Final Fantasy IX allusions

Final Fantasy IX was intended, in many ways, to be a salute to the history of the series, and as such, it is filled with allusions and references to previous games. One of the most apparent is the similarity of the playable characters to the classic job classes of previous games, most notably Vivi to the Black Mage of the original Final Fantasy.

In the translation to English, not all of the various names and references matched up to those used in the previous English-language releases. Because of this, many of the references with which the game abounds are missed by the non-Japanese audience. Some examples are included below. This is a list of these allusions organized by game.

Final Fantasy Series

 * An allusion to all three titles on the NES, several of the major cities include chapels, which were the foremost method of saving, reviving felled party members, and healing one's HP and MP.
 * Alexandria's chapel is near the western dock, where moogles Kupo, Stiltzkin, and Artemicion make appearances throughout the course of the game.
 * The chapel in Lindblum is located in the Business District and is undergoing maintenance.
 * Additionally, other locations, such as Gizamaluke's Grotto, Esto Gaza, Conde Petie, and the Cleyra Settlement, seem to be religious centers. None house chaplains offering services of game-saving or character revival, but coincidentally the empty chapel in Alexandria holds the first location in the game where one can use a moogle to save one's game, use a Tent, or begin the Mognet sidequest.
 * Furthermore, scattered across all of Gaia are pools where the party can replenish their HP and MP at no expense, often occurring as natural or volcanic springs, but none reside within the aforementioned chapels.
 * It is often overlooked, perhaps due to the translation into English, but it is worth mentioning that each member of the Knights of Pluto (Steiner included) shares similar character traits or motivational aspirations to those of the main protagonists (or at least "lead male") of each game in the series prior to Final Fantasy IX respective to their rank number.
 * Captain Adelbert Steiner - Devout knight and protector of the throne, sworn in blood to apprehend the thieves of the kidnapped princess (named "Sarah") to eventually thwart the evil-doings of a sinister man named "Garland". He parallels the Warrior of Light from the original title having chosen the Fighter class (swords and heavy armor as primary weaponry) and become a full-fledged Knight.
 * Blutzen, Pluto Knight II - First to hear all the latest rumors, a super sleuth by trade, and a proud member of the Pluto Knights; when Alexandria is destroyed, he is at a loss for words on where to begin rebuilding. Blutzen loosely reflects the actions of Firion. The fact that Blutzen is the first to recognize castle rumors may reference the use of "keywords" in Final Fantasy II to glean information and rumors from NPCs.
 * Kohel, Pluto Knight III - Often found with Blutzen, whom he likes to discuss the latest rumors; commonly gives generic, unrevealing responses to any question asked of him. Since the Luneth of Final Fantasy III did not exist until the 2006 DS iteration, Kohel more closely resembles the anonymous lead character portrayed in the game's original version. Kohel's heart is kind and he seeks to help the side of good, though he can tend to state the obvious.
 * Laudo, Pluto Knight IV - No longer wishes to be a knight for his kingdom, asks his superior if he can quit the Knights of Pluto entirely in the castle library so he may pursue a career in writing fantasy novels; runs off crying when his superior says he can't. This parallels Cecil Harvey's desire to disband the Red Wings and leave behind him the ideals of the Dark Knight.
 * Dojebon, Pluto Knight V - Seen as the first to respond to the crisis, frantically runs about the castle searching for the princess. Breireicht calls him a "famous artillerist". This resembles Bartz Klauser to some extent, as he is closely attached to life-long friend Boco, his high-speed chocobo travel companion, and never stays in one place for too long on his journey.
 * Breireicht, Pluto Knight VI - The first words out of his mouth are that he's very tired because he's an older man; seen climbing up the tall west castle tower; recalls all of his comrades, then gives Steiner an Elixir for his troubles. Once Alexandria is destroyed, he wishes to rebuild the tower so that he can climb it once again. Breireicht is likely a representation of either Edgar Roni Figaro, Sabin Rene Figaro, or Cyan Garamonde due to his given age, though it is unclear since they all made the climb up Kefka's Tower at the sixth title's climax, and special care was given not to centralize one specific lead protagonist in Final Fantasy VI.
 * Weimar, Pluto Knight VII - Apparently gets together with a woman named "Barbara" at a "pub", according to Blutzen; he's then immediately observed hitting on a female comrade (Alexandrian soldier), and later flirts with a "flower girl" who proclaims he's, "...not exactly Mr. Personality," while standing outside a chapel. This resembles the well-advertised love triangle present between Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart (Barbara, compared to 7th Heaven), and Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII, though Cloud never openly womanizes in the manner Weimar does.
 * Haagen, Pluto Knight VIII - Seen sitting alone at the docks, says the water brings peace to his soul, and asks his superior to join him; rises to immediate action once he discovers the princess is in danger, proclaiming he is personally on her trail, later divulging he would give his life for her. He mirrors Squall Leonhart, the consummate loner who denies the need to rely on others but was born a leader and loves a good fight, and who later puts his life on the line to save Rinoa Heartilly.
 * Mullenkedheim, Pluto Knight IX - An oddball, and an enigma of sorts, only capable of commenting on how hungry he is in absolutely every instance throughout the game and nothing else. Though one might suspect Mullenkedheim to take after Zidane, he doesn't display any of his character traits. Being that the other Pluto Knights reflect the character designs of lead male protagonists throughout the other games in the series, this behavior could be some sort of joke by the development team to imply that Quina Quen should be regarded as Final Fantasy IX ' s main protagonist, as all s/he ever deflects to in his/her conversations is where and when Zidane can find the traveling party its next meal.

Final Fantasy

 * Garland shares his name with a character from the original game. The character Mikoto even goes so far as to mention later that, "Garland once tried to take control of the cycle of souls by force, but failed," similar to the first Garland's failure to control a cycle of time.
 * Mount Gulug was meant to be Gurgu Volcano, as seen in the original Final Fantasy, having a similar layout and dungeon music. The name is written in Japanese as グルグ, or "Gurugu". Interestingly, Mount Gulug in Final Fantasy IX was not originally from the planet of Gaia, but ended up warping there due to Garland's failed Fusion attempt to merge Gaia with another planet.
 * Princess Cornelia, a character in the "I Want to be Your Canary" play, is also named after a location in the original title.
 * The entire world map of Final Fantasy IX, Gaia itself, seems to be a tribute to the original game's topographic structure. All of the major landmasses are arranged in a manner similar to Final Fantasy, though nations and locales (save for the aforementioned exceptions) vary considerably.
 * The Pumice item in Final Fantasy IX, used to summon Ark, the massive, transforming airship, is known as "Fuyuuishi" (ふゆう石, or "floating stone"). In the original NES version of Final Fantasy, this item was translated as "FLOATER," and was used to lift the ancient airship from the desert. This bond is strengthened by the fact that Ark takes the form of an airship.
 * At the beginning of the game, during her escape, Princess Garnet's robe bears a strong likeness to the traditional White Mage's robe, a job that first appeared in the original Final Fantasy.
 * The four elemental fiends that protect the elemental shrines and are later fought in Memoria, are named Maliris, Tiamat, Kraken, and Lich, recalling their counterparts in the Final Fantasy. (In the anglicized version of Final Fantasy, the fiend of fire was called "Kary," although the name "Marilith" was restored in the Final Fantasy Origins version.)
 * Additionally, the way the fiends are encountered in Memoria as fixed encounters is a reference to the way that they were encountered in the past's Chaos Shrine in the original Final Fantasy.
 * Crystals are a recurring motif beginning with the original Final Fantasy.
 * When finding the potions to cure Cid, the items refer to the book of Matoya.
 * Jane is a reference to Queen Jayne, who was called Queen Jane in some translations. Queen Jayne's daughter is Princess Sarah, and Jane's daughter is Garnet, whose real name is Sarah, who became a princess after fleeing Madain Sari.
 * Alexandria Castle bears a resemblance to Castle Cornelia in Final Fantasy.
 * The Ice Cavern is possibly a reference to the Ice Cavern from the original Final Fantasy.
 * After escaping the Evil Forest at the beginning of the game, the party takes control of Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, and Steiner, which references the default party setup of the original Final Fantasy, in this case, Warrior (Steiner), Thief (Zidane), Black Mage (Vivi) and White Mage (Garnet).
 * The layout of the beds in the inn at Dali is done in the same style as the beds in Final Fantasy I-III.

Final Fantasy II

 * During the first interlude in South Gate, the shop near the cable car is named Altair, which shares its name with the town the Wild Rose Rebellion fled to at the start of Final Fantasy II.
 * More realistically, the name "Altair" was implemented to juxtapose the item shop in the northern station of South Gate named "Vega", which is a reference to the Tanabata legend in Japanese folklore. The stars Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair) are lovers separated by a river of stars (Milky Way). They are forced to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month. In Final Fantasy IX, the Aerbs Mountains seem to obstruct them and their lovesick owners. In fact, this relationship is the subject of the Mognet letter Grimo asks to deliver to Nanza.
 * The giant boss creature, Hilgigars, was actually meant to be Hill Gigas. Gigas is a common name in the series for oversized humanoids, most frequently seen in Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy VII, and seen again as an entire beastmen race in Final Fantasy XI and later in Final Fantasy XII.
 * In Gizamaluke's Grotto, the bells required to open the doors hearken back to the Goddess's Bell from Final Fantasy II which is used to open Kashuan Keep.
 * Pandemonium was also the name of Emperor Mateus's castle of Hell. Additionally the music that accompanies the Pandemonium of Final Fantasy IX is simply a remix of its Final Fantasy II counterpart with a slower tempo.
 * During the player's encounter with Ramuh, they are required to recite a story to earn his trust. The story actually describes an incident in Final Fantasy II involving an ice cave and a boulder which prompts one of the characters named Josef to sacrifice himself to save the others.
 * Cid's wife, Hilda, shares her name with the leader of the Fynn Resistance in Final Fantasy II.
 * In Lindblum, there is a man named Guy, a playable character in Final Fantasy II.

Final Fantasy III

 * "Une's Mirror" and "Doga's Artifact" can both be bought at the auction house.
 * After the world of Terra has been destroyed, at the beginning of disc four and onwards, the player can return to the Black Mage Village and examine the gramophone in the inn. If the player possesses the Doga's Artifact and Une's Mirror, the background music will change to a melody taken from the Final Fantasy III soundtrack; "Doga and Une's Theme". This melody continues on until the player leaves the village.
 * Garland and Kuja's airship of destruction, Invincible, is named after the ultimate airship of Final Fantasy III.
 * There also seems to be a thematic parallelism between Kuja/Xande and Necron/the Cloud of Darkness. Both fearing their mortality, Xande and Kuja unintentionally perform globally-perilous actions that lead both Necron and Cloud of Darkness to enter into the mortal realm and decide to revert the world to nothingness. Also, both Necron and Cloud of Darkness did not show up until the ending story as well as appearing as a final boss. The final boss music accompanying these encounters is also structurally similar.
 * In the game's Japanese script, Sasune is mentioned as the kingdom Prince Schneider comes from in "I Want to Be Your Canary".

Final Fantasy IV

 * The dwarves of Conde Petie use the same greeting as the dwarves of Final Fantasy IV (ラリホ, or "rariho"). However, the original saying "Lali-ho" was changed to "Rally-ho" in Final Fantasy IX. It can be explained, since "R" in Japanese sounds like a cross between "L" and "R" in English and mistranslations are common throughout the series (such as Kiros's weapons in Final Fantasy VIII being labeled "katals"). Further localization to rationalize this translation choice took place by giving the dwarves heavy Scottish accents, strongly reminiscent of 18th Century Scottish poet Robert Burns.
 * Namingway appears as a Tetra Master card. The card allows the player to change the characters' names by showing it to a man in Daguerreo, similar to how Namingway allowed the player to rename characters in the original Final Fantasy IV.
 * Cid's last name is "Fabool", which is a homophone for the kingdom of Fabul in Final Fantasy IV.
 * Upon arriving in Lindblum for the first time, if the player searches the area that Steiner was just in during the ATE as he leaves the inn, they will find a sign towards the northwest part of the area called Polom's Action Figures; this a combination of the names of Palom and Porom, the twin mages of Final Fantasy IV.
 * One of Freya's ultimate weapons is Kain's Lance, which is a reference to Final Fantasy IV 's dragoon, Kain Highwind.
 * Zorn and Thorn have the ability to use Twincast, the ability of Palom and Porom. During the battle against them, they give each other the power to cast Flare and Meteorite (Comet).
 * The Hilda Garde 1 resembles the Lunar Whale of Final Fantasy IV.
 * Garland's role is similar to Fusoya's: they both watch over sleeping souls of an alien race and are related to the main hero of their respective games. The biggest difference between Garland and Fusoya is that their alliances oppose one another.
 * Alexander in this game, and the Giant of Babil in Final Fantasy IV', are summoned using the same basic means: the gathering of crystals.
 * Zidane and Kuja, who are both brothers and come from a different world, somewhat mirror Cecil and Golbez's relationship.
 * In Final Fantasy IV there are two moons, one of which is red. This is similar to the blue world of Gaia and the red one which is Terra. Similarly, in particular cutscenes both a red and blue moon are displayed in the skies of Gaia. The Ultimania guide references these as the Gaia and Terra moons, whose orbital paths cross every 16 days when one becomes closer to the planet than the other.
 * Alexandria's army is comprised of only females, bar the Knights of Pluto. This is also true with Troia in Final Fantasy IV.
 * The destruction of the summoner tribe of Madain Sari is similar to the destruction of the summoner tribe from Mist.
 * Vivi uses the Fire spell to melt ice in an early dungeon. This is reminiscent of the ice blockade on Mt. Hobs, which Rydia melted with the same spell in Final Fantasy IV.
 * Cleyra is called "City of Illusions". The title of the song music that plays in the Feymarch in Final Fantasy IV is called "City of Illusions".
 * General Beatrix leads an assault of the Cleyra Settlement in order to steal the town's sacred jewel. Afterwards she wonders why such excessive force was necessary, and begins to question the Queen's motives. This mirrors Cecil's actions during the opening of Final Fantasy IV.
 * The music playing in the Black Mage Village bears some similarities to the music playing in Final Fantasy IV's Mysidia.

Final Fantasy V

 * Steiner's Sword Magic ability is taken from Final Fantasy V's Mystic Knights.
 * Though the melody differs significantly, the "Eternal Harvest" theme played during a cutscene in Cleyra bears a resemblance to the song "Harvest" from Final Fantasy V.
 * Much of the melody heard in "Kuja's Theme" is heard in the Final Fantasy V song "Slumber of Ancient Earth".
 * Upon Cornelia's death scene in the "I Want to be Your Canary" sequence, the player's death theme from Final Fantasy V is heard combined into the play's music.
 * The moogle theme from Final Fantasy V was remixed for the background music at Mognet Central.
 * Boko has a Tetra Master card, and the images greatly resembles his original sprite. Furthermore, two Black Mages in the Black Mage Village hatch a young chocobo which they name Bobby Corwen, the first two syllables ("Bo" and "Co" respectively) are another allusion to the name.
 * Another Tetra Master card of an airship also has an image that resembles its Final Fantasy V sprite.
 * Freya's Lancer ability first appeared in Final Fantasy V.
 * In Final Fantasy V, Softs could be used to instantly kill enemies made of stone. This was also added to Final Fantasy IX.
 * Gilgamesh, an antagonist in Final Fantasy V, appears as a four-armed man in Alexandria and Treno and later in Daguerreo.
 * Tantarian, the book monster in Alexandria, resembles a Page 64. Also, a Page 256 is featured in the cover, a Page 32 is seen on the spine, while the back cover contains a Page 128. All are "book monsters" found in Final Fantasy V's Library of the Ancients.
 * Exdeath's ultimate attack is called Grand Cross. Necron also uses the attack in Final Fantasy IX.
 * Necron also bears a similarity to Necrophobe in both name and appearance.
 * Atomos, the eidolon, is from Final Fantasy V and even bears a striking resemblance. Additionally, during the battle, he slowly sucks the party towards him, which reflects the eidolon's attack of violently sucking everything into its mouth in the zone it is attacking.
 * Nova Dragon is actually a mistranslation of Shinryu, the superboss from Final Fantasy V.
 * Gogo's name cropped up in Daguerreo, when an old blacksmith sought out the Magical Fingertips item. Gogo is said to be a master craftsman who made dolls that look like real people, and the secret is supposedly his fingertips.
 * The platform for the battle against Deathguise and Trance Kuja is identical to the one for the last boss encounter in Final Fantasy V.
 * The idea of the two planets Gaia and Terra fusing together to become one is similar to Bartz's Planet and Galuf's Planet combining to create the Merged World in Final Fantasy V.

Final Fantasy VI

 * Trance first appeared in Final Fantasy VI as Terra's skill after she unlocks her esper powers. When in Trance, Terra would turn pink and be more powerful than normal, the same which happens in Final Fantasy IX. Trance was translated as "Morph" in the Final Fantasy VI English version.
 * The eidolon Madeen is misromanized; it was meant to invoke the name of Final Fantasy VI's Maduin (which, in the original Japanese versions of both games, was written as ディーン (Madiin)). Incidentally, the slightly-nonsensical name of its attack, "Terra Homing", was also intended to be "Terraforming". In juxtaposition, however, while Final Fantasy VI ' s Maduin is male, Final Fantasy IX ' s Madeen is female.
 * In Lindblum, the characters may encounter an old man named Locke, possibly a reference to Locke Cole.
 * The way Kuja throws Garland out of Pandemonium's platform is reminiscent of the way Kefka throws Emperor Gestahl out of the Floating Continent.
 * Many character traits are shared between Beatrix and Celes Chere, one of the main protagonists of Final Fantasy VI. They were both powerful, loyal knights working for the enemy (Brahne and Gestahl, respectively), who begin to question their actions. They both come to their senses and begin to fight for the forces of good. They both fulfil the Japanese character archetype of the conflicted, long-haired, stalwart beauty, found commonly in today's popular Japanese anime and game culture.
 * Mog is the name of Eiko's moogle friend, as well as the moogle that joins the party in Final Fantasy VI. In juxtaposition, however, the Mog of Final Fantasy IX is female.
 * The floating eyeball monster, commonly known as Ahriman in the more recent games, was changed back to "Veteran", its Final Fantasy VI name.
 * Beatrix and Steiner's sword ability, Shock, was the name of General Leo's commands in Final Fantasy VI.
 * Flare Star, an attack used by Ozma and Trance Kuja, originated in Final Fantasy VI as one of the Atma Weapon's attacks.
 * Many magic-based enemies in Final Fantasy VI could be defeated by draining their MP through Rasp or Osmose. The enemy Valia Pira can also be defeated in this manner through the use of Quina's Magic Hammer.
 * The Desert Palace contains many works of fine art, including a trio of statues arranged in a triangular fashion. Two of these are decidedly demonic looking, replete with bat-like wings and tridents, and are referred to as the "Promise of the Evil God" and "Truth of the Devil". The white angelic statue in the middle is called the "Illusion of the Goddess". This is a direct allusion to the Warring Triad from Final Fantasy VI.
 * The area around the Chocobo Forest is called the "King Ed Plains" in the menu, referencing Edgar Roni Figaro who is the king of Figaro castle.
 * Treno shares numerous similarities with Jidoor and Zozo, consisting of Jidoor's lower-class. The Treno wealthy live by the waterfront, while the poor live in the hills, paralleling Jidoor, which is by the ocean and Zozo, which is in the mountains. Both Treno and Jidoor were the only towns in the series to have an auction house. Treno is also home to many thieves, like Zozo, which is populated almost entirely of thieves.
 * In the town of Alexandria there is a statue commemorating a General Madelene. In Final Fantasy VI Madeline was the name of Terra Branford's mother.
 * Eidolons are learned by both Dagger and Eiko through the means of gemstones much in the same manner that espers are learned via magicite. This correlation is also shown when the twin jesters Zorn and Thorn draw the eidolons from Dagger trapping them in their gemstone form.

Final Fantasy VII

 * Likely the most straightforward allusion in the game, after the Prima Vista crashes into the Evil Forest, Tantalus's band begins playing "Rufus' Welcoming March" in an Active-Time Event, which plays in the background in the city of Junon in Final Fantasy VII. To illuminate the band's allusion further, Baku even remarks "Hey, not bad!"
 * On the left side of the room inside the inn located in Dali, a device will read the player's fortune and give the player his or her lucky color of the day. This is reminiscent of the first encounter Cait Sith has with the traveling party in Gold Saucer, where he keeps messing up the player's fortune.
 * If the player examines a large, familiar looking sword in the Lindblum Weapons Shop, Zidane will say "I remember a guy with spiky hair who carried a sword like this..." a reference to Cloud Strife, the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII who carried a large sword named the Buster Sword.
 * There is a little girl in Lindblum named Elena.
 * During Disc 3, Alexandria is in ruins. In front of the relatively intact steeple on the edge of town, a woman bearing the title of "Flower Girl" says, "He's handsome, but he's not exactly Mr. Personality..." in reference to Weimar, Pluto Knight VII. If one substitutes Alexandria for the collapsed Sector 7, its steeple for the Sector 5 Church, the Flower Girl and Weimer for Aerith Gainsborough and Cloud Strife, the similarities suggest a connection that is quite intentional.
 * Zidane and Cloud experience a similar identity crisis: Zidane learns he is a Genome created for reaping the souls of Gaia, causing him to lose himself before his friends intervene and snap him out of it; in Final Fantasy VII Cloud is momentarily made to believe he is an artificially created clone and needs Tifa's help to come to his senses.
 * During the play in Final Fantasy IX's ending, Marcus says, "No cloud, no squall shall hinder us!", referring to Cloud Strife of Final Fantasy VII and Squall Leonhart of Final Fantasy VIII.
 * Steiner and Beatrix both have an ability called Climhazzard, one of Cloud's second level Limit Breaks.
 * Hades, a summon in Final Fantasy VII, was turned into an optional boss.
 * Chocobo footprints on the world map are used to call chocobos in Final Fantasy VII, act a similar way in Final Fantasy IX.
 * In the minigame "Mog's House" in Final Fantasy VII, the moogle's favorite food was Kupo Nuts. In Final Fantasy IX, they appear as an item to feed a moogle, and they remain a moogle's favorite food.
 * Both the Gaia of Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy VII display similar foundational life cycle structure and, thus, primary character conflicts and motives:
 * In Final Fantasy VII, all life consists of Mako; when a lifeform dies, its energy returns to the Planet's Lifestream where it is recycled and born again elsewhere. In Final Fantasy IX, every life possesses a soul; when a lifeform dies, its soul attempts to return to the planet's Crystal. In both games this flow of life is tampered with by the games' antagonists.
 * The Fire Guardian in Final Fantasy IX is named "Marilis", while the name in Final Fantasy was originally intended to be named "Marilith". This may be a reference to the whole Aeris vs. Aerith saga that has been going on since Final Fantasy VII first came out.

Final Fantasy VIII

 * Squall is mentioned in the game's ending. (See above section.)
 * Amarant's] No Mercy ability is a reference to Seifer's Limit Break attack of the same name. Both attacks involve a large ball of energy to be formed by the user.
 * A fine artist in Lindblum's Theater District can be seen painting in his art studio throughout various parts of the game (where actor Lowell Bridges takes refuge from rabid fangirls, and later where Zidane finds the Strange Potion key item). Amongst his belongings standing atop a high shelf is a sculpture of a chocobo. It takes a keen eye, however, to notice that this sculpture bears no resemblance whatsoever to the chocobo models used in Final Fantasy IX; it is in actuality the chicobo model used in Final Fantasy VIII's Chocobo Hide & Seek minigame.
 * The theme that plays while fighting Trance Kuja, "Dark Messenger", shares its name with Diablos' GF ability.

Final Fantasy Tactics

 * In Final Fantasy IX Garnet was an orphan who was adopted and raised as royalty due to the real princess having died young. The same fate befalls Princess Ovelia in Final Fantasy Tactics.
 * A large number of equipment names and abilities are taken straight from Final Fantasy Tactics.
 * Many of Steiner's sword skills are named from Final Fantasy Tactics.
 * Before Final Fantasy IX, perfumes or fragrances are only equipable in Final Fantasy Tactics. They can only be equipped by female characters as well. The rouge itself was however retroactively introduced into Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions.
 * In Disc 4, one of the people in Treno is named Worker #9, a reference to Worker-7-New and Worker 8.
 * The game-long side quest involving the Stellazzio coins uses the names of the twelve signs of the zodiac; though a common reference in the role playing genre, this may be a nod toward story of the Snake Zodiac in Final Fantasy Tactics.
 * Freya's ability, Reis's Wind, is named after Reis Duelar of Final Fantasy Tactics.
 * Another of Freya's abilities, Cherry Blossom, was Cloud Strife's 8th Limit in Final Fantasy Tactics.

Allusions to the Number Nine

 * There are exactly nine active members of the Knights of Pluto, not to mention that at the time of the game's release Pluto was considered the ninth planet of the Earth's solar system.
 * Likewise, prior to the game's start and excluding band members, there are nine active players in the Tantalus Theater Troupe's gang of thieves: Baku, Zidane, Blank, Marcus, Cinna, Ruby, and the three Nero Brothers.
 * There are numerous boats, airships, and war machines in the game, but only nine of these vessels carry names: the Prima Vista, the Cargo Ship, the Blue Narciss, the Viltgance, the Hilda Garde Marks I, II, and III, the Red Rose, and the Invincible.
 * Regent Cid Fabool IX is the ninth Cid in Lindblum's royal lineage.
 * His predecessor and father, Cid VIII, developed the first Mist-powered airships in 1762, led the Lindblum armada in 1771, and died in 1780; each event has a span of nine years between them.
 * The Prima Vista theater ship weighs exactly 8,235 tons and has a guest capacity of 288 passengers. Both figures are multiples of 9.
 * In the song "Ambush Attack", Uematsu pulls off an obscure 9/4 time signature in the piece's opening measures before switching to 4/4.
 * If one counts Alexander, Garnet has access to exactly nine eidolon summons.
 * While Eiko only have access to four eidolons, she has exactly nine types of eidolon attack.
 * An aforementioned Final Fantasy Tactics allusion references Worker #9.
 * One of Zidane's Dyne abilities is called Solution 9.
 * Altogether, there are nine friendly monsters in the game-long side quest to limit Ozma's powers.
 * Vivi's given age is 9, though other references have him "born" in 1799, the year before the game's events.
 * Before Zidane and Garnet go through the marriage ritual in Conde Petie to pass to the Iifa Tree, 99 other couples had gone through the same ritual before them.

Vagrant Story

 * The barkeep, and later mini-theater owner, in Alexandria shares the same name and hair style of Ashley Riot, Vagrant Story ' s protagonist.

Parasite Eve

 * Final Fantasy IX also has a reference to another Square game, Parasite Eve, with the two owners of the synthesis shop in Lindblum, Torres and Wayne. Also, in Parasite Eve Torres dies, but in Final Fantasy IX, Torres is merely badly injured after Alexandria attacks. The two of them also have a skirmish which is practically the same as the "Safety vs. Power" lecture overheard when first entering the NYPD weapons room.

Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars

 * The Myconid returns from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

Non-Square related
From mythology, television shows, video games, film, and other media.

Other Games

 * The fountain inside Lindblum Castle, upon interacting with it, mentions, "...Looks like there's no place to put the medal here." Since there are no puzzles, plot points, or anything else in the game related to this fountain, it can be assumed this is a direct reference to a similar event that takes place in Resident Evil 2.

Movies & Television

 * In Lindblum, a man near the air cab station will say "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker!", a quote from Star Trek.
 * Before fighting Black Waltz #2 he says the phrase "Resistance is futile", a reference to the Borg.
 * Necron's quote "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering", originally belonged to Yoda in Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
 * After fighting Steiner at the beginning of the game, he says "Bah! Only a flesh wound," a reference to a famous line of Monty Python and the Holy Grail's black knight character.
 * Similarly, one of the few things Zorn and Thorn say in unison is "Run away!!"
 * In disc 3, Ruby refers to Blank and Marcus as "those good ol' boys". Considering Ruby's Southern belle persona, this is most likely a reference to The Dukes of Hazzard.
 * After recieving a Kupo Nut, one moogle remarks that he's "Kupo for Kupo Nuts" a parody of the Cocoa Puffs commercial.
 * During the Festival of the Hunt, a man being chased by a Mu screams "Great Scott!", a reference to the Back to the Future trilogy's Doc Brown character, who shouts it multiple times throughout the films.

Literature

 * There are numerous Shakespearean allusions throughout, including the name of the Prince of Burmecia and the play "I Want To Be Your Canary". The author of these plays, Lord Avon, is a direct reference to Shakespeare himself who was referred to as the "Bard of Avon".
 * Two enemies fought in the game: Jabberwock and Bandersnatch, are two creatures from Lewis Carroll's famous poem "Jabberwocky". These names were also used for two bosses in Final Fantasy XIII.

Cultural

 * As mentioned earlier, the game details a strained romance between Part Time Worker Mary, owner of the Vega Shop in northern station of South Gate, and Jobless Jeff, operator of the Altair Shop in the southern station, which mirrors the real-life Tanabata legend.
 * The ceremony for the magical sandstorm that protects Cleyra is a homage to Riverdance.
 * Madain Sari is named after a pre-Islamic archaeological site called Mada'in Saleh. In the Qur'an, the people of Mada'in Saleh, the tribe of Thamud, or the Thamudis, were a tribe that fell to the worshipping of idols.
 * On the floor of the Star Display room in Oeilvert is the symbol of the "triforce" (three isosceles triangles joined together at the corners to make one, larger triangle with its center missing). The shape is a common pattern that has been used in Japanese embroidery, clothing design, and architecture for centuries.

Others

 * When Steiner witnesses the barrels with the Alexandria crest being loaded in Dali village, he pokes one barrel with his sword, and Zidane, a thief who lives on an airship, pops out - a reference to the popular Kurohige pirate-in-a-barrel game.