World of Darkness (Final Fantasy III)

The World of Darkness, also known as the Dark World, is the final dungeon in Final Fantasy III, where the party fights the Cloud of Darkness and several other enemies. It is a point of no return.
The dungeon's layout mostly consists of paths made out of dark energy, surrounded by a black void. A natural counterpart to the World of Light, it is the Cloud of Darkness' base of operations and the source of the darkness which broke the balance between the two worlds by starting an invasion.
The name World of Darkness was also used to refer to the surface world before Luneth's party went down there.
== Story ==
To defeat the Cloud of Darkness, the party must first find the Warriors of the Dark to weaken the final boss. To find each of them, they must first battle the bosses: Echidna, Ahriman, Cerberus, and Two Headed Dragon.
After defeating the four bosses, the party confronts the Cloud of Darkness in which the Warriors of Darkness sacrifice themselves to weaken the Cloud of Darkness. The Warriors of Light battle and defeat the Cloud of Darkness.
== Items ==
Item 	Location
Ribbon	Cerberus's area. Guarded by Xande's Clone.
Ribbon	Echidna's area. Guarded by Xande's Clone.
Ribbon	Ahriman's area. Guarded by Xande's Clone,
Ribbon	Two Headed Dragon's area. Guarded by Xande's Clone.
== Enemies ==
;First area
* Shadow Master x2
* Kage x2
* Yormungand
;Water crystal area
* Kage x2
* Yormungand
* Queen Scylla
* Xande's Clone (monster-in-a-box)
* Echidna (Boss)
;Air crystal area
* Kage x2
* Shadow Master, Kage
* Yormungand
* Xande's Clone (monster-in-a-box)
* Cerberus (Boss)
;Fire crystal area
* Shadow Master x2
* Kage x2
* Yormungand
* Xande's Clone (monster-in-a-box)
* Two Headed Dragon (Boss)
;Earth crystal area
* Shadow Master, Kage
* Queen Scylla
* Garm
* Xande's Clone (monster-in-a-box)
* Ahriman (Boss)
;Cloud of Darkness area
* Queen Scylla
* Garm
* Thor x2
* Twin Dragon
* Hydra
* Cloud of Darkness (Boss)
== Battle background ==
=== Open area ===
=== Crystal rooms ===
File:Crystal Tower BG .PNG
== Musical themes ==
The background theme that plays in the World of Darkness is called "The Dark Crystals". An arrangement of this track was included in the "The Dark Cloud" track from the album Final Fantasy III: Eternal Legend of the Wind.
== Other appearances ==
=== Final Fantasy XIV ===
 is a 24-man alliance raid, and the final step of the quest line, where the player confront the Cloud of Darkness as well as other bosses from the location in Final Fantasy III.
=== Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008)===
The World of Darkness is the representative arena of Final Fantasy III. Here, the Onion Knight fights the Cloud of Darkness to save Terra Branford. It is also the site of the first cutscene for Cloud's, Cecil's, and Squall Leonhart's storylines, and is where Tidus and Firion split up. In Firion's storyline, he fights Ultimecia directly afterwards.
The World of Darkness consists of a polygonal dark crystalline area with many tall pillars and tendrils of dark energy circling the arena. Characters can use Quickmove to grind over the energy bars or to run up the pillars. In the background at one end of the stage, a staircase descends from nothingness. The arena's Ω form periodically shifts form to one of two other areas of the Final Fantasy III.
Depending on how close the characters are to each other when the shift occurs, the arena will shift to a small, closed-in area with a series of square pillars and platforms rising in the center, or a large open area consisting of transparent platforms connected by bars of dark energy hovering over a Banish Trap. Depending on which alternate area the characters are teleported to, the Bravery pool will rapidly increase depending on the distance of the two characters from each other. After a period of time, the arena shifts back to its default appearance.
The battlegen item obtained through stage destruction in this area is Sealed Darkness.
==== Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy ====
The World of Darkness returns as an arena. In the 12th cycle, this is where Laguna encounters the Cloud of Darkness.
====Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia====
The World of Darkness serves as the setting for Act 3 Finale, Pt. 2. Gameplay in this chapter is virtually identical to Final Fantasy III, upon which it is based.
=== Theatrhythm Final Fantasy ===
The World of Darkness appears as the Battle Music Sequence for "Battle 2", both from Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV, the latter as downloadable content.
==== Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call ====
The World of the Darkness returns as the BMS for both songs.
=== Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade ===
=== Final Fantasy Record Keeper ===
==Behind the scenes==
Developers planned to add a save point in the Dark World entrance while developing the NES version, but ignored that idea, as they thought it would make the final dungeon too simple. It was kept this way for the 3D remakes. Hironobu Sakaguchi thought the last dungeon of Final Fantasy III was "horrible".
== Gallery ==
FFIII NES - World of Darkness entrance.gif|The World of Darkness (NES).
FFIII NES - World of Darkness Wind Crystal zone.gif|The path to the Dark Wind Crystal (NES).
FFIII NES - World of Darkness Fire Crystal zone.gif|The path to the Dark Fire Crystal (NES).
FFIII NES - World of Darkness Water Crystal zone.gif|The path to the Dark Water Crystal (NES).
FFIII NES - World of Darkness Earth Crystal zone.gif|The path to the Dark Earth Crystal (NES).
FFIII NES - World of Darknes CoD Path.gif|The path to the Cloud of Darkness (NES).
Crystal Tower - WoD entrance.jpg|World of Darkness entrance (DS).
FFIII iOS World of Darkness Entrance.png|The party enters the World of Darkness via Crystal Tower (iOS).
World of darkness concept art.png|Dissidia concept art.
==Citations==
de:Welt der Dunkelheit (FFIII)
it:Mondo dell'oscurità
Category:Locations in Final Fantasy III
Category:Arenas in Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008)
Category:Arenas in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Category:Final dungeons