The 10 BEST Recurring Zelda Bosses

10 Best Recurring Zelda Bosses

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at the “Zelda” bosses that Link has faced across multiple entries. And remember: these are the BEST recurring bosses, and Moldorm is terrible.

Ganon

We’ll go ahead and start with the obvious one: big bad Ganon. He first appeared as the main villain and final boss in the NES original. Since then, he’s naturally given us more boss fights than any other. His fighting style has evolved a lot over the years. In top-down adventures, like “A Link to the Past” and “Four Swords Adventures,” he usually uses a massive trident and tries to set Link on fire. Meanwhile, the villain’s appearances as his Gerudo form, Ganondorf, switch things up. “Ocarina of Time” had the Dead Man’s Volley formula, while fights in “Wind Waker” and“Twilight Princess” gave us terrific sword duels. Modern appearances introduced even more facets to keep things fresh and exciting. All in all, players have faced Ganon in combat a total of 10 times.

Mothula

Mothula is a boss who started out tough, but has gotten easier to deal with in every subsequent appearance. We first fought this giant bug in “A Link to the Past,” where its moving floor and blade traps made fighting it a pain. Mothula was also repurposed for the Palace of the Four Sword in the GBA port, where it could multiply itself. It was a boss again in “Oracle of Seasons,” where it was a bit more manageable thanks to a calmer arena. Since then, Mothula has only appeared as a mini-boss in two more games: “Wind Waker” and “Spirit Tracks,” bringing the total of fights up to 5. Neither of those were particularly challenging, but still enjoyable.

Darknut

The knight-like Darknuts are in a bit of a gray area, as they appear as regular enemies in many “Zelda” games. However, there have been some cases where they’ve acted as mini-bosses. In “Wind Waker,” one was the mini-boss in the Tower of the Gods, though Link would later encounter them fairly often. “The Minish Cap” did something similar, featuring progressively stronger Darknuts as mini-bosses in three different dungeons. The Darknuts of “Twilight Princess” are a fair bit tougher, first appearing as the mini-boss in the Temple of Time dungeon. A similar enemy known as the Iron Knuckle is also used as a mini-boss in both “Ocarina of Time” and “Majora’s Mask.” In all of their mini-boss appearances, Darknuts provide nice challenges as Link must wait for the proper moment to strike.

Dodongo

The dino who dislikes smoke, Dodongo first appeared as a boss in the original game, where Link had to feed it bombs to deal damage. In “Ocarina of Time,” the boss got an upgrade as King Dodongo, a much larger beast to contend with. However, Nintendo would later relegate it back to the top-down style with “Oracle of Seasons.” While Link still had to toss bombs in its mouth, the fight came with the extra step of tossing Dodongo onto a bed of spikes. Its last appearance as a boss was in “Four Swords Adventures.” A group of them were fought at the end of the Tower of Flames, while a bigger, bluer version known as Big Dodongo was fought in the Realm of the Heavens, matching Mothula for five boss fights.

Manhandla

Another boss from the original game, Manhandla has only appeared in top-down entries, not counting the non-canonical “Hyrule Warriors.” In the first game, this giant plant can shoot fireballs from each bulb, but moves and attacks faster with each bulb Link destroys. It appeared again in “Oracle of Seasons,” where it was fought nearly the same exact way, with the only difference being the use of the Magical Boomerang to deal damage. A variant known as Big Manhandla was fought in “Four Swords,” while the regular sized version’s final appearance was in its spiritual successor, “Four Swords Adventures.” In both cases, an added layer forced the different-colored Links to attack their corresponding bulbs to progress, bringing the total to four pretty fun fights.

Vaati

Sadly, the franchise’s most frequently appearing villain outside of Ganon has only been in three games. But in each one of them, he provides an incredibly fun boss fight. Vaati first appeared in “Four Swords,” having players swap out their items to adapt to whichever attacks he was unleashing. He then showed up in “Four Swords Adventures,” though was merely a puppet used by Ganon. However, Nintendo expanded on him greatly in “The Minish Cap.” He was perfectly dastardly, finally receiving some backstory and depth. But his fight was also a major step up. Across three phases, Vaati tested our ability to use a multitude of items and abilities, making for a tough but fair challenge to cap off the game.

Gleeok

Based on the Hydra of Greek mythology, Gleeok is one of the most fun boss fights in the original “Legend of Zelda.” Each time it’s faced, destroying one head causes it to float around, shooting fire, until Link defeats the rest. Each subsequent appearance has been a great deal of fun, too, and has brought something new and exciting to the table. In “Oracle of Seasons,” the final phase of its skeleton made for a nice surprise. In “Phantom Hourglass,” its use of fire and ice, as well as that game’s touchscreen controls, made for a great match-up. Nintendo brought these beasts back bigger and badder in “Tears of the Kingdom.” As overworld mini-bosses, the three elemental variants, along with the terrifying combo in King Gleeok, were excellent obstacles to take on.

Phantom Ganon

There are a lot of things to admire about the Forest Temple in “Ocarina of Time,” one being that it ends on the first appearance of Phantom Ganon. Introducing that now-classic back-and-forth battle system, he also had a slight, gothic horror atmosphere to him. Phantom Ganon has been a sort-of general to the big bad in several games since. He took on a cel shaded, stark black design in “Wind Waker” and “Four Swords Adventures,” though retained the Dead Man’s Volley gameplay. The boss came back strong much later, in “Tears of the Kingdom.” Looking like the mummified remains of Ganondorf, this version used gloom weapons to siphon your health. Depending on which version you were fighting, they could also either multiply or were preceded by gloom spawn, horrifying things to encounter in the early-game.

Dark Link

Springing to life for the first time in “Zelda II: The Adventure of Link,” Dark Link became an iconically difficult moment of the NES. And it’s safe to say he’s kept that reputation over the years. Able to mimic Link’s attacks, he gave us a tough fight as the Water Temple mini-boss in “Ocarina of Time.” In the GBA port of “A Link to the Past,” the Palace of the Four Sword ended with four progressively stronger Dark Links in a row, with the added difficulty of them now using part of Link’s arsenal. The final level of the ‘Take ‘Em All On’ combat challenge in “Spirit Tracks” featured him as the boss, once again fairly difficult. Finally, a trio of Dark Links appeared as bosses in “Tri Force Heroes,” now able to jinx Link on contact so he was unable to use his sword.

Gohma

Often some type of giant arachnid, Gohma is a “Zelda” staple. She was a boss in the first game before becoming a mini-boss in “Link’s Awakening.” She went back up to boss level in “Ocarina of Time,” becoming a memorable moment of the game’s opening section. She also appeared in “Oracle of Seasons,” and again as the first boss in “Wind Waker.” She went back down to mini-boss status in “Four Swords Adventures,” but right back up to a boss in “Twilight Princess,” now called Armogohma. She even came back for “Tears of the Kingdom,” this time made of rock as Marbled Gohma. While the strategy of some of her fights boils down to shooting her in the eye, others like “Wind Waker” and “Tears of the Kingdom” have brought extra layers. Plus, she’s appeared as a boss 8 times, more than any other, with Ganon as the only exception.

What boss are you always happy to see show up in a “Zelda” game? Let us know in the comments and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great gaming videos every day!