Boss Endurance

Boss Endurance, also commonly referred to as Boss Rush, appears in many Kirby games. It is a sub-game where Kirby must battle all the bosses from the game, usually with little to no recovery items. In some games this mode must first be unlocked (usually by completing story mode) before the player is able to attempt it.

In general, the bosses are fought in the same order they were in story mode. However in some cases they might be fought in a random order.

In the more current games, the Boss Endurance sub-games usually have a specific title screen for it that displays each of the game's bosses.

Although Kirby's Dream Land didn't have an official "Boss Endurance"-type of sub-game, the first section of the final level, Mt. Dedede, features mini-stages that include the first four bosses. They can be defeated in any order before battling King Dedede, who is fought last. This concept is likely to have been what inspired Boss Endurance.

Kirby's Adventure and Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
In Kirby's Adventure, this mode is called V.S. Boss! Kirby must go through a series of bosses in the order he fought in the Story Mode. Upon defeating each boss, Kirby must collect each of the Star Rod pieces to move on to the next battle, just like in story mode (this step is omitted in the GBA remake). Kirby also does not have any access to recovery items. The bosses, in order, include:


 * 1) Whispy Woods
 * 2) Paint Roller
 * 3) Mr. Shine & Mr. Bright
 * 4) Kracko
 * 5) Heavy Mole
 * 6) Meta Knight
 * 7) King Dedede
 * 8) Nightmare (orb form)
 * 9) Nightmare (true form)

This mode is unlocked by beating the game once. In 3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure, Kirby's Vitality regenerates after the Heavy Mole fight.

Kirby's Dream Land 2
The Boss Endurance challenge of Kirby's Dream Land 2 is more or less unchanged from its use in Kirby's Adventure; it is unlocked after 100% completion of the main game, and pits Kirby against the bosses in the order he fought them in the game, with no breaks or chance for recovery between battles.


 * 1) Whispy Woods
 * 2) Nruff
 * 3) Sweet Stuff
 * 4) Ice Dragon
 * 5) Mr. Shine & Mr. Bright
 * 6) Kracko
 * 7) King Dedede
 * 8) Dark Matter (first form)
 * 9) Dark Matter (true form)

Kirby's Pinball Land
A form of Boss Endurance is activated after entering a code on the title screen. The player is able to select which Pinball Land to go to, but will instead jump straight to that Pinball Land's boss. Just like the main game, it is only possible to lose a life on the final boss. Also like the main game, the first three bosses can be fought in any order before fighting the final boss:


 * Poppy Bros. Sr.
 * Kracko Jr. and Kracko
 * Whispy Woods
 * King Dedede

Kirby Super Star
The Boss Endurance challenge is replaced with an extremely similar sub-game: The Arena.

The Arena is a sub-game similar in concept to boss-fighting endurance sub-games from previous games in the Kirby games, but vastly updated. It is generally viewed as the hardest sub-game in Kirby Super Star.

Before Kirby can fight any enemies, he will be in a room where he can choose a copy ability from a Copy Essence. Kirby is allowed to take a Helper in at will, though the player should note that the presence of a Helper on-screen gives the boss more health. It should also be noted that Kracko Jr. is the only boss not to appear in The Arena. There is also a Warp Star in the room. When Kirby hops on it, he will go to fight any of the following enemies in random order:


 * Chameleo Arm
 * Combo Cannon
 * Computer Virus
 * Dyna Blade
 * Fatty Whale
 * Galactic Nova Nucleus
 * Heavy Lobster
 * King Dedede
 * Kracko
 * Lololo & Lalala
 * Meta Knight
 * Mid-Boss All Stars #1 (Chef Kawasaki, Bonkers and Bugzzy)
 * Mid-Boss All Stars #2 (Poppy Bros. Sr., Mr. Frosty, Iron Mam and Jukid)
 * Reactor
 * Twin Woods
 * Arena Waddle Dee/Bandana Waddle Dee
 * Wham Bam Rock
 * Whispy Woods
 * When all those bosses are defeated, Kirby faces Marx

In between enemy fights, Kirby will be in a room where there are two randomly-generated Copy Essences, along with a limited number of Maxim Tomatoes that will not respawn (or be replaced) after being eaten. If the player beats this sub-game, he/she will be rewarded with the game's Sound Test feature.

Kirby's Dream Land 3
This mode is known as "Boss Butch". Again, Kirby gets to fight all of the bosses of the game in a consecutive order:


 * 1) Whispy Woods
 * 2) Acro
 * 3) Pon and Con
 * 4) Ado (living sketches of Ice Dragon, Sweet Stuff, Mr. Shine & Mr. Bright, and Kracko; after defeating Kracko, Ado charges at Kirby, but is defeated in one hit)
 * 5) King Dedede
 * 6) Dark Matter
 * 7) ? (Zero)
 * 8) Zero (eyeball form)

Note that in this Boss Endurance, Kirby cannot call Gooey. Also, the backgrounds are different. For example, Hyper Zone's normal blue void with black blobs is changed to a yellow void with rainbow blobs, and Ado's sweet, sunny arena is changed to dull and stormy.

Changes in Boss Butch:
 * The Whispy Woods battle takes place in autumn instead of summer.
 * Acro is now fought outdoors, maybe under a sandstone cliff, instead of underground.
 * Pon and Con are fought in a volcanic area instead of Sand Canyon.
 * Ado's sweet, sunny arena is changed to dull and stormy.
 * Instead of a cloudy sky, the Dedede battle takes place near sunset. Also, confetti seems to be raining down from the sky.
 * Hyper Zone's normal blue void with black blobs is changed to a yellow void with red and blue blobs.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Kirby must fight through all of the bosses in the game in order:


 * 1) Whispy Woods
 * 2) Pix
 * 3) Acro
 * 4) Magman
 * 5) HR-H/HR-E
 * 6) Miracle Matter
 * 7) 0²

Against 0², Kirby cannot copy any abilities from any enemies or projectiles. The only ability he will be able to use is Ribbon's Shard Gun.

Also, the option "Try Again" is replaced with "Accept Defeat" rather than the "Tough it Out" in story mode.

Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
This version of Boss Endurance is similar to "The Arena" of Kirby Super Star, except that doorways are used as transitions to the next enemy instead of Warp Stars. Kirby has the choice of all copy abilities at first (except Master, UFO, Magic, Cook and Crash). Between fights, two random abilities are available, as well as 4 single-use Maxim Tomatoes. The majority of the fights are random: After the above bosses have all been defeated, the following four bosses are fought afterwards in order:
 * Mid-boss Group 1 (Batafire, Boxy, Master Hand)
 * Mid-boss Group 2 (Waddle Dee, Bombar, Box Boxer)
 * Mid-boss Group 3 (Mr. Frosty, Bonkers, Phan Phan)
 * Moley
 * King Golem
 * Kracko
 * ? ? ? (Dark Meta Knight disguised as Meta Knight)
 * Gobbler
 * Wiz
 * Mega Titan and Titan Head
 * Master Hand and Crazy Hand


 * 1) Dark Meta Knight
 * 2) Dark Mind (first form)
 * 3) Dark Mind (giant eyeball)
 * 4) Dark Mind (small eyeball)

Kirby: Squeak Squad
The player can attempt this sub-game once he or she completes the game. Kirby starts the sub-game inside the base of tower filled with ability bubbles (including Triple Star). Once again, Kirby fights bosses in a linear fashion in the same order he did in the story. Before Kirby fights King Dedede, he will get a single Maxim Tomato bubble. On the road to Dark Nebula's room, he will obtain cherries, chicken, and another Maxim Tomato by playing through the whole last level instead of just the boss.

The order Kirby fights the bosses goes as follows:
 * 1) King Dedede
 * 2) Mrs. Moley
 * 3) Mecha Kracko
 * 4) Yadogaine
 * 5) Bohboh
 * 6) Daroach
 * 7) Meta Knight
 * 8) Dark Daroach
 * 9) Dark Nebula

The Arena
This game features The Arena from Kirby Super Star with one small change. If Kirby picks a Maxim Tomato in the room between fights, a regular tomato (which restores less health and will not respawn or be replaced) will replace it the next time he visits this room.

Helper to Hero
There are two additional boss endurance modes, the first one being Helper to Hero. In this mode, the player plays as one of 20 available Helpers. There are fewer bosses than in The Arena, but only 3 Maxim Tomatoes are available in between battles. The bosses are always fought in the same order:
 * 1) Whispy Woods
 * 2) Mid-boss All Stars 1 (Chef Kawasaki, Bonkers, Bugzzy)
 * 3) Kracko
 * 4) King Dedede
 * 5) Dyna Blade
 * 6) Fatty Whale
 * 7) Chameleo Arm
 * 8) Mid-boss All Stars 2 (Poppy Bros. Sr., Mr. Frosty, Iron Mam, Jukid)
 * 9) Twin Woods
 * 10) Heavy Lobster
 * 11) Computer Virus
 * 12) Meta Knight
 * 13) Wham Bam Rock
 * 14) Wham Bam Jewel

The True Arena
The second mode is The True Arena, the final sub-game to be unlocked in Kirby Super Star Ultra. All the bosses fought are the ones newly introduced in the game. The order of the first 6 bosses is random: The Last Four are fought in a fixed order: A movie plays before the battle with Marx Soul, showing his return from the dead.
 * Kracko Jr's Revenge
 * Kracko's Revenge
 * Kabula
 * Lololo & Lalala's Revenge
 * Whispy's Revenge
 * True Mid-boss All Stars (Mr. Tick Tock, Grand Wheelie, Phan Phan, Fire Lion)
 * 1) Masked Dedede
 * 2) Wham Bam Jewel
 * 3) Galacta Knight
 * 4) Marx Soul (The only boss in The True Arena that was not fought in a prior subgame of KSSU and therefore also the final boss of that game)

The five Maxim Tomatoes are replaced by regular tomatoes (which restores less health and will not respawn or be replaced), and one Copy Essence in the Rest Room is always a Sleep Copy Essence, making this sub-game the most difficult in the title, at a rating of 7 stars.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land
"When the pink hero takes flight, when the blue knight slices, when the bandana-wearer kicks, when the king’s hammer swings…lesser warriors become dust!"

- The Arena

This variant is almost identical to Kirby Super Star's arena, but in addition to the five Maxim Tomatoes, there is an extra one inside a box.

The last three are fought in a set order:
 * Mid-Boss All-Stars 1 (Gigant Edge, King Doo, Bonkers)
 * Mid-Boss All-Stars 2 (Kibble Blade, Moundo, Water Galboros, Dubior)
 * Sphere Doomers (Spark, Regular & Fire, Ice)
 * Whispy Woods
 * Mr. Dooter
 * Fatty Puffer
 * Goriath
 * Grand Doomer
 * Metal General
 * Landia
 * 1) Lor &amp; Magolor (Only boss to be battled with Landia)
 * 2) Magolor
 * 3) Magolor (second phase)

"This is the ultimate test of skill! This is the gauntlet of courage! This is the final proving ground! Emerge victorious and you’ll become…a Kirby Master!"

- The True Arena

List in The True Arena:

The last five fights are always in this order:
 * Mid-Boss All-Stars 1 (Gigant Edge EX, King Doo EX & Bonkers EX)
 * Mid-Boss All-Stars 2 (Kibble Blade EX, Moundo EX, Water Galboros EX & Dubior EX)
 * Sphere Doomers EX (Spark, Regular & Fire, Ice)
 * Whispy Woods EX
 * Mr. Dooter EX
 * Fatty Puffer EX
 * Goriath EX
 * Grand Doomer EX
 * Metal General EX
 * Landia EX
 * 1) Lor EX &amp; Magolor (only boss to use Landia)
 * 2) HR-D3 (both forms)
 * 3) Galacta Knight (Galacta Knight is not encountered in this game outside of The True Arena)
 * 4) Magolor EX
 * 5) Magolor Soul (the Extra Mode version of Magolor's second phase)

Kirby: Triple Deluxe
The Arena and True Arena once again make an appearance in Kirby: Triple Deluxe. Just like before, there are two Copy Essences (one of which is always Sleep in The True Arena, per tradition) and varying numbers of Maxim Tomatoes or tomatoes in the rest room (five Maxim Tomatoes in The Arena and four normal tomatoes in The True Arena); any eaten Maxim Tomatoes are replaced by tomatoes that do not respawn if they are themselves eaten. Once in a while, treasure chests that contain Keychains appear at the rest room. Besides the aforementioned traditional tomatoes, a Maxim Tomato in a bubble appears in both modes, serving the same purpose as the Maxim Tomato Box in Kirby's Return to Dream Land.

The Arena
The first eight bosses are fought in random order:
 * Mid-Boss All-Stars 1 (Grand Wheelie, Bonkers, & Hornhead)
 * Mid-Boss All-Stars 2 (Mr. Frosty, Flame Galboros, Gigant Edge, & Blocky)
 * Flowery Woods
 * Paintra
 * Kracko
 * Coily Rattler
 * Pyribbit

The last three bosses are fought in this order:
 * 1) Masked Dedede/Masked Dedede's Revenge
 * 2) Queen Sectonia (first form)
 * 3) Queen Sectonia (second form)

The True Arena
The first eight bosses are fought in random order:
 * Mid-Boss All-Stars 1 (Grand Wheelie DX, Bonkers DX, & Hornhead DX)
 * Mid-Boss All-Stars 2 (Mr. Frosty DX, Flame Galboros DX, Gigant Edge DX, & Blocky DX
 * Flowery Woods DX
 * Paintra DX
 * Kracko DX
 * Coily Rattler DX
 * Pyribbit DX

The last four bosses are fought in this order: (Soul of Sectonia is exclusive to The True Arena)
 * 1) Queen Sectonia DX
 * 2) Shadow Dedede
 * 3) Dark Meta Knight's Revenge
 * 4) Soul of Sectonia (first and final forms)

Trivia

 * The Arena is somewhat similar to All-Star mode in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where the player has to fight every character using limited resources. Super Smash Bros. Brawl also introduced a Boss Battles mode, which is even more similar to the Arena than All-Star mode is, featuring the bosses of Adventure and Classic Modes fought randomly until the final boss of Adventure Mode is fought last. Seeing as how HAL Laboratory also made the Super Smash Bros. games, it is possible that these two modes were based on The Arena.
 * Out of all the sub-games in the DS titles, Boss Endurance in Kirby: Squeak Squad and the goal games in Kirby: Squeak Squad and Kirby Super Star Ultra are the only ones that can't be controlled with the stylus.
 * In Kirby's Dream Land, Mt. Dedede has a mandatory boss endurance, where Kirby must rematch against all four previous bosses before King Dedede himself. This may be the early concept of Boss Endurance/The Arena.

Boss-Marathon