Final Fantasy Wiki
Advertisement

I've got more lives than I do arms!

Ultros

Ultros is a minor antagonist in Final Fantasy VI. A lecherous, carnivorous octopus with a love for corny jokes, Ultros repeatedly shows up to pester the party, sometimes to eat them, and sometimes to cause them trouble.

History[]

Ultros Encounter 1 from FFVI Pixel Remaster

The party encounters Ultros on the Lethe River.

When the Returners set out to Narshe via the Lethe River, Ultros attacked them, hoping to eat them for lunch. When overwhelmed, he dove into the water and feigned giving up, but discretely attacked Terra. Infuriated, Sabin leapt into the river to engage Ultros who repelled him and sent him washing down an auxiliary branch of the river.

Ultros Opera from FFVI Pixel Remaster

Ultros and Locke prepare to fight during the improvised grand finale.

When the Returners made plans to travel to Vector, they went to the Opera House and hatched a plan to trick their way onto Setzer's airship, and ask him to take them there. Overhearing this, Ultros decided to sabotage the opera and ruin their plan, and dropped a letter taunting them about it. As Celes performed Maria and Draco disguised as Maria, Locke found the letter and delivered it to the Impresario. The two noticed Ultros had climbed into the rafters over the stage and was planning to drop a massive four-ton weight onto Celes.

Locke and his allies chased Ultros down but fell from the rafters and onto the stage, landing on the two male leads, Draco and Ralse, knocking them unconscious. As the Impresario bemoaned the performance was ruined and the audience began to murmur, Locke improvised that he would be the one to save Celes. Ultros taunted the party, and the two groups fought, with Ultros again intending to eat them. Ultros was defeated and ran, and his scheme to sabotage the Returners' meeting with Setzer failed.

Ultros Agrees from FFVI Pixel Remaster

Ultros agrees to let Relm draw his picture.

When Terra and Locke went to the Esper Caves with Strago, Ultros ambushed them as they left an altar with three golden statues in effigy to the Warring Triad, and planned to steal them to make Siegfried jealous. When they tried to stop him, Ultros attacked them, again intending to eat them. However, the battle was interrupted by Relm, Strago's granddaughter, who was secretly following them. Relm offered to draw a portrait of Ultros, but he rebuffed her. Relm feigned sadness and pretended she intended to leap off a ledge. She whispered her plan to Terra, and Terra and Locke guilted Ultros into agreeing to a portrait. Relm drew him, and Ultros was horrified the portrait was coming to life to attack him and he fled.

Ultros and Typhon from FFVI Pixel Remaster

Ultros and Typhon fight the party on the Blackjack.

As the Returners fly to the Floating Continent to stop Kefka and Gestahl, a strange creature flew to the Blackjack and Ultros disembarked. He once again battled the party, this time intending to devour them once and for all. As the tide turned against him, he announced he had brought a friend—Typhon, the flying creature that had brought Ultros there. Ultros lost again despite Typhon's help and Typhon let loose a powerful Snort that blew the party off the airship.

One year after the cataclysm, Ultros had fallen so far in debt he had taken up a job as a receptionist at Dragon's Neck Coliseum, and Typhon was effectively the house's muscle to deal with challengers who wagered low-value items.

Characteristics[]

Appearance[]

Ultros's field sprites (2014)

Ultros's field and enemy sprites depict him as a purple octopus with a mass of tentacles and large, bulging red eyes. He sports a row of sharp fangs that make him appear to be smirking.

Personality[]

Ultros is a mischievous nuisance. He has no other reason for antagonizing the party than what is seemingly his own fun, as well as his desire to satiate his appetite. He thinks highly of himself and has an affinity towards women, fawning over Terra and disliking Sabin as a "muscle head". In battle, Ultros shouts taunts and insults. He is cowardly and will turn and flee when things do not go his way. He overestimates his limits, as he ended up realizing that the weight he brought up was so heavy that it would take him five minutes to drop, buying the Returners enough time to prevent him from ruining the opera.

Gameplay[]

Ultros Opera Battle from FFVI Pixel Remaster

The second boss encounter with Ultros.

Ultros is a recurring boss who fights the party at the Lethe River, at the Opera House, in the Esper Caves, and finally on the airship. Ultros is not typically difficult, and is normally weak to Fire Fire. His recurring attacks are Tentacle (which deals heavy physical damage) and Octopus Ink (which inflicts Darkness Darkness).

Other appearances[]

Final Fantasy Portal App[]

123b Ultros

Ultros appears as a Triple Triad card.

Behind the scenes[]

Ultros painting

In World of Balance there is a painting of Ultros in Owzer's Mansion, but it is later replaced by a painting of Emperor Gestahl in the World of Ruin.

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

Ultros Japanese's name is Orthros. In Greek mythology, Orthrus or Orthus was, according to the mythographer Apollodorus, a two-headed dog who guarded Geryon's cattle and was killed by Heracles. He was the offspring of the monsters Echidna and Typhon, and the brother of Cerberus, who was also a multi-headed guard dog.

Advertisement