The Best N64 Boss Fights Ever

8. Skedar Leader – Perfect Dark

Perfect Dark was actually kind of a weird game. Originally envisioned as a direct sequel to GoldenEye 007 that also would have starred James Bond, Rareware had to change directions after losing out on the  Bond license. But instead of just doing a straight-up first-person spy shooter, Perfect Dark took a hard sci-fi turn about midway through, introducing an extraterrestrial conspiracy amidst a trip to Area 51.

By the end of the game, Joanna Dark is stuck on an alien world and finds herself face-to-face with their big old ugly leader. You’ve got to shoot the alien repeatedly to weaken its shields, then shoot off pieces of the spiky structure behind it until they all fall on the alien and the world is saved. Maybe it’s not the most creative boss fight, but it was actually pretty novel for a first-person shooter in the year 2000 and an obvious improvement over Goldeneye‘s single-enemy showdowns.

7. D’Etoile – Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon 

Mystical Ninja took a lot of basic gameplay ideas from Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time and mixed them with a whole lot of Japanese culture and absurdity to create one of the most bizarre and wonderful games on the N64. Unfortunately, it also didn’t exactly light up the sales charts in the West. While most of the game is played from a third-person perspective as Goemon and his pals, a handful of boss battles (including this final fight against D’Etoile) mix things up by putting you inside a giant mech.

First, there’s a brief music video and a cool little running section (since your mech is on roller skates, naturally). Then it’s time to jump into first-person mode and head into space to stop D’Etoiile from turning feudal Japan into a giant performance stage (yeah, the game gets really weird). This is a difficult boss with no real pattern, but if you just keep punching and shooting, eventually it blows up and Japan is forever saved from the threat of poorly produced musical theater. For an obscure third-party game, it’s a surprisingly epic finale.

6. Andross – Star Fox 64

Star Fox 64 is one of the earliest games to really create a cinematic experience. It only takes about an hour to beat (even multiple paths don’t make it too much longer) but the adventure feels so much bigger than that. Your squad really grows as people (or animals, in this case), and the whole story is perfectly paced, with plenty of slower moments that push the plot forward followed by epic boss battles.

However, none of the game’s battles are more explosive than the showdown with the final boss, Andross. Depending on the path you take to get to him, you’ll either find yourself staring at a massive simian face, or you’ll be confronted with a robotic facsimile/giant brain you’ll have to blast in an open arena. Either fight offers a slightly strange yet appropriately massive finale to a fantastic game.