Among many other triumphs, the Final Fantasy series gets a lot of love for its final bosses — whether for their music, strength, or lengthy encounters. And somehow, they’ve always got one more, completely off-the-rails transformation tucked away.
Last boss encounters and their various otherwordly forms are a surefire way of keeping players constantly on the edge in both the narrative and gameplay fronts, and I’d argue all games should take a few notes from the series’ iconic battles. Let’s look at the most memorable challenges standing between us and our much-deserved victory lap through the credits.
Whether it be for their punchy ending themes or painful party-wipe mechanics, here’s a list of some of the best Final Fantasy last boss encounters.
7. Chaos – Final Fantasy
With a mere one, yes, just one, form, Chaos might not feel like the Final Fantasy you know now, but he’s the baddie that started it all. To make his lack of flashy transformations worse, I think that he looks cooler before he transforms into his battle form. He’s also surprisingly easy to beat, but Chaos got the ball running for the franchise, so let’s give him some credit, shall we?
Also, he gets bonus points for inspiring the hilarious plot of Final Fantasy: Stranger Of Paradise. May we always remember the memes Jack shouting “Chaos” spawned.
6. Vayne – Final Fantasy XII
The battle against Vayne is far from a fan favorite, but I think it has a lot of charm and something for everyone. Vayne’s first form feels like going up against a real player in Final Fantasy Online. He acts like you, down to his use of quickenings. Naysayers complain that FFXII feels more like an MMO than a traditional Final Fantasy experience, but I’m totally down for the more experimental gameplay that maintains it as a single-player affair.
And then I think nobody should complain, as Vayne’s final form, The Undying, is a classic Final Fantasy endboss through and through.
5. Braska’s Final Aeon aka Jecht – Final Fantasy X
We spend the entirety of Final Fantasy X learning to hate Jecht, then we learn that he actually sacrificed himself to save the world, and then we have to kill him. Jecht is the only final boss in the history of the series who doesn’t want to kill the main party, but that’s not his choice to make. He wasn’t the best dad to Tidus, but damn, it was enough to pull at the ole heartstrings.
Jecht doesn’t put up all that much of a fight, but that can be excused by the fact that he was trying to contain his power. Nice save, writers! Also, I know that Jecht isn’t the true end boss of Final Fantasy X, but I think we’re all better off ignoring Yu Yevon.
4. Ardyn – Final Fantasy XV
Ardyn subverts your expectations as to what a final boss should be and should appeal to those really into FFXIV’s Emet-Selch. Are you expecting this guy to turn into a monster? Nope. He already is one. Are you expecting to use the power of friendship to overcome the terrible odds of going up against a seemingly immortal, and surprisingly very sexy, old man? You better not be.
The final fight against Ardyn is a 1v1 battle between him and Noctis, and it feels like one of the most personal affairs in the history of Final Fantasy battles. It’s like Cloud and Sephiroth’s final duel but cranked up a notch and expanded into a full battle.
3. Kefka Final – Fantasy VI
Kefka remains one of the most beloved villains in the series, and the showdown with him has all the staples of final Final Fantasy battles turned up to eleven. Kefka is both a battle and a final dungeon, one with monstrosities that grow wilder as you climb and don’t stop until meeting his final form at the top.
He’s got every boss signature nailed, with his timeless theme and creepy laugh sound effect I still can’t shake. Kefka really drew the blueprint for the best battles in the series.
2. Ultimecia – Final Fantasy VIII
Ultimecia is the Final Fantasy end boss perfected. Once you reach the end of her castle — the best final dungeon in the series — you’ll meet her four forms, each one weirder and scarier than the previous one.
What begins as a simple attempt to kill a sorcerer devolves into a fierce battle against the most powerful summon in existence, culminating into a battle against an indescribable creature hellbent on keeping your party members’ HP at either one or zero. She gets bonus points for also featuring the best final boss song in the series and for giving way to what I’d argue remains the best video game ending cutscene in history.
The only reason Ultimecia doesn’t easily land at #1 is that she doesn’t have much of an emotional connection to any of the characters in the game.
1. Sephiroth – Final Fantasy VII
Even though the Northern Crater doesn’t feel like a very inspired final dungeon, Final Fantasy VII more than makes up for that with its climactic final battle. The game spent its entire runtime prepping up Sephiroth as the final antagonist, and it sure does deliver.
I could talk about the various awesome forms, such as the memorable Safer Sephiroth, which we have to fight while listening to the beautiful Jimi Hendrix-inspired One Winged Angel, but the best part is the unexpected post-fight moment.
It’s only when we think we’ve gotten rid of Sephiroth for good that he pulls Cloud back for a back-to-basics 1v1 showdown. That’s when we finally get to unleash the Omnislash on him to get revenge for the death of you-know-who. Now that’s how you end a villain — and a game.
