Whenever we play a game focused on combat, filled with enemies capable of wielding powers beyond comprehension, we get excited at the prospect of fighting them.Final Fantasyhas always focused on big boss fights filled with spectacle, and now that the series is fully focusing on the action, that creates even more expectation for its boss encounters.
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To be fair, FF16 isn’t difficult, but some fights offer a bit more challenge or are still memorable solely because of the spectacle around it. Thus, between monsters, Dominants, and Deities, which bosses shine brightest during your adventure across the continent of Valisthea?
This article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy 16.
Honorable Mention: Notorious Marks
Aside from all the world-saving adventure, you have access to the hunt board, giving you locations of dangerous enemies across the land; the Notorious Marks. We won’t focus on them here, as there are many, and they’re essentially regular enemies turned up to eleven or re-skinned bosses, like Kusa Beast.
Still, they offer an extra challenge to the game, and hunting them rewards you with many items, such as crafting materials. Plus, we already have an article dedicated to their locations. If you want to find them, you cancheck them out here.
10Liquid Flame
A simple Boss,as it’s nothing more than a big flammable monster you face during your Mothercrystal hunt. There’s no particular plot surrounding him; he’s simply summoned there to deal with you, and Shiva helps out by blocking the fighting area with her ice powers.
It’s still a fun encounter, where the creature throws out gigantic attacks, forcing you to stay on the move as much as possible. Though the creature is just a summon, there are some compelling plot beats between Jill and the flame’s summoner, making this one of the most intriguing story moments in the game.
9Benedikta And Garuda
Our first Dominant boss fight,Benedikta,is one of the best encounters, especially as you fight her normal form, half form, and then her fully primed as Garuda. The fact she temporarily takes Torgal out of the fight, too, is a very low blow.
As it happens early in the game, it’s still an introductory moment on how most Dominants will be dealt with, and shows the true essence of Clive’s power. It’s an enticing moment, especially when you get to play as Ifrit to fight Garuda.
8Barnabas And Odin
Skipping to near the end of the game, we haveBarnabasand his primed form, Odin. It’s a fun encounter, especially as he’s essentially Ultima’s right-hand man. However, considering all the build-up on how Barnabas is the ultimate fighter, the lack of difficulty here really hurt the encounter as a whole.
He completely overpowers Clive in a cutscene and defeats you on your first true encounter because the script said so, but when you finally get to face him for good, he’s pretty easy compared to others here. Regardless, his behavior during the fight and overall spectacle make it a cool fight to witness.
7Sleipnir
All that said, Ultima’s right-hand man’s right-hand man,Sleipnir,is a more entertaining fight. It’s not difficult either and doesn’t have much spectacle, but his teleporting and agility make him a bit more of a nuisance.
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Though he acts on Barnabas' behalf, seeing him mess things up in the plot, such as encouraging Kupka to fight us, and Sleipnir’s overall charisma, make him stand out more than his King.
In Norse Mythology, Sleipnir is the name of Odin’s horse, known for its agility.
6Typhon
Typhonis a boss that comes out of nowhere, literally. He appears after the destruction of the first Mothercrystal and causes some big repercussions to our main gang.
He’s still a pretty fun boss encounter, and you have a big space to mess around in during this fight, which is useful considering his massive area attacks. Ifrit comes back here, similar to Garuda, but his controls are much more fluid, showing us that Clive is getting the hang of it.
5Dragons, In General
We were going to mention theWhite Dragonboss, but since all Dragon enemies have the same behavior, let’s just talk about all of them. They’re more like mini-bosses than anything and have no spectacle; it’s just an encounter that can happen.
They deserve some praise for adding a much-needed difficulty spike in their encounters. It’s not much, but it’s noticeable, and this is a place you could die if you’re not paying much attention to the fight.
4Behemoth
Another good example of a difficulty spike in the game is theBehemoth.It has a bit more going on than most fights, with the creature summoning meteors during the fight, and his overall size gives him quite the range on its attacks.
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Essentially, this is also a fight you can die if you’re not paying attention. Lastly, it shows us a beautiful moment of Clive and Joshua fighting together, though not the only one.
3Kupka And Titan (Plus Titan Lost)
Hugo Kupkais one of the most interesting villains, even though he’s not that big of a deal compared to Barnabas or Ultima. His personal motivation alone makes him a good villain - personal stakes usually develop characters better, after all.
He not only gives us an intense fight as himself, but fightingTitanis one of the most anime-like moments out there, with a boss so gigantic it makes Ifrit look like a bug. It’s a beautifully choreographed combat all around.
2Bahamut
Titan may have been one of the most anime-like fights, butBahamutbeats that. It’s you as Ifrit and your brother as Phoenix, fused together, fighting in spaceagainst a dragon almost as powerful as Donald Duck himself. Do you need more?
This fight focuses a lot more on the show than the difficulty, but it still is one of the most epic moments of the entire game, making it a beautiful addition. Not to mention Dion is an amazing character; having more of him is always good.
1Ultima And His Transformations
The best was definitely saved for last.Ultimaappears little throughout the game but shows up a lot toward the end, with multiple fights and transformations, turning things more epic each time.
The culmination of these encounters is with Ultimalius - his final form - where he uses the same Dominant powers as you, having beautiful showcases of you besting him with the same powers, and is also the most difficult fight in the main story. The final confrontation here is pure excellency.
NEXT:Final Fantasy 16: Complete Guide And Walkthrough
