Beach

Beaches are recurring locations on the World Map in the Final Fantasy series. They are located on the borders of islands where the ground meets the sea. Beaches only became a common feature when the World Map became modeled in 3D starting with Final Fantasy VII. Beaches are commonly used to dock the party's boat. Due to this, some islands have no beaches to prevent access before the player obtains an airship.

Final Fantasy IV
Beaches can be found throughout the overworld map, at the edges of the shorelines.

Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
Beaches makes a return in this game, and they can be found on the overworld map and encountering enemies on the edges of the shorelines.

Final Fantasy V
Beaches can be found throughout the world maps, such as the areas around Carwen or Regole.

Final Fantasy VII
Beaches allow the buggy to travel onto shallows to reach other beaches, and beaches allow the Tiny Bronco to dock. Each of the key islands have at least one beach. The Wutai area only has a beach on the southern part forcing the player to travel the entire length of the island if they choose to travel to the village of Wutai before obtaining the Highwind.

Also, the beaches of the Mideel area aren't on the same level of land as the town of Mideel, therefore the player can only access it after obtaining the Highwind. Goblin Island has a beach, but the Cactus Island does not, and none of the areas the Materia Caves are attached to have beaches.

Costa del Sol is a seaside town in the Corel Area and a popular tourist attraction. Sun-bathing and surfing are popular past time activities.

In the Midgar Area, the Grasslands Area, and the Junon Area, the enemies fought on the other terrains are also fought on the beaches. However, the other beaches have enemies exclusive to the areas. The enemies are usually mutations of ordinary beach-life or aquatic creatures. The enemies on the eastern beaches of the western continent, in the North Corel Area, the Gold Saucer Area, and the Gongaga Area, include only Beachplugs and Grangalans. The Beachplug is a squid-like creature with three tentacles and what appears to be a shell and appears exclusively in beaches. The Grangalan first appears as a general enemy in the North Corel Area before only appearing on the beach in others.

The enemies on the western beaches of the western continent, in the Cosmo Area, the Nibel Area, and the Rocket Launch Pad Area, include only Crown Lances that resemble jelly fish and never appear out of their habitat with the exception of the fourth stage of the Battle Square, after the player gets the Tiny Bronco, where stronger versions are fought.

The Woodlands and Icicle Area beaches have one encounter, a single Tonadu. This bird can also be fought in the Woodlands Area dirt, the North Corel Area desert and as an enemy in the second stage on the Battle Square after Meteor is summoned.

The Adamantaimai solely appears in the beaches of the Wutai Area. Large in size, they resemble tortoises.

The Sea Worm appears on the Mideel Area beaches. Contrary to their name, they may also appear in the North Corel deserts. They also appear in the final battle of the Battle Square after the summoning of Meteor and in the first stage of the Special Battle.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Beaches are first seen in Costa del Sol at the start of Chapter 7 where a number of G Divers are fought. The same beach appears later in missions 10-3: Fun in the Sun! and 10-4: More Fun in the Sun. The beach is also the only time Zack wields the Parasol.

A beach also appears in Chapter 10 after traveling through the Nibel Plains. The prizes of the Sniper minigame are located here, and when the player moves out to the sea, the cutscene plays that bridges to Chapter 8.

Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VIII famously opens with a view of a beach, before Liberi Fatali starts playing. Beaches have different enemies than other areas, namely the Fastitocalons and Adamantoises (Adamantoises are only encountered near Dollet). Beaches also allow the seaborne Balamb Garden to cross over to land. Certain areas, such as the Esthar region, have no beaches, making access to these places impossible on mobile Balamb Garden or on chocobo.

A rock needed for the Obel Lake side quest can be found on Mandy Beach near Balamb and beaches also often have hidden World Map Draw Points.

Final Fantasy IX
After acquiring the Blue Narciss the party can dock it on any beach. Certain locations, such as the entire Forgotten Continent, have no beaches denying the player access until they obtain an airship.

Beaches are part of the Chocobo Hot and Cold side quest, in which after having discovered every single chocobo treasure, the Fat Chocobo at Chocobo's Paradise asks the party to visit every beach in the world. After visiting and pressing on every beach, the party can from then on visit beaches to heal HP and MP to full.

Final Fantasy X
In Final Fantasy X there are several beaches featured through the game. One of these is the shore near the dock of Besaid Island. There is also the one at Mushroom Rock - Aftermath, where Yuna performs a Sending, and one at the campsite in Zanarkand. Interestingly, no random encounters can be fought at any of these places.

Final Fantasy XII
Beaches are scarce in Final Fantasy XII, but a few can be spotted on Dalmasca Estersand's riverbank and many on Phon Coast. A rare monster sometimes emerges from the water on the beach at Estersand and approaching the water entices enemies to come out of the water in most water areas. On Phon Coast the game's first Trophy Rare Game, the Thalassinon is found on a beach.

The player can also observe an assembly of sixteen treasure chests on a beach in the Phon Coast, and all of them are forbidden chests that, if claimed, prevents the player from obtaining the Zodiac Spear in the Necrohol of Nabudis.

Final Fantasy XIII
The game's only beach is in Bodhum and during a part a flashback the player must locate Serah Farron, who has gone on the docks.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Majority of New Bodhum lies on the beach.

Final Fantasy Adventure
Beaches can be found in the area of Wendel and Dwarf Cave near the shore, Death Crabs populate the area.

Etymology
A is a landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake, or river. It usually consists of loose particles, which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, or cobblestones.