The 50 Hardest Video Game Bosses (And How To Beat Them)

We all have to answer to a boss in some form or another in our daily lives. Whether it's your immediate supervisor clinging angrily to their position one rung above you on the ladder of corporate middle management, or it's your chief financial officer doubling as a domestic engineer back home, i.e. your spouse.

Real-life bosses can be tough, probably to an unfair degree. Video game bosses, however, give you a fighting chance. We've listed 50 video game bosses you probably haven't beaten, and given you a few tips to kickstart you on the path towards unlocking a few more virtual achievements.

Game: Super Mario Bros.

Location: World 8-4

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Bowser's first of three appearances on this list. Don't wait, don't over think it. Run quickly underneath Bowser when he jumps. He remains one of those rare bosses you defeat by not fighting.

Game: God of War

Location: Area 4: The Lord Poseidon

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: God of War made a very big statement from the moment its first boss walked onto the scene, and not just by putting quick-time events on the map. Lure the hydra into attacking, dodge, then attack. When the circle appears above his head, run up and start mashing the grapple button.

Game: Super Mario Galaxy

Location: Bowser's Galaxy Reactor - The Fate of the Universe

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Good old Bowser; always willing to fall into a pit of lava (or something visually faithful to lava), year after year, in his endless struggle against that insufferable Italian plummer. Dodge and knock him out.

Game: Rez

Location: Area 4

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: The toughest part of this battle is in Uranus' fourth form. You have to target its missiles' origination point. If those missiles get out everywhere, you're done.

Game: Wolfenstein 3D

Location: Episode 3

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Hitler: modern history's consummate villain. Find the room with a pool of ammo and health, then use the steel wall islands to dodge behind. He's fast. If you're faster, you're treated to a little Temple of Doom-like body-melting action.

Game: Chrono Trigger

Location: Lavos Space

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Chrono, Ayla, and Frog are a triple tech threat for Lavos. The full multi-stage battle clocks in easily easily at the 30-minute mark, but this video is the fight with Lavos' inner core. Pack plenty of Megalixirs. It's another long JRPG knockdown-dragout fight.

Game: Gunstar Heroes

Location: Gunstar Green

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: With such frenetic, multi-stage combat, this fight feels like it takes a long time. Even though you're deep in pattern-memorization territory, this particular got a lot of love out of using the lightsaber.

Game: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Location: Ganon's Tower

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: One of the most stunning finishing moves you'll ever see. Simple, but stunning. To get to that point, have Zelda paralyze Ganon with bow shots to paralyze Ganon, then slap him around with Link. Zelda will get knocked out. Continue the fight until she shakes it off, then have her hit Link's shield and deflect a paralyzing shot at Ganon again. Finish him.

Game: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

Location: Nuke Building B1

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: No one before or since has broken the fourth wall of narration like Psycho Mantis. When he told you to put your controller down and it started rumbling, it was like Nintendo bringing the Ouija board into the 20th century. Reading your memory card and criticizing your saved games, too? Psycho indeed. And no one--without a guide, or a friend with a guide--knew to swap controller ports in order to finish the fight.

Game: Final Fantasy X

Location: Zanarkand Ruins

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: You can level-grind past the requirements to beat Braska's Final Aeon, or, as the player does in this video, set yourself up for a reasonable fight. He used Auron's "Murasame" weapon, "Magic Booster" and "One MP Cost" weapon abilities, "Stoneproof" armor ability, as well as getting an extra tasty crispy bucket of Chocobo Wings and Feathers.

Game: Final Fantasy VI

Location: Floating Continent

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: You're up against Atma Weapon, a creature composed of pure energy and old as the cosmos. Shouldn't be a problem. Especially if you have the game-dominating Vanish and Doom spells. They ruin every creature you will ever meet in Final Fantasy III.

Game: Paper Mario

Location: Palace of Shadow

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: This is Bowser's well-deserved second appearance on this list. In this fight, use Mario's D-Down Jump, Bombette's Bomb, and heal yourself with Smooch. Sounds easy enough, but this isn't a runaway fight like your encounters with him in Super Mario Bros.

Game: Mega Man & Bass

Location: King Stage 3

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: This battle is easier if you play as Bass, not Megaman. At first, Dr. Wily's weakness is remote mine, though the player in the video doesn't use any. The player just jump dodges and shoots for the eyes. Then he pulls out his magic cards, aiming for the brain pan.

Game: Final Fantasy VI

Location: Figaro Castle

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Kefka used to be a heavenly being like you, then he took a drill to the knee. And a meteor shower to the back. And then suffered a bum rush for good measure. Skip ahead in the video to about the 18:30 mark to see the final showdown with Kefka, as opposed to the 18-minute path leading up to him.

Game: Mortal Kombat II

Location: Outworld

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Shao Khan ate many quarters from kids like me. But he is utterly baffled by you jumping in, ducking, and throwing uppercuts. You'll feel cheap using this technique over and over, but you'll also win.

Game: Star Ocean: The Second Story

Location: Maze of Tribulations

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: The Bed of Roses attack and Healing Star are the song and dance you'll be singing and dancing against Iseria Queen. Not to mention some healthy swings of the Mirror Blade.

Game: Star Ocean: The Second Story

Location: Eighth Floor (Part 2)

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: "Explosion! Explosion! Explosion!" That sums up this battle strategy. Other than that, turn on practice and train up to level 140. Getting Dragon Howl up to 500+ proficiency doesn't hurt either because that stuns Indalecio. You have to immobilize him. Then: Explosion! Explosion! Explosion!

Game: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Location: Palace of Shadow

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: The audience watching this battle gets thick, and the Shadow Queen uses that audience to refill her health. Before you fight, buy as many Life Shrooms as you can buy. Use Shooting Stars on the Shadow Queen's hands. Once you beat her you'll be rewarded with one measly Star Point.

Game: Final Fantasy V

Location: N-Zone

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Omega's counterattacks will do you in, and the fact that he can spam a devastating range of other attacks--including one-hit kills--makes him even tougher than the final boss, Shinryu. Omega is weak against Bolt, so use Bolt 3 on your swords, then Sshot him if you're lucky. This still might not guarantee a win.

Game: Sonic Adventure 2

Location: Space Colony ARK

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: The BioLizard is so large that the fight takes on a Shadow of the Colossus quality to it. Best thing to do for the BioLizard is keep the right distance, so he only bites at you. Dodge the black energy balls, use homing on the pink ones, and keep going for his life support unit. A time investment, sure, but the BioLizard answers to no one.

Game: Super Mario Galaxy

Location: Mission 4

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Mario can swing multiple Bomb Boos at once, so this will shorten the match against Bouldergeist considerably. This is a great-looking battle, especially as Bouldergeist starts taking a beating and physically breaking down.

Game: Pokemon Emerald

Location: Ever Grande City

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: If you're at level 50 with a skilled team of six, you're in about the right place to face the Elite 4. It's super effective! And the challenge will finally ramp up by the fourth--possibly third--Elite.

Game: Banjo-Tooie

Location: Grunty Industries

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Weldar's lightning is a problem when he lights up the dance floor, so find a corner and start zig zagging when the shots come at you. When Weldar takes aim, shoot into his vacuum mouth and his welding days are over.

Game: Donkey Kong 64

Location: Gangplank Galleon

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Knock the lights down to knock K. Rool's lights out. Then it's a matter of making that crocodile slip on a banana. Then it's a matter of tickling his feet. Then timing your haymaker punch. Hope you packed a lunch; this fight takes a while.

Game: Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga

Location: Bowser's Castle

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: When Cackletta spreads her left wing, she attacks Mario with lightning; spreading her right wing means she's attacking Luigi with lightning. Worry more about the black holes though. And when she splits into three, the Cackletta that's above the slightly larger hole is the real one to attack.

Game: Banjo-Tooie

Location: Cauldron Keep

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Having a pop quiz influence the direction of a boss battle is a rare tactic. But get those right and the HAG 1 rewards your knowledge with slower attacks. Gruntilda is only vulnerable when she pops out of the hatch, and you shut the HAG 1 down by hopping into the tail section and destroying the power supplies from within.

Game: Half-Life

Location: Nihilanth

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: This is the stuff of nightmares. Moving up and down that hollow-sounding chamber like you're floating in a lava lamp and firing missiles into a fetus-like monster wil make you shudder. Then there are the teleportation balls that force you to clear four other rooms filled with aliens. Just be prepared to deal with some mild psychological trauma from fighting a giant flying baby with exposed brain lobes.

Game: inFAMOUS

Location: The Truth

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Kessler teleports around, then fires energy blasts at you. After two or three of those, he'll hunch over and pause for a bit. Unleash hell.

Game: Mercenaries

Location: Song's Nuclear Base

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Toughest part of this fight is getting through some punishing North Korean run-and-gun combat with fixed combat sights and an ear-muffling near-death effect when you take a bullet. Then finding a clear extraction point for picking up your quarry, the Ace of Spades, is the final trick.

Game: Conker's Bad Fur Day

Location: Haybot Wars

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: The Haybot might have some choice words for you, but all you have to do is light him on fire, land a second hit on him, and jump back on Frankie after the floor collapses. Get behind the sewage pipe, let the Suzie 9mm missiles hit the pipe, then draw the Haybot toward the sewage so he'll short circuit. Then push the button on him that says "Do not push."

Game: Kingdom Hearts

Location: Hallow Bastion

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Avoid Riku when he goes berserk. Then guard against his jumping attack, immediately throw a combo at him, then snap back into guarding. Finish Riku off as quickly as possible so that he spends the least amount of time in his powered-up form.

Game: Diablo II: Lord of Destruction

Location: Act V

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Use area attacks on Baal's minions, but don't bother dodging his tentacles or his nova spell. Pound on Baal incessantly so that he doesn't get a chance to summon his clone. If his clone shows up, ignore him and continue thrashing on the original; the clone's name is more 'centered' above him than the actual Baal. Be relentless, and don't give the devil his due.

Game: Sinistar

Location: Final Boss of each Zone

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: You've never heard a more frightening howl in a boss fight. Move slow to increase your maneuverability, then you can run circles around Sinistar. Anything to end Sinistar's awful hunger.

Game: Killzone 2

Location: Visari Palace

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Major Radec has a tendency to disappear, but torching him keeps him somewhat visible. He's still a hell of a bullet sponge, but fire tends to make him stumble around a lot while you're pumping rounds into him. Technically, Major Radec kills himself in the end--not you--but you get the idea.

Game: Tales of Symphonia

Location: Temple of Darkness

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Hourglasses are a rare item, but this guy used 20 of them in this fight. He keeps time stopped and lands an unheard of 1,064-hit combo. Abyssion, an otherwise nasty boss, never has a chance.

Game: Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!

Location: Final Match

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: For the first 1:30 of the fight, Mike Tyson will knock you down with a single punch. The guy in this video managed to block that early punch in the nick of time, but we don't recommend you trying that. After that initial 1:30, you have to learn Mike's lightning timing, but the fight gets more or less fair from then on.

Game: Shadow of the Colossus

Location: Final Colossus

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Just reaching Malus is a time-consuming endeavor. You have do dodge knockback attacks, moving from cover to cover. Taking cover in time grows more difficult the closer you get to him. When you finally reach his head, pierce his skull with several quick stabs; don't try to charge up a heavy hit with Malus thrashing around so much. Enough stabs and this final colossus too shall fall.

Game: Earthbound

Location: Giygas's Lair

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: It was MC Hammer that once said, "We have to pray just to make it today." And while prayer is a rather useless ability for the entire length of the game, it's the only way to defeat Giygas. Added creepy bonus: It's a widely held belief that Giygas is a fetus and that he represents rape. Fun!

Game: World of Warcraft

Location: Ahn'Qiraj in Silithus

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Originally, C'thun could break highly-coordinated top-tier guilds. Now you can get together a couple dozen level 70 characters formed from a random pick-up group, and if you minimize superfluous chatter on Ventrilo it's possible to execute a reasonably-mapped strategy to take this old god down.

Game: BioShock

Location: Point Prometheus

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Start with electric gel, then move on to heat-seeking RPGs and frag grenades. If you don't take him out as quickly as this video demonstrates, you'll need excellent dodging skills as Fontaine charges you like Master Card.

Game: Guitar Hero III

Location: Final Guitar Battle

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Idle hands to the Devil's work, so to beat Lucifer--ahem, Lou--you have to practice. It's a tough song and a tough opponent. Don't hit him with just two or three attacks; get them all ready to go, then unload an avalanche on him.

Game: Super Mario RPG

Location: Monstro Town

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Various combinations of characters and actions can kick Culex in the culo, but one way is to have Mario kicking it with the Lazy Shell, Geno hitting Culex up with Geno Flash, and the Princess giving everyone Group Hugs. The Princess can bust out the frying pan in a pinch. What chauvinistic connotations?

Game: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Location: Subspace Emissary

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: All you have to do is dodge his Red Ring of Death, Whip, Golden Brackets, Energy Spray, Purple Energy Pounds, Beam Cannon, Spinner, Charge, Eye Lasers, Electricity Balls, and Image Barrage. If you can actually find an opportunity to hit him between all that, you win.

Game: Ninja Gaiden

Location: Chapter 9

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Roll jump and roll. Keep using Flying Swallow. When she's stunned, break out your most damaging combos. The real enemy here isn't Alma, it's the horrifying camera controls. Best of luck not committing seppuku with your gamepad.

Game: Final Fantasy VII

Location: Outside of Junon

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Bring seven combos of Counter-Mime to the fight. Use Angermax Limit Break, then Mime immediately afterwards. Have counter materia paired to Mime. When Emerald Weapon attacks, you respond with seven Mimes of Angermax attack. Done.

Game: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Location: Space Pirate base, Sanctuary Fortress (elevator), Final Boss

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Charge up your Hyperbeam and dodge Dark Samus' attacks. When she brings on the attack of the clones, kill off those kitties and go after the momma cat again. When Dark Samus is in Aurora Unit 313, dodge all her attacks and take out the tentacles. Just push 313's wig back, blast at her brain, and she's going down soon.

Game: God of War II

Location: The Summit of Sacrifice

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: In round 1 of this fight, squeeze the shockwave out of the Sirens to damage Zeus. Easy. He's tougher in round 2, though. Parry his lightning bolts, use Cronos' Rage once you get comfy with the battle's cadence, then attack-and-roll to fill in the battle's gaps. Zeus is Kratos' dad, but follow these tips and you won't get sonned.

Game: Kingdom Hearts

Location: Platinum Match (Olympus Coliseum)

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: Sephiroth rose to prominence in Final Fantasy VII, but he's a particular problem in Kingdom Hearts. Keep your HP above 50 percent, save your MP for protection rather than damage dealing, and make sure you have Second Chance. If you forget those three things, remember these three things: 1) Heal and Aero, 2) Heal and Aero, and 3) Heal and Aero.

Game: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

Location: Pellenor Fields

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: This fight gets serverly drawn out if you allow it. Have your first character use the Banner of Elendil to disable the Witch-King's counterattack. Then use Morgul Decay to remove the Witch-King's armor. Then start serving up combos like a McDonald's value meal menu.

Game: Mushihime-sama Futari

Location: Stage 5

Watch The Final Battle: Click Here

How To Beat Him: This game epitomizes "bullet hell." The best advice we have is to sit with your legs folded in the lotus position and study--study hard--Zen teachings. That is, de-emphasize theoretical knowledge in favor of direct self-realization through meditation and dharma practice. Also: dodge those bullets.