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Shout Out / Genshin Impact

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Just like its science fantasy sister game, there's a lot of pop-culture references in Genshin Impact.

  • Some of the names given to Achievements sound very familiar, such as:
  • For certain World Quests' names:
  • Some weapon, ability or skill names are wordplays or references to other media:
  • If the early level design and certain gameplay comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are not enough, this game also has expies to some BotW entities:
    • The Hilichurls' behavior and role as tribalistic Mooks are very obviously based on the Bokoblins, while their bigger 'cousins' are more resembling of stockier Moblins. Their curved horns and shaggy manes also make them resemble non-centaur versions of Lynels, especially the larger members of their kind.
    • The Abyss Mages are broadly based on the Wizzrobes, though with bunny-like ears on their heads and a wider variety of potential powers.
    • Ruin Guards are effectively bipedal versions of the Guardians, minus the Eye Laser, instead replaced by missiles. However, this game's Announcement Trailer shows that Ruin Guards used to have eye lasers at one point during the early development stages. That trait would instead be added to Ruin Graders that appear in Dragonspine from 1.2 onwards and the Ruin Guards that would appear in Honkai Impact 3rd as part of their collaboration with Genshin Impact would then have the Ruin Grader's moveset.
    • The Aranara are very obviously based on the Koroks, being small mysterious plant people associated with music.
  • The "Old Merc's Pal" claymore is very obviously based on Cloud's Buster Sword judging from its similar appearance alone. Its name is a reference to Cloud Strife being a mercenary, while its item description mentions that it's a very old weapon that has been used a lot. In the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, the Buster Sword was used by Angeal, then given to Zack, and finally Cloud.
  • The Favonius Greatsword is essentially based on the design of Narsil/Andúril in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy with a more elaborate pattern on the blade.
  • Near a side entrance to Mondstadt, you can find a little boy named Arthur who's very excited to have discovered a sword planted in the ground at a slight angle.
  • In a Liyue mountain pass, you may find a man named Gaiman, who happens to be an author.
  • There's an NPC in Liyue named Vermeer, who happens to be a painter.
  • Two of the Favonius Knights who guard the headquarters are named Athos and Porthos, while the one that patrols in the big court (with the big statue) near the cathedral is named Aramis. They're a reference to The Three Musketeers.
  • There are three NPCs in Mondstadt named Parsley, Sage and Rosemary, referencing three of the four herbs mentioned in the lyrics of the English ballad "Scarborough Fair" (also recorded by musicians in the 20th Century, popularized by Simon & Garfunkel).
  • In the library, there's a scholar NPC named "Ella Musk".
  • There's a Springvale hunter named Olaf that you find frozen for over 300 years! Also, in Qiqi's character trailer, she asks if you want to help her build a snowman.
  • Some characters have moves that are similar to Vergil's abilities from Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening: Special Edition, Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition and DmC: Devil May Cry... Which in general, is no longer a surprise for long-time miHoYo fans since the devs also copied movesets and animations from the DMC franchise into their previous game, Honkai Impact 3rd:
    • Keqing's ability to throw her Lightning Stiletto and teleport to it, is just like DmC Vergil's "Angel Lift". Her "Starward Sword" also has similarities to Vergil's "Judgement Cut End" from DMC4:SE.
    • Some of Ayaka's moves are inspired by Vergil. Most notably, her charged attack, a single slash that turns into several smaller slashes in front of her, is performed in a way that resembles Vergil's Judgement Cut in the Special Edition of Devil May Cry 4.
    • Similarly to Ayaka, the Raiden Shogun's playstyle has drawn several comparisons to Vergil. This is especially shown in the second phase of her rematch where she draws her sword as one of her attacks is a near-identical replica of Vergil's signature Judgment Cut and her strongest attack, the Musou no Hitotachi looks visually similar to Vergil's Judgment Cut End. Also, the Sword Beams she fires resemble Vergil's Drive attack when using Force Edge.
    • Childe's One-Winged Angel form looks suspiciously like a Devil Trigger.
    • Xingqiu's skills give him glowing rain swords that look and function just like Vergil's summoned swords, forming a shield around him and attacking enemies.
  • Speaking of Devil May Cry, Dainsleif's right arm looks just like Nero's redesigned Devil Bringer demonic arm from Devil May Cry 5.
  • After helping Xiangling with a chaotic cooking contest, Paimon says that "a good time was had by all," apparently referencing the "Steamed Hams" skit/meme from The Simpsons (in which there is a cooking-related misadventure, and the same exact line).
  • The pose that Fischl makes in her portrait is a reference to Rintarou Okabe. Her gacha artwork's pose◊ is also very similar to the pose◊ of Jonathan Joestar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. But overall, being voiced by Maaya Uchida, having Chuunibyou tendencies, and an eyepatch makes Fischl a Casting Gag to Rikka Takanashi.
  • Razor's elemental burst makes him summon a spectral wolf that hovers above him and attacks his enemies, a trope that is codified by JoJo's Bizarre Adventure with their Stands. His character story entries specifically describe it as what he calls "The Wolf Within," a manifestation of his will shaped by the nature of his soul, which is exactly what a Stand is.
  • In the second part of Yae Miko's Story Quest, she, Traveler, Paimon and the writing team engage in creating a light novel called "The Miraculous Adventures of the Traveler" as a direct competitor to the popular "A Firsthand Guide to Summoning Spirits". In the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai languages, the book's title is literally translated as "Traveler's Bizarre Adventure", and the cover art features Paimon striking the aforementioned Jonathan Joestar's pose.
  • The title of "The Pale Princess and the Six Pygmies" book is similar to Snow White.
  • The in-game book titled "1000 Years of Loneliness" is a reference to One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. This is obvious in the first paragraph alone:
    1000 Years of Loneliness: Many years later, when Gothson's ankle would become trapped in the same unlucky beast trap he had laid, he must have recalled the afternoon when his father had taken him into the city to take part in Ludi Harpastum.
    One Hundred Years of Solitude: Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.
  • Diluc is obviously a Batman expy/reference - He's a very popular and influential businessman in Mondstadt who became an Anti-Hero after his father got killed because of an accident involving Ursa the Drake (something that's orchestrated by the Fatui). Diluc's character story also reveals that he is the vigilante known as the "Darknight Hero" who keeps the city safe after dark. As a bonus reference, Klee—another 5-star Pyro—is officially nicknamed the "Spark Knight".
  • The Klee PV has her reimagining the other Knights of Favonius into monsters - Jean, in particular, is huge enough to look over a city wall.
  • In her own story quest, Amber quotes Sherlock Holmes after she crossed a large gap to reach Raptor:
    Just like a wise man once said, "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."
  • One of the loading screen tips says "Time flies by when contemplating life, the universe and everything."
  • Xiangling is named after a character from the 18th Century novel Dream of the Red Chamber.
  • The "Adventurers, Assemble!" invite event sounds just like the catchphrase of The Avengers.
  • From the "Marvelous Merchandise" event, the NPC named Liben carries three Dragon Balls on his back. They all have 3 stars.
  • Razor does the "Obari / Brave Perspective Pose" with his sword when he saves the Traveler from a giant slime during his character quest. The pose is commonly associated with Masami Obari and his work on the Brave Series.
  • There are some subtle references to Les Misérables, or characters named after it. In Liyue Harbor, there's a Fatui Agent named Javert, while in Mondstadt's Thousand Winds Temple, there's a unique Ruin Guard with the designated number of 24601. In the play, Javert is a police officer who is chasing Jean Valjean, a.k.a. Prisoner 24601.
  • During the "Yanxiao's Dilemma" sidequest, Jiangxiue will say "Hello? Is it me you're looking for?"
  • The "Achievement - Challenger III" namecard has the description of "Finally, a worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!", referencing a meme from Kung Fu Panda.
  • There's some Shout-Out Theme Naming involving the dragons - Stormterror is also known as Dvalin (a Germanic permutation of Dwalin) and a black dragon mentioned in "The Chalk Prince and the Dragon" is named Durin. Both are the names of dwarves mentioned in The Hobbit (where dragons, ironically, are Always Chaotic Evil).
  • After completing the "Lost Treasures" event, players could choose one pet Seelie to keep—either blue, pink, or gold, with slightly different descriptions. This is likely a subtle reference to the Starter Mon trios in Pokémon games.
  • A limited-time event introduced on Version 1.3 was titled "Vishaps and Where to Find Them".
  • Xiao's Bane of All Evil is a very obvious shout out to Bleach; Xiao pulls his mask onto his face in a manner identical to Ichigo Kurosaki, gains a double timbre voice, and his energy effects are black with a coloured outline.
  • Noelle's morning routine, as she describes it in her "hangout event," is doing 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats and running 2 laps around Mondstadt.
  • The last stage of the "Contending Tides" event in Version 1.4 was called Want To Know How I Got These Icicles?
  • The "Windtrace" event involves a guy called Gygax trying to drum up interest in a classic tabletop game.
  • One artifact set is named "Tiny Miracle".
  • During the Inazuma chapter, you're sent to talk to three people who have had their Visions confiscated from them. One of them is a Master Swordsman named Domon, master of the Meikyo Shisui style. And one of his disciples is named Junya.
  • In the Traveler's dialogue in regards to their opinion on Ayaka, the Traveler asked Paimon to do an impression on her. Let's just say that Paimon's Japanese VA was channeling her other famous role in that regard.
  • The daily commission "O Shrine, Show Your Power Once Again!" has a child saying he wished for his favorite manga artist to release more quickly. He got his wish, as the artist then released twice the normal content, but then he went on hiatus. The Traveler is given the option to respond thusly:
    "Perfectly balanced, as all things should be, I guess...?"
  • Two of the Abyss Mages' nonsensical chants during battle are shoutouts to two very different media sources:
    • One of the chants sounds a lot like "supercalifragilistic".
    • Another one of its chants "Gang~ gang~ woo" sounds a lot like "Ran ran ru", a chant that Donald McDonaldnote  would utter during a Japanese advertising campaign. The campaign became something of a meme among otaku-oriented video sharing websites such as Niconico and Bilibili, especially after the Ronald McDonald Insanity remix.
  • Inazuma is possibly a reference to Bohemian Rhapsody, as one antagonist is named Scaramouche, he's short ("I see a little silhouetto of a man"), and the Archon of Inazuma is the Electro Archon (Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening!"). Also, the Archon's name is Baal, a name associated with Beelzebub (Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me!), and her real name is Beelzebul, a corruption of Beelzebub. At least one part of the reference is absolutely deliberate: Scaramouche's theme during his appearance is called "Ominous Fandango".
  • During the 2.2 "Through the Mists" quest, Sumida mentions she wants to make a novel like "Kino's Travels" while describing the general plot of the actual novel where a girl named Kino journeys from land to land, getting caught up in the people's stories and tragedies one after another.
  • https://old.reddit.com/r/SpiceandWolf/comments/q8zc8t/potential_spice_and_wolf_reference_in_genshin/
  • The special operations unit in the resistance that the Traveler is assigned to during the Inazuma arc is called the "Swordfish II".
  • The "Shadows amidst Snowstorms" event leads up to the Traveler trying out drawing like Albedo, and then making a hilariously derpy pic of Paimon, which Albedo immediately redraws until she's posed like the Mona Lisa.
  • The overall story of the "Shadows Amidst Snowstorms" event seems to have notes of The Thing (1982), with the icy remote setting and the threat of an impostor, with the story placing tension on characters separating to make the player wonder when the real characters have been impersonated.
  • Liben returns at the tail end of 2021, and this time his failed investment involves "commemorative Taroumaru coins", a pretty glaring reference to Dogecoin. (Taroumaru is a shibainu, most likely inspired by the original Doge meme.)
  • A mysterious, white-haired demon slayer becomes friends with an entertainer dedicated to spreading their tale - are we talking about Shenhe and Yun Jin or Geralt and Jaskier?
  • In "A Particularly Particular Author", the quest-giver notes that she'd asked many other people for help before the Traveller, including "problem-solving specialists from the Yorozuya".
  • The way Arataki Itto participates in beetle fights references Japanese "fad" toys such as Beyblade, Bakugan, or B-Daman. Beetles are given "cool" names, participants call out their attacks and Itto talks about how it's all about guts and spirit, but it ultimately comes down to sheer size and strength like how being good at said fad toy competitions require buying the best ones.
  • One of Sayu's voice lines for her Elemental Skill, "And away I go!", is a reference to Rick and Morty, as stated by her voice actress.
  • The final part of Fischl's act of "Summer Fantasia" feels like one big Persona 4 reference, what with Fischl's "Shadow" being her adversary and said adversary being defeated by Fischl having to face herself and accept her flaws, with her Shadow returning to her heart.
  • In one sidequest in Sumeru, an Aranara (named Aranakin, no less) referring to a group of thugs from the desert gives this reason for disliking them.
    "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere."
  • An Eremite Sword-Dancer will occasionally flourish his weapon while alternating it between hands. You have the option to shoot him in the middle of this animation just like in Raiders of the Lost Ark, which will also net you the achievement "Han Always Shoots First..."
  • Defeating an Aeonblight Drake that has an increased resistance to two elements will unlock the achievement Resistance is Futile.
  • Genius Invocation TCG alludes to various card games but especially Yu-Gi-Oh! with the story of the Yae Publishing light novels Timaeus mentions, with a young player releasing the trapped soul of a ancient player(Crocodile King/Nameless Pharaoh) from an artifact(Casket Of Tomes/Millennium Puzzle) who then helps the boy become a great player, being a dead ringer for the plot of the original manga/anime.
    • One of the dialogue options for battling Swan is the iconic meme "It's time to D-D-D-Duel!" This is on top of several other references to the phrase "it's time to duel" as dialogue options.
    • Timaeus shares his name with one of the three dragons in the "Doma" arc exclusive to the anime, referenced in cards like Eye of Timaeus. It's unclear if he's meant to be a direct reference to Yu-Gi-Oh! or not, but his inclusion in the storyline almost certainly is.
    • Cyno's personality is partly based on Pharaoh Atem, especially in the pre-Duel Monsters stories: both occasionally dip into ruthless behaviors (Atem to punish abusers, Cyno to interrogate would-be terrorists) and both treat card game duels as matters of honor and reverence. Besides that, he gets chosen as the model for the "King of Invocations," a character in the Genius Invocation light novel series that's basically the equivalent of King of Games. And if that wasn't enough, his signature dish is called "Duel Soul" which is basically a rice ball shaped like the Millennium Puzzle.
  • There is a web event in which the Traveler and Paimon write light novels about Yōkai. One of the tengu-centric light novel story prompts you can choose from is specifically about a tengu photographer.......... Aya? is that you?
  • The Daiya Three Day Reverie quest chain in the Veluriyam Mirage has a couple.
  • Advanced Visual Technologies: Fontaine Cinema Edition is a book written by a Vahumana scholar named Ebert and includes reviews and ratings of films.
  • Yaoyao's profile states that she's a lifelong friend of Qiqi, who has to write down everything since she can't form new memories. And we mean everything.
    "I'll probably have to keep reminding her who I am for my whole life, but that's okay."
  • When fighting the Setekh Wenut, knocking it out will unlock the achievement He who controls the spice….
  • One Chasm quest involves a group of miners discovering an artifact they assumed to be a Wish Granter, which drove many of them insane, with one later returning to blow it up - a story resembling Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979).
  • In Fontaine there's an aviator named Antoine Roger. Roger was the last name of French aviator and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry with de Saint-Exupéry being a shortening of his title as comte de Saint-Exupéry. Appropriately, the Traveler themselves is a blonde haired spacefaring prince/ss.
  • In Fontaine’s World Quest The Story of "the Princess" and "the Adventure Team", this is one of the dialogue of the Traveler
    " No one wishes to have their soul weighed down by gravity."
  • During Lyney's story quest, he's stalked by goons named "Smoothface" Paccino and "Painter" De Niro. "Painter" is a reference to the actor's father, the abstract expressionist painter Robert De Niro Sr.
    • A sidequest in Chenyu Vale also mentions a Don De Niro in Fontaine's mafia and adds another actor from the mob movie pantheon with a Don Pesci.
  • The description for the Delicious Tasses Ragout mentions that the dish once moved a picky Fontainian gourmet to tears after reminding them of their childhood.
  • Coppelia and Coppelius are a duo of Fontaine Clockwork Meka built for the original purpose of dancing before being repurposed as Dance Battlers, with the two deriving their names from the titular dancing mechanical doll and her creator from Coppélia. This reference goes even further when you read about the historical Coppelius, who was a playright that wrote the opera "Clockwork Coppelia", which from what is described followed a variant of the original ballet's plot, and which served as the basis for the robotic duo.
  • In the Fortress of Meropide, the person in charge of the Pankration Ring is named Roussimoff.
  • A purchasable book in the Fortress of Meropide that leads into a sidequest is titled "The Art of Negotiation" and is a parody of The Art of the Deal.
  • In Furina's character demo trailer, the scene when she climbs and spin around the lamp post is reference to SingingInTheRain signature dance sequence, given the trailer itself is musical-inspired.
  • Two NPCs you can meet in Fontaine are Sonny "The White Glove" (who Paimon calls a cleaner) and Luca "The Fisherman", a reference to Sonny Corleone and Luca Brasi from The Godfather.
  • The entire plot of Fontaine has been compared to Neon Genesis Evangelion, as it involves Biblical Motifs and people dissolving. The Narzissenkreuz Ordo's plan is even an Assimilation Plot.
  • The popular drink in Fontaine named "Fonta" is clearly a parody of "Fanta", being fizzy, orange drinks in a similarly shaped container.
  • An event in Version 4.3 is named "Roses and Muskets". Very subtle.
  • The Quest Item given at the end of the 4.5 Alchemical Ascension event is a potion described as liquid luck, made from extremely rare ingredients and very difficult to brew, almost a word-for-word match to the Felix Felicis potion from ''Harry Potter''. Even the name is nearly the same, Felix Felicium.

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