Bosses are often one of the things that make video game interesting and challenging. What better way to test your skills in the game than to face down a rather difficult enemy? And for most Nintendo games, bosses are pretty straight forward and necessary to progress further in the game.
It’s become a joke among gamers that you can always tell when a boss fight is coming up through conveniently finding some helpful items, or coming across a large room, or finding yourself hearing music with a lot of bass. No matter what, a boss battle is always a good way to keep things interesting in a game. And a boss battle can be funny, it can be difficult, it can be creepy, and more. The sky’s the limit, really.
For me, a good boss battle should be challenging and fun. And atmosphere is also a big deal. One of my favorite boss battles is probably the final boss, Ganon, in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The atmosphere around this boss was just incredible, and while he wasn’t super difficult to defeat, fighting this large, humanoid pig monster was pretty crazy and fun.
But just like a lot of Nintendo games often have secret references and bonus items you can find, many games also have secret bosses that you can fight. These boss battles may be the reward for gathering a certain amount of items or unlocking certain elements in the game. They may be hidden in an incredibly obscure location, or they may appear after you complete something in the game. But no matter what, finding that hidden boss is usually fun, and the reward you get when you defeat that boss is often worth it.
So here are 20 hidden Nintendo bosses, and how you can find them. Think we missed some great secret bosses? Make sure to let us know in the comment section below!
20 It’s A Final Fantasy Reference In A Boss
Ever wanted to see Mario fight a Final Fantasy type of boss? Well, you can in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. There’s a hidden boss called Culex that has quite a few references to the Final Fantasy games.
To find Culex, you need to go to Monstro town. His dimension is behind a sealed door that, according to his neighbor, can only be opened by a Shiny Rock. So, you’ll need to get one in Moleville by buying fireworks from a male mole and then trading them with a young girl mole for the Shiny Rock. With this item, you can now go through the sealed door and fight Culex.
19 It’s A Nostalgic Battle
What’s interesting about Red is that it has quite an emotional impact on you, since Red is the first trainer you played as back in the original Pokémon Red or Blue. So, you’re fighting Red and his Generation 1 starter Pokémon. Talk about a nostalgic trip.
While Red is not particularly difficult to find, the fight with him is pretty significant. Plus, you can only fight him once you’ve gained sixteen badges from the gyms of Johto and Kanto. To find Red, you’ll have to go the to Mt. Silver, which can be reached from Kanto through Route 28. But be prepared for some major feels!
18 What Did You Expect In This Game?
The Earthbound series is known for being both quirky and rather thought provoking, and Mother 3 is no exception. And what way to make this game live up to the series reputation than a crazy secret boss battle? That’s what you get with the King Statue.
This battle itself is a bit of a joke.
The King Statue can be found in New Pork City, but you can only fight it after Boney is found in New Pork City’s sewer. The battle itself is a bit of a joke since you can actually end him by using the New Year’s Eve Bomb, which deals him 99,999,999 damage. It may be a joke battle, but it is a fun hidden battle that not a ton of people know about.
17 Who Knew An Appliance Could Be So Tough?
Did you know that you could fight a slot machine in Star Fox? In the SNES game, there’s a hidden boss that’s actually a giant slot machine with teeth (don’t question it). Getting to this boss is rather difficult since it’s in the zone called Out of this Dimension.
To get to the dimension, go to the Asteroid Belt Zone. There, blow up an asteroid, then blow up the egg inside of it. This releases a bird that you must fly to, and that will warp you to this crazy dimension. And in this dimension is this crazy boss. But keep in mind that beating this boss essentially creates an alternate ending since once you beat it, you’re stuck there until you perish.
16 This Empty Armor Packs A Punch
I think a lot of people forget about the Golden Sun series that was on the GBA. It was a great RPG series and it had its fair share of secret bosses. One memorable boss is Dullahan that you can fight in Golden Sun: The Lost Age. But getting to this guy is very difficult.
To get to Dulluhan, you have to fight and capture all 72 Djinn in both games and use a link cable to transfer your stats from the first game to the second. Then Dullahan can be found in the Anemos Inner Sanctum which is the interior section of the Anemos Sanctum. Even battling Dullahan is notoriously difficult, but defeating him gives you the Iris tablet, which is pretty awesome.
15 Let’s Go Fight A God!
Dark Souls 3 is known for having a lot of interesting secrets. And one of these secrets is a hidden boss called The Nameless King. Even getting to this godlike boss is pretty complicated, which is why we’re counting him as a hidden boss.
Just getting to The Nameless King is difficult.
To get to this boss, you have to go to the hidden Archdragon Peak area from the Irithyll Dungeon. To get there, you need the Path of Dragon Gesture. Use this on the rug next to the stone Dragon Acolyte on the cliffside. This will summon a path to the secret zone. From there, you’ll eventually come across the Nameless King, which happens to be one of the hardest battles in the Dark Souls series.
14 This Mad Scientist Looks Familiar
Baron K Roolenstein is sort of a hidden villain, in that he turns out to be the real villain all along in Donkey Kong Country 3, and is actually King K Rool in disguise. But we’ll count it, since it was a secret that he was the main villain the whole time.
To find Baron K Roolenstein, you just have to go to Kastle Kaos and take on Kaos, the supposed villain of the game, which is a robotic entity. Once you defeat this robot, it’s revealed that it was only a puppet controlled by Baron K Roolenstein who’s actually King K Rool. But no matter what he goes by, this villain isn’t easy to fight.
13 Good Luck Catching This Pokémon
In Pokémon Sun & Moon, you had the opportunity to fight capture the powerful Ultrabeasts. And that was the main part of the game. But there is a Pokémon that’s not only incredibly hard to find, but he’s also particularly difficult to catch, which is Necrozma. He may not necessarily be a boss, but in this game, he is the ultimate hidden find.
In order to go after this Pokémon, you actually have to beat the game and then complete a quest with a person called the Looker post-game. After you complete this quest, you’ll get hints about a Pokémon stalking Ten Carat Hill, which turns out to be Necrozma.
12 This Guy Is Back Again
Galacta Knight is pretty well known among Kirby fans, and actually has been around since Super Star Ultra. Whether he’s an actual character in the games or just makes a cameo, this knight is a pretty constant character. But he’s also a hidden boss in a few Kirby games, including Kirby: Planet Robobot.
Galacta Knight shows up a lot in Kirby games.
In this case, finding Galacta Knight is pretty easy since he basically comes to you as a surprise final boss. After you defeat Star Dream, Galacta Knight is summoned, who then destroys Star Dream and starts fighting you. Just be ready for a pretty crazy fight, and don’t underestimate this guy.
11 This Guys Will Give You A Headache
Mega Man has faced quite a few interesting foes, and some particularly interesting ones are the X-Hunters. These guys are also known as the Counter Hunters and are actually the main antagonists in Mega Man X2. While they are the final bosses at the end, they do show up earlier in the game as hidden bosses. Plus, finding them can be a bit tricky, so I’m counting it.
After you defeat two of the eight Maverick bosses, the X-Hunters will contact Hunter Base and challenge you to a duel. They’ll then randomly appear in hidden rooms in the remaining stages. But if you defeat them, you’ll get one of Zero’s parts that they stole. Just be ready for some crazy fights.
10 This Creature Will End The World
Widely known as one of the best RPG games of all time, Chrono Trigger is known for having a lot of fun secrets, references, and hidden bosses and elements. Plus, with the different ways you can actually beat the final boss and the different endings that come of it, Chrono Trigger is one of those games that you could play over and over.
But there is a hidden boss at the end that’s pretty intense, called the Dream Devourer. This is an early form of the Time Devourer that shows up in Chrono Cross. To get to this villain, you have to beat all three dimensional vortexes, then you can gain access to it from the End of Time.
9 The Most Difficult Fight
Dark Souls 3 is full of all sorts of secrets and hidden areas. And some of these hidden gems include some secret bosses and enemies. And one of these bosses is rather huge and intimidating dragon called Darkeater Midir. This dragon will give even the most skilled Dark Souls player a run for their money.
This dragon can be found in The Ringed City. Near the Ringed Inner Wall bonfire, there’s a lift with a hidden door that takes you down to a secret room. In this room, you’ll find an illusory wall that leads to the lair of Darkeater Midir. Just be ready for the fight of your life.
8 Good Luck, Mega Man
Omega is a pretty iconic villain in the Mega Man series, and he has made quite a few appearances over the years. But did you know he shows up as an optional boss in Mega Man ZX? And he puts up a pretty good fight.
You can find Omega in Area N.
You can find and fight Omega in Area N of the game. After the final battle with Zero, a rift between reality and cyberspace appears, and then Omega appears in Area N. If you beat this guy, you receive an item called “Mysterious Stone,” which you can then take to the scientist of the Guardians Fleuve, who can transform it into Biometal Model O.
7 This Dragon Doesn’t Look So Good
When it comes to Breath of the Wild, there are a lot of optional quests you can go on and bosses you can find. And some of these bosses are rather hard to find. One boss in particular is an actual dragon called Naydra.
You can find this dragon on top of Lanayru Mountain by the Hidden Spring (Which is north of Hateno Village). While you aren’t fighting Naydra, you are fighting the dark parasite that’s taken over this dragon. And the whole thing is complicated further by the fact that you’re on a snow-covered mountain that’s freezing, which drains your health if you’re not prepared.
6 This Fish Looks Familiar
Majora’s Mask is a Zelda game that’s full of side quests and secrets. The entire story behind the game itself is shrouded in mystery. And one of these secrets is a hidden reference to a rather iconic fish we were introduced to in Ocarina of Time.
This guy is pretty easy to find, if you know what you’re looking for. If you go fishing in the Swamp Fishing Hole, you can actually catch a large fish called Lord Chapu-Chapu, which is a reference to Lord Jabu Jabu. While he may not technically be a boss, boss music does play when you’re trying to catch him, so we’ll count it.
5 And We Thought Regular Bowser Was Bad
If you thought Bowser couldn’t get any bigger or more intimidating, you’re wrong. There is Giga Bowser, which is basically Bowser on steroids. This monster of a Koopa has shown up in a couple of Mario games, most notably as a secret boss in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Giga Bowser is basically Bowser on steroids.
But getting to Giga Bowser isn’t easy. To fight this behemoth, you have to clear Adventure Mode on a normal difficulty or higher in under 18 minutes. If you do that, Giga Bowser will appear, and if you manage to beat him in one try, you’ll get his trophy. But be prepared for a pretty intense fight because this guy doesn’t pull his punches.
4 What Even Is This Thing?
The Super Smash Bros. series has had a few iconic bosses. Most notably, you’ve got Master Hand and Crazy Hand, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl introduced the powerful Tabuu. But did you know there’s a secret boss in the Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS? Well, get ready to fight Master Core.
This boss is a transformation of Master Hand and only shows up in Classic Mode if you play it on an intensity of 5.1 or higher. While finding this boss isn’t super difficult, it is a fun secret boss that you may miss if you’re not paying attention. Just don’t underestimate this boss.
3 Don’t Let This Ghost Touch Anything
As long as Mario has been around, so have the ghostly Boos, who have proven to be quite the nuisance. But did you know that The Big Boo was a hidden boss in Super Mario World? And if you defeated it, you got quite the awesome prize.
You can find The Big Boo in a hidden room of the Donut Secret House. You can find the secret door by climbing up the stairs, hitting the P switch, then climbing up the vine and through the secret door. There, you’ll find The Big Boo. If you defeat this guy, you get to go to Star Road, which is a whole secret world.
2 This Giant Skeleton Will Mess Us Up
Did you know in Breath of the Wild there’s a secret boss in Hyrule Castle called the Stalnox? This skeleton version of the intimidating Hinox can be found in the dungeons under Hyrule Castle, and beating it will get you the famous Hylian shield.
To find this Stalnox, start at the southwest corner of the castle by the moat, where you’ll find a minecart. This cart will take you inside a cavern. Take another minecart which takes you to another cavern. Head through the doorway where you’ll see a cracked wall. Blow it up and then go left and left again. This will take you to the lockup which eventually leads you to a large cylinder room where the Stalnox is.
1 Don’t Underestimate This Ninja Master
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars has a few optional bosses that you can fight, and one of them may not look like much, but he packs a huge punch. If you’re looking for a great fight that’s a bit different from what you’ve been doing in the game, you can actually fight a dojo boss called Jinx.
He may be small, but he'll take you out.
Jinx can be found in Monstro town where he runs a dojo. And there, you can have the option to challenge his students. If you beat them, Jinx himself will challenge you. But be ready for a pretty intense battle because Jinx is a pretty tough guy to beat.