First thought:
You're sorta correct with the focus on platforming making the focus of the game on... platforming, rather than combat. But I'd go a step further and say that 2d sidescrolling games with a focus on combat (such as Contra, Zelda 2, Megaman) aren't platformers, but combat games with platforming elements.
So thinking about 3d games the same level of broadness, you might end up including games like Furi and Shadow of the Colossus, Risk of Rain 2 and other games that prioritize combat.
Solar Ash (really good game I recommend) exists at the intersection between an exploration platformer and Shadow of the Colossus, where you defeat the bosses by doing skilled platforming. So that's perhaps the direction you're imagining.
Second thought:
Generally though as you said since platformers tend to have limited combat mechanics, bosses are a bit of a strange concept to even have. An interesting series is Ori (and the blind forest vs ori and the will of the wisps). The first game doesn't have any bosses and instead capstones its levels with high-octane escape sequences that test the mechanics relevant to the area (they're awesome). The second game has more combat mechanics and has bosses and all of them suck so bad because they're not very well integrated into what you play the game for.
So if you look at, like, mario odyssey, I would consider the Moon Cave area to be a much more well-executed "boss section" than any of the big baddies you actually encounter in that game, since those don't really ever use any of the game's platforming mechanics and just exist as a means for a capture to have more screentime, mechanically. Mecha broodal stands out as an exception since you can just kinda style on it if you're good at the platforming.
But I think there are cases, like with Solar Ash, where a lot of the combat is mostly expressed through platforming, and Mario Galaxy actually pulls this off really well in a lot of cases with Megaleg, the toy bowser miniboss area, and even most bosses that just circle a small orb, because they integrate the game's unique level design into their arenas. I'd even say the stupid moles in cannons on their little towers are an example of a pretty great boom boom-like miniboss, as the game always throws them at you in a new configuration that requires you to change your approach. Not all bosses have to be extremely long "levels" to be good after all. If you're looking for massive spectacle with combat, I'd generally look out for games that don't advertise themselves as platformers, like I mentioned in the beginning.
You're sorta correct with the focus on platforming making the focus of the game on... platforming, rather than combat. But I'd go a step further and say that 2d sidescrolling games with a focus on combat (such as Contra, Zelda 2, Megaman) aren't platformers, but combat games with platforming elements.
So thinking about 3d games the same level of broadness, you might end up including games like Furi and Shadow of the Colossus, Risk of Rain 2 and other games that prioritize combat.
Solar Ash (really good game I recommend) exists at the intersection between an exploration platformer and Shadow of the Colossus, where you defeat the bosses by doing skilled platforming. So that's perhaps the direction you're imagining.
Second thought:
Generally though as you said since platformers tend to have limited combat mechanics, bosses are a bit of a strange concept to even have. An interesting series is Ori (and the blind forest vs ori and the will of the wisps). The first game doesn't have any bosses and instead capstones its levels with high-octane escape sequences that test the mechanics relevant to the area (they're awesome). The second game has more combat mechanics and has bosses and all of them suck so bad because they're not very well integrated into what you play the game for.
So if you look at, like, mario odyssey, I would consider the Moon Cave area to be a much more well-executed "boss section" than any of the big baddies you actually encounter in that game, since those don't really ever use any of the game's platforming mechanics and just exist as a means for a capture to have more screentime, mechanically. Mecha broodal stands out as an exception since you can just kinda style on it if you're good at the platforming.
But I think there are cases, like with Solar Ash, where a lot of the combat is mostly expressed through platforming, and Mario Galaxy actually pulls this off really well in a lot of cases with Megaleg, the toy bowser miniboss area, and even most bosses that just circle a small orb, because they integrate the game's unique level design into their arenas. I'd even say the stupid moles in cannons on their little towers are an example of a pretty great boom boom-like miniboss, as the game always throws them at you in a new configuration that requires you to change your approach. Not all bosses have to be extremely long "levels" to be good after all. If you're looking for massive spectacle with combat, I'd generally look out for games that don't advertise themselves as platformers, like I mentioned in the beginning.
Statistics: Posted by Emral — Thu Dec 26, 2024 8:03 pm