As far as memorable or iconic monster designs go in gaming, theFinal Fantasyseries has to be among some of the best out there. Across all of the many mainline and spin-offFinal Fantasygames, which now includesFinal Fantasy 16, there have been hundreds of monsters, demons, ghosts, and all sorts of other ‘entities’ introduced.
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And, depending on whatFFgame a player grew up with, the monsters they’ll find the most iconic or memorable vary pretty heavily. So, let’s go over some of the monsters that don’t appear in the newest release,Final Fantasy 16, in the hopes that they’ll eventually be added in afuture content update, event, or DLC.
SlightFinal Fantasy 16spoilers ahead as to what enemies do not show up at any point in the game.
7Cactuar
Let’s start things off with the one that just about everyFinal Fantasyfan reading this was already thinking of, the Cactuar. Cactuar have appeared in almost every singleFFrelease since their original debut inFinal Fantasy VI, so it would only be following precedent for them to show up in FF16. WhileClive’s Game of Throne-esque worldand story is a lot darker than a lot of otherFinal Fantasygames, that doesn’t mean the sillier monsters are off the table.
For example, Chocobo can be seen everywhere inFinal Fantasy 16(even if they’re not ‘that’ silly) and there’s even a Moogle hanging out in Cid’s Hideaway as well named Nektar the Bold. It would be interesting to see how an ARPG approach to aFFgame handles a Cactuar fight considering they specialize in evasion and defense, and it would be even more interesting if the Gigantaur made an appearance as well to absolutely destroy Clive with the iconic ‘1000 Needles’ attack.
6Tonberry
These adorable little slasher film psychopaths called Tonberry are probably one of the most iconic enemies in gaming history and are equally as recognizable toFinal Fantasyfans as Cactuar, Moogles, and Chocobo are. Everyone who played one of the earlierFFgames such asFFV(the title Tonberrys first appear in),FFVI, orFFVIIlikely has some traumatic memory of underestimating these little guys while they ever-so-slowly approach the party and then being instantly blown away when it decimates one of their allies in a single attack.
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If they were to appear inFinal Fantasy 16, it would also be interesting to see how a more character-action-esque game handles the Tonberry and its multiple OHKO attacks. As an example, they could do something where the Tonberry is designed to be killable while downed during a single Staggered phase, but there’s a catch. If Clive can’t finish them off before their Will refills, the Tonberry could use some variation of ‘Everyone’s Grudge’ to deal immediate damage to him based on something like the number of hits he inflicted or the number of enemies he’s killed in the game so far.
5Sin Eaters
This next monster is one that would be relatively difficult to believably write intoFinal Fantasy 16, butFF14fans would adore seeing these creatures redone in a game with a higher graphical fidelity such asFF16. And for those wondering, the reason that the mimic-like creatures called Sin Eaters would be difficult to write into the setting ofFinal Fantasy 16is that their backstory is pretty heavily tied to the plot ofFF14. The massively popular MMORPG plays around with the idea of light and dark constantly, and theShadowbringersexpansion plays around with this concept even more so by introducing Sin Eaters.
However,FF16already has concepts in it similar to a ‘surplus of light or dark energy’ with concepts like ‘going Akashic’ implying that too much aether can cause massive changes or transformations as well. So, there are grounds for the developers to write Sin Eaters into the game or at least a creature similar to them.
4Catoblepas
A lot of the monsters on this list are tried and true designs that were introduced way back in one of the earlierFinal Fantasygames and continually reappear in future games as homages or because they’re so iconic. The Catoblepas, however, is a relatively new monster to theFinal FantasyIP, as they were only introduced in the last mainline game,Final Fantasy 15.Well, they’re mostly new, as the design is obviously built on the concept and design of the summon of the same name inFinal Fantasy V.
There’s no grandiose reason to include these creatures other than the fact that they’re just so gigantic, unique looking, and seem like they’d be fun to fight inFF16’scombat engine. Plus, their long necks and stomp attacks both seem like they would work really well as attacks inFinal Fantasy 16as it seems like every larger-than-average monster in this game has some wide sweep attack or a big AoE stomp to test theskills of beginner and veteran ARPG playersalike.
3Magic Pots
Ability Points are a very vital resource inFinal Fantasy 16. These are the currency by which Clive gains new moves in his ever-expanding repertoire of abilitiesduring his surprisingly long adventure. With every new Eikon, players will need to gain a pretty big chunk of Ability Points in order to unlock and eventually master that Eikon’s abilities. So, a perfect enemy the developers could introduce to make that process a bit easier for players who explore every inch of every map is to introduce Magic Pots into the game. These creatures have been around since the days ofFinal Fantasy Vand have always been a way for players to either gain a ton of job exp, level exp, or some rare items. Well, as long as they fulfill what the Magic Pot asks for, of course.
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This concept would work exceedingly well in an ARPG likeFF16because if Clive happened to find one of these creatures the Magic Pot could ask him to use a certain combo or reach a certain damage threshold within a certain time limit in order to get their rewards. This way, players who manage to find the Magic Pot will get a big chunk of Ability Points to level their skills faster and players who love theDevil May Cry-esque combat of the game will have a mini Bloody Tower-like challenge to complete. Additionally, this would help make repeat playthroughsor NG+ in ‘Final Fantasy mode’a lot less repetitive for grinding Ability Points.
2Ultros & Typhon
Even ifFinal Fantasyhas sillier creatures in it already, it would still be relatively difficult for them to somehow believably introduce an Ultros (sometimes called Orthros) into theFF16world, which is also exactly why they should try it. For those unfamiliar with this recurring monster, Ultros is this squirmy mass of purple tentacles and sharp teeth that appear across numerousFFgames. Funnily enough, he’s usually relatively easy to defeat and over-relies on his cohort Typhon (who already shows up in the main story and looks very different), but is a beloved enemy by the fans simply for his awful corny jokes and perverted comments towards female party members.
There’s no real combat-based reason to include Ultros as one ofClive’s many Bounty HuntsinFinal Fantasy 16as he’s never been much of a threat in combat, but it would still just be so funny to see how Clive deals with their jokes, being such a straight-laced guy. Plus, it would also be interesting to see how Jill deals with and responds to his gross advances, given that she’s usually rather calm and composed.
1Mindflayer
For the final enemy, let’s look at a creature that even predatesFinal Fantasyitself, the Mindflayer. Mindflayers have been around since the early days of Dungeons and Dragons, and plenty of video games have made their own variations of these eldritch horrors.
InFinal Fantasy, they’re usually depicted as pretty terrifying mages who use their signature ‘Mind Blast’ attack to paralyze their foes. InFinal Fantasy 15, in particular, the Mindflayers were extra difficult to go up against and even more horrifying, so it’d be interesting to see howFF16would handle it given the game’s difficulty overall.
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