#5. Yharnam, The Pthumerian Queen from Bloodborne

FromSoftware’s Bloodborne is something of a brilliant change of pace in its long series of Souls games. Not only does the game feature a more aggressive playstyle than its predecessors, it’s an intriguing marriage of gothic and cosmic horror that has created some interesting lore, as well a host of unique foes.

While the main path that most players take does feature some tough secret bosses, even the most seasoned player may miss out on Yharnam, the Pthumerian Queen. She’s an important figure in the lore, but can only be challenged by undertaking a side activity called Chalice Dungeons.

The path to Yharnam isn’t a walk in the park. You’ll have to go through a series of semi-randomized dungeons that only get increasingly harder and also feature some difficult bosses. Reach the final layer and you’ll come across a seemingly harmless lady clad in bloodstained white.

Yharnam doesn’t seem particularly scary during the first phase of her fight. She attacks you with a knife and weaponizes her own blood, but the attacks are fairly easy to evade. Her aggression ramps up quickly as you whittle her health down. Before long, you’ll find yourself trapped by magical circles and hoisted into the air by unseen forces. Her blood becomes deadly spears that erupt from the ground, and she even summons two clones of herself on occasion.

A silver lining to the Yharnam fight is that it’s not actually a fight that requires much dexterity or reaction time. Rather, a sharp memory of her complicated mechanics will go a long way in making the fight easier. If you’ve made it far enough to meet her, nothing can stop you now.

#4. Galdera, The Fallen from Octopath Traveler

Octopath Traveler is a celebration of the RPGs of old, showcasing beautiful sprite-based gameplay and a medieval story surrounding eight unlikely adventurers. Many players have praised the game for the inspirations it takes from classic JRPGs when it comes to music, gameplay, and the pixelated art style.

But perhaps one key aspect that seemingly went amiss was the premise of a world in danger, threatened by a sinister ungodly entity – one that these adventurers would have to save. You’d think so because the game’s eight paths are singular stories that only slightly hint at the impending doom the world faces.

By completing all eight stories and tackling a couple of hidden side quests, you’ll access the final dungeon of the game. Here, you’ll have to endure a gauntlet of all the final bosses from each story before you can face Galdera, the Fallen.

Galdera is hard. You’ll want to tackle this boss only after you’ve trained your party to high levels. He also has two separate phases that must be fought with two separate teams. This means that you’re forced to use all eight party members, regardless of whether you actually levelled them up.

Besides the investment needed to survive this fight, Galdera also uses some scary mechanics rather liberally, ranging from forcing everyone’s HP to 1 to draining their SP, or weakening their defences all in between his hard-hitting attacks.

Octopath Traveler certainly recalls fondly JRPGs and their long heritage of superbosses, but decided to throw players a double whammy by making its superboss… the true final boss. If you want that acknowledgement that you managed to save the world, this is just one bullet you’ll have to bite.

#3. Akuma from Super Street Fighter II Turbo

One of the most iconic Street Fighter characters of all time certainly made a splash with his very first game debut. In Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Akuma was a menacing secret boss that would only appear in your arcade run if you managed to fulfil certain difficult conditions.

Players are required to perform immaculately in Arcade Mode by defeating every opponent without losing a single round and to do so within 20 minutes. If these conditions are met, the run-in with the final boss, M. Bison, will be promptly interrupted as Akuma delivers his iconic Shun Goku Satsu unto the Shadaloo leader.

Like his modern iterations, Akuma in Super Street Fighter II Turbo has the exact movesets as Ryu and Ken, including additional specials such as his air fireball and teleport. He hits hard and recovers quickly from his attacks, and so calculated playstyles and precise blocking are a must.

Back in the arcade days, play sessions cost a little bit of money. For one to have beaten Akuma way back in the 90s, they would have had to do so with real stakes on the line. It goes without saying that this probably made the character one of the most stressful superbosses of that time.

#2. Bass.EXE from Mega Man Battle Network

As a long-time gaming classic, the Mega Man franchise has seen multiple spin-off series throughout its lifetime, and each one harbours its own unique fan base. Despite this expansive reach, Mega Man still manages to retain a focus on bosses as the mainstay formula through its different iterations.

Though there have been many different Mega Man games, some with optional bosses, such as the X-Hunters in Mega Man X2 or Zero in X6, rarely does the series delve into secret superbosses. Amongst the few that exist, Omega from Mega Man ZX may very well be the biggest beast in the classic 2D style.

However, Bass from Mega Man Battle Network inches out on top due to his sheer prominence amongst Mega Man superbosses. In the Battle Network series, he is known as the strongest Navi, to the extent that he also does not need an operator to move around the game’s Internet.

Across all six Battle Network games, he has served as a secret boss, requiring a range of requirements that typically include overall game completion. He’s also played some roles in the main story, though as the typical anti-hero that you may recognize from his classic Mega Man iteration.

In Battle Network, Bass possesses tremendous potential as a Navi that can absorb the ability of others. For this reason alone, his appearances in each individual Battle Network game has him pit different kinds of attacks against Mega Man. Similarly, you as Mega Man also battle him with your own set of abilities.

There are always new strategies to uncover, which makes Bass for an exciting and fitting rival to cap off each game with.

#1. Culex from Super Mario RPG

Of all the places to find a devastating superboss, a light-hearted series like Super Mario would be the last place people would look. And yet, even Mario has managed to fight off an eldritch horror at least once in his lifetime. This happened in none other than Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, in which a dark being from another dimension, called Culex, invades Mario’s world.

To access Culex, players need to obtain a Shiny Stone from the little girl trader in Moleville, which can be traded for the Fireworks item, of which costs a hefty 500 coins to purchase. Using the Shiny Stone, they can unlock a sealed door in Monstro Town that leads to a dark area where Culex resides.

As you may imagine, Culex is stronger than even the final boss of the game, boasting far more overall HP. A unique trait of Culex is that he appears as a two-dimensional sprite, which many may catch as a neat throwback to the classic Final Fantasy games that the developers, Square, worked on.

Aiding Culex in battle are four elemental crystals of Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind (yet another cheeky reference). Each of them has their own attributes and specializations based on their elemental power. Culex himself is a master of advanced magic, so players will have to be careful about how they plan their next moves.

Which superboss in gaming is the strongest and leaves an impression in your mind? Let us know on this page and on Facebook. 

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