Bosses — zelda

Not to be confused with Final Boss, the final, more significant variant.

Bosses are a recurring mechanic in The Legend of Zelda series.

Characteristics

In most video games, bosses are a powerful type of enemy or non-player character who specifically serve as major opponents for the main protagonist and must be defeated in order to complete an important objective, as it is the bosses' role to guard it. Known as climactic points of the game, they are usually found at or near the end of a level. A battle against such entities is called a Boss Fight or Boss Battle. In some games where the player can strictly fight each one in the story through a set order by an option such as Ocarina of Time 3D's Boss Challenge mode, it is known as a Boss Rush. Bosses are easily distinguished from regular enemies in that these foes are much larger and stronger, plays a cutscene before and after the battle alongside a dramatic theme song, and often requires strategy or special knowledge to find the correct fighting approach, as the protagonist has to avoid specific attacks and strike at their weak points. A lesser variant, known as a Mini-Boss, can appear at the middle section of the level and sometimes simply be a stronger version of a normal enemy. In some cases, an actual boss can later become a mini-boss (or even a regular enemy) when the protagonist becomes significantly stronger, or can be fought more than once. Like the lower counterpart, common enemies or hazards can appear in groups to assist the boss when they're battled in multiple phases (which causes them to become tougher to beat). Usually, but not always, bosses in a game's narrative are high-ranking minions of the main antagonist appearing to be commanders of the enemy force, which is very commonly the case for Ganon or other lead villains in The Legend of Zelda series, and can also introduce plot-twists. The last, more powerful boss in a game's storyline, known as the Final Boss, is most often the primary villain itself and its defeat leads to the conclusion of the title, as generally seen with Ganon himself.

Gameplay screenshot of Link fighting against the in , one of the bosses of the game — Gameplay screenshot of Link fighting against the Helmaroc King in *The Wind Waker*, one of the bosses of the game

In the Zelda franchise, where they are called Guardians or Nightmares in the cases of The Adventure of Link and Link's Awakening, respectively, Link (or other central protagonists) battles against a Boss at the end of a Dungeon, though they can rarely be encountered in other places. Though usually large, dangerous monsters, some of such are established antagonists of the game's story, such as Agahnim, Zant, Ghirahim, the Helmaroc King and so on. In order to reach them in most games, however, he must first acquire the Big Key within that Dungeon. Since A Link to the Past, when Link acquires the Compass, the exact location of the boss within the dungeon is shown on the Dungeon Map, often identified with a skull symbol. Bosses most often have a certain weakness against the key item found inside the specific Dungeon, such as the Bow, Megaton Hammer, Hookshot, etc., and when defeated, the hero is usually awarded with a Heart Container to increase his Life Gauge by one Heart. In some games, Link is occasionally aided by Princess Zelda or other allies to help him defeat powerful bosses, usually the Final Boss itself. Although Bosses do not have their own health being displayed to the player, like normal enemies, they can be revealed with the Hero's Charm in The Wind Waker, while Breath of the Wild, its sequel, as well as Hyrule Warriors have it explicitly shown. Offensive and defensive upgrades, though not necessarily required in the majority of games, are advised to obtain in order to defeat bosses more easily as well as using healing items such as Potions or Fairies, as some have attacks with a high damage output, can counter certain attacks by Link and prove difficult for an unprepared player. This is especially true for the Final Boss counterpart.

Stone Talus
Igeno Talus
Frost Talus
Hinox
Stalnox
Molduga
Waterblight Ganon
Fireblight Ganon
Thunderblight Ganon
Windblight Ganon
Monk Maz Koshia
Master Kohga
Calamity Ganon/Dark Beast Ganon (Final Boss)

Tears of the Kingdom