Final Fantasy X-2 allusions

Final Fantasy X-2 makes numerous references to previous Final Fantasy titles and other pop culture references.
==Final Fantasy series==
===Final Fantasy===
*Gates on Garment Grids are colored after four elemental crystals: red, blue, yellow, and green.
===Final Fantasy III===
*The accessories Invincible and Enterprise are named after airships.
===Final Fantasy VI===
*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 Weapon.
*One of Garment Grids, Bum Rush, is also the name of Sabin's most powerful Blitz.
*One of Garment Grids, Treasure Hunt, refers to the self-proclaimed title of Locke Cole.
===Final Fantasy VII===
*The boss of the Mi'ihen Highroad Fiend Colony, King VERMIN!, is named after the insult Barret used toward President Shinra. Its bestiary entry is reminiscent of Barret's speaking style.
*The character Shinra shares his name with the Shinra Electric Power Company in Final Fantasy VII. He makes a resounding late-game statement, which combined with other information, indicates that Spira is connected with the world of Final Fantasy VII."Kazushige Nojima: '...After quitting the Gullwings, Shinra received enormous financial support from Rin, and began trying to use Vegnagun to siphon Mako Energy from the Farplane. But, he is unable to complete the system for utilizing this energy in his generation, and in the future, when traveling to distant planets becomes possible, the Shinra Company is founded on another world, or something like that....... That would happen about 1000 years after this story, I think.'" Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania Interview with FFX-2 creators, Page 723. Final Fantasy Forums
*When Rikku discovers Zanarkand was turned into a tourist attraction by Cid, she compares it to "turning the ruins of Home into a theme park". Yuffie Kisaragi has a similar issue with Wutai Village being turned into "a cheesy resort town" by her father, Godo Kisaragi.
*One of the Garment Grids, Healing Wind, is named after Aeris's initial Limit.
*One of the Garment Grids, Salvation Promised, refers to the Promised Land.
*Catching chocobos is a similar process in both Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X-2, and the Final Fantasy X-2 version appears to be directly influenced by its predecessor. Chocobos appear in random encounters and the accompanying enemies must be killed to catch it. The player can give the chocobo greens to make it stay. Captured chocobos are sent to a ranch where the player can feed them to improve their properties.
===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 Selphie Tilmitt often uses.
*Rikku uses a PuPu doll for a weapon while in Mascot dressphere.
*PuPu is the icon for a Final Fantasy X-2 save file on the PS2 memory card.
*In Final Fantasy X-2 International and HD Remaster, a PuPu makes an actual appearance in the ending of the Iron Giant, and another one appears in Concherer's ending.
*Daeva bears physical resemblance to Diablos due to its model being reused from Final Fantasy X. As a further reference to Diablos, Daeva doesn't take damage from gravity attacks, as Diablos is gravity-elemental GF in Final Fantasy VIII.
===Final Fantasy IX===
*The Garment Grid Tetra Master is likely named after the card game played within Final Fantasy IX.
*Some non-player characters from Final Fantasy IX make an appearance: Benero appears as an Al Bhed being interviewed by Shelinda and a character called Cinna is seen not wanting to part with his hammer.
===Final Fantasy X===
Final Fantasy X-2 is set within the same world as Final Fantasy X, and as such contains many callbacks.
*The main antagonist, Shuyin, is a direct allusion to Tidus, the protagonist of the previous game. They bear an identical resemblance, they're both from some form of Zanarkand, and Shuyin's major attacks are renamed versions of Tidus's Overdrives.
*Numerous weapons are reused:
**When equipped with the Warrior, Yuna wields the Brotherhood and Rikku wields the Crystal Sword.
**When equipped with either the Black or White Mage, all three girls are equipped with one of the rods Yuna wielded in Final Fantasy X.
**When equipped with the Samurai, Yuna and Rikku wield Auron's katanas.
**When equipped with the Dark Knight, Yuna and Rikku wield Tidus's and Auron's Celestial Weapons, Caladbolg and Masamune, respectively.
**When equipped with the Mascot, the three girls wear costumes and use weapons based on Lulu's dolls: Yuna wears a Moogle costume and wields a Moomba, Rikku wears a Cait Sith costume and wields a Space Bandit, and Paine wears a Tonberry costume and wields a Cactuar.
*Kimahri's Celestial Weapon, the Spirit Lance, is included with the statue built of him on Mt. Gagazet.
*The Onion Knight, Lulu's Celestial Weapon is featured in a fiend tale ending with her from Shinra's Creature Creator.
*Shuyin uses the World Champion for his strongest attack: Terror of Zanarkand
*While referring to what Ronso said in Final Fantasy X, a statue of Yuna with a horn may be constructed on Mt. Gagazet depending on the player's choices regarding the Ronso through the game.
*Yuna takes Tidus's battle pose and uses his victory pose when wearing the Warrior dressphere.
*Rikku's Alchemist dressphere is similar to her diving suit from Final Fantasy X. Also, her spellcasting pose in this dressphere is the same as Tidus's.
*The airship Celsius is counterpart to the airship name Fahrenheit in Final Fantasy X.
*During "real Commotion?" mission in Chapter 1 at Luca, when Rikku asks Yuna what "did she do after they left", Yuna says "Top secret!" and assumes the pose from her Final Fantasy X render.
* The Cactuar Search mission is a direct "sequel" to a previous subquest in Final Fantasy X at the Bikanel desert.
* Shinra's ending in the Creature Creator pays homage to the Zanarkand scene in Final Fantasy X, where a group of fiends are gathered by the campfire during sunset while Shinra stands on the cliff where Tidus stood.
*The middle of Yuna's default costume bears the logo for the Zanarkand Abes.
*The Fayth of Bahamut asks Yuna at the end of the game "You want to walk together again?", this might be an allusion to the lyrics of "Suteki Da Ne (Isn't It Wonderful?)", "素敵だね 二人手をとり 歩けたなら" (Suteki da ne? Futari te wo tori aruketa nara, lit. "Isn't it wonderful, if we could walk together hand in hand").
==Allusions to other games==
===Concepts===
*A common concept in western games is three basic classes branching into more, the three classes being most commonly know as Warrior, Thief/Rogue, and Sorcerer/Wizard. Rikku's default dressphere is Thief, while Paine's is Warrior. While Yuna doesn't get a magic-based dressphere as default, most of the plot dresspheres she obtains are magic-oriented.
**Yuna's version of Mascot puts emphasis on magic learning and allows use of the Arcana skillset. Several abilities in the Trainer and Festivalist put emphasis on elemental damage. Her special dressphere, Floral Fallal, is a magic-oriented dressphere.
**Rikku's Mascot allows her to use Instinct, Berserker's command; Berserker is an agility-based dressphere like Thief, and is evocative of her high speed martial arts-based fighting style from Final Fantasy X.
**Paine's Mascot, Trainer, and Festivalist abilities focus on physical attacks which inflict status ailments. Full Throttle special dressphere is a battle armor with a multitude of animate swords, and her Limit Break-like attack in the dressphere includes a series of slashes with the said swords.
===Metal Gear Solid===
*When fighting enemies summoned by Logos at the Floating Ruins of Mt. Gagazet, Rikku shouts in a similar way to the characters in the Metal Gear Solid series when Snake dies.
===Mana series===
*An accessory called the Rabite's Foot raises Luck by 100. A rabite is a weak, basic leporine monster in Square Enix's Mana games that, ironically, does not have feet.
==Allusions to other media==
===TV shows===
*YRP's group dynamic bears a stylistic resemblance to Charlie's Angels, especially in the first chapter where their introduction scenes are done in a flashy 70's style.
*Leblanc's group dynamic bears a stylistic resemblance to the Dorombo Gang from the Yatterman series, being a trio with a female leader and two male underlings, with various groups like Team Rocket from the Pokemon series modeled after them.
**The Goons' battle cries are similar to those used by the human-like grunts of the antagonists Showa-era Kamen Rider series. The Fiend Tales' endings for Red and his fellow goons can be seen as a homage to the Super Sentai series since they are named by color.
*During Chapter 5, when the player is given a description of the newly added Calm Lands minigames, they are told it is "Brought to you by Tobli, Calm Skies Partnership, and the letter Q". This refers to Sesame Street, a children's television show, which has a tradition "being brought to you by" a letter and number.
*When the player visits Cactuar Nation for the first time and tries to leave before finding out why Marnela called for the group, Picket, the probe guide, will tell the player to stay, and then will yell "No soup for you!" This is the catch phrase from the "Soup Nazi" episode from Seinfeld.
*If the Prophet is nailed as the culprit in the Mi'ihen Highroad Mystery subquest, he'll spout the line: "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!". He also says "Zoinks". This is an often used reference to Scooby-Doo. His voice sounds like Shaggy's as well.
*When spherechanging into the Gunner, Yuna might say "Resistance is futile". This is a quote from the Borg of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
*During the sequence in Chapter 1 where the girls are sphere hunting in Zanarkand, Isaaru takes on the role of a game show host. If the player calls him out by having Yuna ask "Is that you, Isaaru?", he will ask "Is that your final answer?" which was a catchphrase of the hit TV game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
===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".
*The file for Jumbo Cactuar at Shinra's Bestiary says the fiend is "Giant and green, but definitely not jolly". This refers to the Jolly Green Giant.
*One of Rikku's quotes when casting Auto-Life is "Here's a quicker picker upper!" This refers to Bounty paper towels, which have the slogan: "The quilted quicker picker upper".
*One of Rikku's quotes when using the Gun Mage's Fiend Hunter bullet is "Let's do it! Al Bhed tested, Brother approved". This refers 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 refers to the McDonald's sandwich of the same name.
*The Chapter 2 mission on the Mi'ihen Highroad "Cuckoo for Chocobos!", gets its name from the slogan for Cocoa Puffs said by Sonny the Cuckoo Bird "I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!".
===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 lines are said by the witches in the Shakespeare play Macbeth.
===Literature===
*In Chapter 3, Rikku, Brother and others refer to themselves as the "Friendly Neighborhood Gullwings". This refers to the old Spider-Man, who often called himself "just your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man".
* In Chapter 5, if the player had slept in the Celsius 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 similar 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.
*Gugs are a race of horrifying giants in the lore of H. P. Lovecraft.
*Rikku's Ghiki from her Trainer dressphere appears to be patterned after Sun Wukong, the Monkey King from the Chinese novel Journey to the West. The coloring and "hair antennas" are part of the traditional depiction.
===Movies===
*When Rikku changes into a Samurai, she sometimes quips, "Crouching tiger, hidden Rikku", 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 the Songstress's abilities is called Dirty Dancing, a reference to the movie of the same name.
*Paine's special dressphere is called Full Throttle. This could be a reference to the Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle movie. The movie and Final Fantasy X-2 were both released in 2003.
*The name of the digging mission in Bikanel desert is "Can You Dig It?", the famous quote from the 70's film, The Warriors.
*During Chapter 3, if the Gullwings meet Pacce in the Bevelle Underground, they will warn him about fiends. He responds "Fiends? The Kinderguardians laugh in the face of fiends! Ha ha!" This is similar to the line spoken by Simba when he goes to the elephant graveyard in The Lion King.
* When using his Russian Roulette ability, Logos may ask "Feeling lucky, punk?" a reference to the line from the film Dirty Harry, "You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, punk?"
===Music===
*At the end 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 refers 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, refers to "Boris the Spider" by The Who. His "Sticky End" attack and his entry in Shinra's Bestiary, which reads "maybe he's as scared as you," are both references to lyrics in the song.
*The joined ability performed by Leblanc, Logos, and Ormi in Chateau Leblanc in Chapter 2 is called "No Love Lost": "No Love Lost" is a name of a song composed by Carcass.
* The name of the Lady Luck dressphere be a nod toward Frank Sinatra's song, "Luck Be A Lady", which talks of the singer hoping luck stays with him as he gambles.
*A trophy/achievement from Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster is called Dancing Queen, a reference to Abba's famous song with the same name.
==Religion and mythology==
===Judeo-Christian===
*Vegnagun's design, particularly its moth-like wings on a locust body, refer to a popular design of the Judeo-Christian demon Beelzebub (one name also used for the Devil) referred to as Lord of Flies, taking the form of a demonic fly or locust.
===Ancient Egypt===
*One of the abilities usable by the Sinistral Wing, one of the parts of Paine's special dressphere, Full Throttle, is named Ma'at's Feather after Maat, the ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. Furthermore, in Egyptian mythology, Maat would weigh the hearts of the dead against the feather to determine whether they had lived a virtuous life.
===Roman===
* Lady Luck may refer to Fortuna, the goddess of fortune in Roman mythology or the goddess of fortune Tyche in Greek mythology.
===Japan===
*Shuyin is based on an ikiryō, a manifestation of the soul of a living person separately from their body, a concept present in the Japanese mythology. The ikiryō are said to be able to possess a living person without the originator being aware of it. The spirits are not "tied to whomever they possess", and "may freely move about bodies".
===Folklore===
*The three pets of the Trainer dressphere allude to the tale of Momotarō, where the hero's companions are a dog, a pheasant and a monkey on his journey.
==Real world==
*The accessory Iron Duke is named after a dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1912.
*Paine's "Cactling Gun" ability is an allusion to the Gatling gun, an early form of machine gun invented by Dr Richard Gatling.
==Citations==
Category:Final Fantasy X-2
Category:Allusions