Final Fantasybegan in Japan in 1987 on the NES, or more specifically, the Famicom. The West would not receive it until 1990, and from there, the release schedule was wild. For example, the Western version ofFinal Fantasy 2was actuallyFinal Fantasy 4. Release history aside, besides the sixteen main titles now, there must be over fifty games at this point including spinoffs.
With such a rich RPG history,Final Fantasy 16was bound to have some Easter Eggs hidden in it. Some of them are obvious to fans of the series, while others need a bit more digging to understand. There will be spoilers in the background of some of the early examples.
6Tiamat
Tiamat is the Branded captain whom Clive is battling alongside at the beginning of the game. He helps defeat Jill’s limit break form of Shiva, but after Clive refuses to Jill her, he must fight Tiamat instead. Unless players are paying attention to names in the health bar, they may miss this title. Avid fans of the series will know that Tiamat was one of the Four Fiends in theoriginalFinal Fantasy.
Tiamat has appeared in many forms in the series after this, usually as a dragon with multiple heads. Other games depict Tiamat as a thicker dragon with a ring around its neck like inFinal Fantasy 12. This is one of the few examples where Tiamat was a man.
5Spoony Bard
The title of Spoony Bard became famous thanks toFinal Fantasy 4. In a fight between Tellah and Edward, Tellah yells, “You spoony bard!” In the SNES era of game development, it was common to see weird mistranslations like this. It then became a meme that has been featured in other games in the series as well as non-Final Fantasy games, likePhoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations.
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The wild thing about this line, which would take years to learn, was that it was added to the English version and it was not mistranslated from a line in Japanese after all. History aside, inFinal Fantasy 16there is a bard in The Hideaway who is referred to as Spoony Bard. His name is later revealed as Lukahn Larkstongue.
4White Mages & Black Mages
The series began by allowing players to customize their party. In the firstFinal Fantasy,players could create a Warrior, Thief, White Mage, Black Mage, Red Mage, or Monk. These Jobs could later evolve into stronger versions; for example, the Thief could become a Ninja. Entries in the series have played around with these systems, but the main characters inFinal Fantasy 16do not adhere to Job titles specifically.
Clive could technically beconsidered a Summoneror a Red Mage, but that is beside the point. There are more obvious references to these classic Jobs in the game. For example, Tarja is the healer within The Hideaway. When players first meet her, she is in white clothing just like a White Mage, who specializes in healing magic. Black Mages also get a nod via scarecrows that appear in various farmlands.
3The Fat Chocobo
The Fat Chocobo is the name of the restaurant inside The Hideaway inFinal Fantasy 16,which is run by Kenneth. It’s a fun name, but it is also a reference to a Chocobo that has appeared in many entries. The first example of the Fat Chocobo appeared inFinal Fantasy 3. Players could summon it in a forest grove, and it could store items within its belly.
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Other examples involve more powerful versions of this big boy.Final Fantasy 7has a Materia called Choco/Mog. In most instances, this Materia will summon a Moogle riding a Chocobo into battle. There is a chance, however, to spawn a Fat Chocobo instead to crush enemies beneath its massive body.
2The Return Of Marks
It takes a while to unlock, but players can eventually go on monster hunt quests after one of the game’s many times jumps. These fearsome foes are called Notorious Marks and the first one that appears is called Ahriman. It’s also one of the hardest Notorious Marks inFinal Fantasy 16because it can cast Doom on Clive, which will kill him instantly.
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This type of side quest is a callback toFinal Fantasy 12. In that game, these monster hunts were called Marks. The first quest was called “Red and Rotten in the Desert” and was unavoidable. Players had to hunt down and kill a Rogue Tomato, which also became the symbol for the Mark board in the game. The board inFinal Fantasy 16bears that same Rogue Tomato outline, even though it does not appear as the first Notorious Mark quest in the game.
1A Cid Unlike Any Other
Almost everyFinal Fantasygame has aversion of Cidin it. InFinal Fantasy 16, that’s Cidolfus Telamon, and he is a great addition to the namesake. Not only is he effortlessly charming and great in standard combat, but he can also turn into Ramuh. Typically, when a Cid appears in a game, the name remains unchanged. There are a few instances where this is not true, and Cidolfus Telamon is not the first.
Cidolfus Orlandeau was a knight inFinal Fantasy Tactics,and he remains one of the strongest sword users in the series. Cidolfus Demen Bunansa is one of the few Cid characters who is a villain. He appeared inFinal Fantasy 12, which also took place inthe Ivalice universejust likeFinal Fantasy Tactics. Does this then confirm thatFinal Fantasy 16takes place within Ivalice, or is Cidolfus Telamon just a fun nod to these two other Cids from Ivalice?
Final Fantasy 16was released on June 23, 2025, and is available on PS5.
