Behemoth

Behemoths (ベヒーモス Behīmosu) are enemies that appear in multiple Final Fantasy games. It has also made a single appearance as a summon. They are usually depicted as large, purple, canine-esque creature with two yellow bull-like horns, and as a tradition usually appeared on the final dungeon of the game, however on later releases the behemoth has become a usual enemy or even the first boss fight.

Most varieties of Behemoths counter any attack with an attack of their own, and use a powerful Magic attack if a spell is used on them, such as Flare and Meteor. A common variant is the King Behemoth, also known as the Behemoth King. These enemies are usually yellow in color and are always stronger versions of the Behemoth as their name suggests.

Note that Behemoth are not to be mistaken with Bahamut.

Final Fantasy
Yoshitaka Amano made concept art depicting a purple creature highly similar to the Behemoth, albeit winged, but the creature was ultimately not included in the game.

Final Fantasy II


The Behemoth is a deadly foe, he does not use any status-effecting spells, but prefers heavy brute force, which is backed by an impressive Attack stat. He also boasts high HP and Defense stats, which tend to lengthen the fight. Defeating him is very straightforward, just hack away at his HP with your strongest melee characters, and have your mages bombard him with high-level black magic, pausing to heal injured comrades as necessary. The Emperor of Palamecia unleashes a Behemoth on Firion's party.
 * Behemoth
 * Dark Behemoth
 * King Behemoth
 * Ultima Weapon

Final Fantasy III


Behemoths and King Behemoths appear in the Temple of Time and Ancients' Maze, respectively. They are very strong creatures; strongest, in fact, in the temple.

Final Fantasy IV


Three Behemoths appear as mini-bosses in the Lair of the Father on the Moon and can also be fought randomly in the Lunar Core. They even have the boss theme music play for them in battle. King Behemoths appear in the Advance version of Final Fantasy IV.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
The Behemoth returns as a very powerful enemy, fought only in the Subterrane. They counter all physical attacks with a powerful physical attack, and spells with the Maelstrom spell. King Behemoth is a boss that is fought in the Depths, on the same floor as all of the other bosses from Final Fantasy II.

Final Fantasy V


The Behemoth is a new creature in the Advance version. The King Behemoth also appears in the Void. If Behemoth is low on HP, it will cast Meteor. Inflict Berserk on it to prevent this. This enemy will not attack the party without first being attacked.

Final Fantasy VI


Behemoths appears as an enemy on the Floating Continent. There is also a stronger version, known as the Great Behemoth in Kefka's Tower, and a boss called the Behemoth King (Undead) in the Cave in the Veldt. A similar enemy, the Intangir, can appear on Triangle Island in the World of Balance, rewarding large amounts of experience to anyone able to beat them. In the Advance version, Dark Behemoth appears.

Final Fantasy VII


Behemoths appear during the Raid on Midgar late in the game. King Behemoths appear in the Northern Crater, which is a yellow palette swap of the basic monster. There is also a secret weapon for Red XIII called the Behemoth Horn, which can be found in the stairwell of the Shinra Headquarters during the second visit to the city.

Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-


Two types of Behemoth appear in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-. The normal Behemoth, and the stronger variant, the King Behemoth.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-


Behemoth appears as a boss on Chapter 1, in Sector 8 Plaza. Experiment no. 88 is a virtual, stronger copy of Behemoth, and it is fought on Chapter 4 on the Training room of the Shinra Building Floor 49. Behemoth King also shows up, as a boss on the final dungeon, on Chapter 11.
 * Experiment No. 88
 * Sea Hulk
 * Experiment No. 110
 * Jabberwock
 * Humbaba

Final Fantasy VIII


Behemoths appear on the Great Plains of Esthar after the Lunar Cry. It, like behemoths from previous final fantasy series, is very strong. It also has the ability to use Meteor and Mighty Guard. A Behemoth-like boss called Catoblepas appears in Ultimecia Castle as one of the boss sealing the party's abilities.

Final Fantasy IX


Behemoths in Final Fantasy IX are very dangerous. They can count with the ability Meteor Counter, which works like a Meteor spell. It appears in Memoria. One can also be fought in the Treno Weapon Shop on Disc 4.

Final Fantasy X


Behemoths appear as fiends at Mt. Gagazet in the ruins of Zanarkand. It strikes with both Thundara and physical attacks. A strong version, Behemoth King, which casts the powerful Meteor spell upon its death, appears inside Sin. The Catoblepas can be fought at the Monster Arena.

Final Fantasy X-2
Regular Behemoths appear as a random encounter on the Zanarkand Ruins in Chapter One and are formidable foes throughout the game, except in Chapter Five where they are ridiculously easy compared to the rest of the enemies the party can fight.. Behemoth King here is replaced by Humbaba which looks exactly like Behemoth King. It appears as a boss in Thunder Plains in Chapter Five. Both versions also appear in Via Infinito.
 * Behemoth (Final Fantasy X-2)
 * Humbaba (Final Fantasy X-2)

Final Fantasy XI


Behemoths appear as Notorious Monsters, and are generally difficult to defeat alone. Other than a special BCNM battle, the Behemoth can only be found in the Behemoth's Dominion, and only one will appear about 24 hours after it was last defeated. On occasion, the King Behemoth will appear instead of a normal Behemoth, and is more powerful than its lesser. Behemoths are also seen in the game's intro FMV, which depicts the beastman attack on Tavnazia. There are more than one, and are controlled by the Orcs.

Final Fantasy XII


Behemoths appear as both an individually named enemy and an entire classification of similar enemies. These Behemoths differ very much from the ones in the other releases, since they are less like beasts, wielding weapons and wearing armor and clothing. An exception is the Behemoth King, which walks on all fours is more bestial than the other Behemoth-type enemies.
 * Werewolf
 * High Reaver
 * Humbaba
 * Reaver
 * Yeti
 * Zaghnal
 * Alteci (Rare)
 * Catoblepas (Mark)
 * Behemoth King (Elite Mark)
 * Humbaba Mistant (Boss)

Final Fantasy XIII
A Behemoth appears in the Trial Version of Final Fantasy XIII, as the final boss of the demo. Summoned through a magic gate by several PSICOM soldiers, the Behemoth immediately attacks Snow and Team Nora. It is considerably more difficult than the other bosses faced in the demo and can kill the player in two hits if not battled carefully. This Behemoth is the Behemoth that the player encounters on Cocoon, and hence has a mechanical appearance while still retaining the standard form of a Behemoth. The Behemoths of Pulse, although unseen thus-far, are described as being more bestial. The Behemoth King has also been shown in trailers.

Final Fantasy Tactics


Behemoths appear as a family of monsters. They have high HP, physical strength and magic defense. Some behemoths are capable of instantly killing a unit. Friendly behemoths are able to use Ultima Demon spells when paired with the a unit using Beastmaster. There are three different races:
 * Behemoth
 * Behemoth King
 * Dark Behemoth

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Behemoths are a species of monsters that have three variants: Behemoth, Reaver, and a red-colored Mutadragon. Their Hell Assault is a powerful move that boosts its next attack and damages enemies at the same time. There is also a dish called "behemoth steak" as Cid mentions that he will buy it after selling the "Alraune Drill" at mission You Say Tomato.

Crystal Defenders
The Behemoth appears in Crystal Defenders as an enemy.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles


The Behemoth appears as a regular enemy in Conall Curach. It is considered one of the strongest and hardest enemy that the player has faced up to that point in the game

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates


The Behemoth appears as a boss in Old Town in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. Its appearance is dramatically different from the original Crystal Chronicles.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time


The Behemoth makes its debut as a boss in Library Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. Its appearance is exactly the same as Ring of Fates Behemoth

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
Behemoth is among the confirmed enemies in the upcoming game.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest


The behemoth is the first monster that you fight in Final Fantasy Mystic Quest it attacks Benjamin at the Hill of Destiny.
 * Gorgon

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Behemoth appears as a summon in Dissidia Final Fantasy. When used, it doubles the summoner's Brave Points, but then causes a reduction by 60 during a period of time. The artwork used for it is from Final Fantasy II. Behemoth can be obtained as a Stage Bonus on the Destiny Odyssey X storyline.

One can say that Behemoth is, for the most part, the opposite summon of PuPu, as his effects are the inverse of PuPu's.

Chocobo series
Behemoth is a recurring character in the Chocobo series. At times, it appears as an obstacle to Chocobo's adventures, on other occasions an ally.

Kingdom Hearts
A similar monster appears Kingdom Hearts as a Heartless boss in Hollow Bastion. A weaker version appears as a normal enemy in End of the World, and it can also be fought in Olympus Coliseum.

In early Kingdom Hearts II trailers, two Behemoths can be seen in a cutscene before the battle of 1000 Heartless; however, the Behemoths were removed from the cutscene in the finalized version of the game and were never seen in the game.

Trivia

 * In Final Fantasy VII, Vincent's first Limit Break, Galian Beast, looks similar to a Behemoth, standing on two legs.

Etymology
Behemoth is the Hebrew primal beast of the land, with Leviathan being the primal beast of the water and Ziz being the primal beast of the sky. According to legend, Behemoth and Leviathan will battle at the end of the world, and eventually kill each other.