Best/Worst Final Boss Fights

[Mellow Ezlo]

Despite having a lot of flaws in its games, one of the things the Zelda series nails almost every single time is its final battles. Whether it's against the series main villain Ganondorf or some incarnation of him, or against its secondary villain Vaati, or even against the devil himself in the form of Demise, each battle is awesome for some reason or another, even if some are a bit on the easy side. For the most part, they all have brilliant presentation, a good degree of epicness (with epic music to boot), and decent difficulty. But, as with anything else, there some that stand out above all others. Which final boss battles in the series do you think are the best and the worst, and why?

For me, determining a best is difficult, so I'll name three that really stand out to me. The battle with Demise in Skyward Sword is the single most important battle in the entire franchise as it sets up literally every following game. The battle against Ganon in Ocarina of Time was extremely well built up and had amazing presentation, and I think it's the best final battle in the series. The battle against Ganondorf in The Wind Waker is my personal favourite, though, as it's the first time we have a real one-on-one sword fight with Ganondorf, and it has an awesome finale.

The worst final boss fight, for me, would be that of The Legend of Zelda. Ganon had the potential to be the hardest foe in the game, but he was actually quite easy when I first battled him. I was expecting him to be really difficult, but I was disappointed. There were far harder enemies throughout the game. It was disappointing, and also felt anticlimactic to me.

And now I leave you with my favourite final boss theme:

 

[Jirohnagi]

For me my top 5 were:

And yes i'm gonna embed the music if i haven't seen it here, mostly because the music is the best parts


5) Yuganon: Yeah i loved this fight to be brunt and honest i mean come on we saw Yuga's progression in the game from slightly insane art fanatic to full blow insane art fanatic fused to a super pig, and that boss fight was so awesome. PLUS THE MUSIC

Spoiler: LORD OF THE PIGS

4) Beast King Ganon TP: Yeah damn right i loved this guy just the fight against him, with him both warping around to attack and the fact you are forced to change from human to wolf fluidly for this fight and to be fair how cool is it to see a boar that size vs a wolf that small? And yeah i enjoyed the Music

Spoiler: Beast King Ganon Theme

3) Ganondorf from TP: The final Swordfight it was a spectacular fight and i particularly loved the ending for it ^^, just link stabbing him in the gut and zant snapping his neck, kinda makes you think mebbe?

Spoiler: The final Showdown

2) Demise: Just literally you go into a different dimension to fight him and it's a magnificent arena, i truly mean that, it's both desolate and beautiful and the music for Demise is awesome, and how many times in the series do we go two to two with the Big Bad Boss? Not many.

Spoiler: FOR GLORY

1) This is actually pretty tough i've stated i enjoyed those fights where we are forced to fight sword to sword and i've stated that i enjoyed the fights that are almost Goliath vs David
and i think i am tied actually here It's a toss up between GANON from OOT and WW Ganondorf............. But i think

WW Ganondorf makes number 1, that was truly the best fight of the two, you know why? because we see Link and Ganondorf fight as true equals Neither have the Triforce so it really is a contest of Arms. So yeah for me that is my Best

Spoiler: Sword fight among Equals

To be honest i don't have a worst Final boss fight, actually no that'd be a lie, Shadow link from AoL was terrible and i do mean that in ever sense, screw that dude. Now that i think of it i'd actually throw Malladus and the Lady from TFH. Those we all horrendous fights and i want nothing to do with them ^^

 

[Soul]

My favourite would probably be Vaati from The Minish Cap. Difficult, intense, and most of all, FUN boss fight that provides a fitting end to a great game. All that build up in one of the series' best final dungeons possibly contributed here aswell. As for worst, I'd probably have to say Malladus, though honestly I don't really remember that much from the fight other than that I wasn't impressed, and drawing the hourglass was one of the few instances in the DS games where I was frustrated with the touch screen controls.

 

[hwrdjacob]

My favourite would probably be Vaati from The Minish Cap. Difficult, intense, and most of all, FUN boss fight that provides a fitting end to a great game. All that build up in one of the series' best final dungeons possibly contributed here aswell.

Vaati in TMC has always been a symbolic representation of what meglomania does to a person to me, and that's why I've always liked Vaati as a villain.


My favorite final bosses are, in no particular order, Ganon (OoT), The Nightmares (LA), Vaati (TMC), Demise (SS), Dark Link (AoL), Ganondorf (WW), Majora (MM), and Ganon (ALttP).

My least favorite are Malledus (ST), Lady Maub (TFH), and Ganon (LoZ).

The rest I'm neutral on.

 

[Soul]

Wait, Malladus is the one from Spirit Tracks? I got that mixed up then, was talking about the Phantom Hourglass boss, whose name I can't even recall apparently. I actually really enjoyed Malladus.

 

[Jirohnagi]

Wait, Malladus is the one from Spirit Tracks? I got that mixed up then, was talking about the Phantom Hourglass boss, whose name I can't even recall apparently. I actually really enjoyed Malladus.

Bellum

Malladus was an iffy fight in my eyes if for no other reason that what boss fight should have a song be conducted in it? I feel like they first shoehorned the spirit pipes in then forced as many encounters with it as possible

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

i liked pretty much all the boss fights w/ ganon,demise included

the one final boss i didn't like for certain was majora
i don't quite remember why,it was just so....blegh; plus this was when i realized how much i hate it when a game recycles its main theme (or a theme) over and over again
ain't that right mario world,brawl and smash 4

 

[TheHerbivoreWaffle]

I've always enjoyed fighting Majora (no Fierce Diety Mask) at the end of MM, because there are a lot of strategies to killing her. (Him? Her? Majora sounds feminine, so...) I also like the Demise fight because of the setup, the challenge, and the fun factor. The fight with Vaati at the end of MC is really memorable, and somewhat of a challenge. The final Ganondorf fight in TP is really great.

Some I don't like include the Ganon fight from OoT, for being too repetitive with not enough challenge and the first phase is just annoying. The fight against Bellum in PH just drags, and does not feel epic at all. I hate Puppet Ganon in WW, even if the actual fight against Ganondorf is okay.

Final bosses in Zelda don't usually stand out to me, for whatever reason. I guess I'm not a fan of boss enemies in general.

 

[Jirohnagi]

I've always enjoyed fighting Majora (no Fierce Diety Mask) at the end of MM, because there are a lot of strategies to killing her. (Him? Her? Majora sounds feminine, so...) I also like the Demise fight because of the setup, the challenge, and the fun factor. The fight with Vaati at the end of MC is really memorable, and somewhat of a challenge. The final Ganondorf fight in TP is really great.

Some I don't like include the Ganon fight from OoT, for being too repetitive with not enough challenge and the first phase is just annoying. The fight against Bellum in PH just drags, and does not feel epic at all. I hate Puppet Ganon in WW, even if the actual fight against Ganondorf is okay.

Final bosses in Zelda don't usually stand out to me, for whatever reason. I guess I'm not a fan of boss enemies in general.

See for me Ganon from OOT didn't drag mainly cuz i don't play anything but Master Quest and just lately it's 3 heart runs. Kinda ups the ante when all he needs to do is swing once and BOOM dead.
Bellum is a drag, i did like Bellumbeck but i didn't get why we had to rely on CIA for everything in that fight.

Majora was a really enjoyable boss fight, yea not one of the most favorite due to how easy she is to cheese (Fierce Deity amirite) but when fighting her properly you do utilize more than you'd think ^^.

Vaati, this guy is probably my nemesis i can never have a straight run i WILL die multiple times to him (this is MC Vaati now) dunno why but i find the fact you have to manoeuvre 4 links fiddly at best, the first part of the fight was fine but it was later on it got annoying, plus that room with the three darknuts always killed me.

 

[Dio]

1) Ganondorf (OOT) This is a two phase boss battle. First you fight the man himself and then his bestial form after he bursts out of the castle that just fell on him. I love energy ball tennis and the atmosphere for both phases is just perfect. I like that Ganondorf actually does a decent amount of damage in this game. Enemies in general just seem to be getting weaker and weaker in Zelda.

2)Ganondorf (TP) This is a four phase battle. Four epic fights. I love when Ganondorf is exorcised from Zelda and everyone is happy. Then they hear a noise and you can tell they are thinking 'Oh ****' as the beast Ganon is forming from the particles of the exorcised Ganondorf. Let us not forget of course there is also that most memorable moment when Ganondorf kills midna destroying Hyrule Castle in the process and crushes her helmet before Link to show his dominance. And finally the dude dies standing up, how good is that. One of the best villain deaths ever. Only major problem is the ease of the fights.

3)Majora-I just love the challenge of Majora. I never get the Fierce Deity mask and this is a petty tough final boss without it. The manic music really adds to the feel of it. You can tell this is a crazed monster you're up against.

4) Ganondorf (WW) The ocean is coming down above our heads, we're all gonna drown if we don't finish this quickly and our opponent has just lost his sanity. The music and atmosphere are both great for this fight. I found killing Ganondorf to be the saddest moment in Zelda however as over a thousand years of his planning had gone into getting the triforce and that opportunity was now gone. I also wondered if I would ever see him return again, but it turns out he cant be killed so I'm rather pleased about that.

5)Yuganon. No longer is energy tennis performed with a single magical ball. Now there are two involved! I seriously want to see this in a 3D game. The fight has enjoyable music especially when the timpani and choir kicks in. And I'm sure there are magical cuccos summoned to fight you in this battle.

 

[Ravioforpresident]

Best is Vaati, worst is veran

 

[AncientPoe]

My favorite final boss fight... hmmm.... I think it's a toss up between Ganondorf/Ganon from Ocarina of Time, and the full Majora battle.

Absolute worst is Malladus. Boring, uninspired, and easy. But hey, at least it was consistent with the rest of the game.

 

[CrimsonCavalier]

I think my favorite battle is against Ganon, beast form, in Ocarina of Time. Partially because it's a good battle, but partially because of the atmosphere. On top of the tower, epic music, battling a creature from your nightmares. The mood was set up perfectly after you defeat Ganondorf. The escape sequence after the battle wraps up the entire package up so well.

I'm torn about my least favorite, because I really liked the last phase of The Wind Waker. However, I absolutely loathe the Caterpillar Form of the Puppet Ganon fight. It's actually one of my least favorite moments of any Zelda game. But the final battle with Ganondorf is so freaking epic that they balance out, in the end.

 

[Spirit]

Worst- Demise

Best- Wind Waker Ganondorf

He may not be hard, the fight might not last long but the atmosphere feels right for a final boss.

 

[Mike Riendeau]

I can't think of the best but I can most definitely think of the worst. Zelda II. Your shadow was literally the easiest final boss and the cheapest. It was pretty much an equivalent to the Water Temple boss in OoT. Super easy with no skill required. The fact that you can camp in a corner to beat the final boss after a blisteringly hard game, truly pisses me off. Most definitely the worst boss fight.