Final Fantasy is full of rags-to-riches stories. Most Final Fantasy stories involve destined heroes rising up to fend off evil. Even going beyond scripted stories, the original Final Fantasy was a desperate attempt to save a struggling company. In modern times, Final Fantasy XIV was practically dead on arrival only to become one of the most popular MMORPGs of all time.
One of the most overlooked glow-ups is the role of Garuda in Final Fantasy mainlines. For most of Final Fantasy's existence, the bird-like Garuda has been a normal enemy and occasionally a boss. However, in recent Final Fantasy mainlines, Garuda has served as the wind-elemental summon. That trend continues with Final Fantasy XVI by being one of the most marketed summons leading up to FFXVI's release. How has Garuda evolved throughout Final Fantasy mainlines to stand alongside the likes of Shiva and Ifrit?
10 Final Fantasy III
Garuda's first appearance in the Final Fantasy series was as a boss in Final Fantasy III. In FFIII, Garuda is the form taken by Gigametz who is the advisor to King Gorn in Saronia. In actuality, Gigametz is in control of King Gorn, using the king's royal standing to do his evil bidding.
Gigametz attempts to get King Gorn to kill his own son, Prince Alus Restor. However, King Gorn manages to resist and break free from his curse by stabbing himself. Gigametz proceeds to transform into Garuda to initiate the boss battle.
9 Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII serves as the first time Garuda appears as a regular enemy. FFVII's Garuda maintains the bird-human mixed design along with similar coloring. A Garuda of a different design appears in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, which is entirely bird-like.
Garuda can be fought at the Da-chao Statue in Wutai or in the Battle Square at the Gold Saucer after obtaining the Highwind. Garuda has yet to appear in Final Fantasy VII Remake. It is possible for Garuda to appear in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth as there's a possibility the events at Wutai are covered, although it remains to be seen if Garuda would appear as an enemy, a boss, or a summon.
8 Final Fantasy IX
Garuda once again appears as a regular enemy in Final Fantasy IX. This iteration of Garuda can be found in Oeilvert and Esto Gaza. The player can encounter it much earlier by traversing the Popos Heights using the ladder exit from Gizamaluke's Grotto, which is a popular early-game level grinding spot.
Garuda also has a friendly variant as a part of the Friendly Monsters side quest. In the Friendly Monsters side quest, the player will encounter a monster with a simple request. The player must give the friendly monster that item to receive a significant amount of AP and knowledge of what friendly monster to look for next. The ultimate reward for completing this side quest is the ability to hit the incredibly tough super boss, Ozma, with physical attacks and shadow-based attacks.
7 Final Fantasy X
Garuda is pretty unremarkable in Final Fantasy X. It's a large enemy that looks far more monstrous than in previous mainlines. It has three iterations in Besaid, in Luca, and along Mushroom Rock Road. Each version is slightly stronger than the previous one.
The fights in Besaid and Luca are story-related. In Besaid, Garuda serves tutorial fights, particularly for Yuna's summoning of Valefor—the first summon she acquires. The fight in Luca takes place during the attack at the Blitzball finals. The Garudas across Mushroom Rock Road are random encounters.
6 Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy XI marks the first time Garuda was used as a summon, establishing the foundation that later mainlines would build upon. Garuda in FFXI is one of the celestial Avatars and takes on a more human appearance similar to recent appearances. Narratively, Garuda was a bird that was once in the care of a young prince.
However, when the prince was snake-bitten, Garuda sought to find a means to cure him. Garuda's journey led her to seek out the King of Birds. Unfortunately, she was unable to find him no matter how high she flew. When she couldn't fly anymore, she transformed into her humanoid form during her descent. In the process, she gained the ability to heal the prince who, years later, sought her out to marry her.
5 Final Fantasy XII
In Final Fantasy XII, Garuda returns as a bird-like boss, though not an official boss as per the Clan Primer. Garuda's appearance functions like a boss battle and a tough one at that. Garuda is one of the first real roadblocks players will encounter in FFXII.
Garuda is fought at the entrance of the Tomb of Raithwall in Jagd Yensa, which is a tough dungeon in itself. Later on, in the Paramina Rift, an alternate smaller variant of Garuda in Garuda-Egi is fought. Despite being a normal enemy encounter later, it still has fewer HP than the boss Garuda.
4 Final Fantasy XIII
Credit to Final Fantasy XIII for its unique take on Garuda. The Garuda Interceptor isn't a summon or an organic bid enemy, but rather a bioweapon. Garuda Interceptor was developed by PSICOM and resembles the wyvern enemy types. Its cybernetically enhanced design fits perfectly well with the aesthetic of FFXIII's world.
Garuda Interceptor is fought as a boss battle in Lake Bresha while the player is controlling Lightning, Sazh, and Vanille. Behind the scenes, Garuda was initially designed to be a Fal'Cie, the deities of the Fabula Nova Chrysallis thematic series. This godly form of Garuda didn't make the cut along with other planned Fal'Cie including Gilgamesh, Ramuh, and Diabolos.
3 Final Fantasy XIV
FFXIV is the second instance Garuda appears as a summon. Garuda is worshiped by the Ixal beast tribe and they hope to summon her for protection and to help them cleanse the world. Garuda is much more vicious than other Primals such as Ifrit and Titan. Her hatred for "landwalkers" makes her far and away the most dangerous Primal in A Realm Reborn.
The second time Garuda was summoned, she ended up being no match to the might of Ultima Weapon. After defeating her the first time, Summoners can gain the ability to summon Garuda-Egi, which replaced the Emerald Carbuncle. An excellent ability to have regardless of whether or not the world needs saving.
2 Final Fantasy XV
Players who only played the original version of Final Fantasy XV may be confused to see it also has a Garuda. Garuda was an optional summon in FFXV. Garuda was added as a part of a crossover sidequest with FFXIV. In this sidequest, Noctis and his friends encounter Y'jhimei, a researcher and member of the feline-like Miqo'te race from FFXIV.
Y'jhimei and a group of Ixal were warped into FFXV's world and she fears the Ixal will summon Garuda. In fighting the FFXIV Garuda, Noctis receives help from the Messenger of the Winds, who was formally in a deep slumber. While her true name has long been lost, she decides to take on the name Garuda. From that point forward, Garuda can appear as one of Noctis' summons.
1 Final Fantasy XVI
Continuing the trend for a third straight mainline entry, Garuda returns as a summon in Final Fantasy XVI. In FFXVI, Eikons are summoned through Dominants. Dominants are a rare group of people who have the ability to summon. Depending on regional culture, Dominants are either embraced or seen as an abomination.
Garuda's Dominant is Benedikta Harman from the militaristic Kingdom of Waloed. Much like other Eikons, Clive Rosfield will be able to gain abilities from Eikons beyond Ifrit. FFXVI's action-based combat is built around Clive's ability to swap between different Eikons on the fly and grow each elemental pathway to gain new attacks and abilities.