This page details optional bosses, their hidden locations, and their rewards — all of which are spoilers. Reveal only if you want them.
Mina the Hollower has nine secret/optional bosses you could miss, listed below in order of appearance, plus the Nether Kraken — a separate optional boss you can fight at the very start. Many are gated behind a side quest or an item-collection prerequisite. Most hand you a trinket or a permanent upgrade, so they’re well worth hunting down.
Reward summary
| Boss | Where to find it | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Nether Kraken | Ship deck / shipwreck (very start) | Uranium Bracelet trinket |
| Midden | Queensbury Crypt: Ancestral Chamber | Fly Bait trinket |
| Maxi | Ossex (enter from the right side) | Trinket Bag |
| Armand | Ossex blacksmith (Molten Foundry) | Restores the blacksmith; tied to the Hollower’s Shield |
| Dugin | Western Hills / Southern Outskirts (randomized) | Lace Glove trinket (+1 base Attack) |
| Willis | Ossex: Bowery Music Hall | Pneumatic Armlet trinket |
| Dark Deluxy | Windy Generator door (escort Luxy) | Spark Container |
| Mirren | Coltrane Peak: Frostbite Woods | Blinking Glass trinket |
| Evra | Septemburg Courtyard mini-dungeon | Health Rose |
| Thalassion | Backwater (catch nearly all 15 fish) | Gilded Rod (Fishing Rod upgrade) |
Nether Kraken (start, optional)
A tentacled, clawed sea monster that appears at the very start, after the first cutscene, when you return to the upper deck of the ship. It’s entirely optional — the story doesn’t halt if you can’t beat it.
- Pre-damage it. During the scripted tentacle-grab sequence, hit the grabbing tentacles. If you take full advantage, the Kraken should be down to around 65% HP before the real fight begins.
- Stick to the left side. Move up and down to dodge. Hit a tentacle on the deck at most about twice, then retreat — you can’t damage its face.
- Watch the tells. It raises both claws before striking (top claw usually first); claws tilt up and shake before they come down. Deck tentacles shake before sweeping toward you.
- On the roar, it heaves both claws and unleashes a fast claw sequence — only burrow or jump until it lays its tentacles back down.
- Reward: the Uranium Bracelet trinket (deal more damage, but take more too), in a small chest in the shipwreck — grab it before leaving.
1. Midden — Queensbury Crypt: Ancestral Chamber
Behind a door that requires two Plasma Vials to open. Insult him to make him fight you. He’s not all that tricky. Reward: the Fly Bait trinket.
2. Maxi — Ossex (right entrance)
On the way back from Queensbury Crypt, enter Ossex through the right side and Maxi appears and attacks. Burrow often to stay safe. Reward: a Trinket Bag, which lets you equip more trinkets at once.
3. Armand — Ossex blacksmith (Molten Foundry)
Try to buy a second item from Legovich; his brother Armand hands over a letter refusing to work, and you head into the bottom area to fight him. He resists normal damage — burrow and lead the lava onto his pathway; while he stands in lava he takes normal damage instead of heavily resisting. Beating him restores the blacksmith’s full service and ties into unlocking the Hollower’s Shield.
4. Dugin — Western Hills / Southern Outskirts (randomized)
After returning from Queensbury Crypt, talk to the children Ack and Dak in Ossex: High Street to learn of the mythical Dugin (a tiny rabbit — a Monty Python nod). His spawn is randomized between two spots. Dugin himself has no real attacks; he hops and deals contact damage. The real danger is friendly fire — the two brothers’ frantic projectiles fill the screen and can hit Mina.
You must beat him twice. On the first encounter you only get loose Bones, and if you die there the grove empties — you must advance the main story (e.g. clear a regional boss like Nox’s Bayou) to reset and respawn him. Beat him the second time for the Lace Glove trinket, which raises Mina’s base Attack by one.
5. Willis — Ossex: Bowery Music Hall
A quest first: after beating the Nox Beast, escort a frog in a bucket back to its band, then pay 100 Bones to fund their travel to Ossex. Then head to the music hall in Ossex: Bowery, burrow under the patrons to slip past the bouncer, and talk to the large pirate shark, Willis, near the stage. Attack to stun him, then throw him into the crowd to deal damage. Reward: the Pneumatic Armlet trinket — supercharge your throws so thrown objects go faster, farther, and hit harder.
6. Dark Deluxy — Windy Generator door
You need two Spark Containers to open a door on the way back from the Windy Generator, then escort Luxy back to the Windy Generator to trigger the fight. She is very fast — a problem for slower weapons — but her movements are predictable, so learn to read and dodge them. After beating her, heal her with a spare Plasma Vial to receive a Spark Container.
7. Mirren — Coltrane Peak: Frostbite Woods
A ghost inside an abandoned carriage in Frostbite Woods. Talk to her and say you’re there to help; she gets angry and attacks. Her most dangerous move is to clone herself and dive across the screen — when she does, focus on dodging and burrowing rather than attacking. Reward: the Blinking Glass trinket.
8. Evra — Septemburg Courtyard
Tucked in a Courtyard mini-dungeon (you’ll want a Sidearm like the Drill Driver to reach her grave). She charges and fires a barrage of skeletons from her mouth that attack or self-destruct near you, and she rides a massive undead steed with powerful body blows. Burrow often to dodge the mount and thin out the skeletons. Reward: a Health Rose, a permanent max-HP upgrade.
9. Thalassion — Backwater (fishing super-boss)
The longest prerequisite in the game: get the Fishing Rod from Irwin and Durwin, then catch all 15 fish in each area, leaving one remaining in Backwater. Return with the Fishing Rod and Drill Driver equipped and climb to the fight. Thalassion’s waves and charging bite both hurt a lot in a small arena, so pick your attack windows carefully and be conservative — it may take several attempts. Beat it, talk to Irwin, then return to Durwin for the final fish part to complete the collection and earn the Gilded Rod upgrade.