Summary
Final Fantasyis one of the most popular video game franchises players can’t get enough of. The series may be facing an identity crisis nowadays, but that doesn’t stop fans from immersing themselves in some of the best JRPGs they can get their hands on.
As one would expect, a JRPG behemoth likeFinal Fantasywould be full to the brim with creative bosses that force players to utilize unique strategies. Sometimes, the sheer number of things to keep track of may be overwhelming, but players who have been diligent about leveling up and equipping their party will be amazed by some of these encounters.
Final Fantasy 10is one of the best games in the series, with the Conditional Turn-Based battle system giving players a clear idea of the turn order to help them strategize or manipulate a sequence of events in battle. Nowhere is this more important than duringa fight against the Spectral Keeperafter players complete the Cloister of Trials in Zanarkand.
This unique boss encounter places party members on one of six platforms that float either in front of or around the Spectral Keeper. Not only does he lash out at anyone in front of him whenever attacked, but he also causes party members to go Berserk to make the most of this counter. On top of this, the Spectral Keeper can also place mines that explode and cause Instant Death after a few turns on certain platforms, compelling players to constantly move around and avoid this damaging attack.
Ozma is one of the few bosses in the series where players can prepare beforehand to make the encounter weaker. In this instance, one must complete the Friendly Monsters sidequest to ensure that Ozma isn’t out of reach and invulnerable to Shadow attacks.
This is a must sinceOzma is such a powerful superbossthat players should make use of any advantage they get. His ATB bar fills whenever he’s idle and can overwrite other player actions, which is why the party should wait for him to make a move before queuing up as many moves as possible to make the most of their attack windows.
The hardest superboss inFinal Fantasy 7is impossible to defeat unless players switch out the loadout of their party members beforehand. Emerald Weapon boasts an attack that hits for 1111 damage for each piece of materia equipped on a party member.
This means that players must equip eight materia or less on each character to make this battle manageable, assuming all characters have 9999 HP. Deciding which materia to bring into battle becomes harder when players realize that there’s a timer onthe Emerald Weapon encounterthat can only be removed with an Underwater materia that has no other use in battle.
Atomos is one of the most iconic recurring bosses in the series, withFinal Fantasy 5featuring a deadly version of this boss.It bombards the party with Comet, which will down a party member or two in battle. When the boss starts sucking a KO’d member into its maw, players would likely panic and revive their fallen comrade.
This is a grievous mistake since Atomos will just start spamming Comet again. Instead, it’s better to either wail on Atomos as much as possible while he’s sucking in a party member or quickly resurrect the targeted ally and down another party member further away from Atomos to give players more breathing room.
It’s easy to take on Asura in battle only to feel that this boss is unwinnable. Along with hard-hitting physical counters, she also cures herself with high-level spells to heal up almost all damage that players have inflicted on her.
While players can outpace her healing, the battle becomes needlessly long as a result. Instead, what players can do is cast Reflect on Asura so that her recovery spells bounce off her and heal the party instead. It’s a smart way to incentivize support spells and adds a tantalizing layer of strategy to a boss that turns from a nigh-impossible encounter into a manageable one.
The Cultists' Tower will test a player’s build that they’ve slowly cultivated throughout the game, with their regular Attack commands being blocked in favor of magical skills only. Restoring MP and warily climbing the tower is a must for players who don’t want to succumb to the gauntlet.
However, there’s one final tough encounter waiting for players who reach the top. After acquiring the powerful Soul of Thamasa, players will be ambushed by the Magic Master, who is pretty powerful and forces players to guess his elemental weakness whenever he uses Barrier Change. Even after players think he’s beaten, Magic Master will always cast Ultima before his defeat to wipe out all but the strongest party members. To avoid this deathblow, players should either rely on Reraise, exploit the enemy’s vulnerability to Berserk, or summon Quetzalli at the perfect time to jump out of range.
The Cactuar is one of the cutest enemies inFinal Fantasy, but players will be cursingthe gigantic form of this foewhen they encounter it in the eighth mainline entry. Jumbo Cactual counters every attack with 10,000 Needles, guaranteeing a party member’s death and forcing players to revive their comrades at regular intervals.
This becomes trickier when Jumbo Cactuar is on the verge of defeat since it’ll start planning an escape. If players aren’t fast enough to defeat this enemy for good, then the Guardian Force disappears and must be fought once again.
The Demon Wall isone of the best recurring boss fightsinFinal Fantasy, with its iteration in the twelfth mainline entry being especially harrowing. Not only is this boss a pain to deal with, but players won’t even be aware that they’re supposed to run away from the first encounter to focus on the rest of the dungeon instead, since this Demon Wall is ridiculously strong.
For the mandatory encounter against the weaker second Demon Wall, players should recover their allies whenever they’re set to a different dimension, protect themselves against status ailments, and use the statues around the battle arena to make its speed slower as it moves in to crush the party. It’s a tough encounter that requires a combination of multiple strategies for players to attain victory.
