Final Fantasy X-2 allusions

Final Fantasy X-2 makes numerous references to previous Final Fantasy titles and other pop-culture references.

Final Fantasy III

 * The accessories, Invincible and Enterprise, are named after airships.

Final Fantasy VI

 * The garment grid "Bum Rush" is also the name of Sabin's most powerful Blitz.
 * The entry in Shinra's bestiary for the enemy Ultima Weapon reads "Whatever you do, don't call him Atma". In Final Fantasy VI, Ultima Weapon was mistranslated as Atma.

Final Fantasy VII

 * The boss of the Mi'ihen Highroad fiend colony, King VERMIN!, is the same as the insult Barret used toward President Shinra. It's bestiary entry is also reminiscent of Barret's speaking style.
 * The character Shinra shares the same name as the antagonistic company of Final Fantasy VII, and makes a resounding late-game statement which builds a strong case for Spira being the same world as the world of Final Fantasy VII.

Final Fantasy VIII

 * When using her Songstress Dressphere, Yuna will sometimes say "Hey! Eyes on me!", a reference to the song from Final Fantasy VIII.
 * Rikku sometimes uses the phrase "Booyaka" a phrase that Selphie often used.

Metal Gear Solid

 * When fighting a Recoil or a similar serpentine enemy, Rikku shouts in a similar way to the characters in the Metal Gear Solid series when Snake dies.

Secret of Mana

 * An accessory called the "Rabite's Foot" exists that raises Luck by 100. A rabite is a weak, basic monster in Square-Enix's Seiken Densetsu/Secret of Mana, which, ironically, does not have feet.

TV Shows

 * The three girls bear a stylistic resemblance to Charlie's Angels, especially in the first chapter of the game. This can be inferred from the flashy 70's style of their introduction.
 * During Chapter 5, when you are given a description of the newly added Calm Lands mini-games, you are told that it is "Brought to you by Tobli, Calm Skies Partnership, and the letter Q." This is a reference to Sesame Street, a children's television show, which has a tradition "being brought to you by" a letter and number.
 * When you visit the Cactuar nation for the first time, if you try to leave before finding out why Marnela called you there, Picket, the probe guide, will tell you to stay, and then will yell "No soup for you!" This, of course, is the catch phrase of the 'Soup Nazi' from Seinfeld.
 * At the end of battle, you will sometimes hear Paine will say "Thank you." Rikku will add "Come again." This is the catch phrase of the Simpsons Quik-E Mart clerk Apu.
 * If you nail the prophet as the culprit in the Mi'hen Highroad subquest of Rin's mystery, he'll spout the line: "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!". This is an often used reference to Scooby-Doo.
 * When spherechanging into the gunner, Yuna might say "Resistance is futile." This is a reference to the Borg of Star Trek: The Next Generation

Commercials

 * If Paine casts Flare, she might comment, "You! It's what's for dinner!" This is a parody of an ad campaign by the American Beef Council which says "Beef, it's what's for dinner."
 * If you look at the file for "Jumbo Cactuar" at Shinra's Bestiary, it says the fiend is "Giant and green, but definitely not jolly". This is a reference to the Jolly Green Giant.
 * One of Rikku's quotes when casting Auto-Life is "Here's a quicker picker upper!" This a reference to Bounty paper towels, which has the slogan: "The quilted quicker picker upper".
 * One of Rikku's quotes when using the Magic Gunner's Fiend Hunter bullet is "Let's do it! Al Bhed tested, Brother approved." This a reference to Kix breakfast cereal, which has the slogan: "Kid tested, mother approved".
 * One of the Gunner's abilities is called Quarter Pounder, which reduces the target's MP by a quarter. This is a reference to the McDonald's sandwich of the same name.

Theater

 * When spherechanging into the Black Mage, Yuna will sometimes quip "Double, double, toil and trouble." Rikku sometimes says "Fire burn and cauldron bubble." Both of these lines are said by the witches in the Shakespeare play Macbeth.

Literature

 * Rikku, Brother and others keep calling themselves the "friendly neighborhood Gullwings". This is an obvious reference to the old Spider-Man, who often calls himself "just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man".
 * In Chapter 5 if you had slept in the cabin each chapter, Brother has a conversation with Barkeep about loving Yuna. Afterward, if the player goes down to the engine room, Buddy tells Yuna how he found the Celsius. The story he relates about being lost in a fog on a sea of ice only to be lead to the airship via a gull (a subsequent second gull appearing only to be shot and eaten), is very similiar to the way a former captain recounts being led out of the Antarctic by an albatross (who is also shot and eaten) to a wedding guest in the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Movies

 * When Rikku changes into a Samurai, she sometimes quips, "Crouching tiger, hidden Rikku." Obviously a reference to Ang Lee's martial arts movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
 * Winning a battle with Yuna as Lady Luck sometimes results in her boasting "Game over, man... game over." This line is said by Hudson, played by Bill Paxton, in the movie Aliens.
 * One of Yuna's quotes when casting Berserk on herself (usually in the Berserker costume) is "Yuna gone wild!" This may be a reference to the Girls Gone Wild series of adult video tapes.
 * One of the Songstress' abilities is called Dirty Dancing, a reference to the movie of the same name.

Music

 * At the beginning of the first battle with Yuna/LeBlanc and her henchmen Paine says "I could have danced all night." This is a line (and song title) from the musical "My Fair Lady".
 * When Paine casts an ice-based spell, she'll sometimes say "Ice, ice baby." This is a reference to a briefly popular song by Vanilla Ice.
 * In Chapter 4, right before Yuna's concert in the Thunder Plains, Brother says "Spira is going to be killed softly by your song!" This could be a reference to the song "Killing Me Softly" by Roberta Flack, remade by The Fugees in 1996.
 * As the Gullwings are preparing for Yuna's concert in the Thunder Plains Brother says "Achtung, baby. Let's clear the concert grounds." Achtung Baby is the name of a U2 album.
 * The first boss, Boris, is a reference to "Boris the Spider" by The Who. His "Sticky End" attack and its entry in Shinra's Bestiary reads "maybe he's as scared as you" are both references to lyrics in the song.