Highlights

  • Fallout 76's new official celebration artwork sneaks in cameos by Final Fantasy 7's Cloud and Aerith, to the delight of fans.
  • Bethesda's Fallout 76 artwork teems with pop culture references, from Dragon Ball to Star Trek to Mad Max.
  • While unexpected, Bethesda's nod to Final Fantasy 7 in its Fallout 76 poster is a pleasant surprise for fans of both franchises.

Bethesda just released a new piece of official Fallout 76 artwork and, much to the surprise of many gamers, it contains hidden references to Final Fantasy 7, among other things. The iconic 90s JRPG isn't typically associated with the Fallout franchise, so seeing Bethesda make a subtle nod towards Square Enix's hit role-playing title comes as a bit of a shock, especially considering this reference was made in something as unassuming as some new marketing material for Fallout 76.

Fallout 76 was the first multiplayer-focused title from Bethesda Game Studios, and it infamously had one of the most disastrous game launches of all time due to releasing in an incredibly poor state. Despite the immense backlash from fans and critics, Bethesda didn't abandon the game. Instead, over the years since its 2018 release, Fallout 76 was given major content updates in response to player feedback. This consistent support, combined with the success of the Fallout TV show, skyrocketed Fallout 76 to new levels of popularity, with Bethesda recently revealing that 20 million people had played the game so far. To commemorate the crossing of this threshold, the company released a special poster for Fallout 76 that's filled to the brim with hidden details and cameos, including one referencing a classic video game.

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As pointed out by the Reddit user Hadrian_x_Antinous in a post they made on the r/FFVIIRemake subreddit, the iconic Final Fantasy 7 characters Cloud Strife and Aerith Gainsborough make a cameo appearance in Bethesda's official Fallout 76 celebration artwork. Due to how small all the vault dwellers in the poster are, it can be hard to spot them at first glance. If one looks closely, however, they'll notice that the two FF7 protagonists are hidden away in the bottom left corner of the artwork, with Cloud still wielding his iconic Buster Sword from Final Fantasy 7 and Aerith being portrayed as a ghoul. These cameos are neat little details that fans of the Final Fantasy franchise will notice immediately.

Cloud and Aerith aren't the only pop culture icons to be referenced in this Fallout 76 artwork, though, as the poster is littered with a litany of other vault dwellers that bear striking resemblances to certain individuals. Some of the most notable cameos in Bethesda's artwork include Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, Philip J. Fry from Futurama, Shotaro Kaneda from Akira, Q from Star Trek, Furiosa from Mad Max, and even the man and woman from Grant Wood's famous painting, American Gothic.

Bethesda Referencing Final Fantasy 7 in This Fallout 76 Poster is a Welcome Surprise

Even if the fanbases for the two series don't have much overlap, it's nice to see Bethesda recognize fellow RPG franchises like Final Fantasy in such an unexpected way. The decision to commemorate the major success Fallout 76 has had in recent months with this detailed, cameo-filled poster is one that will likely go down well with many gamers and fans of the franchise.