Shout Out / Final Fantasy XV

• Many characters sport elements of mob movie archetypes—for instance, Ardyn's wardrobe is based on Al Capone's.
• The game's first trailer quotes a line from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act 2 Scene 2: "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
  • In Episode Prompto, the scene where Prompto contemplates burning off his barcode is titled "Out, Damn'd Spot!"
• The bounty for Deadeye in Episode Duscae describes him as "purple [and] people-eating", referencing the song by Sheb Wooley.
• A rock formation in Episode Duscae resembles Pride Rock.
  • When getting out of the car on the road in XV, Prompto will sometimes quip "Takin' a walk on the wild side?"
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• When attacked by the Naga in Fociaugh Hollow, Prompto utters "Snakes. Why Did It Have to Be Snakes??!"
• Gladio's greatsword◊ appears to be greatly inspired by the Guild Sunderer◊ from Guild Wars 2.
• The magical barrier protecting Lucis from invaders is named the Wall.
  • In addition, one of the in-game hint boxes warning you against driving at night tells you that "the night is dark and full of daemons".
  • The ten-year period in which Eos is in total darkness is called the Long Night.
• In Keycatrich Trench, while talking about its use as a shelter during the war, Noct references Edwin Starr: "Wars. Huh, what are they good for?"
• The trophy for performing a link-strike for the first time is called Noct You Like a Hurricane.
• The first time the Regalia Type-F takes off, Noctis comments that where they are going, they don't need roads.
• When coming across a huge locked door, Prompto remarks that they could need "a magical key that could unlock any door, like in the video games."
• Some "heal a hunter in distress" sidequests that randomly come up while exploring the map are shout-outs to songs from animated films ("Conceal, Don't Feel", "Poor Misfortunate Soul" and "When you Believe", to name a few).
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  • The Flavor Text for the unlockable Tundra Attire from Episode Prompto tells you to "let the cold know it never bothered you anyway".
• One "broken-down car" sidequest is titled "Dude, Where's My Car?"
• In one of Prompto's first Tours, The Hallowed Hill of Hammerhead, he will say "...and if you don't start showing some proper respect, you're gonna have a bad time."
• During the photoshoot Tour where Prompto wants Noctis to strike a pose, the "Ultimate Pose" is Caesar Zeppeli's iconic pose◊ from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
• When initiating Prompto's Tour at Spelcray Haven, he will say to Noct: "Help me, Noctis--you're my only hope!"
  • His third photoshoot during that Tour has Prompto telling Noctis to say, "Fuzzy pickles!"
• Female NPCs in Lestallum may remark that the food "tastes like burning".
  • The description for the Gralean Medal of Distinction reads "An award presented to citizens of the imperial capital in honor of outstanding achievements in the field of excellence".
• The toughest bee-type enemy in the game is named Killer Queen.
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• When entering a dungeon or at nightfall, Prompto might randomly shout out "Illuminate!" when turning the flashlights on. Even Noct calls him a nerd for that one.
• During the final Dino quest Prompto will say: "Please, sir, I want some ore!"
• The Moogle Chocobo Festival DLC features sidequests named "The Brothers Kupomazov" and "Waiting for Maagho".
• When fighting overworld creatures, Prompto will sometimes sing "We're in the money, we're in the money".
• While taking pictures at the Moogle Carnival, Carbuncle would mimic Prompto's catchphrases, claiming to be "serving Prompto realness".
• The Royal Arm Greatsword of the Tall has a chainsaw blade. Its Flavor Text advises you to "Rip and tear".
• Kimya's speech pattern is reminiscent of Yoda's.
  • The second part of the Assassin's Festival DLC's main quest was titled "A Disturbance in the Festival".
• When Noct corners Loqi during the Assassin's Festival's main quest, he remarks that he's "your friendly neighborhood assassin." In the Japanese version, he instead says that he's just a passing-through assassin.^note "Tōrisugari no Asashin."
• One of Vyv's photo sidequests during the Assassin's Festival requires you to photograph a cat named Snowball, so named "because its fur is pretty and white."
• One Hunt is titled "A Fistful of Gil", which requires you to kill a Daemon named Yojimbo.
• Ignis's Tour at Cotisse Haven is titled "Stirred, not Shaken."
• Tonberry Knights and Master Tonberries have green skin, wear a rough grey cape, barely come up to a human's knee and shuffle along like a decrepit old man most of the time... until they suddenly whip out a freaking Laser Blade and start flipping and summersaulting around like a squirrel on Speed, cutting apart anything in their way. Now where have we seen that before?
• One of the Machinery weapons is called the Drillbreaker and it's strong against mechs.
• The "Iron Shelf" series of cookbooks is one to Iron Chef.
• The main-game quest that leads to the Terra Wars crossover level is called "Close Encounters of the Terra Kind".
• Episode Gladio takes place in a crumbling, ancient tomb complex overrun with lanky, withered undead knights, dragons and other punishingly difficult monsters and heavily emphasizes the parry mechanic. Truly, it is the Dark Souls of FFXV DLC.
• The battle with Leviathan seems familiar to the battle against Perfect Chaos. Noctis even has a Super Mode when battling her.
• When first approaching Altissia via the Royal Vessel in Chapter 9, Prompto will remark "All work and no play...", with Noct replying "makes Ignis a dull boy."
• The Flavor Text for the Leiden Potato has the phrase "boil it, mash it, or stick it in a stew".
• When Aranea asks Ignis about his injury in Chapter 12, Ignis replies that it is "just a flesh wound".
• One quest in Comrades is titled "Driving Miss Cindy".
• The achievement for meeting the Crow's Nest Chef as a cook in Comrades is called "Come Back, Kenny".
• A recruiting poster at EXINERIS power plant in Comrades has the phrase "to boldly go where no [engineer] has gone before."
• During the normal ending of Episode Ignis, Ignis tells Noctis to let his friends to "share the load". A famous line from The Lord of the Rings, also spoken by a character with Undying Loyalty to the hero.
• After the Time Skip, according to Talcott, Iris has earned herself the nickname of "Iris the Daemon Slayer".
• In Episode Ardyn, during the battles with the Lucian guards at the end of Chapter 2, one of the lines spoken by Somnus' voice echoing in Ardyn's head is "Mankind ill needs a savior such as you", a line spoken verbatim by Richter Belmont to Dracula in the opening of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
• The second phase of the Final Boss fight is highly evocative of the climactic duel between Neo and Agent Smith in The Matrix Revolutions.