Fabula Nova Crystallis : Final Fantasy Fabula Nova Crystallis : Final Fantasy is the collective name of a series of games made under the " Final Fantasy XIII " label by Square Enix . Made in the same vein as the " Compilation of Final Fantasy VII " and the " Ivalice Alliance " collections , " Fabula Nova Crystallis " , which means " new tale of the crystal " in Latin , is based on various worlds and different characters , with each game " ultimately based on and expand upon a common mythos " . The connection between the " Fabula Nova Crystallis " games could be compared to the one that exists between games like " Final Fantasy " , " Final Fantasy III " , " Final Fantasy IV " and " Final Fantasy V " : different universes but roughly the same crystal mythos . Motomu Toriyama , the director of the " Final Fantasy XIII " series , has described the " Fabula Nova Crystallis " mythology as not written like a detailed history book , but more like a fairy tale that gets passed on . He described it as containing a vast world and mythology that are tied to various deities , making it too large to be told in one game . He lamented that this approach was difficult for some players to understand in one game . The concept was so vast it resulted in creating obscure settings and a lack of explanation of the storyline . Titles . Official . Listed in order of game release : " Final Fantasy XV " ( formerly " Final Fantasy Versus XIII " ) started as one of the original entries in the subseries and was considered such into 2015 , but it was deliberatley distanced from the series . Its current connection has been reduced to a thematic base upon which original lore has been built . The game follows a prince ' s quest for revenge after his country is invaded by an enemy power to gain control of the world ' s last crystal . The three " Final Fantasy XIII " games and their accompanying media , with the release of " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " , have been dubbed " the " Lightning Saga " " , denoting their connection to the games ' central character . The trademark " Final Fantasy Haeresis XIII " was registered in the United States on May 1 , 2006 but there have been no announcements of plans to make a game of that title , and the trademark was abandoned on April 25 , 2011 . Each of the " series " of games was made by a different team of developers within Square Enix . " Lightning Saga " games were developed by the team headed by Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama who had worked on " Final Fantasy X " and " Final Fantasy X - 2 " , while " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " and its spin - off , " Agito " , were developed by the team behind " " , headed by Hajime Tabata . Mythos . The " Fabula Nova Crystallis " mythos was revealed in a video shown at Square Enix 1st Production Department Premiere event on January 18 , 2011 . The mythos is reintroduced in " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " through murals in the Temple Ruins . The universe is divided in two coexisting realities — the mortal world , the realm of the living , and the unseen realm , the realm of the dead . In the beginning , the god Bhunivelze had killed his mother , Mwynn , to take full control of the Mortal World and Mwynn was sent into the unseen world . The troubled Bhunivelze believed Mwynn had placed a curse on the realm of the living so that it would one day be destroyed . Bhunivelze sought to destroy his mother once and for all , but was unable to reach the unseen world without giving up control of the mortal world . To find the entrance to the realm of the dead , Bhunivelze created the fal ' Cie Pulse to search the world for the door . Bhunivelze created the fal ' Cie Etro to assist Pulse , only to discard her without giving her any powers when he saw he had unknowingly created her in the likeness of Mwynn . Bhunivelze finally created Lindzei to serve as his protector as he entered a deep crystal sleep until the door to the unseen realm would be found . While Pulse and Lindzei were given a task to fulfill by their creator , Etro became distressed over her lack of power and purpose . She killed herself to receive Bhunivelze ' s notice and vanished from the mortal world , and her spilled blood was used by Lindzei to create human ity . Ending up in the unseen realm , Etro discovered Mwynn being consumed by an energy known as chaos . With her last breath Mwynn tasked Etro with protecting the balance of the universe , for if the balance between the mortal and unseen realms was to be disrupted , the universe itself would collapse . The curse Bhunivelze seeks to prevent is but an eventuality of fate . Not fully comprehending Mwynn ' s final request , Etro became lonely and developed an affection toward the humans who were fated to follow her in death . Etro placed a piece of chaos within each human being as they passed through to the unseen realm , which came to be known as the " heart " , stabilizing the influence of chaos . Pulse continued to craft the world as he saw fit , while Lindzei protected the world . One day , Pulse and Lindzei absconded , never to be seen again . Many of the humans , in turn , worshiped — and some abhorred — these fal ' Cie as gods . Etro became known as the Goddess of Death who waits to greet those who pass through the door to the unseen world , eventually to be reborn in a new form . She supervises the cycle of reincarnation to keep the amount of chaos between the two realms in balance . As for Bhunivelze , he remains in his slumber to awaken at the end of time . Overarching concepts . As the games in " Fabula Nova Crystallis : Final Fantasy " series share a common mythos , they have common concepts albeit used with varying interpretations . Crystals are a common theme , representing souls , divinity and the origin of magic . This hearkens back to the main " Final Fantasy " series where crystals have been a staple since the series ' s inception , but " Fabula Nova Crystallis " — as the name suggests — aims for new interpretations of the role of crystals in the series . Musical themes . " Fabula Nova Crystallis " is the sixteenth track on the forth disc of the " " , and plays during the game ' s final cutscenes before the final battle . It is an arrangement of the game ' s main theme , " FINAL FANTASY XIII - The Promise " . In " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " " Fabula Nova Crystallis " plays during the secret ending of " " downloadable content scenario . An orchestral performance of " Fabula Nova Crystallis " with the lyrics of " Serah ' s Theme " , conducted by Arnie Roth , performed by the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra and Frances Maya , is present on the third Distant Worlds album : " " . It was originally performed in Tokyo in November 2010 . It is the eight track of the second disc . A version is also included on " " album . Development . The " Fabula Nova Crystallis " mythos was written up in book form by Kazushige Nojima . Starting in April 2004 , it took him approximately a year , and his work included input from Shinji Hashimoto , Yoshinori Kitase , Motomu Toriyama , Tetsuya Nomura and Hajime Tabata ( all of whom went on to be involved with games set within the mythos ) . The mythos was deigned to be interpreted freely by the individual directors . " Fabula Nova Crystallis " was announced in 2006 , then called " Fabula Nova Crystallis : Final Fantasy XIII " , but the name was shortened to " Fabula Nova Crystallis : Final Fantasy " during the Square Enix 1st Production Department Premiere event on January 18 , 2011 . The " XIII " numeric was dropped because what was originally named " Final Fantasy Agito XIII " was renamed " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " . A video of the " Fabula Nova Crystallis " lore was shown at the January 18th , 2011 , Square Enix Conference . The video details the story of the many gods from the " Fabula Nova Crystallis : Final Fantasy " series . The video was created by a team headed up by Yusuke Naora ( art director of " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " ) . The text of the narration was arranged from Kazushige Nojima ' s mythos book . Yoshinori Kitase joked that the lore was written five years back and Nojima ' s book had been sealed away since , but they had to take it out for the event . Officially , the " Fabula Nova Crystallis " games had been characterized as " different titles based on variations of the " Final Fantasy XIII " universe " . Hajime Tabata , director of " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " and " Final Fantasy XV " , has described the concept in this way : The figure in the " Fabula Nova Crystallis : Final Fantasy " logo is one of the gods of the mythos , but when asked by " Famitsu " , Yoshinori Kitase would not reveal which one . Themes . The general theme of the " Fabula Nova Crystallis " series is destiny predetermined by higher beings , and human choices whether to accept or rebel against their fate . The series pits humans against divine forces time after time . Despite the gods ' power and frequently callous treatment of mankind , using people as mere tools toward their own goals , humans can prevail relying on the strength of their souls , a concept frequently alien to the deities and their familiars . The series re - imagines core " Final Fantasy " concepts in " modern " ways . " Final Fantasy XIII " explores the idea of becoming a " Warrior of Light " ( l ' Cie ) chosen by the crystals to a supposedly divine mission , whereas " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " tells the story of nations powered by Crystals warring over said Crystals — a recurring story in the series . The main overarching story theme explores the meaning of humans ' free will when faced with destiny carved by the deities of the world . In " Final Fantasy XIII " Lightning and her companions struggle against the fal ' Cie rule and the cruel fate of a l ' Cie . In " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " Serah and her friends want to prevent the imminent fall of Cocoon and destruction of the timeline . In " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " Lightning needs to save and guide as many souls to the new world as she can while the almighty god Bhunivelze is watching her every move . In " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " the people of Orience are trapped in a spiral by fate , and Class Zero must choose to either accept their roles as the pawns of the divine , or choose their own path . The theme of " beginning of the end " recurs in the context of setting the beginning of a new era . In " Final Fantasy XIII " Vanille speaks about the fateful thirteen days as " beginning of the end " , but at the end she and her friend , Fang , sacrifice themselves to give humanity a new start of not depending on the fal ' Cie . In " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " the end of Nova Chrysalia gives birth to a new world , one without gods . In " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " , Cid Aulstyne claims his campaign of " beginning the end " is a " glimmer of hope " , setting the path toward Tempus Finis , the end of the world . The " Lightning Saga " . There are several prominent themes in " Final Fantasy XIII " trilogy . One of them is " family bonds " presented with various types of relationships : the bond between Lightning and Serah as sisters ; the lovers ' relationship between Serah and Snow ; the father - son relationship between Sazh and Dajh and Bartholomew and Hope , respectively ; the relationship between friends between Vanille and Fang and Serah and Noel , respectively ; and the relationship of those bound to a servitude as with Caius Ballad and Paddra Nsu - Yeul . Another theme is " the battle within " as told in the tagline of " Final Fantasy XIII " , as seen with Lightning and her friends struggling with their inner turmoil : Lightning ' s journey of shedding her cold persona and accepting her vulnerabilities , Serah ' s journey of coping with her past as a l ' Cie and using that experience to shape the future , Fang and Vanille ' s journey of accepting their fate and atoning for their actions , Snow ' s journey of gaining Lightning ' s acceptance through their shared love for Serah , Hope ' s journey of looking beyond hate and revenge and creating a future for humanity to be free from fal ' Cie rule , Sazh ' s journey of dealing with his perceived failures as a father , and Noel ' s journey of creating a future where people can thrive while dealing with his feelings of failure and helplessness in preventing disaster and unknowingly helping bring it about . Each installment focuses on a different deity within the " Fabula Nova Crystallis " mythos : " Final Fantasy XIII " focused on Pulse and Lindzei , " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " on Etro and " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " on Bhunivelze . Orience series . The most prominent theme in " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " and " Final Fantasy Agito " is war and its effects on the world . The historical progression of a war and its influence on the younger generation is the main focus of the story . Director Hajime Tabata has cited several underlying themes in the world and story of " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " . One revolves around death and its effects : a key aspect of the story is the memories of the dead being removed from the living by the Crystals . This scenario was created to make people feel their hatred of death . Others included the collision of four " fantasies " ( the nations of Orience ) , a battle between magic and technology , and the two sides of the world ( the mortal world and unseen realm ) . Another underlying theme is a cycle of Orience ' s death and rebirth and the effort to break that cycle . An overarching theme in the " Fabula Nova Crystallis " series is that the deities of the world want to make use of humans , either as their " avatars " ( by making them l ' Cie ) , or by attempting to use their unique property , souls , for their own purposes . The theme of humanity versus divinity is highlighted in the game ' s final chapter where Class Zero is asked to become l ' Cie . However , succumbing to the Crystal ' s Will spells disaster for Orience , as it appears that despite the Crystals ' efforts one who gives one ' s soul to a Crystal to harness , cannot actually be Agito , the fabled savior of Orience . Thus Class Zero can only free the world if they exercise their inner strength as humans and turn down the offer to become l ' Cie . " Final Fantasy XV " . " Final Fantasy XV " was announced in 2006 as " Final Fantasy Versus XIII " : the title was intended to show its standing as an opposite of " Final Fantasy XIII " , along with representing some of its themes . During its transition , " Final Fantasy XV " became " disconnected " from the mythos : while it exists as a base , specific terminology was removed , and its role was reduced to a low - key thematic connection around which original lore was created . Speaking on the subject between 2015 and 2016 , Tabata has stated that he did not want to distance fans from the series , and wanted to distance " Final Fantasy XV " from " Final Fantasy XIII " : In another interview , Tabata elaborated that the branding and elements directly related to " Fabula Nova Crystallis " were removed so the game could be marketed as a new product anyone could play and understand . Despite this , aesthetic and other elements were retained . In Tabata ' s words : " It was a complicated issue , but we had to make a decision about it . " Despite sharing only a tenuous connection , it uses common themes including destiny and human reaction to it , the role of the divine in human lives , and crystals shaping civilization . The " Versus XIII " name comes into play in juxtaposition to " Final Fantasy XIII " and its sequels that take place in fantastical worlds that are literally and culturally disconnected ( Cocoon and Gran Pulse in " Final Fantasy XIII " ; the different eras and timelines in " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " , as well as the normal world and Valhalla ; and Nova Chrysalia and the new world in " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " . ) . For " " Versus XIII " " Square wanted the world to be different from the original " Final Fantasy XIII " by presenting one whole , connected world . This theme has carried over to " Final Fantasy XV " in the form of a seamless open world . In further juxtaposition to " Final Fantasy XIII " and its white overall color scheme , " Final Fantasy Versus XIII " , and thus " Final Fantasy XV " , have the theme of black , shown in the cast ' s clothes , the Kingdom of Lucis , and even the name of the original game engine , " Ebony " ( the original name for the engine for " Final Fantasy XIII " was " White Engine " ) . Etymology . Square Enix ' s page states that " Fabula Nova Crystallis " translates to " the new tale of the crystal " . However , this is not quite accurate — the Latin word for crystal is " crystallum - i " , which is a second declension neuter noun . " Fabula Nova Crystalli " would mean " the new tale of the crystal " . As it stands , the title more closely indicates " the new tale to / by / with the crystals " , as " crystallis " is a dative or ablative plural . It is possible that " crystallis " could still be genitive singular , with the meaning , " of the crystal " . Often in Latin literature the plural and singular forms of words are used interchangeably to rhetorical effect — one example of this is in the story of Scylla in Book 7 of Ovid ' s " Metamorphoses " .