Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
*** Despite being the thieves' last member, he somehow is [[spoiler:more than a couple levels higher than everyone else in the party, including the protagonist himself,]] indicating that he's been in the [[spoiler:Metaverse]] more than a few times before.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 288 (click to see context) from:
* CrapsackWorld: There's a reason the Thieves are willing to risk everything to reform the world -- they really do have no other choice if they want to live a halfway normal life. Physically and sexually abusive predators are employed as teachers -- something both staff and ''parents'' are fully aware of and choose to do nothing about. Random accidents caused by "psychotic breaks" could end your life in an instant. The police are in the pocket of corrupt monsters, which sees innocent people arrested and real criminals allowed to go free thanks to their connections. When tragedy or injustice strikes, authority figures can't or won't protect you, bystanders are too apathetic or scared to get involved, and by the end of it you'll be so ConditionedToAcceptHorror that ''you'll'' probably be one of the faceless masses who just keep their head down in the hope that nobody dangerous notices them.
to:
* CrapsackWorld: There's a reason the Thieves are willing to risk everything to reform the world -- they really do have no other choice if they want to live a halfway normal life. Physically and sexually abusive predators are employed as teachers -- something both staff and ''parents'' are fully aware of and choose to do nothing about. Random accidents caused by "psychotic breaks" could end your life in an instant. The police are in the pocket of corrupt monsters, which sees innocent people arrested and real criminals allowed to go free thanks to their connections. When tragedy or injustice strikes, authority figures can't or won't protect you, bystanders are too apathetic or scared to get involved, and by the end of it you'll be so ConditionedToAcceptHorror that ''you'll'' probably be one of the faceless masses who just keep their head down in the hope that nobody dangerous notices them. Or worse, you'll snap and figure that if the world's full of rotten people that get away with everything and nobody cares, you might as well be rotten yourself.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
wording; the added ending kicks in with 2 girlfriends, not 3.
Changed line(s) 325 (click to see context) from:
** Just as in ''Persona 4 Golden'', the game has prepared for situations in which the player [[YourCheatingHeart has more than two girlfriends.]] Yes, this also includes one where [[UpToEleven they have relationships with every single female Confidant.]]
to:
** Just as in ''Persona 4 Golden'', the game has prepared for situations in which the player [[YourCheatingHeart has two or more than two girlfriends.]] Yes, this also includes one where [[UpToEleven they have relationships with every single female Confidant.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** One dungeon features [[StockVideoGamePuzzles Hamiltonian Path puzzles]] where you have to step on tiles in order to change their color so that they're all the same. Later versions of the puzzle make things more difficult by limiting the number of times you can change the color, as indicated by a special design on the tiles. You're intended to figure this out by making too many moves, but if you solve the first of these puzzles on the first go, Futaba tells you about it so you're not caught off guard for the later puzzles.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* FreezeFrameBonus: Pay close attention to the rapidly-shifting calendar in the [[FramingDevice interrogation]] flashforward cutscenes, and it's possible to notice that [[spoiler:the date of the interrogation is November 20th, long before this point in the game is reached]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 69 (click to see context) from:
** Once you send out a calling card for the major targets, you are locked into their boss fight for the next day and cannot go out at night. However, you can still create infiltration tools, bestowing you both extra items (and giving the player a chance to make lockpicks in particular if they missed any locked chests) and a bonus boost to your Proficiency. You can also feed your plant (boosts Kindness) at any time, even during plot-based days when you aren't allowed to do anything at all.
to:
** Once you send out a calling card for the major targets, you are locked into their boss fight for the next day and cannot go out at night. However, you can still create infiltration tools, bestowing you both extra items (and giving the player a chance to make lockpicks in particular if they missed any locked chests) and a bonus boost to your Proficiency. You can also feed your plant (boosts Kindness) at any time, even during plot-based days when you aren't allowed to do anything at all. The game will also permit the player to make coffee or curry the day before a boss.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** Ryuji stating enough words to get into Kamoshida's castle when he has zero idea about the Metaverse at that time. It also can be a coincidence that [[spoiler:Morgana (aka the being created by the real Igor that was supposed to help the Phantom Thieves among their journey) was right in that castle instead of some other palace.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 185 (click to see context) from:
** Quite a few dialogue options, particularly to IM conversations, have two or three responses that are essentially the same thing. Also, even if the protagonist says things that seem counter-intuitive, like arguing against taking down a target, the other party members will scold him, then continue like nothing happened.
to:
** Quite a few dialogue options, particularly to IM conversations, have two or three responses that are essentially the same thing. Also, even if the protagonist says things that seem counter-intuitive, like arguing against taking down a target, either he'll be countermanded by the other party members, or later plot revelations will establish the target as clearly and unambiguously evil and force the party to act against them anyway.
** This actually becomes a plot point [[spoiler:during Sae's palace, as when Goro suggests that the party steal her heart on a specific date, you can't go against him, as the other party members willscold him, then continue like nothing happened.shout you down if you try. Of course, since the party ''knows'' that Goro plans to betray them on that date, they can't have you messing things up by taking care of business prematurely.]]
** This actually becomes a plot point [[spoiler:during Sae's palace, as when Goro suggests that the party steal her heart on a specific date, you can't go against him, as the other party members will
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Added new Arc Words.
Added DiffLines:
** The phrase "I'm counting on you" (or variations thereof, like "counting on someone") is uttered at least once by every member in the team, and a few other major characters.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* AnnoyingVideoGameHelper: Mostly averted, as the party members can be controlled, and their randomly-executed moves are boons overall. However, one of their abilities can cure status ailments, which is a nice trick until you face Mammon and the Hunger status ailment; the boss's strongest move, which deals a ton of unblockable Almighty damage, doesn't work on targets with Hunger. In fact, the move heals them. It can be rather frustrating for one of the party members to jump in and cure someone, leaving them at the mercy of Big Bang Challenge.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 303 (click to see context) from:
* DarkestHour: The game enters this by the time the game catches up to the present day. [[spoiler: The Phantom Thieves reputation is at an all-time low and the BigBad has used the public's opinion of him to propel his campaign for Prime Minister, putting him in a very good position to get elected. Not to mention that Joker has to fake his own death and the other Thieves are also scheduled for [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident "accidents"]] later. And somehow the situation [[FromBadToWorse still gets worse]] even after they steal Shido's heart. His evil conspiracy is still going strong without him, their manipulation of the media and law enforcement has all but ensured that Shido will go unpunished despite his confession and change of heart, and [[GreaterScopeVillain Yaldabaoth]] uses this all as an excuse to put in to motion his plan to RetGone humanity, starting with the Phantom Thieves.]]
to:
* DarkestHour: The game enters this by the time the game catches up to the present day. [[spoiler: The [[spoiler:The Phantom Thieves reputation is at an all-time low and the BigBad has used the public's opinion of him to propel his campaign for Prime Minister, putting him in a very good position to get elected. Not to mention that Joker has to fake his own death and the other Thieves are also scheduled for [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident "accidents"]] later. And somehow the situation [[FromBadToWorse still gets worse]] even after they steal Shido's heart. His evil conspiracy is still going strong without him, their manipulation of the media and law enforcement has all but ensured that Shido will go unpunished despite his confession and change of heart, and [[GreaterScopeVillain Yaldabaoth]] uses this all as an excuse to put in to motion his plan to RetGone humanity, starting with the Phantom Thieves.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DarkestHour: The game enters this by the time the game catches up to the present day. [[spoiler: The Phantom Thieves reputation is at an all-time low and the BigBad has used the public's opinion of him to propel his campaign for Prime Minister, putting him in a very good position to get elected. Not to mention that Joker has to fake his own death and the other Thieves are also scheduled for [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident "accidents"]] later. And somehow the situation [[FromBadToWorse still gets worse]] even after they steal Shido's heart. His evil conspiracy is still going strong without him, their manipulation of the media and law enforcement has all but ensured that Shido will go unpunished despite his confession and change of heart, and [[GreaterScopeVillain Yaldabaoth]] uses this all as an excuse to put in to motion his plan to RetGone humanity, starting with the Phantom Thieves.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 184 (click to see context) from:
* BystanderSyndrome: A major theme of the game. The people of Tokyo would rather let horrible people get away with doing horrible things because that's easier than being good. Not to mention, the idea of "ItCantBeHelped" is a huge cornerstone of Japanese society, and as such, the only way for the Phantom Thieves to gain any ground is to break the law and take matters into their own hands. [[spoiler:That notwithstanding, however, the game also says that people as a whole are basically good, and that they can be inspired to stand up and act if given the chance.]]
to:
* BystanderSyndrome: A major theme of the game. game is examining this trope. The people of Tokyo would rather let horrible people get away with doing horrible things than stop them because that's easier than being good. Not to mention, the idea of "ItCantBeHelped" is a huge cornerstone of Japanese society, and as such, the only way for the Phantom Thieves to gain any ground is to break the law and take matters into their own hands. [[spoiler:That notwithstanding, however, the game also says that people as a whole are basically good, and that they can be inspired to stand up and act if given the chance.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* BystanderSyndrome: A major theme of the game. The people of Tokyo would rather let horrible people get away with doing horrible things because that's easier than being good. Not to mention, the idea of "ItCantBeHelped" is a huge cornerstone of Japanese society, and as such, the only way for the Phantom Thieves to gain any ground is to break the law and take matters into their own hands. [[spoiler:That notwithstanding, however, the game also says that people as a whole are basically good, and that they can be inspired to stand up and act if given the chance.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 63 (click to see context) from:
** Once you reach TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, [[PointOfNoReturn you can't go back to the real world]]. Since the players would have no other way to refill their SP once they run out of items, one of the Velvet Room twins waiting at the entrance of the dungeon will fully restore the party's HP and SP, and going all the way back to the entrance of Mementos and leaving allows the player to go directly to the clinic or airsoft shop.
to:
** Once you reach TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, [[PointOfNoReturn you can't go back to the real world]]. Since the players would have no other way to refill their SP once they run out of items, one of the Velvet Room twins attendants waiting at the entrance of the dungeon will fully restore the party's HP and SP, and going all [[PointOfNoReturn before you enter the way shrine]] to the [[spoiler:Holy Grail]] at the core of the Prison, you're able to freely go back to the entrance of Mementos and leaving allows the player in order to go directly run to the clinic or airsoft shop.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 247 (click to see context) from:
* CityOfAdventure: Unlike the fictional settings of previous installments, ''P5'' takes place in the very real city of UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}.
to:
* CityOfAdventure: Unlike the fictional settings of previous installments, ''P5'' takes place in the very real city of UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}.UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}, though the real district of Sangen-jaya, home to the cafe where the protagonist lives, is replaced with a fictionalized version named [[BlandNameProduct Yongen-jaya]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 231 (click to see context) from:
** Used again in a darker note after that. [[spoiler:In Shido's Palace, a cognitive version of Akechi as Shido sees him (an expendable but obedient underling) appears, and because Shido was planning to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness kill him in the end]], he ends up killing the real one.]]
to:
** Used again in a darker note after that. [[spoiler:In Shido's Palace, a cognitive version of Akechi as Shido sees him (an expendable but bloodthirsty and completely obedient underling) appears, and because Shido was planning to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness kill him in the end]], he ends up killing the real one.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 76 (click to see context) from:
* Confidant bonuses in general are small utility features that make battles, exploration, and time management a little less frustrating, such as LeakedExperience, decreasing the penalty for being noticed by shadows, or allowing you to make coffee or infiltration tools without spending time.
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* Confidant bonuses in general are small utility features that make battles, exploration, and time management a little less frustrating, such as LeakedExperience, decreasing the penalty for being noticed by shadows, or allowing you to make coffee or infiltration tools without spending time.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 63 (click to see context) from:
** Once you reach TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, [[PointOfNoReturn you can't go back to the real world]]. Since the players would have no other way to refill their SP once they run out of items, going back to the entrance gives the player a method of fully restoring their HP and SP.
to:
** Once you reach TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, [[PointOfNoReturn you can't go back to the real world]]. Since the players would have no other way to refill their SP once they run out of items, one of the Velvet Room twins waiting at the entrance of the dungeon will fully restore the party's HP and SP, and going all the way back to the entrance gives of Mementos and leaving allows the player a method of fully restoring their HP and SP.to go directly to the clinic or airsoft shop.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 52,53 (click to see context) from:
* AlmightyJanitor: The ultimate BonusBoss and toughest enemy in the game, the Twins, are two prison guards in a run down gulag. One of whom is an admin with nothing but a clipboard on her. Since they're directly related to [[VideoGame/Persona3 Elizabeth (and Theodore)]] as well as [[VideoGame/Persona4 Margaret]], this is to be expected, as each of them were the most powerful bosses in their respective game as well. Their comments should you win includes a hint at this.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: What drives the Phantom Thieves together is that they were all treated as outcasts by people. In particular, Joker's arrival in Tokyo started with pretty much everyone wanting nothing to do with him due to his "record". In fact, Ryuji only becomes his first friend after they're both nearly killed in the collective unconscious.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: What drives the Phantom Thieves together is that they were all treated as outcasts by people. In particular, Joker's arrival in Tokyo started with pretty much everyone wanting nothing to do with him due to his "record". In fact, Ryuji only becomes his first friend after they're both nearly killed in the collective unconscious.
to:
* AlmightyJanitor: The ultimate BonusBoss and toughest enemy in the game, the Twins, are two prison guards in a run down gulag.gulag inside your head. One of whom is an admin with nothing but a clipboard on her. Since they're directly related to [[VideoGame/Persona3 Elizabeth (and Theodore)]] as well as [[VideoGame/Persona4 Margaret]], this is to be expected, as each of them were the most powerful bosses in their respective game as well. Their comments should you win includes a hint at this.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: What drives the Phantom Thieves together is that they were all treated as outcasts by people. In particular, Joker's arrival in Tokyo started with pretty much everyone wanting nothing to do with him due to his "record". In fact, Ryuji only becomes his first friend after they're both nearly killed in thecollective unconscious.Metaverse.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: What drives the Phantom Thieves together is that they were all treated as outcasts by people. In particular, Joker's arrival in Tokyo started with pretty much everyone wanting nothing to do with him due to his "record". In fact, Ryuji only becomes his first friend after they're both nearly killed in the
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
** [[spoiler:Working yourself to the bone to try to earn the right to be treated with respect and dignity, but it never being enough to overcome things about yourself that you can't do anything about.]]
to:
** [[spoiler:Working yourself to the bone to try to earn the right to be treated with respect and dignity, but it never being enough to overcome other people's bigotry towards things about yourself that you can't do anything about.change.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** [[spoiler:Working yourself to the bone to try to earn the right to be treated with respect and dignity, but it never being enough to overcome things about yourself that you can't do anything about.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** Many of the series staple vending machine drinks return, with names like "Mad Bull," "Nastea," "Dr. Salt," "Starvicks," and "Manta" (standing in for Red Bull, Nestea, Dr. Pepper, Starbucks, and Fanta).
** The movies and [=DVDs=] you can watch to increase social stats are Bland Name versions of actual movies and TV shows, such as "[[Series/MacGyver1985 Guy Mcver]]" or "[[Film/LoveActually Love, Possibly]]."
** The movies and [=DVDs=] you can watch to increase social stats are Bland Name versions of actual movies and TV shows, such as "[[Series/MacGyver1985 Guy Mcver]]" or "[[Film/LoveActually Love, Possibly]]."
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Yoshida is always on Sunday, Kawakami is always on Friday and Saturday
Changed line(s) 379 (click to see context) from:
*** Unlike in ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and ''VideoGame/Persona4'', where social links were always available on the same days each week unless there was a plot- or weather- related reason for them to be absent, confidants in ''Persona 5'' don't have consistent, predictable schedules. While more realistic, it makes things significantly harder on players who are actively trying to plan ahead and budget their time accordingly.
to:
*** Unlike in ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and ''VideoGame/Persona4'', where social links were always available on the same days each week unless there was a plot- or weather- related reason for them to be absent, confidants in ''Persona 5'' don't have consistent, predictable schedules.schedules, with a couple of exceptions. While more realistic, it makes things significantly harder on players who are actively trying to plan ahead and budget their time accordingly.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 364 (click to see context) from:
*** Mementos in particular, a manifestation of the Metaverse tied to the Shibuya subway station that's described as "everybody's palace." Its layout is constantly shifting and changing, strong winds are perpetually blowing through it, and it starts looking more and more distorted the deeper into it you explore.
to:
*** Mementos in particular, a manifestation of the Metaverse tied to the Shibuya subway station that's described as "everybody's palace." Its layout is constantly shifting and changing, strong winds are perpetually blowing through it, it (which the party members will occasionally describe as sounding like screaming), and it starts looking more and more warped and distorted the deeper into it you explore.
Added DiffLines:
*** Unlike in ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and ''VideoGame/Persona4'', where social links were always available on the same days each week unless there was a plot- or weather- related reason for them to be absent, confidants in ''Persona 5'' don't have consistent, predictable schedules. While more realistic, it makes things significantly harder on players who are actively trying to plan ahead and budget their time accordingly.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 400 (click to see context) from:
** Among the seemingly unimportant lessons towards the end includes one that brings up [[spoiler:the Holy Grail, which turns out to be one form of the Final Boss]].
to:
** Among the seemingly unimportant lessons towards the end includes one that brings up [[spoiler:the Holy Grail, which turns out to be one first form of the Final Boss]].
Changed line(s) 410 (click to see context) from:
*** [[spoiler:He is never shown fusing Personas, always leaving the dirty work to Justine and Caroline.]]
to:
*** [[spoiler:He is never shown fusing Personas, always leaving the dirty work to Justine and Caroline.]][[note]]However, ''Persona'' veterans would remember that Igor did not personally fuse Personas in P1/P2 either.[[/note]]]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 216 (click to see context) from:
** A person's reputation might not reflect their true character.
to:
** A person's reputation might not reflect their true character.character and you should make an effort to get to know people, rather than judging them based on rumours.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
[[VideoGame/Persona5 Main Page]] | '''A-F''' | [[Persona5/TropesGToR G-R]] | [[Persona5/TropesSToZ S-Z]]
[[folder:#-B]]
* ZeroPercentApprovalRating:
** The Phantom Thieves' approval rating, as evaluated through polls on the Phan-Site, is shown during loading screens and increases with each palace cleared. [[spoiler:Following the Medjed incident their popularity skyrockets to the high 80s, but after being framed for killing the principal and Okumura, their ratings spiral down to 3%. The Phan-Site is even littered with death threats during this period]].
** [[spoiler:When the Phantom Thieves are kicked out of Mementos by the Holy Grail, the merging of the Metaverse and reality causes humanity to believe the Phantom Thieves never existed. The Phan-Site rating crashes to literally 0%, and the Phantom Thieves are [[RetGone erased from the new reality.]]]]
* HundredPercentHeroismRating: By contrast, getting the Phan-Site poll to this number unlocks [[spoiler:Satanael, the Protagonist's RageAgainstTheHeavens ultimate persona, with whom you very stylishly dispatch the final boss.]] And this comes after months of being public enemy number one in the eyes of the public. EarnYourHappyEnding, indeed.
* {{AKA47}}: None of the guns in the game use the real names, despite clearly being modeled after real world firearms. The fake names range from a few letters being changed like the Franchi SPAS-12 becoming the "Bianchi SBAS", to well-known nicknames like the Colt SAA becoming the "Peacemaker", to generic, non-descript names like the Ithaca 37 becoming just "Heavy Shotgun", to names that sound cool but would almost certainly not be used for real gun names, like the [=M1911A1=] becoming "Governance".
* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: The game prompts the player to use the "Protein" consumables before a workout session at the gym for extra Max HP/SP gain. In real life, this is done ''after'' exercising to provide needed amino acids to muscles as they recover, but doing so in the game would confuse the players as the Protein consumables also serve as regular HP recovering items in the Metaverse.
* ActionBomb: Alice's unique "Die For Me!" SpecialAttack involves an army of giant {{Killer Teddy Bear}}s with bombs in their chests rushing the enemy before they explode.
* ActuallyFourMooks: A single Shadow on the field can transform into 2 to 6 enemies when you engage them in battle.
* AdultsAreUseless: One of the big themes of the game is that the Phantom Thieves formed due its members losing faith in adults, most of whom are at worst abusive, greedy and cruel, or at best, just plain apathetic. [[spoiler:At the end of the game, Sae promises to make good and damn sure to defy the trope.]]
* AdultFear: Despite the supernatural elements, most of the threats providing tension in the story are very much ones that exist in the real world:
** Having your civil liberties violated by law enforcement, including being beaten, drugged, and potentially [[spoiler:shot and killed, with the entire event being swept under the rug.]]
** A well respected school teacher turning out to be an abusive sexual predator, whose actions are being covered up to avoid scandal. [[spoiler:Leading at least one student to believe their only option for escape is suicide.]]
** Your parent taking the money and credit for your hard work, and having no way to speak out about it.
*** Also, [[spoiler:that same parent is responsible for the death of your birth mother, so he could steal her final gift for you for his own profit.]]
** Having your family think of you as a burden.
** Being blackmailed for something you didn't even do, with the threat of ruining not only your hard-earned reputation, but that of your uninvolved family.
*** [[spoiler:Being kidnapped, drugged, raped or sold into prostitution by criminals, or watching a friend nearly suffer the same fate.]]
** Being trapped in a loveless and abusive marriage that you didn't even choose for yourself.
*** [[spoiler:Watching your parent die in an accident or outright murder, and suffering from crippling feelings of stress and guilt as a result.]]
** [[spoiler:Discovering your younger sibling is involved with a dangerous criminal group, while you failed to realize it.]]
** [[spoiler:Being betrayed by someone you've come to trust and rely on.]]
** In general, teenagers being unable to believe in their teachers, their parents, the police, or most other adults, to the point they're willing to engage in larceny and violent assault. The heroes discuss this at a few points, wondering if justice is entirely on their side, or if that even matters.
** The feeling of being trapped, powerless and with no-one to turn to doesn't stop once you reach adulthood. Plenty of the adults get screwed over by institutions meant to support them.
*** [[spoiler:Arguably, Kamoshida could be seen as one such person. He was an Olympic gold-medal winner, not someone you usually think of as a violent sexual predator, but the pressure of society and those around him pushed him to rely more and more heavily on just that part of his life to get by until he wound up where he did.]]
** Sojiro gets a particularly nasty one: [[spoiler:social services or the courts removing your child from your custody, despite your efforts to keep them safe and well. Especially when this would result in said child being sent back to abusive relatives]].
*** Related to the above, Sojiro also has to contend with knowing that [[spoiler:social services may even have a point in wanting to remove Futaba from his care; his daughter is a shut-in, missing out on her education and going without the mental health care she needs, both things that would raise serious safeguarding concerns among competent social services.]] Sometimes, despite doing their best, a parent can fail to provide for their child's needs.
** This extends to Mementos targets, and the ones antagonizing Confidants.
*** [[spoiler:Tae's boss felt like a fraud who only got his job through his connections, compared to a prodigy like her.]]
*** [[spoiler:The old friend blackmailing Iwai is afraid of becoming obsolete as a new generation begins to take over.]]
* AdventureFriendlyWorld:
** The MentalWorld of the Metaverse responds to the hidden desires of evil humans by creating massive dungeons, giving you an excuse for DungeonCrawling and {{Boss Battle}}s. Its ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve properties also makes it so even toy guns and fake melee weapons work like real ones, giving your party a way to obtain weapons to fight the monsters that inhabit the Metaverse, despite the heroes being teenagers in Japan, where real weapons (especially guns) are usually extremely hard to obtain. The monsters in it even drop real money, despite being essentially figments of the imagination.
* AffablyEvil: The bandit leader in [[spoiler:Futaba's]] palace. A perfectly cordial monster who's disinclined to violence and offers to join forces with you to share the plunder; he's perplexed as to why else you'd be there, if not to raid the tomb.
** Averted with the villains in real world. They're either unrepentant douchebags, VillainsWithGoodPublicity, or only FauxAffablyEvil.
* AFriendInNeed: [[spoiler:When in the end the Protagonist turns himself in as leader of the Phantom Thieves so he can testify against Shido, the other Phantom Thieves spend the next month and a half trying to find a way to save their leader. Any Confidants that have been maxed out will also be shown tapping their connection, rallying others and generally doing everything in their power to prove the Protagonist's innocence and earn him his freedom. It pays off in the end, and the Protagonist's record is wiped clean, allowing him to leave juvenile hall a free man.]]
* AfterCombatRecovery:
** The "Victory Breath" and "Victory Cry" auto skills restore part or all of a party member's HP and SP after battle.
** The ''VideoGame/Persona3'' DLC "Evoker" accessory will automatically restore one bullet to your gun clip after battle if equipped.
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Goro earns some sympathy from the party during his final battle, and they're even willing to bury the hatchet and join forces with him against his ArchNemesisDad.]] [[spoiler:Okumura's]] brutal death also inspires some pity from the thieves, especially since he was [[spoiler:their newest member's]] father. And while they don't have any noteworthy redeeming traits to speak of, it's not hard to feel bad for [[spoiler:Principal Kobayakawa and the SIU Director]] after the BigBad discards them like garbage the second they're more useful to him dead than alive.
* AlertnessBlink: Blocky white lines will pop from various characters when they first notice you.
* AliceAllusion: Alice returns yet again, this time as the ultimate Persona of the Death Arcana.
* AllForNothing:
** [[spoiler:Haru joins the Phantom Thieves because she wants to atone for her father's actions and redeem him. This ends up for naught as her father is murdered by TheConspiracy and Haru spends the rest of the game having to cope with the guilt. Doing her Confidant also reveals that Haru's fiance is still trying to go through with the ArrangedMarriage, but Haru gets out of that with the help of the company's management.]]
** [[spoiler:Despite everything the Phantom Thieves are unable to move the public through their heists alone, with Shido's change of heart and confessions failing to stop the corrupt system or wake people up. Ultimately, they're forced to steal the Treasure of the entire population at the core of Mementos to have any affect.]]
* AllInARow: Party members not only follow around your player character, but will also TakeCover behind him and help out when you open treasure chests. Walking or running in a straight line long enough will cause party members to move with you in formation.
* AllMythsAreTrue: Downplayed. Shadows and Persona take the form of mythical figures from every religion and culture on the planet, due to being {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of the collective human psyche.
* AlmightyJanitor: The ultimate BonusBoss and toughest enemy in the game, the Twins, are two prison guards in a run down gulag. One of whom is an admin with nothing but a clipboard on her. Since they're directly related to [[VideoGame/Persona3 Elizabeth (and Theodore)]] as well as [[VideoGame/Persona4 Margaret]], this is to be expected, as each of them were the most powerful bosses in their respective game as well. Their comments should you win includes a hint at this.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: What drives the Phantom Thieves together is that they were all treated as outcasts by people. In particular, Joker's arrival in Tokyo started with pretty much everyone wanting nothing to do with him due to his "record". In fact, Ryuji only becomes his first friend after they're both nearly killed in the collective unconscious.
* AlternateRealityGame: As part of the Tokyo Game Show 2015 marketing, the Japanese fanbase was tasked with tracking down and scanning QR codes at various places throughout the country, presented as finding information for the police force against the thief team. Scanning these unlocked the party's character bios on the official website for everyone to view.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Discussed InUniverse by Sadayo, who believes Princess Kaguya from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter was a FemmeFatale who asked for fancy, impossible gifts and led men to their doom ForTheEvulz before running away to the moon. (Of course, her version completely ignores the fact that the reason Kaguya set impossible tasks before her suitors was so she wouldn't form any more attachments, knowing she would have to leave Earth behind.)
* AnAesop: Society can be oppressive and corrupt, but that doesn't mean you have to accept that it has to be this way. You may have to do things that you or other people may not think is completely morally right, but if you do nothing, then you're no better than the villains.
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: PlayedForLaughs, as you'll discover ''dirty laundry'' in some of the game's InexplicableTreasureChests, leading your party members to question who would bother putting dirty clothes under lock and key.
* AngerBornOfWorry: Ryuji gives the Phantom Thieves ''quite'' a scare [[spoiler:after his apparent death in Shido's Palace]].
* TheAnimeOfTheGame: ''Anime/Persona5TheDayBreakers'', a 30 minute animated special released shortly before the game that shows the Phantom Thieves of Hearts performing a caper in Mementos. A full anime, ''Anime/Persona5TheAnimation'', is also in the works and is expected to be released in 2018.
* {{Animorphism}}: In [[spoiler:Shido]]'s dungeon, the party occasionally get turned into mice while you're exploring. Yes, even [[{{Irony}} the cat]]. Before that, the {{Miniboss}} Mot/Coffin-Borne God can cast the spell "Cornered Rat" to inflict the transformation on one party member, disabling them for three turns.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
** The guard command is mapped to the same button as cancelling out of menus, so in case you accidentally mash the button too many times, the game asks for confirmation when you select the guard command so that you don't accidentally waste your turn guarding. This also applies to the localized versions, where the "attack" and "guard" commands were swapped, along with the confirm and cancel buttons.
** Once you reach TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, [[PointOfNoReturn you can't go back to the real world]]. Since the players would have no other way to refill their SP once they run out of items, going back to the entrance gives the player a method of fully restoring their HP and SP.
** Seeing how detailed and vital the elemental weakness system is to the game, going into a fight with a character or group that is weak to enemy attacks is going to get your ass kicked. Luckily, you can now switch party members during battle. However, you first have to unlock it by starting the Star Confidant.
** In the previous games, you could only switch Personas once per turn, so if you accidentally switched to the wrong Persona, you were stuck with it. That restriction still applies, but skills and Personas are now the same menu--you ''will'' get locked into that Persona for the rest of the turn, but the lock doesn't activate until you actually choose a skill.
** Like ''VideoGame/Persona4'', visits to the Palaces or Mementos take place after school, and also make you too tired to do most of your evening activities. However, this time, more Confidants are at night, and if you call Sadayo after maxing out her Confidant, you will be able to get a massage that re-energizes you and allows you to spend your evenings normally.
** Your party members, while anxious about any impending deadlines, will still hang out with you to progress their Confidants, unlike the previous game where they refuse to socialize until the dungeon is cleared.
** Once you send out a calling card for the major targets, you are locked into their boss fight for the next day and cannot go out at night. However, you can still create infiltration tools, bestowing you both extra items (and giving the player a chance to make lockpicks in particular if they missed any locked chests) and a bonus boost to your Proficiency. You can also feed your plant (boosts Kindness) at any time, even during plot-based days when you aren't allowed to do anything at all.
** If you're having trouble clearing the minigames that allow you to progress on video games, you can read a book that will allow you to input what is essentially a cheat code to make them easier, usually by extending your time limit. Morgana lampshades it by saying that he can understand how you might be frustrated by being unable to beat the game.
** After defeating a Shadow, any other Shadows who were in the immediate area move quite a ways away so you don't accidentally trigger another encounter. This is especially useful in Palaces, where getting caught too many times would be a GameOver.
** Haru's Confidant starts really late, only starting towards the end of the game. To make up for this however, her Confidant should be fairly easy to rank up as a lot of the answers the player chooses will give the most amount of notes.
** Confidants now give social stat points as well, making progression for both less time-consuming.
** With one exception [[spoiler:(Futaba's Palace)]], there is usually a safe room right near the treasure room of a Palace. As such, you can usually make your way straight to the boss of the Palace after sending the calling card and fight them with fresh party members, without having to fight your way through Shadows.
** There's a series of very long cutscenes after [[spoiler:Shadow Sae's boss fight]], so it's broken up by two save points, one after [[spoiler:the story catches up to the prologue]], so that you don't have to fight the boss again [[spoiler:if you trigger the bad ending]]. And another one right before the date changes which allows you to save and take a break so you don't have to go through another lengthy InfoDump in one sitting.
** One of the NewGamePlus bonuses is a bigger boost to Confidant building with a matching Persona, meaning it's much easier to finish them all without having to worry about time management or picking the correct conversation choices. In conjunction with this, maxing out a Confidant during a playthrough allows you to receive a special gift from that person just before the game ends if you remember to get it (Morgana will remind you before you commit to the finale). These special items will allow you to have certain skills for the corresponding Confindants automatically unlocked as soon as the Links are initialized in the NG+, allowing the player access to some very useful options much earlier than they would otherwise be the first time around.
* AntiGrinding: The Protagonist's Personas gain experience slower than he does, making it easier to fuse new Personas to get new abilities than fighting random Shadows.
* ApatheticCitizens:
** Discussed. Many of the villains bring up the fact they can do the horrible things they've done because the general public are more interested in being told what to do than doing what's right on their own. The Phantom Thieves also decide to continue their activities after the first dungeon to shake others out of apathy.
** [[spoiler:Made a plot point by the final dungeon. Even after getting Shido to confess everything he's done, the public doesn't listen. The Phantom Thieves ultimately have to steal the Treasure of all of Tokyo to get the people to snap out of it.]]
* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Only four party members can be used in battle at a time, per series standard since ''VideoGame/Persona3''. For the first time in the series, you can switch out your party members in battle, but you need to begin the Star Confidant in order to do so.
* ArcVillain: The first few months of the game has you finding a series of new corrupt target for the heroes' HeelFaceBrainwashing. And while you begin to learn TheConspiracy has been messing with the MentalWorld of the Metaverse as well, your targets aren't actual members of the group, and are by design acting on their own personal twisted desires.
* ArcWords:
** Heinous acts being "unforgivable" comes up a ''lot''. Even a good number of Joker's dialogue options let him say it.
** "Deal" and "contract" are brought up a lot, the latter during Persona awakenings and the former during Confidant links and important plot points.
** "Stolen future", and variations of, are frequently mentioned when villains are doing things to screw over the younger generation.
** The villains who make a public confession after having their heart stolen usually start their announcement with "I have committed acts unbecoming of a [profession]."
** "[[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Game]]" comes up a ton. It's usually used by Igor to refer to events going on in the story - even some song lyrics get it on it - and things that are working against the heroes are called a "rigged" or "unjust" game. [[spoiler:It's almost always used in villainous contexts, and its true meaning is revealed in the ending: Yaldaobath's wager against Igor, because the struggle of our heroes and humanity was all just a game to him]].
** Igor and his assistants always find a way to mention "ruin" and "rehabilitation". When [[spoiler:Shido]] mentions "ruin" in a cutscene, you know things are getting serious.
** The word "justice" gets brought up a ton throughout the game. A central theme of the game is exactly what justice means to different people and whether or not the Phantom Thieves' vigilantism falls under that category.
** The series-wide "I am thou, thou art I" gets a lot more mileage in this game. Not just the protagonist, but each party member gets their own Persona awakening cutscene, and it's mentioned by narration whenever the protagonist begins and finishes a Confidant. Even Shadows get in on it when you recruit them, as they remember their true selves in the process.
* ArtShift:
** Compared to the previous games, the art direction uses comic book-esque thick lines, bright colors, complex shading, SpeechBubbles and SpeedStripes to accentuate the PhantomThief motif.
** In-game, after winning a battle with an All-Out Attack, the party member who knocked down the last enemy gets a special VictoryPose which ends with their 3D model suddenly turning into a stylized 2D image, giving it more oomph.
** The massive InfoDump later on in the story [[spoiler:of how Joker faked suicide and escaped prison]] uses cute, stylized versions of several characters to provide visual reference to go along with the explanations.
* ArtisticLicenseGeography:
** Apparently in Persona 5's universe, a thunderstorm in Los Angeles will redirect a plane back to ''Hawaii''. Hawaii is a five hour flight from Los Angeles and a plane flying from Japan to Los Angeles would not have an additional five hours worth of fuel aboard. Meanwhile there are a significant number of airports in California that not only have runways long enough for a typical wide-body jet used for a [=NRT=]-[=LAX=] route, they're also well within the extra 2 hours flight time that aircraft for international flights carry reserve fuel for. A bit more justified in that in a weather report that can be viewed on the TV in Leblanc right before the trip says that it's a typhoon (or rather, a hurricane) about to hit California, not a thunderstorm.
** Also, the modern Egyptian town in [[spoiler:Futaba's]] Palace has signs that are clearly written using the Devanagari alphabet, which is used for ''Indian'' languages, not Arabic. Somewhat justified in that it's just a MentalWorld, but it's strange that a supposed genius like her wouldn't know the difference.
* ArtisticLicenseReligion: Despite employing demonic avatars of the SevenDeadlySins as a central motif, the story only uses a few of the standard demons associated with a given sin as popularized by Peter Binsfeld: Asmodeus (Lust), Leviathan (Envy) and Mammon (Greed). Meanwhile, Beelzebub (Gluttony) uses the name of the Semitic god he was a demonized form of, Bael. Belphegor (Sloth), Satan (Wrath) and Lucifer (Pride) are completely replaced by Mementos, the Sphinx and Samael. (Of course, the reason Lucifer is absent is probably because of his repeated appearances in the main ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series, and his [[SatanIsGood treatment there]] being confusing if applied to a Shadow here.)
* AsYouKnow: Thanks to the fact that the bad guys' actions occur out of sight of the Thieves, there's a lot of exposition to get through. This results in two characters, [[spoiler:Goro and Shido]], telling each other about their schemes, objectives and methods, going so far as to tell each other ''their own shared history'', despite the fact that both of them should clearly know this already. [[spoiler:However, they aren't telling each other ''everything''...]]
* AscendedFridgeHorror: In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the party members' [[ShadowArchetype Shadows]] came from repressed teenage anxieties and were ObliviouslyEvil over a desire to be accepted. This game, however, shows what the Shadow of a truly evil person looks like... and it isn't pretty. The [[StarterVillain Starter Villain's]] Shadow alone is a sadistic, hedonistic tyrant who takes great pleasure in torturing and killing anyone who wanders into his mental world.
* AscendedMeme: At some point in the game, it's possible to catch "I've been waiting for this!" among the Phan-site comments, referencing [[VideoGame/Persona3 Akihiko's]] infamous All-Out Attack line.
** [[StarvingArtist Yusuke Kitagawa]] says this when Morgana turns into the Morgana car in the desert surrounding Futaba's palace
* AssholeVictim:
** The Phantom thieves specifically target adults who have abused their position and taken advantage of others.
** TheConspiracy has its own members killed when they're no longer useful to them, such as [[spoiler:Principal Kobayakawa and the SIU director]], but considering what the victims were responsible for, it's difficult to feel sorry for them.
* AnAssKickingChristmas: The final battle [[spoiler:against Yaldabaoth]] takes place on Christmas Eve.
* ATasteOfPower: The prologue sequence has you enter a single fight using a much stronger Protagonist with access to a far more powerful Arsene than what you'll get at the proper starting point [[spoiler:which is perfectly logical as this is the kind of strength the player will eventually build towards if not exceed by that point in the story]].
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever:
** [[spoiler:Asmodeus isn't quite on the scale of some of the others, but he still towers over the Thieves.]]
** [[spoiler:Bael's second boss form is a giant vault shaped like a PiggyBank.]]
** [[spoiler:Sphinx is about the size of the Pyramid itself.]]
** [[spoiler:Samael's first boss form is a giant golden lion made up of human bodies.]]
** [[spoiler:The final form of the BigBad is a 20 story tall giant robotic god covered in gold and crystal armor.]]
** [[spoiler:The protagonist's Ultimate Persona, Satanael, who appears to finish the final boss, is even taller than him.]]
* AuraVision: The "Third Eye" ability lets you see the danger level of enemies, which receptacles are hiding treasure, and the identities of potential Confidants by displaying various color-coded auras around the person or item in question.
* AuthorAppeal: The game's opening, which is directed by Sayo Yamamoto, has several moments where the characters do spins and glide around as though they're figure skating; Yamamoto is a huge fan of the sport.
* AutobotsRockOut: Most of the BossBattle themes are techno rock tunes with plenty of electric guitar.
* BackgroundMusicOverride:
** "Life Will Change" plays on any day you go to challenge the boss of a dungeon, overriding the regular dungeon, safe room, and battle themes. In fact, it only turns off when you challenge bosses or mini-bosses. For the last few dungeons, it upgrades from instrumentals to the vocal version.
** Near the end, the happy-sounding background music when walking around town during the day is replaced with the mildly-foreboding "Ominous", and [[spoiler:for the protagonist's second-to-last day in town when saying goodbye to everyone, the music is the solemn, bittersweet blues tune "Sunset Bridge"]].
* BadBoss: Several targets are important business owners or politicians who are abusing their power. Perhaps the most notable example is [[spoiler:Shido, who is so meticulous in tying up his loose ends that he plots the murder of every single person with any insight into his bloody rise to power, even if they happily helped him get there. His [[TheDragon personal assassin]], his ''own son'', is the final name on his list.]] Ironically, he won a competition for who people would [[VillainWithGoodPublicity most like to have as a boss]].
* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:Futaba having a Palace heavily implies that your party has to face her Shadow like the others. However, due to Futaba actually desiring a change of heart (the obstacles presented by the Palace are noted to be manifestations of Futaba's guardedness), her Shadow is not evil--the boss ends up being Futaba's mistaken, demonic cognition of ''her dead mother'' instead. Futaba's Shadow, meanwhile, forces Futaba to face her past and distorted memories and becomes her Persona]].
* BalefulPolymorph: Similar to the Fly and Bat statuses in the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series, this game comes with the "Rattled" status, where a character is transformed into a rat, lowering their defense and making them unable to attack. This can be temporarily inflicted by Mot's "Trapped Rat" spell, and also during [[spoiler:Shido's Palace]] when the party is in the same room as an "activated" statue. In the latter case, it also acts as the level gimmick by allowing the party to travel into small air vents.
* BattleCouple: If you romance Ann, Makoto or Haru, Joker and his lover can participate in battles together, and gain all the LevelUpAtIntimacy5 bonuses pursuing a romance nets you. In a bit of GameplayAndStoryIntegration, the three of them learn [[TakingTheBullet "Protect"]] at the same time their Confidant turns romantic, which is a passive skill where they shield Joker and withstand an otherwise fatal attack in his place.
* BattleThemeMusic:
** "Last Surprise" for regular battles, which has the thieves giving {{Badass Boast}}s about how their enemies [[YouAreAlreadyDead are already finished]].
** "Rivers in the Desert" for some of the endgame {{Boss Battle}}s, which has dueling verses by the heroes and villains about their WellIntentionedExtremist desires to change the world.
* BeachEpisode: Your party goes to the beach with Futaba at the end of August, which involves the members of your party hanging out on the beach in swimsuits, Yusuke buying a pair of lobsters to paint, and other hijinks, including the return of Operation Babe Hunt. Your ClassTrip also has you traveling to Hawaii, with a couple days involving the members of your party hanging out on the beach in swimsuits, and an evening spent with an available Confidant of your choosing.[[note]]By default, you're stuck hanging out with Ryuji, Mishima and Yusuke. However, opting to pursue a romantic relationship with Ann or Kawakami opens them up for a date instead. Additionally, if the player has progressed to Rank 5 with Makoto and Hifumi's Confidants, they can be chosen as well, although their dates are more platonic in nature.[[/note]]
* BeneathTheMask: Shadows and Persona reflect the true feelings of their other selves. For the villains, they generally show the characters' true {{sociopath}}ic, twisted desires. For the heroes meanwhile, they generally expose their RevengeBeforeReason, WellIntentionedExtremist desires to change the society and adults that've wronged them. [[spoiler:And, taking the trope to its logical conclusion, Futaba's Shadow is the ''positive'' side of her personality that's been repressed beneath the crushing weight of her guilt and depression.]]
* BewareTheSillyOnes: The Shadow Selves your party targets are often ridiculous looking, but they rule their own Palace and serve as major {{Boss Battle}}s. They include:
** A giant headed pink demon wearing nothing but a crown, cape and underpants.
** A gray haired man dressed like a JidaiGeki lord in a tacky golden kimono, too much white face paint, and giant fake eyebrows.
** A purple fly man with a mustache, bad comb-over and white tuxedo.
** [[spoiler:A gigantic sphinx with a sorely mismatched woman's head.]]
** A man wearing a copyright free version of Darth Vader's armor, with a generic space helmet instead of the mask.
** [[spoiler:A woman wearing trashy gothic makeup and a leather dress that borders on being VaporWear.]]
** [[spoiler:A man wearing an overly-elaborate general's uniform and a helmet that resembles the Statue of Liberty's head.]]
** Not to mention [[spoiler:the traitor himself, Akechi, who has the campiest All-Out Attack in the game, some of the most ridiculous costumes (including DLC), and his Berserk outfit is a direct reference to Featherman. Yet he's still a Wild Card ''and'' "Black Mask", the one behind all the deaths caused by the Palaces.]]
* TheBigBadShuffle: Each ArcVillain (barring Kamoshida) was being pressured into TheConspiracy by someone in a "Black Mask". Black Mask was in turn working for [[spoiler:politician Masayoshi Shido.]] Then later we learn that the villains [[spoiler:''and'' the heroes were being manipulated by the real BigBad, Yaldabaoth, God of Order.]]
* BishieSparkle: When you gain charm points, three small diamond sparkles form next to Joker's eyes.
* {{Bishonen}}: If you don't know the legend you could well be forgiven for not guessing that the Narcissus persona is actually male.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The True Ending. [[TheConspiracy Masayoshi Shido and his allies]] have been thwarted, Yaldabaoth has been vanquished, and the Protagonist finally gets to clear his name. However, he still has to head back home at the end of the year, leaving behind all the friends he made in Tokyo, and with the Metaverse gone, no longer will the Phantom Thieves be able to change hearts to stop corruption. Morgana manages to survive the collapse of Mementos, but as a cat, not a human. The situation in government is left unaddressed - it's unclear what exactly is going on with Japan's current prime minister. Finally, it's ultimately left ambiguous just how much the destruction of Mementos affected the public consciousness - while the ordinary citizens' apologism for Shido seems to have gone away, they still express frustration and apathy at the state of society, and the authorities appear just as corrupt as ever and are eager to send Joker to jail [[TreacheryCoverup to save their own reputations]]. To drive the point home, the last poll on the Phansite, still asking if the Phantom Thieves really exist, comes back at an even 50%]].
* BlackAndGrayMorality: The protagonists' HeelFaceBrainwashing methods would come off as crossing a line if it weren't for the fact their targets are various kinds of serial abusers of power who would otherwise never pay for their crimes, and a girl who was going to commit suicide otherwise ([[spoiler:the latter of whom actually ''wants'' the Protagonists to do it to her]]). The protagonists are in fact completely aware of the implications of their methods and refuse to use it at all during their first mission [[spoiler:until it becomes clear that things have in fact already gotten so bad that a student tried to commit suicide as a direct result.]]
* BlandNameProduct: The party can be seen eating a bag of Calbee Potato Chips and drinking bottles of Coca-Cola and Sprite at some points, only with the nondescript labels "Potato", "Nice Cola" and "Lemon" printed on them. Similarly, an ad can be seen for a tablet computer called the "Next P.A.D." that bears a striking resemblance to the Apple iPad. Coca-Cola, Boss, and Kirin vending machines become Cracker Energy, Oyabun (Japanese for "boss"), and Kitten. The retro game console that can be purchased is called the "Famidrive", a mash of the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] and [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Mega Drive]]. The only legitimate ProductPlacement in the game is for Calbee's Jagariko snacks.
** This also extends to stores themselves, with popular Japanese convenience store chain "Don Quixote" being renamed "Rocinante" after Quixote's horse.
* BlankWhiteEyes: Humans whose Shadows are destroyed end up with pupil-less white eyes and dark blood bleeding out of their mouths. This includes the subway conductor who crashes a train near the beginning of the game, [[spoiler:[[YouHaveFailedMe Principal Kobayakawa]] around the time of the Hawaii trip, and [[HeKnowsTooMuch Haru's dad]] after the Phantom Thieves steal his Treasure]].
* BlessedWithSuck: The player themselves on [[HarderThanHard Merciless difficulty]]. 2.5 times damage when you strike weaknesses and get critical hits sounds good, right? Have fun downing Shadows so you can negotiate with them instead of accidentally killing them outright. You do eventually find a workaround through the Tower Confidant, but that doesn't come until September at the earliest, about halfway through the game.
* BloodierAndGorier: The protagonist is beaten by police at the beginning of the story, various characters bleed blood when awakening to their Persona, you sneak attack enemies by ripping the masks they use for faces off, and the game's main ColorMotif is vivid blood red.
* BodyHorror: Human shaped Shadows bloodily erupt into demons when you start a battle with them. In a number of Palaces, human shaped Shadows will also transform into {{Humanoid Abomination}}s.
* BoringButPractical: Some of the bosses encountered will willingly waste turns reacting to stat buffs and debuffs. This means that having someone constantly ready to reapply buffs or vice versa may allow the player to bring on the damage with (near) impunity.
* BonusBoss:
** In NewGamePlus, you can optionally fight Caroline and Justine, who serve as the toughest boss fight in the game.
** If you wait for 5 to 10 minutes on a floor in Mementos, you can fight the Reaper, an insanely powerful Shadow meant for end game parties.
* BookEnds:
** "Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There" plays at both the intro and post-credits sequences of ''Persona 5''.
** Early on in the game, Sojiro drives the main character home from meeting with the school, complaining about having to be saddled with the burden of looking after him. Near the end of the game, Sojiro picks up the protagonist [[spoiler:after his release from juvenile hall]] and goes home with him on friendlier terms. He even lampshades how this moment reminds him of the first time they met.
** The first and last bosses both have a [[spoiler:chalice of sorts that is a part of how they regain health, and their connection between them and the people they hope to abuse as an energy source]] that needs to be severed in order to beat them. [[spoiler:Kamoshida's is the cup based trophy he eats his female victims out of when using "Libido Boost", while Yaldabaoth's "Holy Grail" form is where he can get healed by the parts of humanity who want the "order" he'd give them by making them his slaves.]] Fitting as in Tarot [[spoiler:the Suit of Cups is not only based on the Holy Grail but over time it became the hearts suit of modern playing card decks, on top of both cups acting as a "heart" you need to take from them in the fight to finish it;]] so the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts" begin and end doing that on more than just one level.
** A blue butterfly is seen near the beginning and ending of the Protagonist's journey.
* BoomHeadshot: In the Bad Ending, [[spoiler:Joker gets shot in the head.]] In the Good Ending, [[spoiler:Joker shoots [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu the false god behind this whole mess]] in the head.]]
* BossInMookClothing: Similar to ''VideoGame/Persona3'' in Tartarus, you can end up in a random encounter with the insanely powerful Reaper any time you sit around a floor in Mementos for more than 5 minutes.
* BottomlessBladder: As in previous games, there are bathrooms in the game, ''but you never need to use them'' - in fact, there's even a toilet in Joker's cell in the Velvet Room, and he can sit on it, but it's used for pondering instead of its intended purpose...
* BottomlessMagazines:
** Averted. You can only fire a certain amount of ammo before you run out.
** Played straight with the Bullet Hail confidant ability that has a chance to trigger a gun based All-Out-Attack at the beginning of battles that doesn't consume your ammo pool and is limited only by time.
* BraggingRightsReward:
** As per series tradition, the Omnipotent Orb, an accessory which blocks ''all'' damage other than almighty. However, you have to have already finished the story once and won the toughest fight in the game against BonusBoss Justine and Caroline to even get it.
** Also as per series tradition, the protagonist's ultimate Persona, [[spoiler:Satanael]], can actually be fused - if you've reached NewGamePlus and can manage a Level ''95'' fusion. If you're at that point, most of the game's difficulty is already moot unless you're fighting the aforementioned BonusBoss, which it ironically seems tailor-made for. [[spoiler:Think of it as fusing [[VideoGame/Persona3 Orpheus Telos to fight Elizabeth with.]]]]
** The Eternal Lockpick is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, a lockpick that won't break after use. By the time you can craft it however, it's trivially easy to have at least a dozen spare lockpicks on hand. Making one isn't really necessary beyond getting the trophy for crafting all infiltration tools.
** Valentine's Day Chocolate restores all SP to 1 ally, but to get it you have to defeat the FinalBoss. Even on NewGamePlus there's never a real reason to use it, considering you most likely have better management of your time or SP restoring equipment from the last playthrough to use. At best, these items then are really only useful as a means to track the romantic relationships you've taken over the course of repeated playthroughs until you have one chocolate from every possible option, provided you didn't use them.
* BreakUpDemand: While helping out Chihaya, the protagonist meets a man who's being pressured to break off his engagement to the woman he loves because his boss wants him to marry the boss's daughter. It's not clear whether an actual ultimatum was issued, but it's clear that his career is in danger if he marries the woman he loves [[spoiler:although Joker inspires him to follow his heart anyway]].
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Atlus published an ad in an actual Japanese newspaper, appearing as a CutAndPasteNote, that proclaimed "The Phantom" (Joker) would appear at the February 2015 event that revealed new ''Persona 5'' footage. Sure enough, he ended up appearing as his CallingCard announced, "shot out" the lights, and proceeded to reveal the very first gameplay trailer for ''Persona 5''.
* BribingYourWayToVictory: The game's paid {{DLC}} include accessories that boost your EXP or cash after battles, and overpowered [[GuardianEntity Personas]] with end game stats and elemental protections that you can summon once for free, even in the very first dungeon.
* BrickJoke: In Madarame's Palace, once the group reaches the Treasure spot, Ryuji thinks the treasure is a self-portrait of Madarame. Later, when the group takes the treasure outside the palace, they find it really is a self-portrait, except it's not the treasure, because Madarame switched it with the real treasure.
* BrokenAesop: Right up to the end, ''Persona 5''[='=]s message is quite clear: "You have to stand up to corrupt people in power, because [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop everyday society largely doesn't give a flying curlywhirly about injustice: they're just a pack of idiot lemmings who will keep their heads down even if the world is falling apart around them because they don't want to make life harder for themselves and they'll let corrupt people get away with anything. Oh, and kids can't trust adults, especially the ones they depend on: they're just trying to exploit you or worse.]]" [[spoiler:One of the Bad Endings takes this message to the logical conclusion, with the Phantom Thieves letting their misanthropy and dissatisfaction with society get the better of them and throw their lot in with Yaldabaoth so that they can rule as despots through fear of forced heart-changing.]] In order to get the True Ending, you have to break this [[{{Deconstruction}} rapidly-decaying Aesop]] and make it into something like [[DeconReconSwitch "You have to stand up to corrupt people in power, because everyday society has become apathetic]], '''[[RousseauWasRight but since they're overall good people, they can be inspired to do the right thing]]'''. [[DeconReconSwitch You can't just give up on it and do whatever you please without regard for others, because then you're no better than the corrupt people you claim to be above. While many adults are corrupt, there are genuinely good ones, so don't write them off at large."]]
* BuildLikeAnEgyptian: One dungeon has you trying to infiltrate a pyramid in the middle of a desert.
* ButNowIMustGo: At the end of the game, the protagonist completes his year long probation, and leaves Tokyo to return to his hometown.
* ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth: A glowing blue butterfly appears each time the protagonist is about to die in the story, urging him to overcome his impending doom. This includes when he's about to be executed in Kamoshida's Palace and when he's brought into the interrogation room [[spoiler:where the conspiracy intends to assassinate him.]] Similarly, glowing butterflies surround a fallen character when you use revive items or magic on them.
* ButThouMust:
** If you refuse to accept the opening ThisIsAWorkOfFiction disclaimer, Igor proceeds to say "Well, then you can't play this game" and returns you to the StartScreen.
** Quite a few dialogue options, particularly to IM conversations, have two or three responses that are essentially the same thing. Also, even if the protagonist says things that seem counter-intuitive, like arguing against taking down a target, the other party members will scold him, then continue like nothing happened.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:C]]
* CallBack:
** The Pyramid, [[spoiler:Futaba's]] Palace, is a ''massive'' one [[spoiler:and subversion]] to ''VideoGame/Persona4'' [[spoiler:as well as to ''VideoGame/Persona3 FES'']]. Unlike the other Palaces up to that point, [[spoiler: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, [[spoiler:the fact that Futaba's Shadow is her repressed ''positive'' feelings is a CallBack to ''The Answer'' scenario in ''3'''s UpdatedRerelease where Metis, Aigis' repressed humanity, is undoubtedly a positive influence on her.]]
** Ryuji is a track team member who suffered a crippling leg injury, just like [[VideoGame/Persona3 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 [[VideoGame/Persona4 his immediate predecessor, Chie]] (or fight with her over the last bit of steak).
** Two of the paintings in Madarame's Palace bear more than a passing resemblance to the protagonists of the [[VideoGame/{{Persona3}} third]] and [[VideoGame/{{Persona4}} fourth]] Persona games.
** A lot of the endgame is reminiscent of ''VideoGame/Persona2 Eternal Punishment''. [[spoiler: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.
** Though it was introduced in this game, the concept of Cognitive Existence are hinted in the previous games:
*** ''VideoGame/{{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. 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.
*** ''VideoGame/Persona2'': 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.
*** ''VideoGame/Persona3'': 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.
*** ''VideoGame/Persona4'': 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.
* CallingCard: [[PlayingWithAtrope Played with]]. You send out a calling card to the target, but it's required in order to materialize the palace's treasure, and unlike most instances of the trope you only send it out after you've already made your way through the palace to find where the treasure is.
* CallingYourAttacks:
** Characters shout "Persona!" or the actual name of their GuardianEntity when summoning them, and sometimes the party CombinationAttack.
** Asmodeus will tell you he's about to use his "Super Death Spike" exploding volleyball attack the turn before he actually hits you with it.
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: The Metaverse Navigation app keeps reappearing on the Protagonist's phone no matter how many times he deletes it, and forcibly sends him to the Metaverse ''twice''.
* TheCameo:
** [[VideoGame/Persona4 Rise]] and [[VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight Kanami]] appear in individual advertisements at subway stations. Ann even gives you the poster of Rise if you hang out with her at Harajuku, which can be put up as decoration in your room.
** Haru gives you a kumade of [[VideoGame/Persona4 Teddie]] if you hang out with her at Asakusa.
** You're able to buy goods from [[VideoGame/Persona3 Tanaka]] if you buy a busted laptop from the second-hand goods shop and fix it up.
* CameraAbuse:
** The screen will momentarily "crack" whenever you perform an All-Out Attack.
** One of Morgana's victory animations has him bump into the screen.
* CantDropTheHero: The protagonist always has to be in your party. Every other party member is completely optional, to the point you can even switch them in and out mid-battle.
* CaperRationalization: The protagonists conduct heists in order to literally steal pieces of people's psyche and induce a HeelFaceBrainwashing. The people who are targeted are also very corrupt and largely unsympathetic, to the point that their abuse of power ends up ruining the lives of the main cast unless they are dealt with.
* CassandraTruth: As part of his interrogation, the Protagonist tells Sae all about the Metaverse and working with a talking cat ''right from the start'', while leaving out details that would incriminate his allies. She has a hard time believing him at first, but is willing to hear him out.
* CastFromHitPoints: Persona Physical and Gun skills require a percentage of your HP to use.
* CatchingSomeZs: When Futaba's sleeping, Zs come out from her head.
* {{Catchphrase}}: Used by the hacker organization Medjed. "We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil."
* CelebrityLie: One day on his way to school, the protagonist eavesdrops on two girls talking about a guy who told one of them he was a Phantom Thief in order to impress her. [[spoiler:The lie may have backfired badly on the guy, as the girl is considering sending his picture to the cops when the real Phantom Thieves get framed for murder.]]
* CentralTheme: Thieves, Rebellion and Justice.
** Each protagonists' starting persona is inspired by a historical or literary thief, and the party themselves become thieves to reform corrupt or broken members of society.
** The party's ultimate Personas are based on mythological figures that rebelled against their respective gods and were cast out of the heavens for it.
** A person's reputation might not reflect their true character.
** Being wronged yourself doesn't excuse wronging others.
** Just because someone lets you get away with something doesn't make it okay to do it - taking advantage of someone's kindness, passive nature or inability to confront you without consequences is deplorable.
** The times when it is a relative or family member show that it can be much harder to stand up against someone you care about or to accept that you feel angry at them. [[spoiler:Yusuke in his confidant still felt some affection for his mentor and initially completely refused help from the Phantom Thieves due to denial caused by this affection and Haru still clearly loved her father later in the storyline.]]
** Every individual is worth helping - taking down the main bad guys helps a lot of innocent people, but mostly as the player you are invested in your party members and helping them first and foremost.
* CharacterCustomization: You get to pick your hero's name, and personality through {{Dialogue Tree}}s. Further, the skill card and expanded fusion systems let you customize the skills and stats of his Personas.
* ChekhovsClassroom:
** Class lectures cover topics like the Cognitive Representation concept that serves as the basis for the cognitive projections you encounter throughout the Palaces, Plato's tripartite theory of soul that explains how you're able to [[HeelFaceBrainwashing heel-face brainwash]] the villains, and so on. They are also very conveniently timed. For example, a few days after you recruit Makoto, you'll get a question in class about Pope Joan, her Persona and the figure thought to be depicted on the La Papesse tarot card, her Arcana.
** In a rather realistic and justified example, any random question you hear in class may be asked on the next exam, so pay attention.
* ChekhovsGun:
** As early as the first dungeon, it's explained that the people in control can create "cognitive existences" of other people. Basically copies of a person that's shown as the master of the palace sees them (such as the sexily clad copy of Ann that Kamoshida makes), or wants them to be, and this comes up from time to time. [[spoiler:This is later used to save the Protagonist from the traitor, because the police station is Sae's Palace, and she is the master of it, so the team relies on her having a cognitive copy of the protagonist in that room, so that the traitor "kills" them, then thinks they're dead.]]
** Used again in a darker note after that. [[spoiler:In Shido's Palace, a cognitive version of Akechi as Shido sees him (an expendable but obedient underling) appears, and because Shido was planning to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness kill him in the end]], he ends up killing the real one.]]
** During the second Palace's arc, Morgana mentions that it's possible to slip into the Metaverse without realizing it if it's an area with minimal cognitive distortion (i.e. looks like reality). [[spoiler:Tricking the traitor into doing this later forms a key part of the Thieves' plan to fake the protagonist's death.]]
** When Joker takes a group selfie before boarding the plane to Hawaii, Futaba messages them to tell them that Ryuji still has rheum in his eyes. Just as they're wondering how she knew that, Futaba explains that she sneaked an app on the protagonist's phone that lets her access the camera remotely. [[spoiler:This is the same trick that the Phantom Thieves will use to monitor the traitor's phone calls later on.]]
** In the Casino, Futaba makes two identification cards. The alias for the first, "Taro Tanaka," is considered too generic to use (since it's more or less equivalent to "John Doe"), so she gives it to Akechi for him to throw out. Akechi secretly keeps the card, and uses it to win 900,000 coins on his own, enabling the group to meet even the revised total of 1 million needed for the final passage.
* ChekhovsGunman:
** You can find Makoto hanging around the library at school long before she has any involvement in the plot.
** You can find some of Junya Kaneshiro's henchmen in Shibuya, asking if you're interested in one of the "part-time jobs" that it later turns out they're using to {{Blackmail}} students, months before it actually becomes a plot point.
** TV shows will mention Hifumi Togo, one of your later confidants, as early as June.
** Throughout most of the game you can find a "Showbiz Manager" in Shinjuku trying to recruit a young teenage girl. His jobs for her get increasingly uncomfortable as the game goes on. It's all but stated that he's the final Mementos target, [[spoiler:a manager who molests young idols.]]
** [[spoiler:Similarly to the Showbiz Manager, there's a homeless man in the Underground Walkway in Shibuya that you can talk to throughout the game and seems to know more than he lets on. As it happens, he's a target in Mementos as well, being an ex-mercenary that's now a hitman.]]
** You first see Haru very briefly during the fireworks festival cutscene, and you meet her again during the ClassTrip to Hawaii.
** [[spoiler:The head of TheConspiracy, Masayoshi Shido, turns out to be the guy responsible for the Protagonist's probation. Justified by the fact that Shido was inadvertently getting in the BigBad's way, and thus they gave the person Shido had most recently wronged the power to eliminate him.]]
** [[spoiler:The woman that Shido molested at the beginning of the game is brought up again near the end of the game, where she testifies against Shido to ensure his imprisonment.]]
** Akechi is mentioned on television as early as April.
* ChestBurster: Shadows in dungeons change from human forms to demonic ones by having their demonic selves burst from the chests or out the backs of their human bodies, reducing it to a puddle of back and red.
* ChuckingChalk: One of the protagonist's teachers hits him in the head with a piece of chalk from straight across the room in one scene. It's possible to get a stat gain by dodging it if you have enough Proficiency.
* CityOfAdventure: Unlike the fictional settings of previous installments, ''P5'' takes place in the very real city of UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}.
* ClassTrip: Partway through the year, the party members who go to Shujin High School get to go on a trip to Hawaii. Futaba and Morgana stay at home. Yusuke, who goes to a different school, ends up joining them in Hawaii due to plane issues on his school's trip. While the third-years aren't supposed to attend (due to exams), Makoto and [[ChekhovsGunman Haru]] end up coming to serve as chaperones, since the senior faculty are tied up with the Phantom Thieves investigation.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: In series tradition, regular, "heroic" Personas have a blue sheen with white highlights, and they are summoned in bright blue flames, while the aura of Shadows and evil Personas is RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver.
* ColorMotifs: Red, in opposition to the somber ''VideoGame/Persona3''[='=]s blue and the upbeat ''VideoGame/Persona4''[='=]s yellow, to underscore ''P5'''s themes of danger and rebellion. It also heavily uses black and white for a pizazz-filled "black with white highlights" look.
* CombinationAttack:
** The "All-Out Attack", where all standing party members attack every downed enemy.
** "Random Fire", where the entire party showers random enemies in bullets.
** "Baton Pass", where one character gives their turn to another to gain bonuses like enhanced stats.
* CombinedEnergyAttack: [[spoiler:The Protagonist defeats the BigBad by combining the seven deadly sins into a bullet, which the ultimate Persona, Satanael, then shoots through its head.]]
* ConditionedToAcceptHorror:
** The Shujin High School boys' volleyball team (and honestly, the entire school) is so used to Kamoshida owning the place that they're in complete denial about his physical abuse of the students. They call it "training".
** On a slightly more amusing note, if you take your time completing Kaneshiro's Palace and draw close to the deadline, Makoto will remind you to get it done ASAP, because she has been getting her own friendly "reminders" daily via text. When asked if she's okay, she will reply that she's gotten used to it.
** Discussed during Okumura's palace, when the group wonders why the robots that serve as the cognitive versions of his employees don't try to resist. Yusuke says that the more present oppression is, the harder it is to live without it, and he learned that while living with Madarame- even after Madarame's exposure and fall from grace, Yusuke can't help but sometimes remember his teacher fondly.
* TheConspiracy: The Phantom Thieves' activities eventually attract the attention of a secret, wealthy organization that seeks to eliminate them for their knowledge of the world inside the collective unconscious.
* ContinuityNod:
** Goro Akechi is known as "the second advent of Detective Prince". The original Detective Prince was [[VideoGame/Persona4 Naoto]].
** Posters of [[VideoGame/Persona4 Rise Kujikawa]] and [[Videogame/Persona4DancingAllNight Kanami Mashita]] can be found in the Shibuya subway station.
** The traitor's black knight outfit is a corrupted version of the costumes from ''Phoenix Ranger Featherman R'', the ''Persona'' series's SuperSentai TV ShowWithinAShow that first appeared in ''VideoGame/Persona2''.
** Futaba has a set of ''Phoenix Ranger Featherman R'' figures in her room.
** Similar to ''VideoGame/Persona3'', you can occasionally catch shows on TV that are talking about or outright interviewing characters from previous games.
*** ''VideoGame/Persona2'': A detective who wears distinctive red glasses (Katsuya Suou).
*** ''VideoGame/Persona3'': A legendary gumshoe who claims to have [[VideoGame/Persona4Arena punched a bear]] (Akihiko Sanada). Also, Yukari Takeba is still in college and [[VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax still acting on the Ranger Featherman show]].
*** ''VideoGame/Persona4'': A female police cadet who apparently can use kung-fu[[note]]Chie Satonaka not only uses kung fu, but if you max out her social link, in the ending, she reveals that she's planning on joining the police[[/note]]. A convicted killer who claims he did it just because "the world is a shitty place" ([[spoiler:Tohru Adachi]]). The beautiful, young proprietress of the Amagi Inn (Yukiko Amagi). Rise Kujikawa still working as an idol at 20 years old, with a sultry and sexy persona nowadays. [[spoiler:Taro Namatame has returned to politics.]]
** [[VideoGame/Persona3 Yukari]] is still working on the ''Neo Featherman'' show.
** You can get DLC packs that let you wear the uniforms of students from [[VideoGame/{{Persona}} St. Hermelin]], [[VideoGame/Persona2 Seven Sisters]], [[VideoGame/Persona3 Gekkoukan]], and [[VideoGame/Persona4 Yasogami]].
** In Takemi's Confidant, she makes a phone call and speaks to someone she calls "Uehara-san." Considering that Takemi's calling a hospital, it's entirely likely that she's calling Sayoko Uehara, a nurse who is the Devil Social Link from the previous game.
** One of the news bulletins on the train mentions an incident at [[VideoGame/Persona3 Wild Duck Burger.]]
** The theme park [[LawyerFriendlyCameo Destiny Land]] comes from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' (and was also [[AllThereInTheManual occasionally mentioned in other games]]).
** The pharmacy in Shibuya is called the Aohige Pharmacy. This was also the name of the pharmacy at Palownia Mall in ''VideoGame/Persona3''.
* ContrivedCoincidence:
** School lessons have a weird habit of relating to whatever's going on in the story, don't they?
** The characters themselves note the astronomical odds of the fact that [[spoiler:the man responsible for the false charge against Joker, TheManBehindTheMan to Yusuke and Makoto's abusers, and the man who murdered Futaba's mother and Haru's father are all ''the same'' man - Masayoshi Shido]].
* CoolMask: All the characters' Persona turn into nifty thief masks when not in use.
* CopyAndPasteEnvironments: Most of the Mementos dungeon is a set of blocks of warped subway tunnels stuck together by random generation. The rest of the game however, [[spoiler:and the bottom of Mementos]], is custom made.
* CosmeticAward: By taking certain confidants on a date to the right place, the player may receive a gift from the confidant. Some of these confidant/location combinations can be difficult to figure out, only occurring between certain confidant levels, on certain days of the week, or after the player has already taken that confidant on a certain nuber of dates before. However, these gifts can only be used to decorate Joker's room -- there isn't even an acheivement associated with them. And to make it even worse, the shelf where most of the decorations are kept is on the wall to the camera's right in Joker's room, making them hard to see if you're not in the decorating menu.
* TheCracker: Medjed, a global organization of "hacktivists" who claim to be just by targeting corrupt businesses by stealing and destroying data. [[spoiler:The original Medjed, Futaba, was accurately this, but her "successors" are impostors using the name and reputation for personal gain; Futaba isn't thrilled about this, and it's one reason she opts to help the Phantom Thieves take them down.]]
* CrapsackWorld: There's a reason the Thieves are willing to risk everything to reform the world -- they really do have no other choice if they want to live a halfway normal life. Physically and sexually abusive predators are employed as teachers -- something both staff and ''parents'' are fully aware of and choose to do nothing about. Random accidents caused by "psychotic breaks" could end your life in an instant. The police are in the pocket of corrupt monsters, which sees innocent people arrested and real criminals allowed to go free thanks to their connections. When tragedy or injustice strikes, authority figures can't or won't protect you, bystanders are too apathetic or scared to get involved, and by the end of it you'll be so ConditionedToAcceptHorror that ''you'll'' probably be one of the faceless masses who just keep their head down in the hope that nobody dangerous notices them.
* CriticalHit: Physical attacks have a chance to deal extra damage, which is accompanied by an extended attack animation where the party member uses both their melee weapon and gun, or pops a creepy SlasherSmile if they used a Persona's physical skill instead.
** At certain confidant levels, teammates can offer to assist in downing or eliminating an enemy, provided Joker's attack didn't do this initially. This can range from a melee attack utilizing their weapon to its full extent, i.e. Ann using a NoblewomansLaugh and beating the crap out of her target, Ryuji winding up for a grand slam, Yusuke showing his skill as an IaijutsuPractitioner, etc.; or a ranged attack where both Joker and the teammate line up shots on the target, accompanied by a convenient bullseye background.
* CurbStompBattle: Happens in [[spoiler:the final battle with Satanael vs. Yaldabaoth. The latter uses his ''strongest attack'' on the party, only for Satanael to completely NoSell it, and Satanael finishes the fight [[BoomHeadshot with a single Sinful Shell to Yaldabaoth's head]].]]
* CutsceneIncompetence: The traitor's [[spoiler:death]] could have easily been avoided if the party had just used a Goho-M to escape the shadows surrounding them, assuming they have one.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: When most characters awaken to their Persona in a cutscene, they tend to incapacitate or kill every nearby Shadow instantly, which they then can't reproduce in following battles.
** [[ATasteOfPower Prologue Arsene]] has access to Eigaon and Brave Blade, two moves that are ''well beyond'' what the Arsene you ultimately start with can ever naturally learn.
** Ann uses a Shadow's {{BFS}} when she first awakens, but can only equip whips for the rest of the game.
** Goemon uses an area of effect freezing attack when Yusuke first awakens, only for Yusuke to lack Mabufu or any other multi-target ice magic in the mini-boss battle that happens seconds later.
** [[spoiler:Satanael, despite being the single most powerful Persona you can fuse in the NewGamePlus, can't obtain its Sinful Shell skill because that what it uses to kill Yaldabaoth in a very memorable cutscene. To make it available elsewhere would render everything else completely moot.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:D-F]]
* DamnYouMuscleMemory: Due to the interface overhaul in Persona 5, players who later return to previous Persona games after playing it find themselves accidentally wasting turns due to being overly familiar with the newer combat controls. Most notably, in 5 Personas are summoned with the triangle button, and in Persona 3/FES/P 4/G that same button rushes the enemy. Using skills and attacks is based on a simpler list-scrolling based UI which makes it counter-intuitive for players familiar with 5.
* DancingTheme: The main characters can be seen dancing around the city in the opening animation that plays before the title screen. The poses and spins make it look like they're ice skating on concrete.
* DareToBeBadass: How the Persona awakenings go. The Persona reaches out to the character, urging them to be honest with what they want, form a contract, and cut loose on those holding them down.
* DarkerAndEdgier:
** Compared to ''VideoGame/Persona4'', with characters receiving visible, bloody injuries, regular use of BodyHorror, the heroes being AntiHero thieves, much more dangerous antagonists and some fairly dark plot twists. As just ''one'' example, Ann's early game plot really kicks off when her friend Shiho, who is being terribly abused by Kamoshida to start with (to the point of having [[DullEyesOfUnhappiness dead-looking eyes]]), ''leaps off the top of a school building, in full view of all her classmates, including Ann''. That pretty much sets the tone for the ''entire'' game.
** It's still LighterAndSofter than ''VideoGame/Persona3'' tone wise. The topics of the game are as dark or darker than P3's, but the game manages to be generally more upbeat than the rather melancholy P3, [[spoiler:ending with an unambiguously happy ending compared to P3's BittersweetEnding.]]
* DarkReprise: Mementos' theme, "Mementos", was already pretty eerie, but it becomes more ominous and oppressive with the addition of a guitar, strings, and heavier percussion as "Freedom and Security", the theme for [[spoiler:the final Palace, the Prison of Regression, located at the bottom of Mementos. It's also used in the credits for the bad endings]].
* DarkWorld: The Metaverse is a warped version of the real world that grows and transforms based on human desires.
* DealWithTheDevil: How Persona awakening sequences are presented in this game, with a MagnificentBastard version of the character's own voice offering them a "contract" for power in exchange for unleashing their hidden vengeance / rage / etc.
** The most notable use is in Joker's awakening which is modeled after the cardinal virtue [[BiblicalMotifs Justice]], meaning divine justice as God would see it. Arséne gives him the power to uphold his sense of justice, but in doing so [[XanatosGambit he's just made a contract with a demonic entity and severed his connection to God]].
--> '''Arséne''': ''Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I. Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!''
* DeathByDespair: Present as a ''game mechanic'' -- the despair ailment causes the afflicted to not take any actions, lose SP with each turn, and eventually kill themselves. For players, this can be both useful ''and'' terrifying; in the case of the latter, should Joker get hit with this and not cured in time - it's an immediate game over. In the case of the former, [[spoiler:during Flu Season days, enemies encountered in Mementos have a random chance of being hit with despair as soon as a fight is initiated...this extends to ''ALL'' enemies excluding bosses. Which means that yes, the ''REAPER'' can be have a case of despair and kill itself in an encounter. Using this to the your advantage is accepted as the best way to rapidly gain levels.]]
* DeathGlare: The Persona critical/weakness-hitting eye cut-in is now closer to this, showing the characters' pissed off expressions from a more dynamic angle. Special contenders include [[WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises Yusuke]] and [[RedEyesTakeWarning Makoto]].
* DevelopersForesight:
** In the seventh dungeon, the player has to fight five mini bosses throughout the dungeon before securing the treasure route. After defeating the fifth mini boss, the Phantom Thieves are ready to return and call it a day. However, the Goho-M item, which normally warps the Thieves back to a dungeon entrance, cannot be used. This is so that the player cannot skip the upcoming showdown with TheDragon.
** The NonStandardGameOver scene you get for failing to complete a palace on time has slight variations depending on which palace you failed, reflecting things like which characters were involved and how Sojiro feels about you at that point.
** If you button-mash your way through the menus in the Velvet Room, there's a chance you'll cut off Caroline or Justine's dialogue, to which they'll snap at you for your rudeness and impatience.
** The silhouettes during area transitions change depending on the environment and various contexts. Sick season shows various people wearing face masks. Hot weather has people dress more lightly. The Hawaii trip will show obese people, buff people, and other styles less commonly seen in Japan. At school, there's even a chance you'll see one of your teammates like Ryuji or Ann instead of faceless silhouettes.
** If you fight the boss of the Casino Palace with only Joker, you can't do the special op to expose the boss's cheating. Instead, after awhile, Futaba calls the boss out on cheating, and this enrages them enough that they immediately go OneWingedAngel, allowing you to proceed with the fight.
** Aside from the boys, the player has the option of hanging out with several female Confidants during the last period of free time they have in Hawaii. Ryuji, Yusuke and Mishima are there by default if the player hasn't met the following requirements: Ann and Kawakami are available if their Confidants have been maxed out and they have been pursued romantically, while Makoto and Hifumi are available if they have at least Rank 5, given that they need certain social stats maxed out for the player to continue further. As such, the dates are treated differently between those groups; while Ann and Kawakami's events are appropriately romantic, Makoto and Hifumi's equivalents aren't since by this point, the player might not have the stats needed to rank their Confidants up enough to pursue them romantically, thus explaining their more friendship-based events.
*** Similarly, Haru is the default choice for the cultural festival if none of the other Confidants (Ryuji, Ann, Makoto and Kawakami) have been accordingly ranked up. As with Hawaii, the girls' events (yes, this finally includes Makoto) are more romantic this time around sans Haru's, whose Confidant hasn't even started yet.
** An interesting narrative one: In the sixth palace, you will have to temporarily leave, the reason being similar to the second and fourth palaces. In this case, [[spoiler:you'll be attending a trial in the real world]] to help erase a gate further in the dungeon. The narrative foresight comes into the potential date: If you go through the palace on November 2nd and reach the barrier, the trial is held on November 3rd, which is also Culture Day (a holiday), so normally trials wouldn't be held. This actually gets discussed by the party should this come up.
** In the fourth and seventh Palaces only, your characters can be afflicted with the Rattled status that turns them into mice, with each character's mouse form retaining their rebel mask and imitating their human form's idle pose as a way to tell them apart. [[spoiler:Akechi can't be in your team during either of these palaces, but he still has a fully functional mouse model (complete with mask and pose) just like the other characters.]]
** Just as in ''Persona 4 Golden'', the game has prepared for situations in which the player [[YourCheatingHeart has more than two girlfriends.]] Yes, this also includes one where [[UpToEleven they have relationships with every single female Confidant.]]
** Although unlikely[[note]]the Sleep ailment wears off immediately if the target receives damage[[/note]], you can actually catch [[StandardStatusEffects Sleeping]] enemies in a Hold Up, however you won't be able to Negotiate with them. After all, how can you talk with someone if they're asleep?
** Normally, each party member's code name and Arcana appear on the party status screen and in the Untouchable shopping menu. During the brief interlude between recruiting a party member and giving them their code name, the code name will be absent from both locations.
** [[invoked]]In the unlikely scenario the player [[UnwinnableByInsanity would run too low on cash to pay for the train fee]], Morgana will reveal his "secret savings" and spot him just enough to get back home.
** A minor one, but the party meets up at Leblanc to study for the finals on December, and during the conversation the question of if Joker will want to get married one day is brought up. If he's dating a party member, said girl will react accordingly to his answer and her personality. See FourthDateMarriage below for details.
** Despite being the final member of the Thieves as well as a GuestStarPartyMember, Akechi is not only able to join you in Mementos, but even has his own unique dialogue and conversations with all the others while in the Morganamobile, which are notably the only times he is shown actually bonding with the team.
* DialogueTree: Talking with party members, answering questions in class, doing part-time jobs, and negotiating with demons all involve picking multiple options from a list of potential responses.
* {{Diary}}: As part of his probation, the protagonist is forced to keep a log of his activities in a little black book he stores in his back pocket. However, the game also uses it as a meta-narrative stand in for your SavePoint.
* DifficultyLevels: You can play the game on [[EasierThanEasy Safety]], Easy, Normal, Hard and [[HarderThanHard Challenge/Merciless]]. Each mode gives enemies higher stats, and makes damage from elemental weaknesses more punishing, making battles tougher.
* DirtyCop: The cops who apprehend the protagonist drug and beat him to try and get information on his accomplices. The head of the department is also a member of TheConspiracy, and plans to kill the protagonist and their friends to protect his illicit activities. It's also mentioned that the police and prosecutors are likely to plant evidence and frame the thieves in order to pin the various deaths on them.
* DiscOneFinalDungeon: There are ''three'' different ones leading up to TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon (assuming you get the true ending). The first is [[spoiler:Niijima's Palace]] AKA the Casino Palace from the beginning of the game. You know how [[ForegoneConclusion everything will end]], only now you start to see the full picture of what happened. Assuming that you avoid the Bad Ending after this dungeon, you then proceed onto [[spoiler:Shido's Palace]], the Palace of the BigBad of the game. It features climactic battles against the BigBad and [[spoiler:Akechi]]. However, [[spoiler:assuming you've been keeping up with exploring Mementos]], after that is [[spoiler:Mementos Depths, the very bottom of Mementos and what Morgana's character arc has been building up to. However, despite TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon feel and the confrontation with the GreaterScopeVillain, the boss fight is a HopelessBossFight and the dungeon only really serves as a set-up for the actual final dungeon (assuming that you don't go for the very obvious Bad Ending choice).]]
* DiscOneNuke:
** Swift Strike is available as early as level 19 for Joker, but causing a guaranteed 3-4 light hits to all foes is a lot more powerful that it sounds. Don't be surprised if you find yourself keeping this skill on most new Persona you upgrade from.
** As expected by their DownloadableContent status, the Legacy Personas (Orpheus, Izanagi, Thanatos, Kaguya, Magatsu Izanagi, Messiah, Ariadne, Tsukiyomi, Asterius) are overpowered for how early you get them in the game -- you absolutely destroy the < level 10 enemies with the level 20-'''81''' Personas, even on Hard or Merciless difficulty. What really drives them into this territory however isn't just their strength, it's that the ''first'' summoning of any of them (even the lvl 80 personas) is entirely ''FREE'' of charge. Any summons after this should you use them in a fusion must be paid for of course, but still a free courtesy summon is insane to ignore.
** During New Game Plus, you carry over all of your money and registered Personas. This means you can summon your late game Personas from the registry as soon as you get access to it. If you hoarded money before beating the game, you can have a team full of level 70+ Persona as soon as the first Palace.
* DisproportionateRetribution:
** ''Most'' targets of the Phantom Thieves, while not all on the scale of the main bosses, generally ''are'' pretty horrible people with crimes ranging from physical abuse to power harassment. Meanwhile, the Mementos mission required to unlock the Tower Confidant involves...a guy who cheats at video games. This is especially strange considering [[spoiler:the villain of Makoto's confidant, an actual human trafficker, doesn't experience a change of heart, while this guy does]].
** Some citizens try to invoke this by asking the Phantom Thieves to change the hearts of people they have personal grudges against, like their exes. All this does is annoy the protagonists, who lament that the site is being used by others to whine about people they don't like.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[spoiler:When Futaba first awakens Necronomicon, it produces tentacles that abduct her and bring her inside, simultaneously changing her into her Phantom Thief outfit.]]
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: The true villain turns out to be none other than [[spoiler:'''''Igor''''', the guy who's been your main support for creating new personas throughout the entire game. What makes this an even bigger twist is that it's not even the real Igor.]]
* {{Dojikko}}: The staff at the Akihabara maid cafe seem to be [[InvokedTrope going for this deliberately]], contributing to the creepy artificiality of the place's attempts to be cute and charming.
* DoNotAdjustYourSet: [[spoiler:Because of the recent hit to their reputation, the Thieves can't send the usual CallingCard to Masayoshi Shido. Futaba's solution is to hack into ''all of Japan's airwaves'' to broadcast their denouncement and challenge of Shido.]]
* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: After narrowly escaping from [[spoiler:Shido's Palace]], Ryuji meets up with the Phantom Thieves. After he mockingly teases Ann, Makoto, Futaba, and Haru, the girls menacingly approach him while he pleads for them to stop and the screen then fades to black for a few seconds before showing Ryuji beaten and unconscious propped up against a light pole, implying the girls had mercilessly beaten him up. [[spoiler:They were just torn up and crying over his apparent death ''5 minutes earlier'' and were furious that he was teasing them for crying.]]
** [[YourCheatingHeart Don't date more than one girl.]] [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Don't. Do. It.]] When they catch you on Valentine's Day, Sojiro and Morgana abandon you to your fate, and the game cuts to your broken and beaten ass lying on the floor of [=LeBlanc=].
** This is notably averted more often then not however compared to previous games, especially with the many minor female targets in Mementos, which consist of a lot of abusive mothers/girlfriends who need to be changed for their actions.
* DownerBeginning: Both the InMediasRes prologue and the actual beginning of the game.
** The prologue shows the Thieves completing a caper at the casino... only for Joker to be arrested due to a member of the team selling them out, and suffering violent PoliceBrutality once caught.
** The game proper opens with the protagonist being framed for assault by a man who he stopped from sexually assaulting a woman. When he arrives at Shujin Academy, he finds out the gym teacher [[StarterVillain Kamoshida]] basically owns the place: he physically abuses males who stand up to him and sexually abuses female students, and everyone is too scared to stand up to him. The protagonist and Ryuji accidentally stumble into his mental world, where his Shadow immediately decides to have them both killed, and the two barely escape with their lives. Shortly afterwards, Ann's friend attempts suicide due to Kamoshida's advances, and the three decide to become vigilantes to take him down.
* DownerEnding:
** Compared to previous games, where the downer only came through FridgeHorror, the bad ending is far more overtly brutal [[spoiler:as the protagonist is sadistically murdered by Akechi]].
** Technically, there are multiple Downer Endings- one for each Palace if you fail to clear it by the in-game deadline, as well as the one described above, and one for [[spoiler:if you choose to [[DealWithTheDevil accept Yaldabaoth's bargain towards the end of the game]].]]
* DownloadableContent: The game has multiple digital content that can be bought from the psn store.
** Costumes and music from other ''Persona'' games include ''3'' and ''4'', as well as other ''Shin Megami Tensei'' titles like ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVSTheSoullessArmy'' and even ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf''.
** Downloadable Personas include [[VideoGame/Persona3 Orpheus, Thanatos]], [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/Persona3 Messiah]]]], [[VideoGame/Persona4 Izanagi, Kaguya]], [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/Persona4 Magatsu-Izanagi]]]], [[VideoGame/Persona4Arena Asterius, Ariadne, and Tsukuyomi]], each with their own darker-colored and marginally more powerful "Picaro/Zokujin" versions.
** The US version includes the Japanese language track as a DLC.
** Other pieces of DLC include a small selection of high end recover items, like soma, and the option to play on the HarderThanHard "Challenge" difficulty from the start.
* DramaticThunder: It's only a crack of thunder with no music that accompanies the arrival of [[spoiler:Satanael, Joker's ultimate Persona]].
* DubInducedPlotHole: There are also some common sense oddities and mistranslations here and there in the English translation of the game, such as:
** In Sae's first appearance, a police officer is telling Sae in the original Japanese that they got a call from her boss, telling them to allow Sae to interrogate their prisoner. In the English version, it's translated as if the officer's telling her she's about to get a call from her boss, despite how odd it sounds for him to ask the police officer to tell Sae he'll be calling her on her personal phone, rather than asking the officer to hand Sae their own phone, or something similar.
** Shadow Kamoshida chides his guards for "mistaking [his] Ann for someone like her [the real Ann]", which is confusing because what happened was the ''exact opposite'' of what he's complaining about: his guards mistook the real Ann for his cognitive version instead of realizing she was just another "Intruder" like Joker and Ryuji. Essentially the dubbing team swapped the two Anns in this dialog somehow and didn't catch it, as in the Japanese he correctly mocks them for mistaking the real Ann for his "Princess" which was why Ann is brought to him, while the resulting line sounds more like the guards tried to take Princess Ann to the dungeons like the other intruders thinking she was the real Ann.
** Ryuji will mention his "Folks" at some points in the English translation, despite it being a plot point that his Dad left years ago and he lives alone with his single mother, who explicitly feels ashamed for having to raise him as such, even now.
** Failing to complete one specific Palace has notable differences; in the Japanese version, authorities arrive to arrest Joker after the relatives [[spoiler:found Futaba dead]] and blamed Joker for it. In the English version, they arrived because Joker was charged with blackmail, and whoever filed the complaint isn't even mentioned.
** Futaba explicitly refers to Morgana as Mona in one scene shown after her slumber when her heart is stolen. Yet, when it comes time for her to choose a code name, the rest of the team has to explain to her what a "code name" is.
* EarnYourBadEnding: You get the bad endings by failing to stop one of the abusive adults, giving up your team or Confidants to Sae, [[spoiler:and accepting Yaldabaoth's offer to use the Metaverse for their own ends.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: At first, it goes for a BittersweetEnding with [[spoiler:the Protagonist turning himself in as leader of the Phantom Thieves so that he can testify against Masayoshi Shido and ensure that he gets a guilty verdict. Because of his prior record, though, the Protagonist gets sent to juvenile hall; however, thanks to the efforts of the rest of the Thieves and the Confidants, they manage to clear him of his prior record, allowing him to go free early.]]
* EasierThanEasy: Safe Mode. In addition to making the enemies weaker and the players stronger, it's also impossible to lose. However, choosing Safe Mode locks you into that difficulty for the remainder of that playthrough.
* EasyModeMockery: Zigzagged. Choosing Safety Mode prevents you from changing the difficulty for the rest of the game, and is the only difficulty that does this. However, the game lets you see all the content no matter which mode you're playing on; during the initial difficulty selection, the game even says "this choice will not affect the story."
* EldritchLocation:
** The Metaverse, a region inside the [[MentalWorld collective unconscious]] that warps into massive, unstable structures called palaces based on the warped desires of humans and is reached using a cell phone app.
*** Mementos in particular, a manifestation of the Metaverse tied to the Shibuya subway station that's described as "everybody's palace." Its layout is constantly shifting and changing, strong winds are perpetually blowing through it, and it starts looking more and more distorted the deeper into it you explore.
** The Velvet Room, an ever-changing location existing not in space or time but inside the collective unconscious of the human psyche, returns.
* EleventhHourSuperPower: [[spoiler:Satanael, the protagonist's Ultimate Persona, is called forth with the aid of Yuki and the entire populace of Tokyo choosing to defy authority and believe in the Phantom Thieves, spurring Joker to break the chains holding down Arsene to reveal his true form. In the final battle he only has [[CoupDeGrace one move]] which [[BoomHeadshot headshots]] the final boss, but like previous games, he can be summoned using the maximum amount of fusions in the NewGamePlus.]]
* EpiphanicPrison: A major theme of the game is finding how to free yourself of the metaphorical chains society puts on you.
-->'''[[WordOfGod Katsura Hashino]]:''' We may feel some sort of suffocation in this world today, but as long as the world is comprised of relationships among humans, it is a person's character, or a group's character, that will provide the "power" to destroy that "feeling of entrapment".
** [[spoiler:Mementos Depths is the embodiment of this. The entire place is styled as a giant prison, and all the cognitive representations within it express relief that they're stuck inside because it means that they'll be safe, representing humanity's collective BystanderSyndrome.]]
* EvolutionPowerUp: Along with the standard stat and elemental resistance upgrades, your [[GuardianEntity Guardian Entities]] identities actually power up when your party members reach Rank 10 in their LevelUpAtIntimacy5 "Confidant" sub-plots; each Persona transforms from an AnthropomorphicPersonification of a {{Picaresque}} hero to a RageAgainstTheHeavens mythological figure.
* ExplosiveDecompression: Discussed in the Space Station palace. Futaba cheerfully informs the rest of the party that they won't explode when out in space, but they'll last 30 seconds, tops, if they cover their noses and mouths. Thankfully, since it's the Metaverse, the party can (and must) travel through space between airlocks without problems.
* ExtraTurn: Battles use the "One More!" system from ''Persona 3'' and ''4'' - getting a CriticalHit or exploiting an enemy's elemental weakness gives you an additional action. The new "Baton Pass" mechanic meanwhile allows you to pass this turn to any party member you've reached Confidant level 2 with.
* EyedScreen: Once again, a cut-in of just the character's eyes will appear when you perform powerful Persona attacks.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: If you execute Arsene to fuse a new Persona, he confidently states that he'll meet you again at the end of your journey and ends his speech with an EvilLaugh. It probably helps that you can bring him back for a small amount of yen. Noticeably, he's also one of the very few -if not only- Personas who don't enter a despairing pose when facing the Fusion (guillotine), Strengthening (hangman's noose), or Itemization (electric chair) devices.
* FacelessMasses: Non-important [=NPCs=] are generally far less detailed in model, most easily observed by comparing the protagonist to other generic student [=NPCs=] since he actually wears his uniform to code as they do. Look and it's easy to notice all kinds of details missing from their uniforms compared to the protagonist, theirs will come off as blurry.
* FacialHorror: When characters first awaken to their Personas, they have to rip off masks that are ''part of their faces'', causing blood to erupt as they for all intents and purposes ''rip their own skin off''.
* FakeDifficulty: More in the "time management" aspect of the game than the combat, but the game uses quite a few shortcuts to raise the player's blood pressure:
** You are regularly cheated out of free time to socialize and build stats, often without warning. Sure, you can't predict ''everything'' that will happen in the future (like Sojiro suddenly hijacking you to work in the cafe), but in a game about time management it is frustratingly common for Morgana to ''refuse'' to let you go out at night because "you must be tired". Finally, as with ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and ''VideoGame/Persona4'', [[spoiler:the story ends after nine months instead of the promised year]]. As a result, similar to the rest of the series, it is ''very'' difficult to max all stats and clear all Confidants without either a guide or NewGamePlus, even if you're familiar with the series.
** Persona negotiation is largely a matter of chance -- you may eventually work it out, but probably not until well into your playthrough.
*** With a little investigation into the Personas' moods on the Enemy Analysis screen, though, you can at least get an idea of what statements to make to which creatures. If a Persona is Timid, be nice and understanding. If they're Irritable, show 'em who's boss and take no crap.
** The nature of Palaces saps SP, even you're stealthy. Thanks to MagicIsRareHealthIsCheap, a lack of magic is likely to be your main reason to retreat...which means you'll probably need to spend at least two days on a Palace even before the Calling Card is sent. Just to be sure, the puzzles often involve backtracking through areas you've already cleared out, with the Shadows having respawned in the meantime, though this becomes less so in NewGamePlus, as you'll have end-game gear to up your [[=ATK=]] and [[=DEF=]], and hopefully some SP Adhesives sold at Takemi's Clinic to negate the drain on your SP.
** The Calling Card mechanic drains an additional two days out of your calendar, as you will be unable to do anything on the day you send it, then have to commit to fighting the next day (and therefore be unable to do anything in the evening).
** Bosses will frequently use moves that you need to guard against, but will take several turns to charge up. There's not any indication that they won't do the attack immediately, so most players would typically waste turns defending because they don't know when the attack is coming.
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:In order to avoid the Bad Ending where he dies, the Protagonist exploits a phone modified by Futaba to activate the Meta-Nav app remotely, and a section of Sae's Palace that looks like the real world in order to make Akechi kill a mental projection instead.]]
* FanDisservice:
** Kamoshida has a harem of topless female volleyball students in his Palace, all writhing and moaning in ecstacy over their "king". Even Ryuji is disturbed.
** Asmodeus is a fat, misshapen demon in nothing but a crown, cape and pink speedo.
** The bunny suit overworld Shadows in the casino have grossly-exaggerated proportions and much, much too eager JigglePhysics.
** Samael is a muscular shirtless man whose muscles keep growing more and more grotesquely huge as the battle continues.
* FanCommunityNicknames:[[invoked]] In-universe, as the popularity of the Phantom Thieves rises, the Phantom Aficionado Website becomes known as [[PunnyName the "Phan-site," with its users known as "Phanboys."]]
* FastForwardMechanic: You can press start to skip cutscenes and fast forward through dialog. the dialogue fast forward even imposes VHS fast forward effects on the screen.
* FaustianRebellion: [[spoiler:Invoked. Morgana, Lavenza and Igor spend the entire game trying to help the Protagonist use his abilities to destroy the very BigBad that empowered and manipulated him.]]
* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: [[spoiler:There are seven palaces, two which are made by women: Futaba Sakura and Sae Niijima. The men who own Palaces and get reformed (Suguru Kamoshida, Ichiryuusai Madarame, Junya Kaneshiro, Kunikazu Okumura, and Masayoshi Shido) have long abused their positions of power and the people around them. Meanwhile...]]
** [[spoiler:Sae's only real "crime" is her ardent SecondPlaceIsForLosers mentality that has stemmed from pressure at her job and being unfairly compared to her sister, and she's otherwise by-the-book when taking on the Phantom Thieves case. Unlike the other targets, whom the Thieves seek to punish for their crimes, the Thieves target her at Akechi's suggestion, to prevent the investigation from closing in on them, and Makoto also does so in hopes of helping her sister be happier and rediscover her sense of justice, even if she finds it quite painful to face Leviathan. Not only is Sae the only target who ''doesn't'' get her treasure stolen (as she reforms on her own), but she allies herself with the thieves after Akechi is outed as the traitor.]]
** [[spoiler:As for Futaba, she ''deliberately'' targeted herself, as she wanted the thieves to steal her heart so that she could be rid of her suicidal impulses and put an end to her shut-in lifestyle. In fact, the main problem was that Futaba was blaming herself for something that wasn't in any way her fault.]]
** Regarding the Shadows of women who appear in Mementos, however, this is still present, but downplayed. There's a much closer to even mix of men and women culprits in that dungeon, and the women are legitimately bad people who need to change - but there's a gap in how evil the men are versus how evil the women are. The women range from stalkers to abusive mothers and girlfriends, while the shadows of men in Mementos include murderers and sexual abusers.
* FlashStep: One of the Protagonist's field abilities allows him to quickly move from cover to cover in the blink of an eye.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Shortly before the [[WhamEpisode climax of the fifth palace]], Kawakami comments during a lesson on the danger of [[spoiler:crows]] -- cunning creatures who shouldn't be underestimated.
** Among the seemingly unimportant lessons towards the end includes one that brings up [[spoiler:the Holy Grail, which turns out to be one form of the Final Boss]].
** There are numerous hints that [[spoiler:Goro Akechi]] is not who he seems to be.
*** He overheard the group discussing pancakes at one point. [[spoiler:Except it was Morgana who said it. And only those who been to the Metaverse can understand him.]]
*** At one point, you have the option to respond to his statement that Joker and his friends are suspicious by saying [[NoYou that he's the suspicious one]]. For a second, Akechi freezes up in shock before laughing it off. [[spoiler:For a moment, he may have thought the Phantom Thieves were on to him and panicked before realizing Joker was being sarcastic.]]
*** [[spoiler:Despite his appearance on the main poster, he's the only one who doesn't appear in the opening.]]
*** The library carries books on the Persona of each party member as they join. [[spoiler:You can never check out a book on Robin Hood.]]
*** In the chat program, everyone's icon is a color of the rainbow (protagonist's is red) [[spoiler:except Akechi's, which is a shade of gray.]]
*** Around the time of Kaneshiro's Palace, there's a cutscene in which [[spoiler:Akechi comes across Makoto, seemingly by chance, and takes it as an excuse to be needlessly snide and insulting to her, despite being very polite and charming in his previous appearances]]. It's an early indication that [[spoiler:Akechi is a lot more two-faced than he's initially presented as being]].
** There are numerous hints that [[spoiler:Igor]] is not who he seems to be.
*** When you first meet him, he says, "[[spoiler:Welcome to ''my'' Velvet Room]]" instead of "[[spoiler:Welcome to ''the'' Velvet Room]]".
*** [[spoiler:He is never shown fusing Personas, always leaving the dirty work to Justine and Caroline.]]
*** [[spoiler:He's extremely vague about what the protagonist's "rehabilitation" actually entails, and dodges the question every time you try to ask him to clarify.]]
*** [[spoiler:In the game over messages, Igor generally laments your demise. In this game, Igor mocks you and calls your end "foolish".]]
*** [[spoiler:The Velvet Key, something the protagonist of every Persona game since ''VideoGame/Persona3'' gets upon their first visit to the Velvet Room, is never given to the protagonist by Igor. Instead it's given by Lavenza (though it's called the "Cell Key" in this game) on the last day of the game as the FriendshipTrinket for maxing out the Strength Confidant.]]
*** And of course, [[spoiler:the most obvious giveaway is that his voice is drastically different from the real Igor.]]
** The original quartet has a short discussion outside the second Palace about how easy it is to mistake the real world for the Metaverse. [[spoiler:This comes into play again in the final moments of their gambit against Akechi, counting on him not noticing that he's slipped into Sae's Palace when he moves to kill the Protagonist.]]
** TV programs report on employees of various fast food companies losing their minds and committing various crimes as early as May, hinting at reveals much later in the story regarding [[spoiler:Haru's father being involved with the conspiracy and the nature of Black Mask's abilities.]]
** On the school trip overseas, Mishima gets dragged around by Ryuji to hit on girls all day long. By the evening he regrets that decision due to seeing Ryuji as too different from him and wonders if getting a girlfriend would be the only way to escape from future events. By the time Valentines Day rolls around, you discover that [[spoiler:he is too busy to hang out with you and Ryuji, [[ThrowTheDogABone implying that he got some chocolate from a girl.]]]]
** During the arc where you are being threatened by Medjed, your research reveals that Medjed is the name of an Egyptian god. Then, seemingly unrelated, [[spoiler:Futaba's dungeon is Egyptian themed. And she is a big computer whiz.]] Turns out that [[spoiler:Futaba was the original Medjed before copycats started co-opting the name and she changed to a new, also Egyptian themed, name.]]
** One of the skits in Mementos has Haru praising the [[FanNickname Morgana-mobile]]'s interior, to which Makoto comments "If I were to buy a car, it would be one like this." [[spoiler:Sure enough, in the GoodEnding's epilogue, Makoto is seen driving a Citroën Type-H, a.k.a. the real life panel van the Morgana-mobile is based off.]]
** Both [[spoiler:Shadow Madarame and Shadow Kaneshiro]] remark that [[spoiler:there's another Metaverse-user running around. Shadow Kaneshiro]] also warns the Phantom Thieves that 'a chance encounter with them may prove fatal.' [[spoiler:Sure enough, encountering them does prove fatal in the Bad Ending.]]
** Though subtle, at the buffet on May 5th you eavesdrop on a TV station president and an IT company president. [[spoiler:Both of them are members of Shido's conspiracy and appear as minibosses in his Palace. Given that Shido is also in the hotel on that day, it's likely that they were having a shady meeting that resulted on the plan to boost the Phantom Thieves' popularity in preparation to later use them as scapegoats for the Mental Shutdown cases.]]
** On August 28th, Futaba visibly reacts when Akechi confides to Joker over his coffee that he was passed from foster home to foster home as a kid. It's later revealed during Sojiro's Confidant that [[spoiler:Futaba suffered horribly under the "care" of several of her relatives after her mother's passing, her uncle being by far the worst of them all, until Sojiro managed to gain custody of her after throwing a lot of money at him.]]
** On the early morning of October 28th, politician Masayoshi Shido is seen giving a speech in Shibuya criticizing the government for their lack of strong countermeasures against the Phantom Thieves until just recently, calling the current administration obsolete and comparing the country to a "ship that's bound to a roting dock and destined to sink." [[spoiler:If the player was paying attention to it, it's quite possible to figure out the shape of his Palace before even the party once Shido gets outed as the leader of the conspiracy.]]
* FourthDateMarriage: {{Implied|Trope}}. During a break from their group study session at Leblanc by the end of the game, it's revealed that all four girls in the Phantom Thieves are ''very'' comfortable with the idea of marrying the protagonist someday were any of them to be in a relationship with him. SaveScumming through Joker's [[DialogueTree three possible answers]] to Ryuji's question about his opinion on marriage gives the player a good idea of each girl's thoughts on the matter:
** Makoto seems to think Joker is a ConfirmedBachelor in the making because she will be pleasingly (if embarrassedly) surprised or look painfully unsurprised depending on whether he likes the idea of marriage or not. That or letting out an annoyed "Oh, come on" if he dodges the question.
** Haru is stuck speechless with emotion if Joker confesses that he's thought about getting married someday, but answering the opposite will prompt a downcast look out of her as she reasons, mostly with herself, that they're still in high school after all. She'll try to ask for elaboration in case of a NonAnswer, only for [[InnocentlyInsensitive Yusuke]] to soon change the subject.
** Similarly to Haru, if Joker shows no interest in marriage, Ann will awkwardly argue that's not something he could know for sure just yet. Or blush and giggle to herself if it's the other way around. A noncommittal answer will leave her at a loss, unsure of what he meant by that.
** Futaba apparently never considered the possibility before, and will let out a startled "M-M-M-Marriage...!?" if her boyfriend says he did. As it was the case with Joker's LoveConfession in her Confidant, this is just the surprise talking and she will become despondent if he either says he's never thought about getting married or doesn't give the team a straight answer.
* TheFourGods: The four elemental animal guardians Seiryu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu return as enemies and recruitable Persona. You can also fuse Kohryu after completing Sojiro's Social Link.
* FramingDevice: The protagonist's interrogation is an interesting variation of one. All but one of the in-game months that make up the protagonist's probation are recanted to Sae during his interrogation, which starts at the beginning of the game. [[spoiler:Whenever you advance the story by taking out a big target, and every time you initiate a Confidant link, the game skips forward to the interrogation, where Sae asks the protagonist to give her the details. While it's made clear that the protagonist mentions how the targets are taken out and all of the supernatural elements that entail, he leaves out names (both party members and Confidants) for everyone involved - in fact, if you decide to sell out your friends and confidants at the very end of the interrogation, you get a [[MultipleEndings bad ending.]] Eventually you get to the point where you infiltrate the same casino Palace seen at the very beginning of the game and get captured, and it's revealed that the thieves deliberately let the protagonist get captured in order to get Sae on their side and out detective Goro Akechi as a member of TheConspiracy. Should you successfully answer Sae's questions correctly, the protagonist (who had been addled with drugs up until this point) remembers his plan and initiates it, successfully escaping with Sae and going into hiding. Once the final arc begins, the framing device is no longer used.]]
* FrenchMaidOutfit: The servers at the maid cafe all wear the standard frilly black and white maid outfits, as does Sadayo Kawakami in her second job.
* FreudianExcuse: The Treasure in every Palace represents one for the owner, being the physical embodiment of the desire twisting the owner's actions. By stealing it, the Phantom Thieves remove its influence, causing the owner to return to their senses.
** Kamoshida's [[spoiler:is a crown which turns into his Olympic medal, representing all the pressure he was under to live up to everyone's expectations as the hero who brought home the gold for Japan and becoming a BrokenAce.]]
** Madarame's [[spoiler:was a representation of the Sayuri painting, showing the inadequacy he felt as a fading artist compared to his younger and more talented students. Turing him into TheSvengali]]
** Kaneshiro's [[spoiler:are stacks of gold bullion that turn into a gold briefcase of fake bills, representing his insecurity from feeling poor and helpless.]]
** The fourth Palace's [[spoiler:is actually the owner, Futaba, suffering from survivor's guilt and believing she's to blame for her mother's death.]]
** Okumura's [[spoiler:is a mysterious metallic orb, which turns into the model rocket he was denied as a child due to his family's unfortunate financial situation.]]
** The sixth Palace's [[spoiler:is unrevealed, but suggested to be the police journal of Sae's father, representing the combined weight of his death, the burden of taking care of her sister, and trying to succeed in her career, which led to her becoming a borderline AmoralAttorney and overbearing towards Makoto.]]
** The seventh Palace's [[spoiler:is the steering wheel to the cruise ship the Palace is on, which turns into Shido's legislator's pin, representing Shido believing deep down that despite all his evil actions he truly can lead Japan to a better future.]]
** [[spoiler:The general populace's treasure at the Depths of Mementos is the Holy Grail, representing their subconscious desire to remain apathetic, and free from having to take responsibility for their actions.]]
* FriendshipTrinket: In your last day in town, any character whose LevelUpAtIntimacyFive "Confidant" side-quest you have maxed out will give you an item to remember them by. These items also automatically unlock late-game bonuses from their side-quest if you start a NewGamePlus.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:#-B]]
* ZeroPercentApprovalRating:
** The Phantom Thieves' approval rating, as evaluated through polls on the Phan-Site, is shown during loading screens and increases with each palace cleared. [[spoiler:Following the Medjed incident their popularity skyrockets to the high 80s, but after being framed for killing the principal and Okumura, their ratings spiral down to 3%. The Phan-Site is even littered with death threats during this period]].
** [[spoiler:When the Phantom Thieves are kicked out of Mementos by the Holy Grail, the merging of the Metaverse and reality causes humanity to believe the Phantom Thieves never existed. The Phan-Site rating crashes to literally 0%, and the Phantom Thieves are [[RetGone erased from the new reality.]]]]
* HundredPercentHeroismRating: By contrast, getting the Phan-Site poll to this number unlocks [[spoiler:Satanael, the Protagonist's RageAgainstTheHeavens ultimate persona, with whom you very stylishly dispatch the final boss.]] And this comes after months of being public enemy number one in the eyes of the public. EarnYourHappyEnding, indeed.
* {{AKA47}}: None of the guns in the game use the real names, despite clearly being modeled after real world firearms. The fake names range from a few letters being changed like the Franchi SPAS-12 becoming the "Bianchi SBAS", to well-known nicknames like the Colt SAA becoming the "Peacemaker", to generic, non-descript names like the Ithaca 37 becoming just "Heavy Shotgun", to names that sound cool but would almost certainly not be used for real gun names, like the [=M1911A1=] becoming "Governance".
* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: The game prompts the player to use the "Protein" consumables before a workout session at the gym for extra Max HP/SP gain. In real life, this is done ''after'' exercising to provide needed amino acids to muscles as they recover, but doing so in the game would confuse the players as the Protein consumables also serve as regular HP recovering items in the Metaverse.
* ActionBomb: Alice's unique "Die For Me!" SpecialAttack involves an army of giant {{Killer Teddy Bear}}s with bombs in their chests rushing the enemy before they explode.
* ActuallyFourMooks: A single Shadow on the field can transform into 2 to 6 enemies when you engage them in battle.
* AdultsAreUseless: One of the big themes of the game is that the Phantom Thieves formed due its members losing faith in adults, most of whom are at worst abusive, greedy and cruel, or at best, just plain apathetic. [[spoiler:At the end of the game, Sae promises to make good and damn sure to defy the trope.]]
* AdultFear: Despite the supernatural elements, most of the threats providing tension in the story are very much ones that exist in the real world:
** Having your civil liberties violated by law enforcement, including being beaten, drugged, and potentially [[spoiler:shot and killed, with the entire event being swept under the rug.]]
** A well respected school teacher turning out to be an abusive sexual predator, whose actions are being covered up to avoid scandal. [[spoiler:Leading at least one student to believe their only option for escape is suicide.]]
** Your parent taking the money and credit for your hard work, and having no way to speak out about it.
*** Also, [[spoiler:that same parent is responsible for the death of your birth mother, so he could steal her final gift for you for his own profit.]]
** Having your family think of you as a burden.
** Being blackmailed for something you didn't even do, with the threat of ruining not only your hard-earned reputation, but that of your uninvolved family.
*** [[spoiler:Being kidnapped, drugged, raped or sold into prostitution by criminals, or watching a friend nearly suffer the same fate.]]
** Being trapped in a loveless and abusive marriage that you didn't even choose for yourself.
*** [[spoiler:Watching your parent die in an accident or outright murder, and suffering from crippling feelings of stress and guilt as a result.]]
** [[spoiler:Discovering your younger sibling is involved with a dangerous criminal group, while you failed to realize it.]]
** [[spoiler:Being betrayed by someone you've come to trust and rely on.]]
** In general, teenagers being unable to believe in their teachers, their parents, the police, or most other adults, to the point they're willing to engage in larceny and violent assault. The heroes discuss this at a few points, wondering if justice is entirely on their side, or if that even matters.
** The feeling of being trapped, powerless and with no-one to turn to doesn't stop once you reach adulthood. Plenty of the adults get screwed over by institutions meant to support them.
*** [[spoiler:Arguably, Kamoshida could be seen as one such person. He was an Olympic gold-medal winner, not someone you usually think of as a violent sexual predator, but the pressure of society and those around him pushed him to rely more and more heavily on just that part of his life to get by until he wound up where he did.]]
** Sojiro gets a particularly nasty one: [[spoiler:social services or the courts removing your child from your custody, despite your efforts to keep them safe and well. Especially when this would result in said child being sent back to abusive relatives]].
*** Related to the above, Sojiro also has to contend with knowing that [[spoiler:social services may even have a point in wanting to remove Futaba from his care; his daughter is a shut-in, missing out on her education and going without the mental health care she needs, both things that would raise serious safeguarding concerns among competent social services.]] Sometimes, despite doing their best, a parent can fail to provide for their child's needs.
** This extends to Mementos targets, and the ones antagonizing Confidants.
*** [[spoiler:Tae's boss felt like a fraud who only got his job through his connections, compared to a prodigy like her.]]
*** [[spoiler:The old friend blackmailing Iwai is afraid of becoming obsolete as a new generation begins to take over.]]
* AdventureFriendlyWorld:
** The MentalWorld of the Metaverse responds to the hidden desires of evil humans by creating massive dungeons, giving you an excuse for DungeonCrawling and {{Boss Battle}}s. Its ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve properties also makes it so even toy guns and fake melee weapons work like real ones, giving your party a way to obtain weapons to fight the monsters that inhabit the Metaverse, despite the heroes being teenagers in Japan, where real weapons (especially guns) are usually extremely hard to obtain. The monsters in it even drop real money, despite being essentially figments of the imagination.
* AffablyEvil: The bandit leader in [[spoiler:Futaba's]] palace. A perfectly cordial monster who's disinclined to violence and offers to join forces with you to share the plunder; he's perplexed as to why else you'd be there, if not to raid the tomb.
** Averted with the villains in real world. They're either unrepentant douchebags, VillainsWithGoodPublicity, or only FauxAffablyEvil.
* AFriendInNeed: [[spoiler:When in the end the Protagonist turns himself in as leader of the Phantom Thieves so he can testify against Shido, the other Phantom Thieves spend the next month and a half trying to find a way to save their leader. Any Confidants that have been maxed out will also be shown tapping their connection, rallying others and generally doing everything in their power to prove the Protagonist's innocence and earn him his freedom. It pays off in the end, and the Protagonist's record is wiped clean, allowing him to leave juvenile hall a free man.]]
* AfterCombatRecovery:
** The "Victory Breath" and "Victory Cry" auto skills restore part or all of a party member's HP and SP after battle.
** The ''VideoGame/Persona3'' DLC "Evoker" accessory will automatically restore one bullet to your gun clip after battle if equipped.
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Goro earns some sympathy from the party during his final battle, and they're even willing to bury the hatchet and join forces with him against his ArchNemesisDad.]] [[spoiler:Okumura's]] brutal death also inspires some pity from the thieves, especially since he was [[spoiler:their newest member's]] father. And while they don't have any noteworthy redeeming traits to speak of, it's not hard to feel bad for [[spoiler:Principal Kobayakawa and the SIU Director]] after the BigBad discards them like garbage the second they're more useful to him dead than alive.
* AlertnessBlink: Blocky white lines will pop from various characters when they first notice you.
* AliceAllusion: Alice returns yet again, this time as the ultimate Persona of the Death Arcana.
* AllForNothing:
** [[spoiler:Haru joins the Phantom Thieves because she wants to atone for her father's actions and redeem him. This ends up for naught as her father is murdered by TheConspiracy and Haru spends the rest of the game having to cope with the guilt. Doing her Confidant also reveals that Haru's fiance is still trying to go through with the ArrangedMarriage, but Haru gets out of that with the help of the company's management.]]
** [[spoiler:Despite everything the Phantom Thieves are unable to move the public through their heists alone, with Shido's change of heart and confessions failing to stop the corrupt system or wake people up. Ultimately, they're forced to steal the Treasure of the entire population at the core of Mementos to have any affect.]]
* AllInARow: Party members not only follow around your player character, but will also TakeCover behind him and help out when you open treasure chests. Walking or running in a straight line long enough will cause party members to move with you in formation.
* AllMythsAreTrue: Downplayed. Shadows and Persona take the form of mythical figures from every religion and culture on the planet, due to being {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of the collective human psyche.
* AlmightyJanitor: The ultimate BonusBoss and toughest enemy in the game, the Twins, are two prison guards in a run down gulag. One of whom is an admin with nothing but a clipboard on her. Since they're directly related to [[VideoGame/Persona3 Elizabeth (and Theodore)]] as well as [[VideoGame/Persona4 Margaret]], this is to be expected, as each of them were the most powerful bosses in their respective game as well. Their comments should you win includes a hint at this.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: What drives the Phantom Thieves together is that they were all treated as outcasts by people. In particular, Joker's arrival in Tokyo started with pretty much everyone wanting nothing to do with him due to his "record". In fact, Ryuji only becomes his first friend after they're both nearly killed in the collective unconscious.
* AlternateRealityGame: As part of the Tokyo Game Show 2015 marketing, the Japanese fanbase was tasked with tracking down and scanning QR codes at various places throughout the country, presented as finding information for the police force against the thief team. Scanning these unlocked the party's character bios on the official website for everyone to view.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Discussed InUniverse by Sadayo, who believes Princess Kaguya from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter was a FemmeFatale who asked for fancy, impossible gifts and led men to their doom ForTheEvulz before running away to the moon. (Of course, her version completely ignores the fact that the reason Kaguya set impossible tasks before her suitors was so she wouldn't form any more attachments, knowing she would have to leave Earth behind.)
* AnAesop: Society can be oppressive and corrupt, but that doesn't mean you have to accept that it has to be this way. You may have to do things that you or other people may not think is completely morally right, but if you do nothing, then you're no better than the villains.
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: PlayedForLaughs, as you'll discover ''dirty laundry'' in some of the game's InexplicableTreasureChests, leading your party members to question who would bother putting dirty clothes under lock and key.
* AngerBornOfWorry: Ryuji gives the Phantom Thieves ''quite'' a scare [[spoiler:after his apparent death in Shido's Palace]].
* TheAnimeOfTheGame: ''Anime/Persona5TheDayBreakers'', a 30 minute animated special released shortly before the game that shows the Phantom Thieves of Hearts performing a caper in Mementos. A full anime, ''Anime/Persona5TheAnimation'', is also in the works and is expected to be released in 2018.
* {{Animorphism}}: In [[spoiler:Shido]]'s dungeon, the party occasionally get turned into mice while you're exploring. Yes, even [[{{Irony}} the cat]]. Before that, the {{Miniboss}} Mot/Coffin-Borne God can cast the spell "Cornered Rat" to inflict the transformation on one party member, disabling them for three turns.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
** The guard command is mapped to the same button as cancelling out of menus, so in case you accidentally mash the button too many times, the game asks for confirmation when you select the guard command so that you don't accidentally waste your turn guarding. This also applies to the localized versions, where the "attack" and "guard" commands were swapped, along with the confirm and cancel buttons.
** Once you reach TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, [[PointOfNoReturn you can't go back to the real world]]. Since the players would have no other way to refill their SP once they run out of items, going back to the entrance gives the player a method of fully restoring their HP and SP.
** Seeing how detailed and vital the elemental weakness system is to the game, going into a fight with a character or group that is weak to enemy attacks is going to get your ass kicked. Luckily, you can now switch party members during battle. However, you first have to unlock it by starting the Star Confidant.
** In the previous games, you could only switch Personas once per turn, so if you accidentally switched to the wrong Persona, you were stuck with it. That restriction still applies, but skills and Personas are now the same menu--you ''will'' get locked into that Persona for the rest of the turn, but the lock doesn't activate until you actually choose a skill.
** Like ''VideoGame/Persona4'', visits to the Palaces or Mementos take place after school, and also make you too tired to do most of your evening activities. However, this time, more Confidants are at night, and if you call Sadayo after maxing out her Confidant, you will be able to get a massage that re-energizes you and allows you to spend your evenings normally.
** Your party members, while anxious about any impending deadlines, will still hang out with you to progress their Confidants, unlike the previous game where they refuse to socialize until the dungeon is cleared.
** Once you send out a calling card for the major targets, you are locked into their boss fight for the next day and cannot go out at night. However, you can still create infiltration tools, bestowing you both extra items (and giving the player a chance to make lockpicks in particular if they missed any locked chests) and a bonus boost to your Proficiency. You can also feed your plant (boosts Kindness) at any time, even during plot-based days when you aren't allowed to do anything at all.
** If you're having trouble clearing the minigames that allow you to progress on video games, you can read a book that will allow you to input what is essentially a cheat code to make them easier, usually by extending your time limit. Morgana lampshades it by saying that he can understand how you might be frustrated by being unable to beat the game.
** After defeating a Shadow, any other Shadows who were in the immediate area move quite a ways away so you don't accidentally trigger another encounter. This is especially useful in Palaces, where getting caught too many times would be a GameOver.
** Haru's Confidant starts really late, only starting towards the end of the game. To make up for this however, her Confidant should be fairly easy to rank up as a lot of the answers the player chooses will give the most amount of notes.
** Confidants now give social stat points as well, making progression for both less time-consuming.
** With one exception [[spoiler:(Futaba's Palace)]], there is usually a safe room right near the treasure room of a Palace. As such, you can usually make your way straight to the boss of the Palace after sending the calling card and fight them with fresh party members, without having to fight your way through Shadows.
** There's a series of very long cutscenes after [[spoiler:Shadow Sae's boss fight]], so it's broken up by two save points, one after [[spoiler:the story catches up to the prologue]], so that you don't have to fight the boss again [[spoiler:if you trigger the bad ending]]. And another one right before the date changes which allows you to save and take a break so you don't have to go through another lengthy InfoDump in one sitting.
** One of the NewGamePlus bonuses is a bigger boost to Confidant building with a matching Persona, meaning it's much easier to finish them all without having to worry about time management or picking the correct conversation choices. In conjunction with this, maxing out a Confidant during a playthrough allows you to receive a special gift from that person just before the game ends if you remember to get it (Morgana will remind you before you commit to the finale). These special items will allow you to have certain skills for the corresponding Confindants automatically unlocked as soon as the Links are initialized in the NG+, allowing the player access to some very useful options much earlier than they would otherwise be the first time around.
* AntiGrinding: The Protagonist's Personas gain experience slower than he does, making it easier to fuse new Personas to get new abilities than fighting random Shadows.
* ApatheticCitizens:
** Discussed. Many of the villains bring up the fact they can do the horrible things they've done because the general public are more interested in being told what to do than doing what's right on their own. The Phantom Thieves also decide to continue their activities after the first dungeon to shake others out of apathy.
** [[spoiler:Made a plot point by the final dungeon. Even after getting Shido to confess everything he's done, the public doesn't listen. The Phantom Thieves ultimately have to steal the Treasure of all of Tokyo to get the people to snap out of it.]]
* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Only four party members can be used in battle at a time, per series standard since ''VideoGame/Persona3''. For the first time in the series, you can switch out your party members in battle, but you need to begin the Star Confidant in order to do so.
* ArcVillain: The first few months of the game has you finding a series of new corrupt target for the heroes' HeelFaceBrainwashing. And while you begin to learn TheConspiracy has been messing with the MentalWorld of the Metaverse as well, your targets aren't actual members of the group, and are by design acting on their own personal twisted desires.
* ArcWords:
** Heinous acts being "unforgivable" comes up a ''lot''. Even a good number of Joker's dialogue options let him say it.
** "Deal" and "contract" are brought up a lot, the latter during Persona awakenings and the former during Confidant links and important plot points.
** "Stolen future", and variations of, are frequently mentioned when villains are doing things to screw over the younger generation.
** The villains who make a public confession after having their heart stolen usually start their announcement with "I have committed acts unbecoming of a [profession]."
** "[[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Game]]" comes up a ton. It's usually used by Igor to refer to events going on in the story - even some song lyrics get it on it - and things that are working against the heroes are called a "rigged" or "unjust" game. [[spoiler:It's almost always used in villainous contexts, and its true meaning is revealed in the ending: Yaldaobath's wager against Igor, because the struggle of our heroes and humanity was all just a game to him]].
** Igor and his assistants always find a way to mention "ruin" and "rehabilitation". When [[spoiler:Shido]] mentions "ruin" in a cutscene, you know things are getting serious.
** The word "justice" gets brought up a ton throughout the game. A central theme of the game is exactly what justice means to different people and whether or not the Phantom Thieves' vigilantism falls under that category.
** The series-wide "I am thou, thou art I" gets a lot more mileage in this game. Not just the protagonist, but each party member gets their own Persona awakening cutscene, and it's mentioned by narration whenever the protagonist begins and finishes a Confidant. Even Shadows get in on it when you recruit them, as they remember their true selves in the process.
* ArtShift:
** Compared to the previous games, the art direction uses comic book-esque thick lines, bright colors, complex shading, SpeechBubbles and SpeedStripes to accentuate the PhantomThief motif.
** In-game, after winning a battle with an All-Out Attack, the party member who knocked down the last enemy gets a special VictoryPose which ends with their 3D model suddenly turning into a stylized 2D image, giving it more oomph.
** The massive InfoDump later on in the story [[spoiler:of how Joker faked suicide and escaped prison]] uses cute, stylized versions of several characters to provide visual reference to go along with the explanations.
* ArtisticLicenseGeography:
** Apparently in Persona 5's universe, a thunderstorm in Los Angeles will redirect a plane back to ''Hawaii''. Hawaii is a five hour flight from Los Angeles and a plane flying from Japan to Los Angeles would not have an additional five hours worth of fuel aboard. Meanwhile there are a significant number of airports in California that not only have runways long enough for a typical wide-body jet used for a [=NRT=]-[=LAX=] route, they're also well within the extra 2 hours flight time that aircraft for international flights carry reserve fuel for. A bit more justified in that in a weather report that can be viewed on the TV in Leblanc right before the trip says that it's a typhoon (or rather, a hurricane) about to hit California, not a thunderstorm.
** Also, the modern Egyptian town in [[spoiler:Futaba's]] Palace has signs that are clearly written using the Devanagari alphabet, which is used for ''Indian'' languages, not Arabic. Somewhat justified in that it's just a MentalWorld, but it's strange that a supposed genius like her wouldn't know the difference.
* ArtisticLicenseReligion: Despite employing demonic avatars of the SevenDeadlySins as a central motif, the story only uses a few of the standard demons associated with a given sin as popularized by Peter Binsfeld: Asmodeus (Lust), Leviathan (Envy) and Mammon (Greed). Meanwhile, Beelzebub (Gluttony) uses the name of the Semitic god he was a demonized form of, Bael. Belphegor (Sloth), Satan (Wrath) and Lucifer (Pride) are completely replaced by Mementos, the Sphinx and Samael. (Of course, the reason Lucifer is absent is probably because of his repeated appearances in the main ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series, and his [[SatanIsGood treatment there]] being confusing if applied to a Shadow here.)
* AsYouKnow: Thanks to the fact that the bad guys' actions occur out of sight of the Thieves, there's a lot of exposition to get through. This results in two characters, [[spoiler:Goro and Shido]], telling each other about their schemes, objectives and methods, going so far as to tell each other ''their own shared history'', despite the fact that both of them should clearly know this already. [[spoiler:However, they aren't telling each other ''everything''...]]
* AscendedFridgeHorror: In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the party members' [[ShadowArchetype Shadows]] came from repressed teenage anxieties and were ObliviouslyEvil over a desire to be accepted. This game, however, shows what the Shadow of a truly evil person looks like... and it isn't pretty. The [[StarterVillain Starter Villain's]] Shadow alone is a sadistic, hedonistic tyrant who takes great pleasure in torturing and killing anyone who wanders into his mental world.
* AscendedMeme: At some point in the game, it's possible to catch "I've been waiting for this!" among the Phan-site comments, referencing [[VideoGame/Persona3 Akihiko's]] infamous All-Out Attack line.
** [[StarvingArtist Yusuke Kitagawa]] says this when Morgana turns into the Morgana car in the desert surrounding Futaba's palace
* AssholeVictim:
** The Phantom thieves specifically target adults who have abused their position and taken advantage of others.
** TheConspiracy has its own members killed when they're no longer useful to them, such as [[spoiler:Principal Kobayakawa and the SIU director]], but considering what the victims were responsible for, it's difficult to feel sorry for them.
* AnAssKickingChristmas: The final battle [[spoiler:against Yaldabaoth]] takes place on Christmas Eve.
* ATasteOfPower: The prologue sequence has you enter a single fight using a much stronger Protagonist with access to a far more powerful Arsene than what you'll get at the proper starting point [[spoiler:which is perfectly logical as this is the kind of strength the player will eventually build towards if not exceed by that point in the story]].
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever:
** [[spoiler:Asmodeus isn't quite on the scale of some of the others, but he still towers over the Thieves.]]
** [[spoiler:Bael's second boss form is a giant vault shaped like a PiggyBank.]]
** [[spoiler:Sphinx is about the size of the Pyramid itself.]]
** [[spoiler:Samael's first boss form is a giant golden lion made up of human bodies.]]
** [[spoiler:The final form of the BigBad is a 20 story tall giant robotic god covered in gold and crystal armor.]]
** [[spoiler:The protagonist's Ultimate Persona, Satanael, who appears to finish the final boss, is even taller than him.]]
* AuraVision: The "Third Eye" ability lets you see the danger level of enemies, which receptacles are hiding treasure, and the identities of potential Confidants by displaying various color-coded auras around the person or item in question.
* AuthorAppeal: The game's opening, which is directed by Sayo Yamamoto, has several moments where the characters do spins and glide around as though they're figure skating; Yamamoto is a huge fan of the sport.
* AutobotsRockOut: Most of the BossBattle themes are techno rock tunes with plenty of electric guitar.
* BackgroundMusicOverride:
** "Life Will Change" plays on any day you go to challenge the boss of a dungeon, overriding the regular dungeon, safe room, and battle themes. In fact, it only turns off when you challenge bosses or mini-bosses. For the last few dungeons, it upgrades from instrumentals to the vocal version.
** Near the end, the happy-sounding background music when walking around town during the day is replaced with the mildly-foreboding "Ominous", and [[spoiler:for the protagonist's second-to-last day in town when saying goodbye to everyone, the music is the solemn, bittersweet blues tune "Sunset Bridge"]].
* BadBoss: Several targets are important business owners or politicians who are abusing their power. Perhaps the most notable example is [[spoiler:Shido, who is so meticulous in tying up his loose ends that he plots the murder of every single person with any insight into his bloody rise to power, even if they happily helped him get there. His [[TheDragon personal assassin]], his ''own son'', is the final name on his list.]] Ironically, he won a competition for who people would [[VillainWithGoodPublicity most like to have as a boss]].
* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:Futaba having a Palace heavily implies that your party has to face her Shadow like the others. However, due to Futaba actually desiring a change of heart (the obstacles presented by the Palace are noted to be manifestations of Futaba's guardedness), her Shadow is not evil--the boss ends up being Futaba's mistaken, demonic cognition of ''her dead mother'' instead. Futaba's Shadow, meanwhile, forces Futaba to face her past and distorted memories and becomes her Persona]].
* BalefulPolymorph: Similar to the Fly and Bat statuses in the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series, this game comes with the "Rattled" status, where a character is transformed into a rat, lowering their defense and making them unable to attack. This can be temporarily inflicted by Mot's "Trapped Rat" spell, and also during [[spoiler:Shido's Palace]] when the party is in the same room as an "activated" statue. In the latter case, it also acts as the level gimmick by allowing the party to travel into small air vents.
* BattleCouple: If you romance Ann, Makoto or Haru, Joker and his lover can participate in battles together, and gain all the LevelUpAtIntimacy5 bonuses pursuing a romance nets you. In a bit of GameplayAndStoryIntegration, the three of them learn [[TakingTheBullet "Protect"]] at the same time their Confidant turns romantic, which is a passive skill where they shield Joker and withstand an otherwise fatal attack in his place.
* BattleThemeMusic:
** "Last Surprise" for regular battles, which has the thieves giving {{Badass Boast}}s about how their enemies [[YouAreAlreadyDead are already finished]].
** "Rivers in the Desert" for some of the endgame {{Boss Battle}}s, which has dueling verses by the heroes and villains about their WellIntentionedExtremist desires to change the world.
* BeachEpisode: Your party goes to the beach with Futaba at the end of August, which involves the members of your party hanging out on the beach in swimsuits, Yusuke buying a pair of lobsters to paint, and other hijinks, including the return of Operation Babe Hunt. Your ClassTrip also has you traveling to Hawaii, with a couple days involving the members of your party hanging out on the beach in swimsuits, and an evening spent with an available Confidant of your choosing.[[note]]By default, you're stuck hanging out with Ryuji, Mishima and Yusuke. However, opting to pursue a romantic relationship with Ann or Kawakami opens them up for a date instead. Additionally, if the player has progressed to Rank 5 with Makoto and Hifumi's Confidants, they can be chosen as well, although their dates are more platonic in nature.[[/note]]
* BeneathTheMask: Shadows and Persona reflect the true feelings of their other selves. For the villains, they generally show the characters' true {{sociopath}}ic, twisted desires. For the heroes meanwhile, they generally expose their RevengeBeforeReason, WellIntentionedExtremist desires to change the society and adults that've wronged them. [[spoiler:And, taking the trope to its logical conclusion, Futaba's Shadow is the ''positive'' side of her personality that's been repressed beneath the crushing weight of her guilt and depression.]]
* BewareTheSillyOnes: The Shadow Selves your party targets are often ridiculous looking, but they rule their own Palace and serve as major {{Boss Battle}}s. They include:
** A giant headed pink demon wearing nothing but a crown, cape and underpants.
** A gray haired man dressed like a JidaiGeki lord in a tacky golden kimono, too much white face paint, and giant fake eyebrows.
** A purple fly man with a mustache, bad comb-over and white tuxedo.
** [[spoiler:A gigantic sphinx with a sorely mismatched woman's head.]]
** A man wearing a copyright free version of Darth Vader's armor, with a generic space helmet instead of the mask.
** [[spoiler:A woman wearing trashy gothic makeup and a leather dress that borders on being VaporWear.]]
** [[spoiler:A man wearing an overly-elaborate general's uniform and a helmet that resembles the Statue of Liberty's head.]]
** Not to mention [[spoiler:the traitor himself, Akechi, who has the campiest All-Out Attack in the game, some of the most ridiculous costumes (including DLC), and his Berserk outfit is a direct reference to Featherman. Yet he's still a Wild Card ''and'' "Black Mask", the one behind all the deaths caused by the Palaces.]]
* TheBigBadShuffle: Each ArcVillain (barring Kamoshida) was being pressured into TheConspiracy by someone in a "Black Mask". Black Mask was in turn working for [[spoiler:politician Masayoshi Shido.]] Then later we learn that the villains [[spoiler:''and'' the heroes were being manipulated by the real BigBad, Yaldabaoth, God of Order.]]
* BishieSparkle: When you gain charm points, three small diamond sparkles form next to Joker's eyes.
* {{Bishonen}}: If you don't know the legend you could well be forgiven for not guessing that the Narcissus persona is actually male.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The True Ending. [[TheConspiracy Masayoshi Shido and his allies]] have been thwarted, Yaldabaoth has been vanquished, and the Protagonist finally gets to clear his name. However, he still has to head back home at the end of the year, leaving behind all the friends he made in Tokyo, and with the Metaverse gone, no longer will the Phantom Thieves be able to change hearts to stop corruption. Morgana manages to survive the collapse of Mementos, but as a cat, not a human. The situation in government is left unaddressed - it's unclear what exactly is going on with Japan's current prime minister. Finally, it's ultimately left ambiguous just how much the destruction of Mementos affected the public consciousness - while the ordinary citizens' apologism for Shido seems to have gone away, they still express frustration and apathy at the state of society, and the authorities appear just as corrupt as ever and are eager to send Joker to jail [[TreacheryCoverup to save their own reputations]]. To drive the point home, the last poll on the Phansite, still asking if the Phantom Thieves really exist, comes back at an even 50%]].
* BlackAndGrayMorality: The protagonists' HeelFaceBrainwashing methods would come off as crossing a line if it weren't for the fact their targets are various kinds of serial abusers of power who would otherwise never pay for their crimes, and a girl who was going to commit suicide otherwise ([[spoiler:the latter of whom actually ''wants'' the Protagonists to do it to her]]). The protagonists are in fact completely aware of the implications of their methods and refuse to use it at all during their first mission [[spoiler:until it becomes clear that things have in fact already gotten so bad that a student tried to commit suicide as a direct result.]]
* BlandNameProduct: The party can be seen eating a bag of Calbee Potato Chips and drinking bottles of Coca-Cola and Sprite at some points, only with the nondescript labels "Potato", "Nice Cola" and "Lemon" printed on them. Similarly, an ad can be seen for a tablet computer called the "Next P.A.D." that bears a striking resemblance to the Apple iPad. Coca-Cola, Boss, and Kirin vending machines become Cracker Energy, Oyabun (Japanese for "boss"), and Kitten. The retro game console that can be purchased is called the "Famidrive", a mash of the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] and [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Mega Drive]]. The only legitimate ProductPlacement in the game is for Calbee's Jagariko snacks.
** This also extends to stores themselves, with popular Japanese convenience store chain "Don Quixote" being renamed "Rocinante" after Quixote's horse.
* BlankWhiteEyes: Humans whose Shadows are destroyed end up with pupil-less white eyes and dark blood bleeding out of their mouths. This includes the subway conductor who crashes a train near the beginning of the game, [[spoiler:[[YouHaveFailedMe Principal Kobayakawa]] around the time of the Hawaii trip, and [[HeKnowsTooMuch Haru's dad]] after the Phantom Thieves steal his Treasure]].
* BlessedWithSuck: The player themselves on [[HarderThanHard Merciless difficulty]]. 2.5 times damage when you strike weaknesses and get critical hits sounds good, right? Have fun downing Shadows so you can negotiate with them instead of accidentally killing them outright. You do eventually find a workaround through the Tower Confidant, but that doesn't come until September at the earliest, about halfway through the game.
* BloodierAndGorier: The protagonist is beaten by police at the beginning of the story, various characters bleed blood when awakening to their Persona, you sneak attack enemies by ripping the masks they use for faces off, and the game's main ColorMotif is vivid blood red.
* BodyHorror: Human shaped Shadows bloodily erupt into demons when you start a battle with them. In a number of Palaces, human shaped Shadows will also transform into {{Humanoid Abomination}}s.
* BoringButPractical: Some of the bosses encountered will willingly waste turns reacting to stat buffs and debuffs. This means that having someone constantly ready to reapply buffs or vice versa may allow the player to bring on the damage with (near) impunity.
* BonusBoss:
** In NewGamePlus, you can optionally fight Caroline and Justine, who serve as the toughest boss fight in the game.
** If you wait for 5 to 10 minutes on a floor in Mementos, you can fight the Reaper, an insanely powerful Shadow meant for end game parties.
* BookEnds:
** "Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There" plays at both the intro and post-credits sequences of ''Persona 5''.
** Early on in the game, Sojiro drives the main character home from meeting with the school, complaining about having to be saddled with the burden of looking after him. Near the end of the game, Sojiro picks up the protagonist [[spoiler:after his release from juvenile hall]] and goes home with him on friendlier terms. He even lampshades how this moment reminds him of the first time they met.
** The first and last bosses both have a [[spoiler:chalice of sorts that is a part of how they regain health, and their connection between them and the people they hope to abuse as an energy source]] that needs to be severed in order to beat them. [[spoiler:Kamoshida's is the cup based trophy he eats his female victims out of when using "Libido Boost", while Yaldabaoth's "Holy Grail" form is where he can get healed by the parts of humanity who want the "order" he'd give them by making them his slaves.]] Fitting as in Tarot [[spoiler:the Suit of Cups is not only based on the Holy Grail but over time it became the hearts suit of modern playing card decks, on top of both cups acting as a "heart" you need to take from them in the fight to finish it;]] so the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts" begin and end doing that on more than just one level.
** A blue butterfly is seen near the beginning and ending of the Protagonist's journey.
* BoomHeadshot: In the Bad Ending, [[spoiler:Joker gets shot in the head.]] In the Good Ending, [[spoiler:Joker shoots [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu the false god behind this whole mess]] in the head.]]
* BossInMookClothing: Similar to ''VideoGame/Persona3'' in Tartarus, you can end up in a random encounter with the insanely powerful Reaper any time you sit around a floor in Mementos for more than 5 minutes.
* BottomlessBladder: As in previous games, there are bathrooms in the game, ''but you never need to use them'' - in fact, there's even a toilet in Joker's cell in the Velvet Room, and he can sit on it, but it's used for pondering instead of its intended purpose...
* BottomlessMagazines:
** Averted. You can only fire a certain amount of ammo before you run out.
** Played straight with the Bullet Hail confidant ability that has a chance to trigger a gun based All-Out-Attack at the beginning of battles that doesn't consume your ammo pool and is limited only by time.
* BraggingRightsReward:
** As per series tradition, the Omnipotent Orb, an accessory which blocks ''all'' damage other than almighty. However, you have to have already finished the story once and won the toughest fight in the game against BonusBoss Justine and Caroline to even get it.
** Also as per series tradition, the protagonist's ultimate Persona, [[spoiler:Satanael]], can actually be fused - if you've reached NewGamePlus and can manage a Level ''95'' fusion. If you're at that point, most of the game's difficulty is already moot unless you're fighting the aforementioned BonusBoss, which it ironically seems tailor-made for. [[spoiler:Think of it as fusing [[VideoGame/Persona3 Orpheus Telos to fight Elizabeth with.]]]]
** The Eternal Lockpick is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, a lockpick that won't break after use. By the time you can craft it however, it's trivially easy to have at least a dozen spare lockpicks on hand. Making one isn't really necessary beyond getting the trophy for crafting all infiltration tools.
** Valentine's Day Chocolate restores all SP to 1 ally, but to get it you have to defeat the FinalBoss. Even on NewGamePlus there's never a real reason to use it, considering you most likely have better management of your time or SP restoring equipment from the last playthrough to use. At best, these items then are really only useful as a means to track the romantic relationships you've taken over the course of repeated playthroughs until you have one chocolate from every possible option, provided you didn't use them.
* BreakUpDemand: While helping out Chihaya, the protagonist meets a man who's being pressured to break off his engagement to the woman he loves because his boss wants him to marry the boss's daughter. It's not clear whether an actual ultimatum was issued, but it's clear that his career is in danger if he marries the woman he loves [[spoiler:although Joker inspires him to follow his heart anyway]].
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Atlus published an ad in an actual Japanese newspaper, appearing as a CutAndPasteNote, that proclaimed "The Phantom" (Joker) would appear at the February 2015 event that revealed new ''Persona 5'' footage. Sure enough, he ended up appearing as his CallingCard announced, "shot out" the lights, and proceeded to reveal the very first gameplay trailer for ''Persona 5''.
* BribingYourWayToVictory: The game's paid {{DLC}} include accessories that boost your EXP or cash after battles, and overpowered [[GuardianEntity Personas]] with end game stats and elemental protections that you can summon once for free, even in the very first dungeon.
* BrickJoke: In Madarame's Palace, once the group reaches the Treasure spot, Ryuji thinks the treasure is a self-portrait of Madarame. Later, when the group takes the treasure outside the palace, they find it really is a self-portrait, except it's not the treasure, because Madarame switched it with the real treasure.
* BrokenAesop: Right up to the end, ''Persona 5''[='=]s message is quite clear: "You have to stand up to corrupt people in power, because [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop everyday society largely doesn't give a flying curlywhirly about injustice: they're just a pack of idiot lemmings who will keep their heads down even if the world is falling apart around them because they don't want to make life harder for themselves and they'll let corrupt people get away with anything. Oh, and kids can't trust adults, especially the ones they depend on: they're just trying to exploit you or worse.]]" [[spoiler:One of the Bad Endings takes this message to the logical conclusion, with the Phantom Thieves letting their misanthropy and dissatisfaction with society get the better of them and throw their lot in with Yaldabaoth so that they can rule as despots through fear of forced heart-changing.]] In order to get the True Ending, you have to break this [[{{Deconstruction}} rapidly-decaying Aesop]] and make it into something like [[DeconReconSwitch "You have to stand up to corrupt people in power, because everyday society has become apathetic]], '''[[RousseauWasRight but since they're overall good people, they can be inspired to do the right thing]]'''. [[DeconReconSwitch You can't just give up on it and do whatever you please without regard for others, because then you're no better than the corrupt people you claim to be above. While many adults are corrupt, there are genuinely good ones, so don't write them off at large."]]
* BuildLikeAnEgyptian: One dungeon has you trying to infiltrate a pyramid in the middle of a desert.
* ButNowIMustGo: At the end of the game, the protagonist completes his year long probation, and leaves Tokyo to return to his hometown.
* ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth: A glowing blue butterfly appears each time the protagonist is about to die in the story, urging him to overcome his impending doom. This includes when he's about to be executed in Kamoshida's Palace and when he's brought into the interrogation room [[spoiler:where the conspiracy intends to assassinate him.]] Similarly, glowing butterflies surround a fallen character when you use revive items or magic on them.
* ButThouMust:
** If you refuse to accept the opening ThisIsAWorkOfFiction disclaimer, Igor proceeds to say "Well, then you can't play this game" and returns you to the StartScreen.
** Quite a few dialogue options, particularly to IM conversations, have two or three responses that are essentially the same thing. Also, even if the protagonist says things that seem counter-intuitive, like arguing against taking down a target, the other party members will scold him, then continue like nothing happened.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:C]]
* CallBack:
** The Pyramid, [[spoiler:Futaba's]] Palace, is a ''massive'' one [[spoiler:and subversion]] to ''VideoGame/Persona4'' [[spoiler:as well as to ''VideoGame/Persona3 FES'']]. Unlike the other Palaces up to that point, [[spoiler: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, [[spoiler:the fact that Futaba's Shadow is her repressed ''positive'' feelings is a CallBack to ''The Answer'' scenario in ''3'''s UpdatedRerelease where Metis, Aigis' repressed humanity, is undoubtedly a positive influence on her.]]
** Ryuji is a track team member who suffered a crippling leg injury, just like [[VideoGame/Persona3 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 [[VideoGame/Persona4 his immediate predecessor, Chie]] (or fight with her over the last bit of steak).
** Two of the paintings in Madarame's Palace bear more than a passing resemblance to the protagonists of the [[VideoGame/{{Persona3}} third]] and [[VideoGame/{{Persona4}} fourth]] Persona games.
** A lot of the endgame is reminiscent of ''VideoGame/Persona2 Eternal Punishment''. [[spoiler: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.
** Though it was introduced in this game, the concept of Cognitive Existence are hinted in the previous games:
*** ''VideoGame/{{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. 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.
*** ''VideoGame/Persona2'': 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.
*** ''VideoGame/Persona3'': 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.
*** ''VideoGame/Persona4'': 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.
* CallingCard: [[PlayingWithAtrope Played with]]. You send out a calling card to the target, but it's required in order to materialize the palace's treasure, and unlike most instances of the trope you only send it out after you've already made your way through the palace to find where the treasure is.
* CallingYourAttacks:
** Characters shout "Persona!" or the actual name of their GuardianEntity when summoning them, and sometimes the party CombinationAttack.
** Asmodeus will tell you he's about to use his "Super Death Spike" exploding volleyball attack the turn before he actually hits you with it.
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: The Metaverse Navigation app keeps reappearing on the Protagonist's phone no matter how many times he deletes it, and forcibly sends him to the Metaverse ''twice''.
* TheCameo:
** [[VideoGame/Persona4 Rise]] and [[VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight Kanami]] appear in individual advertisements at subway stations. Ann even gives you the poster of Rise if you hang out with her at Harajuku, which can be put up as decoration in your room.
** Haru gives you a kumade of [[VideoGame/Persona4 Teddie]] if you hang out with her at Asakusa.
** You're able to buy goods from [[VideoGame/Persona3 Tanaka]] if you buy a busted laptop from the second-hand goods shop and fix it up.
* CameraAbuse:
** The screen will momentarily "crack" whenever you perform an All-Out Attack.
** One of Morgana's victory animations has him bump into the screen.
* CantDropTheHero: The protagonist always has to be in your party. Every other party member is completely optional, to the point you can even switch them in and out mid-battle.
* CaperRationalization: The protagonists conduct heists in order to literally steal pieces of people's psyche and induce a HeelFaceBrainwashing. The people who are targeted are also very corrupt and largely unsympathetic, to the point that their abuse of power ends up ruining the lives of the main cast unless they are dealt with.
* CassandraTruth: As part of his interrogation, the Protagonist tells Sae all about the Metaverse and working with a talking cat ''right from the start'', while leaving out details that would incriminate his allies. She has a hard time believing him at first, but is willing to hear him out.
* CastFromHitPoints: Persona Physical and Gun skills require a percentage of your HP to use.
* CatchingSomeZs: When Futaba's sleeping, Zs come out from her head.
* {{Catchphrase}}: Used by the hacker organization Medjed. "We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil."
* CelebrityLie: One day on his way to school, the protagonist eavesdrops on two girls talking about a guy who told one of them he was a Phantom Thief in order to impress her. [[spoiler:The lie may have backfired badly on the guy, as the girl is considering sending his picture to the cops when the real Phantom Thieves get framed for murder.]]
* CentralTheme: Thieves, Rebellion and Justice.
** Each protagonists' starting persona is inspired by a historical or literary thief, and the party themselves become thieves to reform corrupt or broken members of society.
** The party's ultimate Personas are based on mythological figures that rebelled against their respective gods and were cast out of the heavens for it.
** A person's reputation might not reflect their true character.
** Being wronged yourself doesn't excuse wronging others.
** Just because someone lets you get away with something doesn't make it okay to do it - taking advantage of someone's kindness, passive nature or inability to confront you without consequences is deplorable.
** The times when it is a relative or family member show that it can be much harder to stand up against someone you care about or to accept that you feel angry at them. [[spoiler:Yusuke in his confidant still felt some affection for his mentor and initially completely refused help from the Phantom Thieves due to denial caused by this affection and Haru still clearly loved her father later in the storyline.]]
** Every individual is worth helping - taking down the main bad guys helps a lot of innocent people, but mostly as the player you are invested in your party members and helping them first and foremost.
* CharacterCustomization: You get to pick your hero's name, and personality through {{Dialogue Tree}}s. Further, the skill card and expanded fusion systems let you customize the skills and stats of his Personas.
* ChekhovsClassroom:
** Class lectures cover topics like the Cognitive Representation concept that serves as the basis for the cognitive projections you encounter throughout the Palaces, Plato's tripartite theory of soul that explains how you're able to [[HeelFaceBrainwashing heel-face brainwash]] the villains, and so on. They are also very conveniently timed. For example, a few days after you recruit Makoto, you'll get a question in class about Pope Joan, her Persona and the figure thought to be depicted on the La Papesse tarot card, her Arcana.
** In a rather realistic and justified example, any random question you hear in class may be asked on the next exam, so pay attention.
* ChekhovsGun:
** As early as the first dungeon, it's explained that the people in control can create "cognitive existences" of other people. Basically copies of a person that's shown as the master of the palace sees them (such as the sexily clad copy of Ann that Kamoshida makes), or wants them to be, and this comes up from time to time. [[spoiler:This is later used to save the Protagonist from the traitor, because the police station is Sae's Palace, and she is the master of it, so the team relies on her having a cognitive copy of the protagonist in that room, so that the traitor "kills" them, then thinks they're dead.]]
** Used again in a darker note after that. [[spoiler:In Shido's Palace, a cognitive version of Akechi as Shido sees him (an expendable but obedient underling) appears, and because Shido was planning to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness kill him in the end]], he ends up killing the real one.]]
** During the second Palace's arc, Morgana mentions that it's possible to slip into the Metaverse without realizing it if it's an area with minimal cognitive distortion (i.e. looks like reality). [[spoiler:Tricking the traitor into doing this later forms a key part of the Thieves' plan to fake the protagonist's death.]]
** When Joker takes a group selfie before boarding the plane to Hawaii, Futaba messages them to tell them that Ryuji still has rheum in his eyes. Just as they're wondering how she knew that, Futaba explains that she sneaked an app on the protagonist's phone that lets her access the camera remotely. [[spoiler:This is the same trick that the Phantom Thieves will use to monitor the traitor's phone calls later on.]]
** In the Casino, Futaba makes two identification cards. The alias for the first, "Taro Tanaka," is considered too generic to use (since it's more or less equivalent to "John Doe"), so she gives it to Akechi for him to throw out. Akechi secretly keeps the card, and uses it to win 900,000 coins on his own, enabling the group to meet even the revised total of 1 million needed for the final passage.
* ChekhovsGunman:
** You can find Makoto hanging around the library at school long before she has any involvement in the plot.
** You can find some of Junya Kaneshiro's henchmen in Shibuya, asking if you're interested in one of the "part-time jobs" that it later turns out they're using to {{Blackmail}} students, months before it actually becomes a plot point.
** TV shows will mention Hifumi Togo, one of your later confidants, as early as June.
** Throughout most of the game you can find a "Showbiz Manager" in Shinjuku trying to recruit a young teenage girl. His jobs for her get increasingly uncomfortable as the game goes on. It's all but stated that he's the final Mementos target, [[spoiler:a manager who molests young idols.]]
** [[spoiler:Similarly to the Showbiz Manager, there's a homeless man in the Underground Walkway in Shibuya that you can talk to throughout the game and seems to know more than he lets on. As it happens, he's a target in Mementos as well, being an ex-mercenary that's now a hitman.]]
** You first see Haru very briefly during the fireworks festival cutscene, and you meet her again during the ClassTrip to Hawaii.
** [[spoiler:The head of TheConspiracy, Masayoshi Shido, turns out to be the guy responsible for the Protagonist's probation. Justified by the fact that Shido was inadvertently getting in the BigBad's way, and thus they gave the person Shido had most recently wronged the power to eliminate him.]]
** [[spoiler:The woman that Shido molested at the beginning of the game is brought up again near the end of the game, where she testifies against Shido to ensure his imprisonment.]]
** Akechi is mentioned on television as early as April.
* ChestBurster: Shadows in dungeons change from human forms to demonic ones by having their demonic selves burst from the chests or out the backs of their human bodies, reducing it to a puddle of back and red.
* ChuckingChalk: One of the protagonist's teachers hits him in the head with a piece of chalk from straight across the room in one scene. It's possible to get a stat gain by dodging it if you have enough Proficiency.
* CityOfAdventure: Unlike the fictional settings of previous installments, ''P5'' takes place in the very real city of UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}.
* ClassTrip: Partway through the year, the party members who go to Shujin High School get to go on a trip to Hawaii. Futaba and Morgana stay at home. Yusuke, who goes to a different school, ends up joining them in Hawaii due to plane issues on his school's trip. While the third-years aren't supposed to attend (due to exams), Makoto and [[ChekhovsGunman Haru]] end up coming to serve as chaperones, since the senior faculty are tied up with the Phantom Thieves investigation.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: In series tradition, regular, "heroic" Personas have a blue sheen with white highlights, and they are summoned in bright blue flames, while the aura of Shadows and evil Personas is RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver.
* ColorMotifs: Red, in opposition to the somber ''VideoGame/Persona3''[='=]s blue and the upbeat ''VideoGame/Persona4''[='=]s yellow, to underscore ''P5'''s themes of danger and rebellion. It also heavily uses black and white for a pizazz-filled "black with white highlights" look.
* CombinationAttack:
** The "All-Out Attack", where all standing party members attack every downed enemy.
** "Random Fire", where the entire party showers random enemies in bullets.
** "Baton Pass", where one character gives their turn to another to gain bonuses like enhanced stats.
* CombinedEnergyAttack: [[spoiler:The Protagonist defeats the BigBad by combining the seven deadly sins into a bullet, which the ultimate Persona, Satanael, then shoots through its head.]]
* ConditionedToAcceptHorror:
** The Shujin High School boys' volleyball team (and honestly, the entire school) is so used to Kamoshida owning the place that they're in complete denial about his physical abuse of the students. They call it "training".
** On a slightly more amusing note, if you take your time completing Kaneshiro's Palace and draw close to the deadline, Makoto will remind you to get it done ASAP, because she has been getting her own friendly "reminders" daily via text. When asked if she's okay, she will reply that she's gotten used to it.
** Discussed during Okumura's palace, when the group wonders why the robots that serve as the cognitive versions of his employees don't try to resist. Yusuke says that the more present oppression is, the harder it is to live without it, and he learned that while living with Madarame- even after Madarame's exposure and fall from grace, Yusuke can't help but sometimes remember his teacher fondly.
* TheConspiracy: The Phantom Thieves' activities eventually attract the attention of a secret, wealthy organization that seeks to eliminate them for their knowledge of the world inside the collective unconscious.
* ContinuityNod:
** Goro Akechi is known as "the second advent of Detective Prince". The original Detective Prince was [[VideoGame/Persona4 Naoto]].
** Posters of [[VideoGame/Persona4 Rise Kujikawa]] and [[Videogame/Persona4DancingAllNight Kanami Mashita]] can be found in the Shibuya subway station.
** The traitor's black knight outfit is a corrupted version of the costumes from ''Phoenix Ranger Featherman R'', the ''Persona'' series's SuperSentai TV ShowWithinAShow that first appeared in ''VideoGame/Persona2''.
** Futaba has a set of ''Phoenix Ranger Featherman R'' figures in her room.
** Similar to ''VideoGame/Persona3'', you can occasionally catch shows on TV that are talking about or outright interviewing characters from previous games.
*** ''VideoGame/Persona2'': A detective who wears distinctive red glasses (Katsuya Suou).
*** ''VideoGame/Persona3'': A legendary gumshoe who claims to have [[VideoGame/Persona4Arena punched a bear]] (Akihiko Sanada). Also, Yukari Takeba is still in college and [[VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax still acting on the Ranger Featherman show]].
*** ''VideoGame/Persona4'': A female police cadet who apparently can use kung-fu[[note]]Chie Satonaka not only uses kung fu, but if you max out her social link, in the ending, she reveals that she's planning on joining the police[[/note]]. A convicted killer who claims he did it just because "the world is a shitty place" ([[spoiler:Tohru Adachi]]). The beautiful, young proprietress of the Amagi Inn (Yukiko Amagi). Rise Kujikawa still working as an idol at 20 years old, with a sultry and sexy persona nowadays. [[spoiler:Taro Namatame has returned to politics.]]
** [[VideoGame/Persona3 Yukari]] is still working on the ''Neo Featherman'' show.
** You can get DLC packs that let you wear the uniforms of students from [[VideoGame/{{Persona}} St. Hermelin]], [[VideoGame/Persona2 Seven Sisters]], [[VideoGame/Persona3 Gekkoukan]], and [[VideoGame/Persona4 Yasogami]].
** In Takemi's Confidant, she makes a phone call and speaks to someone she calls "Uehara-san." Considering that Takemi's calling a hospital, it's entirely likely that she's calling Sayoko Uehara, a nurse who is the Devil Social Link from the previous game.
** One of the news bulletins on the train mentions an incident at [[VideoGame/Persona3 Wild Duck Burger.]]
** The theme park [[LawyerFriendlyCameo Destiny Land]] comes from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' (and was also [[AllThereInTheManual occasionally mentioned in other games]]).
** The pharmacy in Shibuya is called the Aohige Pharmacy. This was also the name of the pharmacy at Palownia Mall in ''VideoGame/Persona3''.
* ContrivedCoincidence:
** School lessons have a weird habit of relating to whatever's going on in the story, don't they?
** The characters themselves note the astronomical odds of the fact that [[spoiler:the man responsible for the false charge against Joker, TheManBehindTheMan to Yusuke and Makoto's abusers, and the man who murdered Futaba's mother and Haru's father are all ''the same'' man - Masayoshi Shido]].
* CoolMask: All the characters' Persona turn into nifty thief masks when not in use.
* CopyAndPasteEnvironments: Most of the Mementos dungeon is a set of blocks of warped subway tunnels stuck together by random generation. The rest of the game however, [[spoiler:and the bottom of Mementos]], is custom made.
* CosmeticAward: By taking certain confidants on a date to the right place, the player may receive a gift from the confidant. Some of these confidant/location combinations can be difficult to figure out, only occurring between certain confidant levels, on certain days of the week, or after the player has already taken that confidant on a certain nuber of dates before. However, these gifts can only be used to decorate Joker's room -- there isn't even an acheivement associated with them. And to make it even worse, the shelf where most of the decorations are kept is on the wall to the camera's right in Joker's room, making them hard to see if you're not in the decorating menu.
* TheCracker: Medjed, a global organization of "hacktivists" who claim to be just by targeting corrupt businesses by stealing and destroying data. [[spoiler:The original Medjed, Futaba, was accurately this, but her "successors" are impostors using the name and reputation for personal gain; Futaba isn't thrilled about this, and it's one reason she opts to help the Phantom Thieves take them down.]]
* CrapsackWorld: There's a reason the Thieves are willing to risk everything to reform the world -- they really do have no other choice if they want to live a halfway normal life. Physically and sexually abusive predators are employed as teachers -- something both staff and ''parents'' are fully aware of and choose to do nothing about. Random accidents caused by "psychotic breaks" could end your life in an instant. The police are in the pocket of corrupt monsters, which sees innocent people arrested and real criminals allowed to go free thanks to their connections. When tragedy or injustice strikes, authority figures can't or won't protect you, bystanders are too apathetic or scared to get involved, and by the end of it you'll be so ConditionedToAcceptHorror that ''you'll'' probably be one of the faceless masses who just keep their head down in the hope that nobody dangerous notices them.
* CriticalHit: Physical attacks have a chance to deal extra damage, which is accompanied by an extended attack animation where the party member uses both their melee weapon and gun, or pops a creepy SlasherSmile if they used a Persona's physical skill instead.
** At certain confidant levels, teammates can offer to assist in downing or eliminating an enemy, provided Joker's attack didn't do this initially. This can range from a melee attack utilizing their weapon to its full extent, i.e. Ann using a NoblewomansLaugh and beating the crap out of her target, Ryuji winding up for a grand slam, Yusuke showing his skill as an IaijutsuPractitioner, etc.; or a ranged attack where both Joker and the teammate line up shots on the target, accompanied by a convenient bullseye background.
* CurbStompBattle: Happens in [[spoiler:the final battle with Satanael vs. Yaldabaoth. The latter uses his ''strongest attack'' on the party, only for Satanael to completely NoSell it, and Satanael finishes the fight [[BoomHeadshot with a single Sinful Shell to Yaldabaoth's head]].]]
* CutsceneIncompetence: The traitor's [[spoiler:death]] could have easily been avoided if the party had just used a Goho-M to escape the shadows surrounding them, assuming they have one.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: When most characters awaken to their Persona in a cutscene, they tend to incapacitate or kill every nearby Shadow instantly, which they then can't reproduce in following battles.
** [[ATasteOfPower Prologue Arsene]] has access to Eigaon and Brave Blade, two moves that are ''well beyond'' what the Arsene you ultimately start with can ever naturally learn.
** Ann uses a Shadow's {{BFS}} when she first awakens, but can only equip whips for the rest of the game.
** Goemon uses an area of effect freezing attack when Yusuke first awakens, only for Yusuke to lack Mabufu or any other multi-target ice magic in the mini-boss battle that happens seconds later.
** [[spoiler:Satanael, despite being the single most powerful Persona you can fuse in the NewGamePlus, can't obtain its Sinful Shell skill because that what it uses to kill Yaldabaoth in a very memorable cutscene. To make it available elsewhere would render everything else completely moot.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:D-F]]
* DamnYouMuscleMemory: Due to the interface overhaul in Persona 5, players who later return to previous Persona games after playing it find themselves accidentally wasting turns due to being overly familiar with the newer combat controls. Most notably, in 5 Personas are summoned with the triangle button, and in Persona 3/FES/P 4/G that same button rushes the enemy. Using skills and attacks is based on a simpler list-scrolling based UI which makes it counter-intuitive for players familiar with 5.
* DancingTheme: The main characters can be seen dancing around the city in the opening animation that plays before the title screen. The poses and spins make it look like they're ice skating on concrete.
* DareToBeBadass: How the Persona awakenings go. The Persona reaches out to the character, urging them to be honest with what they want, form a contract, and cut loose on those holding them down.
* DarkerAndEdgier:
** Compared to ''VideoGame/Persona4'', with characters receiving visible, bloody injuries, regular use of BodyHorror, the heroes being AntiHero thieves, much more dangerous antagonists and some fairly dark plot twists. As just ''one'' example, Ann's early game plot really kicks off when her friend Shiho, who is being terribly abused by Kamoshida to start with (to the point of having [[DullEyesOfUnhappiness dead-looking eyes]]), ''leaps off the top of a school building, in full view of all her classmates, including Ann''. That pretty much sets the tone for the ''entire'' game.
** It's still LighterAndSofter than ''VideoGame/Persona3'' tone wise. The topics of the game are as dark or darker than P3's, but the game manages to be generally more upbeat than the rather melancholy P3, [[spoiler:ending with an unambiguously happy ending compared to P3's BittersweetEnding.]]
* DarkReprise: Mementos' theme, "Mementos", was already pretty eerie, but it becomes more ominous and oppressive with the addition of a guitar, strings, and heavier percussion as "Freedom and Security", the theme for [[spoiler:the final Palace, the Prison of Regression, located at the bottom of Mementos. It's also used in the credits for the bad endings]].
* DarkWorld: The Metaverse is a warped version of the real world that grows and transforms based on human desires.
* DealWithTheDevil: How Persona awakening sequences are presented in this game, with a MagnificentBastard version of the character's own voice offering them a "contract" for power in exchange for unleashing their hidden vengeance / rage / etc.
** The most notable use is in Joker's awakening which is modeled after the cardinal virtue [[BiblicalMotifs Justice]], meaning divine justice as God would see it. Arséne gives him the power to uphold his sense of justice, but in doing so [[XanatosGambit he's just made a contract with a demonic entity and severed his connection to God]].
--> '''Arséne''': ''Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I. Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!''
* DeathByDespair: Present as a ''game mechanic'' -- the despair ailment causes the afflicted to not take any actions, lose SP with each turn, and eventually kill themselves. For players, this can be both useful ''and'' terrifying; in the case of the latter, should Joker get hit with this and not cured in time - it's an immediate game over. In the case of the former, [[spoiler:during Flu Season days, enemies encountered in Mementos have a random chance of being hit with despair as soon as a fight is initiated...this extends to ''ALL'' enemies excluding bosses. Which means that yes, the ''REAPER'' can be have a case of despair and kill itself in an encounter. Using this to the your advantage is accepted as the best way to rapidly gain levels.]]
* DeathGlare: The Persona critical/weakness-hitting eye cut-in is now closer to this, showing the characters' pissed off expressions from a more dynamic angle. Special contenders include [[WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises Yusuke]] and [[RedEyesTakeWarning Makoto]].
* DevelopersForesight:
** In the seventh dungeon, the player has to fight five mini bosses throughout the dungeon before securing the treasure route. After defeating the fifth mini boss, the Phantom Thieves are ready to return and call it a day. However, the Goho-M item, which normally warps the Thieves back to a dungeon entrance, cannot be used. This is so that the player cannot skip the upcoming showdown with TheDragon.
** The NonStandardGameOver scene you get for failing to complete a palace on time has slight variations depending on which palace you failed, reflecting things like which characters were involved and how Sojiro feels about you at that point.
** If you button-mash your way through the menus in the Velvet Room, there's a chance you'll cut off Caroline or Justine's dialogue, to which they'll snap at you for your rudeness and impatience.
** The silhouettes during area transitions change depending on the environment and various contexts. Sick season shows various people wearing face masks. Hot weather has people dress more lightly. The Hawaii trip will show obese people, buff people, and other styles less commonly seen in Japan. At school, there's even a chance you'll see one of your teammates like Ryuji or Ann instead of faceless silhouettes.
** If you fight the boss of the Casino Palace with only Joker, you can't do the special op to expose the boss's cheating. Instead, after awhile, Futaba calls the boss out on cheating, and this enrages them enough that they immediately go OneWingedAngel, allowing you to proceed with the fight.
** Aside from the boys, the player has the option of hanging out with several female Confidants during the last period of free time they have in Hawaii. Ryuji, Yusuke and Mishima are there by default if the player hasn't met the following requirements: Ann and Kawakami are available if their Confidants have been maxed out and they have been pursued romantically, while Makoto and Hifumi are available if they have at least Rank 5, given that they need certain social stats maxed out for the player to continue further. As such, the dates are treated differently between those groups; while Ann and Kawakami's events are appropriately romantic, Makoto and Hifumi's equivalents aren't since by this point, the player might not have the stats needed to rank their Confidants up enough to pursue them romantically, thus explaining their more friendship-based events.
*** Similarly, Haru is the default choice for the cultural festival if none of the other Confidants (Ryuji, Ann, Makoto and Kawakami) have been accordingly ranked up. As with Hawaii, the girls' events (yes, this finally includes Makoto) are more romantic this time around sans Haru's, whose Confidant hasn't even started yet.
** An interesting narrative one: In the sixth palace, you will have to temporarily leave, the reason being similar to the second and fourth palaces. In this case, [[spoiler:you'll be attending a trial in the real world]] to help erase a gate further in the dungeon. The narrative foresight comes into the potential date: If you go through the palace on November 2nd and reach the barrier, the trial is held on November 3rd, which is also Culture Day (a holiday), so normally trials wouldn't be held. This actually gets discussed by the party should this come up.
** In the fourth and seventh Palaces only, your characters can be afflicted with the Rattled status that turns them into mice, with each character's mouse form retaining their rebel mask and imitating their human form's idle pose as a way to tell them apart. [[spoiler:Akechi can't be in your team during either of these palaces, but he still has a fully functional mouse model (complete with mask and pose) just like the other characters.]]
** Just as in ''Persona 4 Golden'', the game has prepared for situations in which the player [[YourCheatingHeart has more than two girlfriends.]] Yes, this also includes one where [[UpToEleven they have relationships with every single female Confidant.]]
** Although unlikely[[note]]the Sleep ailment wears off immediately if the target receives damage[[/note]], you can actually catch [[StandardStatusEffects Sleeping]] enemies in a Hold Up, however you won't be able to Negotiate with them. After all, how can you talk with someone if they're asleep?
** Normally, each party member's code name and Arcana appear on the party status screen and in the Untouchable shopping menu. During the brief interlude between recruiting a party member and giving them their code name, the code name will be absent from both locations.
** [[invoked]]In the unlikely scenario the player [[UnwinnableByInsanity would run too low on cash to pay for the train fee]], Morgana will reveal his "secret savings" and spot him just enough to get back home.
** A minor one, but the party meets up at Leblanc to study for the finals on December, and during the conversation the question of if Joker will want to get married one day is brought up. If he's dating a party member, said girl will react accordingly to his answer and her personality. See FourthDateMarriage below for details.
** Despite being the final member of the Thieves as well as a GuestStarPartyMember, Akechi is not only able to join you in Mementos, but even has his own unique dialogue and conversations with all the others while in the Morganamobile, which are notably the only times he is shown actually bonding with the team.
* DialogueTree: Talking with party members, answering questions in class, doing part-time jobs, and negotiating with demons all involve picking multiple options from a list of potential responses.
* {{Diary}}: As part of his probation, the protagonist is forced to keep a log of his activities in a little black book he stores in his back pocket. However, the game also uses it as a meta-narrative stand in for your SavePoint.
* DifficultyLevels: You can play the game on [[EasierThanEasy Safety]], Easy, Normal, Hard and [[HarderThanHard Challenge/Merciless]]. Each mode gives enemies higher stats, and makes damage from elemental weaknesses more punishing, making battles tougher.
* DirtyCop: The cops who apprehend the protagonist drug and beat him to try and get information on his accomplices. The head of the department is also a member of TheConspiracy, and plans to kill the protagonist and their friends to protect his illicit activities. It's also mentioned that the police and prosecutors are likely to plant evidence and frame the thieves in order to pin the various deaths on them.
* DiscOneFinalDungeon: There are ''three'' different ones leading up to TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon (assuming you get the true ending). The first is [[spoiler:Niijima's Palace]] AKA the Casino Palace from the beginning of the game. You know how [[ForegoneConclusion everything will end]], only now you start to see the full picture of what happened. Assuming that you avoid the Bad Ending after this dungeon, you then proceed onto [[spoiler:Shido's Palace]], the Palace of the BigBad of the game. It features climactic battles against the BigBad and [[spoiler:Akechi]]. However, [[spoiler:assuming you've been keeping up with exploring Mementos]], after that is [[spoiler:Mementos Depths, the very bottom of Mementos and what Morgana's character arc has been building up to. However, despite TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon feel and the confrontation with the GreaterScopeVillain, the boss fight is a HopelessBossFight and the dungeon only really serves as a set-up for the actual final dungeon (assuming that you don't go for the very obvious Bad Ending choice).]]
* DiscOneNuke:
** Swift Strike is available as early as level 19 for Joker, but causing a guaranteed 3-4 light hits to all foes is a lot more powerful that it sounds. Don't be surprised if you find yourself keeping this skill on most new Persona you upgrade from.
** As expected by their DownloadableContent status, the Legacy Personas (Orpheus, Izanagi, Thanatos, Kaguya, Magatsu Izanagi, Messiah, Ariadne, Tsukiyomi, Asterius) are overpowered for how early you get them in the game -- you absolutely destroy the < level 10 enemies with the level 20-'''81''' Personas, even on Hard or Merciless difficulty. What really drives them into this territory however isn't just their strength, it's that the ''first'' summoning of any of them (even the lvl 80 personas) is entirely ''FREE'' of charge. Any summons after this should you use them in a fusion must be paid for of course, but still a free courtesy summon is insane to ignore.
** During New Game Plus, you carry over all of your money and registered Personas. This means you can summon your late game Personas from the registry as soon as you get access to it. If you hoarded money before beating the game, you can have a team full of level 70+ Persona as soon as the first Palace.
* DisproportionateRetribution:
** ''Most'' targets of the Phantom Thieves, while not all on the scale of the main bosses, generally ''are'' pretty horrible people with crimes ranging from physical abuse to power harassment. Meanwhile, the Mementos mission required to unlock the Tower Confidant involves...a guy who cheats at video games. This is especially strange considering [[spoiler:the villain of Makoto's confidant, an actual human trafficker, doesn't experience a change of heart, while this guy does]].
** Some citizens try to invoke this by asking the Phantom Thieves to change the hearts of people they have personal grudges against, like their exes. All this does is annoy the protagonists, who lament that the site is being used by others to whine about people they don't like.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[spoiler:When Futaba first awakens Necronomicon, it produces tentacles that abduct her and bring her inside, simultaneously changing her into her Phantom Thief outfit.]]
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: The true villain turns out to be none other than [[spoiler:'''''Igor''''', the guy who's been your main support for creating new personas throughout the entire game. What makes this an even bigger twist is that it's not even the real Igor.]]
* {{Dojikko}}: The staff at the Akihabara maid cafe seem to be [[InvokedTrope going for this deliberately]], contributing to the creepy artificiality of the place's attempts to be cute and charming.
* DoNotAdjustYourSet: [[spoiler:Because of the recent hit to their reputation, the Thieves can't send the usual CallingCard to Masayoshi Shido. Futaba's solution is to hack into ''all of Japan's airwaves'' to broadcast their denouncement and challenge of Shido.]]
* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: After narrowly escaping from [[spoiler:Shido's Palace]], Ryuji meets up with the Phantom Thieves. After he mockingly teases Ann, Makoto, Futaba, and Haru, the girls menacingly approach him while he pleads for them to stop and the screen then fades to black for a few seconds before showing Ryuji beaten and unconscious propped up against a light pole, implying the girls had mercilessly beaten him up. [[spoiler:They were just torn up and crying over his apparent death ''5 minutes earlier'' and were furious that he was teasing them for crying.]]
** [[YourCheatingHeart Don't date more than one girl.]] [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Don't. Do. It.]] When they catch you on Valentine's Day, Sojiro and Morgana abandon you to your fate, and the game cuts to your broken and beaten ass lying on the floor of [=LeBlanc=].
** This is notably averted more often then not however compared to previous games, especially with the many minor female targets in Mementos, which consist of a lot of abusive mothers/girlfriends who need to be changed for their actions.
* DownerBeginning: Both the InMediasRes prologue and the actual beginning of the game.
** The prologue shows the Thieves completing a caper at the casino... only for Joker to be arrested due to a member of the team selling them out, and suffering violent PoliceBrutality once caught.
** The game proper opens with the protagonist being framed for assault by a man who he stopped from sexually assaulting a woman. When he arrives at Shujin Academy, he finds out the gym teacher [[StarterVillain Kamoshida]] basically owns the place: he physically abuses males who stand up to him and sexually abuses female students, and everyone is too scared to stand up to him. The protagonist and Ryuji accidentally stumble into his mental world, where his Shadow immediately decides to have them both killed, and the two barely escape with their lives. Shortly afterwards, Ann's friend attempts suicide due to Kamoshida's advances, and the three decide to become vigilantes to take him down.
* DownerEnding:
** Compared to previous games, where the downer only came through FridgeHorror, the bad ending is far more overtly brutal [[spoiler:as the protagonist is sadistically murdered by Akechi]].
** Technically, there are multiple Downer Endings- one for each Palace if you fail to clear it by the in-game deadline, as well as the one described above, and one for [[spoiler:if you choose to [[DealWithTheDevil accept Yaldabaoth's bargain towards the end of the game]].]]
* DownloadableContent: The game has multiple digital content that can be bought from the psn store.
** Costumes and music from other ''Persona'' games include ''3'' and ''4'', as well as other ''Shin Megami Tensei'' titles like ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVSTheSoullessArmy'' and even ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf''.
** Downloadable Personas include [[VideoGame/Persona3 Orpheus, Thanatos]], [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/Persona3 Messiah]]]], [[VideoGame/Persona4 Izanagi, Kaguya]], [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/Persona4 Magatsu-Izanagi]]]], [[VideoGame/Persona4Arena Asterius, Ariadne, and Tsukuyomi]], each with their own darker-colored and marginally more powerful "Picaro/Zokujin" versions.
** The US version includes the Japanese language track as a DLC.
** Other pieces of DLC include a small selection of high end recover items, like soma, and the option to play on the HarderThanHard "Challenge" difficulty from the start.
* DramaticThunder: It's only a crack of thunder with no music that accompanies the arrival of [[spoiler:Satanael, Joker's ultimate Persona]].
* DubInducedPlotHole: There are also some common sense oddities and mistranslations here and there in the English translation of the game, such as:
** In Sae's first appearance, a police officer is telling Sae in the original Japanese that they got a call from her boss, telling them to allow Sae to interrogate their prisoner. In the English version, it's translated as if the officer's telling her she's about to get a call from her boss, despite how odd it sounds for him to ask the police officer to tell Sae he'll be calling her on her personal phone, rather than asking the officer to hand Sae their own phone, or something similar.
** Shadow Kamoshida chides his guards for "mistaking [his] Ann for someone like her [the real Ann]", which is confusing because what happened was the ''exact opposite'' of what he's complaining about: his guards mistook the real Ann for his cognitive version instead of realizing she was just another "Intruder" like Joker and Ryuji. Essentially the dubbing team swapped the two Anns in this dialog somehow and didn't catch it, as in the Japanese he correctly mocks them for mistaking the real Ann for his "Princess" which was why Ann is brought to him, while the resulting line sounds more like the guards tried to take Princess Ann to the dungeons like the other intruders thinking she was the real Ann.
** Ryuji will mention his "Folks" at some points in the English translation, despite it being a plot point that his Dad left years ago and he lives alone with his single mother, who explicitly feels ashamed for having to raise him as such, even now.
** Failing to complete one specific Palace has notable differences; in the Japanese version, authorities arrive to arrest Joker after the relatives [[spoiler:found Futaba dead]] and blamed Joker for it. In the English version, they arrived because Joker was charged with blackmail, and whoever filed the complaint isn't even mentioned.
** Futaba explicitly refers to Morgana as Mona in one scene shown after her slumber when her heart is stolen. Yet, when it comes time for her to choose a code name, the rest of the team has to explain to her what a "code name" is.
* EarnYourBadEnding: You get the bad endings by failing to stop one of the abusive adults, giving up your team or Confidants to Sae, [[spoiler:and accepting Yaldabaoth's offer to use the Metaverse for their own ends.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: At first, it goes for a BittersweetEnding with [[spoiler:the Protagonist turning himself in as leader of the Phantom Thieves so that he can testify against Masayoshi Shido and ensure that he gets a guilty verdict. Because of his prior record, though, the Protagonist gets sent to juvenile hall; however, thanks to the efforts of the rest of the Thieves and the Confidants, they manage to clear him of his prior record, allowing him to go free early.]]
* EasierThanEasy: Safe Mode. In addition to making the enemies weaker and the players stronger, it's also impossible to lose. However, choosing Safe Mode locks you into that difficulty for the remainder of that playthrough.
* EasyModeMockery: Zigzagged. Choosing Safety Mode prevents you from changing the difficulty for the rest of the game, and is the only difficulty that does this. However, the game lets you see all the content no matter which mode you're playing on; during the initial difficulty selection, the game even says "this choice will not affect the story."
* EldritchLocation:
** The Metaverse, a region inside the [[MentalWorld collective unconscious]] that warps into massive, unstable structures called palaces based on the warped desires of humans and is reached using a cell phone app.
*** Mementos in particular, a manifestation of the Metaverse tied to the Shibuya subway station that's described as "everybody's palace." Its layout is constantly shifting and changing, strong winds are perpetually blowing through it, and it starts looking more and more distorted the deeper into it you explore.
** The Velvet Room, an ever-changing location existing not in space or time but inside the collective unconscious of the human psyche, returns.
* EleventhHourSuperPower: [[spoiler:Satanael, the protagonist's Ultimate Persona, is called forth with the aid of Yuki and the entire populace of Tokyo choosing to defy authority and believe in the Phantom Thieves, spurring Joker to break the chains holding down Arsene to reveal his true form. In the final battle he only has [[CoupDeGrace one move]] which [[BoomHeadshot headshots]] the final boss, but like previous games, he can be summoned using the maximum amount of fusions in the NewGamePlus.]]
* EpiphanicPrison: A major theme of the game is finding how to free yourself of the metaphorical chains society puts on you.
-->'''[[WordOfGod Katsura Hashino]]:''' We may feel some sort of suffocation in this world today, but as long as the world is comprised of relationships among humans, it is a person's character, or a group's character, that will provide the "power" to destroy that "feeling of entrapment".
** [[spoiler:Mementos Depths is the embodiment of this. The entire place is styled as a giant prison, and all the cognitive representations within it express relief that they're stuck inside because it means that they'll be safe, representing humanity's collective BystanderSyndrome.]]
* EvolutionPowerUp: Along with the standard stat and elemental resistance upgrades, your [[GuardianEntity Guardian Entities]] identities actually power up when your party members reach Rank 10 in their LevelUpAtIntimacy5 "Confidant" sub-plots; each Persona transforms from an AnthropomorphicPersonification of a {{Picaresque}} hero to a RageAgainstTheHeavens mythological figure.
* ExplosiveDecompression: Discussed in the Space Station palace. Futaba cheerfully informs the rest of the party that they won't explode when out in space, but they'll last 30 seconds, tops, if they cover their noses and mouths. Thankfully, since it's the Metaverse, the party can (and must) travel through space between airlocks without problems.
* ExtraTurn: Battles use the "One More!" system from ''Persona 3'' and ''4'' - getting a CriticalHit or exploiting an enemy's elemental weakness gives you an additional action. The new "Baton Pass" mechanic meanwhile allows you to pass this turn to any party member you've reached Confidant level 2 with.
* EyedScreen: Once again, a cut-in of just the character's eyes will appear when you perform powerful Persona attacks.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: If you execute Arsene to fuse a new Persona, he confidently states that he'll meet you again at the end of your journey and ends his speech with an EvilLaugh. It probably helps that you can bring him back for a small amount of yen. Noticeably, he's also one of the very few -if not only- Personas who don't enter a despairing pose when facing the Fusion (guillotine), Strengthening (hangman's noose), or Itemization (electric chair) devices.
* FacelessMasses: Non-important [=NPCs=] are generally far less detailed in model, most easily observed by comparing the protagonist to other generic student [=NPCs=] since he actually wears his uniform to code as they do. Look and it's easy to notice all kinds of details missing from their uniforms compared to the protagonist, theirs will come off as blurry.
* FacialHorror: When characters first awaken to their Personas, they have to rip off masks that are ''part of their faces'', causing blood to erupt as they for all intents and purposes ''rip their own skin off''.
* FakeDifficulty: More in the "time management" aspect of the game than the combat, but the game uses quite a few shortcuts to raise the player's blood pressure:
** You are regularly cheated out of free time to socialize and build stats, often without warning. Sure, you can't predict ''everything'' that will happen in the future (like Sojiro suddenly hijacking you to work in the cafe), but in a game about time management it is frustratingly common for Morgana to ''refuse'' to let you go out at night because "you must be tired". Finally, as with ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and ''VideoGame/Persona4'', [[spoiler:the story ends after nine months instead of the promised year]]. As a result, similar to the rest of the series, it is ''very'' difficult to max all stats and clear all Confidants without either a guide or NewGamePlus, even if you're familiar with the series.
** Persona negotiation is largely a matter of chance -- you may eventually work it out, but probably not until well into your playthrough.
*** With a little investigation into the Personas' moods on the Enemy Analysis screen, though, you can at least get an idea of what statements to make to which creatures. If a Persona is Timid, be nice and understanding. If they're Irritable, show 'em who's boss and take no crap.
** The nature of Palaces saps SP, even you're stealthy. Thanks to MagicIsRareHealthIsCheap, a lack of magic is likely to be your main reason to retreat...which means you'll probably need to spend at least two days on a Palace even before the Calling Card is sent. Just to be sure, the puzzles often involve backtracking through areas you've already cleared out, with the Shadows having respawned in the meantime, though this becomes less so in NewGamePlus, as you'll have end-game gear to up your [[=ATK=]] and [[=DEF=]], and hopefully some SP Adhesives sold at Takemi's Clinic to negate the drain on your SP.
** The Calling Card mechanic drains an additional two days out of your calendar, as you will be unable to do anything on the day you send it, then have to commit to fighting the next day (and therefore be unable to do anything in the evening).
** Bosses will frequently use moves that you need to guard against, but will take several turns to charge up. There's not any indication that they won't do the attack immediately, so most players would typically waste turns defending because they don't know when the attack is coming.
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:In order to avoid the Bad Ending where he dies, the Protagonist exploits a phone modified by Futaba to activate the Meta-Nav app remotely, and a section of Sae's Palace that looks like the real world in order to make Akechi kill a mental projection instead.]]
* FanDisservice:
** Kamoshida has a harem of topless female volleyball students in his Palace, all writhing and moaning in ecstacy over their "king". Even Ryuji is disturbed.
** Asmodeus is a fat, misshapen demon in nothing but a crown, cape and pink speedo.
** The bunny suit overworld Shadows in the casino have grossly-exaggerated proportions and much, much too eager JigglePhysics.
** Samael is a muscular shirtless man whose muscles keep growing more and more grotesquely huge as the battle continues.
* FanCommunityNicknames:[[invoked]] In-universe, as the popularity of the Phantom Thieves rises, the Phantom Aficionado Website becomes known as [[PunnyName the "Phan-site," with its users known as "Phanboys."]]
* FastForwardMechanic: You can press start to skip cutscenes and fast forward through dialog. the dialogue fast forward even imposes VHS fast forward effects on the screen.
* FaustianRebellion: [[spoiler:Invoked. Morgana, Lavenza and Igor spend the entire game trying to help the Protagonist use his abilities to destroy the very BigBad that empowered and manipulated him.]]
* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: [[spoiler:There are seven palaces, two which are made by women: Futaba Sakura and Sae Niijima. The men who own Palaces and get reformed (Suguru Kamoshida, Ichiryuusai Madarame, Junya Kaneshiro, Kunikazu Okumura, and Masayoshi Shido) have long abused their positions of power and the people around them. Meanwhile...]]
** [[spoiler:Sae's only real "crime" is her ardent SecondPlaceIsForLosers mentality that has stemmed from pressure at her job and being unfairly compared to her sister, and she's otherwise by-the-book when taking on the Phantom Thieves case. Unlike the other targets, whom the Thieves seek to punish for their crimes, the Thieves target her at Akechi's suggestion, to prevent the investigation from closing in on them, and Makoto also does so in hopes of helping her sister be happier and rediscover her sense of justice, even if she finds it quite painful to face Leviathan. Not only is Sae the only target who ''doesn't'' get her treasure stolen (as she reforms on her own), but she allies herself with the thieves after Akechi is outed as the traitor.]]
** [[spoiler:As for Futaba, she ''deliberately'' targeted herself, as she wanted the thieves to steal her heart so that she could be rid of her suicidal impulses and put an end to her shut-in lifestyle. In fact, the main problem was that Futaba was blaming herself for something that wasn't in any way her fault.]]
** Regarding the Shadows of women who appear in Mementos, however, this is still present, but downplayed. There's a much closer to even mix of men and women culprits in that dungeon, and the women are legitimately bad people who need to change - but there's a gap in how evil the men are versus how evil the women are. The women range from stalkers to abusive mothers and girlfriends, while the shadows of men in Mementos include murderers and sexual abusers.
* FlashStep: One of the Protagonist's field abilities allows him to quickly move from cover to cover in the blink of an eye.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Shortly before the [[WhamEpisode climax of the fifth palace]], Kawakami comments during a lesson on the danger of [[spoiler:crows]] -- cunning creatures who shouldn't be underestimated.
** Among the seemingly unimportant lessons towards the end includes one that brings up [[spoiler:the Holy Grail, which turns out to be one form of the Final Boss]].
** There are numerous hints that [[spoiler:Goro Akechi]] is not who he seems to be.
*** He overheard the group discussing pancakes at one point. [[spoiler:Except it was Morgana who said it. And only those who been to the Metaverse can understand him.]]
*** At one point, you have the option to respond to his statement that Joker and his friends are suspicious by saying [[NoYou that he's the suspicious one]]. For a second, Akechi freezes up in shock before laughing it off. [[spoiler:For a moment, he may have thought the Phantom Thieves were on to him and panicked before realizing Joker was being sarcastic.]]
*** [[spoiler:Despite his appearance on the main poster, he's the only one who doesn't appear in the opening.]]
*** The library carries books on the Persona of each party member as they join. [[spoiler:You can never check out a book on Robin Hood.]]
*** In the chat program, everyone's icon is a color of the rainbow (protagonist's is red) [[spoiler:except Akechi's, which is a shade of gray.]]
*** Around the time of Kaneshiro's Palace, there's a cutscene in which [[spoiler:Akechi comes across Makoto, seemingly by chance, and takes it as an excuse to be needlessly snide and insulting to her, despite being very polite and charming in his previous appearances]]. It's an early indication that [[spoiler:Akechi is a lot more two-faced than he's initially presented as being]].
** There are numerous hints that [[spoiler:Igor]] is not who he seems to be.
*** When you first meet him, he says, "[[spoiler:Welcome to ''my'' Velvet Room]]" instead of "[[spoiler:Welcome to ''the'' Velvet Room]]".
*** [[spoiler:He is never shown fusing Personas, always leaving the dirty work to Justine and Caroline.]]
*** [[spoiler:He's extremely vague about what the protagonist's "rehabilitation" actually entails, and dodges the question every time you try to ask him to clarify.]]
*** [[spoiler:In the game over messages, Igor generally laments your demise. In this game, Igor mocks you and calls your end "foolish".]]
*** [[spoiler:The Velvet Key, something the protagonist of every Persona game since ''VideoGame/Persona3'' gets upon their first visit to the Velvet Room, is never given to the protagonist by Igor. Instead it's given by Lavenza (though it's called the "Cell Key" in this game) on the last day of the game as the FriendshipTrinket for maxing out the Strength Confidant.]]
*** And of course, [[spoiler:the most obvious giveaway is that his voice is drastically different from the real Igor.]]
** The original quartet has a short discussion outside the second Palace about how easy it is to mistake the real world for the Metaverse. [[spoiler:This comes into play again in the final moments of their gambit against Akechi, counting on him not noticing that he's slipped into Sae's Palace when he moves to kill the Protagonist.]]
** TV programs report on employees of various fast food companies losing their minds and committing various crimes as early as May, hinting at reveals much later in the story regarding [[spoiler:Haru's father being involved with the conspiracy and the nature of Black Mask's abilities.]]
** On the school trip overseas, Mishima gets dragged around by Ryuji to hit on girls all day long. By the evening he regrets that decision due to seeing Ryuji as too different from him and wonders if getting a girlfriend would be the only way to escape from future events. By the time Valentines Day rolls around, you discover that [[spoiler:he is too busy to hang out with you and Ryuji, [[ThrowTheDogABone implying that he got some chocolate from a girl.]]]]
** During the arc where you are being threatened by Medjed, your research reveals that Medjed is the name of an Egyptian god. Then, seemingly unrelated, [[spoiler:Futaba's dungeon is Egyptian themed. And she is a big computer whiz.]] Turns out that [[spoiler:Futaba was the original Medjed before copycats started co-opting the name and she changed to a new, also Egyptian themed, name.]]
** One of the skits in Mementos has Haru praising the [[FanNickname Morgana-mobile]]'s interior, to which Makoto comments "If I were to buy a car, it would be one like this." [[spoiler:Sure enough, in the GoodEnding's epilogue, Makoto is seen driving a Citroën Type-H, a.k.a. the real life panel van the Morgana-mobile is based off.]]
** Both [[spoiler:Shadow Madarame and Shadow Kaneshiro]] remark that [[spoiler:there's another Metaverse-user running around. Shadow Kaneshiro]] also warns the Phantom Thieves that 'a chance encounter with them may prove fatal.' [[spoiler:Sure enough, encountering them does prove fatal in the Bad Ending.]]
** Though subtle, at the buffet on May 5th you eavesdrop on a TV station president and an IT company president. [[spoiler:Both of them are members of Shido's conspiracy and appear as minibosses in his Palace. Given that Shido is also in the hotel on that day, it's likely that they were having a shady meeting that resulted on the plan to boost the Phantom Thieves' popularity in preparation to later use them as scapegoats for the Mental Shutdown cases.]]
** On August 28th, Futaba visibly reacts when Akechi confides to Joker over his coffee that he was passed from foster home to foster home as a kid. It's later revealed during Sojiro's Confidant that [[spoiler:Futaba suffered horribly under the "care" of several of her relatives after her mother's passing, her uncle being by far the worst of them all, until Sojiro managed to gain custody of her after throwing a lot of money at him.]]
** On the early morning of October 28th, politician Masayoshi Shido is seen giving a speech in Shibuya criticizing the government for their lack of strong countermeasures against the Phantom Thieves until just recently, calling the current administration obsolete and comparing the country to a "ship that's bound to a roting dock and destined to sink." [[spoiler:If the player was paying attention to it, it's quite possible to figure out the shape of his Palace before even the party once Shido gets outed as the leader of the conspiracy.]]
* FourthDateMarriage: {{Implied|Trope}}. During a break from their group study session at Leblanc by the end of the game, it's revealed that all four girls in the Phantom Thieves are ''very'' comfortable with the idea of marrying the protagonist someday were any of them to be in a relationship with him. SaveScumming through Joker's [[DialogueTree three possible answers]] to Ryuji's question about his opinion on marriage gives the player a good idea of each girl's thoughts on the matter:
** Makoto seems to think Joker is a ConfirmedBachelor in the making because she will be pleasingly (if embarrassedly) surprised or look painfully unsurprised depending on whether he likes the idea of marriage or not. That or letting out an annoyed "Oh, come on" if he dodges the question.
** Haru is stuck speechless with emotion if Joker confesses that he's thought about getting married someday, but answering the opposite will prompt a downcast look out of her as she reasons, mostly with herself, that they're still in high school after all. She'll try to ask for elaboration in case of a NonAnswer, only for [[InnocentlyInsensitive Yusuke]] to soon change the subject.
** Similarly to Haru, if Joker shows no interest in marriage, Ann will awkwardly argue that's not something he could know for sure just yet. Or blush and giggle to herself if it's the other way around. A noncommittal answer will leave her at a loss, unsure of what he meant by that.
** Futaba apparently never considered the possibility before, and will let out a startled "M-M-M-Marriage...!?" if her boyfriend says he did. As it was the case with Joker's LoveConfession in her Confidant, this is just the surprise talking and she will become despondent if he either says he's never thought about getting married or doesn't give the team a straight answer.
* TheFourGods: The four elemental animal guardians Seiryu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu return as enemies and recruitable Persona. You can also fuse Kohryu after completing Sojiro's Social Link.
* FramingDevice: The protagonist's interrogation is an interesting variation of one. All but one of the in-game months that make up the protagonist's probation are recanted to Sae during his interrogation, which starts at the beginning of the game. [[spoiler:Whenever you advance the story by taking out a big target, and every time you initiate a Confidant link, the game skips forward to the interrogation, where Sae asks the protagonist to give her the details. While it's made clear that the protagonist mentions how the targets are taken out and all of the supernatural elements that entail, he leaves out names (both party members and Confidants) for everyone involved - in fact, if you decide to sell out your friends and confidants at the very end of the interrogation, you get a [[MultipleEndings bad ending.]] Eventually you get to the point where you infiltrate the same casino Palace seen at the very beginning of the game and get captured, and it's revealed that the thieves deliberately let the protagonist get captured in order to get Sae on their side and out detective Goro Akechi as a member of TheConspiracy. Should you successfully answer Sae's questions correctly, the protagonist (who had been addled with drugs up until this point) remembers his plan and initiates it, successfully escaping with Sae and going into hiding. Once the final arc begins, the framing device is no longer used.]]
* FrenchMaidOutfit: The servers at the maid cafe all wear the standard frilly black and white maid outfits, as does Sadayo Kawakami in her second job.
* FreudianExcuse: The Treasure in every Palace represents one for the owner, being the physical embodiment of the desire twisting the owner's actions. By stealing it, the Phantom Thieves remove its influence, causing the owner to return to their senses.
** Kamoshida's [[spoiler:is a crown which turns into his Olympic medal, representing all the pressure he was under to live up to everyone's expectations as the hero who brought home the gold for Japan and becoming a BrokenAce.]]
** Madarame's [[spoiler:was a representation of the Sayuri painting, showing the inadequacy he felt as a fading artist compared to his younger and more talented students. Turing him into TheSvengali]]
** Kaneshiro's [[spoiler:are stacks of gold bullion that turn into a gold briefcase of fake bills, representing his insecurity from feeling poor and helpless.]]
** The fourth Palace's [[spoiler:is actually the owner, Futaba, suffering from survivor's guilt and believing she's to blame for her mother's death.]]
** Okumura's [[spoiler:is a mysterious metallic orb, which turns into the model rocket he was denied as a child due to his family's unfortunate financial situation.]]
** The sixth Palace's [[spoiler:is unrevealed, but suggested to be the police journal of Sae's father, representing the combined weight of his death, the burden of taking care of her sister, and trying to succeed in her career, which led to her becoming a borderline AmoralAttorney and overbearing towards Makoto.]]
** The seventh Palace's [[spoiler:is the steering wheel to the cruise ship the Palace is on, which turns into Shido's legislator's pin, representing Shido believing deep down that despite all his evil actions he truly can lead Japan to a better future.]]
** [[spoiler:The general populace's treasure at the Depths of Mementos is the Holy Grail, representing their subconscious desire to remain apathetic, and free from having to take responsibility for their actions.]]
* FriendshipTrinket: In your last day in town, any character whose LevelUpAtIntimacyFive "Confidant" side-quest you have maxed out will give you an item to remember them by. These items also automatically unlock late-game bonuses from their side-quest if you start a NewGamePlus.
[[/folder]]
