Video Game Bosses With The Most Phases

Video game bosses have become a staple in the industry since time eternal. These massive challenges serve as a test of everything you have learned up to that point, culminating in a glorious battle for the ages which can be a grueling yet exciting endeavor to get through. For the most part, these bosses serve as one-shot challenges with perhaps a gimmick or two that you should be able to decipher and exploit to attain victory.

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The final fight is everything you've been preparing for, and these bosses distatic.aayyy.com/topic/dn/'t let those expectations down.

However, there are times when developers truly go off the rails while developing these battles, leading to challenges with a multitude of phases that can be pretty challenging to deal with at times. Here are the best of them.

Updated on October 10, 2023, by Hilton Webster: There's a fine balance to making a boss that feels challenging to your skill level without being too spongey, but also not being able to be defeated so easily that they feel like an unclimactic battle. That's where multi-phase bosses come from. We've added a few more entries to this list and tidied it up for more clarity for your reading joy.

12 Keiji Shibusawa - Yakuza 0 (Three Phases)

Most games in the Yakuza series are known for featuring some truly crazy boss fights that up the ante in terms of sheer coolness. Keiji Shibusawa is no exception to this rule, with his phases replicating Kiryu's fighting styles in the game as well.

It's a wild boss fight with an amazing soundtrack that makes for a great time. It also serves as a definitive moment for Kiryu, cementing him as the Dragon of Dojima once and for all.

11 Sister Friede - Dark Souls 3 (Three Phases)

Dark Souls is one of the most legendary action-adventure games ever made, with the final game going all out with its boss fights. This is especially evident during the Ashes of Ariandel DLC, which features a truly amazing boss encounter.

Sister Friede seems like a pretty simple boss at first glance... before the other two phases come out of nowhere and show players just how challenging this battle really is. It's a brilliant and cinematic encounter that makes for one of the longest and most entertaining boss battles in the entire series.

10 Kefka - Final Fantasy 6 (Four Phases)

The lovable jester Kefka is one of the most diabolical villains in Final Fantasy 6. After disrupting the balance of the Warring Triad and sending the world into ruin, he became the de facto emperor of the world.

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He serves as the final boss of the game after a grueling trek through his tower. It's an amazing fight with four phases, coupled with one of the greatest pieces of music to ever accompany a climactic fight in gaming history.

9 Ludwig, The Accused/The Holy Blade - Bloodborne (Four Ludwig)

At a glance, two phases might not seem like many. However, what most people don't know about the greatest boss in Soulsborne history is the fact that Ludwig's individual forms actually have two phases of their own that are triggered when his health goes down a notch.

Every single time Ludwig's health is reduced by a quarter, he gains new and more damage attacks. Of course, the biggest change comes when his health is halved, following which he'll regain a part of his sanity and take out the legendary Moonlight Sword and turn into a completely different fight.

8 Ultimecia - Final Fantasy 8 (Four Phases)

Final Fantasy games absolutely love their multi-phase final boss fights, with the eighth game in the series being no exception to this golden rule. After the end of a gruelling trek through Ultimecia's Castle, players have to fight Ultimecia in an immensely enjoyable boss fight that spans four phases.

At this point, most players would have the tools required to absolutely hammer these bosses into a pulp. While challenge might not be a big part of this battle, the nature of this clash more than makes up for it.

7 Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 - Bhunivelze (Four Phases)

Lightning Returns is the finale to the often-criticised Final Fantasy 13 trilogy. Though it brought the series in a decidedly more linear direction with its first entry, its two sequels took drastically different directions. Lightning Returns, for example, is in effect a permadeath game with Lightning as an agent of god who also needs to kill god.

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Bhunivelze fashions themself as the god of everything, but needs Lightning as a pawn to create that world. Lightning, simply having none of that, chooses to defeat them before they can destroy the very universe. The thing is, a god isn't an easy thing to fell, and should you lose, you're booted into New Game + with time rewinding to give you another chance.

6 Agent Smith - The Matrix: Path Of Neo (Five Phases)

The Matrix evolved into a multimedia franchise after the massive success of the first movie. This included the release of two games, with the latter, Path of Neo, being a cult classic of its own.

The final boss in this wacky game depicts a climactic fight against Agent Smith, ending in an absolutely ridiculous manner when Smith transforms into a massive version of himself to satisfy the criteria of being an epic boss fight. It's a truly wild moment in the game that shows exactly why so many people adore this off-beat title.

5 Sasuke - Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 (Five Phases)

The final fight of Naruto features the climactic showdown between Naruto and Sasuke once again in one of the most legendary and enjoyable battles in the entire series. Credit should be given to the final game in the Ultimate Ninja Storm series for replicating this battle in a brilliant fashion.

The fight against Sasuke is an absolute blast that mirrors the anime in many ways and does so brilliantly. It's an amazing conclusion to the series and lets players relive this fight within the shoes of Naruto once again.

4 Calamity Ganon - The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Six Phases)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the greatest open-world games ever made, marking a turning point for a series that had stayed pretty rigid with its action-adventure dungeon-crawling formula for quite some time indeed.

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Putting the 'big' in big, bad boss.

The open-ended approach adopted by Breath of the Wild means that players could choose just how hard the final boss, Calamity Ganon, would be. He could either be a two-phase fight with the first one being at half health... or there needed to be a whopping six phases that players needed to get through before finally attaining victory in the final stretch.

3 Kingdom Hearts 2 - Xemnas (Nine Phases)

Kingdom Hearts is a series in many ways past its prime. The Disney aesthetic that defined its original entry has taken on an altogether different view today, and the grunge clothing and edgy designs feel like a relic in many ways. Yet despite all that, Xemnas still feels like a fond memory that can't be beaten.

Introduced as a secret boss in the original Kingdom Hearts, Xemnas retains much of his same moveset, but deeply expanded. Of course, it woulstatic.aayyy.com/topic/dn/'t be Kingdom Hearts without being at least a little incomprehensible, with you fighting spaceships, futuristic dragons, and entire buildings across the fight alongside Sora's boyfriend - eh, best friend, Riku.