Boss Battle Analysis

For game design we had to choose a boss battle, play it, and analyze it to figure out its mechanics and what makes it tick. I went with one of my favorite old school bosses from Ocarina of Time for Nintendo 64, the Phantom Shadow Beast Bongo Bongo from the infamous shadow temple.

We encounter Bongo Bongo when you enter the boss's lair at the end of the Shadow Temple in the Ocarina of Time. Link, the main character that the players play, falls down a well and onto what appears to be a giant drum. From here giant hands ominously start a war beat while a disturbing cyclops like head and chest float into visibility. This is how Mr. Bongo Bongo enters the scene.

Besides it's obviously heinous appearance, Bongo Bongo is a devious boss to fight. The mechanics used in his fight though are fun though.

When the player, Link, first enters Bongo Bongo's lair you get the usual Zelda boss intro scene but after his introduction Bongo Bongo's main body turns invisible while his hands remain visible.
You basically play blind.

Of course the only way to fight this boss is to equip the Lens of Truth which uses magic to allow the player to see the unseen, namely here it would be Bongo Bongo. While using the lens the player will need to aim with their bow and shoot at Bongo Bongo's eye in order to incapacitate him to land a blow or two.

While using the lens and trying to shoot at Bongo Bongo though the player will need to be careful as Bongo Bongo will use his hands to swipe and slam at the player. At some points Bongo Bongo will also make his way towards the player and body-ram them. This can be very harmful if the player is knocked off the edge of the boss's battle area, which is possible. If that happens they land in acid and must climb their way out.

Bongo Bongo follows a set of patterns though and his movements are very circular in that he'll move around the arena in a circular motion. This can get annoying as the player may not be able to keep track of Bongo with the lens to take aim and shoot before possibly being injured by an attack.

I picked this boss battle though because it's one of my childhood favorites and I enjoyed the mechanics of having to find an unseen enemy and shoot at them.

Basic fight mechanics:

• Must use Lens of Truth to see Bongo Bongo's main body. This is the main part of his body that you have to aim for and harm.
• Using the bow will be one of the few weapons that can properly take down Bongo Bongo. You have to be able to keep an eye on him, your magic, and keep up with him while aiming for his eye. Makes for a good fight.
• The hover boots Link gets from the shadow temple will help you in this level due to being thrown up in the air by Bongo Bongo's drumming. This adds a level of difficulty to be able to focus and aim for Bongo's face unless you run out of magic for the lens to see him.

By beating Bongo Bongo players are rewarded a new heart piece for their health meter and unlock one of the seven sages which play a part in the game's main story line.