Holy (ability)

Holy, also known as Fade, White or Pearl, is usually a very powerful spell which is made up of pure holy energy and as such deals holy-elemental damage. Despite it being one of the most powerful offensive spells, it is classified as White Magic and can often only be cast by White Mages. It is a counterpart to the Black Magic Flare, and the two often have similar graphics.

Final Fantasy
Holy, translated as FADE in the original NES version due to censorship issues, is a level 8 White Magic spell and can be purchased at Gaia. It costs 50 MP.

Final Fantasy II
Holy is a non-elemental White Magic spell. It can be learnt from its respective scroll/tome, as with all other spells. It can be bought at Mysidia and in the secret merchant underneath the waterfall on the Unknown Cave.

Final Fantasy III
Holy is a level eight White Magic spell bought from the magic store in Eureka. It deals light damage, and can only be used by the Devout or Sage. Unei can also cast Holy when she joins the party as a guest.

Final Fantasy IV
Rosa learns Holy, translated as White in the SNES version due to censorship rules, at level 48; Porom learns it at level 52, and Fusoya knows the spell when he joins the party. The weapons Holy Lance and Asura's Rod have the ability to cast Holy when used as an item, while the Lightbringer randomly casts it after attacking (though the latter two are only available in the GBA remake).

Final Fantasy V
Holy is a Level 6 White Magic spell, and it is obtained in the physical side of the Fork Tower after defeating Minotaur. When Minotaur is defeated, he attempts to use the spell, but fails due to having no MP. He fades out after this.

Final Fantasy VI
Terra and Celes both learn Holy through levelling up. For other characters, Alexander teaches the spell at a rate of x2.

In the SNES/PlayStation version, Holy was translated as "Pearl", but this may have had more to do with Ted Woolsey's creative translations than censorship, as the spell White Wind was translated as "Pearl Wind". This may be a mis-translation of the word "Pure", given the fact that Holy is White Magic.

Final Fantasy VII
In Final Fantasy VII, Holy serves as a plot device, and as such, it cannot be used by the player in battle. Known as the Ultimate White Magic and summoned through the White Materia held by Aerith Gainsborough, it is the only magic spell capable of stopping Meteor, the Ultimate Black Magic summoned through the Black Materia that would destroy the world. Thus, it is actually more of a defensive spell than its other incarnations.

According to Bugenhagen, Holy's role as a spell is to cleanse the planet of all threats to it, regardless of their nature. Bugenhagen implies that, if Holy and the Lifestream saw human beings as a threat, they would destroy them too, which nearly happened.

Though Aeris sucessfully Summons Holy to stop Meteor before her death, Sephiroth holds Holy back in the Northern Crater so that Meteor can fall unimpeded. Cloud and his party have to climb down to the pits of the the Planet to defeat Sephiroth and save the world. Even so, Holy is released too late, and it takes the intervention of the Lifestream to save the Planet from Meteor.

It is notable that Alexander's attack is the only Holy-based elemental attack in the game. Using him and an Elemental Materia is the only way to do Holy damage.

Final Fantasy VIII
Holy returns to its classic high-damage usable-spell format for Final Fantasy VIII. It can be drawn from high level enemies encountered late in the game. It can be junctioned to statistics and elemental attack and defence through Elem-Atk-J and Elem-Def-J respectively.

Final Fantasy IX
Holy is only usable by Eiko, and can be learned through the White Robe or the Angel Flute, her ultimate weapon. Beatrix is also able to cast the spell during the short time she is a playable character.

Tetra Master

 * Card 057
 * Location: Treno, Card Stadium

Final Fantasy X
It is the final ability in Yuna's section of the basic Sphere Grid.

Final Fantasy X-2
Holy can only be obtained by equipping the Supreme Light or Sacred Beast Garment Grids and spherechanging through the coloured gates. Unlike its previous incarnation in Final Fantasy X, Holy now scores eight multiple hits, though each causes less damage than the original.

Final Fantasy XI
Holy is a form of white magic, cast off of the Divine Magic skill. It is usable by both White Mages and Paladins. Also, there is a Holy II, which can only be cast by one particular boss, who also has an attack called Mega Holy.

Final Fantasy XII
Holy is a Level 7 White Magick spell, and can be purchased at Balfonheim after the events at Ridorana.

In the International Zodiac Job System version, Holy is a White Magick 11 License. It can only be obtained from a chest at the Pharos of Ridorana's First Ascent/Wellspring Ravel. It is a spell for both White Mage and Monk job classes, though Monks can only learn it after getting the Esper Chaos license.

The Esper Ultima uses Holyja as a special attack.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Holy is a spell only Penelo and the Esper Zalera can use. The spell causes damage to one foe.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Learned by the White Mage, Holy is the ultimate White Magic, costing 600 JP to learn. A dark version of Holy also exists in the game, called Unholy Darkness, known as Nanoflare on the PS1 version.

In the PS1 version, there is also chance that the caster will say, "Bright light, shine down on bloody impurity! Holy!", before using Holy, and "Open the doors to where power lives! Nanoflare!", before using Nanoflare.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Holy can be learned by Bishops through the Nirvana.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Holy could be cast by combining any Fire, Blizzard, or Thunder Magicite with one Life Magicite, the latter being in the second command slot. It caused base magic damage to every monster, aside from Raem, and makes ghost monsters more susceptible to physical attacks.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
Holy is casted by piling Cure, Clear, and Raise.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Holy is known as White in this game, and is a powerful Wizard Magic spell that can decimate all enemies quickly. Phoebe, Reuben and Benjamin can use this, and it is non-elemental (there is no holy element in Mystic Quest). It is second only to Flare. The final boss can also use an upgraded version called Mega White.

Kingdom Hearts Series
Holy is a sleight that Sora can learn in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. The spell has a similar appearance to Holy's animation in Final Fantasy Tactics.

Sanctus