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The Jackanapes, also known as Harpy, is an enemy in Final Fantasy V. It is initially found in the basement of Castle Walse, and is an extremely tough opponent for that part of the game. It also can be found in the merged world's Walse Tower, underwater, in Castle Exdeath after its transformation, and in the Cloister of the Dead in the Sealed Temple bonus dungeon in the versions that have it.


Stats[]

Walse

Castle Exdeath

Battle[]

Jackanapes always back attacks the party. Due to its high Attack, Speed, Evasion, and Defense, defeating it the traditional way is nigh impossible at low levels. The Jackanapes will drop only 1 gil and provide no experience or ability points, so killing it is recommended only for bestiary completion.[note 1]

Strategy[]

Jackanapes can be easily killed by the Blue Magic spell Level 5 Death or Bio. If the party does not have Level 5 Death, there is an alternative strategy, though it is tougher. The party should change into Monks and wait until the Jackanapes casts Moon Flute. When berserked, the party will have a higher hit rate, and will only need to survive three or four rounds to kill the Jackanapes. The strategy works better the higher level the party is, as low level Monks (especially below level 16) will not have enough attack power to get past Jackanapes' defense. Another strategy is to use Berserkers wielding axes, effective because the axe damage calculation only uses 1/4 of the target's defense.

Another way is to use a shuriken with the Ninja's Throw command. One shuriken will kill a Jackanapes. Yet another way is to use the Beastmaster to release a monster (for example Sand Bear) strong enough to kill it in a single blow.

In the merged world, no special strategy is needed, as most jobs have access to weapons powerful enough to get past Jackanapes' defense.

Other appearances[]

Pictlogica Final Fantasy[]

PFF Jackanapes FFV

Jackanapes from Final Fantasy V appears as an enemy in Pictlogica Final Fantasy under its Japanese name Garchimacera.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]

FFRK Jackanapes FFV

Jackanapeses are fought in select Final Fantasy V stages, including the Sunday Daily Dungeon. Of note, they possess resistance to all elemental magic and will absorb it. Using physical attacks and non-elemental magic is the best way to defeat them.

Baknamy FFTA2This section about an enemy in Final Fantasy Record Keeper is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.


Etymology[]

Jackanapes ("jack-a-napes") is an insult made to William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk whose family coat of arms used collar and chains, which were associated to monkey leashes, and ultimately monkeys, during the 15th century. Monkeys were some of Britain's many exotic goods at the time, often imported from Naples, while "jack" is an archaic term for "man", "soldier" or "servant", thus the bastardization of "Jack of Naples".

In the Anthology release, the Jackanapes was called "Harpy". In Greek and Roman mythology, a harpy was a female monster in the form of a bird with a human face. They steal food from their victims while they are eating and carry evildoers (especially those who have killed their family) to the Erinyes. They seem originally to have been wind spirits. Their name means "snatchers".

Notes[]

  1. Its bestiary entry in Final Fantasy All the Bravest jokes that the only reason one would want to fight the Jackanapes is for a sense of accomplishment, and indeed, the only reason is to fill out the game's bestiary.

Related enemies[]

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