Kaiser Dragon (Final Fantasy VI)

Kaiser Dragon, also known as simply Kaiser, is an optional superboss in Final Fantasy VI Advance. It is the "master" of the Eight Dragons fought in the deepest part of Dragons' Den, and is easily the strongest enemy in the game. Kaiser Dragon is found in a chamber only accessibly by using all three parties to hit a series of switches in the depths of the dungeon. Defeating Kaiser Dragon opens a room behind him containing the Diabolos magicite, and unlocks the Soul Shrine.

By utilizing the Kaiser Dragon Glitch the player can get to the magicite without having to fight Kaiser Dragon.

Strategy
Kaiser Dragon has five "lives" with 65,500 HP for each "life." Every time he uses Barrier Change, Kaiser Dragon will lose a life and begin his next life at its full 65,500 HP. He has nine different attack patterns that are randomly chosen whenever he uses Barrier Change. Kaiser Dragon will use Barrier Change whenever the HP of one of his lives is depleted. He will also automatically use it if enough time has passed. When Kaiser Dragon has lost four lives, either through HP depletion or when enough time has passed, he will shift to a tenth, final attack pattern. He is defeated when this fifth life is depleted by the player.

It is recommended to equip as much elemental-resisting equipment as possible, since many of Kaiser Dragon's attacks are elemental. The Paladin's Shield, Minerva Bustier, Cat-Ear Hood, and Force Armor all work, so does the Aegis Shield due to its high potential for blocking magical attacks outright. Ribbons will help against his status attacks. Any magic boosting relics like the Celestriad and Soul of Thamasa should be equipped on the party's mages, while physical fighters should use the Master's Scroll.

Mages should use Quick and cast Ultima, while physical fighters should attack with defense-ignoring weapons like the Ultima Weapon and the Valiant Knife to pierce Kaiser Dragon's high defenses, preferably while using the Master's Scroll. At least one party member should be dedicated to buffing the party with spells like Reraise, Hastega, Protect and Shell, and healing with Curaga after Kaiser Dragon attacks to keep the party's HP high. It is advantageous to attack Kaiser Dragon as much as possible when it is in the status-ailment-inflicting stage (listed as fourth on the chart below), because it will only counter attacks with Bio, which does low damage compared to his other attacks, and the Poison status will be blocked by the Ribbons the party is wearing, or is otherwise easily healed. When Kaiser Dragon restores his HP for the final time, it is highly recommended at least one party member be under the effects of Reraise, as Kaiser Dragon casts Ultima when killed, doing massive damage to the entire party, easily capable of killing them.

If the party keep themselves alive without attacking Kaiser Dragon, he'll move on to his last stage by himself and the player only needs to deal the last 65,500 damage instead of 327,500. One will know Kaiser Dragon has moved to his last battle stage when he uses Heartless Angel or Mind Blast. It might make the battle a bit easier, since one needn't worry about attacking the dragon in his elemental phases, and need to just focus on the healing.

The following is a list of Kaiser Dragon's nine possible attack patterns during his first four lives. The tenth form, labeled "Last Stage" in the table, is always Kaiser Dragon's final form, occurring when his HP has been depleted four times. He remains in this form until finally dispatched. For more information on Kaiser Dragon's various attacks, see List of Final Fantasy VI Enemy Abilities.

Origin
Kaiser Dragon is actually a retooled CzarDragon. CzarDragon was intended to be a superboss in the game's original Super NES release, and bears many similarities to Kaiser Dragon including color scheme, name (Kaiser Dragon and CzarDragon share the same Japanese name, and "Kaiser" and "Czar" are German and Russian terms, respectively, for "Emperor"), and role as the "master" of the Eight Dragons. CzarDragon was dummied out of the game and can only be found by hacking the game data, where only its stats and sprites can be found with a short monologue to be given at the start of the battle. Kaiser Dragon's sprite is heavily modified compared to CzarDragon's sprite. Kaiser Dragon's sprite has spikes along the back, a longer tail, a longer mane, wings, and additional horns.