Video games have been hiding secrets from us for decades. As far back as the first console generation we’ve been finding Easter Eggs, but developers didn’t stop with simple hidden rooms or bits of text. Boss fights typically represent a barrier the player is forced to overcome to continue the story. Sometimes they’re easy, but sometimes they’re some of the hardest bosses in video game history. However, secret bosses are a real treat. Sometimes they represent a challenge far beyond anything the game would normally throw at the player, others serve more as jokes or fun references, or can even unlock a game’s secret ending. Let’s explore every nook and cranny to find all the best secret bosses in video games.
Moon Presence
FromSoftware is one of the few studios out there brave enough to hide entire levels behind obtuse secrets. There are secret bosses (usually multiple) in all of its games, but we decided to pick Moon Presence for how it both requires some arcane thinking to access and unlocks a new ending. As a Great One, most consider this the game’s true final boss, but you can only fight it if you find and use one of three hidden umbilical cords before entering the final boss sequende. Then, as long as you choose to fight Gehrman and win, you can then attempt to beat Moon Presence and see a new ending. As usual, there’s almost no way to figure this out on your own.
Akuma
At this point, Akuma is as ubiquitous as Ryu and Chun-Li on the Street Fighter roster, but that wasn’t the case in Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. Here, this demonic fighter was relegated to a secret boss that seemed to show up at random and replaced the normal final boss. The only way to challenge Akuma was to beat the game using no continues or within 25 minutes. Since you have no idea what to expect, fighting Akuma is no easy feat. That isn’t terribly cryptic, but it is one of the few instances where a secret boss eventually becomes one of the most popular members of the roster going forward.
Culex
We have a suspicion that Nintendo didn’t know Square was sneaking in this secret boss when developing Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. In what is otherwise a fairly forgiving and casual RPG, this secret boss feels ripped out of a Final Fantasy game. It is described as being from a world called “Last Illusion”, which, combined with his elemental crystals, is about as blatant a reference as you can get. This is one of two secret bosses in the game and far more challenging than the final boss. To reach it, you need to unlock a locked door in Monstro Town that can only be obtained after going through a long trading quest. Your reward is an accessory that halves any damage taken and doubles the damage you deal, which would be great if there was anything left in the game that posed a challenge.
Father Rodin
Mastering Bayonetta takes some dedication, but most players can still make it through the game relying on the basics and using some items. Rodin is the proprietor of the Gates of Hell where you spend your halos between missions on said items, new moves, and new weapons. There is one item in his shop that only appears after you have collected a cumulative 10,000,000 halos on a single save file called the Platinum Ticket. This costs 999,999 halos and unlocks a fight against Rodin himself, though you will wish you hadn’t. Not only is he fast and strong, but he is immune to your greatest tool: witch time. Normally, when you dodge an attack perfectly, time pauses so you can get in free hits, but not here. You need to play almost perfectly if you want to take him down.
Morgan Freeman
Why would anyone want to fight Morgan Freeman? We can answer that, but if you do, South Park: The Fractured But Whole lets you give it a shot. You encounter Freeman working at Freeman’s Tacos during the game and are able to start his boss fight whenever you choose. Being a super boss with the power of God, you’d be better off waiting until the end of the game even to try. All you need to do is go behind the counter and punch him three times in a row. Your reward? Just a Trophy or Achievement.
Red
Nothing was more mind-blowing to us as kids as when we encountered Red, our previous character in Pokemon Red and Blue, at the very end of Gold and Silver on top of Mt. Silver. It felt like a true passing of the torch moment between generations to overcome what represented our past character. Naturally, Red is the most challenging fight in the game with a Pikachu, Snorlax, Charizard, Venusaur, Blastois, and Espeon (or Lapras) but it was what that fight represented that made it more memorable.
Sephiroth
If you only are familiar with the remakes then you might not know that you only “fight” Sephiroth once at the very end of Final Fantasy 7. The first time we battled him in real-time came in Kingdom Hearts , where he appeared in the secret Platinum Match at the Olympus Coliseum. Unlocking the match requires you to beat all the previous cups and Ice Titan, which is time consuming but not overly difficult. Sephiroth himself is as deadly as he is imposing. He is almost more frightening here than in his own game. Not only does his sword cover almost the entire arena, but it deals massive damage with each swing. He is also fond of teleporting and summoning pillars of fire. The real kicker is his Sin Heartless Angel move which, if you can’t stop it, will drain all your MP and set your HP to 1.
Ozma
The toughest secret boss in all of Final Fantasy is up for debate, but we feel Ozma deserves that honor. Coming from Final Fantasy 9, this big sphere is far more deadly than it looks. Finding it is also a major pain. You need to find the Chocob’s Air Garden by playing the hot and cold minigame long enough to find enough Chocographs to eventually learn the Sky ability. Then, you need to find the island’s shadow on the map to know where to use a Dead Pepper item and fly up there. Once in the fight, you’re in for a rough time. Ozma has access to cursre, doomsday, holy, death level 5, and meteor, besides being able to heal itself. It also can tell if your party can absorb any damage types and never use them.
