10 Most Memorable Video Game Bosses Of All Time

Although it's nearly impossible to pick just one villain from the Metal Gear series to label as "the best," anyone who played through Metal Gear Solid without the use of a cheat sheet will be hard-pressed to forget the torture of trying to beat Psycho Mantis.

Besides looking like an undead bondage aficionado who's super into early Nine Inch Nails, Psycho Mantis has mastered the arts of telepathy, telekinesis, and mind control.

In fact, you're first introduced to him when he takes over the mind and body of your protege and love interest, Meryl, using her to seduce you. When that doesn't work, he tries to make her shoot herself in the head. He's...not the most stable member of FOXHOUND.

But after he forces you to knock her unconscious to save her life (nothing says "I'm here to rescue you" like repeated punches to the head), the real fun begins. In one of the most inventive uses of game mechanics in the history of the medium, developers decided it would be fun if Mantis could literally read your mind by using your Playstation's memory card to predict your patterns.

Again, if you were the type of gamer who is averse to using walkthroughs or cheat guides, all you could do was fire bullets into the air as Mantis somehow managed to evade each and every one of them...until you randomly decided to switch controller ports.