Final Fantasyhas been making nods to Star Wars since nearly its beginning. Longtime fans have come to expect a mixture of overt references and stylistic inspirations in each game; Square Enix wears its appreciation of A Galaxy Far, Far Away on its sleeve. In a strange way, this blatant reverence has only deepened Final Fantasy’s own distinct identity.
Some of the Star Wars references in Final Fantasy are so sharp, that only the most oblivious non-fans will miss the point entirely. Others are clever, almost delicate, in their implementation. Truth be told, most hew closer to the former than the latter, but let’s explore ‘em all.
7Nida, Piet, Martine
This one’s clever as heck, and as such, remarkably well-hidden. In Final Fantasy 8, there are several characters whose names are linked to Star Wars. While the most obvious pair will be addressed later in this list, three others - Nida, Piet, and Martine - are far quieter by comparison.
Nida is a SeeD candidate who graduates alongside FF8’s heroes. Piet is a researcher for the technologically-advanced nation of Esthar. And Martine is the headmaster for Galbadia Garden, Balamb Garden’s rival school and merc-churning powerhouse.
If Nida’s name being so close to Star Wars’ Captain Needa was the only instance here, I might not be entirely convinced that it was intentional. Piet is similarly close to Captain Piette, however. As for Martine, well, that’s a bit more complicated.
You see, Martine isn’t a Star Wars reference. Rather, in several non-English languages - including Japanese - his name is Dodonna. I lament that the English localization nixed this nod to a capable leader within Star Wars' heroic Rebel Alliance.
6Gibbs And Deweg
Another clever Star Wars reference deployed via character names - and once again, this is closely related to that aforementioned “obvious pair” - Gibbs and Deweg are two soldiers of the Archadean Empire in Final Fantasy 12.
The pair are stationed at Nalbina Fortress in order to block easy entry to the nearby Mosphoran Highwaste. Their names are scrambled variants on “Biggs and Wedge”, two characters from the original Star Wars film who will indeed make a more thorough appearance toward the tail end of this article.
Interestingly enough, this particular reference has its origin on the English side of the equation. In Japanese, they’re given honorifics reflective of a superior and inferior work relationship. Final Fantasy 12’s English translators clearly felt it inappropriate to ship a game’s localization without Biggs and Wedge in there somewhere. Well, close enough, at any rate.
Final Fantasy 12 is bursting at the seams with Star Wars references big and small, but they’re largely thematic - and thus, difficult to pinpoint as their own unique entries on the list.
From Vaan’s parallels to Luke as an orphan with dreams of skybound freedom, to Ashelia’s royal struggle against a nefarious empire, to the princess' own breakout mission, Balthier’s and Fran’s strangely similar vibes to Han Solo and Chewbacca, and more, FF12 is an epic ode to A Galaxy Far, Far Away. It just tends to be far more indirect about it all.
5"It’s A Trap" And The Light Saber
Naming a mission “It’s A Trap!” after Return of the Jedi’s Admiral Ackbar’s infamous declaration is hardly what I’d label subtle, but Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift conceals it reasonably well by virtue of the fact that the game sports a whopping 300 missions in all.
What’s more, the weakest of FFTA2’s eight saber-class weapons is called a Light Saber. Actual lightsabers within Star Wars canon combine the two words more elegantly, and Iguessit’s possible that this isn’t a Star Wars reference. Just the same, in a franchise so flush with them, it may well be.
Speaking of references-that-might-not-be-references, this seems as good a point as any to mention that Iwon’tbe including Final Fantasy VII’s supposed “Nanaki = Anakin” nod. Red XIII’s real name, Nanaki, is frequently cited as an anagram of Anakin, Darth Vader’s own real name. While it’s possible, there’s sufficient reason to cast doubt on it.
4"Fear Leads To Anger…"
“…anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” So the old saying goes. And by ‘old’, I mean 1999. Yoda delivers the full line in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Just over a year later, the English script for Final Fantasy 9 elects to reuse it.
Necron, the rather surprising final boss in a story that is otherwise largely dedicated to the struggle against antagonists Kuja, Garland, and Brahne, cites the wise Jedi Master’s observations on the emotional spectrum. It’s a direct lift, to be sure, but I figure, hey. It comes about 45 minutes before the credits roll on a 40-plus-hour JRPG. Plenty of players aren’t going to reach it. It’s less obvious by default.
3The Falcon
Two airships bear the name Falcon in Final Fantasy. The first appears in Final Fantasy 4; the second in Final Fantasy 6. This particular Star Wars reference fancied the SNES and the SNES alone, I suppose.
Falcon is, of course, not Millennium Falcon. There is, in fact, a word missing. But it’s certainly intentional that the two skyward aircraft, which both symbolize freedom in their respective narrative methods, come as close to the full two-word term as I suspect Lucasfilm would ever allow.
After all, this is the same series that uses the name Enterprise in Final Fantasy 3, 4, and 14. Real-world historical Enterprise space shuttle and naval vessels aside, they’re not exactly hiding their love of Star Trek here.
2Isn’t Locke A Little Short…?
There are a couple of ways for Locke Cole to save Celes Chere when the former imperial general is being held captive in Final Fantasy 6. Or rather, a couple of different disguise uniforms which Locke can still be wearing when the dashing rogue meets the down-on-her-luck Rune Knight.
If you keep Locke in the imperial uniform he’ll need to have pilfered from a Gestahlian Empire grunt during his traipse through occupied South Figaro, Celes will query the mysterious arrival’s appearance with the following line:
Aren’t you a little short to be an imperial trooper?
For the uninitiated, this is almost verbatim what the captive Princess Leia Organa asks a stormtrooper-disguised Luke Skywalker whenhebusts intoherprison cell. What’s more, in later translations, Locke responds with: “What? Oh, the uniform.” That’s Luke’s line. Straight-up. This is about as on-the-nose as it gets.
1Biggs And Wedge
Of course, for as blunt a line reading as Celes and Locke happen to share, one short scene is hardly as prolifically transparent as the repeated appearances of two characters whose names mirror Luke’s two key allies during the Battle of Yavin IV (and in Wedge’s case, beyond). Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles, Square sure does honour you so.
The first time a Biggs and a Wedge appear in a Final Fantasy game is the sixth mainline installment, where they accompany protagonist Terra Branford at the very beginning of her strange and epic journey. They don’t last long before death claims the both of them.
But boy, they don’t know when to quit. They appeared again in Final Fantasy 7 as two founding members of Avalanche - and, er, died again - before having far better luck with their FFs 8, 10, 12 (sorta; I covered this already) 14, and 15. The duo survives each of these quasi-reincarnations. The names also pop up in numerous spinoffs, ranging from Final Fantasy Tactics to Final Fantasy Record Keeper and beyond.
The longest-“lived” Biggs and Wedge in the canon are surely FF14’s. Cid Garlond’s two most treasured subordinates have had fresh dialogue for 15 years and counting. Good on them.
