Bestiary (term)

The Bestiary is a menu element in more recent Final Fantasy games that displays a list of all enemies that the player has defeated. When a monster's name is selected, a page of their stats is usually displayed.

Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II


The Bestiaries for both games first appeared in the Origins release, and later was followed by the bestiary in the Dawn of Souls. The Origins release houses the bestiary in the Collections section of the Config, only accessible after completing the game once. In the Dawn of Souls version, the bestiary could be accessed from the game select screen.

Final Fantasy III
In the Nintendo DS version, the game's Bestiary is accessed in the village of Gysahl.

Final Fantasy IV


The Advance remake and The Complete Collection of Final Fantasy IV feature an in-game bestiary which can be found at the Config menu in the Advance version, in the Bestiary section of the menu in The Complete Collection, or on the title screen for both.

Also, in the Nintendo DS version, Namingway, now "Livingway", lets Cecil Harvey look at a proper Bestiary in Kaipo. This responsibility is later passed on to Fat Chocobo, including the robotic one aboard the Lunar Whale. If you touch the bottom screen, you can see the enemies' attack animation.

Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
The Complete Collection of Final Fantasy IV also includes a bestiary for Interlude. It can be accessed in the Bestiary section of the menu or the Interlude section of the title screen.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
The Complete Collection of Final Fantasy IV also includes a bestiary for The After Years. It can be accessed in the Bestiary section of the menu or the The After Years section of the title screen.

Final Fantasy V


The Advance remake of Final Fantasy V included a bestiary. The bestiary may be accessed from the title screen or in-game from the Config menu.

Final Fantasy VI


The bestiary for Final Fantasy VI first appeared in the PlayStation releases, and later a bestiary appeared in the Advance remake.

In the PlayStation version, the Bestiary can be found in the Secret menu after selecting Bonus on the main menu, and unlike other games, the player isn't required to defeat enemies for them to appear in the Bestiary. The Bestiary is split into two categories: World of Balance, which can be viewed at any time, and in the World of Ruin, which can only be viewed after completing the game and a system file is saved onto the memory card. Enemies are further divided into locations they appear in. For each enemy, their sprite, statistics, item drops, strengths and weaknesses are listed, as well as a short description of their abilities and recommended strategy to defeat them.

Final Fantasy VIII
While a bestiary doesn't appear in game, a section of the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania entitled "Monster" lists 124 of the enemies in the game. Since the Ultimania makes an attempt to remain spoiler-free, enemies fought in the final battle are not included, and it ends at Omega Weapon.

Final Fantasy IX
While a bestiary does not appear in the game, a section of the Final Fantasy IX Ultimania entitled "Monster" lists 197 enemies from the game.

Final Fantasy X
While Final Fantasy X does not have a bestiary, players can view a list of enemies they have caught at the Monster Arena. Enemies not yet caught won't have their names shown, and to technically complete the Monster Arena the player has to defeat ten enemies. It is through capturing enemies the player can unlock Area Conquest, Species Conquest, and Original enemies.

However, this system functions different from a bestiary as the player has to capture enemies instead of just defeating them, and since the player doesn't always have the Capture ability, certain enemies in unrevisitable locations cannot be caught, Machina also cannot be caught, and nor can bosses. While not an official bestiary, there are also panels in certain areas that show the fiends that appear in the area. The party is also given a chance to practice fighting the monster without being penalized. No AP is awarded, and Kimahri cannot gain new Overdrives from the practice monsters.

Despite a bestiary not appearing in the game, a section of the Final Fantasy X Battle Ultimania entitled Sphere of Monster gives a numbered list of enemies in the game based on appearance. It lists 197 enemies in total, the final listed storyline boss is Seymour Omnis, and then it details the Omega Ruins enemies leaving Omega Weapon at the 197th spot. There is notably no enemies from the final battle listed, the Monster Arena, nor Belgemine's aeons.

The Final Fantasy X Ultimania Omega has a section entitled Hall of Monsters. This section continues from the bestiary given in the Battle Ultimania, and lists the Monster Arena enemies from 198 to Nemesis at 232. While the rest of the section is just an overview of the enemies in the game, stats for Braska's Final Aeon and Yu Pagoda fill the next two numbers to make 234. Yu Yevon is not included, nor are any of the aeons.

With the Final Fantasy X Ultimania Omega comes a short section called Final Fantasy International Omega which is separated from the book and has its own page number system. A section entitled Sphere of Monster, like the section name from the Final Fantasy X Battle Ultimania. This section lists the Dark Aeons, continuing the numbering system from 235 to 244. The section does not neglect to mention Penance, however it and its arms do not have an entry with stats or a number.

Final Fantasy X-2
When aboard the Celsius, the player can talk to Shinra and select "Shinra's Bestiary". Shinra's Bestiary has information on all the fiends the Gullwings have defeated including an Oversoul page which is helpful if the player wants to obtain the The End Garment Grid.

An extended version of the bestiary including all non-fiends and bosses is featured in the Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania Omega in chapter 3 entitled.

Final Fantasy XII
The Bestiary is an option in the Clan Primer. Unlike other games, it doesn't give enemy stats, instead just giving general background information about them. Additionally in certain entries it gives assorted side-stories not directly involved with that enemy, and a few hints about creating Bazaar items.

Final Fantasy XIII
Called the Enemy Intel, it is one of the submenus within the Datalog. The Enemy Intel lists enemies by their type and subtype, and contain stats such as elemental affinities and status immunities. It also lists notable remarks on the attribute of an enemy.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Called the Bestiary (Enemy Reports in Japanese release), it is one of the main menu options. The Bestiary lists enemies by their type and subtype, and contain stats such as elemental affinities and status immunities. It also lists notable remarks on the attribute of an enemy.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest
The Catalog acts like a typical bestiary, displaying the enemies the player has fought, EXP and Gil along with their item drops.

Gallery
Bestiario Monsterfibel