text: fabula nova crystallis final fantasy fabula nova crystallis final fantasy ( japanese : ファイナルファンタジー , hepburn : nova fainaru fantajī ) is a series of games within the final fantasy video game franchise , developed and published by square enix . while featuring various worlds and different characters , each fabula nova crystallis game is ultimately based on and expands upon a common mythos focusing around important crystals tied to deities . the series title translates from latin as ' the new tale of the crystal ' . the original titles in the series were handled by square enix 's 1st production department , with each development team given the freedom to adapt the mythos to fit the context of a game 's story . the series , originally announced in 2006 as fabula nova crystallis final fantasy xiii , currently consists of six games across multiple platforms . final fantasy xiii , designed as the series ' flagship title , was released in 2009 . the creative forces behind the series include many developers from previous final fantasy titles , including shinji hashimoto and motomu toriyama . the mythos was conceived and written by kazushige nojima . the first games made for the series were final fantasy xiii and final fantasy xv ( as versus xiii ) , with final fantasy type - 0 ( as agito xiii ) coming later . all three games went through delays . after xiii and type - 0 's releases , their respective teams used ideas and concepts from development to create additional games . for later games , other studios have been brought in to help with aspects of development . as of 2015 , five titles have been released in the series , and two further titles , final fantasy xv and final fantasy type - 0 online , are in production . individual games have generally received a positive reception , although opinions have been more mixed over various aspects of the three xiii games . reception of the mythos ' use in the released games has also been mixed : while some critics called it confusing or too similar to the lore of the main series , others were impressed by its scope and use . the series is complemented by works in related media , including companion books , novelizations , and manga . titles games final fantasy xiii , the thirteenth core final fantasy game and the first title in the series . first released in japan as a playstation 3 exclusive in december 2009 , it was released on the playstation 3 and xbox 360 in north america and europe in march 2010 . a version of the game for the xbox 360 , final fantasy xiii ultimate hits international , was released in japan in december 2010 . xiii was released as a digital download for microsoft windows in october 2014 . the game was designed to be a story - driven single - player role - playing game ( rpg ) , with a battle system designed to emulate the cinematic battles seen in the film final fantasy vii : advent children . final fantasy type - 0 ( originally titled final fantasy agito xiii ) was released in october 2011 in japan for the playstation portable . a high - definition remaster for playstation 4 and xbox one , final fantasy type - 0 hd , was released worldwide in march 2015 . the original game is a real - time action rpg , featuring combat similar to crisis core : final fantasy vii , and a multiplayer option where online players can take control of characters during the majority of the game . type - 0 hd features updated graphics and changes to the gameplay , such as lower difficulty and the removal of multiplayer . final fantasy xiii - 2 , a direct sequel to xiii , was released in december 2011 in japan , and in january and february , 2012 in north america and europe respectively . in response to criticism the company received from critics and fans about xiii 's linear structure , xiii - 2 was designed to be a more traditional role - playing game , with explorable towns , a nonlinear story structure , mini - games and other traditional features . lightning returns : final fantasy xiii , a sequel to xiii and xiii - 2 , was released in november 2013 in japan , and february 2014 in north america and europe . it concludes both the story of the main character lightning and the final fantasy xiii story arc . lightning returns blends several traditional role - playing features , such as shops , quests and an explorable open world , with an action - oriented combat system . final fantasy agito , a companion title set in type - 0 's world , was released in may 2014 in japan on android and ios smartphones . service ended in november 2015 . a port for the playstation vita was also in development , but has since been cancelled . agito was an episodic game featuring single - player and multi - player modes , and a social system where the player 's standing with non - playable characters advances their rank in - game . upcoming titles final fantasy xv ( originally known as final fantasy versus xiii ) , the fifteenth core final fantasy title and the third main title in the subseries , was announced in the same year as xiii and type - 0 , and will release worldwide on september 30 , 2016 . the game is an action role - playing game with a battle system similar to those from the kingdom hearts series and type - 0 . the game uses open world exploration using both a vehicle and chocobos , along with a camping mechanic linked to gaining experience levels . its development cycle , beginning in 2006 , lasted ten years . final fantasy type - 0 online , a replacement for agito , is being developed for android , ios and microsoft windows . it is currently set for release in 2016 . the gameplay features cooperative multiplayer similar to the original multiplayer elements of type - 0 , along with hack - and - slash gameplay . related media the games have been complemented and expanded upon through other media . for final fantasy xiii , a small book of short stories titled final fantasy xiii - episode zero was released , first through the game 's website and then as a print release in december 2009 . it shows events prior to the game 's opening . a second novella , episode i , was published via xiii - 2 's official website , bridging the narrative gap between xiii and xiii - 2 . after xiii - 2 's japanese release , two books were released detailing events not shown or described in the game : fragments before , released in december 2011 ; and fragments after , released in june 2012 . only episode i has received an official english translation and release , as a pre - order bonus for the game from american electronics store best buy . lightning returns was also set to receive a prequel novel by benny matsuyama alongside the game 's japanese release in november 2013 , however this was later cancelled due to the author falling ill . a three - part novella exclusive to famitsu weekly magazine titled final fantasy xiii reminiscence : tracer of memories was released across june and july 2014 . it was written by daisuke watanabe , who handled the scripts for the xiii games , and takes place immediately after the ending of lightning returns . reminiscence was later released online . final fantasy type - 0 received a manga adaptation illustrated by takatoshi shiozawa . it began publication in the november 2011 of young gangan and was collected into a single volume and released in april 2012 . the manga was translated into english and released as part of the western collector 's edition for type - 0 hd , available exclusively through square enix 's online store . a second manga following one of the game 's secondary characters , final fantasy type - 0 side story : reaper of the icy blade ( 氷剣の死神 , fainaru fantajī reishiki gaiden no shinigami ) , began serialization in may 2012 . the latter manga was created by shiozawa under direct supervision by tetsuya nomura . the manga ended in january 2014 , with a bonus chapter released in february of the same year . it will be released in the west in july 2015 , licensed by yen press . two novels detailing an alternate version of type - 0 , titled final fantasy type - 0 : change the world ( ファイナルファンタジー零式 change the world ) , were released in april and june 2012 . agito received another change the world novel adaptation focusing on two of the game 's supporting characters . ultimania guides and companion books have been released for the majority of released games . xv similarly had additional media released around it , forming a dedicated multimedia expansion dubbed the " final fantasy xv universe " . the majority of its content fleshed out the background for xv 's plot , which would have required multiple video games under normal circumstances . an anime produced by square enix and a - 1 pictures , brotherhood : final fantasy xv , details the backstories of the main cast and how they came to be journeying together . it is being distributed online through the months leading up to the game 's release . a cgi feature film produced by the same team as advent children , kingsglaive : final fantasy xv , is set for release in 2016 prior to the game 's own release : it focuses on the main character 's father regis caelum , alongside original characters . while comparing the final fantasy xv universe to the overall structure of fabula nova crystallis , the game 's director defined it as an attempt to make the narrative of xv work in current times rather than attempting to " reinvent " the original concept . themes the entries in the fabula nova crystallis series share the same mythology , interpreted differently and referred to in varying degrees for each of the game worlds . the mythos ' deities hold similar roles in the games , but are not the same characters in a narrative sense . while the mythos is still present in xv , it was " disconnected " from the " framework " , with specific terminology being removed and its emphasis reduced to become a background element for the world and story . the universes of xiii , type - 0 and xv are unrelated to each other , though common elements and themes are present . the first is a common narrative theme of harmful interference by the mythos ' deities in the affairs of humans , and those humans ' choice of whether to accept or challenge the predetermined fates given to them . tetsuya nomura defined this theme as " a battle of the gods that lies behind each tale and gives it inspiration in a different way " . the second common element is the structure of the fabula nova crystallis universe , which is divided in two : the mortal world , where humans live , and the afterlife or unseen realm ( , sekai , lit . " invisible world " ) . in the mythology , the god bhunivelze ( , ) seizes control of the mortal world by killing his mother , the creator goddess mwynn ( , ) , who vanishes into the unseen realm . believing that the mortality of the world is mwynn 's curse , bhunivelze creates three new deities to search for the gate to the unseen realm so he can control both worlds . the first deity , pulse ( , ) , is tasked with terraforming the world ; the second deity , etro ( , ) , is discarded because of her resemblance to mwynn ; the third deity , lindzei ( , ) , acts as his protector . bhunivelze then enters a deep sleep , while lindzei and pulse carry out their missions . distraught at being abandoned , etro kills herself , and humans are born from her blood . once in the unseen realm , etro finds mwynn being consumed by a force called chaos , which threatens to destroy reality . as mwynn fades , she tasks etro with protecting the balance between the worlds . etro gives humans pieces of chaos that become their " hearts " . because humans held chaos within them , they maintained the balance through their death and reincarnation . since then , humans have either worshiped or feared pulse and lindzei , and refer to etro as the goddess of death . a recurring race in the games are god - like beings created by pulse and lindzei to act as their servants in the mortal world . in the original mythos and the xiii games , the demigods are called fal 'cie / / . they take the form of crystal - powered mechanical beings in the xiii games . in the universe of type - 0 , they are both semi - sentient crystals and humanoid beings living among the people . the fal 'cie have the ability to imbue chosen humans with magical powers and assign them a task to complete either willingly or unwillingly . xiii and type - 0 refer to these people as l 'cie / / and the task given to them as a focus . in the worlds of xiii and type - 0 , there are two possible outcomes for l 'cie : once their focus is fulfilled , they can go into ' crystal stasis ' , transforming into a crystal statue , and gain eternal life , but if they fail they become mindless crystalline monsters . in type - 0 , l 'cie are chosen by the crystal of their country , and given great power to fulfill their assigned focus , but lose their memories if emotionally unstable . while not referred to as such using the original terminology , humans imbued with magic exist , one of them being the main protagonist . a common element not related to the mythos , themes or plots of the series is the use of latin in the games ' titles or worlds , often as key words to describing themes and story points : the series ' title translates as ' the new tale of the crystal ' , ' agito ' roughly translates as " to put into motion " , while ' versus ' translates as both " to turn around " and " against " , which were described as representing key narrative concepts . ' agito ' was kept within the type - 0 universe with both an in - universe concept and the title of its prequel . ' versus ' was used in early trailers for xv after its re - reveal in 2013 , carrying the tagline ' a world of the versus epic ' . commenting on the high use of latin in xv prior to its public name change , nomura stated that he wanted a language that was no longer used on a daily basis and that people " won 't be able to understand and yet appreciate " , desiring a sense of general equality . production creation the concept for the fabula nova crystallis series originated while final fantasy x - 2 and the original kingdom hearts were being completed . discussing what to do after the completion of final fantasy xii , nomura , shinji hashimoto and yoshinori kitase decided to build upon the idea of multiple games connected by a single " central theme " . this came from the compilation of final fantasy vii , a multimedia subseries featuring the world and characters of final fantasy vii . whereas the common link in the compilation was vii , the three chose to use " the tale of new crystals " for the new series , with the mythos connecting the games rather than an overarching narrative . another key idea behind the mythos was to ease the production of future final fantasy games by providing an established mythos . scenario writer kazushige nojima started writing the original mythology for the fabula nova crystallis series in 2003 , finishing it by february 2004 . during his work , he received creative input from game producers hashimoto and kitase , as well as nomura , motomu toriyama and hajime tabata . nojima wrote a series bible about the mythology , explaining concepts such as the fal 'cie and l 'cie and the feelings of the gods who created them . this bible became the basis for a video animated by yusuke naora 's art team to showcase the fabula nova crystallis story in 2011 . the individual directors are allowed to freely interpret the base mythology when they create their games . when referring to this freedom , tabata has compared the mythos and the concept behind it to greek mythology ; a mythology with common themes and deities , but featuring a large variety of unrelated stories . toriyama conceived a story for final fantasy xiii set primarily around the mythos ' deities and their direct relations to the world . tabata and nomura both focused more on the human side of the story . tabata chose to portray the divine elements from a historical standpoint in type - 0 , while nomura created a modern - day setting similar to contemporary earth in xv , referring far less to the mythos ' terminology . nomura was also appointed as the main character designer for all entries in the subseries . in a 2007 interview , hashimoto compared the planning of the fabula nova crystallis series to film franchises such as star wars and the lord of the rings : an expansive brand on which to build multiple final fantasy titles planned in advance . the development of all games connected to the mythos was handled by square enix 1st production department . development final fantasy xiii began development in february 2004 . it began as a title for the playstation 2 under the codename " colors world " , however it was moved onto playstation 3 after the positively received crystal tools engine demo in 2005 and the delayed release of xii . the original titles in the series were xiii and versus xiii . agito xiii was conceived later , when tabata was looking for a new project after finishing before crisis : final fantasy vii . originally titled fabula nova crystallis final fantasy xiii , the three titles were announced at e3 2006 : agito xiii was a mobile phone title similar to before crisis and the other two were ps3 exclusives . xiii was developed by team members who had also previously worked on final fantasy vii , viii and x , agito xiii was handled by staff from before crisis , while versus xiii 's development was headed by the team behind the console kingdom hearts games . xiii and versus xiii were intended to form the core of the series , with future games each being a " facet " of xiii . agito xiii and versus xiii both began production in 2006 . by 2008 , agito xiii had been moved onto the playstation portable , then later renamed final fantasy type - 0 . the stated reason for the change of title was that xiii and type - 0 shared little besides the core mythos . the title change also resulted in the " xiii " numeral being dropped from the series title as it " would have been an issue " . late in its development , xiii also changed from being an exclusive when an xbox 360 version was announced , significantly delaying its release . a port for microsoft windows was considered , but not followed up due to platform - specific concerns and the company 's view of the video game market . later , all three xiii games would receive pc ports through steam . as early as 2007 , square enix considered re - branding versus xiii as a numbered entry in the main series due to the rapidly growing scale of the project . the game was eventually re - branded in 2011 , though it still used the subseries ' mythos . the game was also moved fully onto eighth generation consoles and developed using the company 's new luminous studio engine . the ps3 version was abandoned due to concerns about the console 's continued viability . type - 0 's western release was delayed due to the flagging psp market in western territories . a high - definition port to the same platforms as xv was co - developed by square enix and hexadrive , and was eventually announced for a western release . it was developed with the intention of boosting console sales prior to the latter 's release . xv eventually had help from multiple developers , including hexadrive , entertainment , avalanche studios and umbra . after the release of final fantasy xiii , the creators wanted to expand on the game 's setting and tell more stories about the characters , so xiii - 2 and lightning returns were developed . for these games , japanese developer tri - ace was brought in to help with the games ' design and graphics . the three games and their respective tie - in media were referred to as the " lightning saga " by square enix staff after the games ' central character . alongside that , tabata created agito around his original ideas for type - 0 as a mobile title . agito acted as both a prequel to type - 0 and an alternate story set within its world . the game was co - developed by mobile game developer k. k. later , chinese developer perfect world were brought in to help with type - 0 online . a trademark for final fantasy xiii hinted at another entry , but the trademark expired in 2011 and the company did not renew . while there was speculation that fabula nova crystallis would end with lightning returns , kitase repeatedly stated that there was still room for further titles beyond the xiii universe . reception the fabula nova crystallis mythos has received mixed reactions from gaming sites . hardcore gamer 's brady hale called the series " anything but ordinary " in the variety of games it featured . in an article concerning the 25th anniversary event for the final fantasy series , joystiq 's ben gilbert called the fabula nova crystallis mythos " occasionally bizarre and often beautiful " . in 2014 , jeremy parish of usgamer said that the series was " much ado about nothing " , stating that since the games shared a large amount of themes and plot points with the main series , there seemed little reason for a distinction . technobuffalo 's ron duwell , in an article concerning a documentary video on xv , called the series " overly ambitious " , but felt that it was worth fabula nova crystallis " [ imploding ] upon itself " if xv fulfilled its promises . speaking about the xiii games in particular , parish suggested that their mixed reactions influenced the title changes of other games in the original series , giving the teams a chance to give those games more of their own identity . he also felt that the decision to expand the xiii storyline into multiple games " probably worked out just as well " . the presentation of the mythos and its terms received mixed reactions in xiii , resulting in the production team toning down their use for xiii - 2 . siliconera writer spencer yip , in his review of lightning returns , commented that the story and pace of the game was " muddled " by the mythos . in 2016 , rpgfan writer mike salbato wrote a retrospective of the xiii games and their version of fabula nova crystallis : he felt that the lack of specific references to the mythos in xiii had harmed general comprehension , and that a reliance on foreknowledge made its sequels difficult to play as standalone titles . in contrast , the portrayal of the mythos in type - 0 was praised by rpg site 's erren van duine in an import review of the title , with him saying that " elements such as l 'cie and fal 'cie are handled in much more interesting ways " . final fantasy xiii was positively received in japanese magazines , garnering exceptionally high scores from both famitsu and dengeki playstation . in the west , the game was praised for its graphics , battle system , and music , but opinions were mixed about its story and it was criticized for its highly linear structure . xiii also won an award for best graphics in gamesradar 's 2012 platinum trophy awards . xiii - 2 received a positive reception overall , gaining perfect scores from famitsu and dengeki playstation , and high scores from most western sites . common points of praise were its non - linear nature , improved battle system and graphics , while the main points of criticism were its story and characters , which were often called weak , confusing or both . lightning returns received mixed to positive reviews , with its combat being highly praised , its graphics and time limit mechanic drawing mixed responses , and the story and characters being cited as poorly developed . type - 0 had a highly positive reception in japan , with it garnering near - perfect scores in famitsu and dengeki playstation . import reviews were also fairly positive , sharing many points of praise with the japanese reviews . type - 0 hd also received a positive reception in the west , with main praise going to the story , characters and action - based gameplay . other aspects came in for criticism , such as elements of the graphics upgrade , the real - time strategy segments , and the localization . western previews of agito have also been positive , with critics agreeing that it looked good on the platform and worked well from a gameplay standpoint . sales xiii broke sales records for the final fantasy franchise , selling 1 . 5 million units in japan on its release day , and a further million a month after its north american release . xiii - 2 was the most purchased title of 2011 in japan upon release , and reached second and first place in sales charts in the united states and united kingdom respectively . lightning returns had lower first - week sales than its predecessors , but still topped the sales charts in japan , selling over 277 , 000 units in its first week and over 404 , 000 copies by the end of 2013 . it ranked as third and eighth in the uk and us february sales charts respectively . approximately 800 , 000 copies were sold by as of november 2014 . the three xiii games have collectively sold 11 million units worldwide . speaking of the decreasing success of the xiii games and their effect on the fabula nova crystallis series on usgamer , jeremy parish felt that the initial backlash received by xiii had turned the " xiii " moniker into " box office poison " . type - 0 sold over 472 , 000 units in its first week , and went on to sell over 740 , 000 units in japan . the title was also added to the company 's list of ultimate hits , re - releases of lucrative titles . type - 0 hd reached the top of the sales charts in its debut week , selling 93 , 000 units , though it ultimately performed poorly in japan . it was among the ten top - selling games in march for the uk and us . by april , type - 0 hd had shipped over one million copies worldwide . agito was highly successful in japan , achieving 500 , 000 registered users within a week of release . by november of the year of release , the game had received one million downloads .