Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy

A series of games sharing a mythos of crystals and deities.

Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy is a series of games within the Final Fantasy video game franchise, primarily developed and published by Square Enix. Announced in 2006 as Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII, the series consists of seven titles across multiple platforms, all based on a common mythos focusing on crystals tied to deities. The series is notable for its shared mythology, which is interpreted differently across each game, and for its expansion into related media such as companion books, novelizations, and manga.

Quick Facts

Title: Fabula Nova Crystallis / Final Fantasy
Creator: Kazushige Nojima, Shinji Hashimoto, Yoshinori Kitase
Developer: Square EnixAdditional developers were brought on for some entries, such as Lightning Returns, Final Fantasy Agito and Final Fantasy XV.
Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: Role-playing
Platforms: Android, Google Stadia, iOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One
First Release Version: Final Fantasy XIII
First Release Date: December 17, 2009
Latest Release Version: Final Fantasy Awakening
Latest Release Date: December 14, 2016

Facts from the source article.

Lore & Background

The Fabula Nova Crystallis series was originally announced in 2006 as Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII, with the first three games being Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XV (as Versus XIII), and Final Fantasy Type-0 (as Agito XIII). All three projects experienced delays. The mythos was conceived and written by Kazushige Nojima, and the series was developed by many developers from previous Final Fantasy titles, including Shinji Hashimoto and Motomu Toriyama. The series consists of seven titles released as of 2016, including sequels and spin-offs of the original three entries. Final Fantasy XIII was designed as the flagship title and released in 2009, followed by its sequels Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Final Fantasy Type-0 was released in 2011, with a companion title Final Fantasy Agito in 2014 and Final Fantasy Awakening in 2016. Final Fantasy XV was released in 2016, but was officially removed from the Fabula Nova Crystallis subseries by Square Enix in 2016, with director Hajime Tabata stating it was no longer part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology.

Reader's Guide

Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy represents a unique experiment within the Final Fantasy franchise, attempting to unify multiple games under a shared mythological framework while allowing each development team creative freedom. The series' significance lies in its ambitious scope, spanning seven titles across multiple platforms, and its expansion into multimedia projects, most notably Final Fantasy XV, which spawned a feature film and an original animated webseries. The mythos, centered on crystals and deities, received mixed critical reception: some critics found it confusing or too similar to the main series' lore, while others praised its scope. Retrospective opinions on the series have also been mixed. The series' use of Latin in titles and key terms, such as 'Fabula Nova Crystallis' meaning 'The New Tale of the Crystal,' was a deliberate stylistic choice. The games generally received positive reception, though opinions on the three Final Fantasy XIII games were more mixed. The series concluded its initial run with Final Fantasy XV in 2016, and its legacy includes influencing later Final Fantasy titles and demonstrating the potential for shared universes in role-playing games.

Origins and the Name That Stuck

The game we now know as Final Fantasy began life under a very different banner. Hironobu Sakaguchi originally conceived the project under the working title Fighting Fantasy, but trademark complications forced a last-minute rebrand. The circumstances surrounding Square at the time were dire, and Sakaguchi himself was in a precarious personal situation, making the stakes of this project feel existential. The name "Final Fantasy" carried the weight of that desperation — a final attempt, a last fantasy. Despite these turbulent beginnings, the 1987 release for the Nintendo Entertainment System became a major commercial triumph. It received generally favorable critical reception and, more importantly, ignited a franchise that would go on to produce numerous sequels and supplementary titles. What started as a scrappy, nearly-named project became the foundation of one of gaming's most enduring brands.

A New Kind of Combat

Final Fantasy reshaped how players experienced turn-based battles on the NES. Rather than presenting combat from a first-person perspective, the game placed the player's party on the right side of the screen and the opposing enemies on the left — a layout that had never been used before in a video game. Battles were menu-driven: the player selected from options like Attack, Magic, or Item, and the fight proceeded in turns until one side fled or was annihilated. Victory rewarded the party with experience points and Gil, the in-universe currency, while a total party wipe meant game over and the loss of all unsaved progress. The game featured six distinct character classes — Fighter, Thief, Black Belt, Red Mage, White Mage, and Black Mage — each with unique attribute profiles and equipment restrictions. Later in the adventure, characters could undergo a class upgrade, their sprite portraits maturing and gaining access to previously locked weapons and spells. Magic itself was split into White (healing and defensive) and Black (destructive and debilitating) schools, each containing spells ranked from level one to eight, with a cap of three spells per level per character.

A World Built on Crystals

The narrative of Final Fantasy centers on four young heroes known as the Warriors of Light, each bonded to one of the world's four elemental crystals — earth, fire, water, and wind. When the four Elemental Fiends corrupt these crystals, the heroes must journey to defeat the dark forces and restore the light. The setting spans three large continents teeming with diverse races: humans, elves, dwarves, mermaids, dragons, and even robots. The world's history is layered with tragedy. Four hundred years before the game's events, the Lefeinish civilization, which harnessed the Power of Wind to build airships and a colossal space station called the Floating Castle, watched their nation crumble as the Wind crystal fell dark. Two centuries later, catastrophic storms swallowed a massive oceanic shrine that anchored a seafaring civilization, and the Water crystal followed into darkness. These ancient failures frame the present-day crisis, suggesting that the darkening of crystals is a recurring, world-threatening cycle.

Legacy and the Road to a Franchise

By the time March 2003 rolled around, every version of Final Fantasy had collectively sold two million copies worldwide, a testament to the game's enduring appeal. Critics at the time praised its graphics as standout for the NES, though they also flagged the heavy grinding required to progress. The game's true legacy, however, lies in its influence on the role-playing genre itself. It is now widely regarded as one of the most impactful and successful RPGs ever released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, playing a pivotal role in bringing the genre to a mainstream audience. The commercial success and critical reception of this 1987 title gave Square the confidence and resources to keep iterating, spawning a long line of sequels and supplementary titles that collectively became one of the most recognizable franchises in all of gaming. What began as a single NES cartridge in a company's darkest hour grew into a cultural institution.

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