The History of Vana'diel begins many eons ago, with a sentient jewel, a living stone by which all life was created, banished the darkness, and spawned forth Gods of infinite power.

Their prized creation was the world of Vana'diel, their celestial playground. Here the gods played, until eventually they fell into slumber. It was during this time that the children of the gods began to create their own civilization. They traveled through the sky, extracted gold from stones, and gave birth to grasslands across the world. These were the Ancients. But, one day, the Ancients seeking to join their god parents decided to gain entrance into paradise. Enraged by such a brazen display of insolence, the holy gatekeeper destroyed their path and cast their homes to the bottom of the sea. Shortly thereafter, the goddess Altana awakened and saw the ruin that had once been Vana'diel. Seeing this, she felt an emotion which gods seldom feel: sadness. She wept for the tiny world and her tears cleared away the damage done, but that was not all. Five divine tears fell to the new soil. Each of these five tears gave birth to a new race of people; Hume, Elvaan, Tarutaru, Mithra, and Galka. Together, they are referred to as the enlightened races. Altana's sorrow left and she once again departed, leaving the world to grow in peace and harmony.

There was another god, awakened and watching, from his place in the shadows. Promathia, God of Twilight, angered by what he had seen saw fit to condemn her work. Bringing out each of the five races' darkest attributes - the Elvaan's arrogance, the Hume's apathy, the envy of the Mithra, the cowardice of the Taru, and the Galka's rage, and cursed them to constant internal conflict. Finally, to ensure that people would never again think to open the door to the gods, he created races of his own. These dark races, the beastmen, were charged with fighting the people of Vana'diel and occupying their minds. (more...)

Ozma is an optional superboss in Final Fantasy IX. A very unusual-looking monster, Ozma appears as a sphere patterned with bright, swirling colors (the top half representing light and good, the bottom half darkness and evil, or, supposedly, Gaia and Terra). Because Ozma is found inside a so-called "Eidolon cave", it can be speculated that Ozma, much like Leviathan, was an Eidolon whose power the summoners couldn't harness, and it was thus locked away. Over the many years since, the legends that gave birth to Ozma would have long since vanished, and the people who used to tell them would be extinct, with the result that Ozma loses whatever form it may once have had and only appears to the party as a swirling shapeless mass of energy.

Completing the Friendly Monsters sidequest before tackling Ozma offers some advantages to the player. Once it has been completed, Ozma will no longer be 'out of reach', despite being a flying opponent, and it therefore becomes possible to hit it with physical attacks. Additionally, Ozma will absorb Shadow-elemental attacks (and thus be healed by Doomsday) unless the sidequest is completed. (more...)

The Black Mages was an instrumental rock band formed by Nobuo Uematsu, composer for various video games in the Final Fantasy series. The band arranged Uematsu's musical compositions in a progressive rock or prog-metal style. The band was formed in 2003, and disbanded in 2010, after seven years and three studio albums.

The band's first studio album contains a selection the series' battle themes. It was released eponymously as The Black Mages in 2003. The second album, The Skies Above, was released in 2004 and features a wider array of pieces. The third album, Darkness and Starlight, was released in 2008. The Black Mages have appeared on several other video game-related (mostly Final Fantasy) albums.

The band's live performances were rare, with only two concerts that celebrated album releases. The first — "The Black Mages LIVE" — was held in Shibuya and later released on DVD exclusively to fanclub members. A second concert — "LIVE above the sky" — was held in Kawasaki City and similarly released on DVD to fanclub members. However, The Black Mages have made appearances in various Final Fantasy-related concerts, such as VOICES: Music from Final Fantasy and More Friends.

On 7th of August 2010, Nobuo Uematsu announced the band has disbanded. (more...)

The Digital Mind Wave, often abbreviated to DMW, is the Limit Break system in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-. It consists of three reels in the upper-left corner of the screen which spin continuously like a slot machine, and eventually stop on a random selection of three portraits and a number per portrait. Depending on the results, the player receives a status buff, levels up, or can execute a special attack. Though not stated in-game, it appears the Digital Mind Wave is a manifestation of Zack's thoughts, which is why his emotions affect its results during gameplay and flashbacks of Zack's life appear when the reels spin. (more...)

"Listen to my story. This may be our last chance."

—Tidus's words in the opening

"Zanarkand" (ザナルカンドにて, Zanarukando nite), also known as "To Zanarkand", "At Zanarkand", "In Zanarkand", is the Main Theme of Final Fantasy X, composed by Nobuo Uematsu. The theme is first played during the game's opening, which shows Tidus and the others at the ruins of Zanarkand as they prepare to fight their final battle. This theme shares the greatest importance in the soundtrack, along with "Suteki da ne", being played at various significant plot events in the game, typically rearranged and under different titles, such as "Movement in Green", "The Truth Revealed" and a large part of Final Fantasy X's "Ending Theme". (more...)

"If I could protect but one person from war's horror... then I would bear any shame. I would bear it proudly."

—Basch fon Ronsenburg

Basch fon Ronsenburg is a playable character in Final Fantasy XII. A disgraced knight, Basch had his name ruined throughout Ivalice, when he was believed to have murdered King Raminas B'nargin Dalmasca, causing the country's downfall. Initially, the developers had intended Basch to be the game's main character; however, they shifted the focus to Vaan and Penelo late in development after reconsidering the players' demographics.

Basch has a fierce sense of loyalty and a very professional manner. He abides strictly by a knight's code of sorts, dedicating himself entirely to restoring the country he serves. He is a selfless man, constantly putting others before the needs of himself, at the cost of his own reputation. Basch is also very reliable, as he is seen constantly striving to fulfill promises and commands from his superiors, his friends and his family, regardless of the request or the circumstances. In that aspect, Basch has a strong similarity with another protagonist from the Ivalice Alliance, Ramza Beoulve, the main character from Final Fantasy Tactics. (more...)

"The roiling skies let loose a vile beast without a soul: Omega was its name."

—Book in Final Fantasy V

Omega (オメガ Omega), or Omega Weapon, is a recurring superboss in the Final Fantasy series. Omega is almost always the strongest Weapon-type enemy in the games in which it appears and is often the strongest boss in the game. Since its first appearance in Final Fantasy V, it has appeared in many games in the main series as a powerful enemy.

As with many enemies, Omega's appearance throughout the series has varied. Omega most commonly appears as a silver steel robot with a round body and four spider-like legs emerging from the sides. It possesses no head, and the central body is dominated by a large, yellow, pupil-less eye. On other occasions, Omega has simply been a large bio-mechanical entity, silver and blue in coloring, and usually quadrupedal. As mentioned, Omega is the most recurring superboss in the series, often ranking as the most difficult boss in any game in which it appears. It is sometimes related to Ultima Weapon, a weaker version of it, or Shinryu, another recurring superboss. (more...)

"A young warrior skilled in many types of weaponry. He is hot-blooded, with a strong sense of duty."

—Dissidia Description

Firion is the primary protagonist of Final Fantasy II, and as such, the leader of the player's party. He is the adopted brother of Maria and Leon and he is the best friend of Guy.

In the Japanese novelization, he was born in Salamand and was taken in by his adopted family after the death of his parents. After his home is burned down and his adoptive parents murdered by the Palamecian Army, he is critically wounded by several black knights while fleeing Fynn. Upon awakening, he finds himself in the remote rebel stronghold of Altair, where he reunites with his close friends Maria and Guy. (more...)

"The Battle Within Begins..."

—Final Fantasy XIII Tagline

Final Fantasy XIII is the thirteenth installment in the Final Fantasy series, and is the first of the series to be released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Unveiled at E3 2006, the game is the flagship of Square Enix's Fabula Nova Crystallis project. The game runs on Crystal Tools (formerly known as White Engine), a proprietary engine built for Square Enix's next-generation games. The game was released in Japan on December 17, 2009, and 9th March, 2010 for North America and Europe. A Traditional Chinese version has been announced on the PS3 to be released in May 2010. This marks the first time a game in the series being translated into Traditional Chinese. (more...)

"Anna!"

—Edward, being spoony.

Well folks, it happened once again. Edward is our featured article! That's thirty months in a row! And really, who else fits the spoony bard criteria better? Hurdy? A bard to be sure, but not spoony enough. Al-Cid? Spoony but he ain't no bard.

So like we do every month, let us raise a glass to the spoony bard himself, Edward! (more...)

"All the hatred in existence would never be enough to defeat me!"

—Exdeath

Exdeath (エクスデス Ekusudesu), also known as X-Death or ExDeath, is the main antagonist of Final Fantasy V. According to Ghido, despite his knightly appearance, Exdeath was once, and still is to an extent, a tree from the Great Forest of Moore.

After the malicious warlock-king Enuo was defeated and the Void was sealed away, humans turned to an alternative solution to purge their land of corruption and terror. The Great Forest of Moore provided a solitary prison for these malevolent souls to inhabit. Eventually many other monsters were drawn to the forest, becoming easily the most dangerous place on Galuf's world, and sealed within a tree. The various souls residing within the tree eventually make it so self-aware that it assumed a human-like form, as evil as the many souls that composed him. Thus, the monster Exdeath was born. (more...)

Limit Breaks, also known simply as Limits, are powerful combat moves featured in several Final Fantasy titles. The mechanism first originated in Final Fantasy VI, but the term was not officially coined until Final Fantasy VII; later games sometimes use other names. Limit Breaks are often among the most damaging moves at a player's disposal, typically capable of decimating enemies. Several Limit Breaks have developed into signature moves of various characters.

Limit Breaks usually rely on the damage the player takes in some way. When the player takes enough damage to fill up a power meter, or they enter Critical status, they may perform their Limit Break. However, this is not universal and some games use different systems. Though their appearance, usage and naming has varied, Limit Breaks have been featured in all of the linear Final Fantasy titles since Final Fantasy VI, and the Limit Break concept has become a series staple. (more...)

"Time...It will not wait...No matter...how hard you hold on. It escapes you...And...I...can't...disappear yet."

—Ultimecia

Ultimecia (アルティミシア, Arutimishia in Japanese, Artemisia in Italian and German, and Artemisa in Spanish) is the main antagonist of Final Fantasy VIII. A powerful Sorceress from a future many generations ahead of the game's time, Ultimecia intended to compress time into one single moment with a form of magic known as Time Compression. She used a device called "Junction Machine Ellone," as a means to send her consciousness into the distant past. In the past era, Ultimecia manipulated world events, and utilized her ability to possess other sorceresses.

The first sorceress known to have fallen under Ultimecia's control was Edea Kramer of Centra. Ultimecia resided within Edea's body for a long period of time in order to enact her plan of Time Compression. In her final confrontation with Squall Leonhart, she attempted to absorb all that ever had and ever would exist, including all time and space, in order to become "a living god." However, her ambitions were ultimately thwarted at the hands of Squall and his friends. (more...)