Summary
- Players can use a Tent on Gizamaluke in FF9 to afflict it with status ailments for an easier battle.
- Stop is effective against Rufus Shinra in FF7 Remake, making one of the hardest encounters much easier.
- A simple strategy for defeating Ruby Weapon in FF7 involves paralyzing it with Dazers for safety.
Final Fantasy is a series full of some of gaming's most iconic bosses that players love. These encounters push players to the very limit, forcing them to use the strongest attacks and smartest tactics they have to come out victorious.
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Given how fierce some of Final Fantasy's most notorious bosses are, fans will be surprised to hear about their weaknesses. The simplest spell or attack is all it takes to negate the threat of these powerful foes and leave them in the dust.
Spoiler Warning: Due to the nature of this list topic, each entry contains spoilers for their respective game.
8 Magic Master (Final Fantasy 6)
Berserk Will Prevent This Boss From Using Ultima As A Final Hail-Mary Attack
Final Fantasy 6
- Released
- October 11, 1994
WHERE TO PLAY
Magic Master is the boss that players fight at the top of the Cultists' Tower, where players can only use magic against this foe. For the most part, this boss isn't too hard to fight... That is, until he whips out Ultima as a Hail Mary attack and wipes out the entire party in one fell swoop.
It's a cheap and irritating attack that can be a nightmare to deal with, but there's a simple solution to overcome this. Players need only cast Berserk on Magic Master to negate all his offense, forcing him to land weak physical attacks throughout the confrontation and die without any whisper of Ultima.
7 Adamantoise (Final Fantasy 15)
The Ring Of The Lucii Can Trivialize This Boss Fight
Final Fantasy 15
- Released
- November 9, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
The fact that developers said that the Adamantoise boss fight would take upwards of ten hours to complete was worrying for players who respect their time. While players can whittle this time down to an hour or two with their strongest attacks, it's still far from the most optimal way to defeat this boss.
However, once players get the Ring of the Lucii, the Alterna spell will be their best way to cheese this boss and take it out in a few seconds. Players just need to hope that luck is on their side and keep a ton of MP restoratives handy so that they can cast this powerful spell over and over again until the Adamantoise is sucked into another dimension.
6 Famed Mimic Gogo (Final Fantasy 5)
To Defeat This Mimic, Players Must Do Nothing In Battle
Final Fantasy 5
- Released
- December 6, 1992
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
One of the secret bosses in the game, who can decimate high-level parties if they fight the usual way, Gogo is no joke. A regular battle against him is downright unwinnable, and this is by design.
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After all, the true way to defeat this boss is to do nothing in battle so that he doesn't mimic the party. It's an ingenious solution, and Gogo admits defeat after a lengthy period of inactivity.
5 Gizamaluke (Final Fantasy 9)
Surprisingly, Players Can Use A Tent In Battle To Afflict This Boss With Status Ailments
Final Fantasy 9
- Released
- July 7, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Final Fantasy 9 is the only game in the series where players can use a Tent in combat, which has hilarious implications. Not only can the party's HP & MP be restored with this move, but there's a high chance that players will also be affected by status effects if things backfire.
This applies to enemies too, which is why many people recommend using a Tent on Gizamaluke at the start of their battle. If done properly, this can cause the boss to be affected by Poison and Darkness, making it trivial to beat this foe.
4 Rapps (Final Fantasy 7)
Barret's Mindblow Ensures That This Boss Won't Use The Powerful Aero3 In Combat
Final Fantasy 7
- Released
- January 31, 1997
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation (Original), PC, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Without any materia because of Yuffie's thievery, players may find Rapps to be more challenging than intended. The biggest threat this boss possesses is Aero3, which hits like a truck and can be tough to deal with.
However, if players decide to use Barret's Mindblow or some other MP-depleting ability on this foe, then their paltry 300MP will be sucked out in no time. This leaves Rapps unable to use Aero3, making the fight way more manageable.
3 Evrae Altana (Final Fantasy 10)
Realizing That This Returning Boss Is Undead Makes Things Way Easier
Final Fantasy 10
- Released
- December 17, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- Platform(s)
- PS2
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Evrae is a tough boss that players face in Final Fantasy 10, only for this foe to appear once again in the Via Purifico. If players are roped into an encounter with this boss, then they may find its suite of abilities to be somewhat challenging.
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However, if players figure out that this boss is actually undead this time around (since he had already died in their first battle and was revived for this second encounter), then the fight becomes trivial. Healing items will deplete this boss' health considerably, with two Phoenix Downs being all it takes to take out this foe for good.
2 Rufus Shinra (Final Fantasy 7 Remake)
A Notoriously Difficult Boss Susceptible To Status Ailments
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
- Released
- April 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix Business Division 1
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Final Fantasy 7 Remake has its fair share of challenging boss encounters, but none of them is as irritating as Rufus Shinra. This boss hits like a truck, has powerful counterattacks, and is assisted by his fierce dog during the battle.
This may make the battle feel like a slog, but players who decide to experiment and use status effects against this foe will be amazed at how effective they are. Stop is especially useful, freezing Rufus in his tracks and allowing Cloud to trivialize what many people consider to be one of Final Fantasy 7 Remake's hardest encounters.
1 Ruby Weapon (Final Fantasy 7)
Paralyzing This Superboss Is A Surprisingly Reliable Strategy
- Final Fantasy 7
Despite being a superboss, there's a simple strategy to defeat Ruby Weapon. For starters, players must enter this battle with two KO'd characters so that they aren't chucked out when the battle starts.
After this, players can use all the Dazers they've accumulated in the game to paralyze Ruby Weapon for as long as they can. It makes for a time-consuming yet safe strategy that gives players some breathing room as they pepper both the superboss and its tentacles with their strongest attacks.
- Creation Year
- 1987
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Creator
- Hironobu Sakaguchi
- Latest Release
- Final Fantasy 16
- Creator(s)
- Hironobu Sakaguchi