Highlights
- Summons in the Final Fantasy series offer powerful support in battles, but some of the strongest ones are difficult to unlock and may not live up to expectations.
- Diabolos from Final Fantasy Type-0 has the ability to drain enemies' health and heal itself, making it a force to be reckoned with in battle.
- Bahamut is a recurring and powerful summon in the Final Fantasy series, with Bahamut ZERO being the strongest iteration, capable of unleashing devastating attacks when fully charged.
Summons are an integral part of any player’s strategy in the Final Fantasy series. Throughout the games, these beings have provided defensive, offensive, and healing support for the player’s party. A significant grind in any of the games is unlocking the more powerful summons.
In fact, the developers have locked a few away behind complex algorithms, formulaic attacks, and even the final bosses themselves because they’re so strong. Some of the strongest summons in Final Fantasy are so incredibly powerful that many people simply can't fathom the depths of their strength.
Updated on July 27, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: Final Fantasy is a series full of epic storylines, memorable characters, and amazing set-pieces that will keep the adrenaline flowing as players go through these lengthy and engaging experiences. The games are truly brilliant in their own right and will keep fans engaged in the long run as they explore each and every inch of these wonderful titles. A huge part of what makes Final Fantasy so impressive is the many summons that players can bring out in a battle to decimate their enemies. These summons can cost a lot of MP or have players relying on their luck, but the sheer impact these massive god-like beings have in battle is so impressive that players will always love the spectacle involved in calling these powerful entities to aid them in battle.
13 Eden (Final Fantasy 8)
Eden is supposed to be the strongest summon in Final Fantasy 8, with the player having to go through several hoops before standing a chance of attaining this powerful GF. The trek involved in getting this Guardian Force is pretty grueling and engaging, so it's easy to see why many players are disappointed when Eden doesn't really live up to her full potential.
Her strength isn't really so high that it makes her worth all the headache that players have to bear, even if players can boost their damage quite a bit because of how lengthy the animation for her summon really is. The solitary 9999 damage is still pretty great, and Junctioning this GF allows players to unlock the full potential of their respective characters too!
12 Diabolos (Final Fantasy Type-0)
Diabolos from Final Fantasy Type-0 may not be the most powerful in terms of raw damage, but he sticks around longer in battle and can heal himself. This is due to the fact that every attack drains the enemies’ health and is used to heal him.
There is also the signature move Gravitation Ball that will drain the health of enemies, form a large sphere of energy, and launch it at the enemy for massive damage. Combine the high damage with massive healing and Diabolos is a force to be reckoned with.
11 Ark (Final Fantasy 9)
Boasting a near two-minute attack time, the Ark is a powerful summon that can dramatically change the outcome of any battle it’s called to. Two-minute cutscenes can seem excessive, but with a brutal shadow-based attack dealt to all enemies via Eternal Darkness it can be worth it.
The Ark also receives a boost to its spell power for every unit of Lapis Lazuli in the player’s inventory. Considering there are around 40 in the game that’s a solid power boost. Even without that boost, it has the highest base damage of any summon in Final Fantasy 9. It’s too bad it’s locked behind the two toughest bosses in the game.
10 Odin (Final Fantasy 9)
Odin has appeared in a number of Final Fantasy games, but his most powerful version by far was in Final Fantasy 9. If the player has 99 Ore in their inventory Odin has a 50% chance of killing any enemy outright with Zantetsuken.
Conversely, if the player has Odin’s Sword activated and no ore in their inventory, then Zantetsuken will deal increased damage to any enemy that survives the attack. It’s up to the player whether they want 50% of instant death or higher damage with every hit. Either way, it’s a brutal summon to have in battle.
9 Magus Sisters (Final Fantasy 10)
The Magus Sisters are a trio of death on the battlefield. Cindy is a master of healing and magical attacks, Mindy deals black magic and defends the party, while Sandy is a master of physical attacks and support. Combined the three can damage all enemies, heal the party, and provide buffs.
Their signature move Delta Attack will cause all sisters to attack simultaneously and deal a little under six hundred thousand points of damage to a single target. The only catch and why they don’t rank higher is that the sisters cannot be directly controlled and will largely do what they want in battle.
8 Ramuh (Final Fantasy 15)
Ramuh is one of the most legendary summons in Final Fantasy. He's consistently appeared across most Final Fantasy games, making a thunderous appearance whenever he's summoned — quite literally! — and decimating his enemies without too many problems. However, there's no denying that his power was simply eclipsed by the more high-level summons that players could find later on in each Final Fantasy game.
This isn't the case in Final Fantasy 15, with the majority of summons leading to Ramuh appearing and thrusting his staff on the ground, electrocuting enemies for serious damage and taking them out in no time flat. The frequency of this summon over others makes him the highest damage-dealer out of all the Astrals whom players can interact with in the game.
7 Anima (Final Fantasy 10)
This summon with a tragic backstory is one of the more powerful in Final Fantasy 10. Anima’s Pain attack can outright kill most opponents and deal significant damage to those who are immune to Death magic. Especially when it also bypasses any defenses the enemy may have.
Her signature move Oblivion is also devastating as it’s a sixteen-hit combo. In the remastered game, each hit can deal a max of 99,999. If every hit is perfect she can deal a little over 1.5 million points of damage in one move.
6 Bahamut (Final Fantasy 16)
Bahamut is the most powerful Eikon in Final Fantasy 16, and it's easy to see why this is the case. The King of all Dragons has been used time and time again to turn the tide of battle, with his imposing presence making him one of the toughest and most memorable boss fights in the entire game.
This Eikon wields the element of Light and can easily take out groups of enemies with the many abilities that Clive gains access to. Bahamut is truly powerful in every way, and players will love controlling this summon as they power through the many encounters in the game.
5 Shemhazai (Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire Of The Rift)
Appearing as a special type of Summon called a Scion, Shemhazai is a ferocious ally to have. She has only one attack called Soul Purge that comes with 100% accuracy. Its damage is a bit different in that it can be one of the most brutal attacks in the franchise or mediocre at best.
This is because it’s entirely based on the total damage the character who’s summoned her has done over the course of the game. If that character has been around for a while, fought many enemies, and dealt impressive damage Shemhazai’s attack will be incredible. With the right character, she can one-hit-kill just about anyone.
4 Bahamut ZERO (Final Fantasy Type-0)
Bahamut ZERO is by far the strongest iteration of Bahamut in the games. It’s a level 99 Eidolon with the brutal breath attack Megaflare. Megaflare on its own is indeed strong, but its full potential is realized when it’s fully charged.
When fully charged Megaflare becomes Giga Flare, when that’s fully charged it becomes Tera Flare. This attack summons a number of Bahamuts to its side where they all concentrate a simultaneous attack on the same enemy.
3 Phoenix (Final Fantasy 7)
Phoenix is easily the strongest summon in Final Fantasy 7 and is a strong contender for the entire franchise. The reason for this is its iconic move Rebirth Flame. Rebirth Flame will deal massive fire damage to every opponent on the battlefield.
But it will also cause all down party members to be instantly revived and fully healed if Concentrate is equipped. Basically, the only surviving party member can be the summoner who can call down Phoenix to just about kill the enemy party and bring all allies back to life.
2 Knights Of The Round (Final Fantasy 7)
The most powerful summon in Final Fantasy 7 are the Knights of the Round who are absolute beasts in combat. During the move Ultimate End each of the thirteen knights will perform a separate attack that’s a combination of various elemental magics and physical strikes. All attacks will ignore magic defense.
This attack is enough to kill everything except the powerful Weapons, Final Boss, and Chocobos which can’t be killed anyway. It’s a one-hit wonder as the MP cost is absurd and the animation time is atrocious.
1 Yojimbo (Final Fantasy 10)
The strongest summon in the franchise is Yojimbo from Final Fantasy 10. This Samurai mercenary waits in a cave for a player to come along with enough Gil to hire them. His power comes from a player willing to spend hundreds of thousands of Gil for his services and a complex formula.
But with the right cash and a bit of luck, he can one-hit kill any foe in the game. That includes final bosses, secret bosses, and so on. It’s a move called Zanmato and requires a guide in and of itself to improve the odds of Yojimbo using it, but meeting those requirements makes him the single strongest summon of the Final Fantasy series.