2. An Enemy We Know
A boss that is a returning character from earlier in the game is always more satisfying than a nobody that shows up, expecting you to fight him. You want someone that
deserves your attention. The perfect example is Portal. You spend the whole game with just this omnipotent voice to guide you through and when it comes down to it, you cannot wait to shut her up. Its that building hatred that allows you to really go to town when the time comes and give you that extra boost. Nothing beats shouting TAKE THAT YOU *!#&$~ at the screen in your underwear.
1. Character
Which leaves us finally with probably the most important aspect of all, the boss itself! He or she needs to be charming yet cunning, viscous yet vicarious, imposing yet introverted (got carried away with the alliteration). Some of the greatest villains in literature and film have been the most complex characters: Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, John Doe in Seven, Jafar in Aladdin. Video games are no different. The final boss needs to be the defining feature of any game, so when you talk to your friends about Oh, have you played Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 17? Yeah, that is mental! That's what makes a boss...