History ContinuityNod / VideoGames

* ContinuityNod/SonicGenerations

* ''VideoGame/DiscworldNoir'':
** Lewton mentions that the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night (from ''Literature/GuardsGuards'') has been "forcibly disbanded."
** One stained-glass window at the Temple of Small Gods represents an angel presenting a pizza (with a small bay leaf) to a prophet, a reference to a religion mentioned in ''Literature/{{Mort}}'' that believed that the Discworld was created in the image of a pizza.

* In the ''Bioshock'' prequel novel, ''Literature/BioshockRapture'', while Fontaine and his scientists, Suchong and Tenenbaum, are discussing how they might [[spoiler: use post-hypnotic suggestion to instruct Jack to obey any command if it's issued with the TriggerPhrase "Would you kindly",]] Fontaine asks Suchong [[spoiler: if the phrase would really be able to make Jack do ''anything''; he gives an example where they give Jack a puppy, which he became very attached to, and he was given the command to kill it with the phrase, to which Suchong assures him that Jack would be carry out the order.]] In ''BioshockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', as you're travelling through Rapture as Elizabeth, you find an audio diary recorded [[spoiler: when Jack was a young child. Suchong asks him if he loves the puppy they gave him, to which Jack enthusiastically says that he does, before Suchong gives him the command to snap its neck; Jack pleads to not have to kill it and cries as he eventually caves.]]

* In the ''Bioshock'' prequel novel, ''Literature/BioshockRapture'', while Fontaine and his scientists, Suchong and Tenenbaum, are discussing how they might [[spoiler: use post-hypnotic suggestion to instruct Jack to obey any command if it's issued with the TriggerPhrase "Would You Kindly."]]

** One stained-glass window at the Temple of Small Gods represents an angel presenting a pizza (with a small bay leaf) to a prophet, a reference to a religion mentioned in ''Literature/{{Mort}}'' that believed that the Discworld was created in the image of a pizza.Would you kindly",]] Fontaine asks Suchong [[spoiler: if the phrase would really be able to make Jack do ''anything''; he gives an example where they give Jack a puppy, which he became very attached to, and he was given the command to kill it with the phrase, to which Suchong assures him that Jack would be carry out the order.]] In ''BioshockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', as you're travelling through Rapture as Elizabeth, you find an audio diary recorded [[spoiler: when Jack was a young child. Suchong asks him if he loves the puppy they gave him, to which Jack enthusiastically says that he does, before Suchong gives him the command to snap its neck; Jack pleads to not have to kill it and cries as he eventually caves.]]

* In the ''Bioshock'' prequel novel, ''Literature/BioshockRapture'', while Fontaine and his scientists, Suchong and Tenenbaum, are discussing how they might [[spoiler: use post-hypnotic suggestion to instruct Jack to obey any command if it's issued with the TriggerPhrase "* ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark'':
** The BigBad of ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark3'' is revealed to be the child of the BigBad from the original ''VideoGame/{{Alone in the Dark|1992}}'' and TheDragon from ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark2''. Also, one of the villains in ''[[VideoGame/AloneInTheDarkTheNewNightmare The New Nightmare]]'' is named De Certo, after the haunted mansion in the original game.
** All 3 games in the original trilogy as well as ''The New Nightmare'' feature an "[[BeingWatched unseen being watching your character through the window]]" scene at the beginning of the game.
** Two of the characters of ''Illumination'' are said to be related to the original Carnby and Emily; the former looks quite a bit like the 2008 incarnation of the character.

*** The games feature several [=NPCs=] from the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 N64]] games. ''Ages'' mainly borrows from ''Majora's Mask'', while ''Seasons'' opts for ''Ocarina of Time'' instead.

* In ''VideoGame/SpiderMan2'', there are feathers near the top of the game's second tallest building. Why? Because that's where you fought the Vulture in the first game.
* During the fight with ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} in ''VideoGame/SpiderManWebOfShadows'', he begins asking questions about Franchise/SpiderMan's comics history to confirm he's the real Spider-Man and not under the symbiote's influence. Such questions include who declined to join the New Avengers, [[spoiler:(the answer is Daredevil)]] whose killers they tracked in Berlin,[[spoiler: (Ned Leeds)]] and who served them roast and pie. [[spoiler:(Aunt May)]]

* ContinuityNod/TheAngryVideoGameNerdAdventures

* In the ''Bioshock'' prequel novel, ''Literature/BioshockRapture'', while Fontaine and his scientists, Suchong and Tenenbaum, are discussing how they might [[spoiler: use post-hypnotic suggestion to instruct Jack to obey any command if it's issued with the TriggerPhrase "Would you kindly",]] Fontaine asks Suchong [[spoiler: if the phrase would really be able to make Jack do ''anything''; he gives an example where they give Jack a puppy, which he became very attached to, and he was given the command to kill it with the phrase, to which Suchong assures him that Jack would be carry out the order.]] In ''BioshockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', as you're travelling through Rapture as Elizabeth, you find an audio diary recorded [[spoiler: when Jack was a young child. Suchong asks him if he loves the puppy they gave him, to which Jack enthusiastically says that he does, before Suchong gives him the command to snap its neck; Jack pleads to not have to kill it and cries as he eventually caves.]]
* ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'' goes out of its way to never specifically describe any cases in the first three games, probably to avoid spoiling it for people who play ''Investigations'' first, but the continuity nods are everywhere for the older fans. A major example is that [[spoiler: flashback Manfred von Karma]] goes from ambiguously creepy to chillingly terrifying if you know that [[spoiler: he murdered Miles Edgeworth's father. If you inspect Edgeworth's flashback to the moment in the elevator, you can even pick out the second bullet hole in the wall where Miles accidentally shot von Karma in the shoulder.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
** The music in the Magmoor Caverns in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' and in the PYR sector in ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' are almost note-for-note the same as the [[LethalLavaLand Norfair]] music from ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''.
** The Torvus Undertemple music in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' being taken from the red area of Brinstar from ''Super Metroid'' as well, and the Pirate Homeworld music from ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' being taken from Crateria from ''Super Metroid''.
** Phendrana Drifts from ''Prime 1'' was remixed in both ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters'' and ''Prime 3''. And ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimePinball''. Let's just say recent ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' games are remixing a lot of music - which is no bad thing, considering how awesome the soundtracks are.
** There's the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mziw3FQkZYg Tallon Overworld theme]] from ''Metroid Prime'' which is a remix of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-2sE0Napg0 Brinstar theme]] from the original ''VideoGame/{{Metroid|1}}''.
** In the beginning of ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' you travel through the exploded ruins of Tourian from the very first game. You can revisit the escape shaft used by Samus to flee Zebes on her previous visit and remains of Mother Brain's tank. The shaft is used again as part of the escape route at the end of the game. A number of power-ups from the original were kept in their same locations. The Morph Ball, that ceiling-mounted Energy Tank just to its west, the one in Ridley's lair surrounded by the fake floors, and, retroactively, the missile pack under the ruins of Mother Brain's jar, located first in ''Super Metroid'' and then again in ''[[VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission Zero Mission]].'' And this is just scraping the tip of the iceberg.
* In ''VideoGame/UnrealIITheAwakening'', a tech tests your powered armor with a simulated deathmatch, then mentions he could sell tickets, maybe even get [[MegaCorp Liandri]] to back it. This is a reference to ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'' (which was released before this game, but takes place after in the universe's timeline) in which the gameplay and plot (such as it was) revolved around a blood sport run by the Liandri Mining Corporation.
* The dark-blue-on-light-blue humanoid robot ''VideoGame/{{Mega Man|Classic}}'' is one of the most recognizable characters in all of video gaming. ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'', the sixteenthish installment of the series, was really quite effective at getting the players' attention by coming out of a long timeskip AfterTheEnd with LaResistance being slaughtered by degenerate dark/light blue robot cyclopes.
** ''Zero'' also makes several references to earlier games in the ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series. In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it instance, the submarines in the "Hidden Base" in the first ''Zero'' bear the insignia of the Repliforce from ''VideoGame/MegaManX4''. Area Zero in ''Zero 4'' is likewise established to be the crash site of the Eurasia colony from ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'', which is now bearing natural plant life due to leftover systems from the colony.
** In ''VideoGame/MegaManZX Advent'', the "Control Center" area is very obviously the bombed-out ruins of Slither, Inc. HQ -- the final area of the original ''ZX''. In an extension, Area F in ZX is covered in snow during Aile/Vent's visit; by the time Grey/Ashe get to it in Advent, it's become a snow-free scrapyard thanks to Vulturon and a recently revived Model W. The Highway in Advent is likewise a part of Area D that borders water, and the Floating Island is a distant part of Area A brought off the ground by, you guessed it, Model W.
** ''ZX Advent'' has quite a few of these, such as the model train you're send to recover in one FetchQuest. It's identical to the trains used in various missions in the ''Zero'' series. Another mission has you recover various "artifacts" that are all from the original series, such as an Energy Balancer (from ''6'') and a Life Tank (from ''5''). Additionally, TheThreeWiseMen in the game are named after the three main roboticists from the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' series ([[EpilepticTrees and one may or may not actually be one of them]]).
* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarIV'', being the final game in the series, has several. There is a town that has a statue in honor of Alis Landale, heroine of the first game. That very same town sells expensive Alis-themed merchandise, including a replica of her sword, which can be used as a weapon for Chaz (it pretty much sucks, although it's needed for a sidequest). An optional dungeon is the wreckage of a worldship like the one ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarIII'' takes place on. Rika and Rune are (for lack of a better word) descendants of Nei and Lutz respectively. On the outskirts of town, Aiedo has a bakery with its storefront underground. The player can also visit an optional dungeon full of Musk Cats and meet their chief, Myau. Of course, none of these things are elaborated on in any way, so if you didn't ''play'' the first game, it can feel like you're missing out.
** A bigger nod is the mission in ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline'' where you have to travel through a tough dungeon run to visit a small cake shop, a nod to a sidequest in the first game where you pretty much did the same thing.
** The cake shop appears again in ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarZero'' and ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse''.
* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline'' had an occasional special limited-time event called Max Attack G. In the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse'' storyline, researchers unearth some computer code and load it into a virtual-reality system. It's the original game code for M.A.G., and PSU players are given the opportunity to run through PSO levels, meet PSO npcs, and find PSO weapons aplenty...all as a promo event that has no bearing on the main story.
* In one level of ''VideoGame/StarWarsRepublicCommando'', you can find a lightsaber on a ship that's been taken over by mercenaries. Upon seeing it, the player character alludes to Obi-Wan's "civilized weapon" line, then adds "Well, times have changed."
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters98'' features a headless Goenitz sitting in the background of the ''Black Noah'' stage, with wires coming out of his neck. In continuity, Goenitz took out Rugal Bernstein's left eye (the character to whom the stage belongs).
* ''VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom'' has a ton of these (as would be expected of a CrossOver game), with many of them being character-specific. For example, playing on a certain stage with Kyo and Benimaru results in Goro Daimon showing up in the background, a reference to the older ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' games where your teammates would watch you fight from the background and cheer you on.
* During the fight with ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} in ''VideoGame/SpiderManWebOfShadows'', he begins asking questions about Franchise/SpiderMan's comics history to confirm he's the real Spider-Man and not under the symbiote's influence. Such questions include who declined to join the New Avengers, [[spoiler:(the answer is Daredevil)]] whose killers they tracked in Berlin,[[spoiler: (Ned Leeds)]] and who served them roast and pie. [[spoiler:(Aunt May)]]
* In ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'' the player finds the statue of Darth Vader Luke toppled in ''Dark Empire'' to defeat a group of Dark Side Elite.
* ''Franchise/TombRaider'':
** In the third game, it is possible to gain entry to a secret room in Lara's mansion, which contains artifacts from her previous exploits displayed in glass cases.
** In the second game, a different secret room can be entered, which, amongst other things, contains an Egyptian cat statue, which can be seen in the Egyptian levels of the first game.
** The Creator/CrystalDynamics-developed games contain several nods to the films, such as the title art, Lara's father Richard disappearing in Cambodia, and Croft Manor coming under siege in ''Underworld'' after Lara discovers a secret chapel beneath the mansion.
* ''VideoGame/MonsterRancher'' games frequently contain references to monster species not present in that particular game, including those that haven't been seen in several games.
* The ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series is fond of making references to itself, to the point where several characters, organizations, etc. initially exclusive to the ExpandedUniverse end up playing major plot roles in the games themselves, a trend that really got going starting with ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' and ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', and which has been dramatically intensified after Creator/ThreeFourThreeIndustries took control of the franchise. A few minor examples in ''VideoGame/Halo3'' alone include the Cortana "visions", which make several references to the very first ''Halo'' book ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach''; a message from ONI Recon 111 to Miranda Keyes, which marks the first time the Office of Navel Intelligence is ever directly referenced in the games; and Cortana calling the Master Chief by his real name, which everyone who read the books already knew.
* In ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'', there's a hollow tree stump that you can try to enter, only to be told to "insert disk 23"...then disk 47...and then disk 117, none of which actually come with the game. Many players apparently took the joke seriously and called Creator/LucasArts' help line about the missing floppies: In ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'', the player can actually call the hint line and ask about the stump joke, prompting the operator to mention that she's sick and tired of people calling and asking about the stump. In ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'', you can enter a tunnel on Blood Island, and come out in that same tree stump, complete with the very same background used in the VGA version of the original game. Guybrush refuses to pass through, however, since the hole is too small for him to squeeze through, and the forests of Mêlée Island are rife with hyper-realistically rendered jaguars.
** Note that the joke is changed in the CD version. Rather then referring to the disks, Guybrush just comments about a series of catacombs. When you can check the stump in ''The Curse of Monkey Island'', you're in, well...the Goodsoup family catacomb.
** This same joke is echoed in some of Tim Schafer's games, particularly ''VideoGame/GrimFandango'' and ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' (where examining a tree stump will make Raz discover a tunnel that opens up to a system of catacombs underneath).
** Also from ''Secret'', when Guybrush introduces himself to the Lookout with "I'm Guybrush Threepwood, and I want to be a pirate!", the Lookout responds "You look more like a flooring inspector." In ''Curse'', when a ghostly bride with a thing for pirates asks Guybrush what he does for a living, our hero hastily answers "Flooring inspector."
** In the vein of the above-mentioned stump joke, ''Curse'' features another throwback to the first game: If the player repeatedly asks Guybrush to walk into the ocean on Blood Island, he will eventually comply...and wind up under the pier in Mêlée Island from the first game, seeing his past self as a corpse, having drowned. This is in reference to a puzzle in the first game, where Guybrush has ten minutes to free himself and get back out of the water before he drowns.
* A Continuity Nod is found in the Database description of the top-down shooter stages in ''VideoGame/BionicCommando: Rearmed''. It mentions that the stages "remind you of the war stories Super Joe used to tell you." Super Joe is originally from ''Commando'', an arcade game that was entirely a top-down shooter, and is the character you rescue in the NES version of ''Bionic''.
* ''VideoGame/ZorkGrandInquisitor'' is filled with references to earlier ''VideoGame/{{Zork}}'' and ''Enchanter'' games. For example, one of the {{Plot Coupon}}s is a Cube of Foundation like the ones found in ''Spellbreaker''. Also, at one point the game has the player going back in time to visit The White House, the house from the original ''Zork''. And of course, there's the ever-present threat of grues.

* ''VideoGame/Summoner2'' contains many {{Continuity Nod}}s and {{Call Back}}s to [[VideoGame/{{Summoner}} the previous game]]. Luleva and Erho, minor characters from Lenele, both make short appearances as adults, as does Empress Sihua [[spoiler: aka Flece.]]
* ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' contains a particularly obscure Continuity Nod. At one point, Amy Rose mentions something vague about her cards telling her someone would be in a certain place -- in her first appearance in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD'', her use of tarot cards to predict the future was why she was involved in the adventure in the first place, but this was promptly forgotten until the nod. ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles: The Dark Brotherhood'' contains another nod to this, where one of Amy's POW attacks is based on her ability to see the future.
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon of ''[[Website/GaiaOnline zOMG!]]'' chapter one is filled with these. The ruins of Gambino's Tower, [[KillerRabbit Grunnies]], and Labtechs all make appearances. Not to mention the fact that [[CallBack the story ties many of the older storylines]]. Other {{Continuity Nod}}s exist as well, but this is the most extreme example.
* ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'':
** In ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank'', at one point the duo are "hired" by Gadgetron to serve as the image for their new line of hoverboards. Ratchet then asks if they will receive a special discount only for the CEO to explain they have to be with the company for two years before the employee discount kicks in. If you still have a ''Ratchet & Clank'' save file while playing ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal'', which was released two years after the first game, you actually ''[[OldSaveBonus get]]'' said discount.
** Being a follow up to ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime A Crack in Time]]'' (which also had quite a few nods, in and of itself), the [[ComicBook/RatchetAndClankComic comic series]] has already had several of these, varying in importance. For example: [[spoiler: Alister's wrench and pocket watch, Vorn's comment that Veldin was "devoid of any ''real'' value, (echoing Drek's sentiment)]] the hoverboots, the semi-forgotten tether for the omniwrench...and, most heartwarming, Ratchet's belief that, despite being rather incompetent, the Galactic Rangers would lend a hand, when things went pear-shaped. And that's just the first issue.
* ''VideoGame/FatalFrame[=/=]Project Zero'':
** The first two games have no connection between them at all beyond the Camera Obscura; however, both are referenced frequently in the [[VideoGame/FatalFrameIII third game]], especially since the protagonist of the [[VideoGame/FatalFrameI first game]] is a playable character for some parts of the third. Another playable character in the the third game is the uncle of the twin protagonists from the [[VideoGame/FatalFrameII second game]].
** At one point in ''[[VideoGame/FatalFrameMaidenOfBlackWater V]]'', Miu (one of the main protagonists of the game) comments that, while her family used to have a Camera Obscura, its case is all that's left of it. This is because said Camera Obscura in her family shattered [[spoiler:during the quest Miku, her mother, took to lift the curse in the Himuro Mansion in the events of the first game.]]
* This has become very common in the more recent "Creator/TomClancy's" games. The ''VideoGame/GhostRecon Advanced Warfighter'' series, ''VideoGame/RainbowSix Vegas'' series, ''VideoGame/EndWar'', ''VideoGame/{{HAWX}}'', and ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' all contain slight references to each other, since they all take place in the same universe. The vast majority of the nods are usually quick name drops, but a notable exception can be found in ''HAWX'', where the player actively assists the Ghosts on several missions, and in turn later ''Ghost Recon'' games have you calling for air support from HAWX flights. ''Future Soldier'' and ''HAWX 2'' even depict the same conflict, albeit with [[ContinuitySnarl quite a few differences]].
** Briefing cutscenes in ''HAWX'' also have some video clips that look like they're taken straight from ''VideoGame/EndWar'', and the SLAMS anti-ballistic missile system is obviously the initial phase of the worldwide anti-missile shield the Russians in ''[=EndWar=]'' sabotage to start World War III. You can also fly the fighter plane that provides air support for the JSF in ''HAWX'', and it's even specialized for air-to-ground, although its stats make it perfectly capable of dogfighting.
** When playing as the JSF in ''[=EndWar=]'', the Ghosts make up your riflemen, whereas the EF get Rainbow.
** The later missions of ''Rainbow Six: Vegas 2'' have you assisted by an "NSA Agent", who wears all black, including a face-concealing balaclava and night-vision goggles - as close as the game can get to replicating the gear of a Splinter Cell agent. ''HAWX 2'' in turn also has a few references to Voron, the Russian equivalent to Third Echelon from later ''Splinter Cell'' games.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}} [=ReBirth=]'', despite its name, is more or less a prequel to the lesser-known MSX ''Nemesis'' arc:
** The plot is set in cosmic year 6664, 3 years before the events of ''Nemesis 2''.
** The pilot's name is James Burton, who was the protagonist of ''Nemesis 2''.
** Venom, the BigBad of ''Nemesis 2'' and ''3'', appears as James's CO.
** The powerup sounds are from ''Nemesis 2'' and ''3''.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series is rather fond of this. In the 5th game the gladiator Shoon mentions a fellow gladiator who had his eyes removed because he was too powerful, making for unbalanced matches. He was still far stronger than the others, so he was shipped off to the Island Nations and never heard from again. This isn't mentioned again in the game itself, but fans of the series may realize that he was referring to Morgan, a blind martial artist you can recruit in the first game, which takes place several years after S5 chronologically (supplemental materials reveal that Morgan's ship was wrecked, which is how he escaped and ended up in the Scarlet Moon Empire instead).
** ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'''s plot itself is a continuity nod to the second Suikoden's characters background; namely Georg, Lorelai and Killey.
** ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'' has a character that appear in the first Suikoden [[spoiler:(Ted)]]
** In ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'' you actually can visit Gregminster (the first Suikoden central city) and meet some characters from the first game too.
* While ''VideoGame/TheHouseOfTheDeadOverkill'' is mostly self-contained from its [[VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead parent franchise]]'', it includes a few more subtle callbacks to past games in the series. For example, the in-game title for Agent G's theme song is ''Suffer Like G Did'', after a [[{{Narm}} particularly]] [[MemeticMutation famous]] line from ''House of the Dead 2''.
* ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'':
** Klungo is last seen walking off into the distance, saying he's going to quit being Grunty's minion and "find easssy desssk job, maybe make ssstupid gamesss..." So, that's just SelfDeprecation coming from Rareware, right? Actually, when Klungo returns in ''Nuts 'n' Bolts'', he's managed to create a minigame called ''Hero Klungo Sssaves Teh World'', which is indeed [[StylisticSuck stupid]].
** At the end of the first game, you compete in a game show against the EvilWitch, beat her, roll the credits... then you need to fight her AFTER the credits. And if you don't have enough Jiggies to get to the top of the tower, get some more. By the way - this description is exactly correct for the second game too.
* The island of Mira, which played a major part in the first ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'' game, was conspicuously absent from the prequel, ''Baten Kaitos Origins''. However, near the end of the game, it's mentioned briefly (which probably created a small ContinuityLockOut for people who only played the prequel).
* ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror'' has the Smash ability, which lets Kirby "attack with... familiar fighting moves", specifically his moveset from his appearances in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series. Oh, and the enemy you get it from? Master Hand (who also [[spoiler:brings Crazy Hand with him in the final Mirror Shard boss fight]]).
* The ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series:
** ''VideoGame/Persona3'':
*** The game makes a number of references to the [[VideoGame/Persona1 first]] [[VideoGame/Persona2 two]] ''Persona'' games; for example, the Kirijo Group used to be part of the Nanjo Group, the latter of which was the company owned by the family of P1/P2 party member Kei Nanjo/[[CulturalTranslation Nate Trinity]]. If you make a habit of checking the TV in the dorm lounge daily, you'll occasionally watch a program that describes, although never names, many characters from ''1'' and ''2'', Nanjo included.
*** The Hermit Arcana Social Link is an online game relationship, where (in the English localization only) a player named Maya suggests the protagonist choosing "Tatsuya" as his name, and promptly remarks that's kind of [[VideoGame/Persona2 déjà vu]].
*** "The Answer", the follow-up campaign included in ''[[UpdatedReRelease Persona 3 FES]]'', has several flashbacks to the original campaign ("The Journey"). One is when Mitsuru first discovered her powers. When she uses her Persona, a scientist standing by is amazed. This scientist has no given name, but he's voiced by Creator/DanWoren, meaning it has to be Shuji Ikutski, the advisor to SEES in "The Journey".
** ''VideoGame/Persona4'' makes a few references to the previous game. The most overt is a class trip to Gekkoukan High School, the school where ''VideoGame/Persona3'' was set; various locales from the area are revisited (with the soundtrack switching back to that of P3's), a handful of Gekkoukan's staff and students from before show up again, and Rise makes a very indirect reference to one of ''3''[='s=] boss fights.
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'':
*** 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 Franchise/SuperSentai TV ShowWithinAShow that first appeared in ''VideoGame/Persona2''.
*** Futaba has a set of ''Phoenix Ranger Featherman R'' figures in her room.
*** In Tae 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 ''Persona 4''.
*** One of the news bulletins on the train mentions an incident at [[VideoGame/Persona3 Wild Duck Burger]].
** Similar to ''Persona 3'', in ''VideoGame/Persona5'' 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 (Chie Satonaka). 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.]]
** President Tanaka, a social link in ''3'', reappears in ''4'': like before, he's still selling his wares on TV for the protagonists to buy. In ''5'', he's opened a "dark net" that sells illegal goods like banned medicine and weapons.
* Almost the bread and butter of ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}''. For example, the Prism Rangers making a reappearance in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}''... and are terrified of demons because of what Etna did to them in the first game.
* ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' has a lot of CallForward versions of these. Not all of them are related to the plot of either game.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'' has plenty of such moments with regard to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', from Leonora being [[spoiler:the girl Palom was bragging to in the end sequence of the original]], to Calca and Brina's Band attack that turns them into Calcabrina, to all flashbacks to the distant past being done in the same graphical style as the SNES version of ''Final Fantasy IV'', including ''playable'' flashbacks in Porom's and [[spoiler:Golbez]]'s scenarios. Also it reveals that Biggs and Wedge from The After Years, were the two who questioned Cecil's morals at the start of the original game.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has an involved continuity, and so pulls out many continuity nods to previous games in the series and early, obsolete content. The human starting area contains five farms, the same number as you are asked to build in the same area in the human tutorial mission in ''VideoGame/WarcraftOrcsAndHumans''. Characters from all three games appear as minor [=NPCs=] in ''[=WoW=]'', although some give quests and some have become enemies. Heirloom items, special items that level up with a character and can be traded between alts, are usually references to desirable items from the original game. The most commonly referenced nod is "Hogger", a level 10 elite monster in the human starting area who is not only the first monster players need to team up for, but can be quite difficult to kill even then. These continuity mods extend to mechanics, as well: the final boss of the Ulduar instance in the second expansion, the Old God Yogg-Saron, works somewhat similarly to the Old God boss that appeared in the original game, C'Thun: the boss stays stationary in the middle of a circular room, and needs to be attacked from the inside by a small strike force before it can be damaged on the outside. Both fights are involved enough, though, that the strategies required are different.
* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' has quite a few of these in subtle details; the series article proper lists some of them.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' has a fair few of these in the overall series. A musical one occurs in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'': get into an encounter, and occasionally you can hear what sounds like the encounter music from the first game.
* In ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'' , Power Cells were the "most important Precursor artifact you could find." In the sequels, they [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome inexplicably]] [[PutOnABus disappeared]]... until ''Jak X'', when they were used for the Turbo Dash races.
* The reappearance of Steele Stadium in ''[[VideoGame/BackyardSports Backyard Baseball]]'', removed from earlier installments.

* ''VideoGame/ThunderForce V'' is set sometime after ''Thunder Force IV''. The Rynex, the protagonist ship of TFIV from a faraway galaxy, is found drifting within Earth's Solar System and its advanced technology is utilized by Earth for massive technological improvement. [[AIIsACrapshoot This goes over very badly with the AI in charge of the project.]]
* In ''VideoGame/SpiderMan2'', there are feathers near the top of the game's second tallest building. Why? Because that's where you fought the Vulture in the first game.

* This is the primary reason to load your save files from ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' to ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. Sure, there's a lot of important stuff that ports over, but almost ''every single decision'' that you made in the first game is referenced in some way. Truly, this trope is present to such a massive degree that the game feels completely different from if you just played it from scratch. This is taken to an ''[[ExaggeratedTrope even further degree]]'' if you import your [=ME1=]-derived save of [=ME2=] to ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''.
* At one point in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles: Echoes of Time'', you encounter an area covered in poisonous gas. You are provided with a small pot that can be temporarily enchanted with a barrier that keeps the poison away, requiring you to carry the pot around with you if you don't want to take damage. People who played the original Crystal Chronicles will be very familiar with a mechanic like this.
* The TrueFinalBoss of ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' and its remakes is Red, the hero of ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'', and he's highest level trainer in series history. He doesn't even speak, a nod to the fact that he was a HeroicMime.

* The ''VideoGame/NancyDrew'' game series is ''packed'' with these, from the souvenirs of past plotlines that turn up on Nancy's desk in the tutorials to newspaper and magazine headlines about celebrities she's previously investigated.
* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars'':
** The Red Zone missions include the withered husks of the Blossom Trees from ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn Tiberium Dawn]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Tiberian Sun]]''. The first GDI Washington mission also has a statue of Nick "Havoc" Parker from the ''Renegade'' FPS.
** One of the unlockable intelligence entries even quotes his negative opinion about the [[HumongousMecha Mammoth MkII's]] retirement. It also confirms that he has made Colonel in the intervening time.
* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'', the Allies' main base in Iceland is Von Esling Airbase. Von Esling was the name of the overall Allied commander way back in the first ''Red Alert'' game, in a timeline that no longer existed.
** In ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Tiberian Sun]]'', several levels have old Tiberian Dawn structures, right down to using the exact same sprites.
** In some maps there's wreckage of humvees and Obelisks from ''Tiberian Dawn'', and Nod powerplants and the wreckage of the aforementioned Mammoth Mk II from ''Tiberian Sun''.
* ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'':
** In ''Sam and Max: The City That Dares Not Sleep'', Sam recalls all the molemen he's met, including Shuv-ool and Dug from ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxHitTheRoad''.
** In the same episode, Max has an entire shelf of items from ''Sam and Max Hit the Road'' in his Inventory, including a Snuckey's pecan log, a bucket of fish, a Car Bomb game, and the roach farm from Sam and Max's office. The Flaming Max head in the room also speaks with a stereotypical New York accent similar to the one affected by Nick Jameson to voice Max in ''Sam and Max Hit the Road'', a reference which is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d if Sam examines the bucket of fish.
** In the preceding episode, ''Beyond the Alley of the Dolls'', if the player orders Max to use Psychic Ventriloquism on the jukebox in Stinky's Diner, he warbles "I remember my childhood in Brighton", the first line of Conroy Bumpus' big musical number in ''Sam and Max Hit the Road''.
** The team have Jessie James's hand mounted on the wall, an appendage used as one of the combinable items in ''Sam and Max Hit the Road''.
** In ''The Mole, The Mob and The Meatball'', one of the [[RunningGag nonsense things Sam can ask Bosco for]] is 'stray tufts of sasquatch hair', a reference to ''Hit The Road'', where tufts of sasquatch hair were the {{MacGuffin}}s used to locate the missing sasquatch.

* ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' contains a lot of nods to the GBA games. Remember the Dancing Idol? Takeru? The girl you had to save from being washed away after she had been turned into a tree? You will now.
** The mute monk, the adorable baby pirate, the PhilosophersStone, and the [[spoiler: Sol/Luna symbols in Sol Sanctum]], all come back as plot points.
** Subverted where you'd expect it most, though. The in-game retellings of the first two games' storyline suffer from in-verse [[UnreliableNarrator unreliable narration]] including casting [[HeroAntagonist Felix]] as a villain and not explaining the Fire Clan at all, making the latter look like [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere freaky dragon people from nowhere]].
* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
** In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'', you take a short trip through Birkin's laboratory facility from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''.
** In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'', Brad is killed by the eponymous abomination in front of the police station, where he appears as a zombie in ''[=RE2=]'' on a NewGamePlus.
** When Jake, Sherry, Leon, and Helena are all confronted by the [[ImplacableMan Ustanak]] in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'', Leon gives a very subtle shout-out to the Tyrant T-103 from ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 Resident Evil 2's]]'' NewGamePlus:
---> '''Leon:''' Friend of yours?
---> '''Jake:''' More like an ex-girlfriend. Guy doesn't know when to quit.
---> '''Leon:''' Welcome to the club.
** In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'', Ethan runs into a surviving villager named Luiza. This is likely a callback to the last time the series was set in a rural European village with a heavy cult presence that's been devastated by a plague--namely ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', wherein Leon has a lot of interaction with a surviving villager named Luis. Luiza plays less of a significant role in the plot than he does, but [[spoiler:both she and Luis meet pretty grisly ends.]]
* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'':
** In ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAlliedAssault'''s Behind Enemy Lines mission, you rescue the pilot of the deceased G3 officer from the first game, as well as meeting LaResistance operative Manon Batiste. In the second level of that mission, you can find the wreckage of the Greta rail cannon, in the exact same area where Patterson destroyed it. The final mission of the game takes you [[RemixedLevel back to Fort Schmerzen]].
** In ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAirborne'', during the parachute jump at the start of Operation Husky, [[VideoGame/MedalOfHonorVanguard Frank Keegan's]] C-47 can be seen falling out of the sky with one of the engines on fire.
** ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor2010'' has Sgt. Jim Patterson, the grandson of Jimmy Patterson.
* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' ends with [[spoiler: Isaac narrowly avoiding planetary-scale destruction, but as he begins to relax in the chair of his ship, he gets attacked by the hallucination of his dead girlfriend.]] ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'' ends with [[spoiler:Isaac narrowly being saved from a reactor meltdown by the female lead, Ellie. He sits down in the chair of their escape ship, relaxes, then tenses up, gets a terrified look on his face, turns towards Ellie... who is just piloting the ship and wondering why he's staring at her.]]
* The [[http://homeworld.wikia.com/wiki/Archangel-class_Dreadnought Somtaaw Archangel-class dreadnought]] in ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}} Cataclysm'' and the [[http://homeworld.wikia.com/wiki/Hiigaran_Battlecruiser Hiigaran battlecruiser]] in ''Homeworld 2'' share a similar design with two heavy ion turrets on the top and bottom. Seeing that Cataclysm is semi-canon and never gets a single reference from the sequel.
* ''VideoGame/TouhouFuujinrokuMountainOfFaith'' introduces the immigrant goddesses and their {{miko}} Sanae to Gensokyo.
** ''VideoGame/TouhouChireidenSubterraneanAnimism'''s Extra stage has Sanae reveal that Kanako was fascinated by technology from the outside world and gave [[AtomicSuperpower the powers of nuclear fusion]] to Utsuho to spur a technological revolution in Gensokyo. This means Kanako is responsible for Utsuho's brief insanity that frightened Rin who set off geysers to call the heroines down to Hell to fight Utsuho, aka ''the entire plot of Touhou 11''.
** The geysers of ''Touhou 11'' enabled the escape of the sealed-away youkai characters of ''VideoGame/TouhouSeirensenUndefinedFantasticObject'', making Kanako indirectly responsible for that game's plot, too.
** ''VideoGame/TouhouHisoutensokuChoudokyuuGinyoruNoNazoOOe'' eventually shows us what exactly that [[HumongousMecha technological revolution was for]], and even includes stages in Story Mode where the characters enter a nuclear reactor in Hell and fight Utsuho, who is powering it. That's four games so far the Moriya Shrine has been responsible for.
** Another example is in ''VideoGame/TouhouYouyoumuPerfectCherryBlossom'', when Alice greets Reimu and Marisa with familiarity, because she fought them in PC-98 exclusive ''VideoGame/TouhouKaikidanMysticSquare''.
** Heck, Marisa's "Master Spark" spell is a ContinuityNod, seeing as how she stole it from Yuuka in ''VideoGame/TouhouGensokyoLotusLandStory'', and her "Earth Light Ray" spell debuted in ''VideoGame/TouhouYumejikuuPhantasmagoriaOfDimDream'' (which is lampshaded when it's described as "a really old spell that she never expected to use again").
** Another ''Lotus Land Story'' reference happens when Yuuka returns in ''VideoGame/TouhouKaeidzukaPhantasmagoriaOfFlowerView'', and Reimu immediately accuses her of being responsible for the incident because of how she was involved in "that other one". (which, incidentally, was pretty much composed of Reimu jumping random youkai for being youkai... which is also her storyline for ''Flower View''!)
** All in all, for a series that ZUN insists isn't a series, there are a lot of these.
* In ''VideoGame/GranTurismo'', Special Stage Route 5 and Route 11 are set in the same semi-fictional city (based on Tokyo's Shuto Expressway system), and appear to have an overpass connecting them, resulting in [[UrbanLegendOfZelda rumors of an extra-long Route 16 track]]. This was partially realized with SS Route 7 in ''GT 5'', which runs over said overpass and parts of the other tracks, as well as the suspension bridge (an analog of the real-life Rainbow Bridge) previously seen in R11's background.
* In ''VideoGame/TheGodfather 2'', your Made Man told to crack a safe might comment that he thought he would have to blow the lock. In the previous game, you had to blow safes open with explosives.
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' takes this to positively ludicrous extremes, having references, {{shout out}}s, and nods to almost every place, thing, and character in Trek history, even a lot from the EU. Case in point, one of the [=NPCs=] who gives you a mission is a joined Trill named Damar Kahn, the seventh host of the Khan symbiont, who offhandedly mentions having also done research into wormholes (which is a reference to Lenara Khan (the sixth host) who appeared in an episode of Deep Space Nine).
* The ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' series is rife with them, variously played for laughs or forming some sort of plot point, or just to reward players of the previous games. This is particularly true in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryV'', with major and minor characters from all of the previous four games appear in a variety of roles or receive a name drop. The Hero's exploits are referenced throughout the series as a sort of calling card for why he's the guy for whatever trouble the current game is centered around, and he is frequently referred to by his title, Prince of Shapeir, to avoid having to give a name (particularly in installments with recorded dialog) and as a nod to his being adopted by the Sultan at the conclusion of the second game.
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' has Gordon Freeman attempting to use Kleiner's teleporter to reach the rebel base, but his pet headcrab jumps in at the last minute and causes the teleporter to go haywire. Gordon is sent to several different places, including one place underwater where he is being attacked by a monster. The teleporting events are a nod to the first ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' where the resonance cascade that Gordon started also caused him to teleport to several places before being sent back to earth.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X3 Terran Conflict]]'':
** The intro movie shows a fleet of [[AIIsACrapshoot Terraformer]] / [[RobotWar Xenon]] capital ships moving towards the Earth, viewed from the lunar surface. The same scene was shown in ''X: Beyond The Frontier'''s introduction, almost a decade prior. The player can also acquire [[VideoGame/XBeyondTheFrontier the ship that started it all]], the ''Xperimental Shuttle'', through a long chain of quests.
** In ''VideoGame/XRebirth'', the ''Albion Skunk'''s enemy contact alarms go crazy when it detects a [[ScavengerWorld salvaged]] [[spoiler: Terran]] ship in [=DeVries=], a ship which the ''Skunk'' would have fought against back in the [[GuiltFreeExterminationWar Second Terraformer War]] during ''X3: Albion Prelude'', 30 years ago.
* ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier'' has Kaguya Nanbu - her Spirit Commands feature the old-school Love (100% HP heal HP to all allies) and Miracle (a lot of powerful abilities for the cost of one spell). Nowadays, Love is a heavily-nerfed Miracle in other [=SRWs=].
* ''VideoGame/RuneFactory'':
** It begins as a humble spin-off of ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'', but starts to get comfortable with its own continuity at the third numbered installment. Particularly, a faceless [=NPC=] traveler that is pretty much a stand in for Mist of the original ''VideoGame/RuneFactory1''. She appears again in ''[[VideoGame/RuneFactory4 4]]'' with a different name, but still with her famous obsession with turnips and many other references.
** {{The Cameo}}s are chock full of their respective towns' references; from Mei's proposal of marriage with Lover Snapper, Yue's worries about Max being as large as his father when finding out a relative in Sharance is as large as his father, Barrett's story about his son and his insistence on you calling him "teacher", Raven's observation that resident elf of Selphia is similar to Daria and her rambling in the PersonalitySwap potion sub-event has her saying that she's a golden wooly.
* ''VideoGame/RhythmHeaven'' minigames often have background appearances by characters from previous games:
** At one point in Freeze Frame, you can see several characters from ''Rhythm Tengoku'' in the background.
** The Munchy Monk endless game has background appearances by the Blue Birds and the Love Lab scientists.
** The Cheer Readers game features pictures of several characters from the two previous games.
* ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' contained many [[ContinuityNod nods and references]] to [[VideoGame/Fallout1 its predecessor]], but some of the funniest were in the water chips. In the first game: MacGuffin you had to scour the wastes to find a replacement for. In the second: They come in packs of five, you can find over a hundred in an area barely a quarter into the game, and a portal into the past causes the PC to create a StableTimeLoop by breaking the chip from the first one...
* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' has nods to the previous Creator/{{Interplay|Entertainment}} games, such as Harold returning, some of the vaults you go to were actually described in a UniverseBible all the way back when the first game was made, also as tradition you get a dog named Dogmeat, the last of which was repeated in ''Fallout 4''. You can render Vault 101 uninhabitable by sabotaging its water chip in a nod to the crisis that started the first game.
* ''VideoGame/Fallout4'':
** A very huge nod to the classic games shows up in the form of [[spoiler:Konrad Kellogg. Being born around the time of ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' in the same region, Kellogg's memory contains many nods to older games. Most notably, one of the memories takes place during the foundation of the New California Republic.]]
** Calling back to ''Fallout 3'''s The Terrible Shotgun, there's a unique Combat Shotgun named Le Fusil Terribles.
** One unique Legendary Raider is named Regi Blattaria, Latin for "Roach King", which was the name of a character in ''Fallout 3''.
** [=MacCready=] will sometimes say "Tunnel Snakes Rule!", Butch [=DeLoria's=] catchphrase from ''Fallout 3''.
* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'':
** Multiple references are made to Black Isle's [[{{Vaporware}} cancelled]] ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' [[WhatCouldHaveBeen prototype]] ''[[VideoGame/FalloutVanBuren Van Buren]]'', including the NCR-Brotherhood War, Hoover Dam, Caesar's Legion, New Canaan, Joshua Graham, and the Big MT.
** The French version of ''New Vegas'' has an exclusive nod to ''Fallout 3''; one of the loading screens says that "Griffemorts" (the litreal translation of Deathclaws) are called "Écorcheurs" ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinner_(profession) Skinners]]) on the East Coast, the same name Deathclaws were given in ''3'''s French translation.
** Moira Brown's Wasteland Survival Guide from ''[=FO3=]'' appears as a skill book.
** When the Courier questions Wayne in Freeside about his attackers in the quest G.I. Blues, he says that one of them called another "Lou Tenant" which his friend Roy corrects to "Lieutenant," and says Wayne can be "dumb as a mutant." This is a reference to the Master's Lieutenant in the first game, whose mutant subordinates called him "Lou Tenant".
** The RobotBuddy ED-E is a prototype Enclave Eyebot originally from Adams Air Force Base, the site of the final battle of the ''Broken Steel'' DLC. His creator, Whitley, may have been one of the scientists killed by the Lone Wanderer there and the ''Lonesome Road'' DLC even makes clear references to Colonel Autumn's role in it's creation.
** The Divide's destruction was the result of the Courier delivering a piece of LostTechnology there from Navarro, the site of the Enclave's base in ''VideoGame/Fallout2'', which was also the intended destination of ED-E.
** In Vault 21, a picture of James and Catherine, the Lone Wanderer's parents, can be found, indicating that they may have been raised in that vault before traveling to the Capital Wasteland.
** Another nod to ''Fallout 2'' is Jas Wilkins' story of her great aunt's domesticated Deathclaw being killed by a shot to the eye, which was the work of the Chosen One.
** Marcus the Super Mutant and several retired Enclave characters return.
** Cannibal Johnson (one of the aformentioned retired Enclave remnants) mentions being witness to [[DrillSargentNasty Arch Dornan]] delivering a scathing TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to a private who'd forgotten their uniform, referencing the [[MemeticMutation memetic]] ass-chewing Dornan gave [[VideoGame/Fallout2 the Chosen One]] for not wearing Power Armor at Navarro.
** Bruce Isaac mentions Mr. Bishop, the Chosen One's bastard son. In addition, one of the dialogue options with Isaac implies that the Courier has been to New Reno.
* In ''VideoGame/TheTestamentOfSherlockHolmes'', references are made to the previous games in the series, particularly Holmes' recent conflicts with Arséne Lupin and Jack the Ripper. Late in the game, Holmes also bemoans leaving the apparently brain-dead Moriarty in the Swiss mental asylum from ''The Awakened'', given that he's up and about now...
* In ''Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku'', Goku starts at level 1 and can get up to level 25. In ''Legacy of Goku 2'', the player gets him late in the game at level 30. The level cap in that game for all characters is 50. In the final game in the trilogy, ''Buu's Fury'', Goku, the first character you play as, ''starts'' at level 60. Gohan, who you play as soon after, starts at level 55. The dichotomy here probably references Goku's intense training over the 7 years in between the two games, and Gohan's relative lack of.

* At one point in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' Regal mentions that the Toize Valley Mine connects to the Morlia Gallery, a location that is explored in ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia''.
* Speaking of the Tales series, in the UpdatedReRelease of ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', invoking this trope is how Rita unlocks her second Mystic Arte: By casting Thunder Blade against Dhaos, and then entering Overlimit Level 4, Rita will automatically cast Indignation against Dhaos, which, in a reference to the opening of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' will one-shot Dhaos, doing 9,999,999 damage to him (In short, it hits the damage cap).
* ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'' contains a number of nods to its prequel game, ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors''.
** Such as the final puzzle room in the true ending path, the "Quantum Room" simply having its door plate refer to it as "Q", much the annoyance of Tenmyouji [[spoiler: aka 999 protaganist Junpei]]. Which is a reference to [[spoiler:one of the big plot twists at the end of ''999'' where the number 9 on the door turns out to be a "q"]].
---> '''Sigma:''' The doorplate says Q? What does "Q" mean?
---> '''Tenmyouji:''' Hmph...Now someone's just being a smartass.
** More a nod to a gag, but when in the PEC Room with Clover and Tenmyouji, you can examine the pipe. If you examine it a number of times, Clover and Tenmyouji reference one of the most infamous jokes from ''999''. [[spoiler:Which makes sense considering they were two of the characters who made the joke in ''999''.]]
---> ''[Examines pipe a lot]''\\
'''Clover:''' Give me a P!\\
'''Tenmyouji:''' Give me a I!\\
'''Sigma:''' W-What the hell are you two doing...
* In ''VideoGame/YuGiOhCapsuleMonsterColiseum'', Mokuba references his Capsule Monster skills, and Ryou Bakura's stage being filled with cherry blossoms is a reference to his deceased mother and sister in the manga. When dueling Mai, Yami Yugi mentions that she can't put perfume on her pieces like she did in Duelist Kingdom.
* ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark'':
** The BigBad of ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark3'' is revealed to be the child of the BigBad from the original ''VideoGame/{{Alone in the Dark|1992}}'' and TheDragon from ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark2''. Also, one of the villains in ''[[VideoGame/AloneInTheDarkTheNewNightmare The New Nightmare]]'' is named De Certo, after the haunted mansion in the original game.
** All 3 games in the original trilogy as well as ''The New Nightmare'' feature an "[[BeingWatched unseen being watching your character through the window]]" scene at the beginning of the game.
** Two of the characters of ''Illumination'' are said to be related to the original Carnby and Emily; the former looks quite a bit like the 2008 incarnation of the character.
* ''VideoGame/DiscworldNoir'':
** Lewton mentions that the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night (from ''Literature/GuardsGuards'') has been "forcibly disbanded."
** One stained-glass window at the Temple of Small Gods represents an angel presenting a pizza (with a small bay leaf) to a prophet, a reference to a religion mentioned in ''Literature/{{Mort}}'' that believed that the Discworld was created in the image of a pizza.

* ''VideoGame/Alphadia2'' takes place 200 years after [[VideoGame/{{Alphadia}} the first game]] and numerous connections are made just within the first couple of hours: The overworld map remains the same with few minor changes, numerous towns are still standing, numerous dungeons are revisted, LegacyCharacter Enah is recognized as one of the heroes from the first game, and Millfy- the heroine- is a direct descendant of either Karim or Eclair from the first game.
* ''VideoGame/HiddenExpedition'': The prototype sub in ''Devil's Triangle'' is powered by something discovered in the previous game.
* In the ''VideoGame/DragonFable'' quest "The Risen", there's a nod toward the ''VideoGame/MechQuest'' side quest where you go to an old temple to look for fossils.
* In ''[[VideoGame/MechWarrior MechWarrior Living Legends]]'', a ''Tabletopgame/BattleTech'' game, the level Thunder Rift is based on the climatic battleground from the very first novel in the Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse - ''Decision At Thunder Rift'' - published 25 years prior.
* ''VideoGame/EndlessOcean: Blue World'' has a character mention that a new species of whale was discovered two years prior; coincidentally, ''Endless Ocean'' came out two years before, and its plot involves finding a special albino mutation of a blue whale known as the Ancient Mother (she's also a legendary find in ''Blue World'').
* During ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} Episode III'', a throw away cutscene happens when the characters are escaping Laybrinthos [[spoiler:during the part of the game where they travel back to Milita during the Third Descent Operation.]] As they're escaping, the remains of a robot come tumbling down to earth, almost hitting the party. It turns out to be one of the robots that chaos and Canaan shot down during the opening cutscenes of ''Episode II''. Especially made obvious, since chaos apologizes for it when it crashes.
* ''VideoGame/SoundtrackAttack'':
** Before entering level seven of Mask Island, Amethyst comments about how it'd be a nice place to live if they weren't running for their lives. Steven agrees and mentions [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E30IslandAdventure the time he, Lars and Sadie spent there]].
** At the fifth level of the Sky Spire, Steven gawks at a "giant woman temple", causing Pearl to ask if [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E12GiantWoman Opal]] was really that impressive.
** Amethyst adds "Yeah, step off!" to Garnet's BadassBoast against the player character's superior, in reference to her saying "yeah, ''back'' off" after Garnet demands the Homeworld Gems leave in "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E48TheReturn The Return]]".
** Before the seventh level of The Desert, Steven excitedly points out that [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E10StevensLion this is the place they found Lion]].
** Before the seventh level of Rose's Fountain, Pearl fawns over the place, to which Amethyst remarks that it's a [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E24AnIndirectKiss great place to heal cracked gems]].
* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' series:
** In ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyoFever Fever]]'', when Raffina meets Yu, she tells her "Good luck dancing without any legs!" Come ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo15thAnniversary 15th Anniversary]]'', Suketoudara says the exact same line in Yu and Rei's story, with a lampshade from Yu.
--->'''Yu:''' Hmm... What's this strange feeling of déjà vu?
** ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo2 2]]'' has more than a few nods to the first game, such as a {{Personality Swap}}ped version of the ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo1992 arcade game]]'''s Arle vs. Draco scene. Arle brings back the exchange in ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo20thAnniversary 20th Anniversary]]'' in Draco's story.
** ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyoChronicle Chronicle]]'' has one involving Schezo: You find him in a treasure chest in an aqueduct, and he proclaims he was hiding in there to let himself dry after falling into the stream. This isn't the first time it's happened; he once fell into a river, and took shelter in a chest in ''BOX'' while his clothes drip dried in the background. Even Schezo himself is aware of this déjá vu.
* In the "Minerals" level of ''VideoGame/HeavenlyBodies'', you can find the telescope you spent an early level launching into space stuck in an asteroid.

* ''VideoGame/MrSaitou'' likes to make nods to characters and events from [[VideoGame/{{Rakuen}} the previous game]]:
** A shop advertising Panky's Bakery from the last game can be found outside the subway station.
** In the previous game, the Korshal Farmer complains that the Pungent Onion living in his house smells bad and never leaves. In this game, the Pungent Onion can be found hanging out in a cave, saying that the Farmer finally kicked him out so he could clean the house.
* In ''VideoGame/IronMan3TheOfficialGame'', one of the many A.I.M. forces sent against Tony appear to be modified Hammer Drones from ''Film/IronMan2'', specifically the army model.

* In the Bioshock prequel novel, ''Literature/BioshockRapture'', while Fontaine and his scientists, Suchong and Tenenbaum, are discussing how they might [[spoiler: use post-hypnotic suggestion to instruct Jack to obey any command if it's issued with the TriggerPhrase "Would you kindly",]] Fontaine asks Suchong [[spoiler: if the phrase would really be able to make Jack do ''anything''; he gives an example where they give Jack a puppy, which he became very attached to, and he was given the command to kill it with the phrase, to which Suchong assures him that Jack would be carry out the order.]] In ''BioshockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', as you're travelling through Rapture as Elizabeth, you find an audio diary recorded [[spoiler: when Jack was a young child. Suchong asks him if he loves the puppy they gave him, to which Jack enthusiastically says that he does, before Suchong gives him the command to snap its neck; Jack pleads to not have to kill it and cries as he eventually caves.]]

* ''Videogame/DieHardVendetta'', based on the ''Die Hard'' movie series and set five years after the third film contains references to the past three movies.
** '''Film/DieHard'''

---> '''John''': I never thought they'd let me back here.\\

** '''Film/DieHard2'''

** '''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'''

* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters '98'' features a headless Goenitz sitting in the background of the ''Black Noah'' stage, with wires coming out of his neck. In continuity, Goenitz took out Rugal Bernstein's left eye (the character to whom the stage belongs).

* During the fight with ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} in ''VideoGame/SpiderManWebOfShadows'', he begins asking questions about Franchise/SpiderMan's comics history to confirm he's the real Spider-Man and not under the symbiote's influence. Such questions include who declined to join the New Avengers, [[spoiler:(the answer is Daredevil)]]whose killers they tracked in Berlin,[[spoiler: (Ned Leeds)]] and who served them roast and pie. [[spoiler:(Aunt May)]]
* In ''[[VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga Jedi Academy]]'' the player finds the statue of Darth Vader Luke toppled in ''Dark Empire'' to defeat a group of Dark Side Elite.

** In ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKainSoulReaver'', one area contains an enormous skull toppled to the ground, which those who played ''VideoGame/{{Blood Omen|LegacyOfKain}}'' would recognize as part of the first big dungeon that Kain goes through. Later games, with their use of time travel, has Kain and Raziel ending up alongside other big events in the series; for example, Raziel's slaughtering of the six Sarafan inquisitors in ''[[Videogame/LegacyOfKainSoulReaver2 Soul Reaver 2]]'' coincides with Vorador's attack on the Circle of Nine.

** ''VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming'' opens with a much older-looking Travis giving Alex a lift into Shepherd's Glen. ([[SarcasmMode Thanks a bunch, Travis.]]) Arguably, Pyramid Head's {{Cameo}} can be seen as a continuity nod as well.

** Begins as a humble spin-off of ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'', starts to get comfortable with its own continuity at the third numbered installment. Particularly, a faceless [=NPC=] traveler that pretty much a stand in for Mist of the original Rune Factory. She appears again in [[VideoGame/RuneFactory4 4]] with a different name, but still with her famous obsession for turnip and many other references.
** TheCameo have a choke full of their respective towns' references; from Mei's proposal of marriage with Lover Snapper, Yue's worries about Max being as large as his father when finding out a relative in Sharance is as large as his father, Barrett's story about his son and his insistent for you to call him teacher, Raven's observation that resident elf of Selphia is similar to Daria and her rambling in the PersonalitySwap potion sub-event has her saying that she's a golden wooly.

** ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTsu Tsu]]'' has more than a few nods to the first game, such as a {{Personality Swap}}ped version of the ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo1992 arcade game]]'''s Arle vs. Draco scene. Arle brings back the exchange in ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo20thAnniversary 20th Anniversary]]'' in Draco's story.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'': When FLUDD examines Mario upon their first meeting, he manages to register events about some of the plumber's fights against Bowser, namely from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''.

* In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'', there's a Shroob from ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime Partners in Time]]'' sitting in the Fawful Theater.
** You can actually ''fight'' two Shroobs in Bowser's Castle. The characters even reference events from ''Partners in Time''.
** Bowser retains several of his moves from ''Bowser's Inside Story'', like the sliding punch and rolling move, when you face him in ''Dream Team''.
* Main series ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' games generally avoid using {{Continuity Nod}}s, but Princess Peach's Castle has had the same general design since it appeared in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''.

%%** One example of Continuity Nod DOES exist in the main platformers. In ''Super Mario 64'', the first level has one star won from racing against Koopa the Quick, who offers a rematch at his home turf. Twelve levels later, you reach Tiny-Huge Island, where Koopa the Quick awaits for the rematch.

** In ''VideoGame/MegaManZX Advent'', the "Control Center" area is very obviously the bombed-out ruins of Slither, Inc. HQ -- the final area of the original ''ZX''.
*** In an extension, Area F in ZX is covered in snow during Aile/Vent's visit; by the time Grey/Ashe get to it in Advent, it's become a snow-free scrapyard thanks to Vulturon and a recently revived Model W. The Highway in Advent is likewise a part of Area D that borders water, and the Floating Island is a distant part of Area A brought off the ground by, you guessed it, Model W.

* The ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series is fond of making references to itself, to the point where several characters, organizations, etc. initially exclusive to the ExpandedUniverse end up playing major plot roles in the games themselves, a trend that really got going starting with ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' and ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', and which has been dramatically intensified after Creator/ThreeFourThreeIndustries took control of the franchise.
** A few minor examples in ''VideoGame/Halo3'' alone include the Cortana "visions", which make several references to the very first ''Halo'' book ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach''; a message from ONI Recon 111 to Miranda Keyes, which marks the first time the Office of Navel Intelligence is ever directly referenced in the games; and Cortana calling the Master Chief by his real name, which everyone who read the books already knew.

* In ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'', Klungo is last seen walking off into the distance, saying he's going to quit being Grunty's minion and "find easssy desssk job, maybe make ssstupid gamesss..." So, that's just SelfDeprecation coming from Rareware, right? Actually, when Klungo returns in ''Nuts 'n' Bolts'', he's managed to create a minigame called ''Hero Klungo Sssaves Teh World'', which is indeed [[StylisticSuck stupid]].

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'' has plenty of such moments with regard to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', from Leonora being [[spoiler:the girl Palom was bragging to in the end sequence of the original]], to Calca and Brina's Band attack that turns them into Calcabrina, to all flashbacks to the distant past being done in the same graphical style as the SNES version of ''Final Fantasy IV'', including ''playable'' flashbacks in Porom's and [[spoiler:Golbez]]'s scenarios.
** Also it reveals that Biggs and Wedge from The After Years, were the two who questioned Cecil's morals at the start of the original game.

* This is the primary reason to load your save files from ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' to ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. Sure, there's a lot of important stuff that ports over, but almost ''every single decision'' that you made in the first game is referenced in some way. Truly, this trope is present to such a massive degree that the game feels completely different from if you just played it from scratch.
** This is taken to an ''[[ExaggeratedTrope even further degree]]'' if you import your [=ME1=]-derived save of [=ME2=] to ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''.

* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars'' the Red Zone missions include the withered husks of the Blossom Trees from ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn Tiberium Dawn]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Tiberian Sun]]''. The first GDI Washington mission also has a statue of Nick "Havoc" Parker from the ''Renegade'' FPS.

** Plus, in some maps there's wreckage of humvees and Obelisks from TibDawn, and Nod powerplants and the wreckage of the aforementioned Mammoth Mk II from TibSun

** ''VideoGame/TouhouHisoutensokuChoudokyuuGinyoruNoNazoOOe'' eventually shows us what exactly that [[HumongousMecha technological revolution was for]], and even includes stages in Story Mode where the characters enter a nuclear reactor in Hell and fight Utsuho, who is powering it.
*** That's four games so far the Moriya Shrine has been responsible for.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X3 Terran Conflict]]''s intro movie shows a fleet of [[AIIsACrapshoot Terraformer]] / [[RobotWar Xenon]] capital ships moving towards the Earth, viewed from the lunar surface. The same scene was shown in ''X: Beyond The Frontier'''s introduction, almost a decade prior. The player can also acquire [[VideoGame/XBeyondTheFrontier the ship that started it all]], the ''Xperimental Shuttle'', through a long chain of quests.

* ''VideoGame/{{Alphadia}}'':
** ''VideoGame/Alphadia2'' takes place 200 years after the first game and numerous connections are made just within the first couple of hours: The overworld map remains the same with few minor changes, numerous towns are still standing, numerous dungeons are revisted, LegacyCharacter Enah is recognized as one of the heroes from the first game, and Millfy- the heroine- is a direct descendant of either Karim or Eclair from the first game.

** [[BonusBoss You can actually]] ''fight'' two Shroobs in Bowser's Castle. The characters even reference events from ''Partners in Time''.

** Due to taking place between ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER|1}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound}}'' and having to do with a bit of time travel, the fangame ''[[VideoGame/CognitiveDissonance MOTHER: Cognitive Dissonance]]'' has nods to all three games in the main series.
** ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound}}'' has a few references to the first game in the forms of music. The first time you leave your house during the day, "Pollyanna" (the outdoor theme from ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER|1}}'' before you get any other party members) plays for a few bars before segueing into the Onett theme. For Ness's eight Sanctuaries, the places where he finds the Eight Melodies, uses a remix of Queen Mary's Lullaby, aka the original Eight Melodies.
** Even ignoring the identity of the final boss, ''VideoGame/Mother3'' still has a good number of nods to ''VideoGame/EarthBound''. The Friend's Yoyo and Real Bat being references to Ness's choice of weaponry is one, but one of the funnier ones is the various "useless" actions the [[spoiler:Porky Bots]] can take, which area ll basically the same as the useless "attacks" that [[DirtyCoward Pokey]] would take when he was on your team in Earthbound, but with "Mechanical" appended somewhere. Like "Mechanically pretended to cry", or "suggested a mechanical truce" or "flashed a mechanically insincere smile".

* In the Bioshock prequel novel, ''Literature/BioshockRapture'', while Fontaine and his scientists, Suchong and Tenenbaum, are discussing how they might [[spoiler: use post-hypnotic suggestion to instruct Jack to obey any command if it's issued with the TriggerPhrase "Would you kindly,"]] Fontaine asks Suchong [[spoiler: if the command would really be able to make Jack do ''anything''; he gives an example where they give Jack a puppy to raise, which he became very attached to, and issue the command to kill it with the phrase, to which Suchong assures him that he would be carry out the order.]] In ''BioshockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', as you're travelling through Rapture as Elizabeth, you find an audio diary recorded [[spoiler: when Jack was a young child. Suchong asks him if he loves the puppy they gave him, to which Jack enthusiastically says that he does, before Suchong gives him the command to snap its neck; Jack pleads to not have to kill it and cries as he eventually caves.]]

* In the Bioshock prequel novel, ''Literature/BioshockRapture'', while Fontaine and his scientists, Suchong and Tenenbaum, are discussing how they might use the fetus Jasmine Jolene had them take out of her, who would later become Jack, to obey any command if it's issued with the TriggerPhrase "Would you kindly," Fontaine asks Suchong if the command would really be able to make Jack do ''anything''; he gives an example where they give Jack a puppy to raise, which he became very attached to, and issue the command to kill it with the phrase, to which Suchong assures him that he would be carry out the order. In ''BioshockInfinite/BurialAtSea'', as you're travelling through Rapture as Elizabeth, shortly before adult Jack arrives and kicks off the events of the first game, you find an audio diary recorded when Jack was a young child. Suchong asks him if he loves the puppy they gave him, to which Jack enthusiastically says that he does, before Suchong gives him the command to snap its neck; Jack pleads to not have to kill it and cries as he eventually caves.

** ''VideoGame/TouhouChireidenSubterraneanAnimism'''s Extra stage has Sanae reveal that Kanako was fascinated by technology from the outside world and gave the powers of [[ILoveNuclearPower nuclear fusion]] to Utsuho to spur a technological revolution in Gensokyo. This means Kanako is responsible for Utsuho's brief insanity that frightened Rin who set off geysers to call the heroines down to Hell to fight Utsuho, aka ''the entire plot of Touhou 11''.