darkSpyro

1st You dont make contact with him ;
2nd He kills people on his side;
3rd a boss wouldn't have a cool mow hawk like he does.

Do you by chance wathc SonikDude101?

LOL, if I answered yes in his place does that count?

I think Metalhead is actually a boss...

1: He has hit points
2: He attacks you.
3: His level is named after him in the uniform fashion of Spyro 1's boss levels.
4: His level only has one dragon in the uniform fashion of the Spyro 1 boss levels, and that dragon tells you how to beat him, again in the uniform fashion of Spyro 1 boss levels.
5: He locks the door behind you so you can't leave for health while fighting him. This is a classic staple of boss fights of the platformer / adventure genres.

He's just a different kind of boss with an interesting gimmick.

I think the mow hawk is supposed to be a joke. His name is Metalhead, a Metalhead is someone who listens to heavy metal / power metal, usually they have mow hawks.

The post above is correct, also in the Prima guide he is listed as a boss.

Feather Dragon, I agree with almost everything you said except, in the level Jacques there are two dragons. =P
(Blame the speed running part of my brain for being an a** about that)

Quote: ClassicSpyroFan

Feather Dragon, I agree with almost everything you said except, in the level Jacques there are two dragons. =P
(Blame the speed running part of my brain for being an a** about that)

Oh, right. I forgot about Uniki, that one took me forever to figure out how to get to. I think they put that dragon in there just to give players a fair checkpoint. But Gnasty has no dragons in his level, it balances itself out.

It's still usually a staple for few dragons to reside in a boss level though, adds more to the foreboding feel.

True, true, I never honestly thought about it being an equilibrium between the 2 boss fights, but since you put it that way. I always thought that Gnasty's level was too quick so a dragon was never needed, the only thing that made the level as long as it was were all of the gems.

True. I remember though, it took me forever to get past those platforms that sink into the wall. I don't know why that was so hard for me, but it was the first video game I owned so I guess a little learning experience was required... The level is very short though, and very linea, unlike previous boss worlds that usually had secrets in them somewhere. Metalhead and Jacques are brilliant levels, one of my favorite spots in the game is Metalhead's secret area when you drop down in that channel to find the broken gate which leads to your key and an extra life along with some whirlwind/fairy dust. (I know it's called whirlwind but as a kid I always called it fairy dust so calling it a whirlwind feels awkward. )

I like Metalhead's level aswell, from a speed runners point of view. Because of the way the stage is setup, you can very easily get everything in a simple loop around the level, so it is a fairly quick level if you plan the route out carefully.
(A future hint for your speed running attempts)
The boss fight itself is a bit of a pain to race through though just because of how random the timing of the electrified antenas are when you first enter each room with them. I'm usually not that lucky and the order of the electrocuted antenas are scattered, so I end up having to wait. (Hopefully you'll have better luck when you make your attempts.)

I'll remember that. Right now though, I'm playing through the game for a different kind of research. I've played Metalhead so much I used to instinctively know the order of those things but they're still a pain, I think their green-red cycle speeds up depending on how many of them are left too.

The only level that gives me trouble is Misty Bog. Stupid frogs, I hate those things, especially in that area where there's an army of them with those gnorcs in armor. >.<

First off, I want to congratulate you on even figuring out that there is a pattern, I would always just rush in and pray that the lights would change to green just before I rammed into them. (There were so many times where I swear the game cheated me out because of that, I would get hit by the antenas after they were done being electrified.) The damn poles are really my only problem with this level.

Misty Bog is both my favorite level and worst level. I usually end up making it all the way to the end of the level with Sparx at full health if I don't get a really cheap plant to decide to break out of his physics, but then I usually end up getting rushed by all the boars, gnorcs, and frogs. I most of the time try to line up the boars so that he'll run into the enemies for me and save me some trouble, but a lot of the times they likes to be jerks about it and run AROUND the enemies. Other than all of that, the music of the stage usually keeps me from going insane if one of my runs needs to stop o this level.

*Quick Tip: If you lose Sparx try to figure out whether the best idea is to try and plow through or use a tactical death, it's really something only you as a speed runner can decide that would either save you time or cost you it.

I do the tactical death thing anyway, sometimes enemies you've already killed for their gems drop butterflies so if I screw up again I might get a butterfly.

Lining the enemies up is easier than it seems, the boars will know you're coming before the other enemies, since their sight range is farther, you just need to remember how close you need to be. If you're in close quarters, try and make the enemies see you first so they'll get into position faster. Sometimes you can make the frogs kill each other but it's rare and I've only done it once.

Last night while running around the level I figured out an order of killing the enemies in that blasted tree trunk you glide to for the alternate route in the level, start from the right and don't stop moving. If you get hit you'll probably die because they gang up on you. To defeat the three frogs standing outside, glide between two and flame them, it should reach between them both, then charge the third.

I think we're derailing this guy's topic, maybe I should make one for talking about this stuff...

So... Beast Makers has no boss then?

Edit: Plus, its been forever know, that you can't ever directly kill a large/large metal armoured enemy in a Spyro game... I mean, not like small armoured enemy's that you charge at...

Well, I don't know if you would call this direct but, you do shove the large armored enemies off of the icy cliffs in Ice Cavern. Actually, now that I think about it, Spyro doesn't sound so innocent anymore.

Quote: ClassicSpyroFan

Well, I don't know if you would call this direct but, you do shove the large armored enemies off of the icy cliffs in Ice Cavern. Actually, now that I think about it, Spyro doesn't sound so innocent anymore.

To me, I wouldn't class that as direct, like the earth shapers in Spyro 2...

But thinking back on it now, in Spyro the Dragon, he shoved enemies off of a cliff into a sea of icy cold liquid. In Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage/ Gateway to Glimmer, he rammed giant creatures into pools of lava, Spyro has commited some pretty horrible crimes.

Well, I think he meant that killing enemies like that isn't a 'direct' kill since you used a source you didn't produce, you simply directed other enemies into it.

But those enemies are easier to kill and only have 1 hit - you need to (technically) hit Metalhead several times, and he's more powerful than the other enemies so he would definitely be a boss.

Edit: Also, Spyro attacked enemies bcause he had to to sae other creatures, it's not like he's going around attacking things for the fun of- ... Actually, never mind.

I understood the fact that it's not a "direct" kill, but I'm speaking now of the fact that he had to defeat his enemies in such a cruel way, which I find very odd of me now since I've never really had a problem with Spyro killing his enemies.

Remember:They're just Gems.Or in Spyro 2's case,spirits.

Ya, I know I'm just changing the way I view them is all. It's nothing permanent, just something to think about from another point of view. =P

Quote: Eragon25

Remember:They're just Gems.Or in Spyro 2's case,spirits.

Yes, they're spirits that Spyro uses to harnass the power of for his power-ups in each level.

In other words, Spyro is a necromancer!

Quote: Eragon25

Do you by chance wathc SonikDude101?

Yeah i love his vids but i agree with him its really a normal leavel with a miniboss.