Shadow Boss Showdown is the sixth level in Battletoads/Double Dragon.
Overview[]
Our heroes return to Earth after their epic journey in space and land near the basement of an abandoned building where the Shadow Boss awaits them for a final match. The place is almost devoid of furniture, only lamps can be seen hanging from the ceiling - the player can cling onto these and destroy them to reveal power-ups. Guidos and Walkers reappear in this level, although they are merely filler preceding the final showdown against the Shadow Boss, who by the way, can be seen stalking them along the columns in the background throughout the level. As usual, Walkers will leave one of their legs behind after being defeated, which the player can arm themselves with and easily poke Guidos into the ground until they fall through it.
Not long into the level, the Shadow Boss will finally show up and challenge our heroes. He mainly attacks by performing quick hook punches or by charging forward like an American football player, using the spikes on his shoulder pads to inflict serious damage. If the player is careless and approaches him too much, he will grab and lift them by the neck with one hand and smash them on the head with the other.
However, his most devastating attack is turning himself into a giant spiked ball and start ramming left and right across the room at great speed. There are two hanging lamps in the boss room and it's very important not to destroy them before the fight, as these can be grabbed onto to avoid this attack completely. The lamp on the left contains an Energy item, which may be used to replenish health during the encounter, and the right one contains a 1UP. Make sure to leave at least one intact to grab onto it.
As with most other bosses in the game, the Shadow Boss is susceptible to dashing attacks and doesn't particularly have much health, so just keep attacking, never let him recover and he will be defeated in no time.