Top 10 Final Fantasy Easter Eggs and Secrets it Took Fans Years to Find

For a series with this many games, there are bound to be some fascinating secrets out there. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down the top 10 “Final Fantasy” easter eggs and secrets that are hard to find. For this list, we’re looking at all of the games to carry the “Final Fantasy” title to find the most obscure and hard to find details that the developers slipped into the game.

“Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII” (2007) The Emerald Weapon is notorious for being one of the most formidable opponents in “Final Fantasy VII.” Created by the planet Gaia as a defense mechanism, the creature slumbered underground for thousands of years before emerging from beneath the earth when Sephiroth summons Meteor. “Crisis Core” is a prequel following the story of Zack Fair seven years prior to the events of the original game. In the Banora Underground area, just outside the edges of the map, the player can just barely make out the shoulders of the monster hibernating behind a crystal. If you don’t catch this the first time, you’ll have another chance when fighting Minerva in the post-game.

“Final Fantasy IX” (2000) While it’s commonly known that most “Final Fantasy” games feature an “ultimate weapon” for each character. “Final Fantasy IX,” however, provided Steiner with a secret second ultimate weapon, but it’s not easy to come by. In order to obtain it, the player must defeat the Lich in Memoria, the second-to-last area in the game, within only twelve hours. Considering most playthroughs of the game tend to hover around forty hours, it takes an expert to accomplish this feat. It’s all worth it in the end, though, since it provides the game’s strongest weapon. What’s even more worth it are the bragging rights!

“Final Fantasy VIII” (1999) One of the more obscure sidequests of the franchise provides players with extremely little insight as to how to complete it. Fixed encounters in the Winhill Bluffs, Heath Peninsula, Kashkabald Desert, and Mandy Beach areas will see the player encountering these mysterious enemies. A fifth encounter in the Grandidi Forest allows the player to actually fight the UFO, which unlocks an encounter in the ruins of the Balamb Garden with…Pupu. Pupu is a benign enemy who asks the party for elixirs, rather than attacking. If the player chooses to provide it with the elixirs, they will be rewarded with a unique Triple Triad card. It’s definitely a weird questline, but it’s a fun secret.

“Final Fantasy” (1987) Over the past three decades, superbosses have become par for the course for “Final Fantasy” games. However, back in 1987, it was much less common to have secret bosses, and there was no internet to spread word about them. The Warmech is the most powerful boss in the game, and it’s a rare random encounter located on a bridge in the Flying Fortress. It only has a three in 64 chance of spawning, making it a rare enemy, but a highly dangerous one for unwitting players. While its power has been toned down in later releases, it remains an infamous secret among fans, especially those who have been around since day one.

#6: Aerith’s Ghost

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“Final Fantasy VII” (1997) Ever since it first happened midway through “Final Fantasy VII” in 1997, the death of Aerith has arguably become one of gaming’s most iconic moments. Fans have combed through the game for years trying to find a way to bring her back to the party, to no avail. However, if you would like for your heart to skip a beat, you can return to the Sector 5 Church after her passing to see her picking flowers. Should you choose to approach her, she’ll simply flicker out of existence. Well…at least we get to spend some more time with her in the remake, right?

#5: Development Room

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“Final Fantasy IV” (1991) Located in the Dwarven Castle, a secret passageway will take the player to a room called the “Development Room.” It contains sprite versions of various game developers who worked on the game, many of which have some strange comments to make. Some of them will even challenge you in random encounters, but they’re not very intimidating—one of them just wants to let you know about their expected child. The secret was popular enough that it recurred in every other expansion of the “Final Fantasy IV” canon, each one with its own weird quirks. Most famous among these quirks, we have to mention, is a magazine which is heavily implied to be…um, an adult magazine.

“Final Fantasy VI” (1994) Gogo was neither the first nor the last optional party member in the storied series, but he probably holds the title for the most convoluted method to obtain. First, the player must initiate an encounter with the Zone Eater, then the player must allow each of its party members to be consumed by the ghoulish creature. Doing so will bring the party to a dungeon located inside the enemy, at the end of which they will discover the strange character, who immediately joins. Gogo joins as a mime, one of the stranger classes introduced in the series, and never receives a backstory, making him among the most mysterious party members to appear in the franchise.

“Final Fantasy XII” (2006) It’s no secret that “Final Fantasy” loves to pay tribute to its past with its easter eggs, but in “Final Fantasy XII,” some of our favourite heroes' swords were turned against Vaan. Gilgamesh is a recurring character in the series, and is fought several times during the main campaign of “XII.” If you look closely at his weapons, you can spot Tidus’ Brotherhood, Cloud’s Buster Sword, Squall’s Revolver, Zidane’s Orichalcon, and Zanetsuken, the sword of Odin the summon. There’s no canonical reason provided for this, it was just a fun way to call back to the series’ most beloved heroes.

#2: Save Shadow

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“Final Fantasy VI” (1994) Near the end of “Final Fantasy VI,” our party is trapped on the Floating Continent as it begins to crumble into ruin, thanks to Kefka’s nefarious actions. Just before the destruction begins, Shadow declares that he has no right to fight alongside the heroes, and you’re given six minutes to evacuate. If you rush to the airship, the continent will crumble and Shadow will presumably die. However, if you decide to be risky and wait until the clock hits five seconds, Shadow will have a change of heart and jump on the airship with you. Few “Final Fantasy” games allow you to have this much control over a major plot point, so we advise you choose wisely! Before we reveal our top picks, here are a few honourable mentions. PolkaPolka Menu “Final Fantasy Tactics” (1997) If you name the player character “PolkaPolka,” you’ll gain access to a hidden music menu. Final Fantasy X Reference “Final Fantasy IX” (2000) The Ragtime Mouse enemy carries a card which, when translated, reads “Pop Quiz! FF10’s theme is GUTS! True or false?” A Dragon! I Saw a Dragon! “Final Fantasy XI” (2002) A dragon flies over a part of the river in Lufaise Meadows at exactly 14:20 each day.

#1: The Nero Brothers

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“Final Fantasy IX” (2000) While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when this secret was first found, it became common knowledge among fans around 2013, thirteen years after the release of “Final Fantasy IX.” The sidequest, which was previously never mentioned in any games, requires the player to return to Lindblum after nearly each major event towards the endgame and talk to a different brother, each of which will claim the others are missing. Once the player has talked to each brother, they will be rewarded with a Protect Ring. It’s not the most exciting or memorable sidequest, but the fact that it slipped under the radar for so long makes it remarkable.