Monster-in-a-box

Monsters-in-a-box are enemies that appear in treasure chests. After the character opens the chest, the phrase "Monster-in-a-box!", "Monsters!", or similar is displayed, and a battle begins with an enemy. Usually these enemies are stronger than average foes, and can even match a boss's strength. Monsters-in-a-box were series staples up to Final Fantasy VIII where they do not appear, and only return to the series in Final Fantasy X.
Prior to the use of monster-in-a-box treasure chest starting in Final Fantasy II, the original Final Fantasy surrounded treasure chests with fixed encounters to protect boxes. As a precursor to the monster-in-a-box, enemies fought through this method still tended to be stronger than average. In the later games of the Final Fantasy series, Mimic enemies act as a replacement, which appear as boxes and morph into an enemy.
== Appearances ==
===Final Fantasy===
Appearing only in the 2021 Pixel Remaster release, monsters-in-a-box replace the fixed encounter tiles placed in front of treasure chests in previous versions.
=== Final Fantasy II ===
Monsters-in-a-box are common, appearing in almost every dungeon. Unlike later installments, the item is gained before the monster is fought. All types of dragons appear as monsters-in-a-box in some later dungeons and in the last dungeon, Pandaemonium, several of the game's most powerful armor pieces can be found in boss fights with monsters-in-a-box.
Location 	Enemies 	Treasure
Semitt Falls B5 	Land Turtle 	Teleport Tome
Snow Cave B3 	Grenade 	Mythril Mace
Kashuan's Third Floor 	Wererats 	Golden Shield
Kashuan's Fifth Floor 	Mine 	Golden Armor
Dreadnought's Second Floor 	Hill Gigas 	Sleep Blade
Deist Cavern B5 	Adamantoise 	Knight's Armor
Deist Cavern B2 	Green Soul 	Mage's Staff
Fynn Castle's Second Floor 	Wraiths, Ghasts, and Revenants 	Potion
Fynn Castle's Second Floor 	Sergeants and Sorcerers 	Aura Tome
Fynn Castle B5 	Rhyos 	Orichalcum
Tropical Island B3 	Wraiths, Shadows, Ghouls, and Ghasts	Phoenix Down
Tropical Island B5 	Poison Toads and Wild Horns 	Gaia Drum
Cave of Mysidia B3 	Bombs 	Ogrekiller
Cave of Mysidia B5 	Ghosts 	Drain Tome
Leviathan's Third Floor 	Red Souls 	Diamond Shield
Mysidian Tower's Eight Floor 	White Dragon 	Flare Tome
Cyclone's Fifth Floor 	General 	Diamond Armor
Cyclone's Fifth Floor 	Green Dragon 	Wind Flute
Palamecia Castle's Third Floor	Imperial Shadow 	Thunder Spear
Palamecia Castle's Fifth Floor	Coeurls and Lamia Queens 	Sun Blade
Jade Passage B2 	Blue Dragon 	Cat Claws
Jade Passage B3 	King Behemoth 	Rune Axe
Jade Passage B4 	Red Dragon 	Yoichi's Bow
Pandaemonium's Fifth Floor 	Zombie Borghen 	Genji Gloves
Pandaemonium's Fifth Floor 	Tiamat 	Genji Helm
Pandaemonium's Sixth Floor 	Beelzebub 	Genji Armor
Pandaemonium's Sixth Floor 	Astaroth 	Ribbon
Arubboth's Fifth Floor 	Black Dragon 	Wyvern Lance
Arubboth's Fifth Floor 	Yamatano Orochi 	Stardust Rod
Arubboth's Secret Room 	Lucifer 	Wild Rose
Arubboth's Sixth Floor 	Beelzebub Soul 	Bracers
Arubboth's Sixth Floor 	Steel Giant 	Ribbon
=== Final Fantasy III ===
Early in the game in Castle Sasune, the party must defeat a monster-in-a-box, a Griffon, to obtain the Wightslayer. In Eureka, a Ribbon is obtained after opening a treasure chest and defeating the Ninja within. During the final dungeon of the game, there is a crossroad of four paths. Each path has a chest along the way, with a Xande's Clone guarding a Ribbon.
=== Final Fantasy IV ===
Many monsters-in-boxes can be fought in Final Fantasy IV. After opening a box, a message saying "Monsters!" will appear and the fight will initiate. After winning the battle, the item contained in the chest will be received.
In the DS version, the word "Monsters!" has been replaced by "Enemy Ambush." If there is an item, the item will be received, followed by the term "Enemy Ambush!". For example, in the Giant of Babil, the message box will say:
Found Elixir.
Enemy Ambush!
Location 	Enemies 	Treasure
Tower of Zot's Third Floor	Fiery Hound 	Flame Sword
Tower of Babil 	Security Eye 	Ice Brand
Tower of Babil 	Security Eye 	Ice Lance
Tower of Babil 	Security Eye 	Ice Armor
Eblan 	Steel Golem and x4 Skuldier 	Sleep Sword
Eblan 	x3 Mad Ogre 	Silver Apple (Original, remakes) or Elixir (Easy Type, US)
Eblan 	Lamia and Coeurl 	Blood Lance
Cave of Eblan 	x2 Steel Golem 	Blood Sword
Tower of Babil 	x4 Mad Ogre 	Ogrekiller
Passage of the Eidolons 	x5 Warrior 	Defender
Sylph Cave 	Bog Witch and x6 Tiny Toad 	Mage Masher
Sylph Cave 	x6 Evil Dreamers 	Elixir
Sylph Cave 	x6 Evil Dreamer 	Elixir
Sylph Cave 	x6 Evil Dreamer 	Elixir
Sylph Cave 	x2 Undergrounder 	Medusa Arrows
Sylph Cave 	x2 Malboro 	Avenger
Sylph Cave 	x2 Malboro and x2 Mammon 	Moonring Blade
Lunar Path 	x2 Eukaryote and x2 Prokaryote 	Elixir
Giant of Babil 	Last Arm 	Elixir
Lunar Subterrane 	x2 Giant Warrior 	Black Garb
Lunar Subterrane 	x2 Selene Guardian and x2 Dark Sage	Sage's Staff
Lunar Subterrane 	Behemoth 	Stardust Rod
Lunar Subterrane 	Red Dragon and Blue Dragon 	Crystal Shield
Lunar Subterrane 	Behemoth 	Crystal Armor
Lunar Subterrane 	x2 Red Dragon 	Crystal Gloves
Lunar Subterrane 	Dinozombie and Dark Sage 	Crystal Helm
Lunar Subterrane 	Behemoth 	Protect Ring
Lunar Subterrane 	Dark Sage and x3 Selene Guardian 	Minerva Bustier
==== Final Fantasy IV: The After Years ====
=== Final Fantasy V ===
Monster-in-a-box appears when the player opens certain chests, and is commonly strong for the location. Once the enemy is defeated, a message is displayed and the item is received. The superboss Shinryu appears as a monster-in-a-box in the Interdimensional Rift, which guards one of the strongest weapons in the game, Ragnarok. In the GBA and later versions, Neo Shinryu is encountered the same way, guarding the Ultima Weapon.
Many boxes can trigger different enemy formations and which one the player gets is random. The player can run from monsters-in-a-box; the only penalty is that the player cannot open the chest. However, the player can try opening the chest again to trigger the monster-in-a-box again. As some chests have random outcome on which fight initiates, the player can run until getting the desired enemy, or steal from the enemy multiple times until deciding to kill it. Some enemies that only appear in monsters-in-a-box are not in the bestiary.
Though not a monster-in-a-box the fourth fight against Gilgamesh is initiated by opening the chest in the room after the save point in Castle Exdeath; if the player ignores it, they skip the battle and permanently miss out on the Excalipoor novelty weapon.
Location 	Enemies 	Treasure
Tule Greenhorn's Club upstairs 	Goblin 	Leather Shoes
Karnak Castle B4 	Common: Sorcerer & Cur Nakk x2Rare: Gigas 	Elixir
Karnak Castle B3 	Gigas 	Shuriken
Karnak Castle B3 	Common: Sorcerer x2Rare: Gigas 	Ribbon
Karnak Castle F2 	Gigas 	Elixir
Karnak Castle F2 	Common: Sorcerer x2Rare: Gigas 	Elixir
Karnak Castle B1(enter through wall) 	Common: Gigas & Sorcerer & Cur NakkRare: Gigas 	Elven Mantle
Karnak Castle F2 	Common: Sorcerer & Cur Nakk x2Rare: Gigas 	Elixir
Karnak Castle F2 	Common: Sorcerer & Cur Nakk x2Rare: Gigas 	Elixir
Karnak Castle F2 	Gigas 	Elixir
Karnak Castle F2 	Common: Sorcerer & Cur Nakk x2Rare: Gigas 	Elixir
Karnak Castle B1(reachable from roof/right side) 	Common: Gigas & Sorcerer & Cur NakkRare: Gigas 	Main Gauche
Karnak Castle Entrance(left side) 	Common: Sorcerer x2Rare: Gigas 	Esuna spell
Karnak Castle Entrance(right side) 	Common: Sorcerer & Cur Nakk x2Rare: Gigas 	Lightning Scroll
Barrier Tower F2 	Common: Red DragonCommon: Yellow Dragon x2 	Blood Sword
Barrier Tower F10 	Common: Red DragonCommon: Yellow Dragon x2 	Gold Hairpin
The Pyramid of Moore(fall from sand cascade) 	The Damned x4 	Ice Shield
The Pyramid of Moore(left in room of three chests) 	The Damned x4 	Flame Shield
The Pyramid of Moore(middle in room of three chests) 	The Damned x4 	Dark Matter
The Pyramid of Moore(right in room of three chests) 	Common: ArcheosaurRare: Archeosaur & Ushabti x2 	White Robe
The Pyramid of Moore(remove the spikes leading up to the chest) 	Archeosaur 	Black Robe
The Pyramid of Moore(hidden passage) 	Common: Bandercoeurl & Black WarlockCommon: Steel Fist x3	Black Garb
The Pyramid of Moore(left chest in a room) 	The Damned x4 	Dark Matter
The Pyramid of Moore(right chest in a room) 	Objet d'Art x5 	Crystal Armor
The Pyramid of Moore 6th Floor(fall from a sand cascade) 	The Damned x4 	Dark Matter
The Pyramid of Moore 6th Floor(left of the room with 4 chests) 	The Damned x4 	Dark Matter
The Pyramid of Moore 6th Floor(left of the room with 4 chests) 	The Damned x4 	Dark Matter
The Pyramid of Moore 7th Floor(hidden passage) 	SNES/PS/GBA: The Damned x4Mobile/Steam: Steel Fist x3 	Gaia Hammer
The Pyramid of Moore 8th Floor(right from the where the floor changes)	The Damned 	Dark Matter
The Pyramid of Moore 8th Floor(left from the where the floor changes) 	The Damned x4 	Dark Matter
The Island Shrine 	Common: CovertCommon: Pantera 	Rising Sun
The Island Shrine F2 	Common: Mecha HeadCommon: Prototype 	Protect Ring
Phoenix Tower Every 5th floor (Pots rather than chests) 	Magic Pot 	Phoenix Down (F5 & 10 & 15 & 20)Aevis Killer (F25)
Interdimensional Rift - Inner Sanctum 	Shinryu 	Ragnarok
Sealed Temple - Shinryu's Lair 	Neo Shinryu 	Ultima Weapon
=== Final Fantasy VI ===
Several monsters-in-a-box appear in Final Fantasy VI. After opening a chest, the monster event triggers a message saying "Monster-in-a-box!" and the encounter will commence. The treasure is received as an item drop from the enemy. A notable example is Angler Whelk in Darill's Tomb, which drops a strong Holy-elemental weapon for Sabin.
Location	Enemies 	Treasure
 	Silver Lobo 	Potion
 	Satellite 	Green Beret
 	Apparition 	Hyper Wrist
 	Gigantos 	Sasuke
1 	Nightwalker x4 	—
2 	Nightwalker x4 	—
 	Angler Whelk 	Dragon Claws (x2)
 	Death Warden 	Tigerfang
 	Tonberries 	(Minerva Bustier)
's Cave 	Master Tonberry 	Gladius
 	Samurai Soul 	Master's Scroll
 	Flan Princess x5	Oborozuki
 	Neslug 	Gungnir
 	Plague 	Angel Brush
=== Final Fantasy VII ===
Monsters-in-a-box only appear once in the clock puzzle room of the Temple of the Ancients. They do not give items.
==== Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- ====
In Gongaga, Zack can find treasure chests that contain enemies. During a mission he will also encounter a treasure chest that will transport him into a battle against Bahamut Fury.
=== Final Fantasy X ===
In the Omega Ruins, there are areas where three to five treasure chests are grouped together. Some contain treasure, while others initiate a battle. After the battle, the other nearby treasure chests will disappear. It is random which treasures contain battles.
The treasures contain the following items:
# L4 Key Sphere
# Defending Bracer
# Turnover
# 3x L3 Key Sphere
# Defending Armlet
# 2x Friend Sphere
# L4 Key Sphere
# Phantom Ring
# Cactuar Wizard
# Warmonger
# 2x Warp Sphere
# 99x Warp Sphere
==== Final Fantasy X-2 ====
There are several monster-in-a-box chests in the Fiend Colony. The battles that initiate are against Vermin-type enemies.
=== Final Fantasy XIV ===
Patch 2.1 added the Treasure Hunt system, which uses a monster-in-a-box mechanic. The buried treasure coffers have a trap that will release a "powerful musk" when opened that summon monsters. These creatures must be defeated in order to claim the goods contained within.
In the 24-man raid , Xande's Clone appears by opening a treasure coffer dropped by Queen Scylla.
=== Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy ===
In Confessions of the Creator, red treasure chests initiate battles with powerful enemies when opened, and one in the Southern Lufenia gateway triggers a battle with Feral Chaos.
=== Final Fantasy Legend II ===
The sewer has two trapped treasure chests which contains monsters. The player can farm them for high level meat if they want, but the player does not get any items from these treasure chest. The player can repeatedly open them infinitely if they wish to fight the monsters again.
=== Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light ===
===Final Fantasy Brave Exvius===
===World of Final Fantasy===
Monsters-in-a-box appear in a few dungeons in World of Final Fantasy. Mimics appear in three treasure chests in Saronia Docks, and one in EX Dungeon A; while Mimic Jackpots appear in two treasure chests in Mako Reactor 0, and one in EX Dungeon B. The player does not earn any items from monster-in-a-box encounters.
== Gallery ==
FFII NES Monster-in-a-box.png|Final Fantasy II (NES).
FFII PSP Monster-in-a-box.png|Final Fantasy II (PSP).
FFIIIDS Monster-in-a-box.png|Final Fantasy III (DS).
FFIVDS Monster-in-a-box.png|Final Fantasy IV (DS).
FFIV_iOS_Monster-in-a-box_Eblan_Castle.PNG|Final Fantasy IV (iOS).
FFIV PSP Monster-in-a-box.png|Final Fantasy IV (PSP).
FFV Android Monster-in-a-box.png|Final Fantasy V (iOS/Android).
FFVI iOS Monster-in-a-Box.png|Final Fantasy VI (iOS).
Dissidia opened chest.png|Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.
FFT4HoL Monster-in-a-box.png|Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light.
FFBE Monster-in-a-Box.png|Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.
== Etymology ==
"Monster-in-a-Box" is a play on the kid's toy, a "Jack-in-the-Box".
Category:Recurring gameplay components