Griffon

	We must set aside this battle until I find out the truth of this.
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This article is about the boss in Devil May Cry. You may be looking for V's Companion in Devil May Cry 5.

Griffon
Name data
Katakana	グリフォン
Rōmaji	Gurifon
Personal data
Species	Demon
Status	Deceased
Professional data
Affiliation	Mundus Devil Kingdom
Real world data
Appearances	Devil May Cry Devil May Cry 2 Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat
Actors	Howard Jerome

“

You! Are you the human, the son of Sparda, who challenges the Darkness Mundus?

”

—Griffon, Devil May Cry

Griffon is a demonic bird with the power to control wind and lightning. Griffon is a recurring boss in Devil May Cry, appearing in Mission 9, Mission 12, and Mission 15. In the Devil May Cry HD Collection, the player will receive the achievements/trophies "Bird of Prey", "Cold Turkey", and "Plucked" for defeating Griffon.

Description

Griffon appears as a large, brown raptor-like bird, but it has a hole in its chest, filled with swirling demonic energy, and its exposed skull looks like the skull of several birds fused together. Its size and speed allow it to defeat even the strongest of warriors, and it has the added advantage of flight. The red lightning it creates travels at incredible speeds, and are difficult to dodge until you see his patterns. It has a razor sharp beak and always dives towards Dante during battle.

Griffon is the eldest and most loyal of Mundus' servants. Even though his combat abilities are outdated and rusty, and even if he knows his chances against Dante are slim, he is still willing to fight him out of loyalty to Mundus.

File

This is another servant of the Dark Emperor. It's a gigantic bird-like monster. It uses wind and lightening as its weapons. (Encounter enemy)

Its electricity attacks can be dodged by jumping. Watch out for this attack when the Griffon flaps its wings and tries to keep distance. (Dodge Double Check lightning attacks.)

The electric band like attack is very accurate. Use the accuracy of the attack to your advantage to dodge. Using techniques like aerial attacks and hovering in the air may help. (Attack Griffon while dodging Double Check in midair)

He will shoot electricity that charges towards you like a curtain. At first, it looks as if there's no way to dodge them. Keep your cool as a Devil Hunter and you will find a gap between the electricity. (Have Griffon use Blockade during battle)

Just because the Griffon is far away doesn't mean you're safe from his attacks. He will charge toward you with his quick feet and damage you with an intense beak snap. (Dodge Griffon's charging attack on the ground)

Similar to an air raid, he will drop many energy balls as he glides in the air. Try to anticipate where they will fall and avoid being hit. (Dodge Griffon's energy bombardment attack)

The Griffon's body attack is back by its ability to control wind power and it is very dangerous. When he flies high into the air and out of sight, watch out. (Dodge Griffon's sudden dive attack)

The Griffon will release red energy wings that can attack you from anywhere ignoring the objects in its way. Use the shape of the ground to your advantage to dodge it. (Attack the electric bird shaped construct Griffon attaches to you during battle)

The magic circles absorb the evil spirits from the lightning to release a powerful electrocution attack. When this attack is released, a wise countermeasure is to concentrate on dodging. (Dodge Griffon's bodily lightning release)

Story

Griffon first appears in the castle garden after Dante acquires the Ifrit gauntlets; he flees after Dante defeats him. Next, he confronts Dante aboard the Ship of Souls where he flees once again after being defeated by Dante. Dante finally fights it for the last time inside the Colosseum. When he is defeated, he begs for Mundus' aid. However, having failed to defeat Dante, Mundus, in his Avatar form, responds by mercilessly killing him, deeming him no longer worthy. In his death, Griffon becomes a sacrifice to the Colosseum, which in turn opens the pathway to the Wheel of Destiny.

Strategy

Main articles: Mission 9, Mission 12, and Mission 15

The key to defeating Griffon is dodging its attacks. It usually fights from a distance and gives you plenty of warning before it attacks, however; most of its attacks will track your movement. Stay calm and don't go jumping around unnecessarily.

Since Griffon fights from a distance, you will mainly be using your firearms to defeat him. The Grenadegun and Ebony & Ivory are the best for this, however, both have drawbacks: The grenadegun will occasionally miss, and Ebony and Ivory are extremely weak. Use your Devil Trigger to increase the power of your shots, but don't use Charged Shots, as you need to be able to move. When Griffon crashes into the ground, it is helpless, so close in and beat it up. DT Air Raid does the best damage, but if you don't have any Devil Trigger left, use Ifrit. Note, however, that Griffon only crashes during your first encounter with it. During the last encounter, when it is reduced to 1/3rd of its health, its left wing will fall off and it will use ground-based attacks.

In the first battle, you can complete the mission without fighting Griffon, however you will miss out on red orbs.

Powers and Abilities

The Griffon is one of Mundus' most powerful servants, controlling the elements of lightning and wind. It manifests these powers in its overwhelming arsenal of lightning charged attacks, with the Griffon shaping the lightning into long beams it can fire at many different angles, or simultaneously in furious bombardments of raw destructive power. It uses its wind elemental power to keep itself aloft and in combination with its lightning for dangerous sudden dives. The Griffon can charge its power into one massive burst of lightning strikes to inflict massive damage and is not above using its massive body for direct physical attacks, its size hiding its speedy charges and deadly beak strikes.

Appearances in Other Media

Devil May Cry 2 novel

An alternate universe version of Griffon appears as part of the demon rebellion against Mundus alongside fellow elite demons Shadow, Blade, Frost, and Phantom. He can take on the form of his namesake via Devil Trigger. He appears to wear a bird-shaped mask while in human form.

Devil May Cry 2

Griffon also appears in Devil May Cry 2 as part of Argosax the Chaos' "blob" form.

Devil May Cry 5

Main article: Griffon (Familiar)

Griffon served as inspiration for Griffon, who is physically a manifestation of Vergil's lingering emotions and thoughts as Nelo Angelo and one of V's trio of familiars. He is the most sentient of them and specializes in long ranged lightning-element attacks with most of his moves coming from the same moveset as the original Griffon.

TEPPEN

Griffon's card in TEPPEN.

Griffon is featured as an unlockable unit card in the game. He can also be seen in an Argosax card.

Background

Griffins, less commonly spelled "Griffons," are legendary creatures with the body of a lion and wings and head of an eagle. They are considered to be extremely powerful and majestic, and are a symbol of divine power. Griffon also draws from the Thunderbird, a gigantic, mythological bird that summoned lightning whenever it flapped its wings. In the Graphic Arts book he is described as resembling the legendary Roc. Additionally, the Griffon Vulture is a species of vulture with a white head, tan body, and dark flight feathers. They are said to guard treasure.

Trivia

• According to composer Masami Ueda, the director, Hideki Kamiya, said to him, "Imagine a tyrannosaurus rex landing," when thinking of a battle theme for this boss.
• The line Dante says when facing Griffon, "Flock off feather face", is also spoken by Bayonetta in her first game.
• Griffon is tied with Phantom for having the least mandatory battles, with only two since the first battle against Griffon can be skipped and the two corridor battles against Phantom can also be skipped.
• Griffon was one of the creatures that was supposed to appear in Resident Evil 4. When the game eventually turned into Devil May Cry, Griffon was kept but his design was changed - he became less "zombie-like" in order to fit the DMC universe.

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