Shard of Light

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Shard of Light

A homage to Final Fantasy

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Exe.Eyes Labs · A fan homage · FINAL FANTASY © SQUARE ENIX

The memory of the planet.

Tidus

Listen to my story. This...may be our last chance.

Final Fantasy V · 1992

The Wind Crystal

Four crystals hold the world in balance. Thirty years after they sealed Exdeath away, the Wind Crystal shatters.

Final Fantasy VI · 1994

The War of the Magi

When an esper dies, it leaves magicite: a shard of its power that any human can learn from.

Hold the cursor over the stone to read it

Terra is half esper. Held, she wakes.

In the stone: Terra, drawn by Yoshitaka Amano

Ramuh

Only when we become magicite can our powers be transferred in full.

Kefka

Life... Dreams... Hope... Where'd they come from? And where are they headed...? These things... I am going to destroy!!

Final Fantasy IX · 2000

The Crystal World

Every planet holds a crystal at its heart.

In the concept art, the Iifa Tree's roots grasp the planet's crystal.

The first crystal, in the Crystal World, is where all life began.

Move along the roots, or hold, to trace them to the source

Garland

Life is connected, one to another... If you trace the root of all life, there exists one source.

Final Fantasy XV · 2016

The Stone of Legend

Said to have emerged from the planet, the Crystal is guarded by the kings of Lucis. Its power reaches them through the Ring of the Lucii.

Click a blade to call it

Lunafreya

The Crystal was gifted to mankind that we might know lasting prosperity.

Walk tall.

Final Fantasy X · 2001

The Farplane

Pyreflies are what the dead leave behind: light that carries memories. A summoner dances to send them on.

Move slowly: they follow the summoner's staff

01/ 05Memories

Final Fantasy V

Relive this memory

Libra0 / 12

Hover a monster

VII · Memoria

FinalFantasy

18121987

Its director thought it might be his last game. It became the first of sixteen worlds.

In the letters: Final Fantasy XI wallpaper · © Square Enix

Scroll, drag or press ← → to travel. Move over the art to look through the crystal.

Hironobu Sakaguchi
Photograph: Official GDC, CC BY 2.0

I

Director · creator of the series

Hironobu Sakaguchi

Had it failed, he would have left Square and gone back to university. It sold, and the worlds began.

II

Image illustration

Yoshitaka Amano

He drew its heroes, its monsters and its title logo, and he still draws the logo of each new game.

Move across the ink to paint the colour back in.

Yoshitaka Amano

“By Her Majesty’s Side”, Yoshitaka Amano, Final Fantasy © Square Enix · Photograph: Luthwyhn, CC BY-SA 3.0

Final Fantasy II · 1988

Bestiary

Amano drew the monsters too, in ink, before they were coloured. These are his for the second game. Cast Libra on one to read it.

Final Fantasy II · 1988

Yoshitaka Amano · © Square Enix

Drag the field. Hover or tap a monster to cast Libra.

Nobuo Uematsu

III

Music

Nobuo Uematsu

He scored every main game from the first to the ninth, and much of the tenth. His Prelude, a rising harp arpeggio, has played in nearly every game since.

Move across the five lines to play them.

Photograph: Sharon Nathan, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE

The main series · 1987 to 2023

Sixteen worlds. Five remembered here.

  1. I1987Final Fantasy I · Famicom
  2. II1988Final Fantasy II · Famicom
  3. III1990Final Fantasy III · Famicom
  4. IV1991Final Fantasy IV · Super Famicom
  5. V1992Final Fantasy V · Super FamicomThe Wind Crystal · Relive ↑
  6. VI1994Final Fantasy VI · Super FamicomThe War of the Magi · Relive ↑
  7. VII1997Final Fantasy VII · PlayStation
  8. VIII1999Final Fantasy VIII · PlayStation
  9. IX2000Final Fantasy IX · PlayStationThe Crystal World · Relive ↑
  10. X2001Final Fantasy X · PlayStation 2The Farplane · Relive ↑
  11. XI2002Final Fantasy XI · PlayStation 2, Windows
  12. XII2006Final Fantasy XII · PlayStation 2
  13. XIII2009Final Fantasy XIII · PlayStation 3
  14. XIV2010Final Fantasy XIV · Windows
  15. XV2016Final Fantasy XV · PlayStation 4, Xbox OneThe Stone of Legend · Relive ↑
  16. XVI2023Final Fantasy XVI · PlayStation 5

Release years and first platforms in Japan.

Shard of Light

A fan homage by Exe.Eyes Labs

Original works
FINAL FANTASY © SQUARE ENIX
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Square Enix
Final Fantasy
“By Her Majesty’s Side” · Yoshitaka Amano
Final Fantasy II
The Bestiary: twelve monsters, in ink and in colour · Yoshitaka Amano
Final Fantasy V
“Shared Destiny”, the cast, the dragons · Yoshitaka Amano
Final Fantasy VI
The cast, Kefka, the Magna Roaders · Yoshitaka Amano
Terra, in the magicite · Yoshitaka Amano
Final Fantasy IX
The Prima Vista, Vivi, Zidane · Yoshitaka Amano
Final Fantasy X
Yuna, the Sending · Square Enix promotional art
“Water Dance”, Tidus and Yuna · Yoshitaka Amano
Final Fantasy XV
Key art, Noctis and Luna in Altissia, demo art · Square Enix
The Royal Arms, traced from the official renders
Final Fantasy XI
Wallpaper, in the title · Square Enix
Logos
Yoshitaka Amano for Square Enix
Photographs
Hironobu Sakaguchi · Official GDC, CC BY 2.0
Yoshitaka Amano · Luthwyhn, CC BY-SA 3.0
Nobuo Uematsu · Sharon Nathan, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
Images sourced from
The Final Fantasy Wiki and Wikimedia Commons
Bark
Poly Haven, CC0
Sound
Synthesised in the browser
Made in
SYSTEM.EXE, by Exe.Eyes Labs

And everyone who made the worlds after them.

Thank you for playing.

Exe.Eyes Labs

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Let’s create something timeless.

A fan homage. FINAL FANTASY © SQUARE ENIX.Saved00:00:00Memories5 / 5Exe.Eyes Labs · Built in SYSTEM.EXE

Colophon

Shard of Light

Five Final Fantasy worlds told as one day and drawn live in the browser. The crystal is real glass that refracts its own sky, the Iifa roots fill with light where you trace them, the thirteen Royal Arms are traced from their official renders, and the pyreflies follow your hand.

Memoria answers with the art itself: a gallery that turns through a crystal’s facets, Amano’s ink you paint back into colour, a staff you can play, and a Bestiary read by Libra.

Original works
FINAL FANTASY © SQUARE ENIX. A fan homage, not affiliated with or endorsed by Square Enix.
Art
Yoshitaka Amano, and Square Enix key and promotional art, sourced from the Final Fantasy Wiki and Wikimedia Commons.
Photographs
Hironobu Sakaguchi by Official GDC (CC BY 2.0). Yoshitaka Amano by Luthwyhn (CC BY-SA 3.0). Nobuo Uematsu by Sharon Nathan (CC BY-SA 3.0 DE).
Type
Marcellus, EB Garamond and Figtree, under the SIL Open Font License.
Texture
Bark from Poly Haven (CC0).
Sound
Synthesised in the browser as you play.
Made
Built in SYSTEM.EXE by Exe.Eyes Labs