Summary
- Unlocking optional bosses in Final Fantasy games requires completing challenging missions and side quests.
- From Vercingetorix in Final Fantasy 13 to Feral Chaos in Dissidia, these bosses offer the ultimate tests for players.
- Final Fantasy games like to hide their toughest bosses behind elaborate requirements, adding a layer of difficulty.
Final Fantasy is a series known for the many secrets it harbors, with the community intensely discussing every game to figure out all the secrets they can uncover. This extends to the bosses too, with some being harder to unlock than others.
8 Scariest Final Bosses In Final Fantasy Games, Ranked
Going up against the final boss in a Final Fantasy game is always intense, but these ones are especially unnerving due to their designs and abilities.
The best Final Fantasy games feature the most rewarding optional boss encounters players can encounter during their travels. However, given how elaborate the requirements are to unlock these boss encounters, it's easy to see why the difficulty of these boss encounters is very high, too.
8 Vercingetorix
Players Must Complete A Bunch Of C'ieth Missions To Unlock This Boss Fight
Final Fantasy 13
- Released
- March 9, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Once players reach the area of Gran Pulse, Final Fantasy 13 finally opens up as they're allowed to adjust their party makeup and the leader they control. It's a development that should've occurred many hours prior, but fans won't complain as long as they're invested in the story and enjoy the wealth of optional content they can get their hands on.
This includes the many C'ieth Stone missions players can complete, which are quite numerous. Completing all but one mission is a time-consuming affair, but players are rewarded for their diligence by getting the opportunity to take on Vercingetorix, a tough-as-nails boss who's no pushover.
7 Penance
Once Players Are Done With The Dark Aeons, Penance Spawns
Final Fantasy 10
- Released
- December 17, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Final Fantasy 10 has its fair share of superbosses that players can take on to challenge themselves, with the Dark Aeons being no joke. These enemies can wipe out players in a flash, mandating that they make substantial progress in the Sphere Grid before taking on these challenging foes.
After defeating every Dark Aeon, players should head to the Calm Lands for the ultimate challenge. They've unlocked the superboss fight with the gigantic Penance, which will make players tear their hair out if they don't know what to expect and are bombarded by the boss' Judgment Day attack over and over again.
6 Ozma
Players Must Go Through The "Chocobo Hot & Cold" Quest To Unlock The Air Garden Where Ozma Resides
Final Fantasy 9
- Released
- July 7, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Violence, Mild Language
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
One of the most charming games in the series, Final Fantasy 9 is such a joy to explore that players will jump at any excuse to spend more time in the game world. Despite this fact, "Chocobo Hot & Cold" can be an annoying quest to complete unless players follow a guide, with progress in this side quest being mandatory to access the Chocobo Air Garden.
Final Fantasy: 8 Best Boss Fights With Multiple Phases, Ranked
Not all Final Fantasy bosses go down after one battle. Here are some of the best in the series with multiple phases.
The superboss Ozma resides here, but players need to complete another optional activity to make this encounter easier to manage. By completing the "Friendly Monsters" side quest, Ozma can be hit with physical attacks and is weak to the Shadow element, letting players spam Doomsday with the proper protection to decimate this boss' health bar.
5 Gilgamesh
A Bunch Of Challenges Must Be Completed Before This Optional Boss Fight Is Unlocked
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
- Released
- February 29, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a beautiful and challenging video game that fans will have a great time with. The open-world approach split fans down the middle, but the title's joyful nature, coupled with its bombastic boss fight,s made Rebirth well-worth checking out for fans of the original FF7 experience.
One of the optional bosses players can encounter in this game is Gilgamesh, but there are several things that they must accomplish before he even welcomes players into his sanctum. Players must complete the Protorelic quests in each region, acquire all the summon materia in the game, then fight these summons in pairs on Gilgamesh Island before this boss considers them worthy of entering his inner sanctum.
4 Minerva
Players Must Complete A Ridiculous Number Of SOLDIER Missions Before They Can Fight Minerva
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7
- Released
- March 24, 2008
- ESRB
- Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 is a game where the SOLDIER missions are a great way to gain items, money, and experience. However, completing these missions can get tedious after a point, especially since there are so many of these jobs that Zack can take on.
If players want to unlock the game's strongest encounter, they must complete every mission in the game without fail. Only then will they unlock the optional battle against Minerva, a superboss who requires a tactical approach if players don't want to be obliterated by her attacks.
3 The Five Archadian Judge Magisters
The 100th Stage Of Trial Mode Houses The Hardest Encounter In The Game
Final Fantasy 12
- Released
- October 31, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
The Trial Mode introduced in Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age serves as the ultimate challenge, but it can be a pain to deal with. Players can tackle a total of one hundred challenging combat scenarios, and they can only save after every tenth trial.
Final Fantasy: 8 Easiest Superbosses
Final Fantasy superbosses usually represent their respective games' toughest challenges. These superbosses, however, are almost too easy.
If players have the time and skills to get past 99 stages, then they must get ready for the game's hardest encounter in the final Trial Mode stage. This is because the player must deal with all five Archadian Judge Magisters in one go, which is ridiculously hard and requires some tactical gambits and powerful combat techniques if they don't want to succumb to the might of this overbearing force.
2 Feral Chaos
Players Must Unlock And Get Through "Confessions Of The Creator" To Fight Against Feral Chaos's Strongest Form
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
- Released
- March 22, 2011
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy is the definitive edition of this beloved PSP fighting game, with improved visuals, a larger collection of fighters, and excellent combat that slowly but surely increases in difficulty with each battle. This may sound great for players who like a challenge, but things get downright unreasonable if players want to face off against the game's strongest foe.
For starters, players must either go through the other story campaigns or acquire the 2000 PP needed to unlock "Confessions of the Creator." This campaign is full of hard-as-nails encounters, ending with a fight against Feral Chaos that will force players to pull out all the skills they've learned to take out the hardest foe in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.
1 The Shadow Within
Clive Must Attain An S-Rank In All 20 Stages Of The Kairos Gate To Have A Chance Of Defeating This Boss
Final Fantasy 16
- Released
- June 22, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Players who thought that Final Fantasy 16 was a bit too easy for its own good will sing a different tune after The Rising Tide DLC. The base encounters of this game are tough enough as is, but it's the challenges of the Kairos Gate that make for a truly ridiculous grind.
If players want to face off against the game's toughest foe, then the first thing they must do is get an S rank on all twenty stages of the Kairos Gate. To make things worse, players who lose against The Shadow Within will be forced all the way to the beginning of the Kairos Gate, forcing them to go through this grueling trial and attain the S ranks all over again to earn their shot at a rematch.
- Creation Year
- 1987
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Creator
- Hironobu Sakaguchi
- Latest Release
- Final Fantasy 16
- Creator(s)
- Hironobu Sakaguchi