Final Fantasy: 15 Most Brutal Boss Battles

4. Penance (FFX)

As a perverse bonus for being forced to wait nearly six months for a PAL version of Final Fantasy X, European players were treated to a whole set of remorselessly punishing optional bosses in the form of the Dark Aeons, and their granddaddy, Penance. Hadn't we suffered enough?

Penance's appearance comes at the end of an onerous series of battles against the Aeons' evil doppelgangers, and though the fight ostensibly begins on the airship's deck, the player is transmuted to what I imagine the inside of a cabbage to look like. It's an appropriately murky and uninviting arena for its similarly dreadful denizen.

The boss strains players to their very limits, only to then wipe them out in a single hit with its Judgement Day attack. Toppling the peculiar personification of atonement requires careful planning, quick-thinking strategy, and a massive dose of luck. Or you can just pay Yojimbo an inordinate sum of Gil and hope he whips out Zanmato, killing Penance in a single hit. Worth every penny.

Cactaur Needles O' Pain: 500

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.