Boss fights are usual✃ly the highlight in 2D action games, especially when they introduce new mechanics. When playing an action platformer, it is inevitable that as you fight your way through the game, there will most lik꧙ely be a final boss, bigger and better than the rest.
If the game wants to leave its mark on you, the final boss i♛s typically where it would happen. Think of a fireworks show finale. Sending you off with a lasting memory of how epic, emotional, or just satisfying a final boss fight can be. Whether seeking revenge or pitting your leveled-up character against the best, final boss fights are the perfect cap to a beautiful game.
10 Hyd൩ravok - Valfaris
Valfaris is a game that is sadly overlooked. Those who've played it, praise the game for its dark tones and heavy metal score. It's an action-filled gore-fest of a game with ambitious boss fights. The final of those is one worth mentioning. As all great boss fights should, this one has phases to it.
As you climb up the ladder to your most significant challenge of the entire game, you are immediately attacked by a demon wielding a large sword. Once you damage it enough, however, the demon transforms into a three-headed dragon. This takes the mediocre boss fight into a realm of excellence. As expected you must take out each of the three heads. A task that's anything but easy, as Valfaris is unforgiving.
9 P🐷edro - My Friend Pedro
The most bananas fight on this list - pun certainly intended - rests within the conclusion of My Friend Pedro. As you defeat your sister and beat the game, a fa🦄ntastic twist is revealed that your friend, Pedro betrayed your trust. Just before he attempts to shoot you🍬, you fight back and a ridiculous boss fight ensues.
Your once infant-sized banana friend grows and attacks you. After damaging him, the peel begins to split and Pedro pulls two pistols out of nowhere. My Friend Pedro features a wild final boss fight with multiple instances where you'll wonder, "what am I playing?".
8 Dr. Eggman - Sonic 2 ܫ
Sonic is one of the most iconic and well-known games on this list. It's a series that helped paved the way for so many 2D platformers. Sonic 2 takes what the first game established and builds on it to create an even better experience.
The blue blur and Dr. Eggman go together like peanut butter and jelly. And in their climactic fight during the second game's conclusion, Dr. Eggman and Sonic face off in an epic duel. While arguably the easiest final boss fight on this list, squaring off against your archrival as he controls a giant mech is a good time, nonetheless.
7 The Enchantrꩵess - Shovel Knight
The Enchantress boss fight is one that leaves you almost disappointed at the end. Not in🔯 a way of the fight being dissatisfactory, but rather that you want the fight to continue. The Enchantress is fantastically designed and her moveset is cunning. She𒀰, too, has multiple evolutions, each more stunning than the last.
As she floats around your crumbling platform, she takes swipes in your direction, while sequentially attacking the ground beneath your feet. You must keep moving a꧅gainst her, or you will plummet to your death.
6 🌳 Bowser - New Super Mario Bros Wii
It wouldn't be a list of 2D boss fights without the most notorious one of all, Bowser. It's hard to find someone that doesn't have a precious memory of playing a Mario game. Mario is a household name that has been around since the dawn of video games as we know them today.
When comparing each of the final bosses in 2D Mar✤io, the Bowser fight in New Super Mario Bros Wii reigns supreme. Of course, there is lava and fireballs to dodge, but what makes this particular boss fight so special is the size of Bowser. As you traverse across the level, Bowser is chases you down, growing to the size of a kaiju. The music is paired perfectly, giving an epic and intense tone to the already crucial boss fight.
5 💙 Proteus Ridley - Metroid: Samus Returns 💖
Playing as one of the most badass action characters in all of video games can only mean one thing - epic boss fights. That is exactly what is delivered at the end of Metroid: Samus Returns as you battle Proteus Ridley. The dragon flaunts an appealing green and purple color-scheme, but don't be deceived by it. This beast is ruthless.
As with all Metroid games, there are dazzling animations, pulling the camera as Samus trades blows with Ridley. Nintendo's leading action game has a bevy of memorable boss fights, but Proteus Ridley sits atop them all.
4 ♌ 🙈 The Radiance - Hollow Knight
One of the most stunninꦍg designs on this list is The Radiance from Hollow Knight. This boss fight has several variations that challenge y🔯ou significantly. Hollow Knight is an exigent game in its entirety. Most people that pick the game up shelve it before even reaching The Radiance, as it is simply that excruciating at times.
With that being 🐲said, the ending is incontestably worth the grind you mu🅰st go through. From the mesmerizing level design, to the evolution of the boss as you fight, everything about the climax of Hollow Knight is gorgeous.
3 ⛦ The Devil - Cuphead
Cuphead is one of the overall b𝄹est made games on this list, and it owes most of that to its irresistible concept. After losing a bet with the Devil in his casino, he condemns you to the Inkwell Isles where you must retrieve the souꦿls of other runaway debtors. That premise alone is what makes the ending to Cuphead so satisfactory.
The final boss is, in fact, the Devil himself. He rests on his thron♑e sending erratic attacks in every direction. Dodge those and progress to a close-up of his cosmic head.
2 Shriek - Ori and the Will of the Wisps ꧅
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is truly one of the most breathtaking 2D games currently available. The movement is smooth, and the animations are crisp. The final boss fight is an excellent example of putting everything you've learnt throughout the game to a test.
Shriek is extremely illusive, forcing Ori to stay on the move. As you get a few hits in on the beast, you must continue dashing and climbing you🦋r way to safety. Shriek mangles the land you stand on and forces you to an uncomfortable position you hardly find yourself in 2D boss fights.
1 ♏ Six - Little Nightmares 2
Without question, the most engaging and dynamic final boss fight is in Little Nightmares 2. The final boss fight in this ꦑgame is not just set in a room where you spam your attack and dodge theirs. In Little Nightmares 2 you are constantly on the move. You progress from room to room, strategically attacking when necessary, but remaining mobile primarily. As you advance through each room, you learn a bit more about what is going on with your friend, Six.
As you watch the ending unfold, the final boss fight gives you one of the best twiᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚsts you will experience in a 2D game. Between th🍷e colors, the sound design, the movement, and the sinister version of a previous companion, Little Nightmares 2 has the best boss fight in all of 2D video games.