History Main / TrueFinalBoss

** The massive fan mod ''[[VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaacAntibirth Antibirth]]'', after collecting all three Knife Pieces, and using them to open a special door which appears after the Mom fight on the alternate route, will lead to a fight against a stronger Mom's Heart. Killing it opens up the [[WombLevel Cor]][[BleakLevel pse]], with a creature known as The Witness awaiting you at the end. In ''Repentance'', you have to beat Hush 3 times to access the alternate route (as opposed to beating it once to access Void), and Witness---now renamed Mother--- is the final boss of the route. After defeating her once, by starting another one and solving another puzzle, you get access to Dogma and The Beast, the '''FINAL''' boss of Isaac as a whole.

* ''VideoGame/FZero GX'' has a final chapter unlocked after beating Deathborn, in which Captain Falcon, already a MemeticBadass, challenges The Creators, 3 mysterious entities that were responsible for both Deathborn and creating Earth.

* In ''VideoGame/EveryExtend'', Heavy mode has a different (replacement, not subsequent) final boss if you collect 7 Quicken powerups, have at least 4 lives, and either below 100k or above 800k points. This is doable but not particularly easy[[note]]The game stops spawning Quicken-dropping enemies after you pick up 6 Quickens. Therefore you have to rely on getting at least two Quickens to be on the playfield at the same time once you're at five.[[/note]], although you can also summon him by having 8 Quickens (the cap) regardless of other conditions.

* Getting the true ending of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' requires recruiting the six other chapter protagonists during the SecretFinalCampaign and then refusing to kill [[FallenHero Oersted]] after the climactic fight with [[BigBad Odio]], which allows you to watch the epilogue and final credits following a {{boss rush}}. Doing this in the 2022 remake nets the same result, but [[NotHisSled a True Final Boss is revealed after the boss rush]]: Sin of Odio, a fight that ''all'' of the heroes end up participating in -- [[spoiler:including Oersted, who tears himself out of the boss and becomes playable one last time to deliver the final blow.]]

-->-- '''Godseeker''', VideoGame/HollowKnight

** Arcade version: You need to complete at least five maps on your account first, and then reach Dis-Human with less than 20% Encroachment; continues are allowed.

** Arcade version: You need to complete at least five maps on your account first, and then reach Dis-Human with less than 20% Encroachment.

* Getting the true ending of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' requires recruiting the six other chapter protagonists during the SecretFinalCampaign and then refusing to kill [[FallenHero Oersted]] after the climactic fight with [[BigBad Odio]], which allows you to watch the epilogue and final credits following a {{boss rush}}. Doing this in [[VideoGameRemake the 2022 remake]] nets the same result, but adds an extra encounter after the boss rush: Sin of Odio, a fight that ''all'' of the heroes end up participating in -- [[spoiler:including Oersted, who tears himself out of the boss and becomes playable one last time to deliver the final blow.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Wargroove}}'': Dark Mercia and her stage, a BattleInTheCentreOfTheMind, which can only be obtained by having over 100 stars and defeating Elodie's stage. Doing this gives you the game's true final ending that wraps up the story, instead of ending on the uncertain note of whether or not Mercia is able to destroy Requiem.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' has something of an [[AnticlimaxBoss anticlimactic]] final boss on Easy and Normal mode, but he springs a cruel surprise on Hard mode: not only does he start moving (with a massive movement range of 10 spaces), after you "beat" him, he immediately invokes a dark god and resurrects with wildly increased stats and fully-replenished (and jacked-up) HP. And it's '''still your turn''', meaning any units that attacked him are unable to act until your next turn! Adding to that, only six characters can actually inflict damage on him before he resurrects, of whom you can only have three at once. (Eagle-eyed players might suspect something is amiss going into the final chapter, as there are [[SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity less enemies on the map]] than in Normal mode.)[[/folder]]

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesKuroNoKiseki'' has Van, the protagonist himself, become the True Final Boss in the form of his Devil identity: "The Wandering Devil King" Vagrants-Zion, one of the five strongest Devils residing within [[{{Hell}} Gehenna]]. This is after the FinalBoss fight where Van recovers his stolen Diabolic Core from a Devil-powered Gerard Dantes and takes it back inside him while in Grendel Sin form, an "unshackled" form that gives its wearer cosmic awareness of Zemuria's truths and lies. Players will need to fight this Devil King with the remaining members of the Solutions Office in two phases: first while Van is locked inside it, and second when you regain control of Van as the Devil King becomes unstable after losing its human vessel. Unlike ''Cold Steel IV'', this doesn't require a side quest to complete, as this fight is somewhat immediately after the Final Boss.

** In ''2003'', depending on how you defeat [[CloningBlues Kusanagi]], you fight either Adelheid or Mukai.

** Despite the Wii version lacking a True Final Boss, the Nintendo DS version of ''VideoGame/SonicColors'' has you collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds in Special Stages that are similar to those of ''[[VideoGame/SonicRushSeries Sonic Rush]]'' when you collect 50 rings in a normal stage in each world. After all 7 of the emeralds are collected, you get to fight the Nega-Mother Wisp as Super Sonic.

Compare and contrast {{Superboss}}, which is an extra-hard secret unlockable boss that has no relevance to the game plot (or at least not to the immediate struggle) and only gives a BraggingRightsReward for beating it. A True Final Boss is sometimes this, since they're not always required outside of [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% completion]].

** In Abyssos, Hephaistos breaks the chains on his body and mutates beyond recognition into an EldritchHorror with an unfathomably large right arm with multiple eyes, a long, skinny, and bent left arm, demonic and angelic wings, and a double-helix torso. The only things that are recognizable are his Lahabrea mask and his long black cloak.

* Getting the true ending of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' requires recruiting all seven main heroes and then refusing to kill [[FallenHero Oersted]] after the climactic fight with [[BigBad Odio]], which allows you to watch the epilogue and final credits after a {{boss rush}}. Doing this in [[VideoGameRemake the 2022 remake]] nets the same result, but adds an extra encounter after the boss rush: Sin of Odio, a fight that ''all'' of the heroes end up participating in -- [[spoiler:including Oersted, who tears himself out of the boss and becomes playable one last time to deliver the final blow.]]

* In ''VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII'', after completing all 8 characters' stories as well as all 4 crossed path stories, the Extra Stories will be avaliable. In it, you'll rekindle the Sacred Flames around the world, defeat the members of the Moonshade Order and finally, Vide, the dark god, to return the dawn to Solistia.

*** In ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2'' and ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3'', if you beat the game without collecting every collectible, after defeating [[DiscOneFinalBoss King Dedede]], a credit will play as Kirby and his friends walk home with moderately cheerful music. However, at the end of the credits, the "THE END" message will quickly become "THE END?", hinting that you haven't actually beat the game and solve the problems. In ''Kirby's Dream Land 3'''s case, the camera will also show Zero's sihouette in the sky with a name of [[MyNameIsQuestionMarks ?]].

** In ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'', completing the main story grants you access to the Ultimate Choice, which is its equivalent to The Arena and the True Arena. Clearing it on either difficulty levels 6 or 7 will grant you access to the highest dificulty, Soul Melter, featuring Void Soul replacing Void Termina's fourth phase, which was originally the game's True Final Boss. However, an update added a new mode called Heroes in Another Dimension. Clearing that mode and beating Soul Melter in The Ultimate Choice will unlock the secret difficulty, [[HarderThanHard Soul Melter EX]]. Reaching the end of Soul Melter EX will bring you face to face with Void Termina, the True Destroyer of Worlds, with its fourth phase being Void, replacing Void Soul, becoming the game's True True Final Boss.

* Getting the true ending of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' requires recruiting all seven main heroes and then refusing to kill [[FallenHero Oersted]] after the climactic fight with [[BigBad Odio]], which allows you to watch the epilogue and final credits after a {{boss rush}}. Doing this in [[VideoGameRemake the 2022 remake]] nets the same result, but adds a extra encounter after the boss rush: Sin of Odio, a fight that ''all'' of the heroes end up participating in -- [[spoiler:including Oersted, who tears himself out of the boss and becomes playable one last time to deliver the final blow]].

* Getting the true ending of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' requires recruiting all seven main heroes and then refusing to kill [[FallenHero Oersted]] after the climactic fight with [[BigBad Odio]], which allows you to watch the epilogue and final credits after a {{boss rush}}. Doing this in [[VideoGameRemake the 2022 remake]] nets the same result, but adds a extra encounter after the boss rush: Sin of Odio, a fight that ''all'' of the heroes end up participating in -- including Oersted, who tears himself out of the boss and becomes playable one last time to deliver the final blow.

* Getting the true ending of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' requires recruiting all seven main heroes and then refusing to kill [[FallenHero Oersted]] after the climactic fight with [[BigBad Odio]], which allows you to watch the proper ending and final credits after a {{boss rush}}. Doing this in [[VideoGameRemake the HD-2D remake]] nets the same result, but adds a final encounter after the boss rush: Sin of Odio, a fight where ''all'' of the heroes end up participating -- including Oersted, who tears himself out of the boss and becomes playable one last time to deliver the final blow.

*** In ''[[VideoGameRemake Return to Dream Land Deluxe]]'', Magolor Soul keeps his role in Extra Mode, but in the True Arena, his moveset has been [[TookALevelInBadass even more souped-up]] to give the player one last spiteful surprise[[note]]and this is right after fighting the very thing that possessed him[[/note]].

* Getting the true ending of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' requires recruiting all seven main heroes and then refusing to kill [[FallenHero Oersted]] after the fight with Odio, which allows you to watch the proper ending and final credits after a {{boss rush}}. Doing this in the HD-2D [[VideoGameRemake remake]] nets the same result, but adds a final encounter after the boss rush: Sin of Odio, a fight where ''all'' of the heroes end up participating -- including Oersted, who tears himself out of the boss and becomes playable one last time to deliver the final blow.

* Getting the true ending of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' requires recruiting all seven main heroes and then refusing to kill [[FallenHero Oersted]] after the fight with Odio, which allows you to watch the proper ending and final credits after a {{boss rush}}. Doing this in the HD-2D [[VideoGameRemake remake]] nets the same result, but adds a brand-new boss encounter with the Sin of Odio, a fight where ''all'' of the heroes end up participating -- including Oersted, who becomes playable one last time to deliver the final blow.

* ''VideoGame/StellaGlow'': The choice that allows the player to face the true mastermind behind all the suffering and chaos in the world, [[spoiler:Cartesia (the manifestation of all negative emotions residing inside Eve, who is Marie's sister)]] only appears under certain circumstances. Namely, the player must have maxed Alto's affinity with [[spoiler:Klaus before his betrayal]], then recruit [[spoilel:Giselle after her defeat in Chapter 10]], and finally [[spoiler:refusing to continue the standard FinalBoss battle against Eve during the middle point in favor of tuning her like Alto would do with any Witch]], with this last action being what triggers the true final encounter and eventually the GoldenEnding.

** In [[VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII the sequel]], after completing all 8 characters' stories as well as all 4 crossed path stories, the Extra Stories will be avaliable. In it, you'll rekindle the Sacred Flames around the world, defeat the members of the Moonshade Order and finally, Vide, the dark god, to return the dawn to Solistia.