Odin



Odin is a recurring Summon Monster in the series. He made his debut in Final Fantasy III and several of his appearances allude to his original encounter.

Most commonly, Odin will appear and slice through enemies with his sword, cleaving them in two and inflicting Instant Death. 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.

Odin is a demonic-looking knight with horns, a long, curved scimitar and a cape. This progressed to include a lance-type weapon called Gungnir. Odin is always seen on his horse, who takes on demonic 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 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 and defeating Leviathan and Asura. In the library at the Feymarch it says Odin 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 summoned by Rydia. It has a casting time of 2 and cost 45 MP to summon. There is a 50% chance Odin will slay any given foe, but like other instant death attacks, it doesn't work against bosses.

Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
Odin returns as a summon spell for Rydia in the sequel of Final Fantasy IV. There's still a 50% chance that Odin will slice the enemies in pieces at the cost of 45 MP, but like other instant death attacks in the game, it doesn't work against bosses. He is only available during the final battle.

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 becomes a summon for Rydia and is also used in a Band move called Iron Flash that grants his power to Cecil, dealing 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, Zantetsuken (Sword of Vengeance), slices enemies in two. If there is a heavy enemy on screen, Odin uses an attack called Gungnir (Javelin), 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 to obtain him. Odin costs 48 MP to summon.

Final Fantasy VI

 * See the Summon sequence here.



During the War of the Magi a thousand years before the events of the game, Odin was the guardian esper of the Ancient Castle. During an attack by enemy espers, the castle's defenders were felled and they were forced to rely on Odin to protect them. Odin dispatched ranks of the enemy with Zantetsuken, but an unknown sorcerer entered and was unable to be harmed by the Zantetsuken. The sorcerer petrified Odin, but he refused to turn into magicite and was left standing as a statue before the castle's throne. When the party finds Odin, his remains crumble to form his magicite piece.

Odin performs Zantetsuken (Atom Edge in the Super NES version) when summoned, attempting to dispatch all enemies instantly for a cost of 70 MP. He teaches the Meteor spell at a rate of x1. His 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 Odin to Raiden. In the Advance version, the esper Cactuar grants a superior bonus of +2 Speed, so there is no further need to not upgrade Odin.

If the party finds a hidden passage into the basement, examining the petrified remains of the castle's queen, who was in love with Odin, causes the statue to shed a tear that transforms Odin into Raiden.

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.

Odin is one of two summons in Final Fantasy VII which has more than one attack, the other being Choco/Mog.

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. Materia in Before Crisis is obtained by taking photos with one's cellphone and converting the images into Materia; the Materia's type depending on the colors on the photo.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-

 * See the Summon sequence here.

Odin can be added to the Digital Mind Wave by obtaining his Materia by completing Mission 8-1-6. His signature attack 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 counters the Zantetsuken and destroys 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 Triple Triad card, and Odin will randomly appear at the beginning of a random encounter, as noted above.

The chance of Odin being summoned is 12.9%, or a 33/256 chance, but can be boosted with higher average Luck, by having Dead 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 learn Odin's Sword by equipping Ancient Aroma, which is to be found 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, the percentage will be around 50%. If Odin's Sword is active, Odin's spell power is equal to 145 minus the total number of Ore in the party's inventory.

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 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 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 is the true form of Velis and 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 eidolith. He is a gigantic horned knight who wears a white cape and wields a large double-sided serrated S-shaped sword in one hand, known as Zantetsuken, 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 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. His finishing attack is Zantetsuken, which will inflict instant death to opponents, if certain criteria are met.

Final Fantasy XIII-2


Odin returns as Lightning's Eidolon, fighting alongside her against Caius Ballad in Valhalla. Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After further elaborates that the Eidolons that appear in Valhalla once belonged to other l'Cie, and that the monsters scattered throughout Valhalla are Odin's subordinates.

Twilight Odin is an opponent Serah and Noel encounter within the Vile Peaks. After defeating him in both 10 AF and 200 AF he can be recruited into the party as a Commando, starting with low stats and requiring highest grade items to level up in the Crystarium System.

Twilight Odin is a paradox, a manifestation of the memories of the real Odin.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Odin appears as the Angel of Valhalla, a white chocobo Lightning encounters in the Wildlands of Nova Chrysalia. He has been attacked and injured by a Chocobo Eater, and she must nurse him back to health. She notes a strange familiarity to the creature, and if she visits Moogle Village at this time Mog shares her sentiment. After healing Angel of Valhalla Lightning can ride him around the Wildlands and he will fight alongside her in battle. After Lightning leaves the Temple of the Goddess Yeul reveals to Lightning that the Angel of Valhalla is Odin. If Lightning visits Mog she tells her of this, and Mog tells her how he first met Odin in Valhalla and though Lightning hopes Mog and Odin would befriend Mog remains hesitant.

As Lightning and her friends prepare to depart to the new world Odin fades away with the other Eidolons.

Lightning can obtain a replica of Odin's weapon as a weapon for herself, called Gagnrad.

Final Fantasy XIV


Odin is 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. He can appear in any one of the four Shrouds around Gridania —- his appearance heralded by a sudden change in the weather, skies darkening and motes of light floating in the air.

When reduced to ~5% health, he will begin charging his ultimate attack. If adventurers are unable to finish him in time, he will use Zantetsuken, instantly killing everyone still within the boundaries of the FATE.

Victory will see adventurers receive Odin's Mantle, a token which can be exchanged for his armor and sword, Zantetsuken, from Rowena's associates in Mor Dhona — five Mantels are required for each piece of equipment. Odin's form changes every time he is defeated, to match the appearance of the player who landed the killing blow. Additionally, he takes on their name as a subtitle.

Final Fantasy Tactics

 * See the Summon sequence here.

Odin can be learned for 900 Job Points in the Summoner job. 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 Lance, a 2-handed spear with an attack score of 55 (and the most powerful lance in the game).

Final Fantasy Type-0
Odin is 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 trademark attack can cut an enemy in half, instantly killing them.

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

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 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 "OdinCrow" (however, this is due to the character limit of eight, as they are in fact ravens).

Final Fantasy Dimensions


Odin is a Level 4 summon found in the King's Castle during Chapter 3: The Dancer, The Warriors of Darkness must fight him to retrieve the summon. He takes 54 MP to summon and has two attacks: Zantetsuken, which can kill enemies; and Gungnir, where he throws a spear at a enemy for moderate magic damage.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Odin is a summon that, upon being summoned, uses Zantetsuken, which creates a Break on the opponent's Bravery points, with a 50% accuracy. Like most of the summons in Dissidia Final Fantasy, 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 is a summon that appears occasionally after a successful summon, and uses his signature attack Zantetsuken. Odin is one of the higher tier summons, and has a greater chance of appearing the better the player is doing. By using the Odin's Magicite item, the player guarantees Odin will be summoned.

Odin with his Final Fantasy III incarnation also has a CollectaCard. Odin is CollectaCard #35 and has the text: ''The disembodied soul of a great warrior who once gambled his own life for those of his allies. If proud Odin deigns to join you in battle, his cleaving blade will strike with a speed no mortal eye can perceive.'' The passwords to unlock the Odin card include "Zantetsuken" and "Sleipnir's rider".

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
Odin appears as an Esper in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade. In addition, the Final Fantasy XIII version of Odin appears as an enemy during the second part of the "Shattered World" event. In battle, Odin uses Crushing Blow.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest
Odin is one of two summoned monsters that is summoned by Krile through her Summoner's Dualcast ability. Odin has the same appearance from when he appeared in Final Fantasy V.

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

Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon
Odin appears in Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon. It can be summoned via the use of a summon stone and uses an instant death attack.

Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 2
Odin appears in Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 2 and is the second most powerful summon in the game, behind Bahamut. Summoning Feathers allow the player to summon a monster. Feathers that allow one to replace the current companion with a summoned monster are lost if the summoned monster dies. Breaking Chocobo's equipment is the most prevalent way to get most every feather; when Chocobo wears a piece of equipment in a dungeon, its Durability hits 0, and the piece of equipment turns into a feather.

If Chocobo already has the feather given when his equipment breaks, the old feather disappears and is replaced by the new feather. Odin feather is obtained when Chocobo's Multi Claw or Counter Saddle have been upgraded from +6 to +9, they break and turn into a feather.

Summons can also be used via summon stones and Chocobo does not need the corresponding feather to use these stones.

When Odin is summoned he uses a strong non-elemental attack on all enemies. It has no weaknesses or strengths. Its abilities include Fenris-Bane and Grungir.

Odin 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.

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

Final Fantasy: Unlimited
In the anime, Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Odin appears 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!

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Odin appears several times in in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game, generally aligned with the Thunder element. He appears six times as a Thunder Summon, in his Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy XIII; Final Fantasy Tactics; Final Fantasy Type-0; Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- incarnations, this last appearance being a promotional card. His appearance as Twilight Odin in Final Fantasy XIII-2 appears as a Thunder elemental character card, and his appearance as an Avatar from Final Fantasy XI is a Dark-elemental Summon card.

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

Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable
Odin appears in Dragon Quest Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable. Odin's card effect is to cut all rent by 50%.

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 sequels Lord of Vermilion II and Lord of Vermilion III.

Crystal Conquest
Odin is one of three summons in this Japan-only, free-to-play browser game. Its ability deals massive damage to other summoned monsters.

Merchandise
Action figures of Odin from Final Fantasy VIII were released along figures of the other Guardian Forces. Odin could be purchased separately, or alongside his horse Sleipnir. As a curious detail, the action figure of Sleipnir shows two stumps for his fourth pair of legs, not present in his Final Fantasy VIII in-game model. A "crystal" colored version of this set also exists. Odin cannot be posed mounted on Sleipnir.

Odin from Final Fantasy VIII has appeared in Final Fantasy Creatures Vol. 2 as a secret figurine featuring both Odin and Sleipnir. Different colored versions of the figures exist; crystalline, metallic and full color. The figures were released exclusively in Japan in 2002. Odin can be posed in two different ways: mounted on Sleipnir, or standing on his own.

A limited edition statue of Seifer and Odin has also been released. Every statue comes with a serial number.

Odin from Final Fantasy IX appears in the Final Fantasy Master Creatures Vol 2 series of monster figures.

T-shirts with Final Fantasy XIII Eidolon designs have been on sale in the Japanese Square Enix store. The shirts cost ¥3,900, with two versions, Odin or Shiva. Final Fantasy XIII Play Arts Kai figure of Odin was released in July 2010; it has two forms, Sleipnir or Odin, and the Play Arts figure of Lightning can be mounted on the Sleipnir form. The Eidolons from Final Fantasy XIII have also been made into action figures in the Final Fantasy Creatures Kai Vol. 3 series.

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. Odin 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.
 * 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.