10 Optional Bosses Harder Than The Final Boss
2. The Master - Paper Mario
When you think of the main antagonist of the Mario universe, the first character that comes to mind is Bowser. Indeed, even Paper Mario includes Bowser as its primary villain and the game's final boss, and yet he is nowhere close to being its strongest enemy. That would actually be one of Paper Mario's optional mini-bosses, called the Master.
As his name suggests, the Master is the owner of a dojo in Toad Town. He is a skilled martial artist who lets Mario use his experience to hone his fighting skills against his students. If the player manages to defeat both of them, they can even issue a challenge to the Master himself.
You get to fight him three times in total, and although the first battle isn't anything to write home about, the Master becomes more powerful with each defeat. By the third fight, his HP and attack power have grown so exponentially that they completely overshadowed Bowser's stats in the final act of the game.
It must be pretty embarrassing for Bowser, knowing he's weaker than some random old toad giving free judo classes for little children.