Stages or Boss Fights: Which Do You Prefer?

[WhyNotZoidberg | 585]

In JRPG dungeons, which are essentially the equivalent of a stage: the boss

The whole dungeon is a build-up to get to the boss. The boss itself will be unique and much more epic than whatever critters I was auto-attacking until I got there. Fighting it is its own reward.

Hey maybe this applies to average beat ‘em ups also. 
 

In most any other genres: the stages

Even if a game is boss-oriented like Mega Man, getting through TO the boss is what I prefer. The fact that the bosses have weaknesses to exploit for easy kills really works for me because I prefer not to sit there and commit their patterns to muscle-memory.

Edited January 7, 2022 by WhyNotZoidberg

[Link | 2,714]

Stages are a journey and I like that.

When the boss has some fun challenge, it's excellent. A cheese boss that just stands around waiting for you to hit them is boring and it's kind of weird when, as is usually the case, the boss is just sitting around in his bedroom waiting for you to show up. I think stages are enjoyable more often, and the boss structure is frequently a pure, dumb trope that I wish was better integrated to the game design and structure.

[AstralSoul | 502]

For a long time I always said I prefer stages and that still is true for certain games like Mario, Kirby and any other game with easy bosses. But Cuphead is the game that made me rethink the stage vs boss thing. I went into Cuphead thinking it was mostly stages and initially was disappointed that it was mostly bosses. But as I played through it I ended up loving that it was mostly bosses and actually disliked the platforming segments. I like a level - boss - level - boss variety but I've learned over the years to appreciate boss fights more especially when they're actually challenging.

[GPX | 1,370]

I have an interesting thought relating to this topic. Imagine there were 2 gaming compilations, one with an hour-filled with the best boss fights you’ve encountered and the other an hour-filled with the best stages you’ve played. 

If you have only 1 hour to play, which would you choose?

[Tanooki | 4,934]

7 hours ago, GPX said:

I have an interesting thought relating to this topic. Imagine there were 2 gaming compilations, one with an hour-filled with the best boss fights you’ve encountered and the other an hour-filled with the best stages you’ve played. 

If you have only 1 hour to play, which would you choose?

Stages... I want to enjoy myself with the exploration, not run the likely list of being utterly and repeatedly pissed off at some cheap overdone boss battles that are more about tripping people up than doing something really special.

[NostalgicMachine | 236]

You can't have one without the other, IMHO! I think both are integral for a stellar gaming experience for me, personally. Every game is different. I love the boss battles in MM, but I love the stages in Castlevania and Metroid, etc. I love both the over world AND dungeons in Zelda, etc.