10 Metroidvania Bosses Harder Than the Final Boss

I want to begin this list with a proviso – difficulty is one of the most subjective parts of gaming. I’ve been amazing at games like The Binding of Isaac, which many people say is incredibly hard, and been horrible at supposedly easy music games like Rhythm Sprout.

It all depends on our inherent skill set and reflexes, and that goes double for the Metroidvania genre.

Since most Metroidvania games empower you as you progress, the final boss is often not the hardest. You’ll face others with fewer tools in your tool belt, or who just seem to be very overpowered for the point in the game you encounter them.

For the most part, however, I focused on bosses encountered in the regular course of the game, and not optional super bosses.

With that all in mind, here’s our list of several iconic Metroidvania Bosses Harder than the Final Boss.

10 Mantis Lords

Hollow Night

If you’ve played Hollow Knight, you already know it’s a very challenging, mostly black and white Metroidvania. Maybe not one that’s fully a Souls-like, but pretty damned close.

And as someone that recently beat it again, I truly mean it when I say that I had more trouble with the Mantis Lords than the big battle against the true final boss of the game.

While the fight against the titular Hollow Knight is quite challenging, it’s also one with very clear tells and at which point you should be massively prepared. This was not the case when I accidentally stumbled into the arena of the Mantis Lords a couple of bosses into the game.

This terrifying threesome alternates between each other rapidly, and though you can learn to see it coming, their speed makes it hard to acclimate and dodge properly. I probably spent a couple of hours playing again and again until I finally had such a good handle on them that I emerged victorious.

Maybe they’d be easier if faced much later Hollow Knight, but early in the game, the Mantis Lords are a true nightmare.

9 Bloodless

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

I debated a bit whether to include Alfred or Bloodless here, and eventually settled on the latter for a couple of reasons. While Alfred is highly annoying in Bloodstained, he’s not a super-challenging boss battle. He’s just a constant irritant, forcing you to chase after him.

By contrast, Bloodless is a whopper of a boss in Bloodstained. She uses her blood magic to spray all over the arena, boxing you in and even trying to OHKO you with a torrent of blood.

She also likes to distract you with her blood umbrellas, which don’t seem to be a problem until they turn into homing missiles. And if you aren’t fast enough, she’ll even start to heal herself.

Much like the Mantis Lords, the trick to Bloodless is learning all her tells and studiously avoiding all her attacks. Failure to do so results in Miriam being a bloody husk on the floor.

8 Dark Witch Eleine

Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights

One of my least favorite phenomena is when I encounter a Shmup section unexpectedly in a platformer or other genre. Don’t get me wrong, Shmup is a wonderful genre as well, but it brings with it certain expectations.

And frankly, Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights is hard enough when it just has you focused on platforming.

Dark Witch Eleine is a boss unlike any other in Ender Lilies. She bombards the screen with true Bullet Hell, forcing you to run and dodge like your life depends on it.

It’s far less about actual combat than it is careful positioning, and even then you’ll need to make every attack connect to have any chance at winning.

7 Kurona

Gal Guardians: Demon Purge

As someone who loved Gal Guardians: Demon Purge, I really didn’t expect the battle against little Kurona to be nearly as hard as it turned out to be.

It’s clear that Inti Creates was inspired by not only Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, with her floating around in a castle comprised of mini Kuronas, but also Mega Man. The latter due in large part to the design of her castle, as well as how late in the battle she floats around firing off electrical balls of energy.

While Kurona’s first form was inspired by the Legion boss fight, I found this much harder. Despite its size, it can be hard to get a bead on the floating castle. When you do get a good angle, Kurona usually disrupts you by firing a giant laser your way.

Sure, the final boss in the game is also a challenge, but I had a much worse time of things against this widdle prankster demon.

6 Goliath

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia has some of the most insane and furious boss fights in the entire Metroidvania line of games. But one that still haunts me is the boss battle against Goliath.

Though this was hardly the first Frankenstein-inspired boss battle in the series, it’s by far the hardest I’ve faced. Not only is Goliath huge, but he’s fast as well. And he hits like a head-on collision with a truck.

Goliath can easily kill Shanoa with a couple of solid hits. Meaning you have to avoid pretty much everything the lumbering brute throws at you, from giant fists to devastating kicks and everything in between.

Gird yourself and equip the right Glyphs, otherwise you’ll stand no chance of making it to the final boss.

5 Great Preceptor Radamés

Blasphemous 2

Typically, skeletons aren’t all that hard in games, the Grim Reaper aside. The majority are low-level grunts just to test your mettle.

And while it’s true that the Great Perceptor Radamés is a relatively early boss fight in Blasphemous 2, he’s also a challenging one.

Not only is he a multiphase boss battle, but he’s armed with a variety of powerful attacks, such as his club and even some magical onslaughts.

Sure, you’re allowed to bring a helping hand in the form of Yerma, but if you’re a stubborn sort, you probably faced him solo. Which makes this bony boy a serious threat in Blasphemous 2.

4 Experiment No. Z-57

Metroid Dread

Metroid Dread is a game that I never thought we were going to get. And to my pleasant surprise, it was completely worth the long wait.

Not only did it fill in some crucial gaps in the Metroid lore, but it also introduced some intense survival horror as you evade some very bad robots.

With all that in mind, it’s not a true Metroid experience without some intense boss battles, and Experiment Z-57 qualifies.

Your regular attacks won’t dent it, forcing you to use missiles and charge beam attacks.

Even then, you have to wait until you have something on screen to hit, meanwhile dodging a torrent of laser beams and waves of noxious energy. A truly hot-blooded alien menace in Metroid Dread.

3 Gemini

Astalon: Tears of the Earth

I just want it on record that all the bosses in Astalon: Tears of the Earth are huge challenges, but the one that gave me the most trouble was Gemini.

The first phase wasn’t all that hard, since you mostly just have to avoid the projectiles spewed by the giant hovering face. But that second phase is a doozy, and the reason I included Gemini on this list.

Not only does Gemini get a rotating shield comprised of two giant faces, but he becomes far more aggressive. You’ll also need to position yourself perfectly on constantly moving platforms, aiming just so to hit the monster when the weak spot is briefly exposed.

It might not sound all that tough, but this was one of the few bosses in the game I thought I wouldn’t be able to beat after repeated attempts. The battle against the big snake at the end of the game was far easier by contrast.

2 Kraken

Venture to the Vile

There are all manner of twisted nightmarish monsters to defeat in Venture to the Vile. The titular Vile has infected practically everything in sight, transforming them into monsters that would make Resident Evil proud.

But the boss that nearly made me quit playing the game was the mighty Kraken.

See, practically every other boss fight takes place in a stationary arena. Not so for the Kraken. You face it on a giant bobbing ship. You’ll have to navigate its tentacles and projectiles while finding cannons and firing cannonballs at the moving target.

The more damage the Kraken takes, the more enraged and speedy it becomes. You’ll have to be on your A game to have a chance to sink the giant beast.

1 Carmilla

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

Being the first to follow in the footsteps of the extraordinary Symphony of the Night must have been intimidating. After all, Castlevania: SOTN is still regarded as one of the most iconic games in the series.

Even though Circle of the Moon isn’t quite as well regarded, it’s still a noteworthy adventure. And as a bonus, it also features some insane boss battles, especially the one against Carmilla.

While the Underground Waterway she inhabits was a nightmare in and of itself, Carmilla was an even bigger threat.

She battles you atop a giant grinning skull, flapping her wings, zapping everything underneath her, and even trying to fry you with a laser. If you get hit by many of her attacks, you’ll also be afflicted by poison.

The hardest part of the battle, by far, is just positioning Nathan so he can damage her, while she zips around with impunity. And unlike the battle against Dracula, you can’t dodge most of her attacks simply by leaping into the air.

She may look like a pretty lady, but this demon is one of the most annoying bosses I’ve faced in the Castlevania series.