Seeking Advice on Designing Engaging Boss Battles for a Mario Fangame

[KrystalPhantasm]

Ok so; please take these with a grain of salt since I have never gotten to the point of implementing a proper boss in a Mario fangame that's a platformer and not an arcade-y one, nor am I that good at analysis, but here's my two cents on this (kinda biased obviously)

1. Honestly, something with a striking design and gimmick! Doesn't matter what it is, as long as its memorable by itself and does something cool. Preference feels like a different topic to this: but it depends case-by-case for me personally.
   
2. Wario Destroys a Glass of Milk is the only recent example in memory that I can think of with pretty cool and well designed bosses, though they lean more Megaman-y of course. Psycho Waluigi and Toad/Toadette Strikes Back have some great bosses too
   
3. Please, PLEASE do not let the player wait around too long. It really gets under my nerves when I have to wait in a safe spot and sit around for an opening for faarrr too long, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people feel the same way. Pretty sure Sonic Superstars is REALLY guilty of this from what I hear, even though I haven't played it because I don't have the hardware for it ^^;
   Same goes for way too much health leading to slugfest bosses, or too little where the boss barely has any impact. Another is un-telegraphed attacks which just suck 100% of the time imo
   
4. Always playtest with people and get feedback when possible for that kinda thing! Aim for a sweet spot from what you gather depending on how hard you want the boss to be for that section in the game, and what kind of difficulty and audience you're aiming for in general with your fangame :>
   

Your boss idea sounds fun I'd say! Though of course your executions gotta be good as the idea, and that idea will get refined in said execution; so good luck

ddr mario mix