Top 15 Favorite Video Game Bosses

Boss fights are always a fun aspect of video games, a unique test of the player's skill up to that point. Here's a list of the best ones:

1. Masked Dedede's Revenge (Kirby: Triple Deluxe)
• It's no surprise that a Kirby fight would be #1, but why this one? There are a lot of fantastic options, but there's a reason Masked Dedede became known for being almost memetically badass, and it's not just his amazing theme. The fight lures you in for a false security, especially if you fought Masked Dedede in Super Star Ultra. His attacks are slow and the music is just the standard boss theme. But then Dedede grabs an axe, things get real. Dedede not only has a lot more attacks but they're much faster and harder to avoid, and the music transitions to a killer remix of the Masked Dedede theme. The drastic shift in tone and difficulty makes for a truly memorable fight that I'm very happy to call my favorite.
• Honorable Mention: Morpho Knight (Forgotten Land) - I have never been sold on a character this effectively
2. The Snatcher (A Hat In Time)
• A Hat In Time's boss fights are insane, especially for a 3D Platformer. The sheer amount of attacks and phases make pretty much all of them a ton of fun, but my personal favorite is the fight with the Snatcher. I think The Snatcher's personality really shines throughout the fight, with many of his attacks feeling devilish and troll-y, while still being fair and a ton of fun to avoid. I also have to give praise to how it plays with the fourth wall. He's the only boss that doesn't have a blue vulnerable phase, so to actually land a hit on him, you have to physically paint him blue. "Did you just color me blue with my own attack" is genuinely one of my favorite quotes in a video game. And of course, as is the case for many of these fights, the music is fantastic.
• Honorable Mention: DJ Grooves/The Conductor (A Hat In Time) - In any other game, this would be its best boss fight by a mile
3. Agent 3 (Splatoon 2)
• While Splatoon's boss fights usually has you face off against some giant monster or mechanoid, the fight with a brainwashed Agent 3 is pretty much just a one-on-one, and yet it manages to be easily the most tense and gripping fight in the series. Aside from the fantastic callback to the first game, I love how you're basically the underdog for the entire fight. Agent 3 has a bunch of special attacks at her disposal as well as a lot more hitpoints, meaning that you'll have to be her through sheer technical skill alone. Each phase of the fight changes things up in some pretty neat ways, and beating either one of her two difficult boss fights feels like a major accomplishment.
• Honorable Mention: Big Man (Splatoon 3) - Taking a flawed boss from Super Mario Sunshine and pretty much perfecting it
4. Clownpiece (Legacy Of Lunatic Kingdom)
• That's right, I said it. Clownpiece is the best non-extra, non-final boss in the entirety of Touhou, and that's entirely because of its brutal difficulty. Clownpiece is a gauntlet, bullet hell at its most literal. During her boss fight, you have to deal with an onslaught of stars, lasers, and even moons. Clownpiece's fight is legitimately terrifying because of just how fast her attacks come at you, with some of them boxing you in and others directly targeting you, but wow, is it satisfying to nail. This boss fight is even cool on an aesthetic level, with the colorful bullets and backgrounds, hilarious America-themed attacks, and frantic music. 
• Honorable Mention: Koishi (Subterranean Animism) - Wasn't sure whether to include since she's an extra boss, either way a phenomenal battle
5. Koloktos (Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword)
• Zelda's boss fights have an odd reputation, simultaneously praised for their creativity and scale while also frequently poked fun at for their obvious weakpoints. That's what makes Koloktos such a cool boss fight. In a fun subversion from the series' norms, this behemoth actively tries to cover up his weakspot in whichever way he can, starting with blocking it with his hands, then locking it behind a gate, and finally getting up and walking around. The way you turn the tables on him is just as fun, from ripping his arms off with the Whip to grabbing one of his swords and tearing Koloktos to pieces with it. Add in some fun attacks, an incredibly unique design, and one of the best boss themes in the series, and you get a truly legendary fight.
• Honorable Mention: Molgera (Wind Waker) - Simple premise but genuinely challenging and elevated by its music
6. Agent Black (Iconoclasts)
• Iconoclasts has a ton of amazing boss fights, but this was always going to be the one I'd pick. On a gameplay level, the second fight with Agent Black is a ton of fun. It's fast-paced, exciting, involving, and lengthy, boasting multiple drastically different phases that increase in difficulty and intensity. But even more than that, this fight with Agent Black is just plain emotional. Her sheer desparation to protect the rocket goes from irritating to noble to pitiful, and it's hard not to feel bad for her as you're forced to shove the Isi seeds into her, causing her to slowly transform into an unrecognizable monster. And the theme that plays during the fight is hands down one of the biggest pieces of tearjerker music in any video game. 
• Honorable Mention: Omega Controller (Iconoclasts) - An absolute trip of a boss fight in the best way possible
7. Seven Force/Syntax (Gunstar Heroes/Freedom Planet)
• Let's face it, Gunstar Heroes was carried by its inventive boss fights, and Seven Force is easily the best one. It's a boss that chases you as you race through a mineshaft at full speed, but the twist is that it can transform into seven different forms, each with their own unique design and attacks. It's fast-paced, kinetic, unpredictable, and incredibly memorable. Even after all these years, Seven Force is the type of boss that you just can't find anywhere else... outside of Freedom Planet at least, which contains a homage to the boss in the form of its final fight with Syntax. The Syntax fight manages to be nearly as cool due to the fact that the game's Sonic inspiration means you don't need a minecart to chase him at full speed.
• Honorable Mention: Cereberus Alpha (Mischief Makers) - One of the wildest and most exhilarating things I've ever played in a game
8. Experiment No Z-57 (Metroid Dread)
• Picking between this one and the Meta Ridley fights from Prime was tough, but I think Dread's smooth combat pushes this one over the edge for me. The fight with Z-57 manages to be simultaneously bombastic and challenging at the same time. On one hand, the boss has a terrifyingly cool design that takes up the entire screen, the parry cinematic is incredibly badass, and the music is fantastic. On the other hand, Z-57's attacks hit hard, come fast, and take up a lot of space, but once you figure out how to reliably dodge them, you'll feel like a god. Oh, and not to mention the fact that you can use the Speed Booster to kill the guy only halfway into the fight, continuing the trend of Metroid having fantastic sequence breaks.
• Honorable Mention: Meta Ridley (Metroid Prime) - Ridley at his most terrifying
9. Cursed Leorina (Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil)
• As much as I wanted to put Baladium for his story significance and music, you can beat him in like half a minute if you're good enough. Cursed Leorina on the other hand not only has the story significance and music, but it's also a lengthy and fun fight on its own merits. Leorina might be the longest fight in all of Klonoa, with a whopping three phases that force you to use the enemies around you to hit her weakpoint in some creative and satisfying ways. Despite Leorina being a rival character for a lot of the game, seeing her overcome with sorrow and transformed into a creepy monster is kinda heart-wrenching, and it gives the fight some serious emotional weight, along with the hauntingly beautiful boss theme. 
• Honorable Mention: Baladium (Klonoa 1) - Fun and dramatic, if a bit short
10. Mantis Lords (Hollow Knight)
• I could think of a reason for pretty much every Hollow Knight boss to be on this list, with Hornet, Radience, Soul Master, Hollow Knight himself, and Nightmare King Grimm being pretty close. However, Mantis Lords transcends just being a boss fight to becoming one of the game's most iconic moments. The fight itself is fun, with the lords having simple but fast attacks that you need to figure out how to reliably avoid. I like how you fight one mantis once to learn how the fight works before you have to fight the other two. But even beyond the fight itself is the story. I love how you're the one who challenges the Mantis Lords, and how you get the respect of the whole village after doing so. The music is great, the progression is great, everything about this boss is just so sublime.
• Honorable Mention: Hornet (Hollow Knight) - The ultimate test of your abilities, always satisfying to beat
11. Amadeus Wolfgeist (Luigi’s Mansion 3)
• For me to really hammer home how surprising this fight was, I need to give the full context. There have been a few boss fights in Luigi's Mansion 3 up to this point, but they have all been on the simple side. Then Amadeus storms in with a lengthy and multi-stage fight that tests everything you've learned up to this point, from dodging, to jumping, to fighting enemies, to using the plunger, to tossing bombs. Not to mention the final phase where Amadeus possesses a piano, finally giving me the boss fight with Mario 64's Mad Piano I didn't know I wanted. The music is great, the boss himself is charming, and the fight feels like the point at which the game itself really kicks it up a notch.
• Honorable Mention: Haunted Clocktower (Dark Moon) - How did they make an enemy rush fun?!
12. Bowser Jr (Mario & Luigi: Dream Team)
• Mario & Luigi: Dream Team might just have my favorite battle system in any RPG, since attacking and dodging turns into these fun minigames and chase sequences that utilize the entirety of the arena. The best instance of this is Bowser Jr's optional-but-absolutely-worth-it boss fight. At first, the fight feels like a downward struggle, as Bowser Jr has the ability to steal your special attacks. However, when he's not looking, you can hijack his clown car, throw objects at him like mad, and steal all your special attacks back. Not only is it satisfying as hell, but it turns the game's usual chase sequence completely on its head. The boss isn't going after you, you're going after the boss.
• Honorable Mention: Antasma (Dream Team) - Genuine final boss material, this game really does have the best bosses
13. Selicy (One Step From Eden)
• While Violette's rhythm-based attacks make for the most creative fight in OSFE, Selicy is actually my favorite fight from of the main eight, mostly because of just how fun and satisfying dodging her attacks are. Many of Selicy's attacks involve you tossing piercing icicles at the player from pretty much any direction, making this a fight that rewards fast reaction time. When she's not throwing her icicles, she's spending her time in your side of the battlefield trying to slash you with her sword. It all adds up to a boss fight that can feel kind of claustrophobic in how it forces you to make fast tight dodges, but that just makes it all the more fun to pull off. Not to mention Selicy's cool design (pun absolutely intended) and fantastic boss theme.
• Honorable Mention: Violette (One Step From Eden) - Rhythm-based boss fights are always a ton of fun
14. E-101 Beta mkII (Sonic Adventure)
• Sonic Adventure is one of my favorite games in the series and rivals Generations and the Rush games as the best boss lineup in a franchise with usually shaky boss fights, but the second battle with E-101 Beta mkII is the one I wanted to single out. For starters, he's the only Gamma fight you can't just tank. Beta has a shield you have to fight a way to work around, all the way dodging his increasingly large amount of projectiles. Add in the best song in the game and a timer and you get a fight that feels really tense and nerve-wracking. But what really makes Beta's fight memorable for a lot of people is its impact on the story. This is Gamma's last stand, and he's unable to defeat Eggman's other units without getting destroyed himself. It's easily the most emotional powerful sequence of the game and elevates an already fantastic boss encounter. 
• Honorable Mention: Biolizard (Sonic Adventure 2) - Hard but fair, the one highlight in a game with otherwise crummy bosses
15. Dingodile (Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped)
• Dingodile is the perfect example of simple but effective boss design. You basically have to bait Dingodile into shooting through his crystalline barrier so you can land an attack, but there's a lot more to the fight than it may initially seem. The three crystal barriers move in different directions and speed, Dingodile will try to psych you out and predict your movements, and every hit you land turns the fight into a frantic chase to get to safety before his backpack explodes. It manages to be both challenging and surprisingly complex in spite of its short length and simple premise, and it helps that Dingodile is easily my favorite character in the series, with a striking design and memorable voice.
• Honorable Mention: N Gin (Crash 4) - Hands down the best fight in the series

• Other Honorable Mentions
• Bouldergeist (Super Mario Galaxy) - Cool design and fun way of defeating him
• Raphael The Raven (Yoshi's Island) - This boss did antigravity before Mario Galaxy made it cool
• Spinarella (Dynamite Headdy) - The 3D effect in this fight is so cool, and it actually works really well!