The Link’s Awakening remake on the Nintendo Switch brought back all of the dungeons and their bosses in an adorable new art style. For better or worse the team behind the remake did all they could to not fiddle with many of the fights, enemies, and mechanics of the original adventure. Though this keeps the game the same for diehard fans, it keeps some of the game trapped in the past. Let’s now take a look at every dungeon boss in the game and rank them from worst to first.
9 Facade
Facade is the boss of the Face Dungeon and makes the bottom of the list sadly. The fight is pretty lackluster and plays on the mechanic of the moving tiles that come to life and shoot out at Link. Facade doesn’t do anything dangerous or difficult and feels like a pretty uninspired fight. Unlike other dungeon bosses that either offers an interesting fight or change the rules of engagement, Facade just feels like an afterthought. It seems like a real missed opportunity for the remake developers to improve.
8 Hot Head
Hot Head is a case where the mechanics in the dungeon boss encounter are clever, but players can simply stand in a corner and spam the magic rod to victory. By the time players hit the last dungeon, Turtle Rock, they likely have a ton of hearts and bottles filled with fairies, so spamming the magic rod and damage boosting through the second phase make the fight pretty trivial. Hot Head doesn’t rank low due to its efforts, the game simply fights against it is interesting due to where the fight lands in the overall adventure.
7 Genie
The battle with the Genie in the Bottle Grotto is a dungeon boss fight that doesn’t fully live up to what the creator’s probably intended or wanted. The problem with the Genie fight is that it’s the second dungeon in the game which means the fight needed to be scaled to fight the player’s effectiveness and skill level at the time. It is a two-phase fight where you must first break the bottle, then fight the genie is neat, but simply dodging fireballs and striking doesn’t exactly require an e-sport athlete.
6 Slime Eye
As players complete the third dungeon in the game, Key Cavern, they’ll end up in a room set to fight Slime Eye. The idea of a giant slime creature sticking to the surface of a room is pretty disgusting. Link has to reveal the vile spawn by ramming the back wall and in turn, will cause it to drop to the ground. During the fight, Link must dash at the boss to split him into two then defeat each of the two remaining parts of Slime Eye. The fight isn’t very interesting, but it also is involved enough to be an engaging battle.
5 Moldorm
When people first encounter Moldorm at the end of the Tail Cave, he’s often thought of as strongly resembling a burger from the top-down perspective. Since he’s the first dungeon boss in the game he’s designed in a way to be friendly to newcomers of both the specific game and Legend of Zelda as a series. The fight is easy to understand as the glowing red tip of his tail is rather obvious. It may be less of a challenge, but it doesn’t mean it’s not one of the better dungeon bosses in the game.
4 Angler Fish
The Angler Fish, who’s the dungeon boss of Angler’s Tunnel, is fun because it’s different than most of the other fights. It completely changes the perspective, and its also a fight that takes place all while Link has to swim around. You’re still trying to inflict damage with your sword as the player, but the change in mechanics and movement makes you feel a little uncomfortable. The Angler Fish’s difficulty is boosted by the fight being different which helps make it feel worthwhile while also not spiking in-game difficulty.
3 Evil Eagle
Like the Angler Fish fight, the battle with the Evil Eagle stands out because it shifts the perspective you’re used to fighting in. It also takes place on top of a mountain with the sky as the backdrop. Because of all of that, it feels like a memorable engagement due to everything coming together in a nice package. The fight itself is pretty straightforward but can be challenging if the player isn’t great with timing. Being unique and having a great atmosphere boosts the fight with the Evil Eagle immensely.
2 Slime Eel
The Slime Eel may be the most difficult boss in the game outside of the Shadow Nightmare. Fighting it requires players to avoid the spiky tail that swings in a circular motion around the room. At the same time, players must use the hookshot on the correct head that protrudes from the wall. If you hook one of the fake heads it will explode and damage Link pretty significantly. Having the player multitask while also paying attention to details is a smart recipe for an engaging and challenging boss battle.
1 Shadow Nightmare
It’s hard to put another dungeon boss above the Shadow Nightmare since it’s a culmination of many of the other bosses you face in the game. It changes form and requires Link to think on his feet to damage it and move on to the next form. For those who played the original or the DX version they’ll know what to do, but for the tons of people playing through the game for the first time, it could come as a challenge. It’s all about experimentation and figuring out what works for each form.
NEXT: Link’s Awakening Remake: 10 Major Differences Between The Original And The Remake
