Shadow of the Colossus (PlayStation 2, 2005)

The coolest part of side scrollers and adventure games is the boss battles. Some bosses are huge monstrosities that require multiple weak points to be destroyed before the whole thing goes down. God of War had some amazing bosses and full of action. This game is ONLY about Boss Battles. 16 of them to be exact, and each of them quite different in strategy to kill. The idea is original and the execution quite satisfying. You are told to kill these 16 bosses to possibly save a girl. The girl is dead and waiting at the temple where you are explained your mission. The graphics in this game are soft and dreamlike. It does have progressive scan and widescreen support. Not the best graphics on a system, but beautiful artwork.

The bosses all have different weak points, and telling you how you can attack such huge (and I mean HUGE) bosses would be a spoiler. Oh, and you're equipped with bow & arrow (unlimited arrows, which is cool) and a sword. The horse just gets you from one colossus to another. The land is desertlike and very desolate, with varying bridges over chasms and unending drops. It's quite surreal and reminds me much of a Japanese anime story. You'll love this game.