Final Fantasyis one of the crossover sets ofMagic: The Gathering’sUniverses Beyond. The set features cards from all mainline Final Fantasy games released (those being 1 through 16). With how much history Final Fantasy has, the set also includes a ton of references to iconic scenes and moments.
Every kind of reference is found in the Final Fantasy set. From the humorous moments to the deep cuts. With how many games there were to go over, some games are more present than others, but each game gets its own references represented in the set, despite how much or little presence it has.
This list contains spoilers for Final Fantasy 4, 5, 6, and 7.
10Aerith Rescue Mission
Ten Minutes Of Stairs
Early on in Final Fantasy 7, Aerith is kidnapped and the remaining party members of Cloud, Barret, and Tifa have to rescue her from the Shinra Building. Once there, you canopt to fight your way throughor sneak in.
Sneaking in involves, as Aerith Rescue Mission shows, climbing up 59 flights of stairs. The game allows you to do this, at the cost of a ton of time and seeing the same screen over and over again. How long it takes is represented by Aerith Rescue Mission’s ability to tap creatures and put stun counters on them to really show how much of a slog it was to climb those stairs.
9Stolen Uniform
Locke’s Sneaking Tactic
In Final Fantasy 6, a lot of characters have their own scenarios where they fly solo (sometimes meeting new party members along the way). One of these is Locke’s scenario, where Locke has to find a way to escape South Figaro.
In order to escape, Locke mugs either a merchant or a cadet to steal their uniform and disguise himself as one of them. This is referenced by Stolen Uniform’s flavor text, talking about the price being right, free since it was stolen from whoever he mugged.
8Kain, Traitorous Dragoon
Zero Loyalties
Nicknamed “The World’s Most Brainwashable Man,” Kain spends the entirety of Final Fantasy 4 swapping sides, both for good and evil. Even when it seems like he’s powered through his brainwashing, he’ll be right back to working for Golbez (the main villain for most of the game) just a little bit later.
The constant team swapping is perfectly represented on his card, and why Kain will always swap control whenever he attacks. Without the context of Kain’s story in Final Fantasy 4, it’s extra confusing why Kain is jumping all over the battlefield, but it’s a fantastic reference to Final Fantasy 4’s plot.
7The Wandering Minstrel
The Creator
The Wandering Minstrel is an NPC in Final Fantasy 14 who unlocks some of the hardest trials and raids you can play in the game. What you may not know is that he is modeled after Naoki Yoshida (also known as Yoshi-P), the director and producer of Final Fantasy 14.
Yoshida is often credited for “saving” Final Fantasy 14, which was negatively received upon its original release until Yoshida stepped in as director, and it became one of the most played MMOs of the modern age when it was re-released as A Realm Reborn. With Yoshida’s work, he’s certainly earned being immortalized in card formas The Wandering Minstrel.
6Prompto Argentum
Impossible Photographer
In Final Fantasy 15, every party member has a unique trait. Ignis is the cook, Gladio loves camping, and Prompto is the camera person, cataloging their adventures with photography. However, Prompto has a knack for taking pictures that are very impossible,and often in combat.
As such, Prompto’s Magic card depicts him taking a selfie while Gladio is fighting monsters in the background, a reference to just how often Prompto is snapping pictures instead of fighting. Not that we see the pictures getting taken, adding another layer to the mystery of how Prompto does it.
5Suplex
Phantom Train? Phantom Pain
Suplex depicts one of the goofiest things that can be done in Final Fantasy 6, and perhaps across the whole series. Sabin is a Monk who can do fighting game inputs to do various attacks with his blitz ability, from blasting large energy beams to, of course, suplexing.
During Sabin’s scenario, he and his party will be attacked by the Phantom Train, where they have to defeat it before it takes them to the underworld. You can use your blitz command, and even though it shouldn’t be possible, you can suplex the Phantom Train, making for one of Final Fantasy 6’s best moments. Fittingly, you can use the Suplex card to removethe Phantom Train cardin Magic as well.
4Galuf’s Final Act
The End Of Galuf
Final Fantasy 5 is one of the most underrated entries in the series and, unfortunately, it didn’t get a ton of love in the set. What it did get is a card that references the death of Galuf in Galuf’s Final Act where he sacrifices himself to save the party and defeat Exdeath all by himself.
Once Galuf dies, he transfers all of his power to his granddaughter Krile. This is represented on the card by when the creature dies, counters get put on another creature equal to its power. Galuf’s Final Act depicts one of Final Fantasy 5’s best moments that many missed out on by skipping Final Fantasy it.
3Edgar, King Of Figaro
Fixed Coin Flipping
Edgar is the brother of Sabin, and both are of royal lineage. When it comes time for one of them to step up as king after the death of their father, theyagree to flip a cointo determine it. Unbeknownst to Sabin, the coin is double-sided, as Edgar knew Sabin didn’t want the crown and wanted to venture into the world.
The scene is incredibly touching and one of the most iconic moments of Final Fantasy 6…for those who have seen it. This entire flashback sequence is completely missable, as it requires both Edgar and Sabin to be in your party when you return to Figaro Castle later in the game, and will not trigger if they aren’t.
2Ride The Shoopuf
All Aboards!
Final Fantasy 10 was the first Final Fantasy game to feature both voice acting and fully three-dimensional areas. During the early 2000s, voice acting was still rather new for video games, and some deliveries wound up being over the top.
This over-the-top voice acting was shown when you need to ride a shoopuf to a different area, with the line “Ride ze shoopuf? All aboards!” being proclaimed in a silly voice that rings deep in Final Fantasy 10 enthusiasts' ears, sometimes spamming the interaction for their own amusement.
1Instant Ramen
Product Placement Never Tasted So Good
Magic players, and Final Fantasy 15 skippers, may be very confused why Instant Ramen got a card. Final Fantasy 15 is a bit notorious for the amount of product placement it has, most notably for Cup Noodles, which are all over the game.
Gladio, one of the party members, is in love with Cup Noodles, and at one point, even gives you a quest to make your own custom cup of noodles. However, it ends with him proclaiming that the branded Cup Noodles can’t be perfected, giving a speech about it that’s depicted on Instant Ramen’s flavor text, with all the party agreeing with him.
