Final Fantasy VIII allusions

List of references Final Fantasy VIII makes to previous Final Fantasy titles and other media.

Final Fantasy Series

 * In the residence of Mayor Dobe and Flo in Fishermans Horizon, a number of model aircraft are suspended from the ceiling. They are meant to crudely resemble the Nautilus of Final Fantasy III, the Lunar Whale of Final Fantasy IV, the Blackjack of Final Fantasy VI, and the Tiny Bronco of Final Fantasy VII.
 * A recurring trope in the Final Fantasy games prior to Final Fantasy VIII was the presence of pornographic magazines as a novelty item. Final Fantasy VIII continues this trope with The Girl Next Door magazine.

Final Fantasy

 * In the background in one of the Triple Triad tutorials, the player can spot a Black Mage. Black Mages first appeared in the original Final Fantasy.
 * A region of Balamb is named "Gaulg Mountains". This may be an allusion to Mount Gulg.

Final Fantasy II

 * Leon's Japanese name, Leonhart, is the surname of Squall. In the Kingdom Hearts series, Squall changes his name to Leon.

Final Fantasy III

 * The Great Hyne is a reference to Hein from Final Fantasy III.

Final Fantasy V

 * The first time a player catches a chocobo from a forest, they are given a chicobo whose default name is "Boko". Boco was Bartz's chocobo in Final Fantasy V.
 * In the Final Fantasy VIII Pocket Station game Chocobo World, Boko meets a girl chocobo called Koko. Koko was Boco's girlfriend in Final Fantasy V.
 * If the player chooses the four instruments for the "Irish Jig" at the Garden Festival in Fishermans Horizon, the song played during the concert is the town theme of Final Fantasy V.
 * Gilgamesh, the passive Guardian Force who replaces Odin at the end of Disc 3, first appeared in Final Fantasy V; this marks the first instance in which he is witnessed successfully traversing dimensions through the Void.
 * The Brothers Guardian Force are a direct reference to Sekhmet and Minotaur from Final Fantasy V.
 * Felling Omega Weapon will net players the Proof of Omega, a trophy item. This tradition was established in Final Fantasy V with the Omega Badge as a reward for beating its Omega, the series' first true superboss.

Final Fantasy VI

 * Ultima Weapon first appeared in Final Fantasy VI though it was mistranslated as Atma Weapon.
 * The role of Angelo is similar to that of Interceptor: dogs who assist their respective owner in battle and have a chance of launching counterattacks.
 * Despite not being called proper Limit Breaks until Final Fantasy VII, the Desperation Attacks of Final Fantasy VI utilize an invisible "Crisis Meter" to determine their chance of activation as they do in Final Fantasy VIII.
 * Though many of Zell's Duel techniques originate in Final Fantasy VII, they must be implemented with button commands as they were in Final Fantasy VI with Sabin's Blitz arsenal. Specifically, the Meteor Strike was a technique first implemented in Final Fantasy VI, despite several of Zell's other moves having their origin in Tifa's slot Limit.

Final Fantasy VII

 * Cactuar Island is based on the similar Cactus Island inhabited only by Cactuars in Final Fantasy VII.
 * The monster Ultima Weapon wields Cloud Strife's Ultima Weapon sword.
 * Several of Zell's Duel abilities are that of hand-to-hand expert Tifa Lockhart, specifically the Dolphin Blow and Final Heaven.
 * The Deep Sea Research Center is a hidden island located in the corner of the world map where the player can obtain the game's strongest GF. Final Fantasy VII had a hidden similar island in the corner of its map that also housed its most powerful individual Summon Materia.
 * The various Greens available for raising Chocobos in Final Fantasy VII appear as the names of alcoholic beverages in Timber's Aphorora Pub.
 * If the player completes all Chocobo Forests, the chocobos present in the Sanctuary perform a dance that rewards the player the chicobo's Triple Triad card. This is a nod to Final Fantasy VII, when dancing chocobos give the player the Choco/Mog Materia at the Chocobo Farm.
 * There is a shop in Esthar City named "Cloud's shop", a reference to "Final Fantasy VII" main protagonist Cloud Strife.

Allusions to the Number Eight
Being the eighth installment of the series, Final Fantasy VIII makes some references to the number itself. Although many of these are not necessarily deliberate allusions to the number 8 (whether they are or not is speculative), they are nonetheless present.


 * The uniform of a regular G-Soldier has the number eight carved on a plate.
 * The article that tells SeeDs to report to the nearest Garden in case returning to the assigned Garden is not possible, is in article number eight.
 * In Deling City, Rinoa advises the party to take the bus number eight. In fact, all buses in Deling City show that number.
 * Edea passes under the archway during her parade at exactly eight o'clock, which was the time for Squall and Irvine to assassinate her.
 * Squall's birthday is in August, the eighth month of the year.
 * In the D-District Prison, the Galbadian soldiers were checking out the party's weapons on Floor 8. It is also the location of Squall saving Zell from the prison warden and the reunion of Rinoa and Irvine with the imprisoned SeeDs.
 * During the Battle of the Gardens, those who have student ID numbers ending with an eight have to take care of the junior classmen.
 * On the Ragnarok, Squall and Rinoa must defeat eight Propagators before gaining use of the ship.
 * There is an enemy called Mobile Type 8.
 * On the clock tower in Ultimecia Castle, the minute hand is pointing to "VIII".
 * The Information section of the Tutorial menu claims that Centra was destroyed 80 years prior to the game by the Lunar Cry. This is contradicted elsewhere in the game, however.
 * Esthar might be a reference to "Ishtar Gate", which was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon.
 * Shumi Village was built 323 meters beneath the ground. The sum of the numbers (3 + 2 + 3) equals eight.
 * When a character uses Devour and the target's HP is higher than the user's, then the command fails and eight points of damage are dealt to the target.
 * Ultimecia has eight minions in her castle that must be defeated to unlock the sealed abilities.

Allusions to Other Square Games

 * Zell's ultimate weapon, Ehrgeiz, is a reference to the game Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring.

Movies

 * The Full Motion Video showing the arrival at the Lunar Base is a homage to the 1968 film , reminiscent of the "Blue Danube" scene. In place of "The Blue Danube", "Dance with the Balamb Fish" is played, verifying the homage. The space station utilizes centrifugal force to simulate gravity as in 2001. Within the space station, unique camera angles are used, similar to the ones used on the Discovery One by Stanley Kubrick, to show the centrifugal rotation. The long and uninterrupted scene of Rinoa silently floating in space, and the emphasis on the sound of her breathing in her space suit may also be details inspired by this movie.


 * Biggs and Wedge are named after the Star Wars characters Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles, Luke Skywalker's Red Squadron wingmen in Episode IV: A New Hope.
 * Piet is named after Fleet Admiral Firmus Piett, an Imperial officer from the Star Wars movies.
 * Martine is named Dodonna in the Japanese, Spanish and German version, and in the Italian version he is called Dodonn. In Star Wars, Dodonna was one of the first generals in the Rebel Alliance.
 * At one point Ellone whispers to Squall, "You are my only hope." The line was said by Princess Leia in Episode IV: A New Hope.
 * Nida is possibly a nod to the Star Wars character, Captain Lorth Needa.

Music

 * The dancers in Edea's parade in Deling City are dancing to the moves of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video.

Theater

 * An NPC female on the platform of Timber's train station mentions "Romeo and Juliet", a play by William Shakespeare.

Real World

 * "Monterosa Plateau" is the name of an area in Galbadia Continent. is the highest massif in the Alps, located in Switzerland and Italy.
 * The archway in Deling City is made after the in Paris.
 * The nation of Centra echoes the real world Roman Empire, with a somewhat reminiscent architectural style. In the world of Final Fantasy VIII Dollet and Esthar were founded by emigrants from the Centra, the old Dollet being known as Holy Dollet Empire, as an allusion the Holy Roman Empire, a weak, fragmented empire of city states proclaimed as a successor to the Roman Empire. The other empire with a claim to being the successor to the Roman Empire is the Byzantine Empire that was more technologically and culturally advanced than the Holy Roman Empire, but also intentionally cut-off and secretive. This reflects Esthar's role in the game.

Miscellaneous

 * The scene at Winhill where the chicobo crosses the road may be an allusion to the age-old joke "Why did the chicken cross the road?"