Rate Sonic Mania's Bosses

[molul]

After some comments in the Sonic Mania mega-thread, this looks like a good topic. How do you rate each Mania boss?

I'm pasting here all the acts to make it easier:

Spoiler

Green Hill Act 1

 

Green Hill Act 2

 

Chemical Plant Act 1

 

Chemical Plant Act 2

 

Studiopolis Act 1

 

Studiopolis Act 2

 

Flying Battery Act 1

 

Flying Battery Act 2

 

Press Garden Act 1

 

Press Garden Act 2

 

Stardust Speedway Act 1

 

Stardust Speedway Act 2

 

Hidrocity Act 1

 

Hidrocity Act 2

 

Mirage Saloon Act 1 Sonic & Tails

 

Mirage Saloon Act 1 Knuckles

 

Mirage Saloon Act 2

 

Oil Ocean Act 1

 

Oil Ocean Act 2

 

Lava Reef Act 1

 

Lava Reef Act 2 Sonic & Tails

 

Lava Reef Act 2 Knuckles

 

Metallic Madness Act 1

 

Metallic Madness Act 2

 

Titanic Monarch Act 1

 

Titanic Monarch Act 2

 

Egg Reverie

 

My ratings:

Spoiler

Green Hill Act 1

7/10. Nice and easy first boss. I wouldn't actually ask much more from a first boss.

 

Green Hill Act 2

10/10. This is Sonic 2's final boss in Mania's first zone! Also, I like the chase mechanic. Apart from Death Egg's final boss second transformation, I think we haven't seen anything like this before.

 

Chemical Plant Act 1

5/10. Pretty easy boss. 

 

Chemical Plant Act 2

9/10. I'd give it a 10/10 for the surprise, but I think a tutorial was necessary for beginners.

 

Studiopolis Act 1

10/10. THIS is a great Act 1 boss. Also I love running bosses. 

 

Studiopolis Act 2

8/10. Cool, original, but very easy with Sonic's jump height.

 

Flying Battery Act 1

8/10. Nice and original, but once you get the "trick", it's really easy. It would be more challenging if it created different badnicks.

 

Flying Battery Act 2

9/10. I  liked this one a lot. I usually reach this boss with very little time, so it's very stressful. Also, vertical scrolling boss. I like that

 

Press Garden Act 1

6/10. Very easy too. How about some boxes falling from above after every hit? I mean boxes that hurt Sonic.

 

Press Garden Act 2

9/10. This was difficult for me to understand. I wish it changed a bit in the last 2 hits, but it's cool.

 

Stardust Speedway Act 1

7/10. Another nice but easy act 1 boss. 

 

Stardust Speedway Act 2

8/10. I appreciate it's mostly a running boss, and the mini Silver Sonic, but to me it could use some more difficulty. The last part could have looked at S4E2's first Metal Sonic boss (yes I said it).

 

Hidrocity Act 1

7/10. Fun but very easy. This should have been a prologue to Act 2's boss, in my opinion. It would have made more sense, as Robotnik is not supposed to appear in act 1.

 

Hidrocity Act 2

10/10. Original, chasing, stressing boss. 

 

Mirage Saloon Act 1 Sonic & Tails

7/10. Visually cool (for the scaling), but not very difficult. Well, maybe act 1 bosses are not meant to be very difficult! XD

 

Mirage Saloon Act 1 Knuckles

7.5/10. I'd say a bit more difficult than Sonic's act.

 

Mirage Saloon Act 2

8/10. I appreciate bringing Fang, Bean and Bark back. 

 

Oil Ocean Act 1

8/10. This is the act 1 boss I have died most times to. I like it. It fits Oil Ocean very well.

 

Oil Ocean Act 2

8/10. Very difficult one, although you only need to hit Robotnik (you can forget about the tentacles). By the way, the tentacles idea (for recycling that S&K boss) is very clever in my opinion.

 

Lava Reef Act 1

8/10. Very good and challenging.

 

Lava Reef Act 2 Sonic & Tails

8/10. Maybe a bit weird. I have to repeat it a few times more, but I think I just hit and hit and hit without caring about losing rings. By the way: recovering rings in Mania is much easier than before, right? I mean, I have never felt in real danger. I actually feel a bit invincible sometimes.

 

Lava Reef Act 2 Knuckles

10/10. Just for the S&K throwback, this is one of the best bosses.

 

Metallic Madness Act 1

10/10. How to get one of the most iconic Sonic bosses and make it much better at the end.

 

Metallic Madness Act 2

8/10. The idea is great and funny, but it's not difficult for an act 2 boss, is it?

 

Titanic Monarch Act 1

7/10. I didn't really like this boss in S&K. I like the elevator addition, although it's very difficult to hit the boss in that part.

 

Titanic Monarch Act 2

7/10. Not difficult enough for a "final" boss. Remember S3&K's Death Egg Act 2 boss? I think we should have been forced to kill the Hard Boiled Heavies that appear in this boss.

 

Egg Reverie

8/10. A welcome and original final showdown. The first two times I played I died because I didn't notice that double jumping made me loose rings. Once I noticed it, it was very easy. I do appreciate the double boss mechanic, though. This should definitely be explored in the future, but with two bosses at the same time, not one after the other.

 

[MetalSkulkBane]

For me good boss

1 Keeps you moving. No safe bays like Egg Phantom where you wait for him to reveal his weak spot. Perfectly you can kill him much faster if you take risks (see original Death Egg Robot, where you can hurt, at any time, but you must time attacks juuuuust right. Heck, Wrecking Ball from Green Hills: you can smack him once and hide OR multiple times, but there is high risk of getting hit)

2 Doesn't have easy to memorize, repetitive pattern, especially combined with waiting for weak spot reveal (like that damn Octopus from Oil Ocean)

3 Is original and memorable

4 offers challenge (best case scenario: they hard, but count as separate stage, so running out of lives won't force you to repeat whole zones)

Example of terrible boss is Chaos 4 where you just wait for him to stop embarrassing himself. Or Iblis (worm form) which takes little skill, but eternity to kill. Best bosses I ever seen (in 2D platformers anyway) were in Shovel Knight: fast paced, randomized pattern, unique mechanics. You can rush then or wait for perfect moment to strike, but you always have to move.

In Sonic... most bosses in Advance 2 are fun, keeping on your toes all the time (except final boss, screw him). Most bosses in Mania are very creative, but if I had to pick best one gameplay wise it's probably Heavy Shinobi. Waiting for opening takes second/ you must avoid him, stars and explosions/ freezing is annoying but doesn't hurt you, so it's challenging, but not too frustrating.

[Red Hot Jack]

I think the mini bosses are quite meh, except for the Hard Boiled Heavies ones, those are awesome, and obviously I liked all the Eggman bosses, except maybe for Oil Ocean's, that is a bitch.

[NoKaine]

Spoiler

 

GHZ Act 1 - Okay. It's basically the original GHZ boss except you can hit the ball & chain. They at least made it different.

GHZ Act 2 - It was really exciting until I learned that the legs don't hurt you...

CPZ Act 1 - It's good. Not really memorable but it's a nice boss.

CPZ Act 2 - Y'know, if any other Sonic game randomly added Puyo Puyo as a boss, I wouldn't hear such praise. Oh hey, play this entirely different game for a boss! They had to make Eggman rock stupid because of that. Besides that, though, it's a nice callback and I actually like how it puts the chemical motif into use. I'm not really a Puyo Puyo fan but I can't otherwise say anything bad about it.

SPZ Act 1 - I hate how the main fight is sort of automated, and that Sonic slows down when you're not holding forward which, in addition to the slopes, can screw up your timing. It's a pretty repetitive boss too. It's weird that Heavy Gunner's just a miniboss but I think I know why because...

SPZ Act 2 - Weather Globe is pretty fucking good, mate. Nice gimmick, it keeps you on your toes without being unfair, it's so good. The livestream reference is hilarious. Also, it has my favorite zone transition in the game afterwards.

FBZ Act 1 - It's another nice idea, but it's mostly just waiting. By the time you can consistently hit it, the tension of being crushed fades away.

FBZ Act 2 - Fuck this boss. It's just bullshit. The bouncer physics are inconsistent, sometimes you can just flat out fucking miss it, and sometimes Eggman will just stop before he touches the spikes because he hit the floor.

PGZ Act 1 - I like how the game actually informs the player of its weakness before you fight it. It gets over most bosses for not being fucking obtuse like that.

PGZ Act 2 - Heavy Shinobi is also pretty good. It punishes you for taking the easy way and requires you to be aware of your surroundings.

SSZ Act 1 - Again, it's nice. Not much to say.

SSZ Act 2 - Too damn long. Like, pretty much cut the first part out and it would've been fine. I say fine because the Silver Sonic part is also too obtuse and hard to understand. Frankly, I only knew how to win because I saw it before. I admire how it's actually harder to do with Super Sonic because his Spin Dash / Drop Dash just makes the minis clear Metal entirely.

HCZ Act 1 - I don't care if it's easy, a role-reversal was something they needed to do a long time ago. It's just hilarious and I love it.

HCZ Act 2 - First part: Exciting, interesting water chase(?) where you have to brave the danger to win. Second part: Hey, remember the original mini-boss? Well you get exactly that! Should've just ended at the first part.

MSZ Act 1 - Depth perception! Makes the boss more annoying than it needed to be, since it isn't hard at all.

MSZ Act 1 K - Decent boss. Yup.

MSZ Act 2 - As much as I love Team Hooligan coming back, I wish they actually... came back. Also, too easy.

OOZ Act 1 - Why does the single easiest boss also have instant death? Like really. I love his design though.

OOZ Act 2 - Okay, so, am I the only one who didn't have much trouble here? Even when normal Sonic it wasn't that hard. It's a mix of the original Lava Reef mini-boss and the Oil Ocean boss and it's nice. It's not great that you can get trapped under the platforms though.

LRZ Act 1 - It's a waiting game. It's too easy to manipulate it.

LRZ Act 2 S&T - I think the actual hitbox is a bit too small but otherwise it's good. Like Shinobi you can't just take the easy way out.

LRZ Act 2 K - Too many free shots to hit him, otherwise it's a good boss, but for the King of the HBH, a little anti-climactic.  

MMZ Act 1 - Hey, the Final Zone boss! Remember that, kids? Or adults. The fact that you have rings makes it pathetically easy and that Sonic 4-esque "frenzy" mode doesn't change the boss in the slightest. Actually, it's even easier!

MMZ Act 2 - Favorite boss. Period. It's innovative and imaginative without being confusing and obtuse. As Ted of BrainScratchComms said, you can make it as easy or as hard as you want to.

TMZ Act 1 - Hey, remember the Death Egg mini-- yeah, you get the picture.

TMZ Act 2 - My grievances with this boss are solely me being reckless and impatient because it is a good final boss. It brings the villains together and even if he's functionally easy to cheese you have to be good at it.

ERZ - It's a good narrative boss, not so much one to play. One boss is not even a threat (and is the only way to get most of the rings), the othe rhas a telegraphed attack. The biggest danger is accidentally dashing and losing five rings because you tried to fly.

 

It's a long one.

[A super No.1 washedupgamer]

4 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Spoiler

 

Green Hill Act 1

7/10 gets points for being slightly more challenging than the original green hill zone boss.

Green Hill Act 2

9/10 Great act 2 boss. Gets points for having a time limit for challenge. 

Chemical Plant Act 1

10/10 very hard to keep rings at this boss if you're impatient. Nice remix of the original' s act 2 boss.

Chemical Plant Act 2

6/10 fun surprise. Too bad eggman is a little rusty at mean bean. You have to actually try to lose.

 

Studiopolis Act 1

9/10 very fun boss. Top challenge. I lost a lot of lives. It's presentation is amazing.

Studiopolis Act 2

10/10 This boss has it all. Presentation, challenge, creativity all in one.

Flying Battery Act 1

8/10 very nerve wracking boss with a time limit. Lacks a little more challenge by not spawning different robots.

Flying Battery Act 2

9/10 Amazing. The buildup to this was just amazing. The challenge is there. Only problem is that you will sometimes miss or not hit eggman hard enough.

Press Garden Act 1

8/10 nothing special, just break his saws and hit him. Kinda reminds me of carnival nights zone miniboss.

Press Garden Act 2

10/10 Sonic vs a robot ninja. What can get better than that?

Stardust Speedway Act 1

7/10 Pretty easy simple boss. Hard to lose at this.

Stardust Speedway Act 2

10/10 What can I say? I'm a sucker for metal sonic bosses. This provides good challenge, presentation, and 4 phases that makes it an epic climax boss.

Hidrocity Act 1

8/10 An unexpected role reversal that eggman had long coming to him. It's fun to mess around with the bombs and toy with eggman up and down but still too easy.

Hidrocity Act 2

8/10 the first phase was challenging but lost its momentum when sonic had to go back to being like a shirt in a washing machine.

Mirage Saloon Act 1 Sonic & Tails

9/10 fun boss. Reminded me of marble garden's act 2 boss a little. I just wanted more out of it.

Mirage Saloon Act 1 Knuckles

7/10 great throwback to gigapolis zone. It's really easy if you're patient but you stand a chance of losing rings if you're trying to beat him quick.

Mirage Saloon Act 2

10/10 fun boss. Very challenging to do a no hit run on it. (Those pesky hooligans)

Oil Ocean Act 1

8/10 very easy boss if you just go ahead and continuously hit him. Or else, he gets annoying to deal with.

Oil Ocean Act 2

10/10 Now this is a very controversial boss but I love it. The buildup and presentation is all there. The added arms make it more challenging. The last boss where eggman's epic boss theme is heard adds to the tension. They took the original boss and made it much more intimidating.

Lava Reef Act 1

9/10 challenging boss and clever. All you have to do is be patient.

Lava Reef Act 2 Sonic & Tails

7/10 sometimes I love it. Sometimes I hate it. I like the challenge but riders small hitbox kind of kills the joy for me.

Lava Reef Act 2 Knuckles

9/10 Great boss but he's always open to attack until he powers up.

Metallic Madness Act 1

5/10 the original final boss  with a pinch mode. *Yawn*

Metallic Madness Act 2

6/10 It's a fun goofy boss but it's over too quick and too easy.

 

Titanic Monarch Act 1

8/10 Was expecting red eye to do his laser thing but I was surprised. The elevator part was meh.

Titanic Monarch Act 2

9/10 challenging good boss that lasts for a while. I lost a good number of lives and got my first game over. Beating the heavies as a requirement would've made it too long.

Egg Reverie

75¿€/23q10 Fun boss and a good change up from the usual doomsday zone esque formula.

 

 

 

Ratings in the spoiler tag.

Higher points means I liked the challenge.

[MetalSkulkBane]

One more thing I want to add: I love Metal Sonic. I hate his boss fight. Last part to be specific.

"Hey guys, remember classic race against Metal in CD? How can we make it more awesome?"

"I know! Let's remove all obstacles from the track! And make Metal less aggressive. And here's the best part: remember that iconic insta-kill laser? Let's replace it with spikes that keep your rings around, making it almost impossible to die"

[BlueFlare]

  Hide contents

Green Hill Act 1

7/10. Back when this was introduced, I thought it looks easy, but surprisingly it took a few tries to not get hit by its spikes.

Green Hill Act 2

9/10. Unexpected surprise. I like the idea of chasing boss and the music makes it even more intimidating, fits this situation perfectly. Could be one of my favorite bosses ever.

Chemical Plant Act 1

6/10. First encounter was kinda tough. After a few plays it got easy, though, like most bosses do. I would say it was an OK boss for Act 1.

 

Chemical Plant Act 2

8/10. Wow! This one got me. Really cool idea to bring Mean Bean back,. Fun surprise but hard to lose and lacks info for beginners.

 

Studiopolis Act 1

10/10. I'm a fan of running bosses and the feeling in this one is top notch. The whole scene during the fight is just perfect. I wish the Metal Sonic battle would've been like more this.

 

Studiopolis Act 2

7/10. This one is a good mix of everything. Creative. It could be harder, though, at least for Sonic and Tails. Also, I was waiting to see blizzard warning, too. 

Flying Battery Act 1

6/10. Nice idea, but I would've liked if it created badniks that would hurt you, but yeah, they're just scrap.

 

Flying Battery Act 2

9/10. Loved this one. Vertcial scrolling, cool concept and it's quite fun to play once you get it done right. Music fits this boss very well!

 

Press Garden Act 1

3/10. Way too easy, no real threat in this one. But I can see space for improvement.

 

Press Garden Act 2

9/10. Heavy Shinobi is my favorite next to Gunner. Cool and fun battle. Quite challenging too.

 

Stardust Speedway Act 1

6/10. Pretty basic stuff, actually. I would say this is also easy, not the worst boss but nothing special. I like the beam charge and the background, though. 

Stardust Speedway Act 2

6/10. Okay, I'm really, rally into Metal Sonic and this boss felt kinda disappointing. It's not hard to defeat and even not as good as CD's boss which was already pretty simple and linear, but had a better feeling to it.

 

Hidrocity Act 1

7/10. This one was hilarious. I have to admit it made me laugh for real. Fun but gets kinda boring after a few plays. But it's still funny and it gets a 7.

Hidrocity Act 2

8/10. I love this boss and the fact that it's split into two parts. I like that it's underwater (obviously) and it's a chase. Fun and intimidating, also adequately challenging.

 

Mirage Saloon Act 1 Sonic & Tails

6.5/10. Visually very cool. Not very difficult but needs precise timing to hit it

 

Mirage Saloon Act 1 Knuckles

6/10. I found this boss not very challenging, it just repeats the same pattern which is easy to memorize.

 

Mirage Saloon Act 2

8/10. Rated this higher for bringing the boys back. Too bad this fight is super easy and I never had serious trouble beating it.

 

Oil Ocean Act 1

6/10. Cool concept, was pretty challenging at first but once you get it, you can destroy it very quickly before it gets into action.

Oil Ocean Act 2

9/10. Huge props for this boss, it's so cool and fun.  One of the more difficult bosses also, I think I died the most in this one.  Simply love this fight, Music fits really well here as well!

Lava Reef Act 1

6/10. This was a decent challenge but overall pretty meh.

Lava Reef Act 2 Sonic & Tails

8/10. I like the challenge here and Heavy Rider's design. I never got how I should defeat this boss but I have done it four times now, so...I think I got it.

Lava Reef Act 2 Knuckles

8/10. A fun battle and nice to see Hidden Palace return. I like Heavy King's design as well.

 

Metallic Madness Act 1

7/10. Nice redo for Sonic 1 final boss but I barely has anything new to it. I got stressed on the second part which was sick!

 

Metallic Madness Act 2

7/10. Cool idea, but was a big meh. It's way too easy for the second last zone's Act 2 boss. For its looks I give it a 7.

Titanic Monarch Act 1

3/10. Not much has changed here. I find this boss rather annoying.

 

Titanic Monarch Act 2

8/10. Yay, I like the design here. Though, this was easier than I thought. Once you get the lower tubes out of the way, this boss is no problem. Music is good and fitting.

Egg Reverie

7/10. Weird but cool battle, I like the idea of double bosses. Wasn't too difficult, decent challenge.

[superman43]

Spoiler

Green Hill

Act 1 - Nice for a starter, improvement over the original GHZ Boss. Overall 9/10.

Act 2 - If the legs actually hurt the character it would have 10/10. 9/10

Chemical Plant

Act 1 - I just love that it is similar to Big Icedus in Ice Cap. What I don´t like is that it can hurt Super character after defeat. 8/10

Act 2 - Puyo Puyo... really clever idea to add that and for all who think that a newcomer might have a problem with it... nope, Eggman was programmed to be so dumb, that even dumbest of people should find out at some time what is needed to defeat him faster (if he doesn´t blow up himself before the moment). 10/10

Studiopolis

Act 1 - Heavy Gunner - the battle feels very good for some reason. You can well guess whether there are any inclines or declines when running and the missiles are not difficult to dodge. But it takes quite too much time for a mini-boss. 9/10

Act 2 - the amount of references, weather forecast it is total fun. With Knuckles a bit decent challenge, with Sonic way too easy battle. And with Tails... well, a joke. 8/10

Flying Battery

Act 1 - it´s good but there was more potential in it (yes, only the broken Tubinauts reviving is something not really interesting) 6/10

Act 2 - One of the best bosses in the game. It reminds me a bit of Sonic CD bosses, but with a better design, overall appearance and way more clever idea. Yeah the mechanics are not the best and the spider may suddenly fall down and increase the chance of hitting the spikes, but who actually cares ? 10/10

Press Garden

Act 1 - Shiversaw reminds me (for some odd reason) Launch Base zone´s mini-boss and well, I must say both are my favourites. 10/10 (not to mention that any character can moonwalk to Act 2, at least on PC, which is an added bonus)

Act 2 - I really hated Heavy Shinobi on the first playthrough but I must admit that it have all the properties of a good boss as said by others earlier. 10/10

Stardust Speedway

Act 1 - When I first saw that oversized Hotaru, I thought... well, it looks like a fan game element is there. But actually, it´s quite a good thing on its own. 7/10 for having more focus on basic badniks than on the big one.

Act 2 - Metal Sonic fight in Mania isn´t as good as Sonic CD one. Not even a little challenging (even S4E2 Metal Sonic was at the very least a little challenging... yes, I said that). For me 5/10.

Hydrocity

Act 1 - Nice touch. 8/10 for being kind of a joke battle after the first playthrough.

Act 2 - I think I am the only one who thinks this fight is good all-over. The first part feels climactic and I can imagine it being frustrating for a new player. The Big Shaker part is a bit too long (6 hits as in original would be enough), considering that the shaking is starting far sooner than in the original, but otherwise appropriate. But hey, turn Super and sometimes you would need 7 hits only. 9/10

Mirage Saloon

Act 1 ST - Over-sized badnik again. Tricky to hit sometimes and when it comes from behind there is a strong possibility of taking a hit. 5/10

Act 1 K - Better adaptation of the fight, both are somewhat visual nod to Marble Garden boss. 5.5/10

Act 2 - As said, difficult to get through without losing rings at least once. Team Hooligan cameo is a plus. 6.5/10 

Oil Ocean

Act 1 - Fits perfectly. Though the instant death awaiting on the top was not the best idea. 8/10

Act 2 - Add-on to the original boss. However, it´s also a large Badnik (I think Eggman in Mania has some fetish in it or what). Inclusion of the Lava Reef shooters as tentacles was good. 8/10

Lava Reef

Act 1 - I like the inclusion of Mystic Cave´s falling debris, lava gasp from Marble Zone heating up the mini-boss to cut off the armor. 7/10

Act 2 ST - Small Hitbox, it´s somehow annoying that there is no real kind of pattern (I don´t say it should have a strict one, but at least it should have some logic in it) 6/10

Act 2 K - Other than the comic bubble, charging-up and the electric balls throwing part the Heavy King sucks as a boss. 6/10

Metallic Madness

Act 1 - I like Sonic 1´s Final Boss. And the second part is good in being a bit different. 9/10 for being merciless to players standing on the sides before the battle.

Act 2 - What didn´t fit anywhere else is there. Pluses - Amy Doll, cameo of those 2 bosses we all know, being tiny, Eggman being thrown out of the machine entirely. 9/10 

Titanic Monarch

Act 1 - Penultimate fight as well as in S3. Thank god there is not the laser with two platforms. Not because of difficulcy, but because how dumb that was. But I think that they should add something different as the second phase. 7/10

Act 2 - Final boss. Well, sort of. It´s easy to beat with Lighting Shield and not much harder without it either. The Phantom Heavies... a little bit more fair than the actual fights before. 7.5/10

Egg Reverie

Eggman - He is harmless. That´s no good. At least the attack with activated Ruby should be in some cycles (not going all the time when he is at the top) and should harm Super Sonic. 3/10

Phantom King - Yes, the spheres are difficult to dodge sometimes, but staying on the ground you can take him down quite simply. 6/10

 

My rating.

[mikeblastdude]

Here are my thoughts on the Sonic Mania bosses.

Spoiler

Green Hill

Act 1 - Really good for a first boss. Easy to figure out while still providing a good challenge when you're just learning the ropes.
8/10

Act 2 - A pretty fun boss and a good take on an old classic. It may be a bit too tough for the boss of the first zone for someone who's new to Sonic though (this comes from witnessing friends having trouble).
7/10

 

Chemical Plant

Act 1 - A pretty good mini-boss, and the Ice Cap callback is nice. Can't think of much else to say, but I like it quite a bit.
8/10

Act 2 - This boss obviously has many differing opinions, but as a Puyo Puyo fan who played a lot of Mean Bean Machine back in the day, I absolutely love it. I think it's brilliant. It's also good that they made Eggman pretty easy to defeat, since not everyone will be familiar with this and know what to do right away.
10/10

 

Studiopolis

Act 1 - I kind of like this mini-boss. I usually don't like auto-runners, but it works here. My major complaint is that there's a bit too much going on  at once on the screen, and it can be very jarring. Otherwise, not bad.
6/10

Act 2 - I love this boss battle so much. It fits the theme of the level really well, and it's always switching itself up with the different weather situations. I only wish it were a bit more of a challenge, since you can often hit Eggman as he hovers around.
10/10

 

Flying Battery

Act 1 - The whole junkpile idea is neat, but this basically amounts to "hit a few enemies and them spam-hit the boss until you win." Not bad, though.
6/10

Act 2 - I like the boss battle itself, but it feels a bit... unstable. Like, a lot of times after launching off the swinging poles, I'll go right through Eggman into the spikes. Other times, I hit him, but he stops himself right away. It gets kind of annoying. But when it's playing well, it's pretty fun.
6/10

 

Press Garden

Act 1 - I don't like this one too much. It either feels like it goes on too long as you wait for it to slowly destory the boxes, or you can sacrifice rings and defeat it the easy way by  constantly hitting it after taking hits yourself.
4/10

Act 2 - I really like this one. Avoiding ninja stars and countering his spins with your own spin attack it lots of fun.
9/10

 

Stardust Speedway

Act 1 - I really can't think of much to say here, but I like it. It's a solid min-boss.
7/10

Act 2 - I may be in the minority here, because I love this boss battle. I'm a huge Metal Sonic fan, so that may be part of it, but I just really enjoy this battle. The Stardust Speedway Bad Future remix is great and wonderfully obnoxious, avoiding Metal's attacks keeps you on your toes, and launching the mini Silver Sonics is a really nice touch. My only problem with this is that it's a bit too easy. I wish there was just a tiny bit more of a challenge here.
9/10

 

Hydrocity

Act 1 - The role reversal is hilariously awesome, but this is just way too easy. Still kind of fun though.
6/10

Act 2 - I really like this one. It's tough, like it should be at this point in the game. The constant need for air bubbles makes things tense, but it's a fun challenge.
8/10

 

Mirage Saloon

Act 1 ST - I am not a fan of this mini-boss. The depth perception is really annoying to figure out, and there's way too much waiting around between chances to hit.
3/10

Act 1 K - This one's pretty cool, and a nice callback to Sonic Chaos (I believe?).
7/10

Act 2 - I love this one! Very dynamic, and although it's not actually them, it's nice to see these guys again. Too easy though.
8/10

 

Oil Ocean

Act 1 - Way too easy to just take out right away, unless you encounter a cheap death from the spike ceiling.
5/10

Act 2 - It may be a bit too cheap, but I still really like this boss all things considered. I mean, it's supposed to be pretty tough at this point.
8/10

 

Lava Reef

Act 1 - A good mini-boss. Pretty forgettable, though.
7/10

Act 2 ST - This one's weird and unpredictable, and I like it! Lots of fun.
9/10

Act 2 K - This one's pretty cool. A bit on the easy side, but still fun.
8/10

 

Metallic Madness

Act 1 - A good callback, and the second part of it is a nice added challenge.
8/10

Act 2 - Such an awesome idea for a boss! This one's great, and taking out all of the mini bosses within the boss is wonderfully hectic.
9/10

 

Titanic Monarch

Act 1 - The first part is fine, but the second part is kind of annoying because with the gravity shifts, I'm constantly having to wait to land hit. Can you tell I'm impatient?
6/10

Act 2 - This works well for a "final" boss. You'll be losing rings constantly, and it's not always easy to get them back. The music is really good, too.
8/10

 

Egg Reverie
This is pretty cool for the "extra" final battle. The constant need for rings keep things tense, and it's pretty unique as well.
7/10

I'll just repeat what I said about the Metal Sonic boss and say that I seem to like that one a lot more than most others. It's one of my favorite parts of the game. I'll accept being in the minority for that one.

[Grunt]

While they are not all necessarily great, overall, these were the best collection of bosses within one Sonic game. I wish they'd included a Boss Run mode as an Extra! 

I'm not sure which boss is my favorite overall, but I think Hydrocity and Metallic Madness are the strongest Zones in terms of bosses, in that both Acts of both Zones have great boss battles.

Ratings in the spoiler tag below.

Spoiler

 

Green Hill Act 1 — 9/10.  Fun remix of original GHZ boss with the Death Egg twist. Simple, quick, clever, and fun.

 

Green Hill Act 2 — 9/10.  The first time I played, it took me a bit to realize that he didn't only throw bombs as I was trying to keep ahead of him, waiting for him to leap into the air or something like in Sonic 2.  Anyway, fun and clever.

 

Chemical Plant Act 1 — 7/10. Not particularly fun or memorable. 

 

Chemical Plant Act 2 — 9/10. Really fantastic surprise, totally fits the level theme, and a great way to introduce a one-off mechanic. I wish it were harder, and that when you unlock Mean Bean mode, that it used this visual instead of a generic Puyo Puyo skin. 

 

Studiopolis Act 1 — 9/10. This one especially reminds me of a Treasure-style boss fight. It's easy to imagine this being in Gunstar Heroes. 

 

Studiopolis Act 2 — 10/10. Very clever and a fun mechanic.

 

Flying Battery Act 1 — 10/10. Love the concept and the mechanics on how to bounce your hit, love how it remixed the "overhead laser" thing from earlier games, and love how it incorporated a Star Wars reference (besides the Death Egg).

 

Flying Battery Act 2 — 9/10.  I like this boss a lot, though I know it's frustrated some people. The mechanic is maybe a slight bit confusing at first, but it's totally intuitive.

 

Press Garden Act 1 — 1/10.   I have yet to beat this boss without cheesing it. It's slow and annoying to guide it to the boxes that break it's saw, and since that's all there is to this boss, it's not very fun.  

 

Press Garden Act 2 — 10/10. Possibly my favorite of the Hardboiled Heavies bosses. A good challenge, and very unique.

 

Stardust Speedway Act 1 — 2/10. The gigantic lightning bug is a charming visual, but this is too easy and too boring.

 

Stardust Speedway Act 2 — 8/10. It's fun "racing" Metal Sonic and dodging his attacks, and the Silver Sonic mid-section is fun, but I wish they were separate. The Silver Sonic thing should have been Act 1's boss, and Act 2's boss should have been all about "racing" Metal Sonic.

 

Hydrocity Act 1 — 10/10. One of my favorite bosses in the game. Eggman in his swim-gear is hilarious, and although I've never actually been damaged any time I've played this fight, you do have to be careful about the timing with the bombs so it makes it just challenging enough to be fun each time.

 

Hydrocity Act 2 — 10/10. Best back-to-back bosses in the game, I think. 

 

Mirage Saloon Act 1 Sonic & Tails — 6/10. It's a pretty fun visual, but it's too long and not very interesting. 

 

Mirage Saloon Act 1 Knuckles — 7/10. A little better (and quicker) than Sonic/Tails' Act 1 boss here, but still pretty basic.

 

Mirage Saloon Act 2 — 9/10. I'm not above this kind of nostalgic fan-service. But the nice thing here is how each "character" has a different attack method, keeping the boss battle varied.

 

Oil Ocean Act 1 — 5/10. Fun visual,  cool concept, but just way too quick and easy.

 

Oil Ocean Act 2 — 5/10. It's challenging, but not in a fun way. 

 

Lava Reef Act 1 — 5/10. I like the ideas here with the ground being drilled and the Mystic Cave-style falling spikes, but in execution, it's pretty average and bland. 

 

Lava Reef Act 2 Sonic & Tails  — 7/10.  Pretty cool and fun boss visually and conceptually, but a little too easy.

 

Lava Reef Act 2 Knuckles — 9/10. I really like the story element at play here, and the mechanic is fun too.

 

Metallic Madness Act 1 — 10/10. Cool choice to include this boss here, and the new spin on it with the ending can be a bit tricky! Well done.

 

Metallic Madness Act 2 — 10/10. Very creative and fun! 

 

Titanic Monarch Act 1 — 7/10. A decent challenge and fairly memorable, though I find it to be a bit slow and annoying.

 

Titanic Monarch Act 2 — 7/10. It's a fun concept for a boss, but it's too easy as the "final boss." 

 

Egg Reverie — 9/10.  It's not terribly dissimilar from other Super Sonic "true final boss" levels, but I do appreciate the new twists here: I like that the Heavy King is battling Eggman while you battle both of them, and I like that Super Sonic can receive damage and lose rings, which does make it fairly challenging .

 

 

[JezMM]

On 09/19/2017 at 5:20 PM, MetalSkulkBane said:

One more thing I want to add: I love Metal Sonic. I hate his boss fight. Last part to be specific.

"Hey guys, remember classic race against Metal in CD? How can we make it more awesome?"

"I know! Let's remove all obstacles from the track! And make Metal less aggressive. And here's the best part: remember that iconic insta-kill laser? Let's replace it with spikes that keep your rings around, making it almost impossible to die"

Making the last part hard would've been total bullshit unless they included checkpoints. That boss is like over 5 minutes long, longer if you don't know the trick to knocking the silver sonics into Metal. Having to repeat all that if you die at the very end would be awful. I think perceived rather than actual danger was the right call.

[MetalSkulkBane]

On 9/21/2017 at 8:16 PM, JezMM said:

Making the last part hard would've been total bullshit unless they included checkpoints. That boss is like over 5 minutes long, longer if you don't know the trick to knocking the silver sonics into Metal. Having to repeat all that if you die at the very end would be awful. I think perceived rather than actual danger was the right call.

That's quantity over quality, just cut the phase 1. Heck, remove the race if you're going to make it awful.

[JezMM]

Just now, MetalSkulkBane said:

That's quantity over quality, just cut the phase 1. Heck, remove the race if you're going to make it awful.

It's kind of meant to feel like a big deal, like a big, mid-game climax.  I'm glad they made it so long and feel like a long struggle to take Metal down and give him a big set-piece.  Climbing up the half-built Titanic Monarch would've felt less cool if it didn't feel like a genuine climb.

But it's still only the boss of the 6th of 12 zones.  I don't think it's unreasonable to make it forgiving.

To be honest though, unorthodox as it is, I think a mid-boss checkpoint would've been fine.  Lose the "pushing the rings" aspect of the spike wall with the safety net of the checkpoint and it would've been fair.

[MetalSkulkBane]

1 hour ago, JezMM said:

It's kind of meant to feel like a big deal, like a big, mid-game climax.  I'm glad they made it so long and feel like a long struggle to take Metal down and give him a big set-piece.  Climbing up the half-built Titanic Monarch would've felt less cool if it didn't feel like a genuine climb.

But it's still only the boss of the 6th of 12 zones.  I don't think it's unreasonable to make it forgiving.

To be honest though, unorthodox as it is, I think a mid-boss checkpoint would've been fine.  Lose the "pushing the rings" aspect of the spike wall with the safety net of the checkpoint and it would've been fair.

"big mid-game climax" feels a cheap when very final part is the easiest part.

But here;'s a crazy ideas: start act 2 with Metal race as a part of a stage (not too long, but with actual obstacles). Then he crashes into the wall, you don't think about him, level goes on. You're at the boss, wonder who you'll meet, BAM, Metal survived and is angry. Insert boss battle, minus the final part.

(Perfectly, bosses would be in separate acts and level select would let you move straight to them. That way bosses could be made harder, but losing to them would be more forgiving.)

[molul]

Special mention: 

9/10 for me. I could easily use it instead of Chemical Plant Act 1, Stardust Speedway Act 1, Press Garden Act 1, Mirage Saloon Act 1 or even Titanic Monarch Act 1.

[superman43]

5 hours ago, molul said:

Special mention: 

9/10 for me. I could easily use it instead of Chemical Plant Act 1, Stardust Speedway Act 1, Press Garden Act 1, Mirage Saloon Act 1 or even Titanic Monarch Act 1.

I agree with Chemical Plant or Mirage Saloon, but not the rest.

[TailsTellsTales]

To the OP: What is with you and wanting HARD BOSSES?!?!?! That is so weird to me! Like you gave them a worse rating because it was not hard enough and caused you to rage? Rant over.

 

Green Hill 1: Spinning Spike Balls of Doom! 9/10 Nice, easy, first boss. Also love the mini boss music.

Green Hill 2: Final Boss as First Level boss. 8/10 Little tricky at first. You can use Tails and not even hit the boss and just land on top of the capsule.

Chemical Plant 1: 5/10 Boring. Bland. But at least it's easy.

Chemical Plant 2: 10/10 Epic boss. Whoever did this. One word. Genius.

Studiopolis 1: 6/10 I could not figure this out. But it is okay boss. Jumping is tricky.

Studiopolis 2: 8/10 Very good boss. I can not believe I am saying this. But too easy. Not enough weather forecasts. Also no snow?

Flying Battery 1: 6/10 Bland. At least it's easy.

Flying Battery 2: 6/10 Annoying. Though creative.

Press Garden 1: 8/10 Simple mini boss to beat.

Press Garden 2: 6/10 Kind of annoying.

Stardust Speedway 1: 8/10 Nice boss and it easy.

Stardust Speedway 2: 5/10 Very long and generally hard boss especially since time over could happen often.

Hydrocity 1: 10/10 Nice twist.

Hydrocity 2: 7/10 The second boss is the same thing from before.

Mirage Saloon 1: 7/10 ST, 7/10 K Nothing to say here much.

Mirage Saloon 2: 8/10 Team Hooligan was nice touch.

Oil Ocean 1: 8/10 Another easy boss to beat.

Oil Ocean 2: 7/10 Tricky but easy.

Lava Reef 1: 7/10 Not sure I am even hitting him.

Lava Reef 2: 6/10 Very tricky to hit the boss. Though it amusing seeing him riding the enraged Motobug like a motorcycle around.

Lava Reef K: 7/10 Not sure. I kind of took him out really fast and was scared it would be hard boss than.

Metallic Madness 1: 8/10 Nice twist on Sonic 1 final boss there.

Metallic Madness 2: 10/10 Definitely one of my favorite bosses in the game.

Titanic Monarch 1: 8/10 It is alright.

Titanic Monarch 2: 9/10 For the final boss I was very pleased that this was not too hard. It was hard but the right amount of hard for final boss level that is.

Eggman Reverie: 9/10 I get to fly that is all I got to say!

[molul]

11 hours ago, TailsTellsTales said:

To the OP: What is with you and wanting HARD BOSSES?!?!?! That is so weird to me! Like you gave them a worse rating because it was not hard enough and caused you to rage? Rant over.

  Reveal hidden contents

Green Hill 1: Spinning Spike Balls of Doom! 9/10 Nice, easy, first boss. Also love the mini boss music.

Green Hill 2: Final Boss as First Level boss. 8/10 Little tricky at first. You can use Tails and not even hit the boss and just land on top of the capsule.

Chemical Plant 1: 5/10 Boring. Bland. But at least it's easy.

Chemical Plant 2: 10/10 Epic boss. Whoever did this. One word. Genius.

Studiopolis 1: 6/10 I could not figure this out. But it is okay boss. Jumping is tricky.

Studiopolis 2: 8/10 Very good boss. I can not believe I am saying this. But too easy. Not enough weather forecasts. Also no snow?

Flying Battery 1: 6/10 Bland. At least it's easy.

Flying Battery 2: 6/10 Annoying. Though creative.

Press Garden 1: 8/10 Simple mini boss to beat.

Press Garden 2: 6/10 Kind of annoying.

Stardust Speedway 1: 8/10 Nice boss and it easy.

Stardust Speedway 2: 5/10 Very long and generally hard boss especially since time over could happen often.

Hydrocity 1: 10/10 Nice twist.

Hydrocity 2: 7/10 The second boss is the same thing from before.

Mirage Saloon 1: 7/10 ST, 7/10 K Nothing to say here much.

Mirage Saloon 2: 8/10 Team Hooligan was nice touch.

Oil Ocean 1: 8/10 Another easy boss to beat.

Oil Ocean 2: 7/10 Tricky but easy.

Lava Reef 1: 7/10 Not sure I am even hitting him.

Lava Reef 2: 6/10 Very tricky to hit the boss. Though it amusing seeing him riding the enraged Motobug like a motorcycle around.

Lava Reef K: 7/10 Not sure. I kind of took him out really fast and was scared it would be hard boss than.

Metallic Madness 1: 8/10 Nice twist on Sonic 1 final boss there.

Metallic Madness 2: 10/10 Definitely one of my favorite bosses in the game.

Titanic Monarch 1: 8/10 It is alright.

Titanic Monarch 2: 9/10 For the final boss I was very pleased that this was not too hard. It was hard but the right amount of hard for final boss level that is.

Eggman Reverie: 9/10 I get to fly that is all I got to say!

Well, I guess I'd just like harder bosses...

[Alienrun]

On 10/1/2017 at 6:33 PM, TailsTellsTales said:

To the OP: What is with you and wanting HARD BOSSES?!?!?! That is so weird to me! Like you gave them a worse rating because it was not hard enough and caused you to rage? Rant over.

  Reveal hidden contents

Green Hill 1: Spinning Spike Balls of Doom! 9/10 Nice, easy, first boss. Also love the mini boss music.

Green Hill 2: Final Boss as First Level boss. 8/10 Little tricky at first. You can use Tails and not even hit the boss and just land on top of the capsule.

Chemical Plant 1: 5/10 Boring. Bland. But at least it's easy.

Chemical Plant 2: 10/10 Epic boss. Whoever did this. One word. Genius.

Studiopolis 1: 6/10 I could not figure this out. But it is okay boss. Jumping is tricky.

Studiopolis 2: 8/10 Very good boss. I can not believe I am saying this. But too easy. Not enough weather forecasts. Also no snow?

Flying Battery 1: 6/10 Bland. At least it's easy.

Flying Battery 2: 6/10 Annoying. Though creative.

Press Garden 1: 8/10 Simple mini boss to beat.

Press Garden 2: 6/10 Kind of annoying.

Stardust Speedway 1: 8/10 Nice boss and it easy.

Stardust Speedway 2: 5/10 Very long and generally hard boss especially since time over could happen often.

Hydrocity 1: 10/10 Nice twist.

Hydrocity 2: 7/10 The second boss is the same thing from before.

Mirage Saloon 1: 7/10 ST, 7/10 K Nothing to say here much.

Mirage Saloon 2: 8/10 Team Hooligan was nice touch.

Oil Ocean 1: 8/10 Another easy boss to beat.

Oil Ocean 2: 7/10 Tricky but easy.

Lava Reef 1: 7/10 Not sure I am even hitting him.

Lava Reef 2: 6/10 Very tricky to hit the boss. Though it amusing seeing him riding the enraged Motobug like a motorcycle around.

Lava Reef K: 7/10 Not sure. I kind of took him out really fast and was scared it would be hard boss than.

Metallic Madness 1: 8/10 Nice twist on Sonic 1 final boss there.

Metallic Madness 2: 10/10 Definitely one of my favorite bosses in the game.

Titanic Monarch 1: 8/10 It is alright.

Titanic Monarch 2: 9/10 For the final boss I was very pleased that this was not too hard. It was hard but the right amount of hard for final boss level that is.

Eggman Reverie: 9/10 I get to fly that is all I got to say!

Are you saying you don't like hard bosses? Like you want bosses to be piss easy all the time?

What kind of taste is this? lol I'm legit curious to see your responce...

--------------------------------------

Also I'm kinda surprised noone bothered to actually RANK the bosses from least to most favorite! :/

[molul]

If I could ask, I'd prefer Treasure-style bosses. Dynamite Headdy would be a perfect reference. Maybe not that insane amount, but imagine Sonic fighting the Twin Freaks <3

 

On 3/10/2017 at 7:50 AM, Alienrun said:

 

Also I'm kinda surprised noone bothered to actually RANK the bosses from least to most favorite! :/

That might make another topic  I mean, it's already a long task going through all bosses, rating them and commenting something.

[Alienrun]

2 hours ago, molul said:

If I could ask, I'd prefer Treasure-style bosses. Dynamite Headdy would be a perfect reference. Maybe not that insane amount, but imagine Sonic fighting the Twin Freaks <3

 

That might make another topic  I mean, it's already a long task going through all bosses, rating them and commenting something.

Might just be me, but I find it easier to comment on something when I give that thing context, in this case the context being a comparison to every other boss. There is no comparison here, thus no context, saying a boss is "well designed" or "cheap" can mean anything and yet nothing at the same time!

Then again if I were less lazy I would do that myself...well its more of a lack of interest than anything, the game is too new also so my thoughts on each "boss" isn't exactly solidified either!

[TailsTellsTales]

On 10/2/2017 at 11:50 PM, Alienrun said:

Are you saying you don't like hard bosses? Like you want bosses to be piss easy all the time?

What kind of taste is this? lol I'm legit curious to see your responce...

--------------------------------------

Also I'm kinda surprised noone bothered to actually RANK the bosses from least to most favorite! :/

I prefer easy bosses in the beginning and slightly harder in the end. But yeah I definitely do not want hard bosses. Why would you want a difficult boss that will make you get very upset when your can have fun interesting boss that is beatable?

[Eurisko]

Oil Ocean Zone's boss is an absolute nightmare, an hour and a half i sat there the first time through trying to beat it.

[Alienrun]

On 10/7/2017 at 6:01 PM, TailsTellsTales said:

I prefer easy bosses in the beginning and slightly harder in the end. But yeah I definitely do not want hard bosses. Why would you want a difficult boss that will make you get very upset when your can have fun interesting boss that is beatable?

1. Hard bosses don't get me upset

2. The reward for beating a hard boss is immense satisfaction that you simply don't get by beating an easy boss

3. Saying a hard boss is "unbeatable" is a lack of confidence lol

4. Challenge and fun are not mutually exclusive, in fact, I argue if done correctly...difficulty can enhance one's enjoyment of a boss sustantually!

14 hours ago, Eurisko said:

Oil Ocean Zone's boss is an absolute nightmare, an hour and a half i sat there the first time through trying to beat it.

I've heard people say this boss is hard (for some unknown reason) but this is the first time I've heard someone say it took them this long...like wow...call me surprised!

[Eurisko]

9 hours ago, Alienrun said:

I've heard people say this boss is hard (for some unknown reason) but this is the first time I've heard someone say it took them this long...like wow...call me surprised!

Yeah took me while , and probably caught me off guard as i didn't find the bosses leading up to this that difficult. I've beat it a ton of times since and not such a big deal now.

I do agree with you comment of how tough bosses grant satisfaction when beaten , I struggled with 'Perfect dark gia' at the end of unleashed but when i defeated it.... felt great. Games these days half the time don't present a challenge when it comes to final boss fights. Resident Evil 7 I'm looking at you.