Final Fantasy VI allusions

The following is list of allusions in Final Fantasy VI.

Final Fantasy

 * Shadow's past as a Thief is a subtle allusion to the transition from Thief to Ninja in the original Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy II

 * In order to get to the Rich Man's house in South Figaro, Locke must tell the Password: "Courage". One of the other options is "Wild Rose" (changed to "Rosebud" in the SNES and GBA releases).
 * Kefka poisoning the water supply of Doma may be an allusion to the Emperor Mateus poisoning the Deist Wind Drake water supply.

Final Fantasy III

 * Locke's ability to open locked doors in Narshe is an allusion to the Thief's ability to open locked doors in Final Fantasy III.
 * The Floating Continent references Final Fantasy III's Floating Continent.

Final Fantasy IV

 * In the GBA version, the method for encountering Leviathan is similar to his first appearance in IV, where he attacks the party's ship while they are trying to cross the ocean.
 * The boss battle against the Behemoth King in the Cave on the Veldt is a subtle allusion to the boss battle against Scarmiglione (Final Fantasy IV) where the battle begins normally but after being defeated, the boss attacks the party with Back Attack as an undead.

Final Fantasy V

 * Gogo shares the name, job, abilities, and appearance with the boss in Sunken Walse Tower.
 * Gilgamesh appears as an esper in the Advance version. He has the same sprite as the boss from Final Fantasy V.
 * Lone Wolf the Pickpocket makes a cameo appearance as well, the party encounters him in few similar ways by first encountering him while he is locked in prison, and later when he steals a treasure before the party can reach it.

Final Fantasy VI Japanese Version

 * In the GBA version, a soldier in Figaro Castle mentions that there were some Kefka worshipers who insist on spelling Kefka's name with "C's" which is both a reference to Kefka's Japanese spelling of his name, as well as poking fun at certain fans who insist on spelling Kefka's name the Japanese way.

Final Fantasy VIII

 * In the GBA version of VI, encountering Jumbo Cactuar is done the same way as in VIII, with the party battling it in a random encounter, in the only desert Cactuar appear in.

Games

 * Sabin's Blitz "Aura Cannon" ("AuraBolt") has the same button commands as the famous "Hadouken" from . They are both ranged attacks. However, Aura Cannon's appearance more closely resembles the more powerful "Shinkuu Hadouken" from the later X-Men vs Street Fighter and VS series games.
 * In the same vein, the "Raging Fist" ("Pummel") shares the button command and name of a special move in the series, and is one of the signature moves of the Kyokugenryu style of karate, practiced by protagonist.
 * The Air Force boss boasts a wave cannon and a minor enemy called Bit that absorbs attacks, just like the R-9 starfighters in.

Star Wars
The Empire contains many allusions to the Galactic Empire from the Star Wars universe.
 * In A New Hope, Grand Moff Tarkin uses the phrase "Rebel scum." A common phrase Imperial soldiers use to refer to the Returners is "Returner scum," or "Scum! You're Returners!".
 * The Imperial soldiers tend to act like the Imperial Stormtroopers due to their perceived incompetence. When Locke rescues Celes, if he is dressed in an Imperial soldier's uniform, Celes asks him, "Aren't you a little short for an Imperial soldier?" an allusion to the line given by Leia Organa to Luke Skywalker.
 * Magitek Armor units are similar to All Terrain Personnel Transports.
 * Setzer says that "the Empire has made him a rich man" before joining the Returners. This is an allusion to The Empire Strikes Back, in which Lando Calrissian makes a deal with the Galactic Empire, though not for money but to save his city. Lando later joined the Rebel Alliance.
 * Biggs and Wedge are named after Star Wars characters, although the original characters are members of the rebel alliance, not the Galactic Empire.
 * Setzer tells the party that the Falcon is the fastest ship in the world, while Han Solo tells the Millennium Falcon is the fastest ship in the galaxy.

Historical Figures

 * Cyan's Desperation Attack, Tsubame Gaeshi, was a famous technique mastered by, a famed Japanese swordsman in the Sengoku period of feudal Japan. Kojirō was best known to have been slain by during a duel at the island of Funajima.

Norse

 * Siegfried was inspired by (known as "Sigurd" in ), he's the dragon-slaying hero of the German epic poem,.

Islamic

 * The esper Crusader's Japanese name is ''.

Christianity

 * Crusader is the name of the strongest Esper in the game.
 * The final series of bosses is a large throwback to . The first tier of enemies consists of a demon shown from the waist up, symbolizing Hell with frozen up to his waist. The second tier is a jumbled mess of machinery, animals, and people representing . The third tier, the formerly overcast and dark background has beams of light shining through the clouds, and the two enemies look like  lying in 's lap, but with "Mary" as a disembodied head and "Jesus" looking like Kefka. The fourth tier, the heroes rise up from the overcast background to a sea of glowing white and gold clouds. The final part of The Divine Comedy has Dante meet God, who tells him the meaning of life. But here, Kefka descends from on skies appearing as a, and tells the main characters that life is meaningless.

Greek

 * Banon retells the story of to Terra.

Japanese

 * is translated as "Imp" in the English scripts. In the GBA release, the exclusive equipment is more obviously themed to them, including a cloak made of reeds and a saucer as a helmet.

Art

 * In earlier versions of Final Fantasy VI, before the player fights Kefka, he says "Life... hope... dreams? Where do they come from? And where are they going?" This may be a reference to the title of one of Paul Gauguin's most famous paintings, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
 * Lady, known as Maria in the Japanese version, and Rest are allusions to the . A sculpture that depicted the recently-deceased Jesus Christ post-crucifixion being cradled by the Virgin Mary, his mother.
 * Final Fantasy VI utilizes several elements and techniques from various operas making the game almost an allusion to opera form itself. It makes heavy use of Leitmotifs in its music, utilizes Mad Scenes, and Kefka himself utilizes elements of both operatic Clowns and Harlequin. The game even ends with a curtain call showing who each character was "playing".
 * The last name Figaro is an allusion to Mozart's .

Movies

 * Strago says "And then I raised my staff, and POW! Right in the kisser!", a reference to.

Television

 * During the burning of Figaro Castle, two soldiers are heard saying "Fire, Fire!! Heh, heh heh heh heh." This is a reference to the pyromanical Beavis of.
 * The Three Dream Stooges names in the SNES version are named after the ; Moe, Larry, and Curly.

Music

 * At one point in the SNES translation, Terra states, "I want to know what love is... now!" "" is a 1984 power ballad recorded by the British-American rock band Foreigner.