The Legend of Zeldaseries is known far and wide for its incredible game mechanics and, more importantly, the epic boss fights that close out the game. Usually, Link and Zelda face off against Ganondorf or Ganon, working together or alone to drive back his evil.
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From the early Zelda games to the most recent, final boss fights in Zelda have always inspired awe. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are something of outliers since the combat is dreadfully dull in both and don’t inspire much. Most Zelda games have exceptionally dramatic and epic final bosses, testing Link’s courage and skill to the max.
Spoiler warning: Major spoilers for the ending of several Legend of Zelda games.
9Link’s Awakening - Shadow Nightmares
The remake ofLink’s Awakeningis faithful and excellent, but the original GameBoy version of this game still holds up today. Link’s Awakening feels like a spin-off Zelda game in so many ways. This is simply a side adventure that Link happens to get involved in, introducing him to one of the most interesting characters in Zelda in the shape of the Wind Fish. Koholint Island is somewhat dreamy and ethereal, which makes sense when you reach the final boss of the game.
Urged by the people of Koholint, Link must fight his way to wake the Wind Fish. Halting his progress are the nefarious Shadow Nightmares, and they come at you in a multi-stage fight. The fight requires you to use the tools you’ve gathered to win, with each form presenting a different challenge. There’s an unexpected emotional tinge to this fight as the Shadows consider Koholint their world, and if the Wind Fish wakes, everything here will disappear. Sure, they’re kind of evil, but at the same time, they want to live. With the Shadows dispersed and the Wind Fish awake, Koholint disappears as if it were simply a dream.
8Majora’s Mask 3DS - Majora’s Wrath
This is a three-part fight, upping the epic stakes of the battle considerably. Out of all the multi-stage battles in Zelda boss fights, there’s something particularly unsettling about this final fight against Majora. Specifically, the 3DS re-release of the game features a significantly more coherent boss fight than the original. It is much less frustrating, and you have much more room in the boss arena to navigate.
The creepiness is cranked up to 11, the music is unsettling, and, as added fun, Link can be yeeted across the entire boss chamber by Majora’s Wrath if he gets grabbed. It genuinely feels satisfying to halt the evil moon and bring peace to the sorrowful Termina. All of which create a memorable and enjoyable boss fight.
7Zelda II: The Adventures Of Link - Link’s Shadow
The Adventures of Link has a perennially bad rep as an awful game, but it is criminally underrated. Those who like it, though, really love it. Zelda II is the only Zelda game that is a full 2D side-scroller game, and this comes with its own drawbacks and benefits.
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The Adventures of Link is also one of the few games where Ganondorf isn’t the final boss. Instead, it’s something of a bait and switch. The final boss is a shadow version of Link, and he makes you work for the win. This counterpart has the same moves you do, so can you beat the AI Link with the same abilities?
6A Link To The Past And Four Swords - Vaati
The Four Swords was originally released alongside the GBA game A Link to the Past as a completely standalone side adventure. The best thing about this was that it was a co-op game with up to four players at once, letting you all control a different Link and work together through different levels.
The end of the game features a boss fight against the ancient evil, Vaati. The fight isn’t anything difficult, and the mechanics are straightforward, but the standout feature is thatyou and your friends get to save Hyrule together. At the time, being able to link your GameBoy Advances together and play through a Zelda campaign was truly next level, and the final boss is a culmination of all your hard work.
5Spirit Tracks - Malladus, The Demon King
When you compare the two Nintendo DS Zelda games, The Spirit Tracks always comes out on top over the Phantom Hourglass. Not only do Link and Zelda get to travel together throughout the whole game, but Zelda is an incredibly fleshed-out character. It’s always amazing to see Link and Zelda working together during a fight, taking out the big bad as a team.
Link keeps Malladus busy while Zelda pings him with arrows, culminating in them both driving the Lokomo Sword through Malladus' head.Toon Linkreally has a penchant for that move. More than ever in a final Zelda boss, you have a lot of incentive to really want to save Zelda; considering she’s been your travelling companion throughout the whole adventure, guiding you and forming a close bond. The Malladus fight not only features a little defence minigame and an incredible musical moment to boot. The finale is wonderful in every way, resulting in a top-tier final boss.
4Skyward Sword - Demise
Skyward Swordmakes you jump through a lot of hoops, and sometimes literally. While the several fights against the Imprisoned are truly mundane and soul-destroyingly bland, the final fight against Demise is everything you could ever want. Following suit with Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, the final battle is a one-on-one sword fight with Demise. Parrying his blows, and timing your strikes, all create a phenomenally fun boss fight.
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You might lament the motion controls of the Wii version, but when the Wiimote works as intended, the fight feels much more epic as you act out the sword swipes in real life. The HD remaster on Switch helped the clunky sword-fighting controls substantially, and the fight is still epic in the remaster. It’s a challenging and fun duel, and blissfully straightforward. There’s also something incredibly satisfying about holding your sword aloft to charge it, and blast Demise with a special beam. The finishing blow is equally as satisfying.
3Ocarina Of Time - Ganon
Ocarina of Timeis a special game to everyone and the original holds up today spectacularly. The final section of boss fights puts you against Ganondorf in a satisfying duel, while the reveal of the final boss was truly exceptional. Just when you think you’ve bested Ganondorf in sword prowess, he pulls the rug out from under you in his final phase.
You probably never expected him to transform into a hulking beast, and back in the day when Ocarina first came out, this was an excellent reveal. The size difference between Link and Ganon is significant, and you feel legitimately helpless in the face of this hulking beast.
2Wind Waker - Ganondorf
The final boss fights that end in an epic duel between Link and Ganondorf are always the best. The musical cues that play in Wind Waker when you hit an enemy all add to the experience, not to mention the glorious soundtrack presiding over the battle.
One small detail in this fight that helps elevate it is Zelda coming up with the strategy to reflect her Light Arrows off Link’s Mirror Shield to catch Ganondorf off guard. It’s an excellent detail andfun little mechanicduring the fight, giving Zelda some more agency as a reliable character who can throw down. The best part? Landing the killing blow on Ganondorf by stabbing him extremely aggressively directly in his head.
1Twilight Princess - Ganondorf
Twilight Princesshas some of the best combat out of any Zelda game. Nintendo doubled down on the identity ofLink as a master swordsman, and it shows when it comes to the final boss. Whereas in other games, you end up fighting Ganondorf in his beast form last, Twilight Princess flips it. Not to mention, Zelda firing off magical light arrows from the back of Epona is phenomenal.
In case you didn’t notice, this fight is effectively the reverse of Ocarina of Time in that you first fight him in beast form, on horseback with Zelda, and then you have to test your might against Ganondorf in one-on-one combat. The two of you engage in an epic duel, complete with cinematic sword clashes and battle manoeuvres. The result is an epic duel for the ages, ultimately ending in Ganondorf’s apparent death after a swift stab to the chest by Link.
