As one of the classic long runners of JRPGs, the Dragon Quest series has had plenty of exceptionally tough adversaries to face.
- Dragon Quest: Even though he's an optional boss encounter, the Knight Aberrant is easily the most powerful monster you can face before going into the Dragonlord's Castle. As the only monster in the game who can potentially put you to sleep (beside the Dragonlord), he can kill you before you could even get the chance to attack. However, it's very much worth the risk defeating him as he guards the most powerful armor in the game, Erdrick's Armour, which you'll need to have for the final boss.
- Dragon Quest II:
- Malroth is just plain cheap. As of this moment of typing, he's the ONLY Dragon Quest final boss to have Fullheal, but only in the NES version (the remakes swapped it out for Kabuff and Kasap). Also, the condition in how you face Malroth (or any enemy in the game actually) depends on luck as enemies spawn with a range of HP, ranging from 75% to 100%. Malroth for example can appear with anywhere from 189 to 250 HP. That difference can make the fight with him a lot easier or more difficult depending on RNG.
- Pazuzu and Belial can potentially also spam Fullheal if you're incredibly unlucky. Atlas is the only one of the five final bosses who doesn't have Fullheal, and Hargon is the only one of the five that you can silence with Fizzle (you can put Pazuzu to sleep).
- Pazuzu is even worse, being a Palette swapped King Mook version of a Silvapithecus with jacked-up to stats and Fullheal. Every turn spent against it is a chance for the RNG to decide to Total Party Kill you with Thwack, Kamikazee, Kaboom, Sizzle, and Infernonote , no questions asked while casting Snooze in the NES version or Fizzle in the remakes to cancel out the Scions of Erdrick's magic. Not to mention every cast of Fullheal is an extension to the already difficult battle. I hope you like dying!
- Dragon Quest III:
- Baramos. Just watch him cast Bazoom and kick out your party members who you probably desperately need to shake off his attacks that deal 70-80 damage to all members of your party. You better have equipped Erdrick with equipment that resists his nasty attacks or you're in for a very ugly battle.
- Though few and far between, the bosses tend to be quite difficult. At least for the first fight, Robbin' 'Ood and his Merry Men all hit hard and have sizeable HP pools (and while each merry man being in their own "group" helps single-target attacks, it means all-group attacks/spells are gimped in the battle).
- Orochi has a ton of HP and can hit the entire party with its breath attack, which is hard enough to outheal with Midheal (and Rubiss help you if you passed on healers). On top of that, you have to fight Orochi again shortly afterward, without knowing you could have run off to an inn before beginning the second battle.
- The Boss Troll combines brutal attacks with defense debuffs, and critical hits that one-shot party members are not uncommon. At the level you fight him, you'll be lucky to survive one critical hit.
- Dragon Quest IV:
- Keeleon (NES name)/The Marquis de Leon (DS name) in all versions. He has chilly breath that is quite damaging at that point of the game, along with attacking twice. Be prepared to grind a bit before you can take him on.
- Balzack in the remakes have always given veteran players trouble. Not just because of his sheer power and the ability to hit twice, but also of his another skill, Cold Breath, which deals just as much on the whole party.
- Esturk/Estark is just nasty. He starts off asleep, which puts you at the risk of his party-hitting attack that he can only use when he's sleeping. He will also periodically remove your party buffs with Disruptive Wave, making you vulnerable to his attacks.
- Dragon Quest V:
- The trio of Magmen at the end of Mount Magmageddon can be overwhelming for the unprepared player, especially if they spam their powerful Flame Breath attack.
- Bjorn the Behemoose. He attacks twice, has multiple attacks that target the entire party for a lot of damage such as Lightning, and has a ton of HP to get through. What's worse is it's entirely possible to trigger this fight far before you're ready for it.
- Dragon Quest VI:
- Even if he got nerfed in the remakes, the second fight against the real Murdaw is still a tough fight. He can attack twice, put one enemy to sleep with Lullab-Eye, blind enemies with Dazzleflash, and if he decides to use Lightning on top of his Chilly Breath attack, you're looking at a Total Party Wipe. It doesn't help that he's a Sequential Boss either.
- The second Dread Fiend, Jamirus. He has Flame Breath, which hits everyone, and hits quite hard too with his physical attacks. He also attacks twice in one turn. You have to hope you get lucky because he will mow down your party if you're not prepared.
- Dragon Quest VII:
- The Fire Spirit. When you battle him to show him you are worthy of his help in unmasking the "Almighty"'s dirty deeds in resealing the continents, you're forced to use Maribel who at that time is far behind the rest of your party and is likely to die in one hit. There is a piece of armor that can protect her from his attacks, but it's sold in a shop that is unavailable at the time of the fight. So unless you have the foresight to buy that armor ahead of time you're pretty much out of luck.
- Earlier in the game, there's Rashers and Stripesnote . What makes them difficult is the fact that you don't have any special abilities when you fight them. While you do get a reusable healing item to help out, both of them can hit for more than it can heal. To make matters worse, Rashers can breathe dust clouds at the party, ensuring that they will never hit their targets. The good news is, you get healed before going into the fight, but if you get wiped out and come back, you won't get healed again.
- The Time Being (Time Sage in the original). He has a lot of HP, along with his two minions. He can reset the fight, which fully restores his health and brings back the minions back to life. They all hit surprisingly hard, so you have to play defensive the entire fight and hope he doesn't reset the battle with the Sands of Time.
- Dragon Quest VIII:
- The second major boss in the game, Khalamari. With only the Hero and Yangus as your party, you're likely to be about level 10 at most, which means only the Hero will have access to Heal. Khalamari can hit your team pretty hard with Mow Down and his normal physical attack, but the real kicker comes when he breathes fire, which if he does it twice in a row, is pretty much a guaranteed game over. Best hope that the AI is merciful. And to add salt to the wound, you've likely been chasing after Jessica for two to three hours now, if not more if you're the type to look all around the beautiful world you're in on the way to each locale. She's prominent on all box arts - you know you're going to get her in your party. You've seen her at multiple points, and you just had the perfect opportunity for her to join your team when she specifically asks you to get on the boat to join her. When does she join your party? After the Khalamari boss fight. Sure would have been nice to get a third party member to distribute healing items or cast magic at Khalamari before this fight!
- Dhoulmagus. This boss fight consists of two consecutive confrontations with the Monster Clown, each being very difficult due to the boss' vast amount of powerful attacks, some of which have effects that haven't even been introduced in the game at that point, and ability to attack TWICE per turn. The majority of the bosses after Dhoulmagus are also brutally unfair, with the stupid Disruptive Wave move that'll obliterate your carefully built up status buffs and tension, AND multiple actions per turn. Empyrea is ungodly. Oh, and apparently she was just testing you.
- Dragon Quest IX:
- Goresby Purrvis is widely considered to be one of the hardest bosses in the game. For one, he is insanely fast, is similarly extremely powerful, and is fond of using Skyward Slash, an upthrust attack that will, 100% of the time, knock the target down, rendering him/her inactive for a turn. Oh, and he can also use Hatchet Man, which he makes liberal use of throughout the fight. To put in perspective just how difficult he is, you fight him again in the final dungeon, where he is the full victim of Villain Forgot to Level Grind... and he's still tough to beat!
- Dragon Quest XI:
- The Slayer of the Sands is where shit gets real for many players (especially Draconian quest players). The previous bosses were basically an Elite Mook if anything. This is the first real "Boss battle" in Dragon Quest XI - the game was going very easy on you prior to this fight. However, this isn't as much of a Wake-Up Call Boss as...
- The Arachtagon - it's possible to bumble your way to this without even being prepared. He can tangle up any number of party members for a turn or can attempt to confuse them all with Kafuddle. And he loves to spam both attacks. It's common to have half your party invalid every turn literally for the entire fight. Oh and what's more, you can't swap party members out if they're immobilized.
- Dora-in-Grey is one of the most infamous bosses in the game especially on the higher difficulties. Her main gimmick is charming/confusing/sealing you and using her additional turn to deal out hefty damage, leading to an experience that comes closer to Luck-Based Mission than anything else. Oh, and what's more, she often goes for Sylvando, who has an ability that removes charm or confusion with no damage.
- The Restless Knight is one of the fiercest opponents in the game. In addition to having access to powerful physical and lightning moves, he is one of the few enemies to make liberal use of the curse ailment, which can cause effects as benign as losing a turn, to cutting max HP, to outright killing someone. There is no easy way to approach this fight, and very few ways to counter both his onslaught and curses at the same time.
- Booga comes straight on the heels of another tough boss fight, meaning you have no chance to heal up or adjust your equipment. On top of that, he absolutely spams the ever-loving hell out of beguilement and charm moves as well as Giga Drain Magic, which drains a fair amount of MP from your entire party. And depending on when you fight him, you may be missing several members of your party - including your healer, Rab.
- The Auroral Serpent can withstand loads of damage and hits like a train. He is able to attack twice in a given turn, but what really makes him scary is that he can paralyze your party with Burning Breath, which he will do quickly and often. What’s more, he can potentially force party members from acting in a turn, which coupled with paralysis (which can easily happen in the same turn), can lead to a very swift wipe if you’re not so lucky.
- Jasper Unbound can be really damn tough if you come in unprepared. His Silver Spark does an extreme amount of damage to all party members, and the fact he has multiple actions per turn could lead him to use that one, then kill whichever party member is at critical health. Similar to previous bosses like Gyldygga, he also has the ability to remove buffs from your party without fail, except he uses it a lot more liberally.
- In the postgame, Mordegon. Think just because the Luminary is mid to late 50s in terms of level, your allies are carrying gear that they used against the Final Boss, and you have an immortal Guest-Star Party Member with Forbearance that this will be a cakewalk? Think again. The boss will throw out Madding Cloud, a mist that reverses your healing and buffs for several rounds, forcing you to just eat his attacks. Bonus points since he's a Flunky Boss - and he will also remove your buffs with the Disruptive Wave attack when he's not reversing them.
- The second fight against Tatsunaga even on regular difficulty can run the gamut. He gets three attacks per turn and his attacks can range from a physical attack, a very powerful fire barrage, and area of effect attack that can knock down your party, and finally a all out desperation attack that has an uncanny ability to land. And since there's no set pattern to which attacks he'll use, this can quickly turn into a Luck-Based Mission, especially on Draconian Difficulty.
- The Malicious Grey Gordon in the post-game seems easy enough. Most Malicious monsters are simply powered up versions of regular monsters. This guy however, has tons of abilities to immobilize the party, calls an infinite supply of alliesnote that deal roughly as much damage as himself (many of whom can also heal him), uses Hustle Dance, which heals and instantly peps up all enemies including himself, and casts high level spells. And he moves 3 times a turn so he can do just about everything every turn. And of course he has a ridiculous amount of health.
