Because we never get to defeat the big bads of the real world, beating a villain at the end of a game can be one of the most rewarding things in life — but only when the level of challenge and the stakes feel appropriate.
Beating an unfair boss may leave you with a sense of unfulfillment, as those usually require us to compromise and take the cheap route as well. Let’s rank the best final bosses who offer a fair challenge and elevate the game they’re in merely by existing.
10. Shao Khan (Mortal Kombat 3)
Imagine the kid version of you finally defeating Motaro after countless attempts on your Sega Genesis. You’re now on top of the world, but that feeling will only last exactly as long as the next stage takes to load, as you’re about to meet something even worse. The beauty of Shao Khan’s second — and best — appearance in the series is that unlike bosses suffering from the infamous SNK Boss Syndrome, he’s not cheap. Shao Khan doesn’t hit too hard, or shoot unavoidable world-ending energy beams. He’s just a big guy with armor and a hammer. The hammer doesn’t seem like a fair gadget in a tournament where most characters only count on their hands, feet, and kinetic abilities, but that’s not even the toughest part.
Shao Khan’s thing is his apparent ability to predict and intercept your every move — even when you try to take a cheap shot at him while he’s taking a break from the fight to laugh at the player. Shao Khan might seem like an unfair opponent, but he isn’t. Shao Khan is, however, sure to make anyone who manages to beat him into a better Mortal Kombat player.
9. Malus (Shadow of the Colossus)
Good thing we’re talking about final bosses only, as saying Malus is “that really big giant” in Shadow Of The Colossus probably wouldn’t help readers picture what I’m talking about.
What I love about Shadow Of The Colossus is that it’s all killer, no filler. You have to traverse a great big area, yeah, but it takes you straight to the bosses without wasting your time with pesky minions. Every encounter here is memorable and unique, but Malus takes the cake.
This laser-firing mountain requires players to use all the gameplay knowledge they’d acquired throughout the game, but it’s also its own, devious, thing. Malus is the best boss in the game, which is quite the achievement for a game that already plays like a “best of” boss compilation.
8. Ganondorf (The Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker)
It’s hard to pick the best Ganondorf, the most persistent final boss in gaming history, so I’m just gonna go the safe way and choose the cutest one. I kid. I know that Wind Waker‘s cutesy presentation disappointed many fans, but I really do believe that the best — and most gruesome — battle against Ganondorf is the one in Wind Waker.
Dual sword-wielding Ganondorf rules, but even better is how we finish him off by piercing his skull with a sword — how’s that for a game that looks “too childish”?
7. Vergil (Devil May Cry 3)
Vergil doesn’t just act as the final boss in Devil May Cry 3, as we have to fight him two times throughout the game before our ultimate showdown. Still, he plays the part of the stronger (and older?) twin brother perfectly, always showing up to kick our ass whenever we thought we’d finally gotten the hang of the game.
Vergil is the perfect foil to Dante, and even though newcomers will likely find him extremely unfair to trade blows with, it’ll only be a matter of time for them to understand how to climb this katana-swinging mountain.
6. Gehrman (Bloodborne)
You could argue that Gehrman isn’t the true final boss of the game, but the boss whose presence I still refuse to spoil nearly ten years later is optional, so this is the one we’re going with.
We spend the entirety of Bloodborne fighting either hunters or the things that hunters are meant to hunt, and Gehrman is the perfect mix between the two. Gehrman’s regular and ultimate forms comprise all the most interesting gameplay elements of Bloodborne, so he serves both the game’s themes and the need for a final challenge perfectly. Do not underestimate this old man.
5. Senator Armstrong (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance)
Picking the best final boss in the Metal Gear series is a nightmare, because the only game without a contender is Metal Gear Survive. The Boss is the heart, Liquid Snake is the mirror, Ocelot is the legacy, and Solidus is just plain cool. Still, the world needs only one Big Boss, and I believe that’s Revengeance’s Steven Armstrong.
Metal Gear expanded upon the perceived limitations of games as vessels for great narratives, which earned the series high praise for closing the gap between games and Hollywood. Still, the best thing about the Metal Gear series is how it conveys surprisingly serious points underneath all of its camp. I believe this never rings truer than with Senator Armstrong, whose rise has some haunting real-world parallels. Oh yeah, the boss confrontation itself is also the wildest, most intense, and nearly the most bizarre one on this list.
4. Wheatley (Portal 2)
GLaDOS is a better villain than Wheatley; not to knock down Wheatley, he’s a marvelous buffoon, but GlaDOS remains one of the most hauntingly hilarious sociopaths in all of art. Still, the final battle against GLaDOS in the original Portal feels too serious and a bit too straightforward for such an otherwise inventive game. Luckily, the final encounter with Wheatley in Portal 2 fixes that small problem by delivering the perfect mix of comedy, wild mechanics, and the payoff to one of the best set-ups in video game history.
3. Edgar Ross (Red Dead Redemption)
What better way to conclude a Western game than with a showdown? The final enemy that must be destroyed in Red Dead Redemption only requires you to win a duel. It’s as simple as that. No catch, no drawn-out battle, but you must be as quick and precise as you can, otherwise, you’ll be looking at immediate death. It’s almost as unorthodox as it gets for a final video game confrontation, but it’s equally poignant, and victory will bring about one of the coolest and most fulfilling endings you’ll ever experience.
2. Giygas (Earthbound)
By the time Earthbound came out, the formula for the perfect end boss in a Japanese RPG was already out. Just give it various forms, each weirder-looking and with a less-pronounceable name than the previous one, and you’re golden.
Earthbound ignored the formula, pulled out all the stops, and had players fight it out against what can only be described as a nightmare that a demon would have. The fight against Giygas isn’t one of the greatest final boss encounters of all time because of the mechanics at play, but for being the one that best conveys the idea of fighting against a being so alien that even the boss itself might be unaware of what it is.
I’d rather not spoil it any further, as this is an experience you should have and not one you merely read about. Either way, I assure you that, even though this is otherwise a very kid-friendly game in the family-friendly console, this one might end up fueling your nightmares for a few lifetimes.
1. Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
Multi-form bosses weren’t new by the time Sephiroth showed up, but he more than delivered with Bizarro and Safer Sephiroth, the seemingly biblical accurate representation of an anime one-winged angel. Both forms offer plenty of unique challenges, and it’s just great to watch all the cool lighting effects coming out of those beasts.
But neither of those show up in my favorite clash against Sephiroth. My favorite final boss in Final Fantasy, and gaming history, in general, is the plain Sephiroth who pulls Cloud back into the Northern Cave for a final showdown, probably just because Squaresoft knew that there’s no such thing as kicking Sephiroth’s ass too hard.
The fight isn’t even a challenge — we just have to press a button, but we totally deserve it after what that guy put us through.
