Why does the last boss have this great influence on us? Because we have experienced that narrative that has led us. Most Final Fantasy games start you off as a relatively naive character with little knowledge outside of what the player can immediately see. When you first launch the game, you are introduced to your protagonist, be it Vann, Zidane, or Luneth and a short backstory for them. We identify with what they do on a day-to-day basis, training Squall for SEED or Cloud’s job as a mercenary. We learn that this is the norm for these characters and for the first hour or so nothing unusual usually happens as we learn the basics of the game.

Then something will go wrong for our protagonist. Something unexpected that breaks his stereotypical day and, as a player, we are as out of reach as the characters we just met. We pay attention to why this has happened and what we have to do to survive, or what needs to be corrected. We learn at exactly the same rate as the characters we play. Understand the same things and use the knowledge we acquire to progress. This simultaneous understanding of the plot brings us to the narrative and allows us to embrace it as if it were happening to ourselves as players.

So we’ve gotten through the first few hours, discovering and learning alongside our player character, meeting allies who will help us achieve our goals, and completing a series of smaller missions. We may already have our main objective, who to defeat or what task needs to be done, but it is far beyond our reach. Every time we load the game, we experience another small section, perhaps a dungeon that we must go through or a quest quest that opens up a new area. But during these missions, our character never loses sight of his main objective, and neither do we as players. We understand that each smaller quest is part of our odyssey to defeat the Final Boss, another chapter in the lives of our characters, a necessary task that makes him stronger. Each step along the way allows the character to gain not only experience points and equipment, which means that they can face the final threat on an even field, but in narrative terms it allows them to understand the effects of their actions on the world.

Take any character from Final Fantasy to the beginning of your adventure; now imagine that character in front of his main Antagonist. Surely they could never win? Both in terms of level and equipment, but when it comes to their determination and build, they would not be prepared. But as they venture through the story, they witness the antagonist’s evil firsthand, suffer the loss of friends, and face challenges that slowly increase in difficulty, allowing them to prepare for the final showdown. Now think of yourself as the player. At first, the first time you play, you have no knowledge of the game’s systems, your character’s abilities, or any real motive behind your actions. But through the gradual progression mentioned above, it grows. You learn how magic items interact, when it’s best to use potions and stat-boosting equipment, you come across a character you like only to see them killed and lost in your party. You begin to feel empathy for the long search for your characters, but you also understand that the journey you have undertaken is making you stronger and ready to face the cause of the problems in the game. You and the character grow up to have the same goal.

Defeat the final boss.

It is this synchronized way of thinking which means that by the time you face Chaos, dive in search of the Cloud of Darkness, or prepare to bring down the Final Aeon of Braska, you will know why you need to take them and that you know that you are enough. strong to do it. that. The way the game builds up your strength presents you with the ultimate challenge to prove it and the emotional commitment to overcoming the cause of fighting and unrest from the narrative world come together in the climactic battle, meaning you are on edge, excited and highly strung. Right away.

All of this is what makes the final battle so impactful. But of course it’s not true for everyone, it could be that you didn’t save for five hours before the final boss.

What makes bosses so good to you? Shoot in the comments below!