One of the most important elements of the Final Fantasy series is its summons. Being able to call upon a powerful ally into battle produces some of the most exhilarating moments as each summon's powerful attack or enhancement can change the tide of battle. On top of that, many mainline Final Fantasy games base their narrative around summons.
Ifrit is a djinn that unleashes a powerful fire-based attack, often called "Hellfire." He's one of the most prevalent summons in Final Fantasy, appearing in nearly every mainline Final Fantasy to date. With Final Fantasy XVI set to give Ifrit its most prominent heroic role yet, it's a great time to explore the history of this iconic and firey summon.
14 Final Fantasy III
Ifrit makes its debut in Final Fantasy III. Ifrit, and summons in general, don't have any story value in FFIII. They're abilities that can be used by the Evoker, Summoner, and Sage jobs. Ifrit can be summoned via the Heatra spell, which can be purchased in Replito and Doga's Village.
Ifrit in FFIII has three abilities. The first is Healing Light, which restores HP to all allies. Hellfire deals damage to one enemy. Inferno deals damage to all enemies. Envoker can only use Healing Light and Hellfire while Sage and Summoner can only use Inferno. Sage can use Healing Light and Hellfire in the 3D remake, but not Inferno.
13 Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV is the first mainline Final Fantasy to integrate summons into the main story with the summoner Rydia playing an integral role throughout FFIV and its less-than-stellar sequel Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.
Rydia gains the ability to summon Ifrit automatically in the story. The Game Boy Advance and PlayStation Portable versions of FFIV also feature both an Ifrit and a Lunar Ifrit boss fight as a part of the Lunar Trials. Defeating Lunar Ifrit yields an item that can summon Lunar Ifrit, dealing 9,999 damage to all enemies.
12 Final Fantasy V
Jobs are back on the menu in Final Fantasy V, which also means summons go back to taking a back seat. Ifrit is obtained after a boss fight in the Library of the Ancients, where Ifrit's role was to burn possessed books. If the player acquires Ramuh before fighting Ifrit, Ifrit will have extra dialogue.
Ifrit is a Level 2 summon, making it one of the least taxing summons to call, only requiring eleven MP. Ifrit's Hellfire deals damage to all opponents, but it has among the weakest summon attack powers.
11 Final Fantasy VI
Few Final Fantasy games involve summons as much as Final Fantasy VI where the Gestahlian Empire drains the powers of summons, or Espers, in pursuit of world domination. After the War of the Triad, where the Esper's powers were abused, Espers created the Esper World, an alternate dimension home to keep away from power-hungry humanity.
Much like FFV, Ifrit can be acquired after defeating them as a boss. Ifrit is fought in the Magitek Research Facility alongside Shiva. In FFVI, Espers can also teach players abilities. Ifrit can teach Fire, Fira, and Drain. Ifrit is the only Esper that can teach Drain.
10 Final Fantasy VII
Ifrit makes its 3D debut in Final Fantasy VII. Much like most abilities in FFVII, summons are a Materia. Materia are items that attach to weapons and other equipment allowing a character to use and learn that ability. The Ifrit Materia is obtained on the Cargo Ship traveling from Junon to Costa del Sol after the tough Jenova-BIRTH boss fight.
In the Final Fantasy VII Remake, Jessie gives the Ifrit Materia to Cloud, making Ifrit the only summon obtained in the first leg of the remake trilogy. In FFVII Remake, Ifrit sticks around to aid whoever summoned it for a set period of time. Players use their ATB to perform attacks, and once Ifrit's time is up, it'll unleash its Hellfire attack.
9 Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VIII's controversial and complicated Junction system also includes summons, or Guardian Forces (GFs). When Junctioned, Ifrit can increase HP and Strength as well as a fire-elemental attack and resistance. Players can also learn the Mad Rush ability with Ifrit, which inflicts Berserk on the party, but also gives them Haste and Protect.
Ifrit is one of the first GFs players can obtain in FFVIII. Toward the beginning of the game, Squall and Quistis travel to the Fire Cavern. Players have a time limit to defeat Ifrit, and if they do defeat it in time, they will receive the Ifrit GF.
8 Final Fantasy IX
In Final Fantasy IX, summoners are a race of people that formally resided in Madain Sari. However, most summoners were killed after Garland's assault. The only two surviving summoners during FFIX are Princess Garnet Til Alexandros XVII, who was barely able to escape with her birth mother before being adopted by royalty, and Eiko who remained in the desolate Madain Sari.
FFIX's Ifrit, which boasts one of the more bizarre Ifrit designs due to its elongated limbs, is obtained by Doctor Tot after the party visits the Outer Continent—where Madain Sari is located. Beyond that, Ifrit doesn't serve a story purpose like Bahamut or Leviathan. Only Garnet can learn to summon Ifrit.
7 Final Fantasy X
In Final Fantasy X, the summoner Yuna and her guardians take a pilgrimage to receive the blessing of each Aeon in order to defeat Sin. Aeons were formally people who gave up their souls to be sealed in statues. These souls, dubbed Fayths, can agree to help Summoners in a time of need and become an Aeon.
Ifrit was a Crusader who committed to defending Spira from Sin. Ifrit is found in the Kilika Temple. In FFX, summons function similarly to Pokémon where Yuna can recall them at any time. If not, they'll be removed from battle once their HP reaches zero.
6 Final Fantasy XI
Jobs returns in Final Fantasy XI, the first of two mainline MMORPGs. Ifrit is one of the many summons that can be called upon by the Summoner job. He can be acquired after completing the "Trial by Fire" quest, which takes the player to the Cloister of Flames. Ifrit is said to be a dastardly general named Frit who was moved at the sight of a baby in a village his men had burned down.
Frit adopted the child, which he named Falbulb. When Falbub was killed by surviving villagers of Frit's past attacks. Frit's journey to revive Falbub led to a volcano where souls of the dead appear during an eclipse. Frit gained his demonic appearance, but also the blessing of the goddess Altana for his repentance.
5 Final Fantasy XII
Ifrit doesn't actually appear in Final Fantasy XII proper. In fact, the Ivalice games utilize a different set of summons than the traditional ones like Ifrit and Shiva. Ifrit is, however, the name of an airship much like the other traditional summons. The role of the fire-elemental summon—or Esper—is designated to Belias, which is the first Esper obtained in FFXII.
Ifrit does appear in the FFXII sequel/spin-off Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. Ifrit is the first boss in Revenant Wings and resides in the Glabados Ruins. The player can learn to summon Ifrit through the Ring of Pacts for one Auracite.
4 Final Fantasy XIII
Ifrit takes another break in Final Fantasy XIII. Ifrit only has one brief appearance in FFXIII, which is on Nautilus. On Nautilus, Vanille and Sazh view the Pompa Sancta show, which recalls the War of Transgression between Cocoon and Gran Pulse in extravagant fashion.
During the hologram Pompa Sancta show, a Pulse l'Cie leads an attack on Cocoon in true villainous caricature fashion. The hologram Ifrit goes toe-to-toe with the Cocoon l'Cie's Eidolon, Ramuh. It's a brief scene, but it's an impressive spectacle that showcased FFXIII's impressive visuals that can still wow even today.
3 Final Fantasy XIV
Ifrit returns to Final Fantasy XIV as a Primal worshiped by the Amalj'aa beast tribe. The Amalj'aa, who feel threatened by the Garlean Empire, seek to summon Ifrit for protection. However, doing so could be disastrous, leaving the player and their fellow Scions to stop them. Ifrit is fought as a boss battle with increasingly difficult versions to confront throughout FFXIV.
Summoners can obtain the ability to summon an Ifrit-like creature, the Ifrit-Egi, using the essence of the Ifrit Primal through the Summoner job questline. Ifrit-Egi replaces the Ruby Carbuncle that Summoners are initially able to summon.
2 Final Fantasy XV
While Ifrit has been a boss numerous times in the past, Ifrit is one of the primary antagonists in Final Fantasy XV as one of the six godly Astrals. He gave humanity the gift of fire, which helped develop the civilization of Solheim. However, Solheim's arrogance and their belief they surpassed the gods infuriated Ifrit, who waged war on Solheim. The other Astrals, including his beloved Shiva, turned on him.
During the events of FFXV, Ifrit was awakened "daemonified" by Ardyn, putting the Astral under his control. This event can be seen in the prequel DLC Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn. In FFXV, all the Astrals have a much more human-like design compared to their past counterparts and this is most evident in Ifrit's design.
1 Final Fantasy XVI
Final Fantasy XVI's Ifrit is the antithesis of FFXV's. Ifrit is the Eikon of the lead protagonist Clive Rosfield. Clive is a Dominant, which is a person who has the ability to host and summon Eikons. Clive will be able to call on Ifrit's help throughout FFXVI's story, especially in its epic Eikon vs. Eikon fights.
Ifrit is featured prominently in FFXVI's marketing along with Phoenix, who is the Eikon of Clive's brother, Joshua. Ifrit appears on both the cover art for FFXVI and FFXVI's Yoshitaka Amano-designed logo, both of which signify an extremely important role in FFXVI's narrative. It's about time Ifrit takes a well-deserved heroic spot on center stage.