History Main / MiniBoss

* ''VideoGame/RoadOfTheDead'' Once you get to Central City, HQ Command will send Hellfire choppers to kill you. To beat them, you have to trick them into three highway signs to force them to retreat.
** The sequel has a new version of Mutants called ''Alpha Mutants''. They are 3 times stronger than regular Mutants, can damage your car if there's no armor on it, and come with two or three Mutants. [[SarcasmMode For added bonus, you encounter multiple Alpha Mutants through your campaign to escape Evans City]]. Fortunately, you only encounter one per pack.

* ''VideoGame/StarFox'', ''VideoGame/StarFox64'', and ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault'' sometimes have a stronger enemy appear about halfway through the level, although you don't have to defeat them to progress. A straight example would be the Venom Guardians' second fights (the first fights are full fledged bosses) in the original: Phantron, the Galactic Riders, and the Great Commander, but which you fight depends on which route you pick. In ''Star Fox 64'', either the last Star Wolf fight or the Golemech on either Venom Route qualify as this. ''Command'' also has some minibosses guarding motherships in the harder levels. The aforementioned Star Wolf collectively act as a full-fledged boss fight in Fortuna/Fichina as well.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder'': The Battleship levels, which have to be cleared so the characters can proceed in their quest for the Royal Seeds, are guarded (and powered) by Bowser-shaped generating engines which serve as the ultimate target.

*** During the questline to unlock the Fire Temple and solve the Goron's obsession with the Marbled Rock Roast, Link has to defeat two minibosses: [[spoiler:Yunobo, who's been corrupted by the mask Zelda (as in, Phantom Ganon trying to pass as her)]], and the three headed monster Moragia. There's also the Sludge Like, which attempts to attack Sidon during the questline to reach the Water Temple.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'' has the Training Constructs, Zonai-created automatons located in Training-based Shrines. They were created specifically to help the chosen hero hone his skills in various front (melee combat, counterattacks, aiming and shooting, etc.) To ensure that Link is getting the hang of said skills, the Constructs will only take damage from the attacks that are tasked to him to perform. Doing anything else will do nil damage.

* ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'': Being a RunAndGun series, the games are usually ''filled'' with minibosses, and defeating them will be necessary so the characters can proceed forward (or upward, depending on how the current level's screen is scrolling). ''Contra: Shattered Soldier'', being a BossGame, has at least three per level, some being tougher than the stage-end boss. This formula was borrowed by other games in this genre, such as ''VideoGame/GunstarHeroes'', ''VideoGame/AlienSoldier'' and ''VideoGame/AlienHominid''.

** ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' has some of the character fights. You only do them during story mode, and they are pretty easy; there's also the E-100 robots from the same game. In subsequent games, namely ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', the ''VideoGame/SonicRushSeries'', ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', and ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight'', they are classed as normal bosses, and some of them can be a lot harder to defeat.

* ''Videogame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'': The NES game features Bebop as a miniboss halfway through the first major stage, who goes down fairly easily, in contrast to Rocksteady, whom you have to fight in order to rescue April. The third NES game has a mini boss fight with Slash in the third level, while later on you twice battle a foot soldier riding a giant mouser.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'' has Bowser Jr. in his Shadow Mario persona, fought in the seventh episode of every world; since the worlds' main bosses are always found and faced in prior episodes, this results in an inversion of the trope (especially as the event flag that unlocks the final stage lies in defeating Shadow Mario, not the main bosses). Other minibosses present in the game include the Polluted Piranha Plant (fought five times across Bianco Hills and Delfino Plaza), the Plungelos (in Gelato Beach) and Phantamanta (in Sirena Beach).

** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'': Minibosses aren't seen until World 6, which introduces Prince Bully. The subsequent worlds have {{Degraded Boss}}es who will act as enemy blockades, as will [[spoiler:Queen Hisstocrat (the female version of Hisstocrat)]] near the end of the game.

* ''Legend of the Keepers'' from Goblinz Studio has your character as the final boss (choice between Masters such as Maug the Slaveholder Centaur, Sarel the Dryad Enchantress and Lira the Monkey Engineer) and rare monsters indicated with a star such as Vampires and Tanks, these are your EliteMook. While Sarel and Lira will get enhanced spell room and traps respectively if they are promoted, Maug gets Interns. These Interns are: Sannakji the Mermaid Matriarch, Chalcodon the Colossal Hydra, and Masoch the Father of the Damned. Each of one is these occupy a room by themselves similar to a Master and similarly all are about [[EvilIsBigger twice the height]] of incoming heroes. Unlike the Masters or your monsters, the Interns don't gain levels. However similar to a Master, Interns can get specific events that raises their power. For Masters, it's a workout session but for Interns it's an interview where they tell Maug about they want and Maug has a choice of how to improve them.

** ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' would repeat the trend set by ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', although with a twist as sometimes Eggman would be the MiniBoss and not the actual boss at the end of the zone like he usually is.

** Goro fills this role in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1992992992'' and the home versions of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'', then split the role of second-to-last opponent in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9''.

** Goro fills this role in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1992992'' and the home versions of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'', then split the role of second-to-last opponent in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9''.

** Goro fills this role in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1992'' and the home versions of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'', then split the role of second-to-last opponent in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9''.

** Goro fills this role in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' and the home versions of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'', then split the role of second-to-last opponent in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9''.

[[quoteright:240:[[VideoGame/KirbysAdventure https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/poppy_bros_sr_nidl.png]]]]

*** The Chozo Robot Soilders are [[DegradedBoss degraded]] to this after your sudden fight against the first of them in Ferenia, as they no longer have intro cutscenes and defeating them simply allows you to continue progressing. Sometimes you even fight two at the same time to keep the challenge, since Samus' increasingly enhanced gear would make them too easy otherwise.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

* ''VideoGame/MarioParty10'': Each of the five boards has a unique miniboss that is fought in the halfway point, as well as a main boss in the end. In the absence of Story Mode, these minibosses can only be fought in the Party and Free Play Modes (there's no BossRush mode either).

* ''VideoGame/MarioParty9'' and ''VideoGame/MarioParty10'' both have a signature miniboss per board in Story Mode, which is fought in the halfway point. In party mode, players can choose which one to fight regardless of the board they're playing. Notably, one of the minibosses, Bowser Jr., can also be fought in up to 10 different minigames, one of which is triggered by player choice when he or she lands upon the Bowser Jr. space.

** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'': While no miniboss is present in Classic Mode, they're plentiful in Adventure Mode (World of Light). Namely, they're the main playable characters who are now under the influence of Galeem or Dharkon; [[PromotedToPlayable defeating them allows you to recruit them]] (defeating them while playing Spirit roles doesn't count, as the rewards you get in those fights are the Spirits themselves only; thus, they're standard Smash fights with Spirit-based gimmicks).

* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionSeries'':
** ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'': Some of the Portrait Ghosts that aren't area-ending bosses will put up a fight as Luigi tries to capture them; namely Melody Pianissima, Mr. Luggs, Biff Atlas, Nana, Henry and Orville, Sir Weston and Vincent Van Gore.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'': The game combines this trope with DegradedBoss. The majority of creatures fought for the first time as minibosses in the dungeons will eventually return as strong, yet regular enemies: Bokoblin (Forsaken Fortress), Moblin (Dragon Roost Cavern), Mothula (Forbidden Woods), Darknut (Tower of the Gods), Stalfos (Earth Temple), high-tier Wizzrobe (Wind Temple), and Mighty Darknut (the overworld area Hyrule Castle). The only exceptions are Phantom Ganon (who is fought first in Forsaken Fortress, and then in Ganon's Tower), Big Octo and Cyclos (both in the Great Sea), as the former two are always fought in miniboss fashion, and the latter one is fought only once to begin with.