Final Fantasy has been around since the good old days of the NES, with fans and critics alike loving the series. However, there's an argument to be made that it really didn't hit its stride until the series moved to the original PlayStation. The three PS1 FF games- VII, VIII, and IX- are some of the most beloved in the series, full of great characters, epic stories, and amazing gameplay.
While Final Fantasy had always been known for its tough enemies, these three games have some extremely challenging boss fights, ones that would be a harbinger of things to come in future installments and test players' resolve like little else.
10 FF IX's Necron Is Challenging But Still The Easiest Final Boss Of The PS1 FF Games
Final Fantasy IX is one of the series' most beloved installments. It was longtime director Hironobu Sakaguchi's last time completely in charge of an FF game and was a throwback to the steampunk/medieval aesthetic of FF IV and VI. It was full of beloved characters and the story was pretty great until the end.
The ending twist was okay and the game's final boss, Necron, fits that bill. Its hit points are pretty low, its attacks aren't particularly too devastating, and its look is alright, at best. Necron is still a challenge but is also the easiest FF PS1 era final boss.
9 FF VII's Bizarro Sephiroth Is The Beginning Of The End
Final Fantasy VII's Sephiroth is one of the most recognizable villains in any JRPG but that's because many people have never seen Bizarro Sephiroth. He's one of Final Fantasy's patented multi-piece bosses, where the player has to kill each piece of the boss before it's defeated. Taken all together, his hit points are par with Necron (and potentially more, depending on the player's level) but he's more challenging.
While he's not devastatingly hard, he's still difficult enough to give a player who isn't ready for him a rather steep challenge. He's also the second to last boss, so it's okay that he isn't the hardest boss.
8 FF VII's Ultima Weapon Leads Players On A Merry Chase
After a certain point in FF VII, the planet gets really serious about ending the threat to it and calls upon its Weapons, ancient kaiju-like monsters that challenge the players. The easiest of these both to find and to beat is Ultima Weapon. Basically, players just have to fly around the world map enough and it will attack them like any other enemy.
Ultima Weapon is challenging and has a lot of hit points. It's harder because at the time of its introduction unless players have grinded to an extreme, the party isn't at their strongest. It'll usually runoff before its death and takes multiple tries to kill. It's something players should do, though, since it gets Cloud his best weapon- the Ultima Weapon sword, named after the beast.
7 FF VIII's Ultima Weapon Lies At The Bottom Of One Of The Game's Toughest Dungeons
A new Ultima Weapon appears in FF VIII and it's harder than its predecessor. In FF VII, players got to heal up between encounters with Ultima but they can't do that in FF VIII- they have to kill it in one go. It's also the source of the game's best Guardian Force (think summons that give characters upgraded abilities for those who don't know how FF VIII's Junction system), Eden, and one of only two creatures that players can draw Ultima from.
It's one of the best boss fights in the game and rather challenging to boot, with rewards that far outweigh the risks.
6 FF VII's Safer Sephiroth Has The Most Iconic Boss Music In FF History And Is Pretty Tough
For people who have played FF VII, even mentioning Safer Sephiroth is enough to get his iconic theme playing through their heads- "One-Winged Angel", easily the most iconic boss music in FF history and possibly in video games as a whole. On top of that, it's just a great fight as well, one of the best in the game.
It's difficult without being impossible and gives players a sense of accomplishment when they survive it. His Super Nova spell is both devastating and looks great, a long animation that players marvel at before it blasts the party into next week.
5 FF VIII's Ultimecia Is One Of The Longest Boss Fights In FF History
FF VIII's final boss, Ultimecia is one of the most powerful final bosses in FF history, which is saying something. The fight has four stages- the first against her, the second against her Guardian Force, Griever, the third against a combination of herself and Griever, and a final form. It's also an extremely long fight, one which challenges the player's mastery of the game's systems.
Ultimecia's first three forms are hard but it's her last form that makes her difficult. Her ultimate spell, Apocalypse, is extremely powerful and what makes it worse is she performs a move called Draw Apocalypse before it, giving players a countdown before annihilation. It's a long, tough fight and gives players a sense of accomplishment once they've won.
4 FF VII's Emerald Weapon Is The Game's Second Toughest Boss
Emerald Weapon resides on the ocean floor and can only be reached by the party's submarine. It has five different parts to hit and the party only has twenty minutes to defeat it. The problem with that is that the boss has a million hit points, meaning that players are going to need all of the game's most powerful abilities and summons to wear it down.
Emerald Weapon is the easier of the game's two hidden bosses but calling it easier is like saying the Earth is relatively close to the sun when compared to the size of the Milky Way. The time limit is what makes it very tough and without the Knights of the Round summon and the party's level four Limit Breaks, the fight is nearly impossible.
3 FF VIII's Omega Weapon Challenges The Player's Mastery Of The Game
Omega Weapon is a "hidden" boss that is actually pretty easily found. Residing in Ultimecia's Castle, it's the most difficult fight in the game and the only way to beat it is to have truly mastered all of the game's systems. Omega Weapon has over a million hit points and its ultimate attack, Light Pillar, can kill the whole party with one hit.
The only way to beat Omega Weapon is to have refined the item Holy War, which makes the whole party invincible, and to have maximized the party's damage-dealing abilities. Omega Weapon takes a lot of preparation to take down and is a major accomplishment.
2 FF IX's Ozma Is The Game's Toughest Boss
Final Fantasy IX's classic FF trappings make it a fan favorite but everyone can agree that Ozma is one of the most frustrating bosses in the series. While it looks like a rubber bouncing ball, it's still one of the most challenging boss fights in FF history. First off, unless the player completes a certain sidequest, Ozma is unable to be hit by physical attacks.
On top of that, its Active Time Battle gauge fills up almost immediately, meaning that every time the player attacks, Ozma is going to hit them with a devastating counter-attack. It's an extremely tough fight, one that players need a lot of skills and smarts to survive.
1 FF VII's Ruby Weapon Takes Everything A Player Has To Defeat
Of the three Weapons, Ruby Weapon is the hardest. First off, it's impossible to be damaged unless its tentacles are revealed and it only does that when only a single character is alive. It can also hit the party with Whirlwind, which banishes a member from the fight. Even with all of the game's most powerful abilities and summons, this fight is a grave challenge.
Fighting Ruby Weapon is a huge challenge. It depends just as much on luck as it does on how well prepared the party is.
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