Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy 15's References to Other Final Fantasy Games

Kingsglaive Final Fantasy XV is a gorgeous spectacle of a film. It's lush and bright, with a generous about of action crammed into its nearly two-hour runtime. It does a great job fleshing out the world of Final Fantasy XV, but it also excels at giving subtle, sometimes easy to miss nods to previous Final Fantasy games. There are even a few scenes and images that fans who have seen all the footage from Final Fantasy Versus XIII, the game Final Fantasy XV used to be.

There are spoilers for Kingsglaive ahead, but if you're alright with that, take a look at this list of all the references to other Final Fantasy games.

Kingsglaive's first big action sequence is a large-scale battle between the titular military group of the kingdom of Lucius and the robotic soldiers of Nifelheim, the neighboring country trying to invade. Just when the Kingsglaive think they've got a handle on the situation, Nifelheim airships fly in a curious monstrosity shrouded in smoke. But once it hits the ground, it's clear that this creature is in fact a Weapon, similar to those found as optional bosses in Final Fantasy VII. Weapons in FFVIII are powerful bio-mechanical entities built to save the planet from Jenova, and they somewhat resemble kaiju monsters. The enemies in Kingsglaive resemble these weapons both in form and function.

In the same sequence including the first Weapon, a lava-drooling Cerberus can be seen terrorizing the battlefield. Cerberus is a boss in versions of the original Final Fantasy published after the 2004 Final Fantasy I and II: Dawn of Souls edition. The three-headed dog is also an optional boss and Guardian Force you can obtain in Final Fantasy VIII.

In one scene, protagonist Nyx goes to meet the rest of the Kingsglaive for a bite to eat in the city. They settle in on a patio in front of a small kebab stand, and at once point soldier Libertus makes a nasty comment about the food. When we see the stand's owner, he is wearing a shirt with a cute, cartoonish Malboro on it--the same difficult stink-monster we've seen in previous Final Fantasy games and will definitely see in Final Fantasy XV.

Additionally, hanging from a shelf in his stand is what appears to be a cluster of dried-out Cactuars on strings. How cruel.

The bottle of pills Libertus keeps rattling around to ease the pain of his injuries is shown up-close in one shot. The label reads, "Oiseaurare Tablets." Oiseaurare, which translates to "Red Harpy" and is the name for a kind of bird in the real world, is the name of an enemy from Final Fantasy V. The Oiseaurare's most powerful attack is a Blue Magic spell called Magic Hammer, which halves opponent's' magic points. The use of this name could be referencing the effect they have on Libertus--effectively helping him manage, or even halve, the pain from his injuries.

The city if Insomnia, where Kingsglaive takes place, is densely packed with bars and shops. Many of these carry the logos of brand names--including Uniqlo, Beats, and Cup Noodle--but more are named after people and places from other Final Fantasy games.

In numerous shots you can see signs advertising the Bank of Spira (the world in Final Fantasy X), Cosmos (the benevolent ruler of all things good from the Dissidia games), a shop called Lindzei (the god of from the Final Fantasy XIII universe) and Eclair salon (a nod to XIII's heroine Lightning).

There is also one sign in a scene declaring, "YOU CAN DO IS LAUGH." Assuming the word "ALL" is above these words, obscured by a bridge, it's safe to say this is a reference to the infamous laughing scene from Final Fantasy X.

Final Fantasy fans who have seen early footage of what was once Versus XIII will recognize this setup instantly. Without spoiling things, we'll say this: there is a scene between Nyx and Luna that is nearly identical to the one between Noctis and Stella--a character who was eventually cut--in the first scene ever shown from the game. It's a very clever nod to those who have been paying attention to the slow-drip of information about XV all these years. Speaking of Stella...

The face of Stella Nox Fleuret--the early version of who eventually became Lunafreya Nox Fleuret--can be seen on makeup advertisements in the city of Insomnia. While she's hard to catch earlier in the film, towards the end there is a very quick, very deliberate look at her face splashed across a marquee. Again, if you were on the Versus XIII hype train, there's no way you will mistake that face for anyone else.

The most recent trailers for Kingsglaive offer a brief look at a battle on an airship, and keen-eyed on viewers have been quick to point out the presence of a certain purple octopus. Ultros, the sassy, flirtatious enemy from Final Fantasy VI, makes a rather large (and unexpected) appearance in Kingsglaive. We don't know why he's there, or why the creators decided to put him in the film--but we're glad they did.

We're still trying to figure out the deal with Ardyn Izunia, the charismatic and smooth-talking chancellor of Nifelheim. But the one thing we are the most curious about is his fashion sense: who dresses this guy? In addition to the fedora and scarf combo, Ardyn seems to be sporting a rather large leather wing strapped to his left arm, complete with a black feather fringe. We don't know if it's cosmetic or functional, or how much time it takes him to put it on in the morning, but perhaps this is a fashionable nod to Final Fantasy VII's One Winged Angel, Sephiroth?