Cerberus (Final Fantasy VIII)

Cerberus is a Guardian Force in Final Fantasy VIII. Despite being fought as a boss, it is a support Guardian Force, bestowing the player party with the ability to cast more than one magic spell per turn. It is one of the few Guardian Forces to speak to the party.

Cerberus learns more junction abilities than the Guardian Forces obtained so far in the game, as well as Speed boosting support abilities and status attack and defense, among them them useful Status Defense x4. It is the only GF to learn Auto-Haste naturally, and also learns an ability to reduce the number of spells actually expended from the spell stock to one when the user dualcasts with the Double status. Its unique ability lets the player avoid back attacks in random encounters.

Profile
Cerberus is a large gray and red three-headed dog. It has glowing eyes, and large fangs and claws. It has a long muscular tail. It has more mass up front to support its three heads.

Obtained
Cerberus can be found during the event referred to as the Battle of the Gardens where Balamb Garden and Galbadia Garden clash. Cerberus is found within Galbadia Garden, where he appears as an optional boss in the atrium during the raid. This spot also has a Haste draw point. Approaching Cerberus will initiate a battle, and after defeating him he becomes a Guardian Force. If the player misses Cerberus, it can be drawn from Gargantua in the final dungeon. If missed on both opportunities, Cerberus cannot be obtained in that playthrough. Obtaining Cerberus in the Steam version earns the player the achievement Cerberus.

Battle
When Cerberus is summoned in battle using the GF command, he uses a move called Counter Rockets, which casts Double and Triple on the party, allowing the player characters to cast two or three magic spells in one turn. Because Cerberus is not a damage-dealing GF it cannot be boosted, and while it can learn SumMag+% abilities from items, they will have no effect.

Compatibility
The charge time for summoning depends on the compatibility between the character and the GF and the Battle Speed. The greater the compatibility, the less time it takes to summon. Compatibility can be boosted with compatibility boosting items, by casting magic that is the same element as the Guardian Force (or status buffs and Ultima in Carbuncle's case) and by summoning the GF during battle. Compatibility is reduced by using "opposing" magic to the GF's element and other summons. Unlike most GFs Cerberus doesn't have an opposite GF whose summoning would deduct from his compatibility the most.

The below values are the base compatibility values with all playable characters at the start of the game. Although Seifer cannot junction Cerberus in a normal playthrough, a default value still exists for his compatibility.

Stats
The following table represents the base stats:

Abilities
Abilities learned naturally by Cerberus are listed below:

Boss


Cerberus uses Triple, combined with strong elemental spells and Haste when his HP falls low. The party will express surprise at there being a Guardian Force in Galbadia Garden, even Irvine who was a student there.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Cerberus from Final Fantasy VIII appears as an enemy and Soul Break in Final Fantasy Record Keeper.

Triple Triad
Cerberus from Final Fantasy VIII appears on Triple Triad cards in the version available via Final Fantasy Portal App.

Trivia

 * In the short film Omen for Final Fantasy XV and in the movie Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV the three-headed canine monsters that appear resemble the Cerberus Guardian Force from Final Fantasy VIII.