Some games live or die on their boss battles. The From Software games like Bloodborne and Dark Souls are filled with difficult and memorable monsters for you to kill (or more likely, be killed by... a lot). Shadow of the Colossus was nothing but boss battles, but each of them was a unique experience that stayed with the player long after completion. The Final Fantasy series is no exception to this, and Square Enix puts a lot of time and effort into the enemies that await you at the end of dungeons. Anything from a lowly knight with a vendetta, to a twenty headed dragon that wants to become a god, can be given pathos in their hands.

When you have a series that has literally hundreds of boss fights, how do you decide which are the most memorable? It's not enough that they are difficult, or graphically impressive, or even have a great soundtrack. They need something extra to stand out from the crowd, in a genre full of outlandish beasts.

From the misquoted knight of evil who was there since the beginning, to the man who became a mockery of an angel. Here are the fifteen most memorable Final Fantasy boss battles ever.

15. Garland - Final Fantasy

The first ever boss battle to take place in a Final Fantasy game happens with the evil knight known as Garland.

Garland is a former knight of the city of Cornelia, after revealing his evil nature, he kidnaps the Princess of the kingdom as part of a ransom plot. If the player tries to fight him immediately, then they will most likely be defeated. This is actually a clever way of introducing the players to the concept of level grinding. Once the party has gained a few levels, and upgraded their equipment, then Garland should be a pushover.

Being the first ever boss battle in a Final Fantasy should be more than enough reason to put Garland on this list. He is, however, more famous for his dialogue. Garland's introductory speech to the Warriors of Light contains one of the first notable mistranslations in video game history. When you first meet him, Garland says...

"I, Garland, will knock you all down!"

It's not exactly the scariest threat in the world. In the original Japanese version of the game, the words he uses are difficult to translate directly into English, but they essentially mean "I will defeat you".

14. Ruby & Emerald Weapon - Final Fantasy VII

The Final Fantasy series is no stranger to the concept of the "superboss". The superboss is a monster in the game that is more powerful than the end boss of the story. The superboss is there to provide some extra challenge for the most dedicated of players.

When most RPG fans think of the superboss, the first names that come up to mind are usually Ruby and Emerald Weapon.

In Final Fantasy VII, the Weapons are a group of five monsters that are unleashed by the planet as a self-defence mechanism. In the original Japanese version of the game, you only fought one of these as an optional boss (Ultima Weapon). In the English localisation, three more battles were added. Diamond Weapon was added into the main story, and Ruby & Emerald Weapon became optional fights that you had to look for.

Ruby & Emerald Weapon are, without a doubt, the most difficult battles in the game. Emerald Weapon has his Aire Tam Storm attack, which limits the amount of materia you can bring into battle with you (one of which needs to be the Underwater materia, as you will have too strict a time limit without it). Ruby Weapon has his tentacles, which forces you to use only one party member for the battle. You best get ready to be creative with the materia you bring with you, as even the mighty Knights of the Round summon will not help you here.

13. Feral Chaos - Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy

The end boss of the original Dissidia Final Fantasy is Chaos, who is also the end boss of the original Final Fantasy. The fight against Chaos is notoriously unfair, as he is a massive demon that you must fight in a tiny arena. His moves have massive range, and there is basically nowhere to run... except towards him.

In the sequel to the game, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, a new version of Chaos is the end boss. The party must travel to an alternate dimension, where Chaos gained ultimate power. This version of Chaos has long since gone mad, transforming him into Feral Chaos. The true form of Feral Chaos is battled at the end of the game, and he is a level 130 monster, equipped with several items that make an already difficult fight even more unfair.

There is another battle against Feral Chaos that can happen much earlier in the game. When you start a new save file, you will meet a Moogle who acts as the tutorial. It's his job to determine if you played the original Dissidia Final Fantasy or not, as you could skip most of the tutorial and just learn about the new features. At one point during the conversation, you can tell the Moogle that you are a master at the game. If you do this, then you will be thrown into a battle with the Feral Chaos from the end of the game... while playing a level 1 version of Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII. It is actually possibly to win this battle, but you would have to be a master of the game to do so.

12. Absolute Virtue - Final Fantasy XI

Most video game bosses are defeated within the first few days of their release. Absolute Virtue took players years to take down.

Absolute Virtue was first introduced in the Chains of Promathia expansion for Final Fantasy XI. After defeating a boss called the Jailer of Love, Absolute Virtue will appear, and battle the players. Along with being one of the most powerful creatures in the game, Absolute Virtue has an absurdly high rate of regeneration. Players have to keep pouring damage into it, just to keep up with the amount of health it heals.

The secret to beating Absolute Virtue is linked to something called the "Two-Hour" ability. Each character class in Final Fantasy XI has an incredibly powerful ability with a charge time of two hours (this was decreased to one in later updates). Absolute Virtue has access to all of the two-hour abilities in the game. The one that is truly meant to be feared is the White Mage two-hour ability - Benediction. This ability heals every allied creature in the area to full health... including the . If you get Absolute Virtue down to one hit point, he can use Benediction and restore himself to full health. If one of the players manages to use the same two-hour ability around the same time that Absolute Virtue uses it, then it prevents him from using it for the rest of the battle. This was not discovered for years, however, and Absolute Virtue continued to happily stomp on any party that tried to take him down in the meantime.

11. Sin - Final Fantasy X

If Godzilla fell in love with a whale and they had babies together, the result of the coupling would be Sin - the biggest boss in Final Fantasy history.

Sin is a colossal whale monster that flies around the world of Spira on a destructive rampage. He is not alone either, as other monsters literally grow on his skin, and attack anyone who comes near. Everything that stands in Sin's path will be annihilated.

The whole point of the quest in Final Fantasy X is to find a way to stop Sin. The party must make a pilgrimage to the dead city of Zanarkand, and use the power of the final Aeon in order to kill Sin... for a few years. After each death, he eventually returns, and the cycle of bloodshed begins anew.

When the time comes to battle Sin, you have to fight his individual body parts whilst riding an airship. He is so big that you cannot just fight him head on. That size isn't for show either, as the game will slow down if you try and use an attack that moves his character model (such as Anima's limit break).

10. Kefka - Final Fantasy VI

When Kefka is introduced, the player will most likely confuse him for a jokey subordinate. He is certainly amusing and cruel, but not exactly end boss material.

Then he turns himself God, and ends the world... at the halfway point of the game.

Kefka manages to accomplish what most other Final Fantasy villains fail at, he becomes a God, and squashes anyone that dare try and oppose him.

After draining the Warring Triad of their power, Kefka ascends into the heavens and becomes the God of Magic. Once the player is ready for the final battle, they must journey to the Floating Continent, and defeat Kefka's many guardians, before they can approach him. The final battle is almost metaphorical in nature. You must ascend a giant statue that depicts Kefka's rise to Godhood. Beyond the tip of the statue is Kefka himself, transformed into a winged angel. The battle to defeat a deity begins... and so does Kefka's incredible theme music - Dancing Mad.

A lot of the elements that make up Kefka can be seen in the villain of the next Final Fantasy, Sephiroth. The desire to become a God, transforming into an angel with several wings, and having a kickass theme that isn't heard until the final battle. It's a shame that Final Fantasy VI is not as famous as its follow-up, as Kefka has the potential to be just as loved and feared as his successor.

9. Good King Moggle Mog XII - Final Fantasy XIV

Despite it's shaky beginnings, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn has become a highly acclaimed and immensely popular MMO. It mostly sticks to the Final Fantasy formula... except when it comes to Moogles.

The Moogles are a recurring race of friendly creatures in the Final Fantasy games, so much so that they are a close second to being the mascot of the series (after the Chocobo). Usually, the Moogles are on the side of the good guys, and will help you out in any small way they can.

There is one major exception to this, however - Good King Moggle Mog XII.

A group known as the Mooglesguard attempt to summon a legendary Moogle from history to the present day. What they get instead is a Primal spirit that needs to feast on Aether (the source of life and magic) to survive. The players must fight the evil Moogle, and his powerful courtiers, in order to stop its rampage.

Even though Good King Moggle Mog XII is a memorable battle on its own merits, the best part may be his theme. If you ever wanted to know what it would sound like if Tim Burton made a Final Fantasy, then this battle has you covered.

8. Demon Wall - Final Fantasy XII

The Demon Wall is a recurring boss battle in the series. As his name implies, he is a monster fused into a slab of stone. Unlike most walls, however, the Demon Wall likes to move. Each battle against the Demon Wall is a race against time, as he inches forward closer and closer, with the goal of crushing you into paste.

The first appearance of Demon Wall was in Final Fantasy IV, where its character sprite would move slowly forward. When it reaches its destination, it would cast the "Crush" spell, and kill each party member in succession. It would appear again in Final Fantasy VII, where it would become one of the most difficult boss battles in that game.

It wasn't until Final Fantasy XII that the Demon Wall finally got its due. Final Fantasy XII was similar to an MMO, and the characters could move around in a 3D environment during battle. When you enter the Tomb of Raithwall, you have two separate boss battles against two Demon Walls. The fight takes place in a long corridor, with no way to escape. The party must attack the Demon Wall as it pushes them slowly backwards. If you cannot kill it before it reaches the end of the corridor, then it's game over.

7. Jet/Amber/Garnet Bahamut - Final Fantasy XIII-2

The Final Fantasy XIII trilogy gets a bad rap among fans. The first game was criticised due to its needlessly complex and poorly explained story, as well as the fact that the gameplay involves you running down a series of corridors without any outside exploration. The 3rd game in the trilogy, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, was criticised for being a poor attempt at recreating the unique gameplay of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

In between these two reviled games is Final Fantasy XIII-2, which had a more positive reception. Taking its cue from classics like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy XIII-2 has a time travelling story that offeres a lot of exploration and choices that affect the ending (created in response to the complaints about Final Fantasy XIII). This was coupled with an improved version of XIII's battle system, which now added a satisfying monster catching mechanic that allowed you to use them in battle.

The final boss of the game is exceedingly difficult compared to the other foes you have faced. When Caius Ballad assumes his final form, he turns into his own wicked version of the recurring Final Fantasy boss/summon, Bahamut. Caius becomes the Jet Bahamut, which would be enough of a pain in the ass to fight on its own. In order to even the odds, Caius summons the Amber and Garnet Bahamut's as backup. You have to battle three Bahamuts at the same time, and cannot even damage Caius/Jet Bahamut until the other two have fallen.

6. Ultimecia & Griever - Final Fantasy VIII

When Final Fantasy VII was released, one popular feature of the game was the summon monsters. As 3D graphics were still a novelty at the time, the notion of summoning a monster to hit your enemies with an impressive looking attack was well-received. This would become a central theme of the next game in the series, as Final Fantasy VIII introduced the "Guardian Force", a summon monster that you could equip to your character, and would grant you new abilities.

Throughout Final Fantasy VIII, you will likely use your Guardian Force summons against enemies on many occasions. It was likely this game that killed interest in the long, overblown summoning sequence, as there was more temptation to spam them in battle (unlike in VII, where they had limited uses).

One question that you will likely ask yourself as you play Final Fantasy VIII is, "Why don't any of the enemies use Guardian Forces?"

You will have to wait until the final battle to get the answer. During the climactic confrontation against the Sorceress Ultimecia, she calls upon her own Guardian Force - the lion monster known as Griever.

Not only do you have to face an incredibly powerful witch, you now have to face her favourite summon monster too. Once they are defeated, the two will fuse together into an evil more powerful entity.