LordCowCow 828 Posted August 19, 2021 Was curious on the people of NCM's take on this. Some games have their bosses have visible health bars (or numbers of some sort), some have various indicators of health (such as color changing, damaged art, etc), and some none at all. Wonder what you all prefer? Myself I like health bars. I enjoy seeing how far I am and how far I got. Plus helps with item management. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thar 502 Posted August 19, 2021 (edited) I can see why some people would prefer not having them, but especially for fights like that, I'd rather have an indicator of progress. Though I make an exception for boss fights designed to be beaten after a certain number of phases. I'm fine without them in that case cause there's no real point. Edited August 19, 2021 by Thar Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yui 569 Posted August 19, 2021 We live in the 21st century; boss health bars should be a standard feature in video games, except in games such as those of the Super Mario franchise where bosses generally need to be hit three times to be done in. If the boss a proper "health bar" however, it should come with an actual, visible health bar. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nyx 253 Posted August 19, 2021 I like it when games show the bosses more and more worn down. Like with Final Fantasy Mystic Quest or Joe and Mac. But if you're not gonna do that, have a health bar. I don't give two shits about the little numbers that pop up when it takes damage. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phantom Roxas 38 Posted August 27, 2021 I feel like sometimes the numbers would only really be good if you already know the boss's total health, either if the game tells you or you know from a guide. In which case, you may as well have a calculator on hand, but at that point, that's just putting more stress on yourself instead of just focusing on taking the boss down. I think health bars are a good way of helping the player pace themselves. In cases where the animations are the same regardless of the strength of an attack, what makes the health bar drop faster is a better indication of what strategies to use. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
(o ×) 228 Posted August 29, 2021 It really depends on the game. In a lot, having a health bar clashes with aesthetics. In others, a boss may not even use the same conventional health system as the rest of the game so it would be meaningless. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites