Dispelling the Cloud of Darkness: All Bosses in Final Fantasy III

As the first boss that players encounter the Land Turtle might seem somewhat intimidating but it’s actually a fairly straightforward fight. Players can’t do much at this early stage of the game other than attack and hope for the best, so maintaining a constant offensive against the Land turtle is the best way to guarantee a victory. That said, the party will have at least one Arctic Wind in their inventory they can use to instantly kill the Land Turtle but it’s better to save it for later.
HP – 120 (NES), 111 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Ice

The second boss that players will face is the Djinn, who awaits the party within the depths of the Sealed Cave (Final Fantasy III‘s first proper dungeon). Having at least one Black Mage in the party with the Blizzard spell will make short work of this fire-elemental fiend, and luckily that’s one of the first jobs players will receive from the Wind Crystal at the game’s outset.
HP – 480 (NES), 550 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Ice, Water

The next boss players will encounter is the Giant Rat responsible for stealing the Nepto Eye. Thanks to the circumstances in which players will have to enter the Nepto Temple, the entire party will be in the Mini status, making Mages the only effective characters. Having at least two Black Mages and two White Mages will allow players to continually deal damage using offensive magic spells while having White Mages cast restorative magic and clearing the Poison status from the Giant Rat’s attacks.
HP – 450 (NES), 1,050 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

Medusa is Final Fantasy III‘s 4th boss and she awaits players at the top of the Tower of Owen. As one might expect, her Stare ability has a roughly 30% chance to petrify a party member. To prevent a Game Over at the hands of petrification, have a White Mage continually cast Esuna or other status ailment-relieving spells while the rest of the party dishes out damage.
HP – 980 (NES), 2,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

Gutsco is the thief responsible for stealing the Horn of Ice and the 5th boss of Final Fantasy III. Players will fight Gutsco within the Subterranean Lake in their attempt to retrieve the Horn of Ice and the fight is a relatively straightforward battle. The main concern at the fight’s start is to remove the Mini status form the party so that offensive and defensive capabilities are restored. Following that, have a Black Mage cast elemental magic while other character use the Attack command.
HP – 1,400 (NES), 2,800 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

After tricking the party into leading him right to the other Horn of Ice, Gutsco will take both Horns and head for the Molten Cave. Here, the darkness within the Fire Crystal will transform him into the game’s 6th boss — Salamander. As a fire-breathing lizard, Slamander is weak to Ice and his attacks are practically rendered null by Ice equipment. Having melee characters using ice weapons (such as the Freezing Sword players find in the Molten Cave) and Mages cast Blizzard will see this fight end quickly.
HP – 2,100 (NES), 4,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Ice

Hein can be a tricky boss fight without the right jobs in tow. Thanks to his Barrier Shift ability, Hein is continually changing his elemental resistances and weaknesses. Having a Scholar in the party and using their Study ability makes this fight much easier, allowing the party to see exactly what Hein’s weakness is at any moment and respond accordingly. Melee attacks don’t do much damage, making it wise to bring a Scholar and three Black Mages into the fight.
HP – 1,600 (NES), 3,500 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Elemental Magic (Barrier Shift)

Xande sends Kraken to stop the party, thrusting them into a battle with the creature in the process. As a water-elemental foe, Kraken is extremely weak to lightning elemental spells and items. Having at least two Black Mages in the party continually casting Thundara will see Kraken fall very quickly.
HP – 1,950 (NES), 5,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Lightning

Goldor is the gold-obsessed ruler of Goldor Manor and Final Fantasy III‘s ninth boss. He is one of the first bosses in the game that signals the shift to fights with very specific jobs and party composition in mind. His golden armor is resistant to magic attacks, making any offensive magic a waste of valuable turns. Instead, have at least one (or, preferably, two) Dark Knight in the party that continually use their Darkness ability. These dark-elemental physical attacks can quickly put Goldor down.
HP – 2,250 (NES), 6,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Darkness (Dark Knight Ability)

Prior to the fight with Garuda, the game will actively drop hints for the player to make a party of 4 Dragoons. This advice comes in handy for the next of the bosses in Final Fantasy III, as the fight against Garuda requires the Dragoon’s Jump ability to be able to deal any damage. Additionally, equipping each Dragoon with the readily available Wind Spears in Saronia will absolutely decimate Garuda’s HP.
HP – 5,000 (NES), 7,500 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Wind, Jump (Dragoon Ability)

Odin is one of the optional boss encounters in Final Fantasy III that will unlock a powerful Summon spell. Players can find Odin in the catacombs beneath Saronia castle where he awaits anyone willing to challenge him. The biggest challenge in this fight is time, as after a certain amount of turns Odin will use Zantetsuken to wipe the party. Dark Knight attacks and Dragoon Jump attacks are the best means to quickly reduce his HP before he has a chance to unleash his ultimate attack.
HP – 7,000 (NES), 20,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Darkness (Dark Knight Ability)

The next optional boss that players can face at this point in the game is Leviathan. Thanks to his aquatic nature, Leviathan has a weakness to Lightning that the player can handily exploit. Building a party with at least two Black Mages to continually spam Lightning-elemental spells and a White Mage to heal the party every turn is a recipe for success. Like Odin, Leviathan will reward the player with the ability to summon him after defeat.
HP – 7,000 (NES), 22,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Lightning

Technically players can face Bahamut when they first encounter him at the beginning of Final Fantasy III, but they have no legitimate chance of winning. After acquiring the Invincible, players can head back to Dragon’s Peak and challenge the beast, winning his Summon spell in the process. Before challenging Bahamut, make sure to have a party consisting of two Devouts and two Dragoons with Wind Spears as their primary weapon. Having the Devouts cast Aeroga and the Dragoons using the Jump command will make the fight much more manageable.
HP – 7,500 (NES), 25,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Wind

Before players can restore the Earth Crystal they’ll need the Fang of Earth, meaning they’ll have to defeat Hecatoncheir. Though he doesn’t have any specific weaknesses, his general Magic Defense stat is very low, making having Mages in the party a must. Casting the most powerful offensive magic spells every turn will see Hecatoncheir succumb to defeat quickly.
HP – 6,500 (NES), 9,800 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

Before Doga and Unei will help the party in defeating Xande and cleansing the world of Darkness, players will need to defeat both sages back-to-back in rapid succession battles. Even though players don’t face these two together, each fight can be challenging on its own thanks to both Doga and Unei utilizing powerful magic against the party. Having some heavy-hitting melee characters (especially Dark Knights and Dragoons) will come in handy since both bosses are resistant to magic, and a White Mage for healing is a must.
HP – 4,500 (NES), 12,800 (Pixel Remaster); 4,500 (NES), 11,800 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

Technically players can fight Titan and cleanse the Earth Crystal before Doga and Unei, and doing so will reward the final set of Jobs in the game. Regardless, Titan shares more than just a sprite with Hecatonchier, essentially existing as a bigger and badder version of the previous boss. As with Hecatonchier, Titan has lower-than-average Magic Defense that players can exploit to quickly drain his HP.
HP – 7,800 (NES), 20,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

Amon is one of the first bosses players will fight after entering Eureka and is very similar to the fight against Hein. Like Hein, Amon has the Barrier Shift ability that allows him to switch elemental affinities at will, changing his resistances and weaknesses in the process. And, just like Hein, using the Study ability to reveal his current affinity allows players to handily exploit Amon’s current weaknesses.
HP – 7,040 (NES), 23,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Elemental Magic (Barrier Shift)

Kunoichi is another optional boss encounter that players will tackle in Eureka, the reward for which is the Masamune katana. Despite the excellent reward waiting for players after the battle’s conclusion, the fight against Kunoichi is as straightforward as bosses in Final Fantasy III come. Simply have one character heal the party every turn and have the rest hammer her with constant attacks.
HP – 9,000 (NES), 19,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

Yet another optional encounter in Eureka (and another simple fight), the General guards the Excalibur sword. Like Kunoichi, players simply need to pummel the General with melee attacks and have one character utilize a job that allows them to regularly heal the party. One thing to watch out for is the General’s ability to cast Death and instantly eliminate a party member. Be sure to quickly revive any slain allies to prevent a prolonged battle of attrition.
HP – 12,000 (NES), 25,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

Scylla is one of the most important optional boss encounters since she guards the party’s access to the Ninja job. Prepare for the fight by equipping any available items that nullify petrification and make sure to have a powerful healer in the party while the other three members hammer Scylla with continual damage. She wields some powerful offensive magic and can also regularly heal herself (except for in the NES version), so keeping up the offensive is a must.
HP – 10,000 (NES), 25,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

Guardian is aptly named, protecting the Ragnarok blade within the forbidden realm of Eureka. However, thanks to having the new Ninja job, players can use one or two Shuriken they’ve collected along Final Fanasy III‘s main quest to trivialize the encounter and absolutely melt Guardian’s HP reserves.
HP – 12,000 (NES), 23,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Shuriken

As it turns out, Xande is not actually the true antagonist of Final Fantasy III. Instead, he hopes to summon the Cloud of Darkness that will throw the world into chaos. Before players challenge the Cloud they must first confront and defeat the dark sorcerer Xande, and the fight is actually comparatively simple. With the game’s two best jobs (Sage and Ninja) as well as a treasure trove of powerful equipment from within Eureka, the fight against Xande essentially relies on the same strategy as many others. Have a Sage continually healing the party while others pummel him with physical and magical attacks.
HP – 21,000 (NES), 38,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

After suffering defeat at the hands of the Cloud of Darkness, the party must enter the World of Darkness and free the Warriors of Dark from the Dark Crystals. Each of these Dark Crystals has a guardian in the form of a challenging boss encounter, and the first of these is Cerberus. This foe can attack 3 times per turn in the NES version but only once in the Pixel Remaster, which makes the fight significantly easier. Still, Cerberus’ attacks inflict poison, so hopefully players defeated the 4 Xande Clones to acquire 4 Ribbons that nullify negative status effects.
HP – 23,000 (NES), 60,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

Prior to heading to the Southwest portal in the World of Darkness to challenge Echidna, it’s recommended to have all four party members level up the Sage job and be ready to cast the most powerful offensive and defensive magic. Echidna’s speciality lies in inflicting damage to the whole party by casting a set chain of spells from turn to turn. Using spells such as Haste and Curaja are essential to counteract the effects of Echidna’s offensive magic.
HP – 32,000 (NES), 70,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

Ahriman is yet another of the Dark Crystals’ guardians that players will have to fight. Accordingly, the foe is challenging and has potential to wipe the party using Meteor. Unlike other series appearances, Ahriman doesn’t cast death on everyone during the battle’s beginning, but it still has plenty of HP to contend with. Thankfully, the party should be more than up to the challenge at this point in the game. Aeroga and other Wind-elemental magic comes in handy, as does the Bahamut summon.
HP – 35,000 (NES), 75,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Wind

The Two-Headed Dragon is Final Fantasy III‘s penultimate boss fight and an incredibly challenging encounter for all but the most high-level parties. The primary danger of the Two-Headed Dragon is its ability to deal 9999 damage in a single turn through multiple successive attacks. The best way to counter this is to have one of the new Sages cast Protect on everyone to lessen the damage and prevent negative status effects. Aside from one party member focusing on healing and defense, the other three characters should hammer out attacks every turn.
HP – 29,000 (NES), 65,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – N/A

After freeing the four Warriors of Dark, players are finally ready to face off against the Cloud of Darkness. Tellingly, the battle against the final boss of Final Fanasy III can be incredibly challenging without the right party composition. However, the Ninja job’s Throw command and use of Shurikens makes this battle a joke. If players save their Shurikens until the fight against the Cloud of Darkness, they can use them all in rapid succession to quickly end the fight. That said, she does have several attacks that hit the whole party for large amounts of damage and inflict a myriad of status effects, so make sure to have one or two Sages in the party to heal.
HP – 45,000 (NES), 120,000 (Pixel Remaster)
Weaknesses – Shuriken