Magic tier system The magic tier system is used throughout the " Final Fantasy " series , adding suffixes to the name of a spell to denote its position on the hierarchy of power . The most common tiering of spells is the three - tier line of power , seen in almost every game with the Fire , Blizzard and Thunder spells . The three - tier system usually denotes its levels with the suffixes " - ra " and " - ga " , for example Fire , Fira , Firaga . Overview . Traditionally , the system features only three tiers , though occasionally a fourth tier using the " - ja " suffix is featured , in this case Firaja , but spells with four tiers of power are rare , usually confined to the three basic elemental spells and the Cure family . Some other spells use a two - tier system . The suffix used for the second tier spell in these cases varies . In earlier titles , Cure was split into four spells : The second stage being " - ra " , the third being " - da " , and the fourth being " - ga " . " - da " is also used in the Japanese version of " Final Fantasy IX " for a damageless spell . Some of the spells have slightly different names in Japanese . The Japanese system always either replaces the last mora , or adds it to the end for each type of spell . In the case of Fire ( pronounced in Japanese as ) , only the last sound is changed so the next spells are Fira ( ) and the third - tier ( Firaga ) which would most accurately be translated as " Figa " ( ) . The official translation likely names the third - tier " Firaga " to keep the " r " sound needed to recognize the root word in English . In the case of Cure ( ) the suffix is just added to the end , e . g . Cura ( more accurately translated as " Curera " ) : . In translations of older games , rather than the suffix system a numerical value was assigned to spells to denote their power , for example Fire 1 , Fire 2 , and Fire 3 . Beginning with " Final Fantasy VIII " , all games have used the suffix system . Remakes of older games have replaced the numerical system with the suffix system as well . Some spells have different tiers but do not use the suffix system , for example Raise , Arise , and Reraise . All Japanese releases have used the suffix system with exception to the Easy Type release of " Final Fantasy IV " which used numbers for the tiers . Occasionally , there have been inconsistencies when changing the numerical system to the suffix systems . For example , the second tier spell of Haste was originally called Haste 2 . When the change to the suffix system occurred , in most games Haste 2 became known as Hastega , but in " Final Fantasy Tactics " Haste 2 was renamed Haste " ja " . Similarly , Demi and Demi 2 became Gravity and Graviga , skipping the " - ra " tier . In the Gravity family of spells , Graviga is considered the second tier spell , and Gravija is the third tier . Only " Final Fantasy VII " and its spin - offs have contained the Gravira spell ( though it also appears in " Kingdom Hearts " ) . This page describes the tiering of spells in the series by game , using several examples . Appearances . " Final Fantasy " . The first " Final Fantasy " presented the standard hierarchy seen in the series . In terms of power levels , spells may have two , three or four tiers , when it applies . In the NES and PS versions , the numerical tier system was used , while in the GBA and PSP versions , the suffix system was used . However , " Final Fantasy " also presented another hierarchy which did not catch on . This alternative hierarchy , used for some but not all white magic , consisted of prefixes rather than suffixes : ( no prefix ) , " a - " , " da - " , and " ga - " . This hierarchy was used for Dia and higher spells , the Raise spells ( Raise and Araise ) , and the white magic Teleport spell Dateleport ( which was stronger than the unprefixed black magic Teleport ) . While all of these usages were grandfathered in to successive games in the series , no new spells were created that used this prefix hierarchy . Indeed , it seems to have faded from the knowledge of translators ( witness the common mistranslation of Araise as Arise ) . The Advance and PSP translations of the Dia spells renamed the spells to use the standard hierarchy , Dateleport was called Exit , and Araise was called Full - Life . Previous to this , the alternative hierarchy was translated to use numbers just like the standard hierarchy . " Final Fantasy II " . All spells have 16 levels of power , which are marked by the corresponding number . are used for tiering enemy abilities and item effects . A spell ' s MP cost is equal to its level . Spells gain levels with usage , and are maxed out with 10000 uses . The following spells have their animations changed at level 3 , 6 and 10 : Fire , Thunder , Blizzard , Scourge , Flare , Cure , Holy and Ultima . " Final Fantasy III " . Along with the job system , the original suffix tier system returns . However , only six spell families have power levels : Fire , Blizzard , Thunder , Aero , Cure and Raise . " Final Fantasy IV " . " Final Fantasy IV " used the numerical tier system in the original North American Super NES release and reverted to the suffix system for the Game Boy Advance and later releases . Power levels continue exclusive to the Fire , Blizzard , Thunder , Cure and Raise families . " Final Fantasy IV - Interlude - " . The suffix system did not change at all and the spells have the same names as its processor . The suffix system returns and the returning spells all have the same names as its two processors . " Final Fantasy V " . The new Time Magic school brought new spells into the tier system : Haste , Slow and Demi . Their upgraded versions were given the numerical value 2 , and in the GBA remake were assigned the " - ga " suffix . " Final Fantasy VI " . " Final Fantasy VI " does not add many changes to the tiering system of the series , other than adding a third level to the Raise spell , in this game known as Reraise . Other than this , the same as " Final Fantasy V " applies here . " Final Fantasy VII " . Magic Materia either feature two or three - tiered spell families , or a multitude of different spells similar in nature . This game also adds the Quake , Bio and Comet families to the power level system . Quake and Bio use a three - tier system while Comet uses a two - tier system . The higher levels of these three spells are mostly exclusive to the " Compilation of Final Fantasy VII " . " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " . There is a short magic list which is basically composed of a hand - full of three - tiered spell families . The game used a different naming system for Comet ' s second tier spell , calling it Cometeo , a conjunction of Comet and Meteor . " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . Tiering is present in the Cure , Fire , Blizzard , Thunder , Drain and Osmose families alone . A subset of the Fire , Blizzard and Thunder spells is the " Dark " spells , like Dark Fira , Dark Blizzara , etc . These spells have the chance to inflict status ailments on enemies . In addition , there were the " Hell " spells Hell Firaga , Hell Blizzaga and Hell Thundaga , which inflict more status ailments than the " Dark " spells . " Final Fantasy VIII " . The localization revolutionized the series ' magic spells by introducing the suffix tiering system for the first time . Only the Cure , Fire , Blizzard and Thunder spells featured more than a single power level . The spell Gravija is first seen here as well , however the basic Gravity spell was instead translated as " Demi " . The Slots spell Rapture would be more accurately translated as Levitaga , while the Float would be Levitate . These spells concepts are only thematically related and have unrelated effects . " Final Fantasy IX " . The suffix system is used for the Fire , Blizzard , Thunder and Cure spells . The Blk Mag ability Water ( which has a spell power between the other " - ra " and " - ga " elemental spells ) has two " - ga " variants named Waterga . They are used by the two versions of Kraken , having slightly different spell powers , both being more powerful than the other elemental " - ga " spells . The SFX ability Pyro is named in the Japanese version of the game , " Firada " if it were localized like the other Fire spells . " - da " has been used as a suffix for Cure spells in other Japanese versions of games , however this spell is unrelated to them . " Final Fantasy X " . Haste and Slow ' s second tier spells are called Hastega and Slowga , skipping the - " ra " tier . In these cases the " - ga " variants improvement over the original is that it targets an entire party rather than a single target . Otherwise the suffix system is used normally for Fire , Blizzard , Thunder , Water and Cure . " Final Fantasy X - 2 " . The suffix system did not change at all and the returning spells have the same names as its processor . " Final Fantasy XI " . A different hierarchy for spells ' power levels is featured . A spell is added a roman numeral ranking its strength ( from I to VI , much like the suffixes ' power levels ) , so for example Fire V is stronger than Fire II . The - na , - ga , - ja , and - ra suffixes broadly indicate the different effects and Area of Effect s ( AoE ) of spells . This allows for players to quickly ascertain a spells general effect by it ' s name , and is used in tandem with the roman numeral power system — allowing players to instantly know a spells effect and power at a glance . Suffixes include : " Final Fantasy XII " . Suffixes are again used , and as in " Final Fantasy XI " may denote if a spell can affect multiple targets or not . The basic Fire , Blizzard and Thunder spells only hit one enemy , but their upgraded forms using the " - ra " and " - ga " suffixes hit multiple targets . The exception to this is the Cure line , where both Cura and Curaja heal multiple targets , but Cure and Curaga heal single targets . Aero and its upgraded form Aeroga both hit multiple targets . Dark and its upgraded forms Darkra and Darkga also hit multiple targets at all levels of power . Fourth - tier versions of elemental spells exist , but are only used by Espers during fights with them . They use the " - ja " suffix , and have animations identical to Concurrence s of the corresponding elements , but with the Esper shown casting the spell . " Final Fantasy XII " also has several two - tier spells , all of which use the " - ga " suffix to denote their strong forms hit multiple targets . These spells are Esuna , Dispel , Haste , Slow , Reflect , Protect , Shell , Blind , Silence , Sleep , Gravity and Vanish . " Final Fantasy XIII " . Spell tiering can be divided by Roles : " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " reuses the entirety of its predecessor ' s magic system , and adds a new tier to Synergist spells . The new - " ga " - suffixed Synergist abilities affect the entire party at the expense of shorter duration . " Final Fantasy Tactics " . In " The War of the Lions " remake , the spells Fire , Blizzard , Thunder and Cure have the four typical tiers , while some status - adding spells from the White and Time Magick schools ( for example , Protect and Haste ) have a second tier , designated with the " - ja " suffix , and the Time Magick Gravity , which progresses to Graviga . However , in the PlayStation version , spells use the numerical system . This game marks the first appearance in the series of the " - ja " suffix , which here indicates a number of things : Some enemies also have exclusive access to other tiers of some spells . Examples are Zalera , who has the " - ja " - rank for Flare , Blind , Confuse , Sleep , Gravity and Toad ; Cúchulainn and Dycedarg , who have the rank three spell " Bioga " ; and Ultima , who has the " - ja " - rank Dispel . " Final Fantasy Tactics Advance " . This game uses tiers in the Black and White Mage jobs for the spells Fire , Blizzard , Thunder and Cure . Each has their " - ra " and " - ga " version . The Black and White Mage jobs remain unchanged . The Time Mage ' s Haste and the Arcanist ' s Gravity are given - " ga " versions . " Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles " . A character can use Magicite to cast spells in an area . By stacking multiple spells at an area , more powerful versions of basic spells can be used , as well as new spells with effects distinct from the stacked ones ' . All spells but Stop have at least a second tier , but their suffixes may vary . The traditional Fire , Blizzard , Thunder and Cure have a third tier marked by the traditional - " ga " suffix . More spells and tiers appear than in the original " Crystal Chronicles " . The stacking method was further developed , allowing for new spells based on the accuracy of the stacking . Fire , Blizzard , Thunder , Cure and Clear gained a fourth tier ; while every other spell family has a second tier , marked by the - " ga " suffix , with the exception of Raise and Barrier , whose second - tier version are Arise and Barriera . Only , , and spells have more powerful versions , up to three tiers . All Black Magic spells but Desolator and the White Magic Cure have three tiers . In this game , tiering uses the - " ra " and - " ga " suffixes . Non - " Final Fantasy " guest appearances . " Kingdom Hearts series " . The " Kingdom Hearts " series utilizes the tier system used from the " Final Fantasy " series to denote its levels of power with the same suffixes " - ra " and " - ga " for its spells . The exception is the fourth level , which tends to vary across the series , typically using " - gun " or " - za " , but later using " - ja " in later installments . " Chrono Trigger " . The Japanese version of " Chrono Trigger " uses the " - ga " suffix for the second and last tier of its spells . The English version used the number 2 for the SNES version while the Nintendo DS version used the roman numeral II .