Crystal (term)



Crystals (クリスタル, Kurisutaru), also known as Orbs, are legendary elemental stones that have appeared in multiple games in the series. They are said to be the gems that control natural phenomena. There are usually four Crystals: a Water Crystal, a Fire Crystal, a Wind Crystal, and an Earth Crystal.

Final Fantasy
Crystals, called Orbs in the original North American location, appear in the game that started it all. The Light Warriors already possess the crystals, but must journey through the world and defeat the fiend of each corresponding element in order to restore their power. When the Warriors of Light restore the light to all four crystals, they are able to travel to the past in order to stop the time loop.

The translation of "orbs" was dropped and changed to crystals for the Dawn of Souls remake.

Final Fantasy III
There are four Crystals in this game. 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, causing it to be covered in darkness. This freezes time there, but he is 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.

Final Fantasy IV
There are eight Crystals in this game. 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 Air is in Fabul, and the Crystal of Earth is in Troia. However, there are also four other "Dark Crystals" that are 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 Cavern. 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 there would actually summon the Giant of Babil, a wish granting giant. The Lunarian Zemus wanted to have the Giant destroy the Earth so that the Lunarians could settle there, and he used Golbez to do so.

There are more crystals, 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' power for the time being. The Crystal that appear in the battle against Zemus is an item that is 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 Zeromus.

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.

Final Fantasy V
There are four Crystals in this game. They control the elements in the First World, and without them, the wind would not blow, the oceans would dry, the fire would burn out, and the life of the earth would be destroyed. The Wind Crystal was kept in the Wind Shrine which was maintained by Tycoon, the Water Crystal was kept in the Walse Tower and maintained by Walse, the Fire Crystal was kept in Karnak, and the Earth Crystal was located in the Ronka Ruins. Long ago, the Warriors of Dawn used the power of the Crystals to seal Exdeath within the Earth.

At the dawn of the adventure, a man named Cid Previa invented a machine with the power to amplify the output of the Crystals. However, if the Crystals were allowed to operate at this capacity, they would shatter. Cid deeply regretted creating the machine. At the same time, Exdeath was trying to shatter the Crystals himself so he could become free. However, the Crystals all eventually shattered, and each shard became the source for a new Job Class for the characters.

In the Second World, the Crystals are replaced by the Crystals who guard the Great Forest of Moore.

In the Third World, the party battles Exdeath inside the Void. After this, they are able to recreate the crystals with the power of the two generations of Dawn Warriors; thus, regenerating the world.

Final Fantasy VI
When an Esper dies, their remains crystalize 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.

Final Fantasy VII
The crystallized form of Mako is known as Materia, and a subtle nod to the crystals of past. The materia allows the user to control magic spells, summons, gives boosts to statistics and adds extra commands. There are also four extremely rare Materia found in caves: Knights of the Round, Mimic, HP - MP, and Quadra Magic.

In addition, there are the four Huge Materia, colors red, blue, yellow and green. Three of the four Huge Materia also 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.

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 the battle.

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

Final Fantasy IX
Although the elemental Crystals do not appear in this game, there are four "jewels" which were being sought by Queen Brahne of Alexandria. Princess Garnet ran away with Alexandria's own jewel, and Lindblum, Cleyra, and Madain Sari each owned a jewel. If all four jewels came together at Alexandria, the Eidolon Alexander would be summoned. Brahne eventually gathered all the jewels, however, she died shortly after. When Kuja attacked Alexandria using Bahamut, Garnet and Eiko Carol used the jewels to summon Alexander.

Another Crystal is said to be the source of life in the world, however, it is not seen until the very end of the game, in which Kuja tries to destroy it, thus eradicating all life. He manages to do so, but life doesn't immediately stop. Instead, this summons the bringer of death, Necron, whose purpose it is to return everything to nothingness. After defeating Necron, it is never stated if the crystal is restored.

Final Fantasy XI
Crystals are very common and used in item synthesis. There are many other types of crystals in the game though, many of which are associated with teleportation. There are 6 crystals also that serve as a gateway to combat the elemental prime avatars. Another crystal called the mother crystal is said to have created the gods then shattered into five crystal that fend away the emptiness. The Crystal War, which takes place 20 years before the beginning is also said to have been over crystals.

Orbs also make an appearance in Final Fantasy XI, generally as rare, exotic items that grant access to particular battlefields associated with Burning Circle Notorious Monster fights.

Final Fantasy XII
Crystals are commonly found in the form of magicite. One of their many functions is as a Save Point. Many enemies later in the game also drop various elemental crystals, used for items in the Bazaar. Espers are also bound to Crystals before defeating them.

There is also an enemy that takes the form of a crystal, called a Crystalbug.

The game also focuses on Nethicite, both manufacted and deifacted. Items such as the Dawn Shard are revealed to be related to the Sun-Cryst, which is essentially a crystal on its own. There is location in the game that is a giant crystal known as the Great Crystal.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Crystals in this game come in the form of Auracite, which people can use to summon Yarhi (this game's variation of Espers). However, using the Auracite comes with the price: Each time someone uses it, their anima slowly drains away. This is the reason why the Aegyl have been reduced to emotionless shells in the beginning of the game. There are also larger sized pieces of crystals called Auraliths from which all Auracite comes from. Destroying the Auraliths release the trapped anima that it has absorbed. In addition, there is the Soul Crystal gameplay element that appears in certain battles and reincarnates its team's KO'ed members periodically.

Final Fantasy XIII
Crystals seem to be central to the plot of Final Fantasy XIII, having an unknown connection to the diety-like creatures known as fal'Cie. The two may be one and the same, as both have been called the builders of the city of Cocoon.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII
Several kingdoms in Final Fantasy Versus XIII used to have their own Crystals, but lost them to warfare. One Crystal remains one kingdom, however, and Noctis is sent to protect it from other kingdom's forces trying to obtain it.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Crystals may appear when a defeated unit remains unconscious for three rounds (300CT). 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.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
The five crystals in this game are the threads that bind together the dream Ivalice, 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.

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.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Crystals in the game protect everyone from the Miasma that plagues the world. Each village has a usually large crystal to protect them from the Miasma. The effect is only temporary and after a year the villages must send out Crystal Caravans to collect three drops of Myrrh. To collect the Myrrh, the Caravans use a Crystal Chalice which not only can hold the Myrrh but protect the travelers from Miasma with it's crystal. A Carbuncle in Mag Mell reveals that all the crystals protecting each village and city use to be part of one great crystal. It was shattered into pieces after the meteor that released the Miasma into the world struck it.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
Crystals in the game 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. A "Great Crystal" is also mentioned, and it is said to hold the memory of the world, and all the possible outcomes of the future.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
The crystal in the game grants King Leo the ability of "Architek" to rebuild his Kingdom.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
There are five Crystals in this game, each having their power drained by one of the Vile Four. Flamerus Rex drains the Earth Crystal'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 influence throws the Aquaria area into a permanent winter, the Dualhead Hydra causes earthquakes to become rampant around Fireburg using the Fire Crystal, and Pazuzu causes violent windstorms. using the Wind Crystal.

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.

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 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 is transformed by each power in turn. 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.

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 attack, the Earth crystal uses ground attacks, and the Wind crystal uses air and electrical attacks.

Chrono Trigger
Although elemental crystals do not appear in the game, Dreamstone, also known as Red Rock, plays a similar role.

Cristal