SPOILERS AHEAD: References and Allusions in Dawntrail

[Eloah]

With the forum in its current state of umm... things, I thought it would be nice to bring up a lighter subject.

What Final Fantasy references and allusions have you noticed so far in the Dawntrail expansion. I believe most of the references/allusions are from 9 and 10, but there could be a few others scattered about. I guess try and be mindful of spoilers, but this is a spoiler thread, so it won't be a hard rule.

Here is everything that I've noticed.

The 3 Sibling

The trio of Wuk Lamat, Zoraal Ja, and Koana perfect mimic the 3 Genome siblings in Zidane, Kuja, and Mikoto. Wuk Lamat shares Zidane's desire to help people in need. And has a personal connection to royalty with a gemstone name. Zoraal Ja shares Kuja's inferiority complex and desire to be the true heir/angel of death. Also in his final fight he absorbs a bunch of souls to power himself up. Koana embodies Mikoto in her stoicism and logical thinking, only showing brief hints of emotion until later in the story. As a bonus, all 3 of the races they are, have tails.

The Final Zone

TheThe final zone is a nice amalgamation of 9 and 10 references.

●For the 9 references, there is the parallel to Memoria, a land made of memories. The zone is even called Living Memory, lol. The areas are also laid out similarly to 9's world map.

●The Areas also each represent a location from 9. Canal Town appears to be Alexandria, Yesterland matches Lindblum, the Asyle Volcane is Mt Gulg/Gulug, and Windspath Gardens is the Iifa Tree and the surrounding area. A Milalla in the area even mentions a structure resembling the tree.

●In 9, 4 elemental mirrors are required to gain access to Terra. In DT 4 elemental terminals must be shut down to access the final dungeon.

●The play, "I Want to be Your Canary" is referenced by an NPC, as well as partially performed during the MSQ.

●Several of the area locations make reference to jewels and areas from 9, like Opal Springs, Cleyra, Air Cab Station, Daguerreo

●The Steps of the Speaker area is a reference to Oeilvert. It provides knowledge of a past culture that just "appeared", Terrans/Milalla, and has visual references like the observatories and the masks on the wall.

●The Gimme Cat is a mascot on some items. And a world FATE is against a friendly Mu mascot. It even uses the friendly monster music.

●The Dungeon in the area, The Strayborough Deadwalk uses the Zorn and Thorn theme, Court Jesters.

●Living Memory also has a few parallels to 10 as well. It's a location where people can visit departed loved ones, much like the Farplane.

●The Endless are a mix between the Unscent, who know they are deceased, and the Fayth, who wish to end their dreaming.

●Additionally, after the MSQ is clear, the lingering glows left in the zone look like pyre flies.

Heritage Found and Solution 9

●The obvious one being the name Solution 9, referencing one of Zidane's Dyne moves.

●The Everkeep is a hi-tech version of the Iifa Tree. Complete with the dungeon Origenics showing how souls are converted within.

●The zone Living Memory is actually located on the top floor of Everkeep, just like the portal to Memoria was at the top of the Iifa Tree.

●Electric cables are everywhere, just like how the roots of the Iifa Tree spread throughout Gaia.

●Pictures of the friendly monsters adorn locations in Solution 9. I've found the Yan and the Mu.

●The hideouts for Oblivion use the Tantalus theme. Each group also has a pair of twins, Nero brothers/Turali sisters, and someone named after a stone, Ruby and Geode.

●The leader of each group is also a parent/parental figure of a main character, Zidane and Erenville. They are also a non-human with rabbit-like ears and a very jovial personality.

Character/misc references

●The character of Sphene is a combination of Princess Garnet and Garland. Her name is a type of gem often confused with garnets, and she had the same goal of cycling souls. Also her Eternal Queen form vaguely resembles Necron.

●Krile's origins mimic Garnet and her mother's escape in the original game. Even her name being changed, and learning about it later. Krile also has an earring to remember he parents by, and Eiko was given the Memory Earring as a keepsake from her parents.

●The Mamool Ja of Mamook draw parallels to the Burmecians. They live in lower elevations that are afflicted with unusual environmental conditions. Have a mosaic buildings. And have a citizen base that split in two, with one half desiring peace over training for battle.

●Otis Velona is a reference to Steiner, being buffooning rust bucket, the captain of the knights, and bonding with a young charge, Gulool Ja/Vivi.

●Gulool Ja draws parallels with Puck, being a prince who ran away from home. We also don't know anything about either of their mothers.

●The character Tobli is named after the character form 10.

●Terra, a very advanced world, tried, failed, and only partially merged with Gaia. This is what the Unlost World/Alexandria are highly advanced as well, and did the same thing.

●The final boss of the first dungeon is based on the Abadon boss from Pandemonium in 9.

[TaleraRistain]

Couple more character references

The Vanguard final boss Zander the Snakeskinner is a reference to Zidane. And the Origenics final boss Ambrose the Undeparted was Amarant. He even had electrical dreadlocks. Zander had a blonde mullet which made me laugh.

[Eloah]

So I recently finished the Pictomancer quests and noticed another reference.

Beruru is written to mimic Eiko, and her learning to stand on her own. At first you'd think she was designed to mimic Relm, both being children and Pictomancers. But as the story progresses you see more of Eiko's character. A grandfather figure who recently died, a desire to not be alone, and the biggest hint, a moogle. Like Eiko, Beruru, was overly reliant on Kupopo, and in the end Kupopo wasn't what he appeared. This mimics Mog/Madeen and how she was Eiko's only companion until Zidane and the others came to show her how to stand on her own. I guess this semi-explains why Mog and Madeen are Pictomancer attacks. It was a cute little Easter egg, combining 3 child charactersfrom the franchise with one job.