With Persona 5 Strikers out in the west, plenty of fans are finally getting to experience the next chapter in Atlus’s renowned game franchise. Serving as a direct sequel to Persona 5, players can delve back into the Metaverse with their favorite Phantom Thieves on a brand new adventure.
With such an expansive game to explore, players are sure to have missed several of the finer details littered throughout the game. Only those who stop and admire this stellar release’s craftsmanship will notice these excellent references to other franchises. There may even be a few interesting story beats worth looking back on too.
10 Yakuza: Like A Dragon Reference
One of the first references players will come across on their trip through Japan is a nod to another popular SEGA franchise. Should players stop and talk to Makoto when investigating Alice Hiiragi rumors, they’ll hear her mention a movie she’s had her eyes on. This release’s title is eerily similar to a 2020 SEGA title: Yakuza: Like A Dragon.
Those familiar with the Yakuza games will get a chuckle out of this cute nod to Ichiban Kasuga’s freshman outing.
9 Akane Is The Only Monarch You Don’t Fight
After Joker and the Phantom Thieves are lured into the Kyoto Jail, they’re forced to confront Akane Hasegawa, a child with a warped sense of justice. While she serves as the antagonist in this dungeon, Joker and his companions never actually fight her.
Instead, they face dark versions of themselves conjured by Akane’s active imagination. Apart from the Okinawa Jail that has no Monarch, it’s a detail that’s easily overlooked.
8 Anime Mark Zuckerberg
When Akira Konoe is first introduced, there’s something familiar about him, something that may take some time to pinpoint. This young technology mogul is one of the driving forces behind this adventure, one new to the franchise.
Why is it then that he seems like someone players have come in contact with before? It’s probably because he’s essentially an anime rendition of Mark Zuckerberg. While Akira’s inspiration remains unconfirmed, it’s hard to see this character modeled after any other prominent figure.
7 Futaba’s Meta Comments
One of the most endearing qualities of Futaba Sukura is her unapologetic nerdy outbursts. These may be a cute quirk of hers, but they also allude to a more Meta type of humor. She’ll reference her favorite video games in conversation or her teammates to video game protagonists. At one point, she even asks the team if they’d get a trophy for taking a trip around the country.
Persona 5 Strikers may be available on multiple platforms, but Persona 5 was a PlayStation 4 game. When an achievement is unlocked on Sony’s console, players get a trophy for their efforts. Futaba also made trophy comments in the original release, claiming that she’d get a Platinum Trophy for completing her social link with Joker. She often breaks the fourth wall with these comments, and spotting them is a treat.
6 Power Rangers References
When the Phantom Thieves spend time together at a summer festival, Ryuji buys a mask he wears with his kimono. While this accessory may look like a Power Rangers mask, you’d only be half-right with that assumption.
This mask represents the Personaverse’s version of the Power Rangers, the Phoenix Rangers. It’s a loving nod to a franchise that also got its start in Japan. Like the Persona series, Power Rangers have also found a loving home in the west.
5 A Jail’s Dark Secret
In Persona 5 Strikers, there’s only one Jail without a monarch: the Okinawa Research Facility. This is where Akira Konoe began experimenting with Jail creation, using the researchers as test subjects. Unbeknownst to them, he never planned to let them choose to participate. He was willing to torment his own workers to see his goal through.
The jail’s potential monarch took his own life after being tortured by his superior, aiming to control his life back with his final act. Zenkichi finds his body during the aftermath of this story beat, but to hear the reasoning behind this is heartbreaking.
4 Futaba’s Improvement
When the Phantom Thieves first met Futaba, she couldn’t even speak in small groups. She was meek, quiet, and anxious. It was only after they patiently worked with her that she could open up and spend time with them comfortably. This was a huge step for her, and throughout Persona 5, players get to see her grow and improve.
Futaba’s progress in Persona 5 was impressive, but in Persona 5 Strikers, she can travel in crowds without incident. She can even head to the store on her own with large groups of people around! It’s amazing to see how far she’s come after only a year with this group.
3 Several Biblical Callouts
Just like in Persona 5, there are several biblical references. The Jails are often reminiscent of one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and EMMA calls herself the Ark of the Covenant. In the Bible, this vessel was used to house the Ten Commandments: the voice of God.
As an AI who sees herself as a god, it’s not hard to see why EMMA chose this name for herself.
2 Ichinose Teaching Sophia Humming
Throughout Persona 5 Strikers, Sophia often hums when she’s happy or excited. At first, this seems like a quirk she developed independently, but players will see Ichinose, her creator, humming as she’s finalizing Sophia’s programming upon further inspection. Once Sophia is born, she often hums the same tune Ichinose did when working on her.
Even after her memory is wiped, Sophia retains this tune, humming it to herself when she’s pleased.
1 Ichinose Is A Sociopath
While most Monarchs in the game are suffering from trauma, there is something deeper troubling Ichinose. She describes her life as one devoid of empathy for others. She understands that this is an emotion that others have, but those feelings are nonexistent to her. She’s cold, calculated, and understands how to manipulate the people around her.
To retaliate against a world with emotions unlike her, Ichinose aims to aid EMMA in stripping humanity of its will. It’s a much deeper issue than most of the other bosses in the game face. While she eventually has her heart changed by the Phantom Thieves, this is one adversary with a chilling mind that will stay with players long after the credits roll.
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