Top 10 Hardest Video Game Bosses of the 2000s

“Super Mario Sunshine” (2002)

Mario’s games have typically held back their punches until the final boss. Well, in some games. “Sunshine”, on the other hand, has earned a bit of infamy thanks to Phantamanta. This shadowy manta ray has covered Hotel Delfino in electrical goop, and the only way to defeat it is by spraying it with water. Thing is that as you spray it, Phantamanta will break up into smaller and faster versions of itself, making it easy for you to get launched into another spawn or the electric goop. Basically, you’ll be at the mercy of water physics and your own spatial awareness to make it out alive.

“Resident Evil 4” (2005)

Even in the 2023 remake, Verdugo was a tough boss to go against. However, the original still retains his reputation as the hardest boss in RE4. It’s not necessarily because of him, rather it's because of how the original RE4 plays. In this iteration, Leon can only shoot when he’s standing still, which means you are constantly having to run, stop, shoot, run, stop, shoot, and so on. Of course, others would point to the random quicktime events that are required to dodge some of his attacks. We’ll forever cherish RE4 as it was, but if the remake was your first time experiencing it, you did get the better version.

“The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker” (2003)

We’ve always anticipated a fight with Ganon in any form would be a real test of strength. But…a puppet form? It sounds ridiculous on paper, but this Ganon isn’t about to grow his nose to use as a sword. Puppet Ganon comes swinging with three different forms, and they each have their own unique attacks and hard-to-reach weak points. Your Z-target dancing skills better be at their best here, and you might need to make use of any and all equipment you have. In the end, you’ll be questioning how the puppet is more powerful than the psychotic Gerudo.

“Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening” (2005)

You could consider Vergil the filter point in DmC 3. If you found yourself feeling like you’re just mashing your head into the ceiling, we can’t blame you. Vergil is an obscenely hard boss in an already obscenely hard game. Expect him to teleport around like a mad man and spam his Devil Trigger every few seconds. Yes, it is absolutely infuriating, and may lord have mercy on your soul if you’re playing on any difficulty above Normal. Remember, Capcom thought we enjoyed absurdly tough games. We do…but not on this level, man.

“Bayonetta” (2009)

Good ol’ Father Rodin is a hidden boss, and you know what that means: time to crank the difficulty to eleven. Rodin is the hardest boss of the first “Bayonetta” game, harder than Jubileus! The dude can land ridiculously hard hits at a ridiculously fast rate. And if you whiff even one attack, he will make you feel your mistakes and punish you harshly. You’re best off leaving this for when you feel most comfortable with your abilities. Really, there’s no shame in saving Rodin for another, less stressful time.

“Dead Or Alive 4” (2005)

When it comes to Alpha-152, you are no longer playing DOA 4 - DOA 4 is playing you. Alpha-152 has some of the most annoying combos and throws of any character in the entire franchise. Some of its throws can take out half of your health bar. Its combos, however, can lock you into almost every stun state in the game, making it next to impossible to counter its attacks. And don’t be surprised if you get KO’d from getting launched into a wall or slammed onto the electrified floor.

“Demon’s Souls” (2009)

We could have chosen several bosses from “Demon’s Souls”. The Dragon God and the Flamelurker came to mind almost immediately, but the Maneater is on another level of. At first, it’s just you and him on a narrow bridge, duking it out like any other boss. Suddenly, there’s a second Maneater? Yes, you will have to fight two of these feral fang fests, and they are both equally annoying with their lunge attacks and screeching. Prepare to die. A lot.

“Persona 3” (2006)

When it comes to the traditional RPG, the Nyx Avatar was grueling from start to finish. For starters, this thing can inflict any status ailment featured in the game, meaning you will need to be packing as many items to cure your party members and recover HP and SP. But that’s not even the worst part: the Nyx Avatar is going to be a painfully long fight for you. Care to guess why? Yes, it does have phases. Not three, not four, not even five! We’re talking FOURTEEN PHASES! In other words, you’re going to have a long and arduous fight ahead of you.

“Kingdom Hearts” (2002)

The Nyx Avatar will always be known as one of the hardest bosses in turn-based RPGs. But action RPGs? That spot belongs to Sephiroth. His bizarre appearance in “Kingdom Hearts” was neat at first, but then came the butt-whooping. The one-winged fraud comes packing with fifteen health bars and all of the most aggressive attacks we’ve come to expect from him. Even on the easiest difficulty, many of us probably wound up leaving him after a few attempts. Perhaps we gave Lingering Will too little credit.

“God of War” (2005)

Ares is, by far, the hardest boss of the 2000’s, and there will never be a boss so awkward and cheap as him from that decade. The now former God of War was a total pain in the ass! Look, it wasn’t even because of controls at this point. Ares is just weird because the game suddenly turns into an arena fighter where you and him share a health bar that functions like a game of tug-of-war: you hit him to gain more health, he hits you for more health. But what makes the whole fight more aggravating is how some of his attacks are unblockable and can land several hits in one go. You better believe we sat comfortably on his throne…AND danced on his grave.

What’s the toughest boss of the 2000’s that you faced? Did they make our list? Let us know down in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe to WatchMojo for more videos everyday.