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Yuna, performing a summoning ritual in Final Fantasy X.
Summon (召喚, Shōkan?), also known as Call (よびだす, Yobidasu?), Conjure, Summon Magic, Summoning Magic, or Summoning, is a recurring command ability in the Final Fantasy series. It lets the user call forth summoned monsters into battle.
In the most mainstream Final Fantasy games, whenever the player summons, flaming green orbs float out or encircle the player character preceding the selected summon's appearance. Depending on the game, the summoned monster attacks and then leaves, or stays and continues to attack until it's defeated or its time runs out. In Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy XIII, the flaming green orbs do not appear, and are replaced with a character animation of the summoning, or a seal where the summon emerges from.
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Appearances
Final Fantasy II
Template:Sideicon Even though summoning never appears as a command, a Wyvern can be summoned with the use of an item. However, the 20th Anniversary edition added the Arcane Labyrinth sidequest, which holds a strong allusion to this ability. Deumion, the main character of this sidequest's subplot, has the ability to summon holy creatures, such as Phrekyos.
Final Fantasy III
Template:Sideicon Template:See Also Summon can be used by the Evoker, Sage, and Summoner jobs, with different effects. Evokers will randomly summon an "offensive" or "defensive" attack from a chosen summoned monster. Offensive attacks may deal damage, while defensive attacks usually buff up, heal the party, or inflict status effects on all the monsters.
The Summoner can summon them at full power, dealing massive damage to the entire enemy party. Sages can summon like Summoners in the NES release, but can only summon like Evokers in the DS remake.
Final Fantasy IV
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Known as Call in the SNES version, Rydia has the ability to summon Eidolons to deal massive damage against enemies. The Summon command's Charge Time varies, and its charge time it taken from the spell the player selects to cast.
Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
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Just like the previous game, Rydia has the ability to summon Eidolons to aid the party during battle. Impostor Rydia also has this ability for the time she spends with the party.
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
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Like in Final Fantasy IV, Rydia still has the ability to summon Eidolons. However, she has none from the start, and only begins to get them in the final chapter. The Summon command's Charge Time varies, and its charge time it taken from the spell the player selects to cast.
Final Fantasy V
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Summon command is learned by the Summoner class and calls forth a summon beast for varying effects. The Call command, known as Conjure in the RPGe version, randomly selects a summon in the party's possession and summons it for no MP cost.
Leveling up the Summon command allows other jobs to also call forth increasingly better summons, and also boosts the job's base Magic Power.
Final Fantasy VI
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Summoning espers is accessible as long as a character is equipped with magicite, by selecting the Magic command and pressing the Control Pad upwards while at the top of the list. All summons have unblockable attacks that cannot be reflected, but can only be summoned once per battle. Characters cannot summon if they are equipped with the Soul of Thamasa relic.
The game does have an actual command called "Summon" found within the game's data, but it's dummied out and can only be accessed via hacking the game. The Summon command would have allowed the player to summon their equipped esper over and over again during the same battle as long as the one summoning it has enough MP, but due to a glitch in the code, it can only target the party, and the only espers that can be summoned through this command are those that target the party.
Final Fantasy VII
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Summon command is accessible as long as a character is equipped with Summon Materia. The times the summon can be called is dependent upon the Materia's level, although using the Master Summon Materia allows a character to summon anything, any time, any given number of times in a single battle, as long as they have the appropriate MP.
When summoning, characters are surrounded by a flash of light. Several spheres of color with strange symbols float up while the character stretches out their arms. They disappear just before the summon performs its attack.
Cait Sith can also use his Limit Break ability as part of the Slots, which allows Cait Sith to summon for no MP cost. The higher the level, the better the chance of achieving higher summons. While Knights of Round is possible at higher levels, there is only a very small chance.
When summoned with Cait Sith's Limit Break, the ability names refer to the summon's name, as opposed to the ability name, so Titan would be called Titan instead of "Anger of the Land". Exceptions to this are "Gunge Lance" and "Fat Chocobo", which are secondary abilities of the Odin and Choco/Mog, respectively.
Final Fantasy VIII
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GF command appears when a character has junctioned a Guardian Force with the command and has equipped the command to be used in battle. The GF is not summoned right away after selecting the command; a second ATB bar appears over the summoner's, and when it depletes the summon is used. The GF's HP replaces the summoner's for the duration of charge time, and if the GF's HP is depleted, the summon is canceled, and the GF cannot be summoned until it is healed. Charge time can be reduced by raising the summoner and the GF's compatibility.
The GF command is a default command to every GF, but if a player removes it with an Amnesia Green, they can get it back by using a GF Scroll.
Final Fantasy IX
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Eiko and Garnet summon Alexander.
Summon eidolons.
Description
The Summon command is used by Dagger and Eiko with each having access to different summons. In Trance, Garnet's summon command is called Eidolon (幻獣, Genjū?). In this mode, an eidolon called by Garnet will randomly appear to attack even after it has been dismissed after its initial summoning. Summons' power is determined by animation length, support abilities in use, number of jewels the eidolons have an affinity to in stock, and for Eiko, which add-on she has equipped.
The Mimic can also call forth a minion through the Call command. A Mimic will call a Magic Vice to assist them in battle. If the Magic Vice is defeated, only then will the Mimic use the same command again.
Final Fantasy X
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Storyboard.
Summon an aeon.
Description
Only Yuna has access to the summon command. When she summons an aeon, the rest of the party leaves the area (even KO'd allies will get up in order to leave, although if the aeon is dismissed, the party member will collapse immediately after reentering the field). Final Fantasy X is the first Final Fantasy in which the summoned creatures can be controlled. In a similar fashion to Final Fantasy IX, there are both "full" and "short" animations for aeon summon sequences and Overdrive attacks; however, in this game the difference is purely cosmetic. When setting "Aeons" to "Short" in the Configuration menu, each aeon's full summon and Overdrive animations will be only shown once.
After being summoned, the player controls the aeon who will act like a regular character in battle, with its own HP and stats. Aeons are immune to all status effects (except for Curse), but might be vulnerable to certain elements. Aeons can be dismissed either through selection of the Dismiss command, or if the aeon dies, in which case the aeon can't be summoned again during the same battle.
Yuna can also use the Grand Summon command as her Overdrive. Grand Summon allows her to summon one of her aeons with a full overdrive bar overlaying their regular gauge, meaning their previous gauge isn't wasted.
Summoning is seen in a number of battles. Belgemine calls Ifrit into battle on the Mi'ihen Highroad, and later Ixion in the Moonflow, then Shiva in the Calm Lands. Belgemine also has the opportunity to summon all of her aeons in the Remiem Temple. Isaaru can summon his Valefor, which he calls Pterya, his Ifrit, which he calls Grothia, and his Bahamut, which he calls Spathi. Ginnem summons Yojimbo in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth. Seymour can summon Anima. In the International, PAL and HD Remaster releases Bevelle's summoners summon the Dark Aeons the player can battle as optional bosses.
Final Fantasy XI
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Summoners and characters with Summoner as their secondary job have access to the v and blood pacts they have earned. In this case, the summoned creatures are each considered their own spell and are unable to be called in the event the summoner is silenced.
Final Fantasy XII
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The Summon command, found under the option Mist, enables a character to summon the Espers acquired in the License Board. Summoning an Esper is similar to using a Quickening; the Lv 1 Espers take one MP bar to summon, whereas the Lv 3 Espers take all three. Summoning an Esper is instantaneous and takes no Charge Time.
When an Esper is summoned the two other party members disappear, and the battlefield is shared by the Esper and its summoner. The theme is replaced by the "Esper" track as long as the Esper is present. An Esper's level is identical to its summoner's, so their stats grow. Yet, Espers have fixed Attack, Defense, and Magic Defense (like wearing the same "equipment"). Each summon lasts a maximum of 1:30 minutes and ends when either the summoner or the Esper dies, or the Esper uses its ultimate move.
The ultimate attacks are area-effect attacks and target the enemy with the highest max HP. In battle, the Esper follows its own gambits the player can't influence. In this sense, Espers work much like guests. In the International Zodiac Job System version, the Espers can be controlled by the player. Espers' attacks never deal hit combos or Critical Hits.
Espers can cast magick even if they have no MP. This means the player can Syphon their MP freely. Espers are immune to almost all negative statuses and whenever an Esper is on the battlefield, the enemies tend to focus their attacks on it.
Final Fantasy XIII
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Summon an Eidolon.
Description
The summon command is a technique that costs three Technical Points to use, and allows the party leader to summon their personal Eidolon into battle. Unlike other techniques, which can be learned by unlocking them from the Crystarium, the summon command can only be learned after the character acquires an Eidolon by forcing their Eidolon to yield in battle.
The party leader is immune to damage during the summoning animation, which can be used for strategic advantage by timing the summoning right when an opponent is launching its attack. The Eidolon is dismissed if the summoner dies, or it runs out of SP in normal mode, or after using its special attack in Gestalt Mode. After being dismissed, the party appears back on the battlefield with full HP and all status ailments healed. Eidolons can be called upon multiple times during a battle, but as it takes quite a lot of TP, doing so is rare.
When summoning an Eidolon the two other party members are dismissed and the battlefield is taken by the Eidolon and its summoner. During this time any role bonuses from the dismissed party members are not in effect. During the battle the player has a time limit during which they can fill the Gestalt Gauge, which determines the strength of the Eidolon's special attack, and how long a Gestalt Mode they can have. The same attributes affect the Gestalt Gauge build as during first the battle against the same Eidolon. The time limit that determines this first battle phase is the SP gauge. The SP gauge keeps steadily depleting over time, and any attacks the Eidolon sustains are depleted from the SP gauge rather than from an HP bar.
During Gestalt Mode the opponent is unable to attack, making the whole Gestalt Mode sequence akin to the summoning animations in previous Final Fantasy titles, only giving the player a more active role.
Final Fantasy XIV
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A Summoner summoning Garuda-Egi.
Summoning is a skill exclusive to the Arcanist class and its jobs Summoner and Scholar. Arcanists can summon Carbuncles, Scholars can summon Faeries that specialize in healing magic, while Summoners call fractions of a Primal's essence called Egis.
Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae
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After acquiring Ramuh from a cavern in the southeastern part of Duscae, Noctis can summon him to battle while at 0 HP by holding down 
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Final Fantasy Type-0
Template:Sideicon Summoning appears in the game in the form of Eidolons, powerful beings which can be controlled in return for a party member who cannot be used again until the mission is finished. The system is similar to Final Fantasy X in which the summons are fully controllable.
This section about an ability in Final Fantasy Type-0 is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.Final Fantasy Tactics
Template:Sideicon Summon is a command ability, learned from the Summoner job class. In order to use it, the unit must have learned at least one summon by spending JP. The summon is not unleashed immediately, but will involve a Charge Time.
The amount of charge depends on the selected summon, the stronger the longer. The original English version had reduced the charge time of all summons, but was reverted to the same as Japanese version in the The War of the Lions port.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
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Summon is a action ability, learned by the Summoner job. Summons are learned via staves.
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Template:Sideicon Summoning is a command ability, again learned by the Summoner job, which can only be accessed by viera, with the exception of Penelo. Staves teach summon magic. Some accessories allow units to summon powerful Espers called Scions, most of which deal damage to all enemies.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord
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The main character Mira summons a myriad of monsters and floors in an attempt to defeat invading Adventurers.
Bravely Default
Template:Sideicon Template:See Also Summoning is the fixed job command of Summoners. It allows six different creatures to be summoned to deal damage to all foes.
Invocation is the fixed job command of Conjurers. It allows a creature to be summoned to buff the party.
An unrelated command is Summon Friend, which allows the player to summon their friends' sent actions.
Final Fantasy Dimensions
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Calls forth a random Eidolon without using MP.
Description of Call
Summon is the fixed job command of the Summoner job. It can be equipped on other jobs, occupying 2 ability slot. Call is a 2 slot ability learned by summoners at job level 18, and allows a random Eidolon to be summoned with no MP cost.
This section about Summon magic in Final Fantasy Dimensions is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.Dissidia Final Fantasy
Template:Sideicon Summons make an appearance in the form of Summonstones, where they can be equipped by characters and used in battles for various effects, for example manipulating bravery and even breaking the opponent.
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Template:Sideicon Summons make a return performing much similarly, and with a wider range of summons available. The character, Yuna, is also able to summon aeons to her aid in battle, using them to perform all of her attacks.
Pictlogica Final Fantasy
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This section about an ability in Pictlogica Final Fantasy is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.Final Fantasy All the Bravest
Template:Sideicon Rydia, Eiko, and Yuna attacks with summoned monsters from their respective games: Rydia summons Mist Dragon, Eiko summons Madeen, and Yuna summons Valefor. Krile has the Summoner's Dualcast which makes her summon both Titan and Odin for her attack.
Final Fantasy Record Keeper
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This section about an ability in Final Fantasy Record Keeper is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Template:Sideicon One of Garnet's cards can use her Eidolon command. For the discard of a Garnet card and payment of any amount of any type of CP, Eidolon lets the player choose up to two Eidolons in their Break zone with a combined cost less than the CP they paid, and for that turn they can be summoned for no cost. The selected Eidolons are removed from the game if they are summoned by this ability.
A card depicting the Final Fantasy XI version of Cait Sith has "Summon [Atomos]" as its ability, usable by Dulling Cait Sith and discarding another Cait Sith card. The ability places all characters in the Break Zone, and allows the player a second turn immediately once their current turn ends.
Non-Final Fantasy Appearances
Bahamut Lagoon
The Summon command is an ability for the summoner Yoyo and Sendak who can summon the Holy Dragons to assist the party in their battles.
Seiken Densetsu 3
In Seiken Densetsu 3, the classic flaming orb appears in a variety of colors for Riesz (Lise in the fan translation), including the classic flaming green orb. They are used as icons on her ring menu, representing summon spells.
Gallery
This gallery is incomplete and requires Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift added. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by uploading images.Etymology
Evocation is the act of calling upon or summoning a spirit, demon, god or other supernatural agent, in the Western mystery tradition. Comparable practices exist in many religions and magical traditions and may employ the use of mind-altering substances with and without uttered word formulas.
Trivia
- In Final Fantasy X-2, during the spherechange sequences for the Mascot dressphere, Yuna, Rikku and Paine are introduced by their weapons (dolls of a Moomba, PuPu and Cactuar, respectively) mimicking the summoning ritual from Final Fantasy X, complete with four small flaming green orbs.
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