4 Persona 5 Easter Eggs and References You Might Have Missed

My Neighbor Totoro

Early on in Persona 5, you’ll gain access to an optional dungeon called Mementos. However, because Mementos is so huge, the party can’t possibly be expected to just walk around the area on foot. To get around this problem, Morgana graciously transforms into a bus that we can drive around.

As Morgana turns into a bus, he says something curious: “‘Cats turning into buses’ is an extremely widespread cognition among the general public.” This is a direct reference to the Studio Ghibli movie My Neighbor Totoro, where the characters get to take a ride on a large Cat Bus as well.

Risette and Kanamin Still Going Strong

If you make your way to Shibuya station in Persona 5, hang around the pillars to watch the posters change. You’ll get a glimpse of two very familiar faces from Persona 4: Risette and Kanamin. Risette Kujikawa was one of the main party members from Persona 4, and completing her social link makes her realize that she still yearns for her life as an idol. Kanamin serves as Rise’s competitor, but players get to learn more about her in Persona 4 Dancing All Night.

If you bring one of your friends to Harajuku to hang out during your free time, they’ll even give you a free idol poster. You can then hang it up in your own room to have Risette staring at you whenever you get home.

Uehara’s Still In the Medical Field

Tae Takemi serves as the Death Confidant of Persona 5. Her personal story is a pretty emotional one, and it deals a lot with her motivation of working as a doctor. About halfway through her story, she makes mention of someone named Uehara-san. This woman works in another hospital, and Takemi contacts her to get some information on her patient.

It’s a very subtle reference, but Uehara is actually the name of the nurse you get to spend time with in Persona 4. In that game, Uehara also loses her way and forgets the reason why she joined the medical field in the first place. She’ll find her way again by the end of her social link, and it’s nice to see that she’s still going strong as a nurse even today.

Musical Callback to Previous Atlus Games

Atlus loves making subtle callbacks to its previous games, and Persona 5 is no different. If you watch the movie The Cake Knight Rises at the movie theater, you’ll notice that the music playing in the background was actually the puzzle preparation music taken straight from Catherine. Catherine’s soundtrack is an ominous and intense remix of classic music pieces, and it was the perfect fit for The Cake Knight Rises, which in itself is a parody of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.

The Bubbly Hills DVD also contains the daily music track from Persona 3: an upbeat number that fits the movie’s carefree tone. There are probably tons of other musical references that we’ve missed in the game as well.