The Best and Strangest Final Bosses in Video Games

We’ve all spent hours, maybe more than we’d care to admit, making our ways to the final bosses of our favorite games, hoping that last bout will live up to the journey before it. So we’ve pulled together our list of the most memorable, skill-testing, emotionally cathartic final boss battles of all time. Our main criteria here was that we didn’t just want bosses iconic on name alone.

Best Final Bosses in Video Games

5. Sephiroth – Final Fantasy 7

Sephiroth is the most popular Final Fantasy villain of all time, and the final battle against him that takes place deep in the heart of an impact crater is a big reason why. Amid thundering Latin choral vocals — a major achievement in itself on the original PlayStation — Sephiroth descends from the heavens to battle Cloud and his compatriots at the end of Final Fantasy VII. And the epic, sweeping battle is matched by Sephiroth’s moveset, most notably his Supernova attack, in which an asteroid wrecks the entire solar system as it hurls toward the party. It’s a battle that made “One-Winged Angel” one of the most famous pieces of video game music and cemented Sephiroth as not just one of Square Enix’s most revered villains, but one that still resonates with JRPG fans to this day.

4. Isshin – Sekiro

Isshin the Sword Saint, like many bosses in Sekiro, is just a real jerk. But a large part of the reason why this boss fight is so sublime is because of how unforgiving he is, and how much he pushes players to their limits. Isshin is a true final boss in the sense that it’s a battle that represents the culmination of everything you’ve learned up to this point in Sekiro’s brilliant combat system. You’ll need patience, on-point reflexes, a total mastery of the parry system, and the ability to recognize when to use mikiri or sweep counters. There’s simply no other way around it. Isshin never takes it easy on you, and just when you think you’ve got him figured out, you move on to his next phase and he adds a host of new deadly tricks you’ll have to master fighting against. But mastering each and every phase is worth it, because few bosses, if any, are as satisfying to defeat as this one. Sekiro is a game where your skill is the only factor at play, and you’re gonna need a lot of it in order to claim victory against Isshin.

3. Ganondorf – The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

A showdown between Link and Ganon is the inevitable conclusion to most Legend of Zelda games. What sets this encounter apart is its emotional highs. For the first (and only) time in the franchise, Ganondorf has a personality. He’s actively antagonistic toward Link and Zelda, and he sports a flair for the dramatic — the dude flips around wielding two swords atop a tower named after himself as the world floods around you, curtaining the arena in torrential waterfalls. And his casual, nasty backhand of Zelda mid-battle only makes the final blows against him all the more resonant and satisfying. Bouncing Zelda’s light arrow off your shield to follow up with an uncharacteristically brutal ending for the familiar foe, as Link delivers the killing blow by introducing the sharp end of the Master Sword into Ganondorf’s forehead. A fitting end for Wind Waker’s memorable Ganondorf.

2. Sans – Undertale

Undertale offers a different final boss depending on your actions, and each is uniquely memorable in their own right. Should you choose to systematically hunt down and kill every monster you can find in the underground, becoming an unstoppable killing machine in the process, Sans the skeleton is Undertale’s rebuttal to your genocidal acts. The ensuing fight is an unpredictable roller coaster of attacks that breaks all of your expectations about how battles are fought in Undertale. And that’s if you can even survive his opening salvo. Sans refuses to let you land a hit, breaks the fourth wall to taunt your repeated attempts, and even twists the rules of turn-based fighting mechanics to render you powerless. Add the incredibly catchy battle theme “Megalovania” to the mix and you have the perfect recipe for a boss fight that brilliantly plays with expectations.

1. The Boss – Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

It’s only fitting that The Boss of Big Boss should claim the top spot on our list. Metal Gear is known for its theatrical, high-stakes boss battles, but the final encounter in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater sits above the rest. Ratcheting up the personal stakes, Snake must kill his adoptive mother and mentor. Even while shackled by duty to a fight she didn’t want, The Boss is both a mechanically and thematically difficult and memorable encounter, as she turns the hand-to-hand combat training she and Snake developed together against him. There are many different methods of defeating her, from sniping, to hand-to-hand counters, to the use of thermal goggles, but the fight always ends in the same, emotionally stirring way: a broken man, standing over the only woman he ever loved as he, and the player, are forced to pull the trigger.

Strangest Final Bosses In Gaming History

5. Giygas

The mystery RPG EarthBound (also known as Mother 2) centers on a group of friends who travel the world to stop the apocalypse. Its enemies like the Rowdy Dog and Attack Slug are nothing out of the ordinary, which is what makes its final boss so jarring. The player must travel back to the past and shut off the Devil’s Machine that holds Giygas. Upon doing so, the antagonist’s darkness is actually released, causing one of the weirdest sequences in the series.

Giygas’ essence begins to fill the screen, forming a repeating pattern that looks like bloody wallpaper. His bizarre, erratic voice adds another layer of eeriness to the entire ending. It’s a strange boss battle that has been analyzed and picked apart by game theorists and fans throughout the years.

4. Zarok (MediEvil)

Sir Dan Fortesque is well on his way to redeeming himself as a worthy knight of the Kingdom of Gallowmere. In MediEvil, he faces off against the evil sorcerer, Zarok, who has stolen the souls of the townspeople and raised the Undead.

The boss fight against Zarok is a difficult one but becomes even more challenging and strange when the sorcerer unexpectedly morphs into a colorful beast. The best way to describe the beast is that it looks like a chicken crossed with a lizard, with Zarok’s face as its head. If that’s not weird enough, it can also crawl around like a worm.

3. MegaSmith (The Matrix: Path Of Neo)

Split image of MegaSmith concept art and a screenshot of MegaSmith from The Matrix: The Path of Neo.
Agent Smith is one of the most iconic characters in The Matrix series, but the way he’s portrayed in The Matrix: Path of Neo is unlike any of his movie appearances. Players know they’re in for a weird boss fight when the Wachowskis pop in and stop the game.

The directors explain that they have to deviate from the narrative of the films for this part to truly give it the epic ending it deserves, and what an ending it was. A gigantic Mr. Smith made of hundreds of clones of the character as well as debris of the city emerges. It’s a surreal experience that would probably be an insane addition to the movies if they ever want an epic fight in The Matrix 4.

2. The Bride (Ms. Splosion Man)

Ms. Splosion Man facing the Bride in the game Ms. Splosion Man
Ms. Splosion Man is the hilarious sequel to the platformer, ‘Splosion Man. After exploding through the world’s puzzles and defeating evil scientists and other monsters, the protagonist finds herself facing off against the bride in a challenging Punch-Out-style battle.

Right as she’s almost defeated, the bride stands up taller and reveals that her breasts are actually eyes. The lower half of her body turns out to be a massive purple monster that’s even harder to knock out. Just when players think it’s really over, the monster’s breasts start moving and turn out to be arms with brass knuckles! It’s a bizarre sequence that caps off the zany game in a humorous way.

1. The Credits (NieR: Automata)

The final boss fight against credits in the game NieR: Automata
Out of all the possible endings in NieR: Automata, there’s one that has stuck with fans of the series the most. In single-player mode, it’s almost impossible to defeat the horde of orbs that are strangely enough, literally the end credits of the game. Everyone from the cast to the marketing team shows up as a glowing orange orb, easily overwhelming the player’s ship.

It seems too difficult until a prompt shows up, asking players if they would like to accept help. Suddenly, the music swells and a grand chorus starts playing in the background as the player’s ship is surrounded by other players, making the level much easier to complete. The bizarre ending becomes a moving one when it’s revealed that players can choose to sacrifice their data, effectively wiping all of their progress, so that they, too, can aid other players in need in the future.

What is a true final boss?

A hidden Boss Battle in a Video Game that shows up after (or instead of) the game’s usual Final Boss battle, but only if certain conditions have been met. … Regardless of their identity, this is undoubtedly THE strongest, baddest opponent you can battle in the game (aside from maybe the Super Boss).

Why is it called the final boss?

History. The origin of naming the final enemy in a level or game a “boss” cannot be readily traced, but Kotaku points to the term coming from the crime boss of a criminal gang.

What is the hardest boss battle?

The fight against Ornstein and Smough is arguably the toughest boss battle in the whole game. In the lore, Ornstein is regarded as one of Gwyn’s four Knights, along with Artorias, Ciaran, and Gough.

What do the best bosses do?

A great boss is someone who inspires their employees to be their best selves. They should be able to identify their employees’ best qualities and bring them out. Additionally, they should pinpoint growth opportunities, share them in a constructive manner and help develop a plan for improvement.