A retrospective on iconic video game bosses, featuring interviews and insights from developers spanning five decades of gaming history.

50 Years of Boss Fights celebrates a fading art in modern games. Author Daryl Baxter has written about 51 bosses that have made the greatest impact, ever since the first boss debuted in 1974.

Full of interviews and insights from the developers who helped made the bosses as memorable as they are, includes those who have worked on Mario 64, DOOM, Bioshock, Star Wars, Half Life and many more. Some explained how they came to be, what was scrapped, and, ultimately, if they were happy with them, looking back.

The book goes into detail about the first ever boss from the start, called the Golden Dragon in dnd, which first debuted in 1974. Heralded as the first ever boss in a video game, Daryl spoke to its creators about how it came to be, and how they feel about creating a standard in games.

The book sheds light on what was scrapped in other bosses, and how some bosses were so illegal, they had to be updated in rapid fashion to avoid a potential lawsuit.

Full of photos that showcase how the bosses work and how to beat them, it’s a 50-year record of the best, the most challenging, and the most memorable that you may or may not have beaten so far.

It’s 70,000 words that celebrate the past 50 years of bosses, while giving insight by the developers who helped make them possible.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Golden Dragon — DND (1974)
• Jumpin’ Jack Flash, The Rolling Stones — Elite Beat Agents (2006)
• ludex Gundyr — Dark Souls III (2016)
• Sans — Undertale (2015)
• Gogandantess — Onimusha 2 (2002)
• Psycho Mantis — Metal Gear Solid (1998)
• Avion — Shadow of the Colossus (2005)
• King K. Rool — Donkey Kong Country 2 (1995)
• Meta Ridley — Metroid Prime Remastered (2023)
• Hades — God of War 3 (2010)
• Spider Mastermind — DOOM (1993)
• 13th Racing / Devil Car — Ridge Racer (1994)
• Akuma / Gouki — Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994)
• Andross — Star Fox (1993)
• Bahamut — Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
• Battle of Endor — Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader (2001)
• Bowser — Super Mario 64 (1996)
• Bowser — Super Mario Odyssey (2017)
• Calamity Ganon — Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)
• Crazy Hand — Super Smash Bros Melee (2001)
• Darth Vader — Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019)
• Donkey Kong — Donkey Kong (1981)
• Doomsday Zone — Sonic 3 & Knuckles (1994)
• Dracula — Super Castlevania IV (1991)
• The Eyeball — Pandemonium! (1996)
• Janken the Great — Alex Kidd in Miracle World (1989)
• Majora — Legend of Zelda: Kirby’s Mask (2000)
• Metal Gear REX — Metal Gear Solid (1998)
• Metal Man — Mega Man 2 (1988)
• Metal Sonic — Sonic CD (1993)
• Mike Tyson — Punch-Out!! (1987)
• Mother Brain — Super Metroid (1994)
• Mr Freeze — Batman: Arkham City (2011)
• Nemesis — Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999)
• Nightmare — Kirby's Adventure (1993)
• Red — Pokémon Gold (2000)
• Sander Cohen — BioShock (2007)
• Sephiroth — Final Fantasy VII (1997)
• Seven Force — Gunstar Heroes (1993)
• Shang Tsung — Mortal Kombat (1992)
• Sinister Six — Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin (1989)
• Tarantula — Super Turrican 2 (1995)
• Tatanga — Super Mario Land (1989)
• The End — Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)
• Web Bat — The Revenge of Shinobi (1989)
• The Boss — Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)
• Devil Kazuya — Tekken 2 (1995)
• Ocelot — Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)
• Wheatley — Portal 2 (2011)
• Wild Dog — Time Crisis (1997)
• Xen — Half-Life (1999)