The Kishotenketsu Boss Structure

7. The "Kishotenketsu" Boss Structure

Many Japanese-developed games (and their Western imitators) structured entire games like a boss ladder: each boss was a physical test of a mechanic the player just learned, not just a stat check.

Rule of thumb: A boss should require the player to demonstrate mastery of something the level before it taught. If your boss can be beaten with skills unrelated to the preceding level, the boss is misplaced.