Final Fantasy: 25 Greatest Summons

Yojimbo translates literally from Japanese as bodyguard. The word is perhaps best associated with Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 film about a samurai who pits two criminal leaders against one another, which was reimagined as a Clint Eastwood western, A Fistful Of Dollars, by Sergio Leone.

One of five new summons that debuted in Final Fantasy X, Yojimbo is unique amongst them in that he cannot be commanded in battle. Instead he will carry out one of four actions based on a hidden relationship mechanic, which includes how much money is given to him by the player on each turn.

Given how many other things in the game require considerable Gil investments, such as the bribing of monsters to obtain rare items for gear customisation, throwing hundreds of thousands or even millions at Yojimbo seems like a poor investment. The elusive chance of getting Zanmato, an attack that kills all enemies on screen (including Dark Aeons and the games superbosses Nemesis and Penance), is more appealing to some than grinding tens of hours to do the job legitimately, however.

Countless pages across the internet are devoted to triggering the attack and Yojimbo has become renowned as a result, although he has more recently been relegated from summon to regular enemy.