[SPOILER WARNING] My Top 10 Favorite Final Bosses

Alright, it's time for me to FINALLY get out this one Top 10 that I've had on the mind for a LOOOOOONG time!

I've faced many great final boss battles in video games and I've always thought of who the candidates would be for my absolute favorites! I'll be clear with you now, the entries WILL CONTAIN HUGE SPOILERS! I will be going into details of my experience with each one and give my reasons why I chose these candidates! If you don't want to be spoiled for the games listed here...well, you've probably already looked at the selections on the picture, but at least you don't know everything about them yet! In any case, you've been warned! It's time for my Top 10 Favorite Final Boss Battles In Video Games!

10. CHAOS (Dissidia Final Fantasy) [PlayStation Portable]

SONG: Chaos Battle 1-2-3 (Dissidia Final Fantasy) www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcfJBR…

Chaos, taken from the very first Final Fantasy as the final boss for this game was a very interesting choice! I have actually gone over this battle before, but to give it some perspective, I was a kid in high school when I first played this game and fought this boss. I was playing as an under-leveled Cloud and I had a hell of a time getting past the first phase. In fact, with how tough he was, I thought he only had phase! It was only by the skin of my teeth that I was able to beat him in the first phase while avoiding all of his ridiculous attacks...only to find out that he had 3 phases and he got tougher with each one, gaining new attacks and becoming more aggressive! And the music playing for his 3 phases didn't help me when I was trying to keep my cool! It wasn't until I decided to go back and level-grind that I finally put up more of a fight and ultimately, I finally defeated him! And right there, it was satisfying enough to finally finish him off! (But don't even ask me about Inward Chaos! Screw that noise!)

As far as fighting game final bosses go, Chaos was actually an example of a GOOD fighting game boss! Thanks to the game's battle system, his attacks aren't always at maximum power, he has a pattern that isn't too hard to figure out, and...the fight itself was just REALLY well-put-together! The atmosphere gives a proper final-battle-feeling and his EX Burst attack is fun to watch! My absolute favorite part, however, is the music of the 3 phases! The lyrics, though a little confusing-at-first, are well sung and rather poetic if you open your mind enough to let the message sink in. In the first phase, the music itself fits the mood of a despairing sound that tells you that you're in for a hard fight against a miserable demon. The second phase feels more uplifting, telling you that you can still win if you just keep trying. And the third phase has a rather imposing theme that gives the feeling that whether you or Chaos wins, it's the last stand and neither side can afford to give up! I LOVE emotionally charged fights like that! Put it all together with Dissidia's gameplay, and you have a Fighting Game Final Boss that's actually good!

9. PERFECT DARK GAIA (Sonic Unleashed) [PlayStation 2/Nintendo Wii & PlayStation 3/XBOX 360]

SONG: Boss- Perfect Dark Gaia (Sonic Unleashed) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg-Sdi…

After playing both the Standard and High Definition versions of the Perfect Dark Gaia fight for my favorite Sonic The Hedgehog game (Other than Sonic CD), I can say that I enjoyed both versions as a whole! They were both difficult in their own ways, yet felt fair and possible for the most part. In the Wii Version, I liked the Punch-Out fight between Light and Dark Gaia along with the running portions followed by the Super Sonic fight where I got to hit Dark Gaia directly in the 7 eyes while dodging his telegraphed hits like a bullet-hell! The HD version for the XBOX 360 that I beat felt like NiGHTS Into Dreams on steroids mixed with Doomsday Zone from Sonic 3 & Knuckles and a few QTE moments here and there, which I don't really mind.

The reason why I chose this battle is because I honestly liked the combination! I like to think of both versions of this fight as two halves of it. I've actually seen how someone can take parts of both versions, arrange them, and show the whole thing in one great epic display! Of all the final bosses in the Sonic series, I can honestly say that this one was the most epic! I like to think of Sonic Unleashed as SEGA's way of apologizing for past mistakes and I would say that this game ALONE makes up for it all! ESPECIALLY thanks to this final battle! And need I mention the synthesized-orchestral remix of Endless Possibilities? I think it speaks for itself! 

8. QUEEN SECTONIA (Kirby Triple Deluxe) [Nintendo 3DS]

SONG: Moonstruck Blossom (Kirby Triple Deluxe) www.youtube.com/watch?v=qANx3u…

This battle is hard to describe in words. It's something that you need to see in order to believe. Not only is the entire battle a beautiful work of art, but it's also fairly difficult with Sectonia having a HUGE plethora of attacks with some of them being borrowed from past Kirby Final Bosses! The first round having a haunting and imposing organ mixed with a rocking electric guitar and multiple tiers to fight on makes the fight itself feel like its pushing the 3DS to its limits! The big thing about this fight is that Queen Sectonia herself is EXTREMELY resilient and that every time you think she's done, she keeps getting back up with a new strategy each time! The fight stays lively with new music and new aesthetics that fit the theme of the game! I can honestly say that this is the prettiest final battle in the series and when you consider all the disturbing final bosses the Kirby series has, something like this is a welcomed change of scenery! 

Then came the final phase... Hypernova Kirby...that is all!

7. WIZEMAN THE WICKED (NiGHTS Into Dreams...) [SEGA Saturn/PlayStation 2/XBOX Live Arcade/PlayStation Network/PC]

SONG: D' Force Master (NiGHTS Into Dreams...) www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w_nZr…

Wizeman The Wicked, the creator of Nightmare. This guy...is by far the easiest boss on this list...yet he's still one of my absolute favorite villains to beat in fiction! After finishing the final level of Twin Seeds, you team up with your opposite Dreamer of choice, Double-Dualize with NiGHTS, and take on the cause of all your problems! As simple and as easy it is to dodge all of his varying magic attacks, I gotta admire the creativity that went into Wizeman's battle with the change of atmosphere and attacks, much like the last one, only over a decade earlier. Besides, the battle was meant to be fast-paced anyway, so the idea is to beat him as fast as possible to get an A-Rank. And the endings you get are all worth the effort! They say that "Those who face their greatest fears have nothing to fear." And since his powers run ON fear, it kind of makes sense that when you fight him, he's a lot weaker than he had you believe. I like that level of symbolism in a game's story! And that's why he's one of my favorite villains! I love psychology, what can I say?

6. DJ OCTAVIO (Splatoon) [Nintendo WiiU]

SONG: Final Boss [Squid Sisters] (Splatoon) www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7nC_4…

This is what I like to call...a really freaking WEIRD final boss! On a gameplay level, this boss is basically a hodgepodge of almost everything the game has thrown at you up to this point. You, your ink weapon, and your quick wits facing off against a giant octopus in a huge flying robot DJ-set with giant mechanical fists, missile launchers that can also spawn enemies, a Killer-Whale laser cannon, and a perpetual force field... Who comes up with this stuff?! For a while, you're treated to his spicy wasabi beats and onslaught of attacks that home in on you and keep you on your toes throughout the whole trek through his layout of obstacles until you reach the final stretch where the music stops and changes to the Squid Sisters singing one of the catchiest techno-songs ever that would make Daft Punk proud! The last platform is also the home of all of my frustrations because...well...if the way I described it didn't convince you that this fight was hard, then let me make it clear now... THIS! FIGHT! IS! HARD!!! And yet it's a CARP-TON of fun! 

5. JUBILEUS THE CREATOR (Bayonetta) [PlayStation 3/XBOX 360/Nintendo WiiU]

SONG: The Greatest Jubilee (Bayonetta) www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p9kPO…

Bayonetta is the most ridiculous game I've ever played in terms of scale, designs, and overall fun-factor! The entire game has you fighting angelic monsters of varying shapes and sizes all under the control of a mad cult that all seem to worship a certain "Goddess" of sorts and every time you kill a boss, they make mention to this being, wishing you well on your journey that will inevitably lead you to fighting her...so Jubileus has plenty of build-up...and some REALLY good payoff! After beating the leader of the cult, you lose control of Bayonetta and take control of her rival, Jeanne, who drives a motorcycle up the rocket that carries the final boss into space, dodging angel attacks and then turn into a wild cat that runs and leaps up the statue, saves Bayonetta and sets everything up for the final battle itself. Talk about crazy, right?! And we're just getting started!

When the fight begins, you're inside a large bubble that Jubileus created herself that involves her launching her strands of hair with faces on them to various parts of the bubble, transforming the entire arena to fit the elemental trinity of Fire, Ice, and Lightning while forcing you to make your way to each strand and kill them before facing Jubileus herself by leaping from place to place and attacking her right in the face! She also likes to punch you, suck you into a black hole, turn you into a helpless little girl, and summon floating heads to chase after you! And all the while, an absolutely BEAUTIFUL theme plays for the entire fight, giving you the feeling that this is truly the end... Even though it's not over just yet! The next part has you taking her down to the floor where you deal more damage, summon hair to bind her, climb up your own hair to do MORE damage, and my favorite part, SUMMONING A GIANT WITCH OUT OF YOUR HAIR TO PUNCH THE FREAKING SOUL OUT OF JUBILEUS INTO THE FREAKING SUN!!!!

And just as a practical joke, the game pretends to give you end credits as Bayonetta, Jeanne, and Jubileus' body descend to Earth...and you have to destroy the final boss's body before it crashes into the planet and kills everyone! Yeesh, that's a lot! And the ending you get from it is just pure entertainment from start to finish! 

Did I ever mention that I loved the Bayonetta series? Because I freaking do!

4. LIQUID OCELOT (Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns Of The Patriots) [PlayStation 3]

SONG: Metal Gear Saga (Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns Of The Patriots) www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTh8RX…

As much as I love over-blown final bosses...there are those that are simpler. The ones that have the build-up in a more personal type of narrative. There are final bosses that leaves you with nothing but your own skills and wits while he fights you on the same playing field. There are final bosses that test your knowledge of the entire series of battles that you've faced up until now...and there are final battles that give you the conclusion you've been hoping for while reminding you of what you've done to get this far! The final boss that I'm talking about is none other than Liquid Ocelot! The cutscene of Liquid giving Snake one last bit of exposition after the most emotionally driven moment in the whole game is quickly followed by a one-on-one fist fight on top of Outer Haven, the dream of Big Boss, and is by far one of my favorite cutscenes in video games, giving it the movie-like feel that Hideo Kojima wanted to give...and that's not even the final fight itself!

This fight has 4 phases, each one paying homages to Metal Gear Solid as a whole series from the first one, Sons Of Liberty, Snake Eater, and finally, Guns Of The Patriots. The fight consists of both Solid and Liquid changing up their fighting styles, health bars, and music from each game! I get chills every time I see the credits for each song appear! The final phase doesn't have much other than the two old men struggling to punch each other until one of them finally caves in and falls...and in the end, Ocelot gives you one final gesture to commend you on your victory before finally dying to FOXDIE. "You're pretty good!"

3. SENATOR ARMSTRONG (Metal Gear Rising Revengeance) [PlayStation 3/XBOX 360/PC]

SONG: It Has To Be This Way (Metal Gear Rising Revengeance) www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl_zQY…

Hey, I never said I'd only be doing 1 entry per franchise, now did I?

This is it, guys. This is the final battle that truly defines the "BATTLE" aspect of the concept! After fighting a giant mechanical insect with giant lasers, energy blades, and GEKKO's for minions all with just a little sword and whatever else you bring, you get to fight the true final boss on top of it in classic Metal Gear fashion in a one-on-one fist fight to the death! Armstrong comes armed with nothing but physical attacks based off of mixed martial arts and American Football tactics of rushing and crushing! In the multiple phases, Armstrong progressively gets tougher to do any damage to while breaking down your own abilities up until the point where he breaks your sword and forces you into hand-to-hand combat and goes out of his way to insult the American way DIRECTLY as to be expected by Hideo Kojima's narrative skills. He then punches you so hard that he completely destroys the Metal Gear you were fighting on and takes the battle into the final phase.

Armed with Jetstream Sam's Murasama, Raiden is in complete Ripper Mode and is ready to take Armstrong down for good for the final battle in not only Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, but the last battle in the Metal Gear Saga's Chronology! Armstrong pulls no punches in this fight and even has the ability to punch the ground so hard that he sends shockwaves at you, creates walls of exploding lava geysers, and form an outburst of energy around him. Oh yeah, and he can also heal, which you can only stop by getting behind him, going into Blade Mode, and striking him on the glowing green spot. After dealing enough damage, Armstrong will jump up to the wreckage of the Metal Gear and perform his strongest attack where he starts chucking pieces of the darned thing right at you where you need to perform Blade Mode again to counter it and lastly, Armstrong himself. Overcoming his strength and beating him down with your quick wits and sword strikes will get you closer to lowering his 200% HP to 0.1 in no time and once you do, you get to finish him off in the most epic and gruesome ways to kill a boss!

And of course, I can't go without mentioning the RIDICULOUSLY awesome song that plays for your final battle with Armstrong, "It Has To Be This Way"! While "Collective Consciousness" worked as Armstrong's personal theme of him wanting to take over the country and make it his empire, "It Has To Be This Way" works as a combined theme for both Raiden AND Armstrong. It's told from both of their perspectives as they both have their hopes and dreams for the U.S.A., but their methods conflict in ways that force them to fight a battle that deep down, neither of them want to fight it. They feel compelled to fight because that's the only option for both of them. Too many good lives would be at stake if either of them won and they both realize this. So the fight between them is merely a way of deciding which of them is the lesser of two evils and the lyrics of this song brilliantly tell the story! Not to mention, it just sounds amazing! 

The funny thing of this is...this may be #3 on the list...but this is actually the last fight on the list that actually has you "Fighting" the final boss! 

2. JUNKO ENOSHIMA (DanganRonpa Trigger Happy Havoc) [PlayStation Portable/PlayStation Vita]

SONG: Never Say Never (DanganRonpa The Animation) www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoiCyn…

The School Life Of Mutual Killing, an emotionally traumatizing mystery show that was created for the sole purpose of showing the world's shining lights of Hope being extinguished one at a time to throw the world into a permanent state of Despair. After 5 cases of friends killing each other and being executed in creative and ironic ways, the main character, Makoto Naegi has had enough and returns from the trash dump he was condemned to after an intercepted-forced-execution with Kyoko Kirigiri to challenge Monokuma for one final class trial and put an end to all of this! After gathering the rest of their friends whom have decided to be done with this killing nonsense and help Makoto and Kyoko finish the game. Cue the Investigation and then finally the Class Trial.

For the first phase, the trial for the final victim, Mukuro Ikusaba the Ultimate Soldier is held once more and after the more difficult minigames and corrections of inconsistencies, Makoto manages to draw out Monokuma's true identity, the TRUE killer of Mukuro, the mastermind behind the whole game, and the sister to Mukuro Ikusaba, Junko Enoshima the Ultimate Despair! Junko stands firm to congratulate you for being able to draw her out and starts introducing herself with all of her multiple personalities and reveals that she's not just the mastermind behind the School Life Of Mutual Killing, but also for the "Worst Most Despair-Inducing Incident In The History Of Mankind" which sums up to the whole world gone mad with people dying left and right from either psychopathic worshipers of Junko or from the pollution in the air. 

The final battle against Junko Enoshima involves her representing Despair while everyone else represents Hope. She attempts to convince everyone to vote for Despair and live in Hope's Peak Academy until they die of old age and give up on life outside while at the same time, sending Makoto Naegi to his execution. She does so by getting them all to believe that the world outside is uninhabitable and there is no Hope left in the world and if they were to vote for Hope and defeat her, then the school itself would become uninhabitable since she's isometrically linked to the air purifier in the science lab that makes the school's air breathable and her death would cause it to shut off, forcing everyone to leave without choice. 

As Makoto Naegi, your job is to use your Verbal Bullets to bring everyone's spirits back up as they all fall into the gloom of Despair. Taking everything you've learned about them to account, you give them encouraging words to give them feelings of Hope one by one to turn them on Junko. It is here that Makoto earns his TRUE title! For a long time, he thought that he was just a normal guy who just so happens to be lucky, thus his title was "Ultimate Luckster", but with his never-say-never attitude, he became the Ultimate Hope! In the end, Junko desperately tries to shoot Makoto down with her own words of discouragement, telling them all that Despair is the only way to think and that there is truly NO HOPE for the world, but all she's really doing is making targets for Makoto to shoot down with his "Ultimate Hope" Bullet!

In the end, Junko is found GUILTY and suffers her defeat. All of her planning, all of her sacrifices, all the Despair...all to waste. In the end, she lost...and she absolutely LOVES this! She practically ORGASMS over the feelings of Despair that she's filled with! This shows the most insane side of Junko. She doesn't become sad or angry that she lost, she doesn't scream "NO" or "HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN" or anything like that... She's actually happier than she's ever been that she's lost and is about to die! With all the damage she's done, all the hearts she's crushed, all the talents she's stolen, Junko Enoshima is able to look back on all the efforts she's put into her plan and is satisfied with her results and is more than ready to call it quits on life, being defeated by the Ultimate Hope. Though Naegi tries to stop her, she quickly, and rather rudely rejects his mercy and hits the Execution Button and.... THIS HAPPENS!

"Super Duper Nasty Torture" www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhEsbA…

1. ASRIEL DREEMURR (Undertale) [PC] 

SONG: Hopes and Dreams/SAVE The World (Undertale) www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3jSNP…

Hope....Despair.... I seem to REALLY like these kinds of conflict! A battle between the two sides of the mind! So naturally, my favorite final battle in a video game...is one that combines everything I love in one! It has to play well, look awesome, have great music, have a brilliant setup, and POWERFUL execution that brings everything to a satisfying conclusion! I've found the whole package in the form of the True Pacifist Final Boss, Asriel Dreemurr! 

So after dealing with a cavern of Monsters that are after your Soul that you choose not to FIGHT, but rather ACT to calm them down and using your MERCY Button to Spare your foes to be a Pacifist, you come up to a pseudo final boss, King Asgore Dreemurr, then the Neutral Final Boss, Photoshop Flowey, and then head back to Hotland and get a call from Undyne and Papyrus (Provided you finished your Dates with them) and get told to deliver a letter to your last friend, Dr. Alphys and take her out for a Date... And it gets rather...interesting... But then you head back to her lab and get sent through one final dungeon to learn a few things.

In the end of the Secret Laboratory, you find two monitor panels that turn on with a rather odd smiling face on them that tell you something about Alphys' last experiment. She tried to put Determination into...a Golden Flower... And if you check the last one, it simply says "The flower is gone..." You head back into the elevator you passed by and receive a phone call from someone who's waiting for you at the end and takes you directly to New Home where you have no choice but to head to the battle with Asgore one more time only for it to get interrupted by all of your friends, telling you not to fight! Then some funny and heartwarming moments between all of them play out between all these people that are meeting each other for the first time and congratulating you for making it to the end and making so many friends in your run as a True Pacifist...only for Flowey to appear and capture everyone right in front of you and start sapping away at their Souls! 

Flowey then captures your Soul and starts shooting the heck out of it with his bullets with no escape until your friends send their magic out to protect you and heal you back up while encouraging you to stay Determined! Everyone else you've helped along the way also appear to save you but Flowey takes this chance to steal EVERYONE'S Souls to achieve his goal of returning to his true form, the son of King Asgore and Queen Toriel, Prince Asriel! Asriel takes on his adult form and challenges you to the True Pacifist Final Battle where he throws Stars, Lightning, Blades, and Lasers at you with attacks that he has names for, a psychedelic background, and a rocking remix of the game's main theme! To face him, you merely have to outlast him by dodging his attacks, use the Hope command to reduce his damage output, use the Dream command to give yourself healing items, and just wait until he uses his final attack "Hyper Goner" to make it to the end of the first phase.

The second phase has you down to 1 HP and unable to do anything but use the ACT Button's Struggle command while just dodging his incoming blasts and last a few more turns while "Burn In Despair" plays to give you the feeling that you can't fight anymore...your struggling isn't doing you any good, you can't reach your Save File, you can't do anything to fight back...but with the last of your strength...you can Save something else! This is where my favorite part of the whole fight begins! Your ACT Button has been replaced by a SAVE Button where you reach into Asriel's Soul to find the Lost Souls of all of your friends and perform ACTS to calm them all down just as you did before while dodging their incoming attacks. It's kind of like a miniature Boss Rush, but only takes a few turns to finish. With all of your friends' Souls successfully Saved, you look to Asriel and find one final SAVE Button Command, "Someone Else". But who could it be?

SONG: His Theme (Undertale) www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkOK8t…

The last Soul to Save is none other than Asriel Dreemurr himself! His attacks simmer down and he begins to cry while attempting to beat you with attacks that can't kill you, his reasons for why he's been trying so hard to keep you Underground, and "His Theme" taking over as the last song for the final phase. Asriel's final attack, though powerful enough to take your HP down to a DECIMAL, is still unable to finish you. Your Determination keeps you alive through it all and eventually, Asriel calms down and stops fighting you, admits defeat, and uses the power of everyone's Souls to destroy the Barrier and set everyone free!

This part made a lot of people tear up...myself included. The feels were definitely strong with this final battle. It's worth mentioning that in all of these phases, it's impossible to lose. This is basically a Victory Lap, a final reward for coming this far and becoming the savior that the Monsters of the Underground have been waiting for! Believe it or not, this is the very kind of final battle that I've always wanted to see in a video game! The kind where you don't actually fight, but rather the kind where you merely stand up for yourself and the people you care about while trying to save your enemy rather than fight them. I've seen it in various media, but this is the first time I've ever truly encountered it in a video game since most games have you fight whether you want to or not! I love Undertale because it gives you the choice!

I am Count-Author and the reason why I chose this as my #1 is because of an old saying. My absolute favorite old saying: "The Greatest Victory Is The Battle Not Fought!"