First of all, apologies if there is already a similar thread. I did a quick search and didn't find anything, so hopefully this is ok.

Now, on with the thread.

Boss battles are a big part of gaming, but they are especially a big part of RPGs and Final Fantasy. You get closer and closer to your next destination for the storyline or slug your way through a long winded dungeon, but you know it isn't over, not yet. There is still the boss to fight. Of course there are bosses of varying difficulty. Some of them can feel no different than a regular enemy, the only difference being a change in music. However there are others that will have you pulling your hair out, and they are the kind we are going to focus on here. I am not talking about which bosses are widely believed to be the hardest, or is statistically most challenging to the overall masses. I want you to list the top three hardest boss fights YOU have had. Whether it's Ultimate Weapon or Air Buster, Ozma or Guard Scorpion, let us know who you have had the most trouble with and why.

No specific criteria as to who you can list, can be any Final Fantasy game numbered or spin off, they just have to be guys you have had major issues with!

I'll start off, in no particular order.


1. Caius Ballad - Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Void Beyond Paradox Scope Fight

In all honesty Caius could have appeared two or even three times on this list. He is definitely up there as my most hated villain, not just for his creepy behaviour in the story, but for his difficulty as an opponent. In the regular playthrough he was frustrating, but with the paradox scope on, he was nearly impossible. With Serah left alone with just one monster beside her, I tried and tried, but found it simply too difficult to outmuscle him. So it became a war of attrition. For forty-six minutes I wounded and poisoned him while my Silver Chocobo valiantly took his non stop onslaught. There were touch and go moments where he nearly broke through our defences, but I hung on to eventually beat him. There was no sense of pride or achievement though, just a sense of relief. Thank goodness there were no requirements to get five stars in that battle.


2. Omega Weapon - Final Fantasy VIII

Omega Weapon is one of the few (if not only) superbosses that I cannot claim to have a 'clean' victory over. Going a much used route I survived his initial attacks, before using the Meltdown-Aura combo to go berserk on him with Renzokuken. It was working, but not fast enough. Zell died several times and I was finding it more and more difficult to get a window to bring him back. When suddenly, an incredible solution just presented itself to me. While refreshing Selphie's limit break hoping for a better option, imagine my shock and delight to see The End pop up. It was the first time I had ever gotten it. Not wasting a second more, I casted it hoping it would work, but not too sure, I had never used The End before, so was not too hopeful of it working on a superboss. The blissful scene showed, and the battle finished. I did it, I beat Omega Weapon. As happy as I was at the time, I still feel like going back and fighting Omega again some times, to see if I could beat it in a more traditional manner. Maybe one day I will.


3. Materia Keeper - Final Fantasy VII

Probably one you weren't really expecting to see, huh? But considering FFVII was the first Final Fantasy game I played, it meant I was fighting this spider-like-freak a long time before the aforementioned foes, and let me just tell you, I hated every bit of it. Even as kid I played through FFVII many times, but I always dreaded the Materia Keeper. To this day when I get to that Nibelheim mountain region I get a sense of unease rush over me. Sure, he doesn't faze me now, but he sure did in the past. With his Hell Combo, Trine and the relatively rare ability of a boss to heal itself, Materia Keeper was a nightmare to face if not sufficiently levelled. Coupled with the fact you can see him up ahead of you, threateningly hovering beside a save point, Materia Keeper was a mighty foe.

So, there is my top three. Some more expected than others. But how about you?

I've played 4, 5, 6 in its entirety. Parts of 7, 10, 13. FF4's Zeromus had me feeling a challenge, but it wasn't ridiculous, I kept wanting to attack and I healed too little. Had this compulsion to attack and not heal, and big bang would wipe out Rydia each time. And I had to keep her in the party because she's an amazing girl. Lol. Oh, and I didn't want to level up m ore so I just went with it. 4's Branchiaridos was VERY HARD without the right equipment. Just use Kain's final weapon and wait till' the tornado effect hits, then one more hit and KO. After that all kills are a breeze. Zeromus EG is a joke.

FF5's Neo Exdeath was decently easy. I had this need to pickpocket all the parts of the boss, so that led to me dying multiple times because it'd take forever while I sat there, not attacking. But it's ok. Not bad at all. Omega was hard but you can exploit the Bard thing. Omega MK II I felt was even easier with the bard trick. Shinryu was easy with the rings, Neo-Shinryu was fine once you had the lances and it'll break it apart pronto. Enuku was a joke.

FF6's Kefka was a joke. They made the boss 4 stories tall and made 10 minute long soundtrack which lets rest of the party members join the party upon death for a boss THIS easy? WHAT? Devs dropped the ball on this one. The Kaiser Dragon was OK. Not that bad, and neither was Omega Weapon.

Ozma (IX) - I have tried so many times to beat this guy and I have never accomplished it even though I have everything else completed in the game and my characters leveled into the 70's and 80's.

Ruby Weapon (VII) - Another one I have never beaten after multiple attempts. It would probably help me to level the characters more and get more of the ultimate weapons and limits.

Antlion (IX) - During my first few playthroughs I would always have a difficult time with the monsters going up into Clerya, but the Antlion was always a pain for me. That Sandstorm attack...yeah, that sucked. It seemed that every time I healed my party he would use that attack again. For every two steps forward I felt like I fell back three.