TheBurrowing Snagret is a boss present in all four games.

Some types ofenemies are larger or stronger than most, and appear less frequently, often in prominent places. These are known asbosses (巨大生物^?, lit.: "Huge Creature"), and normally only one or two of each type appear in the entire game. Given that battles against them are usually more complex, the rewards tend to be more significant, such as a large number ofPikmin seeds,Pokos, or an importantstory-related item.

The definition of a "boss" seems to change with each game. InPikmin, the game seldom makes a distinction between a boss and a regular enemy. InPikmin 2, bosses are given bigger slots on thePiklopedia and a specificmusical theme, with some having unique ones. InPikmin 3, bosses are clearly identified as such by the game itself,^[1] and are divided between main bosses andmini-bosses, with both having unique musical themes and the former having even having uniquecutscenes, as well as needing to be defeated to progress the game's story.Pikmin 4 provides little distinction between bosses and enemies, other than inconsistent music changes.Hey! Pikmin has bosses with unique cutscenes and music, and defeating them is necessary to advance to the nextsector. InPikmin Adventure, bosses are also divided between main bosses and mini-bosses. The main bosses are generally fought every 4 stages, and the mini-bosses can both be mini-bosses and regular enemies, depending on the stage.

Bosses inPikmin[edit]

InPikmin, bosses are only defined within the game's files, and it is never explicitly stated in the game which enemies are considered to be bosses. The following four enemies are categorized as bosses internally:

•  Beady Long Legs
•  Burrowing Snagret
•  Goolix
•  Emperor Bulblax

Oddly,Candypop Buds,geysers, andIridescent Flint Beetles are also internally defined as bosses, though this could be due to their unique abilities as enemies. As a result, approaching a Candypop Bud or a geyser will change themusic to the enemy battle variant.

Four other enemies are often considered bosses by fans due to their rare appearances, dedicated arenas, and boss-like levels of difficulty:

•  Puffstool
•  Mamuta
•  Armored Cannon Beetle
•  Smoky Progg

Interestingly, these enemies all leave behind a corpse of some kind, while the internally-defined bosses don't, instead droppingpellets.

Bosses inPikmin 2[edit]

InPikmin 2, there are twelve bosses, most of which exclusively use aspecial musical theme when fighting against them. Three use their own unique theme, specifically: theTitan Dweevil, theWaterwraith, and theGiant Breadbug. They also appear in a larger bubble on thePiklopedia's listing. These bosses are usually found incaves, with at least one being found on the final floor presented as the final challenge (save for theEmergence Cave). When first defeated, many reward the player with a piece ofgear for defeating them. Some bosses can be also found in specific spots in overworldareas. The following bosses are listed in Piklopedia order, which is roughly the order they are intended to be encountered in:

There are no mini-bosses in this game, though the Burrowing Snagret and Emperor Bulblax have variations with lowerHP, which appear in places where they aren't fought as final bosses of a cave. The Empress Bulblax also has a lesser variation with lower HP and fewer attacks than the "primary" version. Late in the game, earlier bosses are sometimes fought again and act as mini-bosses of a cave, such as in theHole of Heroes. Additionally, theFiery Bulblax, which may have originally beenintended as a boss, is occasionally considered a mini-boss by fans, as it is a relatively difficult enemy.

Bosses inPikmin 3[edit]

InPikmin 3, the six main bosses are clearly labeled by the game, and their battles are considerably larger and more complex than with most other enemies. Most are fought within special arenas separated from each of theirarea's main sections and all have specialcutscenes for encountering and defeating them. They normally have clearly defined vulnerability and invulnerability phases, commonly attacking during the latter. Since these bosses are meant to be fought with clear phases, the game may sometimes lock theirhealth to a certain point, and only let the Pikmin damage it further after it moves on to the next stage. Main bosses will not restore theirhealth as the days go by, and their corpses will also last until the nextday, but not any longer. Every one that is defeated drops an important object to the progression of the story, thus the game often pushes players toward fighting them as their next objective. These bosses can be re-fought in specialMission Mode stages. The following is a list of bosses in this game:

•  Armored Mawdad
•  Vehemoth Phosbat
•  Sandbelching Meerslug
•  Scornet Maestro
•  Quaggled Mireclops
•  Plasm Wraith

Mini-bosses inPikmin 3[edit]

While other games may have what can be considered such,Pikmin 3 is the first to distinctly define mini-bosses by using a different music theme – a remastered version of the boss theme fromPikmin 2. Unlike the main bosses, their health will be reset at the start of a new day, and their corpses last only for the day they were defeated on. InStory Mode, these do not give out something plot-critical when defeated, and instead drop afruit. The following are mini-bosses inPikmin 3:

•  Shaggy Long Legs (in white and purple variants)
•  Burrowing Snagret
•  Bug-Eyed Crawmad
•  Baldy Long Legs (exclusive toSide Stories andMission Mode)

In addition, theCalcified Crushblat,Medusal Slurker,Peckish Aristocrab, andSpotty Bulbear are sometimes considered mini-bosses by fans due to their difficulty, rare appearances, and the fact that they protect a fruit or drop one when defeated, but they do not play the mini-boss theme.

Pikmin 3 Deluxe[edit]

The final day ofOlimar's Comeback,The Ship Restored, has a unique boss fight against golden variants of the Baldy Long Legs and Shaggy Long Legs (the latter with larger feet). This fight has unique battle music. While this fight isn't much different from either of their normal variants, they warrant distinction as their fight comes with a unique boss theme.

Bosses inPikmin 4[edit]

Pikmin 4's definition of a boss is unclear and inconsistent. There are three main ways they can be defined: by themusic cue that commonly accompanies them when they are encountered, by the things they drop when defeated whilefrozen, and by their relationship tonumbered gates. However, these definitions are inconsistent with what most players would count as bosses – the music method is complicated by the fact that some enemies use different themes for different encounters (for example, aSovereign Bulblax uses a major boss cue at the bottom of theSubterranean Swarm and within theCavern for a King, but uses a minor boss drumbeat when encountered in theGiant's Hearth), the frozen drops method doesn't count some enemies that would commonly be considered bosses, and the numbered gate method is a classification of fights, not types of enemies.

In terms of progression, none of these bosses are specifically required to be defeated to complete the story, except for the final boss, theAncient Sirehound. Many of them guardcastaways, either inside of them or behindnumbered gates, requiring the boss to be defeated to rescue them. Boss battles being part of progression (seen inPikmin 3) is replaced withDandori Battles againstOlimar andLouie, all of which are required to complete the game's story.

Sometimes the otherRescue Corps members would cheer or encourage you during a boss battle like theBug-Eyed Crawmad for example, which this symbol (*) would mean.

Music definition[edit]

Major bosses[edit]

Major bosses inPikmin 4 can be defined by the dramatic sting that begins and ends their unique battle themes, similar in tone to the boss themes ofPikmin 2 andPikmin 3. The official title for this track is "Battling an Even Stronger Creature". This also includes enemies that have completely unique battle themes that do not include any element of the sting, specifically theGiant Breadbug andAncient Sirehound.

Minor bosses[edit]

These are bosses that are typically fought above ground or at the bottom of short caves. They are typically accompanied by a drumline cadence, with the official title for that track being "Battling a Stronger Creature".Hermit Crawmad is typically not a boss but is fought in one of these encounter alongsideBug-Eyed Crawmad, and can be considered a boss under this definition because the battle music doesn't end until all the enemies in the encounter are defeated.

Tough enemy encounters[edit]

Sometimes, a tougher enemy acts as a boss in easier caves or a mini-boss partway through of a cave. They typically use a slower battle theme in these instances, officially titled "Battling a Strong Creature". These are not particularly bosses on the same level as the ones above, and are more situational encounters. Some enemies which are typically not bosses, such as theDwarf Bulborb andBulborb, are fought in some of these encounters alongside other tougher enemies and can be considered bosses under this definition because the battle music doesn't end until all the enemies in the encounter are defeated.

Frozen drops definition[edit]

When an enemy is defeated whilefrozen, instead of leaving a corpse, it will dropnectar orultra-spicy spray. The number of drops, and the chance of each drop being a nectar or an ultra-spicy spray, depend on the type of enemy. Some types of enemies drop more drops than most, and these can be considered bosses.

Major bosses[edit]

These enemies drop 10 drops when defeated while frozen, with each drop having a 60% chance of being nectar and a 40% chance of being ultra-spicy spray.

Minor bosses[edit]

These enemies drop 5 drops when defeated while frozen, with each drop having a 70% chance of being nectar and a 30% chance of being ultra-spicy spray.

Numbered gate definition[edit]

Numbered gates are a type ofobstacle exclusive to caves, which display a number of enemies that must be defeated to open the gate. These gates are frequently found next to battles against a single boss, where they display the number "01" and open when that boss is defeated. Sometimes they have higher numbers and require multiple enemies, occasionally of different types, to be defeated. The following is a list of boss-like encounters featuring numbered gates, along with their rewards:

Bosses in Olimar's Shipwreck Tale[edit]

InOlimar's Shipwreck Tale, all large enemy encounters use the same theme – a rendition of the boss theme fromPikmin 2. This makes it easy to define what counts as a boss in this mode.

Bosses inHey! Pikmin[edit]

Hey! Pikmin has 9 enemies that are clearly bosses. They are fought on the finalarea of eachsector, and have their owncutscenes andmusic themes. They all drop a largetreasure when defeated, which needs to be collected before theS.S. Dolphin II unlocks a new sector to visit. When fighting bosses, the player must exploit their movements and actions to find an opening, where they can finally strike. Since the bosses need to be fought in a minimum number of cycles, the game will lock the creature'shealth and won't allow the Pikmin to cause any further damage until the next cycle is entered. The following are bosses inHey! Pikmin, ordered by sector:

•  Bulborb
•  Long Water Dumple
•  Armurk
•  Electric Cottonade
•  Queen Shearwig
•  Fiery Blowhog
•  Luring Slurker
•  Emperor Bulblax
•  Berserk Leech Hydroe

Bossess inPikmin Adventure[edit]

Pikmin Adventure has 8 enemies that are clearly defined as bosses. In the standard Challenge Mode stages, a boss will be fought on every 4th stage. They will have their own introductioncutscene andmusical themes. Upon their defeat, after another cutscene, they will explode and drop numerous coins. Afterwards, the ship will land, allowing the player to end the stage. The following are bosses inPikmin Adventure, ordered in chronological order:

During the advanced stages: Cage of Terror and Breaking Boundaries, the player will have to fight Bladed Beebs. However, it is treated as a regular enemy. During the final stage, Good-Bye, Pikmin, the player will have to fight the Grand Bulblord, Translucent Wollywog, Monochromatic Pinchipede, Bladed Beeb, and Greater Studdbed Beeb one after another, in a boss-rush type of challenge.

Mini-bosses inPikmin Adventure[edit]

In addition to the main 8 bosses fought inPikmin Adventure, many enemies act as mini-bosses, often fought at the end of each stage. These enemies will be accompanied by a shared musical theme, and they are often dropped byMonita. Certain mini-bosses will be accompanied by a defeat cutscene, though not every mini-boss is. If the mini-boss is fighting alongside multiple other enemies and the mini-boss is defeated first, the supporting enemies will also be defeated. Upon their defeat, they will also drop a few coins, just like the main bosses. King Beeb is a common mini-boss, though not every King Beeb will be one. Generally speaking, the larger the size, the more likely it is to be a mini-boss.

As the stages progress, some of these mini-bosses will start appearing as regular enemies. During the stage: Icy Arena, rather than facing a mini-boss, the player will face a few waves of enemies, though the mini-boss fight theme will play. The following is a list of enemies that can be fought as a mini-boss:

Music[edit]

Main article:Music.

When fighting bosses, themusic of thearea orcave is changed to a different theme that lasts for as long as all bosses in the vicinity are alive. InPikmin, this is only the case for theBeady Long Legs and theEmperor Bulblax, with each one having their own theme. InPikmin 2, a global boss theme exists, and plays whenever a living boss is nearby. This theme changes dynamically with the events happening in the fight. The following bosses have their own specific boss themes:Waterwraith,Giant Breadbug, andTitan Dweevil. InPikmin 3, two boss themes exist – one for the major bosses and another for the mini-bosses. The exceptions to this are theVehemoth Phosbat and thePlasm Wraith, which have their own themes. The mini-boss theme is a remastered version of thePikmin 2 boss music. InHey! Pikmin, each boss has a unique musical theme, and these themes do not dynamically change. InPikmin Adventure, each main boss shares the same fight-theme, but they have their own unique appearance-theme. The main bosses also share the same defeat theme. For the mini-bosses, they all share the same entrance, fight, and defeat themes.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	巨大生物? Kyodai Seibutsu	Huge Creature
Chinese (traditional)	巨大生物 Jùdà shēngwù	Huge Creature
Chinese (simplified)	巨大生物 Jùdà shēngwù	Huge Creature
French (NoA)	Colosse	Colossus
French (NoE)	Créature géante	Giant creature
German	Bossgegner	Boss Enemy
Italian	Colosso	Colossus
Korean	거대생물 geodaesaengmul	Huge Creature
Spanish	Ser colosal	Colossal being

See also[edit]

• Bosses inPikmin Adventure
• Enemy
• Area

References[edit]

This article was afeatured article from February 1st, 2018 to April 2nd, 2018.

• Pikmin 1
• Pikmin 2
• Pikmin 3
• Pikmin 4
• Hey! Pikmin
• Pikmin Adventure
• Bosses

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