Monster (term)

Monster refers to a recurring type of enemy fought in the Final Fantasy series. Monsters make up the bulk of enemies in each game. In some games the existence of monsters is not given a back story and they exist simply as the flora and fauna of the world, but in other games, the element of monsters the player fights throughout the game is incorporated into the lore of the game world, by giving their occurrence a more specific explanation.
== Profile ==
Over the course of the series, monsters have had multiple backgrounds, which also explain some of their behavior. While in most games they are hostile, this is a result of them being used by other, more malevolent entities, such as the Four Fiends, the Emperor, Xande, among other antagonists. As of later games, the influence the game's villains have over the monsters is diminished, but still exert some control.
In several games, some monsters are docile, the first example being in Final Fantasy IV with the Antlion and Galura from Final Fantasy V, sometimes living alongside humans and fought because corrupted by the villain, if one does not count the summons in Final Fantasy III, although even then, these monsters are aggressive unless defeated and earned by the player. Despite what some may believe of their overall behavior and fear by humans, monsters can be tamed, such as in Final Fantasy II where the Wyverns are tamed by the Dragoons. In this game monsters have their own language and they can be used for military purposes.
Some games, mostly Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, show that monsters can understand human language, while some are capable of speaking it themselves. In some more later games, the player can tame monsters and have them play a role in the player's party; in games where this is possible, each monster has limited, albeit unique, abilities of its own.
== Appearances ==
=== Final Fantasy ===
At least some monsters are identified as servants of the Four Fiends. Since the Four Fiends get their power from the crystals, it can be inferred that at least some of the world's monsters come from Chaos corrupting the crystals.
=== Final Fantasy II ===
The Emperor summons armies of monsters from Hell. Why some of the Empire's monsters manifest as undead, others as plants, etc. even though they all come from the same place, is unknown, although some monsters in Final Fantasy II may not be connected to Hell.
Kashuan employs monsters to guard its treasures. Monsters also appear in Arubboth, the game's equivalent to Heaven. However, the monsters that appear in Arubboth are still connected to the Emperor, albeit the Emperor of Light.
=== Final Fantasy III ===
Monsters, particularly those on the Floating Continent, are connected to Xande. Many were sent there to lessen, if not prevent entirely, the possibility of anyone from that continent coming or returning to the Surface World, where they could restore the balance of light and darkness and, in doing so, strip him of his immortality.
=== Final Fantasy IV ===
Only recently have monsters begun to appear and overrun the world, suggesting their appearance is connected to Golbez and the Archfiends beginning their scheme to gather the Crystals. Usually they are tame animals, but they are corrupted and begin acting aggressively. Some monsters appear during the Battle of Fabul and on Kain's airship. Many monsters consist of various animals with undead being confined to mountain trails and more monstrous creatures appearing in caves.
Enemies in the Tower of Zot and Tower of Babil are magically inclined, some appearing as elemental embodiments. Demonic and spellcaster-type enemies are common sights in the underworld, the Passage of the Eidolons and Sylvan Cave containing many. The Giant of Babil contains mechanical enemies, and the Red Moon has various "alien" organisms and various types of dragons.
==== Final Fantasy IV -Interlude- ====
The number of monster attacks has increases again after a year of peace. The dwarves need assistance when monsters pour out of the Sealed Cave, and thus Cecil, Palom, Porom, and Cid lend them a hand and try to find the cause.
Four Eidolon-holding monsters have taken Shiva, Ramuh, Ifrit, and Titan prisoner. Once defeated, they are released and become summonable by Rydia.
==== Final Fantasy IV: The After Years ====
Monster attacks have increased again due to the actions of the Mysterious Girl.
=== Final Fantasy V ===
Most enemies roaming Planet R are natural wildlife, but at least some are connected to the Interdimensional Rift. When Enuo was thrown into the Rift and the Void sealed within it, many monsters were locked within this plane as well.
When Exdeath gains the power of the Void the entrance to the Interdimensional Rift is unlocked. It appears as a strange plane of existence separate from the real world roamed by powerful monsters. Evil spirits locked away into objects can also become sentient, and turn into monsters; Exdeath is one example of this happening.
=== Final Fantasy VI ===
Monsters, at first, appear as normal animals, such as birds of prey, rabbits, and insects. Some also appear as humans, or humanoid. The Phantom Forest, being connected to the afterlife, hosts undead monsters capable of using magic. Different creatures work alongside the Narshe guards to protect the city. Magic and monsters largely only appear around Vector on the southern continent, likely due to either purposeful experimentation in, or magical fallout from, the Magitek Research Facility. Some monsters appear in the facility and can use advanced magic, supporting the idea that the Gestahlian Empire is experimenting on infusing monsters with magic. Monsters near the Esper Caves and Thamasa can also use magic, as the island is a font of magical power.
Beginning on the Floating Continent and continuing into the World of Ruin, monsters take on more varied designs, ranging from undead to demons to mutated animals due to the world's ecosystem being altered by Kefka's influence. Given that the eight legendary dragons, Deathgaze, and Humbaba are sealed monsters unleashed in the cataclysm, these monsters may have been lesser sealed creatures, or may simply have been transformed in the waves of magical energy that engulfed the world during the apocalypse.
Various monsters the player has encountered throughout the game appear in the Veldt, where Gau can learn Rages based off them.
=== Final Fantasy VII ===
After Cloud's story on the Nibelheim Incident, in which he notes Shinra Electric Power Company was creating monsters at Nibelheim through modifying humans with mako energy, Red XIII notes that there has been a rise in the number of monsters. The leaking valve in the Nibel Reactor appears to have caused an increase of monsters in the area, which was why Sephiroth's party, of which Cloud was part, was sent to investigate the mako reactor.
Professor Hojo produces many other monsters the party fights as experiments. Undead appear in areas where large-scale death has occurred. "Like stagnant air," Geisel Bugenhagen says, they refuse to move on to the lifestream and haunt the area where they died. Some monsters, such as dragons and giant scorpions, live in caves. According to Ifalna, Jenova transformed the Cetra into monsters via a virus.
Within the natural world, the lifestream can well up onto the surface as pools and springs of natural mako, which can mutate animals into monsters through exposure. The Weapons the planet produces could be classed as monsters as well. In general, denizens of the planet seem to use "monster" as a catch-all term for "a violent, non-human entity." In On the Way to a Smile, Nanaki remembers Bugenhagen saying that the difference between animals and monsters was animals kill to eat, but that a monster would kill and look for more victims.
Monsters are classed and catalogued in some way, as On the Way to a Smile "Episode: Denzel" notes that Cloud gave Denzel a "monster encyclopedia." Denzel also encounters a children's book of monsters, focused on safety advice. Monsters can be commanded: notable examples include Shinra's Guard Hounds.
====Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth====
Barret believes that Shinra's use of mako energy mutates wildlife into monsters, speculating that is what the Whispers are before learning of their true nature as beings sent by the planet itself. Various monsters proliferate in the slums of Midgar. Professor Hojo creates monsters in his labs via exposure to mako energy. 
According to Vincent, despite their appearance, some monsters (also known as fiends) are capable of complex thinking and experiencing emotions. Barret is skeptical of this, mocking the idea and stating that while he knows that it's important to have mercy for all life, you have to draw the line somewhere.
==== Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children ====
Monsters can be generated out of the lifestream itself, as seen when the remnants of Sephiroth use corrupted lifestream to create the Shadow Creepers. Kadaj is able to withdraw the Shadow Creepers at will, dispersing the monsters into smoke.
==== Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- ====
Angeal Hewley can imprint monsters with his DNA, creating specific kinds of monsters known as Angeal copies. Genesis Rhapsodos has a similar ability, but appears unable to create copies from monsters, although the human equivalents can appear monstrous in their own right, and some seem to lose their previous humanity, becoming mindless drones.
Angeal's ability to create copies is a two-way conduit, and he can absorb traits from monsters into his own body. When he absorbs too many monsters at once, he transforms into a monster himself.
Within various missions, Zack Fair is sent to dangerous locales where monsters roam freely. Some monsters are Shinra experiments that have escaped or been set free deliberately, and some are fought in remote environments with prior expeditions to study them having failed. Within the missions of the Great Cavern of Wonders, the lifestream there animates mechanical units that gain biological functions.
=== Final Fantasy VIII ===
The monsters on the planet originate from the moon. At certain intervals when the moon and the planet align perfectly, and the moon has reached saturation point with monsters, the monsters fall onto the planet in a phenomenon known as the Lunar Cry.
It is possible to induce Lunar Cry artificially with the Crystal Pillar within the Lunatic Pandora. Lunar Cry mutates native wildlife into monsters, but although this is mentioned, it is not specifically shown, although it appears there is a soldier in Esthar City who transforms into an Elnoyle, suggesting humans are not immune to this.
Some monsters appear to be commanded by the Galbadian army, but the origin of these monsters is not explained. The monsters residing in the Balamb Garden Training Center are commanded by the Garden Faculty during the Balamb Garden Revolt.
Guardian Forces could be classified as a type of monster, but they are different in that they exist as embodiments of powerful energy fields. If a person is to make use of this energy field in the form of the junction system the Guardian Force loses its physical form only to briefly manifest at the summoner's command. Some Guardian Forces appear sentient, able to communicate with humans.
Ultimecia employs a number of monsters to guard her castle, and at least one of them is a former Guardian Force.
=== Final Fantasy IX ===
Monsters appear as native wildlife to the planets of Gaia and Terra, but they become stronger and more ferocious when exposed to Mist. This is why areas located below the Mist-level on the Mist Continent are dangerous, and people rarely venture to these places on foot. Evil Forest is within the Mist and has come alive itself and appears somewhat sentient.
Kuja can create Mistodons, a type of monster, out of the Mist. Not all monsters are hostile, as nine friendly monsters also exist. The number of friendly monsters is one of several allusions to the number nine.
=== Final Fantasy X ===
In the world of Spira, monsters, called fiends, are corrupted souls formed from pyreflies. Upon a person's death, if they do not enter the Farplane either on their own volition or being sent by a summoner, they stay on the world of the living as unsent. If the unsent does not find meaning in his or her continued existence in the form of a "mission", they are in danger of being consumed by the envy and hatred they feel toward the living and transform into mindless fiends.
Some unsent who have not been corrupted and turned completely into fiends are still able to transform into fiend-like monsters at will, and can revert into their human form. Seymour Guado is one such example. Curiously, the Farplane itself is filled with fiends, as seen in Final Fantasy X-2. Defeating a fiend disperses its pyreflies and the fiend ceases to exist.
Sin can create fiends known as Sinscales. Sin itself is viewed a colossal monster by the denizens of Spira.
=== Final Fantasy XI ===
=== Final Fantasy XII ===
Like in Final Fantasy X, monsters are often, though not always, called "fiends." They appear as native lifeforms to Ivalice and most don't have any common origin. Mist makes monsters stronger and more ferocious, and thus areas abundant in Mist are not inhabited by humes, bangaa, seeq, viera, garif, nu mou, or rev. Undead are abundant in areas full of Mist as well, such as Necrohol of Nabudis and the magicite mines.
Some monsters were either created by the Occuria or are commanded by them, as monsters protect the entrances to Pharos and Great Crystal. The viera view Golmore Jungle as a sentient entity, and the Elder Wyrm takes the appearance of a tree and other plants, and perhaps works as a guardian of the jungle created by the forest. Some monsters are usually tame, but when exposed to Mist, turn ferocious.
Unlike most antagonistic empires in the series, the Archadian Empire does not employ weaponized monsters.
==== Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings ====
The Espers, known as Yarhi, are the monsters of the Lemurés. They are summoned via auracites and, unlike the Espers of Ivalice, the Yarhi are born from the stolen anima of the aegyl.
The stolen aegyl souls gathered, creating their own plane of existence, the World of Illusion. It is from here the Espers can be called to the material world via a Summoning Gate by a person carrying an auracite. In doing so, the anima of the summoner is itself eroded, creating more Espers.
=== Final Fantasy XIII ===
Cocoon is an artificial world whose every function is looked after by its fal'Cie, deity-like beings. Monsters on Cocoon still exist, either as natural vegetation as seen in Sunleth Waterscape, or monsters specifically bred by PSICOM to be used in a hypothetical war against Gran Pulse. A lot of the monster breeding and experimentation takes place in Gapra Whitewood, an area prohibited from civilians. PSICOM can transport their monsters to different areas of Cocoon instantly by the use of summoning gates that operate by the use of Antimatter Manipulation Principle.
The monsters on Gran Pulse are part of the planet's wildlife, but their evolution is guided by the fal'Cie Titan, whose task is to breed bigger and stronger monsters.
Cie'th is a type of monster that is different from the normal flora and fauna of the world. Cie'th are l'Cie who have failed their Focus and turned into crystalline monsters. A Cie'th's existence is eternal, but after a long while they petrify. Different l'Cie take a different form as Cie'th, and the mechanism of determining the type of Cie'th a l'Cie becomes is not fully explained, but Cocoon and Pulse l'Cie who fail their Foci do take distinctly different appearances: Pulse Cie'th are dark often with a red crystal somewhere in the middle of their bodies, while Cocoon Cie'th appear luminous blue and gray.
Some fal'Cie, especially the ones on Pulse, appear monstrous, such as Dahaka and Atomos, but all fal'Cie are mechanical by nature.
==== Final Fantasy XIII-2 ====
Due to paradoxes new monsters have appeared, and some have suffered severe mutation. Royal Ripeness is a prime example, as a faeryl devoured an artefact that sucks Miniflan to another period of time, creating this monstrosity.
The middle world between the realms of the living and the dead, Valhalla, has monsters of its own, known as Rift Beasts. They roam around the dark city of Valhalla, as well as its shadow-world, the Void Beyond. Due to the paradoxes, they also appear in the worlds of Cocoon and Gran Pulse.
Some entirely new forms of Cie'th are also seen.
Serah and Noel can tame monsters as crystals, allowing them to become a member of the party to be used in battle, and be developed by the Crystarium.
==== Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII ====
New monsters are born out of Chaos, and some monsters from Cocoon, Gran Pulse and Valhalla still linger in Nova Chrysalia as well. Areas abundant with Chaos are known as Chaos infusions where stronger monsters appear. Soul seeds are found within Chaos infusions and are said to come from the souls of dead humans and be the eggs from which Chaos monsters are born. This means that monsters and humans have the same origin.
On Day 7 enemies become more numerous with the smaller enemies appearing in larger groups, and all enemies will have better stats. This also happens on Day 10, and again on Day 13. This is important when the player tries to farm items from enemies, since they will only drop certain items at a certain point. Monsters appear everywhere in the world, even in cities. The Order of Salvation sentries keep track on the number of people perished in the monsters' clutches, but Lightning can make enemies go extinct by killing the last of them.
=== Final Fantasy XIV ===
Monsters in Eorzea are mostly wildlife indigenous to the realm, though some are artificial and some are believed to be not of this world. Eorzean naturalists divide them into several categories:
* Beastkin: Land-mammals
* Scalekin: Reptilians
* Cloudkin: Avians
* Seedkin: Plantoids
* Vilekin: Insects
* Wavekin: Aquans
* Spoken: Cognizants (includes five races and the beast tribes)
* Ashkin: Undead
* Soulkin: Cursed
* Forgekin: Machinery
* Voidsent: Not of Eorzea
=== Final Fantasy XV ===
Two types of monsters exist in Eos: the natural wildlife of the world and daemons. However, the two are linked in that the former gradually transform into the latter as the Starscourge spreads. Creatures of the wild can be ferocious and attack travelers, but tend to keep to their territories and attack what they consider to be trespassers. The Garulas remain docile until attacked. The largest monster known is the Adamantoise.
Daemons are nocturnal monsters that prey on living beings and are repelled by light. They come in various otherworldly forms. They are stronger and more resilient than natural monsters, and will take damage from light, either by having the battle draw on until day breaks, or from Prompto's Starshell Technique. Daemons emerge at night in the overworld, but lurk in caves and ruins even during the day.
===Final Fantasy XVI===
What is considered a monster varies; some consider beastmen monsters though they display sapience, culture, and tool-making capabilities. Many ferocious wildlife inhabit Valisthea, including beasts, dragons, wild chocobo, carnivorous plants, and mysterious aetherial creatures like bombs and flan. Echoes are living constructs that appear to originate from an ancient civilization.
=== Final Fantasy Tactics ===
The presence of monsters is not explained, but they share specific properties. Monsters are hermaphrodites and count as the opposite gender of any given unit targeting them. Each "normal" monster has three subspecies. Monsters reproduce asexually by laying eggs, even the undead. The eggs can hatch into any subspecies of that species of monster. For example, a Black Chocobo can lay an egg that becomes a Red Chocobo.
Some "special" monsters exist, such as the Lucavi demons, which cannot be obtained by the party (with the exception of Byblos). Undead appear both in the wild, and in places where the dead have been revived. Ghost units are story elements—they are undead, but do not count as monsters.
Monsters can be trained to obey the player and perform special abilities, but humans forgo this practice in Ivalice, as a general rule. The Lucavi are more likely to employ monsters in battle, especially their own demons. Monsters can level up, and slightly improve their stats, but they cannot learn new skills (with the exception of a single ability, granted through Beastmaster).
Monsters speak their own language, and have a faith of some kind. Monsters are more likely to be encountered in certain settings; Panthers and chocobos in plains and watersheds, squidraken and malboros in watersheds, dragons and minotaurs in deserts, and undead almost anywhere. Other types of monsters outside of the species the player fights are hinted to exist in errands, but not much is known about them.
=== Final Fantasy Tactics Advance ===
==== Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift ====
=== Final Fantasy Mystic Quest ===
One day, the Vile Four battled their way into the Focus Tower, and stole the four Crystals of the Earth, and then took off with the magical Coins that had kept the Tower's door unlocked. With the Tower doors sealed behind them, the monsters relaxed their guard and turned their attention to the Crystals.
As they basked in the radiant glow of the Crystals, the monsters grew stronger and meaner and even more wicked. The more light the monsters consumed, the more the world was drained of its warmth and color. Tremors shook the land while the sky grew cloudy and dark. The seasons went berserk. Monsters appeared everywhere and terrorized the people. The world was thrown into total chaos.
=== The Final Fantasy Legend ===
Monsters represent a distinct race in the worlds connected by the Tower, and so were created by the Creator. While some monsters fill a role related to the Creator's game, such as the Four Fiends, or the demons and devils that occupy a False Paradise on the lower floors of the Tower, monsters are often found as accepted members of society. Monsters can be found running shops, wandering through town, and filling jobs and roles normally filled exclusively by humans in other Final Fantasy games, such as work as guards.
The notorious bandit in the first world is actually a common P-Frog from World 2; a minor plot thread involves King Shield (a human) trying to seek the hand of his beloved: a Slime-type monster from the village to the south. In spite of this inclusiveness, all opponents in the game are technically Monsters in the end: the few exceptions (human foes like King Sword and the Steward) are represented in-battle as recolors of established human-like Monster types.
Monsters are one of the three playable races. By consuming Meat, these party members can transform into nearly any common monster type in the game.
=== Final Fantasy Legend II ===
Monsters continue as a playable race with some minor changes. Monsters no longer represent the only kind of minor enemy in the game: Human and Mutant enemies now exist, and do not drop Meat, as do Robots (though these are technically unrelated to the generic playable Robots). Mr. S, the first guest party member in the game, is a Slime-type Monster.
Monsters are used to a variety of roles in the game. In some worlds, certain Monsters are used as beasts of burden: Dragons are used in races on a faraway world, and the new god Odin is accompanied by a horse, Sleipnir. However, they are more often shown as sentient beings, treated or mistreated with the other species: Venus, one of the other new gods, has exiled many of the Monsters she deems "ugly" from her perfect city in her world, and shelters the "beautiful." The lead player-character's father and mother are both human, even if the player character is of a Monster species. Before he joins the party, Mr. S was the player characters' teacher.
=== Final Fantasy Legend III ===
As in previous entries, minor enemies are split into multiple categories, one of which is dubbed Monsters, and the others, Beasts, Cyborgs, and Robots. The Water Entity, a powerful artefact created by Xagor, pours not only water to floor the World, but savage monsters without numbers that proceeds to invade. These monsters systematically sacked the towns of the World searching for the Talon Units. The monsters are also responsible for all the shipwrecks in the World, this reason alone is why the people of the World have no ships. It is also too dangerous for the citizen of the World to venture outside of their towns due to the presence of these monsters.
The Purelanders live alongside with common monsters across the towns of Pureland and in Floatland Town located on Floatland. Several Cyborgs and Robots work alongside the people of the World in the Future and in Talonsburg. The player characters can transform into various enemy species by consuming Meat or installing Parts.
=== Dissidia Final Fantasy ===
Manikins are the common monsters, themselves artificial experiments banished in the Rift. During the 12th cycle the forces of Chaos find a way to summon them to World B and pit them against the forces of Cosmos.
=== Final Fantasy Brave Exvius ===
In a broad sense, monsters are mostly regular flora and fauna. However once the Sworn Six of Paladia began destroying the Crystals, the behavior of monsters became uncharacteristically more aggressive, malevolent and even cunning, as a band of Goblins was capable of kidnapping villagers. These side-effects are only mentioned at the beginning and rarely touched later on, although it can be assumed that monsters are more hostile overall.
Several undead monsters are later seen on the game, being the creations of Dr. Lazarov through his experiments to achieve immortality. These monsters obey his commands but have otherwise null rationale, and will attack any living creature.
The world of Paladia features rather unusual monsters. The Behemoth K was a Behemoth who developed rational thinking and achieved Sagehood. Others like the Tetra Sylpheed were creatures who became Espers through unknown means.
== Etymology ==
ja:モンスター
Category:Recurring
Category:Creatures