Top 30 Hardest Final Fantasy Bosses of All Time

Angra Mainyu (FFX-2)

Hardest Final Fantasy Bosses

Final Fantasy X-2 gets flak for being one of the weirder entries in the franchise. Compared to its predecessor, X-2 is a remarkably silly. But one thing that few complain about, is the game’s combat.

X-2 is the purest realization of the Active Time Battle system which perfectly complements the job system that is easy to learn, but difficult to master. But you’re going to have to master it quickly if you want to have any chance of taking down the game’s super boss, Angra Mainyu.

Located in the Bikanel Desert, Angra Mainyu is a terrifying creature whose origin stems from the Zoroastrianism embodiment of the “destructive spirit.” Hope you ate before the battle, Angra Mainyu packs a whopping 333,444HP, which can take quite some time to whittle down to zero if you’re unprepared.

Yiazmat (FFXII)

Hardest Final Fantasy Bosses

Yiazmat is the hunter’s dream in Final Fantasy XII. This elite mark holds the record for the monster with the most HP in the entire franchise. Yiazmat is working with 50,112,254 HP, and is a battle that promises to last even the highest level parties at least an hour, but probably closer to two.

Thankfully, players can exploit a nearby save crystal to heal and save the game, but don’t stay away too long. Yiazmat can get some rest and heal too.

Pandemonium Warden (FFXI)

It’s easy to overlook Final Fantasy XI, since it is a MMORPG, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t produce some incredibly difficult boss fights over the years. Perhaps the most famous, and at the time of its release, the most difficult, was Pandemonium Warden from the Treasures of Aht Urghan expansion.

Pandemonium Warden was an endurance fight of epic and ridiculous proportions. Back in 2008 at the time of its release, even one of the most skilled linkshells (read: clans) Beyond the Limitation, which were able to take down Absolute Virtue, another FFXI superboss, were not able to hang on long enough to defeat the Pandemonium Warden.

Their best attempt took a staggering 18 hours and they gave up when linkshell members starting becoming physically ill and vomiting. The news of this crazy fight eventually made national headlines, and the attention eventually forced Square Enix to rework the difficulty, and place a time limit on the fight.

Emerald Weapon (FFVII)

Emerald Weapon is intimidating. Your first descent into the depths of Gaia’s oceans bring with it a terrifying glimpse of the game’s superboss. Emerald glides past the submarine and narrowly misses your newly acquired vessel. You shake in fear because you know that Emerald will wipe the floor with you, especially at this point in the game.

Hell, Emerald will wipe the floor with you late in the game if you’re not prepared, especially if you let the timer kill you first. Unless you’ve acquired the Underwater Materia, your party will suffocate underwater in twenty minutes  Twenty measly minutes to wipe out the strongest boss in the game. Think about that.

Long Gui (FF XIII)

Despite what you might think about Final Fantasy XIII, there’s no doubting the game has it’s share of challenging enemies – cue the Long Gui.

What makes this enemy particularly dastardly is how the game presents it to you. After completing missions 56-62 in the Ci’eth Stone Circle, the game replaces all of the Adamantortoise and half of the Adamantoise population on Gran Pulse, effectively turning the open field into a minefield of super bosses.

You know an enemy is tough when strategy guides recommend you maximize the chrystarium and party equipment in order to stand a chance. But should the battle last you longer than twenty minutes, the Long Gui casts doom on the party leader furthering the pressure to finish the fight.

Omega Weapon (FFVIII)

Don’t let the dated graphics fool you, Omega Weapon is no joke. Easily the most difficult battle in the game, Omega can be found at the end of the game in Ultimecia’s castle. But first, you’ve got to earn the right to fight him.

This involves a simple puzzle that requires one party to be ready for the fight, and another to ring the doorbell to set-off a timer that allows the player the chance to tackle this beast of a boss.

With over a million HP, the battle with Omega can be a tiring one that fully tests your understanding of the junction and draw mechanics of the game.

Ozma (FFIX)

Ozma is regarded by many Final Fantasy players to be the most difficult boss in the entire franchise. This forgotten Eidolon appears to the player in a cloud of energy, it’s true form lost to time.

Actually finding Ozma can be time consuming, asking players to fully invest in the Chocobo Hot and Cold mini-game. After much time spent scouring each Chocobo site, Ozma can be found in the Chocobo Air Garden in disk three.

The reason why Ozma gives so many players trouble is the Eidolon’s ability to hit quickly. The attacks come so quick, the player has little time to react accordingly. Forcing players into a frantic scramble that leads to mistakes; and mistakes lead to game over.

Penance (FFX HD)

Penance is one of the more interesting super bosses in the franchise, because the game encourages players to farm the boss for high-tier items through theft and the repeated destruction of the monster’s limbs.

Accessible after defeating all of the Dark Aeons in the game, Penance must be selected on the deck of airship where the player is then flown to the Calm Lands to fight the mystical beast.

Penance’s name likely comes from the act of repenting of ones sins in the Roman Catholic Church. Relating that directly to the world of Spira, Penance can be seen as Yu Yevon’s final attempt at stopping Yuna and the gang from reaching him. Thus, the atonement.

Shinryu (FFV)

Shinryu, arguably the hardest superboss of its era, is often associated with the powerful blade Ragnarok, and lucky players may receive the mythical sword as a random drop. Seeming mischievous in nature, Shinryu likes to hide inside late-game treasure chests ready to attack the party upon inspection.

Shinryu is also series regular who travels the inter-dimensional rift and void, to enter the dimensions of other Final Fantasy games, such as serving as the final boss of one of Final Fantasy XI’s add-on scenarios.

Kaiser Dragon (FFVI Advance)

Kaiser can be found in the Dragon’s Den (a new dungeon for the GameBoy Advance release of FFVI) after defeating the eight legendary dragons who won’t go down without a fight. After many trials and tribulations, players earn the right to fight the Emperor of the Dragons who guards the Diabolos Magicite, and entry to the Soul Shrine dungeon.

The Kaiser Dragon is difficult because it must be defeated five times, each life with an HP of 65,500. And what makes the fight even more challenging is the random pattern in which the Kaiser Dragon attacks. Always shifting elemental forces, the Kaiser Dragon is as unpredictable as it is deadly.

But what about the Omega superboss that follows? Wouldn’t that be harder? Some might argue that it is, but for the most part, Omega telegraphs its moves in a way that allow the player to adjust their strategy accordingly. Worried about the counters? Just cast quick and rest easy. Also, the Kaiser Weapon casts Ultima, Omega does not.

Absolute Virtue – Final Fantasy XI

Absolute Virtue is a Notorious Monster in Final Fantasy XI, and was widely known as being one of the most ridiculously tough enemies in the entire game for a while. The Dragoon job enemy had a powerful moveset and multiple two-hours abilities it could use in succession. Without a doubt the most annoying ability of the boss, though, was its tremendous Auto Regen that could restore 500 HP per tic. Taking certain actions could reduce the power of the boss, but it’s still known as one of the most difficult enemies in the MMO.

Absolute Virtue was the longest undefeated boss in the game, and its difficulty was reduced multiple times, even causing changes in the larger game. It’s immense challenge was only matched by the quality of loot you’d get from finally overcoming this monumental task.

Carry Armor – Final Fantasy VII

Carry Armor may not be the most difficult boss, but because of its gimmick it can be an incredibly surprising enemy to run up against. You’ll fight this boss in the Junon Underwater Reactor a decent ways into the game.
The big problem with Carry Armor is that it can use both of its arms to pick up two of your party members, and if the remaining character is killed during this time you lose the battle. It also has a pretty deadly attack called Lapis Laser that’s non-elemental and hits your entire party for high damage. Attacking the arms will slightly reduce the chances of your characters being picked up, but won’t eliminate it. The best idea with this enemy is to blitz the main body, using lightning attacks and your best skills to put it down. You can also equip your highest damage character with counter, so they’ll hit back after every use of Lapis Laser.

Carry Armor certainly isn’t something you’re expecting in Final Fantasy VII, which means it can completely catch you off guard and grind your progress to a halt.

Chaos – Dissidia Final Fantasy

Dissidia may be a fighting game hybrid of teh Final Fantasy series, but that doesn’t’ mean it doesn’t have its fair share of tough battles. Particularly, the final battle with Chaos can be a real nuisance. The intimidating demon fights with fire and earth based combos that have huge reach and massive damage. Even though he doesn’t move quickly, the attacks themselves come off surprisingly fast. Compounding things is the fact that the final boss arena is horribly small, giving you very little room to maneuver.
It’s a tough fight to begin with, but you’ll have to beat Chaos in three rounds to achieve victory, and can’t die in any of the rounds. He also get a power boost in the third round. This is certainly one battle that you might be spending some time with.

Seymour Flux – Final Fantasy X

Seymour Guado is the main antagonist of Final Fantasy X, and there’s multiple points that you have to do battle with him. The third battle in particular, Seymour Flux, atop Mt. Gagazet can be one of the most challenging bosses in the entire game.

This is one battle you’ll need to prepare for, as Seymour comes with some deadly attacks and status effects. Quite often he’ll cast zombie on your party members, and then follow up with holy or healing attacks. This is a double-whammy as you can’t even heal the character unless you cure zombification. He’ll also cast Protect and Reflect on himself quite often, following up with a huge magic attack afterward.

The real issue with Seymour Flux is his massive party damaging attacks. His Cross Cleave deals about 2,000 damage to each party member, and his signature move Total Annihilation is bound to take out at least two members instantaneously. Luckily he is a tad bit weak to poison. You’ll need to keep on your toes, constantly use dispel, and take quick action to overcome this one.

Ruby Weapon – Final Fantasy VII

Ruby Weapon is the second of two tough optional bosses in Final Fantasy VII. Although it may not be quite as demanding as Emerald Weapon, this foe definitely shouldn’t be underestimated. The boss has extremely high defense, meaning almost any attack that doesn’t have fixed damage or ignores defense is useless. To make matters worse, the battle always begins like the party has been back-attacked, putting you at an instant disadvantage.

The only way to beat Ruby Weapon is to get it to expose its tentacles, and the only way to do that is to have one character alive. Because of this, most strategies involve one character rushes with abilities like re-raise, haste, and auto-healing. Giving Cloud the Mime ability with his Omnislash Limit Break is one option, or using the Knights of the Round Summon.

Either way this is a battle that’s going to take you a while, and one you can’t even think about taking on unless you’re fully prepared.

Demon Wall – Final Fantasy IV

Demon Wall is a mandatory boss battle that takes place in Final Fantasy IV, after you obtain the last Dark Crystal from the Sealed Cave. What really makes this one difficult is the fact that it’s a timed battle, as the wall continuously moves closer to the party before using an instakill attack.
In the base versions of the game the boss has 28,000 HP, but the 3D version gives it a whopping 99,000 HP, considerably upping the challenge. Inevitably, the Demon Wall becomes a game of time management. You absolutely have to use Slow on the enemy, while using Haste on your party. The tense battle requires you to keep on top of slowing it, while causing as much damage as you possibly can as fast as you can do it.

Wiegraf Folles – Final Fantasy Tactics

Final Fantasy Tactics split off from the rest of the series by making the game a tactical turn-based strategy title, and it’s absolutely filled with some punishing fights. One of the most difficult battles, if not the most difficult period, is the final fight with Wiegraf Folles. This battle sees the main character Ramza engaging the leader of the Corpse Brigade Wiegraf one-on-one, before bringing the party back in for a second phase. With no teammates at your back, this can be a really tough battle to manage, especially as Wiegraf comes with some pretty great equipment and abilities. He has the ability Counter, Martial Arts, Safeguard, and Move+1.

You need a good way to have Ramza both heal himself and boost his speed, so equipping moves like Auto-Potion is usually a good idea. You can also make him the Squire job and use Tailwind to continuously boost your speed as you avoid Wiegraf for the first phase. In order to move onto the second phase you’ll have to get the villain down to 20% of his maximum health. Then he’ll transform and bring in some backup, but you’ll get your allies as well.

It’s easy to get stuck on this battle in Final Fantasy Tactics, so it’s likely you had to get some grinding in before finally beating it.

Zeromus – Final Fantasy IV

Hardest Final Fantasy Bosses

Zeromus is definitely one of the more challenging bosses of the series, and he has a serious penchant for magic. There is one advantage you can take, however, as the boss starts in a corporeal form that cannot be damaged or attack. This is the perfect time for you to buff and boost your party for the struggle ahead.

In addition to normal magic attacks, Zeromus’ signature attack is Big Bang. This devastating move can cause between 1900-2600 damage to your entire party and inflicts Sap, which works like Poison but at a faster rate. He also has a move called Black Hole which nullifies any status boosts on the party, but does nothing to the boss himself. To top things off, any Summons that Rydia uses will be countered with Osmosis.

Because of the bosses power, you’ll need Rosa on constant healing and reviving duty. It can be tough to bring Rydia into this fight, so you’re usually better off focusing on attacking with Cecil, Kain, or Edge. It’s certainly a challenging task, but your reward, of course, is completing Final Fantasy IV.

Necron – Final Fantasy IX

Hardest Final Fantasy Bosses

This boss is a bit of an enigma, appearing quite suddenly as the final boss of Final Fantasy IX. The mysterious figure comes packed with a wide array of magic spells, and deadly abilities. Spells like Holy or Flare can hit characters for about 3,000 damage, and the boss can even perform three actions per turn. This puts the party at a huge disadvantage, meaning you have to make every turn count.

If Necron feels threatened it will cast both Shell and Protect, then heal itself for 2500 HP. On top of this its attack Neutron Ring hits the entire party for nearly 4,000 damage. There’s also an ability called Shockwave that instantly take any character to 1 HP. As if all of that wasn’t bad enough, the boss’s’ special ability Grant Cross can inflict almost every status effect at once.

Because of this you’re definitely going to want to have some status blocking abilities equipped to your characters. Necron is one tough customer, and you’ll need to bring your very best party members into battle for it.

Minerva – Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

Hardest Final Fantasy Bosses

Minerva is the final hidden boss of Crisis Core, and has a whopping 10,000,000 HP to contend with and almost limitless MP. Its signature move, Judgement Arrow, depletes almost all of Zack’s HP and MP at once, meaning you’ll want to be immediately prepared for recovery. Other moves like Crimson Flare, have homing abilities that can follow you around the battlefield.

Even with a full set of Genji Gear and the best equipment in the game, this fight can be incredibly difficult. Equipping the Costly Punch materia can help, as this move inflicts 99,999 damage with each punch. Of course, you’ll also need the ability to break the damage limit. With Costly Punch the battle will only take 101 hits to win, that’s right 101. Whatever your strategy is, you’re in for a long battle.

The Five Judge Magisters – Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System

Trial Mode was an optional challenge mode included in the Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System version of the game. It featured 100 floors of tough enemies to wade through, and at the very top you faced an immensely challenging battle with all five of the game’s Judge Magisters at the same time. To make matters worse, the group has almost a limitless supply of healing items.
To win this battle you’ll need to intricately set up your party before the battle, with great equipment and gambits. The best strategy is to take out Judge Ghis first, as he causes massive magic damage constantly. Of course, it goes without saying that you shouldn’t even consider taking this group on without being almost completely maxed out in level with each character.

Barthandelus (Battle 1) – Final Fantasy XIII

Barthandelus is fought multiple times in Final Fantasy XIII, but the first battle is easily one of the most challenging in the game. The giant boss comes equipped with four adornments that grant him elemental protection, while simultaneously damaging the party.

You need to figure out which element each attachment is weak to, and focus on taking those out first. Once the boss has been staggered once, he’ll start casting Destrudo which can hit your entire party for massive damage. It certainly doesn’t help that he comes with half a million HP, and once the battle hits the 20 minute mark he’ll cast Doom on your whole party. To beat this battle you have to liberally use your different Paradigms and switch between them on the fly as the battle demands.

Altima (Ultima) – Final Fantasy Tactics

The final boss of Final Fantasy Tactics brings a significant challenge in order to finish your journey. The leader of the Lucavi Demons is strong enough on her own, but she also summons four powerful Ultima Demons to assist her in battle. Her Ultima ability is easily the most powerful in the game, even more so than your own, and can quickly decimate your parties’ HP. The additional demons aren’t huge threats in and of themselves, but when you have five enemies piling on top of you things can get tense real quick.

When enough damage is inflicted on Altima she turns into an enormous skeletal monstrosity with even more attack power and HP than before, along with a more powerful version of Ultima. By this point, your party is going to be pretty worn down, making the second phase exceptionally difficult. Realistically you can use any party setup if you know how to use them well, but you’ll want at least one high-damage job like the Samurai, Ninja, or Knight.

Like many of the battles in Tactics you may need some training before conquering it, but the lengthy final boss will be immensely satisfying to defeat in the end.

Warmech – Final Fantasy

The original Final Fantasy featured a hidden boss called Warmech, who’s still a terror to behold. The boss was found in the Flying Fortress on the bridge leading to Tiamat, where it incredibly has a 3 in 64 chance of appearing. The power of this boss even rivals that of the final boss, Chaos, in some versions of the game.

Its main ability Atomize can cause thousands of damage to the entire party, and sometimes instantly kill characters. The basic attacks Warmech has can also hit for thousands of damage. Additionally it regenerates a small percentage of HP during every round. This enemy could almost be considered the first super boss of the series, and beating it reward the party with a substantial amount of HP and Gil.

Four Crystals – Final Fantasy V

This strange battle pits the party against four elemental crystals, that all look exactly the same at first glance. Unfortunately, each one has a specific element assigned to it, which the player will have to figure out during battle.

For the first phase the four crystals attack with standard moves causing medium amounts of damage. However, once enough HP is depleted, they begin attacking with high level magical moves of their element that hit all party members at once. This can easily devastate your party at once if you aren’t prepared, and you’ll need to move quickly to take them out from this point. Luckily, the bosses aren’t’ immune to instant death, although it does have a relatively small chance of working.

Shinryu (FFXIV)

As the final story boss you face in Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, Shinryu is one tough customer. The fight is presented as an eight-man trial, where everyone has to be on top of their mechanics in order to succeed. If you jump into the game now, you should have an easier time clearing it since everyone’s at a higher level now. But back when it first released, it was a tough challenge and many players were struggling to clear it.

The Shinryu fight requires players to target the right adds, move to safe spaces in a short amount of time, and memorize boss moves. One little slip-up could result in a team wipe.

Tower of Kefka (FFVI)

Known as the one Final Fantasy villain who actually managed to take over the world, Kefka presents quite the challenge in his final boss fight. This fight sees Kefka as a large giant, macabre tower, and he packs a lot of moves that can easily kill your party if you’re not careful.

The best thing about this fight is that the battle gets harder and harder as it drags on. While Kefka only uses magic at the start of the fight, later on he starts using even more powerful moves to slash your HP. This fight is an endurance test, and it’s a great way to cap off a wonderful story.

Atomos (FFV)

Atomos is the final boss you’ll face before heading into Castle Exdeath, and while you can exploit some of his weaknesses (if you know about them, that is) to make the fight a little easier, he’s not an easy one to get past if you’re going in blind. His Comet attacks can completely destroy your party, and you’ll definitely need to go through this fight a few times before you start learning its patterns.

Evrae (FFX)

Certainly not the toughest boss in Final Fantasy X, but still one of the most challenging, Evrae can be a serious roadblock for players who aren’t prepared. The fight itself also introduces an interesting mechanic where you can command Cid to move the airship closer to Evrae or away from it. In order to win, you need to study Evrae’s patterns, and also watch out for Cid’s turns so you know when the right time is to move closer or away.

Evrae also packs some devastating attacks that can petrify you, and without the help of Yuna as your main healer, keeping your party alive becomes a much tougher task.

Yunalesca (FFX)

Final Fantasy X certainly had a penchant for tossing tough bosses in the way of the player within the story itself. Yunalesca is one of the last few bosses you’ll face near the end of the game, and she’s your final challenge before the pilgrimage takes yet another insane turn.

Yunalesca seems like an easy enough boss at first glance, but similar to the Kefka fight, she gets tougher as the battle goes on. She employs some pretty creative tactics that involve her inflicting the zombie status on your party members before casting a healing spell to kill them immediately. This is another fight that you can easily lose if you’re not careful.