For gamers looking to jump away from the classic Mario formula while still enjoying the world's interesting characters, there is the Paper Mario series. As the name implies, all of the characters are made out of paper. The world is also more open, and instead of just jumping on enemies, Mario is thrown into a turn-based battle system. There are even badges to equip to alter abilities and a level system.
Like any classic RPG, Mario has to make his way through dungeons where, in the end, he will encounter the boss. In fact, even outside of the final dungeon room, there are bosses scattered around the Paper Mario world. These are the hardest of them, ranked.
Updated July 20th, 2020 by Meg Pelliccio: The Paper Mario franchise just added an extra title to its line-up with the recent release of Paper Mario: The Origami King for the Nintendo Switch.
Many fans are super excited about this latest adventure as it returns some of the fan-favorite features of the early Paper Mario titles, such as partners, while still offering a fresh new experience with a new ring battle system. Of course, with the addition of this new title, there are now even more bosses that players must defeat. Read on to find out which are the hardest.
14 Stapler (Paper Mario: The Origami King)
It might not look like much, but the Stapler boss in The Origami King is one of the tougher bosses of the game due to its sheer attack power. This office accessory can do serious amounts of damage when it attacks Mario, so be on your guard.
Ideally, you want to ensure you keep the staples inside the boss to a minimum to reduce the damage done by its Bite Barrage attack. While Stapler is reloading, you'll also have a chance to use your 1000-Fold Arms ability to get some payback.
13 Bowser (Paper Mario: Sticker Star)
The final boss of Paper Mario: Sticker Star is none other than Bowser himself, and of course, he's in all his shiny splendidness. One of the main things that can make this a trying fight is the huge amount of HP that Bowser has.
Additionally, adds will keep spawning when you defeat them unless you use the Stapler, Tape, or Thumbtack to keep the doors closed. There are four phases in total and each time a new phase begins, Bowser will recover a significant amount of HP.
12 General Guy (Paper Mario)
General Guy is the boss that you will face at the end of the first Paper Mario game and can be found inside of the toy box. General Guy is an enemy who commands the shy guy fleet and has what seems to be an endless supply of troops. When you finally confront him, he even appears inside of a tank.
The tank protects him while he summons more soldiers making the battle tedious and drawn out.
11 Tubba Blubba (Paper Mario)
In the days of limited internet, the original Paper Mario could be a bit intimidating. One boss that made players' blood run cold was Tubba Blubba, who, for the majority of the game's third level, was completely invincible. This led to players becoming confused and becoming beat down by the villain.
Tubba Blubba is only beatable once you find his heart in the well and lower it's HP.
10 King Olly (Paper Mario: The Origami King)
King Olly is the final boss in Paper Mario: The Origami King and the battle has multiple phases that change up the mechanics. In the first part, King Olly will utilize the powers of the Vellumentals, which you previously fought in boss battles, meaning the mechanics of these parts are largely the same. One key piece of advice is to not dawdle, as King Olly can replenish his health while you are busy planning your moves.
Phase two is essentially a sumo match, where you need to keep activating the Magic Circle behind Bowser, and phase three requires you to solve a puzzle.
9 Cortez (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)
Cortez is a multi-part fight that can be found in Thousand-Year Door. Cortez can be found in the fifth level of the game and later becomes an ally. Cortez can catch players off-guard by his plethora of attacks in battle, and his first form is capable of poisoning Mario.
During his third form, he can even get health back by turning to the audience and eating there souls.
8 Black Bowser (Paper Mario: Color Splash)
Black Bowser is the final boss of Paper Mario: Color Splash and is a corrupt version of the antagonist that fans love to hate. Essentially, players have to keep attacking Black Bowser until all of the black paint comes off of him.
However, removing the black paint will cause adds called Black Lava Bubbles to spawn, which you must defeat, not to mention that Black Bowser will be attacking you the entire time too. During phase two of the battle, Bowser becomes larger and the paint will become harder to remove.
7 Anti-Guy Unit (Paper Mario)
Anti-Guy Unit isn't a boss that you have to fight during the original Paper Mario. Anti-Guy Unit is an extra challenge that you are forced to fight when you mess up a quiz in Bowser's Castle. Many players breezed through the castle without ever fighting this enemy.
What makes them so dangerous is that each Anti-guy has 50 HP and an attack of 10.
6 Lava Pirahanna (Paper Mario)
Lava Pirahanna is the ruler of Mt. Lavalava and, depending on whether you have upgraded Sushi or not, can be a major pain. Lava Pirahanna is an enemy that has two phases and limits Mario's jump ability by setting himself on fire. He can also summon minions to deal extra damage.
Defeating Lava Pirahanna is all about managing multiple enemies while whittling down the main plant.
5 Doopliss (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)
Doopliss may be a goofy looking boss, but his battle style is no joke. He is fought twice, once as the Boss of Twilight Town and again with the Shadow Sirens in the last level. What makes Doopliss unique is his ability to copy your abilities and use them against you in battle.
One fight with him also only allows you to use the newly acquired partner Vivian.
4 Huff N' Puff (Paper Mario)
Huff N' Puff is the boss found at the end of Flower Fields and lives in the sky above the area. When he is attacked, he doesn't lose health like a normal boss. Instead, he splits off into smaller tuff buffs that can attack Mario. He also has a move to absorb them back into his body to restore HP.
Huff N' Puff can be a frustrating enemy, as he regularly uses lighting attacks on Mario.
3 Shadoo (Super Paper Mario)
Shadoo is a boss from Super Paper Mario that is an additional boss from the Pit of 100 trials. He has four forms to beat and assumes the powers of Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser. Each shadow form has 100 HP, and whittling down the boss takes a lot of patience.
To make matters even worse, Shadoo can also use an item to heal during the battle.
2 Shadow Queen (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)
The Shadow Queen is the final boss of The Thousand-Year Door and is arguably stronger then Bonetail, according to some players. The Shadow Queen is big on using heavy-hitting attacks and status ailments to affect Mario and his party. As she becomes lower on health, status ailments will become more common.
It's also worth mentioning that she even uses Princess Peaches' body during the first part of the battle.
1 Bonetail (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)
Bonetail is the strongest optional boss in The Thousand-Year Door and can be found at the bottom of the Pit of 100 trials. The boss has 200 HP and multiple types of attacks, some of which can inflict status ailments. Bonetail also has the ability to heal during the battle.
He has an attack of 8, but the status ailments and his large amount of HP make this a lengthy battle.