ZD Top – Final Bosses That AREN’T Ganondorf
Posted on October 08 2015 by Mark Olson
As much as it may seem like Ganondorf has a monopoly on the business of getting brutally stabbed at the end of Zelda games, from time to time another foe will have the honor of becoming Link’s temporary sheath/final cutscene trigger. In this week’s ZD Top 5, we had the ZeldaDungeon staff recount their five favorites. As usual, feel free to leave your own lists in the comments below.
Jon Lett – View Profile
5. Phantom Linebeck (Phantom Hourglass)
4. Vaati (Four Swords Adventures)
3. Demise (Skyward Sword)
2. Majora (Majora’s Mask)
1. Vaati (The Minish Cap)
Oh my dear Vaati, how I miss thee. People forget far too often that Vaati was a really great villain in The Minish Cap, usually because they only associate him with The Four Swords games, where he started out, and where he has little to no personality. Vaati had an interesting and, honestly, sad backstory – one very different from Ganondorf’s. He was innocent once. A simple child curious enough to put on his master’s magic hat, and unfortunate enough to become the world’s most powerful sorcerer. Vaati was a really good recurring change of pace in the series, and his The Minish Cap form was the first final boss I ever beat in a Zelda game. He was well-designed, well-developed, and that last fight with him was fantastic, spanning three awesome forms, and sporting a sweet set of fight songs. Many items you got in the game were used to beat him, as well, which is certainly different from many Ganondorf fights.
Kev Doughty – View Profile
5. Link’s Shadow (Adventure of Link)
4. Shadow Nightmares (Link’s Awakening)
3. Demise (Skyward Sword)
2. Vaati (The Minish Cap)
1. Majora (Majora’s Mask)
Slight confession, when I thought about it I’ve only actually faced 4 non-Ganon bosses so I added in Link’s Shadow because, while I never got to the end of Adventure of Link to face him, I hear he’s quite difficult to beat and, as he has appeared in several other games as Dark Link, he cool in my book. The Shadow Nightmare at the end of Link’s Awakening was a fun battle with a lot more forms than I thought he’d have. His final form gave me some trouble but it was still a fun battle. Demise was a decent battle but when I got used to the formula and timings he was quite easy to defeat. Even so, with all the lightning effects, cool area and and foreboding baddy it still makes for an epic battle. I love The Minish Cap and Vaati was a great antagonist. His battle against the end of the game brings together a lot of tactics you’ve learned throughout the game in one heated final match. It’s difficult but enjoyable. Majora I just find SO much fun. Majora’s Mask is OK but then when he transforms into Majora’s Incarnation things get a tad strange which makes it all the more enjoyable. THE he grows whips, beefs out and becomes Majora’s Wrath. This fight is really intense but is so much fun that it has remained one of my favourite boss fights in the series to this day.
Kevin O’Rourke – View Profile
5. Dark Link (Adventure of Link)
4. Nightmare (Link’s Awakening)
3. Yuga (Link Between Worlds)
2. Vaati (The Minish Cap)
1. Majora (Majora’s Mask)
In the Zelda series the three main players are usually Zelda, Link, and Ganon but that’s not the case for every game. Sometimes games in the Zelda series barely even feature Zelda which is the case with Majora’s Mask where you fight against Majora’s several forms at the end of the game. It’s refreshing to have a boss fight that doesn’t end with Ganon/Ganondorf and Vaati is the second-tier big bad that shows up in The Minish Cap as well as in Four Swords Adventures. Vaati is a character that would be neat to see make the transition into a 3D game. Rounding out the rest of my list is Yuga, who is very similar to Ganon in appearance, Nightmare who has a great design and Dark Link which is an incredibly epic battle at the end of Zelda II: Adventure of Link.
Mark Olson – View Profile
5. Vaati (The Minish Cap)
4. Yuga (A Link Between Worlds)
3. Demise (Skyward Sword)
2. Phantom Linebeck (Phantom Hourglass)
1. Majora (Majora’s Mask)
Though the rest of the contenders in this list put up a good fight, if you will, I couldn’t bring myself to make anything but what is apparently the popular choice, Majora in all of his forms. The thing that makes this boss good in my eyes is how perfectly it fit the game it finishes off. Majora’s Mask is a bizarre and, there’s that buzzword again, dark Zelda game, and the fight against Majora matches these qualities perfectly. The fight is already weird , what with the bizarre buzz-saw like attacks of the mask and its slightly off-putting tentacle thingies, and then… The mask grows legs. I don’t think I can stress that enough. The mask. Grows legs. Make of that what you will, but it’s undeniable that the fight with Majora ended the Majora’s Mask in as fitting a manner as anyone could have hoped.
