Final Fantasy is one of the longest-running gaming franchises out there having released its first title back in 1987 for the NES. The series has grown in quality, prestige, and scope, with it now having fifteen main numbered game titles and a whole range of spin-off titles, remakes, and remasters available.
Understandably, Final Fantasy has a massive fan following and it is one of the most popular gaming franchises to date. There are many recurring elements in Final Fantasy, such as summonable creatures, job classes, enemies, and more. One of the common enemies that resurface in the titles is the Malboro, but there may be a thing or two that you didn't know about this creepy critter.
10 First Appearance
It's a common misconception that many of the most well-known creatures and enemies in the Final Fantasy series have been around since the very beginning. Even the franchise's mascot, the Moogle, didn't appear in the very first title. Malboros are no different and didn't debut until Final Fantasy II.
There were four different variations of Malboro enemies in Final Fantasy II, and though none of them featured their later signature move of "Bad Breath", their attacks still inflicted status ailments on party members.
9 Design
Malboros are one of the very, very few elements of the Final Fantasy franchise where the design has largely unchanged since their initial conception. The creatures are always large, generally greenish, plant-like creatures with many tentacles, almost making them anemone-like, and a large mouth with many teeth.
The image on the left shows Yoshitaka Amano's design of the Malboro for Final Fantasy II and the image on the right is one of the monster's more recent representations from Final Fantasy XIV. It's clear to see that the modern Malboro aesthetic is still very similar to its initial design.
8 Name
The name "Malboro" could be a combination of the word "mal," which means bad, and "boro", the sound that the Japanese attribute to an upset stomach. However, it's also likely that this strange plant creature is named after the famed cigarette brand Marlboro.
Evidence that seems to support this idea is that the Malboro's signature move is "Bad Breath" where they exhale putrid fumes over the party, reminiscent of someone exhaling smoke. Additionally, having bad breath is also an unfortunate side effect of smoking.
7 Name Changes
Though "Malboro" is the accepted standard name for these creatures, they don't always go by this moniker. In some titles, these monsters sometimes go by the name of "Morbol" or "Mobol", and in early versions of Final Fantasy VI their names completely changed and they were called "Oscars" instead.
Additionally, in the French localization of the games, they are called "Xylomid", which may be to distance the creature from the cigarette brand. Italian localization only slightly tweaks the standard name and instead calls them "Molboro".
6 Tough Guy
Much like the other series-familiar enemy, the Tonberry, Malboros are considered to be one of the toughest enemies that players have to face throughout the series. Malboros are tricky to beat as they are large, generally meaning they have a lot of HP, and can inflict a multitude of status ailments on all party members in one go with their signature move "Bad Breath".
If parties are unprotected or do not have items or party members capable of erasing the status ailments, these ailments can quickly bring a party to its knees. The status ailments caused by "Bad Breath" changes depending on the title, but one example is Final Fantasy XIV where it inflicts Poison, Paralysis, Slow, Heavy, Blind, Silence, Pacification, Max HP Down, and Determination Down to all members simultaneously.
5 Ramuh Was Once a Malboro
Ramuh is one of the well known recurring summons that appears throughout the Final Fantasy series. He is generally depicted as an older man with a staff and has an affiliation with thunder and lightning. Ramuh is generally shown to be very wise, so it was strange to see him accidentally become a Malboro in one of Final Fantasy's spin-off titles, Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon.
In this game, players come across a drunken Malboro in Le Tonberry Bistro, who is causing trouble for the poor owner. When the Malboro begins crying, the Chocobo can approach and the Malboro will ask to be zapped by Thunder Books. After using seven books, the Malboro turns into Ramuh and explains that he accidentally stood on a Morph Trap, which changed him into a Malboro, and he was then unable to change back into his normal form.
4 Pack Attack
In early titles, Malboro commonly attacked in large groups, as seen above in this capture of Final Fantasy IV. However, their behavior changed in later games and they became largely solitary creatures, with players engaging with them as solo enemies.
This change was likely due to the difficulty associated with this particular enemy, as their constant ability to inflict status ailments can quickly disable a party. Having multiple Malboro spewing out status ailments would make them near-impossible to beat.
3 The Audrey II Parallel
Many fans believe that the Malboro design is based on the design of Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. Audrey II also referred to as "Twoey", is an alien from outer space that is reminiscent of a flytrap plant and serves as the antagonist in the film. The film released in 1986 and was based on the Off-Broadway musical of the same name that debuted in 1982.
The similarities between the Malboro and Audrey II are pretty striking, and as Final Fantasy II released in 1988, which was the first title to feature the Malboro, it is possible that this is what inspired Amano's original design.
2 Missing Malboro
Out of all 15 of the current main Final Fantasy titles, Malboros have only been missing from three of them - Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy III, and Final Fantasy V. In all of the other numbered titles they have appeared in some fashion, usually making an appearance as an enemy, but in some cases only being referenced.
For example, in Final Fantasy XIII, Malboros do not appear as enemies but Vanille can obtain a weapon called the Malboro Wand, which rather fittingly increases her chance of inflicting status ailments on opponents.
1 Guest Appearances
Malboros have become so well known that as well as appearing in many of the Final Fantasy titles, they have also appeared in other gaming franchises too. In the Nintendo DS title Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Malboros appear in the secret court Malboro Gardens, where they attack players with their Bad Breath, poisoning them and slowing them down.
Other titles Malboros have appeared in are Itadaki Street Portable, Lord of Vermilion, Puzzle & Dragons, and Legend of Mana. They are also set to feature in the forthcoming mobile title Samurai Rising.