But that doesn’t mean the bosses aren’t memorable or challenging! So for those who are old hats at the game, or if you’re a connoisseur of bosses in general and want to check out the talent that FF6 has to offer, I’ve compiled a list of the most challenging bosses for your entertainment! Well, for entertainment, or to act as a warning.
15. Ultros (First Encounter)
So coming in at the bottom of our list is Ultros, and I can already hear the grinding of teeth at the mention of this one. Ultros, the first really challenging boss you’ll face in the game, deserves this mention. He’s not only the first big threat in the game, but you also have the added challenge of Bannon being a member of your party. If he goes down, it’s game over! Ultimately Ultros is a tutorial boss. He teaches you about utilizing the backrow and managing your party’s health and status effects. But he’s still a pain to deal with.
14. Dullahan
I’m going to be honest: I actually adore the artwork on this boss, he just looks fantastic! Reminiscent of an undead charioteer coming to collect your soul. He is, however, not an undead boss. So there will be no Phoenix Down easy wins here. You’ll have to plan your battle strategy to weather his powerful magic attacks, and in keeping with the underworld theme, he has a real penchant for ice magic.
13. Behemoth King
Here we have a classic Final Fantasy enemy, the Behemoth. But not just any, the Behemoth King! An absolute beast of an opponent, he’ll punish you with powerful magical attacks all day. And if you think you can bypass this with Reflect? No chance, his Devil-Claw attack will remove it from every party member at once. To make matters worse, once you’ve defeated him, he comes back straight away in an undead form. Do not let your guard down for an instant against this beast.
12. Red Dragon
One of the Eight Legendary Dragons that quite obviously uses fire attacks, but also enjoys torturing your party with Flare Star, Flare Lv. 4, and Northern Cross. Like the Behemoth King fight, trying to utilize reflect here will have the Red Dragon use it special move, this time called Eraser. And yeah, it’ll remove Reflect from the whole party. Don’t let this guy push you around, though. You’ve weathered worse storms that this!
11. Air Force
Another early game boss, and one that again elicits sighs of frustration. Additionally, another of my favorite bosses due to the creative artwork. Air Force itself isn’t the actual threat here, it’s the Missile Bay and Laser Gun that accompany it. Plus it’s able to spawn enemies called Bits that can absorb magic attacks, similar to Celes Runic. Tricky stuff. You’ll need good party management for the various status effects you might get hit with, as well as all the damage you’ll be taking. But a few good armor piercing attacks, such as Edgar’s Drill, will put a short circuit into this machine in no time.
10. Chadarnook
An incredibly creative boss, essentially a possessed painting. The Goddess-Side will counter attack with Poltergeist and Entice; dealing statuses similar to Sap and Confusion that cannot be cured! After a few turns the painting sides will switch and you will fight the real threat, the Demon-Side. The Demon-Side launches so much Thunder elemental attacks that it could light up Las Vegas. If you aren’t prepared, you could easily be overwhelmed by this cursed portrait.
9. Magic Master
The wily and twisted Magic Master has more than a few tricks up his sleeve. As his name suggests, he specializes in magic, casting a variety of high-level spells both elemental and status based. Not only is he capable of doing massive damage to your entire party, but he also continuously changes his own weaknesses. Yeah, seriously. To top it off he also casts Ultima when defeated, which is unblockable. So having Re-Raise set up ahead of time is an absolute must.
8. Ultima Weapon
The final boss in the World of Balance, and what a doozy! This monster has three stages, and none of them give you an easy time. Assailing you with magical and physical attacks with unrelenting ferocity, this is gonna take some practice to win. And the more you whittle him down, the more dangerous he gets. At one point he gives the party random status elements before buffing himself against your own onslaught. Ouch. The development team cooked up one hell of a send-off for your group from the World of Balance.
7. Inferno
Inferno is similar to Air Force in that it becomes deadlier with his accompaniments, known as Ketu and Rahu. It not only deals powerful magical attacks, but when all three are on the screen, it will launch its Delta Attack which petrifies a target. And is unblockable. Your priorities in this fight are always going to be whittling down his constantly reviving arms. You can’t just hide behind magical defenses either, as this bad-boy counters with Sobat, a deadly physical attack. I’ve faced some heavy hitters on the mats before. But I would think twice about taking this guy on again.
6. Ultima Buster
This is the only optional boss on this list. And at first, I didn’t want to include any optional bosses… But I felt I couldn’t leave this one out. Essentially a much stronger version of Ultima Weapon, the Ultima Buster uses only the most powerful spells to assail your party, several of them unblockable. Make sure you’re prepared for this baddie, she’ll definitely test your mettle.
5. Fiend
Here’s one of the three penultimate bosses in FF6, known as the Warring Triad, and the one with the most HP. Your party will be split into three at this point, so you may not have your preferred team facing down this boss battle. The fiend uses a lot of Ice elemental spells, and after receiving 8 attacks will use Polarity to switch the formation the party. After losing half its HP it’ll shift tactics again, casting Reflect, Haste, and Image on itself. As you can imagine: this makes it very hard to hit! It’ll then use physical attacks on the party, or target a single party member for one of its Fiendish Rages. Deadly if not managed well.
4. Demon
Another of the Warring Triad, along with the other two you’ll be facing this encounter with a split party. So you may not have the optimal choices for your team. The Demon has a focus on group hitting attacks, mixing it up with magical and physical attacks. It likes to cast stop a lot, and if any of your party are afflicted by the status, they’ll be hit by Blaster which will cause Death. Once he reaches 32,000 HP he’ll become an all-out attacker, using powerful magic to decimate the party. However, defeating this enemy does net you the Radiant Lance which is arguable one of the most powerful weapons in the game!
3. Goddess
The last of the Warring Triad and perhaps the most dangerous… Goddess can be the trickiest to deal with out of the three. She’s buffed with Auto Shell and Haste, and counters physical attacks with Overture (which forces a party member to take all physical damage for it) Plus she’s buffed with Entice to give incurable confusion. And then she has Cloudy Heaven… Cloudy Heaven is activated after Goddess has been damaged eight times. Any character that drops to 0 HP becomes a zombie, and in addition, the party are all given the Doom status. On top of all this you’re also dealing with powerful spells like Thundaga, Flash Rain, and Quasar! This fight may tax you to your absolute limits.
2. Storm Dragon
Storm Dragon may not have the enormous HP or different forms like some of the others in the top spots of this list… But he’s considered one of the toughest overall bosses, and one often talked about online (specifically people asking for help in defeating him). Storm Dragon specializes in Wind element attacks, relishing in assailing the party with Cyclonic which massively cuts the party’s HP as a group, and then aims to finish them off with Aero. Its special attack (Wind Sabre) does high damage to a single target, so even if some of your party manage to evade the Cyclonic attack, it can quickly even out your HP with this. Don’t be afraid to leave Storm Dragon for later if you’re finding him difficult. And try seeking out some specialized equipment for dealing with the encounter.
1. Kefka
Here he is, the Big Bad Evil Guy of the game. You fight Kefka fairly early in FF6, and he comes across as a pushover. Kinda like the typical villain that fights you with his mind, who can barely stand up to you physically. Now his master plan has come to fruition, and he has attained the absolute power he always sought: becoming a parody of Dante’s Inferno. He’s fought in stages, with each stage beginning with him casting Heartless Angel, reducing your entire party to 1 HP! He primarily uses the classic Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga spells to damage you, but will switch it up to smack you with Havok Wing too. Which is a powerful physical attack that can easily K.O a character at full health. As the battle wears on he’ll use his Forsaken attack too, which is unblockable and non-elemental. Then towards the end stages his counter attack becomes Ultima, and he starts sending the Meteor spell at you. This fight is an uphill struggle from the start. And it will have you sweating the whole way through. But the payoff is worth it. I mean, by the end you’ll have saved the world – and shown that good does triumph over evil!
