We've had many excellent final bosses over the years, Bowser in Super Mario World, Kaptain K. Rool in Donkey Kong Country 2, Gruntilda in Banjo-Kazooie, just to name a few, and to help close 2023 I thought we'd share what our picks are for best final bosses.

DJ Octavio in Splatoon 1 immediately springs to mind; the moment when the Squid Sisters hijack the airwaves and play Kalamari Inkantation while you dodge and ink your way through a barrage of attacks to land the final blow is epic.

Kefka, Hades, The Boss, Gwyn, Gherman, Baldur, Soul of Cinder, KK Rool, Lavos, I dont which other im missing. All of these ive enjoyed quite a lot and consider the best as far as my personal experience goes. Lowkey The Radiance too, but it took me a while to really get into that fight, and now I love it. 

Not sure if these count since there’s mechanics needed to damage the boss but currently my picks are the Lich King from the Icecrown Citadel raid in World of Warcraft and Oryx in the King’s Fall raid from Destiny.

As far as bosses that just you can beat, I would say Ganon in Ocarina of Time and Legate Lanius in Fallout: New Vegas.

Astrobot: Rescue Mission

Virgil.

I should also mention Giant Egg Robo in Sonic and Knuckles, Andross in Star Fox 64, and Mother Brain in Super Metroid, the latter for being both terrifying and satisfying.

Some of my favourites would be Yami, Raven Beak, Metroid Prime, Ganon from Ocarina of Time, Demise, DJ Octavio... maybe a few more I'm forgetting, but my favourite will always be...

(what comes after this. I couldn't find a gif of the final battle itself!)

I don't know if any final boss will ever top this one for me. Ridiculously climactic on every level, visuals, music, feeling, the gameplay challenging you in both combat and platforming (and both at the same time) and really taking advantage of Ori's mechanics to the maximum. And the way the story comes together too, possibly my favourite ending of any game ever.

Senator Armstrong. Sorry just as they come to me will post them. Too tired think of everything so off the cuff post.. Armstrong is tough but oh-so fun. NANO MACHINES SON!
If I climb in the Nintendo bubble. All of the Xenoblade series final bosses are amazing. They are so worth it. Can put FFVI and FFVII in here with Kefka and Sephiroth. Lavos in Chrono Trigger. Dural in the Virtua Fighter series. Dark Fact in Ys 1. Ryuji in Yakuza 2. Nex Machina in Nex Machina. Stone-Like in Radiant Silvergun. REZ has a great final boss. The final boss in DoDonpachi is just a big bee and I love it. Final Boss in Scarlet Nexus is fun and unique. Sin N Punishment Star Successor. Any Contra on SNES or Genesis and NES except Super C. Back in the Nintendo Bubble..sorta. The Wonderful 101. Oh and yes Virgil as I said before. Devil May Cry. DMC. None of that DmC fucking trash.

Always loved the final battle with Ganondorf in The Wind Waker.