Shout Out / Weird and Unfortunate Things Are Happening

I hope you guys like references because unity and I have no sense of proportion or decency when it comes to them.

—itsasooz, main writer, on this Let's Play

As the above quote makes clear, this game is filled to the brim with references to other games that inspired it.

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General

• The Derleth Expanse is named after August Derleth, a writer who first published the works of H. P. Lovecraft and added to the Cthulhu Mythos.
• The icon for the Golden Idol bears a resemblance to the Mani Mani Statue.
• One of Alicia's weapons is called the Mortis Bat, after Mortis Ghost, the creator of OFF. Its description calls it a "Bat of Purification."
• To Ghost Busters, with Lamar's "Ghost Puncher" skill, which has his "physical attacks do extra damage against Spectral type enemies", and its icon is a white being covered by a red "No sign".
• The Flying Toaster enemies that Lamar can face, are likely a reference to the screensaver of the same name, but with the wings placed so the game's are in line with the bread slots, while the screensaver's are perpendicular to the bread slots.
• To Final Fantasy Tactics, from Word of God, as said here:
  "I've always liked the names of the two knights that work with Agrias and end up joining you in Final Fantasy Tactics. Their names are Alicia and Lavian. So that's where [Alicia's] name comes from XD;;;"
• To Silent Hill, including references to growing holes in the wall, Angela's Knife being a late game item, an answer to an optional quiz being James Sunderland, and Alicia searching for Dottie by describing her in a certain, familiar way.
  "I'm looking for a little girl: Short, dark hair. Pigtails. Just turned twelve last-"
• One of Miriam's weapons is called the Zardoz Pistol, with its description stating that it "shoots death and purifies the earth."
• To a prior game by the creator, Luxaren Allure:
  • That game's Eye of Dhath attack is referenced by the Dhath Philters, both are connected to "a dark entity that I made up that supposed to transcend worlds".
  • One sign in the Library under Famtasy series says "Luxaren Allure".
  • A fairy NPC in the Fairy Vedim Space mentions her sister from another dimension who says that the real fairy queen lives in a giant mushroom forest- referencing the one from the game.
  • One bit of graffiti in the sewers says "Darkloft lives".
  • Uiroq the Mammonite, an NPC who sold the party rare weapons in said game, reprises his role here selling regular items (which are rare in this game) and a couple rare items.
  • In the last floor of Makyo, an NPC notes they resisted the "allure of the Iles of Luxaren".
  • The True Final Boss, the Firstborn, has several attacks referencing areas like Aothuth and Ellicide.

First Arc

• The very first reference seen in the game is a sign in the very first room that says Itoi Storage, referencing Shigesato Itoi, creator of the EarthBound Series trilogy of which this game takes great inspiration.
• One building in the early game says "Agamemnon Counterpart", the name of an infamously creepy cartoon video.
• To Eye Of Uzola, another game by the same creator. That game's name is a movie that was playing at the "Mini Bijou" cinema in Daybreak, before the end of the world happened there, as shown in this image.

Second Arc

• One enemy in Atkinson Middle School is a giant eraser monster called Eraserhead.

Third Arc

• Upon exiting the sewers, Lamar references the “winter of our discontent” line from Richard III.
  Now is the winter of our discontent made summer by... something.
• In the archives near City Hall is a game cabinet with Polybius on it.
• One bit of graffiti in the sewers says "We Know the Devil".
• Another graffiti says "Slayer Of The Faithless".
• And another outside the sewers says "You will see such pretty things".
• Graffiti in the secret sewers area says "Ara Smell".
• One restaurant in Downtown is called Wine & Roses.
• A collectible item found in the art museum Fools Space is a game cartridge titled "Dagon Warrior". The area itself is also a Retraux JRPG map akin to Dragon Quest games.
• The Playroom, aka the Best Place Ever, is filled with references to other RPG Maker games.
  • A couple rooms contain statues of Heart and Soul. Another room has a Geno statue, and many rooms have one of the dolls from Ib. And another room has dolls of Lars and Punch Tanaka.
  • One enemy in the same area, the Wicked Wand, resembles the Evil Stick, but with a Slasher Smile in place of the spooky image.
  • Another enemy in the area is Thomas the Pain Engine.
  • Aki's Charm, found in the area, is an Eggygotchi toy.
  • There are boxes that greatly resemble the Sega Master System.
• Miriam references Scooby-Doo by name when referring to a Bookcase Passage in City Hall.
• The Robo Buddy enemy is a blatant expy of the Robotic Operating Buddy.

Final Arc

• A poster in Uratheul is of the titular protagonist of Brave Hero Yuusha.
• The Fool in the Princess section of Uratheul, before taking you to a glitchy Fools Space, says “I AM ERROR!”
• Like in Monster Party, the boss of the Princess area is a rotting carcass Zero-Effort Boss that says “Sorry. I'm dead.”
• The second phase of the Final Boss has an attack called Lugae's Injection.
• The game as a whole takes heavy inspiration from Yume Nikki, with the Fool Spaces in particular resembling areas straight out of the game, but the game also has two blatant references in Vinclum and neo Vinclum:
  • Vinclum, the penultimate area, is a big reference to Yume Nikki. A dream-world with a hub and four doors leading to a giant, surreal world where the female protagonist must explore and find special items to progress (in this case, four memories), and where there are strange NPCs but no enemies. One NPC heavily resembles Madotsuki and tells you she is trying to sleep, and another is a clear ringer for Poniko. Both even have the same eye design. The Superboss in Neo Vinculum can only be summoned by repeatedly turning the lights on and off in the Poniko-lookalike's room, turning her into the boss.
  • One of the posters in the hub area of Vinclum has the head of a character that is a dead ringer for Bubs.
  • One NPC says that you and the player meeting "isn't a mistake but a happy accident"
  • One bit of graffiti in Vinculum says "God of Crawling Eyes". An NPC in the same area says "Fun is infinite".
  • An NPC in Neo Vinclum is of the opinion that it should have been called "Neon Genesis Vinclum".
  • One TV is playing "that show you loved as a kid! You know, the one that was two hours of static and white noise."
  • An NPC in Neo Vinclum flat-out tells you to play Soma Union.
  • One of the potential things that the signs say in Neo Vinclum is "I want to get off Mr. Bones Wild Ride."
  • Two to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure in Dottie's and Lamar's memories. In Dottie's, the googly-eyed creature makes Menacing symbols, and in Lamar's, Yoshikage Kira can be seen in the crowd.
• The Makyo Superboss, the Progressive Nautilus, gives a Badass Boast very similar to the one given by Culex, the Superboss of Super Mario RPG:
  I am progress... I am decay... I built the past... I will destroy the future... I am a pelagic marine mollusk of the cephalopod family Nautilidae... AND I WILL CONSUME YOU!!!