Favorite Rival Boss Fights in Gaming?

Noct

Noct

Dry Bowser
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So one of my favorite types of premises for any kind of boss fight is whenever the protagonist goes up against their narrative foil and active thorn in their side, Aka the rival character. That special someone who has actively been competing against you for the same goal throughout the majority of your adventure and seems determined to be number one, but of course there are many other types of rivals like the friendly rival for example who seems to have a mutual respect for the hero.

Rivals come in many shapes and forms, some that mirror the strengths and abilities of the protagonist and some that occasionally tower over them. But what are your favorite Rival Boss Fights in Gaming?

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Mine are:

~ Mario and Luigi vs. Popple and Rookie (Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga/DX) - In addition to being one of the few bosses with their own unique boss theme, they even have their own Bros. Moves that they'll use against you.

~ Sonic vs Blaze (Sonic Rush) - While I was pretty tempted to list Sonic vs. Shadow from Sonic Adventure 2/Generations, I think what cements this fight as one of my favorites is the second phase when Sonic and Blaze clash and you have to rapidly mash the Y button in order to ram Sonic/Blaze off the edge of the stage. Vela-Nova is pretty catchy too.

~ Star Fox vs. Star Wolf (Star Fox 64) - "CAN'T LET YOU DO THAT, STAR FOX!" Heh, always a classic. The dog fights with team Star Wolf are fun, especially the last one on planet Venom.

~ Meta Knight vs. Galacta Knight (Kirby Superstar Ultra) - This speaks for itself.

~ Brendan/May vs. Wally (Pokemon RSE/ORAS) - The Pokemon series is chalk full of great and memorable rival fights like Red vs. Blue for example, however my personal favorite is the Wally battle at the end of Victory Road... especially in ORAS.
 
You'd be hard pressed to top Vergil from DMC3
 
If you see the Yiga Ninjas as a way of taunting you throughout the story, then easily Master Kohga from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It's a fun boss battle to boot, and right after what is possibly the best dungeon (behind Vah Ruta of course), and he's also funny as hell, both before, during, and after the fight.
 
killing Miraak and asserting myself as the true dragonborn was an exhilarating experience
 
spoilers for a game you will never play.

Luke v Asch in Tales of the Abyss is probably the first rival fight I ever think of. Change vs Stagnation. Accepting your life is forfeit vs being mad as fuck about it. Meaning of Birth is one of the best tracks to come out of the entire series.
 
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