Crystal (term)

Crystals , also called orbs and spheres, are legendary and often elemental objects that have appeared in every game in the main Final Fantasy series. Even in games where they are not a central plot point, there has been at least some reference to them. Crystals often have power over natural phenomena, and function as a powerful source of magical energy. Many antagonists focus their efforts on seizing the crystals to gain power towards their goal.
== Profile ==
The original set up was to have four elemental crystals: a Water Crystal, a Fire Crystal, a Wind Crystal, and an Earth Crystal. On occasion crystals may be aligned with Darkness. Crystals are often found in crystal rooms in early games. The crystals are often treasured for their power and many myths and legends surround the true extent of their abilities. Uncovering the truth of these myths and their meaning is a typical part of a Final Fantasy game.
The concept of the four elemental crystals that sustain the world likely derives from the Japanese five elements philosophy. These five elements are, in ascending order of power: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Void. The element of Void is not represented as a crystal, but may have taken the form of The Void, a dimension that connects the different Final Fantasy worlds.
The concept of four elemental crystals that sustain the world was largely phased out since Final Fantasy V, with crystals gaining more varied roles. Crystals remain as a source of life energy in some way, and often act as a source of magic, sometimes powering airships and other apparatus. Crystals contain within themselves both light and dark in that they have been used for both good and evil purposes. Summoned monsters are often bound to a crystal, and the one possessing the crystal shard becomes able to summon the creature. The power of the crystal is often to transcend space and time and life and death, even allowing travel to other eras, worlds and dimensions.
The crystal can be sentient and communicate with a chosen party, often via a mental link. Crystals choosing the player party as the "Warriors of Light" is a recurring theme in the early series, where the crystal, sensing the world is in danger, tasks a band of warriors with the mission of saving it. The crystal lends the group its powers, often resulting in the party becoming able to use magic and other special abilities.
== Appearances ==
=== Final Fantasy ===
Crystals were initially known as "Orbs" in the North American localization, due to a truncated Japanese-to-English translation.
The Warriors of Light begin in possession of four elemental crystals, and each of the Four Fiends guards a larger, power-drained crystal of his or her own element, which the Warriors restore after defeating the Fiend. Garland possesses a fifth "Dark Crystal", though its significance is not elaborated upon. When the Warriors of Light restore the light to the four crystals, they channel their energy into the fifth crystal, allowing them to travel to the past to break the time loop.
=== Final Fantasy II ===
A Crystal Rod is a key item that unlocks the entrance to the Mysidian Tower, where the ultimate magic, Ultima Tome, is sealed. Atop the tower are four crystal orbs that represent each element.
When examined, the four blue crystals boost a specific stat of a random party member (including Ricard) by 10. If the randomized party member has maxed out in the stat, then nothing will happen. In the bottom-left is the crystal of power, which increases Strength. The top-left is the crystal of spirit, which increases Spirit. The top-right is the crystal of intelligence, which increase Intelligence. The bottom-right is the crystal of speed, which increases Agility. In the Origins version, the Memo File and soft reset features allow a player to control who gets the stat gains by resetting until it chooses the desired character.
In the center of the room where the crystals lay is a fifth crystal that is orange, the crystal of the forbidden spell that contains the Ultima Tome that teaches Ultima.
In the bonus dungeon introduced in Dawn of Souls, Soul of Rebirth, the crystals grant Minwu access to the Ultima Tome in Machanon.
=== Final Fantasy III ===
There are eight crystals scattered across the world. Four exist on the Light World, and four are found in the World of Darkness. Xande is trying to drain them of their power to create an imbalance between light and darkness. He drains the crystals on the surface world, covering it in darkness and freezing time, but is unable to drain the ones on the floating continent. Eventually, the forces of darkness drain the other two crystals, creating an imbalance that summons the Cloud of Darkness. The Wind Crystal chooses four children to go out and restore the balance, and give the crystals back their power.
After the four youths find each crystal, they are given new job classes. Once the youths are given the powers of the four crystals of light, they enter the World of Darkness and must defeat the four guardians of the dark crystals to obtain the aid of the Warriors of the Dark. They use the four crystals of darkness to make the Cloud of Darkness vulnerable.
Another crystal is found in Goldor Manor, but it is a crystal made of pure gold as with everything Goldor owns. The Warriors of the Light initially suspect the gold crystal is the Earth Crystal, but are mistaken, and the gold crystal has no special powers.
FFIII - Crystal Intro.gif|The Crystal in the title.
FFIII - Crystal.gif|Light Crystal.
FFIII - Dark Crystal.gif|Dark Crystal.
FFIII - Gold Crystal.png|Gold Crystal.
FFIII Model - Wind Crystal.png|A crystal (3D).
FFIII Wind Crystal FMV.png|Wind Crystal in an FMV (PC).
Crystal from FFIII Pixel Remaster sprite.png|Crystal Pixel Remaster sprite.
Gold Crystal from FFIII Pixel Remaster sprite.png|Gold Crystal Pixel Remaster sprite.
Dark Crystal from FFIII Pixel Remaster sprite.png|Dark Crystal Pixel Remaster sprite.
=== Final Fantasy IV ===
There are eight primary Crystals. The four elemental Crystals form the "Light Crystals", and are kept in the Overworld: The Crystal of Water is in Mysidia, the Crystal of Fire is in Damcyan, the Crystal of Wind is in Fabul, and the Crystal of Earth is in Troia.
There are also four "Dark Crystals" kept in the Underworld. The location of two of these Crystals is never revealed, but one is kept by the dwarves in their castle, and one is found in the Sealed Cave.
If all eight Crystals are gathered in the Tower of Babil, it has been told that the "way to the Moon" would open. Gathering the Crystals would actually summon the Giant of Babil, an enormous, autonomous robot war machine. The Lunarian Zemus wants to have the giant destroy the Earth so the Lunarians could settle there, and he uses Golbez to do so. Many more Crystals are revealed later, such as the eight Crystals of the Moon and a Crystal that appears in the battle with Zeromus.
The Crystals of the Moon are sentient and responsible for sealing Zemus's power for the time being. The Crystal that appears in the battle against Zemus is an item said to make Zeromus vulnerable. Golbez tried to use it, but only those born out of the Light can do so. When Cecil Harvey uses it, Zeromus becomes vulnerable, and Cecil and his friends defeat it.
The Crystal of Flight rests within the Lunar Whale, and is used to transport the heroes to the Moon and back. The Elder of Mysidia implies that crystals power the Lunar Whale, and in the 3D remake release several crystals are embedded in parts of the airship.
In the 3D remakes each of the eight Crystals are colored differently. In the 2D releases, the crystals are light blue or dark red/black, depending on their alignment to Light or Darkness.
FF4Crystal.jpg|Crystal (1).
FF4Crystal2.jpg|Crystal (2).
Lunar Crystal 1 NPC ffiv ios.PNG|One of the Lunar Crystals (3D).
Lunar Crystal 2 NPC ffiv ios.PNG|One of the Lunar Crystals (3D).
Lunar Crystal 3 NPC ffiv ios.PNG|One of the Lunar Crystals (3D).
Lunar Crystal 4 NPC ffiv ios.PNG|One of the Lunar Crystals (3D).
Lunar Crystal 5 NPC ffiv ios.PNG|One of the Lunar Crystals (3D).
Lunar Crystal 6 NPC ffiv ios.PNG|One of the Lunar Crystals (3D).
Lunar Crystal 7 NPC ffiv ios.PNG|One of the Lunar Crystals (3D).
Lunar Crystal 8 NPC ffiv ios.PNG|One of the Lunar Crystals (3D).
==== Final Fantasy IV -Interlude- ====
Three crystals make an appearance, silently shedding their light within their chambers. The three crystals are the Fire Crystal in Damcyan, the Wind Crystal of Fabul, and the Dark Crystal inside the Sealed Cave.
==== Final Fantasy IV: The After Years ====
The Mysterious Girl and Kain? band to collect the eight crystals of the Blue Planet, all of which have returned to their original resting spots since Zeromus was defeated. The girl returns to the Red Moon and drains the power of their crystals, shattering them.
In the depths of the True Moon, numerous crystals appear and shatter, reviving various bosses from Final Fantasy IV to attack the party as they travel deeper into the moon's surface. In the final chambers the party recovers the eight crystals of the Blue Planet, and in the final battle with the Creator, they are used to render him vulnerable to the party's attacks.
TAY-Crystal.jpg|Crystal.
FFIV TAY Crystals.png|The Crystals (iOS).
=== Final Fantasy V ===
Four crystals control the elements in Bartz's world, and without them, the wind would not blow, the oceans would dry up, the fire would burn out, and the life of the earth would be destroyed. The Wind Crystal is kept in the Wind Shrine maintained by Tycoon. The Water Crystal is kept in the Walse Tower and maintained by Walse. The Fire Crystal is kept in Karnak and the Earth Crystal is located in the Ronka Ruins. Thirty years ago the Warriors of Dawn used the power of the crystals to seal the malevolent warlock Exdeath within a cave where the power of the four crystals gathered.
Cid Previa invented a machine to amplify the crystals' output, but if the crystals were allowed to operate at this capacity, they would shatter. Cid regrets creating the machine. Exdeath tries to shatter the Crystals himself to be freed by using his spirit to possess others to accomplish the deed. As the Wind Crystal shatters, it brands the four who had arrived at its shrine trying to save it as the Warriors of Light, tasked with protecting the crystals and thus, the world. Despite their efforts, the crystals shatter one by one, each shard becoming the source for a new job class for the Light Warriors as the crystals will to bestow their power to the four so they could vanquish Exdeath.
After the crystals are gone, Galuf Halm Baldesion, one of the Light Warriors, returns to his world on a meteorite. It is revealed there exists a parallel world from where Exdeath originally emerged, and the Dawn Warriors had sealed him into the other world to protect their own. After Exdeath was freed when the crystals shattered, he fled back to his own world and Galuf and the others follow suit, ready to continue the battle.
They find Galuf's world's crystals guarding the Great Forest of Moore, but are tricked by Exdeath into breaking their seals and he absconds with them. Galuf perishes in the battle against Exdeath and his role as a Light Warrior is taken up by his granddaughter Krile Mayer Baldesion. The Light Warriors infiltrate Castle Exdeath, but Exdeath destroys the crystals and the Light Warriors mysteriously find themselves in a new, merged world.
It becomes apparent that both worlds were once one, known as the Planet R. A thousand years ago a sorcerer named Enuo had tried to destroy the world with the power of the Void. a mysterious pure energy, and the world's crystals had been split to seal the entrance to the Void between the worlds. When the crystals that sustained the world were split, the world itself was split in two, but after Exdeath had the crystals of both worlds destroyed, the worlds merged once again. The portal to the Interdimensional Rift manifests as a result and Exdeath enters it, gaining the ability to field the power of the Void.
The Light Warriors follow Exdeath to the Rift and defeat him despite him being transformed by the Void into Neo Exdeath, a being that seeks world destruction. Left hovering in the Void in the battle's aftermath, the Light Warriors learn that the crystals that sustain their world were once born from the Void, creating life. The crystals are reborn with the power of the two generations of Warriors of Dawn, regenerating the world. The Void disappears, and the Light Warriors return to their realm. The four rendezvous a year later, and decide to continue protecting the crystals, and thus the world, together.
==== Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals ====
right|thumb|The Water, Fire, and Earth Crystals.
Ra Devil's forces have stolen the crystals of Earth, Fire, and Water. Sensing something is amiss, Linaly's grandfather sends her to check on the Wind Crystal. The spirit of Mid Previa had been residing in this crystal, and uses Linaly's body to hide the crystal from Ra Devil's forces.
Linaly is captured, and later rescued by Prettz, Valkus, and Rouge. The other three crystals are reclaimed but not before Ra Devil had already transformed himself using their power.
=== Final Fantasy VI ===
When an esper dies, its remains crystallize into magicite that appear as glowing shards of green crystal. In contrast to magic extracted from live espers via magitek, magic can be taught naturally and at a much higher potency using magicite.
Using magicite, the Returners wield magic to fight the Gestahlian Empire on its own terms for a time, before the empire is decimated by the espers. The empire abandons magitek in favor of magicite in preparation to invade the esper homeworld and seize the Warring Triad, a trio of petrified deities. After the imperial general and magitek knight Kefka revives the Warring Triad and absorbs their powers, he becomes the source of all magic in the world. Thus, upon his defeat, espers, magicite, and magic disappear.
=== Final Fantasy VII ===
The crystallized form of Mako is known as Materia, and a nod to the crystals of past. The Materia allow the user to control magic spells, summons, gives boosts to statistics and adds extra commands. Two exceptionally powerful Materia pieces are the White Materia and Black Materia. Sephiroth seeks the Black Materia to summon Meteor to strike the Planet, while Aeris tries to stop him by using the White Materia to summon Holy, the ultimate White Magic spell.
There are also four rare natural Materia found in Materia Caves: Knights of Round, Mime, HP↔MP, and Quadra Magic, said to be so powerful due to being in secluded areas, and have been given time to grow and collect. There are also the four Huge Materia, colors red, blue, yellow, and green. Three of the four Huge Materia correspond to matching color Materia: Master Summon, Master Command, and Master Magic can be acquired from the red, yellow, and green Huge Materia if the player has mastered all Materia shards of that type. The Huge Materia's appearance is of homage to the elemental crystals of the early series.
==== Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- ====
thumb|left|The Materia summoned by Sephiroth.
During the first battle with him at the Nibel Reactor, Sephiroth can summon four colored crystals to assist him. The crystals are identical in appearance to the four Huge Materia from Final Fantasy VII.
In a locked chamber in the Banora Underground Zack Fair can enter battle with Green Materia, Red Materia, Yellow Materia, and Blue Materia. They cast elemental magic and their coloring corresponds to four of the five typical Materia colors. The Banora Underground caves are full of crystals, due to the proximity to the Lifestream. The Goddess Materia is a large natural Materia Genesis Rhapsodos seeks to cure his degradation.
Zack can also equip Materia for various effects in battle.
=== Final Fantasy VIII ===
The crystal pillar is a gigantic crystal believed to have originated from the Moon. The monsters in the world originate from the moon, and the crystal is responsible for summoning them to the planet by creating a strong energy field. It reacts to a certain location on the planet, creating a signal that directs the Lunar Cry towards it. Thus, the crystal acts as a malevolent force.
=== Final Fantasy IX ===
The crystal is the origin of life in the universe, marking a new iteration on the series's use of crystals as the force that sustains the game worlds. Final Fantasy IX calls back to many aspects of the early series, and the crystal represents the origin and interconnectedness of all life.
The term "crystal" may refer to the planets' individual crystals, or the "original crystal" at the Crystal World. Though the planets' crystals are mainly represented in abstractions, and the Crystal World crystal only appears briefly, the crystal is one of the game's main motifs that ties up the main theme of life and death, and appears in its logo art.
Small gem stones also feature as consumable items and accessories, and house the essences of eidolons.
=== Final Fantasy X ===
Spheres are round crystalline objects used for various purposes in the world of Spira. They contain various magical energies provided by the pyreflies embedded in them, allowing them to act as keys, contain memories, and even record events that can be viewed like a movie. They also, symbolically, represent the game's theme of cycles.
Just prior to the series of final boss fights, Tidus and company are warped to a bizarre spinning room called "Sin - The Nucleus". Within the Nucleus, Tidus must avoid crystal spikes while grabbing ten glowing, teleporting crystals, each of which bestows either powerful spheres or weapons. Once all ten items are acquired, the player is teleported to Dream's End for the final battle.
A larger crystal appears in Luca. There is a statue in the round square where a clear crystal is sitting. As the player walks closer, the camera focuses on the crystal. The Crystal Cup is handed to the Besaid Aurochs by Wakka if the team wins the blitzball tournament.
When the Magus Sisters perform Delta Attack, they surround the enemy party in eight crystals, four of blue hue, and four of red-orange hue. This refers to Final Fantasy IV, where there were four blue crystals of the surface world, and four red-orange crystals of the Underground.
==== Final Fantasy X-2 ====
Dresspheres allow one to use the memories within the sphere to unleash associated powers.
=== Final Fantasy XI ===
Crystals play an important role in almost every story in Final Fantasy XI. They are also have several gameplay uses, such as battlefield entry points, and items used for crafting. All of the crystals are shards broken off from the original great crystal, which brought the world into existence. This great crystal split into 5 great shards, now called mothercrystals. These mothercrystals now stud the land of Vana'diel, and they grant life to the denizens.
=== Final Fantasy XII ===
Crystals are commonly found in the form of magicite. Magicite, in the world of Ivalice, is described as a kind of magickal stone, capable of storing Mist and being extracted for its use in magick. Nethicite is a special type of magicite that holds great amounts of magickal energy. Items such as the Dawn Shard are revealed to be shards of the Sun-Cryst, a large crystal, and a powerful form of nethicite, having been used in the conquests and campaigns of the legendary Dynast-King Raithwall of the Kingdom of Dalmasca that has secured his legacy for centuries.
Through the studies of Dr. Cid, the Archadian Empire has begun to synthesize artificial nethicite, and with it the Archadians have begun a campaign to conquer the world. Princess Ashe focuses much of her efforts on acquiring a shard of the Sun-Cryst to use as power to wage war on Archadia, while the Archadians track down the same shards for experimentation.
Crystals are found throughout the world, and one of their many functions is as a save point. These Crystals are divided into save crystals, which let the player save the game, and gate crystals, which also allow teleportation to other gate crystals. Many enemies also drop various elemental crystals, used for making items in the Bazaar. Espers are also bound to crystals before they are defeated.
There is also an enemy that takes the form of a crystal, called a Crystalbug.
The Great Crystal is a gargantuan crystal and speculated by the party to be the origin of Mist in Ivalice. This is where the Occuria dwell. Occuria themselves resemble living crystals and are said to be immortal.
==== Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings ====
Crystals come in the form of auracite, which people can use to summon Yarhi. Using the auracite comes with the price: each time someone uses it, their anima slowly drains away. This is the reason the aegyl have been reduced to emotionless shells.
There are also larger pieces of crystals called Auraliths from which all auracite come. Destroying the Auraliths releases the trapped anima they have absorbed. The Soul Crystal gameplay element in certain battles reincarnates its team's KO'd members periodically.
=== Fortress ===
Crystal-like objects appeared in concepts and came in eight different (apparently elemental) types. It is unknown whether these objects were nethicite, auracite, Auralith, or something else entirely.
=== Final Fantasy XIII ===
Crystals interact in the world in the form of fal'Cie, god-like machines powered by the crystals. Their power seems limitless as they helped create Cocoon, which is essentially another moon of the world of Gran Pulse. These entities can create l'Cie by planting a crystal shard, known as an eidolith, somewhere inside the human body; the l'Cie are, to a degree, their avatars in the world.
L'Cie can use magic and summon Eidolons via their eidoliths. If the l'Cie fails in the task they are given, the power of the crystals will turn them into a monstrous crystallized Cie'th. If they complete their Focus, l'Cie are rewarded with eternity by becoming lifeless crystals. Because both fates are considered to be a fate akin to (or even worse than) death, Cocoon citizens live in fear of the l'Cie and cast out those who become as such.
Humans, like the fal'Cie, also possess crystal power, though in a different manner. Crystal is the universe's life substance. The crystals power the fal'Cie like a computer's processor, giving them amazing magical powers and making them immortal, incapable of aging, yet the humans possess an even greater power; when a human dies, their soul turns into crystal energy and passes through the Door of Souls to be eventually reborn. The fal'Cie envy this trait as they, too, would like to pass through the Door of Souls to be reunited with their Maker. During the game's final chapters the party can observe the crystal energy in the air as tiny glimmering shards.
==== Final Fantasy XIII-2 ====
When Noel and Serah defeat a monster in battle, they can gain its power in form of crystal and summon it to fight alongside them. This ability was granted to Serah by the goddess Etro. Mog has a crystal on his antenna instead of the classic moogle pompom; it is also incorporated into the weapons he turns into.
Fragments, crystallized memories, take appearance of various crystals, and artefacts, items which do not belong in their time period, are also a type of crystal. Caius's greatsword and armor has a crystal attached to it, which is revealed by one of the Fragments to be Bahamut's eidolith.
The meteor that Noel arrives to New Bodhum in is also a crystal. Atlas is powered by a type of crystal. The Historia Crux utilizes crystal as a means of preserving the states of locations that have previously been visited, as completed locations bear the message "Time and memory, frozen in crystal".
There is a link between the deities and the crystals in the Fabula Nova Crystallis universe, as the fragment "Bhunivelze's Sleep" mentions that the crystals give birth to all things via the deities' wills and that the eternal dream world of the crystal lies within the Unseen Realm.
==== Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII ====
Random encounters sometimes transform into green crystals upon being defeated, to signify dropping an ability for Lightning. Soul Seeds, the objects which form monsters, take the form of small purple crystals and appear within Chaos infusions. Special merchants pay for gathered soul seeds. During a quest in Luxerion related to Vanille, Lightning must find a crystal shard that Vanille uses to keep in contact with Fang.
In the Datalog, it is stated that Bhunivelze's true form is an everlasting crystal. After the Apocalypse, Lightning and her friends are faced by a large crystal in a void, which shatters and triggers the birth of the new world and releases the souls of humanity.
=== Final Fantasy XIV ===
Aetheryte crystals are massive shards of crystallized aetheric mist, precisely cut and fused to arcane machinery. The origin of the technology is unknown (and is apparently wholly unnecessary beyond aesthetic purposes as beastman tribes make use of aetheryte fashioned entirely of raw crystal), and aetheryte primarily serves as a means for the Warrior of Light to get from place to place.
Elemental crystals and shards can also be gathered for fuel in item synthesis. Most crystals are aspected to one of six elements, but some can be drained of their elemental aspect, which are called deaspected crystals, or excessively aspects, called overaspected crystals.
Mor Dhona is littered with naturally-occurring crystals, as a side effect of the environmental damage caused by the Battle of Silvertear Skies, as opposed to the enshrined gems seen elsewhere. Crystals as scenery is a common element in final or significant areas for much of the series.
Eorzeans' myths and legend extolled their world was created by the Mothercrystal, which became synonymous with Hydaelyn, an Elder Primal who serves as its protector while using it as a medium to communicate with others. The Mothercrystal is located deep within the depths of the Source and initially was part of the conflict between Hydaelyn and the Ascians who sought to give the Mothercrystal to Zodiark. The Mothercrystal can bestow special "Crystals of Light" on certain individuals; the Warrior of Light obtains six of them through the course of the main scenario. These crystals act as a conduit for the blessing of Light. Hydaelyn later bestows the vast aether within the Mothercrystal to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn so they can use it to reach Meteion, followed by Zenos Galvus consuming what remained of the Mothercrystal.
Four crystals can be seen during the animation of the Thaumaturge ability, Swiftcast.
=== Final Fantasy XV ===
The Crystal is a powerful magical artifact in the world of Eos. The Crystal's power is that of light and is a source of unmatched magical power. It is kept by the kingdom of Lucis and protected by the line of Lucian kings. According to legend, the Crystal is of divine origin and was bestowed to humanity alongside the Ring of the Lucii, which harnesses the Crystal's power for a chosen few. The ring itself holds a small crystal. A legend speaks of the King of Light, the one who will wield the full powers of the Crystal to save the world from darkness. The Crystal mythos in Final Fantasy XV incorporates many traditional Final Fantasy elements.
The Disc of Cauthess is a site where the remains of a crystalline meteorite lie, said to have been caught by the Astral Titan eons ago. The crystal meteorite burns with a blue light and the town of Lestallum uses shards of it as a power source.
===Final Fantasy XVI===
Crystals in the land of Valisthea are mountainous monuments that bless their realms with aether. People revere and flock to them, using the aether to ease their lives. As the crystals are the power of the land, great wars have been waged over access to them, but an uneasy peace has prevailed for a long time until the coming of the Blight.
=== Final Fantasy Tactics ===
Crystals may appear when a defeated unit remains unconscious for three rounds (300 CT). They represent the condensed soul energy of the defeated unit. Living units may pick up these crystals to fully restore their HP and MP. If a human unit picks up the crystal formed from another human's soul, the living unit may choose instead to learn the abilities the defeated unit had learned at no JP cost. Once a unit's soul condenses into a crystal, its body disappears, and it cannot be revived by any means, making the transformation into a crystal a form of permanent death.
The crystals of defeated human units are based on their color palette. The party and guests (palette 00) have the teal-gray crystal, the Order of the Northern Sky units (palette 01) have the bright blue crystal, the Order of the Southern Sky units (palette 02) have the red crystal, the Corpse Brigade/Baert Trading Company/random battle units (palette 03) have the yellow crystal, and the Church of Glabados units (palette 04) have the purplish-gray crystal.
In Midlight's Deep, each blackout area can be lit by an unclaimed crystal. The area will be completely revealed when there are five crystals present.
The twelve auracites are crystalline stones of great power. The powers of Ivalice vie over their possession, the foremost party being the Temple Knights of the Church of Glabados who know of the stones' relation to the Lucavi demons. There is also a hidden thirteenth auracite obtained from Elidibus on the tenth floor of Midlight's Deep. This stone represents Serpentarius the Serpent, but is simply an add to the original twelve.
=== Final Fantasy Tactics Advance ===
The five crystals are the threads that bind the dream Ivalice, made by the palace, and each one represents one of the races of Ivalice. Crystals exist in special folds in space, called "seams". As the crystal's magic is beneficial to all Ivalice, special means are being employed to protect them. This was once known in a theory, one of the believers being Montblanc. This is confirmed when the clan has to fight the first guardian of the crystals, also known as Totema, Famfrit.
Marche's quest is to shatter the crystals to return home. To do this, he must defeat the Totema that guards each crystal. A sixth crystal is Queen Remedi, the Li-Grim in her true form, and even when they are all destroyed, it takes the will of all of those from the old world to allow them to return to the real world.
The classic four crystals of Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth appear in a group of optional subquests, known as "sigils". On these missions, each sigil must be obtained by defeating a "Falgabird" of the corresponding element: Marilith (Fire), Lich (Earth), Kraken (Water), and Tiamat (Wind). These Falgabirds are a reference to the original Four Fiends. Once the four sigils are obtained, two further missions can be completed to craft the Mind Ceffyl and the Body Ceffyl from them.
==== Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift ====
Crystals appear in certain quests/battles. When touched, the crystals allow the character to be transported to a different battle field. Touching the crystals is usually required to complete missions they appear in.
=== Final Fantasy Tactics S ===
=== Crystal Defenders ===
The player defends crystals from numerous waves of enemies. In addition, there are Power Crystals, which raise the abilities of nearby units.
=== Final Fantasy Type-0 ===
A Crystal is located in each peristylium of Orience, bestowing the nation with a blessing and power to its citizens, representative of mankind's pursuits. Said to have been found long ago within their respective regions, they act as a means of political power, allowing their people to rule over their lands with a means of protection from invasion, and to inspire hope.
The Crystals are sentient, and their will is often expressed through a l'Cie of its choosing who are unable to oppose the Will of the Crystals. The people of Orience revere the Crystals for their power, and in return the Crystals erase the personal memories associated with those who die among those who knew them. The Crystals are said to will for an equilibrium in the world, but their true purpose seems to be to compete for birthing Agito, culminating in the wars that ravage Orience.
The four Crystals of Orience are the Vermilion Bird Crystal of the Dominion of Rubrum that bestows the Power of Magic, the White Tiger Crystal of the Militesi Empire that bestows the Power of Weapons, the Azure Dragon Crystal of the Kingdom of Concordia that bestows the Power of the Dragon, and the Black Tortoise Crystal of the Lorican Alliance that bestows the Power of the Shield.
=== Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles ===
Large crystals can be found in every town and village. They protect people from the poisonous mist known as Miasma that plagues the world. The effect is temporary, and after a year each town and village must send out Crystal Caravans to collect three drops of Myrrh. To collect the Myrrh, the Caravanners use a Crystal Chalice, which not only can hold the Myrrh, but can protect the travelers from Miasma with its crystal for a short range.
A Carbuncle in Mag Mell reveals that the crystals protecting each village and city were originally part of a once Great Crystal that was shattered after being struck by a meteor that brought with it the Meteor Parasite that spread the Miasma.
==== Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates ====
right|thumb|Crystal in Rela Cyel.
Crystals are an item for everyday life. Chelinka was born with a special crystal in her hand that she can only use when her twin brother Yuri is around.
The Great Crystal holds the memories of the world. It is later revealed that use of the crystals alters the path of reality and destiny. When the crystals are used by the moontouched Lunites they turn crimson, whereas the crystals are normally blue.
Crystals found in towns and dungeons fully heal party members and also act as a save point and checkpoint.
RoF Crystal.png|Save Crystal in Story Mode.
RoF Checkpoint Crystal.png|Checkpoint crystal in Multiplay Mode.
==== Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King ====
In Padarak, a Crystal that appears within the Kingdom grants King Leo the power of Architek that allows him to rebuild his fathers kingdom. To build new buildings, a type of crystals known as elementites must be collected by Adventurers in dungeons. These elementites were once part of the main antagonist, the Dark Lord.
==== Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time ====
Originally Crystals were used to keep the air clean and bestow prosperity on the land. When an inventor, Larkeicus, created machines that would allow the people to live a life of luxury (and for himself, immortality), Crystals were harvested as energy sources. As time passed, the crystals disappeared and the people became desperate for more, digging mines to uncover them.
One day, a large Crystal, the world's last remaining Crystal Core, appeared in a small Village. Larkeicus located the last Crystal using his ring, while also searching around the globe for a new source of Crystals. The inventor found Sherlotta in the Forest after killing the rest of the villagers. When the Crystal appeared in a forest pond, it infused itself to Sherlotta's soul creating, presumably, a starsinger. Larkeicus could not take the Crystal, even though there was no one to stop him. The Crystal Core was a sort of negative Crystal, rendering Larkeicus's machines useless and sending his dynasty into ruins.
A thousand years later, Larkeicus realizes the Crystals disappeared because of the shock waves from the future, and prepares to stop the event from happening. When he activates the ruins, the Crystal Core shatters and is later repaired by the hero. In the game's final events the Crystal Core is summoned to create the disturbance that made the Crystals disappear two millennia ago.
The hero is forced to shatter the Crystal, and both Larkeicus and Sherlotta disappear in a blinding light. When arriving home, the hero throws the Crystal shard received from Sherlotta on his/her sixteenth birthday into the Crystal's pool. The next day, the once tiny Crystal begins to grow into one like the Crystal Core that appeared 2000 years ago.
==== Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers ====
There are four Tribal Crystals, each representing a race, that form the "Crystal Principle", an ideal form of balance in the world. However, during the Crystal War, the Lilty destroyed the Yuke's Tribal Crystal, dooming the race to a place between Existence and Oblivion. The crystal shards were created from the Yuke's Crystal and served as a power source. The Crystal Idols gather these shards to recreate the Yuke's Crystal.
=== Final Fantasy Mystic Quest ===
There are five Crystals, each having their power drained by one of the Vile Four. Flamerus Rex drains the Crystal of Earth's power, rendering Level Forest and Foresta a decaying wasteland and turning most of the residents, including children, into old men and women. The Ice Golem's uses the Crystal of Water to send the Aquaria area into a permanent winter, the Dualhead Hydra causes earthquakes to become rampant around Fireburg using the Crystal of Fire, and Pazuzu causes violent windstorms using the Crystal of Wind.
In addition to these four crystals, the Crystal of Light appears to Benjamin as an old man offering cryptic advice. The Crystal of Light in turn may have been under the dark influences of the Dark King, as it later shines at his throne when he is killed.
=== The Final Fantasy Legend ===
In the Japanese version, the spheres are called crystals. The spheres are needed in order to progress through the Tower, and they are gotten after the defeat of their respective Fiend. The sphere are used to unlock the sealed door that will allow the party to travel further up the floors of the Tower. Sei-Ryu created numerous fake spheres in order to protect the real one from being stolen from him. The Chinese writing on the spheres are Xuan (dark), Qing (blue-green), Bai (white), and Zhu (red).
FFL Black Sphere.png|Black Sphere.
FFL Blue Sphere.png|Blue Sphere.
FFL White Sphere.png|White Sphere.
FFL Red Sphere.png|Red Sphere.
FFL Fake Sphere.png|Fake Sphere.
=== Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light ===
The Crystal appears before Brandt, Jusqua, Yunita and Aire and dubs them the Heroes of Light. Upon their first meeting, it warns them of the upcoming darkness. It will also grants them crowns after they help various people and/or towns. The darkness encroaches even the souls of men, and those who succumb to desire lose all faith. The Crystal wants the Heroes of Light to shine the light on their hearts and drive the darkness away, but for those who believe in the Light will never know terror's blight.
=== Final Fantasy Brave Exvius ===
Crystals contain visions, and Hess' Eight Sages were sealed inside large crystals.
=== Final Fantasy Dimensions ===
The world's most vital crystal lies within the nation of Lux. Upon its shattering, the world itself became divided into one of light and one of darkness, and its shards scattered throughout the world.
Amongst the Warriors of Light and the Warriors of Darkness who travel in the separated worlds in search of the shards of the world's crystal, they also bestow upon the parties the powers of different warrior classes, and are gained from people of different walks of life.
==== Final Fantasy Dimensions II ====
Crystals make an appearance. Signet crystals allow the player to use summoned creatures.
=== Final Fantasy Explorers ===
Crystals are said to be the receptacles for the energy of the stars. The most powerful is the Great Crystal, said to be the source of all life. The Great Crystal bestowed the people of the world with souls that could evolve over time and develop a civilization. Humanity begun to use crystals to advance their civilization, and when the island of Amostra rises from the sea carrying large crystal reserves, people see the island as an opportunity and Explorers head to the island to retrieve them. The crystals across the island are guarded by summoned monsters, which the Explorers must fight.
=== Dissidia Final Fantasy ===
There are ten Crystals, each one representing one of the first ten games of the series. Each Crystal is somehow reflective of its original game or its representative character, such as Cloud's Crystal being a piece of a Materia, Zidane's Crystal being the Crystal featured in the Final Fantasy IX logo, and Tidus's Crystal being a sphere.
These Crystals, later revealed to hold a tenth of Cosmos's power, had to be obtained by its respective Warrior of Cosmos by asserting their true desires to fight for what they believe in. To this end their respective enemies challenge their beliefs, wishing to speed along the manifestation of the Crystals as part of a plot to destroy Cosmos. When all ten Crystals have been recovered, the player can access the final stage and confront the final boss, Chaos. After he is defeated, the Warriors of Cosmos each depart back to their own world, taking their Crystal with them.
The Emperor is stated to possess several Dark Crystals as a result of Jecht, being a former Warrior of Cosmos, manifesting them but with their allegiance being to Chaos since he was brought to the side of discord. These Dark Crystals are not seen in-game, although it is known that with their power, The Emperor could survive the destruction of the World and rule it after the Gods killed each other.
The manikins that serve as the basic foes also appear to be living creatures made entirely of crystal.
Also, the Crystal from Final Fantasy V makes a cameo as a tutor from the in-game manuals.
==== Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy ====
The player witnesses Cosmos granting her power to her warriors, telling them that after they fight enough battles this power will manifest as a Crystal. It is also during this cycle that the Emperor arranges for Jecht to become a Warrior of Chaos to manifest the Dark Crystals.
The Reports, which go into detail on the backstory for Dissidia's world, explain that the manikins are living crystal ore recovered from The Void that shapeshift to take on the forms of others.
=== Theatrhythm Final Fantasy ===
The Music Crystal is the source of music and harmony in the world, existing in the space between Cosmos and Chaos called Rhythm. When the forces of chaos disrupt the Music Crystal's energy, the heroes embark on a journey to energize it with Rhythmia and restore its light.
The player can also collect crystal shards by playing Dark Notes and reaching certain Rhythmia milestones.
Obtaining eight crystal shards of the same color will unlock a new character:
* Yellow - Cid Haze
* Indigo - Locke Cole
* Orange - Vivi
* Scarlet - Ashe
* Silver - Minwu
* Green - Rydia
* Crimson - Faris
* Red - Aerith
* Turquoise - Yuna
* Gold - Princess Sarah
* Gray - Seifer
* Purple - Prishe
* White - Snow
* Rainbow - Cosmos
* Navy - Kain
* Black - Sephiroth
=== Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call ===
The Music Crystal returns, functioning the same as it did in the previous game. Crystal shards also return, but their function has been altered. Rather than collecting a different color for each character, five to six characters are designated to one color (excluding Black shards), and with the number of shards reduced, makes unlocking characters easier. In addition, the default characters that are not chosen as the player's initial party can be later unlocked through crystal shards.
Characters that require four shards to unlock:
* Red - Warrior of Light, Bartz, Zidane, Lightning, Cosmos, Zack
* Indigo - Firion, Terra, Tidus, Y'shtola, Yuna #2, Serah
* Yellow - Onion Knight, Cloud, Shantotto, Benjamin, Ramza, Ace
* Green - Cecil, Squall, Vaan, Ciaran, Tifa #2, Lightning #2
Characters that require six shards to unlock:
* Peach - Princess Sarah, Rydia, Aerith, Yuna, Snow, Rikku
* Purple - Minwu, Faris, Seifer, Prishe, Machina, Noel
* Orange - Cid, Locke, Vivi, Ashe, Agrias
* Turquoise - Kain, Celes, Rinoa, Auron, Balthier, Paine
* White - Lenna, Tifa, Garnet, Aphmau, Hope, Rem
* Silver - Galuf, Barret, Eiko, Lilisette, Vanille
* Gold - Edge, Edgar, Laguna, Jecht, Fran
Character that requires eight shards to unlock:
* Black - Sephiroth
=== Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin ===
Jack, Ash, Jed, Neon and Sophia all possess a dark-colored egg-shaped crystal that seemingly draws them to destroy Chaos and restore the elemental Crystals. After defeating a strong enemy, such as a Fiend, the crystal may absorb the residue darkness and unlock some of the user's memories, allowing them to recall some of their past.
Each crystal is a Lufenian memory storage device that allows Strangers to collect their memories and bring them into the next time loop, making it easier to remember their real mission. In one of the earlier iterations of the cycle, Jack entrusted his original Dark Crystal to Princess Sarah to use it as a failsafe to remember his real task to stop the Lufenians' influence over Cornelia.
=== Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade ===
Crystals contain abilities made available for players to peruse, use, enhance, sell or to destroy their enemies. Crystals containing abilities may be obtained from varying chocobos, usually of the Yellow, Black and White variety although mutations such as that of a red feathering do tend to exist and as such, result in rarer ability gains. They are also involved with the process of boosting an ability's initial limit, evolving the ability past its prime within the Crystal chamber.
=== Final Fantasy All the Bravest ===
The Crystal is mentioned in the prologue, but it does not appear within the game.
=== Chocobo's Dungeon 2 ===
=== Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales ===
Five Crystals appear and are connected to different elements and guarded by different Summon Creatures. The Red Crystal sitting atop the volcano Mt. Magma has power over Fire, and is protected by Phoenix. The Green Crystal of Earth rests in the forest, under Unicorn's watchful eye. The Blue Crystal hidden in the underwater shrine controls Water, and has Leviathan as its guardian. The Yellow Crystal stationed at the highest floor of the Technolith is aligned with the power of Light, and is under Ramuh's care. The final crystal, the Black Crystal, was created by Bebuzzu to bolster the powers of darkness and chaos by feeding off of the negativity within the hearts of living creatures.
Irma uses this crystal to drain the others and then feeds the energy to Bebuzzu, who in turn is transformed by each power. At the end of the game, he uses the fully powered Black Crystal to travel to the world of darkness as he tries to revert the universe to its original form—The Void. A backstory for the Crystals is given in the story Legend of the Crystals.
=== Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within ===
Jane Proudfoot possesses a green crystal as a pendant attached to the knife on her Anti SB Mechanized Infantry Protection System armor.
== Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances ==
=== ===
The , awarded to the winner of the Struggle in features four unique crystals of red, blue, green, and yellow. gives a bag containing a blue crystal that came from the Struggle Trophy in the .
=== Bravely series ===
The Bravely games pay homage to the four elemental crystals from Final Fantasy. There are four crystals representing Fire, Water, Wind and Earth that act as the balancing force for the world of and each of its parallel counterparts, ruling over worldly elemental phenomena of their respective element. In , the crystals are objects of worship.
Each crystal is tended and prayed to by a vestal, to ensure the stability of a crystal's power. Without the presence of a , or if the crystal is improperly managed, disasters will occur in its reigning region. Overstimulating the crystals can cause the elements they are linked with to behave erratically. When the crystals are threatened by the taint of darkness, the vestals perform rites to purify them, though a crystal can become corrupted to the point of impurity.
While the crystals can be destroyed, as long as their core—separate from the main crystal—remains intact, they will grow back to their original size and power using the prayers of humanity, although this process can take 5,000 years. Each crystals' core is pendant, which was bestowed to her by who obtained it from the angel that resembled Agnès in his past.
Crystals also provide a link between parallel versions of Luxendarc. The is a divine occurrence that emerges at the south-east of Luxendarc after all crystals have been awakened. In Crystal Orthodoxy, it is thought that praying to the Holy Pillar will purge the world from darkness. When a Holy Pillar emerges, it actually creates an opening of that world to another world parallel to it. used the opportunity to weave each world together for , the mastermind behind a plan to destroy all worlds and invade the .
=== Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars ===
The four Crystals make a cameo as guardians of Culex. Each one have high-powered elemental spells corresponding with their element—the Fire Crystal uses fire attacks, the Water Crystal uses ice attacks, the Earth Crystal uses earth attacks, and the Wind Crystal uses thunder attacks. Culex is actually believed to have been based on bosses in the Final Fantasy series.
Earth Crystal Mario RPG.png|Earth Crystal.
Fire Crystal Mario RPG.png|Fire Crystal.
Water Crystal Mario RPG.png|Water Crystal.
Wind Crystal Mario RPG.png|Wind Crystal.
=== Crystal Conquest ===
Massive crystals appears in this Japan-only, free-to-play browser game. The player has to destroy the enemy's crystal. Collecting one hundred crystal shards will allow the player to summon a summoned monster.
=== Mario Sports Mix ===
The four crystals appear in the game as Sports Crystals, which are awarded to the player for completing tournaments.
== Behind the scenes ==
Hironobu Sakaguchi attributes the inclusion of crystals in the original Final Fantasy to designer Koichi Ishii. Ishii has stated that a major theme in the game was that the world exists because of the elemental forces of nature, and Final Fantasy explored the relationship between these elements. The idea of certain enemies being resistant or weak to elemental attacks was taken from Dungeons & Dragons, as gameplay designer Akitoshi Kawazu believed that the idea made sense and was something not done in Japanese RPGs before. This grew into the idea of the creatures of the world being tied to the four elements, and the crystals represented the power of those elements. 
During development of Final Fantasy II, some employees at Square were hesitant to make it a numbered sequel if it was set in a new world, and it was agreed to retain some elements of the first game's setting to appeal to its fans. Kenji Terada, scenario writer for the first three Final Fantasy games, has said it was his idea to keep the crystals as part of the setting, as crystals are a common idea in fantasy fiction, and he thought they would be a good recurring theme to have if Final Fantasy became a larger franchise; the concept of crystals could be a "keyword" that future games explored in different ways.
== Gallery ==
Nintendo Power Chapter 7.jpg|Artwork of the crystals from Final Fantasy by Nintendo Power strategy guide.
Crystal Orb Nintendo Power.jpg|Artwork one of the crystal orbs from Final Fantasy by Nintendo Power strategy guide.
FFI NES Earth Orb.png|Earth Orb in Final Fantasy (NES).
FFI Earth Crystal GBA.PNG|Earth Crystal in Final Fantasy (GBA).
FFI NES Fire Orb.png|Fire Orb in Final Fantasy (NES).
FFI Fire Crystal GBA.PNG|Fire Crystal in Final Fantasy (GBA).
FFI NES Water Orb.png|Water Orb in Final Fantasy (NES).
FFI Water Crystal GBA.PNG|Water Crystal in Final Fantasy (GBA).
FFI NES Wind Orb.png|Wind Orb in Final Fantasy (NES).
FFI Wind Crystal GBA.PNG|Wind Crystal in Final Fantasy (GBA).
FF1Cristals.PNG|The crystals in Final Fantasy (GBA).
Earthcrystal.gif|Earth Crystal in Final Fantasy (PSP/iOS).
Firecrystal.gif|Fire Crystal in Final Fantasy (PSP/iOS).
Watercrystal.gif|Water Crystal in Final Fantasy (PSP/iOS).
Windcrystal.gif|Wind Crystal in Final Fantasy (PSP/iOS).
FFI Crystal Shards GBA.png|Crystal Shards in Final Fantasy (GBA).
FFI PSP Crystals.png|Final Fantasy (PSP).
FFI PSP Crystal Shards.png|Crystal shards Final Fantasy (PSP).
Orb FF1.png|Artwork of the Orb from the Nintendo Power strategy guide for Final Fantasy.
Crystal Dome Uncolored FFIII DS Yoshida Artwork.jpg|Early artwork of the Wind Crystal dome by Akihiko Yoshida.
FFIIIDS Crystal.png|The Wind Crystal in Final Fantasy III (3D).
FFIIIDS Dark Earth Crystal.png|Dark Earth Crystal in Final Fantasy III (3D).
FFIIIDS Dark Fire Crystal.png|Dark Fire Crystal in Final Fantasy III (3D).
FFIIIDS Dark Water Crystal.png|Dark Water Crystal in Final Fantasy III (3D).
FFIIIDS Dark Wind Crystal.png|Dark Wind Crystal in Final Fantasy III (3D).
FFIIIDS Gold Crystal.png|Gold Crystal from Final Fantasy III (3D).
FFIV Crystal.png|Crystals in Final Fantasy IV.
Ff4 crystal.jpg|A light Crystal in Final Fantasy IV.
FFIVDS Crystals.png|The Crystals in Final Fantasy IV (3D).
CrystalFWEW-ffv.gif|A Crystal as an enemy in Final Fantasy V.
Adrammelech Glyph.jpg|Esper glyph crystal in Final Fantasy XII.
Southgate.png|A Teleport Crystal in Final Fantasy XII.
XII life crystalbug render.png|The monster Crystalbug in Final Fantasy XII.
RW Soul Crystal.png|A Soul Crystal in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings.
Crystals_all_copy.png|From left to right: Lightning's, Snow's, Sazh's, Vanille's, Hope's, and Fang's summon crystals in Final Fantasy XIII.
FFXIV Swiftcast Four Crystals.png|Four crystals appear during "Swiftcast" ability in Final Fantasy XIV.
Lestallum-Crystal-Meteorite-FFXV.png|The crystal meteorite in Lestallum in Final Fantasy XV.
FFT Crystal Status.png|A crystallized unit in Final Fantasy Tactics.
FFTA Crystal Item.PNG|Mission item in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
FFTS Crystal.png|Final Fantasy Tactics S.
FFMQ 5 Crystals.png|The five Crystals in Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.
FFT4HoL Crystal Model.png|A crystal in Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light.
Crystal FFD end.png|Final Fantasy Dimensions.
Earth Crystal Brigade.png|Earth Crystal in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade.
Fire Crystal Brigade.png|Fire Crystal in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade.
Water Crystal Brigade.png|Water Crystal in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade.
Wind Crystal Brigade.png|Wind Crystal in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade.
FBE Crystal Room BG.jpg|Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.
==Citations==
de:Kristall
es:Cristal
it:Cristallo
pl:Crystal (termin)
pt-br:Cristal (Termo)
ru:Кристалл (термин)
Category:Final Fantasy
Category:Final Fantasy III
Category:Final Fantasy IV
Category:Final Fantasy V
Category:Final Fantasy IX
Category:Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Category:Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Category:Recurring story elements
Category:Crystal