With Pikmin 4’s launch, the tiny little plantlings and their meaner nightmarish counterparts are back. Bosses are what bring the true essence of the Pikmin games to the fore. While the exploration part is quite fun, the core aspect of the game is the boss fights and some of them are quite challenging. Each boss has its own unique abilities which usually complement their unusual other-worldly appearances.
A fun aspect of the Pikmin gameplay is figuring out how to defeat each boss and the latest entry has done well to preserve it. Each boss once defeated drops a piece of the puzzle for the main quest. Here is what we know so far about each Pikmin 4 boss.
Porquillion
Contrary to its looks, Porquillion is a fairly easy boss, which can although come across as a handful if you are in close proximity. Its appearance is similar to that of a porcupine as the name suggests and its attack also works the same as the spiny rodent. Porquillion is the first boss encountered in Pikmin 4 and has relatively low health. The most opportune moment to attack seems to be after it has fired a row of its quills.
Emperor Bulblax
One of the franchise’s nastiest foes, the Emperor Bulblax makes a comeback after a long hiatus from the Pikmin games. In the original game this was the final boss but became considerably weaker in the sequel. Belonging to the grub-dog species, this boss uses its sticky tongue to attack and capture Pikmin. Needless to say, it’s better to maintain a safe distance from this Pikmin 4 boss: Emperor Bulblax.
Empress Bulblax
Empress Bulblax is yet another bulborb boss level enemy that made its first appearance in Pikmin 2. This boss has multiple attack modes. The primary attack involves using its body to roll onto enemies. This attack can be used against it by moving away at the right time. The secondary attack includes releasing larvae which can attack you. The larvae too are easily dodged by moving away during the Bulbax’s roll.
Foolix
This tricky boss likes to disguise itself as nectar before you engage it in battle. Foolix’s appearance is similar to that of Goolix from the original Pikmin, except for its color which is orange. This gooey blob likes to absorb Pikmin during fights. Its weak spot seems to be the tail.
Groovy Long Legs
This slick boss seems to be closely related to Pikmin’s Beady Long Legs and therefore could be considered part of the Arachnorb family. Groovy Long Leg’s torso is similar to a disco ball and revolves as it moves and attacks. The lights on the torso have a bluish hue which turns yellow when it is low on health. This boss seems to attack by smashing its torso onto the Pikmin.
Man-at-Legs
The only bio-mechanical creature in the series and of the arachnorb family, Man-at-Legs is a tough boss to deal with. Armed with a metal exoskeleton and a turret-like weapon with laser sights in its underbelly it is capable of putting a lot of hurt on anything that tries to approach it. What makes Man-at-Legs even more difficult to deal with is its speed which it relies upon more than its attacking strategy.
Glidermander
The Glidermander is a fat salamander like creature with a light dangling from its head similar to that of an angler fish. It has a few lumps of gold like substance on its back which is meant to protect three red spots which are its weak points. Attacking it releases a lump of the gold which will eventually expose the weak spot. Once the gold falls off, its first course of action is to put the gold back on. Each attack on the Glidermander briefly stuns it. This is one of the slowest bosses in the pikmin 4 game.
Masterhop
This pikmin 4 boss is a frog-like creature with predominantly yellow underbelly. It is capable of jumping and staying airborne for a brief period of time by inflating its belly after which it lands heavily on any Pikmin underneath. Each jump leaves a small crater in the sand. Once defeated, the Masterhop turns into a blue coin purse.
Water Wraith
The Water Wraith is a blackish watery blob-like creature that sticks itself to two cylindrical stones and uses them like a bulldozer. This boss needs to be taken down in two stages, the first by destroying the stones and then by destroying the blob itself. The blob by itself is quite dodgy and can be difficult to chase down.
Arctic Cannon Beetle
This beetle-like pikmin 4 boss has whitish wings and a red body underneath. The claws are also the same color as the wings. It likes to vacuum suck anything in front of it using its mandibles. The red body of the Arctic Cannon Beetle is its weak spot and can be exposed by attacking it from behind. Its movement often causes icicles to fall from the roof.
Crusted Rumpup
This scorpion-like creature has features similar to that of a Venus flytrap. Its attack is also quite similar to that of the carnivorous plant. The tip of its tail seems to be its weak spot. The crusted Rumpup likes to use its entire tail to crush Pikmin. This pikmin 4 boss is capable of moving both ways and using both attacks simultaneously.
Snowflake Fluttertail
This is an icy moth-like creature with snow white wings and torso. The color of the torso changes as the heat of its environment increases which also weakens it. The Snowflake Fluttertail is capable of lowering the temperature of its icy abode to a point where the Pikmin can freeze to death.
The Grubchucker
This crab-like creature has a man-of-war like thing on its head. The entire torso of the Grubchucker is of a similar texture as a jellyfish, meanwhile the limbs are quite sturdy like that of a crab. The limbs are its primary means of attack.
Hermit Crawmad
This pikmin 4 boss is a creature that resembles a hermit crab with giant eye stalks. It likes to dig holes in its beachside abode and crawl deep within to evade enemies. The eye stalks are its weak points and when you hit, both retreat into their shell and the Hermit Crawmad flips over on its back.
Sovereign Bulblax
This creature is a more bulky, yellowish version of Emperor Bulblax. While the entire body seems to be yellow, this Bulblax carries some algae on its back which acts as camouflage when it is hiding from enemies. This boss also likes to use its tongue to attack Pikmin.
Puffstool
Puffstool is a mushroom-like creature with a jelly-like texture. Attacking this boss will cause it flip on its head. It uses two tiny legs at the tip of its stem to walk.
Borrowing Snagret
This pikmin 4 boss is a birdlike creature has an avian head covered with feathers extending from its long blue snake-like body which has a single bird’s claw at the bottom. The boss fight involves three Borrowing Snagrets which attack the Pikmins whack-a-mole style. The entire body of each Snagret can only be seen after it is defeated.
Smoky Progg
This green gaseous creature is still in its egg when you first encounter it. It has red flaming emissions near its feet which can be used as projectiles to deal damage over a small area.
Baldy Long Legs
This Arachnorb is quite similar to its long-legged cousins. The torso is used for crushing and is also the boss’s weak spot.
Ancient Sirehound
This hairy mutt with a bushy tail is the Pikmin’s worst nightmare, more so for your pet Oatchi. The Ancient Sirehound is the final boss fight and the toughest of them all. The hound attacks using hairballs which are scattered across the entire arena. Defeating the final boss unlocks the last piece of the puzzle.
