Top 10 Metroid Boss Battles | Game Rant

For over 30 years, Nintendo has brought some of the greatest boss battles in gaming history to the Metroid series. Featuring gargantuan menaces, mechanical war machines, and even genetic clones, the series offers a wide variety of epic battles.

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The list below will cover ten of the most memorable encounters throughout these series. This includes the 2D Metroid titles as well as the 3D Metroid Prime series developed by Retro Studios. Please be mindful of potential spoilers below.

10 Ridley

Series protagonist Samus Aran's archenemy, Ridley, murdered her parents when she was just a child. The space pirate leader is as powerful as he is cunning. Despite being defeated by Samus, he reappears in nearly every game to confront her once more.

The name "Ridley" does not cover just one game either. Whether it's Ridley, Meta-Ridley, Omega Ridley, Neo-Ridley, or Proteus Ridley, each version of the character offered a memorable, epic battle with a score to settle. Every single fight has also proven to be a shining example of a boss fight in the series.

9 Kraid

The original Metroid featured this reptilian being as a short and stocky creature who fired needles. Super Metroid evolved him into a Godzilla-sized creature. The start of the battle has him coming out of the ground with only half of his body. Halfway through the fight, Kraid will emerge entirely through the ground taking up far more than the screen size.

In the remake of the original Metroid, Metroid: Zero Mission, Kraid reappears as a boss fight. He's fought much like his Super Metroid incarnation. Once again, this involves hopping atop platforms just to make it to the creature's head.

8 Mother Brain

Mother Brain appears in three different Metroid games with two of them being the final boss. In the original Metroid and its remake, Zero Mission, Mother Brain only fought Samus through the glass jar. Both proved to be particularly difficult encounters, especially in Zero Mission, on Hard Mode.

However, Super Metroid brought forth a new identity to the Space Pirate leader. Mother Brain evolved into a gargantuan creature with a slew of new attacks. Even with all of Samus' weaponry, Mother Brain brought Samus to her knees. Only through the sacrifice of the giant Baby Metroid could Samus destroy Mother Brain once and for all in one of the most decisive battles in the series' history.

7 Crocomire

What makes Crocomire unique includes several factors. One includes its silly name, Crocomire. Another factor is that, unlike the rest of the bosses in the series, you'll push it back into a crumbling floor rather than eliminate its HP. Crocomire was known for its Godzilla-Esque screams when battling Samus. This trait is shared with several Super Metroid bosses.

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But perhaps the most pressing thing includes its death and aftermath. The acid melts Crocomire's flesh off right in front of the player in a horrifying scene. The final part of the bout features Crocomire's last stand, attacking as a skeleton, before crumbling to its death. While Crocomire has not been seen since Metroid's trend of reviving dead bosses opens the door for its return.

6 Metroid Prime

The antagonist of the titular Metroid Prime, this boss is a Metroid exposed to the corruption known as Phazon. As the progenitor of planet Tallon IV's Phazon corruption, Metroid Prime evolved into a humongous beast armed with powerful weaponry. Samus' ultimate enemy featured multiple forms.

Perhaps one of the most striking parts of this battle includes the music which perfectly sets the atmosphere. It felt intense as the player was in for a long battle with the creature. The finale involved both its defeat via the Hyper Beam as well as the true ending which showed it was not done with Samus.

5 Diggernaut

An original boss from Metroid: Samus Returns, this massive machine first appears stalking Samus around midway through the game. His fast-paced track indicates his approach and Samus must escape or she will be crushed.

Later, the player will fight Diggernaut. This boss features a multitude of attack patterns and will change it up once the player lowers its health. Diggernaut stands out because it feels like a Metroid Prime-type boss in a 2D entry. Samus' use of Spider Ball, the boss' attack patterns, and multiple patterns give it the feel of a well-constructed boss fight.

4 Quadraxis

In a series filled with amazing boss battles, Quadraxis takes perhaps the prime seat among all of them. Pun not intended, Quadraxis is a multilayer boss fight that requires the use of visors, beams, and Morph Ball bombs in order to defeat. This massive machination serves as one of the later bosses in the game.

What makes Quadraxis special is perhaps the culmination of what makes Metroid Prime boss fights stellar. Large health bars, multiple strategies, and a gargantuan presence involve many of the series' boss fights. Quadraxis just happens to be a shining example in the trilogy.

3 Dark Samus

The corruption of Metroid Prime fused with Samus' suit and DNA, Dark Samus emerges in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Terrorizing planet Aether, it hunts down Samus for revenge while absorbing Phazon from the planet. Samus must face her several times throughout the game.

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The final battle of Metroid Prime 2 features one final duel between the two. Set after defeating the Ing Emperor, Samus sets to destroy Dark Aether and escape. However, Dark Samus stands in her way. Using their ultimate weaponry, the two engage in one final bout. Despite this, Dark Samus lived to confront Samus once more in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

2 Nightmare

This horrifying creature first appears as a sort of forewarning in Metroid Fusion. During a trip to Sector 5-ARC, Samus will see a mysterious shadow flying around in the background. Later, Adam will contact her saying Sector 5 was completely destroyed by the creature.

Re-entering Sector 5 features the area completely destroyed beyond repair. Coupled with the dramatic music, it's enough to etch a sense of dread in the player. Upon confronting the creature, destroying its face-covering reveals nothing but nasty goo and eyes.

1 SA-X

Much like Dark Samus, yet predating her, SA-X is a clone of Samus which appears in Metroid Fusion. However, the circumstances are different. Samus encounters SA-X without most of her best weaponry. SA-X, however, is an X-Parasite that cloned from Samus' best weaponry, completely outclassing her and forcing her to retreat.

SA-X stalks and terrorizes Samus throughout the game. Plus equipped with the Ice Beam, she's more than a match for the bounty hunter who has Metroid DNA running through her veins. As the game nears its end, SA-X crashes through the wall and immediately engages Samus. Once drained of its HP, SA-X evolves into a hideous amalgamation before being put down for good. With that said, the most satisfying part of this bout is putting an end to this menace once and for all.

NEXT: Metroidvania: 5 Things Metroid Does Better Than Castlevania (& 5 That Castlevania Is Superior At)



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