History Awesome / BossesTheLegendOfZeldaSeries

The many incarnations of Link have faced many awesome bosses during their various adventures in Hyrule and elsewhere.
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[[AC: Ganondorf / Ganon]]
* [[BigBad Ganondorf/Ganon]] in any game he's in tends to fit the bill.
** Ganon in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''. Mano-a-mano versus Ganon? Check. Great music to accompany a final battle? Check. Ring of fire around you and Ganon? Check. Zelda actually helps you for once? Check. Top it all off with Link stabbing Ganon right in the head for the finishing blow. Add it up and you get a boss fight worthy to end a classic game.
*** Also, it's so dark you can't really see more than Ganon's silhouette and glowing eyes. That is, until a lighting strikes every now and then and you get to see his blue pig like figure for a fraction of a second while he is swinging his blades and making that noise. That is some epic atmosphere.
*** The battle becomes more epic still if you run out of magic and therefore can't use light arrows to stun him. Cue rolling under Ganon's legs to hit his tail. Talk about a memorable way to beat ''[=OoT=]'' for the first time.
*** Ganondorf (his human form fought before Ganon) wasn't bad either, especially due to the CrowningMusicOfAwesome that accompanied the battle.
** The Ganon battle in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]]'' takes place [[spoiler:in the middle of a flooding Hyrule]] and features a kimono-clad Ganon with two swords. And Link finishes the battle by jumping up in the air and [[spoiler:''ramming the Master Sword into Ganondorf's forehead'']]! And then Ganondorf [[spoiler: turns to stone]], but not before he utters some of [[FamousLastWords the most epic last words ever:]]
--->'''Ganondorf''': [[spoiler:The wind... it is... blowing...]]
** At the end of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', you get to fight Ganon in a one-on-one sword duel. Indeed, the entirety of the final battle in ''Twilight Princess'' is one big [=CMoA=] -- the first fight against [[spoiler: (Ganon in Zelda's body)]] isn't all that great (he uses the same easily beatable strategy he did back in ''A Link to the Past'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''), but from there, Ganon takes on his Giant Hell-Pig form, and Link and Midna shoot each other a confident, "Let's-do-this" smirk before engaging in a massive, shapeshifting teamwork free-for-all in which you ''wrangle a giant charging hell-boar and hurl him onto his side, then wail on the scar on his belly.'' Then comes chasing him down on horseback while fending off the ghostly hordes he hurls back at you, giving Zelda a clear shot at him. ''Then'' comes the final SwordFight of [[PureAwesomeness awesome.]] You feel like a [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Hero]] after this, and it's well-earned.
*** Moreover, rather than simply [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits waiting to press the button at the right time]], in this battle, you have to constantly try to get a hit in while simultaneously defending from Ganondorf's.
*** You also get to Finish him off when you finally knock him down, with the classic "Ending Blow" move, triggering a seamless switch into Ganon's dying cutscene when you plunge into him.
*** The awesomeness of the final fight is severely mitigated if [[spoiler: you distract Ganondorf with the Fishing Rod from the very beginning of the game. Of course, if you don't do that...]]

[[AC: [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZelda The Legend of Zelda]] ]]
* The multi-headed dragon Gleeok is one of the hardest bosses because each head you sever catches fire and flies about the room, attacking you; this is also the reason he's the coolest boss, bar none. And the second one you face has FOUR of them. We can only wish Nintendo will eventually bring him back in one of the 3D console installments (he did return in two 2D installments, namely ''[[TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Seasons]]'' and ''[[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'').

[[AC: [[Videogame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink The Adventure of Link]] ]]
* Rebonack, who chases you on a mechanical horse back and forth across the screen. How do you beat him? You jump over him and stab downwards as he passes. Eventually, he wises up and gets off his horse, then faces you like the rest of the game's Iron Knuckles, which are all awesome battles in their own, except he shoots sword beams and is much better at defending your attacks. You have to not only closely watch his actions so you know where to defend, no matter where you are on the screen, but also play it smart and bait him to stay in the middle of the screen so he doesn't try shooting lasers at you from BehindTheBlack.
* Barba, essentially an early version of Volvagia, pokes his head out of lava and extends his long neck. The weak point is his head, and the solution is casting the jump spell so you jump to unusual heights and stab him in the face.
* After killing the Thunderbird and finding the Triforce, you were likely expecting to simply sit back and enjoy your ending, weren't you? Nope! Instead, the lights go out and Shadow Link makes his first appearance, splitting off from you and going on the attack, complete with his own battle theme to let you know that shit's about to get real.

[[AC: [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]] ]]
* Although he also qualifies as ThatOneBoss, Trinexx, the boss of Turtle Rock, is nevertheless an awesome boss whose defeat gives immense satisfaction. He initially appears as a three-headed turtle; the left and right heads spit fire and ice respectively, and must be paralysed with ice and fire before they can be attacked, while the middle head is invulnerable. Once they go down, the middle head retreats into the shell and transforms into a giant snake-like creature which chases Link around the room. As a bonus, when Trinexx is defeated, you are finally re-united with Princess Zelda (in crystal form).
* The first boss proper: six giant Armos statues start attacking you in formation. This game introduced the concept of using the dungeon's item on the boss. What better way to let players know than letting them ruin the Armos' almost dance like attacks by unloading your entire quiver on them? And if you run out, you can still use the sword. And then when you kill five of them, the last one TurnsRed and starts jumping over to smash you into the ground.
* Blind the Thief from the fourth dungeon of the Dark World. In prepartion for the fight, though you have no idea what you're doing, you blow up a floor where light from a window shines in. The boss room is curiously empty. However, you find the maiden you're looking for elsewhere in the dungeon, so you can get out right? Except that all the maidens were killed and their souls trapped in crystals, so this is very suspect. And she won't let you leave because it's too bright outside. So you take her to the boss room, right under the light from the window, and watch her go crazy and turn into Blind The Thief. A demon with a head spinning constantly and shooting lasers all over the place. The head is the target, and when you hurt him enough, his head comes off and he sprouts another one. Eventually you have heads flying all over the place and you're perilously dodging lasers trying to attack his head.
* Agnahim. The first example of a TennisBoss in the series. He teleports all over the place and shoots energy balls at you, but unlike future tennis bosses, only the big ones can be returned. The smaller ones spread out to hurt you upon being attacked and sometimes he throws out Sith-like Lightning that's deadly, but can be dodged if you stand in the right spot. For extra awesome, try reflecting his attacks with the bug catching net.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]] ]]
* The Nightmare. It's a FinalExamBoss, but of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link To The Past]]'''s most aggravating bosses, not ''Link's Awakening''. Then you realize: this is no ordinary Nightmare, this is ''[[FridgeBrilliance Link's personal Nightmare]]''.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]] ]]
* The Stalfos enemy makes for some pretty epic sword duels. If there's several in a room, and you Z-target one, the other ones will leave you two alone as you fight to the death.
** They one-upped that one with the Dinofols, a lizard clutching a similar sword and shield in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]''. There's two differences: Dinofols is much faster than any Stalfos-- faster than you, as a matter of fact-- oh, and ''it can breathe fire''. Exhilarating!
* The fight with Twinrova. Using the [[spoiler: mirror shield to fire their own attacks back at each other]]. And [[CrowningMomentOfFunny the dialogue when you defeat them is hilarious]].
* Also, Volvagia. It's a giant game of Whack-a-dragon!
** The music for both this battle and King Dodongo are [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome truly epic]]; setting the perfect mood for being trapped in a room with something very big and scary that wants you very ''dead''.
* A mid-boss example from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', the Iron Knuckle is easily one of the most powerful enemies in the game, and capable of huge amounts of damage. Their attacks are unblockable as well, and their speed increases when they begin to take heavy damage, which makes it a fun but deadly game of chicken.
** Though they're pretty easy if you [[spoiler:use Bombchus]].
** OR when you [[spoiler:use the shield without Z-targeting and stab his knees full of holes]].
** In ''[=OoT=]'', casting the Nayru's Love spell is also fun. It costs a buttload of MP and doesn't prevent the monsters from knocking you down, but it makes you completely immune to damage until the spell wears off. (Unfortunately it also interferes with the use of magic arrows...)
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', the Bunny Hood allows you to run rings around those guys, which makes it a rather fun game of 'stab the big guy in the back'.
* Two words: Dark. Link.
** Best miniboss EVER. And from the same Temple - Morpha is awesome fun.
** Two stabs with Biggoron's Sword always works, too. A 10-second miniboss fight? Hell yeah.
* This was the first appearance of Phantom Ganon. Not as awesome as in Wind Waker, but still cool. It's a TennisBoss, but then he summons his horse and flies through a painting. Then you stand in the center of the room, take out your bow then look for him to come out of one, at which point you let loose your arrow and shoot him down. eventually he starts adding fake phantom gannons, but the pace remains tense.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]] ]]
* Odolwa, the boss of the [[BubblegloopSwamp Woodfall]] temple, is pretty fun once you know how it works. You're basically just shooting arrows at a giant in a jungle mask, surrounded by flames, running away from bugs.
** Also, you can forget the arrows and fight him in a straight-up sword duel. Best done with one of the weaker early swords though; the best one finishes him pretty quick.
** You can also try to defeat him as Deku. It's pretty fun.
* Goht is the source of much entertainment. Imagine a giant mechanical bull big enough to make Mickey Gilley crap his pants that you have to chase at high speed around a donut track in order to ram him, all the while evading his attacks. It's a lot more fun than it sounds.
** To elaborate, throughout most of the dungeon, you're climbing up a tower with various rooms branching off of it. When you get up to the very top of the tower you enter Goht's chamber. Initially nothing seems odd about the chamber, so you [[SchmuckBait go ahead and fire a fire arrow at the thing trapped in a block of ice]]. A huge mechanical goat bursts out, smashes the walls, and '''tramples Link''' before running off. Well then, it's on now, so Link puts on the Goron Mask and starts to roll after Goht. As you roll down the raceway, you realise that this track ''wraps around'' the entire circumference of the central chamber. You're using the Goron roll at full power, and there are jars that contain magic powerups so you can keep going without stopping. As you wear the boss down, he'll start throwing rocks, stalactites, and even ''bombs'' at you, and after you keep hitting him, he doesn't just collapse, he keeps going until he ''runs into a wall'' causing rocks to fall on him. And since he appears in ''[[GroundhogDayLoop Majora's Mask]]'', you can just keep resetting time, fighting him over and over. And that's why Goht is one of the greatest Zelda bosses ever.
* Gyorg can come off as a bit bland, if you stay on the platform and try to shoot him as he jumps out of the water, but if you put on the Zora mask you instead play a fast game of chicken where you have to ram him in the side without letting him bite you. After defeating him, you feel like a badass ocean predator.
* Twinmold, THE biggest boss in ANY Zelda game, and next to impossible to complete without the Giant's Mask. Even Fierce Deity Link is hard to use against these two. Next to the huge descending moon, this boss alone put the Expansion Pack to its limitations and then some.

[[AC: [[TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Ages / Oracle of Seasons]] ]]
* Anyone who has ever beaten ''[[TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Seasons]]'' will [[ThatOneBoss shudder at the name Dark Dragon.]] For those of you that haven't, he takes, for a GBC game, a ridiculous time to beat, deals moves that are almost unavoidable, and only appears [[spoiler:after you beat his difficult, but comparatively easy first form.]] Suffice to say, one feels like a god after beating him. Of course, if you're on a linked game, you still get to fight Twinrova and [[spoiler:Ganon]]. Luckily, you're able to heal beforehand.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]] ]]
* Molgera, thanks partially to its [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlF0-Qs2xkI theme song]].
* Jalhalla as well. He's a giant Poe, and like all other Poes, you must use the Mirror Shield to shine light at him, causing him to become material. Unlike the other Poes though, he falls to the floor, too heavy to move, and then you have to pick him up and throw him at the spiky walls, at which point he bursts into a bunch of little Poes that run around all over the room, vulnerable to your sword. If you've gotten the Hurricane Spin before this, then once you throw him, you charge it up and become a whirling tornado of destruction, possibly killing the boss after throwing him only once by destroying all the poes that make him up.
* The death of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojWVxBdBh6o&fmt=18 the Helmaroc King]] has to qualify. The boss (a giant bird) shrieks, begins to fly up into the air, the searchlights catch him in their beams, he reaches the apex of his rise, gives one last scream and ''pow'', all while the victory music plays throughout.
** More awesome because that bird is the thing that kidnapped Aryll, and you waited to kick its feathered behind for half the game. [[ItsPersonal Sweet, sweet taste of revenge]].
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ff_ELahVBo Phantom Ganon (Wind Waker edition.)]] You've got several things going on here: first, some impressive cell shading effects on the subboss himself. Second, it's a TennisBoss. Then toss in some awesome showdown/fight music. Next, manipulate said music so that it adds, subtracts, or even changes ''based on what is happening.'' Phantom Ganon on the ground gives you the simplest version of the music, in the air adds a beat or two, volleying the energy ball changes to a track that ''tenses up'' each time you land a succesful swing, and then a dramatic sting when you finally bring him back down. It's quite a rush, and to top it off, he leaves the fight with a sinister laugh, knowing full well that the two of you ''will'' be meeting again.
** Made even better when you realize that you can use an empty bottle to knock back his energy balls so that it looks like Link is punching them. Bad. Ass.
** As tense as the fight is, it only adds to the awesomeness of your first use of the Light Arrows. You get the arrows, and you are then confronted by another Phantom Ganon. Ready to test the strength of your new Light Arrows, you take aim, let one fly, and let your jaw drop as the first arrow ''obliterates'' him.
** That music? A remix of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'''s final boss theme. Yes, a ''miniboss'' gets a ''final boss theme''. That alone is sheer awesomness.
* The Gohdan fight. Maybe it's the combination of weapons you need to use, but also the music is awesome. Also, because it's right after Tower of the Gods.
* Puppet Ganon. First, you beat his normal, vaguely-human-shaped form, and Link begins to jump for joy at having beaten him - but then, the supposedly defeated puppet shudders and turns into a gigantic spider. And after defeating that form, it once again leaps into the air and transforms once again, but this time into a huge snake. The music for the Snake Form is awesome, but best of all is the boss itself, because you've basically got to [[spoiler: shoot it in the butt with Light Arrows]]. Perhaps the best part, though, is the ending cutscene, where Link is practically on his hands and knees, panting and exhausted, then Ganon appears again and reminds him that he's still got one more battle before the adventures over. You can practically FEEL Link go, "Goddammit, why me?" at that point.
* Gohma. You enter the boss room to find out what has been messing with [[EverythingsBetterWithDragons Valoo]]. At first, you just see Valoo's tail dangling through a hole in the ceiling over a pool of lava. Then, a massive scorpion rises from the lava, and you have to get rid of its armor by ''bringing the roof down on it''. As the first boss in the game, it's pretty awesome.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap Minish Cap]] ]]
* Palace of Winds. A HighAltitudeBattle with the Gyorg Pair, twin flying Manta-like creatures. (Completely different from the Gyorg in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]''.) What makes it especially awesome is that you fight it on the ''backs'' of said Gyorgs, hopping from one to the other while miles in the air.
* The FinalBoss, Vaati (all three stages) was also excellently done.
* The giant Octorok in the ice temple.
* Mazaal, basically a 2D version of Gohdan from Wind Waker. Pure awesome.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]] ]]
* Stallord is similar to fight with Goht mentioned above, instead combining rail shooter elements, without the shooting of course. The battle still involves ramming however, but plenty of other Stalfos get in the way, making this one a little more precision oriented. (Or a game of pinball.)
** It gets better once you destroy his first form, the sand goes away and you have to ''surf a spinning top'' alongside rails on the inner/outer walls. Stallord's floating goat head shoots at you? You jump to the other side, until he decides to ram into you. What do you do? [[spoiler: Ram straight into HIM]], both of you go down to the floor and you slash the heck out of the sword stuck in him.
** And the entire time you're fighting his second phase, the music playing is a remix of the boss themes of King Dodongo and Volvagia from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''.
* The battle with Argorok. Picture a battle with a fire-breathing dragon which takes place on top of a large tower which is situated [[spoiler:on top of a floating island thousands of feet in the air]], in the middle of a rainstorm while epic music plays, and after taking some damage, the boss decides to stay airborne and out of your reach... '''so you go after him'''. Can you say "bitchin'"?
** Made all the more awesome when you use ending blow. After grappling onto his back and frantically slashing at his weak spot, you then stand up and plunge your sword to the HILT into his spine.
** Argorok is Zelda's [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Crowning Boss Fight of Awesome]], or possibly Stallord. Either way, between those two and Morpheel, it's safe to say that ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' truly raised the bar for boss battles in the series.
** Also, of the four Twilight Mirror Shard bosses, Argorok is the only one you can Finish, [[spoiler:and is the last one you Finish before Ganon]]. That just shows how much of a CrowningMomentOfAwesome its whole boss battle is.
* The fight against Zant. His fight is divided into about 6 or 7 phases where he changes the background into that of an older dungeon, forcing you to use the item from that dungeon in some truly unique fashion in order to hurt him, ending in a sword duel in a stylized version of Hyrule Field. Best use of the FinalExamBoss ''ever.''
** What makes it truly epic is that with each phase, a new element is added to the background music. The music becomes more frenzied and chaotic, accentuating Zant's descent into madness, especially as by the end he has reduced to flailing wildly with his blades and shrieking like a psycho.
** The fight is also a bit of FridgeBrilliance concerning Zant as a character. The guy [[spoiler:usurped the throne from Midna]], and then he goes and usurps the battle arenas from all the other bosses, proving he has no real power of his own and can't do a thing by himself.
* The Darknuts. One of the few enemies in the game tough and strong enough to draw out the full extent of the techniques you've learned, you're able to engage them in an extremely epic one-on-one duel in the main quest as you slowly wear down their armor before, like the Iron Knuckle, they become fairly agile without losing a lick of strength or defensive ability, fighting like watered-down versions of [[spoiler: Ganondorf's final form]]. Add in the fact that having to beat three to four of them at once to clear the BonusLevelOfHell is much, much harder than any of the temple bosses if you don't just chuck bombs and run away, and they easily qualify for the most {{Badass}} of Ganondorf's forces.
** Also made awesome by the fact that when you knock off the last bit of armor, the Darknut will leap backwards to avoid you, [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks fling his weapon at you]] with enough force to make Link stagger even when blocking, and then swiftly pulling out a smaller longsword to fight you with. And now he will do combos.
*** And makes a weird, approving rumble when you do so, making it sound like he considers you a WorthyOpponent.
* The Death Sword, miniboss of the Arbiter's Grounds. You enter the room to find a [[{{BFS}} ginormous elongated cleaver]], tied down to the floor via ropes with prayer strips attached. It just screams "[[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Demon]], [[DontTouchItYouIdiot Do Not Touch]]", but [[ViolationOfCommonSense of course]] [[ButThouMust you have to release it]], leaving you to fight a giant floating sword. The music is reminiscent of the Jaws them as it slowly moves towards you...
** Of course, the thing isn't ''actually'' a floating sword; it has a wielder in the form of a seriously awesome, [[NightmareFuel if creepy as hell]], demon. But for the maximum effect, use your wolf senses before unsealing the demon, and you can see it there, holding the sword, just ''waiting'' for some fool to release it.
* Twilit Bloat (the [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere giant light bug from nowhere]]) can be incredibly fun for some players. There's something so satisfying about being confronted with a revolting, jiggling mass and pummeling the shit out of it.
* King Bulblin. The first time you fight him is on Eldin Bridge. A jousting match where you must pass by him and slash him with the sword as you do so, and then make a U-turn and do it again, while trying not to fall off. Eventually, you beat him, and then Link strikes a pose as Epona reels back. The second time around he trades his armor for two shields. You can't slash him, and you can't shoot arrows at him... or so it seems. It becomes the same principle: barely pass by him, aim your arrow, then release when he's too close to react.
* Morpheel. First you grab its eye with the clawshot, anchored at the bottom with the iron boots to slash at it. But then its eye goes to its back, and then you swim above it and try to latch onto it then. When you do, Link pulls himself to Morpheel's back and just keeps slashing it. Badass.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]] ]]
* Eox. A giant soldier made of stone. To beat it, you stand on a lever, launch yourself into the air with your hammer, and then pound on it until its wooden frame collapses--after which you have to launch yourself onto its still-moving head and take it out once and for all. Also, the first battle against Bellum is enjoyable, simply because it takes place over three floors of a building.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]] ]]
* Cragma is a giant stone golem residing in a pit of lava, who foolishly grants you access to a mine cart that you ride up and around the chamber, filling his [[AttackItsWeakPoint glowing weak points]] with arrows.
* Byrne, TheDragon, against whom Phantom!Zelda assists, and she's capable of yanking him right off the pillars he's balancing on. In the fight's second phase, she can grab and wrestle with him when he does a darkness-powered dash attack, allowing Link to strike.
* Skeldritch, a skeletal totem pole of sorts, in which you can ''catapult'' the boulders it throws right back at it.
* [[spoiler:The Demon Train. Train vs. train fight, anyone? And unlike the Ghost Ship battle in ''Phantom Hourglass'', it's not ridiculously cheap, and there are simple and intuitive counters to each of its attacks. Plus, its final weak point is its enormous face, and it's oddly satisfying to pound it full of cannonballs and see it writhe in agony.]]
* And finally, Malladus itself, [[spoiler:especially the final phase, where he turns into an enormous demonic blue warpig-like creature, with horns and red hair. Sound familiar? And that's not even getting into how Link and Zelda -- back in her body -- team up to fight the very Ganon-like creature, ''and you have control over both of them''. It bears repeating: ''Link and Zelda team up, both under the player's full control, to fight a Ganon-like final boss.'' Gee, Nintendo, is it even possible to deliver any more fanservice?]]
** And then the music complementing that fight. A remix of the overworld/title theme, with all of the Lokomo's instruments playing a part in the song, that's a perfect continuation of the duet you played with Zelda moments before.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]]]
* Koloktos. Topping off [[BestLevelEver the Ancient Cistern]], he is a six-armed mechanical torso that seems easy at first. Use the [[WhipItGood whip]] to tear its arms off, attack its weak point ForMassiveDamage. [[StrictlyFormula Same old Zelda]]. [[OhCrap Then it stands up]], puts a metal cage over its weak point, and pulls out [[{{BFS}} six swords the size of Link.]] And then it's chasing you around, slicing and smashing everything in sight. Oh, and [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies summoning zombies.]] How do you beat him? You whip off an arm, pick up that giant sword, [[AnArmAndALeg cut his other arms and legs off,]] and smash that cage to bits. He basically marks the point where Skyward Sword stops being great and [[SoCoolItsAwesome starts kicking ass.]]
** The moment when you realize you can just ''wield'' one of those swords is amazing. You target one and get Fi's analysis, and she says that despite their size, Link should be able to wield them. The first thought through your mind is "can I really do this?" And then, when you dismember three arms with one swing, your next thought is "Holy crap! This is really happening!"
* Tentalus is no slouch, either. A giant, one-eyed, tentacle-haired kraken monster, you fight it at the end of a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Time-Shifted Ancient Robot Pirate Ship]]. Before you do that, however, you have to escape from the ship as Tentalus tears it a new one. You sprint from the lowest level to the deck as the ship shifts from side to side, dodging falling debris and charging your sword to chop through massive tentacles, all while the water rises behind you. By the time you reach the deck, Tentalus has ''torn the ship in half.'' You fight it on the wreckage in the middle of a violent thunderstorm. The HolyShitQuotient just went waaaaayyyy up.
* Moldarach is also pretty impressive. Between slashing the eyeballs in her claws, breaking free from her attacks, exposing her as she digs under the sand, and dealing with her offspring, you can basically think of her as "Gohma+." A very well-done throwback boss. Also, the same [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzL4IA16k78 amazing music]] plays in her battle as does in Koloktos.
* [[LethalLavaLand Scaldera]] probably one of the most amusing bosses in the series. You're on a long, thin boss stage that continuously goes uphill while [[AmbiguouslyGay Ghirahim]] throws a tantrum and brings the boulder that almost killed you Indiana Jones-style to fiery, scalding life. You have to chuck bombs into its giant mouth and blast away its exoskeleton until a pulsating, round blob of flesh with a single eye is revealed and you gotta ''hack that thing apart.'' All while an extremely addicting track plays. It's the first [[OhCrap holy-crap-what-the-fudge-is-that-thing]] boss. When that boulder first explodes and sprouts thin, scrambling legs, you know ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome shit just got real.]]''
* Speaking of Ghirahim, all three of his own boss fights qualify, as well. The first one, especially, because he subverts the series-long tradition of having the boss' weakness be whatever item you picked up in the dungeon earlier. Here, the only weapon that will work against him is your sword... that is, if Ghirahim isn't too busy using it to slash ''you'' to bits because you telegraphed your moves and let him ''grab your sword out of your hand.'' Call him a SissyVillain if you want, but Ghirahim earns the title of Demon Lord with a vengeance.
* The game's final boss [[spoiler: Demise]] is one hell of a throwdown too. You fight him in what looks like a floor made of water in the sky. You sword duel him in a fairly normal matter until you knock him to the ground the first time. [[spoiler: Then he gets to his feet, summons and lightning storm, and engulfs his sword in lightning. You then have to charge your own sword with lightning and stun him with electrified Skyward Strikes while avoiding his own Skyward Strikes and vicious charge attacks.]] Truly, one of ''Zelda'''s most epic final battles.
** ''[[SelfImposedChallenge Or]]'' you can duel him ''without'' relying on the [[spoiler:electrified [[TitleDrop Skyward]] Strike]].
* The Stalmaster is one hell of a DuelBoss.
** Hell, even the standard Stalfos are always fun to fight. After years of becoming goofier and easier throughout the series, culminating in their slapstick-y antics in ''Wind Waker'', they suddenly TakeALevelInBadass here and put your actual sword skills to the test.
** Then there's Scervo, and his successor, Dreadfuse, who are [[NinjaZombiePirateRobot robot skeleton pirate minibosses]]. Both battles take place on a plank, where you have to push them back to the edge while keeping them from cornering you against a spike wall. They're certainly tense duels, especially once they [[ShockAndAwe power up their swords with electricity]], making mistakes more punishable.
* The Imprisoned can be [[WarmupBoss fairly]] [[BreatherBoss easy]] in all of his incarnations, but the second and third battles are awesome for the sheer fact that [[spoiler:''[[TheRival Groose]]'', of all people, helps you win them by catapulting giant bombs ([[HumanCannonball and eventually you]]) at it.]]
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* Twilit Bloat (the [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere giant light bug from nowhere]]) can be incredibly fun for some players.
** There's something so satisfying about being confronted with a revolting, jiggling mass and pummeling the shit out of it.

* Rebonack, who chases you on a mechanical horse back and forth across the screen. How do you beat him? You jump over him and stab downwards (better have learned the Down Thrust) as he passes. Eventually, he wises up and gets off his horse. Then he faces you like the rest of the game's Iron Knuckles, which are all awesome battles in their own, except he shoots sword beams and is much better at defending your attacks. You have to not only closely watch his actions so you know where to defend, and have to do it no matter where you are on the screen, you have to play it smart and bait him to stay in the middle of the screen so he doesn't try shooting lasers at you from BehindTheBlack.
* Barba, which is actually Volvagia and the first appearance of him, pokes his head out of lava and extends its long neck. The weak point is his head, and the solution is casting the jump spell so you jump to unusual heights and stab him in the face.

** The first boss proper: four giant Armos statues start attacking you in formation. This game introduced the concept of using the dungeon's item on the boss. What better way to let players know then letting them ruin the Armos' almost dance like attacks by unloading your entire quiver on them? And if you run out, you can still use the sword. And then when you kill 3 of them, the last one TurnsRed and starts jumping over to smash you into the ground.
** Blind The Thief from the 4th dungeon of the Dark World. In prepartion for the fight, though you have no idea what you're doing, you blow up a floor where light from a window shines in. The boss room is curiously absent. However, you find the maiden you're looking for elsewhere in the dungeon, so you can get out right? Except that all the maidens were killed and their souls trapped in crystals, so this is very suspect. And she won't let you leave because it's too bright outside. So you take her to the boss room, right under the light from the window, and watch her go crazy and turn into Blind The Thief. A demon with a head spinning constantly and shooting lasers all over the place. The head's what you gotta attack, and when you hurt him enough, his head comes off and he sprouts another one. Eventually you have heads flying all over the place and you're perilously dodging lasers trying to attack his head.
** Agnahim. The first example of a TennisBoss in the series. he teleports all over the place and shoots energy balls at you, but unlike future tennis bosses, only the big ones can be returned. The smaller ones spread out to hurt you upon being attacked and sometimes he throws out Sith-like Lightning that's deadly, but can be dodged if you stand in the right spot. Plus, using the bug catching net is too fun.

* This was the first appearance of Phantom Gannon. Not as awesome as in Wind Waker, but still cool. It's a TennisBoss, but then he summons his horse and flies through a painting. Then you stand in the center of the room, take out your bow then look for him to come out of one, at which point you let loose your arrow and shoot him down. eventually he starts adding fake phantom gannons, but the pace remains tense.

* Jalhalla as well. He's a giant poe, and like all other poes, you must use the Mirror Shield to shine light at him, causing him to become material. Unlike the other poes though, he falls to the floor, too heavy to move, and then you have to pick him up and throw him at the spiky walls, at which point he bursts into a bunch of little poes that run around all over the room, vulnerable to your sword. If you've gotten the Hurricane Spin before this, then once you throw him, you charge it up and become a whirling tornado of destruction, possibly killing the boss after throwing him only once by destroying all the poes that make him up.

* King Bulblin. The first time you fight him is on Eldin Bridge. A jousting match where you must pass by him and slash him with the sword as you do so, and then make a U-turn and do it again, while trying not to fall off. Eventually, you beat him, and then Link strikes a pose as Epona reels back. The second time around he traded his armor for two shields. You can't slash him, and you can't shoot arrows at him.. or so it seems. It becomes the same principle, barely pass by him, aim your arrow, then release when he's too close to react.
* Morpheel. First you grab it's eye with the clawshot, anchored at the bottom with the iron boots to slash at it. But then its eye goes to its back, and then you swim above it and try to latch onto it then. When you do, Link pulls himself to Morpheel's back and just keeps slashing it. Badass.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ff_ELahVBo Phantom Ganon (Wind Waker edition.)]] You've got several things going on here: first, some impressive cell shading effects on the subboss himself. Then toss in some awesome showdown/fight music. Next, manipulate said music so that it adds, subtracts, or even changes ''based on what is happening.'' Phantom Ganon on the ground gives you the simplest version of the music, in the air adds a beat or two, volleying the energy ball changes to a track that ''tenses up'' each time you land a succesful swing, and then a dramatic sting when you finally bring him back down. It's quite a rush, and to top it off, he leaves the fight with a sinister laugh, knowing full well that the two of you ''will'' be meeting again.

** The FinalBoss, Vaati (all three stages) was also excellently done.

** That music? A remix of ALinkToThePast's final boss theme. Yes, a MINIBOSS gets a FINAL BOSS THEME. That alone is sheer awesomness.

* Goht is the source of much entertainment. Imagine a giant mechanical bull big enough to make Mickey Gilley crap his pants that you have to chase at high speed around a donut track in order to ram him, all the while evading his attacks. [[BetterThanItSounds It's a lot more fun than it sounds]].

* Odolwa, the boss of the [[BubblegloopSwamp Woodfall]] temple, is pretty fun once you know how it works. You're basically just shooting arrows at a giant in a jungle mask, surrounded by flames, running away from bugs. BetterThanItSounds.

*** The awesomeness of the final fight is severely mitigated if [[spoiler: you distract Ganondorf with the Fishing Rod from the very beginning of the game]].
*** Which is why you don't ''do'' that, obviously.

* Goht is the source of much entertainment. Imagine chasing a giant mechanical bull around a donut track in order to ram him, all the while evading his attacks. [[BetterThanItSounds It's a lot more fun than it sounds]].

* The multi-headed dragon Gleeok is one of the hardest bosses because each head you sever catches fire and flies about the room, attacking you; this is also the reason he's the coolest boss, bar none. And the second one you face has FOUR of them. We can only wish Nintendo will eventually bring him back in one of the 3D console installments.

* The multi-headed dragon Gleeok is one of the hardest bosses because each head you sever catches fire and flies about the room, attacking you; this is also the reason he's the coolest boss, bar none. And the second one you face has FOUR of them. We can only wish Nintendo would bring him back in one of the 3D console installments.

* After killing the Thunderbird and finding the Triforce, you were likely expecting to simply sit back and enjoy your ending, weren't you? Nope! Instead, the lights go out and Shadow Link makes his first appearacne, splitting off from you and going on the attack, complete with his own battle theme to let you know that shit's about to get real.

[[AC: [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZelda The Legend of Zelda]]

[[AC: [[Videogame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink The Adventure of Link]]

[[AC: [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZelda]] The Legend of Zelda]]

[[AC: [[Videogame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink]] The Adventure of Link]]

* The Death Sword, miniboss of the Arbiter's Grounds. You enter the room to find a [[{{BFS}} ginormous elongated cleaver]], tied down to the floor via ropes with prayer strips attached. It just screams "[[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Demon]],[[DontTouchItYouIdiot Do Not Touch]]", but [[ViolationOfCommonSense of course]] [[ButThouMust you have to release it]], leaving you to fight a giant floating sword. The music is reminiscent of the Jaws them as it slowly moves towards you...

* The Death Sword, miniboss of the Arbiter's Grounds. You enter the room to find a [[{{BFS}} ginormous elongated cleaver]], tied down to the floor via ropes with prayer strips attached. It just screams "Trapped/sealed Demon, do not remove", but [[ViolationOfCommonSense of course]] [[ButThouMust you have to release it]], leaving you to fight a giant floating sword. The music is reminiscent of the Jaws them as it slowly moves towards you...

** The Ganon battle in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]]'' takes place [[spoiler:in the middle of a flooding Hyrule]] and features a kimono-clad Ganon with TWO swords instead of just one. And Link finishes the battle by jumping up in the air and [[spoiler:''ramming the Master Sword into Ganondorf's forehead'']]! And then Ganondorf [[spoiler: turns to stone]], but not before he utters some of [[FamousLastWords the most epic last words ever:]]

* Gyorg can come off as a bit bland, if you stay on the platform and try to shoot him as he jumps out of the water, but if you put on the zora mask you instead play a fast game of chicken where you have to ram him in the side without letting him bite you. After defeating him, you feel like a badass ocean predator.

* The Death Sword, miniboss of the Arbiter's Grounds. You enter the room to find a [[{{BFS}} ginormous elongated cleaver]], tied down to the floor via ropes with prayer strips attached. It just screams "Trapped/sealed Demon, do not remove", but [[ViolationOfCommonSense of course ]] [[ButThouMust you have to release it]], leaving you to fight a giant floating sword. The music is reminiscent of the Jaws them as it slowly moves towards you...

* The Death Sword, miniboss of the Arbiter's Grounds. You enter the room to find a [[{{BFS}} ginormous elongated cleaver]], tied down to the floor via ropes with prayer strips attached. It just screams "Trapped/sealed Demon, do not remove", but [[ViolationOfCommonSense of course you have to release it]], leaving you to fight a giant floating sword. The music is reminiscent of the Jaws them as it slowly moves towards you...