Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl (ケツァルコアトル) is a recurring summon in the Final Fantasy series. Its appearance has changed greatly since its first appearance in the relatively late Final Fantasy VIII as Quezacotl (ケツァクウァトル). This aside, Quetzalcoatl always appears as a Lightning-based summon, and as a winged creature of some sort.

Final Fantasy VIII
thumb|300px|right|Quezacotl summoned. Quezacotl, known as "Golgotha" in the French translation and "Quetzal" in the Spanish and Italian translations, is one of the first two Guardian Forces available in Final Fantasy VIII. It is obtained by entering the tutorials from Squall's desk in the classroom at the very beginning of the game. If Squall does not access the tutorial before leaving Balamb Garden for the first time, Quistis will give both Quezacotl and Shiva to Squall before reaching the world map.

Quezacotl's attack, Thunder Storm, is a Lightning-elemental attack that damages all enemies. Quezacotl's summon time is 13.3s, which, according to the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania, allows the player to boost its damage to around 180% of normal damage using a regular PlayStation controller. Its damage is calculated as follows:


 * $$Damage = 60 * Level / 10 + 44 $$
 * $$Damage = Damage * (265 - TargetSpr) / 8 $$
 * $$Damage = Damage * 44 / 256 $$
 * $$Damage = Damage * Boost / 100 $$
 * $$Damage = Damage * (100 + SummonMagBonus) / 100 $$
 * $$Damage = Damage * (900 - ElemDef) / 100:$$

Elemental Defense starts at 800 (0%), 900 nullifies damage and 1000 absorbs it. If an enemy is shown to be weak against an element, its Elemental Defense is below 800. If damage becomes negative (due to high Elemental Defense), the target is healed by that amount.

Abilities
Abilities learned naturally by Quezacotl are listed below:

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

 * For the enemy page, see Quetzalcoatl (Revenant Wings)

Quetzalcoatl resembles a small bird wearing armor in Revenant Wings. He is the rank 1 Thunder Magical summon, and only casts Thunder.

Etymology
Quetzalcoatl is one of the major deities in ancient Mesoamerican mythology. Quetzalcōhuātl means in the Nahuatl language "feathered serpent". Due to the many civilizations worshiping the same deity using different names for it in the span of almost 2,000 years, the exact attributes and significance of this god varies.

Most stories, though, agree upon Quetzalcoatl being the god of the morning star and being known as the inventor of books, the calendar and the giver of maize to mankind. The worship of Quetzalcoatl was, in some religions, connected with human sacrifices, while in others, opposed to human sacrifices.

Trivia

 * Quezacotl's name in Final Fantasy VIII was shortened from Quetzalcoatl due to name size constraints.
 * Quetzalcoatl is the name of a server in Final Fantasy XI.
 * Quetzalcoatl appearance is similar to the Ultimate Being, the final boss in the Square Co., Ltd. developed and published game, Parasite Eve.