As is tradition with every entry in The Legend Of Zelda franchise, a villain is creating havoc in Hyrule. With the ultimate goal being to stop this incarnation of evil, Link must trek across Hyrule to conquer temples where he must defeat the boss with whatever new item was acquired in the said dungeon.
The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time impressed audiences with its amazing gameplay, impressive graphics, and, of course, memorable boss fights. Which ones were simple obstacles on a hero’s quest and which made the player want to throw their controller against the wall in anger?
10 Infernal Dinosaur: King Dodongo
Reigning over the inside of Death Mountain and filling the Gorons with fear, King Dodongo is a giant quadrupedal dinosaur with an indestructible hide who can breathe fire. Visually, King Dodongo is imposing and seems like a deadly threat but he’s actually the easiest boss.
The entire dungeon is filled with smaller Dodongos who all share the same weakness as the King: wait for him to open his mouth then throw a bomb inside. Dodge his roll attacks and it’s an easy win.
9 Parasitic Armored Arachnid: Gohma
Gohma has made an appearance in the majority of Zelda games, usually as the first boss, and Ocarina Of Time was no different. The way she is unveiled is creepy and helps to get the player on edge for the fight.
While she’s no Dark Souls boss, Gohma manages to be more difficult than Dodongo due to her speed and a pattern that is hard to pin down for first-time players. However, once the pattern is found, defeating her is easy: a good first boss.
8 The Evil Spirit From Beyond: Phantom Ganon
When the players first travel to the future as the adult version of Link, Phantom Ganon is the boss of the first temple: The Forest Temple. Much like Gohma, the build-up and reveal of the boss is creepy with some very effective music and visuals.
The boss itself is a little intense since the player is unsure which painting Phantom Ganon is going to emerge from. The dark laugh combined with the horse’s galloping can make one nervous but with the right amount of patience, the boss can be disposed of pretty quickly.
7 Bio-Electric Anemone: Barinade
The final starter boss for the game comes in the form of a fleshy symbiotic monster that lurks inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly. It almost resembles something out of Dead Space or John Carpenter’s The Thing which alone makes it distinct.
What really makes this the best of the starter bosses is the difficulty spike: this sets the example for what’s to come from dungeons after this point. Barinade is fast, deadly, and can stun you, thus opening one up for more deadly attacks. First-time players be warned, Barinade is frustrating to fight but so satisfying to strike that final blow.
6 Aquatic Cell Amoeba: Morpha
The Water Temple brought about traumatic memories of mind-numbingly frustrating puzzles but surprisingly, the least difficult part about this infamous dungeon is actually the boss at the end of it.
Morpha, much like the Water Temple itself, is visually outstanding for the Nintendo 64: it’s almost like the water creature from James Cameron’s The Abyss. However, once the player figures out the pattern, it’s less challenging and more just tedious waiting for the right opening to deal damage.
5 Phantom Shadow Beast: Bongo Bongo
After all the creepy and downright terrifying things The Shadow Temple forces onto the player throughout, it was refreshing to have a boss who was the least scary part of the Temple– but that didn’t stop him from being a pain in the rear.
Bongo-Bongo’s patterns are difficult to learn and dodging his fast moves can get annoying because one hit can take out a lot of health. The bouncy arena that the boss is featured in also does not help in making the fight less annoying.
4 Subterranean Lava Dragon: Volvagia
Volvagia packs a lot of heat with it, complete with small lava pools everywhere in the arena to trap the player along with the random chance as to which pool he will arise from. This makes Volvagia one of the most frustrating bosses in the game– especially if Link is attacked before dealing damage– as Volvagia will then take to the skies. If nothing else, Link’s Fairy Bow can do damage while Volvagia flies around.
3 Sorceress Sisters: Twinrova
The Spirit Temple as a whole is one of the more underwhelming challenges, but what makes up for that is the final battle with the twin witches who reside inside it. Visually, their mystic energies mixed with the golden aesthetic and the mirror shield are beautiful to look at.
In terms of the challenge, Twinrova’s boss fight has the perfect balance of things that are taxing for the player with a fun & rewarding gameplay loop throughout both phases. It’s never cheap and annoying like Volvagia, but it’s surely not as easy as King Dodongo.
2 Ganon
The final boss of the game is a rough one depending on how players progressed with side missions in Hyrule. With the Master Sword gone, there are two options: use other equipment to deal damage or use the Biggoron’s Sword.
Either tactic works but even with the advantage of another sword, Ganon is a boss that will keep the player amped with sweaty palms from the gauntlet prior, and just enough rage to keep one motivated enough to slay the monster. A perfect final boss for the game… but not the hardest boss.
1 Great King Of Evil: Ganondorf
Ocarina Of Time built up this confrontation with the evil Gerudo for so long that it needed to deliver on the epic fight and it did indeed deliver. Keep in mind that Ganondorf’s castle is already a taxing challenge throughout. By this point, the player is so on edge that they might feel exhausted.
Combining that with the insane speed and ferocity one must muster to take on Ganondorf is straining. The magic game of tennis with the fireballs, avoiding falling down pits, avoiding unblockable magic attacks: it all results in a fight that is enough to drive the player crazy. Stock up on fairies because it is essential to winning this fight.
NEXT: 10 Games That Ripped Off The Legend of Zelda Franchise
