Video game bosses that you encounter more than once

In video games, it's about the journey, not the destination. This is why the trope of losing your powers in the beginning and slowly regaining them was used for so long, and another similar trope often relates to the villain.

The Rocky 3 story archetype, where you get slapped by the villain at the beginning, only to face him again much later, is a satisfying full-circle moment. Games often change the exact details of the story archetype, but it's very much the same, and it works, because you're always looking forward to finally facing the bad guy who destroyed you in the first place.

These bosses can be encountered earlier via an actual fight or a cutscene where the boss destroys the main character.

1

Genichiro Ashina – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

The Fallen Shinobi returns better than ever

In the opening moments of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, you'll encounter your first boss battle, Genichiro Ashina. If you take place in a beautiful grassy field, you will lose pretty quickly. You can actually win the fight if you're experienced, but even then Genichiro will squeeze out a W in the following cutscene. The same result occurs regardless.

It won't be until many, many hours later, during your trek through Ashina Castle, that you will meet Genichiro again, and this time you are ready. A tough boss that involves several phases, you defeat him in the end. This isn't the only time FromSoftware has used this boss trope in one of its games.

2

Vanguard – Demon's Souls

The first boss in the Souls series

One of the best game tutorials has to be in Demon's Souls. Using the tried and true tutorial design of feeling dangerous yet never being in danger, you will encounter the Vanguard demon at the end. This boss hits like a truck, and unless you are an expert player, you will die here.

It's a kill though, and you'll eventually face the Vanguard Demon again in World 4-1. Unlike other rematch bosses, this second encounter is super easy as you can spam him with arrows from far away until he's dead. It's still satisfying, regardless, since that tactic was impossible in the tutorial.

3

Adam Smasher – Cyberpunk 2077

Johnny's Revenge

While V is the protagonist of Cyberpunk 2077, Johnny Silverhand is just as important. He's the Yami Yugi to V's Yugi Muto, if you will. Johnny's backstory ends in train wreck fashion, where he is completely destroyed by Adam Smasher before connecting with V during the events of the main story.

Since the villain was the person who initially ended the life of Cyberpunk's Atem counterpart, it makes sense that Adam is the final boss of Cyberpunk 2077 in all ending paths, minus the one you get with Phantom Liberty. If you choose the option of letting Johnny take over, killing Adam is especially satisfying after everything that's happened.

4

Zeus – God of War 2

No one messes with Kratos

After becoming the God of War in the original, Kratos' new role doesn't go over too well in God of War 2. After the opening moments, Zeus betrays Kratos, kills him, and sends the anti-hero back to Hades. Kratos is revived by the Titans on a quest to find and kill the Sisters of Destiny in order to go back in time to kill Zeus.

The final boss with the God of Gods himself is incredible and frankly superior to the pair's actual final encounter in God of War 3. No weird first person or 2D fighting game sections here. At release, it was a huge bummer to have such a cliffhanger ending, but it made the hype for the final chapter, God of War 3, even greater.

5

Sanchez – Hitman: Absolution

A villain you really wanted to die

Hitman: Absolution has a rogues' gallery of villains to dispatch, and three of the main ones are presented to you towards the end of Terminus, the game's third mission. You'll meet Dexter, Layla, and Sanchez, but you'll be patted down by the latter before Agent 47 can even do anything.

All the villains here are very annoying, and to boot, they frame you for murder, causing you to run from the police for much of the rest of the game. Never have Hitman characters been more desirable to kill, and thankfully you finish off Sanchez in one of the better missions, Fight Night. You can kill him in a variety of ways, but the best method has to be to disguise himself as his opponent and finish him off in a full-on boss fight.

6

Urizen – Devil May Cry 5

You can't get much bigger than the Demon King himself

Devil May Cry 5 jumps right into the story, with Nero only moments away from facing the demon king, Urizen. You can win this fight like Sekiro and Demon's Souls, but no one does on the first playthrough.

Nero and Dante will be applauded, but Nero heads back to Red Grave City to hopefully defeat the Demon King this time. You don't just get revenge, as you will face Urizen several times throughout the game and learn several things about the demon's true nature.

7

Singularity – Bayonetta 3

The most epic comeback fight

Instead of normal fights during the prologue section, Bayonetta 3 offers something different. You start out playing as a Bayonetta similar to the character from the original game, and she gets destroyed by the main villain, the Singularity. You engage in a boss fight here, but it's another no-win scenario that ends with Bayonetta being killed.

A bunch of hours later, you finally meet the Singularity again in the exact same place. In an epic and lengthy final boss with a ridiculous amount of phases, Bayonetta pulls out all the stops, including some surprises, to take down the Singularity.

8

Shao Kahn – Mortal Kombat 9

“He must win”

When Mortal Kombat 9 was released in 2011, it had such an incredible story mode that it outclassed the entire competition. The intro is fantastic, jumping in right where Mortal Kombat: Armageddon left off with a mass of dead bodies piling up to the top of the pyramid, where Shao Kahn and Raiden are the last men standing. Shao Kahn eventually kills Raiden with his trademark Wrath Hammer.

But before Raiden's death, he sends a message back in time to where it all began: MK1. The events of the original trilogy play out until Raiden and Shao Kahn are once again the last. After learning the true purpose of the message, Shao Kahn and Raiden must engage in Mortal Kombat, which turns out to be a very tough final boss.