Magic plays a huge role in the world of Final Fantasy and has been a series staple since the very first entry back in 1987. While many of the earlier games focused on spells and incantations to cast magic, Final Fantasy VII took a different approach. Characters in the game are unable to innately produce magic and must instead rely on Materia.
Materia forms through the crystallization of Mako and can be found in a number of places throughout Gaia. It enables the user to cast a wide range of spells and can also be used to summon creatures that aid the player in battle. There are many different categories, as well as some purely unique Materia.
While the game does a great job of explaining how to use Materia, very little information is provided about its origins. But deep within the lore of Final Fantasy 7, there is plenty of knowledge to be gained about these magical spheres.
10 Most Materia Is Artificially Created
During the events of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, a conversation between Shinra scientists reveals that much of the Materia found throughout the world of Final Fantasy VII is man-made. Little information is given about the actual process required to create Materia, but there are clues elsewhere in the series.
In the original game, huge Materia is formed in the cores of Mako Reactors, which suggests that pressurizing Mako may speed up the crystallization process. The Remake offers a slightly different explanation, however. Scarlet is shown trying to produce huge Materia by manipulating regular Materia, although at present, her attempts have been unsuccessful.
9 Some Materia Occurs Naturally
Materia is sometimes formed in locations where the Lifestream makes its way to the planet's surface. These are known as Mako Springs and due to the crystallization process taking centuries to occur, they are incredibly rare. Just four can be found throughout Final Fantasy VII and they contain some of the game's strongest Materia. The player cannot access them by airship and must instead rely on the use of Chocobos.
Although it is not implicitly stated, it's extremely likely that the black and white Materia found in the game also occurred naturally. Due to the former having been transfigured into the Temple of the Ancients, it stands to reason that it must have existed during the time of the Ancients and thus could not have been created using modern techniques.
8 The Size Of Materia Can Vary
Final Fantasy VII allows players to fit up to eight Materia into a wristband, suggesting that they are around the size of marbles. But this is not the case with the game's huge Materia nor the black and white Materia. These are bigger, as can be seen at various points throughout the game — including when Cloud hands the black Materia over to Sephiroth.
In other entries in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, the size of Materia is somewhat inconsistent. Advent Children depicts it as being noticeably larger than the Materia found in the original game. The same is true of Final Fantasy VII Remake, which shows Materia to be around the same size as a tennis ball.
7 The Term "Growth" May Be Literal
It's possible that the inconsistencies when it comes to Materia size could be explained by the game's growth system. Materia grows as the player accumulates Ability Points. As it does so, it can sometimes grant the user access to more powerful versions of the spell it contains. In the original game, a Materia's "growth" culminates in a new Materia being born once the original is fully mastered.
If Materia really does grow in size as it accumulates experience, it's possible that this 'birth' represents the Materia reaching its maximum size and splitting itself in half. This mechanic wasn't found in Final Fantasy VII Remake, although it's possible that developers didn't want to unbalance the early stages of the game and will add it in a future entry.
6 There Is A Limit On How Much Materia A Party Can Hold
Although most players will never come close to hitting this limit, the original game prevents the party from carrying more than 255 pieces of Materia. Any additional Materia obtained after reaching this limit will be immediately discarded.
This limit is related to the way in which the game's data is stored. When using a single byte to represent data, 255 is the maximum number of values that can be represented. This also explains why many stats in the game also cap out at this number.
5 There Are At Least 12 Different Categories Of Materia
The original game split Materia into five main categories (Magic, Command, Support, Independent, and Summon) with each having its own distinct color. Although this mechanic was carried over into the remake, it's not the same in all of the games found in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.
In Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Materia is further broken down into an additional five categories. Magic is split up into offensive, defensive, and curative whilst command, support, and independent are also separated into sub-categories and colors. Together with the black and white Materia, this means that there are at least 12 distinct types.
4 There Were Several Materia Cut From The Original Release
Buried within Final Fantasy VII's data can be found a number of Materia that were never obtainable in the game. The Japanese release contains six such Materia (MBarrier, Reflect, Refurbish, Law, Booster, and Underwater Breath) and these were carried over to the North American and PAL releases.
It's likely that the MBarrier, Reflect, and Law Materia were cut from the game due to their spells being available through other sources, but the intended purpose of the Refurbish and Booster Materia remains unknown. In Western releases, however, the Underwater Materia was actually made obtainable and can be used to remove the time limit for the optional battle with Emerald Weapon.
3 Materia Also Exists In The World Of Final Fantasy III
Although players never encounter Materia in Final Fantasy III, clues found elsewhere in the series suggest that the people of Saronia once had the ability to create it. In Final Fantasy Tactics, players are able to collect Materia which serves as part of the game's artifact system. According to their description, the ancient Saronians created the Materia in order to pass on knowledge to future generations.
Interestingly, players can collect both white and black Materia, suggesting that the Saronians once had the power to summon meteors and also had a connection with the planet. Whether or not the Saronians found in Final Fantasy III are Final Fantasy VII's Cetra remains unclear, but this connection would suggest that it is a possibility.
2 The Name Materia Has Real World Origins
The word Materia comes from Latin and means "matter" or "substance." It can also be found in several languages including Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Although the meaning of the word remains the same in the latter, Materia translates to "subject" in both Italian and Spanish.
There are also connections between Materia and the legendary Philosophers' Stone. In Greek philosophy, Plato suggested that the four elements may have all been derived from a common source. He dubbed this the "prima materia." Many alchemists believed that this substance would be the starting ingredient when creating a Philosophers' Stone.
1 Materia Can Be Found In Games Outside The Series
Due to the huge popularity of Final Fantasy VII, several of the game's characters have appeared in games outside the world of Final Fantasy. In many of these outings, Materia has also been included in the games.
Perhaps most notably, Materia can be found in the Midgar stage of Smash Brothers. There are five Materia in total and players can use these to summon creatures from Final Fantasy VII. Ifrit, Ramuh, Odin, Leviathan, or Bahamut will be chosen at random and will unleash powerful attacks to assist the player who first touched the Materia.