Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII allusions

This is a list of allusions from Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

Final Fantasy series

 * Lightning is called 'the knight of light': a synonym for 'warrior of light', a recurring motif in the series.
 * The Red Mage garb is based on the recurring job, Red Mage.
 * The Dragoon garb is based on the recurring job, Dragoon.
 * Traditional "Victory Fanfare" can be heard being hummed by the crowd in the Slaughterhouse whenever Lightning successfully completes a battle, and when she completes certain quest-related tasks in Yusnaan.
 * A girl wearing a chocobo-themed outfit hums "chocobo" to the melody of "Chocobo Theme".
 * When Caius summons Bahamut, he simply appears, performs his summon ability, and vanishes: this method of summoning a summoned monster is used between Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IX.
 * Gysahl Green Salad is a medium heal (300 gil) in the Breezy Diner in Luxerion. Gysahl Green is a recurring chocobo related item in the series.

Final Fantasy

 * A group of musicians, including the Tour Guide, walking around Yusnaan plays "Opening Theme".
 * When completing an objective in a side quest, "Obtaining an Important Item" plays, e.g. when winning the race against the petitioner for "Faster Than Lightning" side quest.

Final Fantasy II

 * Bhunivelze in his second form can use Falling Star which is the synonym to and has similar animation to Starfall (a falling meteorite), one of abilities used by the final boss of Final Fantasy II, Hell Emperor.

Final Fantasy III

 * The bard at the tavern in Ruffian will sing a song that directly lifts the melody of the overworld theme on the Floating Continent, "Eternal Wind".

Final Fantasy V

 * The Splendid Admiral garb is based on Yoshitaka Amano's artwork for Faris Scherwiz.
 * The Tour Guide may play "Battle 2" and "Clash on the Big Bridge".
 * Almagest used by Bhunivelze in his third form refers to the ability the final boss of Final Fantasy V uses.

Final Fantasy VI

 * The Heartstealer garb is based on Yoshitaka Amano's artwork for Locke Cole.
 * The moogles Moghan and Mogwin are named after two of the Ten Moogles.
 * After completing side quests regarding Biggs and Wedge in Yusnaan, they change their profession and may be heard playing rendition of "Terra's Theme" referring to how in the opening of Final Fantasy VI Biggs and Wedge control Terra.
 * Dancing Mad ability used by Bhunivelze in his second form, refers to the track of the same name that plays during the final boss battle in Final Fantasy VI.

Final Fantasy VII

 * As part of the garb system, Lightning can wear Cloud Strife's "SOLDIER 1st Class Uniform" along with the Buster Sword, and comes with with the Braver ability, Cloud's victory pose and Final Fantasy VII victory theme. Lightning's official render pose in her SOLDIER outfit mimics Cloud's idle battle stance.
 * A garb modeled after Aerith Gainsborough's Final Fantasy VII attire named "Midgar's Flower Girl" appears, with the victory pose being similar to Aerith's and the victory theme is the one heard in Final Fantasy VII. The trailer for the outfit contains a scene where Lightning is pierced through the chest, a reference to the iconic scene from Final Fantasy VII.


 * During the ending of Final Fantasy VII, the Lifestream bursts out of the earth to help Holy combat Meteor. The Lifestream takes the form of bright azure threads of energy. The souls of humanity finding a new home during the ending FMV of Lightning Returns also take this form.

Final Fantasy X

 * Yuna's Summoner costume is available as one of the garbs available for Lightning, under the title "Spira's Summoner". The render for the garb is reminiscent of Yuna's battle stance from Final Fantasy X. The victory pose is similar to Yuna's and the victory theme is replaced with the track from Final Fantasy X.
 * Tidus's weapon, the Brotherhood, can be obtained in the game along with the Sphere Hunter garb.
 * There is a shop building in Luxerion's The Warren called "Jecht's Goods" and has a logo of the Zanarkand Abes blitzball team, referring to Jecht, the Zanarkand Abes blitzball player.
 * Song of Prayer (the Japanese name of "Hymn of the Fayth") is the auto-ability exclusive to the Summoner's Shield.

Final Fantasy X-2

 * Yuna's Gunner dressphere under the title "Sphere Hunter", can be obtained as a garb for Lightning.
 * The video showcasing the Spira's Summoner garb from Final Fantasy X presents a scene where Lightning is welcomed by moogles, a reference to a situation from Final Fantasy X-2 where Yuna was wearing a moogle outfit as a disguise.

Final Fantasy XII and the Ivalice Alliance

 * The Jagds are referred to the Jagd Frozen Yogurt in the Luxerion's Beverage Shop and the Jagd Woods within the Wildlands.

Final Fantasy XIII

 * Two prominent colors from Lightning's default garb – red and white – refer to Lightning's Final Fantasy XIII attire, where red and white are also the dominant colors.
 * Having three Schemata available in battle refers to how a character was more proficient with three paradigm roles out of available six.
 * Lightning calls Hope "Mr. Hope Estheim", but he asks her to "just call [him] Hope": this is reminiscent of the cutscene in Chapter Four where Lightning asks Hope to call her 'Light', short from the more formal 'Lightning'.
 * Player can make Lightning turn around herself, which will cause Lightning catch her head and wave her head left and right, alluding to the easter egg where walking a character side to side rapidly would make the character perform a special action.
 * Chef Aryas in Aryas Village of the Wildlands makes a 'Legendary Recipe' dish called 'NORA Spécial', referring to the group NORA. He says it "evokes sun-dappled afternoons on the seashore", referring to NORA's formation place, Bodhum, which is a seashore town.
 * When Hope and Lightning form the plan of breaking into the Patron's Palace by using the play, they allude to Lightning's words: "Keep your eyes front. I'll watch the rear" and "It's not a matter of can or can't. Some things in life you just do."
 * When Lightning explains Snow why she didn't kill him when he was a Cie'th, she says that "[he's] too stubborn to die".
 * There is a shop in Yusnaan called Nix and Styria General Store, referring to Snow's twin sister Eidolons. Aptly, Snow is the ruler of the city.


 * Bhunivelze's final form is meant to be defeated by knocking him out, similarly how Orphan takes damage only after it's staggered, but unlike Orphan, Bhunivelze can still receive damage from regular attacks. The Limit Break-type abilities ignore resistances of both final bosses and deal normal damage regardless of enemy's elemental susceptibility.
 * The attack which Lightning uses to finish Bhunivelze off is Last Resort, Hope's Full ATB Skill. While in the Japanese version she says "Last Resort!" when she uses the ability, in the English version it's changed to "I bring you salvation!".

Final Fantasy XIII-2

 * The Cactuar Statue in Yusnaan refers to an episode from Snow's life detailed in the Japanese companion novels where he met the Gran Pulse fal'Cie Cactuar and fought alongside it against Royal Ripeness.
 * Olga in Yusnaan will sing "Serah's Theme" from Final Fantasy XIII-2 to Lightning if she completes her quest, Songless Diva.
 * The Beverage Shop in Luxerion sells Captain Cryptic's Coffee for a full heal. Captain Cryptic's Confounding Quiz is a sidequest in Final Fantasy XIII-2, hosted by Captain Cryptic.

Final Fantasy XIV

 * The default female Miqo'te costume is one of Lightning's garbs. The victory pose is modeled after the Miqo'te victory pose and the victory theme is changed to that from Final Fantasy XIV.

Allusions to the Number Thirteen
Being the third and final chapter of the thirteenth installment of the series, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII makes some references to the number itself. Although many of these are not necessarily deliberate allusions to the number 13 (whether they are or not is speculative), they are nonetheless present.
 * In the beginning, Lightning has a seven day limit before the world will end, but the limit can be extended to thirteen days.
 * Hope Estheim was transported from Nova Chrysalia to the Ark one hundred and sixty-nine years before the start of the game: 13 × 13 = 169.
 * The default sword for Lightning, Crimson Blitz, raises Lightning's Strength and Magic by 130 points.
 * Fang and Vanille woke up thirteen years before the game's events.
 * The side quest, Born from Chaos, says that thirteen brave heroes tried to kill a Zomok, with twelve of them losing their lives.
 * A quest involves getting a Chocobo Girl's phone number, that has 13 numbers.
 * One of the side quests require from Lightning finding thirteen clocks around Luxerion.
 * The length of "Almighty Bhunivelze" on the game's soundtrack is roughly thirteen minutes.

Kingdom Hearts series

 * Lightning has access to an ability called Magnet which acts like its Kingdom Hearts counterpart in that it draws enemies into a certain spot in the battlefield and deals continuous damage.

Tomb Raider

 * Lightning has a Tomb Raider garb available for download.
 * The Troubled Archaeologist in the Dead Dunes' Ruffian and later in the Temple Ruins may be a homage to Lara Croft; female, interested in the ancient world and speaking in an approximation of received pronunciation.

Fullmetal Alchemist

 * In The Side Quest Tanbam's Taboo, Tanbam used alchemy to put the soul of his brother into a living automaton. This reflects the plot of Fullmetal Alchemist as its protagonist Edward Elric placed the soul of his brother Alphonse in a suit of armor.

Folklore

 * Lightning's task as the savior is akin to that of a, a being who escorts newly deceased souls and gives them safe passage to the afterlife. The same can be said for Vanille as she actually guides the dead to the new world.

Lithuanian Mythology

 * The monster Zaltys is named after a benevolent, with the name itself being the Lithuanian word for the.

Norse Mythology

 * The silver horns on Oerba Dia Vanille's headdress may pay homage to, a cow goddess known for freeing the first god from a block of ice, and saving , the first of the Frost Giants, from death by feeding him chilled milk (ice cream). Since Vanille's name is French for "vanilla", it may allude to the ice cream flavor.
 * In the mural found within the Dead Dunes, Etro resembles a valkyrie, one of the female warriors who bore the valorous dead to Valhalla.

Christianity

 * While Bhunivelze's color scheme of whites and gold and some of his facial features are often associated with angelic beings, his horns and other elements of his facial design harken to demonic beings.
 * The horns on Vanille's headdress take after Bhunivelze's crest, which serves as the symbol of the Order, but they may also harken the image of a halo, which is a symbol often associated with saints.
 * The Order's planned use of Vanille can be compared to ritual purification and Jesus Christ's role as the Lamb of God, whose sacrificial death as a servant of God purged the sins of humanity and purified them, akin to the Order's goal of having Vanille die as a sacrificial lamb to destroy the dead and purify the living.
 * Vanille's headdress being knocked off when she stops the Soulsong can be compared to the concept of fallen angels, evil or rebellious angels cast down from Heaven for committing sins. Vanille losing her headdress through her act of rebelling against Bhunivelze can be seen as her being stripped of her sainthood and cast out of the Order's favor.

Illuminati

 * The Dead Dunes' bandit group is called Monoculus: monoculus is a Latin word meaning "one-eyed" and a symbol of the Illuminati is a single eye which is also a symbol of spying. Adonis says to Lightning the group was following her, aptly referring to the group's name.
 * The prominent use of black-and-white chequered board refers to the Illuminati, who supposedly categorize the world for the good and the evil.

Books

 * The Japanese name of the Ranger garb is named after Strider, an alias the ranger Aragorn used in the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
 * The fictional character is referred to by the non-player character Holmes whom Lightning is asked to search for. Like the character he is named after, Holmes provide information regarding the case which Lightning takes care of.

Real World

 * is referenced in the English version of the game through the non-playable character Gordon Gourmet who is a culinary expert. The character's Japanese name is simply "Master Gourmet".


 * During the final section of the second-to-last and final FMVs, multiple references are made to the real world. As the souls of humanity find their way to a new home, they pass planets that closely resemble Saturn and Mars before settling on a planet that is near-identical to Earth in size and geography. In the epilogue FMV Lightning arrives at a train station in a countryside town that resembles France in the modern era of the real world. Lightning dresses in modern clothes, and cars in the parking lot look like modern cars.

Brand Names

 * In Madam's bar in Augur's Quarter in Yusnaan, Lightning can buy a "Ton Berringnon". This alludes to the real world champagne.