Magic Names

From FF1-FF7 the magic names were Fire 1, Ice 1, Cure 1, etc. up to a level of 3.

Then in FF8 they introduced a new naming system that stuck with the series since. The addition of "ara" and "aga" at the end to identify the strength of the magic. (i.e. Fire would be level 1, Fira level 2 and Firaga level 3) Also "Ice" was replaced with "Blizzard."

And with 10 a new suffix was added, "aja," though only an NPC could use the spells. In 12 it is used to define the most powerful spell that affected all in an area.

What are your thoughts on the magic naming? Do you prefer the old version or the newer one?

Personally, I prefer the old one. Possibly for nostalgic reasons.

Note: I don’t know the naming of the magic in 9

Actually the "aja" made it’s first appearance in FFX. Only if you took the time to learn them, or just went through Seymour’s magic spells during Operation Mi’hen.

I don’t really have a preference I’m not a real magic user, but naming something Fire 1 sounds stupid imo.

No shit? Time to edit. ;_;

Yeah I know Seymour had Firaja and Waterja, I’m not sure about the others. The look was pretty bad ass but if you were like me you just let the Aoens rape, and missed the magic(on my first playthrough).

I like the newer names better.

Note: I don’t know the naming of the magic in 9
I can answer that one — FFIX, despite trending more towards the classic games, nevertheless used the new style of naming for the magic.

Oh, and I have no problem with the new names.

I actually like the new names better, because I played Kingdom Hearts before touching on any FF game, and they had the -ra and -ga.

Also, about the "-ja" spells, if you’re gonna count Seymour’s Firaja and Wateraja (which I actually had no idea about), then you might as well count "Gravija" which appeared in FF8. Diablos and Ultima Weapon used it.

Also the first time a PC could use a "-ja" spell was in X-2, "Moogle Curaja". Though I’m not sure I’d count that, since it’s secret and there’s only "Moogle Cure" in that set and that’s it.

But XII really went overboard with ga-ifying everything. Okay, so besides the main elemental spells, we’ve seen Hastega and Slowga in FFX. And a few others in KH. But… Shellga, Protectga, and even Esunaga… is there anything they HAVEN’T done?

But XII really went overboard with ga-ifying everything. Okay, so besides the main elemental spells, we’ve seen Hastega and Slowga in FFX. And a few others in KH. But… Shellga, Protectga, and even Esunaga… is there anything they HAVEN’T done?

A few… "Deathga/ja, Breakga/ja, Painga/ja, Revivega/ja, Meteorga/ja, Bioga/ja, Meltdownga/ja, Scanga/ja."

XII replaced Scan with Libra.

A few… "Deathga/ja, Breakga/ja, Painga/ja, Revivega/ja, Meteorga/ja, Bioga/ja, Meltdownga/ja, Scanga/ja."

1. Did Meltdown exist in anything other than VIII?
2. As for Revivega, X-2 had "Moogle Lifeja".
3. Meteor is an all-out powerful attack on all enemies, how could it possibly be made better?

Also might I add that "Libra" is actually the name they always used for Scan in the Japanese version.

Heh, it’ll be interesting to look at the Japanese version names of all the Abilities and compare them (at least the ones in Katakana that are meant to be English words, like "Libra"), even the Blue Magics and enemy abilities. I remember X-2’s "Annihilator" in the Japanese version was "Genocide".

Holy crap I totally forgot about Diablo, yes he did use Gravija. But the first time ja was added to an elemental spell was in X as far as I can tell.

Also Meteoraja, would in it self be stupid as hell. Meteor (I’m going on FFVIIIs Meteor spell) would kill everything in a few executions.

Don’t forget Holyga/ja.

Didn’t Ultima in FFXII use Holyja? Or am I mistaken?

All the espers when you first fight them have some -aja elemental based attack with a staus effect, depending on what element they are supposedly strong with/against.

In Ultima’s case, yes she does use Holyja, that also puts the status effect of reverse on a character. But that goes without saying Zodiark uses Darkja(spelling please) that inflicts instant death and Blind on a character, depending whether or not the character has shell status effect. But now I am rambling so I’m going to shut up now…

All the espers when you first fight them have some -aja elemental based attack with a staus effect, depending on what element they are supposedly strong with/against.

In Ultima’s case, yes she does use Holyja, that also puts the status effect of reverse on a character. But that goes without saying Zodiark uses Darkja(spelling please) that inflicts instant death and Blind on a character, depending whether or not the character has shell status effect. But now I am rambling so I’m going to shut up now…

Really they all do? I knew about Quakeja… if I’m not mistaken, Hashmal still uses that when you control him, does he not?

I’m not sure about that one, but when you fight them, they use those attacks.

It really doesn’t matter to me. But the newer names was an obvious attempt at adding style to the leveling of the magic spells. The Fire 1 2 3 for example sounded too simple.

What are your thoughts on the magic naming? Do you prefer the old version or the newer one?

I prefer the new version, actually. It’s far more organic than just numbering the spells.

Holy crap I totally forgot about Diablo, yes he did use Gravija. But the first time ja was added to an elemental spell was in X as far as I can tell.

Isn’t Gravity an element in the FF multiverse?

Yeah, you’re right. Indeed it is.

I prefer Power Pellets.

1. Did Meltdown exist in anything other than VIII?

While there have been similar spell effects, I don’t think any FF has had a reduce Vit 0 effect. Similar spells/abilities are present like XFER in FFI, Expose in FFXII, and Armor Break in FFX/X-2.

Also might I add that "Libra" is actually the name they always used for Scan in the Japanese version.

Not only that, after some cautious Googling, I’m starting to think the suffixes were only new to us. Looking at the katakana, most can easily fit into that four character limit imposed by the NES FFs. This katakana was pulled from the Japanese version of FFIV, but it might go back earlier.

ファイア (Faia – Fire)
ファイラ (Faira – Fira)
ファイガ (Faiga – Firaga)

Of course this might only be news to a casual gamer such as myself.

Lastly, I don’t think it’s been mentioned, but FFXI returns to the old spell names somewhat. The numbers return albeit as Roman numerals while the -gra suffix denotes AoE spells (which also come in numbered degrees). I’m not sure at the moment, but maybe FFXI is the first game so far to use the -ra suffix? It’s usually attached to some White Magicks like Shellra and Protectra. The -ra suffix here is used to denote AoE again.

EDIT: To answer the initial question, I like the suffix approach as it sounds more creative, but in the long run I don’t think it matters to the gameplay. So I have no preference.

Final Fantasy VI has "Merton," which is another translation (you sometimes see FFVIII’s Meltdown listed as "Merton") but it doesn’t have the same effect.

Yeah, you’re right. Indeed it is.

Um. In what games is Gravity an "element"?

Last I checked it functions more like a status thing, it’s damage is based on percentage, and it has a set amount of damage for whatever it strikes. Elements and elemental energy have varying damage based upon the opposing element. Gravity isn’t "strong against" or "weak against" anything, it always has a set amount of damage based on the opponent’s current HP (or their max HP in some cases), and it either hits or it doesn’t. Much like a status effect, it’s a technique that enemies are either immune to or not, and there’s no such thing as strong or weak defense against it.

I could be wrong, maybe in some FFs I haven’t played it works as an element (or ones I played but didn’t use it), but last I checked:

-"Demi" is considered Gravity and it does percentage damage. Always.
-In VIII for instance. Gravity is NOT counted as one of the 8 elements, Diablos’ "Dark Messenger" is max HP percentage based on the level of Diablos. And "Gravija" used by Diablos when you fight it and by Ultima Weapon, if you notice, it cannot kill anyone. It takes off 7/8 of your CURRENT HP (Or maybe 15/16, but either way it’s a good spell to take advantage of and use limits). Although we already established that it doesn’t count as an element, elements don’t work that way.
-Gravija in X is much the same.
-I’m pretty sure the Gravity materia in VII has percentage based attacks. Demi, Demi2, Demi3… 1/4, 1/2, 3/4… again, not "elemental".

And there are more I can think of. I can’t think of a place where it’s an element. I thought it was cute how in Kingdom Hearts it took on the literal meaning and instead of being elemental or dealing with percentage, it lowered enemies to the ground like the flying pirate ships. But for the most part, a set amount of damage that either connects or doesn’t =/= element.

I don’t like the numbers. Too many maths.

The new system serves to make you sound smarter when talking about the spells on message boards.

"Shit, that battle against Vormav was kicking my ass. Luckily, I was able to use Math Skill with Cure 3 on Thundergod Cid to keep him from dying."

Cure 3 just doesn’t belong there.

Ah, another thing I remembered. Having played VI after some of the other ones… well, Life3. The first time I made the mistake using that that on a dead character, and assumed it was the one revivng them all the way, and Life2 was somewhere in the middle. It wasn’t until I noticed later that it was grey in the main menu that I realized it’s Auto-Life, still, almost anyone could have made the same mistake the first time.

The new system serves to make you sound smarter when talking about the spells on message boards.

"Shit, that battle against Vormav was kicking my ass. Luckily, I was able to use Math Skill with Cure 3 on Thundergod Cid to keep him from dying."

Cure 3 just doesn’t belong there.

RIDE THE SINE WAVE TO VICTORY!

I like the old one.

Bolt 3!

But for the most part, a set amount of damage that either connects or doesn’t =/= element.

Except for the fact that several FF’s still consider Gravity an element. Just because the spells don’t deal damage based on Magic attack/magic defense doesn’t mean it’s not an element.

I prefer the new version, actually. It’s far more organic than just numbering the spells.

Spot on.