Odin



Odin (オーディン Ōdin) is a recurring summon in the series. He has appeared in every Final Fantasy game from Final Fantasy III through to Final Fantasy IX, as well as Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XIII.

Most commonly, Odin will appear and slice though enemies with his sword, cleaving them in two and inflicting Instant Death, which that of his ability in most Final Fantasy games is called "Zantetsuken". Other games give Odin the ability to damage enemies normally as well, should they be immune to instant death.

His basic physical characteristics are that of a demonic-looking knight with horns, a long, curved scimitar and a cape. This progressed to also include a lance-type weapon called Gungnir. Odin is always seen on his horse, who takes on demonic-type attributes as well, such as red eyes and body armor. , Odin's steed in Norse mythology, has eight legs; in some games in the series, Odin's steed has six legs. In Final Fantasy III Sleipnir can be encountered as a six-legged enemy, while Odin's steed is a normal horse.

Final Fantasy III


Summoners, Evokers, and Sages can cast Odin. Odin can be summoned after being defeated or bought, using the Level 6 Summon Magic spell Catastro. Sleipnir also appears as a regular enemy in Eureka.


 * White summoning: Protective Light: casts Reflect on the party.
 * Black summoning: Slash: damages one enemy.
 * High summoning: Zantetsuken: instantly KO all enemies.

Final Fantasy IV

 * See the Summon sequence here

The King of Baron takes the role of Odin, having taken the form of a summoned beast after being murdered by Cagnazzo. He can be fought in the basement of Baron Castle after visiting Feymarch. In the library at the Feymarch it says he was undefeated until he was struck by lightning when his sword was raised into the air, which explains his weakness to Lightning.

After defeating him, Odin can be called by Rydia (in her adult form only) for 45 MP. There's only a 50% chance that Odin's "cutting-in-half" strike will slay any given foe, however, and like other instant death attacks, it doesn't work against bosses.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Odin appears in the Gathering Chapter in a boss battle teamed with Cecil Harvey against Ceodore's party. He is under Maenad's control, but comes to his senses and knocks out Cecil freeing him from Maenad's possession. Odin then becomes a summon for Rydia. Odin is also used in a band move called Iron Flash that grants his power to Cecil, it deals damage to all enemies, and has a chance to inflict instant death.

Odin's attack (upon summon) is Zantetsuken, and functions similarly to the attack from the original Final Fantasy IV.

Final Fantasy V

 * See the Summon sequence here

The Summoner job class can call Odin. His attack, Sword of Vengeance (Zantetsuken), slices enemies in two. If the enemy is immune to instant death, Odin uses an attack called Javelin (Gungnir), which deals non-elemental damage to one opponent.

He is found in the basement of Castle of Bal in the merged world. The basement is accessible from the nearby caves and the party has to defeat him in one minute or less in order to obtain him. Odin costs 48 MP to summon.

Final Fantasy VI

 * See the Summon sequence here

The Odin magicite can be found in the Ancient Castle in the World of Ruin. Odin was apparently the guardian of the castle during the War of the Magi, 1,000 years before the events of the game. Once the magicite is equipped by a character, they can summon the Odin Esper. The instant kill attack is called Zantetsuken (Atom Edge in the original version), and it costs 70 MP to summon.

The character can also learn Meteor from Odin's magicite at a rate of x1. He can be upgraded into the Esper Raiden by being shown in front of the petrified queen at the Ancient Castle; Raiden has a similar attack called Shin-Zantetsuken (True Edge in the original version) and teaches the Quick spell, also at a rate of X1.

Odin's Level Up bonus increases Speed by 1. Odin is the only Esper in the game to grant a Speed bonus in the SNES and Anthology versions, causing many players to hold on to him for a while before upgrading to Raiden. In the Advance version, the Esper Cactuar also grants a Speed bonus.

Final Fantasy VII

 * See the Summon sequence here

Odin Summon Materia is found from the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim. It can be assigned to a weapon or armor, and used in combat. The Materia contains the effect instant death, which can be utilized by linking the Materia with Added Effect in weapon or armor to either add the effect to physical attacks or make the wearer immune to death spells.

If Odin uses Steel Bladed Sword (a rough translation of Zantetsuken), it has a 92% chance of instantly killing the enemies vulnerable to it, but will always kill at least one opponent; if the game calculates that Steel Bladed Sword misses on all opponents, (whether it is because of the random chance for miss, because the enemy is immune to instant death, or because instant death attacks heal the enemy) Gunge Lance is used instead to deal non-elemental damage to one opponent. If multiple enemies are present, Odin will use Steel Bladed Sword as long as there is at least one opponent that would die of the attack.

The power of Gunge Lance is equal to 4.875x the base magic damage.

Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-
Odin can be summoned in battle using the appropriate Materia. Odin attempts to inflict instant death on all enemies when summoned.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-

 * See the Summon sequence here

Odin can be added to the DMW by obtaining his Materia by completing Mission 8-1-6. His signature attack still remains Zantetsuken and it attempts to remove all enemies from the battle. Only a small group of enemies are immune to this effect. The level of his summon is insignificant, because it has the same effect on all levels.

Final Fantasy VIII



 * See the Summon sequence here

Odin is an optional non-controllable Guardian Force; he appears randomly at the start of battles and strikes the enemies with Zantetsuken, instantly killing the enemies by slicing them in half. Odin will not appear against bosses (the one exception is explained below), Tonberries or Cactuars.

If acquired before the end of disc 3, Odin will appear in a battle with Seifer, the only time he appears in a boss battle. Seifer manages to reverse the Zantetsuken and slices Odin with his gunblade. The Zantetsuken is knocked from Odin's hand, and a mysterious hand reaches out of a dimensional portal to catch the blade. This is revealed to be Gilgamesh, who replaces Odin for the remainder of the game. It is possible to acquire Odin in disc 4 if the player can navigate their way to the Ragnarok from the Sacred Chocobo Forest, in which case the player can keep him till the end of game.

Odin is acquired from the Centra Ruins. Once entered, a 20-minute timer will appear, counting down until the player defeats Odin. The player must solve a few puzzles within the time limit, obtain a code and open the door to where Odin awaits. After the player opens the door, the player may leave Centra Ruins and come back to get more time to defeat Odin.

Odin does not attack during the battle, but when the time runs out, he will attack the player with Zantetsuken, resulting in an instant Game Over. When Odin is defeated, the player will obtain Odin's card, and Odin will randomly appear at the beginning of Random Encounter as noted above.

The chance Odin being summoned is 12.9%, or a 33/256 chance, but can be boosted with higher average Luck, by having Death Spirits in the inventory (Odin's card modifies into 100) and by having a high Crisis Level. With the boosts, it is possible to set the party in such a manner that Odin is summoned in virtually every battle.

Final Fantasy IX

 * See the Summon sequence here

The eidolon Odin is used by Queen Brahne after she extracts Princess Garnet's Eidolons from her, to destroy Cleyra. Garnet can gain the ability to summon Odin by equipping the Dark Matter. As a summon, Odin performs his Zantetsuken destroying enemies outright.

If Garnet has the Odin's Sword ability equipped, the Zantetsuken will deal damage to enemies it doesn't kill. Garnet can get Odin's Sword by finding Ancient Aroma in Ipsen's Castle. With Odin's Sword, Odin is usually slightly stronger than even Ark (although damage decreases as one obtains more Ore) and costs less to summon (only 28 MP). In the full summoning animation, Odin uses his sword to deliver the attack, but in the shorter ones, Gungnir simply drops from the sky, even if the attack is called Zantetsuken.

The chances of Odin inflicting instant death on enemies is equal to half the number of Ore in the player's inventory. Meaning, if the player has 99 Ore, then the percentage will be around 50%. If Odin's Sword is active, then Odin's spell power is equal to 145 minus the total number of Ore in the party's inventory.

Tetra Master

 * Card 064
 * Location: Treno, Card Stadium

Final Fantasy XI
Odin appears as an avatar in Final Fantasy XI, and is also the name of a server. The celestial avatar of darkness, Odin is also formally known as the "Dark Divinity." Nearly 900 years ago before the start of the game, Odin battled and defeated the iron colossus Alexander in a cataclysmic event known as Ragnarok.

Odin grants his power to those he deems worthy, effectively making them his servants. The Shadow Lord, Lady Lilith, and Prince Luzaf are but a few of his known servants. In the Empire of Aht Urhgan, Odin appoints a servant to serve as the Dark Rider, one who will ultimately face off against Alexander in the next Ragnarok.

Players may battle Odin within "Odin's Chamber" in Valgrind, the final wing of Einherjar, located in the Hazhalm Testing Grounds. He can also be fought in a quest to obtain him as a summon, among other rewards, after completing the Treasures of Aht Urhgan storyline.

Summon
Odin was released as a summonable avatar in the March 2010 update and can only be summoned by a Level 75 or higher Summoner under the effect of Astral Flow. He performs his signature move, Zantetsuken, which uses up all the Summoner's MP and has a chance to instantly KO normal monsters.

Against Notorious Monsters, it deals damage of around 10-20% of the NMs current HP, but caps at 9999 damage under normal circumstances. Zantetsuken is one of the few known player abilities to cap at 9999 damage; a player dealing such high damage is extremely rare in Final Fantasy XI.

Final Fantasy XII
Odin does not appear in Final Fantasy XII, but is rather mentioned by Al-Cid Margrace when he reads his intelligence report to the party during their meeting at Mt. Bur-Omisace. Al-Cid mentions that the Odin is an airship of the 1st Fleet of the Archadian Imperial Army.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings


Odin has particular plot significance, being the true form of Velis. He is also a rank 3 Non-Elemental Physical summon. His special attack, Zantetsuken, deals heavy damage to all enemies in front of him. He can be obtained in the Ring of Pacts after defeating him in the story.

Final Fantasy XIII



 * See the Gestalt Mode and Summoning sequence here

Odin is the Eidolon residing in Lightning's rose-shaped crystal. He appears as a gigantic horned knight wearing a white cape and wielding a large double-sided sword with an "S" shape in one hand, with a massive shield on his opposite arm. Lightning and Hope first face Odin as a boss on the Vile Peaks, as a test to prove Lightning's strength to him.

Odin is a lightning-elemental Eidolon and has many powerful and diverse physical and magical attacks. He also acts as a Sentinel, drawing all enemy attacks; enemies have a "hate value," which determines what party members they attack based on by whom they have been attacked, and Odin automatically raises this to 100%, making any foe he attacks focus on him.

Lightning's Gestalt Gauge increases by driving up enemy chain gauges and by healing herself and removing status ailments. As Odin has difficulty in driving up enemy chain gauges, it may be better to place Lightning as a Ravager when summoning, to increase Odin's Gestalt Gauge, prolonging the time he can spend in Gestalt Mode.

In his Gestalt Mode, Odin transforms into the horse Sleipnir for Lightning to ride.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Odin returns in Final Fantasy XIII-2 as Lightning's Eidolon. In the trailer released at the E3 Convention, he is seen fighting Chaos Bahamut.

In E3 2011 demo, Lightning is seen using Ullr's Shield, which fully recovers HP of user.

In the "New Adventures" trailer, Serah and Noel can be seen fighting a Twilight Odin.

Final Fantasy Type-0
Odin will appear in the upcoming Final Fantasy Type-0 as a war god, meaning that summoning it causes the user to sacrifice their own life. Odin utilizes three attacks: Full Moon Slash, a wide sword slash that can hit a group of enemies; Jinba Ittai, which allows Odin to quickly close distance between him and the enemy so that he can get in range to attack; and Zantetsuken, Odin’s usual attack, can cut an enemy in half, instantly killing them.

Odin also has an upgraded version called Grimnir, which has lesser stats and summoning time, but can use the Shin-Zantetsuken attack.

Final Fantasy XIV
Odin will appear in Final Fantasy XIV as a roaming Primal. Every time a player group defeats him, he returns stronger and grants better loot; it is currently unknown if he's summoned by a beast tribe like the other primals.

Final Fantasy Tactics

 * See the Summon sequence here

Odin can be learned for 900 Job Points. He attacks for non-elemental damage instead of instantly killing all enemies, unlike other appearances. It costs 50 MP and has a speed of 12. Odin has a 20% chance of randomly being learned in battle by a Summoner who has not yet learned it and is not KO'd by it, or absorbs at least 1 HP worth of damage. Nullifying the damage does not count.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Odin appears in a quest description but never in person. If the player succeeds in the quest, they will receive Odin's Lance, a 2-handed spear with an attack score of 55 (and the most powerful lance in the game).

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
When a male Clavat wears the Mythic Beast Sallet and Mythic Beast Plate, he resembles Odin.

Final Fantasy Legend II
Odin lives in Valhalla and seeks strong warriors. He will offer to return the party to their last battle whenever they are slain on the condition that they return someday to face him in battle. When the party reaches Valhalla during the storyline, he will uphold his end of the bargain after a short conversation. If the party reaches Valhalla without getting a Game Over, Odin will not say anything and immediately segue into battle with the party. True to the story, the player will no longer be able to revive after battle after defeating Odin.

In battle Odin is accompanied by Sleipnir and his "Odincrows" (however, this is a mistranslation, as they are in fact ravens).

Final Fantasy Legends: Hikari to Yami no Senshi
Odin appears as a summon in Final Fantasy Legends: Hikari to Yami no Senshi.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Odin appears as a summon in Dissidia. Upon being summoned, he uses Zantetsuken which creates a Break on the opponent's Bravery points, with a 50% accuracy. Like most of the summons in Dissidia, Odin can be summoned by two distinct ways: automatically, where his Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- artwork appears, and manually, where his Final Fantasy V artwork appears.

Odin's auto version can be obtained in the third stage of the Shade Impulse I storyline, and its manual version can be obtained in the third stage of the Shade Impulse II storyline. The auto version will only be summoned when enemy's Bravery exceeds the player's current HP.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Odin returns as a summonstone, with the same function as in Dissidia. His auto version is now found in Chapter Five: Forsaken Kingdom of Scenario 012. The manual version can be purchased from certain Moogle Shops for 40 KP.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Odin will appear as a summon in this game.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Odin appears as a Lightning-elemental card in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. Its Tactics art is featured on the card.

Final Fantasy: Unlimited
In the anime, Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Odin makes an appearance as a summon, to destroy Cube Arusha. The Soil Charge Triad (Soil is like the colored bullet of a Magun, used to summon creatures) needed to summon Odin is:

Followed by saying: "Pierce! Summoned Creature! Odin!"
 * The light that shines in face of courage, Bullet Silver!
 * The darkness that devours in the face of destruction, Destroy Black!
 * Facing the road of extinction in a flash of an instant, Steel Gray!

In the English audio version, the Soil Charge Triad was changed to: Followed by saying: "Penetrate! I summon you! Odin!"
 * The light that dictates the time of eternity, Luminous Silver!
 * The darkness that dictates the time of destruction, Demolition Black!
 * The moment that dictates the time of extinction, Steel Gray!

Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon
Odin appears in Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon.

Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 2
Odin appears in Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 2. It is a useful summon against the most powerful enemy in the game, Death (who has a different name depending on how it appears). Death's defenses render most attacks useless, and even summons like Bahamut deal only two-digit damage. Odin is the only summon able to deal damage in the hundreds to Death.

Chocobo Racing
Odin appears as a scenery element in Fantasia Track, with the same appearance as in the Chocobo Mysterious Dungeon series.

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales
Odin is a non-elemental card, and has six cards under its name.

Itadaki Street Special
Odin appears in Dragon Quest &amp; Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special.

Itadaki Street Portable
Odin appears in Dragon Quest &amp; Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable.

Lord of Vermilion
Odin is one of the summons in this Japanese arcade-based card game. Its ability deals lightning based damage to all enemies in range. Odin reappears in the sequel Lord of Vermilion II.

Kingdom Hearts
While not making a physical appearance in the series, Odin's trademark attack, Zantetsuken, is an exclusive command in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep for one of the game's main protagonists, Terra. It has a slight chance of destroying enemies in one hit. In addition, before the attack is unleashed, flower petals can be seen, similar to Zantetsuken in Final Fantasy XIII. Likewise, a slice that appears when you hold triangle before attacking is similar to those recurring Final Fantasy games when Odin slices the enemy to half. It can be bought at the moogle shop at a cost of 1700 munny.

Zantetsuken is also one of Sora's Limits in Kingdom Hearts (game), a Sleight in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and a Magic of Sora's Limit Form in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix.

Etymology
Óðinn (Odin) (pronounced OH-thin) is the leader of the Æsir in Norse Mythology and he is the god of wisdom, poetry, war and death, and he is attributed with the discovery of Runes. He, along with his two brothers, Vili and Vé, is credited with the creation of the realm of mankind, Miðgarðr (Midgard), and for mankind itself. He is the employer of the female warriors known as Valkyries (who control the fate of battles and collect the dead from the battleground), and he reigns over the hall of Valhöll (Valhalla), the Norse equivalent of heaven (only those who fought bravely and died in combat were eligible to enter).

Óðinn sacrificed his left eye to drink from Mimir's Well of Wisdom to gain knowledge of past, present, and future. His eight legged horse, Sleipnir, and his magical dwarven spear Gungnir have also been depicted. At Ragnarök (the end of the gods) Óðinn shall rally the dead warriors to fight on the side of the gods. Óðinn fathered Þór (Thor), the god of lightning, and many others.

Trivia

 * In Odin's appearances from Final Fantasy III up to Final Fantasy VI, his summon is obtained in a secret passage in a castle. This tradition somewhat continues in later games, with Odin being found in a safe in an abandoned mansion in Final Fantasy VII, in a locked room in old ruins in Final Fantasy VIII, and the skill Odin's Sword is learned from an item found in a secret room in a castle in Final Fantasy IX.
 * Odin is one of two summons in Final Fantasy VII which has more than one attack, the other being Choco/Mog.
 * Zantetsuken is not the name of Odin's weapon from mythology. The Gungnir, which is a recurring steal for Odin, was his spear from Norse myths.