Persona (video game)
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The Persona series of console role-playing games is a set of three games for the PlayStation home console from the game developer Atlus. While fairly distinct in nature, the Persona series is actually a collection of spin-offs of one of Atlus' main franchises, the Shin Megami Tensei series. Currently, the Persona series encompasses three games; however, a Persona series game was confirmed at the 2004 Tokyo Game Show for Japanese release for the Sony PSP. It has not yet been revealed whether this title will be a new entry into the series, or a remake of one of the original titles. In July 2006, Persona 3 was released in Japan; Atlus will give it a stateside release in June 2007.
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[edit] Revelations: Persona
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| Developer(s) | Atlus |
| Publisher(s) | Atlus |
| Release date(s) | September 20, 1996 (JP) 1996 (NA) |
| Genre(s) | RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Kids to Adults |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Media | 1 CD-ROM |
Revelations: Persona, also known as Megami Ibunroku Persona: Be Your True Mind in Japan, is a role-playing game for the PlayStation. Released in year 1996, it was regarded as different than most of the other role-playing games because of the settings in the game - distancing from the usual fantasy and/or medieval, to a modern, realistic era.
This is the first title in the Shin Megami Tensei-spin-off series, Persona, and one of the very few Megami games to be released to the US. However, the American release was altered to be more appealing to the American crowd --- see below for more info.
[edit] Differences from Shin Megami Tensei to Persona
Unlike the Shin Megami Tensei games, you do not take possession of a devil summoner of any form. Instead, your party consists of a group of humans who are armed with melee weaponry and/or firearms. Also, they can summon what the game refers to as a Persona, which are more or less "alter-egos," or other "selves" from one's within, each bearing great power. This is mainly how "using spells" works for the series overall.
[edit] Plot synopsis
The first Persona game, known in Japan as Megami Ibunroku Persona: Be Your True Mind, focused on the main character and his friends at St. Hermelin High School in the city of Lunarvale. After playing a ritual-like game called "Persona", the hero and company end up passing out. While asleep, they meet a man who calls himself Philemon, represented with a golden butterfly. After waking up, the youths eventually discover they can summon other "selves", or Persona, with incredible powers. Meanwhile, Guido Sardenia, head of the powerful SEBEC corporation, has invented a machine to create and allow passage to an alternate dimension using electromagnetic waves. These waves end up coming from the mind of Mary Sonomura, a frail bedridden girl and friend of the main character's. Confined to a hospital bed, Mary has trouble interacting with others, and holds a fantasy world in her mind which is nearly identical to the real world save for her being healthy. While visiting Mary in the hospital, the main character and his other friends are inadvertently transported to Mary's "ideal world", where they must contend with leagues of demons and three different aspects of Mary to find their way back to their own world and save the real Mary.
[edit] Playable characters
- The Main Character
The protagonist of the story, and unnamed in the American version of the game. The actions he makes (by the player's decisions) will affect the epilogue of his journey. In MIP-based works, he is said to have names such as 'Naoya Toudou' and 'Yuuya Narumi'.
- Mary - Maki Sonomura
Due to poor constitution, Mary was forced into frequent and extended trips to the hospital ever since she was a child. Despite this, she is regarded and treated as a dear friend by the protagonist and his friends. As she is caught up in SEBEC's dimensional experimentations, her own fantasy world becomes a reality.
- Mark - Masao Inaba
An active, artistic young boy who enjoys dancing. Mark considers himself as Nate's rival, and while they do not seem to get along, they have great respect for each other, and even care about each other. He cares very deeply for Mary, and it is hinted multiple times that he may even have a crush on her.
- Nate - Kei Nanjou
The heir of the Trinity family fortune, Nate is a typical stuck-up rich kid, and is often followed everywhere by his family butler, Alfred (JP: Yamaoka). He and Mark do not get along very well.
- Brad - Hidehiko "Brown" Uesugi
A brash, cocky youth with fiery red hair. It was his own idea to get the other students to play the ritualistic "Persona" game, which led the group to their fated meeting with Philemon.
- Ellen - Eriko Kirishima
A stunningly beautiful girl who aims to become a model or fashion designer. Albeit smart, she often fails to take life very seriously. She originally believed that her Persona was actually a guardian angel, before the others told her the whole story.
- Alana
Light haired girl with pigtails. Her beginning persona is MAGICIAN Fury. Her exclusive Persona is MAGICIAN Flare.
- Chris
Long haired student with scarred face. Chris's special starting Persona is DEVIL Guni. He has two ultimate Personae: DEVIL Mondo and DEVIL Lucifer.
- Yuki - Yukino Mayuzumi
Formerly a punk (perhaps even a gang member) who fights with deadly razor blades. After being saved from her self-destructive lifestyle by the teacher Ms. Smith, she becomes a much more compassionate and kindly person, and feels she owes Ms. Smith a whole lot for saving her.
[edit] Other characters
- Philemon
Residing in the space between consciousness and unconsciousness, Philemon appears physically as a tall man wearing a white mask and is represented by a golden butterfly. After playing the "Persona" game, the protagonists awaken to him and are bestowed with their Personae. Though a largely neutral observer, Philemon is often thought of as one of the "good guys", at least in this game. His face tends to change.
Although Philemon is not necessarily an active "good guy", his rival Nyarlathotep is certainly an evil being. Unlike Philemon's general neutrality, Nyarlathotep takes pride in causing mischief and madness in humans' lives. He is actually Guido's "Persona", and is often thought to have been controlling him.
- Igor
Keeper of the Velvet Room, a mysterious place existing in the space between consciousness and unconsciousness, just as Philemon's space. He allows the heroes to summon various Personae through the use of a demon's Spell Card. Oddly enough, he somehow does this using a cell phone...
- Guido Sardenia - Kandori Takahisa
Head of the SEBEC corporation and in charge of the dimensional experiments, his corrupt behavior allowed him to summon Nyarlathotep to his side. If Guido is not being controlled by Nyarlathotep, then he is most certainly being goaded by him, at the least. In the Snow Queen quest, he appears as an ally of sorts, in his crisp St. Hermelin school uniform despite having graduated many years beforehand.
- Ms. Smith - Saeko Takami / Saeko-sensei
The young teacher of the heroes at St. Hermelin, she shows genuine concern for the characters throughout the course of the game, and the students both like and respect her. She saved Yuki from falling into a life of crime. She played a much larger role in the original Japanese version of the game, as she held a dark secret from her youth that allowed the Snow Queen to get ahold of her, thus allowing the Snow Queen Quest to take place.
- Principal Harding - Hanya
Unlike Ms. Smith, Principal Harding hardly cares for his students. Seeming only to care about enforcing the school rules and getting paid, most students simply see him as a jackass. In the Japanese version, the students nicknamed him "Hannya," a play on his name, as a Hannya is a type of Japanese demon.
- Tad - Satomi Tadashi
An obnoxious, glasses-wearing kid who attends St. Hermelin. He never gets along with Tammy. He is the son of the local pharmacist. His Japanese name is Tadashi Satomi, as is the chain of pharmacies (but the chain is read "Satomi Tadashi" in accordance with Japanese names).
- Tammy - Tamaki Uchida
A pretty young girl who attends St. Hermelin and fights on the fencing team. Although she is always arguing with Tad, the two actually have a soft spot for one another. She is in fact the unnamed heroine from Shin Megami Tensei: If...
- Chunky - Kenta Yokouchi
A portly fellow student at St. Hermelin, Chunky does not play much of a role in the American version of the game. In the Snow Queen Quest version, he becomes possessed by a phallic demon when Alana stomps on his heart yet again. His Japanese name was Toro, which is a fatty part of tuna, so the idea is mostly the same. His real name is Kenta Yokouchi, and he grows up to be a fat rumormonger who hangs out in a sushi bar all day.
- Kumi Hirsoe
Sad girl in charge of Hypnos Tower (and the Dream World in it) who created a dream world of her own to escape the ridicule of family and schoolmates, with the help of her manipulative Persona Hypnos.
- Michiko Matsudaira
Rather sadistic girl in charge of Nemesis Tower who likes Brad almost as much as torture. You find Kain (Satan-kun in the Japanese version) being held prostrate over a bed of nails forced to do push-ups and Chunky being force-fed milk in her torture chamber. Her Persona is Nemesis, but like Kumi, it seems the Persona is the one in charge.
- Yurika Yamamoto
Master of Thanatos Tower, a very popular student who worried heavily about what would happen after her graduation, convinced she'd go into a downward spiral and end up an unhappy housewife. It's implied this girl killed herself to avoid the hardships of the real world. She's the marionette of the Persona Thanatos.
- Tomomi Fujimori
Only appears during the Snow Queen Quest. Angry because she was passed over for possession by the Snow Queen, she may have had a run-in with Ms. Smith that left her scarred.
[edit] Game mechanics
Like the games in the Shin Megami Tensei series, battles in Persona need not always be about fighting. Instead, the player has the option to contact the demons they encounter in an attempt to communicate with them. However, certain enemies cannot be contacted no matter how much the player might try. Each playable character has a set of different contact commands, which can affect the demon the player has selected to contact in one of four ways: increasing Joy, Anger, Fear or Interest. By making a demon interested three or four times in a row, they will offer the player their "Spell Card". Spell Cards can be used in an area known as the Velvet Room to summon various Personae. The heroes can then set these Personae on themselves, one per character, to gain certain magic abilities and stat boosts. In addition, the player can create more powerful Personae by fusing two existing Personae together, usually resulting in a stronger Persona gaining certain characteristics of both fused Personae.
[edit] American localization
Many fans of both Shin Megami Tensei and Persona were (and still are) generally unhappy about the translation and localization Atlus provided for the first title. Reasons are as follow:
- Some characters were altered in appearance, in an attempt to appeal more to the American population.
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- The main character's look was nearly entirely changed. His facial traits were generally altered, as well as his hairstyle and haircolor. His skin was also changed to be paler/whiter.
- The character, Mark, who was named Masao Inaba in the Japanese version, was changed from a freckled Japanese boy to a token African American character with somewhat offensively stereotypical dialogue.
- Both Nate (Kei Nanjou) and Ellen (Eriko Kirishima) had their hair colors changed from a dark shade of purple (Ellen)/blue (Nate), to blonde. It should also be noted that their faces were much paler, similarly to the hero's.
- A section of the game was removed from gameplay, though it was still within the disk. Said section was an alternate quest where, rather than pursuing SEBEC and Guido, the kids find a strange mask in part of the school and learn from Ms. Smith of a legend that it used to belong to the Snow Queen. Trying on the mask, Ms. Smith becomes possessed by the spirit of the Snow Queen, and the entire school becomes a frozen maze with four strange towers growing from the ground at the corners of the school. Though little translated dialogue from this quest exists, Mark was apparently named "Sean" at the time of the Snow Queen localization attempt. Yuki vows to save Ms. Smith, and the teens take off to find a way to save their teacher. The names of the places and characters in the game were also changed in an attempt at Americanization.
- Some of the dialogue was loosely translated, where in some cases, it made little sense. Other than that, there were only some grammatical mistakes.
