I'm obviously a big fan of video game bosses. I find that the excitement that comes from fighting ridiculously large, intimidating, cocky bosses with crazy powers, intricate patterns, and surprise forms so far outweighs almost anything you can do in a preceding level that you might as well minimize the boring level and get straight to the best part.
My inspiration for making "Boss Rush" games came from a neat little place in my town called "The Nickelcade." It's an arcade where you pay a $3 cover charge to get in, but all the games inside run on nickels instead of quarters. For me, that place is like heaven because, in the past, I've dumped at least $20 in quarters in a laundrymat beating the Ninja Turtles arcade game. (If I had known about the Nickelcade I'd have saved $16!)
Anyway, there's a game at the Nickelcade called Megaman: The Power Battle (1995). It removes all the frustration of slogging through a Megaman level only to end up at a boss with a sliver of life left and jumps you straight to the awesomeness that is Megaman bosses.
.
/* */
That game stood out to me as a perfect vehicle for translation into flash. I've seen lots of flash games where the build-up prevents 90% of casual players from seeing the boss which is the best part of the game and has the most love put into it. So, let's take the veggies out of the meal!
Here's a timeline of "Boss Rush" genre games, ie: games that have minimal level buildup before unleashing an epic boss-battle on you. Leave me comments on any I've missed and I'll add them in (if they're any good :-P )
12.16.2002 - Domo Kun's Angry Smashfest (Suggested by Luis)
03.31.2004 - Recoil (Suggested by Mindchamber)
01.07.2005 - Powerfox (Suggested by Kenney)
05.01.2006 - Pico vs. Bear (Suggested by Luis [ date from current portal system ])
08.23.2007 - Boss Bash
01.29.2008 - Mario Remix: Boss Edition
03.12.2008 - Castle Crashing the Beard
03.31.2008 - You have to burn the rope
04.13.2008 - Beat the Boss
04.30.2008 - Pico Blast
08.13.2008 - The C-word (Suggested by lordxavierbritish)
10.31.2008 - Buccaneer Battle
02.18.2009 - Ultimate Crab Battle (Suggested by Luis)
04.04.2009 - Robot Dinosaurs That Shoot Beams When they Roar
04.30.2009 - Da Pink Knight
05.02.2009 - In Utero
Luis
Dont forget Weisi's 'Ultimate Crab Battle'
BoMToons
Oh, of course, dunno how I left out that epic gem.