Although the original idea for Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was to produce a game in the Final Fantasy series more suitable for beginners, the game is beloved by several longtime fans due to it releasing at a time in the West where there were few other games in the franchise. Mystic Quest is undoubtedly easier than either Final Fantasy or Final Fantasy II (the localization of Final Fantasy IV), but it’s a game that is absolutely bursting with charm and personality, featuring some incredible music, snappy gameplay, and a lighthearted story with minimal stakes. Perhaps one of the best indicators of the game’s charm and levity are the bosses in Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.
As a result of the game’s intentional low difficulty curve, the rogues gallery in Mystic Quest is especially manageable. Rather than force players to analyze enemy placement, design, and location to determine elemental weaknesses, each enemy in the game can be easily defeated by using melee attacks, which are much more powerful than in other early titles. Mystic Quest also features a unique element for the series, showing damage to bosses as players progress through the encounter and changing their on-screen sprites to indicate how close to the battle’s conclusion players are.
It’s not a perfect game, but these unique twists to an established formula help Mystic Quest to stand out in comparison to its contemporaries. These are all the bosses in Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, presented in the order players encounter them throughout the game’s main story.
Behemoth
The Behemoth is both the first encounter in all of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest and the game’s first boss. Players have no choice but to fight the beast as part of the game’s introduction, facing off against him at the Hill of Destiny. With no equipment or upgrades available for the character, the only way to defeat the boss is to keep spamming attack until its health eventually depletes, rewarding the player with a narrow victory before the game begins proper. HP – 80 Weaknesses – N/A |
Minotaur
After beginning the main story in Final Fantasy Mystic Quest players will team up with Kaeli and head into the Level Forest to discover what is corrupting the trees and poisoning the land. Discovering the Minotaur as the source of the corruption, Benjamin and Kaeli have no choice but to defeat the fearsome beast, but not before the Minotaur poisons Kaeli. Though the beast is best fought using melee attacks, a bug in the North American version of Mystic Quest allows players to instantly kill him by casting the Life spell. HP – 240 Weaknesses – N/A |
Flamerus Rex
The third boss in Mystic Quest as well as the first fiend belonging to the Vile Four that the player faces off against, Flamerus Rex is the final enemy of the Bone Dungeon. After teaming up with Trisam and making it to the end of the dungeon, the Flamerus Rex is all that stands between Benjamin and the Earth Crystal. Defeating Flamerus Rex also sees Tristam reward Benjamin with the Elixir necessary to cure Kaeli of the Minotaur’s poison. In addition to using melee attacks, the undead nature of Flamerus Rex means the creature is vulnerable to restorative magic like Cure. HP – 2,200 Weaknesses – Cure |
Squidite
Players will encounter the Squidite as the boss of the Wintry Cave and the fight also happens to feature him being accompanied by two Sparna. Defeating Squidite is necessary to obtain the Libra Crest that opens up more of the critical path in Mystic Quest, and the game’s lore even implicates the creature as being responsible for its theft in the first place. Unlike most other aquatic creatures in the Final Fantasy series, Squidite is resistant to Fire and Thunder elemental attacks, meaning the player needs to rely on consistent melee attacks as the most reliable strategy. HP – 2,500 Weaknesses – N/A |
Snow Crab
The Snow Crab is the 5th boss of Mystic Quest and the final encounter of the Falls Basin dungeon that Benjamin and Phoebe must pass through before reaching the lair of the second fiend, the Ice Pyramid. The Snow Crab’s ability to inflict confusion makes it especially deadly, though Benjamin can deal significant damage to the beast by attacking it using an axe. Much like Squidite, the Snow Crab is resistant to both Fire and Thunder elemental attacks and requires significant use of melee in order to defeat. HP – 3,000 Weaknesses – N/A |
Ice Golem
The Ice Golem is Final Fantasy Mystic Quest‘s fiend of water and the second of the Vile Four that the party meets in their adventure. As the boss of the Ice Pyramid, he’s undoubtedly the toughest of the trio of bosses the player faces in the game’s second location. He awaits the party on the top floor of the area’s final dungeon. Defeating the Ice Golem will see the region of Aquaria finally thaw out to reveal a lush green landscape and flowing waterfalls underneath. The Ice Golem will inflict some serious physical damage on the party, but Benjamin and Phoebe can return it back in kind using both melee attacks. Additionally, the Ice Golem has a weakness to Fire that players can exploit to make quick work of the battle. HP – 6,500 Weaknesses – Fire |
Jinn
The Jinn, an evil genie, is the seventh boss that players will encounter in Final Fantasy Mystic Quest and the first boss of the game’s third area Fireburg. Awaiting the player as the final encounter in the Mine dungeon, the inn is blocking access to the boulder that Benjamin and Ruben must destroy to open up the path back to Fireburg. Contrary to what players might expect given the boss’ red appearance and place in a fire-elemental area, Jinn is resistant to Water attacks and is mostly susceptible to melee hits from the party. Though his attacks hit hard, keeping up the offense and maintaining the party’s HP will see victory arrive soon enough. HP – 6,000 Weaknesses – N/A |
Medusa
Medusa is the final boss of the Volcano dungeon that Benjamin and Rueben must clear before gaining access to the area’s final dungeon, the Lava Dome. Like her counterpart from Greek mythology, Medusa can inflict paralyze status on the party which effectively turns them into “stone”. Though she has no elemental weaknesses, the White spell that players acquire inside the Volcano is particularly effective against Medusa, as are melee attacks. Like most bosses in Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, simply relying on the “Attack” command will get the job done. HP – 6,500 Weaknesses – N/A |
Dualhead Hydra
The third fiend and member of the Vile Four, Dualhead Hydra is the boss of the Lava Dome and the fiend of fire. As one might expect, the beast is especially resistant to Fire attacks but it also has no definitive elemental weaknesses. It can inflict massive amounts of damage on the party with its Fire Breath attack as well as cause various status ailments. Still, players can reasonably defeat the creature by consistently using melee attacks and relying on restorative items and magic to keep the party in good health. HP – 14,000 Weaknesses – N/A |
Gidrah
After clearing the Lava Dome and causing the Volcano to erupt, the path forward to the game’s third area opens up. Once in the Alive Forest, the first dungeon that players will visit is the Giant Tree, where Gidrah awaits them at the top. The beast resembles a chimera, featuring three heads resembling a Lion, goat, and dragon, and it uses Wind and Earth attacks. Surprisingly, Gidrah has a weakness to the Wind element, which players can take advantage of to gain an early foothold in the battle. Additionally, Gidrah finds himself in the company of two Skuldiers during the battle, making the additional foes a priority before players focus on defeating the boss. HP – 13,000 Weaknesses – Wind |
Dullahan
Like Medusa and Jinn before it, Dullahan is another of Mystic Quest‘s bosses with origins in mythology and folklore. The very same headless horseman of Irish mythology, Dullahan awaits players at the top of Mount Gale in Windia. Defeating Dullahan opens up the Rainbow Bridge leading to the final member of the Vile Four, Pazuzu, and the boss brings two Vampire enemies into the fight with him to ensure the party never makes it that far. With no elemental weaknesses and a penchant for using attacks that inflict instant death, the fight with Dullahan is far from trivial but easily overcome by staying consistent with melee attacks and healing. HP – 14,000 Weaknesses – N/A |
Pazuzu
The final member of the Vile Four and the fiend of wind, Pazuzu bears a strong resemblance to the Babylonian demon of the same name. He waits for Benjamin in his eponymous tower, and he is an especially deadly boss thanks to his Psych Shield move. Aptly named, the Psych Shield blocks all magic attacks and reflects them back at the user, forcing the player to rely on physical attacks when the Psych Shield is active. When the shield is down, using Wind spells and high-level Fire spells (such as Flare) proves to be especially effective. Once the Psych Shield is down, players have a short amount of time in which to cast magic, and when it’s active they should focus on melee attacks and replenishing HP and MP. HP – 25,000 Weaknesses – Wind |
Skullrus Rex
Within Mystic Quest‘s final dungeon, the Doom Castle, each member of the Vile Four appears again in a new form for players to defeat. The first fiend that players will fight is the reincarnation of Flamerus Rex, now appearing as Skullrus Rex. Somewhat tellingly, as the first of the four fiends Skullrus has the lowest amount of HP and is easier to defeat. Further, players can use the same strategy that works for Flamerus Rex. Bombarding Skullrus Rex with melee attacks and restorative magic will see the boss fall realitively quickly. HP – 10,000 Weaknesses – Cure, Heal, Life |
Stone Golem
The second of the Vile Four awaiting the party within the Doom Castle is the Ice Golem’s reincarnation, the Stone Golem. Like its icey counterpart, the Stone Golem is resistant to all magic, including the powerful Flare spell. Along for the battle with the Stone Golem are two Cerberi that the player should focus on eliminating before moving on to the main event. While melee attacks and the White spell are effective against the Stone Golem, there is a trick to defeating the boss that makes the fight exponentially easier. By casting the Exit spell in battle, players can instantly kill the Stone Golem as long as the spell’s effect takes hold. HP – 10,000 Weaknesses – N/A |
Twinhead Wyvern
Another reincarnation of the Vile Four, the Twinhead Wyvern is the Dualhead Hydra appearing once again. This time, the two-headed dragon shows up as green instead of red, but despite the color swap it has a strategy largely the same as its predecessor. The beast is weak to both Wind and Water elemental attacks and its offensive capabilities are easily countered using restorative magic and items. In addition to the aforementioned elements, Twinhead Wyvern also seems to be vulnerable to high-level magic like Flare and White, and its relatively manageable HP pool means the fight won’t drag on too long. HP – 15,000 Weaknesses – Wind, Water |
Zuh
The last of the new Vile Four that players encounter inside Doom Castle is Zuh, the reincarnation of Pazuzu. This foul demon awaits players at the door leading to the castle’s summit and the throne room of the Dark King, standing as the last line of defense before players confront the final boss of Mystic Quest. Interestingly, Zuh has a smaller HP pool than Pazuzu, though it does somewhat make up for it by bringing two powerful normal enemy types into battle with it. The Psych Shield attack again makes an appearance, rendering all magic useless lest the party do damage on themselves with offensive magic spells. Zuh also brings an instant-death attack to the table in this fight, and between that move and Psych Shield presents as one of the most difficult bosses in Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. HP – 20,000 Weaknesses – Wind, Ranged Attacks |
Dark King
The final boss of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest and the cause of the great calamity befalling the land, the Dark King is an especially long and drawn-out fight with four separate forms, each featuring an HP pool twice as large as some of Mystic Quest‘s most formidable enemies. While the normal strategy to defeat every form is to rely on the game’s most powerful offensive magic (White and Flare) and alternate healing the party every turn, there is a trick to quickly defeat the Dark King and make short work of an otherwise long fight. If players have Benjamin cast Cure on the Dark King, it breaks the damage limit to deal over 10,000 damage. With each form having 40,000 HP, it takes anywhere between 12 to 15 turns to defeat the final boss and see the game’s ending using the Cure trick. Note that it has to be the game’s protagonist Benjamin to cast the spell, as it won’t work otherwise. HP – 40,000 (x4, for each form) Weaknesses – Cure (Benjamin) |
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Box art for Final Fantasy Mystic Quest on SNES.