LYCANTHROPES
Strictly speaking, the word "lycanthrope" refers solely to a person who turns into a wolf, as it is derived from the Greek words "lukos" (wolf) and "anthropos" (man). However, it is also loosely applied to someone who can turn into any other animal.
Werepanther -- Wererat -- Weretiger -- Werewolf
In European folklore, werewolves are people who turn into wolves. In popular thought the transformation occurs every full moon, although this wasn't always the case in folklore. There are a number of legal records of werewolves - in the late 16th century, a German named Peter Stubbe was accused of committing murders in the form of a wolf and executed. This incident appears to have started the period's werewolf folklore, although similar stories date back to Greek mythology, where the king Lycaon was turned into a wolf as punishment for cooking his son and serving him to the god Zeus.
IMAGES: 16th century wood engraving showing the capture of alleged werewolf Peter Stubbe -- A red wolf
Variations on the werewolf legend, with similar counterparts in folklore.
People who turn into tigers appear in Indian folklore, and Fate and Fortune magazine mentioned a ritual witnessed in early 19th century India by "Mr. K", in which a youth was turned into a tiger. The werepanther is probably an extension of this idea, although the 1942 film Cat People revolves around a woman with a curse that turns her into a panther. As panthers are black, the werepanther's colouring is completely off, and it has two large pink tentacles are "hangovers" from the coeurl (which uses the same sprite, just with different colours)
I was unable to find a mythological source for the wererat (unless you count vampires, which are sometimes said to turn into rats), although they appear in Dungeons and Dragons, alongside weretigers. The circular ears of FF2's wererat appear to be inspired by those of Mickey Mouse.
IMAGES: A panther -- A wererat from D&D -- A rat -- Mickey Mouse -- A weretiger from D&D -- A tigerWEREWOLF
WEREPANTHER, WERERAT, WERETIGER
