[1,525 words, 8 min estimated read time]
[In this blog post I’ll be discussing late game bosses for the video games Bloodborne (specifically the Old Hunters DLC), Hollow Knight, and Nine Sols. I’ll be talking about the bosses themselves, their song themes, and their role in the story’s plot. So here’s your spoiler warning.]
[Also I want to say upfront I know nothing about music theory or instruments or anything like that, I’m fully just going off of vibes here. And I’ll be sharing Spotify links but if it’s unavailable to you, you know…. might be able to use a VPN. Or hypothetically, in theory, might be available on Youtube. Maybe.]
The three games I’ll be looking at- Bloodborne, Hollow Knight, and Nine Sols- all have a lot of similarities. They’re all souls-like games with multiple endings, each with wonderfully intricate worldbuilding, incredible musical soundtracks, and in-depth lore. But I think the most significant similarity between these games is that the tragedy of the story has already happened before the game has even begun.
When you step into the story, the world has already fallen apart. And while things have the potential to get worse, much worse, there is only so much you, and by extension the character you play as, can do. You are incapable of “fixing” the world as it was, that world is dead and gone. But the character you play carries the potential for a path beyond the tragedy of the world in its current state- Your character brings hope to the story.
While it may depend gameplay to gameplay, typically all three of the bosses I’m going to discuss are considered the second-to-last boss, the one you will face before going to confront the heart of the problem, the final boss, head-on. Each of them are well aware of the tragedy of their story, and their role within it, and each of them comes to recognize the main character as a sliver of hope for a better future. It won’t change the past, but maybe you can confront their guilt, their failure, their fate, and save those who are still left to save.
And if you’re going to do this, they have to die.
Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower
Of the three bosses I’m discussing here, Lady Maria is the character most hesitant to confront reality. Even in death she is so consumed by her guilt she is willing and determined to kill you, just so you won’t see the atrocity that led to the creation of the Hunter’s Nightmare.
And while on the surface it seems like she doesn’t want you to find the truth, I think the music gives a hint to something else hidden under the surface.
The song starts chaotic and puts you on edge, sharp and quick notes with a rising tension from the violins. But there’s one violin in particular that’s a bit higher pitched that joins early in the song around the 15 to 20-second mark, and I think it’s significant. Throughout the song this violin will be drowned out for periods by the other instruments and chorus before rising back up. Later in the song we have the voice of a woman join in as well, and this singer seems to match a lot of the same higher notes played by the violin.
To me, it feels like a conversation; That one violin, the main character, desperately trying to reach Maria, the lone woman who joins in singing as she begins to feel hope rise above her despair. And this conversation is set in the cacophony of judgement bearing down on her, represented by the choir and the rest of the orchestra that thunders in to drown out that hope.
Maria has guarded the truth and kept it buried for so long due to her guilt and shame. But the consequences that resulted from the atrocities the Church committed at the Fishing Hamlet after after have to be confronted, all of the trauma and truth needs to be dug up to lift the curse of the Hunter’s Nightmare. And I think deep down, Maria knows this, even as she fights you.
After defeating Lady Maria and putting her to rest we gain some insight into her through her reflection in the Hunter’s Dream, the Doll.
“Good hunter. This may sound strange, but… Have I somehow changed? Moments ago, from some place, perhaps deep within, I sensed a liberation from heavy shackles. Not that I would know… How passing strange… “
– The Doll
The Hollow Knight
I think the strongest reaction I’ve ever had to a video-game fight was with the Hollow Knight. I remember how I felt at the beginning of the fight, I was tense but excited, drawn into the tension.
And then there’s the scream halfway through the fight. And the Hollow Knight takes its nail and drives it into its own chest.
It was so visceral I flinched back in my seat. I was shocked, and confused, I didn’t even understand enough about the plot at that point to know what was happening as I watched the Hollow Knight stab itself over and over. The shift in tone was so sudden- This was no longer a fun, intense boss fight. It was heart-wrenching. It was sad. I wasn’t defeating a worthy foe, maybe all this was just me putting them out of their misery because it was kinder than whatever their current fate was. And the music tells you this clearly with this shift in tone, you know this isn’t a triumphant fight, this is sorrowful, mournful.
But there’s that one lone violin that stands out, joining in around the 2:50-second mark. It’s soft as first, matching the sorrow as if comforting their anguish, then rising above it higher and higher, louder and louder, as you and the Hollow Knight both fight to defeat the corruption inside it. This thing that’s been locked up for so long is not longer fighting on it’s own, it has you fighting alongside it.
For the first time, you’ve given it hope. That one lone violin rising above the tragedy embodies the hope your little vessel brings, you’re here now and you can’t fix the past and maybe you can’t even fix this, but you’re trying and you’ve made it this far, right?
Ji, the Immortal
Unlike the other two bosses I just talked about, Ji comparatively is much more willing to embrace his death than the main character, Yi, is willing to kill him. Ji even results to tricking Yi in order to make this happen.
Even throughout the fight, I never felt threatened in the same way as I had with other bosses in Nine Sols. It doesn’t come across as an intense fight to the death, even when they both know how this will end. Ji even says just before the fight begins:
“Indulge me with a sparring session, friend!”
– Ji
Ji’s has accepted his death and is having fun on his way out. And he wants Yi to be the one to finally grant him his death. Throughout the story Ji was kind to Yi, randomly popping up to chat with him and hear his thoughts, and I found him to be comforting amidst everything else going on in the world of Nine Sols.
Even in the fight, Ji is not malicious or cruel, and he actually allows you some agency in determining how he will fight you. He hovers in the center of the room and three symbols begin to spin around him, and whichever you land on will determine the next moveset he will use. And one of these options isn’t even an attack- if you time it right, you can select an option for extra healing, with Ji gently reaching down to place the container on the ground for you.
Ji recognizes his immortality as a curse, one that he’s ready to be rid of. He knows he needs to die to make way for the change Yi is going to bring to the world, and welcomes it with open arms. And this is perfectly embodied in the title of his theme, “Long Awaited Death”.
Ji’s Theme feels elegant and grand, perfectly fitting the character as we finally understand him. And again we have a violin that ties in as a representation of hope halfway through, but this time it’s accompanied by the vocals. Ji knows he’ll die, he wants this and embraces it in a final spar with a friend- with someone who has given him hope after so long.
A Hopeful End
Each of these three bosses are entangled in tragedy. Lady Maria’s guilt that haunts her even in death. The Hollow Knights failure and the cruelty of its creation and purpose. The cost of Ji’s immortality and his role in the fate that awaits all solarians.
And you, playing the main character, give each of them some hope before their death. You reassure these characters you’re going to face the heart of this broken world and try to make things better, even if they won’t be able to see it.
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