The three-phase final boss of Metaphor: ReFantazio is the most difficult enemy you'll have to beat in the game, but this foe possesses a secret form you can unlock. This version of the story's last challenge is far stronger than you'd expect, with extra attacks to use against your party. Although not different visually, those who face this secret final boss can earn a hidden achievement for defeating it.

Before you can reach any ending in Metaphor: ReFantazio, you have to defeat Archdemon Louis Charadrius and the human form he turns into. Depending on your game's set difficulty, this boss fight can look very different. Make sure you have leveled up your party enough to meet this challenge on the final day of the calendar by taking days to gain enough EXP to grow stronger.

How To Find The Secret Final Boss

Ignore Ways To Make Louis Weaker

The secret final boss can only be discovered when you actively choose not to weaken Louis before the last battle. Before you challenge Louis, you must travel through a mini-dungeon called Tyrant's Star, an area where you take several elevators to reach the final boss. Along the way, you can interact with special Melancholia Crystals to take on various mini-bosses and earn the strongest weapons in the game.

Destroying a Melancholia Crystal weakens Louis after you defeat whichever mini-boss resides within it. Although the game recommends that you break every Crystal to earn the best weapons and weaken Louis, you can choose to ignore them instead. The secret final boss is every form of Louis you would normally face, but without any loss of power from the Crystals you were encouraged to destroy.

The secret final boss you unlock by ignoring Melancholia Crystals still has the same phases. You will first face Archdemon Louis, then Destroyer Charadrius across two phases.

Of course, there are huge risks to not destroying every Melancholia Crystal. The followers in Metaphor: ReFantazio you have with you won't have access to their Archetype's strongest weapons, significantly lowering their damage in the final fight. Furthermore, Louis will have stronger attacks, extra turns, and far more health in each phase against your party when you face him.

How To Defeat The Secret Final Boss

Use Everything In Your Power To Win

The secret form of Louis is by far the hardest enemy you will face in the game, no matter what difficulty you're on. You need the best items, weapons, and Archetypes in Metaphor: ReFantazio you can find to defeat this enemy at its full strength. It is almost a requirement to be at the highest Level possible to stand a chance against the unbridled power of the final boss in its prime.

Make sure to have multiple healing items to restore your party's HP and MP throughout the fight against the secret final boss. Having one item that can recover each of your downed allies will prevent you from losing quickly as well.

The fully-powered secret final boss has eight Turn Icons every round, giving it an absurd number of actions during the fight. As its final action in each of its turns, it will always use the Soul Scream ability to give itself four extra actions, making it have 12 rather than 8. Any method you can use to reduce this number of actions is necessary to reduce how many attacks are directed at your party.

Try buffing your party with skills that increase their Dodge to reduce how many attacks from the boss land against them. Any debuffs or buffs you can muster will be helpful, so try to equip an Archetype that specializes in those types of skills. Thankfully, the secret final boss has the same resistances and weaknesses as it normally would when weakened, giving you a chance to inflict different status effects in Metaphor: ReFantazio.

Once you defeat the version of Destroyer Charadrius that wields its true power, you will receive the elusive "Star Shatterer" achievement. This doesn't affect whichever ending you get after defeating the boss, but it certainly is an accomplishment worth celebrating. Taking down the secret final boss of Metaphor: ReFantazio is a much greater challenge, as you essentially handicap your party before achieving victory.