The 10 BEST Kirby Bosses

Various Kirby’s been doing the same song and dance with this penguin…duck…thing ever since “Kirby’s Dream Land” on the Game Boy. Though he has been more ally than adversary over the years, King Dedede has been an incredibly fun boss character time and again. His attacks are easy enough to read for younger players to adapt while his speed is just fast enough to lay on the pressure. On top of that, he has that sick theme playing throughout our duel with him. It’s also cool to see what kind of tricks he’ll try to pull in each new game.

“Kirby’s Return to Dream Land” (2011) This traitorous punk got what was coming to him! Tricking Kirby and friends into helping him repair his ship only to turn around and nab the Master Crown? Time for Kirby to open a can of butt-whoopin’! Magolor does pull a few tricks from the classic final boss playbook - teleporting around and littering the screen with projectiles. One thing to note is that a lot of his attacks take up a good amount of the screen. And just when you think you’ve bested him with your Ultra abilities, he unleashes a more harrowing and violent final form. Overall, he’s an incredibly cool and fun final boss!

“Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards” (2000) For us Kirby fans, “Crystal Shards” was basically our “Majora’s Mask”. Between the creepy music and the way Dark Matter corrupts Dream Land and its residents, “Crystal Shards” was one of those joyful, yet traumatizing games, and the final boss solidified that notion. Zero-2 is this eerie-looking glob with one eye whose entire existence seems to be fueled by violence. The red eye, the spiked tail, the way it flails itself about… It’s all enough to make our skin crawl and maybe haunt our dreams long after shutting the game off. Doesn’t help that the fight takes place within the dark and abstract core of his home, Dark Star.

Master Hand

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“Kirby & the Amazing Mirror” (2004) Why, yes, Master Hand is in a “Kirby” game! The same Master Hand we know from the “Super Smash Bros” series! Although he is more of a mid-boss in “Kirby & the Amazing Mirror”, we felt it was still worth throwing him in here. We’ll admit - he’s not as challenging as he can be in the “Smash” games, only using a few of his attacks from those games. Regardless, it was cool seeing two Masahiro Sakurai creations meeting outside of “Smash”, and to make it even better, swallowing him after the fight will grant Kirby the Smash copy ability, giving him access to most of his moves from the fighting game franchise. And just in case you can’t get enough of the “Smash” references, the penultimate level of “Amazing Mirror” has you fight both Master Hand AND Crazy Hand!

“Kirby: Squeak Squad” (2006) For a cast of baddies, the Squeak Squad made for a memorable gang of maniacal mice. However, their leader, Daroach, was the most exciting. He’s a squirrely rat, too, teleporting about the place, and doing so almost immediately after attacking. He isn’t too terrible at first, blasting thin ice beams, throwing small bombs, and…using the Triple Star like the rat he is!!! His darker version, on the other hand, is much more aggressive. Giant bombs can potentially trap you between a rock and a hard place, ice beams are wider, and his attacks are, in general, faster than before. We’re just glad he was able to join the good side in “Star Allies”.

Nightmare

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“Kirby’s Adventure” (1993) & “Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land” (2002) Ah, yes, the dark lord of Dream Land who had been resting within the Fountain of Dreams until Kirby was like, “Yo, I’m gonna stick this Star Rod into this fountain” despite Dedede’s warning. Like some of the other final bosses, Nightmare starts off with a side-scrolling shooter phase, and you are on the clock! Take too long to defeat him in this phase, and you’ll get crushed by the bottom of the screen. In his second phase, Nightmare keeps his weak spot heavily guarded and will assault you with dark stars. Keep your distance and shoot your stars to save Dream Land in this epic conclusion to “Kirby’s Adventure” and “Nightmare in Dream Land”!

Star Dream OS

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“Kirby: Planet Robobot” (2016) “Planet Robobot” might be one of the weird Kirby games, but the boss fights and enemy designs were so cool! As fun as it was to go up against the likes of Clanky Woods and Mecha Knight, the final boss was a heck of a finale! Star Dream OS is a bit different from most of the other boss fights in that it takes the form of an on-rails shooter like the “Star Fox” games. Of course, it really plays up the 3D effect this way by shooting lasers and projectiles towards the screen. Generally speaking, Star Dream is a visual spectacle through and through, and while “Planet Robobot” isn’t everyone’s favorite, this was an excellent way to cap off an interesting outing for Kirby.

“Kirby Star Allies” (2018) “Star Allies” had so much love put into it with its multiple playable characters and whatnot. One thing we weren’t expecting, though, was a lengthy and epic climax to an already fantastic game. Use the power of love and friendship to defeat the monstrous Void Termina. Once inside the creature, use your various abilities to wail on its core! Yes, it is very reminiscent of bosses from previous games, especially Zero2. However, the presentation and structure of the battle makes it one of the best boss fights in the entire franchise!

“Kirby and the Forgotten Land” (2022) It was REALLY difficult deciding which Meta Knight duel to put on this list. Most of the games have kept it simple by letting Kirby and Meta Knight kind of have free roam in a tight, 2D space. But after playing “Kirby and the Forgotten Land”, this has to be the absolute BEST of the bunch! As expected, Meta Knight comes with a furious flurry of attacks to keep us at a distance, and his range is impressive for someone with his stature. Along with the arena setting, visuals, and music, this is Meta Knight at his best, and it shows how Kirby games can really benefit from 3D environments.

“Kirby Super Star” (1996) When it comes to final bosses in Kirby games, we’d have to argue that Marx is the most iconic. While he has that dopey, cutesy look about him, he quickly dispels that with disturbingly wide grins and distorted eyes. His simple design can also make it a tad challenging to read his attacks. And his attacks get worse when fighting him in “Super Star Ultra”, where he becomes Soul Marx and unleashes a new range of attacks. Weird, haunting, and creepy, Marx is the boss character that no Kirby fan will ever forget, no matter which game you fight him in.