Final Fantasy XIV allusions

The following is a list of allusions present in Final Fantasy XIV.

Final Fantasy series

 * In the various promotional screenshots, names of various playable characters from previously released games are used to name the characters included in the screenshots.

Final Fantasy

 * The Garlean Empire's name is a reference to Garland.

Final Fantasy II

 * The company responsible for the airship docks is named Highwind.

Final Fantasy III

 * The upcoming Crystal Tower dungeon is directly inspired by the Final Fantasy III Crystal Tower. It is said that the tower houses the tomb of the first Allagan emperor, named Xandes.
 * Cid Garlond's Airship is named Enterprise.

Final Fantasy IV

 * Marlboros are called "Morbols", a reference to the original translation of Final Fantasy IV.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years

 * The scenario of Dalamud's fall is similar to that of The After Years, in which a red moon, not the planet's main moon, threatens to crash to the planet.

Final Fantasy V

 * During Caravan Security, both "Boco" and "Koko" may appear as the chocobo names.

Final Fantasy VI

 * During the 2011 Halloween event, the trickster imps would randomly say "Life... Dreams... Imps... Where do they come from? And where do they go?", quoting Kefka's speech during the final battle.
 * The Garlean Empire technology is called magitek, has advanced considerably due to the works of a Cid and is primarily used for military purposes. Additionally, a Magitek Armor mount is planned to become available to players.

Final Fantasy VII

 * When the player undergoes his first "Horn & Hand" faction leve, a NPC will say the following: "Why, if it isn't Sephiroth! Or was it Sephiross? Setirophx? xXxSephirothxXx?," referencing Sephiroth and common variations used to name characters on MMOs (and by proxy, Final Fantasy XIV itself).
 * One of the Cactuar enemies is called Sabotender Del Sol.
 * The Materia crafting system is named after and inspired by Final Fantasy VII Materia.
 * There are two references to main antagonist Sephiroth, both of which are made by main antagonist Nael van Darnus:
 * In "United We Stand," after wounding the player, Nael takes his leave similarly to that of Sephiroth in the Nibelheim burning scene.
 * Nael seeks to destroy Eorzea and subsequently purify it by using forbidden magicks to summon the Meteor-like moon Dalamud. Sephiroth similarly attempts to destroy The Planet by using the Black Materia to summon Meteor in Final Fantasy VII.
 * Nael van Darnus also commands the Empire's VIIth Legion.
 * An NPC in the Miner quests will mistakenly call players by the wrong name. He will call a Midlander Hyur "Cloud".
 * An NPC in the Miner quests will mistakenly call players by the wrong name. He will call a Miqo'te "Aerith".

Final Fantasy VIII

 * One of the Garlean Empire's main infantry weapons is a variant of a gunblade.

Final Fantasy IX

 * One guildleve objective is to retrieve the cargo of an airship named Red Rose.
 * An NPC in the Miner quests will mistakenly call players by the wrong name. He will call a Miqo'te "Quina," which references the playable character of the same name from Final Fantasy IX.

Final Fantasy X

 * The server Besaid references Yuna, Wakka, and Lulu's hometown in Final Fantasy X.
 * An NPC in the Miner quests will mistakenly call players by the wrong name. He will call a Midlander Hyur "Tidus," an allusion to the protagonist of Final Fantasy X.

Final Fantasy X-2

 * Soul crystals have inscriptions related to past warriors' deeds and, when equipped, allow the player to use a job related to those warriors. This concept is similar to that of dresspheres.

Final Fantasy XI

 * All of the playable races and several beast tribes, such as the Qiqirn, are based on Final Fantasy XI's races.
 * Several weapons from the Grand Companies of Eorzea lore are direct references to important characters and weapons from Final Fantasy XI.
 * The first name of Raubahn Aldynn, the leader of the Grand Company Immortal Flames, is identical to Raubahn, the captain of the Immortals in Final Fantasy XI.
 * The NPC responsible for unlocking the battle category of achievements is named Atelloune, sharing her name with a minor NPC present in Final Fantasy XI. Both of them are researching monsters, wear the exact same outfit and are of similar races (Elvaan / Elezen).
 * The Black Mage quests mention the Shatotto's stone, used to seal the Voidgate. She's also referenced by the achievement "Ohohohohoho!" granted by obtaining the Stardust Rod.
 * Two of the Achievement NPCs bear the Surname "Ironheart", a reference to the famous cartographer Gwynham Ironheart. They are Milith Ironheart (in charge of Dungeons) and Nedrick Ironheart (in charge of Exploration).

Final Fantasy XII

 * The Imperial Legatus armor designs are based on the Archadian Judge's armor.
 * A scene with Nael marching, followed by a few Garlean soldiers, resembles the Archadian judges marching towards the screen during Final Fantasy XII's opening.

Final Fantasy XIII

 * The Eshtaime Lapidaries of the Ul'dah city-state are based on the surname of Hope Estheim.

Final Fantasy XIII-2

 * Secondary antagonist Gaius van Baelsar's given name is an alternative spelling of Caius, the given name of Final Fantasy XIII-2's main antagonist.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers

 * One of the titles that can be earned is "Crystal Bearer".

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

 * One Paladin skill is named Spirits Within.

Random Encounters

 * Before most storyline battles, the common "whoosh" effect of previous games' random encounters can be seen.

Allusions to the Number Fourteen
Being the fourteenth installment of the series, Final Fantasy XIV makes some references to the number itself. Although they are not necessarily deliberate allusions to the number 14 (whether they are or not is speculative), they are nonetheless present.


 * There are fourteen warriors grouped together on the game's logo.
 * Gaius is the Legatus of the XIVth Legion.

Xenogears

 * Gaius's helmet is extremely similar to Grahf's mask, down to the earrings used.

Norse

 * While the Roegadyns' Sea Wolves and Lohengarde seem to correspond to the frost giants and fire giants, the Elezens' Wildwood and Duskwight branches are respectively based on the Light Elves and the Shadow Elves.


 * One of the sidequests is called "Call of Booty."


 * The achievement for completing the Dragoon quest line is named Dragoon Age.


 * One of the Dragoon quests is named Double Dragoon.

series

 * During a quest in Gridania, a NPC will say that he "feels a great disturbance in the forest."
 * In the end of the Seventh Umbral Era storyline, a victory scene similar to the end of A New Hope is played out.

The Gnat type enemies will use an ability called Brundleflight, which is a teleportation maneuver. The main character in The Fly inadvertently merged species with a housefly through a teleportation pod and began calling himself "Brundlefly".

One of the earliest available Miner Levequests is named "Get to the Copper"! Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character: Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer, in the 1987 sci-fi action movie Predator, was directing a helicopter evacuation from a scene on the ground after the rest of Dutch’s team had been killed off by the alien Predator. Before confronting the monster, Major Schaefer yells the line "Get to the Chopper"! to get Anna safely onboard the chopper.


 * A sidequest available during the 2011 Starlight Celebration was named "Winter Is Not Coming".


 * One of the mammets in Ul'dah says, "The answer is...................42."


 * One of the Achievement NPCs, a writer named Derwin, mentions that he is working on a story called "The Antlion, the Itch on My Earlobe."


 * There are several instances alluding to My Little Pony in referring to the chocobo mount system, such as newspaper articles posted on the lodestone, using the phrase "My little Chocobo". Also it is an achievement gained when the player gets their chocobo.

Modest Mouse

 * There's a NPC called "Immodest Mouse", who may say "The ocean breathes saulty, and it be her briny whispers what give our salt ale its temper," referencing the Song "Ocean Breathes Salty."


 * The third Thaumaturge Class Quest is called "Law and the Order."

Roman Empire

 * The ranking within the Garlean army is modeled after that of the Roman Empire.
 * The Goblin Fraternity who created materia is called the Illuminati.