The 10 Most Powerful Summons In Final Fantasy 7, Ranked

There are sixteen total Summon Materia to find in Final Fantasy VII. Six of those are pretty useless, which is why this is just a top ten list. Compared to other games, it’s kind of strange that Summons play no part in the story. Most games in the franchise have them play bigger roles, but not Final Fantasy VII. Why that’s the case is unimportant, but here is a theory.

Square wanted to push the boundaries on what made a Final Fantasy game special. That is to say they wanted to show off its graphical prowess on the PS1, which is why the Summon animations are so lavish and lengthy. Some more than others, but enough lore speak. Let’s see who the best Summons are in the game!

10 10. Ifrit

Ifrit is a classic staple in the Final Fantasy franchise and is usually one of the first Summons one can acquire. The raw power of fire will be at the player’s fingertips, making any ice-bearing enemy melt before them. It’s kind of a boring pick.

It isn’t that strong compared to the others on the list, but there are only sixteen Summons. In terms of the element, Ifrit is always stronger than the Fire 3 spell and yet not the best fire Summon. Let’s get into that more later.

9 9. Ramuh

Ramuh is another classic that actually gets replaced a lot in the games for whatever reason. For example, in Final Fantasy VIII the thunder elemental is Quetzalcoatl and in Final Fantasy X it is Ixion. Why mess with the classics? No idea.

RELATED: The Best Trailers Of E3 2019

Point is Ramuh is always going to be the coolest version of the lightning Summon. An old man wielding a staff may not sound as thrilling as say a lighting bird, or horse, but there is definitely some Gandalf vibes here. How can that not trump all?

8 8. Shiva

The last of the classic three is Shiva and of those three she is the best. Maybe it’s just because Shiva is portrayed as a female and this writer is a guy. Who knows? Point is every time she casts Diamond Dust and that earthshaking crunch dissipates at the end of battle, it adds a real life tingling sensation behind. Like Ifrit, using her on a group will always be stronger than casting Ice 3 on a group.

7 7. Hades

Let’s go outside the classics and move onto a stranger Materia. Hades is one of the trickier late game Summons to unlock. It’s in the shot down Shiva plane deep below the ocean. It’s well worth the undersea voyage even if it isn’t that strong. What it lacks in power it makes up for with status ailments.

It’s like wielding a more powerful Marlboro. The summoning animation is also pretty cool especially with the trippy sound effects. Is this the actual Devil?

6 6. Alexander

Alexander might be the worst Summon to find in the game. The Materia is hiding out in the Northern section of the frosty ice mountains. It’s in that maze where it’s hard to tell where one is and can easily force players to collapse. It’s a real pain. However, Alexander is the only Holy type spell in the game players can use and because of this it makes this Summon an invaluable asset to the team. Who doesn’t like having a big mech castle around?

5 5. Bahamut ZERO

Final Fantasy VII, if Memories serves, is one of the only games with not one, not two, but three Bahamut Summons. Each one is deadlier than the last. In terms of raw non-elemental damage, Bahamut ZERO is the king of the dragon ring.

How can a blast from space literally not be? Why Square thought it was a good idea to have three in this game is nonsense. There are better creatures to fill the roster. That said one couldn’t argue with results.

4 4. Leviathan

The Final Fantasy series plays it fast and loose whenever it comes to justifying what a Summon is. Sometimes they are integral to the story like in Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy X, but other times they are just kind of there like in Final Fantasy VII. There is no real explanation on what they are all except for Leviathan. Later in the game players discover Yuffie’s tribe in Wutai worships this water god. Is that to say the other Summons are gods of nature too? Because of its strength and because it ties into the story, it deserves to be toward the top.

3 3. Phoenix

Phoenix is the other fire type Summon. This majestic bird’s flames are not as strong as Ifrit’s. However, there is another reason to add it to the team. Every part member that has been knocked out in battle will be revived with full HP and MP.

So not only does it do fire damage, but it has an amazing recovery spell effect to boot. Because of this useful double trait, Phoenix is definitely in the top three.

2 2. Odin

Odin is the king of death. How can anything be stronger than death? Well, the reason why it doesn’t reach the number one slot is because its death effect is random. Sometimes it cuts monsters in two and other times it misses. It always misses for bosses so on that matter Odin is useless. Still, for most normal battles, Odin rules.

1 1. Knights Of The Round

For people that have played Final Fantasy VII, was there any doubt Knights of Round was not going to be number one? The damage count on this thing is tremendous. Pair this up with Quad Magic and that is one heck of a combo and also one heck of a long animation sequence. Yikes! Because Knights of the Round is so strong, it is also the very hardest to get. Well, that is to say it is a time sink. Alexander is still the most painful one to get. Once unlocked, all other Summons and spells are seemingly useless.

NEXT: 10 Classic Square RPGs That Deserve A FFVII-like Remake