Final Fantasy III is where it all began. The only Final Fantasy game, to date, that never reached the western shores in its original form was the first Final Fantasy to feature the "Summons".
Called "shoukanjuu" (Summoned Creatures) in Japan, summons were first introduced as special form of spellcasting. Summons take the form of mystical creatures who holds, usually, the power of the basic elements in the world. Although not all of them are are powerful enough to be really worthy of the description "supreme spell", each creature is special in their own simple ways.
In Final Fantasy III, summons can be called by two types of characters, the famous horned-mage called Summoner and the apprentice summoners called Conjurer.
Summoners are able to get the full trust of legendary monsters, and therefore, they can call upon these monsters and use its full power to aid them in combat... In Final Fantasy X, we know it as "Overdrive". The Conjurer, on the other hand, as described in my FFIII Job Evaluation Guide, "Proving to be worthy of the powers of the legendary monsters, they can call upon said beings to utilize its random white or black ability." can call the help of the summons and use a random white or black ability of the particular summon monster.
There are no other extra feature of summons in Final Fantasy III, so the information will be brief, but I will give you the attacks of each summon. Also, I hope you'll like the exclusive screenshots I have taken from my own game file. By the way, have I told you that FFIII is my first FF?
Hope you enjoy it!
CHOCOBO
Unexpectedly, the first Chocobo summon is pink in color. It is the VERY first summon in the Final Fantasy series.
It is a first level summon, and therefore, it is quite weak... and sometimes, useless.
You can buy it at the town of Leprit for 100 Gil.
The following are its abilities:
White: Escape (run from the battle)
Black: Stumble (the stupid bird trips thus having no effect)
Summoner: Chocobo Kick (physical damage, one enemy)
SHIVA
The "Queen of the Final Fantasy Summons", Shiva, is the "Queen of Ice", but technically, in FFIII, it is more of snow.
Even though she is sexy in that purple boots and small piece of cloth that covers her body, she's still a weak summon. However, being a level 2 summon, she is more powerful than the Chocobo summon. Her HypnoBeam is sometimes useful... If only you can choose to use it all the time.
You can buy her at the town of Leprit for 700 Gil.
The following are its abilities:
White: HypnoBeam (Sleep, 100% success, all enemies)
Black: Icy Glare (Ice damage, single enemy)
Summoner: Diamond Dust (Ice damage, all enemies)
RAMUH
The old guy Ramuh, also called Indra, loves to play with the ligtning element. He first appeared in an unusually colored beard.
The old man is a little weak considering that not many mechanical monsters are there in FFIII. His only good use is when you are traveling in waters, which is not going to be a long time. Mindblast is a sure paralyze attack against all enemies an dis very useful.
You can buy him at the town of Leprit for 1500 Gil.
The following are its abilities:
White: MindBlast (Paralyze, 100% success, all enemies)
Black: God's Thunder (Lightning damage, one enemy)
Summoner: Heaven's Rage (Lightning damage, all enemies)
IFRIT
The level 4 summon, Ifrit, is the ever-cool "Fire Demon" of Final Fantasy. He is cool even in his first appearance in the series. Unlike the other summons in his batch, he has a little "better" animation in FFIII -- He appears in the screen and dashes to the enemy with his fiery rage (jus tlike in FFVII).
In the DS remake, we can now see Ifrit in a more FFVII-ish fashion in full 3D animation!
Despite his coolness, I think he is still weak, but his "Recovery" ability can save your life in many life-threatening circumstances .
You can buy him at the town of Leprit for 3000 Gil.
The following are his abilities:
White: Recovery (Recover some HP and status, all allies)
Black: Flames of Fury (Fire damage, one enemy)
Summoner: Hellfire (Fire damage, all enemies)
TITAN
The Arnold Schwarzenegger of the Final Fantasy summons. This big chunk of muscle is the first powerful summon in FFIII. As a level 5 summon, you already have enough MP to call for a useful summon for several encounters.
To get the best out of him, use the Conjurer in boss fights and Summoner on regular dungeon exploration. The only drawback with him is that you cannot hit flying enemies when it is the Summoner who calls for him.
You can buy him at the town of Leprit for 3000 Gil.
The following are his abilities:
White: Punch (Strong physical damage, one enemy)
Black: Kick (Stronger physical damage, one enemy)
Summoner: Earthquake (Earth damage, all enemies)
ODIN
Now, let's start with the more interesting and really powerful ones.
Odin, my ultimate favorite FF summon, is a boss in this game. He is not that hard, but challenging enough to keep your interest in the battle.
Many FFIII experts consider him as the most efficient summon monster in the game. He is very powerful and does not cost as much MP as the Leviathan and Bahamut. Barrier is a good start in any boss battle (even against Bahamut), and Atom Edge can clear the path in most tough situations.
You will meet him in the Salonia Catacombs.
The following are his abilities:
White: Barrier (Wall, all allies)
Black: Sword Cut (Physical damage, one enemy)
Summoner: Atom Edge (Instant death, all enemies)
LEVIATHAN
This water serpent looks really ugly in his first Final Fantasy appearance, but it is VERY useful. All of its attacks, whether through the Conjurer or through Summoner, hits all enemies. In a game like Final Fantasy III, where enemies can appear up to a group of 9, hitting your enemies all at once is very essential for survival.
Beat him in the Lake of Dol (in the Floating Continent) as an optional boss.
The following are his abilities:
White: Stony Glare (Petrify, all enemies)
Black: Tempest (Water damage, all enemies)
Summoner: Tsunami (Water damage, all enemies)
BAHAMUT
The "King of Dragons" is the ultimate summon in Final Fantasy III. He holds the ultimate power, and as such, he packs quite a fight. You can die in one MegaFlare if you are not prepared! Defeat him and you get the power to summon him.
He is the supreme attack in FFIII with his MegaFlare (with the exception of the uber expensive Shuriken). Few of it can topple down all bosses in the last dungeon (except the last boss). The major drawback of him is his being a level 8 summon. You will have yoor first level 8 MP at level 42... That means, at level 42, you can only summon him once. Getting your character at level 49, which is already considered a high level in FFIII will net you 4 level 8 MP for your Bahamut.
Beat him in the Cave of Bahamut.
The following are his abilities:
White: Aura (Haste, all allies)
Black: Rend (Death, one enemy)
Summoner: Megaflare (Non-elemental damage, all enemies)
That's it! I hope you learned something new with this article!
By Fantasy Gamer
Images by FG
NOTE: As what I have promised before, FFE will help in providing FF coverage here at SEE by sharing our contents. Rght now I am in the proces of updating and I will post it here as I update our articles.
With respect to this article, I'm gonna add the Final Fantasy III DS remake versions of the summon. If you have the necessary images and details, feel free to contribute and post it here.
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