Since Cuphead‘s release in 2017, the game has become known for two major things, its 1930’s art style and high difficulty.  Now that I, too, have suffered through the many challenging bosses of Cuphead, I thought it would be fun to rank all 19 from easiest to the ones that walloped me the most thoroughly.  Without further ado…

19: The Root Pack – Naturally, the Root Pack is at the bottom of the list.  They are easily the least intimidating bosses, considering they consist simply of a dirt-spewing potato, a weepy onion, and a psychic carrot.

18: Goopy Le Grande – Goopy is…a blob, I guess.  He’s not that tough, as his main attacks include jumping around the stage and trying to punch you with his face or fists.   The worst thing is how annoying he is to dodge, especially since he can even bounce off the edges of the screen, which doesn’t make much logical sense if you ask me….

17: Ribby and Croaks – Two boxing frogs, these guys aren’t so bad, really, especially considering there’s two of them.  Their attacks are largely easy to dodge, with the hardest part being their inexplicable slot machine form.  And even then, it shouldn’t take too much trouble to learn the three attacks they can dish out that just involve some quick platforming.

16: Hilda Berg – This bizarre lady can transform into a blimp, various constellations, and even a wicked-looking crescent moon.  She’s also the first boss that gave me any real trouble.  She’s the first airplane level, which probably didn’t help.  The worst part was dealing with her final phase because I kept getting hit by those darn UFO’s!

15: Cagney Carnation – This vicious little flower was the second boss that gave me a seriously hard time.  Looking back, I doubt he’d be too tough now that I’m more experienced, but when I was just starting out, I had a hard time dodging his many projectiles, especially that plant that would float overhead and shoot at you.  And even once I got the hang of all that, I’d usually die within seconds of his final phase, where he makes the ground impossible to walk on and starts taking over your platforms with vines.

14: Sally Stageplay – Being such a late boss, it was a welcome reprieve to find how easy Sally Stageplay was.  Her attacks aren’t that complex, and if you equip the Smoke Bomb, she becomes a breeze.  Seriously, so easy!

13: Djimmi the Great – I didn’t find this genie to be nearly as tough as I had heard.  In fact, I beat him quicker than almost any other boss on the list.  Looking back, I can see why people found him so hard, though.  Some projectiles are tough to avoid, and at one point, you must shoot and fly through the faces of these totems.  And by the end, Djimmi and his attacks can take up the majority of the screen.  I also just find it deeply disturbing that he can shoot his own skull at you….

12: Captain Brineybeard – Also a surprisingly easy boss so late in the game.  This guy relies on the help of his sea creature friends, and his apparently sentient ship, to attack you, from summoning a shark to shooting at you with an octopus.  You just have to make sure you’re always watching out for that barrel that wants to fall on you from above and the cannonballs the ship will eventually shoot.  Just don’t forget, during his final phase, the ship can shoot a huge laser that you must duck under!

11: Wally Warbles – Wally Warbles is a giant bird, and he’s not too tough.  He just has some annoying projectiles to dodge, and I found the phase with the baby bird to be a bit of a nuisance.  Just a few tips, you can dodge the giant eggs he shoots out in phase 1 by staying back and going above or below them.  And don’t forget to switch to your bomb weapon during his final phase.

10: Beppi the Clown – Yes, a clown boss, what could be worse!  (A lot of things, actually.  Just read the rest of the list.)  This guy’s not…awful, but I can’t, for the life of me, dodge his attacks during the final phase.  The only way I can manage to beat him is by reaching that phase with as much health as possible and using super attacks.  But the rest isn’t too bad once you get used to avoiding evil balloon animals, horseshoes, and a roller coaster that starts going starting during phase 2….

9: Werner Werman – This clever, little rat built a tank and other weapons out of trash.  His first phase isn’t so bad, but things start to get tricky when you must switch between the upper and lower parts of the stage to avoid his flamethrower and the bottle caps that act as saws.  The cat was the most annoying part, however, as it can take up half the stage trying to swipe at you with its paws, which also causes debris to fall from the ceiling.

8: Phantom Express – Though the Phantom Express is the final boss before the finale, I actually didn’t find this one too tough.  In fact, it’s actually really fun once you get the hang of it.  The trickiest part is the fact that you spend the battle on a cart that can occupy the left, middle, or right side of the stage.  You can move it by parrying the left or right sides (Parry Sugar almost certainly required), but the worst part was the enemies that would attempt to move the cart against your wishes.  (Chaser helps to take them out, though.)  Just watch out for those bone wheels during the final phase.  They can be really hard to see!

7: Baroness Von Bon Bon – Yes, I had a heck of a time with Baroness Von Bon Bon.  Maybe this is because I still wasn’t as experienced with the game back then, but she was tough!  You start by fighting three of five of her lackeys (just hope you don’t get that dastardly cupcake!), and each one is harder than the last thanks to jellybeans that start marching along the ground during part 2 and the Baroness herself shooting at you with a rifle in part 3.  During her final stage, she can shoot her head at you, and you must dodge a huge peppermint from time to time!

6: King Dice – King Dice is a pretty unique boss because you must roll the dice to get across the board before you can even fight him.  There are nine spaces you can land on where you must defeat a mini-boss.  Once you reach the end, you better be good at parrying because you won’t be dodging his attacks otherwise.  Actually, mastery over parrying (or just Parry Sugar) is pretty much required here if you want any hope of rolling the correct numbers.  My tip: roll a 2 for boss #2, then roll a 2 for a safe space, then a 3 for boss #6, then a 3 for boss #8, then a 2 for a safe space, and then a 2 to reach King Dice.

5: Grim Matchstick – Everyone said this dragon was super tough.  While I’m not sure if he was quite as difficult for me as everyone says, he can still be a pain.  Really, I don’t like any bosses where I must navigate platforms.  I think the biggest trouble I had was simply platforming while focusing on his attacks.  By the way, the Lobber really helps here….

4: Cala Maria – I really didn’t like fighting this mermaid turned Gorgon one bit.  Her first phase usually has two attacks coming at you at once, so you’ll often find yourself dodging pufferfish or dealing with a jet of water pushing you all over while she’s shooting projectiles at you or pirate ghosts or whatever else.  Once she becomes a Gorgon, things become simpler, but no less tricky (if that makes sense).  Sure, at first you can dodge her stone beam if you know just where to hide (though, this attack comes with little to no warning), but her final phase provides no way of avoiding this attack.  I know that you’re supposed to make sure you don’t have any obstacles in your way in anticipation of your unavoidable moments of incapacitation, but this still felt like the most unfair fight in the game.

3: Rumor Honeybottoms – This game has a lot of challenging bosses, but a lot of them are at least still pretty fun.  This giant bee, however, was not fun at all.  The entire time, you have to move between platforms, always climbing up the tower as you avoid some particularly annoying attacks.  And after suffering through all of that, her final phase takes up the whole bottom section of the screen, and she employs a certain attack that can be almost impossible to dodge if you’re unprepared….

2: The Devil – Well, it should come as no surprise that the Devil himself is quite a formidable adversary.  From summoning flames to turning into a serpent to crushing you between his arms during his brief goat form, you’ll be constantly on your toes during this battle.  And that’s just phase 1.  The other phases aren’t much fun, either, with bombs and erratic spinning axes and flaming poker chips falling from the ceiling.  (The Roundabout is probably your best bet during this battle.)

1: Dr. Kahl’s Robot – Oh yes, this one seems to be pretty infamous for being the worst boss in the game.  This robot can send all kinds of terrible projectiles at you, including bombs with a large blast radius and erratic moving little ships of some sort.  Plus, he’s got a huge laser, a magnet that messes with your plane, and…  It’s awful.  It’s really awful.  And all of that wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the final phase, where Dr. Kahl himself shoots an insane number of projectiles at you, many of which don’t stand out too well against the background.  This battle took me two hours for a reason!

Which boss did you find to be the most difficult, dear readers?  Which one was your favorite?  Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!