Which Zelda Game Has the Best Bosses?

[JuicieJ]

A very self explanatory question. Which Zelda game do you think has the best lineup of bosses? I'd have to say Skyward Sword, and for two major reasons (neither one of them being that SS is my favorite Zelda, so lay off with the jokes and assumptions about this -- I'm serious).

First off, Nintendo finally cut the crap of having every single boss be some giant monstrosity that had maybe two moves and that were often easier than normal fights in the game. This was a problem ever since TWW, and I'd say only TMC overcame this fate until SS (even though ST did a really good job with its bosses). Of course, SS did have The Imprisoned, Tentalus (ugh), and Levias/Bilocyte as large bosses, but, with the exception of Tentalus, these were overworld bosses. As such, it was nice to see a change of pace from the more action-based fights of the dungeon bosses, especially since they were much different in their battles than bosses from TWW, TP, and PH.

Second, the bosses truly returned to form from the days of ALttP where there were bosses that were both large and small and acted like actual battles. Bosses like Ghirahim (all phases), Moldarach, Koloktos, the Horde Battle, Demise, and all of the minibosses were each 1:1 battles that required quick thinking and reactions in order to be victorious, and they were actually challenging again, to boot. It also didn't hurt that they each had kick-*** music to get your adrenaline going and create a tense and often uneven feeling to provide a sense of urgency.

Nearly everything about SS's bosses was simply phenomenal, and there was only one legitimate letdown (Tentalus, who should have been an overworld boss). They progressively got more challenging (for the most part) and ended off with a triple battle bang to grace Zelda with the most intense and impressive finale to date. If you don't agree with me, that's fine, but I've seriously never been more impressed with a lineup of bosses in any Zelda game before, and that's really saying something since I'd been playing Zelda games for 12+ years upon getting SS.

But tell me your thoughts. Do you agree with me? Or do you think another game has better bosses? Discuss!

 

[Azure Sage]

I'm going to have to answer Majora's Mask. I've played all the Legend of Zelda games except for ALttP, FSA, OoS, and OoA, and no game has had bosses that pushed me as hard the first time through as MM. This is especially true for Odolwa and Gyorg. I've seriously never fought bosses that worked me as hard as those two the first time I fought them. In fact, MM was the first Zelda game I've played which each boss gave me at least one game over. So, going by my personal experiences, I'm picking Majora's Mask.

 

[boyrobot22]

My bosses

I think MM and WW have the best bosses. MM was challenging and I liked the fact that going back in time let you beat them again. Majora's Wrath was my favorite boss.
Of course, WW bosses are extremely easy, but I liked the graphics and detail put into the bosses. It made it very enjoyable, despite the fact that the bosses take like a minute to defeat.

 

[TheRizardon]

I've only played 7 Loz games but out of those i'd have to say Twilight Princess' bosses were the best.

 

[masterSword2]

I'm going to have to go with Skyward Sword. All of the boss fights (other than the 2nd imprisoned battle) were fun and mostly challenging. As you've stated, lately boss battles have been lacking in the "difficulty" department. I think skyward sword was able to break that trend. The main reason that Skyward Sword's bosses rise above the others though, is because of how fun it was to fight them. The new options created by the 1:1 motion controls made every boss battle epic. I think Nintendo will continue to develop upon the new world opened by 1:1 motion controls, and provide us with even more amazing boss battles.

 

[TheFierceDeity]

As a whole I think Ocarina of Time had the most epic boss fights....They were all pretty awesome.

 

[Koosholts]

For me, I have to give my vote to The Wind Waker. While these bosses were not too terribley difficult, I enjoyed the design and atmosphere that was presented with each respective fight. To me, that's just as if not more important than the difficulty level.

 

[Ventus]

Vote goes simultaneously to Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Oracle of Seasons/Ages.

For me, the scope of the bosses in these games were all grand. I mean, the difficulty of every boss in LoZ gave that "accomplishing" feeling upon their defeat. The music made everything in ALttP just freaking epic. Nintendo applied that concept as well as placed the depth of three dimensions with OoT. MM's bosses were just asdf awesome, not sure if a comment on them is even necessary. And finally, the bosses return to that same style of LoZ for OoX. What I'm saying is, every encounter felt like a fight to the death, as if the bosses actually wanted to destroy you rather than, you know, get in your way for a few moments. And that is how boss fights *should* be -- the bosses should want to destroy you. I mean, you DID dare to bring yourself into their lair, amirite? (lol, CD-i reference)

Some other things with these games is the overall difficulty of the boss battles. Other games haven't been able to compare in the department, with the exception of Adventure of Link's, and I'm frankly sick of easy fights. The BOSS battles, i.e, the FINAL ENCOUNTER OF AN AREA, should NOT be as easy as every other encounter in that area. They *shouldn't*.

 

[Mr Reaper]

Skyward Sword, as much as I hate to say it, they actually make you use your mind and it's not criminally easy like a lot of Zelda bosses (not saying all just a good amound (60%)), they're a challenge and it feels like more than just phase to phase borefest.

 

[The Jade Fist]

Majora's Mask, simply due the variety of the ways each boss could be killed. It wasn't solve for weak spot win. All of the bosses could be hurt multiple ways, and except for the fish could be beaten with any mask on. And the first boss odawalla doesn't hold your hand either, when you're there at 3 hearts, and the lvl 1 sword, he's a genuine threat.

 

[MW7]

I went with A Link to the Past, Majora's Mask, and Skyward Sword. What separates these games most for me is how the boss designs don't go out of their way to involve the dungeon item or require its usage. IMO every Zelda game misses with some of its bosses, but these three had high quality on average. In Majora's Mask the only boss I didn't like much was Twinmold, but the fact that it has fewer bosses holds it back from being my outright favorite. In Skyward Sword I absolutely despise fighting the Imprisoned (the frequency of the battles only hurts my opinion of it). In A Link to the Past there were a handful of bosses that I thought were mediocre at best like Lanmolas or Vitreous, but there were so many bosses that I liked that it has a favorable impression on me. Each of these games contributed terrific bosses though with some of my favorites being Ghirahim, Goht, Helmasaur King, and Trinexx.

As for other console Zeldas I can't put them on the same level really. Legend of Zelda had some absurdly simplistic bosses (and several good ones too but I'll focus on the negative here) that make me wonder what the game designers were thinking. The best example is probably the first Gohma fight in which you can literally fire an arrow the second you enter the room and defeat it instantly. I don't see how something with a glaring weakspot that requires one hit qualifies as a boss when other places in the game throw darknuts and wizzrobes at you in mobs.

Adventure of Link had some interesting fights, but many were just hacking away and didn't require much thought. Also I commonly encountered glitches without even trying that rendered the bosses harmless. For instance one of the bosses I walked towards the edge of the screen and it lost the ability to fight back.

Ocarina of Time had a couple of really cool fights like Phantom Ganon and Twinrova, but there were a couple of lackluster fights and several in between. King Dodongo was probably my least favorite, and Morpha wasn't far behind. I like several aspects of Ocarina of Time more than in the other 3d console games, but bosses never struck me as the game's strong suit. They just seemed adequate overall with a couple of gems and a couple of bad ones.

Wind Waker and Twilight Princess felt very similiar to me in terms of boss design. There were cases in which the designers really seemed to go out of their way to include the dungeon item in the fight. This led to quite possibly my least favorite boss battle (out of the 3d Zelda games at least) with Armogohma. Maybe it's just me, but this style of boss design seems to create very mindless challenges for the player IMO. Several of my favorite boss designs came in Majora's Mask with the opposite style. I'm pretty sure there are multiple methods to beating just about every major boss in the game (not sure about Gyorg), and the way to defeat the boss isn't super obvious most of the time.

Although Skyward Sword may not have had the same kind of bosses as Majora's Mask, they were still very high quality for the most part (so I'd put them together with A Link to the Past as my favorites). I really enjoyed fighting Ghirahim because it's never immediately obvious how you defeat him. It takes patience to figure out the opportune time and manner in which to defeat him. I'd agree that Koloktos is really cool as well, and Moldarach is another really fun fight. This game also taught me that repeating bosses can either be a treat (Ghirahim) or torture (the Imprisoned). I wouldn't mind repeating bosses in a future game, but I hope it's exclusively with one of my favorite bosses.

 

[NESpowerhouse]

Twilight Princess, to me, has the most engaging and epic boss fights in the entire series. Notable fights include Diababa, Fryus, Morpheel, Stallord, Blizzeta, Armaghoma, Argorok (my personal favorite), Zant, and Ganondorf... Oh wait, that's all the boss fights in the game.

 

[Chilfo Freeze]

I was racking through my brain, trying to list all of the bosses in the Zelda games that I've played. I went through a couple of games - including OoT, MM, WW and a couple others - automatically thinking "Eh, I guess that was good. Meh, okay, that boss was good...", but then I came upon Twilight Princess and realized something.

Twilight Princess was a game - in my mind - that trumped all others in the boss category. When my mind came upon Twilight Princess, I first thought of Stallord. When I first came upon Stallord in gameplay, I automatically thought "Yeah, I've never seen anything like this before!" Then I shuffled through some more bosses from TP, landing on Blizzeta. "I've never seen this before either; this is creative! How did the game designers think of this?" Next? Diababa. "A monkey, swinging across a branch, and you have to use the gale boomerang in order to steal the bomb from it's grasp and use it against Diababa? Also clever and innovative!"

See where I'm going with this? I could say something for every boss in TP very easily, but I'm just going to hope that you all have caught on, and I'll spare you from my rambling thoughts. Twilight Princess introduced new aspects to these bosses; most things that we've never seen before. Not only were these new aspects, but they varied and differed greatly from previous games. I know that every game brings about a new way to kill a boss, but Twilight Princess went above and beyond this step. It climbed to the top and showed me that there were actually more innovative ways to kill bosses, such as using the surroundings more than just the usual 1 v. 1 using the weapons you are supplied.

I do have to say, Ocarina of Time came in a close second, solely because of the introduction of Bongo Bongo. He was something I had never witnessed, and I have no clue if we'll ever see anything as wild as that boss again.

 

[A Link In Time]

It took me awhile to ponder over the various bosses Link has encountered over the course of his adventures but ultimately I'd have to go with A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Spirit Tracks, and Skyward Sword.

With few exceptions I've always deemed bosses who don't fill the entire screen to be superior to their larger counterparts. There appears to be a wider array of ingenuity on screen. ALttP brought the Helmasaur King and Trinexx, two similar dangerous denizens in aesthetic but very different and exciting bouts. The hammer provided for some tight action in the first as it was requisite to smash through the dinosaur's skull but also put the player in danger. Trinexx was an interesting case for he required players to quickly switch between the fire and ice rods in order to strike.

Pioneering 3D gaming worlds both N64 installments made a strong case in the boss venue. Ocarina of Time holds a nostalgic place in my heart. None of the bosses are particularly difficult but they're all extremely well designed. Phantom Ganon-primarily during the initial portrait phase-and Bongo Bongo-the variety of methods to defeat him-are my personal favorites. All of the bosses in Majora's Mask are absolutely stellar although Goht particularly stands out. Rolling around in the Goron transformation to stop the crazed beast was a particularly entertaining.

Enter the modern era. Spirit Tracks and Skyward Sword both featured large bosses in their own right but they weren't as boring or easy to tackle as the mundane offerings of Twilight Princess. The final two dungeon battle of the second DS game enthralled me with the plethora of unique mechanics on display. I loved riding up the mine cart and shooting Cragma's weak points as well as deflecting Skeldritch's boulders using the Sand Wand. A similar case can be made for Skyward Sword although that game also excelled because the dungeon items weren't required for the final showdown especially in the case of Ghirahim confrontations. A personal franchise favorite of mine is Koloktos. A thrilling chill shook my spine during the second phase as the whip made great use utilizing the Buddha like statue's own blades against it, a pleasant throwback to a similar mechanic present in The Wind Waker via the Spoil's Bag.

 

[Makarthekorok]

Minish Cap had some great variety with the cool Minish-sized bosses, Link-sized bosses, towering bosses, flying bosses, etc. Minish Cap had my favorite bosses, Gyorg Pair chief among them.