Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection › Guides

Final Fantasy IV Summons: locations, hidden summon unlocks, & moves

by Alex Donaldson on 05 September, 2021

While they did make an appearance in some forms in a few of the earlier FF titles, Final Fantasy IV is really the first entry in the series to truly embrace the presence and concept of summons - or as they’re officially known in the FF4 universe, Eidolons.

There’s a range of FF4 Summon Monsters - some of them obtained naturally throughout the progression of the story - since Summons play a significant narrative role - and some of them optional, hidden away in such a way that players will only encounter them through extreme luck or through calculated, completionist grinding.

Of course, there are multiple versions of FF4; but this guide covers the 2D version of the game, meaning it covers the summon locations and how to unlock the hidden summons for that original version, not the 3D remake (though many details are duplicated). We’ve done our best to list the different names you might encounter in the different versions. Ultimately, this guide covers the versions of FF4 on SNES, PS1, GBA, and PSP - plus the all-new Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster version. 

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FF4 Summons obtained during the story

These summons are all obtained throughout the natural run of the story of FF4. We’ve chosen not to list exactly where each of the summons are unlocked to avoid spoilers - but we do list their MP cost and effects when called in battle.

You’ll find many FF series classics here - some making their first appearance as Eidolons - summonable creatures, and in FF4's combat, they can prove invaluable allies - especially in the more challenging, non 'EasyType' versions of the game released in the West later. 

Chocobo / Chocb / ChocoKick

  • Chocobo uses Chocobo Kick and attacks one enemy, dealing a small amount of non-elemental damage.
  • 7 MP cost
  • Available on Rydia from the start of the game.

Dragon / Mist / Mist Breath

  • The Mist Dragon appears to cast Radiant Breath, which deals moderate non-elemental damage on all enemies.
  • 20 MP cost
  • Learned automatically by Rydia with story progression.

Titan 

  • Titan appears to cast Gaia’s Wrath, delivering a non-elemental earthquake attack that hits all enemies. 
  • 40 MP cost
  • Learned automatically by Rydia with story progression.

Shiva

  • Shiva casts her classic attack Diamond Dust, which deals ice-elemental damage to all enemies. 
  • 30 MP cost
  • Learned automatically by Rydia through natural story progression.

Ramuh / Indra

  • Series staple Ramuh casts Judgement Bolt, dealing out lightning-element damage to all enemies on screen.
  • 30 MP cost
  • Learned automatically by Rydia during FF4’s story.

Ifrit / Jinn

  • Ifrit moves to cast Hellfire, which of course delivers fire-element damage to all of the enemies you’re facing.
  • 30 MP cost
  • Learned by Rydia automatically during a story event.
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Optional / Missable FF4 Summons & how to get them

Asura

  • A rare defensive summon, Asura casts Asura’s Boon, which has a random chance of casting Raise, Curaga, or Protect on the entire friendly party. The faces will give you a clue as to what will be cast.
  • 50 MP cost
  • After getting the Falcon airship and the ability to fly over lava, head through the Cave of Summons in the Underworld to get to the Land of Summons. Challenge Asura to a fight and defeat her to have Rydia learn the summon.

Leviathan / Levia

  • There’s no water element in the game, so Leviathan’s Tsunami special move deals non-elemental damage to all enemies.
  • 50 MP cost
  • After getting the Falcon airship and the ability to fly over lava, head through the Cave of Summons in the Underworld to get to the Land of Summons. After defeating Asura, you can then take on Leviathan to have Rydia learn the summon.

Odin

  • Odin uses Zantetsuken, which as is tradition has a chance of instantly killing each of the enemies on screen.
  • 45 MP cost
  • After getting the drill on the Falcon and returning to the overworld, go to the East Tower of Baron to fight Odin and earn him as a summon. This requires having Asura and Leviathan.

Sylph / Whisperer

  • The Sylph summon casts Whisperwind, which ‘steals’ HP from an enemy by damaging them and healing allies by a certain amount.
  • 25 MP cost
  • Getting Sylph is essentially a two-part process
    • After getting the Falcon to fly over lava, go though Sylvan Cave and find an unconscious Yang. Talk to him (even though he is unconscious
    • After returning to the overworld with the Falcon, go to West Tower in Baron and talk to Yang's wife to get a Frying Pan. Return to Yang in Sylvan Cave to wake him up, getting Sylph in the process. You must do this before heading to the moon or else you can miss out on Sylph permanently.

Bahamut / Baham

  • The King of Dragons appears as a summon and casts Megaflare, which dishes out huge non-elemental damage to all enemies.
  • 60 MP cost
  • After getting FuSoYa in the party, you can head to the Cave of Bahamut on the Moon to take him on and earn him as a summon. This requires having Asura and Leviathan.
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Rare Drop FF4 Summons & how to get them

There’s a handful of summons in FF4 that are optional, missable creatures - and obtaining them is a bit of a pain, as it relies on you getting your hands on low drop rate, high rarity items from specific enemies. If you’re a completionist, however, here’s how you unlock the optional eidolons in FF4 2D, including the Pixel Remaster version: 

Imp / Goblin

  • The Imp, known in some versions as the Goblin, deals weak, non-elemental damage to one target.
  • 1 MP cost
  • Rydia learns this summon by using the Imp item. This drops rarely from either the Goblin or Lil’ Murderer enemies. You can find the Goblins on most of the Overworld, Mist Cave, Antlion’s Den, or the Land of Summons. The Lil’ Murderer can be found in the Lunar Subterrane.
  • We found the best place to farm this in the FF4 Pixel Remaster is on the Overworld, just outside the entrance to Mt. Hobbs. Here, large battles of 6-9 Goblins spawn all at once, and you can one-shot them with an ability like Cecil's Darkness. Using this method, we managed to get the Goblin item drop within about twenty battles - then just use the Goblin item in the menu to teach Rydia the summon. 

Bomb

  • Performs a bomb attack on one enemy; it’s non-elemental damage, with its effectiveness determined by the user’s current HP.
  • 10 MP cost
  • Learned from the Bomb (Summon) item, which is a rare drop from ‘Balloon’ enemies, the purple-colored Bomb reskins found in the Tower of Babil & various Lunar locations. 
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Mindflayer / Mage

  • The Mindflayer uses the Mind Blast skill, and deals decent non-elemental damage on one enemy, but also inflicts the Paralyze Status Effect on them.
  • 18 MP cost
  • Rydia learns this summon by using the Mindflayer item, which is a rare drop from Mindflayer enemies. They’re found in the Lodestone Cavern & Lunar Ruins.

Cockatrice

  • Another standard enemy that functions as an optional summon, the Cockatrice casts a 100% accuracy instant death attack on a single foe. As long as the enemy isn’t immune to Petrify (most bosses are, sorry), they’re dead. 
  • 15 MP cost
  • Rydia learns the Cockatrice summon from an item called… you guessed it, Cockatrice. It drops… er, you guessed it, from defeated Cockatrice enemies, though only very rarely. It appears in certain areas of the Overworld, and at Mt. Hobs.