You’ve made it through countless quests to reach the princess and save the kingdom from sure destruction at the hands of an unfathomably powerful enemy. You’ve grown stronger along the way, defeating each enemy thrown in your way as you worked toward your goal, and the finish line is in sight. But before you’re finally able to cross it, you have one more obstacle in your way: the final boss.

It has been a staple of games for decades, appearing in everything from Super Mario Bros. to 2016’s Doom reboot, and it can take many different forms. While the final boss can act as one last test of your gaming abilities and the knowledge you’ve gained during your journey, and it can also introduce a new twist to amaze you before the credits roll. Either way, its function remains largely the same – to deliver a satisfying conclusion to a story you’ve spent weeks experiencing. Over the years, we’ve seen some magnificent final bosses across a variety of genres … as well as a few half-baked ones that should have been left out completely. Here are some of the best (and worst) final bosses in video games.

Best: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Ganondorf and Ganon

Could a game possibly be considered the greatest of all time without one of the best boss battles in history? After countless hours making his way through the dungeons of Hyrule, traveling through time, and becoming powerful enough to take on the challenges of Ganondorf’s castle, Link finally comes face-to-face with the King of Thieves.

The battle that ensues sees Link and Ganondorf engage in a tennis match, launching electricity back and forth as the floor crumbles under their feet. Eventually, Link manages strike him down with his blade, but a final cry from Ganondorf sends the entire castle crumbling to the ground.

After making his escape, Link learns the fight is far from over. Ganondorf has returned as the beast known only as Ganon, and together with Princess Zelda, Link must put an end to his reign of terror for good. As the final blow is delivered and Ganon is sealed away, It’s hard not to tear up.

Best: Dark Souls III – Soul of Cinder

Reaching the final boss of Dark Souls III is an achievement in its own right. After three games full of some of the most difficult fights ever devised, we enter an open field laden with flowers, and a lone knight kneeling in the corner. We are the only chance the kingdom of Lothric has to avoid being plunged into total misery, and the Soul of Cinder, a “greatest hits” mash-up of many of the series’ previous fights, is all that stands in our way.

The multi-stage encounter is far from the most difficult battle in the series, or even in Dark Souls III, but its orchestral score and fast pace test your skills at landing blows as well as avoiding them. With enormous firebolts and lengthy combo attacks, the Soul of Cinder is capable of defeating you in just seconds – but the fight isn’t unfair. With a little practice and a whole lot of patience, you’ll see the conclusion to one of gaming’s greatest trilogies.

Best: Pokémon Red and Blue – Gary

Gary had been a thorn in your side for the dozens of hours you’ve spent capturing monsters in Pokémon Red and Blue. Always one to boast, Gary battles you several times over the course of your journey, and while you hold your own against him early on, it’s nothing compared to your final encounter.

As the champion of the “Elite Four,” who you must defeat to become the new Pokémon champion, Gary has few weaknesses – his roster of Pokémon includes a fighter useable in just about every situation, all at a level that will send shivers down the spine of less-experienced trainers. Though he’s the last trainer you need to defeat to “beat” Pokémon Red and Blue, however, Gary is just the beginning. The real challenge can only be found in other players capable of becoming your personal “final boss.”

Best: Nex Machina – Supreme AI

Housemarque’s Nex Machina is one of the hardest games released in 2017, with a tiny margin for error in nearly all encounters and a roster of bosses that could each be the final boss in almost any other game. But when you reach the final stage and battle the Supreme AI, it becomes clear the studio was still hiding a few tricks up its sleeve.

Armed with dozens of small enemies which swarm your position, indestructible laser beams, and enough projectiles to make the term “bullet hell” seem tame, Supreme AI is everything a final boss should be. The fight is an endurance test, forcing you to make zero mistakes as you dodge attacks and try your best to keep your weapon pointed at the big baddie. When you finally knock down the final bit of its health bar, it’s a triumphant feeling unlike anything we’ve experienced before – though a secret true final boss, Nex Machina herself, still remains for the most dedicated players.

Best: Chrono Trigger – Lavos

Chrono Trigger is one of the best – if not the best – role-playing games of all time, offering an unprecedented level of player choice. The actions you take as you move toward your inevitable battle with the alien creature Lavos can have a huge impact on the final ending, but many of them can be avoided altogether, as well. The best players can defeat Lavos far before the true “final” battle, writing their own story instead of the one Square had laid out for players.

Beating the monstrosity is almost impossible at this point, but even once you reach the end of the game with a full cast of characters you’ve recruited from several key time periods, Lavos is still a threat. Its attacks are capable of taking out characters in the blink of an eye, and only with Crono’s enormous power and plenty of healing can Lavos be defeated for good.

Worst: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor –  Sauron

This month’s Middle-earth: Shadow of War concludes its final story mission with a prolonged battle between the Dark Lord Sauron and the spectral Celebrimbor, showcasing the power of the two characters in an encounter that, while not amazing, serves as a fitting end to their tale. But 2014’s Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor took a decidedly different approach.

Instead of an epic showdown between Sauron and either Celebrimbor or the ranger Talion, Shadow of Mordor ends with a series of quicktime events. The rest of the game forces players to think on their feet and exploit orcs’ weaknesses, but in the case of the most powerful being in all of Middle-earth, only a few prompted button presses are necessary for victory. It’s disappointing, to say the least, but it’s made worse when you consider how good the rest of Shadow of Mordor is. Rather than leave us with our jaws dropped as the credits rolled, it left us scratching our heads.

Worst: Star Fox 2 – Andross

We waited more than 20 years for Nintendo to release Star Fox 2. It wasn’t until the SNES Classic came along that the company decided to unearth the previously-canceled game, and it’s featured prominently on the box. With supply shortages still keeping the system out of the hands of most fans, they still can’t experience the game without a ROM and an emulator like Bluestacks.

It’s novel to play something “new” that was developed over two decades ago, but Star Fox 2 isn’t worth the wait, and the final boss battle against Andross is a big reason for that. The fight has two “stages,” which see Fox and his squadmate blasting away at the most generic robotic head ever designed before attacking a cube with Andross’ face plastered on all sides. His method of attack? Launching his own face at your ship. Luckily, it’s also the easiest fight in the history of video games, so you won’t have to ever go through it again.

Worst: Assassin’s Creed III – Charles Lee

Assassin’s Creed III is one of the worst games in the entire series, despite the immense promise a Revolutionary War setting had for creative missions and the introduction of real-world historical figures. Aside from protagonist Connor’s own father, the main villain in Ubisoft’s sequel is Charles Lee, a general in the Continental Army whose actions paint a gray area between the colonists and the British – or at least attempted to as the game’s narrative shifted its focus back to the Assassins and Templars.  

Instead of staging an elaborate final assassination mission, however, Ubisoft chose to give players the worst part of any Assassin’s Creed: a chase sequence. After fighting the game’s janky traversal controls through a burning ship, Connor shoots Lee in a cutscene before slowly following him into a nearby house to watch him die. Apathetic, anti-climactic, and downright boring, it’s one of the lowest points in a series that has had several.

Image Credit : Wikia(1), Wikia(2), SotNist/YouTube, CryBox7/YouTube, Wikia(3)

Disclaimer : The following article was written freely based on the author's opinion, and it may not necessarily represent Inven Global's editorial stance.