Griever (boss)

Griever is a boss in Final Fantasy VIII. It is battled in one of the phases of the final battle, summoned by Ultimecia as her Guardian Force. Squall also has a ring and a necklace called Griever, and his gunblade has an image of Griever carved on its blade.

Appearance
Griever resembles a giant, anthropomorphic lion-like creature with a pair of wings, crimson blade-like protrusions on his arms and horns on his head. His skin is deep purple with crimson patterns. He has white hair or fur on his head and parts of his body, and his wings are bat-like yet have white feathers instead of leathery membrane.

Battle
Griever is fought during the second phase of the final boss battle, and later merges with Ultimecia in the third phase. His main attack in his original form is Shockwave Pulsar, which is also one of the limit breaks that Quistis can learn.

Once Griever is defeated, Ultimecia fuses with him to create a strange hybrid.

The music that plays during the battle with Griever is titled "The Legendary Beast". The music that plays during the battle with the hybrid is titled "Maybe I'm a Lion".

Naming
Griever is his default name, as he will be called whatever the player named Squall's necklace, to reflect that he is part of Squall's mind.

Trivia
Ultimecia calls Griever the ultimate GF, though whether or not he is an actual GF is a matter of debate. Due to the unclear origin of some of the other GFs, and the fact that they can be drawn from other characters or monsters, it could be debated that Griever counts as a GF even though he is apparently drawn from Squall's subconscious mind. It should be noted that just because he isn't usable by Squall and other playable characters doesn't mean that it's not a GF.