History Main / MiniBoss

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'': The game set the tradition in itself and subsequent games in the series to have at least one miniboss per dungeon, often rewarding Link with the dungeon's flagship item upon victory. In comparison, the games before it only have regular bosses refought in DegradedBoss form in later dungeons. ''Link's Awakening'' itself also has a dungeon (Catfish's Maw) that shares the record for having the most mini-boss battles, with four in total (all of them against Master Stalfos); the other record holders are Thieves' Hideout in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''[[note]]a Gerudo warrior, in all four cases[[/note]] and Fire Sanctuary in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]''[[note]]Dark Lizalfos, Magmanos, Dark Lizalfos again and Moldorm[[/note]]

** ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'' only has one regular boss (Arachnus), numerous mini-bosses (Metroid evolutions of increasing strength) and a final boss (Metroid Queen); the remake ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' adds two main bosses (Diggernaut and [[spoiler:Proteus Ridley]]) to the mix.

** In the first game, it is necessary to defeat the Queen Ant in the second floor of the Azure Rainforest in order to progress in that stratum (the actual boss is Corotrangul, found in the fifth floor). This is repeated in the fifth stratum ([[spoiler:Lost Shinjuku]]), where the player's party has to defeat [[spoiler:Ren and Tlachga]] before they can proceed further (the main boss is Etreant, [[spoiler:the monster form of Visil who is revealed to be the game's BigBad]]). Lastly, during the postgame, to reach the chamber of the Yggdrasil Core (the game's TrueFinalBoss) in Claret Hollows, it is necessary to defeat three dragons that are duplicated versions of the three Elemental Dragons, and given the role to protect the Core. Luckily, they're all weaker than the originals and, in the remake ''Millenium Girl'', it is not necessary to fight them as they have been relocated.
** ''Heroes of Lagaard'' has [[spoiler:Artelinde and Wihelm]], fought in a DualBoss fight in the last floor of Frozen Grounds, shortly after they reveal their darker side (though things get better after the battle); shortly afterwards, in that same floor, you fight the proper boss of the stratum (Scylla). The game also has the Juggernaut, a strong guardian located in Heavenly Keep and one of the most powerful creations of the dungeon's main boss (the Overlord, who is also the game's FinalBoss).
** ''The Drowned City'' has the Deep One and the Deep Lady, a [[DualBoss dual miniboss]] fought in the second floor of Molten Caves. In terms of gameplay and design, they're reskinned versions of FOE located in the next stratum (Abyssal Shrine), and the efficiency of their attacks make them pretty dangerous. However, the actual boss of the stratum is still another one, namely [[MechanicalMonster the Gatekeeper]] in the fourth floor. The game also features many minibosses fought in the sea as part of sidequests, such as King Penguin or the GhostShip.
** In ''Legends of the Titan'', there's the first Bloodbear found in Lush Woodlands, [[DefeatMeansPlayable eventually-recruitable characters]] like [[spoiler:Kibegami and Logre]], Prince Baldur, and sidequest-related opponents like Baboon King and Sand Leviathan; all of them use the theme "Unrest -- The End of Raging Winds" (a remixed version of the ocean battle theme in ''The Drowned City'').
** In ''Beyond the Myth'', the presence of minibosses is limited to sidequests and stratum events, and most of them are just souped-up versions of enemies or F.O.E.; examples include Luring Phantom, Hurt Crustacean and Angry Mole Lord.
** In ''Nexus'', the last two returning strata to appear in the game (both located in the Isle of Bluffs) have one each: Salamander (originally from ''Heroes of Lagaard'') in the Golden Lair, and Basilisk (of ''Fafnir Knight'' fame) in the Sandy Barrens. The Queen Ant from the first game, as well as the Juggernaut from the second and Chameleon King from the fourth, return as well (they now guard respectively three mini-dungeons).

* ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'' has the largest amount of mid-bosses in the form of the Guardians that can be found in specific areas of the open zones of each island or (in the case of certain examples) are free-roaming around the zones. Defeating these Guardians drops the Portal Gears necessary to access the Cyber Stages, and all defeated Guardians will respawn (along with regular enemies) during the random nighttime meteor-shower event.

** ''VideoGame/WarioWorld'': Though most ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' games (including [[VideoGame/WarioLandSuperMarioLand3 the original]]) avert this trope by having only main bosses, this specific game has two minibosses per world, each located at the end of one of the two associated levels; once both are defeated, the world's boss can be challenged.

* ''VideoGame/MarioParty 9'' and ''10'' 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/BanjoKazooie'': In the first game, you can tell an opponent is a miniboss if it's just [[WolfpackBoss a group of special enemies]], and note that they still lurk on their own in entire levels, like the main bosses.

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' has the Octostriker, fought in one stage per world (minus the first) in Octo Valley mode. In each of its levels, it will periodically attack the player with a cyclone of ink, making the level more difficult. Only when the player meets the Octostriker in person, the battle will ensue. Also an example of RecurringBoss.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland'' and its first sequel (''VideoGame/YoshisIslandDS'') distinguish themselves from the mainline ''Mario'' platformers in that every world has its own miniboss, instead of the game having just one appearing every time it can. ''Yoshi's New Island'' has Kamek appear in all mid-world fortresses, while ''VideoGame/YoshisWoollyWorld'' has two: Big Montgomery for the odd-numbered worlds, and Knot-Wing the Koopa for the even-numbered ones.

** The Theropod branch of Bird Wyverns: Velocidrome, Gendrome and Iodrome (introduced in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter2004''); Giadrome (introduced in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterFreedom2''); Great Jaggi and Great Baggi (introduced in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter3Tri''); Great Wroggi (introduced in ''Monster Hunter Portable 3rd''), Great Maccao (introduced in ''Monster Hunter Generations'') and Great Izuchi (introduced in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterRise'').
** The Ursid branch of Fanged Beasts: Arzuros, Lagombi and Volvidon (all introduced in ''Monster Hunter Portable 3rd'').

** There's also King Shakalaka, a Lynian, who was introduced in ''Freedom Unite''.

* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' has a ton of enemies that serve this role: no health bar or fog gate, and usually respawning instead of unique, but quite strong and situated in a unique arena. For example, within the first hour of the game you can encounter several WarmUpBoss fights in their own mini cave dungeons like the Demi-Human Chief, Patches, and the Beastman of Farum Azula. On the main path between them, which you're also likely to stumble upon in the first hour of the game, is a clearing guarded by a dozen soldiers and a giant Troll. This battle is both much harder and more impressive-looking than said early bosses, but it's not counted as a real boss and the enemies here will respawn if you come back later. To make this a bit weirder, right next to this miniboss is another cave dungeon with a near-identical Troll who lacks such back-up... and he's considered a regular boss: he gets a fog wall, a health bar, and he doesn't respawn.
** Another early example is the Lordsworn Knight in Fort Haight. He's guarded by his own platoon of mooks, is only encountered at the end of the arena, doesn't respawn, and has to be killed to complete a quest. Combat-wise he's just a regular knight with twice as much health and one new move, the Blood Slash. He's arguably harder than most of the bosses in that zone, but he also doesn't get the usual boss markers.

** In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros64'' on 1P Game, the Fighting Polygon Team is found right before Master Hand.
** In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'', there's the Fighting Wire Frame team as well as the Metal Bros. (Metal Mario and Metal Luigi) in Adventure Mode. Cassic Mode has just a fight against the metal version of any character.
** In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', minibosses are very plentiful in the Subspace Emissary, and include dark versions of Diddy, Peach, Zelda and (during The Great Maze) all remaining characters that appeared up to that point. Strangely, ''Brawl'' is also the first game in the series whose Classic Mode averts this trope (the second is ''Ultimate''), since the designated QuirkyMinibossSquad (the Fighting Alloys) are only fought in the [[MultiMookMelee Multi Mook Brawl]] modes.

** The original ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'' has a few, like Shadows. They also have their own [[BattleThemeMusic unique music]].

** ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'' has Polterkitty, fought twice over the course of the game. In both cases, instead of guarding an elevator button like the boss ghosts, she ''steals'' the one Luigi just got and does everything in her power to keep it; this forces Luigi to chase and confront her across previously-cleared doors.

* The ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' games have a few groups of large monsters that serve this role: Ursid Fanged Beasts (Arzuros, Lagombi and Volvidon) Theropod Bird Wyverns (Velocidrome, Gendrome, Iodrome, Giadrome, Great Jaggi, Great Wroggi, Great Baggi, Great Maccao and Great Izuchi), and certain Neopterons (Vespoid Queen, male Seltas and its Desert subspecies) and Fanged Wyverns ([[VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld Great Jagras, Great Girros]]). There's also King Shakalaka, a Lynian, who was introduced in ''Freedom Unite''. These monsters have a lower HP than others, are considered to have a threat level of only three stars (the lowest for a large monster), and have a soft-paced battle theme that differs from those of the main areas where they're found; and since they're the lowest-ranked large monsters there's always a BackgroundMusicOverride upon the appearance of another monster. In the multi-monster quests with two or three monsters, one of these miniboss beasts will appear first and, upon hunt or capture, will be followed by a larger monster.

** ''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.

* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'': Being an action-adventure game that follows the footsteps of ''Zelda'', it has its own miniboss cast, though almost all of them are fought in the overworld instead of the dungeons. In order of appearance, they are Waka, the Satomi Canine Warriors, the Tube Foxes, [[spoiler:Evil Rao]], Oki, and [[spoiler:Nagi]]. A [[BonusBoss Bandit Spider]], almost a replica of the first boss, can also be fought three times (one in each of the Devil Gate grottos that house the ''very'' difficult MultiMookMelee matches). Lastly, judging from the tense music and the fact that they have to be hit more than once before giving up, the three big fish creatures that are [[FishingMinigame captured]] at different points (Whopper, Cutlass Sword and Marlin) are minibosses as well.

** ''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; [[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).

** In ''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.

* ''Videogame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'': The NES game features Bebop as a miniboss halfway through the first major stage, who goes down fairly easily unlike 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.

-->-- '''Laharl''', ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'', giving his opinion of Vyers The Dark Adonis

* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionSeries'': In ''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/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'' has the Poltergeists (each fought in a different level, and each of which requires a different strategy to be defeated) and the Three Sisters (fought together in one battle). Lastly, ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'' has Polterkitty, fought twice over the course of the game.

** In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'', bosses and mini-bosses are sorted by the rewards and outcomes upon beating them. In the original ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'', minibosses and actual bosses are easily distinquished: mini-bosses don't have a health bar and [[DegradedBoss tend to become recurring enemies later on]]. In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'', both main bosses and mini-bosses have a healthbar, but the Energy Controller guardians are often considered to be main bosses and the item guardians mini-bosses (although in this case some of the [[ThatOneBoss most annoying fights]] are item guardians). ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' has several mini-bosses, including corrupted hunters, that you fight about halfway through the zones and planets (the actual bosses are the Leviathan Guardians).
** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters'' has the six antagonistic hunters (fought at various midpoints of the areas) and the Fire and Arctic Spawns. The main bosses are the Octoliths' protectors ([[RecurringBoss Slench and Cretaphid]]) and [[FinalBoss Gorea]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', being an action-adventure game that follows the footsteps of ''Zelda'', has its own miniboss cast, though almost all of them are fought in the overworld instead of the dungeons. In order of appearance, they are Waka, the Satomi Canine Warriors, the Tube Foxes, [[spoiler:Evil Rao]], Oki, and [[spoiler:Nagi]]. A [[BonusBoss Bandit Spider]], almost a replica of the first boss, can also be fought three times (one in each of the Devil Gate grottos that house the ''very'' difficult MultiMookMelee matches). Lastly, judging from the tense music and the fact that they have to be hit more than once before giving up, the three big fish creatures that are [[FishingMinigame captured]] at different points (Whopper, Cutlass Sword and Marlin) are minibosses as well.

* ''VideoGame/Halo3'' the scarabs, there are three encounter with them, each one of them bieng an awesome challenge for the player, even greater than the final boss itself

* In ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'', you can tell an opponent is a miniboss if it's just [[WolfpackBoss a group of special enemies]], and note that they still lurk on their own in entire levels, like the main bosses. In ''Banjo-Tooie'', every single level is guarded by a full-fledged boss, while Klungo serves as the resident miniboss fought during key moments of the game. In ''Nuts and Bolts'', there are almost no bosses or minibosses due to the different gameplay concepts.

* ''Franchise/MegaMan'' games. They started appearing regularly in [[VideoGame/MegaMan3 the third game]] (not counting BossInMookClothing enemies such as Bigeyes).
** ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'' also had a miniboss at the halfway point of half the levels (Sword Man, Clown Man, Aqua Man and Grenade Man).
** ''VideoGame/MegaMan11'' is the first Videogame/MegaManClassic game to feature a Mini Boss for all eight Robot Master levels.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series: Usually 4 of the eight stages would have at least one.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'': In Area I, there are two alternate paths through the level, each one resulting in encountering a midboss (either a dragon or a sphinx mechaniloid). If you're willing to take the backtrack path near the boss room that returns to where the paths divulged and take the other way, you could fight ''both'' of them without ever leaving the stage.
** Inverted in two stages of ''ZX Advent'', when the main boss ([[spoiler:Mega Man Model ZX Vent/Aile and Argoyle/Uygole]]) is at the beginning of one level and the midboss of that level is at the end. It also has two level that has ''two'' midbosses (which on one level were both noticeably unique encounters that never showed up again returning to the level, while the other level only had one unique midboss), and two of the midbosses were actually reskins of ''ZX's'' two WarmUpBoss.
** The ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series has them as a mainstay of each level.
** ''VideoGame/Rockman4MinusInfinity'':
*** Shadow Man is a {{recurring boss}} version of this trope. He shows up in Toad Man, Bright Man, and Pharaoh Man Robot Master stages.
*** Whopper and The Trio of Ring Rings in Ring Man's stage
*** Hogale and Enker in Dive Man's stage.
*** Quint and Kabatoncue in Drill Man's stage.

* VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'':