Like its contemporaries Ifrit, Shiva, and Ramuh, the Phoenix summon has been a part of the Final Fantasy franchise since the series’ introduction of summon magic in Final Fantasy III. A creature from Greek mythology, the Phoenix is an immortal being that cyclically dies only to be reborn in a symbolic burst of flames and combustion, rising from the ashes of its past self to live again. The mythological Phoenix is often associated with the celestial movement of the sun (hence the cycle of death and rebirth symbolizing the setting and rising of our main source of heat and life), and the Phoenix summon in Final Fantasy behaves accordingly. More often than not, characters will use Final Fantasy‘s version of the mythical bird to revive fallen teammates or attack foes with divine flame.
Surprisingly, the Phoenix has fewer appearances across the series in comparison to other summons like Bahamut or Ifrit (who appear in almost every mainline entry in some form). That said, the games that the Phoenix does appear in tend to feature it as a powerful summon spell and typically include quests that see the player obtain it in a way befitting its symbolic importance. That the most recent appearance of the summon comes courtesy of a key character in Final Fantasy XVI the player believes to be dead for much of the game is an intentional part on the developer to illustrate both the importance of the Phoenix Eikon and the Dominant who wields it.
Final Fantasy III
The series’ first “appearance” of the Phoenix in Final Fantasy III comes courtesy of dummied content for the title. Dummied content refers to assets and other data that are part of a game’s files but don’t actually appear in the title in any normal capacity, and this is the case with Final Fantasy III‘s Phoenix. Though Final Fantasy III is the first game in the series to introduce summon magic, the Phoenix would end up not making it into the final release of the game. In fact, the Phoenix in FFIII isn’t intended to be a summon at all but rather an enemy encounter in the region outside Doga’s Manor.
Final Fantasy IV (DS)
Though the Phoenix doesn’t appear in the initial release of Final Fantasy IV, the creature and its recurring “Flames of Rebirth” ability show up in the 3D remake of the game originally releasing on DS. The 3D Final Fantasy IV includes Phoenix as one of the learnable Augment Abilities, with its Flames of Rebirth attack reviving all fallen party members at the cost of the caster’s MP pool. Instead of being a selectable command, the Phoenix Augment Ability will trigger when the character equipping it falls in battle, reviving any fallen party members but not the caster themselves.
Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy V ends up being the first game in the series to include Phoenix as a summon spell, where it becomes available following an important story sequence featuring Lenna. Atop the Phoenix Tower, Lenna has a flashback involving her choice to save either her terminally ill mother or the world’s last Wyvern, Hiryu. Knowing her mother’s love for Hiryu, Lenna makes the difficult choice to refuse to kill the Wyvern and obtain its tongue, effectively killing her own mother. As Hiryu is dying, he flings himself off the edge of Phoenix Tower and is reborn as the Phoenix, vowing to help Lenna and her allies stop Exdeath. Afterward, any Level 5 Summoner can cast Phoenix.
Final Fantasy VI
The next appearance of the Phoenix in Final Fantasy VI has a similarly profound quest attached to obtaining the creature’s Esper. The Phoenix Magicite is the legendary treasure residing within the Phoenix Cave, which the party enter in the World of Ruin during the quest to reassemble the main party of heroes and find Locke. Locke is searching for the Magicite as a means to bring his fiancée Rachel back to life, who lies in suspended animation following a devastating accident. The Magicite is cracked and broken, but Locke’s attempts to use it in reviving Rachel see her spirit activate the Phoenix within. In the process, she allows Locke to move on while her spirit transcends into the afterlife, with the Phoenix serving as a symbolic reminder of the bond the two share.
Final Fantasy VII
Players can obtain the Phoenix summon Materia by completing the “Struggle for the Huge Materia” questline in Final Fantasy VII. At Fort Condor, Cloud and his allies help the troops defend the fort and the condor protecting the Huge Materia at its peak against encroaching Shinra forces. If the player is successful in beating the tower defense-style minigame, the fort’s namesake condor dies, leaving behind the Phoenix Materia for Cloud to collect. The summon costs 180 MP and its Phoenix Flame attack both deals fire-elemental damage to enemies and revives any fallen party members. A great strategy is to pair Phoenix with the Final Attack Materia in a linked slot, allowing the last character standing to instantly revive the whole party if they fall in battle.
Final Fantasy VIII
Although Phoenix isn’t one of Final Fantasy VIII‘s official Guardian Forces (the game’s version of summon monsters), players can still call upon the Phoenix GF in battle by using a Phoenix Pinion item, which can be refined from Mega Phoenix consumables. Using the Phoenix Pinion will see the legendary Phoenix show up after all party members suffer a KO, preventing a Game Over and reviving everyone with 12.5% of their max HP value. The Rebirth Flame ability will also deal fire damage to foes in addition to its restorative properties.
Final Fantasy IX
Phoenix is one of the summons that Eiko can learn by equipping a Phenoix Pinion, with the ability costing 40AP to obtain permanently. Once again the Phenix uses the Rebirth Flame attack when summoned, which deals fire-elemental damage to enemies and revives any fallen party members. By having the Concentrate ability along with Phoenix, the amount of HP a character has upon revive is increased. Additionally, the playuer can dramatically increase the effectiveness of the Phoenix summon by farming Phoenix Pinions to keep in their inventory. Once Eiko learns Phoenix, having her in the party will automatically summon the eidolon to prevent a Game Over, though it deals no damage when cast automatically.
Final Fantasy XI
Though the Phoenix is not a summonable monster in Final Fantasy XI, its spirit resides within the katana of the samurai Tenzen. After the blade in which its spirit resides takes a suitable amount of lives, the Phoenix’s spirit is reborn and can assist the player in the batle against the twilight god, Promathia.
Final Fantasy XII
Like other recurring summon monsters in Final Fantasy XII, players cannot actually summon or control Phoenix but instead fight it as a boss enemy in Subterra, the underground region beneath Pharos. The fight against Phoenix is completely optional and the creature is one of the game’s Elite Marks as part of Hunt 44 alongside Shadowseer. The Phoenix has just over 134,000 hit points and is immune to melee attacks, requiring the player to take advantage of high-level Black Magick.
Final Fantasy XIV
During Final Fantasy XIV‘s “Binding Coil of Bahamut” storyline, helpful NPC Louisoix Leveilleur transforms into the Phoenix Primal following a battle with Bahamut. The player must eventually fight the Phoenix in order to free Leveilleur from the Phoenix form and from Bahamut’s control. As of the Shadowbringers expansion, summoners can call upon Phoenix after reaching level 72, replacing the Demi-Bahamut summon with the Firebird Trance. Further, reaching level 80 with a summoner will allow the player to call upon the more powerful Demi-Phoenix.
Final Fantasy XVI
The Phoenix of Final Fantasy XVI is the sacred Eikon of the royal family of Rosaria, passed down through the lineage of the Rosfield line. Protagonist Clive Rosfield’s younger brother, Joshua, is the chosen Dominant of the Phoenix Eikon, with Clive his sworn Shield and protector. When Joshua appears to die following a coup on Rosaria assisted by the Empire of Sanbreque, the Phoenix Eikon all but disappears from the world until mysteriously showing up years later. Unkown to Clive is that his brother, Joshua, is actually alive and working from the shadows to stop an even greater evil. Eventually, Clive awakens as the other Dominant of Fire by controlling the Ifrit Eikon, and he and Joshua work together to defeat Ultima.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
The Phoenix summon Materia is one of the first obtainable summons in the second chapter of the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. After arriving in the Junon region, players can challenge Phoenix as part of Chadley’s Combat Simulator. Just like the other summons in the game, Cloud and his companions can make the battle far easier (and the summon more powerful) by completing the Divine Intel subquests in the Junon region. Phoenix’s attacks all deal flame-elemental damage, with its ultimate attack being a massive AoE blast that is unavoidable.
