Every boss in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope - Rayman in the DLC "The Phantom Show," ranked

The legendary limbless character, Rayman, makes a triumphant return in the final DLC pack for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. With the release of "The Phantom Show" campaign, a six-year journey spanning two games comes to a close, during which the squeaky lagomorphs joined forces with some of the Mushroom Kingdom's most famous inhabitants. From Bowser's fortress to the DK Island and even the outer reaches of space, these unconventional heroes have experienced it all.

Compared to the previous DLC packs, "The Phantom Show" offers a substantial amount of content, featuring four unique chapters and a variety of creative puzzles. Of course, it also includes the customary turn-based battles, including some impressive boss encounters. Here they are all listed.

4 The Dragon That Wasn't

During your time in the medieval stage setting, the villainous Phantom stokes a confrontation between you and a dragon. In fact, the puzzles you will solve in this area are all quite explicitly designed to prepare you for such a battle: sweeping away glowing embers from burning torches, dealing with sword-wielding Rabbids, and so forth.

For this reason, it feels a bit like a letdown when it comes to the actual battle, and... well, it's just a colossal, ordinary, fiery imbecile. Its name? The dragon that wasn't.

The joke, of course, is that the Phantom is in financial trouble and couldn't afford a real dragon. Nevertheless, it is somewhat disappointing to essentially face just a slightly enlarged version of an enemy we have already defeated countless times in the main campaign.

Efforts are made to spice up the arena with some rampaging Bob-ombs, TNT barrels, and pipes to gain a tactical advantage, but overall, this 'dragon' comfortably ends up in last place. On the positive side, it will perish rather swiftly.

3 Sydney Rabbidwhacker And The Bravados

Fortunately, the boss of the Wild West fares much better. After dealing with a gang of cardboard cutout bandits, your access to the second half of the stage is blocked by the legendary desperado Sydney Rabbidwhacker. Honestly, he probably deserves the first place just for that name alone, but we won't be easily swayed.

Sydney comes with his gang of bravados, and they all have easily provoked temperaments. And itchy trigger fingers. Lots of trigger-related traits, you see.

Known for being the only boss in the DLC where you fight against multiple targets, this battle requires you to divide your attention between the bravados and the various henchmen that appear. At the start, they are positioned at the far end of the map on a ledge, rarely coming down, which means you have to use various pipes to reach them.

Be careful though, as they are all primed to retaliate immediately upon being touched. It's probably best to ensure you are well healed before taking a shot. Yee-haw, partner.

2 The Kraken

The tentacled specter of the pirate movie set initially requires you to deactivate all the dark eyes that prevent you from reaching the Kraken. With Rayman's characteristic helicopter hair, you glide to the beams, over the ocean, and back, collecting the necessary bombs to free those eyes from their inky misery. Fortunately, this athletic prelude serves essentially as practice for what you need to do to defeat the Kraken.

A large, aquatic monster, this wooden beast has nine (count them, nine) dark eyes of crushing. They are all on its back, which sounds simple enough on paper, except for the fact that only three are visible at the same time, and the octopus constantly rotates. That means you have to navigate between a cluster of small islands to get within reach.

A large, aquatic monster, this wooden beast has nine (count them, nine) dark eyes of crushing. They are all on its back, which sounds simple enough on paper, except for the fact that only three are visible at the same time, and the octopus constantly rotates. That means you have to navigate between a cluster of small islands to get within reach.

1 The Phantom

A large, aquatic monster, this wooden beast has nine (count them, nine) dark eyes of crushing. They are all on its back, which sounds simple enough on paper, except for the fact that only three are visible at the same time, and the octopus constantly rotates. That means you have to navigate between a cluster of small islands to get within reach.

Don't fool yourself. Without thorough planning, this battle is a challenge. Before you can inflict any damage on the three forms of the phantom, you must first destroy a series of stage lights that become more numerous and farther apart with each subsequent phase. In Phase 3, you even have to destroy them in a specific order.

And once that's done, you still have to contend with the elemental power with which he has equipped himself. Fire, ink, gusts of wind - it's all there and will drive you to despair if you're aiming for a gold rating. Hone your skills, choose the right moves, and fight your way to victory. Rayman deserves nothing less.