So you know we were out there
How about some Persona 5 pointless trivia?
In development, Futaba originally had black hair. This is referenced in the game when Sojiro reveals that it is naturally black, she just dyes it orange. Like Rise in the game before her, she was also originally meant to be an actual party member, rather than just the navigator.
There's evidence to suggest that Akechi was also originally going to be a permanent party member. There is a mouse model for Akechi fully programmed in the game files, despite the fact that the "mouse" status effect is never available while Akechi is in the party, and there are sound files within the game for Akechi summoning Loki normally, in both Japanese and English, with code existing for him to be able to use Loki as a playable Persona instead of Robin Hood.
Sae Niijima was originally going to be a normal Confidant rather than a scripted one - there's unused voice files in the game with her commenting on things like the weather and saying "Hello" and "Goodbye". Unused dialogue was also found that was very romantic in nature, suggesting she may have originally been a romanceable Confidant.
Joker went through a number of different designs during the development process, including one that was basically identical to the Persona 4 protagonist but with slightly longer hair, one that looked like his final design but with slicked-back hair, one with rounder glasses and short, neat hair and one that looked extremely feminine, to the point of androgyny.
There are also several more unused voice clips for Joker in the game files, including what sounds like more level up and save lines, complaining about the weather, naming the days of the week, wondering who's calling on his phone, considering his plans for the day and loudly complaining that something is sold out.
Yusuke originally had long brown hair, which he kept partially braided over his shoulder.
Madarame was originally going to be a Bishounen around the same age as the protagonists, rather than the old man he was in the final game.
Ann's costume was originally much more of a blatant ripoff of Catwoman's, with a gunmetal-grey catsuit with racing stripes, a headband with obvious cat ears and large, red glasses which looked very similar to the red goggles Catwoman wears in many of her modern appearances. She was also originally going to ONLY use a scoped crossbow as a weapon.
Originally, Makoto was the katana user, rather than Yusuke, and her original design had her looking younger than Joker, Ryuji and Ann and wearing a cloak-and-muffler that covered her face beneath the nose. She was also originally going to be Akechi's sister.
Akechi was originally going to be a Shujin Academy student, and his design originally looked more like the Persona 4 protagonist.
Ann's final design was based on a scrapped design for Rise in Persona 4. Similarly, Iwai's design was based on a scrapped design for Kanji.
There are some early sketches that show that originally, everyone was going to wear goggles while in their thief outfits. In the final game, only Futaba wears them.
Ryuji originally had a clown mask rather than a skull mask, Ann wore a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses, and Joker's mask was originally blue.
Joker's initial Persona was originally going to be the German demon Mephistopheles. It was changed to Arsène later in development because he fit better with the "phantom thief" motif.
The section of Shido's Palace where the party are turned into mice and have to navigate a maze without alerting the guards was originally going to be in Kamoshida's Palace. Said Palace also originally looked a lot more like a twisted, medieval version of the school, rather than the medieval castle it ended up being. The boss fight originally had Kamoshida riding a chariot pulled by giant cognitive versions of the volleyball team.
Shido's Palace was originally MUCH bigger and a lot more over-the-top, featuring a rollercoaster that went into the sky, a giant Ferris wheel, a space shuttle launch pad complete with rocket and an entire CITY located at the back. It also took place at night, with Zeppelins patrolling the sky.
The plot of a benevolent god and a malevolent god playing a game to determine whether humanity is worth saving, with the malevolent god rigging it in his favour, was also used in Persona 2 between Philemon and Nyarlathotep.
In the Japanese dub, Morgana uses the archaic pronoun "wagahai" to refer to himself, which is a rather arrogant and presumptuous way of talking. While this does more or less fit Morgana's personality, it's actually common in Japanese media for talking cats to use "wagahai", as a reference to a very popular 1950s satirical novel called Wagahai wa Neko de Aru (roughly translated: I Am a Cat).
While it's never been confirmed, it's a popular fan theory that Futaba is on the autism spectrum. Her English voice actor, Erica Lindbeck, also believes this and portrayed Futaba that way.
Yusuke's English voice actor, Matthew Mercer, has said in an interview that he believes Yusuke is bisexual and most likely has a crush on the protagonist.
Ann's English voice actor, Erika Harlacher, supports shipping Ann with Ryuji. Back when the game was in development, there was a rumour going around that Ann would end up with Ryuji if the protagonist didn't romance her.
Hifumi Togo, the Star Confidant, was originally planned to be a party member, and she would have been the strategist of the party instead of Makoto - it's also very possible she was originally going to be "Queen", considering that she's still referred to as "queen" many times in her Confidant. When the game development went on for a lot longer than intended, her role was reduced and she became merely a Confidant, with her role as a party member going to the already-existing Makoto character.
Joker was originally going to live in the same apartment building as Makoto and Sae, rather than above Café LeBlanc. This explains why the Niijimas have a relatively developed apartment "set", compared to many other homes barely being seen. The apartment in which you first meet Becky/Kawakami was most likely Joker's original apartment, repurposed for that single scene (since it would be very unlikely for them to make an entirely new apartment set just for one scene).
Café LeBlanc was originally going to be the Phantom Thieves' first (and possibly only) base of operations, rather than the fourth and final as it was in the final game.
There now exists a real-life version of the Phansite that Mishima created, which can be found at https://phansite.net/ and there is a version of the IM app that the protagonist uses available for Android phones. Also, the headphones that Futaba uses are going to be released by Atlus Japan in cooperation with AKG.
Futaba's name is a reference to Futaba Channel, a spinoff of the popular text-based discussion board 2channel. The board software that runs 2chan is called Wakaba, which is the name of Futaba's mother (and in Japan, these boards themselves are often referred to as "wakaba-style" boards).
There are some unused security meter icons in the game, including one of a more visible Shadow Futaba and one of Wakaba herself. There are also some unused facial expressions of Akechi in his Black Mask costume and images of the Confidant Tarot cards both flipped upside down and riddled with bullet holes, suggesting that it was originally going to be possible to Reverse and Break Confidants like the Social Links in Persona 3.
The game was originally going to focus on world travel and backpacking, but then the Tohoku earthquake and nuclear accident happened, so the developers decided they should focus more on the issues facing Japanese society. Some remnants of the original idea can be seen in the Palaces, particularly Futaba's, and the school trip to Hawaii.
Futaba's Final Guard ability was originally called Last Guardian. It was possibly changed due to the PS4 game of the same name.
There are quite a few references to previous Persona games. During Takemi's Confidant, she places a call to a hospital and speaks to someone named Uehara-san, a reference to Sayoko Uehara, a nurse who was the Devil Social Link in Persona 4. Posters of Rise and Kanami can be found in various subway stations (and you can get a Rise poster from Ann as a present), showing that both are still working as an idol (Rise is mentioned to have a more sultry and sexy idol persona nowadays). One of the train news bulletins mentions Wild Duck Burger, a restaurant in Persona 3. You can also catch interviews with Persona 3 and 4 characters, including Akihiko, Yukari, Yukiko, Adachi, Chie, Rise and Namatame, on TV, though their names are never said. While the Tanaka's Amazing Commodities TV shopping program has apparently ended, Tanaka still makes a return, now as the owner of a shady online store, complete with MIDI-fied version of his signature theme song, "Jika Net Tanaka". You can receive a kumade (good luck charm) of Teddie if you romance Haru - "kumade" sounds like "kuma da", meaning "I'm Kuma (Teddie's Japanese name)", also referencing Teddie's fondness for bear puns. Akechi is referred to as the "new" Detective Prince, with the first being Naoto from Persona 4. The pharmacy in Shibuya is called the Aohige Pharmacy, which was also the name of the pharmacy in Paulownia Mall in Persona 3.
In the game, Protein-type items are used before a workout in order to increase max HP/SP gain. In real life, protein is consumed AFTER a workout in order to provide needed amino acids to muscles as they recover. However, doing this in the game would most likely confuse players, since the Protein items are also generic healing items usable in the Metaverse.
Contrary to what one of the TV quiz shows in the game says, revealing someone's criminal record is not slander. Slander, by definition, is making false statements, so as long as the criminal record actually exists, it would be considered defamation or invasion of privacy, not slander.
A very popular and well-known level up trick is known as the Reaper trick. This involves going into Mementos during Flu Season, which causes all enemies in Mementos (including the Reaper) to have a chance of starting the battle with the Despair status effect. Despair causes the afflicted to be unable to act and to die after three turns. Note: It's recommended that you advance the Star Confidant to rank 9 before attempting this, which will enable the party to escape immediately. Go to Mementos, wait around until the Reaper shows up, then get into a fight with him. If he doesn't have Despair, run away and re-enter the fight. Once he does, simply wait three turns and reap (no pun intended) the rewards.
During the school trip, Yusuke reveals that the reason he came to the same place as the others was that there was a thunderstorm that redirected his plane from the original destination of Los Angeles to Hawaii. In real life, Hawaii is a five-hour flight away from LA, and a plane flying from Japan to LA would most likely not have an extra five hours' worth of fuel aboard (they usually carry an extra two hours' worth at most). If this had happened in real life, the plane would most likely have been redirected to an airport in California, which is nearby and has a number of wide runways suitable for the typical wide-body jet used for international flights. This is slightly justified by a weather report that can be seen on the TV in Leblanc the night before the trip, which says that it's actually a typhoon (or hurricane), not a thunderstorm.
Director Sayo Yamamoto is a huge fan of figure-skating, which is why there's a lot of spinning and gliding around in the opening movie. She also directed the anime Yuri!!! on ICE, which is also about figure-skating.
Futaba's Palace itself is a huge callback to Persona 4 and Persona 3 FES. It involves the characters seeking to help someone by healing their mind, just like in Persona 4. It even ends with Futaba accepting her Shadow, which transforms into her Persona, which is exactly how the characters obtained their Personas in Persona 4. Futaba's Shadow actually being her repressed positive feelings is a throwback to Persona 3 FES, where Metis was revealed to be Aigis's repressed humanity.
Two of the paintings in Madarame's palace bear a striking resemblance to the male protagonists of Persona 3 and 4.
The Morgana-mobile is based on the Citroën Type-H, a real-life panel van. Makoto also drives one of these in the epilogue of the good ending.
In an interview, composer Shoji Meguro revealed that the reason most of the songs in the series are in English is that they're supposed to be treated as background instruments - having them in Japanese might distract Japanese players.
When opening the menu, the protagonist will put his hand out to the screen, with text reading "Don't look at me like that". This sort of pose is often used in Japan when making eye contact with fictional characters. The fact that the protagonist is doing it implies he's not the fictional one...
Sojiro's café is named after Maurice Leblanc, the author of the Arsène Lupin novels.
Ryuji's thief outfit is based on the Persona Hell Biker (called Hells Angel in Japanese).
In the song "Beneath the Mask" (which plays in Tokyo at night), the lyrics mention "Poe's masquerade". This is a reference to The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, which is the origin of the Velvet Room that appears in every Persona game.
All of the Confidant NPCs except Igor, Caroline and Justine are named after important figures in Japanese history, usually rebels who fought against societal norms in one way or another.
Most of the villains' confessions, particularly Madarame's, are based on an infamous real-life event in 2014 where a Japanese politician named Ryutaro Nonomura broke down crying after he confessed to misappropriating 3 million yen of taxpayers' funds.
The kanji for "Shujin" in "Shujin Academy" can mean either "People" or "Prisoner".
In the Japanese version, the Crossroads bar is named Nyukama, a pun on "Newcomer" and "Okama", a Japanese term for a male crossdresser. Fittingly, the owner of the bar is Lala-chan, a transgender female. The English name "Crossroads" is also a pun on "crossdressing".
Each of the bosses is a reference to one of the Nine Deadly Sins (including two non-standard ones) - Kamoshida is Lust, Madarame is Vanity, Kaneshiro is Gluttony, Wakaba is Wrath, Okumura is Greed, Sae is Envy, Akechi is Emptiness, Shido is Pride and Mementos (and the people of Tokyo within) is Sloth. The final boss, Yaldabaoth, represents all the sins, even having skills named after them, and the protagonist's ultimate Persona, Satanael, represents the positive aspects of the original seven. Quite a few of the Mementos targets also represent them, particularly Greed and Envy.
To elaborate on Yaldabaoth's attacks: Vanity causes the same effect as Madarame's paint attack (makes the target weak to all elements), Greed causes Hunger, Lust causes the target to skip a turn (but only lasts for one turn), Gluttony doubles the cost of using skills for a few turns, Wrath increases attack power but decreases defense and Envy makes whomever's affected attack an ally if they assist another ally (by healing or buffing them, for example).
Shido's palace is the National Diet building as a giant cruise ship sailing through the rest of Japan, which is completely underwater. In real estate, "underwater" is a slang term for a property with a mortgage balance that's higher than its market value, which is true of a lot of Japanese land due to a huge financial crisis in 1992.
Mementos is very similar in concept to Tartarus, being a randomly-generated dungeon with multiple floors, with barriers that disappear as the story progresses, areas named after concepts in Hebrew mysticism, and the end of it serving as the final story dungeon. Also, the Reaper attacks you if you spend too long on a single floor in Mementos, just like in Tartarus. Both dungeons are also the focus of a game-long quest to uncover the true nature of the place and why it's there.
Futaba's sleeping habits described by Sojiro after her Palace (falling asleep suddenly and for long periods of time) is actually a symptom of depression in real life, though it's exaggerated by the game for comedic and plot purposes. Real-life depressed people can often become fatigued, drowsy or otherwise tired without any reason depending on their mental state, to the point of being able to sleep in a state that would be impossible for a normal person, such as in the middle of the day in broad daylight after getting a full night's sleep.
In development, Futaba originally had black hair. This is referenced in the game when Sojiro reveals that it is naturally black, she just dyes it orange. Like Rise in the game before her, she was also originally meant to be an actual party member, rather than just the navigator.
There's evidence to suggest that Akechi was also originally going to be a permanent party member. There is a mouse model for Akechi fully programmed in the game files, despite the fact that the "mouse" status effect is never available while Akechi is in the party, and there are sound files within the game for Akechi summoning Loki normally, in both Japanese and English, with code existing for him to be able to use Loki as a playable Persona instead of Robin Hood.
Sae Niijima was originally going to be a normal Confidant rather than a scripted one - there's unused voice files in the game with her commenting on things like the weather and saying "Hello" and "Goodbye". Unused dialogue was also found that was very romantic in nature, suggesting she may have originally been a romanceable Confidant.
Joker went through a number of different designs during the development process, including one that was basically identical to the Persona 4 protagonist but with slightly longer hair, one that looked like his final design but with slicked-back hair, one with rounder glasses and short, neat hair and one that looked extremely feminine, to the point of androgyny.
There are also several more unused voice clips for Joker in the game files, including what sounds like more level up and save lines, complaining about the weather, naming the days of the week, wondering who's calling on his phone, considering his plans for the day and loudly complaining that something is sold out.
Yusuke originally had long brown hair, which he kept partially braided over his shoulder.
Madarame was originally going to be a Bishounen around the same age as the protagonists, rather than the old man he was in the final game.
Ann's costume was originally much more of a blatant ripoff of Catwoman's, with a gunmetal-grey catsuit with racing stripes, a headband with obvious cat ears and large, red glasses which looked very similar to the red goggles Catwoman wears in many of her modern appearances. She was also originally going to ONLY use a scoped crossbow as a weapon.
Originally, Makoto was the katana user, rather than Yusuke, and her original design had her looking younger than Joker, Ryuji and Ann and wearing a cloak-and-muffler that covered her face beneath the nose. She was also originally going to be Akechi's sister.
Akechi was originally going to be a Shujin Academy student, and his design originally looked more like the Persona 4 protagonist.
Ann's final design was based on a scrapped design for Rise in Persona 4. Similarly, Iwai's design was based on a scrapped design for Kanji.
There are some early sketches that show that originally, everyone was going to wear goggles while in their thief outfits. In the final game, only Futaba wears them.
Ryuji originally had a clown mask rather than a skull mask, Ann wore a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses, and Joker's mask was originally blue.
Joker's initial Persona was originally going to be the German demon Mephistopheles. It was changed to Arsène later in development because he fit better with the "phantom thief" motif.
The section of Shido's Palace where the party are turned into mice and have to navigate a maze without alerting the guards was originally going to be in Kamoshida's Palace. Said Palace also originally looked a lot more like a twisted, medieval version of the school, rather than the medieval castle it ended up being. The boss fight originally had Kamoshida riding a chariot pulled by giant cognitive versions of the volleyball team.
Shido's Palace was originally MUCH bigger and a lot more over-the-top, featuring a rollercoaster that went into the sky, a giant Ferris wheel, a space shuttle launch pad complete with rocket and an entire CITY located at the back. It also took place at night, with Zeppelins patrolling the sky.
The plot of a benevolent god and a malevolent god playing a game to determine whether humanity is worth saving, with the malevolent god rigging it in his favour, was also used in Persona 2 between Philemon and Nyarlathotep.
In the Japanese dub, Morgana uses the archaic pronoun "wagahai" to refer to himself, which is a rather arrogant and presumptuous way of talking. While this does more or less fit Morgana's personality, it's actually common in Japanese media for talking cats to use "wagahai", as a reference to a very popular 1950s satirical novel called Wagahai wa Neko de Aru (roughly translated: I Am a Cat).
While it's never been confirmed, it's a popular fan theory that Futaba is on the autism spectrum. Her English voice actor, Erica Lindbeck, also believes this and portrayed Futaba that way.
Yusuke's English voice actor, Matthew Mercer, has said in an interview that he believes Yusuke is bisexual and most likely has a crush on the protagonist.
Ann's English voice actor, Erika Harlacher, supports shipping Ann with Ryuji. Back when the game was in development, there was a rumour going around that Ann would end up with Ryuji if the protagonist didn't romance her.
Hifumi Togo, the Star Confidant, was originally planned to be a party member, and she would have been the strategist of the party instead of Makoto - it's also very possible she was originally going to be "Queen", considering that she's still referred to as "queen" many times in her Confidant. When the game development went on for a lot longer than intended, her role was reduced and she became merely a Confidant, with her role as a party member going to the already-existing Makoto character.
Joker was originally going to live in the same apartment building as Makoto and Sae, rather than above Café LeBlanc. This explains why the Niijimas have a relatively developed apartment "set", compared to many other homes barely being seen. The apartment in which you first meet Becky/Kawakami was most likely Joker's original apartment, repurposed for that single scene (since it would be very unlikely for them to make an entirely new apartment set just for one scene).
Café LeBlanc was originally going to be the Phantom Thieves' first (and possibly only) base of operations, rather than the fourth and final as it was in the final game.
There now exists a real-life version of the Phansite that Mishima created, which can be found at https://phansite.net/ and there is a version of the IM app that the protagonist uses available for Android phones. Also, the headphones that Futaba uses are going to be released by Atlus Japan in cooperation with AKG.
Futaba's name is a reference to Futaba Channel, a spinoff of the popular text-based discussion board 2channel. The board software that runs 2chan is called Wakaba, which is the name of Futaba's mother (and in Japan, these boards themselves are often referred to as "wakaba-style" boards).
There are some unused security meter icons in the game, including one of a more visible Shadow Futaba and one of Wakaba herself. There are also some unused facial expressions of Akechi in his Black Mask costume and images of the Confidant Tarot cards both flipped upside down and riddled with bullet holes, suggesting that it was originally going to be possible to Reverse and Break Confidants like the Social Links in Persona 3.
The game was originally going to focus on world travel and backpacking, but then the Tohoku earthquake and nuclear accident happened, so the developers decided they should focus more on the issues facing Japanese society. Some remnants of the original idea can be seen in the Palaces, particularly Futaba's, and the school trip to Hawaii.
Futaba's Final Guard ability was originally called Last Guardian. It was possibly changed due to the PS4 game of the same name.
There are quite a few references to previous Persona games. During Takemi's Confidant, she places a call to a hospital and speaks to someone named Uehara-san, a reference to Sayoko Uehara, a nurse who was the Devil Social Link in Persona 4. Posters of Rise and Kanami can be found in various subway stations (and you can get a Rise poster from Ann as a present), showing that both are still working as an idol (Rise is mentioned to have a more sultry and sexy idol persona nowadays). One of the train news bulletins mentions Wild Duck Burger, a restaurant in Persona 3. You can also catch interviews with Persona 3 and 4 characters, including Akihiko, Yukari, Yukiko, Adachi, Chie, Rise and Namatame, on TV, though their names are never said. While the Tanaka's Amazing Commodities TV shopping program has apparently ended, Tanaka still makes a return, now as the owner of a shady online store, complete with MIDI-fied version of his signature theme song, "Jika Net Tanaka". You can receive a kumade (good luck charm) of Teddie if you romance Haru - "kumade" sounds like "kuma da", meaning "I'm Kuma (Teddie's Japanese name)", also referencing Teddie's fondness for bear puns. Akechi is referred to as the "new" Detective Prince, with the first being Naoto from Persona 4. The pharmacy in Shibuya is called the Aohige Pharmacy, which was also the name of the pharmacy in Paulownia Mall in Persona 3.
In the game, Protein-type items are used before a workout in order to increase max HP/SP gain. In real life, protein is consumed AFTER a workout in order to provide needed amino acids to muscles as they recover. However, doing this in the game would most likely confuse players, since the Protein items are also generic healing items usable in the Metaverse.
Contrary to what one of the TV quiz shows in the game says, revealing someone's criminal record is not slander. Slander, by definition, is making false statements, so as long as the criminal record actually exists, it would be considered defamation or invasion of privacy, not slander.
A very popular and well-known level up trick is known as the Reaper trick. This involves going into Mementos during Flu Season, which causes all enemies in Mementos (including the Reaper) to have a chance of starting the battle with the Despair status effect. Despair causes the afflicted to be unable to act and to die after three turns. Note: It's recommended that you advance the Star Confidant to rank 9 before attempting this, which will enable the party to escape immediately. Go to Mementos, wait around until the Reaper shows up, then get into a fight with him. If he doesn't have Despair, run away and re-enter the fight. Once he does, simply wait three turns and reap (no pun intended) the rewards.
During the school trip, Yusuke reveals that the reason he came to the same place as the others was that there was a thunderstorm that redirected his plane from the original destination of Los Angeles to Hawaii. In real life, Hawaii is a five-hour flight away from LA, and a plane flying from Japan to LA would most likely not have an extra five hours' worth of fuel aboard (they usually carry an extra two hours' worth at most). If this had happened in real life, the plane would most likely have been redirected to an airport in California, which is nearby and has a number of wide runways suitable for the typical wide-body jet used for international flights. This is slightly justified by a weather report that can be seen on the TV in Leblanc the night before the trip, which says that it's actually a typhoon (or hurricane), not a thunderstorm.
Director Sayo Yamamoto is a huge fan of figure-skating, which is why there's a lot of spinning and gliding around in the opening movie. She also directed the anime Yuri!!! on ICE, which is also about figure-skating.
Futaba's Palace itself is a huge callback to Persona 4 and Persona 3 FES. It involves the characters seeking to help someone by healing their mind, just like in Persona 4. It even ends with Futaba accepting her Shadow, which transforms into her Persona, which is exactly how the characters obtained their Personas in Persona 4. Futaba's Shadow actually being her repressed positive feelings is a throwback to Persona 3 FES, where Metis was revealed to be Aigis's repressed humanity.
Two of the paintings in Madarame's palace bear a striking resemblance to the male protagonists of Persona 3 and 4.
The Morgana-mobile is based on the Citroën Type-H, a real-life panel van. Makoto also drives one of these in the epilogue of the good ending.
In an interview, composer Shoji Meguro revealed that the reason most of the songs in the series are in English is that they're supposed to be treated as background instruments - having them in Japanese might distract Japanese players.
When opening the menu, the protagonist will put his hand out to the screen, with text reading "Don't look at me like that". This sort of pose is often used in Japan when making eye contact with fictional characters. The fact that the protagonist is doing it implies he's not the fictional one...
Sojiro's café is named after Maurice Leblanc, the author of the Arsène Lupin novels.
Ryuji's thief outfit is based on the Persona Hell Biker (called Hells Angel in Japanese).
In the song "Beneath the Mask" (which plays in Tokyo at night), the lyrics mention "Poe's masquerade". This is a reference to The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, which is the origin of the Velvet Room that appears in every Persona game.
All of the Confidant NPCs except Igor, Caroline and Justine are named after important figures in Japanese history, usually rebels who fought against societal norms in one way or another.
Most of the villains' confessions, particularly Madarame's, are based on an infamous real-life event in 2014 where a Japanese politician named Ryutaro Nonomura broke down crying after he confessed to misappropriating 3 million yen of taxpayers' funds.
The kanji for "Shujin" in "Shujin Academy" can mean either "People" or "Prisoner".
In the Japanese version, the Crossroads bar is named Nyukama, a pun on "Newcomer" and "Okama", a Japanese term for a male crossdresser. Fittingly, the owner of the bar is Lala-chan, a transgender female. The English name "Crossroads" is also a pun on "crossdressing".
Each of the bosses is a reference to one of the Nine Deadly Sins (including two non-standard ones) - Kamoshida is Lust, Madarame is Vanity, Kaneshiro is Gluttony, Wakaba is Wrath, Okumura is Greed, Sae is Envy, Akechi is Emptiness, Shido is Pride and Mementos (and the people of Tokyo within) is Sloth. The final boss, Yaldabaoth, represents all the sins, even having skills named after them, and the protagonist's ultimate Persona, Satanael, represents the positive aspects of the original seven. Quite a few of the Mementos targets also represent them, particularly Greed and Envy.
To elaborate on Yaldabaoth's attacks: Vanity causes the same effect as Madarame's paint attack (makes the target weak to all elements), Greed causes Hunger, Lust causes the target to skip a turn (but only lasts for one turn), Gluttony doubles the cost of using skills for a few turns, Wrath increases attack power but decreases defense and Envy makes whomever's affected attack an ally if they assist another ally (by healing or buffing them, for example).
Shido's palace is the National Diet building as a giant cruise ship sailing through the rest of Japan, which is completely underwater. In real estate, "underwater" is a slang term for a property with a mortgage balance that's higher than its market value, which is true of a lot of Japanese land due to a huge financial crisis in 1992.
Mementos is very similar in concept to Tartarus, being a randomly-generated dungeon with multiple floors, with barriers that disappear as the story progresses, areas named after concepts in Hebrew mysticism, and the end of it serving as the final story dungeon. Also, the Reaper attacks you if you spend too long on a single floor in Mementos, just like in Tartarus. Both dungeons are also the focus of a game-long quest to uncover the true nature of the place and why it's there.
Futaba's sleeping habits described by Sojiro after her Palace (falling asleep suddenly and for long periods of time) is actually a symptom of depression in real life, though it's exaggerated by the game for comedic and plot purposes. Real-life depressed people can often become fatigued, drowsy or otherwise tired without any reason depending on their mental state, to the point of being able to sleep in a state that would be impossible for a normal person, such as in the middle of the day in broad daylight after getting a full night's sleep.
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