Throughout the game, there are numerous references to other sources of media. These are some examples:
- On the naming screen, the Random option has several references in its wide selection of names.
- Some of the citizens' names appear to be references to the Touhou series, such as Lunasa and Lyrica. This also continues in some other languages as well.
- Cow Bones' rumor is sent in by a Captain Beefheart, a potential reference to the American singer-songwriter of the same name.
- When Plant spoils are traded in, sometimes they can be identified as "Neil de Grass", a reference to astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
- Some Meat spoils are identified as "Slig Meat", potentially a reference to the Slig species from the Oddworld series.
- One of the paintings in the Castle depicts Corobo in the style of artist Andy Warhol.
- Hardened Soldiers sometimes talk of wanting to a movie star like "Seagal and Lundgren!" This is a reference to actors Steven Seagal and Dolph Lundgren.
- The Savvy Merchants will sometimes say the line "Everything I touch always turns to gold! Just like Midas and Trump!" a dual reference to the story of King Midas, and notorious failed businessman and apprentice star Donald Trump.
- The Merchants can also utter the line "1. Work nonstop dusk to dawn. 2. ???? 3. Profits!" in reference to South Park's Underpants Gnomes.
- Buff Lumberjacks, when spoken to, can offer Corobo a 'buttered scone', in a reference to a song from Monty Python's Flying Circus.
- Some citizens will talk about how "Balance is key to a happy Stepford life", a possible reference to the satirical book The Stepford Wives where the wives in a village are freakishly attached to their work roles.
- Carefree Adults wearing robes to impersonate the Rainbow Wizard will say that the spell to get a child to sleep involves a "purple dinosaur", in reference to Barney the Purple Dinosaur.
- Princess Kokomo Pine says she wants to see Audrie II at the arbitorium. Audrie II is a man-eating plant from the musical Little Shop of Horrors.
- She also has a CD under her bed for the band Milli Vanilli, according to Princess Spumoni.
- TV Dinnah talks about "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the World" during the boss fight, a reference to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a book by Douglas Adams.
- Howser mentions the saying "Never forget your towel," another reference to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
- Princess Spumoni gossips about Princess Shizuka having a laptop with the words "Don't Panic!" written on it, another reference to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
- During Princess Talk, Princess Shizuka mentions wanting to ride with "Volgons", a fictional species from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.
- Skinny Ray sometimes mentions that his job is to discover the meanings behind "Life, the Universe, and Everything" in reference to the third book in the Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy series.
- Princess Apricot is a reference to Princess Peach.
- In Skull Plains, next to the Nature Maze entrance, a box with a "?" symbol can be found. Breaking it open will either spawn a Mush Bro, a Moonflower, or a Cockadoodledo. This is a reference to similar blocks from the Super Mario series, and the three enemies are references to the three main power ups in Super Mario World: a Super Mushroom, a Fire Flower, and a Cape Feather.
- The description for the UMA Book entry for Onii Ball pays homage to the Katamari video game series.
- One of the Generated Quests is called the "Onii Ranger" and features five Onii sporting different colors, in reference to the Power Rangers.
- The Animal Book has various references. In the dog entry, the description mentions that it "... found the answer to life, the universe and everything!" which is another reference to the third book in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.
- In the bear entry, it says "...Hide the children!" a likely reference to the Pedobear meme.
- The penguin entry says that it constantly asked "Dood, where's my car?" similar to Prinnies, from the Disgaea series.
- The panda entry says "...used its kung fu hustle to beat down the aliens!", probably a reference to Kung Fu Panda.
- In the Tunesmiths Book in the description for the song 'Brave New World' when remarking about the Universe it mentions ".... the restaurant at the end of it." which is another nod to Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, whose second book is called 'The Restaurant at the End of the Universe'. Interesting to note that in the game it refers to the restaurant when describing the Universes length as in it is at the very end of the universe but in the book it is at the 'end' in the context of time as the restaurant is present when the universe destroys itself.
- The Song "I Like Food!" mentions soylent green which comes from a 1973 film of the same name.
- The song "Green Jelly" says it "Really ends with an "o", but the company won't get the joke.", referencing the Jell-O brand.
- When discussing the possibility of travelling to the World of God, Verde says "Hold up there, Galactus! Isn't World Domination enough for you?" in reference to the character of Galactus from Marvel Comics.
- A letter from a Mark Renton concerning the end of the World is titled "...And I feel fine" in reference to the R.E.M song It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine).
- The Final Boss can perform an attack where it fires two body parts that fire in a helix-like motion. While potentially a coincidence, this unusual pattern resembles the Wave Beam attack from the Metroid series.