Final Fantasy 7 Remakeintroduces players to the concept of summons through Ifrit. He is the first summon that players will attain throughout their time with the remake, and is notable for being the only mandatory summon out ofall nine summons. It is possible to clear the game with only Ifrit’s summon materia.
Ifrit is given to Cloud as part of the main story ofFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, yet another way he differs from the other summons in the game. Most summons, like Leviathan and Shiva, must be defeated in the VR Combat Simulator to unlock them, but Ifrit is one of two base game summons that this isn’t true for.
RELATED:Final Fantasy 7 Remake Summons Guide: How To Unlock Leviathan
Instead, unlocking Ifrit requires the player to beat chapter 3, after which point Jessie will give the Ifrit summon materia to Cloud. This happens right at the beginning of the game’s fourth chapter and immediately before themotorcycle battle with Roche.
Chapter 3 isn’t a particularly difficult chapter, so players shouldn’t have any problem progressing through it to get the Ifrit Materia. That said, there are several side quests which are well worth spending the time to complete, as they offer special rewards. Completing them all will even unlock a special, hidden scene with Tifa, in which she and Cloud go on a date. Be careful whenchoosing what dress would best suit Tifa, however, as it will affect something down the road in Chapter 9. After completing all the sidequests, simply defeat the hoodlums in the Ominous Shadows quest and Chapter 4 should begin.
Ifrit is an incredibly valuable summon to have at Cloud’s side, as right off the bat he is capable of dealing heavy fire damage. This is incredibly useful as many of the enemies and bosses Cloud will encounter actually have weaknesses to fire, and using Ifrit against them can really turn the tide of battle. Of note, theShiva summon fightis predictably weak to fire, so having Ifrit at the ready will be paramount to defeating her and unlocking her summon materia.
Ifrit’s first attack uses only one ATB meter, yet another factor which sets him apart from other summons. Ifrit will jump back and get into position before dashing and dealing fire damage to all enemies in his path. Ifrit’s other attack requires the standard two meters, but creates a huge fiery plume. Once hissummon gauge timer runs out, Ifrit will leave with one final attack in which he summons multiple of these fiery tornadoes.
