Boss

Not to be confused with Final Boss

Bosses, in any video game, are a powerful type of enemy or non-player character who specifically serve as 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, 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 rare 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. Usually, but not always, bosses are high-ranking minions or henchmen of the main antagonist, which is very commonly the case for Ganon or other villains in The Legend of Zelda series.

In the Zelda franchise itself 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. In order to reach them in most games, however, he must first acquire the Big Key within that Dungeon. 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 Life Gauge being displayed to the player, they can be revealed with the Hero's Charm in The Wind Waker, and Breath of the Wild, its sequel, as well as Hyrule Warriors have it explicitly shown.

Overview

The Legend of Zelda

In The Legend of Zelda, eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom are hidden in eight underground labyrinths containing dangerous enemies which Link has to overcome.^[1]^[2] He then fights Ganon in his fortress in Death Mountain after completing the Triforce of Wisdom, and then takes back the stolen Triforce of Power.^[3]^[4]

The Adventure of Link

Long before the events of The Adventure of Link, the King of Hyrule hid the Triforce of Courage, and wrote a message on scroll telling a hero that had not been found in his era how to unlock the way to the Great Palace in the Valley of Death.^[5]^[6] After Impa entrusts Link with this scroll, Link defeats six palace guardians the King created, and sets six crystals Impa had given to him in the statues of each palace to undo the binding force placed on the Great Palace.^[7]^[8]^[9] Following this, Link battles the last guardian in the Great Palace,^[10] Thunderbird, as well as Link's Shadow, to obtain the Triforce of Courage which undoes the spell which had been cast on Princess Zelda once it is reunited with the other two pieces.^[11]^[12]

A Link to the Past

In A Link to the Past, with the exception of the major antagonists Agahnim and Ganon, Link defeats Bosses which guard the way to either one of the three Pendants of Virtue in the Light World that Link needs to obtain the Master Sword, or one of the seven Crystals holding a Maiden which Agahnim had sent to the Dark World.^[13] In either type of dungeon, a Heart Container is the reward for beating the dungeon Boss.^[14]^{[note 1]}

Link's Awakening

In Link's Awakening, the Nightmares wreak havoc on Koholint Island, the world inside the Wind Fish's dream, preventing the Wind Fish from waking up. Link arrives on Koholint Island and, aided by the Owl, destroys the Nightmares.^[16]^[17] Eight dungeons each hold a Nightmare that guards one of the Instruments of the Sirens, which together open the way to the ninth and final dungeon, the Wind Fish's Egg.^[18]^[19]