History MythologyGag / Persona

!''Persona'' games having their own pages:

''VideoGame/Persona5'' has its own [[MythologyGag/Persona5 page]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''
** During the King's Game Scene (which just so happens to take place in the "Club Escapade" nightclub from ''Persona 3''), Chie compares Naoto to a detective from a film she once saw. The detective in question? Kuzunoha, of the ''Devil Summoner'' series (not to mention ''Persona 2''!). It just so happens that Naoto looks a lot like [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy a certain Devil Summoner]].
*** Note that this particular gag is solely a product of the North American localization; the original Japanese was a reference to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosuke_Kindaichi Kindaichi]] [[Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles family]], which would be equivalent in the English-speaking world to a Literature/SherlockHolmes reference.
*** During that same scene, Rise mentions that a surprise midnight performance at the same night club was canceled due to a power outage. If you played ''Persona 3'' you can probably guess that this happened on the night when Arcana Hermit attacked Club Escapade, which is confirmed by Shinjiro in ''Persona Q''. The rest of the Port Island sequence is mostly filled with overt references to the previous game as well.
** The Entire ''Void Quest'' Dungeon is ''full'' of these, particularly in the boss fight against [[spoiler:Shadow Mitsuo]], which directly lifts attack menus from the original ''Megami Tensei''.
*** Not to mention one of the floor dialogues has Mitsuo's mother lift lines from the protagonist's mother from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' as well, mentioning sirens keeping her awake and a request to buy coffee. Whether it really happened or if it's another twisted manifestation isn't entirely clear. [[spoiler:It gets even creepier when the next floor twists the dialogue.]]
** ''[[UpdatedRerelease Persona 4 Golden]]'' essentially turns the game's plot into a big InternalHomage to Megami Tensei I and II, by way of the new character, Marie. She's an amnesiac girl trying to discover who she was. [[spoiler: As it turns out, she's a part of [[BigBad Izanami]], and when you beat her in the FinalBattle, Marie is restored to her [[ArcWords true self]] of Izanami-no-Mikoto.[[note]][[ObligatoryJoke You might say]] that Marie went through a "[[TitleDrop Goddess Reincarnation]]", hm? Or perhaps just a "[[VideoGame/MegamiIbunrokuPersona Goddess Revelation]]"...[[/note]]]] Why is this significant? Well, the main characters of ''Megami Tensei'' were unknowingly the reincarnations of [[spoiler: Izanagi and Izanami. Your persona is Izanagi. Marie is Izanami]]. You have more ShipTease with Marie than any other girl, and the game allows you to romance her [[UsefulNotes/{{Polyamory}} alongside another girl]] without being punished for it. It's hard to believe this is for any other purpose than to further the MythologyGag given the aforementioned characters were the OfficialCouple of their game.

** The North American localization contains an in-game MMORPG that's a giant mythology gag to the first two ''Persona'' games. The game is named "Innocent Sin Online", after ''Innocent Sin'', the subtitle of the first half of ''VideoGame/Persona2'' and a game that was [[NoExportForYou never released in the West]] until the remake for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable was released in 2011. When you first log on, you get a message from Phil. -- short for Philemon, a [[{{God}} major supporting character]] from the original ''Persona'' series. You start off in Lunarvale Hospital -- Lunarvale is what the city in the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}'' was named for the US release, and its hospital was the first dungeon. A girl you meet in the game suggests you name your character "Tatsuya", and renames herself "Maya", the protagonists of ''Persona 2: Innocent Sin'' and ''Eternal Punishment'' respectively, and major party members in each other's game.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' has a number of references to other Atlus-made games.
** Ryuji's thief outfit is a WholeCostumeReference to the recurring ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' Demon Hell Biker.
** The protagonist can play a video game called ''Star Forneus 1988''. [[Literature/ArsGoetia Forneus]] is a recurring Demon in the ''SMT'' series, appearing ever since ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI''. The "star" is another Goetia Demon, Decarabia, who was a friend of Forneus in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne''.
** In one scene, Yusuke and the protagonist pose like the demon Orobas in the first ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI''.
** The midbosses in TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon are made up of [[spoiler:Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel and Michael, the four archangels]] from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII''.
** When Satanael descends from the heavens, he pops the iconic arms wide open AssKickingPose used by demon Lucifer in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' and the games that followed it.
** The DLC costume packs include Karukozaka High School uniforms from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'' (the SpiritualPredecessor of the ''Persona'' franchise), the school uniforms of Raidou and Kaya from ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVSTheSoullessArmy'', the casual clothes of the cast from ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', and the samurai uniforms of the heroes from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV''.
** The protagonist's code name is "Joker", which may be referencing one of the major villains of ''{{VideoGame/Persona 2}}'' of the same name.

** Another one that probably will go unnoticed, is that the maximum XP you can gain in a single fight is 65535. That's the same number you gain from fighting Lucifer in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'', which was a Mythology Gag in itself.

*** Note that this particular gag is solely a product of the North American localization; the original Japanese was a reference to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosuke_Kindaichi Kindaichi]] [[Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles family]], which would be equivalent in the English-speaking world to a SherlockHolmes reference.

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}'' contains a mythology gag itself: at the beginning of the Snow Queen quest, it's mentioned that minor character Tamaki (a student who recently transferred to the protagonist's school from her old one) is quite knowledgable about demons; if you talk to her yourself, she'll hand you a rapier and say that she used it for some stuff at her old school. Tamaki was the female protagonist of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'', the game that the ''Persona'' series spun off from.
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}''
** The North American localization contains an in-game MMORPG that's a giant mythology gag to the first two ''Persona'' games. The game is named "Innocent Sin Online", after ''Innocent Sin'', the subtitle of the first half of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' and a game that was [[NoExportForYou never released in the West]] until the remake for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable was released in 2011. When you first log on, you get a message from Phil. -- short for Philemon, a [[{{God}} major supporting character]] from the original ''Persona'' series. You start off in Lunarvale Hospital -- Lunarvale is what the city in the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}'' was named for the US release, and its hospital was the first dungeon. A girl you meet in the game suggests you name your character "Tatsuya", and renames herself "Maya", the protagonists of ''Persona 2: Innocent Sin'' and ''Eternal Punishment'' respectively, and major party members in each other's game.

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' contains a mythology gag itself: at the beginning of the Snow Queen quest, it's mentioned that minor character Tamaki (a student who recently transferred to the protagonist's school from her old one) is quite knowledgable about demons; if you talk to her yourself, she'll hand you a rapier and say that she used it for some stuff at her old school. Tamaki was the female protagonist of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'', the game that the ''Persona'' series spun off from.

** The North American localization contains an in-game MMORPG that's a giant mythology gag to the first two ''Persona'' games. The game is named "Innocent Sin Online", after ''Innocent Sin'', the subtitle of the first half of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' and a game that was [[NoExportForYou never released in the West]] until the remake for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable was released in 2011. When you first log on, you get a message from Phil. -- short for Philemon, a [[{{God}} major supporting character]] from the original ''Persona'' series. You start off in Lunarvale Hospital -- Lunarvale is what the city in the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' was named for the US release, and its hospital was the first dungeon. A girl you meet in the game suggests you name your character "Tatsuya", and renames herself "Maya", the protagonists of ''Persona 2: Innocent Sin'' and ''Eternal Punishment'' respectively, and major party members in each other's game.

** The T.V. at the dorm sometimes shows a program called Who's Who. Some of the descriptions include [[VideoGame/{{Persona 2}} a Chinese man with long hair and sunglasses, someone who wants to be a cop like his older brother]], and [[VideoGame/{{Persona}} an artist with a yellow cap who is studying art overseas]].

[[redirect:MythologyGag/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona]]

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' contains a mythology gag itself: at the beginning of the Snow Queen quest, it's mentioned that minor character Tamaki (a student who recently transferred to the protagonist's school from her old one) is quite knowledgable about demons; if you talk to her yourself, she'll hand you a rapier and say that she used it for some stuff at her old school. Tamaki was the female protagonist of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'', the game that the ''Persona'' series spun off from.
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}''
** The North American localization contains an in-game MMORPG that's a giant mythology gag to the first two ''Persona'' games. The game is named "Innocent Sin Online", after ''Innocent Sin'', the subtitle of the first half of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' and a game that was [[NoExportForYou never released in the West]] until the remake for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable was released in 2011. When you first log on, you get a message from Phil. -- short for Philemon, a [[{{God}} major supporting character]] from the original ''Persona'' series. You start off in Lunarvale Hospital -- Lunarvale is what the city in the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' was named for the US release, and its hospital was the first dungeon. A girl you meet in the game suggests you name your character "Tatsuya", and renames herself "Maya", the protagonists of ''Persona 2: Innocent Sin'' and ''Eternal Punishment'' respectively, and major party members in each other's game.
** In the original Japanese version, the game was called "Devil Busters Online" and the MMO characters were named "N-jima" and "Y-riko", which were references to ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'' (the books that started the whole [[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei MegaTen]] franchise), the original ''Megami Tensei'' game (which was a direct video-game adaptation of the first of the novels), and ''VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII'' (the first [=MegaTen=] game to draw themes from the novels ''without'' being directly based on them). Understandably, the references were changed for the English release due to the fact that even most Western [=MegaTen=] fans wouldn't have gotten the joke back in 2007.
** The T.V. at the dorm sometimes shows a program called Who's Who. Some of the descriptions include [[VideoGame/{{Persona 2}} a Chinese man with long hair and sunglasses, someone who wants to be a cop like his older brother]], and [[VideoGame/{{Persona}} an artist with a yellow cap who is studying art overseas]].
** At one point you hear rumours of a ghost haunting the local shrine. The same rumours circulate around the shrine in [[VideoGame/{{Persona 2}} Innocent Sin]], and in fact they are a major plot point. And at another point, someone rubbishes the idea of [[AllMythsAreTrue rumours becoming reality]], which is ''exactly'' what happens in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}''.
** And at another point, there's a brief mention of the Kirijo family once belonging to the Nanjo Group. Nanjo was a character from the original ''Persona'' -- Nanjo was his family name -- who was roughly equivalent to Mitsuru, although his rich family was much less plot-relevant.
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''
** During the King's Game Scene (which just so happens to take place in the "Club Escapade" nightclub from ''Persona 3''), Chie compares Naoto to a detective from a film she once saw. The detective in question? Kuzunoha, of the ''Devil Summoner'' series (not to mention ''Persona 2''!). It just so happens that Naoto looks a lot like [[RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy a certain Devil Summoner]].
*** Note that this particular gag is solely a product of the North American localization; the original Japanese was a reference to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosuke_Kindaichi Kindaichi]] [[Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles family]], which would be equivalent in the English-speaking world to a SherlockHolmes reference.
*** During that same scene, Rise mentions that a surprise midnight performance at the same night club was canceled due to a power outage. If you played ''Persona 3'' [[DarkWorld you can probably guess what happened...]] (Apparently the ''P4'' cast can't experience the Dark Hour...) The rest of the Port Island sequence is mostly filled with overt references to the previous game as well.
** The Entire ''Void Quest'' Dungeon is ''full'' of these, particularly in the boss fight against [[spoiler:Shadow Mitsuo]], which directly lifts attack menus from the original ''Megami Tensei''.
*** Not to mention one of the floor dialogues has Mitsuo's mother lift lines from the protagonist's mother from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' as well, mentioning sirens keeping her awake and a request to buy coffee. Whether it really happened or if it's another twisted manifestation isn't entirely clear. [[spoiler:It gets even creepier when the next floor twists the dialogue.]]
** Another one that probably will go unnoticed, is that the maximum XP you can gain in a single fight is 65535. That's the same number you gain from fighting Lucifer in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'', which was a Mythology Gag in itself.
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' has a number of references to other Atlus-made games.
** Ryuji's thief outfit is a WholeCostumeReference to the recurring ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' Demon Hell Biker.
** The enemies are mainline ''SMT'' Demons, a la ''{{VideoGame/Persona}}'' and ''{{VideoGame/Persona 2}}''.
** The protagonist can play a video game called ''Star Forneus 1988''. [[Literature/ArsGoetia Forneus]] is a recurring Demon in the ''SMT'' series, appearing ever since ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTensei''. The "star" is another Goetia Demon, Decarabia, who was a friend of Forneus in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne''.
** In one scene, Yusuke and the protagonist pose like the demon Orobas in the first ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI''.
** The midbosses in TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon are made up of [[spoiler:Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel and Michael, the four archangels]] from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII''.
** When Satanael descends from the heavens, he pops the iconic arms wide open AssKickingPose used by demon Lucifer in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' and the games that followed it.
** The DLC costume packs include Karukozaka High School uniforms from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'' (the SpiritualPredecessor of the ''Persona'' franchise), the school uniforms of Raidou and Kaya from ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVSTheSoullessArmy'', the casual clothes of the cast from ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', and the samurai uniforms of the heroes from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV''.

* The North American localization of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' contains an in-game MMORPG that's a giant mythology gag to the first two ''Persona'' games. The game is named "Innocent Sin Online", after ''Innocent Sin'', the subtitle of the first half of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' and a game that was [[NoExportForYou never released in the West]] until the remake for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable was released in 2011. When you first log on, you get a message from Phil. -- short for Philemon, a [[{{God}} major supporting character]] from the original ''Persona'' series. You start off in Lunarvale Hospital -- Lunarvale is what the city in the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' was named for the US release, and its hospital was the first dungeon. A girl you meet in the game suggests you name your character "Tatsuya", and renames herself "Maya", the protagonists of ''Persona 2: Innocent Sin'' and ''Eternal Punishment'' respectively, and major party members in each other's game.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' has a few of these as well.

** The DLC costume packs include Karukozaka High School uniforms from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'' (the SpiritualPredecessor of the ''Persona'' franchise), the school uniforms of Raidou and Kaya from ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVSTheSoullessArmy'', the casual clothes of the cast from ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', and the samurai uniforms of the heroes from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV''.
* The original ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' contains a mythology gag itself: at the beginning of the Snow Queen quest, it's mentioned that minor character Tamaki (a student who recently transferred to the protagonist's school from her old one) is quite knowledgable about demons; if you talk to her yourself, she'll hand you a rapier and say that she used it for some stuff at her old school. Tamaki was the female protagonist of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'', the game that the ''Persona'' series spun off from.