As the challenging obstacles that they are, bosses in video games often visually represent their power by being significantly larger than the player character. However, some bosses take this even further, growing to a massive size.
The line between large and giant bosses is quite subjective, but the truly massive ones are hard to miss. These enemies go beyond what most games are built for, and can very easily cause issues with gameplay balance and camera controls alike. The following bosses, though, overcome the challenges of their size to become compelling encounters, and some of the most memorable moments in their respective games.
8 Cronos (God of War 3)
Some of the appeal of giant bosses is in their capacity to create fittingly large set pieces and scenarios. While it’s not much of a traditional fight, the battle against Cronos in God of War 3 is on such a massive scale that it functions more as a level.
Most of the fight includes platforming and combat challenges like a normal level, with the massive Cronos moving around in the background. Every attack he throws out gives opportunities for more traversal, and the sense of escalation as Kratos scales the titan makes for satisfying progression.
7 Quaggled Mireclops (Pikmin 3)
Since the protagonists of the Pikmin franchise are so small, every boss is a giant in its own right. Easily one of the largest bosses in the series though is the Quaggled Mireclops. It’s a strange, swamp-dwelling creature that provides one of Pikmin 3’s best encounters.
The Mireclops stomps around a muddy arena, creating pools of water that can drown certain pikmin. It’s very easy to pick the wrong pikmin and get caught off guard. It’s an excellent representation of how Pikmin’s unique perspective makes for great boss encounters.
6 Metal Gear Ray (Metal Gear Rising Revengeance)
The Metal Gears feature as several of the giant boss fights in the Metal Gear series, and Ray is one of the most memorable, despite how early in Metal Gear Rising Revengeance it appears.
The fight succeeds in much of what Rising already excels at, creating an energetic battle that makes Raiden feel like an immensely cool character. Using him, players slowly whittle away at the different parts of Ray, before the fight ends in a massive crescendo that really sells the appeal of the game.
5 Kraid (Metroid Dread)
Kraid is one of the most memorable bosses from the Metroid series, owed in great part to the spectacle of his fight. As the largest of the space pirates, he has to be fought in a much different way from the other bosses, and Metroid Dread presents an excellent modern version of his fight.
The fight involves both fighting his stomach in order to find a way back up to his head and fighting him directly. His storm of claws and fireballs is surprisingly challenging to avoid, and Dread’s excellent action choreography is the cherry on top, helping end the fight on a cool note.
4 Hades (Kid Icarus Uprising)
As the final boss of the game, Hades shows off all the things Kid Icarus Uprising is best at. It takes the shoot 'em-up gameplay from the first section of every stage and makes it work for a long, grueling battle without dropping the ball.
The entire dynamic fight with Hades is expertly blended with the game’s cutscenes and has dialogue from the game’s characters all throughout. Their quipping and banter help elevate what was already a fun experience to a climax worth remembering.
3 Fury Bowser (Super Mario 3D World: Bowser’s Fury)
It was a surprise to hear that Super Mario 3D World would be getting an expansion with its re-release, but even then nobody could’ve expected how the new content would be structured. Bowser’s Fury has a fairly typical collection of challenges for a 3D Mario game, with the interesting twist of Bowser himself.
Fury Bowser lies dormant in the center of the large area, but after a certain amount of time, he will wake up, creating hazards that increase the difficulty of platforming until he can be taken down in a Kaiju-esque showdown. It’s an interesting concept that makes this expansion feel unique as a Mario game.
2 Dah’ren Mohran (Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate)
Monster Hunter is a series that specializes in boss fights, so it’s no big surprise that it has pumped out some great giant boss encounters over the years. Almost every game ends in a fight with a huge monster, but none quite reach the spectacle level of Dah'ren Mohran.
Dah’ren is a giant sand whale so big that it is fought across an entire desert on sand ships. The fight moves between firing cannons and ballista at a distant Dah’ren to climbing onto it to chip away at its body, and an eventual final showdown forces players to finish the fight before Dah’ren can destroy their ship.
1 Malus (Shadow of the Colossus)
Shadow of The Colossus is easily one of the most unique games ever made. It tasks players with navigating a desolate, empty world in order to kill 16 colossal creatures, all of which have amazing fights that require smart puzzle-solving and patience.
The final of these creatures is Malus, and it manages to pay off the game’s mechanics excellently. It’s a massive set-piece battle forcing the player to slowly make it past Malus’ attacks until they can climb its body directly, and down what is essentially a living tower.