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[AlexBasch]

Laugh at me if you want, but Shadow Yukiko in P4 was really tough and everything was a cakewalk after that.

Edit: Haha beaten.

 

[HeresSomeWeapons]

Omega Pirate, anyone?

 

[Brandon F]

Tougher question:

Name a final boss that IS actually the most difficult mandatory boss in the game.

 

[BumperLips]

If we're ok with comparing different forms, then Tales of Symphonia probably counts.

Cause wow that last form is a joke compared to the first. Especially with the Retribution spam and Indignation Judgement bullshit. Plus you can easily stunlock the last form compared to the first.

Also Kratos is much harder if you're not overleveled like crazy.

 

[AlexBasch]

Tougher question:

Name a final boss that IS actually the most difficult mandatory boss in the game.

Last level of Elite Beat Agents?

 

[PSqueak]

Hmmm I guess

Spoiler

Mergo's Wetnurse

then would be the last mandatory boss. That said then guys like Rom and Vicar Amelia where WAAAAY harder than that fight

Pretty much.

Hell i had a bit of trouble with

Spoiler

Mergo

on my first run, but on my new game plus (where every boss is supposed to be harder) she was somehow....helpless to defend herself from my fury. It was really weird.

Amelia is pretty hard for an "early boss" and Rom is tricky, specially because she's the only mandatory boss that can heal and can screw you up if you run out of mist.

Tougher question:

Name a final boss that IS actually the most difficult mandatory boss in the game.

Banjo-Kazooie.

 

[Kyuur]

Persona 5

Spoiler

Shido and Madarame were both harder than Yaldabaoth.

 

[UCBooties]

I'm putting another vote in for Yunalesca in FFX being harder than the final boss.

 

[Mexen]

Bloodborne

Spoiler

Gehrman was an infinitly more challenging and satisfying fight than the Moon Presence

I envy you. It took me three hours TWICE to beat him in FES lmao

Oh wow. It was on my very first try

Spoiler

after 6000th battle against Death. I have read that FES is harder to play though. Like you can't switch party members and stuff?

Im addition, that Vayne dude in FF XII was such a let down. Maybe I shouldn't have overpowered my party as much as I did.

 

[Vazra]

Shrouded in Sanity. The main boss fights before the last one were challenging but I defeated the final boss on my first try. Still a fun fight but yeah I kinda expected more.

I gotta do the hidden boss sometime

 

[BumperLips]

Tougher question:

Name a final boss that IS actually the most difficult mandatory boss in the game.

Doom Dragon from Golden Sun 2

Cruel Ruin can fuck off

 

[Kyuur]

Tougher question:

Name a final boss that IS actually the most difficult mandatory boss in the game.

Lavos from Chrono Trigger (counting all stages) maybe?

 

[Neoweee]

Tougher question:

Name a final boss that IS actually the most difficult mandatory boss in the game.

Persona 3. Can be immensely tedious, and she charms your party members into casting 100% heals on her.

Final Fantasy Gaiden: Four Heroes of Light. What a slog leading up to him, as well.

SMT: Strange Journey. Whichever path is the boss that casts the non-light, non-dark, insta-kill death move. Resistances don't work, so you literally have to get lucky with RNG multiple times. She'll dispel you if you ever get full stacks of buff/debuff, so have to deal with +3/-3 buffs/debuffs.

Devil Summoner: Raidou 1. The game is mostly a pushover other than the long, last boss fight.

Arc The Lad 2. LOL LOL LOL.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

Seymour Flux is much, much harder than Yu Yevon. Actually every other boss in the game is harder than Yu Yevon.

 

[dickroach]

Lost Odyssey.
there were some way more bullshitty bosses.

 

[PSqueak]

Persona 5

Spoiler

Shido and Madarame were both harder than Yaldabaoth.

In hindsight, the first and last archangels you face before the final boss are harder.

Sub bosses count right?

 

[zelhawks37]

Tougher question:

Name a final boss that IS actually the most difficult mandatory boss in the game.

Seiken Densetsu 3, Persona 3, and Breath of Fire 3 come to mind.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

Pretty much.

Hell i had a bit of trouble with

Spoiler

Mergo

on my first run, but on my new game plus (where every boss is supposed to be harder) she was somehow....helpless to defend herself from my fury. It was really weird.

Amelia is pretty hard for an "early boss" and Rom is tricky, specially because she's the only mandatory boss that can heal and can screw you up if you run out of mist.



Banjo-Kazooie.

That seems too easy. Did Banjo-Kazooie really even have bosses? Like all I can think of is the bees in Click Clock Woods and the box in Rusty Bucket, but I'm not sure if they count. I think with platformers that will be the case for all those games.

I think I'll go with Cloud of Darkness for Final Fantasy III, but that may just be because you have to go through a whole dungeon and a bunch of other bosses before you fight her.

Neo-Exdeath in Final Fantasy V

Aesir, God of Chaos in Bayonetta 2

The final boss of Dragon Quest V, but is Bjork mandatory?

 

[Harmen]

Isn't this the case with most modern games? I don't recall playing a recent game where the final boss was the most challenging.

 

[PSqueak]

That seems too easy. Did Banjo-Kazooie really even have bosses? Like all I can think of is the bees in Click Clock Woods and the box in Rusty Bucket, but I'm not sure if they count. I think with platformers that will be the case for all those games.

Unlike Banjo-Tooie (which actually is a good answer as well) it doesn't have a boss in every level but it does have about 5 bosses.

But in hindsight, all bosses save for Grunty are technically optional in BK (so she would be the hardest in the sense that she's the only mandatory one), so i change my answer to Banjo-Tooie, since it has 3 mandatory fights with Klungo plus the Hag1 fight. All other bosses are optional with the sole exception of Old King Coal.

 

[h0tp0ck3t]

Oh wow. It was on my very first try

Spoiler

after 6000th battle against Death. I have read that FES is harder to play though. Like you can't switch party members and stuff?

lol yeah no direct commands. I had the misfortune of being underprepared and having fucking Yukari get charmed and cast Diarahan on Nyx

 

[Laplasakos]

Pretty much every JRPG. Some of them that gave me really hard time

1. Kingdom Hearts COM (GBA version)

The final battle with Riku Replica was so hard that i still remember it to this day. I think the final encouter with him is the 3th or 4th time fighting him. I was playing the japanese version too. Makes the Riku battle at the original KH look like a walk in the park.

2. Final Fantasy X

Basically all the Seymour battles will give you a hard time. All battles take place when you are not expecting it. But Yunalesca is more hard. She basically laughs at the final boss f the game (especially at the final final one).

3. Dark Souls series

Many bosses are harder then the last one. Glass Knight, Smough and Ornstein, Manus, Knight Artorias... pick one.

 

[Pics_nao]

Does Duke 2 in Vesperia count or would that fall under secret boss status? You do need the Fell Arms in order to trigger the fight.

Edit: Gattuso in Vesperia was also a bitch to fight.

 

[Rentahamster]

Lol so many people not reading the OP or not understanding the definition of "mandatory".

My submission is Final Fantasy Tactics. You know the one. He's so mandatory you can't go back out to grind if you didn't be sure to make multiple saves XD

 

[jelly]

Who was that boss in NG2 on the airship with ninja incendiary buddies. Fuck that boss, I jammed that.

I never had much trouble with Alma strangely when people talk about her as really hard. Thought she was straight forward if you have the patience.

 

[HeartlessNobody213]

Speaking of something I recently played, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories.

Marluxia's final forms are much easier compared to the first time you fight him and some earlier boss battles such as Larxene part two.

 

[OriginalJonty]

Tougher question:

Name a final boss that IS actually the most difficult mandatory boss in the game.

Spoiler

Abel/Red Rage

in Freedom Wars. I rage quit that game and haven't gone back.

 

[ffdgh]

Tougher question:

Name a final boss that IS actually the most difficult mandatory boss in the game.

And then some.

 

[Elitist1945]

Horizon Zero Dawn

 

[L4DANathan]

that cutscene for

Spoiler

Riku

is so ingrained in my head because you had to rewatch it EVERY TIME you failed it, and this was before skippable cutscenes were a thing (PS2). still remember the whole thing, christ

"I'll never let you take Kairi's heart!"

+1 to Hollow Bastion Dark Riku in KH1 and Roxas in KH2FM.

 

[asagami_]

Shin Megami Tensei IV

The Minotaur is hard as hell, harder than any boss after him (except other non-final boss)

 

[Head of Vengarl]

The Last Remnant's final boss can be the hardest boss if you do all the sidequests and unlock his true form, but I didn't, so the hardest fight was probably Nest of Eagles, Ludope, or Hannah & Hinnah.

Lorithia in Xenoblade Chronicles was indeed the one that came to mind for me too. She was a boss that was ruled by mechanics that I had been mostly ignoring until that point. The one time these mechanics were relevant before this, was much earlier against... Lorithia's personal guard? I guess that should have tipped me off, I suppose, but it didn't. I just brute-forced my way through it.

So many people complained about her but I beat that fight without incident. It was always confusing to me. I had a way harder time with Xord lol.

 

[Ogodei]

It's hard to say in some RPGs because i'll do grinding for optional bosses/events to clear out before the final boss. In Xenoblade, for instance, i went in strong enough to take on the level 90 Telethia in the High Entia capital, because i had to get all the heart-to-heart combos i missed before the place got infested, so stomped all over Lorithia, Dixon, and the final boss because i was 15-20 levels ahead of them.

There the toughest boss for me was probably Xord near the very beginning of the game, as later on you had more characters and access to better gems and armor, along with having more experience in the combat that made tricky situations more manageable.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Demon's Souls: Flamelurker, Maneaters > whatever you consider as "the last boss" (any archdemon, or the feeble Old King Allant under the NExus)

Dark Souls: Smough & Ornstein > Gwyn

Dark Souls II: Ruin Sentinels*, Velstadt, Throne Watcher & Defender > Nashandra

Bloodborne: Father Gascoigne > G

Spoiler

ehrman

> M

Spoiler

oon Presence

Nioh: Yuki-Onna > Yamata-No-Orochi

Dragon's Dogma: Grigori > the S

Spoiler

eneschal

Final Fantasy Tactics: Wiegraf > Ultima

* Technically optional, you either beat them, or beat both Flexile Sentry, Pursuer, and use a Pharros Lockstone, but most players will not skip them

I remember Phantasy Star 4 being particularly guilty of this, not just the final boss but some of the bosses leading up to it, because bosses toward the end eventually started getting a spell/ability in their move lists (I forget what it was) that is supposed to be beneficial to the boss but was also a free turn of not taking damage which helped you heal back up.

I disagree. Profound Darkness phase 3 is harder than anything else, including Zio and Lashiec, IMO.

 

[Weebos]

Tougher question:

Name a final boss that IS actually the most difficult mandatory boss in the game.

Valkyria Chronicles and Persona 3 come to mind.

But yeah, I think more games that I have played have harder bosses before the final.

 

[dickroach]

And then some.

oh yeah. absolutely. I had to sit through that fucking pre-fight cut scene 50 times.

 

[Exterminieren]

In Undertale, it very much depends. If you go True Pacifist,

Spoiler

Asriel

is very deliberately not that hard- that battle's closer to a victory lap than it is a climactic test of your skills.

If you go Genocide, however, it's a VERY different story.

 

[Kyle8497]

Dark Souls 1. Well, for me at least.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I always found King Rat in Secret of Evermore to be by far the hardest boss in the game. By the time you reach him (depending on level of course) one of his attacks will probably take about half your health, and the bastard is able to chain two attacks together sometimes giving you no time to heal. I'm sure there's a bit of a traipse back to him from the closest save point too. Starts at around 3:20 - https://youtu.be/bXRPTZRuBy4

Tougher question:

Name a final boss that IS actually the most difficult mandatory boss in the game.

I found Rhapthorne really hard in Dragon Quest VIII. I could never defeat him despite probably dozens of attempts. My team were probably a bit low-level, but I couldn't face hours of grinding to be able to take him on again so never finished it.

 

[Vyse24]

Eternal Darkness for me. I thought the boss you had to fight as Peter was harder than Pious.

 

[Timeaisis]

Yup, your totally right about that Xenoblade boss. Damn her, spent so much time on that boss.

Also, most Souls games have a harder boss before the final boss. O&S are the hardest in DS, imo. I'd say Lothric & Lorian are the hardest in DS3. Bloodborne is kind of a wash, everyone has trouble on different bosses. I think Amelia is still the hardest boss in that entire game (minus DLC content), and she's mandatory.

 

[AwakenedCloud]

Salt & Sanctuary - I started having a lot of trouble with the bosses later on in that game, but managed to take out the final boss in one.

 

[Barberetti]

Quake. You don't even have to fight the final boss. You can just jump through a teleporter and telefrag it. Every single other mob in the game is a tougher fight.

 

[Septimus Prime]

In the original River City Ransom, the final boss is just a regular guy, like the ones you've been beating up the whole game. Getting to him, of course, is no small task, but he himself is a pushover.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Horizon.

 

[Van Bur3n]

Every Souls game besides Dark Souls 3. Well, even then, I wouldn't say Dark Souls 3's final boss is the hardest. But its the only Souls game that has a solid final boss.

Technically, Bloodborne's final boss is Mergo's Wet Nurse, which is Nashandra levels of pathetic.

Spoiler

Although the secret, true final boss is just as pathetic as well.

 

[Dessa]

Final Fantasy IX maybe ? Memory's a bit hazy but I remember the last-last boss wasn't that hard.

I feel the opposite way. I remember FF9's endboss being a huge difficulty spike.

 

[Suburban Thug]

Laugh at me if you want, but Shadow Yukiko in P4 was really tough and everything was a cakewalk after that.

Edit: Haha beaten.

Nah, I think Mitsuo is the hardest boss in that game.

 

[Whales]

Dark Souls 1 and 2

The final bosses are usually easier than the ones before them (ESPECIALLY ds2, that last boss is literally a joke)

Ds3 is usually picked too but I found the last boss decently challenging... Hes not the hardest tough

 

[ASaiyan]

Pokemon Yellow

The only super-effective move you can get at this point is to catch a Nidoran♂ and grind it until it learns Double Kick. If you don't know this...prepare to suffer.