History Main / OptionalBoss

* ''VideoGame/YuGiOhReshefOfDestruction'': If you visit Italy at a specific part of the game, you'll duel Jean-Claude Magnum a second time, who has a better deck than the first time. Second, at another part of the game, Tea is standing at the town square. If you talk to her, you'll have to deal with Johnny Stepps and then Krump, one after another.

* Two optional bosses are available in the combat sequences-filled DatingSim ''VideoGame/MitsumeteKnight'' : [[spoiler: Zeelbis the Bloody]] and [[spoiler: Salishuan the Spy]] of the Eight Generals of Valpha-Valaharian, the main enemy squad of the game. While not a storyline-related boss unlike the other two, [[TheCameo Sparkster]] of the ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures'' series is also an optional boss.

* The UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' for Game Boy Color featured a BonusDungeon based on color, designed entirely to show off the capabilities of the Game Boy Color. The boss of the dungeon wasn't more difficult than the other bosses, but even once you find the entrance to the dungeon you could only actually enter it if you know the color of the stalfos' clothes at the entrance. There were also a number of color-based puzzles that would be frustratingly difficult if you managed to get in anyway while playing on an original Game Boy.

* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'':
** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'': Returning to Bowser's castle as Mario and Luigi and solving the cold-storage vault puzzle using hints scattered along the path to said vault let's the bros fight three Shroobs. They do a lot of damage but have relatively small health and simple attack patterns. Defeating them rewards the bros with the powerful Magic Window attack.

** ''Wrath of the Lich King'' introduced optional bosses bosses in some of the regular dungeons that are only accessible on Heroic difficulty. However, the [=WotLK=] optional bosses tend to be much easier than the the FinalBoss of their respective dungeons.

* The UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' for Game Boy Color featured a BonusDungeon based on color. The boss of the dungeon wasn't more difficult than the other bosses, but you could only enter the dungeon if you knew the color of the stalfos' clothes at the entrance. There were also a number of color-based puzzles that would be frustratingly difficult if you managed to get in anyway.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': There are four optional bosses that become [[SummonMagic Eidolons]] once you beat them: Asura, Leviathan, Odin, and Bahamut. Only one of these was [[{{Superboss}} particularly difficult]]. The others required very specific strategies rather than a high-leveled party to defeat, making them closer to {{Puzzle Boss}}es than anything else. This was fitting, as the battles were intended to be [[DefeatMeansFriendship tests of your skill]].
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': The Brothers are optional bosses, as are the Jumbo Cactaur, Odin, Tonberry King and Bahamut.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'':
** The Experiment, a Machina the Machine Faction in Djose Temple are working on throughout the game, which can be upgraded with parts the player obtains from digging in the Bikanel Desert. It is completely optional, and you only have to fight it for two points in the HundredPercentCompletion: the Djose Temple Episode Complete, and the Annihilator [[PowerCopying Blue Bullet]].
** Angra Mainyu, a ''gigantic'' snake-like Fiend slumbering in the Bikanel Desert. It can be encountered as early as Chapter 1 during digging sessions if the player is unlucky, but to actually fight it in a proper battle, the player must complete a long sidequest first, one that begins in Chapter 3 and can only be concluded in Chapter 5.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has ''lots'' of these, as part of an assortment of sidequests which many argue form 75% of the game's content. For instance, there are thirteen Espers, but only five are necessary to proceed with the story, which means you have to seek the other eight on your own volition. Non-Esper optional bosses include Earth Tyrant, King Bomb, Gilgamesh, Phoenix, Shadowseer, [[{{Superboss}} Hell Wyrm, Yiazmat, and Omega Mark XII]]. While you face Ba'Gamnan early in the story, he can be fought again much later in a sidequest, where he is much stronger.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'': Atomic Boo, fought in Creepy Steeple if you enter the main hall and take the Spin Hammer attack to the swarms of Boos enough times. He isn't particularly hard, but knowing he even exists is a bit of a GuideDangIt.
* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': You can rematch Francis, Chapter 3's boss, in the final chapter if you tell Mimi (disguised as Merlon) that you fear him most.
* In ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'', the BloodKnight ActionGirl SIE will offer to team up with you during the mission where you first encounter her. You can agree to the alliance, or you can attack her (or you can agree, complete the mission, then attack her when you encounter her again at the end of the mission). Not only will she not die when you win, but [[RelationshipValues your rep with her]] will increase.
* The ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' series:
** Most of the dragons in the game are also optional fights, though they give some good rewards after being slain.
** There's also an optional (and completely story-irrelevant) fight against some demon knights in the Underdark.
** The Twisted Rune is an order of evil spellcasters who, when you enter their lair, assume that you've come to foil their plans and attack you. They're sensibly skeptical if you claim to have found them by accident, because the only way that would happen is if you were wandering around a bad part of town while carrying an incredibly rare and valuable type of gemstone and opening doors at random. (This is in likely exactly what happened, unless you looked at a guide. The clues that would lead you to them were never put into the game.)
* ''VideoGame/BarkleyShutUpAndJamGaiden'':
** The spirit of Dikembe Mutombo is the boss of a bonus dungeon and gives Barkley the Holy Dunk attack.
** A duergar [[spoiler:(actually Balthios, who is a Wereduergar)]] can be fought if you take the ferry to Liberty Island instead of the Underground Railroad.
** The Ghastly Darklord is encountered by checking a seemingly empty corner in Proto Neo New York.
** Kevin Garnett is the final opponent in the Arena in the optional [[AnotherDimension B-Ball Dimension]].
* ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos Origins'': [[spoiler:Nasca, Valara, Heughes, and Wiseman]] are optional bosses fought to tie up loose ends; one of them allows access to the game's TrueFinalBoss. There's also Arma Prototype M, a.k.a. The Wicked Gawd, who is the final boss of the Coliseum and is ''absurdly'' hard.
* The UsefulNotes/Xbox360 game ''VideoGame/BlueDragon'' has several Dragons that don't ''need'' to be beaten, but give the player a useful accessory if they are.
* ''VideoGame/CorruptionOfLaetitia'': When fighting the Predatory Birds in the map north of Gruhnwald, there's a chance that [[spoiler:Hawkzombie]] will show up in the second turn to fight the party.
* ''VideoGame/TheDenpaMen'':
** The first game has two optional bosses. One mid-game dungeon appears to have two bosses -- a Water-type Golem and an Ice-type Golem. The Ice-type Golem is [[PathOfMostResistance more difficult to get to, and is the true boss of the dungeon.]] The Water-type Golem, however, gives you a few extra goodies if you beat it. At the very end of the game, you can also choose to fight [[spoiler: The True King, the final form of the King of Evil. He has his own RareRandomDrop, and each time you defeat him, he drops an emblem that can be sold for a [[ShopFodder tidy sum of money]].]]
** The sequel has ''even more'' optional bosses than the first, most of whom are based around chess pieces. Each of the four [[BonusDungeon Caves of Darkness]] contains a different variation on the Knight, and each one is progressively more difficult -- especially because the Caves are [[TimedMission timed,]] and even though you can keep battling if you run out of time, if you do, you'll be kicked out of the dungeon before you can collect your rewards for completing it. There's also a Pawn who you have one required fight against early on--but he keeps getting stronger and stronger throughout the game, and you can return to challenge him after different story events. [[spoiler: The last two sets are linked -- the "big" BonusDungeon ends with a fight against the Demon Queen, who serves as a combination of this and a TrueFinalBoss. ''This'' unlocks the Bishop, King, and Queen, who fight you back to back in a CallBack to the original game's final boss.]]
* The ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' [[GameMod ROM Hack]] VideoGame/EquestriaBound has a few optional bosses, who always drop the parties {{Infinity Plus One Sword}}s. According to the hack creator, this was to prevent [[RareRandomDrop Sword of Kings]] situations.
* ''VideoGame/FossilFighters'': There is a ''huge'' slew of optional bosses bosses, one of which opens up before the final boss, and the rest of which appear afterwards, in the PlayableEpilogue.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'': In the dungeon before the PointOfNoReturn, you are given the opportunity to fight the spirits of the three dragons you defeated. They drop some useful attack items, and they're also guarding chests containing powerful equipment.
* ''VideoGame/LiarJeannieInCrucifixKingdom'' has the two elite Pleiades Knights, [[DualBoss Celaeno and Alcyone]], as optional bosses [[spoiler:who guard the exit of the kingdom and must be defeated to get the secret ending.]]
* ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'' has seven optional bosses: Persona, King Kelolon, the Cave Worm, the Blue Dragon, the Holy Beast, Legendary Spirit Sorcerer Fu, and The Immortal One in the Backyard. Players with access to UsefulNotes/{{XBox Live|Arcade}} can get a new downloadable dungeon with an extra boss [[spoiler:Professor K, aka The Killalon]].
* ''VideoGame/LuminousPlume'': Returning to older areas like the Mystic Forest, Arctic Lake, Tempest's Heart, and Mt. Arzen allows Raven to fight optional berserker bosses.
* ''VideoGame/{{Lunarosse}}'' has two post-game bosses. One is implied to be a GreaterScopeVillain for the creator's future projects and the other tied into the SequelHook.
* ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance'' has the Epic Bosses in certain missions, which only show up if you fight every battle and complete every deploy (which often require spending rare Command Points to recruit specific heroes) in that mission. The bosses offer stronger weapons and gadgets and higher chances of winning more Command Points as prizes for defeating them, compared to normal bosses.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' has two Bonus Bosses plus another set of nine. Rafflesian and Duckbill Mole gave X, Zero, and Axl new abilities that were useful in what remained of the game by that point. Ninetails and the preceding eight Tails Clan members could only be fought ''after'' beating the final boss, making the rewards for beating ''them'' [[BraggingRightsReward worthless.]]
* The Gundam RPG ''VideoGame/MSSagaANewDawn'' has Ultima Gundam and Omega Gundam, made from a mix of parts from ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' mecha respectively. Their names are obvious {{homage}}s to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy'''s perennial Bonus Boss pair, Ultima Weapon and Omega Weapon.
* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' had a few optional bosses in the [[BonusDungeon Chrysler Building]]. While most of the bosses are color swaps of the storyline bosses, the giant cockroach and giant bee were exclusive to the building. [[spoiler:The original Eve is at the very top of the building, and defeating her gets you a different ending.]]
* ''VideoGame/PillarsOfDust'': In the final chapter, the party can find a key that unlocks a secret room underneath a tomb. [[spoiler:This contains a portal to the world in ''VideoGame/ShadowsOfAdam'', resulting in a fight against Kellan, Asrael, Curtis, and Talon.]]
* ''VideoGame/ResonanceOfFate'' pits you up against [[spoiler:Sullivan and Rebecca]] at the end of [[BonusDungeon Neverland]]. They are generally pushovers, especially compared to what you fought to get to them.
* ''VideoGame/{{Robopon}}'': In the original, you can rematch the first six Legends in Zero Tower post-credits. The second game has several, including Rena's restored-to-youth mother, the younger version of Nick D., the Robopon in Delica Castle's basement, and the W-King.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{SaGa|RPG}}'' series, most of the '''game''' is optional, including many of the bosses.
* ''VideoGame/SailorMoonAnotherStory'' has [[spoiler:Esmeraude]] as an optional boss in the fourth chapter. Beating said boss gets you [[spoiler:a second Red Pupil]].
* ''VideoGame/SomaUnion'': The game lets the player save after they beat the game once, allowing them to fight [[spoiler:the Sunset Squad, the Cooler Crusader, and the library's copy machine]].
* ''VideoGame/TheSpiritEngine2'' has a variant: the bonus boss, Urtat Underval, is fought roughly halfway through the game rather than at the end. Another variant is that you fight him twice; [[spoiler:once as a human, and once as a hulking zombie]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'': In Chapter 1, you get to [[GuideDangIt find]] and ultimately fight the locked-away [[spoiler:[[MonsterClown Jevil]]]], whose fight makes the FinalBoss look tame through sheer BulletHell, with his attacks being fast-paced and leaving little wiggle room to avoid. Depending on how you defeat him, he'll either [[spoiler:give you the best armor]] or [[spoiler:the best weapon in the chapter]].

** [[spoiler:Heaven Ascension DEO]] is the climax of Joe's own side quest, only achievable after gathering every part of the Saint's Corpse. Defeating the boss and his extraordinarily powerful Stand will rarely reward you with an item crucial to upgrading one of two Stands available to the player – either turning [[spoiler:The Universe into The Universe Over Heaven (a copy of the boss's Stand)]] or [[spoiler:G-Moon into The Way to Heaven (along with Joe's Disc)]].
* ''VideoGame/JoJosBizarreAdventureThe7thStandUser'' has quite a few optional bosses, many of them only available on repeat playthroughs or depending on which ending you get. [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Diavolo]] also appears on repeat playthroughs, and if you choose to fight him he has a chance of running away so you don't get the money and EXP for beating him.

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', in the Final Chapter, Areone is flying around with a squad of Wyvern Knights. However, the chapter can be cleared without ever fighting him, and he'll even become an NPC ally if Altenna talks to him.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' has Levail, General Zelgius's apprentice and Bryce's successor as the wielder of the Wishblade. While Ike fights a DuelBoss battle with Zelgius, the rest of your team takes on Levail and his army. Defeating Zelgius is all that you have to do to beat the level, and the rest of your troops don't even have to move, let alone fight Levail (who as a top-level Sentinel equipped with the Wishblade is one of the few genuine threats you'll meet in the last quarter of the game). Many choose to engage him though, out of the desire to kill a few more opponents and maybe get their hands on the Wishblade.

* ''VisualNovel/LuxPain'' zigzags between regular optional boss and SkippableBoss. Most bosses have to be fought as part of the game, but some can only be encountered by following the right events (or even sequences of events) that only become available at certain points and lock again afterwards (hence the zigzag - there is no 'default' way through most of these sections, so whether you encounter them or not is just down to where you looked when you had the chance). This includes battles with the SILENT in the minds of Honoka, Sakai, and even Mint the ghost cat.

* RoamingEnemy: A boss that doesn't stay in one place, so you may avoid it or miss it completely.

* [[VideoGame/JoJosBizarreAdventureThe7thStandUser The 7th Stand User]], has quite a few optional bosses, many of them only available on repeat playthroughs or depending on which ending you get. [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Diavolo]] also appears on repeat playthroughs, and if you choose to fight him he has a chance of running away so you don't get the money and EXP for beating him.

*** Because the game's [[DownloadableContent DLCs]] do not need to be completed to finish the game, all 6 of the boss fights found in them are completely optional. Among them, ''Ashes of Ariandel''[='=]s Champion's Gravetender and Gravetender Greatwolf and ''The Ringed City''[='=]s Darkeater Midir are this even in the context of their respective [=DLCs=]. The Champion's Gravetender and Gravetender Greatwolf can only be encountered if the player cuts down the bridge to Ariandel Chapel, and the two don't have any relevance to the DLC's main plot, only existing as a wall between the player and the Arena added in the DLC. Darkeater Midir, meanwhile, can only be reached by the player going way out of the way of the main areas, and even then, fighting him requires they first beat him when he attacks them in the path to Filianore's Church.

*** Because the game's [[DownloadableContent DLCs]] do not need to be completed to finish the game, all 6 of the boss fights found in them are completely optional. Among them, ''Ashes of Ariandel''[='=]s Champion's Gravetender and Gravetender Greatwolf and ''The Ringed City''[='=]s Darkeater Midir are this even in the context of their respective [=DLCs=]. The Champion's Gravetender and Gravetender Greatwolf can only be encountered if the player cuts down the bridge to Ariandel Chapel, and the two don't have any relevance to the DLC's main plot, only existing as a wall between the player and the Arena added in the DLC. Darkeater Midir, meanwhile, can only be reached by the player going way of their way of the main areas, and even then, fighting him requires they first beat him when he attacks them in the path to Filianore's Church.

*** The Stray Demon can only be encountered by returning to the Undead Asylum, and going back there is not only a completely optional challenge, but even finding out ''how'' to get back there is not an easy thing to do. Fighting it is worthwhile, however, as it is the only enemy guaranteed to drop a rare Titanite Slab, an idem needed to reach the final upgrade of any standard or lightning weapon.

** Martyr Logarius is found in a very secluded area in the Forsaken Cainhurst Castle, which in of itself is an optional area that requires a special area to access.

** The Shardbearers are the main storyline bosses, but there are six of them and you only need two of the Great Runes they hold. So if you want a quick game, you could just fight Godrick the Grafted and Renalla before heading off to Leyendell, but it's totally possible to ignore those and go for [[{{Superboss}} Malenia and Mohg]] instead if you're feeling masochistic.

[[folder:Turn-based Strategy]]

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'':
** One long sidequest chain [[SidequestSidestory with its own story]] that covers almost half of the game leads to a bonus boss. Though this one is not overleved, it stands out because the quests that lead to it can be [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost forever]], the battle is under a tune only reserved for a few select {{Hopeless Boss Fight}}s, and [[spoiler:the boss is one of the [=NPC=]s involved in the sidequest chain: Bana, the Nopon Kingpin.]]
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'', much like its predecessor, has numerous tyrants that breach the level cap of 60.
** [[DualBoss Neilnail Albus and Neilnail Furvus]], a pair of [[MiniMecha Skells]] fought in the 'Twin Dolls of Mystery' Time Attack mission, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen were originally supposed to be a story boss, but that plot thread was scrapped.]]

* ''VideoGame/ArmedPoliceBatrider'' has a crapton of optional bosses, all of which appeared in the ''Mahou Daisakusen'' series and ''VideoGame/BattleGaregga''. Said bosses include Bashinet, the Stage 1 boss of ''Mahou'', and [[ThatOneBoss Black Heart]], the Stage 5 boss of ''Garegga'' that, thanks to the stage edit feature, you can [[WakeUpCallBoss fight as early as Stage 2]].

* ''VideoGame/TribalHunter'' has four optional bosses spread out over the latter half of the game: Laura, who you find at the end of a passage way in the Jungle filled with ko'd pirates, Wave, who you meet in the Hive in a not so hidden passage that ends in a room with him and a bunch of boxes and chests, The Queen Bee, who's arena is to the right of the exit to the mountain top, and The Alpha, who's arena is in the mountain top area, it's entrance in the same room as where you first find the wolf enemies.

[[folder:Visual Novesl]]

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' has Levail, General Zelgius's apprentice and Bryce's successor as the wielder of the Wishblade. While Ike fights a DuelBoss battle with Zelgius, the rest of your team takes on Levail and his army. Defeating Zelgius is all that you have to do to beat the level, and the rest of your troops don't even have to move, let alone fight Levail (who as a top level Sentinel equipped with the Wishblade is one of the few genuine threats you'll meet in the last quarter of the game). Many choose to engage him though, out of the desire to kill a few more opponents and maybe get their hands on the Wishblade.

[[folder:Visual Novel]]
* ''VisualNovel/LuxPain'' zigzags between regular optional boss and SkippableBoss. Most bosses have to be fought as part of the game, but some can only be encountered by following the right events (or even sequences of events) that only become available at certain points and lock again afterwards (hence the zigzag - there is no 'default' way through most of these sections, so whether you encounter them or not is just down to where you looked when you had the chance). This includes battles with the SILENT in the minds of Honoka, Sakai and even Mint the ghost cat.
[[/folder]]

* ''{{VideoGame/Cuphead}}'' has a variation: performing specific actions against certain bosses heavily alters the fight, usually skipping or cutting short a phase of the fight - at the cost of adding additional enemies in later phases.

** The DLC adds a secret boss, found by interacting with specific tombstones, and then examining the strange light while having the Broken Relic charm. Defeating the boss "upgrades" the charm into the Cursed Relic, which turns you into a OneHitPointWonder and forces you to use random weapons.

* '''VideoGame/Pikmin3Deluxe'' features a new boss at the end of the "Olimar's Comeback" sidestory: [[spoiler: a golden mix between a Shaggy Long Legs and the otherwise-absent Raging Long Legs from ''Pikmin 2'']]. Since it's not part of the main game, it lacks a Piklopedia entry and thus goes unnamed.

* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsBartVsTheWorld'': If you collect all the Krusty items, you get to fight Itch and Scratchy.