The 20 HARDEST Zelda Bosses
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VOICE OVER: Johnny Reynolds
WRITTEN BY: Johnny Reynolds
"Zelda" isn't usually known for hard boss battles, but these foes put up a mighty fight. For this list, we'll be looking at the most challenging boss fights found in “The Legend of Zelda” series. Our list of the hardest "Zelda" bosses includes Thunderblight Ganon from “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (2017), Mothula from “The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past” (1992), Gyorg from “The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask” (2000), Ganon from “The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages” & “Seasons” (2001), and more!
Script written by Johnny Reynolds
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re strengthening our resolve to get through the 20 Hardest “Zelda” Bosses. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most challenging boss fights found in “The Legend of Zelda” series. While there are many ways to cheese these fights, we’ll be focusing on what it was like to fight them the first time. We won’t be including any mini-bosses, or the elite enemies found in “Breath of the Wild” and “Tears of the Kingdom,” like Lynels and Gleeoks. Also, since some of these are final bosses, some light spoilers follow. Which boss caused the most frustration for you? Sound off in the comments below.
Part of what makes the final boss in “Spirit Tracks” hard to deal with is having to fight a couple of bosses beforehand. But Malladus himself can also be tricky when it comes to timing things properly. He covers your arena in massive fireballs, which you must deflect as blocking them will still hurt you. Link will be defending Zelda as she powers up a spell, so Malladus shoots these in a variety of speeds and angles. You’ll then have to run distraction until the princess can hit him three times, which she does rather slowly. By getting close, you risk taking a giant hit, so it’s a matter of staying quick on your feet.
The troublesome Gleeoks made their debut in the original game. Link first fights the dragon in the fourth dungeon. Both its heads shoot fireballs, which you cannot block. And once you destroy one head, it floats around continuing the attack until Gleeok is finished. It’s not so bad…until you fight it again later. It’s fought as a mini-boss in Level 6 (which we said we aren’t counting), but again as a boss in Level 8, where it has twice as many heads as the first time. While you will have gotten better at maneuvering around enemy attacks, and Link himself will have gotten stronger, dealing with a spread of fire from a four-headed dragon is still going to be a challenge.
There are a lot of reasons fans dislike The Imprisoned. Even if it wasn’t a bit tough, it would still be a chore. Your first fight against it is pretty straightforward; stab its gross, squishy toes to make it fall, then attack the sealing spike in its head. Unfortunately, Link fights it another two times. The second iteration generates a shockwave with every single step, making it a major pain to deal damage to its feet. The third fight is truly awful, since the shockwaves now deal heavy damage and it will have gained flight. It’ll try to ascend to the Sealed Temple, resulting in a game over unless you get to Groose on time so that he can fire you onto its back.
Some bosses take up a lot of resources. If you don’t have enough magic when you reach the boss of the Skull Woods, Link won't be having much fun. Mothula’s arena consists of a moving floor and multiple blade traps. This will divide your focus as it flies around the room, shooting you from safety. You’re naturally meant to use the dungeon’s signature item, the Fire Rod. But if you haven’t upgraded the magic meter, and don’t have any way to restore magic during the fight, you’ll have to rely on the sword. And that’s not nearly as effective. Even with enough magic, the stress-inducing arena makes Mothula one tricky foe.
Sort of like a combo of the Mothula and Gleeok fights, Manhandla from “Oracle of Seasons” litters the screen with fireballs and is fought on a moving floor. Link must use the boomerang to hurt each of the plant-like heads, but they can only be damaged if their mouths are open (i.e. when they’re hurling up a fireball). With the death of each head comes less projectiles, but also gives Manhandla a boost in speed. The moving areas of the floor will make getting hit fairly easy, whether by fire or the boss simply ramming into you.
Many “Zelda” fans are now aware of the corner trick. But on a first encounter, with no knowledge of the easier option, Dark Link is a beast. As the very last challenge in an already challenging game, Link’s shadow mimics his fighting style. That means you can’t really suss out a pattern. Instead, you’ll have to rely on timing your attacks and blocks properly like you’ve hopefully been learning to across the game. Of course, Dark Link is just as adept at timing his attacks as Link is, if not more so. And having a stronger sword doesn’t really matter as he’ll always take the same number of hits to go down.
The big bad of “Zelda” is usually fought in multiple phases. His fight in “Twilight Princess” comes in an astounding four sections, each varying in difficulty. First up is a possessed Zelda, who isn’t too bad if you remember the Dead Man’s Volley schtick from previous games. His beast form is harder as he teleports and forces you to be Wolf Link to stop his rampage. But the second half is clearly the more challenging. It can be tough to deal with him on horseback since Zelda isn’t great at lining up her shots. The one-on-one duel that follows showcases his immense strength should he land a hit, which he probably will.
“Oracle of Seasons” is a bit more combat-heavy than its “Ages” counterpart. And the main villain, General Onox, is actually more imposing than his heavily armored appearance would already have you believe. His gear means he can only be hurt by spin attacks, and he’ll be swinging a massive ball and chain around. He’ll also use a crystalized Din as a shield, which shocks you if you hit it with any item other than the Rod of Seasons. That’s actually the easier part, however, as Onox will transform into a dragon for the final phase. Jumping on his claws to reach the gem in his head, while avoiding his attacks, will definitely add tension if it wasn’t there already.
Since he’s the main villain, Ganon usually brings the heat during any of his boss fights. Link faces off against him after foiling the plans of his magical alter ego, Agahnim. He’ll teleport around the arena, flinging his spinning trident to provide a wide area of damage. After a bit, he’ll figure fire is a good call, using it both defensively and offensively. He’ll eventually make everything go dark while he continues to teleport, forcing you to light some torches while avoiding his attacks. If that wasn’t bad enough, he destroys the arena’s border. One misstep, and Link falls from the fight, meaning you’ll have to start the process over.
The Great Bay Temple is already complex, and then you have to deal with this horrid thing. The giant fish, Gyorg, will hide in the water until it’s ready to ram the central platform in an attempt to knock Link in. You have to shoot from afar to stun it, dive in as Zora Link, and use his electrical barrier to deal damage. However, Gyorg doesn’t stay stunned for very long, and will spawn minions to distract you, all in an attempt to swallow you whole. This fight was made much worse in the 3DS remake by adding another phase in which Link must knock a spiked ball into Gyorg’s mouth as it inhales; needing to hit it at the right angle and time made this a nightmare.
Phantom Ganon has been a steadfast minion/creation of the villain in several games. But we believe his most intimidating and powerful version is his newest. You can fight the specter on more than one occasion in “Tears,” but the toughest by far is fought in Hyrule Castle. Teleportation is a staple of both him and Ganon. But here, there are also multiple copies to deal with at once. It’s nice to have the Sages to help you, but you can only activate their abilities when standing right next to them. We wouldn’t advise it since Phantom Ganon will be aiming for Link, and inflicts gloom damage to make healing harder. The fight can quickly knock down your max health if you aren’t careful.
The starting point of all things evil in Hyrule naturally puts up a tough final challenge. Despite the smaller stature, Demise is far more intimidating than his Imprisoned form. He’ll force you into the defensive; if you try to attack, he’ll likely block, and if you don’t have your shield up, one blow will knock off a few hearts. Afterwards, he’ll make timing your attacks even more important as he charges his sword with lightning. This also gives him projectiles, putting you in danger whether you’re near him or not. It’s a good thing you can also supercharge your weapon. Otherwise, that would be pretty unfair.
Right before Link faces a dark version of himself in “Zelda II,” he has to contend with the Thunderbird. First, you have to use the Thunder spell before you can even hit it, which takes a big chunk of magic. Then, you’ll have to jump at the right moment, since the Thunderbird never lands, just so Link can stab it in the head. Making this much easier said than done is the constant stream of fireballs flowing from its beak. Being able to jump, deal damage, and avoid getting hit takes the utmost perfect timing. It’s incredibly unlikely you’ll get out of it without taking at least some damage.
This marionette monster may appear right before the final boss, but it’s definitely the bigger threat. Puppet Ganon is another boss who’s tough because it comes in multiple phases. For his first form, Link must use the boomerang to cut its strings while it slams its fists down. But the boss is so giant, your boomerang might not reach. The second form is a spider, which will come crashing down, covering most of the arena. Finally, it takes on a snake form that quickly slides around. Each requires you to hit an orb, its weak spot, with a light arrow. But they also have their own features that make landing a hit frustrating, especially that last one.
Of all the Blight bosses in “Breath of the Wild,” the one found in Divine Beast Vah Naboris is undeniably the hardest. The name is pretty fitting considering Thunderblight Ganon moves faster than any other Divine Beast boss, and that it heavily relies on electric attacks. The speed makes the first half a bit stressful. However, it’s the constant stream of electric blasts in the second that has earned Thunderblight Ganon the undying hatred of players. It likes to place pillars around the area as conductors. If you don’t have the proper meals or elixirs, you’ll get stunned and drop your weapons more quickly than you can react.
It’s tradition now for players to groan whenever they get to the Tower of Hera, knowing this annoying worm waits for them at the end. The fight itself is actually quite simple; all Moldorm does is slither around the arena. The weak spot on its tail is even obvious, because Nintendo knew it wouldn’t matter. The arena itself is the biggest issue. Link will be pushed back if he comes into contact with Moldorm, or hits anything other than the tail. Every time you get pushed off (which, once is more than enough in our opinion), you have to climb back up and start the fight over. The whole process is exceptionally aggravating.
Warning: flashing lights ahead. If you combine both your save files from “Oracle of Ages” and “Seasons,” you get the true ending in addition to another difficult bout with Ganon. He’s made a bit harder than other appearances due to the fact that you have to fight Twinrova first. Like many others, this Ganon teleports and shoots fireballs in every which way. But he can also stun you by hitting the ground, leaving you open to the strong charge shot that follows. He also has the ability to reverse your directional controls while the arena annoyingly flashes at you. Plus, you can only hit him with spin attacks unless you’ve earned one of the game’s hidden swords.
Another multi-phase final boss fight, Vaati still stands out from the many incarnations of Ganon. His first form utilizes his hefty magic capabilities, with lasers, teleportation, fire, and protective orbs around him. Even with the obvious weak point on his chest, hitting it won’t be easy. Vaati Transfigured knows the importance of taking away your safe spaces, with hazards and damage filling the area on top of his heavy fortification. Vaati’s Wrath, his third and final form, mixes in some Minish mechanics while keeping up with his deadly attacks. The entire fight uses most of Link’s armory, which is not only challenging, but rewarding.
The Sheikah Monks from “Breath of the Wild” are there to test Link, but ultimately help him. However, this guy’s version of “testing” is far scarier than the others. Fought at the end of the game’s second DLC pack, Monk Maz Koshia will bombard you with a variety of attacks both physical and elemental across four phases. He’s around as fast as Thunderblight Ganon, but can also make many copies of himself. He can also grow to enormous size, where he’ll enjoy hurling spiked balls and stomping Link into the dirt. It’s a good thing this fight wasn’t in the base game as that gives you ample opportunity to have as much armor and stat-boosting meals as you can. Even still, he’s a master of combat.
Recency bias be damned. The fight against Ganondorf in “Tears of the Kingdom” is one of the toughest fights in the series, and probably the hardest the villain has ever been. Naturally, he’s fought in three phases. And while his final, draconic form is the easiest, the other two make it a major pain to reach. The first round piles on gloom damage through a variety of weapons, and will dodge all regular attacks outside of arrows and the flurry rush. He’ll summon Phantoms during the second phase, which surprisingly isn’t the worst part. He’ll also bypass gloom, instead dealing permanent damage, and cover the area in literal evil energy. He’s fast, strong, and pissed off, giving you only small windows to not be at the other end of his wrath.
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re strengthening our resolve to get through the 20 Hardest “Zelda” Bosses. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most challenging boss fights found in “The Legend of Zelda” series. While there are many ways to cheese these fights, we’ll be focusing on what it was like to fight them the first time. We won’t be including any mini-bosses, or the elite enemies found in “Breath of the Wild” and “Tears of the Kingdom,” like Lynels and Gleeoks. Also, since some of these are final bosses, some light spoilers follow. Which boss caused the most frustration for you? Sound off in the comments below.
Malladus
“The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks” (2009)Part of what makes the final boss in “Spirit Tracks” hard to deal with is having to fight a couple of bosses beforehand. But Malladus himself can also be tricky when it comes to timing things properly. He covers your arena in massive fireballs, which you must deflect as blocking them will still hurt you. Link will be defending Zelda as she powers up a spell, so Malladus shoots these in a variety of speeds and angles. You’ll then have to run distraction until the princess can hit him three times, which she does rather slowly. By getting close, you risk taking a giant hit, so it’s a matter of staying quick on your feet.
Gleeok
“The Legend of Zelda” (1987)The troublesome Gleeoks made their debut in the original game. Link first fights the dragon in the fourth dungeon. Both its heads shoot fireballs, which you cannot block. And once you destroy one head, it floats around continuing the attack until Gleeok is finished. It’s not so bad…until you fight it again later. It’s fought as a mini-boss in Level 6 (which we said we aren’t counting), but again as a boss in Level 8, where it has twice as many heads as the first time. While you will have gotten better at maneuvering around enemy attacks, and Link himself will have gotten stronger, dealing with a spread of fire from a four-headed dragon is still going to be a challenge.
The Imprisoned
“The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” (2011)There are a lot of reasons fans dislike The Imprisoned. Even if it wasn’t a bit tough, it would still be a chore. Your first fight against it is pretty straightforward; stab its gross, squishy toes to make it fall, then attack the sealing spike in its head. Unfortunately, Link fights it another two times. The second iteration generates a shockwave with every single step, making it a major pain to deal damage to its feet. The third fight is truly awful, since the shockwaves now deal heavy damage and it will have gained flight. It’ll try to ascend to the Sealed Temple, resulting in a game over unless you get to Groose on time so that he can fire you onto its back.
Mothula
“The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past” (1992)Some bosses take up a lot of resources. If you don’t have enough magic when you reach the boss of the Skull Woods, Link won't be having much fun. Mothula’s arena consists of a moving floor and multiple blade traps. This will divide your focus as it flies around the room, shooting you from safety. You’re naturally meant to use the dungeon’s signature item, the Fire Rod. But if you haven’t upgraded the magic meter, and don’t have any way to restore magic during the fight, you’ll have to rely on the sword. And that’s not nearly as effective. Even with enough magic, the stress-inducing arena makes Mothula one tricky foe.
Manhandla
“The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons” (2001)Sort of like a combo of the Mothula and Gleeok fights, Manhandla from “Oracle of Seasons” litters the screen with fireballs and is fought on a moving floor. Link must use the boomerang to hurt each of the plant-like heads, but they can only be damaged if their mouths are open (i.e. when they’re hurling up a fireball). With the death of each head comes less projectiles, but also gives Manhandla a boost in speed. The moving areas of the floor will make getting hit fairly easy, whether by fire or the boss simply ramming into you.
Dark Link
“Zelda II: The Adventure of Link” (1988)Many “Zelda” fans are now aware of the corner trick. But on a first encounter, with no knowledge of the easier option, Dark Link is a beast. As the very last challenge in an already challenging game, Link’s shadow mimics his fighting style. That means you can’t really suss out a pattern. Instead, you’ll have to rely on timing your attacks and blocks properly like you’ve hopefully been learning to across the game. Of course, Dark Link is just as adept at timing his attacks as Link is, if not more so. And having a stronger sword doesn’t really matter as he’ll always take the same number of hits to go down.
Ganondorf
“The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” (2006)The big bad of “Zelda” is usually fought in multiple phases. His fight in “Twilight Princess” comes in an astounding four sections, each varying in difficulty. First up is a possessed Zelda, who isn’t too bad if you remember the Dead Man’s Volley schtick from previous games. His beast form is harder as he teleports and forces you to be Wolf Link to stop his rampage. But the second half is clearly the more challenging. It can be tough to deal with him on horseback since Zelda isn’t great at lining up her shots. The one-on-one duel that follows showcases his immense strength should he land a hit, which he probably will.
Onox
“The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons” (2001)“Oracle of Seasons” is a bit more combat-heavy than its “Ages” counterpart. And the main villain, General Onox, is actually more imposing than his heavily armored appearance would already have you believe. His gear means he can only be hurt by spin attacks, and he’ll be swinging a massive ball and chain around. He’ll also use a crystalized Din as a shield, which shocks you if you hit it with any item other than the Rod of Seasons. That’s actually the easier part, however, as Onox will transform into a dragon for the final phase. Jumping on his claws to reach the gem in his head, while avoiding his attacks, will definitely add tension if it wasn’t there already.
Ganon
“The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past” (1992)Since he’s the main villain, Ganon usually brings the heat during any of his boss fights. Link faces off against him after foiling the plans of his magical alter ego, Agahnim. He’ll teleport around the arena, flinging his spinning trident to provide a wide area of damage. After a bit, he’ll figure fire is a good call, using it both defensively and offensively. He’ll eventually make everything go dark while he continues to teleport, forcing you to light some torches while avoiding his attacks. If that wasn’t bad enough, he destroys the arena’s border. One misstep, and Link falls from the fight, meaning you’ll have to start the process over.
Gyorg
“The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” (2000)The Great Bay Temple is already complex, and then you have to deal with this horrid thing. The giant fish, Gyorg, will hide in the water until it’s ready to ram the central platform in an attempt to knock Link in. You have to shoot from afar to stun it, dive in as Zora Link, and use his electrical barrier to deal damage. However, Gyorg doesn’t stay stunned for very long, and will spawn minions to distract you, all in an attempt to swallow you whole. This fight was made much worse in the 3DS remake by adding another phase in which Link must knock a spiked ball into Gyorg’s mouth as it inhales; needing to hit it at the right angle and time made this a nightmare.
Phantom Ganon
“The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” (2023)Phantom Ganon has been a steadfast minion/creation of the villain in several games. But we believe his most intimidating and powerful version is his newest. You can fight the specter on more than one occasion in “Tears,” but the toughest by far is fought in Hyrule Castle. Teleportation is a staple of both him and Ganon. But here, there are also multiple copies to deal with at once. It’s nice to have the Sages to help you, but you can only activate their abilities when standing right next to them. We wouldn’t advise it since Phantom Ganon will be aiming for Link, and inflicts gloom damage to make healing harder. The fight can quickly knock down your max health if you aren’t careful.
Demise
“The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” (2011)The starting point of all things evil in Hyrule naturally puts up a tough final challenge. Despite the smaller stature, Demise is far more intimidating than his Imprisoned form. He’ll force you into the defensive; if you try to attack, he’ll likely block, and if you don’t have your shield up, one blow will knock off a few hearts. Afterwards, he’ll make timing your attacks even more important as he charges his sword with lightning. This also gives him projectiles, putting you in danger whether you’re near him or not. It’s a good thing you can also supercharge your weapon. Otherwise, that would be pretty unfair.
Thunderbird
“Zelda II: The Adventure of Link” (1988)Right before Link faces a dark version of himself in “Zelda II,” he has to contend with the Thunderbird. First, you have to use the Thunder spell before you can even hit it, which takes a big chunk of magic. Then, you’ll have to jump at the right moment, since the Thunderbird never lands, just so Link can stab it in the head. Making this much easier said than done is the constant stream of fireballs flowing from its beak. Being able to jump, deal damage, and avoid getting hit takes the utmost perfect timing. It’s incredibly unlikely you’ll get out of it without taking at least some damage.
Puppet Ganon
“The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker” (2003)This marionette monster may appear right before the final boss, but it’s definitely the bigger threat. Puppet Ganon is another boss who’s tough because it comes in multiple phases. For his first form, Link must use the boomerang to cut its strings while it slams its fists down. But the boss is so giant, your boomerang might not reach. The second form is a spider, which will come crashing down, covering most of the arena. Finally, it takes on a snake form that quickly slides around. Each requires you to hit an orb, its weak spot, with a light arrow. But they also have their own features that make landing a hit frustrating, especially that last one.
Thunderblight Ganon
“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (2017)Of all the Blight bosses in “Breath of the Wild,” the one found in Divine Beast Vah Naboris is undeniably the hardest. The name is pretty fitting considering Thunderblight Ganon moves faster than any other Divine Beast boss, and that it heavily relies on electric attacks. The speed makes the first half a bit stressful. However, it’s the constant stream of electric blasts in the second that has earned Thunderblight Ganon the undying hatred of players. It likes to place pillars around the area as conductors. If you don’t have the proper meals or elixirs, you’ll get stunned and drop your weapons more quickly than you can react.
Moldorm
“The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past” (1992)It’s tradition now for players to groan whenever they get to the Tower of Hera, knowing this annoying worm waits for them at the end. The fight itself is actually quite simple; all Moldorm does is slither around the arena. The weak spot on its tail is even obvious, because Nintendo knew it wouldn’t matter. The arena itself is the biggest issue. Link will be pushed back if he comes into contact with Moldorm, or hits anything other than the tail. Every time you get pushed off (which, once is more than enough in our opinion), you have to climb back up and start the fight over. The whole process is exceptionally aggravating.
Ganon
“The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages” & “Seasons” (2001)Warning: flashing lights ahead. If you combine both your save files from “Oracle of Ages” and “Seasons,” you get the true ending in addition to another difficult bout with Ganon. He’s made a bit harder than other appearances due to the fact that you have to fight Twinrova first. Like many others, this Ganon teleports and shoots fireballs in every which way. But he can also stun you by hitting the ground, leaving you open to the strong charge shot that follows. He also has the ability to reverse your directional controls while the arena annoyingly flashes at you. Plus, you can only hit him with spin attacks unless you’ve earned one of the game’s hidden swords.
Vaati
“The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap” (2005)Another multi-phase final boss fight, Vaati still stands out from the many incarnations of Ganon. His first form utilizes his hefty magic capabilities, with lasers, teleportation, fire, and protective orbs around him. Even with the obvious weak point on his chest, hitting it won’t be easy. Vaati Transfigured knows the importance of taking away your safe spaces, with hazards and damage filling the area on top of his heavy fortification. Vaati’s Wrath, his third and final form, mixes in some Minish mechanics while keeping up with his deadly attacks. The entire fight uses most of Link’s armory, which is not only challenging, but rewarding.
Monk Maz Koshia
“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (2017)The Sheikah Monks from “Breath of the Wild” are there to test Link, but ultimately help him. However, this guy’s version of “testing” is far scarier than the others. Fought at the end of the game’s second DLC pack, Monk Maz Koshia will bombard you with a variety of attacks both physical and elemental across four phases. He’s around as fast as Thunderblight Ganon, but can also make many copies of himself. He can also grow to enormous size, where he’ll enjoy hurling spiked balls and stomping Link into the dirt. It’s a good thing this fight wasn’t in the base game as that gives you ample opportunity to have as much armor and stat-boosting meals as you can. Even still, he’s a master of combat.
Ganondorf
“The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” (2023)Recency bias be damned. The fight against Ganondorf in “Tears of the Kingdom” is one of the toughest fights in the series, and probably the hardest the villain has ever been. Naturally, he’s fought in three phases. And while his final, draconic form is the easiest, the other two make it a major pain to reach. The first round piles on gloom damage through a variety of weapons, and will dodge all regular attacks outside of arrows and the flurry rush. He’ll summon Phantoms during the second phase, which surprisingly isn’t the worst part. He’ll also bypass gloom, instead dealing permanent damage, and cover the area in literal evil energy. He’s fast, strong, and pissed off, giving you only small windows to not be at the other end of his wrath.
