The second entry in the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy has its fair share of bosses, off the beaten path and throughout the main story. This article takes a look at the hardest bosses in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and puts them into a rank list from easiest to most challenging.
There are a total of 25 main story bosses in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but not all are created equal. Players can defeat more than half of the bosses on the first attempt if they understand the game’s combat system. On the other hand, 10 bosses stand out as an incredible challenge. The 10 bosses below require a player who has mastered the combat system and has top-notch character builds.
10. Mythril Golem
You better make sure you have been focusing on Barrett and Red XIII folio upgrades up to this point in Chapter 3, or you are in for a rude awakening for this boss fight. Mythril Golem looks slow at first, but despite his size, he can cover a ton of ground with AoE attacks.
Red XIII and Barrett are the only two party members you have access to during this boss, and together, they make an odd combination. Barrett is meant for ranged attacks, while Red is best for close encounters, so it’s a fight that forces you to learn both playstyles. You can only defeat Mythril Golem by destroying his arms and head, which love to grow back exceptionally quickly. This leaves your party members with little time to do any real damage.
9. Gi Nattak
Gi Nattak is Chapter 10’s final boss, and it is extremely difficult because it has zero weaknesses. Immediately upon starting this boss fight, you’ll notice that Gi Nattak loves using projectiles. Projectiles are one thing, but they become even tougher to deal with when they track you.
Gi Nattak will also summon little skull creatures to do his dirty work, which requires the player to defeat them first to get a chance at killing the main boss. Add to this the fact that Gi Nattak will cast “Doom” on your party, activating a timer that leads to instant death, and you have yourself one hell of a hard boss.
8. Terror of the Deep
Terror of the Deep wouldn’t be such a hard boss if you encountered it later in the story. But the fact that you fight it in Chapter 3, where you haven’t had enough time to learn how to deal with flying enemies, there’s not much you can do except get whooped.
In the first phase of this fight, attacking from the ground simply does not work. Instead, you have to use Lightning. That sounds simple enough, but there’s a catch. If you only have one lightning-equipped character, the Terror of the Deep will trap that character in a ball of water, completely immobilizing them.
7. Elena and Rude (chapter 3)
Elena and Rude are the first duo boss fight you’ll encounter in FF7 Rebirth toward the end of chapter 3. These two will do everything in their power to cancel your attacks, completely stun-lock you, and prevent you from making a move. This means you will constantly be switching between characters to survive.
The only way to win this fight is to focus on defeating one before moving on to the other. While doing that, you also need to keep an eye on the other one so they don’t leap toward you to do a high amount of damage to your character. It’s an incredible challenge to overcome and requires a player who is excellent at the game’s combat system, which is unlikely since it’s so early in the game.
6. Dyne
Dyne is one of the few one-on-one boss fights in FF7 Rebirth. Instead of playing as Cloud, you fight the boss with only Barett. This boss fight is unique compared to others because you must use cover (barriers) around the battlefield to avoid taking damage.
Even though Dyne has a gun similar to Barrett’s, he has way more attacks under his sleeve. He has a ground attack that can paralyze you, a laser shot that shoots through barriers, and mines that will drain your health big time if you come in proximity of the explosion. There is just so much going on in this fight, and since you only have one character, it can be incredibly difficult to survive.
5. Yin & Yang
Cait Sith has the most complex combat system to master in FF7 Rebirth, so it only makes sense that his solo fight against Yin & Yang is nothing short of a massive pain in the butt. The game does absolutely nothing to prepare you for this fight unless you are one of the rare players who has had Cait Sith consistently in your battle rotation up to this point.
At first, you won’t even notice that Yin & Yang is a boss fight due to its small size and lack of a major introduction. You’ll only notice it’s a boss when it starts obliterating your health and spam-attacking you with its Despondent Strike move. Yin & Yang is weak to fire, but who has Fire Materia equipped to Cait Sith? I know I didn’t. It may just be a me thing, but Yin & Yang is one of the hardest boss fights in the game.
4. Specimen H1024 and Crimson Mare Mk. II
These two fights are so difficult because it’s a two-part, party-locked section. You’ll have to fight the Specimen H1024 boss as Cloud, Barrett, Red, and then Crimson Mare MK. II as Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie. This means you must completely readjust what worked on the first round and try to make it work again with a new squad and boss with a different list of attacks/abilities. Thank god there is a checkpoint between each part of the fight.
Specimen will focus on using Mako attacks, which deal an incredibly high amount of damage to any party member close to it. And then Crimson Mare will target any character you’re controlling, making it a fight about dealing some damage, switching to another character, dealing some damage, switching again, etc. Crimson Mare has cannons for AoE attacks, melee attacks with range, and a rotating laser that swirls around the battlefield. It’s so stressful.
3. Jenova Emergent
Jenova Emergent is the final boss of a very short level in the game, Chapter 5. It’s a three-phase boss with zero weaknesses and is resistant to any ailment you may want to use. The challenge in this fight stems from having to defeat Jenova’s arms, head, and spine before even getting the chance to drain the boss’s health.
This is probably the only boss in the game where you are pretty much required to use Summon Materia to survive. I don’t see how it’s possible without it. Even with your Summon on the field, you’ll be bouncing back and forth between characters constantly healing each other, as Jenova Emergent can quickly drain your health to the low hundreds in a couple of hits.
2. Roche (chapter 11)
It angers me when Cloud is surrounded by his party members but decides to play the hero and challenge a boss by himself. It makes the fight ten times harder than it should be, and the perfect example is against Roche.
Roche dodges everything, making this fight all about timing. If you go into the battle guns blazing, such as using ATB abilities or standard attacks without some patience, you won’t make any progress. You can only pressure Roche if you land a hit immediately after he uses a special attack, which can be hard since he’s incredibly quick. Roche will make you sweat and make you want to break your controller, no doubt about it.
1. Rufus
Rufus is hands down the hardest boss in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. He appears in Combat Square in Chapter 12 and will make you question everything you learned about the game’s combat system up to this point. If you think you have mastered the mechanics, think again.
First, you only control Cloud, meaning you can’t switch between characters. Second, you can’t attack Rufus normally since he’ll grab and shoot you in the back if you attempt anything. Third, he has a ridiculously long list of attack moves. The only way you can do any damage to Rufus is by pressuring him when he reloads, which he loves to do when you’re on the ground and can’t move.
There you have it, the hardest boss fights in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Did a boss you have trouble with not make it on the list? Are you surprised Sephiroth (the final boss) didn’t make it? Surprisingly, Sephiroth is one of the easier fights in the game, as it was mostly a cinematic experience rather than a challenging boss fight.
