Magic (term)

Magic is a significant element in the Final Fantasy series, and is important in both the gameplay and the plot. As a gameplay element, magic is the counterpart of physical attacks, and generally, those who are able to use magic are called mages. In the plot, magic has a major influence in the workings of the game's world, and can be used either to destroy or to save it.

About Magic
Magic is, by definition, "the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques, that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature".

The Final Fantasy series feature many different methodologies and schools of magic, which is used in many different ways, manipulating the various forces and essences of nature through knowledge or various items, sometimes even bordering on scientific and technological methods similar to magic itself.

Types
Magic is one of the two principal forms of attack in the series; the other being physical attacks. Although the specific features of the magic system vary significantly from game to game, many concepts have remained consistent throughout the course of the series.

Magic spells have different types and effects. In the series' first game, Final Fantasy, magic is split between the distinction of "white magic" - healing and battle support spells, and "black magic" - offensive spells. As the series progressed and new spells were added, different types of spells have been introduced, each able to be used by different types of mages.

Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VI marks a different type of categorization. The three categories are named based upon their effect. They are: Attack, Healing, and Effect. The list of magic spells has each spell a corresponding sphere next to their names: white (Healing), black (Attack) and grey (Effect).

Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII splits abilities into a classification system based on the five types of Materia. Green Materia is Magic Materia and having any of them equipped give the character the Magic command. Magic Materia gives access to generic magic, offensive, defensive or otherwise. Each Materia may contain up to four different Magic spells, while the better ones require AP before granting access to them. Examples of magic include Fire, Cure, Resist.

Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VIII sorts magic types in several views:

Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy XI has a diverse and complex magic classification system spread over its 20 job classes. These sub categories are divided into magic sub-types of sort called "skill", spanning the generic types - sometimes in the same category. Example: Paralyze is a White Magic spell, and Poison is a Black Magic spell, yet both are considered Enfeebling Magic spells, affected by Enfeebling Magic skill level.

Black Magic includes all Elemental Magic, all Dark Magic, Enfeebling Magic and some Enhancing Magic. White Magic includes all Healing and Divine Magic, and Enfeebling and Enhancing Magic. There are no Enfeebling or Enhancing spells available to both schools.

Final Fantasy XI uses the -na, -ra, -ga, and -ja suffixes to broadly indicate the different effects and Area of Effects (AoE) of spells, while roman numerals describe a spell's power (I to VI). This allows for players to quickly ascertain a spell's general effect and power at a glance.

Ivalice
Further in the series, Magic has been given a new spelling; Magick, in the Ivalice-related game series, starting with Final Fantasy XII and followed by subsequent games within the Ivalice Alliance. This also marks the appearance of new magic types:

Final Fantasy Legend III
Besides the typical White Magic and Black Magic spells that appears in the game, there is Lost Magic which contains more powerful spells than White Magic and Black Magic have. There's only three Lost Magic spells that can be bought in shops. Shar can create Lost Magic spells for the party by mixing two elemental stones, but these stone are limited. There is enough elemental stones in the game to precisely make one copy of each Lost Magic spells.

Tiering
In the Final Fantasy series, magical spells have a hierarchy of power, which is divided in tiers. These tiers are denoted by the suffixes -ra, -ga and -ja, normally corresponding to the second, third and fourth level of power of a spell, respectively (e.g. Cure evolves to Cura, which progresses to Curaga). There are various exceptions to this.

In the localized versions of earlier installments, numbers were used instead of suffixes. This tiering system was also used in the Kingdom Hearts series, except the fourth level was only included in certain accessories and a single spell and used the suffix -gun or -za instead of -ja.

Elements
Spells can also be divided into elemental spells and non-elemental spells. Elemental magic is associated with a particular element of nature, such as fire, ice, lightning, water, wind, and earth, with fire, ice, and lightning often serving as the main elements, and water, wind, and earth more often than not serving as secondary elements. The elemental spells' number and names vary from game to game. Sometimes two other elements, holy and dark also exist. Non-elemental spells are not associated with an element. Examples include spells that affect the status of the target.

Each magic caster possesses a level of magic power, which affects the damage of a given spell. Characters with higher magic power will deal more damage than the same spell cast by someone with a lower magic power. Certain characters can have affinities to an element: for example, a Fire spell from a fire-based character will cause more damage than cast by a wind-based character. Each target possesses magic resistance, which lessens the effect of magic spells.

In addition to the target's magic resistance, certain targets have a different resistance (positive or negative) to certain elements: they may receive more damage than usual from spells associated with that elemental (usually 200% damage) or less (usually 50%); they may nullify the damage (0%) or absorb it (usually 100% of the damage is converted to health gain). Non-elemental magic damage depends only on magic resistance.

Final Fantasy IV
Summon magic takes a prominent role in Final Fantasy IV. The summoners' home, the village of Mist, is destroyed early in the game. Cagnazzo, under the disguise of the King of Baron, ordered the village burned because he feared the summoners' power. Rydia was the only survivor and her powers became pivotal to world safety, as she was able to use her Eidolons to save the party from Golbez.

The magic Meteor also takes a critical plot point as a powerful and sealed magic spell that Tellah seeks to avenge his daughter by using it to kill Golbez. At the end of the game, the villain Zemus battles Golbez and Fusoya, and the two cast Twin Meteor to dispatch him, only to see him rise again as Zeromus. As well, in the DS release, it is mentioned that the gift of magic was bestowed on humans by Kluya, and they could not access its power before his arrival.

Final Fantasy VI
1000 years prior to the game's beginning, the Warring Triad began the War of the Magi and many creatures and humans were transformed into magical demi-gods called espers while other humans began using magic extracted from them. The Warring Triad turned themselves to stone to stop the war, the espers fled to another dimension, and magic was forgotten. The few surviving humans rebuilt the world - those who still had magical powers founded the village of Thamasa, and although over time their powers dwindled, it remained innate and present.

Twenty years before the game begins, Emperor Gestahl finds the esper world. With a process developed by Cid Del Norte Marquez, he forcibly extracts raw magical power from the espers he captures. This leads the process known as Magitek, and many powerful machines are infused with magical energy, as well as people including Kefka Palazzo and Celes Chere. With magic fueling their army, the Gestahlian Empire conquers much of the world.

The rebel faction Returners comes across a woman named Terra Branford, a former Imperial Soldier who lost her memories. It is discovered she is the child of the esper Maduin and a woman named Madeline, making her half-esper and one of the few humans to naturally know magic. The esper Ramuh reveals that Magitek is inefficient - the magic extracted is weak and kills the espers. However, when an esper expires they become magicite, which can teach magic at a higher potency and much more efficiently.

Kefka finds and takes control of the Warring Triad, draining their powers to become the God of Magic. Reshaping the world into the World of Ruin, Kefka rules unopposed with his new powers, until the Returners reassemble their ranks and assault his tower. The Warring Triad and Kefka are destroyed, and magic vanishes from the world. The party's innate magic fades, the magicite shards they had collected shatter, and the world reforms to its previous state. Due to her emotional attachments to the children of Mobliz, Terra becomes a full human and survives.

Final Fantasy VII
Magic in Final Fantasy VII can be used through the use of Materia, orbs of mystical energy created by condensed Mako from the Lifestream. As the Lifestream is the collective consciousness of all who have died, Materia allows the holder to access the knowledge of the Lifestream and tap into the powers of the Planet, manifesting as magic or other abilities. As such, magic is the materialization of Spiritual Energy. Ancients were said to have been able to use magic without the use of Materia.

Professor Hojo, a scientist for the Shinra Electric Power Company, studied Materia extensively, but was unable to grasp its secrets. Being a rational scientist, he objected to the use of the term "magic" to describe the powers of Materia. No better explanation is given, however. In addition to the powers granted by Materia, a limited number of characters can manifest magic-like powers in their Limit Breaks, although it is neither confirmed nor denied if Limit Breaks are related to magic in any way.

There are also ultimate spells, too powerful for the normal human to use and unusable by the player during the game. One is Meteor, the ultimate Black Magic with the power to destroy the Planet. Meteor summons a small planet from outer space and sends it hurtling straight down to the Planet's surface. In counter to Meteor's immense power, an ultimate White Magic has the power to stop it, Holy. Both of the great spells only work on special Materia, the Black Materia for Meteor, and the White Materia for Holy.

Sephiroth planned to use Meteor in a plot to become a God. Meteor would create a wound on the Planet so great that the Lifestream would be sent out to heal it. From there Sephiroth would take control of the Lifestream and take over the Planet. However, Aeris Gainsborough travels to the Forgotten Capital to summon Holy. Sephiroth kills her, but not before Holy is summoned. Using his power Sephiroth holds Holy back.

Cloud Strife and his party travel down into Sephiroth's lair in the Northern Cave and defeat him, releasing Holy and crushing his plot to become a God. Yet Holy was sent out too late, and Meteor manages to break through it and crash into the city of Midgar, destroying the world capital. Aeris then summons the Lifestream to force Meteor back and save the Planet.

Final Fantasy VIII
Magic in Final Fantasy VIII is explained to be the manipulation of the planet's energy fields. Magic can be used by everyone through different means--the main ones being Sorceress Power (Embodiment) and Guardian Force junctioning (Para-Magic). Sorceress's power is attributed to the legend of the Great Hyne, supposedly the creator of the world and the first sorcerer. The legend goes that fragments of the Great Hyne's power are given to sorceresses. This passing of Sorceress Powers, called the Embodiment (actually called "The Succession of Witches" in the Japanese version), became a tradition where a person with the capacity to embody a sorceress's power is chosen as the candidate. As such, sorceresses are both respected and feared by ordinary humans.

Dr. Odine, who started out as a monster researcher and moved on to study Guardian Forces, cooperated with a sorceress and began studying sorceresses and magic. As a result, he developed what is called Para-Magic, which involved junctioning a Guardian Force to a person. It is unclear where a Guardian Force resides within the body, but observations show that those who rely on the Guardian's power suffer memory loss in turn. By junctioning Guardian Forces, people could use magic by drawing the energy from various sources such as items, draw points and even monsters.

Ultimecia, a powerful sorceress from the future, wishes to change the world by compressing time and taking power from all sorceresses ever to have existed. Time compression involves powerful time magic that causes various present states to appear at one time, which in turn causes all sorceresses to exist at one given time. This will give Ultimecia the opportunity to become the most powerful sorceress in existence and an all-powerful being able to control all of time and space. Time compression requires her to possess a sorceress from the past and draw their power. However, the SeeDs from a certain past managed to travel through the time compression ending her reign and restoring the flow of time.

Final Fantasy XIII
In the world of Final Fantasy XIII, the crystal is the source of magic. The fal'Cie, gigantic machines with a core made out of crystal, can use magic, while humans have their crystal power dormant, which can be unlocked by being branded as l'Cie by a fal'Cie. Although off-limits to regular citizens, PSICOM and Guardian Corps can cast magic by using AMP, and thus the magic Sanctum uses is called Manadrive.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
When Etro's Gate opened during the fall of Cocoon, chaos leaked from Valhalla into Gran Pulse, but the goddess Etro intervened and closed the gate, preventing a flood. It is said in a fragment entry that when the timeline was changed and history broken, fissures appeared in the wall that separates the spirit and the material and the crystal power that was once bestowed only upon the l'Cie was released, permeating deep into the soil. As such, after the Catastrophe, some of the people who settled the lowerworld developed the ability to use magic, including former l'Cie Serah Farron. Magic is used by channeling the crystal power within each magic-wielder.

The AMP technology is still present, but is used by the Academy's robots, as well as the Proto fal'Cie Adam.