Final Fantasy is a long-running franchise with a long-running tradition of making gratuitous references to Star Wars. Sometimes these are very in-your-face references that might make players groan, sometimes they are so subtle that only the most die-hard Jedi will notice them.
With both franchises being such significant parts of the geeky canon, it is no surprise that there should be some crossover. With Star Wars coming first, there were plenty of opportunities for the fans within Squaresoft’s dev teams to slip jokes in here and there. This has been something of a tradition in Final Fantasy — the force is truly with them.
10 Biggs and Wedge
One of the most blatant and recurring shout-outs to Star Wars within Final Fantasy is the constant inclusion of two characters named Biggs and Wedge. Starting in Final Fantasy 6 where they were the two imperial magitek soldiers who accompanied Terra throughout the prologue. Biggs and Wedge have appeared as soldiers, guards, allies, and blitzball players.
In Star Wars, Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles are pilots fighting for the rebels in the original trilogy. Biggs was a childhood friend of Luke Skywalker and Wedge was a renowned pilot. Both played minor roles in the trilogy but made enough of an impression to become beloved references in many Final Fantasy games released since.
9 You Are My Brother
What is more shocking than an armor-clad warrior, revealed to be a family member of one of the good guys, thought to be evil but getting to redeem himself towards the end of the story? Three of them! This is something that has been done no less than that many times in Final Fantasy history as semi-obvious references to the dastardly Darth Vader.
The first was in Final Fantasy 2, where Maria’s brother Leon (who is only seen at the very beginning of the game) is revealed as the evil dark knight under the service of the emperor. Final Fantasy 4 has the mysterious antagonist Golbez, who is revealed to be the hero Cecil’s brother and mind-controlled by Zeromus. Gabranth of Final Fantasy 12 fame is the third and even has the raspy voice to back it up.
8 Quote Lifting
Someone on the team for Final Fantasy 9 was a fan of The Phantom Menace. This is evidenced by some direct quote lifts from the film that made it into the game. At the end of the game, the incarnation of death Necron quotes Grand Master Jedi Yoda thusly: “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
While this is a rather neat summation of Necron’s view of the world, it is a bit jarring for fans of both franchises to encounter during the game’s big climax. A bit less egregious is Kuja quoting “Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen” from Emperor Palpatine a little earlier in the game.
7 Flying Emperor
While this one may be something of a coincidence, it is hard to ignore the cinematic parallels when one considers all of the other references that this game makes. Final Fantasy 6 has a very memorable mid-game climax where the two antagonists of the game, Emperor Gestahl and Kefka face off against each other. Sound familiar?
Anyone who saw Return of the Jedi will be struck by the similarity in scenes that follow. Kefka, previously beholden to every order that Gestahl gives takes the power for himself and throws the Emperor off the floating continent in an iconic career move.
6 Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2: A New Hope
Two quite blink-and-you’ll-miss-it references to Star Wars exist in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2, in the form of quest titles. ‘It’s a Trap’ is an early-game quest in which the party must disable some traps and defeat enemies at the same time, and ‘I Got a Bad Feeling’ is a quest in the Klesta questline where the party takes on a huge Cockatrice.
The first quest is an obvious reference to the memetic line from Admiral Ackbar: “It’s a trap!” The second is a reference to the fact that every single Star Wars movie has a character that utters the line “I have a bad feeling about this” at some point.
5 Plotlines
From a princess leading the rebel army to a single man controlling the senate, Final Fantasy 12 has a lot to thank Star Wars for in terms of plotlines. While both stories follow the archetypical Hero’s Story structure there are more similarities than differences and that cannot be ignored.
Standing out in particular, are Balthier, Fran, and the Strahl. A sky pirate, his furry friend, and their disc-like airship. There’s definitely a comparison to be made to a certain sky pirate, furry friend, and disc-like spaceship in Star Wars.
4 Aren’t You A Little Short?
Final Fantasy 6 really is laden with references and this may be down to the wonderful Ted Woolsley and his penchant for unique translations. One moment that will stick out to Star Wars fans is when Locke rescues Celes from the makeshift prison at Narshe. She remarks “You’re awfully short for a soldier” to which Locke replies “Oh, I forgot I was wearing a uniform!”
This hearkens back to the famous scene in the first Star Wars movie where Luke meets Leia for the first time, similarly wearing the armor of their mutual enemy.
3 Fun With Anagrams
While a little tenuous, there is something to be said for this tidbit of information being a genuine reference. In Final Fantasy 7, the party meets a canine-feline-beast called Red XIII who joins the party.
Early on in the story, it is revealed that his name is actually Nanaki. Nanaki is an anagram of Anakin, of Skywalker fame. While this doesn’t really bear much of anything of importance for Red XIII’s story arc, it is another sign of the writers having fun with references.
2 Orlandeau-Wan Kenobi
Cidolfus Orlandeau is such an iconic and powerful character in Final Fantasy Tactics that he made it into Final Fantasy 14 Stormblood’s raids as a boss named Thunder God Cid. While he is a blatant reference to the Tactics Ogre character Hobyrim, there is something to be said for his resemblance to a certain Jedi.
Also wearing a hood and being renowned for his skill with bladed weapons, Obi-Wan Kenobi is as revered as Orlandeau both by residents of their universes and by fans. They serve as brilliant warriors despite their age and strike up a great rapport with the younger protagonists of their titles.
1 The Cave Of Plotline Battles
The scene in Empire Strikes Back where Luke fights Darth Vader on Dagobah only for it to be revealed that it is himself in that armor all along is rather iconic for Star Wars fans. It’s a hint to Luke’s heritage, a neat test that he has to go through, and a cool fight scene in its own right.
Cecil Harvey goes through something extremely similar in Final Fantasy 4. At the summit of Mt. Ordeals, the Dark Knight challenges himself in a mirrored room, learning to control the darkness within him and sheathe his sword. He comes out of the challenge a Paladin, just as Luke becomes a Jedi. It’s a hard parallel to miss.
NEXT: Final Fantasy: The Best Version Of Every Main Game And How To Play Them
