Final Fantasy has always enjoyed a colorful and imaginative cast of characters, and when it comes to climactic final boss battles, the series is second to none in grandeur and spectacle. Some antagonists have been very memorable and gone on to become fan favorites. Others have felt underwhelming or uninspired by comparison, and despite their unique qualities, are more easily forgotten.
Whether good or bad, these antagonists all had important roles to play in their respective games. The best examples stand out as a testament to exciting and thrilling finales, and the worst take away from the player's overall feeling of satisfaction.
10 Best: Chaos Created A Time Loop To Gain Immortality (Final Fantasy I)
Chaos is the original big bad, the mold from which all other Final Fantasy last bosses would be cast. Chaos maintained a time loop in the story that enabled him to live forever. That's a pretty high bar set by the first antagonist of the franchise.
During the battle, Chaos uses a wide range of skills and abilities, including being able to restore HP and a devastating 1-hit KO Earthquake skill. Not bad for a human who absorbed the power of fiends to transform himself into a demonic incarnation of evil.
9 Worst: The Battle With Ardyn Was Nothing Special (Final Fantasy XV)
He was an interesting character, and the story surrounding him felt personal and emotional for many fans. However, as far as Final Fantasy series antagonists go, the battle against Ardyn wasn't up to the usual standards.
Where other entries in the series have players facing off against fallen gods, demonic beings, otherworldly creatures, and generally have fantastical and unexpected surprises, Ardyn ended up being little more than a copy of the protagonist Noctis in terms of his abilities. While perhaps appealing to be fighting something of a clone, it also felt a little underwhelming and lacking in imagination compared to what fans have come to expect from the series.
8 Best: As The Undying, Vayne Merged With An Immortal Being (Final Fantasy XII)
Vayne was always an interesting villain, but he really outdid himself during the final battle in Final Fantasy XII. He merged with an immortal being known as The Undying and assimilated pieces of the Sky Fortress Bahamut into his new form. It was a sight to behold.
The battle itself was just as impressive. If the mechanical dragon-like upgrades weren't enough, he also used attacks based around the recurring character Bahamut as well, having employed multiple devastating Flare abilities during the encounter. Megaflare is Bahamut's signature attack, his Gigaflare Sword is in reference to Neo Bahamut's Gigaflare, and Teraflare is the name of Bahamut ZERO's attack.
7 Worst: Orphan Was Not Very Relatable (Final Fantasy XIII)
The story in Final Fantasy XIII was confusing for many players. The lore was difficult to follow at times, and events surrounding the game's final boss, Orphan, were not clearly explained. Things rarely felt cohesive or even comprehensible, making it hard for players to relate to Orphan or his motives.
The final battle with Orphan was somewhat luck-based. Orphan was susceptible to the Death spell, which is rare for bosses to be able to fall prey to, but it was only possible to use during a short window of time, and it wasn't guaranteed to work. If it was successful early, the battle was over very quickly, perhaps even too quickly for some. But if not, it could drag on for much longer, becoming more frustrating than fun.
6 Best: Ultimecia Stole Players' Party Members (Final Fantasy VIII)
In addition to wielding incredibly powerful magic, Ultimecia had a really interesting aspect to her final battle. Across the Final Fantasy series, it is common for players to gravitate towards their favorite characters, and make them into their strongest party members. However, against Ultimecia, this common approach to playing may actually backfire on some players.
Ultimecia had the ability to take your party members out of the fight, and decide on the player's behalf which character they would use to battle against her. This meant that if players weren't careful, they could end up being forced to battle her with weaker party members that were ill-equipped to face the might of this powerful sorceress.
5 Worst: Yu Yevon Was An Anticlimactic Pushover (Final Fantasy X)
While many players ignore Yu Yevon in favor of calling Braska's Final Aeon the true last boss in Final Fantasy X, that doesn't change the fact that the final battle was against Yu Yevon. It was incredibly easy compared to the battle before it, and players would have a hard time failing the encounter short of intentionally trying to do so.
It was also something many players felt was anticlimactic, as the true antagonist for the majority of the game had been Sin, and Braska's Final Aeon better represented that confrontation than Yu Yevon. But just like what happened in Final Fantasy IX with Necron, in Final Fantasy X the strange being Yu Yevon was the true final encounter, to the disappointment of many players.
4 Best: Safer-Sephiroth Was One Of The Most Satisfying Final Encounters In The Series (Final Fantasy VII)
A villain that needs no introduction, Sephiroth is considered by many fans to be the most iconic and memorable villain throughout the franchise. The battles against his multiple forms at the end of Final Fantasy VII were both exciting and satisfying. The most impressive was his Safer-Sephiroth form.
This was the form where his legendary One-Winged Angel theme played, and in addition to his wonderfully bizarre transformation, his attacks were devastatingly strong, and a visual spectacle to behold. In particular, his Supernova attack summoned a star from the depths of space that destroyed entire worlds that crossed its path, before rocketing straight at the protagonist's party. It was a phenomenal sequence that players remembered forever.
3 Worst: The Emperor Was Frustrating And Difficult (Final Fantasy II)
With most entries in the Final Fantasy franchise, the enemies that are the strongest and require thorough preparation to defeat tend to be optional bosses. However, in Final Fantasy II, the Emperor felt more like one of those frustratingly difficult optional bosses, except instead he was the final boss in the game's main story.
One reason the Emperor felt unfair to many players was his ability to recover health. Not only did the Emperor deal out a lot of damage, but he also had HP-siphoning attacks that would steal away a character's HP and restore his own. It was challenging for players to maintain their party's HP levels while still dealing enough damage to chip away at the Emperor's.
2 Best: Kefka Immediately Uses His Most Devastating Power (Final Fantasy VI)
Kefka was a truly sinister villain and a fan favorite of the franchise for many players. The final battle against him was one of the most memorable in the series, as players first had to battle their way up a tower of gods, and Kefka awaited at the summit.
In a show of great strength, Kefka opens the battle by using his devastating ability, Heartless Angel, which reduces all characters in the party to a mere 1 HP, regardless of what defense or protective spells that players had prepared ahead of time, or even the level the characters had managed to reach. It's as if Kefka were laughing in the faces of the protagonists, toying with them, and proving he could easily decimate them all.
1 Worst: Necron Is Truly Forgettable (Final Fantasy IX)
Nothing puts a damper on the exciting climactic final moments of a game like replacing the antagonist of the story out of nowhere. Final Fantasy IX's final boss battle isn't against Kuja, the antagonist that was the prevalent focus throughout the entire game. Instead, players face Necron, a completely forgettable character that's only given the vaguest of mentions before the final battle.
Including Necron as the final boss was a baffling decision that soured the experience for many players. The conclusion to the story would have felt much more satisfying had the credits rolled after the final battle with Kuja instead.
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