Final Fantasy XIV allusions

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

Final Fantasy series

 * (1.0) Near the end of the cutscene in which Gaius fights Thancred, Y'shtola, Yda, and Papalymo, the four Circle of Knowing members stand a distance from him in a small row. This could be a visual reference to how parties used to stand in rows in the first ten Final Fantasy games.
 * In the various promotional screenshots, names of various playable characters from previously released games are used to name the characters included in the screenshots.
 * A miniature classic airship can be obtained as a pet, as well as a "pointing finger" similar to those used as a cursor in previous entries of the series.
 * The CG renders and concept art for the Summoner of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn show the summoner with a horn-like adornment on his head, echoing how summoners with forehead horns appear in various Final Fantasy titles. The horn is also present in the class's Artifact Armor.
 * The 2013 All Saints Wake (Halloween) event features a Magic Pot NPC. It resembles the imps of Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV hiding in the conventional urn. When players interact with it, it boasts that the Impressario gave it an Elixer and rocks backward gleefully.
 * Before most storyline battles, the common "whoosh" effect of previous games' random encounters is seen.

Final Fantasy

 * (1.0) The server Cornelia refers to city and kingdom of the same name.
 * (1.0) The server Melmond refers to a village of the same name.
 * The Warrior of Light's helmet is obtainable for those who purchased the Collector's edition with the rest being available from the Crystal Tower dungeon.

Final Fantasy II

 * (1.0) The servers Kashuan and Palamecia allude to, respectively, the kingdom and empire of the same name in Final Fantasy II.
 * Minfilia, the leader of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, uses the password "wild rose" to allow the player to identify other members of this order. This phrase was used by Princess Hilda of Fynn to identify other members of the rebels against the Empire.
 * A soundtrack during the main storyline in Ul'dah reveals itself to be the battle theme of Final Fantasy II.
 * "Dreadnought" is one of the Empire's airships.

Final Fantasy III

 * (1.0) The server Gysahl refers to a village of the same name.
 * (1.0) The server Saronia refers to a kingdom of the same name.
 * Cid Garlond's airship is named Enterprise.
 * The Crystal Tower dungeon is directly inspired by the Crystal Tower from Final Fantasy III. It is said that the tower houses the tomb of the first Allagan emperor, named Xandes, whose name is influenced by an antagonist from Final Fantasy III, Xande. The dungeon is also home to various bosses that are homages to Final Fantasy III enemies, the Cloud of Darkness among them. The theme Altar Cave and Battle 2 have been rearranged for this dungeon.
 * The Onion Helm is a helmet available to players who purchased the Collectors Edition of the original game, the rest of the Onion Equipment is available as prizes in the Crystal Tower.
 * The Crystal Tower's 24-man raid is called Labyrinth of the Ancients, referring to the Ancients' Maze. In Final Fantasy III, the maze circles around the Crystal Tower and houses the Earth Crystal.
 * The final boss for the Crystal Tower's 24-man raid (Labyrinth of the Ancients) is directly based on Acheron.

Final Fantasy IV

 * (1.0) The server Mysidia refers to a village of the same name.
 * (1.0) The server Fabul refers to a kingdom of the same name.
 * Malboros are called "Morbols", a reference to the original translation of Final Fantasy IV.
 * The Artifact Armor for Dragoon is a reference to Kain Highwind's armor.
 * The NPC for the Bard quests says the phrase "Call me a spoony bard, but...", in reference to the famous one-liner from Tellah.
 * The Artemis' Bow, the Relic Weapon for Bards, was long ago crafted specifically for a man named Gilbert, which is the Japanese name for the character Edward Chris von Muir.
 * Raya-O-Senna and A-Ruhn-Senna may inspired by Palom and Porom.
 * The ADS boss and its nodes found in the first and second turns of the Binding Coil of Bahamut are based on the CPU

Final Fantasy V

 * (1.0) The server Istory refers to a town of the same name.
 * (1.0) The server Karnak refers to a town of the same name.
 * (1.0) During Caravan Security, both "Boco" and "Koko" may appear as the chocobo names.
 * Gilgamesh's name is used in example sentences for the chat log filtering configuration.
 * The Guardian Tree can be found in the Central Shroud. It's an allusion to the Guardian Tree on Planet R.
 * The Forgotten Springs in Thanalan is a small village of predominately female Miqo'tes dressing in ancient outfits, similar to those villagers of Mirage Village. Their males (including the breeding male) are inside one of the huts.
 * In a later story quest, the player fights Siren on a beach surrounded by the hulls and flotsam of beached ships. The place is called "Ship Graveyard". A similar event happens in Final Fantasy V.
 * Although not written in the dialogue, Minfilia speaks to a person, named Krile, via linkpearl in an underlain audio, after the Scions reunite and escape Castrum Centri together. After her audio is finished, there is a brief line where she says, "... My regards to grandfather." Most likely referring to Galuf.

Final Fantasy VI

 * (1.0) The server Figaro refers to a kingdom of the same name.
 * (1.0) During the 2011 All Saints Wake (Halloween) event, the trickster imps would randomly say "Life... Dreams... Imps... Where do they come from? And where do they go?" upon spawning, quoting Kefka's speech during the final battle of Final Fantasy VI.
 * The Garlean Empire technology is called magitek, and has advanced considerably due to the works of a Cid and is primarily used for military purposes. Additionally, a Magitek Armor mount is available to players.
 * The first video showing the Magitek Armor in-game was a short re-creation of the opening to Final Fantasy VI, with a green haired female hyur and two other characters riding the Magitek Armor in a snowy region, and a remix of "Terra's Theme" playing in the background.
 * The 2013 All Saints Wake (Halloween) event features a circus troupe led by a man simply named "The Impressario", alluding to an NPC of the same name in the Opera House.
 * There is a Phantom Train linking several Garlean Castra. During the main story quest "Escape from Castrum Centri", Yda and Y'shtola managed to sneak into the Imperial stronghold using this train, and a depot is briefly visited during runs through Castrum Meridianum.

Final Fantasy VII

 * (1.0) The server Wutai refers to a village of the same name.
 * (1.0) 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 - although of comical note is due to the game's naming conventions, many such variations are not possible).
 * (1.0) An NPC in the Miner quests will mistakenly call players by the wrong name. He will call a Midlander Hyur "Cloud", and a Miqo'te "Aerith".
 * (1.0) There are two references to main antagonist Sephiroth, both of which are made by main antagonist Nael Van Darnus (and might explain why he is designated the Legatus of the VIIth Legion):
 * 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 Gaia by using the Black Materia to summon Meteor in Final Fantasy VII. Both do so because they feel it is their birthright and duty.
 * One of the Cactuar enemies is called Sabotender Del Sol after the location Costa del Sol.
 * The Materia crafting system is named after and inspired by Final Fantasy VII Materia.
 * A camp named Costa del Sol is located in La Noscea.
 * "Final Heaven" and "Braver" are Limit Breaks for melee classes.
 * "Pulse of Life" is a Limit Break for healer classes.
 * During the quest The Company you Keep (Maelstrom), both magitek engineers, Biggs and Wedge are found at the crash site of an airship called the Tiny Bronco.
 * Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, and Aerith Gainsborough's names are used in example sentences for the chat log filtering configuration.
 * The design for Ultima Weapon is similar to that of Ultimate Weapon, one of the Weapons awakened by Sephiroth.

Final Fantasy VIII

 * (1.0) The server Trabia refers to continent and garden of the same name.
 * (1.0) The battle theme of the Black Shroud area, "The Forest's Pulse" may inspired by "The Man with the Machine Gun".
 * Zell Dincht's tattoo is available in Character Creation mode.
 * One of the Garlean Empire's main infantry weapons is a variant of a gunblade.
 * Eyes on Me is an enemy ability used by All-Seeing Eye, the boss in Dzemael Darkhold. It also the name of a quest from the main storyline, given to the player by Marques. These refer to the theme song of the same name from Final Fantasy VIII.
 * Tonberry King is the final boss of the Wanderer's Palace, referring to the boss in Final Fantasy VIII.

Final Fantasy IX

 * (1.0) The server Lindblum refers to a regency of the same name.
 * (1.0) One guildleve objective is to retrieve the cargo of an airship named Red Rose.
 * (1.0) 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.
 * The Moogle Mail system is very similar to the Mognet in Final Fantasy IX.
 * In Aleport, Western La Noscea, there is a winged mermaid statue close to identical to the one serving as the figurehead of the Prima Vista of the Tantalus Theater Troupe.

Final Fantasy X

 * (1.0) The server Besaid refers to a town of the same name.
 * (1.0) The theme song of Gridania, "Born of the Boughs" may have been heavily inspired by "To Zanarkand". Both themes were composed by Nobuo Uematsu.
 * (1.0) 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.
 * Tidus is also referenced by an NPC who misheard Titan's name as "Tidus".
 * The boss room of the Tam-Tara Deepcroft is called "Eternal Calm".
 * The Order of the Twin Adder's Grand Company salute resembles the blitzball salute.
 * During the 2014 Heavensturn (New Year) event, during the year of the horse, an argument between the Chief "Chocowhacker" and the far eastern Uma Bugyo contains the following line: "As for your precious horses, they're just unicorns with a big empty forehead! Hornless! Hornless!". This alludes to Biran and Yenke Ronsos' mocking of Kimahri Ronso for his broken horn.

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.
 * An Arcanist quest is titled "A Thousand Words" which is a reference to the song Yuna sings in Final Fantasy X-2.
 * During a storyline quest, the player has to collect a "Sabotender del Pol" which is a reference to the cactuar minigame.

Final Fantasy XI

 * (1.0) The server Selbina refers to a town of the same name.
 * (1.0) Two of the Achievement NPCs bear the last name of "Ironheart", a reference to the famous cartographer Gwynham Ironheart. They are Milith Ironheart (in charge of Dungeons) and Nedrick Ironheart (in charge of Exploration). Nedrick is still present as the quest giver for various dungeons apart from the main story, such as the Sunken Temple of Qarn and Amdapor Keep.
 * (1.0) 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).
 * All of the playable races are derived from the Final Fantasy XI races, although there are enough differences that they are likely not connected (namely the female Roegadyn).
 * Several beast tribes, namely the Qiqirn, Mamool Ja, Gigas, and Goblins, are upscaled versions of their Final Fantasy XI models. Many other monsters are taken from Final Fantasy XI, XII, and XIII.
 * The original beastmen from 1.0 were likely derived from XI's beastmen as well. The Ixal are flightless birds like the Yagudo, the Amalj'aa strongly resemble Mamool Ja, and the Kobolds are reminiscent of Goblins (or more specifically their subterranean brethren, the Moblins). Goblins and Mamool Ja were not introduced until long after 1.0's release.
 * The Primal, Garuda strongly resembles the design for Final Fantasy XI's Garuda in that she is a pale green winged woman.
 * 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 among Eorzean NPCs, Thaumaturges are predominately Lalafell, much like the Tarutaru of Windurst are strongly tied to Black Magic, particularly Shantotto.
 * More specifically, Shantotto is frequently alluded to in all things relevant to the Black Mage job:
 * A legendary female Black Mage named "Shantotto" was the bearer of the Soul of the Black Mage (BLM's Job Crystal, a.k.a. Shantotto's Stone), which was used to seal the voidgate.
 * Shantotto was the creator and wielder of the original Stardust Rod. In the quest line to obtain the recreated rod, the relic smith Gerolt mistakenly calls her "Shantotto".
 * She is also referenced by the achievement "Ohohohohoho!" granted by obtaining the Stardust Rod Relic Weapon.
 * Shantotto will also appear in a cross-game collaboration event between Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and Dragon Quest X, Square-Enix's 3 MMORPGs.
 * The Shadow Lord's name is used in example sentences for the chat log filtering configuration.
 * The Mammet in the Goldsmith quest line, Gigi, is considered the first Mammet. His original name is Mnejing.
 * An NPC in the Weaver's guild sings the line "Distant worlds together. Miracles from realms beyond." from the song Distant Worlds in a speech bubble while she spins thread.

Final Fantasy XII

 * (1.0) The server Rabanastre refers to a city of the same name.
 * 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 the opening of Final Fantasy XII. The same can be said of Gaius and his Tribunes during the events of A Realm Reborn.
 * Members of the Ascians, who worship Zodiark, are named after the Scions of Light that were mentioned in profiles on the Espers.
 * The Primal Essences that can be called forth by the Summoner are called Egi, an allusion to Garuda-Egi.
 * Likewise, the last battle from the Summoner quest line is against Belias-Egi, the essence of Belias.
 * The Feral Croc and Mirrorknight enemies are reused as enemies in A Realm Reborn.
 * The model of the Basilisk enemy is reused as the design for the serpent enemies.
 * The Firemane is the first boss in Halatali.
 * The Chudo-Yudo boss in the Stone Vigil has a design similar to that of the Ring Wyrm.
 * The Qarn Facers and the Adjudicator enemies inside the Sunken Temple of Qarn have designs similar to that of the Miriam Facer and Miriam Guardian enemies.

Final Fantasy XIII

 * (1.0) The server Bodhum refers to a city of the same name.
 * The Eshtaime Lapidaries (Goldsmith guild) of the Ul'dah city-state are based on the surname of Hope Estheim. Additionally, the guildmaster is named Serendipity, or Sera for short.
 * A Lightning costume can be obtained by fighting alongside Lightning herself. There's also a Snow costume for males, and weapons from Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2, and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Some of the Pulse/Ancient Automata-type enemies are reused as enemies in A Realm Reborn. The Beta Behemoth enemy is also brought into the game during the Lightning Strikes storyline.
 * During the Lightning Strikes event, there is a Harbor Herald article entitled "The Trinkets of Eshtaime's Lapidaries Fail to Strike Lightning's Fancy", linking Lightning's emergence to Eorzea's native allusion to Hope Estheim.
 * Lightning's hairstyle is available for player characters after finishing Lightning Strikes event and "Beauty Is Only Scalp Deep" sidequest.
 * Jandelaine the aesthetician NPC, begins his service by turning a female Lalafell's hair into Lightning's hairstyle.
 * In the quest "Rolling With The Snowies in Coerthas Central Highlands, the snowman says "Revolutionaries always get called crazy." The same line was used by Fang in Final Fantasy XIII.

Final Fantasy XIII-2

 * Serah Farron's starting weapon, the Starseeker and Mog's Staff can be obtained from one of the Lightning Strikes event.
 * The Guildmaster of the Eshtaime Lapidaries is a pigtailed pink-haired young woman named Serendipity who insists to be called "Sera". Her companion is a mischievous Mammet, reminiscent of Serah's companion Mog.
 * The Aspect of Chaos, the last boss of the Lightning Strikes event, shared the same model with Chaos Bahamut.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

 * Snow Villiers's weapon, the l'Cie Bardiche, can be obtained from one of the FATEs during the temporary Lightning Strikes event.

Final Fantasy Tactics

 * There are several references to a Corpse Brigade led by Milleuda the Slitter, in Full Active Time Events and guildleves.
 * In one quest, there's line uttered by the cowardly merchant, Ungust, that quotes, "Spare me your contempt! If you want to blame someone for the mess the world's in, blame yourselves or the gods!" A line Delita Heiral says in the beginning of the PS version of Final Fantasy Tactics to Princess Ovelia Atkascha. (It was changed to "'Tis your birth and faith that wrong you... not I" in the War of the Lions version),
 * The Veil of Wiyu and the Omnilex are the Summoner and Scholar relic weapons.

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.

Final Fantasy Unlimited

 * One of the optional facial features available to Hyur is a cut scar across the bridge of the nose, in an identical fashion to the one on Kuroki Kaze's face.

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.
 * The Garlean Army is divided into fourteen separate legions.
 * Of these legions, Gaius Van Baelsar is the Legatus of the XIVth Legion.

Xenogears

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


 * A Full Active Time Event titled "Fullmetal Alchemist" can be found in U'ghamaro Mines.


 * The famous Golem monster from  series will appear in a cross-game collaboration event. The players will obtain a Thug's Mug headgear and a Wind-up Brickman minion for clearing the event.

Christianity

 * "Crusader Stance" is a Conjurer ability that swap current INT and MND attributes of the user, increasing magick potency of attacking spells and decreasing healing potency of healing spells. However, this ability has a name change as "Cleric Stance" in the English version.
 * "Benediction" is a White Mage ability that restore all of HP of the target.
 * The titles of the two FATE's for the Behemoth battle, "Behold Now Behemoth" and "He Taketh It with His Eyes", are both quotes describing the behemoth from the Book of Job in the Bible: Job 40:15 and Job 40:24 respectively.

Hinduism

 * The Primal Garuda is inspired by the in Hindi and Buddhist mythology.

Greek

 * The Artemis Bow is the relic weapon for Bards.

Norse

 * While the Roegadyne's Sea Wolves and Hellsguard seem to correspond to the frost giants and fire giants, the Elezens' Wildwood and Duskwight branches are respectively based on the Light Elves (Ljosalfr) and the Dark Elves (Dókkalfr).
 * Mjolnir is a giant hammer weapon wielded by Nero Tol Scaeva.


 * 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.


 * One of the Botanist levequest is named Maple Stories.


 * One of the battlecraft Levequests is named "Red Stead Redemption".


 * (1.0) Guildleves theme song in Limsa Lominsa area is called "In the Shadow of the Colossus", composed by Nobuo Uematsu, it is the seventh theme in Before Meteor: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack.


 * Jehantel of the Bard quests speaks the line "You would know why I truly abandoned the battlefield and became a bard? That I took an arrow to the knee is what most folk believe...", a reference to the infamous Skyrim NPC line "I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow to the knee".


 * One of the battlecraft Levequests is named Drakes' Misfortune.


 * 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.
 * Biggs and Wedge are named after two pilots in the original trilogy, and continue a trend of references in the series.


 * 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.

series

 * Level 30 Achievement "This One Time, at Level Thirty..."


 * One of the Botanist levequest is called "Shaken, Not Stirred". It's a catchphrase of Ian Fleming's fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond, and his preference for how he wished his martini prepared. It was first uttered in the films by Sean Connery in Goldfinger in 1964.

A FATE in the Black Shroud featuring a pack of invading Anoles, which are velociraptor-type monsters, is titled "Clever Girls". This is a reference to a famous line spoken by the park's game warden Robert Muldoon just before being out-maneuvered by velociraptors in the first Jurassic Park movie.


 * A sidequest available during the 2011 Starlight Celebration was named "Winter Is Not Coming".
 * A quest title for marauder is "The mountain that strides" in reference to Gregor Clegane, "The mountain who rides".
 * The achievement for leveling gladiator is called "stick them with the pointy end" which is taken from "A Game of Thrones".


 * There is a FATE in Western La Noscea called "Tender Buttons" in which the boss is named 'Gruesome Gertrude'. Tender Buttons is a 1914 book by modernist author Gertrude Stein.


 * A quest in the main storyline is named "Life, Materia and Everything".
 * One of the mammets in Ul'dah says, "The answer is...................42".
 * The fishing log description of the Mushroom Crab mentions that after eating the mushrooms on the crab's back, a theologian had a vision showing him that the meaning of life was the number 41.
 * The title of the Level 50 Fisher class quest is "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish", which is the title of the fourth book in the Hitchhiker series.


 * 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 is a FATE in Mor Dhona that is called "V for Vinedetta".


 * 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.
 * The follow up quest in which the players learns the ability to summon his/her chocobo into battle is called "My Feisty Little Chocobo".

Cutting Crew

 * A FATE in Western La Noscea is called "(I Just) Died in Six Arms Tonight".

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".

Skrillex

 * The initial quest to unlock the Warrior Job is named "Pride and Duty (Will Take You From The Mountain)", a reference to the Skrillex song "Rock n' Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain)".

Nirvana

 * There's a FATE called "Smells like tree spirit" what is reference to Nirvanas song "Smells like teen spirit".

Tenacious D

 * There's a guildleve called "You Cannot Kill the Metal" which is a reference to the Tenacious D song "The Metal" which features the same phrase.

Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie

 * One of the quests from the main storyline is called "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" which is a reference to a famous cowboy folksong/ballad of the same name.

Earth, Wind and Fire

 * In the 2013 All Saints Wake (Halloween) event, the Magic Pot (see in Final Fantasy Series allusions) sings "Earth, Wind, and Fire; That's what I desire" upon receiving three candies representing those elements.

Nine-Inch Nails

 * There is a FATE called "Nine-Ilm Snails". An "ilm" is the Eorzean equivalent to an inch.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

 * There is fate in the Sagili Desert east of the Forgotten Springs called "Blood, Augur, Hex, Magicks", an allusion to their album "Blood,Sugar,Sex,Magic"

The Police

 * There is a quest in the main story called "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magitek" which is a reference to the song "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic".

Bruce Springsteen

 * The Achievement for completing Binding Coil of Bahamut is named The Binds That Tie, a reference to Bruce Springsteen's song "The Ties That Bind".

Deep Purple

 * There is a FATE called "Rogue on the Water", a reference to Deep Purple's song "Smoke on the Water."


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

House

 * A Full Active Time Event titled "It's Not Lupus" is a reference to the lupus running gag used in the medical drama House. The boss also turns out to be a huge crab named "Cancer".


 * A Full Active Time Event titled "Breaking Bud" appears in the Blessed Bud area of the North Shroud.

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.

The Emerald Tablet

 * A text known as The Emerald Tablet which was translated by Isaac Newton, purported to contain the secrets of alchemy and transmutation, begins with the line "'Tis true without lying". The alchemy achievements reference this.

Nursery Rhymes

 * There is a FATE in Coerthas called "Baa Baa Black Sheep".

Shaolin

 * The Artifact Equipment of Monks is a set of yellow Chinese-style clothes, refer to the martial artists of.