The Wii has gone from being a novelty to establishing itself as a reputable console that’s enjoying continuously stunning success. It now features a host of great games, a number of them plot-driven titles that feature at least a few memorable boss fights (some, like Okami, Metroid and Zelda, contain dozens of them). This list enumerates the 10 most memorable boss battles I believe you’ll find on the Wii. Obviously heavy on spoilers, approach this list with caution if you haven’t yet finished most of the Wii’s top games

A particularly nasty strain of the dreaded GUILT disease, this bad boy is your biggest challenge yet in this game and to top it off, the infected man you’re operating on is the father of a dear friend of yours. But no pressure, ok? This battle/operation consists of several different stages where you chase the spider-like Savato all across the body of Professor Kenneth Blackwell, using all your available tools to defeat this fiend. In the end even the Healing Touch fails to give you enough of an edge over Savato, so what do you do? Pull another Healing Touch out your hat of course, for an epic win!

One of the more original bosses in the SubSpace Emissary (SSE) mode, Duon is an enormous robot with two upper bodies stuck on one set of wheels, one body attacking with a number of close range sword attacks, the other using long range laser attacks. A powerhouse to be reckoned with, Duon also attacks you with missiles, bombs and spinning attacks that take advantage of the two bodies, giving you a full workout. He may not be the final boss in the SSE, but he sure is the most memorable.

While Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine were both underwhelming in the boss department, Mario Galaxy actually delivers a number of enjoyable boss battles. Best of them all is the one against Bouldergeist, a massive ghost/rock hybrid (is that a new Pokemon type I’m smelling?) who has developed the nasty habbit of chucking huge rocks at Mario. Later in the battle, he also gains some very big hands, making matters all the more difficult. To defeat him you have to use his own kind against him, more precisely the explosive black ghosts that he foolishly throw at you. Using these ghosts to blow apart his armour, you’ll eventually discover that the true form of Bouldergeist is actually rather puny and pathetic. Try out the Daredevil Comet mission against this boss for a real challenge.

Zack & Wiki not only offers up some brilliant puzzle stages, but also this original, clever and highly entertaining boss late in the game. Hexaleg is a giant squid who’s attacking your ship, and the whole level is devoted to you taking this threat down. You’ll bomb him, fire your cannon at him and in the end use the ship’s broken mast as a giant harpoon to impale him, after having spiked up the last barrel of fish he ate. A surprisingly epic battle for a game of this kind.

Battles against former friends (in this case even family) always have a special edge to them, but this is really a beauty. Luigi has been brainwashed and morphed into the supervillain Mr. L, who’s determined to take Mario down. As always his abilities are kinda similar to Mario’s, but as Mr. L he will be using his superior jumping skills to make your life miserable, and use healing items to keep himself in the fight. Even after being beaten he has a surprise for you: Brobot, a huge robotic Luigi head controlled by Mr. L! This part of the battle will take place in space, in the form of a classic 2D space shooter as you dodge Brobot’s attacks and use your new friend Squirps to fire energy blasts at the powerful robot during the game’s most enjoyable boss battle.

Now we move onto games with enough great bosses to potentially fill up this list all by themselves, and Metroid Prime 3 is a great place to start. The battle against Gandrayda, the last of Samus’ bounty hunter buddies turned evil, is the best of the lot. Not only is she very fast and capable of acrobatics that puts even the best gymnasts of this world to shame, but she’s also a shapeshifter, which she will use to her advantage during the battle. Remember the Berserker Lord? Gandrayda certainly does. She can also transform into a Space Pirate, but things really get interesting when she assumes the forms of the previous bounty hunters you fought, Rundas and Ghor (with all of their abilities intact), for a trip down memory lane followed by an appointment with Dr. Pain. With half her energy gone, she’ll even go as far as taking the form of Samus herself, for some classic Samus VS Samus action. BTW, also worth mentioning is the music playing during this fight, which is hauntingly beautiful.

A demon lord responsible for a number of deaths during the course of this game, the battle against this true form of Ninetails is a real grudge match. This gigantic ninetailed fox is very quick despite its size, boasts a number of powerful attacks and will split into nine different (and dangerous) spirits when you finally manage to hurt it using the Thunderstorm technique. But what really sets this beasty apart is that Ninetails boasts her own equivalent of your beloved Celestial Brush, which she will use the moment you use your own Celestial Brush. Using this technique Ninetails can cancel out your attacks, as well as using attacks of her own to turn the tables on you. A worthy adversary for Amaterasu I’d say!

Like the main character Travis Touchdown, Henry, the final (but optional) boss in No More Heroes also wields a lightsaber/beam katana, except his is much more badass. A classy, handsome man, Henry is a ferocious warrior and a master swordsman who routinely pulls off incredible combo attacks that will leave you dizzy. He’s also capable of an amazing (and brutal!) instant kill attack that’s well worth youtubing. If you intend to fight Henry on bitter difficulty you’d better clear your calendar, because he’ll take an eternity to beat, being able to absorb hundreds and hundreds of your attacks without being in any real danger. Beat him, and multiple plot twists shall be your reward.

Throughout Resident Evil 4 you’ll face many fearsome monsters, but the very best boss battles are actually against another human, namely Leon’s old pal Jack Krauser (no, no mention was made of him in prior RE games. Don’t push the matter further). Your first fight against him is a spectacular knife-fight in which all you have to do is press the right button or do the proper motion at the right time. Sounds underwhelming? Well, consider that the on-screen action in question puts many contemporary action flicks to shame and you’ll understand why this fight is awesome. Round 2 consists of you running arround a big area searching for key items with Krauser chasing you, attacking you, trying to kill you. Eventually you’ll confront Krauser on top of a ruin, where he mutates (okay, so maybe he wasn’t so human after all) and his arm becomes a lethal weapon, as the two old friends face off in a final, epic showdown.

What makes this fight so awesome it tops the final four-part boss battle in Twilight Princess, as well as all the other battles mentioned? Well, the battle consists of multiple phases that are all short and sweet enough for them to be fun and add to the variety, yet not make the battle overly long. It’s a battle that recaps all the battles you’ve fought so far, and yet it’s creative enough to keep you interested. And most importantly, it’s incredibly fun. But also worth mentioning is the personality of the Usurper King Zant himself, who during most of Twilight Princess appears to be the main villain and completely dominates Link during their first encounter. However, it turns out Zant is completely insane, cackling and screaming like a true madman during the entire battle. As far as mad rulers go, he’s somewhere between Denethor II and King Lear. Anyways, the battle itself is an amazing rollercoaster ride, as Zant revisits just about every previous boss battle location, forcing you to utilize every key item you got to defeat him as he uses every trick in book to beat you, from taking you to bottom of the sea to changing sizes. Eventually you’ll duel him in front of Hyrule Castle for a fitting climax to this incredible battle, the best you’ll experience on the Wii in my opinion.

So there you are, my picks for the ten best boss battles the Wii has to offer, I hope you enjoyed them all, as well as this top 10 list.

List by Anclation