History Main / ClimaxBoss

*** Fittingly Jenova:Dreamweaver serves this role in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake''. The battle serves as the point where fighting Shinra takes a back seat to finding Sephiroth, which is exemplified with President Shinra dying just beforehand. The revelation that the Whispers are just as much on your side as against it is shown when they [[spoiler:save Barrett from being stabbed by Sephiroth.]]

* In ''Anime/KillLaKill'', [[spoiler: Nui Harime]] is first fought immediately after revealing that [[spoiler: she was Isshin's killer]].

* ''Videogame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' has the Ubersoldat, the second boss who benefits from both plot placement and grandiose battle.

*** Wattoo can be seen as this in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', as Qui-Gon's successful bet with him for Anakin to win podracing kicks off Anakin's journey as a Jedi and the Chosen One.

* Ornstein and Smough from ''VideoGame/DarkSouls''. Epic music, extremely challenging for the right reasons, and takes place in a huge and grand hall. Defeating the pair is the final test before meeting Gywnevere and recieving the Lordvessel, kicking off the second half of the Chosen Undead's quest.

** ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'': The Metroid Queen is [[DegradedBoss demoted to this]], unlike in the original ''Metroid II'' where she was the FinalBoss. In this remake, she's still a major threat due to being the progenitor of the Metroids, and the elaborate SequentialBoss fight against her reflects the urgency to slay her. But after Samus wins the fight and peacefully takes the last Metroid alive with her, the real FinalBoss awaits in the surface: [[spoiler:Proteus Ridley, who plans to seize the Metroid]].

** ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'': ''Fusion'' breaks with tradition by having Nightmare act as the climax boss; it's foreshadowed in the background several times before it's fought, and its very existence foreshadows [[spoiler:that the research on the BSL station involves biological weapons]].

* ''JadeEmpire'': Grand Inquisitor Jia fights you right after she reveals that you had the entire plot backwards.

*** ''Film/ANewHope'' has Obi-Wan's fight against Darth Vader, to which the former sacrifices himself — allowing the rest of the heroes to escape the Death Star. The FinalBattle would be an aerial dogfight between Luke Skywalker and the Rebels against Vader and the Empire, culminating in the Death Star's destruction.

** The battle against Azala and her Black Tyranno. The battle not only closes the Prehistory story arc, but also reveals that Lavos came from outer space in this era as a meteor and caused the ice age that killed the dinosaurs, and most importantly. [[spoiler:the heroes find a Time Gate that leads to a fifth time period, Antiquity, when prior to that they could only travel between four time periods (Present, Middle Ages, BadFuture and Prehistory)]].

** Morgott the Omen King serves as this for the main story arc. He is the boss of the royal capital Leyndall and the last enemy before the Erdtree. His defeat reveals the biggest obstacle to entering it [[spoiler:is the Erdtree itself, which has created a barrier of thorns to keep the Elden Ring out of reach. From then on you have to work on finding a way to burn the Erdtree to gain access to the inside.]] Appropriately, he is the last Demi-god that has to be faced, showing that your goals are higher than thought before.

** ''VideoGame/SonicSuperstars'': Fang in the Golden Capital Zone is this games Climax Boss. Throughout the game Fang harasses team Sonic and it finally comes to a head here. A multi-stage battle as you navigate stage hazards and fend off his ever increasing firepower [[spoiler:culminating in Trip's HeelFaceTurn to stop him from activating his trump card and becoming a playable character.

** ''Film/WonderWoman'': Erich Ludendorff is believed to be Ares, given he is the general of the German Army opposing Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman kills him, so the war should end right? Except Sir Patrick Morgan, the pacifist in the Imperial War Cabinet who ''allied'' with Wonder Woman is revealed to be Ares.

** Radahn serves as this for many story arcs. More than one character talks of how he was once the greatest warrior of the Shattering and how his final battle with Malenia brought Caelid to ruin. His defeat is the key to a few character quests; Iron Fist Alexander realizes his limits in battle, no longer tied to Radahn Jirren starts to hunt Sellen causing her to entrust her SoulJar to you, Ranni's fate is unsealed and northern Nokron is unsealed, allowing progression into Fia's quest. That he gets an entire festival that makes his former castle non-hostile in a world burned time ang again by war shows how important he is even in his current state.

* In ''VideoGame/Terranigma'', the fight against Dark Morph marks the end of the second chapter, and the revival of mankind, which sets up the rest of the game's plot.

** Both of the first actual confrontations against Exdeath in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV''. Also unique that both of them have a unique battle theme.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has the fights against Kefka at Narshe and against Ultima Weapon on the Floating Continent, which are the last fights of their respective acts of the story. The latter in particular directly precedes the game's biggest twist, in which Kefka kills Gestahl, destroys most of the world, and becomes the godlike ruler of what remains, radically shifting the focus of the story in its third and final act.

** ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'': In contrast to [[VideoGame/{{Metroid}} the original]], Ridley is treated as the climax boss before Mother Brain, after several added cutscenes heralding his impending boss fight. The original ''Metroid'' had very little plot to speak of and both Ridley and Kraid were given equal importance as the bosses that had to be killed to access the final boss.

** Stage 10 has the heroes defeating DJ K Washi in order to prevent him from [[spoiler:playing a concert of MindControlMusic that would've been broadcast to the entire city]], a plot that they had uncovered several stages prior. But that's not the end of the game yet as they still need to track down and stop the Y siblings.

** Stage 10 has the heroes defeating DJ K Washi in order to prevent him from [[spoiler:playing a concert of brainwashing music that would've been broadcast to the entire city]], a plot that they had uncovered several stages prior. But that's not the end of the game yet as they still need to track down and stop the Y siblings.

** At the end of Stage 7, the heroes fight Estel a second time, due to her continued insistence on arresting the heroes for breaking the law. After the fight, Mr. Y, one of the two leaders of the Y Syndicate alongside his sister Ms. Y, orders the two officers beside him to open fire with bazookas on the train the fight was taking place on, against Estel's protests as doing so would kill civilians on the train. After this point, Estel finally realizes the heroes were right about the Syndicate being dangerous and assists them the next time she sees them.
** Stage 10 has the heroes defeating K Washi in order to prevent him from playing a concert of brainwashing music that would've been broadcast to the entire city, a plot that they had uncovered several stages prior. But that's not the end of the game yet as they still need to track down and stop the Y siblings.