A common trope in video games is to include powerful boss fights for the player to overcome. These individual battles test the players on what they know about how the game works or try to further the story being told. History is full of memorable boss encounters that have made players work hard to overcome a challenge, and these fights can take several attempts or a long time to complete.

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Several boss fights throughout the PS1's lifespan have become legendary. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg.

Then, there are the boss fights that oppose this tradition. These quick and easy boss fights are played off as a joke or are included to show the irrelevance of a specific character. Either way, there are plenty of boss fights in gaming that take less time than players would expect.

7 Psycho Mantis

A Fight That Only Takes Seconds During A Replay

This boss from the first Metal Gear Solid game is a true test for players when they initially play through the story. Beating Psycho Mantis requires some lateral thinking that may take some players a while to figure out.

However, anyone returning to Metal Gear Solid will be able to beat this boss again in no time at all. Beating this boss has nothing to do with how well someone can play the game. Instead, players must simply remove the controller from the first slot to the second. Once achieved, Psycho Mantis will instantly fall, permitting the player can beat this boss in the same amount of time they take to swap controller ports.

6 President Henry John Eden

Can Take Less Than A Minute With The Right Prep

The final boss in Fallout 3 is one that the player will hear from throughout the game by being sent several voice clips. As a result, the player builds up a solid picture in their head of the villainous President Henry John Eden. However, when the story finally leads the player to come face to face with this enemy, it becomes clear that President Eden is only a super-advanced computer.

Defeating a big computer like this may seem intimidating at first. Fortunately, a player who has built their character a certain way will be able to take out this boss in no time at all. Any player that has a science stat of sixty or above will be able to turn this boss fight on its head and talk the computer into shutting itself down, ending the game and freeing the people of the wasteland in less than a minute.

5 Dethl

The Right Weapon Makes This Boss A Pushover

Dethl is the Nightmare King who is the last hurdle that the player has to pass to complete The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. This final boss is a tricky threat, one that will morph into the forms of former bosses in the franchise to quickly best the player.

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The traditional method of beating this boss involves having the player dodge his attacks and hit Dethl in the eye with eight arrows in a row to make him change form. However, any player who traded their spade for a boomerang earlier in this final dungeon can avoid all this effort. Hitting Dethl with the boomerang will make him change to a less threatening form, and another hit will take him out completely in no time at all.

4 Bowser

A Helpful Strategy Ends This Boss Instantly

Bowser has done a great job of becoming one of the most famous video game villains of all time. This Mario villain always shows up to kidnap Princess Peach and become the final boss in each game of the series. Most of the time, Bowser is a difficult encounter that players have to work hard to defeat. However, he wasn't as difficult in his first appearance.

The first Super Mario Bros. has become iconic because of its intricate challenges, but Bowser did not get the spotlight many fans of the series would expect. Players can attempt to beat Bowser in this game normally by avoiding his fireballs and jumping on his head. However, anyone who knows about a helpful strategy can simply jump over his head and hit the switch behind Bowser. This removes the bridge, causing the boss to fall into the void instantly.

3 Glass Joe

A Fight That Ends In A Few Taps

Punch Out!! was an arcade game from 1983. This boxing game was renowned for having some very difficult fights, and that might be why Glass Joe is introduced as the first fight that players will face.

This fighter's appearance tells the player everything they need to know about their opponent. Glass Joe is a frail man who always has a look of concern on his face, and this is identifiable in the old pixelated version. This appearance is justifiable because of how easy it is to take him down. A few hits from the player are enough to knock out Glass Joe, and this only takes a few seconds to achieve.

2 Mysterio

Moving Forward And Pressing One Button Is Enough To End This Fight

Spider-Man has many legitimate threats in his rogue gallery. He also has a few duds that are mainly used for comic effect. Mysterio is one such villain that is used in this way, and he makes a big appearance in Spider-Man 2 for the PS2.

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The first few fights that feature this special-effects artist feature a number of tricks that make the player think of Mysterio as a threat. However, when he appears in person to rob a convenience store later on, his true identity is revealed. As soon as the player enters the store to confront the boss, Mysterio's health bar will increase to set up a lengthy slog. Unfortunately, all this setup is done for laughs, as the player only needs to attack Mysterio once to watch him fall. Such a trick takes a second to administer, and it reveals that Mysterio is just a man in a fishbowl helmet without any of his visual effects trickery.

1 Lucien

One Button Press Is All This Fight Takes

The first Fable game did a great job of setting up Jack of Blades as the main threat to the main protagonist. He is shown to be the person responsible for all the main character's misfortunes in the past, and his end goal involves reshaping the world in his image. As a result, the player is forced to stop this villain in a long and climactic boss fight. When the story of Fable 2 begins, it also seems that this sequel is looking to set up Lord Lucien in the same way. This villain murders the player's sister in the beginning and then tries to build a structure that will see him take over the world. Therefore, the main plot sees the player assembling a team of heroes to stop him.

Sadly, this story does not culminate in all these heroes and the player fighting Lucien in combat as most gamers would expect. Instead, the player simply meets Lucien at the top of The Spire and has to either shoot him once or cast magic to knock him out in one hit. If the player takes too long, then another one of the heroes will shoot Lucien to end the game in less than one second.

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