Crystal (term)



Crystals, also called Orbs and Spheres, are legendary and often elemental stones and objects that have appeared in every game in the main Final Fantasy series. Even in games where they are not a central plot point, there has been at least some reference to them. Crystals have power over natural phenomena, and function as a powerful source of magical energy. Many antagonists focus their efforts on seizing the Crystals to gain power towards their goal.

Profile
In most games there are typically four Crystals: a Water Crystal, a Fire Crystal, a Wind Crystal, and an Earth Crystal. On occasion Crystals may be aligned with Darkness. Crystals may often be found in Crystal Rooms in early games. The Crystals are often treasured for their power and many myths and legends surround the true extent of their abilities. Uncovering the truth of these myths and their meaning is a typical part of any Final Fantasy game.

The concept of four elemental crystals that sustain the world that occurred in early Final Fantasy games likely derives from the. These five elements are, in ascending order of power: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Void. The element of Void is not represented as a crystal, but may have taken the form of the Void, a dimension that connects the different Final Fantasy worlds.

The concept of four elemental crystals that sustain the world was largely phased out since Final Fantasy V, with crystals gaining more varied roles. Crystals remain as a source of life energy in some way, and often act as a source of magic in the game's world, sometimes powering airships and other apparatus. Crystals contain within themselves both light and dark in that they have been used for both good and evil purposes. Summoned monsters are often bound to a crystal, which represents their their essence in some way, and the one possessing the crystal shard becomes able to summon the creature. The power of the crystal is often to transcend space and time and life and death, even allowing travel to other eras, worlds and dimensions.

The crystal can be sentient and communicate with a chosen party, often via a mental link. Crystals choosing the player party as the "Warriors of Light" is a recurring theme in the early series, where the crystal, sensing the world is in danger, tasks a band of warriors with the mission of saving it, lending the group its powers, often resulting in the party becoming able to use magic and other special abilities.

Final Fantasy
The original Final Fantasy is where the crystals originated. They were initially known as "Orbs" in the North American localization, due to a truncated Japanese-to-English translation.

The Warriors of Light begin the game already in possession of four elemental Crystals, and each of the Four Fiends guards a larger, power-drained crystal of his or her own element, which the Warriors restore after defeating the Fiend. Garland possesses a fifth "Dark Crystal" as well, though its significance is not elaborated upon. When the Warriors of Light restore the light to all four Crystals, they channel their energy into the fifth Crystal, allowing them to travel to the past in order to stop the time loop.

Final Fantasy II
A Crystal Rod is a key item that unlocks entrance to the Mysidian Tower, where the ultimate magic Ultima is sealed. Atop the tower are four crystal orbs that represent each element.

When examined, the four blue crystals given an increase to a specific stat of a random party member (including Ricard) by 10. If the randomized party member has maxed out in the stat, then nothing will happen. In the bottom-left is the crystal of power which increases Strength. The top-left is the crystal of spirit which increases Spirit. The top-right is the crystal of intelligence which increase Intelligence. The bottom-right is the crystal of speed which increases Agility. In the Origins version, the Memo File and Soft Reset features allow a player to control who gets the stat gains by resetting until it chooses the desired character.

In the center of the room where the crystals lay is a fifth crystal that is orange, the crystal of the forbidden spell that contains the Ultima Tome that teaches Ultima.

In the Dawn of Souls bonus dungeon, Soul of Rebirth, the Crystals grant Minwu access to the Ultima Tome in Machanon.

Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy III has eight Crystals. Xande is trying to drain the Crystals of their power in order to create an imbalance between light and darkness. He manages to drain the Crystals on the ground continent, covering it in darkness and freezing time. He is, however, unable to drain the ones on the floating continent. Eventually, the forces of darkness manage to drain the other two Crystals, creating an imbalance that summons the Cloud of Darkness. The Wind Crystal chooses four children to go out and restore the balance, and give the Crystals back their power.

After the four youths find each Crystal, they are given new Job Classes. Once the youths are given the powers of the four Crystals of light, they enter the World of Darkness and must defeat the four guardians of the Dark Crystals to obtain the aid of the Warriors of the Dark. They then use the four Crystals of Darkness to make the Cloud of Darkness vulnerable.

Another crystal is found in Goldor Manor, but it is a crystal made of pure gold as with everything Goldor owns. The Warriors of the Light initially suspect this gold crystal is the Crystal of Earth, but are mistaken, and the gold crystal is shown to have no special powers.

Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV has eight primary Crystals. The four elemental Crystals form the "Light Crystals", and are kept in the Overworld. The Crystal of Water is in Mysidia, the Crystal of Fire is in Damcyan, the Crystal of Wind is in Fabul, and the Crystal of Earth is in Troia.

There are also four "Dark Crystals" kept in the Underworld. The location of two of these Crystals is never revealed, but one is kept by the Dwarves in their castle, and one is found in the Sealed Cave.

If all eight Crystals are gathered in the Tower of Babil, it has been told that the "way to the Moon" would open. However, gathering the Crystals would actually summon the Giant of Babil, a wish-granting giant. The Lunarian Zemus wanted to have the Giant destroy the Earth so the Lunarians could settle there, and he used Golbez to do so. Many more Crystals are revealed later in the game, such as the eight Crystals of the Moon and a Crystal that appears in the battle with Zeromus.

The Crystals of the Moon are sentient and are responsible for sealing Zemus's power for the time being. The Crystal that appears in the battle against Zemus is an item said to make Zeromus vulnerable. Golbez tried to use it on Zeromus; however, only those born out of the Light can use the Crystal. When Cecil Harvey used it, Zeromus became vulnerable, and Cecil and his friends defeated it.

There is also the Crystal of Flight, which rests within the Lunar Whale, and is used to transport the heroes to the Moon and back. The Elder of Mysidia implies that Crystals power the Lunar Whale, and in the Nintendo DS release several Crystals can be seen embedded in parts of the airship.

In the game's 3D remake releases each of the eight Crystals are colored differently. In the SNES and other 2D releases, the Crystals were colored light blue or dark red/black, depending on their alignment to Light or Darkness.

Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
Three crystals makes an appearance in the sequel to Final Fantasy IV, and all three of them are silently shedding their lights within their Crystal Chambers. The three crystals are the Fire Crystal in Damcyan, the Wind Crystal of Fabul, and the Dark Crystal inside the Sealed Cave.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
The Mysterious Girl and Kain? band together to collect the eight Crystals of the Blue Planet, all of which have returned to their original resting spots since the events of Final Fantasy IV. The girl also returns to the Red Moon and drains the power of their Crystals, shattering them.

In the depths of the True Moon, numerous Crystals appear and shatter, reviving various bosses from Final Fantasy IV to attack the party as they travel deeper into the moon's surface. In the Moon's final chambers the party recovers the eight Crystals of the Blue Planet, and in the final battle with the Creator, they are used to render him vulnerable to the party's attacks.

Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy V has four Crystals that control the elements in Bartz's World, and without them, the wind would not blow, the oceans would dry up, the fire would burn out, and the life of the earth would be destroyed. The Wind Crystal is kept in the Wind Shrine maintained by Tycoon. The Water Crystal is kept in the Walse Tower and maintained by Walse. The Fire Crystal is kept in Karnak. And the Earth Crystal is located in the Ronka Ruins. Long ago, the Warriors of Dawn used the power of the Crystals to seal Exdeath within the earth.

Cid Previa invented a machine to amplify the Crystals' output but if the Crystals were allowed to operate at this capacity, they would shatter. Cid regretted creating the machine. Exdeath tries to shatter the Crystals himself to be freed, and the Crystals all eventually shatter, and each shard becomes the source for a new Job Class for the characters.

In Galuf's World the Crystals are replaced by the Crystals who guard the Great Forest of Moore.

In the Merged World the party battles Exdeath within the Void and recreate the Crystals with the power of the two generations of Warriors of Dawn, thus regenerating the world.

Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals
Ra Devil's forces have stolen the crystals of Earth, Fire, and Water. Sensing something is amiss, Linaly's grandfather sends her to check on the Wind Crystal. The spirit of Mid Previa had been residing in this crystal, and uses Linaly's body to hide the crystal from Ra Devil's forces.

Linaly is captured, and later rescued by Prettz, Valkus, and Rouge. The other three crystals are reclaimed but not before Ra Devil had already transformed himself using their power.

Final Fantasy VI
When an Esper dies, their remains crystallize into Magicite, which appear as glowing shards of green crystal. In contrast to magic extracted from live Espers via Magitek, magic can be taught naturally and at a much higher potency using Magicite.

Using Magicite, the protagonists are able to use magic and fight the Gestahlian Empire on its own terms for a time, before the Empire is decimated by Espers. At this time the Empire abandons Magitek in favor of Magicite in preparation to invade the Esper homeworld and seize the Warring Triad. After Kefka revives the Warring Triad and absorbs all of their powers, he becomes the source of all magic in the world. Thus, upon his defeat, Espers, Magicite, and magic disappear from the world entirely.

Final Fantasy VII
The crystallized form of Mako is known as Materia, and a subtle nod to the crystals of past. The Materia allow the user to control magic spells, summons, gives boosts to statistics and adds extra commands. Two exceptionally powerful Materia pieces are the White Materia and Black Materia. Sephiroth seeks the Black Materia to summon Meteor to strike the Planet, while Aeris tries to stop him by using the White Materia to summon Holy, the ultimate White Magic spell that can destroy Meteor.

There are also four rare natural Materia found in Materia Caves: Knights of Round, Mime, HP↔MP, and Quadra Magic, said to be so powerful due to being in secluded areas, and have been given time to grow and collect. There are also the four Huge Materia, colors red, blue, yellow, and green. Three of the four Huge Materia correspond to matching color Materia: Master Summon, Master Command, and Master Magic can be acquired from the red, yellow, and green Huge Materia if the player has mastered all Materia shards of that type. The Huge Materia's appearance is of homage to the elemental crystals of the early series.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
During the first battle with him at the Nibelheim Mako Reactor, Sephiroth can summon four colored crystals to assist him in battle. The crystals are identical in appearance to the four Huge Materia from Final Fantasy VII.

In a locked chamber in the Banora Underground the player can enter battle with Green Materia, Red Materia, Yellow Materia, and Blue Materia. They cast elemental magic in battle and their coloring corresponds to four of the five typical Materia colors. The Banora Underground caves are full of crystals, due to the proximity to the Lifestream. The Goddess Materia is a large natural Materia Genesis Rhapsodos seeks tp cute his degradation.

Zack Fair can also equip Materia for various effects in battle.

Final Fantasy VIII
The only prominent crystal is the crystal pillar, a gigantic crystal believed to have originated from the Moon. The monsters in the world come from the moon, and the crystal is responsible for summoning them to the planet by creating a strong energy field. It reacts to a certain location on the planet, and this reaction creates a signal that directs the Lunar Cry towards that location. Thus, in Final Fantasy VIII, the Crystal acts as a malevolent force.

Final Fantasy IX
In Final Fantasy IX, Crystals are the source of all life; the Crystals residing at the center of planets circulate life, from which all life is born, and to which the souls return upon death, and as the memories of living beings accumulate inside the Crystals, the planets grow. Eidolons in Gaia are guardian spirits created by the Crystal in order to protect it.

The people of Terra had mastered the art of fusing their Crystal with others, allowing them to assimilate other worlds and keep their race thriving even when their current Crystal weakened. As revealed in the Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania, once a Crystal has aged, it returns to the cosmos and becomes the source of a new Crystal.

Crystals also appear in the game as a means of summoning Eidolons. The four "jewels" sought by Queen Brahne of Alexandria were in fact fragments of a Crystal broken apart 500 years prior to the game. If all four jewels would come together in Alexandria, Alexander would be summoned. This echoes Final Fantasy IV, as Alexander heavily resembles the Giant of Babil, which was also summoned by a gathering of Crystals.

Also, Crystals can be equipped as add-ons, which grant the user special abilities, particularly for Dagger and Eiko, who can learn Summon Magic from them. Eiko can also alter her Summon Magic according to the gemstone she has equipped.

Final Fantasy X
Spheres are round crystalline objects used for various purposes in the world of Spira. While they are not like materia or even crystal shaped, they contain various magical energies possibly provided by the pyreflies embedded in them, allowing them to act as keys, contain memories, and even record events that can be viewed like a movie. They also, symbolically, represent the game's theme of cycles.

Just prior to the series of final boss fights, Tidus and company are warped to a bizarre spinning room called "Sin - The Nucleus". Within the Nucleus, Tidus must avoid crystal spikes while grabbing ten glowing, teleporting crystals, each of which bestows either powerful spheres or weapons. Once all ten items are acquired, the player is teleported to Dream's End for the final battle.

A larger crystal also makes a cameo in Luca. There is a statue in the round square where a huge clear crystal is sitting. As the player walks closer, the camera focuses on the crystal. The Crystal Cup can also be classified as a cameo for the crystal, and it can be seen handed to the Besaid Aurochs by Wakka if the player wins the first blitzball tournament of the storyline.

Also in Final Fantasy X, when the Magus Sisters perform Delta Attack, they surround the enemy party in eight crystals, four of blue hue, and four of red-orange hue. This is a reference back to Final Fantasy IV, where there were four blue Crystals of the surface world, and four red-orange Crystals of the Underground.

Final Fantasy X-2
In Final Fantasy X-2, dresspheres allow one to use the memories within the sphere to unleash associated powers.

Synthesis Crystals
Crystals are common and are used in item synthesis, sometimes found when the Adventurer kills enemies with the status effects Signet, Sanction, or Sigil active. There is a crystal for every element.

The Adventurer can also give crystals to gate guards of their nation to aid in that nation's development. In return, the Adventurer are rewarded with Rank Points, which are sometimes needed to receive new missions from the player's nation.

There are 8 main types of crystals, with each element corresponding to a different crafting task, and each can be found at the Auction House under the category "Crystals":
 * Fire Crystal - Burning or Heating.
 * Earth Crystal - Bonding.
 * Water Crystal - Diluting, Dissolving, or Liquifying.
 * Wind Crystal - Carving or Cutting.
 * Ice Crystal - Freezing or Congealing.
 * Lightning Crystal - Disintegrating or De-synthesizing.
 * Light Crystal - Mending, Repairing, or Blessing.
 * Dark Crystal - Decaying or Aging.

Protocrystals
Six "Protocrystals" serve as gateways to the six sleeping gods, Shiva, Ramuh, Ifrit, Leviathan, Titan, and Garuda.

The protocrystals are located in the following areas:
 * Cloister of Flames in Ifrit's Cauldron.
 * Cloister of Frost in Fei'Yin.
 * Cloister of Gales in Cape Teriggan.
 * Cloister of Storms in The Boyahda Tree.
 * Cloister of Tides in the Den of Rancor.
 * Cloister of Tremors in the Quicksand Caves.

Telepoints and Gate Crystals
In modern-day Vana'diel, six telepoints exist in the forms of crystals. In the Shadowreign era, three additional telepoints existed that have since been destroyed. When the Adventurer first examines a telepoint, they receive a gate crystal, a key item needed to be teleported to that specific telepoint via teleport and recall spells.

The following are the locations and teleport spells associated with each telepoint: Existing telepoints in present-day Vana'diel:
 * La Theine Plateau - Teleport-Holla
 * Tahrongi Canyon - Teleport-Mea
 * Konschtat Highlands - Teleport-Dem
 * Eastern Altepa Desert - Teleport-Altep
 * Yhoator Jungle - Teleport-Yhoat
 * Xarcabard - Teleport-Vahzl

Destroyed telepoints:
 * Jugner Forest (S) - Recall-Jugner
 * Meriphataud Mountains (S) - Recall-Meriph
 * Pashhow Marshlands (S) - Recall-Pashh

Magicite
Magicite are unusual crystal deposits found in beastmen strongholds near destroyed portions of the Crystal Lines, large conduits that connect the Crags of Holla, Mea, and Dem.

Mothercrystals
Yet another type of crystal are the Mothercrystals; five shards of the original that is said to have created the gods, which was shattered into the five pieces to fend away the Emptiness.

Orbs
Orbs also make an appearance in Final Fantasy XI as rare, exotic gems that, when cast into Burning Circles in certain areas, grant access to Burning Circle Notorious Monster fights. Orbs are sold by Shami in Port Jeuno, but he only accepts payments in the forms of Beastman's Seals or Kindred's Seals.

The Seed Crystal
An ancient crystal plays a key plot role in Final Fantasy XI: A Crystalline Prophecy - Ode of Life Bestowing.

Final Fantasy XII
Crystals are commonly found in the form of magicite. Magicite, in the world of Ivalice, is described as a kind of magical stone, capable of storing Mist and being extracted for its use in magic. The game's story focuses on nethicite, a special type of magicite that holds great amounts of magical energy. Items such as the Dawn Shard are revealed to be shards of the Sun-Cryst, which is essentially a large crystal, and a powerful form of nethicite, having been used in the conquests and campaigns of the legendary Dynast-King Raithwall of the Kingdom of Dalmasca, that has secured his legacy for centuries.

Through the studies of Dr. Cid, the Archadian Empire has begun to synthesize artificial nethicite deemed manufacted nethicite, and with it the Archadians have begun a campaign to conquer the world. Princess Ashe, in her bid to defeat the Archadians, focuses much of her efforts during the game on acquiring a shard of the Sun-Cryst to use as power to wage war on Archadia, while the Archadians track down the same shards for experimentation.

Crystals are found throughout the game, and one of their many functions is as a Save Point. These Crystals are divided into Save Crystals, which let the player save the game, and Gate Crystals, which also allow teleportation to other Gate Crystals. Many enemies later in the game also drop various elemental crystals, used for making items in the Bazaar. Espers are also bound to Crystals before they are defeated.

There is also an enemy that takes the form of a crystal, called a Crystalbug. There are only three Crystalbugs in the entire game.

There is a location in the game that is a giant crystal known as the Great Crystal, where the Occuria dwell.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Crystals in Revenant Wings come in the form of auracite, which people can use to summon Yarhi (the game's version of Espers). However, using the auracite comes with the price: Each time someone uses it, their anima slowly drains away. This is the reason the aegyl have been reduced to emotionless shells in the beginning of the game.

There are also larger pieces of crystals called Auraliths from which all auracite comes. Destroying the Auraliths releases the trapped anima they have absorbed. In addition, there is the Soul Crystal gameplay element that appears in certain battles and reincarnates its team's KO'd members periodically.

Fortress
Crystal-like objects appear in Fortress concepts and come in eight different (apparently elemental) types. It is currently unknown whether these objects are nethicite, auracite, Auralith, or something else entirely.

Final Fantasy XIII
Crystals interact in the world in the form of fal'Cie, god-like machines powered by the crystals. Their power seems limitless as they helped create Cocoon, which is essentially another moon of the world of Gran Pulse. These entities can create l'Cie by planting a crystal shard, known as an eidolith, somewhere inside the human body; the l'Cie are, to a degree, their avatars in the world.

L'Cie can use magic and summon Eidolons through the use of their eidoliths and if the l'Cie fails in the task they are given, the power of the crystals will turn them into a monstrous crystallized Cie'th. If they complete their Focus, l'Cie are rewarded with eternity by becoming lifeless crystals. Because both fates are considered to be a fate akin to (or even worse than) death, Cocoon citizens live in fear of the l'Cie and cast out those who become as such.

Humans, like the fal'Cie, also possess crystal power, though in a different manner. Like in many other games in the series, crystal seems to be the Final Fantasy XIII's universe's life substance. The crystals power the fal'Cie like a computer's processor, giving them amazing magical powers and making them immortal, incapable of aging, yet the humans possess an even greater power; when a human dies, their soul turns into crystal energy and passes through the Door of Souls to be eventually reborn. The fal'Cie envy this trait as they, too, would like to pass through the Door of Souls to be reunited with their Maker. During the game's final chapters the party can observe the crystal energy in the air as tiny glimmering shards.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
When Noel and Serah defeat a monster in battle, they can gain its power in form of crystal which they can use to summon enemy in next battle to fight alongside them. This is an ability granted to Serah by the goddess Etro. Mog has a crystal on his antenna instead of the classic moogle pompom; it is also incorporated into weapons he turns into.

Fragments, crystallized memories, take appearance of various crystals, and artefacts, items which do not belong in their time period, are also a type of crystal. Caius's greatsword and armor has a crystal attached to it, which is revealed by one of the Fragments to be Bahamut's eidolith.

The meteor that Noel arrives to New Bodhum in is also a crystal. Atlas is powered by a type of crystal. The Historia Crux utilizes crystal as a means of preserving the states of locations that have previously been visited, as completed locations bear the message "Time and memory, frozen in crystal".

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Random encounters sometimes transform into green crystals upon being defeated, to signify dropping an ability for Lightning. Soul seeds, the objects which form monsters, take the form of small purple crystals and appear within Chaos infusions. Special merchants pay for gathered soul seeds. During a quest in Luxerion related to Vanille, Lightning must find a crystal shard that Vanille uses to keep in contact with Fang.

In the Datalog, it is stated that Bhunivelze's true form is an everlasting crystal. After the Apocalypse, Lightning and her friends are faced by a large crystal in a void, which shatters and triggers the birth of the new world and releases the souls of humanity.

Final Fantasy XIV
The functions of many crystals in the world of XI are duplicated in Final Fantasy XIV, though different names are used. Aetheryte crystals are massive shards of crystallized aetheric mist, precisely cut and fused to arcane machinery. Their origins unknown, they are used by the present cultures as means of teleportation for the Adventurer.

Like in Final Fantasy XI, elemental crystals and shards can also be gathered for usage in item synthesis. Also can be obtained are crystals drained of their elemental aspect, which are called deaspected crystals.

The location Mor Dhona is littered with naturally-occurring crystals, as opposed to the enshrined gems seen elsewhere in the game. Crystals as scenery are a common element in final or significant areas for much of the series.

In the lore of Final Fantasy XIV, the world of Hydaelyn was forged using the energy from a "Mothercrystal", a universal source of life. This version of the crystal acts in the same manner as the crystal in Final Fantasy IX. The core story of the game's reboot, A Realm Reborn, appears to revolve around the crystal and protecting it and the world it helped create.

Four crystals can be seen during the animation of the Thaumaturge ability, Swiftcast.

Final Fantasy XV
Crystals act as a source of political and magical power to major nations in Final Fantasy XV. Several kingdoms used to have their own Crystals, but lost them through warfare. By the current day, the last remaining Crystal known to exist in the world, is heavily guarded and treasured by the kingdom of Lucis. Through its possession, the Crystal is implied to be behind Lucis's rapid development and growth into a culturally and technologically advanced nation.

As the result, the other nations engage in a tense, cold war standoff and question the majority of power that Lucis holds; as a harsh consequence of having lost their Crystals through war and invasion, these nations experience progression only through their military, in contrast with Lucis. Noctis, the son and heir to King Regis Lucis Caelum, the 113th successor of the Caelum Dynasty, is sent to protect his nation's Crystal upon the breach of a newly settled treaty to end the cold war, being the launch of an all-out invasion and takeover led by the garrison state of Niflheim, and its combined conquered collective of nations under its sphere of influence.

In the Tokyo Game Show 2014 trailer, the party drives past a giant glowing iridescent monolithic formation known as an astral shard. These enormous towering rocks are hinted to likely be a type of crystal and related with the iteration's incarnation of Eidolons, who are said to be the manifestation of the power and influence of the stars. Due to one Astral Shard's appearance, Prompto asks if it is on fire, suggesting that its aural projection is indicative of representing specific elements relevant to that Eidolon.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Crystals may appear when a defeated unit remains unconscious for three rounds (300 CT). They represent the condensed soul energy of the defeated unit. Living units may pick up these crystals to fully restore their HP and MP. If a human unit picks up the crystal formed from another human's soul, the living unit may choose instead to learn the abilities that the defeated unit had learned, at no JP cost. Once a unit's soul condenses into a crystal, its body disappears, and it cannot be revived by any means, making the transformation into a crystal a form of.

The crystals of defeated human units are based on their color palette. The party and guests (palette 00) have the teal-gray colored crystal, the Order of the Northern Sky units (palette 01) have the bright blue colored crystal, the Order of the Southern Sky units (palette 02) have the red colored crystal, the Corpse Brigade/Baert Trading Company/random battle units (palette 03) have the yellow colored crystal, and the Church of Glabados units (palette 04) have the purplish-gray colored crystal.

In Midlight's Deep, each blackout area can be lit slightly by an unclaimed crystal. The area will be completely revealed when there are totally five crystals remaining.

Additionally, the twelve Zodiac Stones are crystalline stones of great power, fulfilling this game's role of Crystals. There is also a hidden thirteenth Zodiac Stone obtained from Elidibus on the tenth floor of Midlight's Deep. This stone represents Serpentarius the Serpent, but is simply an add to the original twelve.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
The five crystals in Tactics Advance are the threads that bind together the dream Ivalice, made by the palace, and each one represents one of the races of Ivalice. Crystals exists in special folds in space, called "seams". As the crystal's magic is beneficial to all Ivalice, special means are being employed to protect them. This was once known in a theory, one of the believers are Montblanc. This was then confirmed when the clan had to fight with the first guardian of the crystals, also known as Totema, Famfrit.

Marche's quest in the game is to shatter the five crystals in order to return home. In order to do this, he must defeat the Totema that guards each crystal. A sixth crystal is actually Queen Remedi, the Li-Grim in her true form, and even when they are all destroyed it takes the will of all of those from the old world to allow them to return.

The classic four crystals of Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth appear in a group of optional subquests, known as "sigils". On these missions, each sigil must be obtained by defeating a "Falgabird" of the corresponding element: Marilith (Fire), Lich (Earth), Kraken (Water), and Tiamat (Wind). These Falgabirds are a reference to the original Four Fiends. Once the four sigils are obtained, two further missions can be completed to craft the Mind Ceffyl and the Body Ceffyl from them.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Crystals appear in certain quests/battles. When touched, the crystals allow the character to be transported to a different battle field. Touching the crystals is usually required to complete missions they appear in.

Crystal Defenders
In Crystal Defenders, the player defends crystals from numerous waves of enemies. In addition, there are Power Crystals, which raise the abilities of nearby units.

Final Fantasy Type-0
A crystal is located in each Peristylium of Orience, bestowing the nation with a special blessing and power to its citizens, representative of mankind's pursuits. Said to have been found long ago within their respective regions, they act as a means of political power, allowing their people to rule over their lands with a means of protection from invasion, and to inspire hope in the world which they live. In return crystals erase the personal memories associated with those that die and perish in life among those people that remember their existence.

In an interview found in the Final Fantasy Type-0 artbook, Hajime Tabata said the crystals have a limited will of their own and, in terms of the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy mythology, are equivalent to the fal'Cie of Final Fantasy XIII. Amongst all nations, crystals can brand individuals as l'Cie, giving them a crucial task known as a Focus for them to achieve. To achieve this, l'Cie are also given special powers and immortality, but at the risk of the expenditure of memories, spirit, and identity should they fall into despair over the many years spent as a l'Cie.


 * The Vermillion Bird Crystal, kept by the Dominion of Rubrum. Their crystal bestows the Power of Magic, allowing the people of Rubrum to use magical spells and powers that bend nature's phenomena to their will. The Vermillion Peristylium refines the use of magic through academics and training of individuals skilled or potent in magic capability. Its appearance is reminiscent of the classical shape seen throughout the series, and glows red. It is also heard to speak to the protagonists of the game, Class Zero: during the dialogue, it speaks in a female voice.
 * The White Tiger Crystal, kept by the Milites Empire. Their crystal bestows the Power of Weapons, its power allowing all people to interact with it freely through crafting arsenals and technology utilizing its energy. The White Peristylium researches Byakko's properties, having derived Magitek Armor and all sorts of innovations for its use. Its appearance is that of a six pointed cross and glows teal-white.
 * The Azure Dragon Crystal, kept by the Kingdom of Concordia. Their crystal bestows the Power of the Dragon, allowing its people to communicate and interact with monsters peacefully in everyday life. Its shape takes on that of a clear, rough orb of subtle blue.
 * The Black Tortoise Crystal, kept by the Lorican Alliance. Their crystal bestows the Power of the Shield, allowing its people to draw its magic to grant them great strength and robustness greater than other countries. Its shape is that of a verdant green heart.

At the beginning of High Commander Cid's expansion of the Milites Empire, it seems that his country has found a new weapon to jam other nations' crystals, and sends his army, including magitek armour, airships and l'Cie, to dominate Orience.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Large Crystals can be found in every town and village in the Crystal Chronicles world. They protect people from the poisonous mist known as Miasma, that plagues the entire world. The effect is only temporary, and after a year each town and village must send out Crystal Caravans to collect three drops of Myrrh. To collect the Myrrh, the Caravanners use a Crystal Chalice, which not only can hold the Myrrh but can protect the travelers from Miasma with its crystal for a short range.

A Carbuncle in Mag Mell reveals that all the crystals protecting each village and city were originally part of a once Great Crystal that was shattered after being struck by a meteor that brought with it the Meteor Parasite which spread the Miasma.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
Crystals in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles:'Ring of Fates are an item for everyday life. Chelinka was born with a special crystal in her hand that she can only use when her twin brother Yuri is around.

The Great Crystal is also seen, and it holds the memories of the world. It is later revealed that use of the crystals alter the path of reality and destiny. When the crystals are used by the moontouched Lunites they turn crimson, whereas the crystals are normally blue.

Gameplay-wise, crystals found in towns and dungeons heal party members fully and also act as a save-point and checkpoint.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
In Padarak, a Crystal that appears within the Kingdom grants King Leo the power of Architek that allows him to rebuild his fathers Kingdom. To build new buildings, a type of crystals known as elementites must be collected by Adventures in dungeons. These elementites were once part of the main antagonist, the Dark Lord.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Originally Crystals were used to keep the air clean and bestow prosperity on the land, like in Ring of Fates. When an inventor, Larkeicus, created machines that would allow the people to live a life of luxury (and for himself, immortality), Crystals were harvested as energy sources. As time passed, the crystals disappeared and the people became desperate for more, digging mines to uncover them.

One day, a large Crystal, the world's last remaining Crystal Core, appeared in a small Village. Larkeicus located the last Crystal using his ring, while also searching around the globe for a new source of Crystals. The inventor found Sherlotta in the Forest after killing the rest of the villagers. When the Crystal appeared in a forest pond, it infused itself to Sherlotta's soul creating, presumably, a starsinger. Larkeicus could not take the Crystal, even though there was no one to stop him. The Crystal Core was a sort of negative Crystal, rendering Larkeicus's machines useless and sending his dynasty into ruins.

A thousand years later, Larkeicus realizes the Crystals disappeared because of the shock waves from the future, and prepares to stop the event from happening. When he activates the ruins, the Crystal Core shatters and is later repaired by the hero. In the game's final events the Crystal Core is summoned to create the disturbance that made the Crystals disappear two millenia ago.

The hero is forced to shatter the Crystal, and both Larkeicus and Sherlotta disappear in a blinding light. When arriving home, the hero throws the Crystal shard received from Sherlotta on his/her sixteenth birthday into the Crystal's pool. The next day, the once tiny Crystal begins to grow into one like the Crystal Core that appeared 2000 years ago.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
There are four Tribal Crystals, each representing a race, that form the "Crystal Principle", an ideal form of balance in the world. However, during the Crystal War, the Lilty destroyed the Yuke's Tribal Crystal, dooming the race to a place between Existence and Oblivion. The crystal shards were created from the Yuke's Crystal and served as a power source. The Crystal Idols gather these shards to recreate the Yuke's Crystal.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
There are five Crystals in Mystic Quest, each having their power drained by one of the Vile Four. Flamerus Rex drains the Crystal of Earth's power, rendering Level Forest and Foresta a decaying wasteland and turning most of the residents, including children, into old men and women. The Ice Golem's uses the Crystal of Water to send the Aquaria area into a permanent winter, the Dualhead Hydra causes earthquakes to become rampant around Fireburg using the Crystal of Fire, and Pazuzu causes violent windstorms using the Crystal of Wind.

In addition to these four crystals, the Crystal of Light appears to Benjamin as an old man offering cryptic advice. The Crystal of Light in turn may have been under the dark influences of the Dark King, as it later shines at his throne when he is killed.

The Final Fantasy Legend
In the Japanese version, the spheres are called crystals. The spheres are needed in order to progress through the Tower, and they are gotten after the defeat of their respective Fiend. The sphere are used to unlock the sealed door that will allow the party to travel further up the floors of the Tower. Sei-Ryu created numerous fake spheres in order to protect the real one from being stolen from him. The Chinese writing on the spheres are Xuan (dark), Qing (blue-green), Bai (white), and Zhu (red).

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
The Crystal appears before Brandt, Jusqua, Yunita and Aire and dubs them the Heroes of Light. It grants the crowns after they help various towns.

Bravely Default
In Bravely Default, there are four crystals representing Fire, Water, Wind and Earth, as with many earlier Final Fantasy titles. They act as the balancing force for the world of Luxendarc and each of its parallel counterparts, ruling over worldly elemental phenomena of their respective element. In Crystal Orthodoxy, the crystals are objects of worship.

Each of the crystals is tended and prayed to by a vestal, to ensure the stability of a crystal's power and influence. Without the presence of a vestal, or if the crystal is improperly managed, disasters and catastrophes will occur in its reigning region. On the other hand, overstimulating the crystals can also cause the elements they are linked with to behave erratically: an example of this is the Earth Crystal, which causes the land of Eternia to be transformed into a plateau only accessible by air. When the crystals are threatened by the taint of darkness, the vestals perform special rites to purify them; in the worst case, when a crystal is corrupted by darkness to the point of impurity, they must either flee or are killed.

While the crystals can be destroyed, as long as their core, which is separate from the main crystal, remains intact, they will grow back to their original size and power using the prayers and wishes of humanity, although this process can take 5,000 years. In the story, it is revealed that each crystals' core is Agnès's pendant, which was bestowed to her by Sage Yulyana who obtained it from the angel that looks like Agnès in his past.

The Eternian empire has been extracting the power from the Earth Crystal to amplify white magic through a cable system called 'white magic cable' to all the medical institutions and hospitals. Doing so, the medical institutions may use their white magic to halt and/or cure any disease of any people under their care. It is also revealed that it is actually impossible for even the vestals to extract powers directly from the crystals, as it is a serious desecration.

The crystals are worshiped by the Crystal Orthodoxy as objects of political and religious power. Due to the abuse of those powers, many lost faith in the Orthodoxy and formed a movement called "Anticrystalism", determined to ensure that the crystals could not be used for evil ends. Despite the politico-religious allegiances formed, they are not without their great deeds and stark vices; while the abuse of power has been prevalent in the Orthodoxy, it was due to the acts of the Sage that helped cleverly cleaned up its ranks, while its vestals are important to ensure the stability of the crystals, kept out of any secular political involvement. While Anticrystalism has been formed to prevent abuse of the crystals by political corruption and manmade disaster, extreme motives and bias are prevalent even in its own highest powers, committing inhumane acts of discrimination, hypocrisy, and even genocide to those that run counter to its ideals.

They can also provide a link between parallel versions of Luxendarc by the prayers of their vestals. The Holy Pillar is a divine occurrence that emerges at the very south-east of Luxendarc after all of the crystals have been awakened perfectly. In Crystal Orthodoxy, it is thought that praying to the Holy Pillar will purge the world from darkness. Later it is revealed that when a Holy Pillar emerges, it actually creates an opening of that world to another world parallel to it. Airy has used the opportunity to trick the party and weaved each world together for Ouroboros, the mastermind behind a plan to destroy all worlds and invade the Celestial Realm, which involved him sending his agent to darken the crystals and trick the chosen warriors into linking the parallel Luxendarcs.

Final Fantasy Dimensions
The world's most vital crystal lies within the nation of Lux. Upon its shattering, the world itself became divided into one of light and one of darkness, and its shards scattered throughout the world.

Amongst the Warriors of Light and the Warriors of Darkness who travel in the separated worlds in search of the shards of the world's crystal, they also bestow upon the parties the powers of different warrior classes, and are gained from people of different walks of life.

Final Fantasy Legends: Toki no Suishō
Crystals appear in Final Fantasy Legends: Toki no Suishō.

Final Fantasy Explorers
In Final Fantasy Explorers, crystals are said to be the receptacles for the energy of the stars. The most powerful is the Great Crystal, said to be the source of all life. The Great Crystal bestowed the people of the world with souls that could evolve over time and develop a civilization. By the events of Final Fantasy Explorers, humanity begun to use crystals to advance their civilization, and when the island of Amostela rises from the sea carrying large crystal reserves, people see the island as an opportunity and Explorers head to the island to retrieve them. The crystals across the island are guarded by summoned monsters, which the Explorers must fight.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
There are ten Crystals, each one representing one of the first ten games of the series. Each Crystal is somehow reflective of its original game or its representative character, such as Cloud's Crystal being a piece of a Materia, Zidane's Crystal being the Crystal featured in Final Fantasy IX's logo, and Tidus's Crystal being a Sphere.

These Crystals, later revealed to hold a tenth of Cosmos's power, had to be obtained by its respective Warrior of Cosmos by asserting their true desires to fight for what they believe in. To this end their respective enemies challenge their beliefs, wishing to speed along the manifestation of the Crystals as part of a plot to destroy Cosmos. When all ten Crystals have been recovered, the player can access the final stage and confront the final boss, Chaos. After he is defeated, the Warriors of Cosmos each depart back to their own world, taking their Crystal with them.

The Emperor is stated to possess several Dark Crystals as a result of Jecht, being a former Warrior of Cosmos, manifesting them but with their allegiance being to Chaos since he was brought to the side of discord. These Dark Crystals are not seen in-game, although it is known that with their power, The Emperor could survive the destruction of the World and rule it after the Gods killed each other.

The manikins that serve as the basic foes of Dissidia also appear to be living creatures made entirely of crystal.

Also, the Crystal from Final Fantasy V makes a cameo as a tutor from the in-game manuals.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy the player witnesses Cosmos granting her power to her warriors, telling them that after they fight enough battles this power will manifest as a Crystal. It is also during this cycle that the Emperor arranges for Jecht to become a Warrior of Chaos to manifest the Dark Crystals.

The Reports, which go into detail on the backstory for Dissidia's world, explain that the manikins are living crystal ore recovered from The Void that shapeshift to take on the forms of others.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
The Music Crystal is the source of music and harmony in the world, existing in the space between Cosmos and Chaos called Rhythm. When the forces of chaos disrupt the Music Crystal's energy, the heroes embark on a journey to energize it with Rhythmia and restore its light.

The player can also collect crystal shards by playing Dark Notes and reaching certain Rhythmia milestones.

Obtaining eight crystal shards of the same color will unlock a new character:
 * Yellow - Cid Haze
 * Indigo - Locke Cole
 * Orange - Vivi
 * Scarlet - Ashe
 * Silver - Minwu
 * Green - Rydia
 * Crimson - Faris
 * Red - Aerith
 * Turquoise - Yuna
 * Gold - Princess Sarah
 * Gray - Seifer
 * Purple - Prishe
 * White - Snow
 * Rainbow - Cosmos
 * Navy - Kain
 * Black - Sephiroth

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call
The Music Crystal returns, functioning the same as it did in the previous game. Crystal shards also return, but their function has been altered. Rather than collecting a different color for each character, five to six characters are designated to one color (excluding Black shards), and with the number of shards reduced, makes unlocking characters easier. In addition, the default characters that are not chosen as the player's party of four can be later unlocked through crystal shards.

Characters that require four shards to unlock:
 * Red - Warrior of Light, Bartz, Zidane, Lightning, Cosmos, Zack
 * Indigo - Firion, Terra, Tidus, Y'shtola, Yuna #2, Serah
 * Yellow - Onion Knight, Cloud, Shantotto, Benjamin, Ramza, Ace
 * Green - Cecil, Squall, Vaan, Ciaran, Tifa #2, Lightning #2

Characters that require six shards to unlock:
 * Peach - Princess Sarah, Rydia, Aerith, Yuna, Snow, Rikku
 * Purple - Minwu, Faris, Seifer, Prishe, Machina, Noel
 * Orange - Cid, Locke, Vivi, Ashe, Agrias
 * Turquoise - Kain, Celes, Rinoa, Auron, Balthier, Paine
 * White - Lenna, Tifa, Garnet, Aphmau, Hope, Rem
 * Silver - Galuf, Barret, Eiko, Lilisette, Vanille
 * Gold - Edge, Edgar, Laguna, Jecht, Fran

Character that requires eight shards to unlock:
 * Black - Sephiroth

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
Crystals in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade contain abilities made available for players to peruse, use, enhance, sell or to destroy their enemies. Crystals containing abilities may be obtained from varying chocobos, usually of the Yellow, Black and White variety although mutations such as that of a red feathering do tend to exist and as such, result in rarer ability gains. They are also involved with the process of boosting an ability's initial limit, evolving the ability past its prime within the Crystal chamber.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest
The Crystal is mentioned in the prologue, but it does not appear within the game.

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales
Five Crystals appear in this game, connected to different elements and guarded by different Summon Creatures. The Red Crystal sitting atop the volcano Mt. Magma has power over Fire, and is protected by Phoenix. The Green Crystal of Earth rests in the forest, under Unicorn's watchful eye. The Blue Crystal hidden in the underwater shrine controls Water, and has Leviathan as its guardian. The Yellow Crystal stationed at the highest floor of the Technolith is aligned with the power of Light, and is under Ramuh's care. The final crystal, the Black Crystal, was created by Bebuzzu to bolster the powers of darkness and chaos by feeding off of the negativity within the hearts of living creatures.

Irma uses this crystal to drain the others and then feeds the energy to Bebuzzu, who in turn is transformed by each power. At the end of the game, he uses the fully powered Black Crystal to travel to the world of darkness as he tries to revert the universe to its original form - The Void. A backstory for the Crystals is given in the story Legend of the Crystals.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Jane Proudfoot possesses a green crystal as a pendant attached to the knife on her Anti SB Mechanized Infantry Protection System armor.

The, awarded to the winner of the Struggle in features four unique crystals of red, blue, green, and yellow. gives a bag containing a blue crystal that came from the Struggle Trophy in the.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
The four Crystals make a cameo in this game as guardians of Culex. Each one knows high-powered elemental spells corresponding with their element - the Fire Crystal uses fire attacks, the Water crystal uses water and ice attacks, the Earth crystal uses ground attacks, and the Wind crystal uses air and electrical attacks. Culex is actually believed to have been based on bosses in the Final Fantasy series.

Crystal Conquest
Massive crystals appears in this Japan-only, free-to-play browser game. The player has to destroy the enemy's crystal. Collecting one hundred crystal shards will allow the player to summon a summoned monster.