Your top five favorite Non-Squenix Final Dungeons

[Wolf Kanno]

Time to find five final dungeons that are as epic as the ones that come out of the offices of Square-Enix and their subsidiary companies. What are your five favorite final dungeons not touched by Squenix?

[Del Murder]

I honestly can't think of any. Kefka's Tower and Black Omen are my favorites but those are both Square games!

[Wolf Kanno]

5. Doom Island (Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals)
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Here's how you do a cinematic final dungeon. What it lacks in puzzles and enemy encounters, it makes up for with great music, epic boss battles, and gripping narrative.

After finally obtaining the Dual Blade and the means to defeat the Sinistrals once and for all the party is faces one obstacle after another to hinder their ability to reach the island. When they finally do enter, they have to have rematches against the four Sinistrals, two of whom are souped up rematches, the third being a potent story revelation and a mean final boss battle. What follows is one of the most tragic endings in gaming and sets up the opening for Lufia: The Fortress of Doom. Bonus points for people who played the game in released order and already know about the game's forgone conclusion.

4. Ashtwal Mt. Sindar Ruins (Suikoden V)

Most Suikoden fans know that the final dungeons are more about concluding the story drama and thus most of the final dungeons in the series are relatively short and straightforward, then you get to Suikoden V. Of course people who know me and this game would figure I love this dungeon, it's Kefka's Tower in a nutshell with the dungeon dividing your party into three groups to hit switch puzzles and battle powerful bosses before the epic final duel and and boss battle. While I consider the retaking of the Sun Palace a better conclusion to the series, I appreciate the game trying to do something different. I also love the fact that I finally got a chance to play a dungeon with most of my favorite party members as Suikoden V has a really great and fun cast to play with. So challenging the dungeon with three teams of absolute game breakers was a treat, and further parallels the FFVI comparison. It was a great end to a fantastic and underrated game.

3. Space Station Myria (Breath of Fire III)
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This is still one of my favorite parts of the game. The world of Breath of Fire is in a quasi-medieval stasis, with signs of some high technology here and there, but this is the point where the game tells you straight up that the world of the original BoF Trilogy is a post-apocalyptic setting. The dungeon has great boss battles, a tearful and bittersweet reunion, some deep introspection with the game's cast, and you get to watch as the game took a former "MWHAHAHA! I R EVIL!" villain, and transform her into a more fleshed out character. BoFIII was always an odd duck of a game, starting off as a fairly straightforward RPG but eventually it begins to really interweave deeper themes about man's relation with god, utilitarianism and the moral quagmire it can create, and questions about accepting one's fate for better or for worse. When the smoke clears in BoFIII, yo u are left wondering if what you did was actually a good thing, or if you simply doomed the world to repeat it's mistakes. The final dungeon of BoFIII brings the game's narrative to a head and was a fun romp through futuristic hallways, exotic space gardens and even a dream world.

2. Hyrule Castle (Twilight Princess)

Damn straight I'm counting Twilight Princess as an RPG. Twilight Princess, has easily, the best final dungeon of the 3D Zelda titles. A cool rain storm accents Link's storming of the infamous castle as he has his final rounds with Bobokins, reunites with former allies, and battles Darknuts in the castle halls. Nintendo did a great job marrying Zelda gameplay sensibilities with a cinematic flair that makes the whole sequence feel like you're playing a Zelda movie. Top it off with a great musical score and one of the best Ganondorf battles in the series, and you have the makings for a fine conclusion to an underrated entry in the Zelda series.

1. Tower of Kagutsuchi (Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne)
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After many hours of exploring the Vortex World and watching as former friends die and go mad from the fantastic circumstances you find yourself in, you finally reach the Tower of Kagutsuchi where the three factions battle it out with their Reason God to see which philosophy the new world will be made in. Featuring some great regular battles that will test your fusion skills, some awesome visual design, and absolutely ingenious puzzle bosses, the final area of this game hands off the one-two punch of great gameplay and great narrative as all the story lines reach their conclusion and you find out how your choices in the game will determine how the world will be reborn. Did I mention how awesome all of the music is in this place?

[Mr. Carnelian]

I have a few ideas, but I'd just like to clarify something: how exactly are we defining a "dungeon" in this context?

[Sephiroth]

Cerulean Cave - Pokémon Red/Blue/Green/Yellow



Mount Silver - Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal



Hyrule Castle - Twilight Princess



Hyrule Castle - Breath of the Wild



Fallen Ruins - Atelier Escha & Logy The Alchemists of the Dusk Sky

[Madame Adequate]

If we count the whole Denerim section of Dragon Age: Origins, then that. It's huge, dangerous, and you get to see the culmination of all your work through the game pay off as you call in various allied forces to help fight through an unbelievable number of Darkspawn, in now-ruined and burning streets that you've spent hours questing in earlier. Then, finally, you reach the top of Fort Drakon and face the Archdemon, where other named characters from through the game will also come and fight with you. It's an epic (to use the word properly!) and deeply satisfying climax to an enormous adventure.

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Agreed with WK about Caer Xhan/Orbital Station Myria. Deeply atmospheric and enjoyable to explore.

The final assault on Red Mountain in Morrowind. You've seen the volcano from afar across much of the island, looming as an ever-present reminder of danger. You've ventured beyond the Ghostgate previously, and armed yourself with the relics of those missions, but now you seek to enter Dagoth Ur's own base. It's a pretty brutal battle through the depths of an ancient civilization's ruins, to destroy the Doom Drum.

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That's all I can bring to mind right now, but maybe I'll be back with a couple more later!