Final Fantasy 7 Remake: How to Use and Unlock Summons | Game Rant

Although many features have become staples of the Final Fantasy franchise over the decades, few are as popular summons. Many games approach them in different ways, and some Final Fantasy games even let players battle summons, but it wouldn’t be a true FF game without an appearance by Ifrit, Shiva, and Co.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is no different and offers its own twist on Summons. Instead of using Summons like a one-off attack, Final Fantasy 7 Remake allows players to take control of their Summon for big damage or a slight reprieve.

To use a Summon, players will need to either progress to a certain point in a battle (usually a boss fight) or take a certain amount of damage. The Summon meter will fill as the player goes and then they can select when to unleash their chosen Summon.

Summons are useful in battle both because of what they offer the team in damage and what they offer the individual character. On their own, a Summon's basic attacks and abilities are much stronger than the average character, which is useful when an opponent is staggered. Additionally, the Summon can swap out a character that needs some time to heal and other options have already been exhausted. Players can choose to use them offensively or defensively.

Unlocking summons in Final Fantasy 7 Remake is merely a matter of progressing through the story. In Chapter 3 of the game, Jessie will give Cloud a Red Materia that unlocks his first summon, Ifrit.

While almost all other Materia must be slotted into the limited slots on the character’s weapons and accessories, the Summon Materia has its own slot on the character’s weapon. So, players don’t have to worry about sacrificing a useful spell like Cure or Esuna in favor of taking a Summon along.

As players progress through the story in Final Fantasy 7 Remake they will unlock other Summons automatically. A few of the Summons are also tucked away in hiding spots, but if players poke around enough, they should find them.

The only Summons in Final Fantasy 7 Remake that players might miss are those that come from Chadley. Early on in the game, Chadley tasks Cloud with collecting Battle Intel by completing certain challenges. At certain challenge completion intervals, Chadley will offer a Summon Materia, first at completing 5 Battle Intel Reports, then 10, 15, and finally at 20, which is all of them. However, in order to unlock the Summon Materia from Chadley, players must first defeat the Summon in battle.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is available now for PS4.