10 Hidden References in South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Thrift Shop

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a game that loves its Easter eggs much like The Stick of Truth did. The game is packed to the brim with nods to the main series as well as plenty of regular ol’ pop culture references. Some are obvious. Some are incredibly subtle. All of them are classic South Park, so let’s start this list of some of them with the in-game thrift store.

Some of those outfits look familiar? They should. In that one frame alone we can see Charlie Brown’s iconic yellow t-shirt, Ash Ketchum’s jacket, April O’Neal’s yellow jumpsuit, and plenty more. Of all the references and Easter eggs in the game this store is by far the most obvious, but it’s got enough that it warrants a mention. Only a few were covered here, but what else can you see?

Chris? Is That You?

One of the unfortunately notable absences in the game’s roster of characters is the Devil himself, Satan. Although Jesus and a few other religious figures make appearances throughout the game, Big Red never drops by for a cameo. However, we can see someone who used to be pretty close to Satan.

Visit the Police Station break room and just off to the side you’ll see a box of cold case files. What’s that jutting out of it? Why, it’s Chris.

What? You don’t remember Chris? He was Satan’s lover in the season four episode “Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?”. Seems like things didn’t go well for him after the break-up.

Collected ‘Em All

People who played Stick of Truth might remember the delightful little collectathon game that involved gathering all of the Chinpokomon. Fractured But Whole replaces this with finding Yaoi Pictures. But where did all the Chinpokomon go, you ask? Well, take a moment to visit the New Kid’s garage and there they are. All the Chinpokomon gathering dust in a box.

You can also see a few other bits of Stick of Truth memorabilia including Al Gore’s Man-Bear-Pig helmet and the claw weapon you get for defeating him.

Spookyfish

During your travels through the town of South Park you can find a couple of fish bowls in some rooms, namely the New Kid and Stan’s. Believe it or not, that fish is another character. Spookyfish debuted in the season two episode “Spookyfish” (go figure) and was a gift from Stan’s Aunt Flo. It’s an evil fish from an Indian Burial Ground Pet Store that murders people, but seems like he’s chilled a bit out since then.

Sweet Memories

Probably Fractured But Whole and Stick of Truth’s favorite way to give shout-outs are through little pictures you can find in the background. They’re all over the place but for a good location to find a bunch of them at once, head to the Camera shop. Along the right wall you can see a bunch of stills from classic South Park episodes including “I Should Never Have Gone Ziplining” and “Pinewood Derby.”

Jared

Subway’s very own Jared makes an appearance in Fractured But Whole roughly two-thirds of the way through the game. What a lot of people don’t know though is everything about his appearance is a reference to the episode “Jared Has Aides.” Down to the way he looks, when he summons his Aides to help him, to even the remixed version of his theme song from that very same episode.

Bill Belichick

This one’s a bit tricky to find if you don’t know about it, but when you first visit Cartman’s House you need to find a key code to get into the basement. Or, you could just figure out the code since it isn’t really that hard, but when you do you’re greeted by… Cartman as Bill Belichick? He quickly calls you out for being a cheater and asks if that’s what you want, not letting you in until you find the pass code first.

This delightful little Easter egg is a reference to the season nineteen episode “Stunning and Brave” where Cartman has a dream sequence that envisions himself as Bill Belichick and Tom Brady deflecting criticism and feeling victimized.

The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka

In all likelihood this is one of the easiest in-game references to miss. While wandering around the woods on the left side of South Park you can come across a pair of logs in the background. If you look really closely though you can see something blending into the bushes atop one of the logs. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, it’s the Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka.

This is a hidden nod to the season two episode of the same name which sees Stan and the gang playing a prank on Ned and Jimbo by making up a story about a frog that can kill you with nothing but its stare. Looks like the frog is still there after all these years. Still staring. Still not killing.

Pope John Paul II

One of Fractured But Whole’s sidequests will take you to the local church where you can try to find yourself. After an “encounter” with a pair of rather eager priests you can revisit the room with a password gotten from the opposite room. Once inside, head towards the front right and you’ll see a framed picture of an incredibly old man.

That man is Pope John Paul II exactly as he appeared in the episode “Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?”. Seems Father Maxi still likes to think about him.

Kyle’s Mom’s A B****

On the second in-game day, you’ll find a sidequest where you need to help Human Kite get rid of his pesky alternate universe counterpart. Once the fight starts going awry, Alternate Human Kite reveals his secret weapon: calling Kyle’s Mom to come beat you up. What soon winds up happening is you have to fight both Human Kites as well as Kyle’s mother.

While humorous enough, listen closely to the song that plays. Sound familiar? That there is an instrumental version of the hit song Kyle’s Mom’s a Bitch as seen in the movie South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut.