Chimera

The Chimera is an enemy that appears in multiple Final Fantasy games. They are usually depicted as a monster made up of a lion, dragon, goat and snake. Most varieties of Chimera attack with Fire-based attacks. Other types can use several types of elemental attacks, particularly in the later games. Common variants of the Chimera include the Chimera Brain, Chimerageist, Gorgimera and Rhyos. The Chimera family first appeared in the original Final Fantasy as an enemy at the Mirage Tower.

Final Fantasy


Chimera is an enemy in Final Fantasy and are fought in the Mirage Tower and a palette swap, Rhyos, appears in the past Chaos Shrine. In the GBA/PSP/iOS versions of the game, a gray-furred version, the Mage Chimera is found in the Whisperwind Cove. Its signature attack is Blaze.

Final Fantasy II


The Chimeras appear as a boss, guarding the spring where the player must deposit the Wyvern Egg and later as random encounters in Final Fantasy II, usually in the Mysidian Tower. Rhyos and Chimera Sphinx also appear as palette swaps in the original, as well as Chimera Brain in the GBA/PSP/iOS remakes.

Final Fantasy III


The Chimera appears as a random encounter in the skies of the surface world in Final Fantasy III. A blue version, the Chimera Mage, appears as a random encounter in the Temple of Time.

Final Fantasy IV


Chimera is a regular enemy fought in the Tower of Babil in Final Fantasy IV. A green version, the Chimera Brain, appears as a random encounter in the Sealed Cave and the Chimera Geist only in the Lunar Ruins (GBA and PSP versions only).

Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
The Chimera returns in the sequel of Final Fantasy IV, it can be encountered in the Lower Section of the Tower of Babil and Sealed Cave along with Chimera Brain.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
The Chimera reappears as an enemy in Yang's and the Lunarian's Challenge Dungeons, as well as in the Lunarian's Tale. The Chimera Brain appears in the Lunarian's tale as well as in Edge's Challenge Dungeon. The Chimera Geist appears in the Depths, being a very powerful enemy.

Final Fantasy V


The Dhorme Chimera is a randomly encountered enemy in Final Fantasy V. He can be fought in the desert near the Library of the Ancients. The Manticore is a boss fought at Gohn Meteorite. The Gorgimera is a stronger version that appears in the Interdimensional Rift.

A dummy version, the standard Chimera, appears with the use of cheats.

Final Fantasy VI


The Chimera is a random encounter in Final Fantasy VI. It can cast dangerous spells such as Aqua Breath, Snowstorm, Fireball, and Cyclonic. The Gorgimera, Vector Chimera, and Maximera appear as color variations all fought in different locations.

Final Fantasy VII
There are three enemies in Final Fantasy VII that are related to the chimera. The Harpy (literally Chimera in Japan), appears in the desert surrounding the Gold Saucer in the Gold Saucer Area on the world map. Harpy is notable for being the earliest enemy in the game to use Aqualung, an Enemy Skill. An orange variation, the Maximum Kimaira, is an enemy fought later in the game as a random encounter on the Mako Cannon in the unrevisitable areas of Midgar explored toward the end of Part 2. The Maximum Kimaira uses ice-elemental attacks.

The third Chimera-related enemy is not a third variation, but the Kimara Bug, named due to it sporting the heads of three different kinds of insect. The Kimara Bug appears as an encounter inside the jungle field screens of Gongaga. The Kimara Bug uses physical attacks and is capable of inflicting Stop.

Final Fantasy VIII


The Chimera is a random encounter fought in several places in Final Fantasy VIII, the earliest found on the Dingo Desert, although it is a very rare encounter there. Each head corresponds with a different attack: the lion causes physical attacks, the lizard casts Aqua Breath, the hawk casts magic, and the snake head (on the tail) enforces status effects.

Final Fantasy IX


The Chimera is a demon enemy fought in Memoria in Final Fantasy IX. It is one of the strongest enemies in the game and can attack with Virus Crunch, which causes a character to be afflicted with Virus.

Final Fantasy X


The Chimera is a randomly encountered enemy in Final Fantasy X. The Chimera Brain is a variation appearing in the Calm Lands and the Chimerageist is an Area Conquest enemy.

Final Fantasy X-2
Although there is no enemy named Chimera in the game, the versions of the monster, Protochimera and Rhyos are present.

Final Fantasy XI


Khimairas are members of the Arcana family found exclusively in the form of Notorious Monsters. They were introduced in the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion.

Final Fantasy XII


The Chimera Brain is an enemy fought in Final Fantasy XII and is in the class of Cockatrice. They like to travel in packs. The Lesser Chimera and Gorgimera exist as other alternate colored versions and randomly encountered enemies.

Final Fantasy XIV
The Chimera is a boss that was introduced in Patch 1.21, serving as the boss of Cutter's Cry. According the to game's storyline, the Chimera came to Cutter's Pass thirty years prior and slaughtered any traveling merchants entering its feeding grounds. The merchants hire the Darklight Raiders to kill the Chimera, only for the monster to nearly decimate the mercenaries with everyone believing that it was killed off before it eventually resurfaced.

In Patch 1.23, another Chimera is found in the skirmish zone of Turtleback Island, fought with several other enemies in a boss-rush fashion.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Chimera is not an enemy encountered in the game, but it is mentioned in the errand "Hilltop Estate":

''The chimera, once thought extinct, had indeed reappeared. Such an abomination - a foul creation bearing the features of countless beasts - could only have been wrought by the hand of man. It stands to reason that the chimera was the work of dark sorcery, and rumor would place responsibility on one of the townspeople. We managed to fell the beast in a battle that spanned some eight hours.''

In a follow-up errand, "Pitiable Monster", it is discovered that the chimera was the pet of a girl called Diara Luca.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest


Chimera appears as an enemy in Pazuzu's Tower, Mac's Ship, and Doom Castle. They can cast elemental spells and inflict status effects, but are ultimately not dangerous.

Final Fantasy Adventure
The Chimera is a boss found within Glaive Castle, guarding the Fuji's room. It attacks by shooting fireballs.

Final Fantasy Legend II
The Chimera is an enemy and also a possible monster that the party's monster unit(s) can transform into.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles


Chimera appears in the Lynari Desert and at Mount Vellenge. Theses are aggressive creatures that cast Thunder to paralyze the player. Their appearance is dramatically different from past Final Fantasy games.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates


Chimera appear in two different forms, Chimera and Chimaiga. Their appearance is different from how they looked in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time


Chimera are identical to their appearance in Ring of Fates. They can inflict heavy damage with beams they shoot from their mouths which cause the player to become disoriented if hit.

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
The Chimera will appear as an enemy in this upcoming game.

Etymology
The is a fire-breathing monster, one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. It is commonly represented with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail in Greek mythology. In modern usage, the term Chimera is often taken to mean any sort of hybrid between two or more races.

Trivia

 * The Chimera is the only monster to have appeared in some form in all of the first twelve games of the main series.

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