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So, I recently published a blog all about secret areas in video games. That was fun and all, but there is one type of secret that trumps secret areas: the secrets of a jaded lover you can use for blackmail secret bosses! Secret areas may give you extra areas to explore, items to collect or some extra snippets of lore but secret bosses are what gives you the challenge.
Just bear in mind however that this blog is obviously going to dip into spoiler territory. And with no further introductions, here are some secret bosses to stack your skills against…
The Reaper, Persona 5 – Lauren Skinner
You’re with your fellow Phantom Thieves, exploring Mementos and changing the hearts of Tokyo’s inhabitants. You’re doing well, and battling all sorts of dangerous Shadows, collecting treasures, and making the city a better place.
This floor’s particularly labyrinthian. Did you take a wrong turn? Where are the stairs? Suddenly, you hear rattling chains. Red ripples across your vision. Morgana warns you about a powerful Shadow. Get to the stairs!
The Reaper is a longstanding boss in the Persona series. It takes the form of a grim reaper but carries two long-barrel revolvers instead of a giant scythe. Its face is obscured in a blood-stained cloth sack, and it has one piercing white eye and a long flowing black robe.
But the scariest thing about it is in how it appears. In Persona 5, it’s not just a normal encounterable Shadow. It only appears when the party has remained on the same floor for a full two minutes—and when you hear the chains, you’d better run.
Many Persona 5 players will never see the Reaper, and if you don’t know about it, you really don’t want to see it. It’s incredibly strong, possessing a large variety of attacks that target the party’s weaknesses. Whilst it doesn’t null, repel, drain, or resist any element, it’s immune to instant kill effects and has some of its own. It can attack twice per turn. It has a huge amount of defence, and has the buff attack Concentrate and the Almighty attack Megidolaon, which can rarely be defended against. Essentially, it’s one of the toughest Shadows in the game, so if you’re unlucky enough to encounter it, you’d better be ready.
The thing about the Reaper is that, after you’ve faced it once, you’ll be obsessed with bringing it down. Just try to fight it in November or December, when Flu Season spreads throughout Tokyo, as it can succumb to Despair and die after three turns, netting you plenty of EXP.
Who knew that even death itself hates having a cold?
Charon, Hades – Dan Hilton
My first (of many) entries of this list is one that I actually only beat for the first time whilst constructing this blog. Charon is the boatman of the underworld. The ferryman of souls. The sailor of the Styx. The shop keeper in Final Fantasy XVI. That last one may be a different character. But you spend more than 5 mins in FFXVI and try telling me she isn’t a grumpy immortal powerhouse in disguise.
Charon is one of your allies in your quest to break free of the underworld. He struggles to communicate in anything but groans and looks like he wants to eat your face. BUT! He is always happy to see us, and he always has invaluable items available for sale for us to put to use during our runs to the surface. But after a certain point in the story, after a certain amount of success in your escape attempts, something will happen. Charon will start letting his guard down around you after you defeat Hades for the first time and start leaving his precious obols behind him. Ripe for the taking. And take them you will.
Charon doesn’t like this though. I mean she literally marks her door with a sign saying not to enter from that side. Yeah, FFXVI Charon being the same character is looking oddly possible now isn’t it?
Take the obols from Charon however and his standard placid demeaner quickly changes. He will move for the first time ever by spinning around and looking at you, the music will end abruptly as if the LP is ripped from its player and he will groan. Just like he always does, but now you know it has a more sinister tone to it. Then he drags you down to his own little corner of hell and begins using his massive oar to spank you to oblivion and his command over the souls of the dead to squash you into a stupor.
Moon Prescence, Bloodborne – Dan Hilton
Let’s be honest, you can’t write a list like this and not include a FromSoftware game. Bloodborne had a spot on the hidden areas blog, so it is only fitting that it also has a spot here. This is because this hidden boss is directly tied to the hidden area.
The Moon Prescence is the ultimate boss of Bloodborne. In order to unlock this secret last boss, you need to collect yourself 3 pieces of umbilical cord – and eat them. Yup, that is right. Gotta gobble down those yummy umbilical cords in order to fight the cthulu-esque big boss at the end of the game. But of course, to find all 3 umbilical cords is a challenge in itself, let alone fighting this monstrosity – straight on the heel of the standard big boss of the game at that.
I love this boss though for several reasons. Not only is it an interesting (and intimidating) design, but it also answers some of the questions you have during the game. Throughout your time in the streets of Yharnam you will gather snippets of lore about ‘old ones’. You will wonder what happened to them, where are they etc. And then when the Moon Presence makes its appearance right at the end of the game; when you have finally taken down what you thought was the final boss; after dozens of hours after you eat the umbilical cords and have forgotten about them – it descends upon the player from the skies. Then it clicks. THIS is an old one. And they have been here the whole time. And now you need to take your pointy stick and take down a god.
It’s all good though. I beat the entire Silent Hill 2 with nothing but the pipe - including god at the end. I am prepared. But are you?
Through The Fire And The Flames, Guitar Hero 3 – Dan Hilton
I know, I know! A song on a rhythm game is not a boss surely – Surely! Well, you clearly haven’t been stuck on this one song for the last 15 years like me have you!?
Everyone knows that this song is on the game too, it is arguably the most popular game from the whole Guitar Hero franchise. But the song is a bonus song that isn’t part of the main story and is a bonus unlockable song. It is also arguably the hardest damn level in any rhythm game in existence. So, if that isn’t a boss, then I don’t know what is. The rules that I set in place for this blog are tenuous at best I know.
If you were anything like me, you were addicted to Guitar Hero back in the day. I had a bit of an obsession with the games however. I used to play them on expert difficulty. Which in itself ostracised me from my friends who also like the game. Most of them stopped playing it with me when they noticed the notes flying down my half of the screen in colours that they had never seen on the game. Even more of my friends stopped playing the game with me when they noticed I had started putting my settings on hyper speed 5. This made my side of the screen blur past at an ungodly speed.
The point being – I was an absolute unit in the Guitar Hero scene. I was even part of some competitions back in the day. And I could never ever beat Through the Fire and the Flames on expert difficulty. I could get about 70% through. This song is without a doubt one of the hardest bosses in gaming history. I will beat it. One day!
Dragonlord Placidusax, Elden Ring – Dan Hilton
Lets be honest. The FromSoftware games are notorious for secret bosses. Secret bosses that don’t stay hidden for more than several minutes after releasing due to how thoroughly we scour the games. Dragonlord Placidusax is one of these said bosses. I chose this boss as it is not only one of the hardest bosses is gaming history but because it is one of my favourites. But also, to parallel my entry from Bloodborne. Moon Presence required 3 hard to find items that you will eventually forget you collected followed (eventually) by an ominous cutscene of the old god descending upon the player that throws you straight into the ensuing fight.
Dragonlord Placidusax is different beast altogether though. His arena is hidden away of course. Down some precarious rocks jutting out of the environment and requiring you to lay down on the bottom. Then you get swept up into the eye of city-wide maelstrom of pure stormy terror. And sitting in the middle of the massive arena, hovering upside down like some sort of ancient abhorrent bat-like monstrosity is Placidusax. He doesn’t need an ominous cutscene, or a scavenger hunt to find and he doesn’t immediately initiate combat. He is just there emanating a menacing aura. You know you are in hot bother when you stumble into his area.
Placidusax will soon perk up as you tentatively approach him. And then he will consequently pound your corpse into a paste. Over and over again. He commands lighting. He can fly. He uses his massive bulky body to strike you. He is one of the most formidable foes you will even come up against in your gaming life. And taking him down is an incredible rush.
Credit Roll
And there you are. 5 hidden slash not so hidden bosses that are worth the effort it takes to take them down. Whatever you decide to throw your gaming might at, enjoy your time, and happy gaming!