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[[File:Materia.jpg|thumb|The White Materia.]]
''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.'' -Sephiroth<br>
'''Materia''' are items in the ''[[Final Fantasy 7 World|Planet]]'' that allow a character to cast spells, [[Summon (Command)|summon]], and use new command abilities. They can also be used for other various reasons. It forms the basis of the skill and ability system for SOLDIER, and also plays a prominent role in character skills in other games.

==Description==
[[File:FFVII_Natural_Materia.jpg|thumb|left|182px|[[Sephiroth]], [[Cloud Strife|Cloud]], and [[Tifa Lockhart|Tifa]] observe natural Materia at a Mako Spring.]]
Materia is crystallized [[Mako]]. Metaphysically, Materia calls upon the wisdom of the [[Lifestream]] in order to manipulate nature itself. This manifests as the phenomenon of [[Magic (Term)|magic]] for most Materia, although other Materia pieces enhance the user's abilities. Unless one is descended from the [[Cetra]], Materia is the only way normal humans can use magic. When explaining how Materia is created to [[Zack Fair|Zack]] and [[Tifa Lockhart|Tifa]] on [[Mt. Nibel]], [[Sephiroth]] mentions that he and [[Professor Hojo]] debated the nature of Materia. Hojo objected to the term "Magic" being applied to powers from Materia, but could offer no better explanation.

Materia is able to occur naturally at "Mako Springs," places where the Lifestream leaks through the surface of [[The Planet]] and condenses, such as on Mt. Nibel. However, this is a rare occurrence, taking centuries for the Mako to crystallize into Materia, and in ''[[Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-|Crisis Core]]'' Shinra scientists mention that most Materia in use is artificially produced. It is never stated if natural Materia has any appreciable difference in usage and power from artificial Materia, but the [[White Materia]], [[Black Materia]], and the four Materia pieces found in the [[Materia Cave]]s are much stronger than other Materia pieces, so natural Materia appears to be stronger than artificial Materia.

Though the process varies from game to game, Materia can level up, increasing its powers further. In ''Final Fantasy VII'' Materia learned new abilities as it leveled up and when mastered spawned a copy of itself. In all other games in the ''Compilation'', Materia pieces are linked only to a single ability that becomes more potent as the Materia gains power: in ''Crisis Core'' Materia gives higher stat boosts as it levels up, while in ''Before Crisis'' Materia has a higher chance of affecting the user's weapon and/or armor as it increases in level.

The size of Materia seems to be ambiguous throughout the ''Compilation of Final Fantasy VII''.  In the original ''Final Fantasy VII'' and in ''[[Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-]]'', most Materia, excluding the White, Black, and [[Huge Materia]], are about the size of a marble. However, in ''[[Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children]]'' and ''Crisis Core'', Materia appear to be just smaller than a tennis ball, about the size of the White Materia in the original game. As Materia is referred to in ''Final Fantasy VII'' as "growth" when leveling up, Materia may increase in size to denote its level of power, explaining the ambiguities here.

==Use==
Materia, as simple a 'Magic' system as it is, should be noted, is a learned ability. It took SOLDIERs quite some time to learn to use Materia properly, and even longer to actually develop the Materia's powers. First, one needs actual armour or weaponry that can accommodate Materia to actually use it. Second, one needs to know how to draw out their powers to cast spells. finally, the user must have enough magical energy to actually cast the spells. Mako infusion made sure all SOLDIERs could cast spells from almost any Materia from the get go. <br>
One does not simply pick up a Materia and call forth the Knights of the Round. It's worth mentioning that a Materia in a weapon or armour piece is harder to remove than simply yanking it off, as well. Materia has been used in many ways in the past.<br>

===Before the Sephiroth Crisis===
[[File:Materia Menu Crisis Core.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Crisis Core Materia equip menu.]]
Materia in ''Crisis Core'' works similarly to the way it is used in ''Final Fantasy VII''. However, a new feature called [[Materia Fusion]] allows for two Materia to be fused together to create a stronger Materia with higher stats. As weapon and armor cannot be adjusted in ''Crisis Core'', the number of Materia slots depend on [[Zack Fair|Zack's]] [[SOLDIER]] rank. Green, Yellow, Purple, Blue, and Red Materia are still the five colors, but different shades are used. Only Summon Materia are solely red.

*Magic Materia is divided into <font color=#006400>'''Dark Green'''</font> for offensive magic, <font color=#22AA22>'''Light Green'''</font> for curative magic, and <font color=#90EE00>'''Yellow-Green'''</font> for defensive magic.
*Command Materia is divided into <font color=#BDB76B>'''Pale Yellow'''</font> for attack commands and <font color=#FFCC00>'''Gold Yellow'''</font> for item-associated commands.
*Independent Materia is divided into <font color=#9932CC>'''Light Purple'''</font> for [[Digital Mind Wave|DMW]] Materia and <font color=#4B0082 >'''Dark Purple'''</font> for stat-enhancing Materia.
*Support Materia is divided into <font color=#00BFFF>'''Light Blue'''</font> for elemental and status-related Materia and <font color=#0000CD >'''Dark Blue'''</font> for [[Soldier Points|SP]] abilities.

===War with Sephiroth===
[[File:Materia_Menu.jpg‎|thumb|right|230px|The Materia Menu.]]
Materia can only be used when slotted into a weapon or a piece of armor. Once slotted into an equipment piece the wearer is able to call upon the Materia's powers. Using Materia has both pros and cons. Depending on the type and strength of the Materia equipped, some abilities may be hindered or enhanced. <br>
Winning battles earns [[Ability Points]], which are [[Experience Points]] for Materia. Materia levels up when it gains enough AP. Some Materia allow access to stronger commands when leveled up, others allow the user to use the granted command more times, others give a stat bonus that grows larger, and so forth. When Materia reached its highest level, it is "mastered", and a second Materia with the same powers is born. Thus, with patience and enough leveling up, even one-of-a-kind Materia could be reproduced infinitely.<br>
[[File:Ff_ac_3.jpg|thumb|left|Kadaj holding a materia.]]
Materia can be slotted into a single slot or a connected slot. When slotted into a connected slot, the Materia can be joined with a [[Support Materia]] to varying effects, including adding elemental properties to the slotted equipment, allowing the Materia to target multiple targets, etc. Some weapons and equipment have no Materia slots at all.<br>

===Remnants of Sephiroth===
Materia is used by Kadaj and [[Ain|his brothers]] to attack Cloud several times after stealing a case of Materia from him. In this instance, rather than equipping Materia to slots in weapons and armor, Materia is inserted directly into the remnants' arms. In the ''Reunion Files'', it is mentioned that, as Materia is a by-product of Mako and Mako is no longer used, Materia has also begun to fall out of use.<br>

==Types==
[[File:MateriaAC.JPG|thumb|right|Materia of various kinds stolen from Cloud in ''[[Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children|Advent Children]]''.]]
There are five basic Materia types, distinguished by color.
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1" width="660px"
|-class="FFVIIa"
!width=10%|Color
!width=5%|Icon
!width=10%|Ability
!width=75%|Description
|-
!class="FFVIIb"|Red
|[[File:FFVII Summon Materia Icon.PNG|center]]
|[[Summon Materia|Summon]]
|Used to summon creatures to aid in battle.
|-
!class="FFVIIb"|Green
|[[File:FFVII Magic Materia Icon.PNG|center]]
|[[Magic Materia|Magic]]
|Used to cast spells, including [[Black Magic|Black]], [[White Magic|White]], and [[Status Effect|status-inducing]] spells. Also affects Strength and Magic stats.
|-
!class="FFVIIb"|Yellow
|[[File:FFVII Command Materia Icon.PNG|center]]
|[[Command Materia|Command]]
|Allows the use of extra commands in battle like [[Throw]] and [[Steal]].
|-
!class="FFVIIb"|Blue
|[[File:FFVII Support Materia Icon.PNG|center]]
|[[Support Materia|Support]]
|Can be linked to other Materia in order to enhance their effects.
|-
!class="FFVIIb"|Purple
|[[File:FFVII Independent Materia Icon.PNG|center]]
|[[Independent Materia|Independent]]
|Various functions, including increasing stats and auto-abilities such as [[Cover]].
|}
In addition to the above, there is the unique Command Materia, the [[Enemy Skill Materia]], which teaches [[Blue Magic|Enemy Skills]] to the player.

''Crisis Core'' uses different shades of each color to further classify Materia types.

===Special Materia===
[[File:Goddess Materia.jpg|thumb|The Goddess Materia, a gigantic natural Materia.]]
*The [[Black Materia]] is used to call the Ultimate Destructive Magic, [[Meteor (Final Fantasy VII)|Meteor]], which can destroy the planet.
*The [[White Materia]] is used to call [[Holy (Final Fantasy VII)|Holy]], the ultimate protective magic which cleanses the planet.
*[[Huge Materia]] are special Materia formed from compressing Mako in a Mako Reactor. Four of them are found in ''Final Fantasy VII''.
*Master Materia are available for Command, Magic, and Summon Materia, and contains all or most of the commands for that particular type.
*In ''[[Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-|Dirge of Cerberus]]'', there is the [[Protomateria]], which is used by both [[Lucrecia Crescent]] and [[Shelke the Transparent]] to help Vincent control his [[Chaos (Final Fantasy VII)|Chaos]] form.
*In ''Before Crisis'', there is a Summon Materia which summons [[Zirconiade]], the ultimate summon. It was split into many pieces to prevent Zirconiade from being called.
*In ''Crisis Core'', there is an enormous red Materia called "The Goddess Materia" which resides in the depths of the [[Banora Underground]]. [[Genesis Rhapsodos|Genesis]] ends up using this Materia in order to transform himself into [[Genesis Avatar]].

==Trivia==
*Though ''Final Fantasy VII'' establishes five Materia colors each with different uses, other entries in the ''Compilation'' show that color has little to do with a Materia's abilities - Kadaj uses a blue Materia in ''Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children'' that allows him to use Enemy Skills and summon [[Bahamut#Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children|Bahamut SIN]]. Vincent's Fire Materia in ''Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-'' is red, and Shelke has an orange Materia which she claims is [[Shield (Status)|Shield]] Materia. Normally, the Fire and Shield Materia would be green, and the Materia Kadaj used would be red.
*In ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'', [[Artefact (Final Fantasy Tactics)#White Materia|White Materia]], [[Artefact (Final Fantasy Tactics)#Black Materia|Black Materia]], [[Artefact (Final Fantasy Tactics)#Blue Materia|Blue Materia]], and [[Artefact (Final Fantasy Tactics)#Red Materia|Red Materia]] are [[Artefact (Final Fantasy Tactics)|Artefact]]s that can be collected. They are described with the following text:
:''These stones, developed by the ancient [[Saronia]]ns, are the result of experiments in storing knowledge within gems for later generations. They are said to enhance the abilities of the possessor.''
*In ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy|Dissidia]]'' and ''[[Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy]]'', one of [[Sephiroth/Dissidia|Sephiroth's]] HP attacks is named "Black Materia," which calls forth a meteor to strike his opponent. This is a direct reference to the Black Materia in ''Final Fantasy VII'' which is ultimately used to summon Meteor to destroy the world. As well, [[Cloud Strife/Dissidia|Cloud's]] [[Crystal (Term)|crystal]] is a Materia piece, and resembles Aerith's White Materia. Furthermore, Materia is an item available through [[battlegen]] that is created by destroying stage elements in the [[Northern Cave#Dissidia Final Fantasy|Planet's Core]].
*In the fan-made series ''[[Dead Fantasy]]'', [[Tifa Lockhart]] uses Materia magic in combat. Such spells used so far include Fire, Ice, Lightning, Time, Gravity, Ultima, Barrier, Poison, All, and Blind. As of the fifth episode, Tifa has lost most, if not all, of her Materia to [[w:c:deadoralive:Hitomi|Hitomi]].
*''[[Final Fantasy XIV]]'''s [[Materia (Final Fantasy XIV)|Materia Crafting System]], was inspired by (and named after) ''Final Fantasy VII'' Materia.