the other protagonist is a boss fight

notes used to specify when it's a noncanon challenge

Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War
Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War
noncanon mission in which cipher fights mobius-one
Anarchy Reigns
Anarchy Reigns
Armored Core: For Answer
Armored Core: For Answer
Astral Chain
Astral Chain
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Chaos Rings
Chaos Rings
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
Devil May Cry 4
Devil May Cry 4
Devil May Cry 5
Devil May Cry 5
Double Dragon
Double Dragon
Drakengard 2
Drakengard 2
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Final Fantasy XIII-2
lightning
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain
Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts II
The Last of Us Part II
The Last of Us Part II
Library of Ruina
Library of Ruina
Live A Live
Live A Live
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Mega Man X5
Mega Man X5
Metal Gear
Metal Gear
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
NieR: Automata
NieR: Automata
Nioh 2
Nioh 2
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir
Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 Royal
P3 protagonist and yu narukami
Persona 5 Strikers
Persona 5 Strikers
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice
Pokémon Black Version 2
Pokémon Black Version 2
red
Pokémon Crystal Version
Pokémon Crystal Version
red
Pokémon Gold Version
Pokémon Gold Version
red
Pokémon HeartGold Version
Pokémon HeartGold Version
red
Pokémon Moon
Pokémon Moon
Pokémon Silver Version
Pokémon Silver Version
red
Pokémon SoulSilver Version
Pokémon SoulSilver Version
red
Pokémon Sun
Pokémon Sun
Pokémon Ultra Moon
Pokémon Ultra Moon
Pokémon Ultra Sun
Pokémon Ultra Sun
Pokémon White Version 2
Pokémon White Version 2
red
Prototype 2
Prototype 2
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5
Rockman.EXE Operate Shooting Star
Rockman.EXE Operate Shooting Star
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - Soul Hackers
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - Soul Hackers
3ds ver
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
demifiend
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
raidou
Shin Megami Tensei V
Shin Megami Tensei V
noncanon; demifiend
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Heroes
Sonic Heroes
Sonic Rush
Sonic Rush
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog
South Park: The Fractured But Whole
South Park: The Fractured But Whole
Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy
Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage 4
Streets of Rage 4
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe
A Way Out
A Way Out
Yakuza 4
Yakuza 4
Yakuza 5
Yakuza 5
Ys Origin
Ys Origin
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

27 Comments


2 years ago

kingdom hearts 2 baby

2 years ago

Sonic Adventure 1, 2 and heroes all do this

2 years ago

oh if we're counting protagonists from other games, Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII is a boss in Final Fantasy XIII-2

2 years ago

the 3ds soul hackers port has both the devil summoner 1 protag and raidou as secret bosses

2 years ago

it's looking like previous protagonists count, so

pokemon gold/silver/crystal, heartgold/soulsilver, black 2/white 2, and sun/moon/ultra sun/ultra moon all have red as a boss fight

also the sa-x boss fight in metroid fusion is essentially just fighting samus from the previous game but that's a bit more dubious of an entry since it isn't truly samus herself though it's a near-perfect replica

on a similar note, castlevania symphony of the night as well as castlevania portrait of ruin have you fighting versions of previous protagonist richter belmont in some boss fights though he's not 100% himself in either case for differing reasons (the former has him possessed, the later has him as a ghost)

resident evil 5 has jill valentine as part of a duo boss fight (though she's being mind controlled), and resident evil 4 has jack krauser as a boss fight (who wasn't actually a playable protagonist at all until a prequel game a while later, so it's only retroactively true)

metal gear 1 and 2 have venom snake and big boss as bosses respectively, though like with krauser above they only became playable protagonists in later prequel releases

also if we want to go eeeeeeeextra dubious, star wars the force unleashed has luke skywalker as a boss fight (and i'm sure other star wars games have similar fights, like literally any one with darth vader as a boss)

2 years ago

Mega Man X5 does this

2 years ago

actually now that I think about it, pokemon ruby/sapphire/emerald, omega ruby/alpha sapphire, brilliant diamond/shining pearl, and x/y all have the protagonist you didn't pick (between male and female) as a boss

also yu-gi-oh duelists of the roses has you duel against the deuteragonist you didn't pick but i dunno if that counts (also other yu-gi-oh games typically let you duel against the main protagonist of its available anime/manga series but I don't think that really counts since you don't actively play as them)

2 years ago

oh yeah in the second south park game you fight the protagonist of the first game, which is literally just you in a different outfit

2 years ago

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record does this

2 years ago

Sonic Rush
Sonic ‘06
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice (the first half of the final case has Apollo and Phoenix as opposing lawyers in court)
Chaos Rings
Heavy Rain

2 years ago

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

2 years ago

Anarchy Reigns

2 years ago

astral chain

2 years ago

Library of Ruina
Fun list. Here's an especially cool example of this: at the end of Streets of Rage 1's co-op campaign, if one player chooses to join Mr. X and the other refuses, both players have to fight each other.

Apart from that, you can fight Bayonetta herself in both Bayonetta 1 & 2 via their challenge modes (Angel Slayer and Witch Trials respectively). If we're counting boss fights against the protag of the previous game as well, William from Nioh 1 is a boss fight in Nioh 2.

Also, I haven't played it myself, but Transformers: Fall of Cybertron does this too. Not sure if War for Cybertron has anything similar.

2 years ago

fire emblem radiant dawn
Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star
persona 5 strikers (dunno if it counts entirely)
Oh also, Jedi Academy's evil ending has you fight Kyle Katarn (the protagonist of the three previous games) as the final boss.

2 years ago

would viewtiful joe count?

2 years ago

also live a live certainly counts

2 years ago

havent chimed in yet but if you mean another joe, im trying to avoid 'fighting a separate entity mirroring yourself', which is kinda why i didnt include metroid fusion or something like the doppelganger in dmc3, but i understand lists like these have a lot of technicalities

2 years ago

Alastor/Another Joe has his own story mode

2 years ago

damn, forgot about that, my bad 👍

2 years ago

Bowser's Inside Story

2 years ago

This comment was deleted

2 years ago

Armored Core: For Answer

2 years ago

in god hand you can fight yourself as an optional boss, does that count

1 year ago

Do clones and that sort of thing count? Darksiders 2 does it like this at the very beginning


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