Day 46: Poseidon

Remember when I said that El Jefe was my favorite Playstation exclusive first boss? Well my stupid head totally forgot about the God of War series. I've only scratched the surface of this series by playing a little bit of God of War III and pretty much all of God of War (2018), but from what I've played it's a damn good franchise with some damn good bosses. Now, having said that let me ask...remember Poseidon?

Poseidon: You challenge me mortal? A god of Olympus?!

Kratos: A true warrior does not hide, Poseidon! Leave the sea and face me!

Poseidon: You have disrespected the Gods for the last time, Kratos!

Well, it was only a matter of time before this boss showed up. The only surprise is that Poseidon isn't #1, hell he barely missing out on the Top 5. That doesn't mean this fight is bad, far from it, it's just that there are five first bosses that I personally deem better than Poseidon. But enough about my opinions let's get into why this fight rocks!

Let's just say there's a reason why Poseidon topped so many first bosses lists, and made it on lists of best bosses in general.

Shielded by water and rocks which cause him to grow in size, and mounted atop a band of hippocampus, Poseidon will show Kratos and the player that his title of 'King of the Seas' isn't just for show.

Poseidon will start the battle by grabbing Gaia with his claws, and it's up to Kratos to beat the claws up and free her. As this happens, Poseidon will attack Kratos by trying to slam him with his other claws and smite you with lightning and cyclones.

After freeing Gaia, she'll slam Poseidon into Mount Olympus and trap him, giving Kratos some time to wail on him. Be careful though, as Poseidon can still fight back by either punching you, creating more cyclones, or stabbing at you with his oversized trident. Eventually, Poseidon will tire out, giving Kratos some time to really lay in on him. One epic quick time event later, and Kratos will rip off Poseidon's stone armor protecting his chest, causing him to use his claws to grab onto Gaia once more, freeing him.

You need to beat the claws up again to free Gaia, all while avoiding Poseidon's attacks.

After freeing Gaia again she'll try and punch Poseidon, but his claws will stop her from doing so. This will trigger a quick time event where Kratos has to make like Spider-Man and swing across Poseidon's claws in order to destroy the one grabbing onto Gaia's hand. Upon freeing her hand, Gaia will punch Poseidon so hard that it propels Kratos right into the chest of his water armor, allowing him to drag the water god out of it, and the two of them wind up on some cliffside ruins to finish the fight.

Now, I know what you might be thinking. This is the final phase of the fight where Kratos and Poseidon go head to head. No powers, no tricks, just two men duking it out until one is left standing. Oh no! Oh no, no, no, no, no!

Before Poseidon has a chance to do anything, Kratos grabs him and starts to beat the ever-loving shit out of him in a series of quick time events. The icing on this cake, is that you see Kratos beating him up, from Poseidon's point of view. This is as satisfying as it is intense and horrifying, almost as if the game wants you to experience the pain Kratos inflicted on all of his enemies.

And after beating Poseidon into next week, how does Kratos finally kill him? By using his thumbs to gouge out his eyes, and then promptly break his neck before dropping him into the seas below!

Damn, now that's how you end a marvelous boss fight.

If there's one word I can use to describe the fight against Poseidon, it's cinematic. The appearance and size of Poseidon in his water armor is nothing short of amazing, and the cutscenes and quick time events, especially that brutal finisher, are so epic and intense that they almost overshadow the actual fight.

And can you believe that Poseidon isn't my number one favorite Playstation boss or my favorite first boss from the God of War series?