Final Fantasyrecently celebrated its 35th anniversary, making it one of the longest-ongoing gaming franchises today. While it’s not a surprise thatFinal Fantasy 14is amongst the biggest titles in the series, what may get overlooked by newcomers to the series is the boatload of references to other titles that came before or after it.
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Aside from including actual characters from other Final Fantasy titles,there are many more winks and nods to other installments that can be hard to spot if you have little knowledge of the series. Things such as the names of specific locations and characters, the musical score playing in the background of an encounter, and much more can fly right over your head if you have no frame of reference.
10Calcabrina - Final Fantasy 4
Way back during Heavensward’s Patch 3.2, a Dungeon was introduced called The Antitower, which featured the Calcabrina boss encounter at the very end of it. While this boss fight is creepy for several reasons, it’s also a direct reference to a boss encounter in Final Fantasy 4.
The Calcas and Brinas are a boss encounter in Final Fantasy 4 that, if you do not kill fast enough, transform together to create Calcabrina, which is what happens during this encounter found in The Antitower. Furthermore, the song that plays during this fight (Calcabrina Theme) is a rearranged version of the theme found in Final Fantasy 4 (Dancing Calcabrina).
9Krile - Final Fantasy 3 And 5
Krile Mayer Baldesion is Krile’s full name in Final Fantasy 14, which also happens to be the full name of one of the main characters in Final Fantasy 5. Krile in Final Fantasy 5 is a Princess and the granddaughter of Galuf Halm Baldesion, another playable character in the game.
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Another fascinating fact about Krile is that her attire is based on the Devout Job present in Final Fantasy 3, which is more or less the game’s White Mage. The White Mage is the Job Krile’s Class, Conjurer, evolves into.Despite being a supporting character, Krile is one of the crucial members of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.
8Magitek Armor - Final Fantasy 6
Magitek Armor is a Mount you may obtain in Final Fantasy 14 that is modeled after the Magitek Armor found in Final Fantasy 6 and displayed on the game’s cover art,with Terra piloting one toward the walls of Vector. This Mount perfectly captures the stunning design of the game.
If that wasn’t enough, when you pilot the Magitek Armor, a rearranged version of Terra’s Theme from Final Fantasy 6 will play (Magitek Armor Theme (Terra’s Theme), having a wave of nostalgia rush over you at once.
7Squats - Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7
Despite squats being a big part of the original Final Fantasy 7, they oddly become even more of a phenomenon in the series after the release ofCrisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, a spin-off game featuring Zack Fair as the protagonist.
Zack Fair is constantly doing squats any chance he gets in Crisis Core, to the point where it has been referenced in Final Fantasy 14 by several NPCs and has become an obtainable Emote by participating in the game’s Squadrons.While you may never beat Zack regarding squats,you can follow his lead, your dreams, and protect your Soldier honor by honing your squat skills.
6Costa del Sol - Final Fantasy 7
Perhaps the most popular and well-regarded installment of the series isFinal Fantasy 7, and for a good reason. This is probably why there is an abundance of nods to the game in Final Fantasy 14, with Costa del Sol being one of many.
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Costa del Sol is a beach you gain access to in Final Fantasy 7 after you sneak onto a Cargo Ship that belongs to Rufus Shinra, the President of the Shinra Electric Power Company. While the beaches look entirely different from one another, the Costa del Sol is an apparent reference to the one found within the all-time classic.
5Manderville Gold Saucer - Final Fantasy 7
Speaking of Final Fantasy 7, the Manderville Gold Saucer found in Final Fantasy 14 is a direct nod to the Gold Saucer found in Final Fantasy 7. While they do look significantly different, you can participate in Chocobo Races in both games, but you don’t have to worry about Chocobo Joe smoking you in Final Fantasy 14.
Additionally, the music playing in the Manderville Gold Saucer (Gold Saucer Theme) is a rearranged version of the Gold Saucer track from the original Final Fantasy 7, making you never want to leave. Lastly, in Final Fantasy 7, the Gold Saucer has its own currency known as GP, which you earn by participating in the many mini-games found throughout.In Final Fantasy 14, the Manderville Gold Saucer also has its own currency, MGP, which is accrued the same way.
4The Seventh Heaven - Final Fantasy 7
Even with little knowledge of Final Fantasy 7, you more than likely heard people bring up The Seventh Heaven from time to time. If you haven’t, The Seventh Heaven is a bar found in the Sector Seven Slums that is home to the Insurgent Group Avalanche. Avalanche is your group, housing all the playable characters in the game.
Here’s where Final Fantasy 14 comes in, where it also has The Seventh Heaven that serves as the Scions of the Seventh Dawn’s base of operations. The number seven is seen throughout Final Fantasy 7, and it’s no coincidence that the Scions of the Seventh Dawn’s headquarters is called The Seventh Heaven. Too many sevens going on here…
Triple Triad can be as big or small as you want it to be in Final Fantasy 14. It is a card game where you’re able to challenge random NPCs to battle against during your adventure, and it can get quite intense if you are into collecting every card and beating every available person.
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Nonetheless, if you enjoy playing a round of Triple Triad every now and then but have never playedFinal Fantasy 8, then it may interest you to know that this mini-game is pulled straight from there. While it is modified ever so slightly to fit the themes of Final Fantasy 14, it’s very similar. Furthermore, despite the name being the same, the song for Triple Triad is the exact same in both titles and is not altered, rearranged, or redone in any way in Final Fantasy 14.
2Prima Vista Airship - Final Fantasy 9
Airships are a large part of Final Fantasy’s charm, and the Prima Vista Airship fromFinal Fantasy 9may be one of the most iconic and recognizable ones. This is why fans of the series were overjoyed when they first saw it appear in Final Fantasy 14’s Stormblood expansion.
Unfortunately, the Prima Vista is not yet a Mount in Final Fantasy 14, but you do get to board it during an Alliance Raid introduced in Patch 4.0, which sort of makes up for it. Still, just seeing the Prima Vista in all its glory is more than enough for most.
1Ozma - Final Fantasy 9
Lastly, we have another Final Fantasy 9 reference, which comes by way of the Weeping City of Mhach Alliance Raid within Final Fantasy 14.Ozma is the Raid’s third boss encounter and is based on the same boss from Final Fantasy 9, a secret superboss in the game.
Ozma is an excellent encounter in both games, and seeing this swirling ball of color that resembles a marble wreak chaos and destruction in Final Fantasy 14 as 24 players try to take it down is epic. While the overall design of the boss may not look too special, Final Fantasy 9 fans probably tried their hand at The Baldesion Arsenal Dungeon hundreds of times to get their hands on the Demi-Ozma Mount.
