Boss
A boss is a non-playable character that appears as a strong opponent in specific circumstances in one-player modes or on certain stages in multiplayer modes. Bosses in the Super Smash Bros. series are usually significantly larger than playable characters, and are usually immune to knockback and flinching, meaning that instead of defeating them with an offstage KO, they must instead be defeated by reducing their HP to zero. When a boss is defeated, the game usually freezes and sometimes zooms in with a special background visual, an effect Masahiro Sakurai officially refers to as "Boss Stop," followed by an animation of the boss being defeated.
Fighting bosses are an entirely different matter than normal fights. Compared to the playable cast, bosses usually have fewer attacks available. These attacks tend to be telegraphed with long startups and end lag, making them more avoidable; on the other hand, they generally deal higher damage and knockback should they connect. Bosses' immunity to knockback also means that the player's moveset will have to be used differently - for example, grabs and throws will nearly always be useless, and moves of high knockback but low damage are ineffective. On the other hand, bosses' large size and predictable movements and behavior often mean that they have difficulty dodging attacks, and so powerful moves with long startups such as Falcon Punch can be highly effective.
In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, boss characters were usable in normal games through hacks or the debug menu. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl onwards the character IDs for the bosses have been removed, meaning they are unplayable even with hacks, although in Brawl they are controllable in Boss Battles mode via hacks. While the character IDs for bosses are still absent in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Giga Bowser still has a character ID and can be made playable with hacks. Additionally in Ultimate, Master Hand can be controlled for one battle in World of Light, which is the first intended instance of a boss being playable.
List of bosses[edit]
| Key | None/Unknown | Classic Mode | Other Solo Modes | Classic & Solo Modes | Non-Boss Appearance |
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From Super Smash Bros.[edit]
Master Hand[edit]
The first "true" boss of the Smash Bros. series, Master Hand is the master of ceremonies for the Smash Bros. series. In the first Super Smash Bros., according to the intro movie, he is meant to represent the hand of a child playing with his toys and staging fights between his favorite Nintendo characters, who are represented by dolls. He appears at the end of the 1P Game as the final boss. Upon being defeated, Master Hand lets out a deep roar that resembles laughter, and flies off, writhing and exploding, into the distance.
Master Hand reappears in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, reprising his role as the final boss in the 1-Player mode, now known as Classic Mode. Master Hand is fought on Final Destination, which is very similar to the Final Destination stage of SSB. He fights essentially the same way as he did in the original game, but with a few new attacks. Upon being defeated, he leaves the stage in the same way that he did in the original game. In Melee, he can also be fought in Event 50: Final Destination Match, where the player faces off against him and Crazy Hand at the same time. Due to a glitch in this game only, Master Hand can be used as a playable character in certain settings. In Brawl, he also has an important plot role in The Subspace Emissary and appears in Boss Battles Mode as one of the game's ten bosses.
In Super Smash Bros. 4, Master Hand continues to be fought at the end of Classic Mode on Final Destination and has new attacks; however, on high enough difficulty settings he will now transform into Master Core near the beginning of the fight, and the player will defeat Master Core in Master Hand's place. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Master Hand has his own mode named after him, Master Orders.
Master Hand reprises his role as a boss at the end of Classic Mode in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In Adventure mode: World of Light, an army of Master Hands fights for Galeem, but are destroyed when Galeem uses their power to destroy all the fighters, except for Kirby, who escapes. He also appears as a boss in Adventure Mode: World of Light.
Outside of Smash, Master Hand appears in the Game Boy Advance game, Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, in which he appears as a miniboss in multiple areas. Upon being defeated, Kirby can inhale him, like other minibosses, and gains the Smash ability, which is based on Kirby’s moveset in Melee. Master Hand, alongside Crazy Hand, also appears as the boss of the Candy Constellation. This is Crazy Hand’s only appearance in the game. The two, like in Melee, have attacks that they use in conjunction with each other. In this battle, neither can be inhaled; they both explode upon defeat.
Giant Donkey Kong[edit]
An enlarged version of Donkey Kong, Giant Donkey Kong is fought on stage 6 of the 1P Game in Super Smash Bros. He is pitted against the player and two CPU allies.
In Melee and in subsequent games, with the introduction of the Super Mushroom, Giant DK is no longer strictly unplayable. Also, the randomized nature of Classic Mode can give the "giant" modifier to playable characters.
Metal Mario[edit]
A super-heavy fighter bearing an edited Mario series symbol. Metal Mario is a metallic version of Mario. He is fought on stage 9 of the 1P Game.
In Melee, Metal Mario reappears in stage 11 of Adventure Mode after defeating the Fighting Wire Frames and as a random opponent with other metal characters in stage 10 of Classic Mode as well as a trophy. A Metal Luigi will also appear if Luigi is unlocked. Similar to Giant Donkey Kong, with the introduction of the Metal Box powerup in Melee, Metal Mario is no longer strictly unplayable. The randomized nature of Classic Mode can also give the "metal" modifier to any fighter.
Fighting Polygon Team[edit]
The Fighting Polygon Team is faced on stage 10 of the 1P Game, as well as in the Race to the Finish bonus game. The team is made up of polygonal models of the 12 playable characters, but are weak and lack specials.
From Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]
Crazy Hand[edit]
Where Master Hand represents the constructive side of creativity, Crazy Hand is his destructive left-handed counterpart. He was introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a secret boss who fights alongside Master Hand under specific conditions (when Classic Mode is cleared on Normal difficulty or higher in under 15 minutes, Crazy Hand will join Master Hand when Master Hand has half of his health left.) As noted above, Crazy Hand also appears in Event 50, where he and Master Hand are fought together on Final Destination with 300 HP each.
When compared to Master Hand, Crazy Hand can be considered to be much more erratic (i.e. "crazy"). His idle pose is a strange, erratic movement, and he has multiple strange attacks that are unique to him. Many of his attacks also have side effects compared to Master Hand, such as freezing and flowering. When Master Hand and Crazy Hand are fought together, they have several moves that they use in conjunction with each other, such as a high-powered clapping attack.
Crazy Hand reappears in Brawl at the end of Classic Mode under similar conditions as in Melee, where the player must beat the mode on Hard difficulty or higher in under 9 minutes. Instead of appearing halfway through, Master Hand and Crazy Hand will appear simultaneously at the beginning of the battle. As with Master Hand, Crazy Hand also appears as a separate boss in Brawl's "Boss Battles" mode, though he does not make any appearances in The Subspace Emissary.
In Smash 4, Crazy Hand continues to be fought alongside Master Hand at the end of Classic Mode on Final Destination, and the two will appear together at the beginning of the battle; however, the conditions are now different. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, the player gains the choice to fight Crazy Hand when on Intensity 3.0 or higher in return for more rewards; on Intensity 8.0 or higher, the player has no choice but to fight Crazy Hand. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the player will always fight Crazy Hand as long as the Intensity is 3.0 or higher. However, in both games, if Crazy Hand (and Master Hand) are fought on Intensity 5.1 or higher, Master Core will appear in their place soon after the beginning of the battle.
Like Master Hand, Crazy Hand has his own mode named after him in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Crazy Orders.
Crazy Hand reprises his role as a boss at the end of Classic Mode in Ultimate. An army of Crazy Hand's fight for Dharkon in World of Light. He also appears as a boss in Adventure Mode: World of Light.
Giga Bowser[edit]
Giga Bowser (Japanese name Giga Koopa) is the secret final boss of Adventure Mode in Super Smash Bros. Melee. As his name suggests, he is a large, powered-up version of Bowser. Giga Bowser is treated as a character, making him a rare exception to many boss properties - unlike other bosses, he has a damage percentage, takes knockback, has a full moveset, and can use items. (However, like other bosses, he cannot shield or be grab