Final Fantasy XIII allusions

The following is list of allusions in Final Fantasy XIII.

Final Fantasy

 * Lightning's sister's name, Serah, could possibly be reference to Princess Sarah.
 * At Nautilus Park, a woman standing next to a Chocobo says "Welcome to Nautilus, the city of Dreams", a reference to the quote "Welcome to Cornelia, the dream city" from the original Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy II

 * The airship Palamecia is named after Palamecian Empire.

Final Fantasy III

 * Hecatoncheir first appeared as a late-game boss in Final Fantasy III. His name in the NES version is Hekaton, which is what Vanille calls Hecatoncheir.
 * The city Nautilus is named after the airship Nautilus.

Final Fantasy IV

 * The city Palumpolum is a reference to the twins Palom and Porom.
 * The weapon Kain's Lance and Fang's Full ATB Skill Highwind are references to Kain Highwind.
 * Oerba Yun Fang may be a reference to Yang Fang Leiden.

Final Fantasy V

 * The Achievements/Trophies Kelger's Cup, Xezat's Chalice, Dorgann's Trophy, and Galuf's Grail are all named after the Warriors of Dawn.
 * Gilgamesh has a shop named after him, "Gilgamesh, Inc."
 * Lightning's Omega Weapon is named the recurring Final Fantasy optional boss which debuted in Final Fantasy V

Final Fantasy VI

 * In Nautilus, a child chasing after other children shouts "Run, run, or you will be well done" when approached, a quote uttered by Kefka Palazzo.

Final Fantasy VII

 * The Proudclad is similar in use to Proud Clod. The spelling and pronunciation of the two words in Japanese are identical.
 * The fal'Cie Kujata is a reference to the summon Kjata in Final Fantasy VII.
 * One of Fang's spears is called Venus Gospel, Cid Highwind's ultimate weapon.
 * The design of Pulsian Behemoths bears a strong resemblance to Arch Azul, an enemy featured in Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-.
 * Lightning's visual design is based off of Cloud Strife, the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII.
 * Snow's fighting stance resembles Tifa's.
 * NORA funds itself using a beach-side cafe, similar to Tifa's Seventh Heaven.
 * While travelling inside the Sunleth Waterscape for the first time, Sazh mentions, "Well, I guess this is better than homicidal scorpion robots and mountains of trash." A reference to the Guard Scorpion and the Wallmarket.

Final Fantasy VIII

 * The fal'Cie Eden and Cocoon's capital name are a reference to the GF Eden from Final Fantasy VIII.
 * Lightning uses a Gunblade like Squall; however, their uses are different. In addition, one of Lightning's weapons is called the Lionheart, in reference to Squall's ultimate weapon.

Final Fantasy IX

 * The Airship Lindblum is named after the City of Lindblum.
 * The fal'Cie Dahaka shares its name with the Japanese for Taharka fought in Ipsen's Castle.
 * The term Eidolon was first applied to the summons from this game.

Final Fantasy X

 * The fal'Cie Anima is a reference to the aeon Anima, as summoned by Seymour in Final Fantasy X.
 * The summon animation of Bahamut greatly resembles one of its Final Fantasy X counterpart.
 * Gapra Whitewood and Lake Bresha bear similar visual appearances to the Macalania Woods and Lake Macalania respectively.
 * A mechanical version of Valefor, Yuna's first summon in Final Fantasy X, is seen at the Nautilus during the Pompa Sancta as one of the Eidolons used in the battle.
 * Gran Pulse's Archylte Steppe resembles Calm Lands - they both are vast plains surrounded by mountains and valleys.
 * Vanille's final weapon, Nirvana, shares its name with Yuna's Celestial Weapon.
 * Vanille is heard narrating the majority of the game, simillar to how Tidus narrates the majority of Final Fantasy X.

Final Fantasy XII

 * All of Sazh's weapons are named after stars and constellations, similar in the way that all Guns of Final Fantasy XII are named after stars.
 * The name Undying is also used as the name of the final boss in Final Fantasy XII.
 * The Thexteron may be a reference to the Thextera enemy.

Chrono Trigger

 * The Fiendlord's Keep in Nautilus, where Sazh fights Brynhildr, is also the name of the castle of Magus, an early antagonist and later party member in Chrono Trigger.

Chrono Cross

 * Lake Bresha is very similar in appearance with the Dead Sea.

Kingdom Hearts

 * The final dungeon of the game, Orphan's Cradle, is similar in design to The Castle That Never Was in The World That Never Was from Kingdom Hearts II. The Castle That Never Was also serves as the last dungeon in Kingdom Hearts II.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

 * Part of Chapter 4, where Sazh and Vanille go through the scrap processing plant, is called Loathing and Fear. Sure enough, the Gremlin enemies resemble bats.

Folklore

 * Many of Hope's weapons are themed around bird-like creatures from various world mythologies.
 * Hope's final upgraded weapon, Nue, is a reference to the Japanese chimera of the same name with the head of a monkey, the body of a raccoon dog, the legs of a tiger, and the tail in the form of a snake's body.

Sumerian Mythology

 * In the Sunleth Waterscape, the two bosses Enki and Enlil are two gods of ancient Sumerian. Enki (Ea), the god of waters and wisdom and Enlil (Ellil), the god of winds and storms.
 * Edimmu is an evil utukku or specter.
 * Ugallu is a consort of Ninurta.
 * Gilgamesh Inc is named after both the recurring character and a legendary Sumarian king.

Roman and Byzantine Empires

 * In its first form, and second form's decorations, the face of Orphan's angelic half references the design of Sol Invictus, the Roman Sun God. Furthermore, the angel's posture and the color scheme of Orphan's first form (and Dysley's attire) reflect the art style and sacred "purple and white" coloring used by the Byzantine Empire.
 * All of the Undying are named after enemies of the Roman Empire.

Literature

 * Two bosses fought in Orphan's Cradle, Jabberwocky and Bandersnatch, are two creatures from Lewis Carroll's famous poem "Jabberwocky".

Christianity

 * Eden's trinity form may be reference to the God who appears in three people: Father God, God Son, and Holy Spirit. Its name may also be a reference to the garden of the same name where all people where meant to feel safe and live happily.

Anime

 * The scene of Vanille awaking from crystal stasis is visually similar to the transformations featured in the Magical Girl genre of Anime.