Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals

Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals (ファイナルファンタジー) is an anime OVA based on the Final Fantasy series of console role-playing games. It was released in Japan in 1994 and distributed by Urban Vision in 1998 in North America. Urban Vision no longer holds the license to this series, and it has not been relicensed in North America.

Legend of the Crystals takes place 200 years after the events of Final Fantasy V. It is divided into four thirty minute OVA episodes spanning two VHS tapes. To date, there has not been a North American DVD release.

Plot
The story takes place on the same world as Final Fantasy V, named Planet R, set two hundred years in the future, where three of the four crystals have been stolen. The original heroes in Final Fantasy V are now legends of the past, and a new evil, Deathgyunos, has risen on the Black Moon and must be dealt with. Mid, a recurring character from Final Fantasy V, contacts a new hero and heroine: Prettz (Pritz) and Linaly (a descendant of Bartz). They eventually meet the sky pirate Rouge and Commander Valcus, commander of The Iron Wing.

Several visual differences exist between the anime and the game on which the setting is based. For example, chocobos appear featherless and somewhat alien in appearance. The character Linaly eventually unleashes a powerful wave of chocobos, resembling an ultimate spell or summon. Chocobos have been available as summoned creatures in previous Final Fantasy games, usually at lower levels. This would indicate Linaly's spell is a significantly magnified version of such a lower level spell, amplified by the power of the Wind Crystal.

Characters
The OVA introduces several original characters as well as a few characters who made an appearance in Final Fantasy V.

The main protagonist Prettz is a headstrong and reckless young man with feelings for Linaly who rides a motorcycle and uses a nodachi and spiked bombs as his weapons. The other protagonist Linaly is a brave, young, blue-haired girl, the direct descendant of Bartz and a novice in the art of summoning (she can only summon Chocobo), and became a vessel for the Wind Crystal after the others were taken. Supporting characters include: Valkus is the bumbling general of the Tycoon air force, leading the flag-airship Iron Wing, who, despite his aggressiveness and large size, is fiercely loyal to Queen Lenna; Rouge, a scantily clad pirate captain, with a love for all things shiny, who attempted to take the Wind Crystal from Linaly and company, but was captured by Tycoon and held prisoner until Queen Lenna offered her a full pardon if she agreed to aid the others; and Mid, Cid's grandson, an engineer who returns as a ghost to aid the heroes with his advice and general knowledge of historical events important to the series, and, although apparently unable to physically manipulate the world in this state, is clever enough to convince his living allies to complete tasks with words alone.

The antagonist of Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals is Ra Devil, a powerful wizard intent on gaining the power of the Void for his own ambition. He steals Cid's brain away in hopes of using its knowledge of the four Crystals to his advantage, assuming his true form, Deathgyunos, once he succeeds.

Music
The original score was composed by Masahiko Sato and contains numerous cues to Nobuo Uematsu's original soundtrack to Final Fantasy V including the opening and the chocobo theme.

Episodes
Legend of the Crystals is separated into 4 individually titled episodes:

Episode I - Wind Chapter

Episode II - Fire Chapter

Episode III - Dragon Chapter

Episode IV - Star Chapter

In VHS format, Episodes I and II were contained on the first video, with episodes III and IV on the second, later released as a boxed set.

Characters and voice actors
Notably, the majority of the voice actors used also did voices for Tenchi Muyo!

Reception
IGN described it as notable for being the first sequel to a Final Fantasy title, but stated it "did not become a favourite addition to the Final Fantasy Legacy", citing its animation as "nothing special" and noting its reliance on comedy over dramatic story telling. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews called it "a cruel mockery of all Final Fantasy stands for", citing it as basing the storyline off the "weakest" title in the series, and citing the finale as anti-climactic and the villain disappointing. Animefringe criticized it as one of several failed attempts to translate Final Fantasy to film, calling it a "lacklustre and drawn-out retelling of Final Fantasy V".

However, GameSpot described it as a worthy adaptation of the series, and noted that while the animation was "somewhat simple", the story was immersive and praised it for not meandering to include all aspects of the game. EX praised the title heavily, noting the similarity to Square's existing characters helped lend credence to the Final Fantasy title. They additionally noted that with exception to the backgrounds that the animation was good, and that the dubbed voices for the English version were believable, notably Linaly's and Prettz's, and added "Final Fantasy provides a good balance of action, adventure, and just enough humour to make the characters personable."