These are the strongest final bosses in Kirby history

While we wait for the next entry in the Kirby series (and therefore the next galactic crisis Kirby has to stop), we figure it’s as good a time as any to rank the strongest final bosses that are most canonically powerful. Out of all of Nintendo’s big franchises, Kirby might be the one most famous for its dramatic final boss battles. The scale and scope of these clashes have only increased over the years, and it’s certainly reached a peak with 2022’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land. As new games in the series are released, more lore and story tidbits come out to help us better understand the incredibly dangerous world Kirby happens to live in.

Final bosses that don’t make the ranking

First up, there are several final bosses that definitely don’t make the rankings list. King Dedede, Nightmare, Dark Matter, Marx, Zero, Drawcia, Yin-Yarn, Magolor, and Dark Crafter are the notable exclusions here. While King Dedede’s exclusion should make perfect sense, the other final boss exclusions might not. In the case of Dark Matter, Marx, Zero, and Magolor, they’ve been excluded because there’s either an upgraded version of them available (0²) or because they’re under the control of a more powerful entity (the Galactic Nova for Marx and the Master Crown for Magolor).

Other bosses, we won’t mention here at all. Galacta Knight and Morpho Knight would certainly make the list if they were final bosses, for instance. But Galacta Knight does not canonically fight Kirby or Meta Knight at any point (Meta Knightmare Ultra is considered non-canon), so he isn’t included here. If a boss you’re thinking of wasn’t listed here, it’s probably because it’s too strong to be included in this section, but not strong enough to be included in the actual ranking itself.

5. 0²

As the true mastermind behind the events of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, you’d think 0² might rank a little higher on our list. If you haven’t played Kirby Star Allies yet, however, it’s implied that the final boss of that game may have actually created both Zero and 0². Even so, 0² still ranks as one of Kirby’s stronger opponents. Its invasion of Dark Matter not just on Planet Popstar, but throughout Kirby’s entire galaxy was a large-scale event that took three whole games to resolve (Dream Land 2, Dream Land 3, and The Crystal Shards). Though 0² isn’t the most powerful Kirby final boss, the fact that it’s the final boss of two Kirby games is definitely saying something.

4. Queen Sectonia

You would think that Dark Mind, the final boss of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, would rank above Sectonia in terms of the strongest Kirby bosses, who was corrupted by the Dimensional Mirror. Strangely enough, though, Sectonia is more of a threat in Kirby Triple Deluxe than Dark Mind is in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. At the end of Triple Deluxe, Sectonia merges with the giant Dreamstalk and takes over the entirety of Popstar with her newfound power. That alone is nothing new for Kirby, but what is new is that Sectonia is the only final boss who almost manages to defeat him. While Kirby is celebrating seemingly defeating Sectonia, she grabs him with a vine and renders him unable to escape. King Dedede and Taranza come to his aid and save the day, but it’s still interesting that Sectonia is the only final boss who has even come close to truly defeating Kirby. In-battle in her standard form, she’s shown to be able to teleport, attack with swords, and summon enemies. It’s her Dreamstalk form that makes the list, however.

3. Star Dream

Despite possibly being made from Fecto Elfilis’ power, Star Dream still ranks as one of the toughest opponents Kirby has ever beaten. It’s a powerful wish-making mother computer made by the ancients and reawakened by Haltmann, one of the antagonists of Kirby Planet Robobot. Its true form is that of a Galactic Nova, the very same kind that appears in Kirby Super Star’s Milky Way Wishes. Said true form is about as large as Planet Popstar, making it the largest opponent Kirby has ever faced. You could argue that Star Dream is the most powerful opponent on the list given its size, but since Star Dream’s power originates from somewhere else (and isn’t entirely its own strength), we’ve ranked it a little lower. The final two bosses on our list are the sources of their own power, which gives them an advantage if you were to have every Kirby final boss face off against each other.

2. Fecto Elfilis

You could argue that Fecto Elfilis is the number one spot on the list, and for good reason. When Elfilin combines with Fecto Forgo at the end of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, they form an incredibly powerful alien that attacked the forgotten world presumably hundreds of years in the past. Its main power is opening portals to other dimensions, usually summoning rocks and projectiles through them to use as attacks. In terms of Fecto Elfilis’ battle alone, you can tell how strong it is – during the climax of the game, it opens a portal large enough to connect Planet Popstar and the forgotten world so that both planets begin tearing each other apart by combining their gravity. No other Kirby final boss has done something on this power level before, which is why Fecto Elfilis ranks so high on the list.

What’s more, though, is that the ancients extracted and used Fecto Elfilis’ dimensional powers to arrive on Planet Popstar in the first place. We know that the ancients also created Star Dream, the final boss of Kirby: Planet Robobot, and that they also presumably created the Galactic Nova from Kirby Super Star. Since the ancients used Fecto Elfilis’ power as a source for their inventions, that would mean that Elfilis is technically the source of several of Kirby’s past opponents. It’s also the source of the Lor Starcutter’s power from Kirby’s Return to Dream Land – it shoots star-shaped portals to travel between dimensions, and star-shaped portals are the mark of Elfilis’ power. There’s only one opponent, however, who is responsible for more of Kirby’s adversaries than Fecto Elfilis.

1. Void Termina

Closing out our list of the strongest Kirby bosses is a relatively recent one, Void Termina. This character is the one we actually know the least about. When Hyness initially summons Void Termina at the end of Kirby Star Allies, Void Termina incarnates as a gargantuan monster with a heart-shaped skull mask and long horns. That alone is a bit more intimidating than your average Kirby final boss, but things get interesting when Void Termina actually starts to attack. For one, it can transform its arms into Ultra Swords from Kirby’s Return to Dream Land, which it can then enchant with an element of fire, ice, or electricity. Once Void Termina grows wings and begins flying, it can summon a giant celestial axe and what appears to be an energy-based copy of the Master Crown, also from Kirby’s Return to Dream Land. As per usual, we don’t get specific confirmation about how these attacks tie to Void Termina, but what it implies is that Void is potentially the source of both the Master Crown and (a bit less likely) Super Abilities in general.

In its fourth phase, Void Termina takes on an appearance that resembles Kirby. Though many have speculated that this means Void Termina and Kirby are related or of a similar species, interviews have indicated that Void is simply mimicking Kirby’s appearance since he was the first thing it saw after it was awakened. Still, much of Void’s final boss battle implies (including its attacks and even its facial expressions) that it is either related to or the creator of both Dark Matter and Zero, who were both previously final bosses in the series. As usual, Kirby defeated Void Termina incredibly quickly, so we didn’t get a great idea of what its true powers were. Still, that doesn’t make Void any less powerful. As the potential origin of many of Kirby’s previous opponents, it makes sense that Void ranks so high.

What do you think is the strongest final boss in the Kirby series? Do you agree with our list? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments down below. In the meantime, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the most recent Kirby game available on Switch, and you can learn more details about it over at the official website.