Template:Ref — finalfantasy

Template:Ref is used to display a fully-formatted reference to a source cited within an article. It can be used to automatically generate links to a release or canon material within the Final Fantasy series, or manually filled out for non-series materials.

References can be added at the end of articles, and pointed to through an anchor link from an inline citation, corresponding with Template:Cite. It can also be used within inline citations.

For an introduction to this system, the difference between citations and references, as well as the Final Fantasy Wiki's policy concerning this system, see Verifiability § Citing sources.

Usage

General use

To use {{ref}} to reference non-release sources:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.<ref>{{ref |id=Example |author= |date= |title= |url= |wikilink= |section= |additional-authors= |platform= |publisher= |isbn= |access-date= |archive-url= |archive-date= |deadurl= }}</ref>

==References==
{{citations}}

In two-part citations

For non-release sources (like a website, video, interview, tweet, etc.), a generic <ref> tag can be used along with an anchor-link to a {{ref}} with a corresponding id parameter. For example:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.<ref name="Example">[[#Example|Example]], specific information</ref>

==Citations==
{{citations}}

==References==
* {{ref |id=Example |first= |last= |author= |day= |month= |year= |title= |url= |wikilink= |section= |additional-authors= |platform= |publisher= |isbn= |access-date= |archive-url= |archive-date= |brokenlink= }}

Note that "specific information" refers to a page number, video timestamp, section of a webpage, scene of a movie or video game, etc. This information should always be included in the citation, and not the reference. Citations can cite the same reference many different times but for different parts, so the reference should be as broad as possible.

The {{ref}} template can be used to reference any type of source. However, some sources are frequently referenced, and therefore shortcuts have been provided for them. See #Parameters.

For release sources

For release sources, such as a game in the Final Fantasy series, or otherwise canon material such as an Ultimania, {{ref}} can automatically generate a full reference that inline citations can point to. {{cite}} can be used to produce the inline citations. For example:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.<ref name="Example">[[#Example|Example]], specific information</ref>{{cite|<unnamed 1>}}

==Citations==
{{citations}}

==References==
* {{ref |game=<unnamed 1>}}

This can be used in cases where two-part citations are desirable on an article; for instance, to create consistency with references to non-release sources.

Parameters

Auto-fill

Before using any of the other parameters, if you simply wish to reference a release in the Final Fantasy series, you may set one of these parameters to that release's codename and the template will take care of the rest.

Auto-fills a work in the series based on the release's codename.

Auto-fills a game guide or game's design bible based on the game's codename.

Switches between the version of the work to be auto-filled.

Core components

These parameters are core components for constructing any type of reference.

A unique ID for the reference that citations can link to.

The year that the material was originally released.

The month that the material was originally released.

The last name of the author of the work being referenced, if the author is a person.

The last parameter should be treated differently depending on the type of work being referenced:

If a book, the author should be the specific writer, rather than the publishing house (e.g. Prima, Dark Horse, etc.)
If a website, the author should be the specific author of the website or page. If unavailable, use the name of the website.
If a movie, use the director, with the studio name being specified in additional-authors and the publisher in publisher (if the same, only use publisher).

The author of the work being cited.

The author parameter should be treated differently depending on the type of work being referenced:

If a game, the author should be the developer.
If a book, the author should be the specific writer and use last and first; however, author can be used if a group is used as the group's author.
If a website, the author should be the specific author of the website or page. If unavailable, use the name of the website.

Description?

The title of the source. Italicized by default. Note that for magazines, this should only include the name of the magazine, with the issue being provided in the date parameter.

For TV show episodes and songs off of a musical album, the title should be the TV show or album itself. The episode and song should be specified in the section parameter.

A page on the wiki for the title to point to. Interwiki links can also be used, but not URL links.

The title of the entry of the material being referenced. If the referenced material is an entry in a larger body of work (i.e. article title, comic book story arc, etc.), this should be used.

A page on the wiki for the entry to point to. Interwiki links can also be used, but not URL links.

Set this parameter to true for the title to not be italicized. Titles should only be italicized if they qualify as a "work", like with a game, movie, book, magazine, etc. Websites, wiki interviews, etc. should not be italicized.

Additional authors of the work being cited, if applicable. This can serve as a catch-all for any additional individuals or entities responsible for the creation and publication of the work.

The publisher of the work being cited.

The media type of the work being referenced. Can be all lowercase, as the first letter will be capitalized.

The platform on or medium through which the work being cited was published, for example the specific video game console, website name (if different from publisher), etc.

Any additional content to be placed at the end of the reference, separated by a period and a space.

Specific components

These parameters are only used for specific components for certain types of references. The majority of references will not need them.

The season of the episode being referenced. The full descriptor should be used in addition to the number, i.e. "Season 3" instead of simply "3", allowing links to or alternate names for the season if desired.

The season of the episode being referenced. The full descriptor should be used in addition to the number, i.e. "Number 3" instead of simply "3", allowing links to or alternate names for the season if desired.

A specific section or part of the work being cited, such as a chapter in a book, a section on a webpage, a folder, etc. The majority of references can simply reference the full work, but if only a specific section is cited, this can be used.

A specific page of the work being cited. The majority of references can simply reference the full work, but if only a specific page is cited, this can be used.

If a book, the International Standard Book Number of the work.

The volume of the periodical work (i.e. magazine) being referenced.

The issue of the periodical work (i.e. magazine) being referenced.

If the work being cited is or is hosted on a website, set this parameter to the date of using this template. This way if the link dies, a future editor may be able to find the correct archive based on the date.

An external URL for the entry name or title to point to.

The URL to a backup or archive of a work. Only specify if you need to include a specific URL, as otherwise, one will be automatically generated based on the url parameter.

The date of the backup or archive used (only required in combination with archive-url).

Set to true if the original, non-archive link has gone down. If so, the primary link used to wrap the title contents will be the archive URL, rather than the original.

The ID fragment from a tweet or YouTube video's URL, for use in combination with an author-id for a tweet or channel-id and channel for a video.

For Twitter, this is the string of numbers following /status/ in the URL. For YouTube, this is the string of numbers and letters following /watch?v= in the URL.

This parameter should only be used in exclusion of the url parameter.

The ID fragment of a Twitter account, for use in combination with a tweet-id.

The name of the YouTube channel posting the referenced material.

The ID fragment of a YouTube channel's URL, for use in combination with a youtube-id.

Miscellaneous

Non-release generic <ref>s should use a specific format. First, choose a shorthand "nickname" for the source (this is usually the last name of the author and the date, like "Smith 2026"). Then put any specific information after, separated by a comma and a space (like "Smith 2026, p. 1"). Next, surround the shorthand name with a link to an anchor ID. So altogether, <ref>[[#Smith 2001|Smith 2001]], p. 1</ref> and a {{ref |id=Smith 2001 |etc... }}.
When choosing how to format a reference, be mindful of the exact source you're referencing. For example, if you're citing a secret in a video game, you would source the video game, and not a YouTube video showing the secret. You could still link to the YouTube video as extra evidence, but the reference would be formatted as if you were referencing a game, because ultimately that is the true source of the information.