Accessing the Final Boss
The ultimate confrontation in Sonic Frontiers, against the entity known as The End, occurs after you have defeated Supreme at the conclusion of the Ouranos Island segment. Sonic, accompanied by Sage, will then journey into space for this final battle. The nature of this boss fight is directly influenced by your game’s difficulty setting when you initiate The End’s encounter.
To experience the more challenging “bullet hell” variant of the final boss, you must have the difficulty set to hard mode when you enter the fight. It is not necessary to have played the entire game on hard difficulty; simply changing the setting to hard before the fight with The End will trigger this version. If your difficulty is set to normal or below, a shorter sequence of quick-time events (QTEs) will occur instead. You can adjust the difficulty using the slider in the game’s options menu.
The End: Normal and Easy Difficulty
If you are playing on normal difficulty or lower, the final battle against The End is a brief engagement. After Sonic and Sage reach space, they will face The End, a being described as planet-sized. The End will unleash a large laser beam that Super Sonic initially struggles to deflect. Sage intervenes to assist Sonic in deflecting the beam, then propels him towards the planet-sized foe.
To successfully complete this fight, you must complete three quick-time event sequences. A meter will appear on screen; you need to press the SQUARE button when the meter’s hand is within the blue zone. Successfully executing this action three times will conclude the battle, allowing you to view the final cutscene and any post-credit scenes.
The End: Hard Difficulty Bullet Hell
When facing The End on hard difficulty, the fight transforms into a demanding bullet hell sequence. This segment is reminiscent of the hacking mini-games found on Chaos and Ouranos Island, but with expanded movement capabilities, allowing you to move both horizontally and vertically. You are granted three lives for this challenge and must destroy The End.
A key mechanic involves matching and destroying projectiles. The End will fire both black and white projectiles. To counter these, you must fire corresponding bullets: use R1/RB for black bullets to destroy black projectiles, and L1/LB for white bullets to destroy white projectiles. As you destroy projectiles, a homing missile bar at the bottom of the screen will charge. Once full, press R2/RT to launch missiles, inflicting significant damage on The End.
During this fight, it is crucial to maintain a constant barrage of fire. The End will continuously launch projectiles, some of which may become difficult to evade. A recommended strategy is to select a position and fire rapidly, alternating between black and white bullets to clear incoming projectile waves. The game is somewhat forgiving with projectile hitboxes, which can assist in navigating intense barrages.
Homing missiles can serve as a “get-out-of-jail-free card” during overwhelming projectile waves. Stock them up and deploy them to clear a path when the situation becomes too chaotic. Remember to consistently target The End itself, as focusing solely on defending against projectiles will not advance the fight.
As The End’s health decreases, it will introduce new attacks:
- Laser Beam Grid Attack: The End pins you within a maze of lasers. Find a safe spot within the grid and remain there until it dissipates. Hitting any laser will result in damage. A later variation will see the grid move from right to left, requiring you to move with it to stay safe.
- Power Beam: The End charges a large purple energy beam. An alert sound will precede this attack, and a purple circle will appear in front of the planet, indicating the firing point. Dodge to the right or left to avoid the beam.
- Laser Beam Segment Attack: The End fires vertical lasers slowly from the top of the screen downwards. Position yourself directly beneath a laser after it has been placed and wait for the segments to vanish.
The fight continues until The End’s health bar is almost fully depleted.
Final Horizon DLC Final Battle
The Final Horizon update introduces a more extensive final battle. This battle begins with phases against Supreme, which are similar to its appearance in the main game. You will need to destroy its orbiting turrets, attack Supreme directly, and parry its attacks, particularly its gun.
In Phase 3, Supreme becomes controlled by The End, significantly increasing its power. Its attacks become unblockable and can reduce Sonic’s maximum ring count. After being hit by The End’s energy balls, Sonic gains the ability to parry these attacks, but only with precise timing. The End will continuously heal Supreme during this phase, making direct damage to Supreme ineffective. Instead, you must attack the connection between Supreme and The End by sidestepping while targeting Supreme’s head to sever it. Once the connection is broken, Supreme becomes vulnerable. When Supreme collapses, use the Cyloop on the targetable area on its back to reveal its gun. Cyloop the gun again to conclude Phase 3.
Phase 4 sees Sage, Amy, Tails, and Knuckles providing a shield for Dr. Eggman. Your objective is to keep The End distracted with your attacks to prevent it from breaching the shield. Supreme becomes more erratic and unstable, unleashing attacks that can knock Sonic out of his Super form. The strategy remains consistent: attack the connection between The End and Supreme, then directly attack Supreme until its health is depleted. Once Supreme’s health bar is empty, complete the quick-time events to finish the battle. The only stat that is particularly important to increase for this fight is your ring count.
FAQ
How do I make sure I fight the harder version of The End? You must set your game’s difficulty to hard mode before initiating the fight with The End. You don’t need to play the entire game on hard.
What happens if I play the final boss on normal or easy difficulty? You will encounter a shorter sequence of three quick-time events (QTEs) against The End, rather than the bullet hell segment.
What buttons do I use for the hard difficulty bullet hell section? R1/RB fires black bullets, L1/LB fires white bullets, and R2/RT launches homing missiles when the bar is full. SQUARE is used for QTEs on normal/easy.
What is the main objective during the hard difficulty bullet hell fight? You need to destroy The End by constantly firing and using homing missiles, while also defending against projectiles by matching black and white bullets.
Are there specific attacks to watch out for on hard difficulty? Yes, The End uses a laser beam grid, a power beam, and a laser beam segment attack, each requiring specific evasive maneuvers.