Final Fantasy in popular culture

The Final Fantasy series has had many pop culture references throughout its existence.

Movies

 * In the movie Charlie's Angels, two boys are seen playing Final Fantasy VIII, pretending it was a two-player game.
 * In the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Scott says he learned the bass line from Final Fantasy II Scott then plays the bass line of Battle Theme 1 from the game.
 * Later in the film, when Scott gains the power of love and also when he gains the power of self-respect a sword appears from his chest, reminiscent of the battle against Braska's Final Aeon in his second form where he too pulls his sword from his chest in a similar manner.
 * In Scott Pilgrim vs. the World again, in the same fight scene where Scott gains the two swords mentioned above, the character he fights wields a shimmering blue sword that leaves a blue trail when swung, reminiscent of the Ultima Weapon from Final Fantasy VI that creates blue copies in its wake when swung.

Television, anime and cartoons

 * The TV series Robot Chicken had a parody of Final Fantasy VII called the Final Fantasy Burger Chain, which is also a parody of fast food chains such as McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's, featuring Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie as workers. The restaurant is owned by Sephiroth and is ultimately destroyed by Cloud in a fight with Sephiroth. The characters don't actually speak in this, as their dialogue is shown in a blue box at the top of the screen similar to games in the series from Final Fantasy to Final Fantasy VII. In addition, during this skit, the "One-Winged Angel" song is parodied, with repetitive chants of "hamburger" in the same tune.
 * In another Robot Chicken episode, We Are A Humble Factory, there is a scene where a nerd occupying a woman's body is seen at what appears to be a strip club. After showing off two outfits from other video games and anime, he is shown wearing Tifa's Final Fantasy VII outfit and, while posing, exclaims, "This may be your Final Fantasy".
 * In an episode of the TV comedy, Two and a Half Men, Jake begs Charlie throughout the show to take him to the video store to rent the new Final Fantasy. When they are at the video store, the Final Fantasy X box was shown as the "new" Final Fantasy. But at the end of the show, the Final Fantasy II battle music is played, not Final Fantasy X's.
 * One episode of the third season of Captain N: The Game Master is loosely based on the original Final Fantasy. Matoya, the Prince of Elfheim, and Astos are featured.
 * In an episode of Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island, several video games are parodied, including Final Fantasy VII. Coconut Fred is depicted as Cloud and must stop Butchy, who is depicted as Sephiroth.
 * On an episode of Comedy Central Presents, comedian Jackie Kashian referenced the Creator from The Final Fantasy Legend, describing the game's final battle as "the worst premise ever of any video game", though stated that regardless she continued trying for eight months to defeat the boss.
 * In the anime series the show's main character discovers, and becomes obsessed with, an MMORPG that seems to be a parody of Final Fantasy XI. A further parody arrives in the form of a Mithra-like player whom the character falls head over heels for.
 * In the first episode of series one of the BBC Three comedy, Coming of Age, Matt's first line is "Alright mate. Brilliant night last night. Level 14 of Final Fantasy XII, I'm a god." (Based on the context of the line, it is possible the writer has mistakenly used the word "level" to refer to a stage such as a stage from old Mario or similar games rather than the level of a character gained via experience points that you would normally find in Final Fantasy games. This would explain the show's character Matt acting so pleased with himself.)
 * In an episode of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory Sheldon and Leonard were robbed. When Sheldon is listing out the stolen items to the police officer, he mentions that Final Fantasy I through IX were all missing, along with other video games and consoles.
 * The Anime Series Hayate no Gotoku! makes countless references to a lot of games and Anime, among them are the Final Fantasy games. Examples include how Hayate "disguises" himself as Locke, and Nagi commenting how her school seems about as big as Vana'diel.
 * The cartoon series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" features creatures called "Ostrich-Horses", which are used in similar manner to chocobos as well as similar appearance.
 * In several episodes of , Cloud can be seen walking across a street in Japan during Jerry's fantasy of life in Japan.
 * In the TV show Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island, Coconut Fred parodies Cloud through the episode "Sir Nutalot". He appears with Cloud's spiky blond hair, soldier attire, and buster sword but goes under the name of Sir Nutalot.
 * In Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, an eyecatch parodies the classic Final Fantasy sideview battle. An episode also makes a minor mention about how the dress spheres in Final Fantasy X-2 are gaudy overkilled decorations.

Webcomics

 * 8-Bit Theater is a Final Fantasy based webcomic which follows the story of the original game, starring a Fighter, a Thief, a Black Mage, and a Red Mage.
 * Cloud makes a brief cameo in two strips in the fan-made webcomic 8-Bit Theater as a potential Light Warrior. He is represented by a Fighter sprite, modified to fit his colour scheme and to include his distinctive hair. His attempts to prove his skills to Fighter include using an overly-long and flashy summon sequence to summon a Chocobo, and showing off the Buster Sword, which is too heavy for him to hold and falls on top of him. After the latter, Fighter rejects him as a Light Warrior.
 * The Order of the Stick comic series Episode 388, the characters Elan and Thog disguise themselves as Locke and Mog from Final Fantasy VI so they can get aboard the Blackjack to head to Azure City. However, Terra and Edgar are suspicious of them when they use the term "Resurrect" to describe a Phoenix Down and throw them overboard.
 * Neglected Mario Characters features many Final Fantasy characters, most notably Kefka and Celes in the "Mario Busters" series.
 * Various YouTube users have posted slideshows of fan-made Yu-Gi-Oh! cards featuring Final Fantasy characters and objects, made by using various websites such as yugiohcardmaker.net.
 * VGCats has several episodes relating to Chocobo raising, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XI, and Final Fantasy XII. There is also an episode where it is claimed that Chocobo meat, along with Moogle pom-poms are sold by an establishment called "Kentucky Firaga Chocobo," a pun on Kentucky Fried Chicken, an American fast food fried chicken franchise.
 * The comic Adventure Log is about a Mithra named Kiro's journeys in Vana'diel.
 * The name of one of the characters in the online comic VG Cats, Aeris, is a direct and intended reference to Aerith, based on her name in the English language version of Final Fantasy VII.
 * Three Panel Soul has a couple of comics about the writers' Final Fantasy XI characters.
 * The flash comic Weebl and Bob on December 10th, 2002, released an episode that was a satire of Final Fantasy VII. It featured Cloud, Aerith, a Chocobo, and a random encounter.
 * The Webcomic Gameworld and its upcoming side series Gameworld Gaiden Re-Direct contain characters from many of the Final Fantasy games as main and secondary characters alongside several original characters called Outsiders. It also has references to other Square-Enix Properties.
 * Youtube user lasagnacat is known for his video parodies of Jim Davis' Garfield comic strip. One of the parodies is set on a Final Fantasy VI medley, complete with the battle scene and theme.
 * A user on YouTube known as brentalfloss has added lyrics to many video game themes, two of which include the Victory Fanfare and the Opening Theme.

Other Video Games

 * In the fan-translation of Mother 3, a pig sings a "musical fanfare". The text box implies that this is the Victory Fanfare. It is unknown whether this was in the original Japanese version.
 * In Super Smash Bros. Melee, three of the random names that are chosen are Vivi, Lulu, and Odin.
 * In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations, during the last case, after being compared to a spoon stirring a cup of coffee, the judge exclaims, "I'm a spoon!? I'm no spoony bard, I'll have you know!" This is a reference to the famous quote by Tellah in Final Fantasy IV.
 * In Mario Hoops 3-on-3, a Square Enix developed game, Ninja, White Mage, Black Mage, Moogle, and Cactuar are unlockable playable characters. This is the first time Mario is playable with Final Fantasy characters. Also, there's a Bomb going around at Bowser Castle Court, and a Chocobo as basket in the Airship Court.
 * In , there is a flower vendor in the city of Dalaran named Aerith Primrose.
 * In The Sims series of life-simulation games, it is possible to recreate Final Fantasy characters, amongst many other characters from video games, cartoons, comics, and movies; a list of Final Fantasy-related content can be found on this page at the Sims Wiki.
 * In , on Elicoor II, Fayt meets a flower girl named Ameena who is dressed quite suspiciously like Aerith Gainsborough (as well as she bears a striking resemblance to his friend Sophia).
 * In Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 a TV commentator uses the phrase "I bet he'd slit his mama's throat for a five-yen piece!" to describe the character Tanaka. This is reference to the famous quote Edgar uses to describe Shadow in the SNES version of Final Fantasy VI.
 * In the Nintendo DS game Scribblenauts, three of the words that can be inputted by the player are Black Mage, White Mage, and Red Mage.
 * In , a fighting game developed by Namco, it is possible for the player to customize their character's hair to look like Cloud's, although it is also possible to choose a combination of hairstyles that resemble Sephiroth's hair.
 * In , another Namco-developed fighting game, it is also possible to use Cloud's hairstyle; players who recreate Cloud in the game tend to base his fighting style on that of Siegfried Schtauffen, as both characters wield massive swords. In addition, when Sephiroth is recreated in the game, he is based on Mitsurugi, although his sword is not as long as Sephiroth's.
 * In  a blue Chocobo-like creature drives the wagons of the traveling circus, Caravan. The red dragon Ruby mentions it was a Chocobo, but quickly changed it into "Chuckoboo".
 * In  a Chocobo is obtainable as a combatant.
 * features a "Chocobone" unit. The official unit profile on the Chocobone states that "Riding the bones of ostrich-like large birds once used as mounts by a lost civilization, the skeleton Chocobones can move faster than most cavalry units."
 * An artwork of Cloud and Aerith by Yoshitaka Amano titled "Tranquility" is shown on a wall in one scene of Parasite Eve. That picture, which can be seen below, was created by Amano to be used as a cover for the original Final Fantasy VII soundtrack.
 * In Parasite Eve II, there is a laboratory where Aya Brea tries to use a computer infected with a virus called "Fatekeeper". The anti-virus, "Cloud", is found inside the September issue of a magazine called "Aeris".
 * In  a large banner picturing a Chocobo hangs over the entrance to the American Museum of Natural History. Inside the museum, a Chocobo skeleton can also be found inside an exhibit about primitive species.
 * In Mortal Kombat Armageddon, both Cloud's and Sephiroth's hairstyles can be purchased as head parts for the game's Kreate-A-Fighter feature, a character creation feature similar to the ones in Soul Calibur III and IV, under the names "Anime 1" and "Fantasy", respectively. They are among many other video game character designs inspired by other video game characters, including one named after Akuma from Street Fighter.
 * The Chocobo is parodied in the browser-based game  as a familiar which can charge monsters to deal damage, heal characters by nuzzling them, run around monsters to confuse them, and dig in the ground to give the characters extra game points. The familiar (called a Cocoabo) is shaped like a Chocobo but is apparently made of cocoa or chocolate, hatched from a Cocoa Egg item. Now and then, the Cocoabo also is affected by a "Limit Break" which can either double it's damage, healing or game point abilities. A stuffed version of the familiar (Stuffed Cocoabo) is also available and reportedly squeaks "Kweh!" when squeezed.
 * In the hit online game AdventureQuest, there are two NPCs in the town of Granemor that might reference Final Fantasy; one is a potion maker named Lucretia (supposedly a reference to Lucrecia Crescent), while the other is the bird that the Moglin Dewlok rides on, which resembles a red Chocobo.
 * In No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, a character named Skelter Helter is based on Cloud Strife, his appearance and hair style is similar to Cloud and his Beam Katana is named the Buster Katana and looks very similar to Cloud's Buster Sword. He also feel guilty over the death of his brother Helter Skelter much like Cloud has over the death Zack Fair and Aerith Gainsborough. Additionally, his multi-tiered sword may be a reference to Kadaj.
 * The Elder Scrolls' third game, Morrowind, contains a dungeon with a chamber labeled "Kefka Burial", a clear reference to the antagonist of Final Fantasy VI.
 * Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard contains a boss character by the name of Altos Tratus who is a direct parody of Cloud and Sephiroth. The character wields a large sword similar to Cloud's while having an appearance vaguely similar to Sephiroth's (including a single wing on his left shoulder). The main character states that Altos is from the Penultimate Illusion series (an obvious reference to the Final Fantasy series' literal meaning Ultimate Illusion). Altos battles the player by selecting attacks through his own turn-based menu while the player fights back and dodges in real time.
 * Users in Square-Enix Members Virtual World community can make their character appear as Cloud in his Advent Children attire. The avatar was released to celebrate the Japanese release of Advent Children Complete.
 * In an Easter Egg in Xenogears, the player can spot a poster of Tifa on the wall in Solaris. Her stance is the same as her artwork.
 * Touhou series has a character named Utsuho Reiuji who has attacks called Mega Flare and Giga Flare.
 * In Scott Pilgrim vs the World: the Game, one of the stat-boosting accessories is a game called Never-ending Fantasy. The name is most likely a joke on how the series has many sequels and countless spin-offs, despite being called Final Fantasy.

Secret of Evermore
Secret of Evermore is a game released by Squaresoft in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System featuring a young boy and a dog as its main characters. The game features several cameos by Final Fantasy characters and media:
 * Cecil from Final Fantasy IV as a secret NPC, running an inn and armor shop at Ebon Keep.
 * Terra, Locke, Strago, Mog, and Umaro, all famous from Final Fantasy VI, standing in the crowd at the coliseum,
 * A rare item called the "Chocobo's Egg" which can increase the protagonist's maximum HP level.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was a game developed by Squaresoft, featuring light cameos of the Final Fantasy series:
 * Bahamut makes an appearance as a boss in Bowser's Keep as "Bahamutt".
 * The most obvious Final Fantasy reference is Culex, a secret boss found in Monstro Town. Culex seems to be particularly inspired by the Final Fantasy IV universe; he claims to be a Dark Knight, and fights alongside four elemental Crystals. During the battle with Culex, the theme "Battle 2" from Final Fantasy IV plays; the traditional Victory Fanfare plays after his defeat, and the Prelude plays as he departs from the world.

3D Dot Game Heroes
While not a Square Enix game, this game contains many references to RPGs in general and quite a few to various Final Fantasy games.
 * A character will give the player a Ribbon, saying that it "protects against diseases". This item is useless.
 * The inventor in Raejack is named "Dic" - Cid backwards. At the end of the game, he explains he's working on a flying ship.
 * The town of Colneria is a reference to Cornelia, a town in the original Final Fantasy.
 * After finishing the first dungeon and crossing the bridge below it, a scene plays that is reminiscent of the scene that plays after crossing the bridge in Final Fantasy.
 * A scene in Ortega has a mage named Newmin sacrifice himself to allow you to receive the "Ultima Book" (which is useless) - a reference to Minwu.
 * Another scene in Ortega involves a man called Jose about to be crushed by a rock, a reference to Josef.
 * A sign can be found that reads "D3sidlroweht" - a reference to a puzzle which involved writing "The World is Square" backwards.

Books, Comics/Manga and Magazines

 * In Great Teacher Onizuka, Onizuka borrows Final Fantasy VII, along with several other RPG-games from Noburo in Chapter 14
 * In the manga "Midori no Hibi" ("Days of Midori"), Chapter 57, Page 5, panel three shows two incredibly ugly "women" dressed in very good Yuna and Rikku costumes.
 * In the manga version of the anime "Hare+Guu", there is a running appearance of a young Aerith. She has her exact hairstyle and the exact outfit from the original game. When Hare goes to the city, there is a little girl in his class who looks exactly like a younger version of Aerith. The first time she was shown, she was in a completely different outfit but you knew it was her by the hair. But in every appearance after the first, she is wearing her traditional long dress and bolero jacket.
 * In Shiro Amano's manga adaptation of the video game Seiken Densetsu (called Legend of Mana in English), Quistis Trepe gets a recurring cameo as the main character's idol and fanboy obsession, but in the original translation her name was mistranslated into "Kistis Tulip". The main character of the manga, Toto, collects everything involving her including fake autographed photos and life-sized dolls. He even attempted to defeat three evil dragons with the request of meeting Quistis in person as payment.
 * In the manga Angel Sanctuary Kaori Yuki writes in her notes about her reaction to Final Fantasy VIII and her opinion on the graphics and Squall and Rinoa's relationship.
 * In the manga Descendants of Darkness Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Cait Sith and Red XIII appear in the background of Volume 3, Chapter 1.
 * In the manga adaption of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Squall, with his name changed to Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, and Cloud all make their respected appearances as they do in the game. In the Kingdom Hearts II adaptation, the same characters, as well as Seifer, Fujin (with her name shortened to Fuu), Raijin (with his name shortened to Rai), and Vivi appear as well.
 * Ryukishi07, creator of the visual novel and manga Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, is a self-proclaimed fan of Final Fantasy V. His pen name originated from Lenna — "07" in Japanese can be pronounced as "reinana", and "Ryukishi" means "dragoon". It's also loosely the basis for the Higurashi character, Rena Ryugu.
 * In the manga Fruits Basket, author Natsuki Takaya often writes about her video game fandom, especially of the Final Fantasy series, in side columns and author's notes, such as her reaction to Aerith's ultimate fate in Final Fantasy VII. During 2000, she often wrote about her anticipation of Final Fantasy IX being released that year.
 * The manga also features some Tifa and Yuffie cosplay. This time done by two of the mangas main characters.
 * The manga has a restaurant scene with most of the party members from Final Fantasy VII in the background.
 * The comic book series references multiple video games, one of which being the Final Fantasy series. One specific occasion is when the hero, Scott, is depressed and lying on the floor of his apartment and his roommate Wallace says "Did you find out about how I accidentally saved over your game in Final Fantasy? No, last time that happened you were totally crying..." There is also a plot later in the series where Scott does not truly remember his own past and must come to terms with who he really is, reminiscent of Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII.
 * When gaining the power of understanding Scott Pilgrim's sword has an uncanny resemblance to Cloud Strife's Buster Sword

Ken Akamatasu

 * In Ken Akamatsu's acclaimed manga, Love Hina, Squall and Rinoa make a guest appearance in Volume 3, page 33, frame 6. The pair are seen walking out of a gaming plaza as Keitaro, the protagonist of the series, and Naru, the love interest, careen into a stack of plush mascot toys possibly meant for delivery to said gaming plaza. They proceed to regard the two and the devastation with bewildering astonishment.
 * In the same manga, one major recurring character, Mutsumi Otohime, arguably resembles Final Fantasy VII character Aerith Gainsborough, and has even worn a similar dress during one chapter.
 * Finally, in Chapter 113 of Love Hina, when Keitaro defeats the kendo girl Motoko Aoyama, using the same technique she often deals to him, he compares it to the Lancet ability of Final Fantasy X's Kimahri Ronso, which absorbs a small amount of HP and MP and sometimes, the ability of a monster.
 * In Chapter 32 Page 2, Sarah is seen balancing a lot of artifacts on Keitaro's head, one of these being a Cactuar made out of clay. In Chapter 39, page 6, Kaolla also ties a Cactuar out of a Cherry stalk.
 * During the Molmol arc, Naru Narusegawa wears an outfit that is very similar to Rinoa Heartilly. Earlier in the same arc Kaolla Su also wears an outfit that bears strong resemblances to Rikku's outfit from Final Fantasy X.
 * There are some parallels that indicate that Shinmeiryu (God's Cry School) techniques are similar to Sephiroth's. Practitioners even wield a nodachi as their common weapon; a 1.5 to 2 meter long sword that Sephiroth's Masamune was based upon.
 * Another of Akamatsu's works; Negima! Magister Negi Magi, shows Yue drinking a beverage called Last Elixir which has been noted as being a reference to Final Fantasy. Also in Negima, issue six, chapter 91, first page panel three, when Negi and Kotaro visit Chisame at a cosplay event, there are two cosplayers dressed like Tifa and Yuffie.
 * Also in Negima! Magister Negi Magi, the character Jack Rakan is very similar both in backstory, weapon choice and appearance to Jecht from Final Fantasy X.
 * Ken Akamatasu has also drawn various sketches of Final Fantasy characters; including a Mithra, a Tarutaru and the Final Fantasy VII cast.

Real world

 * The 2004 Summer Olympics' women's synchronized swimming event had one team swimming to Liberi Fatali.
 * Professional wrestler Chris Sabin got his namesake from the Final Fantasy VI character Sabin.
 * Goaltender Kari Lehtonen, during his tenure with the NHL team Atlanta Thrashers, has worn a mask featuring Yuna and Rikku from Final Fantasy X-2. He admits he's never played a Final Fantasy game and just thought the characters "looked cool" when he saw them in a commercial.
 * In 2000, a 16-year-old Spaniard boy killed his parents and his sister with a katana, proclaiming to be on "another avenging mission by Squall Leonhart".
 * A baby had been named after Sephiroth, who was born on November 3rd, 2006.
 * 6-piece American Post-hardcore band A Skylit Drive's CD Wires...and the Concept of Breathing has multiple references to the Final Fantasy series:
 * The song "I'm Not a Thief, I'm a Treasure Hunter" is a quote from Locke Cole of Final Fantasy VI.
 * The song "Knights of the Round" is a summon in Final Fantasy VII.
 * The song "Balance" quotes the story Final Fantasy X in the chorus.
 * The song "All It Takes for Your Dreams to Come True" is a quote from the President Shinra in Final Fantasy VII.
 * The song "This Isn't the End" is a quote from Aerith Gainsborough in Final Fantasy VII.
 * The song "In the Beginning There Was Void" and "Pursuit Lets Wisdom Ride The Wind" are quotes from Final Fantasy V.


 * The Japanese metal band CROW'SCLAW have produced 2 albums of Final Fantasy Remixes. These are their self-titled album and the album "Battlefield 1987".
 * In July 2009, TheSpeedGamers, an American charity group, conducted a Final Fantasy marathon in Dallas, Texas to raise money for children with severe Autism. They raised more than $50,000 USD.
 * Also in July 2009, Japanese rock/pop musician Gackt played the Victory Fanfare in his commercially very successful concert tour "Réquiem et Reminiscence II" during live performances of the song Koakuma Heaven.
 * The duo Brando and Duane created a rap song chronicling the events of the original Final Fantasy. You can view it here.