History Main / SNKBoss

[[caption-width-right:290:[-Hey, wait a minute! [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner How does he pull the trigger with boxing gloves on...?]]-]]]

* Blatantly Overpowered Defense: They may be the gameplay equivalent of TheJuggernaut, being able to [[NoSell continue their attack startup against your own hits]] or possess features like a larger health bar, reduced block-stun, inability to get dizzied (or a shorter dizzy period), inability to be guardbroken (or have a guardbreak meter that fills up so slowly that they may as well be), or they can interrupt your combos with their attacks (oftentimes via super armor) or escape from a juggle via some sort of recovery/teleport.

* [[RulesAreForHumans Complete Disregard for System Limitations]]: While you may have to switch between high and low blocking, the SNK Boss needs to only block one way. Where you have to crouch or be in a specific position to perform certain moves, the boss does not. Where you have a regular super meter, the boss either fills its super meter much faster than yours, has a regenerating super meter, or in extreme cases has no visible one, meaning it can use as many supers as it wants whenever it wants.

Subtrope of FakeDifficulty and TheComputerIsACheatingBastard. See also PerfectPlayAI, whose difficulty arises less from outright cheating, and more from a flawless battle strategy. Do not confuse with ThatOneBoss, which describes a difficult boss as declared by a majority and technically fights on a much fairer level when compared to this trope.

See also EasyLevelsHardBosses. Don't be surprised if they can only be toppled via NotTheIntendedUse, chiefly {{AI Breaker}}s.

While this trope primarily applies to fighting games, it ''can'' also apply to non-fighting games, provided they are similarly competitive and have similar ways of ensuring CompetitiveBalance. A {{Racing Game}}, for example, may have a champion with an absurdly tricked out car and a knowledge of the track that combine to give it an advantage no matter which vehicle/racer you choose. That said, it is ''not'' a catch-all term for an overly hard, cheap, or even mechanically unusual boss. It's the way the boss breaks the *competitive* balance of a largely *competitive* game that makes it an SNK Boss. By definition, bosses of largely single player experiences -- RPG's, Platformers, Stylish Action, etc. -- are not SNK Bosses due to those games being non-balanced by their very nature.

While this trope primarily applies to fighting games, it ''can'' also apply to non-fighting games, provided they are similarly competitive and have similar ways of ensuring CompetitiveBalance. A {{Racing game}}, for example, may have a champion with an absurdly tricked out car and a knowledge of the track that combine to give it an advantage no matter which vehicle/racer you choose. If a game is non-competitive, such as platformers, RPG's, etc., bosses are not considered SNK bosses no matter how unfair they are. There are [[EasyLevelsHardBosses other]] [[ThatOneBoss tropes]] for that.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant And no]], this has nothing to do with boss fights in ''Manga/ShingekiNoKyojin'' video game adaptations.

If the boss is playable, [[DefeatMeansPlayable such as upon defeat]], [[RedemptionDemotion they are significantly weaker and more balanced for actual play]]. A non-weakened playable SNK Boss is most certainly banned in any competitive tournaments where it would be a GameBreaker for one human player to use on another.

* Blatantly Overpowered Defense: They may be the gameplay equivalent of TheJuggernaut, being able to [[NoSell continue their attack startup against your own hits]] or possess features like a larger health bar, reduced block-stun, inability to get dizzied (or a shorter dizzy period), inability to be guardbroken (or have a guardbreak meter that fills up so slowly that they may as well be), or they can interrupt your combos with its attacks (oftentimes via super armor) or escape from a juggle via some sort of recovery/teleport.

* Blatantly Overpowered Offense: A trademark of the SNK Boss. Where you have fireballs, the boss has full-screen lasers that come out faster than you can blink, deal damage equivalent to 1/4 of a health bar, and snuff out all other projectiles. If you have an invincible uppercut, the boss likely has one where he surrounds himself with lightning for more hits and damage, and can cancel out fireballs. These types of bosses sometimes, but not always, have a [[ThatOneAttack maximum level super]] where they show off their superiority by utterly annihilating you regardless of your current health, usually combined with FingerpokeOfDoom for maximum insult.
* Blatantly Overpowered Defense: They may be the gameplay equivalent of TheJuggernaut, being able to [[NoSell continue their attack startup against your own hits]] or possess features like a larger health bar, reduced block-stun, inability to get dizzied (or a shorter dizzy period), or they can interrupt your combos with its attacks or escape from a juggle via some sort of recovery/teleport.

An SNK Boss is an [[VideoGameAI AI]] opponent in a FightingGame who [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem breaks the rules]] that enforce CompetitiveBalance to such an absurd degree that they are considered to be vastly superior to every other character in the game. The SNK Boss combines NintendoHard with TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and takes them UpToEleven. Powers may include:

* [[SNKBoss/{{Midway}} Midway/Netherrealm Studios]]

While this trope primarily applies to fighting games, it ''can'' also apply to non-fighting games, provided they are similarly competitive and have similar ways of ensuring CompetitiveBalance. A {{Racing game}}, for example, may have a champion with an absurdly tricked out car and a knowledge of the track that combine to give it an advantage no mater which vehicle/racer you choose. If a game is non-competitive, such as platformers, RPG's, etc., bosses are not considered SNK bosses no matter how unfair they are. There are [[EasyLevelsHardBosses other]] [[ThatOneBoss tropes]] for that.

An '''SNK Boss''' is an [[VideoGameAI AI]] opponent in a FightingGame who [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem breaks the rules]] that enforce CompetitiveBalance to such an absurd degree that they are considered to be vastly superior to every other character in the game. The SNK Boss combines NintendoHard with TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and takes them UpToEleven. Powers may include:

[[caption-width-right:290:[-[[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner How does he shoot with boxing gloves on...?]]-]]]

An '''SNK Boss''' is an opponent in a FightingGame who [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem breaks the rules]] that enforce CompetitiveBalance to such an absurd degree that they are considered to be vastly superior to every other character in the game. The SNK Boss combines NintendoHard with TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and takes them UpToEleven. Powers may include:

[[caption-width-right:290:[-[[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner How does he shoot with with boxing gloves on...?]]-]]]

** SNKBoss/DarkSouls

Has nothing to do with ''[[Manga/AttackOnTitan Shingeki no Kyojin]]''. Not even ''Humanity in Chains''.

[[caption-width-right:290:[[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner How does he shoot with with boxing gloves on...?]]]]

[[caption-width-right:290:I thought [[VideoGame/PunchOut this game]] [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard was about boxing.]][[note]][[FridgeLogic How is he supposed to pull the trigger]] [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner with boxing gloves on...?]][[/note]]]]

An '''SNK Boss''' (Super Non Killable Boss for short) is an opponent in a FightingGame who [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem breaks the rules]] that enforce CompetitiveBalance to such an absurd degree that they are considered to be vastly superior to every other character in the game. The SNK Boss combines NintendoHard with TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and takes them UpToEleven. Powers may include:

An '''SNK Boss''' is an opponent in a FightingGame who [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem breaks the rules]] that enforce CompetitiveBalance to such an absurd degree that they are considered to be vastly superior to every other character in the game. The SNK Boss combines NintendoHard with TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and takes them UpToEleven. Powers may include:

These bosses originate from the days of arcade machines, where the high difficulty level was used to separate players from their pocket change while attempting to register their initials in the top spot of the machine's High Scores table. In console games, side effects of continued exposure to an SNK Boss may include [[RageQuit broken controllers]] and increased sales of {{GameShark}}s to "cheat back". Occasionally, these bosses may have an AchillesHeel that utilizes [[OutsideTheBoxTactic special moves from characters that usually have limited utility]]. It is unknown whether these are intentional or not.

[[caption-width-right:290:I thought [[VideoGame/PunchOut this game]] [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard was about boxing.]][[note]][[FridgeLogic How is he supposed to pull the trigger with boxing gloves on...?]][[/note]]]]

-->-- '''Announcer''', ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium Capcom vs. SNK 2]]''

While this trope primarily applies to fighting games, it ''can'' also apply to non-fighting games, provided they are similarly competitive and have similar ways of ensuring CompetitiveBalance. A {{Racing game}}, for example, may have a champion with an absurdly tricked out car and a knowledge of the track that combine to give it an advantage no mater which vehicle/racer you choose. If a game is non-competitive, such as platformers, RPG's, etc., bosses are not considered SNK bosses no matter how unfair they are. There are other tropes for that.