Boss

A Boss is a Mii who you face at the end of a level in Swordplay Showdown. They can be the hardest Miis of a level, depending on your play style, and need to be defeated to finish a level. They appear exclusively on their levels. They have 3 hearts, wield purple swords, and wear Black Armor in different styles, and attack in different styles.

Types of Armors[]

Black Armor has 3 different designs: Bulky, Obese, and Lanky. (Note: these names are non-canonical but they are used to differentiate between the different armor designs.)

Examples[]

The Obese Armor is worn by Miguel and looks like a rounder, chubbier person with big legs.
The Bulky Armor is worn by Cole and looks like they have regular bodies with big legs.
The Lanky Armor is worn by Sarah and looks like a very skinny swordfighter with very skinny legs.

Starting on Level 6, the boss will start to defend themself and make an attack if their timing is right (copying red and purple armors). Starting on Level 10, the boss will be very defensive and will strike quickly and often. Starting on Level 18, the boss will start to defend themself if they fail to attack. In the latter two cases, it is especially essential for you to reach the boss with all 3 hearts.

Bosses in each level[]

Normal[]

Cole (Stage 1) (Skill level: 431+)
Gabi (Stage 2) (Skill level: 1451+ [4th best])
Miguel (Stage 3) (Skill level: 941+)
Alisha (Stage 4) (Skill level: 326+)
Hiromasa (Stage 5) (Skill level: 221+)
Sarah (Stage 6) (Skill level: 521+)
Marco (Stage 7) (Skill level: 1121+) (Pro Class)
Asami (Stage 8) (Skill level: 71+ [5th worst])
Anna (Stage 9) (Skill level: 1481+ [2nd best])
Gabriele (Stage 10) (Skill level: 266+)

Reverse[]

Tomoko (Stage 11) (Skill level: 236+)
Takashi (Stage 12) (Skill level: 1376+ [9th best])
Marisa (Stage 13) (Skill level: 641+)
Ian (Stage 14) (Skill level: 161+ [11th worst])
Barbara (Stage 15) (Skill level: 536+)
Shinta (Stage 16) (Skill level: 1421+ [6th best])
Steph (Stage 17) (Skill level: 626+)
Fritz (Stage 18) (Skill level: 731+)
Yoko (Stage 19) (Skill level: 881+)
Matt (Stage 20) (Skill level: 1496+ [Champion])

Tips and Need to Know Facts[]

In some later stages, there are Miis that look and behave exactly like the bosses do, wearing the same black armor and being just as defensive and offensive, but are not actually bosses. Examples of this are two enemies in Level 10, who appear alongside the actual boss of the stage, Gabriele. The only difference between those non-boss Miis and the actual boss Miis are that the non-boss Miis have the same red sword as all the other enemies as opposed to the boss' purple swords, while the non-boss Miis are not always the same size as the boss. These types of enemies have a total of 4 variants, just like the bosses: Small, Small Thin, Lanky and Bulky. They are never seen with the obese body/armor type that some bosses are seen in.
Despite some Miis being the Bosses of Swordplay Showdown, a Mii's role in Swordplay Showdown is otherwise not symbolic of their skill level in Duel and Speed Slice, as each boss' skill varies. For example, Asami the boss of Level 8, but is very bad at Swordplay Duel with a skill level of 75; while Gabi the boss of level 2, but is in top Pro Class in Swordplay Duel/Speed Slice with a skill level of around 1455. This is also vice versa as well, as some Bosses are better at Swordplay Duel/Speed Slice, but are bad at Swordplay Showdown. The only exception is Matt, who is the boss of Level 20, and is the Champion.

Specific Boss Tips[]

Cole has very rare tendencies to attack, let alone defend, so try to hit him rapidly. He has a wide hitbox, due to him having the Bulky Black Armor. He is the slowest attacker out of all the bosses.
Gabi swings her sword frantically and proceeds to attack. She twirls her sword around frantically and attacks quite often, like Hiromasa. She is the first Boss to behave like this. Try to block as best as you can. She wears the Lanky Black Armor.
Miguel is the only Boss out of them all that does not block when he gets near the player. Instead, he drags his sword on the sand while holding it. He does block when he spawns in, but as soon as he gets really close to the player, he stops blocking and starts dragging his sword onto the floor. Try to block him and don't be intimidated. He's the first boss to wear the Obese Black Armor.
Alisha is the only boss that always attacks you twice in a row if you let her hit you. Try to be precise. She wears the Lanky Black Armor.
Hiromasa is the only boss in the Normal Stages to be a bit more aggressive, as he attacks more quickly and swing his sword a bit more frantically than the other Swordplay Showdown bosses in the Normal Stages. Try to block often, and note that he is also has the Thin Lanky Black Armor, making him extra tall.
Sarah is quite defensive and rarely strikes, usually in retaliation to the player. Try to align your sword with hers and whack her in rapid succession. In Swordplay Showdown, she wears the Lanky Black Armor.
Marco is a lot like Sarah, as he defends himself a lot and rarely even attacks in Stage 7 of Swordplay Showdown. He also has a wider body, due to him having the Obese Black Armor. Do the same move set on him as you would to Sarah.
Asami rarely attacks in Swordplay Showdown, and also defends a lot. She differs from her predecessors in that she has the Lanky Black Armor, therefore giving her a smaller hitbox. Despite being the successor to Marco, she has less total skill level.
Anna also rarely attacks and defends herself a lot, though her total skill level is much higher than other Miis. She has Lanky Black Armor as well.
Gabriele is incredibly offensive. Try to block and parry him as often as possible. He wears the Bulky Black Armor. He's the first boss to have a moveset like this, but he does not defend after being stunned, so this is an opportunity to strike him.
Tomoko attacks extremely quickly, quicker than the bosses in the Normal Stages, not holding back on any attacks on Stage 11, so it's best if you block. This is very similar to Gabriele, except she has a smaller hitbox and is faster.
Takashi is very offensive and strikes often. Try to counter him the same way you would Gabriele. He wears Obese Black Armor.
Marisa is very offensive and strikes often. Try to counter her the same way you would Gabriele. She also wears the Lanky Black Armor.
Ian is very offensive and strikes often. Try to counter him the same way you would Gabriele. He also wears the Obese Black Armor. However, like Miguel, he rarely defends himself while you're fighting him, so he's very easy to hit.
Barbara is very offensive and strikes often. Try to counter her the same way you would Gabriele. She wears the Bulky Black Armor. She is also the first boss to exhibit a twisting sword behaviour, though this may not happen.
Shinta is very offensive and strikes often. Just like the last three smaller Bosses, Shinta attacks quickly, but will sometimes take a while to attack, though he does not block when he fails to attack. He wears Lanky Black Armor.
Steph is very offensive and strikes often. Try to counter her the same way you would Gabriele. She wears the Obese Black Armor. She is the last boss to not defend after failing to attack.
Fritz is the first Boss to immediately defend after failing an attack, so try to be precise and patient when attacking him. He wears the Bulky Black Armor. He will try to strike you three times in a row if you let him hit you, so be sure to block his attacks.
Yoko is essentially like Fritz but faster and stronger, not to mention she has a smaller hitbox than Fritz. Be patient when attacking her. She wears Lanky Black Armor.
Matt, the final Boss, is also like Yoko, except he is almost twice as fast. Be careful and try to hit him as you are battling his minions near him. He wears the Bulky Black Armor, and has the largest hitbox in the game. He will defend if you block his attack, but his moveset is different from the other aggressive Miis: he will try to stop you from striking him while he is stunned.

Trivia[]

Both Small Black Armors are not worn by any of the Bosses in Swordplay Showdown. It's only a type of Armor that Non-Boss Miis (Haru, Tyrone, etc.) use.
Ian, despite being a boss, appears as a Green Armored opponent in the picture used as a preview in Swordplay Showdown.
Hiromasa and Shinta are the only male Bosses to wear a different type of Black Armor from the rest of the Male Bosses.
Barbara and Steph have the same case, being the only Female Bosses to wear a different type of Black Armor from the rest of the Female Bosses.
The Obese and Bulky Black Armored Bosses share the same legs.