Mario has jumped on a lot of heads since 1985. But Super Mario Odyssey bosses represent a weird, pivot point for Nintendo’s design philosophy because they aren’t just about timing; they’re about how you use a possessed hat to ruin a rabbit's wedding day. It’s been years since the game launched on the Switch, yet people still argue over whether the Ruined Dragon belongs in a Mario game or if the Broodals are just budget version Koopalings. Honestly? They kind of are. But that doesn't mean the fights aren't mechanically dense.
When you first land in the Cap Kingdom, you aren't thinking about frame data or hitboxes. You're just trying to figure out why a group of wedding-planning rabbits is trying to kill you. That’s the Odyssey charm.
The Broodals: Why These Bunnies Are More Than Just Filler
Most players go into the game expecting Bowser Jr. or the usual gang. Instead, we got the Broodals. Toppy, Hariet, Spewart, and Rango. They’re basically a traveling wedding agency from the moon. It’s a bizarre choice. Some fans hated them at first. They felt a bit "off-brand" for a flagship Mario title. But if you look at the mechanics, they serve a specific purpose: teaching you how to use Cappy in a combat environment.
Take Hariet in the Sand Kingdom. She’s throwing bombs. You have to time your hat throws to knock those bombs back at her. It’s a basic tennis match mechanic, a staple since Ocarina of Time, but it’s the way she moves—that frantic, nervous energy—that makes it feel like a modern Nintendo fight. Then you have Rango. He’s the tall one. You have to jump on his hat to flip it over and then use it as a trampoline. It’s simple. Maybe too simple? For veteran players, the Broodals can feel like a bit of a chore by the time you reach Bowser’s Castle, where you have to fight them all again in a giant mech.
That mech fight, RoboBrood, is actually where the design peaks. You’re controlling a Pokio (that little woodpecker bird), poking at the legs of a giant wooden robot. It’s chaotic. It’s loud. It’s exactly the kind of "throw everything at the wall" energy that defines the middle-to-late game of Odyssey.
The Ruined Dragon and the Tone Shift Nobody Expected
If you want to talk about the most controversial of all the Super Mario Odyssey bosses, you have to talk about the Lord of Lightning. You know the one. You're in the Ruined Kingdom, a place that looks like it was ripped straight out of Dark Souls or Skyrim. There's a giant, hyper-realistic dragon sitting on a tower.
It doesn't look like Mario.
It doesn't even look like a Nintendo asset.
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The Ruined Dragon is a massive, craggy beast covered in swords and electrical pins. When this game first leaked, people thought this boss was a hoax. "There’s no way Nintendo put a realistic dragon in a game where you play as a man with a sentient mustache," they said. But they did. And it works because of the contrast. Mario looks tiny and ridiculous standing next to this thing. The fight itself is actually a bit of a letdown if you’re looking for high-octane action—you’re mostly just pulling pins out of its head—but the visual storytelling is top-tier. It suggests a history of the Mushroom World that we never see: a world of ancient wars and fallen kingdoms that existed long before Peach started getting kidnapped every Tuesday.
Mechawiggler and the Urban Legend of New Donk City
New Donk City is arguably the best level in any 3D platformer, period. But the boss fight there? It’s polarizing. The Mechawiggler is a giant, glowing, robotic version of the classic caterpillar enemy, and it spends the whole fight crawling all over the skyscrapers.
You’re in a tank. Specifically, a Sherm.
This is where the game turns into a third-person shooter. You have to aim at the glowing segments of the Mechawiggler while dodging its energy beams. It’s one of the few Super Mario Odyssey bosses that feels genuinely dangerous on a first playthrough. If you miss your shots, the city lights go dark, and the atmosphere gets heavy. It’s a brilliant use of the environment. You aren't just fighting a boss in an arena; you’re fighting it across an entire skyline.
A lot of speedrunners, like those you'll see at Games Done Quick, absolutely dismantle this fight. They know exactly where the segments will appear before the boss even moves. For the rest of us? It’s a frantic scramble to stay on the rooftops without falling into the "bottomless" pits that are actually just the streets of a very busy city.
Why Bowser is the Best He's Ever Been
We have to talk about the wedding. Bowser in a white tuxedo is a vibe. But the actual fight at the end of the game—and the rematch on the Moon—is arguably the most refined Bowser fight in the series' history.
In previous games, you usually just had to get behind him and throw him, or hit a switch. In Odyssey, you have to steal his hat. Boxing Bowser while wearing his own oversized, boxing-glove-equipped top hat is peak gaming. It’s visceral. You’re literally punching the King of the Koopas in the face.
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The mechanics here are layers deep:
- You have to time the hat throw to intercept his.
- You have to dodge the shockwaves (classic Mario).
- You have to engage in a melee scrap while he guards.
- The final phase introduces the fire circles that force you to jump while you're mid-combo.
And then, the ending. Without spoiling the 7-year-old game for the three people who haven't played it: the transition from the boss fight into the final escape sequence is a masterclass in "rewarding the player." You aren't just fighting Bowser; you become the boss fight. It’s a subversion of everything we expect from the final encounter.
The Secret Bosses and the Brutal Difficulty Spike
Most people finish the story and think they're done. They aren't. If you haven't been to the Darker Side of the Moon, you haven't really experienced the true "final" boss of Super Mario Odyssey.
The Darker Side isn't a single boss; it's a gauntlet. It’s a grueling, ten-minute marathon that tests every single capture mechanic you've learned. No checkpoints. If you die at the very end, you start back at the beginning. It’s brutal. It’s frustrating. It makes you want to throw your Switch out the window.
But then there are the boss rematches. In the Mushroom Kingdom, you can re-enter the boss arenas to fight "strengthened" versions of the story bosses. These aren't just the same fights with more HP. They are faster, their patterns are more complex, and they leave much less room for error. The Cookatiel rematch in the Luncheon Kingdom, for example, becomes a genuine test of platforming precision as you navigate the boiling pink stew.
Cooking the Cookatiel: A Lesson in Verticality
Speaking of the Cookatiel, that fight is basically a giant bowl of soup. You’re a Lava Bubble (those little fireball guys), and you have to swim up ramps of vomit—sorry, "stew"—to bash into a giant bird’s head. It sounds gross. It kind of is. But it’s one of the most creative uses of the capture mechanic. It forces you to think about 3D space differently. You aren't just moving left and right; you're managing buoyancy and trajectory.
What Most People Get Wrong About Odyssey's Difficulty
There’s a common complaint that Super Mario Odyssey bosses are too easy. "I beat it in a weekend," people say. Sure, if you just want to see the credits. But the difficulty in a modern Mario game is opt-in.
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Nintendo designed these bosses to be "beatable" by a five-year-old, but "masterable" by a completionist. If you’re just trying to hit the boss three times, it’s easy. If you’re trying to do it without taking damage, or within a specific time limit for a Power Moon, or using only specific movement tech? That’s where the complexity hides.
Look at Knucklotec in the Sand Kingdom. Big stone head, floating hands. Classic trope. You can beat him just by baiting his hands into the ice. Boring. Or, you can use the momentum of his own hands to launch yourself into a Cappy-dive-jump-roll combo that ends the phase in seconds. The depth isn't in the boss's HP bar; it's in Mario's moveset.
Actionable Tips for Mastering Every Encounter
If you’re heading back into the game to clean up those final Moons, or maybe you’re playing it for the first time on a flight, keep these things in mind.
- Don't forget the spin throw. Most people just flick the Joy-Con or press Y. But the circular spin throw (rotating the stick then throwing) creates a localized AOE that is a godsend for the Broodal fights, especially when they start spawning minions.
- Abuse the dive. The dive (Y+ZL in mid-air) is your best friend for closing gaps. Many bosses, like the Torkdrift in the Wooded Kingdom, have long "vulnerable" windows that you’ll miss if you’re just running normally.
- Watch the shadows. This is a 3D platforming golden rule, but it’s vital here. During the RoboBrood fight, it’s easy to lose track of where the falling bombs are. The shadows on the ground are 100% accurate. Trust the shadow, not your depth perception.
- Capture everything. If a boss fight has small enemies spawning, try to capture them. Often, the "trash" mobs are actually tools designed to make the boss easier. In the final Bowser fight, capturing his hat isn't just an option—it’s the only way to win.
The bosses in Super Mario Odyssey might not have the legendary status of a Calamity Ganon or the sheer intimidation of a Sekiro boss, but they are perfect examples of "toy-box" design. Each one is a puzzle that asks you: "How can you use a hat to break this?"
Once you stop treating them like traditional combat encounters and start treating them like physics puzzles, the game really opens up. Go back to the Ruined Kingdom. Take another look at that dragon. It’s still weird, it’s still out of place, and it’s still one of the coolest things Nintendo has done in a decade.
If you’ve already cleared the main story, your next move is to head to the Mushroom Kingdom and find the hidden pipes leading to the secret rematches. That's where the real challenge lives. Check your map for the "Secret" icons—they only appear after you've broken the Moon Rocks in each kingdom. Good luck, you're gonna need it for the Darker Side.