are small spheres of crystalized spiritual energy used in the magic system of Square-Enix's role-playing game Final Fantasy VII. These spheres allow their users to cast various magics and use special abilities. The energy from which they form originates in the , a river of spiritual energy coursing through the Planet. Aside from this energy's application in the creation of materia, it can also be drawn out of the earth to be harnessed as a source of electrical energy called .

Materia

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In the game, materia (from the Latin word for "matter") is created when mako (spiritual energy from inside the Planet that rises to the surface and condenses into a liquid) crystalizes, forming an orb. Within materia reside the knowledge and memories of those who have lived and died in the past. Materia functions by acting as a conduit between its wielder and the Planet's Lifestream, allowing the memories associated with that materia to be manifested in a physical sense, what's referred to as "magic."Sephiroth: "...the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in the materia. Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the Land and the Planet. That knowledge interacts between ourselves and the planet calling up magic..... or so they say."(Final Fantasy VII) Years before Final Fantasy VII began, the Shin-Ra Company discovered a means to manufacture materia within their mako reactors, and — recognizing its profitable potential — quickly monopolized its production and marketed it. They also outfitted their SOLDIER units with it as weaponry, quickly bringing an international war that had lasted for several years to an end.

In the postwar era to follow, the people's dependency on Shin-Ra's mako reactors and materia would allow the company to control the world. Materia can form from crystalized mako both naturally and artificially, but finding a natural source of materia is extremely rare. One such "mako fountain" exists in the mountains above Nibelheim.

Colors and usage

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Usage within the magic system

Magic (Green): Used for casting offensive spells such as Fire and Bolt, and defensive spells such as Cure and Barrier. In Advent Children, Kadaj can be seen using a green materia for a summon instead of an offensive spell. No explanation is given.

Summon (Red): For summoning monsters—such as Ifrit and Bahamut—to perform a single, powerful attack.

Command (Yellow): For adding additional combat abilities, such as Steal and Morph.

Support (Blue): Modifies the effects of other materia to provide an added effect. For example, the All materia allows a spell to target all units on a side at once.

Independent (Purple): Materia—such as HP Plus—that are typically used to boost a character's stats.

Materia works in conjunction with "slots" in a weapon or armour, utilized to store materia for use in battle (be aware that all materia crystals are the same size and shape, except the Black and White Materia, which are not available to the player, and the Huge Materia crystals, which can not be carried around). Within the game engine, slots come in individual or linked-pair varieties; the latter allows the use of Support materia to enhance the functionality of a single linked materia orb of Summon, Magic or Command materia.

Most materia lower one or more of the physical characteristics of the character they are equipped on (primarily HP, but also Defense). Therefore, a character stocked with many materia will have many abilities at their disposal but will suffer in other areas of performance, making the balanced application of materia an important ability to master.

Materia growth is the process through which materia orbs used in battle improve in potency. At the end of each successful battle, Ability Points (AP) are applied to all materia carried by characters who are conscious at the time the encounter ended. Each orb has levels which must be reached to allow the materia to grow and improve. Most Magic materia contain three different spells, which become available as the materia gains AP. For example, Fire materia enables the character to cast Fire on its first level. Evolving the materia to the second level enables Fire2 ( called "Fira" in the Japanese version of the game), a stronger version of the same spell, and its third level yields Fire3 (called "Firaga" in the Japanese version), the strongest spell available to that materia orb. Summon materia, when leveled up, will provide the user the ability to use the summon multiple times in battle. If the Summon materia is at level three, for example, the caster may summon that particular summon monster three times in any given battle. Command materia tend to have fewer abilities to learn, with the exception of the Enemy Skill orb which does not gain AP but rather "learns" attacks cast upon the wearer by monsters, much like the Blue Mage of various other Final Fantasy games. Independent and Support materia do not gain new abilities as they level, but their potency in battle does improve (for example, an HP Plus Independent materia will level up from +10% to +20% of the user's maximum HP).

When a materia has gained a certain number of levels, it will become "mastered," after which it will no longer evolve, and at which time it will duplicate a new, fresh piece of the same type of materia. Some mastered materia sell for a large sum of gil (the currency used in the game); for example, a mastered All materia sells for 1.4 million gil. Speed of materia growth is linked to the weapon in which the materia is equipped - some weapons provide double or triple growth at the expense of having fewer slots to equip materia in, whilst the overwhelming majority of the character's "ultimate weapons" have zero materia growth but many linked slots.

Plot Materia

Not all materia in Final Fantasy VII is able to be used by the player. Some simply are for use as plot devices or as methods for combining mastered materia for improved performance.

Holy

Holy is the white-colored materia that Aerith Gainsborough thought was useless. Given to her by her mother, Ilfana, she wore it in her pony-tail in memory of her. Said to be the ultimate protective magic, Holy turned green in answer to the Cetra’s prayer to help stop the destruction of the Planet.

Meteor

Meteor is the black-colored materia with the power to destroy the Planet. Hidden away as the Temple of the Ancients, Cait Sith made the sacrifice to retrieve it. Cloud Strife was manipulated by Sephiroth into presenting it to him in his plan to use the evil to become god-like.

Usage within the plot

Black Materia

The Black Materia is utilized to cast Meteor, the Ultimate Destructive Magic in Final Fantasy VII, capable of destroying an entire planet. Much of the plot in the game revolves around the pursuit of the Black Materia, both by the game's heroes (in order to safeguard it from those who would misuse it) and by the game's villain, Sephiroth (as a vehicle for his plans). The party is able to obtain the materia at the Temple of the Ancients, but main character Cloud Strife is forced to relinquish it to Sephiroth, both there, and a second time later at the Northern Crater, allowing Sephiroth to cast Meteor. Like the White Materia, the Black Materia is a major plot device and does not exist as a materia in the strictest game terms (i.e., the player cannot equip it in any menus or use it in battle), though it does appear as a "Key Item" in the Key Item inventory for a short period of the game.

White Materia

The White Materia can cast the spell called Holy, which will protect the Planet, and is the antithesis of the Black Materia (and, by the same token, Holy is the antithesis of Meteor). Where Meteor is the Ultimate Destructive Magic, Holy is the pinnacle of defensive magic, at least so far as regarding the Planet. It is for this reason that the party seeks out the White Materia during the latter part of the game, though it can only be used by one with an understanding of its purpose and only in the City of the Ancients. Like all materia, the White Materia links its wielder to the Planet, and if their request to the Planet to release Holy is granted, the White Materia will glow pale green as a symbol of this.Cloud: "Search for Holy... How do we do it?" ... / Bugenhagen: "Get the White Materia... This will bond the Planet to humans. Then speak to the planet. If our wish reaches the planet, the White Materia will begin to glow a pale green."(Final Fantasy VII)When Aerith Gainsborough is killed by Sephiroth, the White Materia finds its final resting place at the bottom of a lake in the City of the Ancients. Being a major plot device, the White Materia cannot be equipped or used in battle, and technically does not exist as an item at all in the game engine.

Huge Materia

Huge Materia is highly refined and condensed mako, created in the heart of mako reactors. During the course of the game, Shin-Ra intend to use the Huge Materia as a weapon to destroy the approaching Meteor spell cast by Sephiroth. A sizeable part of the storyline is dedicated to the retrieval of four pieces of Huge Materia, although it is not actually necessary to recover the items for the story's purposes. Failure to do so simply limits the amount of Master materia available to the player later in the game, and prevents the player from acquiring the Bahamut ZERO Summon materia.

Usage in other titles in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

In the game's film sequel Advent Children, rather than wearing equipment with materia slots, three characters (Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz) absorb materia directly into their bodies prior to utilizing it. This--among other traits of the three characters--identifies them as something other than ordinary humans, as Professor Hojo of Shin-Ra Inc. had determined that materia could not be directly implanted into humans' bodies without specially-designed prosthetics.Research notes written by Hojo: "I tried experimenting on the victims of a certain incident from ??? Village. From the experiments, I can say that the fusion between the human body and Materia is..." ... / Research notes written by Hojo: "...and because of that, this case was a failure. I can conclude that it's impossible to fuse Materia directly into the human body. Without using prosthetics to implant some special parts, it's simply impossible to achieve with the average human being."(Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII) Following the plot in the movie, these three characters revealed to be remnant spirits.

In Final Fantasy VII, it is revealed that an ancient materia is utilized in order to allow Vincent Valentine to control Chaos, a powerful creature he can transform into that is best remembered as his ultimate Limit Break in the original Final Fantasy VII. Also, in Final Fantasy VII, Fuhito of AVALANCHE plans to make use of a powerful summon called "Zirconiade" in a plan to kill all living things on the surface of the Planet, and - in so doing - ensure the Planet's survival and revitilization. Furthermore, Shin-Ra's Turks operatives make use of materia in their weaponry in Before Crisis.

Interestingly, the size of materia has changed since its inception in the original game. Materia crystals at this time were roughly marble-sized(The exception being the Black Materia, being about the size of a baseball), and can be seen in several characters' weapons in the official artwork. In later FFVII-related works such as Advent Children, however, Materia have increased in size and are closer in size to the Black Materia. While this could be a possible retcon, the materia in Before Crisis is similar in size to that used in the original game. The reason (if any) for this apparent discrepancy is unclear.

Other appearances

• In Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, the sources of magical energy known as "spheres" are analogous to Final Fantasy VII's materia.
• In Final Fantasy Tactics, materia can be found as treasure on proposition missions accepted at various bars in Ivalice. However, the materia is not usable in the game. In addition, the Materia Blade - a sword that can be found at Bervenia Volcano - is the only weapon in the game that allows Cloud - appearing as an optional secret character - to use his Limit Break abilities.
• In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, materia is the substance produced from materite. There are two pieces of equipment made from materia in this game: the Materia Blade (which teaches Ultima Sword to Gladiators and Ultima Charge to Mog Knights) and Materia Armor (which has one of the highest defensive stats in the game).
• In Final Fantasy VI the substance known as "Magicite," the crystalized essence of a passed on Esper which can be equipped and used to summon that Esper duiring battle, bears a marked similarity to Materia(Or rather, Materia bears resemblence to it, as Magicite came before it).
• In the Quest mode of Ehrgeiz, materia are the source of magical abilities. Also, in the game's backstory, the Ehrgeiz sword is said to have a materia set into its hilt.
• In the Kingdom Hearts series, materia is the substance used by moogles to sythesize weapons not available in shops, such as accesories, weapons, and even better materia. Materia are viewed by many not as souls, but as fictional minerals (many of which are from the world of J.R.R. Tolkien) because of their names; orichalcum, mithril, etc.

The Lifestream

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Housed within the Planet's mantle, the Lifestream is considered the lifeblood and very spirit of the Planet. This river of green ethereal energy (called "Spirit Energy") is characterized as a swell of souls of those who have lived and died in the past, a collective consciousness with strong similarities to the Oversoul of transcendentalist philosophy, or certain Gaia theories. In particular, the Lifestream concept is identical to the Gaia Theory depicted in The Spirits Within, in which living things (plants, animals and human beings) are given energy by the spirit of the Planet prior to birth, live out their lives and then die, with the energy then returning to the Planet. During an organism's lifetime, they have experiences from which they gain memories, and once they die, their Spirit Energy returns to the Planet, taking with it the memories of the life form to which it had been attached. These memories in turn give rise to more Spirit Energy, allowing the Planet's spirit as a whole to grow, and the cycle of life to continue.Bugenhagen: "'Spirit Energy' is a word that you should never forget. A new life... children are blessed with Spirit energy and are brought into the world. Then, the time comes when they die and once again return to the Planet..."(Final Fantasy VII)

Mako

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Mako is the condensed form of Spirit Energy and the primary source of energy used by human beings throughout the world. Whereas Spirit Energy in its raw form is ethereal, mako is a liquid, taking this form after settling at the surface of the Planet. It is from this state that Spirit Energy can crystalize into materia. As with mako's conversion into materia, the process of spiritual energy rising to the Planet's surface and condensing into mako can occur via both natural and artificial processes. The terms "Mako Energy" and "Spirit Energy" are often used interchangeably due to one being a derivative of the other, but in Final Fantasy VII's modern times, the use of the term "Spirit Energy" is widely opposed due to its negative connotation.

Mako as an energy source

Mako is the most common source of electrical power on the planet in the present day of Final Fantasy VII, with the various fossil fuels (oil, coal, etc.) becoming obsolete. The process of generating energy via mako was pioneered — and monopolized — by the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company, based in Midgar. Mako extraction and its usage is considered environmentally unfriendly by those who research the Study of Planet Life, however, a philosophy that regards the Planet as a living entity and seeks to understand it. Despite this, few openly oppose Shin-Ra, as their control over the world is absolute. The only people to have done so were the organized group known as "AVALANCHE," who actively attacked Shin-Ra facilities, specifically mako reactors, in the hopes of deterring their use.

Aside from its electrical applications, Shin-Ra makes use of mako with their elite task force, SOLDIER. These specialized military units consist of operatives that are biologically augmented by mako. Sephiroth (a prototype for the SOLDIER program), Zack (a 1st Class member of SOLDIER) and Cloud (who was not a member of SOLDIER, but received the same enhancement procedure) are examples of people who have been enhanced with mako.

SOLDIERs are not only infused with mako, however. They are also injected with Jenova cells. Jenova's cells together with mako gives them far greater strength and cognitive ability than ordinary humans possess, provided they are mentally strong enough to handle the mako infusion process without suffering from mako poisoning.Cloud: "You see, someone in SOLDIER isn't simply exposed to Mako energy. Their bodies are actually injected with Jenova cells......"(Final Fantasy VII) The Shin-Ra Company's Investigation Division of the General Affairs Department — better known as "the Turks" — have as one of their tasks the duty of scouting for capable candidates for SOLDIER.Cloud: "The Turks are an organization in Shinra. They scout for possible candidates for SOLDIER."(Final Fantasy VII)

Aside from these uses, mako — in one form or another — is also found in weapons used by Shin-Ra. The Mako Cannon stationed in Junon used a variety of mako shells, and, later — after being moved to Midgar and modified — fired a beam of raw mako energy. As materia, mako has been employed by Shin-Ra's Turk operatives who wielded it in their weapons in Before Crisis, and by their SOLDIER units. In addition to the energy resource and weaponry allocations of mako, the Shin-Ra Company was also developing mako-powered vehicles for civilian purposes.

Mako is thought to be similar to radioactive materials in that prolonged exposure can lead to genetic mutation, cognitive disability and even death. Individuals who have had prolonged exposure to mako are identified by a glow in their eyes, referred to as "mako eyes." All members of SOLDIER bear this distinguishing feature, and, as such, it is considered to be a "mark of SOLDIER."Aerith: "...Your eyes. They have a strange glow..." / Cloud: "That's the sign of those who have been infused with Mako... A mark of SOLDIER."(Final Fantasy VII)

Notably, a similar concept to mako has been used in two other Final Fantasy games: Final Fantasy X and its sequel Final Fantasy X-2. (See Spira for more information.) The main writer for Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X, Kazushige Nojima, as well as current Final Fantasy lead developer Yoshinori Kitase, have also indicated that all 3 games share a plot-related connection.

Mako poisoning

Exposure to mako in its concentrated form can be dangerous to humans and typically results in a psychological disorder known as "mako poisoning." The cause is a surge of memories flooding one's mind to the extent that they can no longer perceive their own place amongst the knowledge that has entered their brains. The best known case of this occurred when Cloud fell into the Lifestream during Final Fantasy VII for an extended period of time, during which his identity and personality were subsumed by the memories of countless souls that coursed through the Lifestream. Though he later washed up alive at Mideel, his immersion in the Lifestream had left him in a near-catatonic state, prompting Tifa Lockhart to undertake the arduous process of restoring his former personality memory by memory. The incident also led Cloud to "find himself" by casting away the illusion behind which he had been subconsciously hiding, an event crucial to the story and Cloud's character development. (For more information, see Cloud Strife.)

References

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See also

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• Final Fantasy magic

External links

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• Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω Translations FAQ - Translations from the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω''

Fictional materials | Final Fantasy magic | Final Fantasy VII

Materia | Materia (Final Fantasy)