Compilation of Final Fantasy VII allusions

Throughout the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, there have been numerous allusions, particularly to the number seven.

Final Fantasy

 * The Huge Materia in Final Fantasy VII resemble those of elemental Crystals, a recurring theme in Final Fantasy since the first game. There are four elemental crystals, as there are four Huge Materia, and their colors correspond to the traditional elemental crystals as well.
 * Vincent's final Limit Break, Chaos, alludes to and even somewhat resembles the final boss of the same name of the original Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy II

 * Elena of the Turks is named after the non-player character in Final Fantasy II.

Final Fantasy III

 * Aerith, like Desch, is an Ancient. In addition, the City of the Ancients is likely an allusion to the Village of the Ancients.

Final Fantasy IV

 * Demons Gate is a reference to Demon Wall in Final Fantasy IV.
 * Cid Highwind's surname alludes to Kain Highwind. Cid also uses spears and lances in battle and possesses Dragoon-like abilities, like Kain.
 * Whichever girl Cloud dates at the Gold Saucer, she will have to play the role of Princess Rosa in the Event Square play. The role alludes to Rosa, the main female protagonist of Final Fantasy IV.

Final Fantasy V

 * The monsters fought in Gelnika, named "Unknown", are a reference to the various enemies found in the Great Sea Trench in Final Fantasy V, also called Unknown. Both locations are also underwater.

Final Fantasy VI

 * The esper Stray in the English localization of Final Fantasy VI was called Cait Sith in the Japanese version and the English Finest Fantasy for Advance port. Cait Sith in Final Fantasy VII bears a remarkable resemblance to this summon, and may have been inspired by it.
 * Biggs and Wedge debuted in Final Fantasy VI as soldiers in the Gestahlian Empire. Their names are references to Star Wars characters Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles, Luke Skywalker's Red Squadron wingmen in Episode IV: A New Hope.
 * Moogles in Final Fantasy VII are referred to as Mogs. Cait Sith's Moogle Dance Limit Break in Final Fantasy VII may also be a reference to Mog, whose special command was Dance in Final Fantasy VI.
 * There are billboards in Midgar depicting "Mt. Kolts" in Final Fantasy VII. It also appears in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- as the name of a bar in Midgar's Sector 8 Fountain.
 * The summon monster Typhoon alludes to Typhon, Ultros's cohort, from Final Fantasy VI.
 * The enemy Cactuar, found in a desert area, originated in Final Fantasy VI.

Final Fantasy VII
Installments released after the original Final Fantasy VII sometimes make references to it.


 * In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Loz's ringtone is the "Victory Fanfare" from Final Fantasy VII.
 * The document pinned on a wall in 7th Heaven in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children has a picture of the North American cover art of Final Fantasy VII.
 * Emerald Weapon, a superboss in Final Fantasy VII, can be spotted among crystals in an area off the map in Banora Underground in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.
 * One can find posters featuring Cloud's silhouette in Edge in Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus.

Allusions to the Number Seven
Being the seventh installment of the series, Final Fantasy VII's entire compilation makes some references to the number itself. It is, in fact, the first game in the series to refer and allude to its own number. Although many of these are not necessarily deliberate allusions to the number 7 (whether they are or not is speculative), they are nonetheless present.

Final Fantasy VII

 * AVALANCHE resides in Sector 7 of Midgar.
 * When entering Midgar from the world map, the door has a giant number "7" painted on it, even if it is the door to Sector 5.
 * Tifa's bar is called 7th Heaven.
 * At the start of the game, seven people are either living or staying at the 7th Heaven -- Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Marlene, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie.
 * Shinra Headquarters has 70 floors.
 * The books in the Shinra Mansion library shelves form the letters "VII".
 * The red plane in Costa Del Sol harbor has "VII" painted on the side.
 * Gold Saucer has seven areas of attractions.
 * Ancient Forest has seven treasures.
 * The Turtle's Paradise awards seven items for completing the flyer-hunt sidequest.
 * Aeris and Ifalna were held captive by Hojo for seven years.
 * It's been seven years since Cloud left Nibelheim to join SOLDIER.
 * Tifa spends seven days unconscious before waking up after the Weapons awake.
 * Red XIII tells the party that Meteor will reach the Planet in seven days.
 * Cloud levels up to level 7 in the first battle.
 * If a unit's HP hits 7,777 during battle they enter All Lucky 7s status.
 * Most characters have seven different Limit Breaks. The exceptions are Cait Sith, who has two but with various different outcomes, and Vincent, who has four, but each form has two special attacks. This makes for seven characters who have seven Limit Breaks.
 * There are nine main playable characters, but only seven are mandatory.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-

 * The game spans seven years.
 * There is a sidequest in Nibelheim called "Seven Wonders of Nibelheim".
 * The door to the final area of the game is opened by placing seven Goddess Materia on a console.
 * Each one of Angeal Penance's attacks is named after one of the (pride, greed, gluttony, lust, envy, sloth, and wrath).
 * When the Digital Mind Wave spins to 7-7-7 during modulating phase, Zack levels up. When it spins to 7-7-7 outside of modulating phase it grants temporary invincibility. If the Digital Mind Wave spins a 7 in any of the slots outside of modulating phase, some positive effect will trigger.
 * Zack has seven different special attacks he can perform from the Digital Mind Wave. He also has seven different outcomes from the Chocobo Mode.

Music

 * During the scene when Sector 7 is destroyed, President Shinra is shown observing the events from his office and the music he is listening to is Joseph﻿ Haydn's "The Creation".
 * The play LOVELESS that has posters all over Midgar is the name of an album by My Bloody Valentine. The text "My Bloody Valentine" is found on the posters in Final Fantasy VII.
 * The Sister Ray cannon may have been named after a song by the Velvet Underground, featured on their White Light/White Heat album.

Mythology and religion

 * Midgar's name is likely derived from Midgard, one of the nine plains, or worlds, in old Norse mythology.
 * Sephiroth is named for the סְפִירוֹת Səphīrōth (medieval Hebrew form of Sephirot). Sephiroth is a plural noun in Hebrew; the singular is Sephirah (also spelled Sefira). The Sephiroth are described in the Kabbalah as the manifestations of God that allow Him to manifest in the physical and metaphysical universes, referring to Sephiroth's simultaneous existence in the Lifestream and the Planet, and his manifestations through Jenova.

Real world locations

 * Costa Del Sol is a real location in Spain.
 * The sign above in Tifa's bar, and a neon sign inside the bar, say "Texas".
 * There is a map of Japan hung on the wall in one of the residences in North Corel.

Miscellaneous

 * The name Wall Market, ウォールマーケット, is, in Japanese, a play on the word Walmart, ウォルマート; only the end of the Japanese writing has been changed. Walmart is an American retailer corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores.
 * The mayor of Midgar is called Domino, and his deputy Hart's original name in the Japanese version is Hut. Domino and Hut are references to pizza chains Domino's Pizza and Pizza Hut. This is because the upper plate of Midgar is at times referred to as a pizza.
 * When Cloud suffers from Mako poisoning in Mideel and the player talks to him, he mutters on about "Xenogears". Xenogears is another Square title that was in production the same time as Final Fantasy VII. The game's name was spelled wrong in the PSOne version, but was fixed in the PC-version of Final Fantasy VII.
 * In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- there is a sign in Junon that has the url for the official Square Enix website on it.
 * Although perhaps coincidental, the summon Hades and its attack Black Cauldron are both based on the Horned King and the Black Caludron from the 1985 Disney film also called the Black Cauldron. The lighting on Hades' robe also reflects the color of the Horned King's robe in the film, as well as the burst of energy coming from the cauldron resembling the blast of the cauldron's black magic from the film
 * In the 2012 re-release of the PC version of Final Fantasy VII there is an area in Northern Cave that has an easter egg. Using the save crystal in this area will change the name of the location in the inventory to "Secret Cow Level". This is a reference to the easter egg in .