Final Fantasy: 25 Greatest Summons

Based on a demon from Islamic folklore (where he is also known as Afrit, Afreet and Efreet), Ifrit was ever-present in Final Fantasies III through XI, serving as the embodiment of fire for eight straight games.

Apart from in XIV and VII Remake he hasn’t been summonable since, however, losing his spot to the debuting Brynhildr in XIII and being made the rogue astral companion of Ardyn in XV, which lacked a fire-elemental summon that the party could call upon as a result.

The trailer for XVI would seem to indicate that Ifrit is being cast in a villainous role again, fighting Phoenix, who is known to be bonded to lead character Clive’s brother Joshua. Why the demon has suddenly become arbitrarily evil is anybody’s guess, but his hellish demeanour does naturally lend itself to the malevolent side of things.

Though Ifrit is usually an early game summon and quickly becomes redundant in the damage dealing stakes, fire is perhaps the most visually distinctive element and one that we automatically associate with destruction. Seeing fireballs hurled at enemies is therefore a massively gratifying experience and one that is certainly overdue for a return.