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World Map

From Final Fantasy Wiki

The World Map, also known as the Overworld, plays a prominent role in many games of the Final Fantasy series. It is a smaller-scale representation that is used in the game to make travel less time-consuming and easier for the player. On it, the player can move about between various locations including cities, towns, castles, dungeons, and other areas as well as fight monsters in random battles. Later games, including Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XII did away with an explorable World Map and replaced it with groups of large, fully-scaled, interconnected areas.

The game offers various modes of transportation to the player. In most games, the player is initially forced to walk to each location. But, more modes of transportation become available to the player as the game progresses and the player is required to overcome geological obstacles. These modes include boats, airships, hovercrafts, chocobos, etc.

The Main Theme of the game is usually played whenever the players travels around the World Map. Certain games in the series, especially Final Fantasy IV, have more than one overworld theme because there is more than one overworld map.

Contents

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Final Fantasy

World map

In Final Fantasy, the world had a single map made up of three continents. The world's geography included forests, mountains, deserts, and a volcano. The player could use a boat to travel by sea, a canoe to travel by river, and an airship to travel anywhere with a clearing available. Points of interest in this world are the Chaos Shrine, Cornelia, Crescent Lake, and the Citadel of Trials.

[edit] Final Fantasy II

Like the original, Final Fantasy II only had one map. It is unique in the series in that it is connected all around the world as one giant land mass. Notable locations include Fynn, Altair, Palamecia Castle and Pandaemonium.

[edit] Final Fantasy III

Final Fantasy III was the first game to have several maps. The party start off on a floating continent, but later find that their "continent" is nothing but a small island levitating above the face of a huge world. This surface world also goes through some changes throughout the course of the game. When first discovered, the world has been flooded as a result of the Water crystal being taken over by Xande, leaving only a few patches of land accesible to the player. Later, the waters recede, revealing three large continents. See List of Final Fantasy III Locations

Floating Continent

Overworld before Kraken is defeated

The overworld after defeating Kraken

Overworld - DS version



[edit] Final Fantasy IV

Final Fantasy IV has three world maps: the Overworld, the Underworld and the Red Moon. The Moon and Underworld are relatively small for world maps, however. The Overworld is the largest of the three world maps in Final Fantasy IV and the place where the majority of the game takes place. It consists of oceans, mountains, plains, and forests and contains a number of towns, castles, and enter-able areas. The Underworld is the second world map visited in the game and is cave-like in appearance (due to being within the planet). Its terrain consists of lava and caves with a few towns and castles, as well as the ground entrance to the Tower of Babel. The Underworld is unique in that you cannot cross from one side of the map to another by repeatably going in the same direction. The Moon is the third and final world map in Final Fantasy IV and is made up of a few caves and the crystal palace. The terrain of the Moon is quite plain, consisting of caves and craters. It is the smallest of the game's three world maps.

Overworld Map

Underworld Map

Red Moon


[edit] Final Fantasy V

See also: Planet R.

Final Fantasy V had three world maps: Bartz' homeworld, Galuf's homeworld, and both of these worlds combined.

World I

World II

World III


[edit] Final Fantasy VI

Final Fantasy VI had two world maps: The World of Balance and the World of Ruin. The game begins in the World of Balance, and after Kefka Palazzo changes the positions of the Warring Triad, the world changes to the World of Ruin. Traveling options include airship, ferries and chocobos which can be rented from stables in towns and forests.

World of Balance

World of Ruin Map


[edit] Final Fantasy VII

The Planet overworld
Main article: The Planet

Final Fantasy VII had just one world map, though it was the first to be rendered in full 3D. It also had the first World Map with a controllable camera. The world did however go through a few changes, including the appearance of Meteor in the sky, and also the addition of a crater after the party defeat Ultimate Weapon. Most of the world is in daylight, but the area around Midgar and Northern Crater are always night, and the area around Cosmo Canyon is always dusk.

[edit] Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy VIII World Map
See also: List of Final Fantasy VIII Locations.

Final Fantasy VIII again had just one world map but had 32 locations to be explored. It was the first and only map to date to feature an optional 3D globe in place of the traditional map.

The area around Deling City is always night as well as, during the Lunatic Pandora event, the area near and around Tears' Point is enveloped in an apocalyptic red aura with the Lunatic Pandora itself seen hovering over the point. During the Time Compression most of the World Map locations become inaccessible and various "warp points" appear across the world for the player to travel in to and out of Ultimecia Castle, where the titular Sorceress that initiated Time Compression resides.

[edit] Final Fantasy IX

Gaia overworld map

Final Fantasy IX also had one world map. It included an area of eternal night (the dark city Treno) and an area of dusk on the Forgotten Continent. The overall lucidity of the skies depended on whether Mist was covering the land or not. See List of Final Fantasy IX Locations.

[edit] Final Fantasy X/Final Fantasy X-2

Final Fantasy X world map

Final Fantasy X is unique in its map system. Instead of having a large world map with towns located around it, all locations are linked through many paths. You can jump quickly from area to area once you get an airship. The world is called Spira.

[edit] Final Fantasy XI

Vana'diel is the world where Final Fantasy XI takes place. It's divided into two continents, Quon to the west and Mintaria to the east. Aradjiah (also called "The Near East") is an additional area which was introduced in Treasures of Ath Urhgan expansion.

Middle Lands on Vana'diel

The nearest portion of Aradjiah


[edit] Final Fantasy XII

Ivalice map and nations
Main article: Ivalice (Final Fantasy XII)

Ivalice is the name for a region in the world of Final Fantasy XII. It has three continents: Valendia, Ordalia and Kerwon. There are four nations: Archadia, Nabradia, Dalmasca, and Rozzaria.

[edit] Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

The Purvama of Lemurés

The first chapter of Revenant Wings takes place in the same Ivalice as Final Fantasy XII. After the acquisition of the Galbana, the Purvama of Lemurés is accessible and plays host to the majority of the game's events. Later in the story, the party may freely travel between Lemurés, Ivalice, and the lofty Keep of Forgotten Time.

Unique among Final Fantasy installments, Revenant Wings allows the player to travel by airship very early in the game, and the world map itself requires a very short amount of walking.

[edit] Final Fantasy Agito XIII

Not much is known about the world of Final Fantasy Agito XIII, though a screenshot (see right) shows what may be a piece of the game's World Map.

[edit] Final Fantasy Tactics

The Map of Ivalice, without the specific locations.
Main article: Ivalice (Final Fantasy Tactics)

The world of Final Fantasy Tactics, Ivalice, differs from that of previous games. It is made up of a series of locations represented by glowing dots on a 2-D map which the player can see at all times when not in battle. Ramza can move between these dots, and each space traversed takes up one day. Blue dots signal a peaceful town or city, green dots signal an area where a random battle has a 50% chance of occurring, and red dots signal a location where a storyline mission will be forced upon moving onto the dot.

[edit] Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Ivalice in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Main article: Ivalice (Final Fantasy Tactics Advance)

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is also set in Ivalice, but its geography is different from that of Final Fantasy Tactics. The world map is again a 2-D plane made up of a total of 24 location symbols rather than the worlds of other Final Fantasies. With a few exceptions, a new area can be placed in blank circles on the World Map whenever Marche completes certain missions. Moving between spaces on the map, symbolic or blank, takes one day.

[edit] Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

Map of Jylland
Main article: Jylland

A 2-D region of Ivalice called Jylland is used for Final Fantasy Tactics A2. This Ivalician area spans two continents; Loar in the west and Ordalia in the east. Airships are used to travel between these two continents are various islands. Jylland is comprised of five territories, in which there are many smaller territories and locations. Tactics A2 differs from Tactics Advance in that all locations are set, and traveling between locations does not necessarily take up one day.

[edit] Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

Main article: List of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Locations

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles's world is split into nine areas, each one containing dungeons or settlements. The dungeons and settlements are represented by little icons that represent the area. The Tipa Caravan moves across the map by selecting a location; along the way, random events can be witnessed on the path. To enter another area, the caravan must past through the Miasma Stream, which, depending upon the year in the game, can only be passed if the Crystal Chalice element matches the Miasma Stream's element for that year.

[edit] Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates's map is made up of one area with towns and dungeons represented by small portraits on a 3D map. The entire map can be viewed freely, but new dungeons only appear as players progress through the game.

[edit] Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King's map is used to assign quests for the adventures sent out by King Leo. None of the locations (besides Padarak) are seen, and they are only explored by the adventures. As they explore and defeat the bosses in each dungeon new locations show up on the map.

[edit] Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time

In Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, dungeons and towns are represented by icons, much like in the original Crystal Chronicles. Characters are also able to freely move around on the map, much like in the old Final Fantasy games.

[edit] Final Fantasy Adventure

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