A Summon (召喚, Shōkan) is a special character that can be magically called on to aid Sora in the Kingdom Hearts series. In terms of development, the main purpose of adding Summons was to add characters from Disney films that weren't already represented by worlds. They have been present in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts III, although the mechanics differ from game to game. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is the first game in the series not to incorporate any form of summons.

Game differences

Kingdom Hearts

The Fairy Godmother helps Sora unlock four of the Summons in the original Kingdom Hearts.

In the original Kingdom Hearts, most of the summons are obtained by finding special gems called "Summon Gems" in various worlds. The gems can then be given to the Fairy Godmother, staying at Merlin's House in Traverse Town; she uses her magic to restore their spirit forms and release their powers, thus making the summon creatures available. All of these summons are victims of the Heartless' quest to destroy the worlds. As explained by the Fairy Godmother, the summon gems are the crystallized forms of strong, good-hearted denizens that did not fall victim to the darkness during the destruction of their worlds, and so are able to be called into battle for a limited time. In PS2 versions, Summons are classified under the Command Menu's "Magic" command, but in Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, it is classified into a separate command instead.

Two summons, Genie and Tinker Bell, are allies from worlds Sora has visited, and join him of their own free will upon locking the Keyhole of their world. They do not need to be released by the Fairy Godmother before they can be used.

One of the ultimate Summons from the Final Fantasy video game series, Bahamut, was intended to be included in Kingdom Hearts, but was cut before the final release. Through hacking, it is possible to gain a "Bahamut" option in the Summon menu; however, it is an incomplete summon, and therefore will freeze the game if selected.

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories

In Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories Sora obtains summon cards during his ascent of Castle Oblivion. Some magic cards enable Sora to perform summons. These cards are created from Sora's memories, so the summons are the same ones from Kingdom Hearts, with the addition of Cloud. They also differ in how they play out, as playing or stacking a different number of cards has different results, much like Magic and Friend cards (for example, one Cloud card will use a normal slash, while two make a Cross-slash and three make an Omnislash). However, Sora is unable to activate cards while the summon is active, contrary to enemy cards.

Kingdom Hearts II

In Kingdom Hearts II, summons come from special Summon Charms found scattered throughout the worlds, which Sora can immediately use without having to unlock them. The charms from Kingdom Hearts II work differently than the summon gems from Kingdom Hearts. While most of the summon spells on the first game gave a temporary body to the soul contained within the gem, the charm actually teleports the summonable character directly from their world.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Dimension Links ("D-Link" for short) are a variant of summons that allow Terra, Ventus, and Aqua to draw power from each other and various characters they encounter in their journeys. In PSP versions, players can also draw power from each other wirelessly from other players to aid them in action.

Kingdom Hearts III

In Kingdom Hearts III, Sora obtains Link Summons from Heartbinders. According to Yen Sid, Heartbinders enhance Sora's gift for connecting with others,^[1] allowing him to summon friends from other worlds.

Mechanics

Kingdom Hearts

The Summon menu in Kingdom Hearts is located within the Magic menu in the original version and Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and the fourth Command Slot in Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX during battle. Each summon requires a specific amount of MP to be performed, and the summon lasts until its MP bar is fully consumed (or until the player dismisses it manually). The MP the summon has increases with Sora's MP capacity, and is further increased by Cheer abilities. In order to perform a summon, the player needs to have two friends in the battle with him, and they must both be conscious. This means that Sora cannot perform summons during battles he fights alone, or when one or both of his allies are unconscious.

Summons cannot be called when flying or swimming (though some can remain active if already called before entering a flying or swimming state), and certain summons will be instantly dismissed when Sora flies and moves too far away from them.

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories

In Chain of Memories, once Sora plays that specific summon's card, the summoned character will appear, perform one or more attacks/actions (depending on the amount of cards stocked) and immediately disappear.

Kingdom Hearts II

The Summon menu was given its own slot in the Command Menu in Kingdom Hearts II because of the inclusion of a second menu that could be accessed during battle. In addition, Kingdom Hearts II summons no longer require MP to be summoned; they now use the Drive Gauge to count down their time instead, require three Drive points to summon, and again the player must have two friends in battle in order to perform a summon. Each summon behaves differently during combat and has its own Limit.

Leveling Up Summons

Summons in Kingdom Hearts II draw their power from a separate Summon Gauge (similar to the Drive Gauge), which can also be leveled up, allowing the Summon to remain with Sora for a longer period of time. Unlike with Drive Forms which are leveled up separately, all of the Summons are affected by this. One point of Experience is gained for every gauge expended while the Summon is on the field. At first the maximum level for the Summons is 3, but can be raised by 1 for each new summon acquired, until it reaches 7 once all the summons are acquired. A simple way to level up is by finding a safe place, call a Summon, and then wait as time whittles down the gauges before jumping into the Gummi Ship to reset the gauge to MAX.

However, a much faster way to level up the Summon Gauge is to call a Summon to the field during battle and attack enemies the moment the gauge drops down a level. Every hit boosts the gauge by a small amount, so by constantly attacking to boost the gauge back up a level, it will drop back down again. Continue this method to boost the gauge back up a level with every attack so it is then expended, rewarding a point of Experience each time.

Kingdom Hearts III

Link Summons in Kingdom Hearts III consume all of Sora's MP, and his MP must be at maximum before using a Link. Each Link has a special Command Menu that allows Sora to perform various attacks with them, and a Finish command that provides a devastating attack. When activated, Links restore all of Sora's HP, or half of his maximum HP on Critical Mode.

List of Summons

Kingdom Hearts

• 

  Simba
  From the Earthshine obtained from Leon during the second visit to Traverse Town.
• 

  Genie
  Genie joins the party after sealing Agrabah's Keyhole.
• 

  Bambi
  From the Naturespark obtained after returning the first set of Torn Pages to Pooh's book.
• 

  Dumbo
  From the Watergleam found inside Monstro.
• 

  Tinker Bell
  Tinker Bell joins the party after sealing Neverland's Keyhole.
• 

  Mushu
  From the Fireglow obtained after defeating Dragon Maleficent.

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories

• 

  Simba
  Leon gives Sora the Simba Card after he completes his tutorial.
• 

  Genie
  Genie gives Sora the Genie Card after he completes the Agrabah floor.
• 

  Bambi
  Sora obtains the Bambi Card after completing the 100 Acre Wood floor.
• 

  Dumbo
  Sora obtains the Dumbo Card after he completes the Monstro floor.
• 

  Tinker Bell
  Tinker Bell gives Sora the Tinker Bell Card after he completes the Neverland floor.
• 

  Mushu
  The Mushu Card is found in a chest in the Hollow Bastion Room of Rewards.
• 

  Cloud
  Cloud gives Sora the Cloud Card after he completes the Olympus Coliseum floor.

Kingdom Hearts II

• 

  Chicken Little
  Merlin gives Sora the Baseball Charm after telling them about Pooh's book.
• 

  Genie
  Genie gives Sora the Lamp Charm after his first visit to Agrabah.
• 

  Stitch
  The Ukulele Charm is found in a chest at Ansem's Study during the second visit to Hollow Bastion.
• 

  Peter Pan
  The Feather Charm is found in a chest at the Ship Graveyard during the second visit to Port Royal.

Kingdom Hearts III

• 

  Meow Wow
  Yen Sid gives Sora the Dream Heartbinder after returning to Mysterious Tower.
• 

  Wreck-It Ralph
  Sora receives the Pixel Heartbinder for clearing Verum Rex for the first time.
• 

  Simba
  Sora receives the Pride Heartbinder for putting out the fires at the Tank Yard in Monstropolis.
• 

  Ariel
  The Ocean Heartbinder is found in a chest in the Underwater Cave in The Caribbean after defeating the Lightning Angler.
• 

  Stitch
  Sora receives the Ohana Heartbinder for clearing the Flash Tracer minigame for the first time.

Gallery

Development

• 

  Storyboard of the summoning mechanic.
• 

  Storyboard of the summoning mechanic.
• 

  Storyboard of Bambi's summoning.
• 

  Storyboard of Bambi's summoning.
• 

  Storyboard of Dumbo's summoning.
• 

  Storyboard of Dumbo's summoning.
• 

  Storyboard of Genie's summoning.
• 

  Storyboard of Genie's summoning.
• 

  Storyboard of Mushu's summoning.
• 

  Storyboard of Mushu's summoning.
• 

  Storyboard of Simba's summoning.
• 

  Storyboard of Simba's summoning.
• 

  Storyboard of Simba's summoning.
• 

  Storyboard of Tinker Bell's summoning

Notes and references

See also

• Summon Gems
• Summon Card
• Summon Charms
• Dimension Link
• Heartbinder

• Summons
• Magic