What’s hot, horned, and happenin'? Why, it’s Ifrit, the most prolific Fire-elemental summoned monster inFinal Fantasyhistory. And while Ifrit has always been one of the more immediately recognizable summons, recent entries like FF15 and the newly-launched Final Fantasy 16 have elevated this icon to new heights.
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We’re no strangers to ranking lists here, so it seems only fitting we finally answer the question - who’s the best Ifrit of them all? It’s a heated competition, to be sure, and ultimately it is, of course, just our personal perspective on the matter. But it’s fun, so we’re doing it, anyway.
What about the games we didn’t list? Summoned monsters aren’t introduced yet in the first and second games, so nothing to do there. In Final Fantasy 12’s world of Ivalice, a different set of summons takes the reins, though Ifrit’s name is honored as an airship, and the Nintendo DS spinoff features a strange, heavy-furred rendition of the creature. Lastly, Final Fantasy 13 only includes Ifrit in a lore-related sequence.
Updated on June 08, 2025 by Quinton O’Connor:Final Fantasy 16 has arrived. And where does the newest mainline FF’s iconic Eikon rank? Find out below!
13Final Fantasy 3
We’ve all got to start somewhere. Final Fantasy 3 introduced the world to the series' summon system, but the original Ifrit didn’t exactly light that world on fire. If you’re playing without any prior info (a hard thing to achieve these days, granted), you might not even know Ifrit isIfrityet; after all, the Evoker spell is called Heatra.
We can credit FF3 with providing a template for Ifrit’s overall image and classic attack style - Hellfire, his most famous ability, began here! - but it’s otherwise a rather dry heat.
12Final Fantasy 4
There’s not a lot hip and happening with Ifrit’s sophomore appearance, either. That said, there are bright spots that FF3’s Ifrit lacked, showing how Square added nice embellishments in the leap from NES to SNES. Ifrit lunges toward the enemy party, leaving a trail of flame in his wake. Like all Pixel Remaster improvements, this looks especially cool in Final Fantasy 4’s recent makeover.
11Final Fantasy 5
At this point, you’re probably beginning to wonder if we took the easy way with this ranked list and simply jotted down each Final Fantasy’s Ifrit in chronological order. We assure you that’s not the case (just look ahead!), though there’s no denying Ifrit’s early evolutions in the series were incremental steps forward that can’t match what came thereafter.
Final Fantasy 5’s Ifrit doesn’t have the sole connection to the young summoner Rydia that FF4’s has, which is arguably a point lost in its favor. What it does have, however, is an evil scowl with shrouded white eyes that gives it a more memorable look.
10Final Fantasy 9
Final Fantasy 9’s Ifrit is… an acquired taste, and we regret to inform you we’ve never quite acquired it. Its muscles bulge in a more ridiculous fashion than usual, and more to the point, it’s a… bat… monkey… thing? Summoner Garnet Til Alexandros XVII has some amazing Eidolons, as they’re called in FF9, but Ifrit simply isn’t one of them.
To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with bat-monkeys. Or monkey-bats for that matter. There’s just something unsettling about bat-monkeys with beards and ten-pack abs, you know?
9Final Fantasy 7
In its heyday, the summon spell glow-up in Final Fantasy 7 was simply surreal. Fans who had been with the series through the 2D era were suddenly treated to three-dimensional representations of their favorites in graphics that were surely mindblowing at the time.
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As the years have passed, it’s easier to be a bit more critical towardsomeof FF7’s summons (though the more outrageous ones like Bahamut Zero and Knights of the Round remain terrific). Ifrit’s animation is pretty simple here, spewing some flames and then peacing out, though props to those beady little red eyes. Oddly scary stuff.
8Final Fantasy 6
Admittedly, we’re pulling from the Pixel Remaster renditions of the classic Final Fantasy games when we look at how gorgeous FF6 Ifrit is, but hey, it’s the best available version. Final Fantasy 6 gives everyone’s favorite fiery strong man two great things.
The first is an excellent swift twirling animation that really sells the building inferno. The second’s a heavily satured, blood-red color scheme that goes the extra mile. All told, this is the best two-dimensional outing for our guy.
7Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Let’s preempt some potential complaints. “Why is Final Fantasy 7 Remake listed as mainline here, but not, say, Final Fantasy Tactics or World of Final Fantasy?” Hey, valid inquiry. Our approach is two-pronged; we think a full-blown remake of a mainline game sort of counts in its own right, and furthermore, it’s just so dang cool seeing FF7’s summons given such splendid fresh treatment.
FF7 Remake borrows cues from Final Fantasy 12 in letting its summons fight alongside you in real-time, and much like FF12’s Zodiac Age, you can even choose which abilities they use. Ifrit’s are all pretty great, and this is a nice high-definition spin on the classic FF7 Ifrit, though it’s still bested by what’s to come.
6Final Fantasy 11
Dialing things back significantly from the graphical bedazzlement above, Final Fantasy 11’s relatively limited animations don’t necessarily invigorate, but the ‘avatar’ Ifrit in Square Enix’s first MMO makes up for it with sublime lore. Ruthless in his early days, FF11 Ifrit rescued a small child and raised her as his own, warming his heart (forgive the pun or don’t). Alas, in an act of vengeance, survivors of Ifrit’s exploits slew the girl.
What follows is ever further heartbreak, but with a sort-of-happy ending? Ifrit and the child ascend to the heavens together, and you can call forth the creature’s spiritual essence. Neat.
5Final Fantasy 8
In Final Fantasy 8’s universe, summons are known as Guardian Forces, and combatants harness their power at the price of potential memory loss - a little-known side effect among the people, but a doozy. Ifrit isn’t the first summon Squall and friends can acquire, as Shiva and Quezacotl are (somehow) stored inside Squall’s schoolroom computer terminal, but heisthe first with real presence.
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Instructor Quistis Trepe guides Squall to the Fire Cavern, where he must prove his worth as a mercenary candidate by defeating the Fire-elemental fiend.
All well and good, but what really makes FF8’s Ifrit so great is his design. For our money, this is the definitive Ifrit aesthetic; bronze-skinned, with huge horns, feral fangs, and a burning desire to cover his foes in flames.
4Final Fantasy 15
Final Fantasy 15 began something with Ifrit that primed Final Fantasy 16 to follow: a considerable narrative focus that practically gives the flaming monster star status among its fellow summons. In FF15, Ifrit is the penultimate boss, the Infernian Astral God of Fire, credited in forgotten times with gifting mankind with the ability to harness his blazing abilities only for his people to turn against him in violence.
Noctis can’t actually summon Ifrit himself in FF15, but thecharacterof Ifrit looms large over the world of Eos nonetheless. While not a ton is known about him in the original release of the game, Episode Ardyn reveals him to have once been so compassionate he ‘melted Shiva’s heart’ before the weight of his betrayal recreated him with a singular disdain for the human race.
