Final Fantasy: 25 Greatest Summons

Sometimes considered an element, sometimes considered something separate, gravity, which is used as the umbrella term throughout the series for abilities that reduce a fixed amount of HP with every use (such as Demi) quickly becomes obsolete in most of the Final Fantasy games in which it is featured. Bosses are usually immune and the diminishing returns of repeat casting usually leads to other damage-dealing strategies being utilised instead.

Only a handful of gravity summons have ever been included in the series. IX’s Atomos, despite being responsible for one of the game’s most destructive sequences, resembles a vacuum bag (or something more NSFW) with teeth and requires an understanding of battle mechanics far beyond the average player’s comprehension to use efficiently. Diabolos, who made his debut in VIII and has since appeared in XI, Type-0 and remakes of VI, is the superior creation, being the embodiment of the devil himself.

His summon can reduce the health of entire enemy parties by up to 15/16, depending on game and circumstance, perfect for leaving them vulnerable to a killing blow or another action that has higher success at low HP, such as Carding in VIII (where he also grants the godsend that is the Enc None ability).

It’s not clear as to why gravity has been linked to satanic imagery within the series, but it certainly works.