Ever since Final Fantasy 3 introduced Summons, they've been a mainstay of the Final Fantasy franchise. Summons may not have invented the concept of calling forth deities to wreak havoc upon the battlefield, but within the realm of RPGs, Final Fantasy's arguably done it the best.
While each Final Fantasy game handles Summons slightly differently, favorites like Bahamut, Alexander, Shiva, Ifrit, and so on appear in nearly every mainline entry. By contrast, the most powerful Summon in any given FF game is often one that is exclusive to that entry. Here we rank the most powerful of them all.
Updated on July 26, 2023 by Quinton O'Connor: Last time we revised this list, neither Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker nor Final Fantasy 16 existed yet. Now they're here, and it's prompted us to reconsider a few things...
12 Ark (Final Fantasy 9)
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Ark is an optional airship-like eidolon found towards the end of Final Fantasy 9. You can increase Ark's damage by having more Lapis Lazuli in your inventory.
Dual Potential
Summoning Ark costs a whopping 80 MP, and the Summon animation lasts for close to two minutes. In normal encounters, this disgustingly long wait time makes Ark more annoying than practical.
However, If you take heavy damage and have the auto-regen ability equipped, the two-minute animation time gives the party a chance to fully recover. Ark essentially brings max damage and a fully recovered party, making him near-essential for some boss fights such as Ozma.
11 Anima - Final Fantasy 10
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Final Fantasy 10 has the most powerful Summons in the franchise's history by raw damage points. Anima is an optional Aeon who was originally wielded by Seymour but changes affiliations if you choose to acquire her.
Remaking Oblivion
In the remastered version of FF10, Anima's key ability, Oblivion, can hit for far more damage than in the original game. Oblivion allows Anima to unleash 16 powerful blows on a foe, each of which can hit for a max of 99,999 damage. If all of these attacks connect perfectly, Anima will hit for well over one million damage.
10 Odin - Final Fantasy 9 And Final Fantasy 16
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Though Odin is a strong ally in most Final Fantasy games, he is probably at his most powerful in Final Fantasy 9 and Final Fantasy 16. In FF9, Dagger can learn Odin from dark matter, and summoning Odin costs a mere 28 MP. In FF16, it's the Eikon identity of the game's main human villain, capable of paving a path of death and destruction upon the battlefield.
What Makes Odin So Powerful?
Odin's hidden FF9 mechanics are fascinating - and have the potential to turn him into an absolute unit, as the kids say. If the player has 99 Ore, Odin has a 50 percent chance of killing any enemy outright with Zantetsuken. This even includes deadly foes like Yans and Grand Dragons.
Conversely, if the player has zero Ore and Odin's Sword, he will do extra damage to foes who survive his Zantetsuken. With a Pumice Piece and the boost ability added to the mix, Odin will hit for max damage with each strike (if he doesn't instantly kill the enemies first).
9 Eden - Final Fantasy 8
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In Final Fantasy 8, you can use timed button presses during Summon animations to increase damage via the Boost skill. Since Eden's animation is around 100 seconds, there is ample time to jack up Eden's attack.
Boost Away
By combining the Boost skill with high weapon and player stats, Eden can easily break the damage limit. Theoretically, Eden could do 99,999 damage, but realistically, it will go for between 10,000-50,000 damage.
8 Alexander - Final Fantasy 9 And Final Fantasy 14
Alexander's one of the most powerful beings in the Final Fantasy mythos, having appeared in a fair number of titles. In terms of mainline entries, it's only a summonable Summon in Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 8, and Final Fantasy 11 - and yet, while it's fantastic in all four games, it's most memorably strong appearances belong to a pair of games it isn't given to the player.
A Benevolent God
In Final Fantasy 9, Alexander manages to defend the entire city of Alexandria against the assault of Kuja and Bahamut in an epic showdown setpiece.
Later, in Final Fantasy 14, it is a Primal so mighty, an entire raid series in Heavensward is built around thwarting its full activation.
7 Phoenix - Final Fantasy 7
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This flaming bird of rebirth typically revives the party and sometimes deals damage at the same time. Phoenix's most powerful iteration is the version found in FF7.
Quadruple That Order, Please
The Final Attack Materia allows the character another action if they fall in battle. By combining Phoenix with Final Attack, Phoenix will revive all fallen party members and cast Phoenix Flame. Furthermore, by adding the Quadra Materia to the combo, Phoenix Flame will be cast four times when the party is wiped out.
In this sense, Phoenix is unique on this list as its strength comes not from offense, but purely through defense. Though it does do damage, it's the lifeline that Final Fantasy 7 players need when the game cranks up to its toughest.
6 Knights Of The Round - Final Fantasy 7
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Knights of the Round is the most powerful Summon in FF7. It calls upon 13 Arthurian Knights of the Round table. Many players deem it essential to beating the game's twin superbosses, Ruby Weapon and Emerald Weapon.
The Wait Is Worth It
Knights of the Round was the first summon in the series capable of surpassing 9,999 damage, thanks to its whopping 13-hit animation. It costs a colossal 250 MP, but with the right stats and Materia, Knights of the Round can hit for that full ten thousand each hit, equating to over 100,000 damage points.
5 Shemhazai - Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire Of The Rift
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Shemhazai is a powerful archer Esper from the world of Ivalice. She's made an appearance in a handful of Final Fantasy games, but she is most powerful in Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift.
Experience Matters
Shemhazai's damage is based on how much damage the character summoning her has done throughout the game. If a player gives Shemhazai to one of the characters they've been using since the beginning of the game, she can one-shot kill just about any enemy in the game. Combine this with the fact that her attack connection rate is 100 percent, and you have one uber-powerful Scion.
4 Bahamut Zero - Final Fantasy Type-0
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Bahamut needs no introduction (though he still holds a lot of intrigue). The king of dragons is often the most powerful summon found in the main story of any Final Fantasy game. Then there is Bahamut Zero in FF Type-0, who takes things to the next level in Final Fantasy 7... and the next level in Final Fantasy Type-0.
The More, The Merrier
When Bahamut Zero's Gigaflare is fully charged, it becomes Teraflare. Teraflare summons a congregation of Bahamuts. Each of these Bahamuts takes a turn at blasting the poor baddie in their line of fire into smithereens. In the original game, these attacks were capped at 9,999 damage, but in the HD remake, each attack can break the damage cap. This results in hundreds of thousands of potential damage points.
3 Yojimbo - Final Fantasy 10
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Yojimbo is a colorful samurai who is all about the loot. He is optional, requiring you to pay him a large sum of money to gain his services.
The Price Needs To Be Right
Yojimbo's battle mechanics are unique. If paid, Yojimbo will do one of many different attacks with varying strength levels. Yojimbo has one attack called Zanmato, which is the most powerful attack in FF history, bar none. It kills any enemy, including super bosses in one hit. Yojimbo will do this attack more often based on a few different factors including how much you pay him, his compatibility with Yuna, and not allowing Yojimbo to be KO'd by enemies.
Some players consider Yojimbo to be a game-breaker, but it does take quite a bit of effort (and a lot of money) to have Yojimbo come even remotely close to tapping into Zanmato on a regular basis.
2 Zodiark - Final Fantasy Tactics And Final Fantasy 14
Coming in at second is Zodiark, Final Fantasy Tactics' top-tier summoned beast. Its strength in that game, repeated in Final Fantasy 12 and its handheld sequel, Revenant Wings, would arguably be enough to secure Zodiark a spot on this list... albeit at a much lower placement. It's thanks to Final Fantasy 14, where Zodiark isn't an acquirable summon, but rather, a profoundly important piece of the plot, that the creature truly bears its fangs.
The Rule Of Two
We'd be remiss without mentioning Zodiark's rival counterpart, Hydaelyn. That's why she's in the image! Zodiark and Hydaelyn are two beings so obscenely strong that their summoning effectively requires millions of sacrifices. (It's more complicated than that, but this is a ranking list, not a dedicated article!)
Suffice it to say, while we're being vague about the specifics here, players who have experienced Zodiark's (and Hydaelyn's) roles in FF14's Endwalker expansion will know precisely what's up.
1 Ifrit - Final Fantasy 16
Well, here's a surprise. Throughout the bulk of Final Fantasy's several-decade history, Ifrit's been moderately powerful, but utterly outclassed by summons acquirable further into his games. When Final Fantasy 15 launched in late 2016, our fiery boy was elevated to a new pedestal, as the Astral of Fire is the penultimate boss and an important figure within the world's canon.
Come To Me, Ifrit
And then there's Final Fantasy 16. In FF16, the protagonist essentially morphs into Ifrit on a routine basis, going head-to-head against several other people capable of the same almighty talent. This means that, over the course of FF16's sprawling storyline, Ifrit defeats fellow fan-favorite series summons, over and over again, in increasingly bombastic battles the likes of which Final Fantasy's never seen.
Something happened over at Square when FF15 hit shelves, and whatever it was, it kept going with FF16. While Ifrit's hardly the unstoppable beast in prior entries, he's climbed the ladder to the top rung. Oh, and if you want proof by pure damage count? FF16 doesn't shy away from franchise-topping damage points during the climactic Eikon fights - you'll see six-digit hits on the regular.