Guard Scorpion (Final Fantasy VII)

The Guard Scorpion, incorrectly titled Scorpion Guard in the European manual, is the first boss the player encounters in Final Fantasy VII. Cloud and Barret fight it in the Sector 1 Reactor, at the Mako Reactor's Core.

Unlike most other bosses in the game, Guard Scorpion's battle music is "Opening ~ Bombing Mission" and not "Those Who Fight Further".

Battle
A misleading and grammatically incorrect battle message has Cloud tell the player to attack Guard Scorpion while its tail is raised, but doing so will cause it to use Tail Laser, which deals a large amount of damage to both Cloud and Barret. This is its only strong attack. Guard Scorpion always uses Search Scope on the victim of its attacks before attacking, and Search Scope does nothing.

Strategy
Cloud should cast Bolt while Barret attacks. The player can set Barret in the back row to take less damage, as he has a ranged weapon. Eventually, Guard Scorpion will raise its tail, and counter attack with Tail Laser whenever hit. It is best to do nothing but heal when it raises its tail.

Trivia

 * In the 1996 demo version of Final Fantasy VII, Guard Scorpion is replaced by am enlarged Sweeper accompanied by two Grunts.
 * The Manasvin Warmech from Final Fantasy XIII looks very similar to the Guard Scorpion, having a similar tail.
 * In Final Fantasy Type-0, there is a powerful Magitek Armor fought as a boss in the fourth chapter that greatly resembles the Guard Scorpion.

Wachskorpion (FFVII)