The Legend Of Zelda's Ten Best Bosses

Zelda has always been a series based firmly in long-standing trademarks .

. Its gameplay varies wildly based on which game in the series it is and what weapons are available, but almost all of them boil down to the "go to dungeon, find item, defeat boss" pattern. Take a look below as we focus on the third part of that pattern and rank the Legend of Zelda's best boss battles.

10. King Dodongo (Ocarina of Time)

While Ocarina of Time isn't the first appearance of a Dodongo boss, it's the first time that the fight consists of more than putting a bomb in front of their dumb mouths. After taking on a few Lizalfos and bombing his way through Dodongo's Cavern, Link descends into King Dodongo's lair. A circular arena with lava in the center, this open area allows the beast to roll around freely. His habit of inhaling deeply before breathing fire ends leads to his defeat, however, after Link tosses several bombs into King Dodongo's mouth and takes him down.

9. Stallord (Twilight Princess)

We liked Twilight Princess' spinner item enough to place it on our list of top ten Zelda items, and it factors into this boss fight prominently. Primarily used for navigating the Arbiter's Grounds, the spinner becomes an offensive weapon when put up against the dungeon's protector, the massive skeleton Stallord. Link must ride the top-like item across a pit of sand and use it to knock out three of Stallord's spinal vertebrae, which causes his head to float around and spit fire once completed. It's one of the larger-scale boss fights in the series, and it's also one of the most exciting.

8. Gleeok (The Legend of Zelda)

While the original Legend of Zelda introduced elements that would last throughout the series, it features the simplest and shortest boss battles. From the aforementioned Dodongo encounter to a one-shot arrow kill, these weren't the most exciting fights Link has encountered. However, the fight against Gleeok (which happens more than once) is a genuinely engaging one, requiring our hero to dodge fireballs and flying dragon heads on his way towards rescuing Zelda for the first time.