Final Fantasy XIII allusions

The following is list of allusions in Final Fantasy XIII.

Final Fantasy series

 * The theme of crystals was established in the original Final Fantasy and has been the overarching theme of the series since, including Final Fantasy XIII. The crystals being the corporeal form of the world's or universe's life essence is present, as well as its link to magic use.
 * The theme of Warriors of Light being a group of people brought together by circumstance and being chosen by the crystal and often given additional powers as the result may be alluded to in Final Fantasy XIII with the fal'Cie branding the party with shards of crystal, eidoliths, that grant the party the power to wield magic and progress through the Crystarium System, and task them with a Focus to complete.
 * Many of the paradigm names refer to recurring abilities from the series. Tri-disaster refers to an ability of the same name that deals damage of multiple elements. Dualcasting refers to the ability to cast two magic spells at once. Mighty Guard refers to magic that grants positive status effects on the target. White Wind refers to a healing spell that removes negative status effects as well. Combat Clinic is called Phoenix in Japanese, a recurring revival summon known to save the player party from the brink of annihilation.

Final Fantasy

 * 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.
 * The Tiamat Eliminator boss is named after Tiamat, one of the original Four Fiends. It has Wind-elemental properties just as Tiamat does.

Final Fantasy II

 * The airship, Palamecia, is named after the Palamecian Empire.

Final Fantasy III

 * Hecatoncheir first appeared as a late-game boss in Final Fantasy III.
 * The city Nautilus is named after the airship Nautilus.

Final Fantasy IV

 * The city Palumpolum is named after the twins Palom and Porom.
 * Fang's ultimate weapon, the Kain's Lance, is a reference to Kain Highwind. She also uses spears and lances in battle like Kain. Furthermore, her full ATB skill shares its name with Kain's last name, "Highwind".
 * The paradigm Delta Attack refers to the Magus Sisters' ultimate attack. Magus Sisters first appeared in Final Fantasy IV as bosses, and later in Final Fantasy X as summons.

Final Fantasy V

 * The Achievements/Trophies Kelger's Cup, Xezat's Chalice, Dorgann's Trophy, and Galuf's Grail are named after the Warriors of Dawn.
 * Gilgamesh has a shop named after him, Gilgamesh, Inc. In Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Omega it is implied the shop was actually operated by Gilgamesh himself. It sells strong weapons that have handicaps, perhaps an allusion to Gilgamesh's obsession with collecting legendary swords, but often ending up with counterfeit versions.

Final Fantasy VI

 * The fal'Cie Bismarck is a reference to the esper of the same name.
 * In Nautilus, a child chasing after other children shouts, "Run, run, or you will be well done!" This is a quote uttered by Kefka Palazzo.
 * Despite the similarities, it has been noted that Hecatoncheir's Gestalt Mode is not inspired by the Magitek Armor from Final Fantasy VI, but ended up looking like it. A question from Brain Blast in Final Fantasy XIII-2, however, indicates that the reference is intentional, the correct answer being that Magitek Armor is the "vehicle" that Hecatoncheir transforms into in Gestalt Mode.

Final Fantasy VII

 * Manasvin Warmech pays a tribute to Guard Scorpion by its appearance and being the first boss. The entire beginning may be homage to Final Fantasy VII, as the game starts in a train with Lightning declaring to Sazh she is no longer a soldier, similar to Cloud Strife.
 * The Proudclad is based on the Proud Clod boss. The spelling and pronunciation of the two words in Japanese are identical.
 * The fal'Cie Kujata is named after the summon of the same name in Final Fantasy VII.

Final Fantasy VIII

 * The fal'Cie Eden's name is a reference to the Guardian Force Eden from Final Fantasy VIII.
 * The Gigantuar makes its first appearance as the boss and summon, Jumbo Cactuar, in Final Fantasy VIII.
 * On several signs in Palumpolum and Eden, black silhouettes of PuPu are present. PuPu first appeared as a sidequest enemy in Final Fantasy VIII.
 * The gunblade weapon was introduced in Final Fantasy VIII. One of Lightning's gunblade models is called Lionheart, Squall's strongest gunblade. In the Japanese version, however, Lightning's weapon is not known as a gunblade, so this reference only exists in localized versions.

Final Fantasy IX

 * The airship Lindblum is named after the regency of Lindblum.
 * The fal'Cie Dahaka is based on the boss Taharka fought in Ipsen's Castle.
 * The Eidolons being mechanical and able to transform into various forms of transportation may derive from the summon Ark.

Final Fantasy X

 * The fal'Cie Anima is named after the aeon Anima from Final Fantasy X.
 * A mechanical version of Valefor is seen at Nautilus during the Pompa Sancta as one of the Eidolons from the show.
 * Vanille's ultimate binding rod, the Nirvana, shares its name with Yuna's Celestial Weapon.
 * The dummied fal'Cie Nemesis was going to be named after the superboss of the same name from Final Fantasy X.

Final Fantasy X-2

 * During the opening of the Pompa Sancta parade in Nautilus, a series of discs spin in the same fashion and with the same sound effect as the discs in Sphere Break.

Final Fantasy XI

 * The En-spell series (Enfire, Enwater, Enthunder, and Enfrost) are spells that were unique to Final Fantasy XI before being introduced in Final Fantasy XIII.
 * The weapons Hauteclaire and Mistilteinn first appeared in Final Fantasy XI as a sword and wand, respectively.
 * While it is a common idiomatic expression, the shop Up In Arms may be a reference to the battlefield of the same name.
 * The Verdelet and Zirnitra enemies may be references to the Notorious Monsters of the same name.

Final Fantasy XII

 * Sazh's weapons are named after stars and constellations, similar in the way that guns in Final Fantasy XII are named after stars.
 * Undying class of Cie'th shares its name with the final boss in Final Fantasy XII.
 * The Thexteron is a reference to the Thextera mark.
 * The Retail Network shop's name, Moogleworks, alludes to Ivalice moogles being hard-workers excelling in the fields of engineering, technical prowess, and mechanical expertise, e.g. repairing old structures, maintaining airships, conducting Moogling, and selling location maps.

Chocobo Series

 * The song "Chocobos of Cocoon - Chasing Dreams" shares strong similarities with "Let's Have a Dream" from the Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon Original Soundtrack due to the two games sharing the same composer, Masashi Hamauzu.

Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy

 * Orphan indirectly refers to the series title with the line, "From shattered shards, a new crystal legend will arise".
 * The thirteenth Analect is called "Fabula Nova Crystallis".
 * There is a piece of music on the fourth disk of the Final Fantasy XIII: Original Soundtrack called "Fabula Nova Crystallis".

Allusions to the Number Thirteen
Being the thirteenth installment of the series, Final Fantasy XIII makes references to the number itself. Although many are not necessarily deliberate allusions to the number 13 (whether they are or not is speculative), they are nonetheless present.


 * The game comprises of thirteen chapters.
 * The game's flashback sequences consist of thirteen days.
 * When all party members are counted, along with their Eidolons (counting both Shiva Sisters), there are thirteen members of the party.
 * There are thirteen Retail Network shops.
 * The Datalog has thirteen submenus.
 * There are thirteen Analects.
 * There are thirteen groups in the enemy "Militarized Units" section of the bestiary.
 * There are thirteen enemies registered under "Fal'Cie".
 * The threshold score for a 5-star battle rating is 13,000 points.
 * Although not stated in-game (but revealed in Ultimania guides), l'Cie brands progress through thirteen stages.
 * The days are 26 hours long with clock faces having 13 numbers. In Nautilus, before the Pompa Sancta parade, there are thirteen numbers on the clock. Another clock is seen in Oerba of Gran Pulse. It is later confirmed in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII that two hours were lost from the day on the Day of Ragnarok.
 * In Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-, it is revealed the temple containing Anima was tended to by thirteen priests.
 * Cocoon was created thirteen centuries prior to the events of the game.
 * Chance of receiving a shroud from an enemy in Orphan's Cradle, the main location for the thirteenth chapter, is 0.13%.
 * In Eden, while standing on the Leviathan Plaza and looking at the Edenhall, there is a number "13" on the left wall of the entrance.
 * Alexander's HP reaches the maximum value available for a playable character at rank 13.
 * The Cocoon script writing on Manasvin Warmech's arm reads "CA13".


 * 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.

Folklore and Mythology

 * Many of Hope's weapons are themed around bird-like creatures from world mythologies.
 * Hope's final upgraded weapon, Nue, is a reference to the Japanese chimera 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.
 * Demons' appearance and dance are reminiscent of the, a folkloric dance in South America based on demon masks and suits used by its performers.
 * One Demon type enemy is known as Stikini, a type of vampiric witch found in the lore of the Seminole people who were native to Florida who later were forced to move to Oklahoma. Stikini appear as normal humans by day, but at night they transform into owls or other animals and sneak off into the woods and vomit up their internal organs that are hung in a tree or else hidden. The Stikini then transforms into an owl and flies off to feast on human hearts which they rip from sleeping humans through their mouths. The Stikini must retrieve and swallow its organs to transform into a human again. Hearing the cry of a Stikini is said to be an omen of approaching death.
 * Another Demon is Yaksha, a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology. A yakshini is the female counterpart of the male yaksha, and they both attend on Kubera (also called Kuber), the Hindu god of wealth who rules in the mythical Himalayan kingdom of Alaka. They resemble that of fairies.
 * Yakshinis, also called yaksinis or yaksis and yakkhini in Pali, are mythical beings of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain mythology. A yakshini is the female counterpart of the male yaksha, and they both attend on Kubera (also called Kuber), the Hindu god of wealth who rules in the mythical Himalayan kingdom of Alaka. They both look after treasure hidden in the earth and resemble that of fairies.
 * An Incubus is a male demon who engages in sexual activity with people, mainly women, during their sleep. The Succubus is the female equivalent.
 * Rakshasa are gigantic demons from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. They are powerful beings aligned with evil, who live on human flesh and spoiled food. The creatures make an important appearance in the epic of Ramayana.
 * Adroa is the god of the, are an ethnic group who live mainly in the West Nile region of Uganda and in the adjoining area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Adroa is the creator of Heaven and Earth and appears to people before they die. Adroa is split into two halves that represent good and evil, with the evil side being depicted as short and black in color.
 * Amam is named after, a mythological beast that devoured people's souls if they were judged impure by Anubis after they died.
 * Leyak, in Bali folklore, are humans who practice black magic and are cannibals by nature. In the day, they appear as normal humans, but at night, they are able to detach their heads from the body, dragging along their entrails—heart, liver, lung, etc—flying in search of women who had recently delivered their baby to drink their blood. They are led by their mistress, Rangda, also an enemy in Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Many Cie'th are named after mythological creatures related to death.
 * The Nelapsi is an often-naked vampire from Slovakia that drinks blood from victims after crushing their bones.
 * A Varcolac is a werewolf from Romanian mythology.
 * A vetala is a vampiric being from Hindu mythology. They are spirits who possess corpses.
 * In Romanian mythology, Strigoi are the troubled souls of the dead rising from the grave. Some strigoi can be living people with magical properties, including the ability to transform into an animal, invisibility, and the propensity to drain the vitality of victims via blood loss. Strigoi are also known as immortal vampires. In Romanian, striga means "scream."
 * Penanggalan, also known as Hantu Penanggal, is a variation of the vampire myth that originated from the Malay Peninsula. Hantu Penanggal appear as beautiful women in the day, but come nighttime they detach their heads and bring their stomach and entrails along as they fly through the sky in search of newborns and mothers-in-labor to feed on their blood. "Penanggalan" comes from the Malay root word tanggal, meaning "detach." There is also a Filipino mythical creature called Manananggal (literally "Detacher").
 * Raktavija is an asura (demon) of Hindu mythology who would duplicate himself whenever a drop of his blood touched the ground. His name can be translated to "blood-seed."
 * Svarog is a Slavic deity known primarily from the Hypatian Codex, a Slavic translation of the Chronicle of John Malalas. Svarog is there identified with Hephaestus, the god of the blacksmith in ancient Greek religion, and as the father of Dažbog, a Slavic solar deity. On the basis of this text, some researchers conclude that Svarog is the Slavic god of celestial fire and of blacksmithing.
 * Zirnitra is a black dragon and the god of sorcery from Wendish mythology.
 * Kalavinka Striker is named after Kalaviṅka, a fantastical immortal creature in Buddhism with a human head and a bird's torso, with long flowing tail. The kalaviṅka is said to dwell in Buddhist paradise and reputed to preach the Buddhist scripture with its fine voice.
 * The concept of Cocoon with a hard shell and the world on the inside, may allude to the concept of a world egg, a motif from many creation myths. The Greek version of the myth, the Orphic Egg, is often depicted with a serpent wrapped around it. In Final Fantasy XIII Cocoon was created by Lindzei, whom old Pulsian tribes described as a serpent or a viper. In the Japanese version of the world egg myth everything was once one entity in an egg-like chaos that contained the seeds of creation. Breaking of the world egg symbolizes the creation of the known world, perhaps similar how the fal'Cie wish to "break" Cocoon to herald the birth of a new world.

Chinese Mythology

 * Vanille and Fang may allude to the Yin and Yang concept. In the ending scene they pose like the sign of Yin and Yang.

Greek Mythology

 * Vanille's Eidolon Hecatoncheir alludes to Greek mythology. Hekatonkheires were children of Gaia and Uranus who were thrown into Tartarus as soon as they were born. They were released by Zeus and aided him in overthrowing Cronos. They were giants depicted with one hundred arms (and sometimes even fifty heads).
 * The Japanese name of the paradigm Salvation,, is the name of the Greek god of medicine/healing in Greek mythology, referring to the paradigm's unrivaled healing potency.
 * The paradigm Cerberus refers to Greek and Roman mythology where is a three-headed dog, or "hellhound" who guards the entrance of the underworld to prevent the dead from escaping and the living from entering.

Norse Mythology

 * Ragnarök is an event in Norse mythology that is similar to the Apocalypse. It is an event that is set off by the death of the god Balder, which was orchestrated by Loki. The Ragnarok was a final clash of all the major entities of Norse mythology causing all of the human spirits up in Valhalla to come down for the final battle. This bloody encounter ebbs with the destruction of the universe and Balder along with a little handful of entities that are put in the bodies of children and only contain memories of the world before Ragnarok. Those entities would become mortal. In the Final Fantasy XIII mythology Ragnarok is to bring the destruction of the world, which the fal'Cie believe will bring about Maker's return and thus making the world anew, similar to the Norse legend.
 * The characters of Fang and Vanille are based on the Ragnarök myth of Líf ("life") and Lífþrasir ("eager for life"), the only humans who will survive Ragnarok. They sleep through the destruction of the earth and upon awakening will find the earth green and verdant again. Líf and Lífþrasir will become the progenitors of a new race of humans, and their descendants will inhabit the world. This is congruent with the idea that Fang was originally envisioned as a male character.
 * Sazh's Eidolon Brynhildr is a Shieldmaiden and a Valkyrie in Norse mythology. In the Völsunga saga, she was sent by Odin to decide a fight between two kings, but was punished by the god after helping his least-favored one then banished her to the top of mount Hindarfjall in the Alps. She must sleep within a ring of fire until any man rescues and marries her. Sigurd entered the castle and awoke Brynhildr by removing her helmet and cutting off her chainmail armor. The two fell in love and Sigurd proposed to her with the magic ring Andvaranaut.
 * Brynhildr Eidolon's finishing attack, Múspell Flame, refers to Múspellsheimr, the realm of fire and home to the Fire Giants and Surtr in Norse mythology.
 * Although a recurring summon in the series, Lightning's Eidolon Odin may have been chosen for her due to the connections to Norse mythology. In Final Fantasy XIII-2 the link is strengthened with Lightning becoming a being akin to a valkyrie.
 * In Norse mythology, Mánagarmr ("moon-hound") is another name for the wolf Hati Hróðvitnisson, referring to his hunting down the moon during the Ragnarök and swallowing it.

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.

Historic

 * The Japanese name of Rapid Growth paradigm, Trismegistos, alludes to.
 * The All for One paradigm's Japanese name is literally "The Lionheart King," which could allude to of England and the folkloric portrayal of his braveness.

Roman and Byzantine Empires

 * In its first form, and second form's decorations, the face of Orphan's angelic half refers to 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.
 * Most of the Undying are named after enemies of the Roman Empire, except from Wladislaus, which is named after a Polish king.
 * Bituitus is the name of a Gallic king and an enemy of Rome.
 * Geiseric is another spelling of Genseric, the 5th century king of Vandals and Alans that played a key role in the ultimate demise of the Western Roman Empire.
 * Mithridates was the name of many ancient kings. The most famous was Mithridates VI of Pontus, an enemy of Rome. Mithridates VI was a king who built up an immunity to poison, and referring to this, the Mithridates enemy in Final Fantasy XIII is one of the few enemies immune to all status ailments.
 * Syphax was a king of an ancient Libyan tribe in Numidia. He was an enemy of Rome.
 * Numidia is an ancient kingdom in what is now modern-day Algeria that once waged war against the Roman Empire.
 * Zenobia was a third century Syrian queen of the Palmyrene Empire who led a revolt against the Roman Empire.
 * Attacus's Japanese name is Spartacus. Spartacus was the most notable leader of a slave revolt against the Roman Republic.
 * Vercingetorix was a chieftain of the Arverni tribe during an unsuccessful revolt against Roman Forces during the last stage of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars.

Modern

 * The Dreadnought enemy is named after HMS Dreadnought, an early 20th century British Royal Navy ship, considered to be the first modern battleship.

Religion

 * Building Taejin's Tower up to reach the heavens may have been a fal'Cie plan on locating Etro's Gate. This is supported by the fal'Cie Dahaka making its adobe atop the tower, a fal'Cie tasked with searching for the Gate from the skies of Gran Pulse. Thus, the tower may allude to the Biblical story of where people attempted to build a tower tall enough to reach God, but the tower was struck down by Him.
 * The armor of the Menhirrim, exaggerated poses, and role as guardians are based on, Buddhist guardian deities whose statues can be found in many temples in Japan and across Asia.
 * The concept of l'Cie may be an allusion to principles within Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Bön, and other Indic religions. According to the principle of samsāra, life on earth is a curse, and ideally a sentient being must ascend, over many lifetimes, to nirvāna, a more ideal, though not earthly, state of being. The means of escaping samsāra are known as Atman, like a Focus. There are many paths to ascension, although it is never clearly stated which a person must take.
 * The theme of Oerba is "Dust to Dust", referring to "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust", a phrase from the funeral service in the Book of Common Prayer.

Literature

 * Two bosses fought in Orphan's Cradle, Jabberwocky and Bandersnatch, are creatures from Lewis Carroll's famous poem Jabberwocky.
 * The name of Chapter 13, "The Cradle Will Fall", refers to the lullaby "Rock-a-bye baby".
 * In the cutscene titled "Day 13: I Want to Be Purged", Sazh meets Lightning and sees her volunteer to be purged. Sazh comments, "You don't look ready to go quiet into that good night". This is an allusion to Dylan Thomas's famous villanelle, "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night".
 * The paradigm All for One alludes to the , a novel by Alexandre Dumas, whose titular heroes' motto is "".
 * The paradigm War & Peace gets its name from , a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

TV and Cinema

 * When the player follows Snow's storyline for the first time in the Hanging Edge, the player can find a woman muttering "I will face my fear, I will permit it to pass over me" which is part of the litany against fear in .
 * Part of Chapter 4, where Sazh and Vanille pass through the scrap processing plant, is called "Loathing and Fear" alluding to . Sure enough, the Gremlin enemies resemble bats.

Culture

 * The concept of Cocoon as a floating post-scarcity utopia may be based on a literal take on the term referring to the hedonistic, pleasure-seeking lifestyle of Edo-period Japan. The term ukiyo is also an ironic allusion to the homophone "Sorrowful World" (憂き世), the earthly plane of death and rebirth from which Buddhists sought release, which is similar to the fal'Cie's true purpose for Cocoon.
 * Bodhum's annual fireworks festival is based on a Japanese cultural tradition. Originally used to ward off evil spirits, fireworks have a long history in Japan and hundreds of firework shows are held every year across the country, mainly during the summer holidays. The Bodhum fireworks festival's wish-making tradition may have derived influence from the real world Tanabata festival, said to occur on the day the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi meet, making wishes come true for only this single day a year. The most famous of Tanabata festivals, the Sendai Tanabata Festival, includes firework shows to its festivities.
 * The Japanese name of Decimation paradigm is Storming Dragon-Tiger. Various martial arts disciplines have symbolized the eternal rivalry between the dragon and the tiger, and both are needed to achieve the delicate balance of energies. A Chinese idiom to describe equal rivals (often in sports) is "Dragon versus Tiger".

Music

 * One of the entries for the Datalog's Events section for Chapter Nine is titled "Luck Be a Lady", a reference to Frank Sinatra's song of the same name, "Luck Be A Lady", which talks of the singer hoping luck stays with him as he gambles.