Best Final Fights/Areas and Why

[Jacek Bourne]

What are the best final fights and areas in any map you’ve played and why?

 

I’m very interested in any explanations you may have for your choices.

[Naarok0fkor]

I did enjoy Brutal Doom`s Icon of Sin because it is much better than Doom2.wad's version...but Good old Doom.wad`s E1M8 twin barons is pure nostalgia... 

[Lucius Wooding]

Kama Sutra, because most maps that have a boss fight or IoS just fall flat for me. At least it has a decent gag going for it.

[Lorenz0]

TNT Revilution, Sunlust and Valiant had good final maps.

 

I can't really think of any other megawads that did it particularly well. I'll edit my post later if I think of any.

 

Edit: I definitely have misread the thread :P

 

One of the most memorable final areas I've seen in a map in recent memory is the one from map05 of Fractured Worlds. Beautiful arena suspended over the abyss with tall structures surrounding it makes for a spectacular conclusion to that level.

The final fight of Heartland map06 was also quite memorable, due to its sheer scale in comparison to what came before. The fights kept getting bigger throughout that map the longer you played, and its conclusion was very satisfying.

Edited August 18, 2023 by Lorenz0

[baja blast rd.]

It seems like all the replies so far have all misread the thread. :P

 

I want to think about this more, but I find the dark sea scene at the end of Nova 3 map10 emotionally crushing. 

 

 

Bemused and RJD jump out as especially good "final fight" authors, like Abandon map05 and Rowdy Rudy 2 map12 respectively. In many maps they tend to make that last fight either the grandest or most viscerally intense, with a lead-up flow that makes it really hit, and end the map shortly after that instead of having a denouement or loop-around phase to the exit area that has another encounter. (This question is a bit tricky because "final fight" can be arbitrary. I keep thinking of maps and then realizing they have 1-2 more battles after the late climax.) The 10x10 Project by LunchLunch also does these really well, partly because it is willing to have the final fight overshadow the rest of the map, as in map08 "Cocoa Puffs Breath."

 

There's a lot of different roles that a final area can serve. If you play some recent maps I've worked on (such as in Junk Food 2) you'll notice that some of them end on scripted cinematic vignettes, which I have been experimenting with. Speaking of cinema, about half of Lost Civilization map11's real estate is depicted to this big, sprawling final area with relatively light combat, that serves mostly to depict the passage of time, from the main map's nighttime, to this stretch's early morning.

[KeaganDunn]

FCFF07.

 

You know, you know.

[Herr Dethnout]

Before the Nightmare...

Idk Fighting STGMarkIV with a epic Kirby music was cool. xd

[SCF]

A few that come to mind:

 

Sunder Map 32: The Harlot's Garden

 

I've recently been replaying Sunder, and this is the one that left the biggest impression on me. It comes at the end of what is in my opinion both the best and best-looking Sunder map, and it lives up to it. It's a very tough fight, but with the right strategy it's doable, and I enjoyed it enough to actually figure out a way through a lot of trial and error. The pits can be a pain (especially when the caco corpses start piling up) so it may be frustrating before you memorize where they are, but they also add a lot to the fight: the paths across them give the player much more maneuverability than the ground monsters, which stops everything from just clumping up in one corner.

 

Eviternity Map29: Elysium

 

At the end of this beast of level, you're teleported back to a copy of map 1 for the final battle. The fight itself isn't one of my favorites, but the concept is great and really feels like the climax of the megawad, bringing everything full circle (even though there's another map after it...)

 

Antaresian Reliquary Map06: The Kerberos Complex

 

Do you like revenants? :)

[Maribo]

I always think of The cavern flood fight at the end of Abandon Map05 when this subject comes up. There's something about it, the way that foreboding chamber with all the glowing green crystals fulfills the silent promise that you feel inside you when you first see it. The way it delays it for a little bit, makes you force your way through a couple of more modest encounters before popping the tension bubble. Made me fall back in love with the color green.

Edited August 18, 2023 by Maribo

[Orii]

Slaughterfest 2012 Map25 Fourtress. A Massive map that culminates in a huge 1000+ enemy fight, hell knights and revs teleporting in and filling up the arena, damaging floor restricting your movements and forcing you to either push through the enemies or tank the damage, and then some cacos and sniping enemies above you to add to the chaos. Mix that with the incredibly intense and memorable midi "The Infinite Sky" all makes for a truly unforgettable final fight to a difficult but very enjoyable map that I will always remember.

Also love the final fight of Map30 Anathema, not so much individually but as a climax to both to an incredibly intense level but also to the wad as a whole.