The 10 Hardest Final Fantasy Bosses Ever
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VOICE OVER: Riccardo Tucci
WRITTEN BY: George Pacheco
Final Fantasy games are known for their insane boss fights! For this list, we'll be ranking the most challenging boss battles in the "Final Fantasy" franchise, so a spoiler alert will be in order if there are any games in this legendary RPG series that you've missed! Our countdown includes Warmech "Final Fantasy" (1987), Omega Weapon "Final Fantasy VIII" (1999), Emerald Weapon "Final Fantasy VII" (1997), Odin "Final Fantasy IV" (1991), Kefka "Final Fantasy VI" (1994) and more!
Script written by George Pacheco
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Hardest Final Fantasy Bosses.
For this list, we'll be ranking the most challenging boss battles in the "Final Fantasy" franchise, so a spoiler alert will be in order if there are any games in this legendary RPG series that you've missed!
What's the toughest Final Fantasy boss you’ve faced? Let us know in the comments below!
The first boss on our list isn't easy to find, but the Warrior of Light in your party may be unlucky enough to draw out the Warmech in the original "Final Fantasy." There's only a marginal chance of encountering the Warmech while exploring the Flying Fortress, but if you do, get ready for a probable pre-emptive strike. If that's not annoying enough, the Warmech's Atomize ability unleashes devastating non-elemental damage to the entire party AND has an auto-heal factor that makes beating it a definite achievement.
A million hit points. That's just the start of what we're dealing with here with Omega Weapon from "Final Fantasy VIII." This is another boss battle where you have to know where to be and what to do in order to encounter it, this time while in Ultimecia Castle. You need to toggle in between your two party teams to kick start the timer to meet Omega Weapon, and once you do, you better be ready. There's Omega Weapon's Level 5 Death, an ability that instantly KO's any party member with a level divisible by 5. There are cheats to defeat Omega Weapon, however, including hitting it with potions to stop its offense. Attacking it head on, however, will result in devastating Ultima, Meteor, Gravjia and Terra Break attacks.
Today's gaming world is used to boss battles taking multiple hours to achieve, but what about the other way around? Players only have twenty minutes to beat the Emerald Weapon in "Final Fantasy VII," although you can get around this if you have Underwater Materia equipped on the party. You can also avoid fighting Emerald Weapon if you pilot the submarine in a certain way...which might not be a bad idea, because this boss has a devastating attack under its belt. It's called Aire Tam Storm (Materia spelled backwards) and smashes the party with damage equal to the materia equipped times 1,111. There is some good news: Emerald Weapon never deviates from its attack pattern, so memorizing it will help out immensely.
Zantetsuken. The word is likely very familiar to "Final Fantasy" addicts, thanks primarily to the character of Odin. He's been a friend, foe and Guardian Force: an intimidating boss that demands a fair fight if the party is going to earn the right to summon him for aid. Zantetsuken, or Z-Sword in the SNES version, is Odin's Instant Death attack and it makes fighting him one of the riskiest endeavors in the game. Of course, being able to summon Odin and using the Zantetsuken to eliminate your enemies is probably worth rolling the dice...just be careful.
You go up against Kefka Palazzo numerous times while playing "Final Fantasy VI," with varying degrees of difficulty, but there's no sugar coating this epic final boss fight. Kefka's final "God of Magic'' form is a multi-stage endurance test, starting almost immediately when the boss slashes all of your HP down to one. Status ailments like "Blind" and "Silence" will be cast on the party, and Kefka will also delight in nixing any positive status boosts you have supporting your crew. What's worse, many of Kefka's attacks are unblockable, making near constant healing an absolute must if you remotely hope to survive to the end.
The battle with Ozma in "Final Fantasy IX" can be made a lot easier simply by doing what a lot of gamers love to do anyway: side quests. Specifically, the "Friendly Monsters" side quest makes hitting this pinball shaped beast with short range attacks possible, and the boss also develops a weakness to Shadow attacks if this quest has been finished. However, don't think for a second that beating Ozma is going to be a cake walk, because its Meteor and Doomsday attacks can devastate an unprepared party. What's worse, the boss will likely heal itself back to full HP right at the most inopportune moment, making you try and beat this annoying orb all over again.
So, you barely blinked at the Omega Weapon's million hit points? You say you want a real challenge? Ok, then may we submit for your approval Penance from "Final Fantasy X?" This optional superboss has TWELVE MILLION hit points, and can easily annihilate your party. The key here is to keep an eye on Penance's independent arms. If they're both active, then the boss will cast Judgment Day, an attack that deals 9,999 points of damage to everyone. Elemental damage won't work on it, although Doom attacks will keep the arms at bay, which can create a much needed opening. Of course, if you happen to have Yojimbo as a summon, then his Zanmato attack can kill Penance instantly. Other than that, though, get ready to run the gauntlet.
We've encountered a number of bosses with the surname "Weapon" in our list, but you know you're dealing with a super-boss when it's not-so-affectionately referred to as the Ultimate Ultima Weapon. This battle is actually so difficult that the second stage sees Ultimate Ultima Weapon casting, you guessed it, the "Ultima" attack, which will wipe out your entire party before you can blink. This boss does drop some dope equipment if you're lucky enough to survive the encounter, but to be honest? Beating Ultimate Ultima Weapon is probably going to be more a question of luck than anything else.
Ok, so at this point we've got to wonder what’s going on with the "Final Fantasy" series and all of its myriad, optional, nigh-unbeatable bosses. Enter Yiazmat, whose HP level makes every prior entry on our list look silly, clocking in at a whopping FIFTY MILLION. Expect to measure this boss bottle in terms of hours rather than minutes, as Yiazmat can create Instant Death with its attacks, and never fails to target your entire party. Dark damage attacks will help, and it is possible to fight Yiazmat in increments, allowing your party to heal and buy support items. Don't stray too far, however, otherwise the boss will cast Regen and stock up on status boosts for when you return.
Before we name our number one pick, here are some honorable mentions!
Sephiroth, "Final Fantasy VII: Remake" (2020) Nope, the Remake Didn't Make Him Any Easier
Our number one entry was designed to be unbeatable. So unbeatable, in fact, that a patch was required for "Final Fantasy XI" in order to give players a chance. It will auto heal every round, but don't worry about that, because you also have to deal with "Benediction." Absolute Virtue will delight-every time...every DARN time-to use this attack after hours and hours of progress, wiping you out and requiring you to try all over again from the beginning. Oh, and you will be back again. And again. And probably a dozen times or more before you get lucky enough to survive Absolute Virtue.
Top 10 Hardest Final Fantasy Bosses
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Hardest Final Fantasy Bosses.
For this list, we'll be ranking the most challenging boss battles in the "Final Fantasy" franchise, so a spoiler alert will be in order if there are any games in this legendary RPG series that you've missed!
What's the toughest Final Fantasy boss you’ve faced? Let us know in the comments below!
#10: Warmech
"Final Fantasy" (1987)
The first boss on our list isn't easy to find, but the Warrior of Light in your party may be unlucky enough to draw out the Warmech in the original "Final Fantasy." There's only a marginal chance of encountering the Warmech while exploring the Flying Fortress, but if you do, get ready for a probable pre-emptive strike. If that's not annoying enough, the Warmech's Atomize ability unleashes devastating non-elemental damage to the entire party AND has an auto-heal factor that makes beating it a definite achievement.
#9: Omega Weapon
"Final Fantasy VIII" (1999)
A million hit points. That's just the start of what we're dealing with here with Omega Weapon from "Final Fantasy VIII." This is another boss battle where you have to know where to be and what to do in order to encounter it, this time while in Ultimecia Castle. You need to toggle in between your two party teams to kick start the timer to meet Omega Weapon, and once you do, you better be ready. There's Omega Weapon's Level 5 Death, an ability that instantly KO's any party member with a level divisible by 5. There are cheats to defeat Omega Weapon, however, including hitting it with potions to stop its offense. Attacking it head on, however, will result in devastating Ultima, Meteor, Gravjia and Terra Break attacks.
#8: Emerald Weapon
"Final Fantasy VII" (1997)
Today's gaming world is used to boss battles taking multiple hours to achieve, but what about the other way around? Players only have twenty minutes to beat the Emerald Weapon in "Final Fantasy VII," although you can get around this if you have Underwater Materia equipped on the party. You can also avoid fighting Emerald Weapon if you pilot the submarine in a certain way...which might not be a bad idea, because this boss has a devastating attack under its belt. It's called Aire Tam Storm (Materia spelled backwards) and smashes the party with damage equal to the materia equipped times 1,111. There is some good news: Emerald Weapon never deviates from its attack pattern, so memorizing it will help out immensely.
#7: Odin
"Final Fantasy IV" (1991)
Zantetsuken. The word is likely very familiar to "Final Fantasy" addicts, thanks primarily to the character of Odin. He's been a friend, foe and Guardian Force: an intimidating boss that demands a fair fight if the party is going to earn the right to summon him for aid. Zantetsuken, or Z-Sword in the SNES version, is Odin's Instant Death attack and it makes fighting him one of the riskiest endeavors in the game. Of course, being able to summon Odin and using the Zantetsuken to eliminate your enemies is probably worth rolling the dice...just be careful.
#6: Kefka
"Final Fantasy VI" (1994)
You go up against Kefka Palazzo numerous times while playing "Final Fantasy VI," with varying degrees of difficulty, but there's no sugar coating this epic final boss fight. Kefka's final "God of Magic'' form is a multi-stage endurance test, starting almost immediately when the boss slashes all of your HP down to one. Status ailments like "Blind" and "Silence" will be cast on the party, and Kefka will also delight in nixing any positive status boosts you have supporting your crew. What's worse, many of Kefka's attacks are unblockable, making near constant healing an absolute must if you remotely hope to survive to the end.
#5: Ozma
"Final Fantasy IX" (2000)
The battle with Ozma in "Final Fantasy IX" can be made a lot easier simply by doing what a lot of gamers love to do anyway: side quests. Specifically, the "Friendly Monsters" side quest makes hitting this pinball shaped beast with short range attacks possible, and the boss also develops a weakness to Shadow attacks if this quest has been finished. However, don't think for a second that beating Ozma is going to be a cake walk, because its Meteor and Doomsday attacks can devastate an unprepared party. What's worse, the boss will likely heal itself back to full HP right at the most inopportune moment, making you try and beat this annoying orb all over again.
#4: Penance
"Final Fantasy X" (2001)
So, you barely blinked at the Omega Weapon's million hit points? You say you want a real challenge? Ok, then may we submit for your approval Penance from "Final Fantasy X?" This optional superboss has TWELVE MILLION hit points, and can easily annihilate your party. The key here is to keep an eye on Penance's independent arms. If they're both active, then the boss will cast Judgment Day, an attack that deals 9,999 points of damage to everyone. Elemental damage won't work on it, although Doom attacks will keep the arms at bay, which can create a much needed opening. Of course, if you happen to have Yojimbo as a summon, then his Zanmato attack can kill Penance instantly. Other than that, though, get ready to run the gauntlet.
#3: Ultimate Ultima Weapon
"Final Fantasy XIV" (2013)
We've encountered a number of bosses with the surname "Weapon" in our list, but you know you're dealing with a super-boss when it's not-so-affectionately referred to as the Ultimate Ultima Weapon. This battle is actually so difficult that the second stage sees Ultimate Ultima Weapon casting, you guessed it, the "Ultima" attack, which will wipe out your entire party before you can blink. This boss does drop some dope equipment if you're lucky enough to survive the encounter, but to be honest? Beating Ultimate Ultima Weapon is probably going to be more a question of luck than anything else.
#2: Yiazmat
"Final Fantasy XII" (2006)
Ok, so at this point we've got to wonder what’s going on with the "Final Fantasy" series and all of its myriad, optional, nigh-unbeatable bosses. Enter Yiazmat, whose HP level makes every prior entry on our list look silly, clocking in at a whopping FIFTY MILLION. Expect to measure this boss bottle in terms of hours rather than minutes, as Yiazmat can create Instant Death with its attacks, and never fails to target your entire party. Dark damage attacks will help, and it is possible to fight Yiazmat in increments, allowing your party to heal and buy support items. Don't stray too far, however, otherwise the boss will cast Regen and stock up on status boosts for when you return.
Before we name our number one pick, here are some honorable mentions!
Yunalesca, "Final Fantasy X" (2001)
Pick a Stage, Any Stage: They're All a Challenge
Necron, "Final Fantasy IX" (2000)
Pattern Memorization Is Key
Seymour Flux, "Final Fantasy X" (2001)
We Weren’t Prepared For This One!
Sephiroth, "Final Fantasy VII: Remake" (2020) Nope, the Remake Didn't Make Him Any Easier
#1: Absolute Virtue
"Final Fantasy XI" (2002)
Our number one entry was designed to be unbeatable. So unbeatable, in fact, that a patch was required for "Final Fantasy XI" in order to give players a chance. It will auto heal every round, but don't worry about that, because you also have to deal with "Benediction." Absolute Virtue will delight-every time...every DARN time-to use this attack after hours and hours of progress, wiping you out and requiring you to try all over again from the beginning. Oh, and you will be back again. And again. And probably a dozen times or more before you get lucky enough to survive Absolute Virtue.
