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[Tevren]

Final Fantasy VI. The statues, climbing up to Kefka while Dancing Mad is going. For me at least, nothing in a FF game since has come close.

 

[Leunam]

Final Fantasy XIV - Heavensward Final Battle Skip to about 20% of the boss' health to see shit go down.

Spoilers if you haven't completed the expansion yet.

 

[vanx0]

Final Fantasy VI,
Ultima Weapon, Kefka... those fuckers.

 

[MogCakes]

That was actually my biggest issue with FF12 at the end, that all this stuff boiled down to one dude.

Then again, I know the changes the game went through in its development stages.

It wasn't really about Vayne. Nor Dalmasca or the Empire. It was about

Spoiler

Venat and its game of chess with the other Occuria for humanity's right to choose its own fate and not be the playthings of gods.

 

[protomouse]

Another vote for FF VI. The music and boss design is above and beyond anything they've ever done since.

 

[Auto_aim1]

Yu Yevon is the worst boss ever. My vote goes to FFVII. Final boss of FFXIV (King Thordan) was pretty good too.

 

[Khrno]

FFXI - Promathia
FFXIV 1.23 - Nael van Darnus (Hard)
FFXIV ARR - Twintania

 

[Icyflamez96]

Final Fantasy VII by far, why?

One Winged Angle is why.

 

[Rad-]

Overall I'd say FF6. But most memorable single last fight was FF7's very last fight that is just Cloud vs Sephiroth. The build up was something really epic back then.

 

[Lights and Waves]

Final Fantasy 8 has my vote. Yeah yeah, junction system abuse blah blah, don't care.

FF8 has the best final dungeon in the series with the best music. You can say what you want about Disc 4 but Ultimecia Castle more than makes up for it. Great design, some neat puzzles (admittedly a little basic), but the sealed powers mechanic with Ultimecia's servants is great. It's literally a you choose boss rush. You can even skip straight on through to Ultimecia with only attack available.

And the final boss rush is the best in the series. I really don't think Kefka compares. Ultimecia, Greiver, Ultimecia/Greiver, and then fucked up Ultimecia are great sequential bosses. The absorbed into time mechanic is neat because you immediately panic trying to prevent one of your mains from disappearing if they end up getting KO'd.

And the music!!!

Premonition, Legendary Beast, Maybe I'm A Lion, and The Extreme is just punch after punch of awesome music and was undoubtedly one of Uematsu's best moments during his career at Square.

What-what Ultimecia.

 

[Sephzilla]

Final Fantasy VII by far, why?

One Winged Angle is why.

It's Angel, sir

 

[Toth]

It wasn't really about Vayne. Nor Dalmasca or the Empire. It was about

Spoiler

Venat and its game of chess with the other Occuria for humanity's right to choose its own fate and not be the playthings of gods.

Unfortunately that point was never truly expanded on and the significance is lost.

Spoiler

We never truly see what was so bad about the Occuria - besides the tinkering with Espers XD. I mean, when they did intervene, they managed to bring peace to the continent - ala Raithwell.

 

[jett]

Kefka no fucking doubt.

 

[sixteen-bit]

kefka imo. i like the music.

 

[IMBored]

Heavensward is my pick, so good, even if it's easy. Extreme mode please.

 

[Razzorn34]

Yeah. You can't make a post like this and act like FFXI and FFXIV aren't valid. There are some very epic battles in these games.

Another vote for Heavensward boss.

 

[Mknzy]

Using 12 characters to climb from the summit of Kefka's Dark Tower in the sky to the heavens against the dark angel himself. Great soundtrack, maybe slightly easy but overall really memorable and my favourite.

This. 100% this. Amazing music, amazing style, the build up before the fight with everyone proclaiming why they feel Kefka is wrong and why it is still worthwhile living in the ruined world. Just amazing.

 

[enigmatic_alex44]

LOL @ nobody saying FF IX

Zidane is just a dreadful lead (worse than Vaan) and Necron is a joke of a final boss. Overrated entry in the series, Vivi being the one bright spot.

 

[Matt Attack]

Heavensward's final boss is so freaking cool.

 

[BumRush]

As many others have said, Kefka in VI. Incredible build up throughout the game...best song in FF history.

 

[rhandino]

Unfortunately that point was never truly expanded on and the significance is lost.

Spoiler

We never truly see what was so bad about the Occuria - besides the tinkering with Espers XD. I mean, when they did intervene, they managed to bring peace to the continent - ala Raithwell.

???

The Occuria are complete jerks: They use phantoms of loved ones to manipulate people to do their works, they seal races that oppose them and their idea to bring peace to Ivallice is using a hume to drop a nuke on the problem and pray that it goes away.

They have good intentions but they are trash from the viewpoint of the other races of Ivallice.

 

[Ombala]

FFVI no doubt

 

[Mr. Poolman]

Plus what other villain comes even CLOSE to accomplishing their goal like Ulty did with Time Compression? Ultimecia gets it done.

So did Kefka, halfway through the game even.

 

[MogCakes]

Unfortunately that point was never truly expanded on and the significance is lost.

Spoiler

We never truly see what was so bad about the Occuria - besides the tinkering with Espers XD. I mean, when they did intervene, they managed to bring peace to the continent - ala Raithwell.

I assign that blame to the game's development hell.

They have good intentions but they are trash from the viewpoint of the other races of Ivallice.

I agree with this too.

 

[semiconscious]

Final Fantasy VI, no contest.

Especially when considering the word "epic."

first post. i still remember how stunned i was ...

 

[Jawmuncher]

Nothing beats Final Fantasy XIII-2's final boss for me. I don't even really like the game. But I didn't realize until after that I went into the fight underleveled. So the final boss took me almost 30 minutes. With Paradigm Shifts having to be done flawlessly or else my whole team would be wiped out. It was a ton of fun being on my toes like that.

 

[Lulubop]

LOL @ nobody saying FF IX

Zidane is just a dreadful lead (worse than Vaan) and Necron is a joke of a final boss. Overrated entry in the series, Vivi being the one bright spot.

chill. Zidane is like the best Jrpg lead, the last boss is not too good but I don't understand why you have to shit on the rest of the game.

 

[Tiops]

FFVI and the last boss from Heavensward.

Spoilers because it's recent:

Spoiler

Knights of the Round

 

[Mendrox]

LOL @ nobody saying FF IX

Zidane is just a dreadful lead (worse than Vaan) and Necron is a joke of a final boss. Overrated entry in the series, Vivi being the one bright spot.

What is wrong with you? Zidane is the only goofy protagonist in any Final Fantasy and he was very nice change of pace. Of course, being a clone, he has an identity crisis, but he really made the game for me (in addition to Vivi )

 

[Lulubop]

!!!

Let 'em know. Ultimecia is my favorite villain of the series (Edea too, while possessed). SO underrated and badass, and I love her look. The Extreme is the best final boss track too, yes better than One Winged Angel. I do love the Rinoa = Ultimecia theory, but I don't want it to be true, it's just too heartbreaking

Plus what other villain comes even CLOSE to accomplishing their goal like Ulty did with Time Compression? Ultimecia gets it done.

Slay

Kuja like actually killed the fucking party. Wow bro.

 

[Shogun1337]

As much as the game is ass,

Final Fantasy XIII - Orphan was a pretty awesome fight.

I love the song Nascent Requiem, I've heard it hundreds of times.

I love the way Orphan says "You overreach yourselves."

I love the speech dumbass Lightning gives before the fight starts: "we live... to make the impossible possible!"

I love Orphan's scream right after that, then his creepy ass smile

Then the fight starts. That shit gave me chills

I barely like the game, but the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy has some of the most impressive video game music of all time. Perhaps the best FF music in general (behind FFXI; Naoshi Mizuta was a god there)

 

[Patryn]

!Plus what other villain comes even CLOSE to accomplishing their goal like Ulty did with Time Compression? Ultimecia gets it done

As has been said, Kefka doesn't come close to his goal, he literally achieves it. He just wanted to destroy the world and create chaos.

The entire second half of the game is about what happens when the villain wins, and what comes afterwards.

 

[Toth]

???

The Occuria are complete jerks: They use phantoms of loved ones to manipulate people to do their works, they seal races that oppose them and their idea to bring peace to Ivallice is using a hume to drop a nuke on the problem and pray that it goes away.

They have good intentions but they are trash from the viewpoint of the other races of Ivallice.

Again, they are not paragons of virtue but everything they did was, in their judgment,

Spoiler

to keep peace and balance in Ivalice. This was not always benevolent and they should be called out for that. However, it was man tinkering with the Nethicite that created those very bombs that wiped out entire cities. I could agrue that man having the power of the Mist and Great Crystal instead of the Occurians would be much worse

.

 

[hwalker84]

Final Fantasy VI. The statues, climbing up to Kefka while Dancing Mad is going. For me at least, nothing in a FF game since has come close.

Yep. FFVI without question.

 

[mrmickfran]

Final Fantasy XIII - Orphan was a pretty awesome fight.

I love the song Nascent Requiem, I've heard it hundreds of times.

Yess, and it comes right after Born Anew - https://youtu.be/FRMTDRPhS9E

Best Final Boss one-two punch ever.

 

[Lulubop]

The Occuria made the lucavi, correct?

 

[fates]

Definitely not Exdeath. Tough to make fighting a tree feel epic.

I dunno I work with a lot of plants and dealing with some of them (rose bushes) can get pretty epic sometimes

 

[Kagari]

Final Fantasy XIV:

Ultima Weapon
Bahamut Prime
Heavensward spoiler -

Spoiler

King Thordan and the Knights of the Round

 

[ebil]

Going by that list the OP made:

Things to consider:
Your adrenaline during the fight
Cinematography
Soundtrack
Difficulty
Length

Easily Bahamut Prime from FF14 for me. The transition to the last phase is extremely well done and still gives me goosebumps thinking about the first time I reached it.


Heavensward's last boss is a close second, Ex version please.

 

[Firebrand]

Last boss of Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward was pretty cool I thought, even if it was a complete pushover.

Major spoilers obviously: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECnWFKhaOSk (and yes, that's

Spoiler

Knights of the Round

- even the instrumentation of the BGM seems to be intentionally evoking that title).

 

[Kagari]

Going by that list the OP made:

Easily Bahamut Prime from FF14 for me. The transition to the last phase is extremely well done and still gives me goosebumps thinking about the first time I reached it.


Heavensward's last boss is a close second, Ex version please.

My favorite part of Bahamut Prime is the Teraflare transition and then in the second half with the timed WITNESS, SUFFER, BORROW, REASON with Akh Morn.

So. Good.

 

[squall211]

I love XII's final boss so much, but I'd have to give it to Safer Sephiroth personally. The musical build-up, the choir, the way he looks and moves, the Super Nova, the sheer iconic-ness, even how he dies. Gaming nirvana in a can.

I couldn't have said it better.


If the XIII trilogy was better received, I'd say Buhnivelze (sp) was a pretty epic final boss. Crazy music and a challenging fight.

 

[MogCakes]

Again, they are not paragons of virtue but everything they did was, in their judgment,

Spoiler

to keep peace and balance in Ivalice. This was not always benevolent and they should be called out for that. However, it was man tinkering with the Nethicite that created those very bombs that wiped out entire cities. I could agrue that man having the power of the Mist and Great Crystal instead of the Occurians would be much worse

.

That's one of the great beauties of XII's conflict though. There is no light vs darkness, and no concrete good or evil. The ending state of affairs is a great setup for a sequel, but that will never happen.

 

[Lights and Waves]

That's one of the great beauties of XII's conflict though. There is no light vs darkness, and no concrete good or evil. The ending state of affairs is a great setup for a sequel, but that will never happen.

There is a sequel to FFXII though.

 

[Mika]

Plus what other villain comes even CLOSE to accomplishing their goal like Ulty did with Time Compression? Ultimecia gets it done

While I wouldn't call him particularly epic, Raem (FFCC) is quite possibly the most successful villain from FF, or Square in general.

Spoiler

When the game starts, he's already won. He won centuries, possibly millennia ago, shaped the world to his liking, and obfuscated history to the point that the times before the miasma only exist in myth and legend. He rules the world, and no one even knows.

For epic villains though, I have to give my votes to Kefka and Promathia. Ultimecia's good too. Hard to top their build-up and follow-through.

 

[poipoipoi9]

I personally favor FFX's sequence of Braska's Final Aeon ->

Spoiler

Your own Aeons

-> Yu Yevon.

While not particularly flashy or challenging, it did flow extremely well and the sequence where you fought

Spoiler

your own Aeons

conveyed

Spoiler

Yuna's sense of loss and despair

really well.

 

[Jarlaxle]

There are a ton of great final boss fights in Final Fantasy history. Nothing tops Kefka though. Nothing.

 

[Goldrush]

I love FF Crystal Chronicles final boss. Floating above the world was absolutely beautiful and it have a gimmick that incorporates the plot theme of memory.

 

[BossDarkseid]

VII/XIV...

Safer for nostalgia but Ultima Weapon for dat music...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZZDnlAg3Pk

 

[Kandinsky]

Yeah Promathia from FFXI was pretty epic.

Spoiler

But first time soloing Fenrir as RDM75/NIN was probably my favorite fight in that game, the sweat