Highlights
- Tears of the Kingdom features a strong emphasis on combat, with a diverse roster of bosses that includes both familiar faces and new ones.
- The Demon King Ganondorf is a standout final boss, with a range of challenging abilities and an epic showdown against Link. Unfortunately, the game has some weak foes like the Sludge-Like, which is just a weaker Mucktorok.
- While some bosses in Tears of the Kingdom may not reach the same heights as those in Breath of the Wild, there is still a good variety of challenging and memorable fights throughout the game.
Much like Breath of the Wild before it, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has a strong emphasis on combat. It's not as important as exploration, but it is a regular part of the gameplay loop. Tears of the Kingdom mostly shares Breath of the Wild's rogue's gallery, but has updated it to keep veterans and newcomers alike on their toes.
In comparison, the roster of bosses has more new faces than old. Tears of the Kingdom inherits all Breath of the Wild's field bosses, while introducing several new ones of varying types. There's a lot of diversity in Tears of the Kingdom's biggest fights, especially since more combat puzzle elements from older Zelda titles have been worked into them. How impressive they are is another matter, but at least the highs may be higher than anything in Breath of the Wild.
S Tier - Tests of Power, Wisdom, and Courage
- Demon King Ganondorf
- Gleeok
Of course, the Demon King towers over all the rest. The former Gerudo chieftain has weapon switching, a double-length health bar, advanced Gloom that permanently destroys Heart Containers, and many other tricks. To top it all off, Ganondorf is the only opponent to use Link's Flurry Rush against him. All of this comes together to create one of Ganondorf's best portrayals, and a very memorable final boss fight at any skill level.
Gleeoks land a respectable second place, serving as the toughest and most satisfying field bosses in TotK. King Gleeoks are the hardest thanks to fusing the other three variants' fire, ice, and electrical powers. All Gleeoks have puzzle-based phase two's, asking the player to use their own attacks against them. These dragons from classic Zelda make for interesting and rare fights, though only experts should dare approach.
A Tier - Playing To Tears of the Kingdom’s Strengths
- Phantom Ganon
- Master Kohga
- Queen Gibdo
Even if it never measures up to the real deal, Phantom Ganon always provides tension. Its solo variant is preceded by Gloom Hands, the nerve-wracking replacements for BotW's Guardian Stalkers. They alone are dynamic enough encounters before Phantom Ganon emerges as an inescapable humanoid opponent. The main quest variant raises the number of Ganon's, covering their repetitive approach with sheer chaos. Still, it's the Gloom Hands that really emphasize this classic Zelda boss' threat.
Master Kohga drives one of TotK's most interesting Side Adventures, showing off potential Zonai vehicle builds. Some are more impressive than others, but the amount of variety in Kohga's encounters, combined with an unexpected finale using a modified Seized Construct, makes the Yiga leader endlessly entertaining. Kohga's fights aren't the greatest, but they show off the versatility in Tears of the Kingdom's Ultrahand like no other.
Queen Gibdo rounds out TotK's top tier fights as the best Temple boss. Even with both light and lightning available to counter the Gibdos' damage resistance, the constantly swarming Gibdos and the Queen's own attacks requires some quick thinking to overcome. Overall, Queen Gibdo represents a strong fusion between typical Zelda boss design and the more dynamic fights introduced by Breath of the Wild's Blight Ganon's.
B Tier - Zelda Brain Teasers
- Frox
- Flux Construct
- Colgera
- Seized Construct
Tears of the Kingdom's field boss newcomers, the Frox and the Flux Construct, are both satisfying exercises of the game's mechanics. A Frox charging out of the Depths' darkness may startle new players, but with enough explosives and blunt weapons, they become great farming targets. Flux Constructs are a series of arm power puzzles, with higher tier Constructs offering multiple solutions to creative players. Thanks to great drops, these will remain fun, if repetitive, throughout Tears of the Kingdom's run time.
The same could be said about another Construct, this time the Seized Construct. It's a letdown after the buildup to the Spirit Temple, being a simple boxing match that can be cheesed with Zonai Cannons, but its aesthetics make for a fantastic spectacle. While it's no giant robot duel, the boss of the Wind Temple, Colgera, sports a similar sense of style. The fight is easy, but its grand scale combined with Tears of the Kingdom's satisfying aerial mobility makes the giant beast a great way to show off high in the sky.
C Tier - Basic Beasts
- Talus
- Hinox
- Stalnox
- Molduga
- Marbled Gohma
- Mucktorok
- Demon Dragon
Field bosses inherited from Breath of the Wild didn't make the jump with flying colors. Battle Talus' just boast more Ascend interactivity than their other selves, which is still more new features than Hinoxes and Stalnoxes can claim. Moldugas were hit especially hard in the game transition, as the lack of free bombs and uneven platform placements can make these sand dwellers downright frustrating.
The remaining main quest bosses aren't much better, but at least they aren't a chore. Mucktorok's mud shark form is a visually appealing cap to the Water Temple, but the boss is overwhelmingly weak to water. The same can be said for the Fire Temple's Marbled Gohma, just with Yunobo's Sage power. Most basic of all is Ganondorf's Demon Dragon form, which is difficult to lose. It's a deliberate victory lap and makes for a better spectacle than BotW's Dark Beast Ganon, but it's still not much of a final boss.
D Tier - Main Quest Minibosses
- Yunobo
- Moragia
- Sludge-Like
Sadly, TotK's various minibosses all fell short of their peers. Yunobo and Moragia are both attempts at a three-hit boss structure, and Moragia doubles as an impressive aerial setpiece. Unfortunately, they're dead simple one-offs, and the Sludge-Like is a modified enemy that's just a weaker Mucktorok. These foes all bring variety to the main quest, but they are barely road bumps in the grand adventure that is Tears of the Kingdom.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Nintendo Switch.
