A spiritual successor of sorts to the celebrated Paper Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars game on the SNES, the 2001 Nintendo 64 title Paper Mario deviated significantly from the typical platformer formula. A stylized role-playing game, it was worlds apart from the console's legendary launch title Super Mario 64, but it's no less fondly remembered.
Nintendo would maintain the Paper Mario lineage of games for two full decades, culminating in the recent release of Paper Mario: The Origami King on the Nintendo Switch. Though combat takes a back seat in favor of story in most of these games, they're by no means easy, with some bosses standing out as particularly imposing.
Hooktail (The Thousand-Year Door)
The first proper boss encounter in 2004's Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Hooktail is a fearsome dragon that lives atop a castle and terrorizes the citizens of Petalburg. Though on the weaker end of the Super Mario boss spectrum - especially when compared to many in the grand pantheon like some of the strongest Ghost enemies - defeating Hooktail requires the use of a specific badge.
Found within Hooktail's Castle, the Attack FX R badge causes all of Mario's attacks to make cricket sounds. Hooktail claims to harbor a deep disdain for the insects after contracting food poisoning when eating one, and she's vulnerable when the badge is applied. Without it, however, she's almost impossible to beat.
Mr. L/Brobot (Super Paper Mario)
The fabled "man in green" mentioned in both the Light and Dark Prognosticus, Mr. L, also known as "Green Thunder," is a hypnotized Luigi made to do Count Bleck's bidding. Unfortunately for the forces of evil, Luigi's alter-ego is about as ineffective as his regular persona.
Encountered multiple times, Mr. L summons the fearsome Brobot mech to his aid, though both he and his mechanized brother are swiftly outdone by Mario. He may not be as fearsome as he believes himself to be, but there's no denying the awesome charm of a rogue Mario brother.
Goomba King (Paper Mario)
The boss of Paper Mario's prologue section, Goomba King is ostensibly the first boss encounter in the entire Paper Mario series. As such, he's not particularly powerful, but he sets a tone for the boss battles to come in Paper Mario, as well as subsequent entries in the franchise.
A regular goomba transformed into a more powerful adversary thanks to the magic of Bowser's Star Rod, Goomba King only has two attacks and a total of 10 H.P. Still, besting him is a required milestone for the player, and those who prove their might against them should be adequately equipped to face the tougher challenges ahead.
Stapler (The Origami King)
A sentient stapler with canine mannerisms, this baddie is one of a collection of art and office supply-themed bosses in 2020's Paper Mario: The Origami King. Though it doesn't appear to be all that threatening on paper - pardon the pun - it's a crafty, cruel enemy which more or less serves as the final boss of the game.
With a variety of special abilities up its nonexistent sleeves and several moves capable of inflicting incredible amounts of damage, the Fanged Fastener is a tough fight that demands expert knowledge of The Origami King's unconventional puzzle-like combat mechanics.
Bonetail (The Thousand-Year Door)
The formidable final encounter awaiting those who brave the deepest depths of the Pit of 100 Trials in The Thousand-Year Door, Bonetail is perhaps the most memorable optional boss in the series. With 200 total H.P. and the ability to inflict a variety of status effects, Bonetail is no pushover.
The kicker is that the boss dwells in the most inaccessible area of the game. Players must battle dozens of waves of enemies to encounter bone tail, and, by that point, their supply of items has likely run dry. What's worse, the rewards for completing this monumental challenge aren't nearly worth the effort required to earn them.
Mimi (Super Paper Mario)
A fan-favorite antagonist featured in Super Paper Mario on the Nintendo Wii, Mimi is a shape-shifting servant of Count Bleck encountered several times throughout the story. Memorable for saddling Mario with a million rubee debt after he breaks her favorite vase, her adorable exterior belies her extreme personality.
Though the boss battle against Mimi isn't particularly difficult, it's unceasingly creepy. Mimi first takes the form of Merlee and then transforms into a sort of spider monstrosity. It's the closest the Paper Mario franchise will ever come to parodying John Carpenter's The Thing.
King Olly (The Origami King)
The primary antagonist of The Origami King, Olly is a vengeful entity hellbent on hijacking the Mushroom Kingdom. Finally confronted during the game's finale, the battle against him is mostly meant as a spectacle, though there are a few puzzle segments that are among the hardest Super Mario levels and may give players a hard time.
King Olly is capable of transforming into any of the Vellumental bosses Mario has met, and his show-stopping final move will likely take more than a few tries to solve. He's nothing compared to Mario's more fearsome foes, but he certainly earns points for style.
Sir Grodus (The Thousand-Year Door)
The stern leader of the X-Nauts in The Thousand-Year Door, Sir Grodus is utterly determined to take over the Mushroom Kingdom. He plans to do this by enslaving the Shadow Queen, though he's ultimately unable to control her.
As the puppetmaster responsible for Mario's hardships, there's a certain satisfaction in finally confronting Sir Grodus toward the end of the game. That said, he's no pushover; although he only has 50 H.P. in battle, he's able to inflict all kinds of status effects on Mario and his partner, and he's also able to raise a shield over himself. When all else fails, he also boasts a particularly troublesome dodge ability.
Super Dimentio (Super Paper Mario)
Initially introduced as another servant of Count Bleck, Dimentio is a powerful entity capable of bending space in time. Though he shares Count Bleck's goal of destroying all Dimension's his ulterior motives remain unclear - just one of the things about Dimentio that make no sense. In the end, he betrays Count Bleck and battles Mario, the final hurdle in his multi-dimensional conquest.
Just about every boss encounter in Super Paper Mario is trivial, and, despite being the final encounter, Super Dimentio doesn't make for much of an exception. That said, he's still a chilling villain who has gone down in Super Mario history as one of the portly plumber's most off-putting antagonists.
Shadow Queen (The Thousand-Year Door)
The final battle in the epic 2004 GameCube RPG Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, one of the best Mario games on GameCube, the Shadow Queen is a powerful entity sought-after by Sir Grodus and the X-Nauts. However, once awakened, she becomes too powerful to contain, possessing the body of Princess Peach and engaging in a battle with Mario and friends.
A multi-staged battle, the Shadow Queen can be incredibly difficult to defeat. Capable of completely healing herself and boasting a handful of unconventional attacks, she's as crafty as they come. The Paper Mario series isn't typically known for its difficulty, but this encounter may test the mettle of seasoned RPG fans.