Yu-Gi-Oh! (Tabletop Game)/Shout-Out

Ever since its release in 1999, the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game has amassed numerous references to other works and franchises, especially others created by Konami themselves.

Konami-based Shout-Outs

 * Apparently, Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima had expressed interest in the game, and as such is called "Hideojama" in reference to the "Ojama" archetype. On the flipside of that, the Tactical Espionage Expert is a near-physical double of Solid Snake and/or Raiden, and his name comes from the series' subtitle: "Tactical Espionage Action". The card art also features a Tanker from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
 * The Gradius series has cards directly based on the playable ships and enemies.
 * The series of monster started with the original ship; its upgraded version; the playable ship from Gradius V; the two new playable ships from Gradius Gaiden; and the playable ship from the Gradius spinoff Salamander, known to English-speakers as Life Force.
 * In addition, there are also cards for other ships from Konami space shooters: Deltatry, a boss from Gradius Gaiden that originated in the game Trigon (also known as Lightning Fighters); Flintlock, the protagonist ship of Xexex, and its primary weapon; and the Blue Thunder, the playable ship of Thunder Cross.
 * The options for the various ships also appear, either as independent cards or in the form of various tokens.
 * Some of the games' various enemies that were either made into or alluded to by various cards such as the Duckers, the Moai statues, and the Option Hunters. Bosses include the Intruder, Final Boss of the original Gradius; another Intruder-esque boss monster (as well as the "projectile" form used by Deltatry); and the Bacterian Empire Series (referred to as the "B.E.S." archetype), complete with a support card named "Boss Rush".
 * And it further extends to Parodius, with cards featuring the playable quartet of Aitsu, Koitsu, Soitsu, and Doitsu.
 * Goemon and crew from Legend of the Mystical Ninja each have their own cards.
 * Both Getsu Fuhma and Ryukotsuki from Getsu Fuhma Den are also in the game.
 * The Vampire Hunter is an explicit reference to a Belmont from the Castlevania series.

Others

 * The Six Samurai archetype seems to be intended as an homage to The Seven Samurai.
 * The "Deformer" archetype ("Morphtronic" in English) is a collective reference to both Transformers and retro Japanese giant mecha kids shows, such as "Golden Warrior Gold Lightan".
 * Look at Super Vehicroid - Stealth Union. Now look at this.
 * According to Word of God, the "Arcana Force" monsters were based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Also, the card representing The World has the power to effectively "stop time" by giving you potentially unlimited turns -- a shout out to Dio Brando's famous stand of the same name from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
 * Genex Allies are incredibly similar to the original Mega Man characters.
 * The ability of the "Gladiator Beast" archetype to switch places with another Gladiator Beast from the deck after battling has been unanimously dubbed "Tag Out" by the playerdom.
 * For the various Hero archetypes: the earlier Elemental Heroes are based on various American superheroes. Two of the Destiny Heroes in particular were based on classic novels, i.e. Double Dude (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) and Dreadmaster (The Man in the Iron Mask's section of The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later). Evil Hero Malicious Edge is based on Wolverine, one of the X-Men. And finally, the Masked Heroes as a whole are nods to the Henshin Hero subgenre, especially the Kamen Rider franchise.
 * The Inzektors' designs and their overall effect of a stronger armoured Inzektor over a lighter faster Inzektor is a shout out to Kamen Rider Kabuto.
 * Several cards use characters from other Shonen Jump series.