The 10 BEST Recurring Zelda Bosses
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00:00Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're looking at the Zelda bosses that Link has faced across
00:15multiple entries.
00:17And remember, these are the best recurring bosses, and Moldorm is terrible.
00:30But before we get into it, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe
00:35and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:42We'll go ahead and start with the obvious one, Big Bad Ganon.
00:52He first appeared as the main villain and final boss in the NES original.
00:56Since then, he's naturally given us more boss fights than any other.
01:00His fighting style has evolved a lot over the years, in top-down adventures like A Link
01:04to the Past and Four Swords Adventures, he usually uses a massive trident and tries to
01:09set Link on fire.
01:14Meanwhile, the villain's appearances as his Gerudo form, Ganondorf, switched things up.
01:23Ocarina of Time had the Dead Man's Volley formula, while fights in Wind Waker and Twilight
01:28Princess gave us terrific sword duels.
01:32Different appearances introduced even more facets to keep things fresh and exciting.
01:36All in all, players have faced Ganon in combat a total of 10 times.
01:47Mothula is a boss who started out tough, but has
01:57gotten easier to deal with in every subsequent appearance.
02:01We first fought this giant bug in A Link to the Past, where its moving floor and blade
02:06traps made fighting it a pain.
02:08Mothula was also repurposed for the Palace of the Four Sword in the GBA port, where it
02:12could multiply itself.
02:20It was a boss again in Oracle of Seasons, where it was a bit more manageable thanks
02:25to a calmer arena.
02:27Since then, Mothula has only appeared as a mini-boss in two more games, Wind Waker and
02:32Spirit Tracks, bringing the total of fights up to 5.
02:35Neither of those were particularly challenging, but still enjoyable.
02:47Darknut
02:48The knight-like Darknuts are in a bit of a grey area, as they appear as regular enemies
02:53in many Zelda games.
02:55However, there have been some cases where they've acted as mini-bosses.
02:59In Wind Waker, one was the mini-boss in the Tower of the Gods, though Link would later
03:04encounter them fairly often.
03:13The Minish Cap did something similar, featuring progressively stronger Darknuts as mini-bosses
03:18in three different dungeons.
03:20The Darknuts of Twilight Princess are a fair bit tougher, first appearing as the mini-boss
03:25in the Temple of Time dungeon.
03:36A similar enemy known as the Iron Knuckle is also used as a mini-boss in both Ocarina
03:40of Time and Majora's Mask.
03:52In all of their mini-boss appearances, Darknuts provide nice challenges as Link must wait
03:57for the proper moment to strike.
04:02Dodongo
04:07The dino who dislikes smoke, Dodongo first appeared as a boss in the original game, where
04:12Link had to feed it bombs to deal damage.
04:15In Ocarina of Time, the boss got an upgrade as King Dodongo, a much larger beast to contend
04:22with.
04:27However, Nintendo would later relegate it back to the top-down style with Oracle of
04:35Seasons.
04:37While Link still had to toss bombs in its mouth, the fight came with the extra step
04:40of tossing Dodongo onto a bed of spikes.
04:44Its last appearance as a boss was in Four Swords Adventures.
04:47A group of them were fought at the end of the Tower of Flames, while a bigger, bluer
04:51version known as Big Dodongo was fought in the Realm of the Heavens, matching Mafula
04:57for 5 boss fights.
05:07Manhandla Another boss from the original game, Manhandla
05:11has only appeared in top-down entries, not counting the non-canonical Hyrule Warriors.
05:18In the first game, this giant plant can shoot fireballs from each bulb, but moves and attacks
05:23faster with each bulb Link destroys.
05:26It appeared again in Oracle of Seasons, where it was fought nearly the same exact way, with
05:31the only difference being the use of the magical boomerang to deal damage.
05:42A variant known as Big Manhandla was fought in Four Swords, while the regular-sized version's
05:47final appearance was in its spiritual successor, Four Swords Adventures.
05:58In both cases, an added layer forced the different colored Links to attack their corresponding
06:03bulbs to progress, bringing the total to four pretty fun fights.
06:08Vaati Sadly, the franchise's most frequently appearing
06:12villain outside of Ganon has only been in three games.
06:16But in each one of them, he provides an incredibly fun boss fight.
06:20Vaati first appeared in Four Swords, having players swap out their items to adapt to whichever
06:25attacks he was unleashing.
06:34He then showed up in Four Swords Adventures, though was merely a puppet used by Ganon.
06:45However, Nintendo expanded on him greatly in The Minish Cap.
06:50He was perfectly dastardly, finally receiving some backstory and depth.
06:54But his fight was also a major step up.
06:57Across three phases, Vaati tested our ability to use a multitude of items and abilities,
07:03making for a tough but fair challenge to cap off the game.
07:14Gleok Based on the Hydra of Greek mythology, Gleok
07:18is one of the most fun boss fights in the original Legend of Zelda.
07:22Each time it's faced, destroying one head causes it to float around, shooting fire until
07:27Link defeats the rest.
07:29Each subsequent appearance has been a great deal of fun, too, and has brought something
07:34new and exciting to the table.
07:36In Oracle of Seasons, the final phase of its skeleton made for a nice surprise.
07:48In Phantom Hourglass, its use of fire and ice, as well as that game's touchscreen
07:53controls, made for a great matchup.
07:56Nintendo brought these beasts back bigger and badder in Tears of the Kingdom.
08:01As overworld mini-bosses, the three elemental variants, along with the terrifying combo
08:07and King Gleok, were excellent obstacles to take on.
08:18Phantom Ganon There are a lot of things to admire about
08:22the Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time, one being that it ends on the first appearance
08:27of Phantom Ganon.
08:29Introducing that now classic back and forth battle system, he also had a slight gothic
08:34horror atmosphere to him.
08:44Phantom Ganon has been a sort of general to the big bad in several games since.
08:49He took on a cel-shaded, stark black design in Wind Waker and Four Swords Adventures,
08:55though retained the Dead Man's Valley gameplay.
09:09The boss came back strong much later in Tears of the Kingdom.
09:13Looking like the mummified remains of Ganondorf, this version used Gloom weapons to siphon
09:18your health.
09:19Depending on which version you were fighting, they could also either multiply, or were preceded
09:24by Gloom Spawn, horrifying things to encounter in the early game.
09:35Dark Link Springing to life for the first time in Zelda
09:392, Dark Link became an iconically difficult moment of the NES, and it's safe to say
09:46he's kept that reputation over the years.
09:55Able to mimic Link's attacks, he gave us a tough fight as the Water Temple miniboss
10:00in Ocarina of Time.
10:02In the GBA port of A Link to the Past, the Palace of the Four Sword ended with four progressively
10:07stronger Dark Links in a row, with the added difficulty of them now using part of Link's
10:13arsenal.
10:20The final level of the Take-Em-All-On Combat Challenge in Spirit Tracks featured him as
10:25the boss, once again fairly difficult.
10:28Finally, a trio of Dark Links appeared as bosses in Triforce Heroes, now able to jinx
10:34Link on contact so he was unable to use his sword.
10:44Goma Often some type of giant arachnid, Goma is
10:55a Zelda staple.
10:57She was a boss in the first game, before becoming a miniboss in Link's Awakening.
11:01She went back up to boss level in Ocarina of Time, becoming a memorable moment of the
11:06game's opening section.
11:15She also appeared in Oracle of Seasons, and again as the first boss in Wind Waker.
11:20She went back down to miniboss status in Four Swords Adventures, but right back up to a
11:24boss in Twilight Princess, now called Armagoma.
11:36She even came back for Tears of the Kingdom, this time made of rock as Marbled Goma.
11:42While the strategy of some of her fights boils down to shooting her in the eye, others like
11:47Wind Waker and Tears of the Kingdom have brought extra layers.
11:50Plus, she's appeared as a boss 8 times, more than any other, with Ganon as the only exception.
12:07What boss are you always happy to see show up in a Zelda game?
12:10Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to Mojo Plays for more great gaming
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