Demon (Final Fantasy VI)

The Demon, also known as Poltrgeist or Poltrgst, is a boss in Final Fantasy VI. It is a member of the Warring Triad, and one of the three final bosses in Kefka's Tower before facing Kefka himself. According to the Final Fantasy III Nintendo Player's Guide, the final battle sequence against the Statue of the Gods is supposed to be a rematch of the Warring Triad; the first tier being Demon. No official material support this, however; the idea was created by Nintendo of America.

Battle
Demon uses a variety of strong group-hitting attacks. It usually uses normal attacks, Metal Cutter, Stop and its special attack Tyrfing. If any party members are struck with Stop, Demon will use Blaster which inflicts Death and always hits a stopped character. When its HP falls below 32640, Demon changes his strategy and uses Meteor, Aero, Flare Star and Southern Cross. When Demon is damaged eight times, it uses Wave Cannon, doing Lightning-elemental damage to the entire party.

Bio spells are most effective against Demon, as are spells that ignore defense like Flare and Ultima. The player should not use fire-elemental spells or attacks, since Demon absorbs Fire. Normal attacks are a bit weaker than usual since Demon has Auto-Protect. Hastega can be helpful, as can summoning Zona Seeker. Demon is vulnerable to Stop; however, its Auto-Haste status ensures that it will not last as long as it would on normal enemies. When Demon is defeated, it drops the Radiant Lance, one of the most powerful weapons in the game.

AI Script
Attack Turns: 1st Turn: Attack (33%) or Metal Cutter (33%) or Stop (33%) 2nd Turn: Attack (33%) or Metal Cutter (33%) or Tyrfing (33%)

If HP <= 32640:
 * 1st Turn: Flare Star (33%) or Southern Cross (33%) or Nothing (33%)
 * 2nd Turn: Meteor (33%) or Aero (33%) or Nothing (33%)
 * 3rd Turn: Aero (33%) or Flare Star (33%) or Nothing (33%)

If attacked by anything:
 * Increase Var3 by 1
 * Firaga (33%)

If Var3 >= 8:
 * Set Var3 = 0
 * Wave Cannon (100%)

If Character #1 has Stop status:
 * Target: Character #1
 * Blaster (100%)

If Character #2 has Stop status:
 * Target: Character #2
 * Blaster (100%)

If Character #3 has Stop status:
 * Target: Character #3
 * Blaster (100%)

If Character #4 has Stop status:
 * Target: Character #4
 * Blaster (100%)

Etymology
In the original concept artwork by Tetsuya Nomura, the Warring Triad are given names beyond their basic titles. Demon was named Zurvan.

The variation between various translations of this god's title-name is the result of the nature of the Japanese title, kishin (きしん, or 鬼神), having no direct equivalent in English. Most literally, it alternately means "oni/ogre god" or "fierce god". It is a term applied to deific figures, such as the, who are based around violence and power but are not necessarily "evil" in nature. They are strong, often violent and causes of destruction, but not universally associated with evil as it is often understood in the European/Western framework of moral.

As a result, there is no word or title in English which maps precisely to the Japanese term. "War God" might be closest, but kishin are not necessarily gods associated with war or conflict. "Poltergeist" was likely Ted Woolsey's attempt at coming up with a term that matched "violent supernatural being that is not evil by definition", though this lacks the deific connotations; "Demon" conveys the violent aspect, but carries connotations of association with evil that are not present in kishin.

Trivia

 * Demon is the only member of the Warring Triad whose battle sprite faces a different direction than his overworld sprite. This is because Demon's overworld sprite faces to the left, which would make his battle sprite face away from the party, unless it was a back attack. For this same reason, he is holding his halberd in the opposite hand between his battle and field sprites.

Related Enemies

 * Fiend
 * Goddess

Grimmgott Демон (Final Fantasy VI)