(Top 10) Hardest Final Fantasy Final Bosses

Overview

Final Fantasy is one of the biggest gaming franchises in the world with over fifteen different entries. And that’s not even counting the spin-offs or direct sequels to some of the games.

Throughout all these games, there are some memorable and crazy final bosses that fans of the series love. This list is going to go through all the best ones that really left a mark.

This list is based on the significance of the boss in the games overall story, it’s final boss design and it’s final boss music. There will be some spoilers and these are not by any means based in pure fact more over opinion.

Number 10. Caius Ballad/Jet Bahamut – Final Fantasy XIII-2

Final Fantasy XIII and its sequels did a lot of things wrong that turned off fans of the series for a bit. But something it did right was the final boss of the second entry XIII-2.

Caius Ballad is the main villain of this entry and you run into him several times during the game’s story. But at the end, he is the overall final boss as well.

His boss battle is a pretty epic one as he transforms into a giant Bahamut variant and flies through a city. You follow on an airship and fight with him in the sky as he jumps between Bahamut form and human form.

The presentation of this fight is stunning from how seamlessly the transition is between each boss stage. It’s visually appealing to look at and Ballad’s design alone is unique and makes him stand out amongst some of the other Final Fantasy bosses.

One of the coolest parts about his fight is during its later stage he summons several different Bahamuts you have to fight all at once. It’s a great cinematic feeling within the boss fight that adds a lot.

The boss music doesn’t add too much to it though. You’ll definitely be pulled more by the visual and actions and it can feel a bit sluggish at times from the combat being split up with story cutscenes.

But overall, Caius Ballad/Jet Bahamut is a great start to this list. From here things only start getting better.

Number 9. Exdeath/NeoExdeath – Final Fantasy V

Exdeath is the main villain of Final Fantasy V and has one of the coolest character designs out of the villains in the franchise. His boss battle is great because you don’t even fight the Exdeath you’ve seen the entire game.

At the beginning of the fight, Exdeath opens the Void and then turns into a giant tree. And then you proceed to fight the giant tree and in any other situation, this would seem very mundane and uninspired.

But NeoExdeath does it well. Once taking enough damage the tree becomes an amalgamation of nightmares being made up of several different monsters and creatures that have been seen earlier in the game.

On design alone, it’s terrifying and screams final boss as you essentially fight the horror of the Void. It’s not necessarily a difficult boss fight but it’s a fun one none the less.

And the music used in this fight is great. Really following that classic Final Fantasy SNES style where it’s very fast pace and empowering.

Number 8. Jecht/Final Aeon – Final Fantasy X

Next up is the final boss of Final Fantasy X. Jecht, the Final Aeon is not the best in terms of design. He’s actually kind of bland looking like a basic giant-sized monster you’d find in the series.

What makes him so unique is his significance to the story. The entire story of the game is building up to Yuna summoning the final Aeon and defeating Sin.

Only to find out that the final Aeon and the summoning is a hoax. And that the current one is Jecht her fathers Guardian.

This adds a whole new depth to the meaning of the fight which is kind of the theme of Final Fantasy X. Great story narrative that pushes everything in the right direction.

The fight is not hard by any means but it’s still a fun one to play through. What makes it best is the boss theme which is Otherworld, one of the most badass tracks from FFX and it really ties the fight together.

Number 7. Ultimecia – Final Fantasy 8

The main villain of Final Fantasy 8 is one of the more confusing ones in terms of story. She’s a time witch and when you introduce time as a storytelling method things always get confusing.

Design-wise, she is probably the most unique looking female characters in the Final Fantasy pantheon. And her final boss fight was a great way to send off this game.

It starts with Ultimecia fighting on her own in a pretty simple trading of blows kind of battle. But after taking enough damage the next stage starts and she summons the fan favorite Griever.

This monster takes on half the fight itself being quite the force to overcome. Its design is one of the things that has lasted the test of time with this game and any Final Fantasy fan could point it out.

After defeating Griever the first time, Ultimecia uses Junction and essentially fuses with the beast. This is where the fight starts getting a little ridiculous.

The main worry of this fight comes from the surrounding arena. You’re fighting inside time so there’s a nifty little thing where if your party members get knocked out they can get absorbed by time and you lose them for the remainder of the fight.

So while dealing with the multi-stage boss you’re also trying to make sure no one goes down and if they do they aren’t down for long. It adds an extra sense of urgency to the battle.

The final stage of the boss is when Ultimecia becomes a goddess-like figure. Massive in size, faceless, and just very divine looking.

This part of the fight actually isn’t too hard. Even though she does have a move that takes you down to 1 HP regardless of your max.

She is a true final boss. Four different forms, devastating attacks, and a boss theme that changes once she reaches her final form. She’s not one many players have forgotten once they stepped away from Final Fantasy 8.

Number 6. Zeromus – Final Fantasy IV

Zeromus is one of those classic final fights that follows a bunch of fantasy tropes and we love it for that. The fight starts with Golbez and Fusoya fighting Zemus by themselves.

They defeat Zemus and it seems all is fine, the good guys one! And then Zemus turns into a giant maelstrom and becomes Zeromus.

He wipes out Golbez and Fusoya, the heroes, and they all have to be brought back by the hope of everyone and the crystal. And then the final fight starts.

The build-up to this fight is a great story narrative and the fight itself is just as good. Zeromus’s design is interesting, his first form essentially just being a giant head covered in tendril-like hairs.

After leaving his first form he becomes this organic mechanical ball thing that honestly looks a bit out of place but really makes him stand out. This fight can be a bit difficult depending on how you’ve built your party up to this point but it’s an overall blast to play through at the end of a great game.

Number 5. Chaos – Final Fantasy

Chaos is the big bad of the original Final Fantasy and the first final boss of the series. He starts off as the Black Knight Garland but becomes Chaos after being defeated by the light warriors.

Chaos is great because he is the driving force of the game’s story. You defeat Garland and save the princess and then literally everything after that is about finding the Four Fiends and beating Chaos.

His boss fight is Chaos in its purest form, the giant yellow demonic beast with ultimate power. And he can be pretty hard to beat, especially if you opted not to upgrade to the better classes earlier in the game.

Design wise he’s pretty classic evil demon and it fits perfectly for this traditional fantasy game. And the battle theme to this fight is just beautiful, it’s menacing and gets you pumped altogether.

Number 4. Necron – Final Fantasy 9

Now, this might be a controversial choice to be this high on the list but we’re gonna go over why. The final fight of FF9 has always been criticized for being an enemy that comes out of nowhere with no warning or real explanation.

Necron appears after Trance Kuja loses and destroys the world. He is the end of all things and he intends to return all things to nothingness.

To many, he undermines the amazing Trance Kuja fight by stealing the final boss slot. But anyone who knows the point of FF9 will understand Necrons significance.

FF9 is a love letter to the first 8 games that came before it. From the direct tie to FF1 through Garland and the 4 Elemental Fiends, to directly pulling popular monsters from other FF games and using them as references.

The final boss of this game is no different and probably the biggest reference of them all. Necron is that ultimate “End of everything” entity that existed in almost every Final Fantasy game pre 6.

Chaos, Cloud of Darkness, Zeromus, NeoExdeath. All of these bosses had the goal of returning everything to nothing whether it be for power or to return it to the Void.

That’s what Necron represents as the final boss. His design is haunting and terrifying pulling directly from the location Oeilvert where he is first mentioned and is known as the beginning and end.

His battle music is amazing and probably one of the best final boss themes in the FF series. His attacks are devastating, especially Grand Cross which you might as well go grind if you didn’t get all the proper status protection abilities.

Overall, Necron gets a lot of flak for being a “Shoehorned” Final boss. But he was always intended and there for a reason, you just have to really look to see it.

Number 3. Ardyn – Final Fantasy XV

The final boss of Final Fantasy XV is one of the most interestingly done bosses in the franchise. From the minute Ardyn shows up in the story you know he’s a bad guy with absolutely no doubt.

But he’s one of those immortal bad guys who is actually manipulating the events of every other bad guy in the story. He’s an ancient being who is responsible for all the Daemons in the world and has a grudge against the royal blood line.

His history is great as well as his motive and his design is that of being just a typical human design for Final Fantasy. His boss fight, however, is one of the most epic.

Both Ardyn and Noctis take full force with their power in this fight. Having different weapons constantly flying at one another through combos and flurries and at some points actually flying and throwing weapons at one another.

It really pushes the epic battle boundary and gives a great ending fight to a great game.

2. Sephiroth – Final Fantasy 7

The big famous FF baddie at number 2. His boss fight is amazing but there is still one that leaves a bigger impact.

Sephiroth has several different forms which are him infused with JENOVA. The early stages aren’t to difficult and he really doesn’t become the icon monster until he becomes the mass of human and angel wings.

That legendary song kicks in and the fight really begins. His attacks are powerful, the visuals of the fight were astounding for its time, and it really made you work to get strong enough to bring this guy done.

And once you beat him there is that epic Omnislash segment after the fight. That single moment is what probably defined Cloud and Sephiroth as some of the best FF characters in history.

Number 1. Kefka – Final Fantasy 6

Probably the best final boss in any Final Fantasy game against one of the best FF villains. The final fight against Kefka is not only amazing to see visually, fun as hell, but the importance to the story and the representation of his character is flawless.

Kefka succeeds in actually winning in his goal. He destroys the world and literally becomes a god and this is reflected in his boss fight.

You start at the bottom of a tower which is made up of gods that are nine separate enemies. You fight your way up this tower until you reach Kefka who is floating above it in a divine heavenly landscape as if he’s God watching over it all.

Kefka’s massive ego and insanity are shown within his boss fight and it’s done beautifully. And the boss music is a redone version of his theme and it ties the whole scene together.