Final Fantasy 7's Materia almost had a very different name before series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi "had brilliant foresight" and realized it'd be "difficult to understand" for Japanese players

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Final Fantasy 7's Materia almost had a very different name before series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi "had brilliant foresight" and realized it'd be "difficult to understand" for Japanese players News By Scott McCrae Contributions from George Young published 30 January 2026

Spheres would have their day in Final Fantasy 10

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Final Fantasy series producer Yoshinori Kitase has explained the origins of Materia in Final Fantasy 7, saying the name came from series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi.

In a YouTube video (spotted by Twitter user Genki and further translated by GamesRadar+) featuring a conversation between Kitase and Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, Kitase recalls that the Materia system was originally going to be called the "Sphere System." He explains, "At that time, the planner… Materia is a spherical object so the setting was named the Sphere System." He says that it was Sakaguchi who made the decision to change this.

"However, at that time the producer [Hironobu] Sakaguchi said 'Sphere is difficult to understand.' So we changed the name to Materia."

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When a word is translated from English to Japanese it is written in katakana. This is a very simple looking script like this: > マテリア = Materia. Japanese people also have a tendency to think that English words are cool, but スフィア (Sphere) is a little harder to pronounce because of the 'fee' sound in the middle. The Japanese 球体 is pronounced kyuutai, literally meaning sphere. Basically, Materia just sounds cool in both English and Japanese.

And almost 30 years on, the name has stuck as an iconic part of Final Fantasy lore, and ultimately, Kitase thinks it was the right move, too: "Looking back now, I think many players find Materia easy to say, and it's really pervasive, rather than a English pun like Sphere. Materia has just four characters [in Japanese] and has a nice ring to it, so I think Sakaguchi had brilliant foresight."

Ultimately, Final Fantasy would get its Spheres down the line, albeit in a different form with Final Fantasy 10's Sphere Grid. While not exactly the same thing as Materia (which would slot into your characters weapons), the Sphere Grid allowed you to choose which skills your party would learn at a given time. So while Kitase doesn't mention if these are related at all, it does make me wonder if whoever got their spheres denied held onto that for years to come.

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. CATEGORIES Nintendo Switch 2 Xbox Series X PS5 PC Gaming Platforms Nintendo Xbox PlayStation Scott McCraeSocial Links NavigationContributor

Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

With contributions from

• George YoungFreelance News Writer

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