The following contains spoilers for Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
Highlights
- Phoenix in Final Fantasy is a unique Fire summon with healing and resurrection abilities, contrasting with Ifrit’s destructive nature.
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth brings Phoenix back as a useful Summon, although it doesn’t have the story role it had in FF16.
- In Final Fantasy 16, Joshua wields the power of the Phoenix as the Dominant, aiding his brother Clive.
Named after the fabled mythological firebird, the Phoenix of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is one of two Fire-elemental Summons players can use. Even though the Phoenix of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a handy Summon to use in battle, this latest incarnation is vastly different from its Final Fantasy 16 counterpart, as the latter holds more plot relevance and outright power.
With its first appearance being Final Fantasy 5 as a level 5 summon, Phoenix is one of the Summons that has had more infrequent appearances in the Final Fantasy series compared to its contemporaries. Though Ifrit is often associated with being the primary Fire Summon that players can use to wreak havoc, the flames of the Phoenix are, by comparison, used to not only deal damage but heal both the summoner and their allies, and even resurrect the fallen. The ubiquitous Phoenix Down, which is a staple of many Final Fantasy players’ inventories, gets its name and use from the bird itself. As a symbol of hope and rebirth, the Phoenix of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 16 serve as images of those same notions in their unique ways, but only one of them takes a more direct approach.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: The Phoenix Watches Over Junon
The Phoenix Summon Materia made a cameo in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, as it was discovered in a pool of water that the citizens of Nibelheim mistook for blood, due to its red hue seeping into the waters. In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the Phoenix Summon Materia makes a return, but the process requires some effort. Once Cloud and the party cross through the Mythril Mines and into the Junon region, they will eventually find their way to Gabe’s Ranch to begin Chapter 4 of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, titled Dawn of a New Era.
FF7 Rebirth’s Phoenix is a Significant Gameplay Challenge
After recovering and taming the mountain-climbing chocobo of the region, Chadley will give Cloud a new combat simulator challenge that will pit them against the Phoenix. As was the case with Titan, the Phoenix will be a formidable foe unless players go out and discover some Phoenix Sanctuaries located throughout the Junon region. Though one of the Sanctuaries is located past the Crows’ hideout, players can still locate two of them before going through Under Junon. This will both make the Phoenix Summon Materia easier to obtain via the combat simulator and give the flaming bird access to stronger abilities such as Arise. While powerful, the Phoenix of Junon paled in comparison to another recent incarnation.
Final Fantasy 16: Joshua Rosfield, Dominant of The Phoenix
As the Warden of Fire and the guardian Eikon of the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Phoenix is one of two flaming Eikons featured in Final Fantasy 16. Clive Rosfield’s younger brother, Joshua, was chosen as the Dominant of the Phoenix, which would see the elder brother become the younger’s shield. With Joshua’s blessing, Clive utilized some of the Phoenix’s Eikonic powers, such as Phoenix Shift and Rising Flames. However, the brothers would be torn apart at the Phoenix Gate, as the Empire of Sanbreque betrayed Rosaria in a massacre.
The battle saw the supposed destruction of the Phoenix, which would turn out to be exaggerated. Years later, under the alias of Margrace, Joshua was reunited with Clive, and the Rosfield brothers continued the work that Cidolfus Telamon started. In the latter half of Final Fantasy 16, Joshua joins Clive, Jill, and Torgal as the fourth permanent party member. With the powers of the Phoenix at his disposal, Joshua helped his brother defeat Omega in the Echoes of the Fallen DLC. With the imminent arrival of The Rising Tide DLC for Final Fantasy 16, only time will tell what role the Dominant of the Phoenix will play.
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