Super Mario Galaxy was one of the best Mario games of all time, not only because of the breathtaking graphics and top-tier gameplay but also for the creativity of the bosses. While Super Mario Galaxy 2 builds on these foundations to create much better fights in general, this game started the trend and had some mechanically good fights that were a mixture of fun and difficult.
Lots of these bosses reappeared in the next game, marking them as decently loved enemies that Mario has to fight while traveling through the galaxies. Who do you think is the hardest boss? These are 10 of them!
10 Topmaniac
Topmaniac is a boss that will punish players if they get too reckless with their jumping. Surrounded by a laser field, Mario needs to jump on its head to stun it, spinning its body into the laser grid to damage it.
As it takes damage, Topmaniac will spawn enemies that will try to bump Mario into the lasers themselves. The first set will be able to be jumped on, while the second will not be able to be jumped on, making Mario have to spin into them to destroy them, allowing him to focus his attention on the boss itself.
9 King Kaliente
This fiery octopus is fought twice in the game, first in Good Egg Galaxy and second in Bowser Jr.’s Lava Reactor, which is what this entry will focus on. The thing that makes this more difficult is the sinking platforms around the lava as Mario runs around, trying to volley coconuts back at the octopus to deal it damage.
The first time you fight him, you can stand in the same place to do battle, but not in this one. He also summons meteors and more lava bubbles than his initial fight to overwhelm Mario, causing him to play a little safer.
8 Bowser
Bowser has plenty of attacks to give Mario a hard time in his battle to save Princess Peach. He jumps around, spawning shockwaves that span the planet they are on. He then jumps into the air, needing Mario to lure him to sensitive parts of the planet to break them, causing his tail to light on fire, allowing Mario to spin and deal him damage.
The later times you fight Bowser causes him to shoot way more fireballs around the planet, to use a spin move that makes him move a lot faster, and even to turn into a spike or rock ball in the final battle, requiring Mario to spin plants into him to damage him.
7 Baron Brrr
This chilling boss fights Mario in Freezeflame Galaxy, requiring the use of the Ice Flower to reach him. With the water being sub-zero temperatures, Mario will begin to take damage if he stays in the water for too long.
Baron Brrr isn’t so much difficult but annoying, mainly due to his ability to freeze or knock Mario off the platform, sending him into the chilly water. There is also the fact that Mario has to spin the boss twice before he’s able to fall back into the water, getting his energy back. He’ll also spawn two enemies that will assist him in freezing Mario, making the small-sized battle area even smaller.
6 Megaleg
This is the first Bowser Jr. boss in Super Mario Galaxy, and it’s against a giant robot that is holding a Grand Star. Mario will have to traverse the body of the machine, dodging Bullet Bills and jumping on gears to make it to the head, guiding Bullet Bills to the head in order to free the star.
However, when Mario breaks the first gate, another will surround it, as well as more cannons will activate to try to take down the hero. Mario will have to run around the head to dodge the cannons, while luring them into the gates and eventually to the cover protecting the Grand Start, destroying the machine for good.
5 Tarantox
Mario fights this spider in Space Junk Galaxy, using a new mechanic that allows the plumber to fling off sticky webs to reach new places. The boss constantly spins, shooting green poison from its mouth in the hopes to hit him.
After hitting his back bulge, Tarantox will flip over, allowing Mario to hit the three on the underside of his body. After this, Tarantox will flip back over, spawning his bulges again and shooting more poison out of the sides, making it more imperative for Mario to keep moving. Get too greedy when going for a bulge and you'll get smacked with some poison.
4 Kamella
The leader of the Kamek’s fights Mario multiple times throughout the game. Kamella has a Power Star trapped in her staff, challenging Mario to try and take it. The strategy to take her down is to lob Green Shells at her when she spawns Koopas around the area.
Mario can jump on them, pick up their shells and chick them at her. After a couple of hits, she’ll spawn some Kameks to barrage Mario with fireballs, or, in her fight in Deep Dark Galaxy, will move to the top of a pirate ship, significantly decreasing the amount of space Mario has to move around in.
3 Bowser Jr.
The fight against Bowser Jr. is crazy as he attacks Mario with cannons and his ship. Similar to Kamella, Mario needs to utilize shells to toss at his ship. Meanwhile, cannons, Kameks, and Koopas will litter the battlefield, making every step just as dangerous as the last.
After getting the side of his ship hit multiple times, Bowser Jr. will turn his ship forward, shooting three, large cannonballs at Mario as he has to continue to chuck shells at him. More enemies will spawn, just causing the fight to fill with chaos as it seems like the entire screen is out to get you.
2 Kingfin
Underwater boss fights will always be on the harder side in many games, including Mario titles. That said, Kingfin is one of the harder ones and even exists as the only underwater boss in either of the Super Mario Galaxy games.
This boss swims around while summoning an army of skeletal fish to home in on Mario, similar to the underwater torpedoes found in Buoy Base Galaxy. These will chase him as he swims around, using Green or Red Shells to hit Kingfin. The more hits the boss has sustained, the more enemies he spawns. Furthermore, this isn’t your classic three-hit boss. Kingfin takes five hits in order to topple and disappear.
1 Bouldergeist
Was this really a surprise? Having one of the toughest Daredevil Runs in the game, Bouldergeist stands to be one of, if not the hardest boss in the Super Mario Galaxy series. Boasting a pumping battle theme, it matches the overall seriousness players must exude in the fight while dodging rocks.
Bouldergeist throws black rocks that spawn Black Boos, capable of exploding if spun around into him. After breaking his body, he’s run away, spawning more Black Boos in order to smack him again. While some may say that the boss only takes two hits, his second phase is much harder, as Bouldergeist spawns hands to block Mario’s attacks and summons large rock mounds on the battlefield, dealing damage to Mario if he is under them.