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An Ice esper. Attacks with Ice and Ice 2 but is vulnerable to heat. Use Fire to defeat her easily.
Final Fantasy VI PlayStation Bestiary entry
Shiva is a boss in Final Fantasy VI. She is fought alongside Ifrit in the garbage chute of the Magitek Research Facility.
She is first seen when Kefka, shortly after reveling in his newly-gained power, shoves her and Ifrit into a garbage chute, citing that they no longer serve any use to him as their powers have been drained. They end up confronting the Returners, although they stop attacking when they sense that Ramuh is among them.
Stats
Battle
Shiva uses physical attacks and Ice-elemental magic. If attacked by magic three times she counters with Blizzaga, likely killing a party member. When targeted by the player's action five times in any way (it doesn't matter if the action healed, was nullified or damaged Shiva), she retreats and is replaced by Ifrit. When either of them is defeated, the battle ends.
When Ifrit and Shiva swap places the player can run away during the transition. Since there is no enemy present during the transition, the party can successfully run away. The reason behind this is that Ifrit and Shiva's formation does not have the "no run" flag activated.
Shiva has slightly less HP than Ifrit, but only a few hundred so neither is any easier to defeat than the other.
Strategy
Running away during the Ifrit-Shiva transition phase wins the battle, but is an unintended glitch.
Blitz, Bushido and Tools are effective against both Shiva and Ifrit, and Blizzard and Fire are also powerful against the esper of the opposing element.
As Celes is in the party for this battle, her Runic neutralizes almost all of Shiva's and Ifrit's attacks.
Formations
| Number | Enemies | Encounter flags | Introduction flag | Musical theme | Magic AP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norm.Normal | Back | Surr.Surrounded | Side | |||||
| 439 | Ifrit x2, Shiva x2 | Sides, individual | The Decisive Battle | 6 | ||||
| Hide start messages. Prevent triple 7 for Joker's Death. | ||||||||
AI script
Attack Turns:
1st Turn: Blizzard (66%) or Blizzara (33%)
2nd Turn: Blizzard (33%) or Blizzara (33%) or Snowstorm (33%)
If attacked by "Magic":
- Blizzard (33%)
- Increase Var36 by 1
- Increase Var3 by 1
If attacked by anything:
- Increase Var3 by 1
- Blizzard (33%)
If Var3 >= 5:
- Set Var3 = 0
- Remove Shiva, bring in Ifrit
If Var36 >= 3
- Set Var36 = 0
- Shiva moves closer to party
- Target: Random Player
- Blizzaga (100%)
- Shiva moves back to it's original place
If killed:
- Display message: Ifrit: I sense a kindred spirit...
- Bring in Shiva
- Display message: Shiva: Who are you...?
- Display message: Ifrit: You have Ramuh's power...? Wait...We're......espers.
- Battle over
Gallery
Etymology
Shiva (also spelled Śiva) is a Hindu god. The Hindu Shiva once saved the world by consuming poison, giving him blue skin around the area of the neck and throat. Shiva is a male god, but can merge with his consort Parvati to become Ardhanari, an androgynous Hindu god of duality. Shiva is the god of destruction along with Vishnu, who is the god of preservation, and Brahma, the god of creation. Together they are the three principle deities of the Trimurti (Hindu Triad). It is believed he periodically destroys the world, then recreates it.
Shiva has different human forms, males and females. When he was in his avatar form, he spent most of his times in the Himalayan snow mountain. Shiva in the Final Fantasy series is likely inspired by one of his female avatars.
The Japanese pronunciation "Shiba" could refer to the English word "shiver", which in Japanese would sound like "shi-ba" or "shi-va".