Sometimes, a video game final boss proves underwhelming. It’s a bummer, but it is what it is. It might happen because the final fight is weak on its own merits. Or maybe it’s because the penultimate boss was even better, in which case, it’s not so much that the final conflict is mediocre; it’s just outclassed by its immediate predecessor.
For all the attention we rightly give to gaming’s last big bouts, those second-to-last encounters don’t always get the attention they deserve. I’m doing my part to help fix that with a list that aims to highlight those splendid ultimate penultimates that have stuck with me the most.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
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Metal Gear Solid 2 continues the stealth-based action series from Hideo Kojima, first launched on the PS2 in 2001. It sees Solid Snake and young agent Raiden go up against the Sons of Liberty, a terrorist group.
The final battle against Solidus is almost the high-water mark of Metal Gear Solid 2’s bosses. That sword-on-sword action between Raiden and Solidus, smack-dab in New York City, is darn good stuff.
It’s still not quite as peak as the relentless onslaught of the Metal Gear RAYs. Raiden must remain alive against one after another, with an increasing number of kills necessary with each upward difficulty setting. On the hardest mode, it’s pretty much the entire legion.
Raiden’s desperate bid to survive can be felt with every dodged rocket, with every desperate counterstrike you make. This battleground is designed to put him down with “honour”, but beating Solidus at his own game feels so good.
Final Fantasy 9
Considered one of the greatest RPGs on the original PlayStation, Final Fantasy 9 follows Zidane’s journey - from kidnapping a princess to the escalating war that follows.
Final Fantasy 9’s final boss fight infamously comes rather out of nowhere, with Necron being more of a thematic climactic conflict than something which has been built up organically throughout the full length of the game. I think Necron’s good for what it is - an embodiment of negativity, an all-consuming death spiral - but the penultimate fight is still the better one.
Kuja, in his powered-up Trance form, brings the heat with devastating attacks like Flare Star. He’s got a rockin' good battle theme in ‘Dark Messenger’, too. Zidane’s clash against his madness-stricken and nihilistic brother is full of the right emotional crescendo that Necron just doesn’t have by comparison.
Yaldabaoth makes for a far more fitting culmination of a final battle than Necron, but there’s still a sliver of Necronicity, if you will, relative to the fight with Masayoshi Shido. He’s the politically untouchable and utterly self-centered jerk at the center of so much of the team’s misery, not least of which Joker’s.
Stopping Shido doesn’t just take Persona 5’s story to its dramatic height; it gives Joker the peace of mind that he’s needed all game long. Persona 5’s protagonist is only in this mess because he did something good and got punished by it, because - as the game will beat over your head - society kind of sucks like that.
Topple Shido, and the fictional society of the Persona universe is in far better shape moving forward.
Mega Man X5
For five Mega Man X games, X and Zero have fought side by side. Well, no, that’s not really true. Sometimes, Zero is in a pretty bad way. But the point is, they’re allies. They’re best friends. They’re buds.
Mega Man X5 might have been the last game in its sub-series. It wasn’t, of course, but it was written as such. Its events dovetail neatly into the Mega Man Zero sub-series that succeeded it. Looking at it through the lens of MMX’s would-have-been “series finale”, seeing our deuteragonists duking it out just prior to the duel with Sigma is a big deal.
Propelling matters into the stratosphere is the fact that MMX5 actually has three separate endings. The nature of X and Zero’s clash changes to a degree between the three of them, so there’s a degree of malleability linked to a consistently tumultuous vibe.
Ridley isn’t exactly unique to Super Metroid. He’s a constant thorn in Samus' side from as far back as the original. And while several other titles have Ridley fights that are just as good, no penultimate battle I’ve experienced in the entire Metroidvania genre hits as hard as Super Metroid’s second of two encounters.
Ridley has several strong attacks, but that’s nothing new for the foes Samus has faced. What matters here is that Ridley lacks any real weaknesses, and there’s so little space on the ground to maneuver around in. His claws and long-range strikes are a terror to evade, but I’d still recommend going in defensively. Get those hits in when you may, and stay on your guard throughout.
It’s telling that I can’t help but slip into “guide mode” a bit when discussing Super Metroid’s second-to-last boss. I’ve watched so many friends lose their lives to the villainous creature. Er, not literally. But y’know. It stings all the same.
Pokemon Black and White
Pokemon Black and White marked the start of the fifth generation of the creature capture RPGs, launching on the Nintendo DS in 2010. A commercial success, they spawned a pair of sequels in 2012.
Most Pokemon games have so-so main storylines. Some are all the better for it; the simplicity of stopping a criminal group on your way to become a Pokemon League Champion never entirely loses its charm. Others aim for something deeper but falter along the way. (Looking at you, Pokemon X and Y. At least your anime adaptation is solid.)
Then there’s Pokemon Black and White. More than any other mainline Pokemon entry, Black and White feels like it brings with it a full-fledged “JRPG story”. The stakes are grandiose; Ghetsis desires nothing short of world domination at any cost, and he’s created Team Plasma under the guise of alleged benevolence.
Ghetsis' worst crime, however, is in raising the mysterious N to believe himself to be a hero of light. N, desperate for a sense of belonging, has bought into it since childhood. But Ghetsis has no love for N. He sees him as a tool. N isn’t a bad fellow, and getting through to him after your last bout is a big moment in a surprisingly strong plot.
The fight itself, though, is the realization of N’s belief that he is a saviour battling in the name of freedom for all Pokemon. N’s team is pretty strong, but it’s his ace - either Reshiram or Zekrom, depending on which version of the game you’re playing - that stands out the most.
If you do what I always do, which is to pull out your own legendary dragon ace, then it’s an epic confrontation between the two giants of Unovan myth that lifts the player’s struggle against N to fresh heights. It’s the real hero against the false hero.
to maximize this distinctly poetic aura, I usually play Pokemon White. That gets you Zekrom, who looks decidedly less noble and saintly than Reshiram. Give N the complete self-image of superiority, right?
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel to the Nintendo Switch hit Breath of the Wild. In it, Link must team up with Princess Zelda to rid Hyrule of another threat to its existence.
The final battle in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom pits Link and Zelda against the Demon Dragon, Ganondorf’s final form. It’s spectacular. One of my favourite final fights in the series. Somehow, Demon King Ganondorf is an even better battle.
Fought across two distinct phases, Ganondorf begins by alternating his attacks between the Gloom Sword, the Gloom Spear, the Demon King’s Bow, and the Gloom Club.
Seeing The Legend of Zelda’s most tenacious recurring antagonist bring a full arsenal to bear is cool enough, but Ganondorf’s ability to fullydisableLink’s heart containers adds a layer of fear to it all that isn’t found in any other Zelda series challenge.
In his second form, Ganondorf busts out his raddest looks ever and summons Phantom Ganons to punish the player all the more so. Seeing the Sages tag in to help distract the Phantom Ganons is a great way to showcase the fullness of Tears of the Kingdom’s adventure.
There’s really nothing bad that I can say about this fight. Breath of the Wild slumped somewhat on boss fights, but Tears of the Kingdom brings them back in full force. None are better than Demon King Ganondorf’s.
The mythos behind Xenogears is so intricate that there’s a hundred-plus-page official document on it. This is a ten-thousand-year tale that starts when the sentient supercomputer at the core of a galactic superweapon brings its transport ship crashing down upon a planet.
In order to repair itself, it recreates humanity. Which is to say, the people you’ll meet throughout Xenogears' 70-plus-hour tale aren’t really humans. They think they are, but they’re just parts for Deus' resurrection. It’s sick, it’s twisted, and it’s enthralling.
If that were the long and short of it, I’d not have so much to say. But Xenogears, in its last act, is about open defiance. Whereas the bulk of this artificially-constructed humanity has fallen victim to Deus, the survivors band together to defy their alleged fates, to destroy the “god” that has created them.
True to form, the fight with Deus is appropriately hard and saddled with one of the best boss themes in JRPG history. Destroy Deus, and you deny destiny. The entire race existed to service it, but free will wins the day.
There is a follow-up fight against Ouroboros (or Urobolus, as the unfortunate English translation calls it). While it’s quite good at wrapping up the story, it’s more of a symbolic encounter. It’s possible to lose, but frankly, that’s a tough game over to get. Deus is the penultimate boss, but it’s the real deal. And for my money, it’s the best penultimate video game boss I’ve ever faced.
