10 Greatest Video Game Post-Final Boss Fights

"It's not over yet!"

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Konami

Gamers are no stranger to final bosses (the good and the ill), but it recently occurred that there's a boss-subtype that deserves further celebration:

The Post-Final boss.

A Post-Final boss, as the name implies, is one last battle that occurs after the final boss has been seemingly defeated. Usually, however, the fight itself is the least important part of the experience.

Heck, many of the entrants on this list aren't even fights, at least not in the traditional sense. This list contains everything from one-HP wonders to unwinnable battles and one boss who instantly murders you if you even try fighting him.

What makes a Post-Final boss great, then, is the emotion it inspires in the player. Whether elation at dealing a cathartic beatdown or devastation at a cruel twist of fate, the bosses on this list ensure their respective games finish with a flourish.

So let's take a look at those final final foes who left an indelible impression on the player, starting with...

10. Claptrap - Borderlands: Claptrap's New Robot Revolution

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2K

Sometimes you come across a character so annoying you start praying they'll go rogue so you can put them down. On that note, say hello to Claptrap!

Gaming's most irritating cyclops made his debut in 2009's Borderlands, and swiftly found himself making the top of most players' s**t-lists. With his ability to stretch vowels long past their breaking point and tendency to make jokes about as chuckle-worthy as extra maths homework, everything about Claptrap seemed tailor-made to irritate you.

Fortunately, developers Gearbox leaned into the backlash.

Claptrap's New Robot Revolution - Borderlands' final DLC - culminates in a battle against a giant tank piloted by Claptrap himself. After destroying the tank, Claptrap emerges from the wreckage and finally lets players live out the fantasy they'll have had since meeting the one-eyed wonder - giving him a right royal shoeing.

It may have taken more than a year after the game's initial launch, but the chance to finally put Claptrap in his place meant that many a player left Borderlands with a smile on their face.

Contributor
Contributor

Hello! My name's Iain Tayor. I write about video games, wrestling and comic books, and I apparently can't figure out how to set my profile picture correctly.