Behemoth



The Behemoth (ベヒーモス Behīmosu) is a recurring type of enemy in the Final Fantasy series. In the Spanish versions, it is known as "Bégimo", the phonetic adaptation of its name.

Behemoths are depicted as large, purple, canine-esque creatures with two bull-like horns and flowing manes. Depending on the game Behemoths may be quadrupedal or bipedal, and when bipedal often wield weapons. They appear in the game's later areas, and are sometimes treated as bosses. Due to their great power, Behemoths attack alone, but occasionally attack in small groups of two or three. Behemoths use strong physical attacks and will counter attacks with an attack of their own. If the player casts magic on them, the Behemoth will retaliate with a powerful spell like Flare or Meteor. They are also known to use a similar spell as their final attack. Because of their great strength and high HP, Behemoths are among the strongest enemies encountered in most games.

A common variant is the King Behemoth, also known as the Behemoth King. King Behemoths are usually yellow in color, and as suggested by their name are stronger versions of the normal Behemoth. Other variants include the Humbaba, usually gray in color and is even stronger than the King Behemoth, and the Dark Behemoth. Catoblepas makes a number of appearances as a member of the Behemoth family, although it also commonly appears as a Basilisk type enemy.

The Behemoth family debuted in Final Fantasy II as bosses.

Final Fantasy
Concept art depicting a purple creature highly similar to the Behemoth, albeit winged, was created for the original Final Fantasy, but the creature was ultimately not included in the game and no Behemoths appear.

Final Fantasy II


The Behemoth is initially fought as a boss, unleashed by the Emperor of Palamecia to battle Firion and his allies. Behemoths also appear as normal enemies in the forests around Mysidia. Behemoths focus on powerful physical attacks and boast high HP and Defense, but use no magic.
 * Dark Behemoth
 * King Behemoth
 * Ultima Weapon

Final Fantasy III


Behemoths appear in the Temple of Time. They are the strongest creatures encountered in the temple with high HP and great physical strength. King Behemoths appear in the Ancients' Maze.

Final Fantasy IV


Three Behemoths appear as mini-bosses in the Lair of the Father on the Moon, and they can be fought randomly in the Lunar Core. Behemoths counter all magic with Maelstrom, reducing the HP of all party members to single digits. King Behemoths appear in the Advance version in the Lunar Ruins.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
The Behemoth returns as a powerful enemy fought only in the Subterrane. They counter all physical attacks with a powerful attack, and spells with the Maelstrom. King Behemoth is a boss fought in the Depths, along with other bosses from Final Fantasy II, and thus its sprite is derived from its appearance in that game rather than the Behemoths of Final Fantasy IV.

Final Fantasy V


The Behemoth is exclusive to the Advance release. They only attack when the player attacks them, and when low on HP have a chance to cast Meteor. The King Behemoth appears in the Void in all releases.

Final Fantasy VI


Behemoths appears on the Floating Continent where they use powerful physical attacks and have a chance to counter a summon with Meteor. The stronger Great Behemoth appears in Kefka's Tower, and has a greater chance of using Meteor. The Behemoth King is fought as a boss in the Cave in the Veldt. The Intangir, a Behemoth-like enemy, appears on Triangle Island in the World of Balance, rewarding large amounts of experience to anyone able to beat them. Dark Behemoth appears in the Advance version as an optional boss. Final Fantasy VI marks the first time of the Behemoth as a bipedal enemy.

Final Fantasy VII


Behemoths appear during the raid on Midgar late in the game. They rely on physical attacks and the Flare spell. King Behemoths appear in the Northern Crater, and use stronger physical attacks as well as Flare and Comet 2.

Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-


Two types of Behemoth appear in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-: the normal Behemoth, and the stronger King Behemoth.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-


A Behemoth appears as a boss on Chapter 1, in Sector 8 Plaza. Experiment No. 88 is a stronger virtual copy of Behemoth, and is fought in Chapter 4 in the Shinra Building's Training Room. Behemoth King appears as a boss in the final dungeon in Chapter 11.
 * Sea Hulk
 * Experiment No. 110
 * Jabberwock
 * Humbaba

Final Fantasy VIII


Behemoths appear on the Great Plains of Esthar after the Lunar Cry, and in the lower floors of Deep Sea Research Center. Regardless of their level, all Behemoths have the ability to use Meteor, Mighty Guard and Flare, but are vulnerable to instant death. A Behemoth-like boss called Catoblepas appears in Ultimecia Castle as one of the eight minions sealing the party's abilities.

Final Fantasy IX


Behemoths appear in Memoria, and the player can fight one in the Treno weapons shop in disk 4. Behemoths use powerful physical attacks and counter attacks with the ability "Meteor Counter," which works identical to the normal Meteor spell.

Final Fantasy X


Behemoths appear as fiends at Mt. Gagazet and in the ruins of Zanarkand. They strike with both Thundara and physical attacks. A stronger version, Behemoth King, appears inside Sin and casts Meteor upon its death, a spell exclusive to it in Final Fantasy X. The Catoblepas can be fought in the Monster Arena, battling identically to the normal Behemoths, but with higher stats. It casts Ultima upon being defeated.

Final Fantasy X-2
Regular Behemoths appear as a random encounter in the Zanarkand Ruins in Chapter One and are formidable foes throughout most of the game, until Chapter Five when they are generally eclipsed by most other random encounters. The Behemoth King creature type is replaced by Humbaba, which looks exactly like a Behemoth King. It appears as a boss in the Thunder Plains during Chapter Five. Both versions also appear in Via Infinito.
 * Behemoth
 * Humbaba

Final Fantasy XI


Behemoths are a monster family found within the Beast type. Behemoths appear exclusively as Notorious Monsters, and are generally difficult to defeat alone. Most (if not all) are capable of casting Meteor.

Two Behemoths are also seen in the game's introductory FMV sequence, which depicts the beastman attack on Tavnazia. They were used by the orcs in a siege roll, using their great size and strength to break through the city walls. A similar Behemoth is used by the Dark Kindred as a warbeast during Campaign Battles.

Final Fantasy XII


Behemoths appear as both an individually named enemy and an entire classification of similar enemies. Behemoths differ greatly from the ones in previous games, wielding weapons and wearing primitive armor and clothing. An exception is the Behemoth King mark, which walks on all fours and is more bestial than the other Behemoth-type enemies. Behemoth-type enemies rely mostly on powerful physical attacks, and some can use Bacchus's Wine to increase their damage output.
 * Werewolf
 * High Reaver
 * Humbaba
 * Reaver
 * Yeti
 * Zaghnal
 * Alteci (Rare)
 * Catoblepas (Mark)
 * Behemoth King (Elite Mark)
 * Humbaba Mistant (Boss)
 * Fenrir (Boss)

Final Fantasy XIII
The Behemoths of Gran Pulse are similar to the quadrupedal versions seen in past games. In Cocoon, machine based Behemoths can be summoned through a magic gate by several PSICOM soldiers. Pulse Behemoths are noticeably tougher and completely organic. Upon losing half of their health most Behemoths will stand on their hind legs and reveal a sword or chainsaw-like weapon. This move can either completely heal them or grant them a whole array of boosts. It will also increase the Behemoth's damage output while sometimes increasing or lowering its defenses.
 * Beta Behemoth
 * Alpha Behemoth
 * Feral Behemoth
 * Lodestar Behemoth
 * Greater Behemoth
 * Behemoth King
 * Kaiser Behemoth
 * Proto-behemoth
 * Humbaba

Final Fantasy Versus XIII
A Behemoth-like enemy has appeared in a screenshot battling Noctis in a city.

Final Fantasy Tactics


Behemoths appear as a family of monsters. They have high HP, physical strength and magic defense. Some Behemoths are capable of instantly killing a unit. Friendly Behemoths are able to use Ultima Demon spells when paired with a unit using Beastmaster. There are three different races:
 * Behemoth
 * Behemoth King
 * Dark Behemoth

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Behemoths are a species of monsters that have three variants: Behemoth, Reaver, and a red-colored Mutadragon. Their Hell Assault is a powerful move that boosts its next attack and damages enemies the same time. There is also a dish called "behemoth steak" as Cid mentions he will buy it after selling the "Alraune Drill" at mission "You Say Tomato".

Crystal Defenders
The Behemoth appears in Crystal Defenders as an enemy. They move at an average pace and resist Magick. Each unit's health varies, however they are at their strongest in the game's first mission, The Bisga Greenlands with 630 HP.

A stronger variant, the Reaver, also resists Magick and moves at an average pace. Their health varies, although they achieve a higher average than the ordinary Behemoth, ranging from 614 HP to 1365 HP.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles


The Behemoth appears as a regular enemy in Conall Curach. It is generally considered to be one of the strongest and hardest enemies that the player has faced up to that point in the game.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord
The Behemoth appears as a summon in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord. It is a melee summon with Sluggish speed that takes up one slot when summoned. It has the second-highest attack power of the melee summons. The only stronger one is Gigas.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates


The Behemoth appears as a boss in Old Town in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. Its appearance is dramatically different from its counterpart in the original Crystal Chronicles.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
The Behemoth makes its debut as a boss in Library Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. Its appearance is exactly the same as it was in Ring of Fates Behemoth.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
Behemoth appear in the Snowfields outside of Rivelgauge Monastary. There is also the boss creature, the Behemoth King, in this area.

Regular Behemoths are relatively strong quadruped monsters with low defense. Their attacks consist solely of swipes and charges. The Behemoth King, however, is a large, bipedal creature with an enormous club. The Behemoth King can also use a fire breath attack and use the Meteor spell to launch 4 meteors at anything within range. It is rare as a boss in that it will attack anything in the area, including other monsters, especially if left alone. The player can break its horn and use it as a projectile against it.

A giant black Behemoth, thought to be a Dark Behemoth, appears in the game as part of a chase sequence, during which the player must escape from both it and the Lilty army.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest


The Behemoth is the game's first boss fought at the Hill of Destiny. As the first boss, it only uses physical attacks. The Gorgon is a similar monster encountered elsewhere in the Foresta region.

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
Two Behugemoths appear as bosses in the Ice Caverns and the Moonsand Ruins. In addition weaker variants called Behugemores, appear as powerful enemies in the final levels of Star Chamber.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Behemoth appears as a summon in Dissidia Final Fantasy. When used, it doubles the summoner's Bravery points, but causes a reduction by 60 during a period of time. The artwork used for the summon is from Final Fantasy II. Behemoth can be obtained as a Stage Bonus on the Destiny Odyssey X storyline.

The Behemoth is also a Ghost Card, bearing the Final Fantasy II Behemoth Player Icon. The Behemoth is a Level 74 Emperor, and has the Cyan Gem and Wyvern Egg to be won through Battlegen. The quote on the card, "To the victor goes Hilda, Princess of Fynn" is what the Emperor said to the party before unleashing the Behemoth against them.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
The Behemoth returns as a summonstone, with the same function as in Dissidia. It can be can be purchased from the Cornerian Moogle Shop for 50 KP. This summonstone is unlocked at the shop as a limited offer after earning 340 KP total.

Chocobo Series
Behemoth is a recurring character in the Chocobo series. At times, it appears as an obstacle to Chocobo's adventures, on other occasions an ally.

Kingdom Hearts
The Behemoth makes a cameo in Kingdom Hearts as a Heartless boss in Hollow Bastion. A weaker version appears as a normal enemy in End of the World and in the Hades Cup at Olympus Coliseum. In Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, two other versions with different color schemes and patterns appear, named Destroyed Behemoth and Arch Behemoth.

In early Kingdom Hearts II trailers, two Behemoths can be seen before the battle of 1000 Heartless; however, the Behemoths were removed from the cutscene in the game's finalized version and were never seen in the game, save through the use of cheat devices.

Live A Live
In the Japan-only game Live A Live, a creature that looks very similar to (and even shares the name with), a Behemoth appears within the "Sci-Fi" chapter. It is locked away in storage on board the spacecraft the chapter takes place in. As the story progresses, the Behemoth is released from its prison and begins to roam freely around the ship. If the player encounters it, he/she is met with instant death, without so much as even a battle.

Lost Odyssey, a game produced by the creator of the Final Fantasy series, Hironobu Sakaguchi, also features an enemy called Behemoth. This was most likely a reference to the Final Fantasy behemoths, much like the character Sed being a nod to Cid. Like the Final Fantasy behemoths, it is a large purple beast with fierce physical attacks, although it doesn't pose nearly the threat it usually does in the Final Fantasy games. A behemoth is also shown being fought by the king of Gohtza and Kaim in a flashback scene.

Mario Sports Mix
A Behemoth appears as the final boss of Mario Sports Mix for the Nintendo Wii, which also features playable characters from Final Fantasy. It appears when a dark crystal takes the player's team to another world after they obtain four crystals from each of the playable sports in the game. In order to fight it, the player must put the skills they learned playing through the different sports to use.

Trivia

 * In Final Fantasy VII, Vincent's first Limit Break, Galian Beast, looks similar to a bipedal Behemoth.

Etymology
Behemoth is the Hebrew primal beast of the land, with being the primal beast of the water and Ziz being the primal beast of the sky. According to legend, Behemoth and Leviathan will battle at the end of the world, and eventually kill each other.