Should Bosses Be Fought More Than Once?

[IceBrand]

A lot of people say it depends so I now ask, what enemy retreats throughout the series do you think were handled well and which ones could/should have been avoided?

The Black Knight from FE9 and 10 is a good example. In short he tells you he was holding back in his last fight. Other than him I can't really think of anyone else.

[Jedi]

A lot of people say it depends so I now ask, what enemy retreats throughout the series do you think were handled well and which ones could/should have been avoided?

The Black Knight, as Paladin just said. Was handled very well and I got a Darth Vader vibe from him [and Arthurian lore stuff obviously with Gawain and Ragnelle for crying out loud].

Would Valter count as a multiple fight boss? That is just a cutscene with Seth the first time they duel but would you count him?

[Paper Jam]

What about Muarim and Ena in FE9? You only fight them once, but they definitely don't get killed after you fight them.

[BrightBow]

What about Muarim and Ena in FE9? You only fight them once, but they definitely don't get killed after you fight them.

Muarim shouldn't count, seeing how he had no foreshadowing and you fight him when you first see him and he joins the group immediately.

Ena is probably a better example. While she was no recurring boss, she could have been. You didn't know any better until the end of the game.

Despite not suffering a permanent defeat, defeating her nevertheless meant something because it had actual consequences.

She only got away because Nasir helped her out. He revealed himself as a mole in the process, a ruse he started all the way back in chapter 11.

But if she was fought again, I probably would have preferred seeing her reduced to mini boss.

Anyway, compare that to Aversa, who just runs away offscreen. She is dismissed in the cheapest way possible just to be fought later in a filler chapter.

So I say that like most things, the effectiveness of this trope depends more on the "how" and less on the "if".

In general, I definitely like it, when important antagonists have some presence on the map on occasion.

Of course, if there is stat fluctuation, I want it to be justified.

Like Lyon being defeatable because his body hasn't adjusted to the demon king yet, so he can't use his full power.

I definitely do not want to see a supposed badass general see with 10x the stats latter in the game without explanation.

Edited June 11, 2013 by BrightBow

[Anouleth]

In Advance Wars, you only fight the same COs again and again... I was vaguely amused by the way that at the end of every mission, Jake would be all "damn, they got away AGAIN". I guess it makes more sense though, since they're only commanders and not actually taking part in hand-to-hand combat.