FromSoftware: 10 Best Multi-Phase Boss Fights

Summary

• FromSoftware perfects challenging boss fights with dramatic twists and fair difficulty levels over numerous games.
• Fakeout bosses like Guardian Ape and Godrick The Grafted add excitement with multiple phases and cinematic moments.
• Boss fights like Ornstein and Smough offer legendary duos and memorable challenges that test players' skills and adaptability.

FromSoftware, through trial and error over numerous games, has perfected the art of a great boss fight that’s full of twists and turns while feeling difficult but also incredibly fair. Over the course of the Souls games, the company kept building upon what it learned from previous games and improved with each generation.

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Some of the best fights are the fakeout bosses that eventually get up after you beat them and start the second phase, where game mechanics can dramatically change, forcing you to re-learn their patterns and adapt. These boss fights are usually incredibly cinematic and fun in more ways than one, especially if there are multiple phases to the fight.

10 Guardian Ape (Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice)

Two Different Kinds Of Boss Fights In One

The Guardian Ape is drastically different from the bosses and mini-bosses that you face in the game and is reminiscent of Souls bosses more than Sekiro bosses. The fight with this beast of a creature is chaotic, to say the least, and in the first half, you just mindlessly hit him as much as possible, chipping away at its health.

When the second phase hits, the now-beheaded ape suddenly gets up and picks up a blade, trying to hit you with dance-like movements that are completely different from the first phase. The contrast between the two phases is what makes the Guardian Ape a memorable boss fight during your first playthrough of Sekiro.

9 Godrick The Grafted (Elden Ring)

Forefathers One And All, Bear Witness!

Godrick the Grafted is likely the first remembrance boss that you face that holds a great rune and has one of the most iconic lines in Elden Ring after you beat his first phase. The fight is both fun and rhythmic, but it’s also incredibly easy to mess up during the battle.

Once his HP is about halfway down, he’ll straight up chop his hand off while screaming in pain and replace it with a dragon’s head in an incredibly epic cut scene, to say the least. His new attack is now shooting you with dragon fire as you try to dodge his attacks and find openings to eventually bring him down.

8 Demon Prince (Dark Souls 3)

An Explosive Introduction To The Ringed City

The Demon Prince is the first big boss fight of The Ringed City DLC in Dark Souls 3, and boy is it cinematic. It starts off as a duo boss fight where you have to fight the Demon in Pain and the Demon from below. Individually, the fights are simple, but a fun little mechanic is that, depending on which Demon you take out first, the second phase will have different attacks.

After both are defeated, they fuse into one boss that’s tougher than both of them combined, and beyond just the spectacle of the fight, the Demon Prince is incredibly fun and fulfilling to defeat.

7 Lady Maria Of The Astral Clocktower (Bloodborne)

A Narrative Within A Fight That Elevates The Experience

Bloodborne is an incredible game with peak boss fights that you’ll remember long after finishing the game and none are as satisfying or as difficult as the three-phase fight with Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower.

The amazing detail of this boss is how FromSoftware managed to add a whole story to this fight where the first phase starts as a duel between hunters, but as the battle progresses, Lady Maria slowly loses her principles by wielding forbidden blood arts as she desperately tries to survive.

6 Ornstein And Smough (Dark Souls Remastered)

A Legendary Duo Boss Fight And Probably The First Wall Of The Game

Ornstein and Smough are widely regarded as the best boss fight in the first Dark Souls game, and that’s not an understatement. After traversing through a bunch of difficult dungeons and finally reaching Anor Londo, you make your way to the palace only to be greeted by these champions who guard the path forward.

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Just like the Demon Prince, depending on who you defeat first, you’ll face an amped-up version of either Smough or Ornstein in the second phase. Not only is this fight memorable, but it's also one of the few duo bosses that FromSoftware has done excellently.

5 Sister Friede (Dark Souls 3)

A Three-Phase, Seemingly Endless Battle Against Another Ashen One

Sister Friede is the final boss of the short Ashes of Ariandel DLC, which made the entire package worth it. It’s reminiscent of Lady Maria and truly stands out in design as you initially fight with Friede in a clash of the ashes until you enter the second phase, where Father Ariandel joins in.

After a long and difficult battle, when you finally think it’s over, Blackflame Frieda suddenly gets up, and you’re propelled into a third phase of this never-ending battle. The fight has so many layers and is so fun that you can’t even be mad if you die and have to attempt it again.

4 Ludwig The Holy Blade (Bloodborne)

An Amazing Transition From A Mindless Beast To A Champion

Ludwig the Holy Blade is perhaps one of the coolest and most tragic boss fights in Bloodborne, and that’s saying something. The Old Hunters DLC managed to improve on the boss fights massively and, through Ludwig, showed players how even a mindless beast can find its way back to sanity.

In the first phase, you fight a massive creature that is attacking you without thought, but after entering the second phase, Ludwig suddenly gains composure and becomes a completely different boss fight, wielding his Holy Blade against you as he regains his soul.

3 Malenia, Blade Of Miquella (Elden Ring)

FromSoftware's Hardest Boss Yet

After hearing Malenia, Blade of Miquella so many times, there’s no doubt that this boss fight is ingrained into the minds of every Elden Ring player. Widely regarded as one of the most difficult boss fights in FromSoftware history, Malenia starts off by attacking you and healing with each hit.

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If you manage to dodge her Waterfowl Dance and enter the second phase, you’ll be greeted with a cinematic that shows Malenia ascending into a God-like being with new attacks and adding another layer of difficulty that is both fun and incredibly visually pleasing.

2 Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Elden Ring)

A Battle Of Legends And The Last Person To Stand Between You And Godhood

The competition between Godfrey and Malenia was tough, but Godfrey edged the victory simply by being a completely different enemy in his second phase. During the final moments of the game, you face down Godfrey in a clash of tarnished legends right up until Godfrey stops holding back.

After transitioning into Hoarah Loux, you face a bloodthirsty maniac who stops at nothing to try and wrestle you into the ground. The difference between these two phases is a beautiful representation of FromSoftware adding great elements from previous games while also trying new things with its bosses.

1 Isshin The Sword Saint (Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice)

Dubbed Isshin The Glock Saint For Pulling Out A Pistol

One of the most underrated and longest boss fights in any FromSoftware game is the massive four-phase fight against Isshin the Sword Saint. You start off fighting against a weakened Genichiro, and after successfully taking him down, he summons Isshin from the afterlife to fight you.

The second phase starts off mildly as Isshin uses his Ashina style and a katana as his only weapon. The third phase has him pulling out a spear from somewhere and a semi-automatic pistol in feudal Japan, but the spectacle doesn’t have you thinking too much about it. In his final phase, he starts using lightning attacks, and upon his defeat, you can finally rest easy after a long and tedious battle.

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