Call Back / Persona 5

• When the Shadow Self of an individual is killed, black fluid oozes from their mouth similar to victims of Shadow attacks and Apathy Syndrome in Persona 3.
• Just like the previous game the first dungeon is a castle.
• After being thrown in Kamoshida's Palace dungeon with Joker, Ryuji wonders if they're on a TV set, hearkening back to the Midnight Channel dungeons, which were technically TV sets.
• Similarly, this is not the first time we see the effect of an individual if their Shadow Selves are killed instead of being accepted or rejected. In Persona 2: Innocent Sin, after her Shadow Self commits suicide, Yukino becomes an Empty Shell similar to Akechi's victims.
• The Pyramid, Futaba's Palace, is a massive one and subversion to Persona 4 as well as to Persona 3 FES. Unlike the other Palaces up to that point, the Phantom Thieves are seeking to help someone by healing their mind using the Palaces, just like the characters in 4. At the end, Futaba accepts her Shadow which becomes her Persona. However, the fact that Futaba's Shadow is her repressed positive feelings is a Call-Back to The Answer scenario in 3's Updated Re-release where Metis, Aigis' Shadow Self formed from her repressed humanity, is undoubtedly a positive influence on her. It also works a a call back to the Shadow Rise and Shadow Teddie fights in 4. Just like in that game, you unlock a new navigator through a Bait-and-Switch Boss.
  • When Morgana transforms into his bus form in the desert crossing cutscene, Yusuke says "I've been waiting for this!", Akihiko's signature battle quote.
  • Also, upon completing her palace, Futaba holes up in her room to rest until the plot kicks in, not unlike the victims who were rescued from the TV world.
• In the same vein, Mementos seems to hearken back to Tartarus, being one giant dungeon that you explore over the course of the entire game. In fact, Mementos almost seems to be an inversion of Tartarus in structure and design, with it being a decent into what could be considered Hell and its overall red color scheme, as opposed to having to climb up Tartarus, which has an overall blue color scheme.
• Also in the same vein, an early conversation during the events of The Answer, Mitsuru mentions how S.E.E.S. is powerless to change society. Fast forward six-seven years In-Universe, and we got ourselves the Phantom Thieves of Hearts trying to do exactly that.
• Ryuji is a track team member who suffered a crippling leg injury, just like Kazushi. For bonus points, they both represent the Chariot arcana. He also has a distinct penchant for meat, which means he'd probably get along well with his immediate predecessor, Chie (or fight with her over the last bit of steak). Another old character he has even greater similarities with is Anna Yoshizaka; not only are they both ex-athletes with career ending injuries, they are both seen as delinquents, are powerful Persona users and work for a semi-legal secret group led by someone called "Joker". Bonus points for Ryuji's Ultimate Persona, which originally belonged in the Tower Arcana, same as Anna's.
• Two of the paintings in Madarame's Palace bear more than a passing resemblance to the protagonists of the third and fourth Persona games.
• A lot of the endgame is reminiscent of Persona 2 Eternal Punishment. Shido and Goro are basically what would happen if the Sudous were working together and Tatsuya Sudou survived longer. The Conspiracy is extremely similar to the New World Order, with both extending far in places of power. Both Tatsuzou and Shido are confronted on a cruise ship, and shortly after they are defeated, a supernatural villain playing a game with the Big Good after having weakened him is revealed.
  • When using any of the DLC legacy Personas, Joker's call-outs are references to their canonical users. For example, he has an education-related line when using Ariadne, adopts a more cruel tone with Magatsu Izanagi and Asterius, and makes a "Sho"-themed pun with Tsukiyomi.
• Towards the end of the game the real world begins to merge with the Metaverse (specifically Yaldabaoth's palace) much like it did with the Midnight Channel/fog in Persona 4
• Though they were introduced in this game, the concepts of Palace and Cognitive Existence are hinted in the previous games:
  • The first game, Persona: The alternate Mikage-cho was actually a reflection of Maki's ideal world created when she was plugged into a machine known as the DEVA System, which makes the city Maki's Palace. The residents of the alternate world differed than that of the original in order to satisfy Maki (such as the cruel vice-principal becoming a nice man), which resembles a Cognition.
  • Persona 2: Beings born from rumors coming true such as the Last Battalion, the party's Shadow Selves, and the ghost of the still alive Maya. In fact, the way rumor functions in that game makes it a precursor of Cognition.
  • Persona 3: In The Answer, a being known as ??? who resembled the late Protagonist is encountered by S.E.E.S. One character later explained that it was created when S.E.E.S. unconsciously wished to see the Protagonist again.
  • Persona 4: Before being thrown into the TV World, a blurry image of the victims can be seen on the Midnight Channel which eventually spawned into a Shadow Self after the victims were thrown into the TV. These Shadow Selves had the exaggerated appearance and personality of the original, which is how people watching the TV interpret them. Notably, the Shadow Self of the second suspect that the Investigation Team sees on the TV was how the Team interpreted him regarding his actions and their hatred for him. The dungeons of the games are formed from the kidnapped victims' subconscious which function similarly to a Palace.
  • Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: Similar to the first game, the entire alternate Yasogami High and the Labyrinths are formed by Chronos using Rei's memories. The students in the school are seemingly phantoms that perform the same action over and over again, representing the faceless masses instead of actual phantoms.
    • Persona 4: Arena: The illusion that makes Labrys and her Shadow hide their true self as well as making fighters act differently toward one and another function similarly to Cognition.
• Curiously, the protagonist shares the codename Joker with not one, but two of Nyarlathotep's significant minions in the Persona 2 duology. Like the two of them, he provides a certain service to society that is fueled by rumor.
• Lavenza's final gift to you the player is the Velvet Key, an item that was needed by the protagonists of Personas 3 and 4 to even enter the Velvet Room. She even says that it was supposed to be given to you at the start, but now it's yours as a keepsake.
• Much like the Final Boss of Persona 4, you fight them in a High-Altitude Battle with takes place in the clouds above the game's main location. Ameno-Sagiri is fought above Inaba which is visible below through the clouds, while Yaldabaoth is fought high above Tokyo, which becomes visible after Joker has Satanael blow a hole in his head.
• Futaba's ultimate Persona, Prometheus, is the same as that of another hacker, Baofu from Persona 2
• Many elements in the third semester in Royal are similar to the SEBEC plot of the first game:
  • The antagonist has the power to alter reality as well as using a Persona from the Cthulhu Mythos.
  • The new reality created by Maruki is similar to Maki Sonamura's Ideal World, where characters's greatest desires and wishes come true. In addition, characters in the alternate world are potrayed differently from how they are in the real world.
  • Taken from the manga adaption of the first game, someone took over the identity of their sibling, who died in a car accident.
• Yoshizawa briefly sees Cendrillion as her deceased sister, indicating the latter has been reincarnated as her Persona, similar to Kei Nanjo's butler.

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