Shiva

Shiva (シヴァ, Shiva) is a frequently recurring summoned monster that usually takes the shape of a blue woman. Her signature attack Diamond Dust, sometimes called Gem Dust, deals Ice elemental damage. Along with Ifrit and Bahamut, she is one of the only summons to appear in every main series game from Final Fantasy III through Final Fantasy XIII (although in Final Fantasy XII she appeared as an airship instead of a summon). She also appears in every main series side-story and sequel that features summons, with the only exception being Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.

Biography
Although enjoying regular appearances throughout the series, Shiva, like most of the popular summonable entities, has never been given any significant backstory, being simply described as the "Ice Queen." She is, however, shown to have a lover named Shivar and a daughter named Shivan in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, although this is the only appearance that either of them have made in the entire series. In Final Fantasy XIII, Shiva is actually a pair of sisters called Nix and Styria.

Shiva has occasionally been shown as one of the more "friendly" summonable entities, only requiring you to fight her to gain her services in a few Final Fantasy games, and not usually displaying any malicious intent when doing so.

Physical Appearance
Shiva's basic physical characteristics are that of a willowy human female with extremely pale skin and long, blue hair to invoke an image of ice and cold. This image is reinforced in later summon sequences by the addition of arctic winds, freezing temperatures and large ice crystal formations. Despite the cold, Shiva invariably wears only enough clothing to conceal her modesty, along with boots and other minor aesthetic pieces. She carries no weapon, and implements her main Diamond Dust attack with arm gestures and/or force of will. Later games in the series allow Shiva to carry out physical attacks in the form of kicks and punches.

Final Fantasy III
This is the first Final Fantasy to introduce Shiva and the ability to summon. She can be acquired by purchase of the Level 2 Summon Magic spell Icen.
 * Mesmerize: casts Sleep on all enemies
 * Icy Stare: deals Ice damage to one enemy
 * Diamond Dust: deals Ice damage to all enemies

Final Fantasy IV


Shiva appears as a summon for the character Rydia after she rejoins the group in the Underworld. She is also a boss in the Advance release.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Shiva returns in Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.

Final Fantasy V

 * For the enemy page, see Shiva (Final Fantasy V).

The Summoner job class has ability to call her. She is obtained in a tower behind Walse Castle. This was the first time Shiva appeared as a boss and must be obtained by defeating her. Along with her are three Ice Soldiers who also must be defeated.

Final Fantasy VI

 * See the Summon sequence here
 * For the enemy information, see: Shiva (Final Fantasy VI)

Appears as an Esper, first encountered by the Returners in the Magitek Factory of Vector. After being drained of her power, she and Ifrit are disposed of by Kefka Palazzo in a waste chute. Believing they mean the two Espers harm, Ifrit attacks the group. Shiva soon senses Ramuh's power within them, and halts the battle. They then grant their abilities to the Returners. Her attacks' Spell Power is 52, and she costs 27 MP to summon. She is unblockable. She teaches the following spells:
 * Blizzard x10
 * Blizzara x5
 * Osmose x4
 * Rasp x4
 * Cure x3

Final Fantasy VII

 * See the Summon sequence here

Shiva materia is obtained from Priscilla of lower Junon after Cloud and company defeat the boss Bottomswell. She can then be assigned to a weapon or armor, and called upon in combat. This marks the first time Shiva has been seen in 3D.

Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-
Shiva can be summoned in battle using the appropriate Materia in this game.

Final Fantasy VIII

 * See the Summon sequence here

Guardian Forces (GF) are the summonable creatures of Final Fantasy VIII, used by junctioning them to a character. The GF govern major stat growth, elemental/status offense and defense, and the commands a character may use during battle. Each GF has a preset list of abilities they can learn, but through the use of certain items, the GF can learn additional abilities and forget those that were previously learned.

Shiva is available as one of two Guardian Forces assigned to protagonist Squall Leonhart at the start of the story. In keeping with Final Fantasy VIII's Junction System, Shiva may be assigned freely to any party member throughout the game. If Squall attempts to exit Balamb Garden before accessing the tutorial where he obtains her, Quistis will present both Shiva and Quezacotl to him before reaching the world map. {|style="width: 100%; background:#ffffff" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" Abilities learned from Shiva listed below:
 * style="width: 50%;"|
 * style="width: 50%;"|

Triple Triad

 * }

Final Fantasy IX
Shiva is an Eidolon that can only be summoned by Princess Garnet. The Opal is the jewel through which she learns Shiva and her Diamond Dust attack. According to notes left on the Summoner's Wall at Madain Sari, Shiva was first discovered by summoners in the form of a small child. As years passed she eventually grew into her more familiar and adult appearance.

Final Fantasy X

 * See the Summon and Overdrive sequence here

The Aeon Shiva's manifestation in this game is the result of dream-imagery provided by a Fayth (the sentient spirit of a dead person). Summonable entities in Final Fantasy X came under player control for the first time in the series, and replaced the player's own party members when called into battle. Aeons possessed a number of new unique attacks alongside the ability to attack and use magic and abilities, and could carry out their traditional main attack via the Overdrive system.

Shiva is acquired at the Macalania Temple and can be used in the battle against Seymour even before she is named by the player. When Lulu receives and charges her Celestial Weapon, Onion Knight, Shiva will be able to break the damage limit of 9,999 HP. Shiva's fayth is that of a priestess of Macalania. In the International and PAL versions of the game, Dark Shiva will appear as an exceptionally hard optional boss when the party attempts to re-enter Macalania Temple after escaping from Bevelle.

Final Fantasy XI
The job class Summoner can unlock the "spell" Shiva upon completion of the quest "Trial By Ice." Alternatively, a low-level summoner may go on the quest Trial Size Trial By Ice and defeat Shiva in a battle alone rather than in a group.

Once Shiva is acquired the Blood Pacts she can preform are Axe Kick, Blizzard II, Freeze Armor, Sleepga, Double Slap, Blizzard IV, and Rush, with the trademark Diamond Dust being her Astral Flow ability and Heavenly Strike being her group 2 Merit blood pact. She has the highest magic attack of the six elemental avatars in the game thus far.

Shiva is also the name of one of the Games Servers.

Final Fantasy XII
Although not appearing in the game as a summon or otherwise, the blue-skinned figure bound to the Esper Mateus closely resembles Shiva. There is also an airship named Shiva.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings


Shiva is the rank 3 Water Ranged summon, and costs 20 affinity points to summon. Her normal attack, Triple Slap, deals water damage to one foe with three successive hits. Her special, Diamond Dust, deals heavy water damage to all enemies in range, and causes stop. She is one of the unique water types in that she is really an ice-type. Therefore, she is weak to fire instead of thunder. There are two other weaker Yarhi which are also named after Shiva which are Shivan and Shivar.

Final Fantasy XIII
In Final Fantasy XIII Shiva appears as two sisters, one light blue in color with a dark patch around one eye, and the other dark blue with a light patch. These two sisters have the ability to transform into a motorcycle which Snow Villiers arrived on in the Jump Festa 2006 trailer to come to Lightning's aid. Although she is a recurring summon featured in most of the previous titles in the series, this time around Shiva isn't limited to just the ice element but can apparently wield many of them. According to the Japanese Shonen Jump Magazine released after E3 2009, their names are Styria and Nix. Styria is the dark-skinned one who is the elder sister, while the white-skinned Nix is the younger.

Final Fantasy Tactics
The job class Summoner earns this ability over time. Her Glacial Shards attack is a large ice elemental attack that spreads over a portion of the battlefield. It costs 24 MP, has a speed of 25, and needs 200 JP to learn.

In the PlayStation version, when summoned, the summoner will sometimes say, "Wind, fade to silence and light, give us power! Shiva!"

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
The Summoner job class learns the ability to summon her through the Snake Staff. Unlike in her other appearances where she appears with a revealing outfit, this incarnation of Shiva is shown in full armor with only the bottom of her face revealed. This version of Shiva wields a sword and shield, however, she does not use them to attack. Instead, she holds the sword vertically above her head, and cast an ice spell.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Shiva appears once more with her dark blue armor and sword. Similar to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Shiva does not use her sword to fight but instead raises it to send a flurry of ice shards at the selected foes. The Summoner job can learn the "spell" Shiva through the Serpent Staff.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Shiva appears as a summon in Dissidia. When used, Shiva "freezes" the summoner's opponent brave points, preventing any change on the same. Like some summons in Dissidia, Shiva can be summoned by two distinct ways: Automatically, which summons her immediately when the user is attacked and shows her Final Fantasy VIII artwork appears, and manually, where her Final Fantasy IV artwork appears. Shiva's auto version can be obtained in the third stage of the Destiny Odyssey II storyline, and its manual version can be obtained in the second stage of the Destiny Odyssey II storyline.

Final Fantasy: Unlimited
Shiva Summoning LyGV3Utjf-E In the anime, Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Shiva makes two appearances as a summon. The Soil Charge Triad (Soil is like the colored bullet of a Magun, used to summon creatures) needed to summon Shiva is: Followed by saying: "Shine! Summoned Creature! Shiva!"
 * The cry of the dark spirit, Dark Green!
 * The one that does not forgive creation, Virgin White!
 * The one that freezes everything, Ice Blue!

In the English audio version, the Soil Charge Triad was changed to: Followed by saying: "Shine! I summon you! Shiva!"
 * The cry of a soul without light, Forest Green! (or Moss Green)
 * The soil that forbids the birth of life, Maiden White!
 * To freeze all things, Ice Blue!

Chocobo series
Shiva appears in Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon, Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 2, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, and Chocobo Racing. She appears also as cards in Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales and Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon.

Itadaki Street series
Shiva has appeared in Itadaki Street Special and Itadaki Street Portable.

The World Ends With You


Shiva appears as a pin called Tin Pin Shiva in The World Ends with You.

Blood of Bahamut
Shiva is set to appear as one of the giant monsters in Blood of Bahamut.

Shiva Shiva (Invocación)