An Introduction and the Urstrix

Welcome to my very first post on what I intend to be an at least weekly blog on mythology in the Final Fantasy game series. Each post will be about one monster, character, equipment or location from the games. What will be covered in each post will vary, sometimes there might be more of a focus on etymology sometimes more on science or history. The creatures, people, places and equipment of the Final Fantasy games come from such a variety of sources.

I hope you enjoy these entertaining snippets of trivia.


First up we have....

Urstrix (オウルベア Ourubea)
Game: FFXII

The Japanese name for this creature is simply 'Owl Bear'. It quite probably references the Owlbear monster found in Dungeons and Dragons as several of the Final Fantasy monsters, particularly those from the older games, are heavily inspired by DnD. 

The English version of this monster's name, Urstrix, is an amalgamation of two Latin words. Ursus simply means 'bear' whilst strix refers to owls, especially the screech owl. Strigoi, the plural of strix, are also regarded as semi-mythical birds and considered birds of ill-omen. There are few details on the strigoi in the literature save that they are ravenous carnivores. Pliny the Elder dismisses the tales he heard of these birds suckling their young.