Summons have been a part of the Final Fantasy series since Final Fantasy 3. Players could literally summon these creatures to deal massive damage to enemies on the field. The further the series got, the more elaborate the roles of Summons became. Final Fantasy 6 was a huge step forward because it posed the idea that Summons, called Espers in that game, were creatures from another realm of existence.
Now, Final Fantasy 16 is here to push the envelope again. This time, certain characters, called Dominants, have Summons called Eikons, trapped inside their bodies. They can harness that power to become Eikons in battle for large, Kaiju-like fights. There are quite a few Eikon-based boss fights in the game, so let’s rank them all out.
There will be spoilers ahead for Final Fantasy 16.
8 Ifrit Versus Odin
The fight with Odin is built up a lot in Final Fantasy 16. The previous Eikon fight to this, Bahamut, is a fantastic one, and its rank on the list will remain a mystery for now. Unfortunately, the Ifrit fight with Odin is a letdown.
Most of this boss battle will have Clive fight Odin in his human form via Barnabas. When control does go over to Ifrit, players won’t be able to do much except for jam on some quick-time event buttons. The cinematics look stunning as always, but there isn't much Eikon interaction to tank it any higher.
7 Phoenix Versus Ifrit
This is the first fight in the game. It serves as a tutorial for how Eikon boss battles work, and it is still better than Odin. Players assume the role of Joshua as Phoenix in Final Fantasy 16, who is fighting Ifrit in an air battle.
There isn’t much to say about this boss fight, as it is almost impossible to lose. There’s not a lot of context to what is going on until the flashback begins this fight again either. When it replays itself, control is mostly taken away from players, so it is less impressive from a gameplay perspective. Even though it is a lesser Eikon fight, the music and cinematography are cool to experience.
6 Ifrit Versus Garuda
This Eikon battle is like the tutorial for how to use Ifrit in the game. This whole scenario is one of the toughest battles in the game, as it stretches on for quite a while. It starts with a fight between Clive as a human and the gigantic form of Garuda in Final Fantasy 16.
With so much going on, it can be easy to get swept away by her magic. By the time Clive turns into Ifrit, the battle is basically over. There is not a lot of cool camera work in this fight compared to the Clive versus Garuda entanglement. It is, at least, more involved than the first Eikon battle with Phoenix and Ifrit.
5 Ifrit Versus Ifrit
One of Clive’s bigger character moments happens within himself, when he finally realizes that he was Ifrit and the one who killed Joshua. He was running from his past, but through this fight, he can overcome his guilt and denial.
The encounter switches back and forth between Clive as a human, Clive in his limit break phase, and Clive as Ifrit. He’s facing off against a darker shadow version of himself, similar to the various Shadow Links that have occurred in The Legend of Zelda series. It is not a bombastic fight with stellar visuals, but it is a good Eikon battle considering the turning point mentally for Clive.
4 Ifrit Versus Ultima
This is the last Eikon fight of the game. It technically begins with a four-way battle between Ifrit, Phoenix, and Bahamut teaming up against Ultima. The entire fight is based on QTEs, so it isn't much of a boss fight as much as it is an interactive cutscene. Not long after this, the real boss battle will come between Ifrit and Ultima.
The whole battle takes place in a weird galactic void that looks like Sephiroth’s Super Nova attack from Final Fantasy 7. The visuals are out of this world, but it’s also one of those battles that is hard to lose because Ifrit is so powerful by this point. Taking the danger and mystery away does deduct some points.
3 Ifrit Versus Typhoon
Clive gets to fight most of the Eikons in the game, but there are a few exceptions. For example, right after destroying the first Mother Crystal, Typhoon emerges from a black hole. Cid, as Ramuh, tries to stop it from taking Clive, and in that effort, Cid signs his death sentence. Clive gets the power of Ramuh in Final Fantasy 16, but he doesn’t get to fight him in the story.
Instead, Clive gets the energy to fight two forms of Typhoon within his mind. The space may be blank and white, but the battle is one of the more engrossing ones. Typhoon has a lot of colorful magic to fling at Ifrit, and this time around, Ifrit moves a lot quicker, which is great from a control perspective.
2 Ifrit Versus Titan
Titan elevates Eikon battles in Final Fantasy 16, literally, as Earth is raised and smashed throughout these fights. The battle begins inside a cave covered in crystals. It’s a typical Eikon encounter until Titan eats some crystals. He then becomes a massive version of himself and players have to run across a mountainous landscape to get back to him.
The player will have to dodge and surf on tentacles and then use those tentacles against Titan. It is one of the defining moments of the game without question and shows why Square Enix are the masters of their craft.
1 Ifrit & Phoenix Versus Bahamut
Bahamut is one of the oldest Summons in the series and is often one of the strongest. This is true for Final Fantasy 16 as well, especially since it takes two Eikons to take Bahamut down. First, players will fight Bahamut in an arena before Clive is taken out by a blast. At that point, control will switch over to Joshua and Phoenix in another air battle. The entire fight culminates in space with Ifrit and Phoenix merging into one like mechs combining in a show like Power Rangers.
If this battle does not get players hyped, then it’s hard to imagine what can. It’s too bad for Final Fantasy 16 that it peaked at this point, with Odin being a huge letdown and Ultima being almost a lesser repeat of this.
Final Fantasy 16 was released on June 22, 2023 and is available on PS5.