Battles, why not have a Gym leader to how it off?
An honorable mention from an older game: Gorc and Pic from Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight. An annoying pair of dark jedi that requires keeping both in you sight in order to avoid death.
I think one other that could’ve possibly ranked is Uzuki and Kariya from The world ends with you, you see them interact for most of the game and once you get to fight them they serve as one of the few bosses that can swap screens (you’ll get it if you play the game) also it’s a 2v2 battle and they are the only characters (other than the super boss and yourself) that can use a team attack. Also if you play any version other than the DS version you actually fight both together rather than on different screens.
Not a single mention of Agni and Rudra from Devil May Cry 3? Their boss battle was great! You would have to be careful to eliminate them both quickly, otherwise the remaining one would pick up his fallen brother and become far more aggressive.
On the one hand, I'm glad you did this topic because I had the same idea years ago but couldn't think of ten good ones. On the other hand, one of my personal favorites, Agni and Rudra, didn't even make the honorable mentions!?
Oh Twelve the Nier Raids...crazy hard but nice placement for Hansel and Gretel! Though more often than not I understand how Dragoons feel when fighting them...And I main Summoner!
One pair I'd like to mention is Devola and Popola from Nier Gestalt/Replicant. They're twins that fight you together a few times as you travel through the last level. When you finally kill one, the other goes nuts on you.
These kinds of bosses always give me a bad feeling because I've played way too many action games where they are out of sync and therefore have nothing stopping them from attacking in a way that deals unavoidable damage. Still, my favourite duo boss is Vespa and Autochrome from Luminous Avenger iX 2. The game is meant to be a more linear Megaman type game, so they made Vespa one of the bosses of the early main stages and gave her Spark Mandrill Syndrome to your starter weapon to make new players notice how important exploiting boss weaknesses is. One of the bosses of the mid tier of the tower is her brother, Autochrome. He explains every gravekeeper has backup bodies and provides a much harder fight than his sister, partly because of a bottomless pit in the center of the arena. Flash forward to one of the top floors, you're ambushed by both of them before you've even made it to the boss rush stage. Aside from adding new combo attacks and background animations that reference the Anchus brothers, Vespa having her exploit removed instantly makes the fight much harder. Much like in the Megaman Zero games, you have to use the voice clips as a hint on what they'll do next, especially Vespa. They also have a brand new EX attack, but it's actually my least favourite part about this boss because the way to dodge it is knowing that the mine explosions have a hitbox small enough to put your foot on. Once you deplete their final healthbars, they'll ram into each other causing an explosion, which you also need to dodge.
Honorable Mentions -Justine and Caroline (Persona 5) -Dr Eggman and Heavy King (Sonic Mania) -Ribby and Croaks (Cuphead) -Tate and Liza (Pokemon) -Susie and Lancer (Deltarune) -Meta Knight and King Dedede (Kirby Fighters 2) -Bowser and Bowser Jr (NSMBU) -Katayanagi Twins (Scott Pilgrim) -Masa and Mune (Chrono Trigger) - -This might be stretching it but the first part of the Giygas fight with Pokey in Earthbound-
The fact that none of Golden Sun's iconic villain duos were on here is insane. Every single Golden Sun game had a duo of villains. Saturos and Menardi Agatio and Karst Blados and Chalis
Hansel and Gretel on this list? Huh, wasn’t expecting that, but not complaining. You really need to talk about FFXIV bosses more on these videos, Josh. (Also, I’d be down for a Theseus+Asterius spinoff game)
Honestly, Asterius is too good for Theseus if I’m being honest. He’s such a gentle giant as well as very respectful towards Zagreus and honestly only wants to fight him as a test but aside from that I think Asterius and Zagreus would make great friends. Heck even though Thesus is rather full of himself, he and Asterius compliment each other very well. These two did give me some trouble to when I first played Hades but after I got their patterns and dynamic down, the fight was much more manageable.
Seriously, not even an Honourable Mention of DMC3's Agni and Rudra, they were the prototype for Orenstein and Smough, except it was better to take them both out at once.
In a Soulsborne-esque game called Code Vein, there's a dynamic duo of bosses late in the game that coordinate attacks against you and your companion. The real awesomeness of this bosses is that one commands Fire while another commands Ice! One stays far away while the other is often in your face. So you have to watch out for both of them while trying to bring them down.
Honorable mention: Persona 3 Empress & Emperor Chariot & Justice Fortune & Strength Outta them I go for the last one. You get to play wheel of fortune.
A two-for-one special! I'm hoping for the twin knights from Skul: The Hero Slayer. A tough fight, to be sure, but a fun one once you've figured out their tricks. Too bad nobody really cares enough about that game. :( 10: Not often where a dual boss such as this one has the other die immediately as one is killed. (Axe & Sword Twins (Two Thrones)) 9: I know that I am not the biggest fan of Mario and don't know the lore very well... but since when has Bowser been weak to ice? I thought he kinda had a weakness to fire, because constant lava dump. (Bowser & Baby Bowser (Partners in Time)) 8: What would happen if Kirby managed to swallow Master Hand or Crazy Hand? Scary thought. (Master Hand & Crazy Hand (Smash Bros)) 7: I mean, to be fair, the original Star Wars films were indeed better, at least according to the general fanbase. (The Masters (Madworld)) 6: I have this game. I need to get back to it at some point. (Lechku & Nechku (Okami)) 5: "Step 3: Kill Luigi." (Dracula & Death (Portrait of Ruin)) 4: He talked about boob armor and I got excited. Then he had to ruin it. (Ornstein & Smough (Dark Souls)) 3: Big MMOs like this look both fun and extremely intimidating. (Hansel & Gretel (Final Fantasy XIV)) 2: Not often that we get to see a boss get to be in two lists, but hey, when it fits... (Twinrova (Ocarina of Time)) 1: At least one of my favorite rogue-likes is on here. And I gotta say, these two are PERFECT for a number 1 spot for a list like this! I approve! (Theseus & Asterius (Hades))
good list i think another that could have been in honorable mentions could be the alt challenge mission simply called Killing two birds from the Seal the Deal DEATH WISH DLC from a Hat in time fighting just one in the story mode was decent but fighting both DJ Grooves and the conductor at the same time and it becomes a freaking bullet hell
Darkest dungeon boss of Wilbur and the swine prince. The swine prince does powerful attacks but can only target those marked by Wilbur. Wilbur besides marking targets can stun characters. You'd think the strategy would be kill Wilbur first then the prince but upon killing wilbur, the swine prince goes into an enraged mode dealing massive damage to the entire party instead of single targets.
How about a top 10 rival boss countdown. A list where the main character faces off with their main rival in the game. Like Bowser vs Midbus, Luke vs Asch or any rival boss from the pokemon games.
I was not expecting FFXIV to show up on this list. As a healer main in that game I can tell you that people taste the floor far too much in that fight, especially if the tank points the barrier wrong.
If you ever do a squad boss list, might a recommend checking out Braccus Rex from Divinity: Original Sin? At first it looks like a solo fight, and then three other bosses you fought earlier come out of nowhere to beat you up
If I ever played _Dark Souls_ myself, I’d always try to kill Smaug first. All other factors aside, I respect Ornstein taking a second to honor Smaug’s death more than Smaug crushing Ornstein’s dead body with his hammer.
Suprisibly, the original concept for Hades was about Theseus navigating the Labyrith and fighting the Minotaur before needing to escape the maze, but the idea was later scrapped due to technical issues i think.
Tokka and Rahzar, along with Bebop and Rocksteady from the SNES version of TMNT 4 Turtles in Time. Tokka uses Ice Rings and his body and Rahzar uses fire breath and fireballs. Also hilarious when they deal the final blow on each other, though getting there is tricky as you have to whittle down both their health bars to the same amount. And in Skull and Crossbones you fight Bebop and Rocksteady in pirate attire, with Bebop unleashing his inner Belmont while Rocksteady uses a uses a weapon he passes on to Layer from Megaman X8. Also special mention to Dirtbag AND Groundchuck in TMNT Shredder's Revenge. In TMNT 3 you fought them individually. Now you fight them together.
Honorable Mention: Seltas & Seltas Queen from Monster Hunter While the Seltas can be fought independently from one another, encountering the Queen will always draw in her unfortunate male counterpart. Together they can pull off several combination moves that can take any unaware hunter off guard. Unfortunately, when the Queen gets low on health/stamina, the poor male ends up becoming a quick snack for his queen. Kinda ruining the whole partnership angle.
Fun fact about Lechku and Nechku, they WERE planned to be boss fights in the Ark of Yamato, but the devs figured that generally people would be entering the Ark immediately after leaving the shrine would cause burnout, so they cut them out. Really, the Ark is like a standard boss gauntlet like in Mega Man. Makes sense, it's Capcom after all.
Fun fact about Theseus and Asterius in Hades: You know the Ariadne Thread? The item that guarantees an Epic Boon if you get one during your run? Well, if you bring one to the fight... Theseus will sweat PROFUSELY, And for a DAMN good reason: In the story, Theseus, aside from being tasked to slay the Minotaur, also met a woman in Crete who gave him a spool of thread so he could find his way out of the Minotaur's Labyrinth after slaying the creature (Remember, Daedalus built the maze to be nigh-impossible to escape from). When the deed was done, the woman, who is the daughter of the Cretean king Minos, accompanied Theseus while he was sailing home to Athens. Unfortunately, after a stop on the island of Naxos, Theseus... left her there. By accident. While she was sleeping. And did not return. And also forgot to change the black sails of his ship into white ones like his father, King Aegeus told him to do if he was victorious (Black Sails would mean it was a total fail with Theseus dead), causing King Aegeus to name an area of the sea around Athens after him... while jumping off a cliff. The name of the woman who was stranded on Naxos and eventually was wed to Dionysus? ARIADNE. Heck, if I recall, if you pick a Dionysus Boon (Probably prior to fighting Theseus and Asterius) at some point, Dionysus has some... specific negative comments regarding Theseus, and EVEN ASTERIUS would scold Theseus regarding what he said about Ariadne if you have the thread in the next run! Fitting, since Asterius IS a son of Pasiphae after many hijinks involving Poseidon being pissed off, that makes him and Ariadne SIBLINGS.
Asterius and Ariadne…
LABRYS?! (P4U)
...GREEK MYTHOLOGY!
@@Ramsey276one Funny, Asterius USES a Labrys. But yes, Asterius AND Ariadne are both children of Queen Pasiphae of Crete. Asterius being the elder brother born after Pasiphae slept with a bull that was supposed to be a sacrifice to Poseidon. Except it was ILL. Because King Minos was being a smartass towards Poseidon, leading to said god driving the bull mad. Pasiphae slept with it, while wearing a cow disguise made by Daedalus and... Minotaur was born.
YES, Greek Mythology is Screwed up.
@@Doctorolivercook oh I KNOW
[death glares at ZEUS]
@@Ramsey276one Yes indeed. In fact, remember the whole story about Persephone? When she got kidnapped, Demeter, who was understandably pissed, became even MORE pissed when she discovered that Hades had kidnapped her and there's nothing even Zeus can do, she resorted to GENOCIDE. Yeah, she was willing to let everyone on Earth die to get her daughter back. The only problem with that? Hades was more willing to open the gates of the afterlife and let the dead flood back into the world than give Persephone back. And the final nail in the coffin? Persephone actually did fall in love with Hades and also learned some humility.
Well you know what they say: *It takes two to tango.* and these bosses take full advantage of that.
Or somethin like that.
Me:But wait... That'd make three! That saying doesn't even work in this-
Bosses: *Simultaneously smash my skull* TWO. TO. TANGO.
Better keep both eyes on your opponents, or they will be dancing on your grave.
Makes it all the better to win.
Theseus and Asterius was definitely a roadblock while playing Hades. I haven’t even completed the full game yet because I haven’t gotten used to the sword and the gun.
Oh boi you have no idea how much I lose thanks to that Theseus bastard.
As far as I'm concerned, those two are the hardest boss in the game. The furies, being the first boss, aren't that difficult to put down. The Hydra can be annoying if you get a bad roll for the main head, but for the most part tends to attack too slowly and predictably to really be much of a threat. And the final boss, while hard as it should be, has tells and patterns that can be learned after a few runs.
Theseus and asterius though are difficult because you have two wildly differing Styles coming after you, forcing you to split both your attention, and your tactics in an effort not to get hammered from behind. Asterius is the relentless force of nature that flat out refuses to give you a moment to breathe, forcing you to either play ridiculously defensively, or have outright mastered frame perfect dodging to avoid getting ripped into by that ax of his, especially once he hits half health and starts busting out the shock waves. Meanwhile Theseus is the exact opposite, playing extremely defensively and sniping you the moment you turn your back on him. The fact that he rotates to follow you and is flat Invincible to anything that isn't a back attack only makes him more difficult to deal with. And Gods help you if you bring him down to half Health before you've taken out Asterius, because at that point you have to divide your attention three ways to deal with the field effects coming down on you as well.
Don't even get me started on the Extreme Measures version....
Please try the spear.
Magni and Modi from God of War. The sons of Thor hunting down Kratos was a cool enough idea but then they got really cool design. Then you learn that Modi is incredibly jealous of Magni. It's an incredible fight with nice lore behind them. On top of it
ÓÐR BRÓÐIR BLINDR!
I also love these guys. It's also amazing because they're played by voice acting royalty Nolan North and Troy Baker. Pretty awesome guys.
The Minotaur is named Asterius because in Greek myth and Roman myth, his name given to him at birth was Asterius or Asterion. His name Minotaur comes from the fact that he was revered in stories as a half bull and half human by people outside the maze (Labyrinth)
I'm pretty sure they called him the minotaur since he's the bastard son of King Minos.
@@dustinvance243 Well, no. He isn't the son of Minos, he's the son of Minos' wife (or daughter, I don't remember) and a bull, which iirc, was spurred by either a witch or Aphrodite.
@@aesiro1336 Poseidon gifted the Creighton bowl to King minos as a way of adding the king, but he did so on the condition that Minos would sacrifice the ball afterwards in Poseidon’s name. Minos declined to do that and instead chose to give Poseidon a completely different bowl. This offended Poseidon so he contacted Aphrodite to make Minos’ wife fall in love with the bull
@@mysticalarchives7821 Ah, thanks. It's been a bit since I've refreshed my knowledge on Greek mythology, but at least I was somewhat right.
Do you know a lot of Greek mythology?
The two witches from Ocarina of Time are really good. The Gerudos in general make for some good bosses most of the time.
Honourable mention to Agni and Rudra from DMC3. Basically Ornstein and Smough, but half a decade earlier.
Not only do I believe the #1 spot's characters deserve their own game, especially by comparing them to Jessie and James, which is a nice touch in hindsight, but if Hades were to get an anime adaptation, there should also be a filler episode that could lampoon cop shows of the 70s and 80s with these guys.
My honorable mentions:
Bebop and Rocksteady (TMNT Turtles In Time SNES)
A swashbuckling battle against the iconic mutated Warthog and Rhinoceros, in pirate form.
Beerus and Whis (Dragonball Xenoverse)
Pretty much the hardest bosses in the game. They don’t call them Gods Of Destruction for nothing.
Bwario and Bwaluigi (Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle)
I just love how clever their names are.
Daddy Dearest and Mommy Mearest (Friday Night Funkin)
A Christmas themed rap battle against Girlfriend’s demonic parents. And you thought your parents were embarrassing.
Galeem and Dharkon (Super Smash Bros Ultimate)
The ultimate battle against light and darkness. Who will win? Answer, you.
Ribby and Croaks (Cuphead)
These dueling amphibians borrow attacks from Dhalsim and fuse into a giant slot machine in the third phase.
King Dedede and Meta Knight (Kirby Fighters 2)
Both of the pink puffball’s greatest rivals fight alongside each other for the first time ever. Shoutouts to their masked forms in the final chapter
N Tropy and Fem Tropy (Crash Bandicoot 4)
Not a great boss compared to the others in the game, but at least the grinding section at the beginning is cool.
Beerus and Whis in their boss form for me lose A LOT due to the fact that the whole thing they have going for them is the multiple level of boss-only superarmor. hell, their's is stronger than the lower end raid bosses from the sequel
Do Galeem and Dharkon count? they attack each other.
I would like to add Blade Bearer and Cannoneer from Code Vein to this list.
Now that shredders revenge is out we can use that duo fight instead especially since they technically have two
I LOVE how you put the gunner twins (Church and Jorge) as the countdown and has their theme Blood Son. These two are my favorites.
I’m glad you included Twinrova, being that it’s probably the most quintessential duo boss and the first that comes to mind for me. Being that you not only face Koume and Kotake separately first and need to make use of that dungeon’s main item, the Mirror Shield, in order to reflect their elements back at the other (literally giving them a taste of their own medicine), but later on they fuse into the fearsome (and gorgeous) Twinrova and combine both their deadly abilities in the process. It’s probably the most memorable boss fight in Ocarina besides the final boss, and definitely a great way to cap off the dungeon.
Bosses that came to mind after seeing the title were Reno and Rude in FFVII Remake, Agni and Rudra from Devil May Cry 3, and Majima and Saejima from Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
I was just about to mention Agni and Rudra!!! I loved their fight!
My mind went to Pokemon.
@@Carlos_994_ Saaaame.
Well why have one boss when you can fight two at once. Granted not every game does this duo boss mechanic but when it does it's interesting and pretty epic.
When it isn't a pain in the neck, at least.
In RPG’s, it’s really common to fight more than one.
Another great showcase of Theseus & Asterius' strength as a duo is the fact that depending on the run, they can end up feeling harder than HADES HIMSELF
Honorable mention: Ac7 DLC bosses Rage and Scream. You try to lock onto one, the other attacks you! But in keeping with Ace Combat's phenomenal scoring, it's not the gameplay that changes when you kill one or the other.
It's the music.
Their combined theme, Mimic, is a wonderful piece mixing hard rock and synthesizers, with some psychedelic moments.
If you kill Rage, Scream breaks down into an incoherent mess at the loss of her brother, screaming at you to die. Her song features equally incoherent drumlines, as you wonder how she can even stay airborne with how unstable she's become.
Kill Scream first, and the electric guitar overpowers the other instruments as Rage focuses all of his, well, rage, onto a single point. You.
Their backstory is equally tragic, as they grew up as war orphans with only eachother to rely upon, and now working as masochistic mercenaries to satiate their bloodlust.
Killing them doesn't feel triumphant. It feels like putting down two rabid animals.
i was just about to mention those two but you did an amazing job describing them, i have ac7 but i dont have the dlc yet, hopefully soon after im done with the main game or something
More tragically, one of their lines IMPLIES they tried to be heroes much like the legends of the sky (Cipher, the Demon Lord of the Round Table and Solo Wing Pixy. Mobius One, Scarface, etc and so forth) only to fail and become as bitter and broken as they are.
AC7 in a nutshell:
Oh this is fun and the music is cool
After you hear the clouds play i classical choir music:
No no no no no!
I am surprise Agni and Rudra from DMC3 are not here since they are a super fun fight when fighting them together but you need to be careful since as soon you kill one the remaining one get a massive boost and new attacks
I really thought and was hoping they would make the list. Every time we got to a new entry i was sitting here like “NOW is the agni and rudra spot” but it just never showed up
Gald to see I'm not the only who thought they were showing up.
Also, unlike Smough and Ornstine, it's possible to take out both bosses at once and skip phase 2.
I was waiting for them to show up! Meh, still one my favorite boss in Devil May Cry
Time for a dose of double trouble
10: A brotherly boss fight with a pesky prince.
9: Double the Mario means double the Bowser
8: This fight can get out of hand for if you let it.
7: The not Jedi father and son duo.
6: Golden and Sliver Demon Owls
5: Death and Dracula teaming up, awesome.
4: Ah the Classic Fromsoft Duo.
3: A MMO Boss and a crossover boss? Talk about doubling up.
2: Twinrova, Fire and Ice not so nice.
1: Ah yeah! Hades duo fight!
Yesterday after more than 14 years together I had to say goodbye to my Kai at the age of 15, right from the first moment he was my best boy who greeted me every day with his cute little meow and snuggles when I was sad, he helped me survive my brother’s death and other losses since ... now though my boy is gone, it hasn’t even been a full day and I’m a wreck, not even the Josh’s newest video makes me laugh like it usually does, because it feels like I’m missing one half of my duo 😢😢😢
I’ll leave you with these words: go find your fur/feather/scale/etc babies, give them a hug and tell them you love them because tomorrow is never a sure thing.
Thank you for the new video Josh and stay safe all 💙🙏🏻💙
Oh, I'm so sorry. 😔
I know the feeling. I had to let my beloved cat Molly go on Monday. She was my best friend and my companion for 19 years which is a great life for a cat. I miss her everyday. Its so hard to lose an animal friend, but we know we gave them the best life we could.
@@billiezeiszler608 thank you Billie 😔😔😔
@@emmaishida4386 thank you Emma, I knew it was going to have to happen one day but now that it has it just feels far too soon. Sorry for your loss of Molly, she sounds like a beautiful girl 😔😔😔
Oh don’t mind me, I’m just waiting for Agni and Rudra.
Edit: *I will wait as long as I must.*
Gotta say Seltas and Seltas Queen would also be a good choice. Having the Queen turn the standard Seltas into a hulked out drone, the Seltas giving brief instances of flight to his Queen, and the absolute lunacy of seeing the Queen bash the Seltas into the ground until it dies just for a snack is just glorious. Also it’s a huge Gurren Lagann reference.
Well, you can't really call it a Duo boss fight if Seltas queen can just call more Seltas to the battle if the other one dies though
@@ZippoIII Yeah, they are less of a duo and more of a queen using drones to her benefit (even eating the drone if desperate)
I once saw fanart of Thesius and Asterius in samurai outfits. I imagined the idea of Supergiant games making a game based on Japanese mythology and have both of them show up as side or secret bosses with the only explanation being that they were on a "road trip" and somehow ended up there. Instead of a spinoff, I would honestly think it would be hilarious if Supergiant games just decided to have Thesius and Asterius cameo in all of there future games no matter how out-of-place they would seem.
... pleas no. Just no.
The team of Goro Majima and Taiga Saijima in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, or Ryu Ga Gatoku 7 for those that prefer this franchises Japanese title. Not gonna go too far into detail due to potential spoilers, but these two are fan favorites of the franchise, are absolute LEGENDS in the criminal underworld in the games lore, and have been both playable characters as well as separate boss fights on their own in previous games in the series. The two work Incredibly well together, serve as the games largest difficulty spike, and have a brutal and awesome tag team attack will leave you cheering for THEM. I'm serious, you are fighting them, but most people that have played previous entries in the series pop off in excitement and then sweat in fear once they realize they have to fight these two. And even better, you can't even be mad if (more likely when) you lose to them the first time because they are such legendary badasses that you're like "yeah, that's about how well that SHOULD go for me" after they knock you down a peg or three.
I argue that Majima and Taiga in some aspects are as hard as the final boss. It was a brilliantly done fight
Honorary mention for Argoyle and Ugoyle from Megaman ZX: Advent. They were really fun, and getting that Gold Medal by killing them at the same time is a real challenge.
The second you mentioned 24 players I knew Hansel and Gretel had to be on the list. It COULD have been another duo boss (I guess technically the final boss of the newest raid counts), but it was just the one that made the most sense.
Great list, as usual ! As an additional (dis?)honorary mention, I would put forth the twins/brothers Psycho brutes from OutLast. You see them almost immediately upon the POV “brilliance” decision to not leave immediately after finding trained soldiers killed in the mad house gone mad, and as you survive area after area, they are always following you, preventing you from going back. While they don’t engage with you until near the end, unless you are an idiot , you can almost always hear them talking to each other when they are near about what they want to do to you.....it isn’t nice. So shoutout to the phycological warfare you battle against with these two!
Magni and Modi - God of War 4
Vulture and Electro - Spiderman 2018
The Komodo Brothers - Crash Bandicoot 2
Mander and Dogman - MediEvil 2
This is going to be a more out there pick but one pick I'd have for honorable mention is the second fight against Mothiva and Zasp from Bug Fables. They enter to their own theme music by effortlessly pushing the boss you fought earlier aside, basically declaring their own intent to be the ones to be the heroes, even if it means risking losing peaceful relations with the Termite Kingdom and essentially dooming all of Bugaria. Kabbu, essentially the leader of Team Snakemouth, and normally the one who tries to be the reasonable one, outright SNAPS, yelling at her and calling her a witch for LITERALLY NOT CARING THAT SHE MIGHT BE DOOMING THE ENTIRE LAND JUST TO ONE-UP TEAM SNAKEMOUTH, as well as getting on Zasp's case for blindly following her no matter what she does, especially cause its shown without Mothiva around, Zasp GLADLY helps Team Snakemouth, at one point even saving the team's life from one of the bosses, albeit trying to disguise it as just making sure they're even. During the fight Zasp will attack with close up attacks, while Mothiva uses ranged music notes, both of which you have to time your guaed to avoid taking major damage. However if you attack Mothiva, Zasp gets a MAJOR power boost meaning his next attack will do more damage, and he'll even use items to not only heal himself and Mothiva but also buff their stats. The setpiece for the fight is a colosseum stage, with Mothiva's Grand Stand playing as the fight goes on, which is one of the best battle tunes in the game in my personal opinion. Its a fun battle that lets you teach that stuck up diva a lesson after all the crap she's thrown at you through the whole game, alongside her extremely loyal, yet more well meaning #1 fan. My other choice would be Majima and Saejima from Yakuza 7, but I wont go into detail cause others in the comments have already done so.
...and you missed out AGNI AND RUDRA?!
WHAT.
Even an honourable mention would've been something for how well they complement each other.
Pretty surprised Agni & Rudra aren't on here from DMC3. I always found them to be pretty fun and awesome, on top of pretty difficult. They also have a fun personality and story to them. After defeat they become really cool weapons! Just kind of surprised they weren't on here at all.
You posted this on Canada Day!
Fitting actually, as Canada's the Worlds Unseen ally and Number 2 when it comes to worldwide events. XD
Another honorable mention I want to add: Boom and Bewm from Borderlands. Not the most challenging fight but one of the first 5 boss encounters you'll get
Also idea for list: Vengeance by brother. I can think of two examples where you beat a brother in one game and his other brother wants revenge in the second.
There's the Flynt brothers (Baron and Captain) from the previously mentioned Borderlands
I forget his name but the clown in Dead Rising 2 wants revenge for you killing his brother in the first one and both were psychotic
Edit: Adam was in Dead Rising 2 getting revenge for his brother
I think the Elise from Azure Striker Gunvolt would've been worth a mention. You have to kill them both at the same time otherwise they'll revive each other
I'm surprised that the HMS Fearless and the Royal Sovereign from assassin creed black flag weren't honorable mentions if not for the novelty alone , the fact their signature move was trapping you between them and firing off their broadside cannons on both sides of you, and that when you took out one the other immediately sets itself on fire and sails right at you.
I beat them with one health bar left it’s on my channel
I'm personally a fan of The Conductor and DJ Grooves (Killing Two Birds) from A Hat in Time. It's beautiful irony that they're trying to outdo each other when they're basically both as bad as each other.
Man I can’t wait for the next top list , can’t figure out the clue: one of these days I’ll hope to see detective games
Fun Fact: Ornstein and Smough? *They hate each other.* Calling Ornstein a Brute is putting it lightly. He's a bloodthirsty monster who's only helping defend Lordran because he's also so damn strong.
Ornstein despises Smough just on principle of being a somewhat decent person.
Case in point, if you defeat Ornstein first, you don't actually kill him. You've knocked him down and out but he's still alive and his hand is actually still moving... *and then Ornstein crushes him.*
I've missed these! It's good to see you going back into this again! 👍
Perhaps a better idea is to write a romance fic of Asterius and Theseus to delve into how they came to be so close with eachother. And I shall dub this pairing the "Ship of Theseus"!
Good list!
A dual boss I find interesting is an optional DLC fight in Tales of Arise: The SAO crossover DLC.
In this fight you fight use Alphen and Shionne to fight Kirito and Asuna. Depending on your level it can be a good fight and something special happens if you take one of the iconic duo out first. Take out Asuna first and Kirito duel wields and I believe starts using Starburst Stream on you. But if Kirito goes down first... you lose. Asuna will go goddess mode on you and strike the entire arena with an insta-kill move that can't be blocked or dodged to my knowledge
Honorable mention: Hugin and Munin from Ace Combat 7.
They have Mihaly's flight patterns, but incorporate synchronized formations, and replace the machine guns, standard missiles, and railguns with agile missiles, mini drones, lasers, and more lasers. And when you think they're down, they'll jettison their flight units and one will engage you while the other makes for the space elevator's access tunnel, forcing you to destroy the first one and chase the other in the franchise's latest tunnel run. And don't get me started with the mission theme, "Hush". It's one of the best final boss themes in the franchise.
How the hell are Balio and Sunder from Breath of Fire 3 not in this?! They're amazing bosses that hassle you through the entire first half of the game. They have great chemistry and their combination is an amazing fight.
I thought that Agni and Rudra would make on here since you have to fight both of them at at the same time and they make use of the gimmick of if one dies they get powered up from their fallen comrade like smourgh and ornstien
That number 1 pick made me especially happy. Hades is one of my favorite indie games and it was my second favorite game I played for the first time last year
I love the Jin and Malos fight from Xenoblade 2. Just because it’s a fight that seems impossible at first and it works very good with the plot
A bit sad that you didn't at least mention Galeem and Dharkon from Super Smash Bros Ultimate. The two are a very special "duo" boss. They fight each other, and you come in the crossfire to take down the two of them at the same time. And yet, they sometime work together for some of their attacks, like the light and dark waves or the x and + bombs. A really fun fight.
Ayaha and Otoha from Dragalia Lost. The Flame element representative of the Agito, they're particularly unique in that they're a 2-for-1 special, or as they put it, "Two bodies, one heart!"
I'd love that minotaur and thesius combo game. A co-op based arena game like that would be badass. Especially if it is using two friends playing the game at the same time on one screen.
Was anyone else hoping that Magni and Modhi would be on the list. Because I sure was.
ngl, I absolutely fangirled when Hansel and Gretel from Tower at Paradigm's Breach not only made the list, but made it to Number 3. And no bullshit, it's entirely because FFXIV. X3 I legit have over 5k hours in that game, and am...well, *mostly* all caught up right now, so any representation for my number 1 favorite MMO of all time on these lists is an absolute win in my book. >w
I’d like to give an honorable mention to the Majima/Saejima boss fight in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It wasn’t the first time you fought another playable character in the series, but with Like a Dragon serving as kind of a soft reboot of the series, it’s a nice little ‘passing the torch’ fight from the previous generation to the new generation and it’s just a hype ass moment to have these two iconic bash-brothers try to bash _you._
I'm surprised Agni and Rudra(the fire and wind twins) from Devil May Cry 3 didn't get any mention at all. It's similar to the Smough and Ornstein, but admittedly they have the same moves and the only difference is when you kill one that the other augments their preferred element with the other.
Thanks for the Okami rant bit, Josh. Now I just need Dark it, Decker for diagonal.
One dual boss that stood out to me was the Apostles of the Seed from Hellsinker. They are an interesting duo that constantly tag team you or combine their attacks in different ways, even having some joint moves towards the end.
Josh, I AM glad that you at least showed footage of Church and Jorge’s second bossfight from Madness: Project Nexus 2; even if you didn’t mention them!
A shame that Josh didn't play the Yakuza series because Akiyama and Tanimura would at least make it into the honorable mentions
One of my favorites is Cloaker and Domino from Mario RPG. Sure they're easy but they give a sense that if you beat one, depending on which one you kill first, the second phase can go either way
- Echoing the earlier comments about “WTH are Agni & Rudra”
- Wild Dog & Wild Fang (Time Crisis 3)-a really fun evolution of the Wild Dog fight (he’s been in every TC to date) and one of the better boss fights in rail shooter history
- not that I would have expected you to know about it, but Yuki & Mai (Mystic Square)-a really fun twist on how Touhou normally does their bosses and their 2nd phases are awesome in their own rights
- could probably name a whole gaggle of bosses from various beat ‘em ups over the years…but one of the most recent ones, the Y Twins (Streets of Rage 4) have some story behind them, are built up to very well in-game, and lead to one of the better final bosses I’ve ever seen
oh god, I just did Paradigm tonight in roulette, so upon seeing Hansel and Gretel, I was like "OH THOSE EFFERS." :/
Before all these, there was Bebop and Rocksteady teaming up in nearly every game they were in to crush four wisecracking turtles. Their 'replacements' from the 1991 film, Tokka and Rahzar, also get their own duo battle where one gets stronger after the other goes down. All four of them might be dumb muscle characters but they're still capable of forming friendships with each other. 'Master say have fun!' indeed.
My honorable mentions
- Tiki (Dragalia Lost's FE crossover 2): Just like with Crazy Hand, you start out only fighting Tiki; but once she gets to ~1/2, she call Mar-Mar (Marth) for help.
- Bathysmal Vishaps (Genshin Impact): Can drain your energy, Hage combo attacks and can revive the other if both aren't killed quick enough
-Tate and Liza (Gen 3): Gen 3 introduced Double Battles, why not have a Gym leader to how it off?
An honorable mention from an older game: Gorc and Pic from Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight. An annoying pair of dark jedi that requires keeping both in you sight in order to avoid death.
I think one other that could’ve possibly ranked is Uzuki and Kariya from The world ends with you, you see them interact for most of the game and once you get to fight them they serve as one of the few bosses that can swap screens (you’ll get it if you play the game) also it’s a 2v2 battle and they are the only characters (other than the super boss and yourself) that can use a team attack.
Also if you play any version other than the DS version you actually fight both together rather than on different screens.
Not a single mention of Agni and Rudra from Devil May Cry 3? Their boss battle was great! You would have to be careful to eliminate them both quickly, otherwise the remaining one would pick up his fallen brother and become far more aggressive.
On the one hand, I'm glad you did this topic because I had the same idea years ago but couldn't think of ten good ones. On the other hand, one of my personal favorites, Agni and Rudra, didn't even make the honorable mentions!?
Josh....I have 3 words for you: AGNI AND RUDRA!
Surprised no Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright from Kirby's Adventure and Nightmare in Dreamland. They're iconic.
Oh Twelve the Nier Raids...crazy hard but nice placement for Hansel and Gretel! Though more often than not I understand how Dragoons feel when fighting them...And I main Summoner!
Can’t wait for trio bosses -Bro I just wanna see the Jambastion Sisters on a list lmao-
One pair I'd like to mention is Devola and Popola from Nier Gestalt/Replicant. They're twins that fight you together a few times as you travel through the last level. When you finally kill one, the other goes nuts on you.
These kinds of bosses always give me a bad feeling because I've played way too many action games where they are out of sync and therefore have nothing stopping them from attacking in a way that deals unavoidable damage.
Still, my favourite duo boss is Vespa and Autochrome from Luminous Avenger iX 2. The game is meant to be a more linear Megaman type game, so they made Vespa one of the bosses of the early main stages and gave her Spark Mandrill Syndrome to your starter weapon to make new players notice how important exploiting boss weaknesses is.
One of the bosses of the mid tier of the tower is her brother, Autochrome. He explains every gravekeeper has backup bodies and provides a much harder fight than his sister, partly because of a bottomless pit in the center of the arena.
Flash forward to one of the top floors, you're ambushed by both of them before you've even made it to the boss rush stage. Aside from adding new combo attacks and background animations that reference the Anchus brothers, Vespa having her exploit removed instantly makes the fight much harder. Much like in the Megaman Zero games, you have to use the voice clips as a hint on what they'll do next, especially Vespa. They also have a brand new EX attack, but it's actually my least favourite part about this boss because the way to dodge it is knowing that the mine explosions have a hitbox small enough to put your foot on. Once you deplete their final healthbars, they'll ram into each other causing an explosion, which you also need to dodge.
Honorable Mentions
-Justine and Caroline (Persona 5)
-Dr Eggman and Heavy King (Sonic Mania)
-Ribby and Croaks (Cuphead)
-Tate and Liza (Pokemon)
-Susie and Lancer (Deltarune)
-Meta Knight and King Dedede (Kirby Fighters 2)
-Bowser and Bowser Jr (NSMBU)
-Katayanagi Twins (Scott Pilgrim)
-Masa and Mune (Chrono Trigger)
- -This might be stretching it but the first part of the Giygas fight with Pokey in Earthbound-
There really needs to be more three way fights in videogames
I was right here!
I also would've gone with "Just The Two Of Us" for the intro song.
I’m surprised that Magni and Modi from God of War weren’t in this list as an honorable mention
Beepop and Rocksteady Turtles in time. When one dies, they start attacking eachother, love that little touch :)
The fact that none of Golden Sun's iconic villain duos were on here is insane. Every single Golden Sun game had a duo of villains.
Saturos and Menardi
Agatio and Karst
Blados and Chalis
Dynamic duos?
Hansel and Gretel on this list? Huh, wasn’t expecting that, but not complaining. You really need to talk about FFXIV bosses more on these videos, Josh.
(Also, I’d be down for a Theseus+Asterius spinoff game)
Honestly, I feel like Omega-M and Omega-F would have suited this list better, but everyone has their own preferences I suppose.
@@Bladehound83
That’s another great one!
Honestly, Asterius is too good for Theseus if I’m being honest. He’s such a gentle giant as well as very respectful towards Zagreus and honestly only wants to fight him as a test but aside from that I think Asterius and Zagreus would make great friends. Heck even though Thesus is rather full of himself, he and Asterius compliment each other very well. These two did give me some trouble to when I first played Hades but after I got their patterns and dynamic down, the fight was much more manageable.
Seriously, not even an Honourable Mention of DMC3's Agni and Rudra, they were the prototype for Orenstein and Smough, except it was better to take them both out at once.
Yeah they are a good and hard duo bosses
In a Soulsborne-esque game called Code Vein, there's a dynamic duo of bosses late in the game that coordinate attacks against you and your companion.
The real awesomeness of this bosses is that one commands Fire while another commands Ice! One stays far away while the other is often in your face. So you have to watch out for both of them while trying to bring them down.
Honorable mention: Persona 3
Empress & Emperor
Chariot & Justice
Fortune & Strength
Outta them I go for the last one. You get to play wheel of fortune.
Very happy that the duo from Hades was included. But surprised you didn't include Mimic Squadron from Ace Combat 7's DLC missions.
A two-for-one special! I'm hoping for the twin knights from Skul: The Hero Slayer. A tough fight, to be sure, but a fun one once you've figured out their tricks. Too bad nobody really cares enough about that game. :(
10: Not often where a dual boss such as this one has the other die immediately as one is killed. (Axe & Sword Twins (Two Thrones))
9: I know that I am not the biggest fan of Mario and don't know the lore very well... but since when has Bowser been weak to ice? I thought he kinda had a weakness to fire, because constant lava dump. (Bowser & Baby Bowser (Partners in Time))
8: What would happen if Kirby managed to swallow Master Hand or Crazy Hand? Scary thought. (Master Hand & Crazy Hand (Smash Bros))
7: I mean, to be fair, the original Star Wars films were indeed better, at least according to the general fanbase. (The Masters (Madworld))
6: I have this game. I need to get back to it at some point. (Lechku & Nechku (Okami))
5: "Step 3: Kill Luigi." (Dracula & Death (Portrait of Ruin))
4: He talked about boob armor and I got excited. Then he had to ruin it. (Ornstein & Smough (Dark Souls))
3: Big MMOs like this look both fun and extremely intimidating. (Hansel & Gretel (Final Fantasy XIV))
2: Not often that we get to see a boss get to be in two lists, but hey, when it fits... (Twinrova (Ocarina of Time))
1: At least one of my favorite rogue-likes is on here. And I gotta say, these two are PERFECT for a number 1 spot for a list like this! I approve! (Theseus & Asterius (Hades))
Nice Death Battle reference with number 5
Sorry to say this but in my head my response anytime Josh mentions hating okami is "cry me a river" 😅
Surprised to not see Agni and Rudra in this one.
good list i think another that could have been in honorable mentions could be the alt challenge mission simply called Killing two birds from the Seal the Deal DEATH WISH DLC from a Hat in time fighting just one in the story mode was decent but fighting both DJ Grooves and the conductor at the same time and it becomes a freaking bullet hell
Hansel and Gretel aren't bots. Just an FYI.
Darkest dungeon boss of Wilbur and the swine prince. The swine prince does powerful attacks but can only target those marked by Wilbur. Wilbur besides marking targets can stun characters. You'd think the strategy would be kill Wilbur first then the prince but upon killing wilbur, the swine prince goes into an enraged mode dealing massive damage to the entire party instead of single targets.
How about a top 10 rival boss countdown. A list where the main character faces off with their main rival in the game. Like Bowser vs Midbus, Luke vs Asch or any rival boss from the pokemon games.
Joker vs. Akechi
I was not expecting FFXIV to show up on this list. As a healer main in that game I can tell you that people taste the floor far too much in that fight, especially if the tank points the barrier wrong.
If you ever do a squad boss list, might a recommend checking out Braccus Rex from Divinity: Original Sin? At first it looks like a solo fight, and then three other bosses you fought earlier come out of nowhere to beat you up
If I ever played _Dark Souls_ myself, I’d always try to kill Smaug first. All other factors aside, I respect Ornstein taking a second to honor Smaug’s death more than Smaug crushing Ornstein’s dead body with his hammer.
Fun fact: Ornstein isn't even dead when Smough crushes him. His hand is still moving before he gets crushed.
Suprisibly, the original concept for Hades was about Theseus navigating the Labyrith and fighting the Minotaur before needing to escape the maze, but the idea was later scrapped due to technical issues i think.
When I was a kid playing Melee and seeing Crazy Hand for the first time, my reaction was
"THERE'S TWO OF THEM?!"
Tokka and Rahzar, along with Bebop and Rocksteady from the SNES version of TMNT 4 Turtles in Time. Tokka uses Ice Rings and his body and Rahzar uses fire breath and fireballs. Also hilarious when they deal the final blow on each other, though getting there is tricky as you have to whittle down both their health bars to the same amount.
And in Skull and Crossbones you fight Bebop and Rocksteady in pirate attire, with Bebop unleashing his inner Belmont while Rocksteady uses a uses a weapon he passes on to Layer from Megaman X8.
Also special mention to Dirtbag AND Groundchuck in TMNT Shredder's Revenge. In TMNT 3 you fought them individually. Now you fight them together.
Hansel & Gretel are also a "Red Oni & Blue Oni" deal, given the colors and horns.
Honorable Mention: Seltas & Seltas Queen from Monster Hunter
While the Seltas can be fought independently from one another, encountering the Queen will always draw in her unfortunate male counterpart. Together they can pull off several combination moves that can take any unaware hunter off guard. Unfortunately, when the Queen gets low on health/stamina, the poor male ends up becoming a quick snack for his queen. Kinda ruining the whole partnership angle.
Fun fact about Lechku and Nechku, they WERE planned to be boss fights in the Ark of Yamato, but the devs figured that generally people would be entering the Ark immediately after leaving the shrine would cause burnout, so they cut them out.
Really, the Ark is like a standard boss gauntlet like in Mega Man. Makes sense, it's Capcom after all.