Final Fantasy XII allusions

The following is a list of allusions to previous installments in the series present in Final Fantasy XII and other games by Square Enix.

Final Fantasy

 * The Esper Chaos is based on the final boss of the original Final Fantasy, Chaos.
 * Chaos's deathblow, Tornado, references the world of the original Final Fantasy. In the midst of his attack, Chaos summons a squared glyph where the four corners hold colored squares. Each corner represents a location where one of the Four Fiends is located, with Chaos in the middle, much like the aerial view of the world at the Flying Fortress.
 * The Resistance flagship, the Garland, takes its name from the antagonist of the original Final Fantasy.
 * The Mark Marilith is a reference to the Fiend of Fire.
 * The Masamune weapon has a 40% combo rate, identical to the critical rate of the weapon in the original Final Fantasy. This is especially significant because the Final Fantasy weapon only has this critical rate due to the critical hit bug, which appears to have been deliberately preserved in all later Final Fantasy remakes. By assigning this stat to the Final Fantasy XII weapon, the "bug" is perpetuated further.

Final Fantasy II

 * The Pit Fiend bestiary log states that "A myth counts this being as one of the warriors set to defend the Jade Passage to the Devil's Palace". The Jade Passage is the only way into Pandaemonium, Palace of Hell, and the Pit Fiend is an enemy that can be found inside.
 * The Esper Mateus and its backstory is based on Emperor Mateus of Palamecia.
 * The gun called the Altair shares its name with the location from Final Fantasy II.
 * Pandaemonium is the name of a carrier ship in Final Fantasy XII, which is a reference to the final dungeon of the same name in Final Fantasy II.

Final Fantasy III

 * Famfrit's title, The Darkening Cloud, is a reference to the final boss of Final Fantasy III, the Cloud of Darkness.
 * The second page for the bestiary entry of the enemy Wild Onion is a message from an Onion Knight named "Nakhiro". In addition, the Onion Queen's second bestiary page elaborates on the Final Fantasy lore and the meaning of the onion within the series. Onion Knights first appeared in Final Fantasy III.

Final Fantasy IV

 * In Rabanastre, just outside Migelo's Sundries, a bangaa talks of his seeq friend counting things (originally cobblestones). However, at one point in the game he says this: "My friend says that o'er 430 revelers came through the Southern Plaza during the big fete! But even if you count the bards... 'Course, he could be countin' the spoony bards, too. That would be another matter altogether". This is a direct reference to the "You Spoony Bard!" quote by Tellah the Sage.
 * The Esper Zeromus is based on the final boss of Final Fantasy IV, Zeromus.
 * The Babil enemy is reference to the Giant of Babil, as "When they descend to the earth from their home in the heavens, they strike swiftly, and with malice apparent", where the Giant of Babil is a powerful weapon that is used for destruction.
 * The second page of the Aeronite bestiary entry references the Red Wings.

Final Fantasy V

 * The airship Remora is based on the Final Fantasy V Remora summon. A boss called the Air Cutter Remora also appears at the beginning of the game.
 * The elite mark Gilgamesh and his partner Enkidu first appeared in Final Fantasy V. He bears replicated weapons similar to those used by the protagonists of five other Square Enix games. During the battle, the iconic theme "Clash on the Big Bridge" plays.
 * The two copies of the Tournesol, the game's second strongest greatsword, are actually Gilgamesh's versions of Excalibur and Excalipoor. They almost look the same as the Tournesol, but they feature a sun (Excalibur) and a moon (Excalipoor) on the hilt. This is a reference to the Excalibur and Excalipoor in Final Fantasy V, the game where Gilgamesh first appeared, although the more detailed appearance of the weapons with the sun and the moon on the hilts could only be seen in artwork shown in strategy guides.
 * The Esper Exodus is directly based on Exdeath, the main antagonist of Final Fantasy V.
 * Clio, head of Clio's Technicks in Bhujerba, is likely named after Mr. Clio from Final Fantasy V's Merged World.
 * The Resistance airships Galuf-Val and Xezat Surgate reference Galuf and Xezat, two of the Warriors of Dawn from Final Fantasy V. They also reference their respective kingdoms, Bal and Surgate.
 * The airship Atomos is based on the the boss Atomos, which also became a summoned monster in later games. There is also a mark that shares the same name.
 * The monster Archaeoaevis is most likely a reference to the Ronka Ruins boss Archeoaevis.
 * The Twintania enemy is a reference to the boss of the same name in Final Fantasy V.
 * The superboss Omega Mark XII is based on the superboss Omega.
 * The superboss Yiazmat's description may be a reference to the lord dragon Shinryu: both are feared even by the gods who created them. Omega and Shinryu often appear as superbosses in the same game, a tradition started in Final Fantasy V.

Final Fantasy VI

 * Orthros and Deathgaze are directly based on Ultros, a recurring boss, and Deathgaze, an optional boss found on the skies of the World of Ruin. In Final Fantasy XII, Deathgaze is fought on a ferry airship.
 * Orthros also appears as an airship in Final Fantasy XII.
 * Rasler Heios Nabradia may have been named after Prince Ralse, a character from The opera "Maria and Draco" of Final Fantasy VI who was the prince of the eastern lands. Similarly, Nabradia is in eastern Ivalice.
 * The flagship Alexander is based on the summon Alexander, which originated from Final Fantasy VI.
 * There is a girl named Terra in Giza Plains, who may be named after Terra Branford of Final Fantasy VI.
 * Earth Tyrant's bestiary entry mentions him as a member of "Eight legendary Wyrms of great Power". Earth Tyrant may be a reference to the Earth Dragon from Final Fantasy VI, a member of the Eight Dragons that had the appearance of a T-Rex.
 * The enemy Dullahan and the boss Daedalus, both of the Headless genus, may be a reference to the boss Dullahan and the enemy Daedalus, as both of these share the same sprite, albeit with a palette swap for Daedalus.

Final Fantasy VII

 * The second-to-last obtainable rank in Clan Centurio, "Knight of the Round", may be a reference to the ultimate Summon Materia of Final Fantasy VII, Knights of the Round.
 * Gilgamesh carries a knock-off of Cloud's Buster Sword.

Final Fantasy VIII

 * The enemy, Elvoret, is based on the Elvoret boss fought in Final Fantasy VIII.
 * The Buer enemy refers to the Buel enemy that originally appears in Final Fantasy VIII, first appearing on the Fire Cavern, a habitat coinciding with the one on the bestiary description of this incarnation.
 * The mark Diabolos is based on the Guardian Force Diablos.
 * Gilgamesh carries a knock-off of Squall's Revolver.
 * Gilgamesh acquires Odin's Zantetsuken in Final Fantasy VIII, but the one wielded in Final Fantasy XII is a fake.
 * The Mesmenir is a reference to the enemy Mesmerize from Final Fantasy VIII.
 * The enemy Focalor shares its Japanese name with the Fastitocalon.
 * The gun, Ras Algethi, resembles Squall's Revolver gunblade.

Final Fantasy IX

 * The Resistance airship Queen Hilda is based on the character from Final Fantasy IX.
 * Gizamaluk is directly based on the Gizamaluke boss from Final Fantasy IX.
 * The Lindwyrm shares the same etymological origin as Lindblum. The bestiary entry for Lindwyrm says the dragon once destroyed a kingdom, and in the Japanese version the name of the country it is said to have destroyed is the exact name of the dragon - Lindwyrm. In Japanese, the word "Lindwyrm" is virtually identical to "Lindblum".
 * An NPC in Archades references the Tantalus troupe when talking about the "mummers of Tantalus".
 * Just like Princess Garnet asks the thief Zidane to kidnap her, Princess Ashe asks the sky pirate Balthier to do the same thing.
 * Gilgamesh carries a knock-off of Zidane's left-hand dagger, Orichalcum.
 * The Leynir shares its Japanese name and origin with the Wyerd from Final Fantasy IX.

Final Fantasy X

 * The airship Valfarre is based on the aeon Valefor.
 * Monsters are often called "fiends."
 * The elite mark Ixion is based on the aeon of the same name.
 * Gilgamesh carries a knock-off of Tidus's Brotherhood.
 * Upon encountering a Behemoth with Wakka in the party, he might exclaim "How many steaks do you think we can get out of these?" In Final Fantasy XII, Behemoths drop Behemoth Steaks.
 * Fran's level 3 Quickening Shatterheart is a reference to Shiva's Overdrive Diamond Dust.
 * By obtaining all Espers, the player gains the "High Summoner" title, referring to a class of summoners from Final Fantasy X, who killed Sin.

Final Fantasy XI

 * The enemy Mandragora retains its physical appearance to its Final Fantasy XI counterpart.
 * The Lu Shang's badge loot item is a reference to the Lu Shang fishing rod from Final Fantasy XI.
 * The enemy Lost Soul is based on its Final Fantasy XI counterpart.
 * The concept of party members attracting fiends by having the most Enmity was first introduced in Final Fantasy XI.

Final Fantasy Tactics

 * The Mark Carrot originates from an errand in Final Fantasy Tactics, called "Call of the Wild", where a pet malboro kept by a countess goes missing. The malboro in the errand is called Carrot.
 * The Espers in Final Fantasy XII appeared as the Lucavi demons in Final Fantasy Tactics.
 * The longer of Gabranth's dual-bladed weapon, the Chaos Blade, originally appeared in Final Fantasy Tactics as a Knight Sword and the strongest weapon.
 * High Reaver from Final Fantasy XII was named "Apanda Leader" in the Japanese version, a reference to the Apanda in Final Fantasy Tactics (which in turn is retranslated as "Reaver" in Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions).

Allusions to the Number Twelve
Being the twelfth installment of the series, Final Fantasy XII makes some references to the number itself. Although many of these are not necessarily deliberate allusions to the number 12 (whether they are or not is speculative), they are nonetheless present.


 * There are twelve licenses for Light and Mystic Armor sets.
 * After accessing all the Gambit slots on the License Board, party members will have twelve Gambits available for customization.
 * After the death of Lord Gramis, Vayne is twelfth Emperor of Archadian Empire.
 * There are twelve new weapons in International version, whose names' last letter composes the words "FINAL FANTASY".
 * There are twelve races presented in Ivalice.
 * The Cartographers' Guild has moogles in twelve different locations.
 * The Archadian Imperial Fleets contains at least twelve fleets.
 * Old Dalan has twelve different pieces of advice for Vaan, depending on player's story progress.
 * The first narration by Ondore is chapter twelve of his accord.
 * The Great Crystal holds the superboss Omega Mark XII.
 * As well as sharing its name with the location in Final Fantasy II, the gun called the Altair also shares its name with the twelfth-brightest star in the sky.
 * Normal attacks have a chance of performing hit combos; the highest combo possible is twelve hits.
 * Each Swiftness augment will reduce action time by 12%

Vagrant Story

 * The enemies Vagrant Soul, Leamonde Entite, Luxollid, and Diakon Entite are references to Vagrant Story.
 * There is an item called "Snowfly". Snowflies were beings spotted in Vagrant Story.
 * Feywood is possibly an allusion to a location in Vagrant Story, Snowfly Forest; a similarly foggy forest where travelers tend to get lost forever. Both forests lead to an ancient city.
 * One of the possible clan ranks is Riskbreaker. Riskbreaker was Ashley Riot's rank in Vagrant Story.
 * The Light of Kiltia is a reference to the Temple of Kiltia from Vagrant Story.
 * A Naturalist named Merlose is mentioned in Final Fantasy XII in the Clan Primer. Callo Merlose is a character in Vagrant Story.
 * The character Fermon in Old Archades tells the player "to have a little more respect for fairy tales", a line Sydney spoke in Vagrant Story.


 * The Wyrmhero Blade is Erdrick's (aka Loto) sword from Dragon Quest III.


 * Raithwall's back story is similar to that of Dorgalua Oberyth from , which was also directed by Yasumi Matsuno and shares other similarities with the Ivalice Alliance. Like Raithwall, Dorgalua Oberyth unified the war-torn Valerian Isles under his rule, and would later be crowned the "Dynast King".

Rad Racer

 * Gabranth's shorter sword, the Highway Star, is likely named for the Hironobu Sakaguchi-designed racing game, Highway Star, also known as Rad Racer outside of Japan. It also shares a name with Deep Purple's 1972 hit, "Highway Star."

Allusions to literature

 * There is a man in the bar in Balfonheim who speaks of a man on the Cerobi Steppe who defeated a wyrm and states "But I heard all he does is yell at windmills. Pity the man that rides with him". This is a reference to the title character of Don Quixote, who was known to shout at windmills, believing them to be giants.

Mythology

 * The boss monsters Slyt, Phoenix, Fenrir, and Pandaemonium are each referred to the Sì Xiàng in their bestiary entries. They are found at the Pharos at Ridorana both as bosses and a Mark hunted within the Subterra. The Four Symbols are a recurring theme in the Final Fantasy series that refer to the four mythological creatures in the Chinese constellation.