20 SECRET Bosses in Fighting Games

20 Secret Bosses in Fighting Games

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at some of the most iconic secret bosses players can challenge in fighting games!

Reptile

“Mortal Kombat” (1992)

He’s a playable character in most “Mortal Kombat” games. But Reptile’s debut made him one of gaming’s most legendary secret bosses. In the original game, the green-clad ninja could randomly appear at the start of a match and give clues on how to reach him. And the criteria was extremely specific. On The Pit stage, only when silhouettes pass over the moon, you have to earn a Double Flawless Victory without blocking, and finish your opponent with a Fatality. This causes your next fight to be against Reptile. While he only borrows moves from Scorpion and Sub-Zero, the hunt to find him at such an early stage in fighting game history is what earned Reptile a legacy.

Karai

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters” (1993)

Karai has been a key member of the Foot Clan and villain of the Turtles for years now. But she was brand new when “Tournament Fighters” was released, having only debuted in the comics the year before. She plays a big role in the story mode, kidnapping both Splinter and April O’Neil. And while you have other bosses to face in rescuing them, you can’t face the one in charge without putting forth the effort. Whether on the Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis versions, she only shows up to fight on higher difficulties. Although that isn’t too hidden, the game is already hard enough. And Karai, as a high-ranking member of a ninja crime group, is naturally a pretty big pain.

Red Arremer

“SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos” (2003)

The most iconic enemy from Capcom’s “Ghosts ‘n Goblins” series, the Red Arremer is also one of its deadliest. Perhaps that’s why one was turned into a secret boss for this crossover fighter with SNK. To face him in Arcade Mode, you can’t lose a single round, you must finish at least five rounds with special moves, and you must defeat at least one opponent with block damage. If done correctly, after facing the final opponent, you’d then be confronted by the Red Arremer. With a variety of fire attacks and the ability to summon zombies, he could certainly be a nuisance. Still, before Firebrand became a staple of “Marvel vs. Capcom,” seeing one of his brethren as a hidden boss here was pretty cool.

Sho Shinjo

“Battle Arena Toshinden” (1995)

The first “Battle Arena Toshinden” made a big splash as a North American launch title for the original PlayStation. Although it naturally had a varied roster to choose from, the main character was Eiji Shinjo, a young swordsman entering a deadly tournament in search of his older brother. Players could actually find older brother Sho as a secret final boss, and the winner of the last tournament, by beating the game without using any continues. And as you’d probably expect, he’s the former winner for a reason. The brothers’ dynamic would be further explored in sequels, as Sho appeared as a secret, unlockable boss in both the second and third games as well.

Shenlong

“Bloody Roar II: The New Breed” (1998)

The second “Bloody Roar” game brought in a ton of new characters, including a pretty challenging secret boss in Shenlong. And he actually has a lot in common with our previous entry. Although he isn’t a missing brother, he is the clone of Long (get it?), and you can also only face him as a secret boss in Arcade Mode without using a single Continue. He’s clearly very deadly with his White Tiger form, but beating him also unlocks him to use against others. And he would become a regular character in future games.

Oni

“Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition” (2010)

We’ll get to Akuma’s iconic debut a little later. But first, let’s talk about his demonic-looking, suped-up form, known as Oni. This elusive boss took a lot of work to reach in the Arcade Edition of “Super Street Fighter IV.” Firstly, you couldn’t lose a single round. You also had to get two Perfects, land ten first attacks, and get five Super or Ultra Combo finishers, one of which had to be on the normal final boss, Seth. Only then would you face Oni… and probably regret it. His immense speed and power is almost too ridiculous for words, and is naturally a bit more overpowered than the playable version of Oni, which was included in the console release.

Oboro Bishamon

“Darkstalkers 3” (1997)

Characters in the “Darkstalkers” series feature all kinds of crazy designs and backstories. Such as Bishamon, a samurai whose armor and sword are cursed. In the third game, you can face an alternate version, known as Oboro Bishamon, as a secret boss. To do so, you can’t play in Auto Mode, which adds automatic blocking. You also aren’t allowed to lose a single round, and must finish off two opponents with a specific EX move depending on the character you’re playing as. Only after accomplishing this does Oboro Bishamon challenge you at the end. And since this version has control over his cursed armaments, he has different attacks to look out for, too.

Unlimited Ragna

“BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger” (2008)

The “BlazBlue” series is no stranger to secret bosses. Nor is it a stranger to including ‘Unlimited’ versions of characters, which, as you can probably guess, are a lot more powerful than their regular counterparts. The home console port of the first game saw the debut of these types of characters, including one for the main hero, Ragna the Bloodedge. To fight Unlimited Ragna, you must go through Arcade Mode without losing one round, and finish at least ten rounds with a special Distortion Drive attack. If done right, your eleventh opponent will be Unlimited Ragna, who, as we said, is a Hell of a lot harder to face than the normal one.

The General

“Kaiser Knuckle” (1994)

Known as “Global Champion” outside of Europe and Japan, “Kaiser Knuckle” took a lot of inspiration from “Street Fighter II,” also focusing on a global fighting tournament that’s hosted by a militaristic psychopath. Except, unlike M. Bison, the General is a secret boss. To face him, you must first beat a different hidden boss, Azteca, who you reach by not using any Continues and earning a score of at least 900,000. After defeating Azteca, again without using a Continue, you’ll then face the General. And even though this game is relatively obscure, he is infamous as one of the hardest, cheapest bosses in fighting game history. Even if you can reach him, his speed and unfair tactics have been terrifying diehard fans for decades.

Ryo Sakazaki

“Fatal Fury Special” (1993)

SNK has given us several great fighting franchises over the years. And in “Fatal Fury Special,” the third game in the series, the studio decided to bring two of its universes together for the first time. To face the secret boss, Ryo Sakazaki, a protagonist of SNK’s “Art of Fighting” series, you must complete the Arcade Mode without losing a single round. Although that’s less criteria than a lot of other hidden bosses, Ryo is still a beast. But it’s also a historically important fight. Ryo’s inclusion here inspired SNK to create “The King of Fighters,” which brought in characters from both franchises, and would go on to become more popular than either of them.

Giga Bowser

“Super Smash Bros. Melee” (2001)

It may be Bowser’s Final Smash now, but back in “Melee,” Giga Bowser was a huge surprise to come across. You’d only face him if you completed the game’s Adventure Mode on Normal difficulty or higher in under 18 minutes. After defeating Giant Bowser, his trophy would reappear and turn into an even more intimidating version of Mario’s archnemesis. Not only is he much larger, he’s also significantly harder to knock off the stage. It’s highly likely he’d take a few of your lives before he went down, even on Normal mode. You could also face him in the final Event Match, where he came with Ganondorf and Mewtwo as allies just to make things a bit trickier.

Kuroko

“Samurai Shodown II” (1994)

Appearing as the match referee in the original “Samurai Shodown,” Kuroko began showing off his own skills in the sequel as a hidden boss. And he was pretty dang tough. He could appear randomly, though not frequently, which could throw a monkey wrench into any given playthrough that was going well. However, there was also a guaranteed method to make him appear if you wanted to challenge yourself. During the 6th, 8th, or 10th fight, beating your opponent with a Super Move, with less than 20 seconds on the timer, and without losing a round, would make Kuroko appear next. The computer AI is no joke though, and he has plenty of heavy-hitting attacks like fireballs, devastating slashes, and the ability to reflect or counter many of your moves.

Doctor Bosconovitch

“Tekken 3” (1997)

After appearing as a supporting character in the story of “Tekken 2,” the developers seemingly thought it would be funny to include this old bag of bones as a secret boss in the sequel. In order to face Doctor Bosconovitch in “Tekken 3,” you have to beat the ‘Tekken Force’ beat ‘em up mode four times. For the first three, you’ll earn a key after defeating a different boss at the end. And at the end of your fourth attempt, you’ll face Heihachi, whose defeat causes the Doc to appear. He uses a mix of moves from other fighters yet, comically, will fall over after certain attacks due to him canonically having scoliosis. If you beat him, you get the joy of playing as him yourself.

Geese Howard

“Art of Fighting 2” (1994)

After putting Ryo Sakazaki into “Fatal Fury Special,” SNK did something similar for the second “Art of Fighting” game. At the end of “Art of Fighting 2,” you can face a secret boss in Geese Howard, the primary villain of the “Fatal Fury” series. That’s a lot easier said than done, though. To even get the chance, you’re not allowed to lose a single round leading up to him. And this was definitely one of the tougher fighters of its era. After defeating the main villain, Mr. Big, Geese will step in and likely wipe the floor with you. He’s fast and ruthless, able to read your movements with ease and attack accordingly. Still, undeniably cool.

Night Terror

“Soulcalibur III” (2005)

If you thought Nightmare was intimidating, just wait until you fight his suped-up version. This secret boss can be faced in the game’s story mode, Tales of Souls. But you’ll only find him by choosing the right branching paths, which are different depending on what character you’re playing as. There’s no denying how sick he looks, with massive, flaming wings, and fanged jaws in the place of where hands should be. However, Night Terror is a pretty accurate name, because this is a tough fight. He uses a combination of attacks from Nightmare and Siegfried, as well as his own unique ones. And if you thought you’d cheese the fight just by ringing him out, think again. That’s impossible, due to Night Terror’s wings just carrying him right back to the arena.

Donkey Kong

“Punch-Out!!” (2009)

Okay, I know it’s not a fighting game in the traditional sense. But it technically counts, and adding Donkey Kong as a secret boss is just too cool to pass up. To unlock the fight against Nintendo’s great ape in “Punch-Out!!,” you must first beat the full Career Mode to unlock Mac’s Last Stand. Here, you face every fighter in the game, in random order, trying to get through all of them without losing three times. Donkey Kong will also appear randomly in the fighter order, and is naturally one of the hardest hitting opponents in the game. He’ll taunt you endlessly, and if you miss an attack while he’s doing this, he’ll counterattack so hard, Mac will likely go down in one hit.

Baiken

“Guilty Gear” (1998)

Although she’d become a more prominent character in later games, the wandering Samurai, Baiken, was the secret boss in the original “Guilty Gear.” And reaching her was definitely a challenge. You do so by beating the Arcade Mode as either Sol or Ky without using a single continue. Unfortunately, there are no difficulty settings in this game, whose opponent AI is infamously hard. Factor in their proficiency in unleashing Overdrive Attacks that can annihilate your health bar, and it isn’t likely you’ll get to Baiken on your first attempt. Naturally, she’s the toughest of the tough. She may only have one arm, but that doesn’t stop her from unleashing deadly slashes and powerful kicks that have sent anyone who managed to reach her into a rage.

Shadow Jago

“Killer Instinct” (2013)

There’s a lot you have to do to reach Shadow Jago in “Killer Instinct.” First, you’ll have to unlock all three endings with any given character in Arcade Mode. Then, go through it a fourth time on Hard or higher difficulty. On this playthrough, you can’t lose a single fight, you have to earn at least two Supreme Victories, and you have to finish off at least two opponents with an Ultra Combo, with one of those opponents being your character’s Rival. If you do all this, you’ll face Shadow Jago at the end instead of Fulgore. While he looks and moves like regular Jago, there are a few notable differences. He has a few extra attacks, some of which come with super armor, and some beefier stats. If you got through all the criteria it takes to face him, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Shadow Jago brings the heat.

Floyd

“Mortal Kombat 1” (2023)

“Mortal Kombat” has a long history of secret bosses stretching all the way back to the 1992 original. In the latest game, the devs added in another challenging secret combatant via an update with Floyd, a ninja clad in pink. He can be tough to find; you have to complete 10 out of 37 challenges, though which 10 is randomized for each player. On top of being a silly nod to the famous rock band, Floyd is a combination of characters. He uses attacks from Scorpion, Reptile, Sub-Zero, Rain, Ermac, and Shang Tsung. With so many movesets rolled into one, adapting to his attacks and claiming victory can be demanding. You get three attempts, after which your challenges reset, and you have to complete 10 more for Floyd to reappear.

Akuma

“Super Street Fighter II Turbo” (1994)

Although it was the fifth version of “Street Fighter II,” “Turbo” still had new additions, including one of the most famous secret bosses of all time, Akuma. In order to face him, players weren’t allowed to use any continues, and they either had to earn a high score or beat all opponents leading to M. Bison in under 25 minutes. If so, Akuma would appear, immediately eliminate Bison, and challenge you to one hellishly tough fight. He may seem like another Ryu or Ken, but every skill is enhanced. His speed is a lot to contend with, as are his multiple projectiles, and his ability to phase through your attacks makes him a nightmare. Still, Akuma has a legacy for a reason, and it all began right here.

Which of these secret bosses do you have fond memories of challenging and defeating? Are there any big ones we left off? Share your thoughts in the comments, and we’ll see you next time!