Persona 2: Innocent Sin

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
	File:Persona2ep.jpg
Developer(s)	Atlus
Publisher(s)	Atlus
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release	November 30, 2000 (US)
Genre(s)	RPG
Mode(s)	Single player

Persona 2: Innocent Sin
Persona 2: Innocent Sin
	File:Persona2isbox.JPG
Developer(s)	Atlus
Publisher(s)	Atlus
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release	June 24, 1999 (JP)
Genre(s)	RPG
Mode(s)	Single player

Persona 2 is the sequel to the first Persona title for the Sony PlayStation. It actually consists of two games, one of which was never released outside of Japan.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin

Persona 2: Tsumi (Innocent Sin) was never released outside Japan. It is actually the first part of Persona 2, the second half being Persona 2: Eternal Punishment --- see below.

Plot synopsis

A few years after the events of the first title, Tsumi occurs in the fictional Sumaru City. The main focus of the game is the subjective nature of reality, with rumors holding the power to literally alter the face of reality and change the world itself.

The protagonist of the story is a young High School student, Suou Tatsuya, whose path becomes intertwined with two other students, Mishina Eikichi and Lisa Silverman, as they encounter the enigmatic, rumored Joker-sama, a mysterious being who will appear before anyone who calls themselves on their own cell phone, and offers to grant their deepest wishes. Anyone who fails to tell Joker-sama their wishes, either because they lack one or do not wish to tell, will have their life energy stolen, turning them into Shadow People. Upon meeting the three students, Joker-sama is angered that they do not recognize him, as he claims they have done something horrible to him in the past. Swearing revenge, he departs, leaving the three students confused, and eager to investigate about this Joker-sama, after they have released their Personae and met with the enigmatic Philemon.

Playable characters

Suou Tatsuya

Seen as a complicated youth by many, Tatsuya is considered to be the "coolest kid" in High School. However, Tatsuya is very introverted and has very few friends. When it comes to his family, Tatsuya is very resentful. He has no respect for his father, resenting him for his weakness and helplessness when he was forced to resign from his job as a policeman. Tatsuya sees his brother, Katsuya, as the perfect older brother whom he can never live up to, and resents what he sees as Katsuya's nagging and bossiness.

Tatsuya is fluent with swordsmanship, and relies on swords to defend himself in battle.

Lisa Silverman

An American girl who was raised in Japan by her Japanophile parents. Despite her natural blonde hair and blue eyes, she is unable to speak English; the misconception that she can is the cause of much misery (and teasing) for Lisa. However, she knows how to speak Chinese, as well as Japanese, and often mixes both languages as she speaks (often using Aiya! and other Chinese expressions). Lisa is also a fan of martial arts and Bruce Lee. She is one of the most popular girls at Seven Sisters High, and has a crush on Tatsuya. It is implied that she sees him as a trophy boyfriend, though we find out later in the game this is not necessarily the case. Similar to Nate and Mark from the first game, she and Eikichi do not get along and often make fun of each other.

Naturally, as a fan of martial arts, she uses her own fists to defend herself, equipping gloves to improve the force impact.

Mishina Eikichi

A student of Kasugayama High School, and considered a rival of Seven Sisters High's Suou Tatsuya. At a younger age, Eikichi was a fat kid who was considered dorky. However, after realizing that the girl he had a crush on disliked fat people (a bully even pulled his pants down in front of her), he felt resentment against himself, and quickly worked hard to lose weight as he grew up. He dresses up like a glam rocker, despite the impending fear that his traditionalist father would beat him up if he knew. Eikichi was capable of summoning his own Persona before Tatsuya and Lisa, and, akin to first game's Ellen, misunderstood the phenomenon and dubbed the Persona a "Spirit of Death," which acquired him the nickname "Captain Death" --- parodied by some as "Captain Underwear" for rumors of him pulling down other people's pants. He is also a true narcissist, always looking at himself in his own hand mirror, and thinking he is the sexiest thing on Earth. He is also the lead singer of a rock band called Gas Chamber, which consists of himself and his closest friends.

Eikichi defends himself with what appears to be a modified guitar case --- it is actually some sort of automatic firearm.

Amano Maya

A reporter for Kismet Publishing's "Coolest" magazine, Maya is a very optimistic and cheerful young woman, whose motto is "Let's Positive Thinking!" (Engrish for its American counterpart, "Let's Be Positive!") Maya became a journalist because of her late father, who held the same job. Her goal is to successfully balance work and family, in contrast to her father, who became distant from his family. Akin to Ellen from the first game, she referred to her Persona for a guardian angel before she knew what it was. The younger main characters see Maya as a big sister.

Maya equips herself with dual pink handguns.

Mayuzumi Yukino

Maya's partner and camerawoman, Yukino is a returning face from the first title. She is actually a camerawoman in training, trained by a man named Fujii Shunsuke, on whom she has a crush. Still holding dear the fact that she was saved from a bad life by her teacher, she feels as if she should do the same to another character who seems to embark down the same path, Yoshizaka Anna.

Yukino's style of battle is bizarre, as she seems to throw whatever she gets a hold of at her foes. Her throwing weaponry mainly consists of lethal objects.

Kurosu Jun

An enigmatic young man who is both an old childhood friend of Tatsuya's, but also probably one of the most important characters of the entire Tsumi storyline. He is often cited as one of the possible reasons Tsumi never came overseas, as he is a very feminine-looking character, as well as being potentially homosexual, proven by the fact that, by the player's choice, he and Tatsuya can become lovers. Jun enjoys horoscopes and flower arranging, and has a great liking for flowers themselves. His mother, Kurosu Junko, is a selfish actress who cares more about her career than her family. Jun's father, who died before the game begins, was a good man, but was widely believed to be insane and evil, partly because of rumors spread by Jun's mom.

In battle, Jun uses flowers. Despite the odd choice of weaponry, he is still very dangerous.

Game mechanics

Akin to the first game, the gameplay consists of fighting demons, interacting with them, and/or enhancing/merging Personae, resulting in more powerful Personae. However, these features were improved, and the battle system itself received a decent tweak.

The battle system is altered, in that the positions of your party members and the enemies are not changed strategically. Instead, your party begins together in battle, and so does the enemy's. However, as actions are taken by fighters of both side, they change their positions depending on the action, in what appears to be an infinitely spaced battleground. Area of Effect attacks will hit a target and allies/foes in a certain radius of that target's. While this seems strategical, there is no "Move" command whatsoever to change the positions of the fighters.

Also, the player can collect/exchange rumors thorough the game, and they can visit the Kuzunoha Detective Agency, and have its boss, Todoroki Daisuke, spread said rumors, which will result in making them become reality. Multiple rumors for each phenomenal are offered, and the player can choose which one to spread for different effects (i.e. having a bar sell strong, but costly weapons; or cheap, but weak ones).

The player also has the ability to control virtually everything about Tatsuya by making decisions for him, building his character statistics, and even altering the courses of some events. They may even decide for whom Tatsuya will have feelings, with whom he will have Contact options, and so on.

Notes

Graphic, controversial subject matter possibly prevented Innocent Sin from being localized for foreign markets. Some examples of this content include the principal of Seven Sisters High School hanging himself in the clocktower, as well as the resurrection of Adolf Hitler. (Hitler orders his troops to hunt down Persona users.)

In addition, Atlus does not possess extensive, near-limitless budgets, and thus lack of money to pay for localization, or a lack of projected profit from said localization efforts, may have also contributed to Innocent Sin never being released in a foreign market. (viz. Localization efforts of Persona 3:FES)

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment

Plot synopsis

Maya, an editor for popular teen magazine 'Coolest', is caught up in the investigation of a mysterious series of murders committed by an enigmatic figure known as the 'Joker'. Victims reportedly receive a note "You're next!" from the Joker just before they die.

With the help of friends both old and new, and returning characters from Revelations: Persona, Maya sets out to solve the mystery behind the Joker murders, and her own shrouded past.

Maya was also a hingepin character in the un-Americanized Persona: Innocent Sin, though Eternal Punishment makes a fair attempt at covering the events that took place in Innocent Sin. However, Eternal Punishment's characters, save one, don't remember the events of Innocent Sin to begin with, so the player likely won't be troubled by the absence of that knowledge either.

The other four main characters from Innocent Sin have roles in Eternal Punishment as well, though only one other has one of crucial importance.

Playable characters

Maya Amano

Maya works for the Kismet Publishing Company - kismet is an old-fashioned word for fate. She's an editor and reporter for the teen magazine Coolest, which seems to cover teen issues, rumors and fashions. Main character, intent on solving the mysteries behind the Joker serial killings. Maya is targeted at the beginning of the game by the Joker. He first confronts her at Seven Sisters High School, where she is investigating rumors about the Joker Curse. The confrontation leads to the awakening of her Persona, Maia, as well as those of Katsuya and Ulala. Maya, like in Innocent Sin, fights with two guns.

Tatsuya Suou

Tatsuya is the mysterious Deja-Vu Boy (JP: Deja-Vu-kun) who Maya bumped into at the train station, triggering a chain of events that would have serious repercussions for Life as We Know It. Maya eventually discovers that he's the angsty younger brother of Suou Katsuya and a senior at Seven Sisters HS. He decides to take matters into his own hands and stop the bad things that are happening. He consistently is telling Maya and the others to stay out of things and to not get involved for their own sakes. As in Innocent Sin, he fights with swords, specifically katana.

Katsuya Suou

Detective of the Konan PD, his current rank is Sergeant of the Homicide Division. His Persona is Helios, who is ironically a cat--which Katsuya is unfortunately allergic to. Katsuya is seen very differently in this game as compared to Innocent Sin. In THAT game, he is seen as a nag, and kind of mean towards Tatsuya. In this game, we see that Katsuya is constantly worried about Tatsuya, who always seems to be in trouble. If anything, Tatsuya seems like the mean one, and we can tell that Katsuya cares a great deal for his brother, and gets depressed very easily if Tatsuya appears to be mad at him. He gets involved while investigating a murder at Seven Sisters. In battle, Katsuya uses a single gun.

Ulala Serizawa

Maya's roommate. She is a woman who seems to have no real direction in her life and has very bad luck with men. She's also fairly vulgar, and gets out her aggression at life by going to the gym and punching the bag around. She gets involved when she accompanies Maya to Seven Sisters. They had planned to go to a party after they'd finished there, but because of the murder and the appearance of the Joker, they had to cancel their plans and never went to the party (to Ulala's dismay). Although she was originally given a gun at the high school, Ulala turned it down, preferring to use her fists in battle.

Baofu/Kaoru Saga

Operates an urban legend/rumor website called "The Darkside of Sumaru City." Aside from the website he runs, Baofu (his name means revenge in Chinese) seems to be involved with some shady business, seeming to have connections to the Taiwanese Mafia. He is a wiretapper and avid baseball fan. He and Katsuya often get into arguments, as Katsuya sees Baofu's tactics as shady and illegal and Baofu sees Katsuya as uptight. In battle, he throws coins at opponents.

Nate Nanjou

Nate is a recurring character from Revelations: Persona. As he had promised his now deceased butler Alfred, he has become the "No. 1 Man in Japan", owning several large companies under the Nanjou business' family name. At a certain point in the game, the player can choose to have Nate in the party. This choice leads to the laboratories where kidnapped teenagers are reported to be held and experimented upon. The kidnapped teenagers are all said to have used to Joker Curse to try to kill someone. As he did in Revelations: Persona, he fights with large knight swords, though he shares some weapons with Tatsuya.

Ellen Kirishima

Another recurring character from Revelations: Persona. Ellen is now a fashion model, but she still has her interest in the occult back from her high school days. Players choose between having Ellen or Nate join the party at a certain point in the game. The party goes with Ellen to Sumaru TV to find out what connection Wang Long Chizuru (a famous fortune teller) might have to all the weird occurrences going on. As she had done previously in Revelations, she fights with rapiers.

Other characters

Joker

A serial killer. It is said that if you call yourself on your cell phone, you will reach the Joker and can make him kill someone for you. This is clearly not the same Joker from Innocent Sin. In Innocent Sin, the Joker was a mask-wearing entity that supposedly granted people's wishes. On this side, the Joker is a paper bag-wearing psychopath that murders people. It is possible that this Joker is being manipulated by someone or something, as the paper bag is most likely a failed attempt to recreate the mask-wearing Joker from Innocent Sin. Also, in Innocent Sin, the name "Joker" is written in katakana, and is pronounced "joukaa." In the Japanese version of Eternal Punishment, "joker" is written in the English Alphabet, all capital letters (JOKER). This also suggests and implies a clear difference between the two.

Philemon

A man with a butterfly mask who bestows Personae to people. He lives in a realm of the subconcious. He is much younger looking it later games than his counterpart in Revelations: Persona. Either way, he is thought of as a "good" character, despite that he can only watch events unfold as a neutral observer. As such, he cannot directly interfere with anything going on. Philemon has struck a bargain with his dark counterpart, Nyarlathotep, over humanity's destiny. Philemon believes they can become enlightened, higher beings, but Nyarlathotep is confident that mankind's more base instincts will win out, and is willing to engineer the end of the planet to do it.

Nyarlathotep

"The Crawling Chaos." (A direct reference to H.P. Lovecraft's story, "Nyarlathotep") He is the being that stands opposite to Philemon. Unlike Philemon, however, Nyarlathotep can directly intervene, which is unfortunate, because his intentions are fully malevolent. He was Guido's persona in Revelations, and was probably controlling his mind. Nyarlathotep takes great pleasure in observing how humans tend to undo themselves. His greatest victory over his more idealist rival, Philemon, would be for humans to literally destroy the world through their own actions. It is implied that it is Nyarlathoep's influence that causes "rumors to become reality" in Sumaru City, which paves the way for his intended apocolypse. When Nyarlathotep appears, he typically assumes the form of whomever he is talking to, albeit in a much more evil and crazed-looking form. This is a doppelganger and reflects how Nyarlathotep resides in the darkness inside every human being. (Note: Only people who have played Innocent Sin or Revelations will have known who he is. Nyarlathotep himself is not directly mentioned until well past the halfway point in Eternal Punishment, though he is indirectly referenced a few times before that)

Jun Kashihara

On this side, Jun is still very effeminate and enjoys flower arranging. On this side, however, his mother is a successful actress who sincerely cares for her family, and his father is alive. The three of them are a happy family. We first see him at the Sky Museum.

Lisa Silverman

Lisa is still the most popular girl in school. On this side, we see her at Sumaru TV (in Ellen's story), where she and her friends Mami and Miho (whom are in the pop group "MUSES"), are preparing to appear on TV.

Eikichi Mishima

Pretty much the same, Eikichi still inhabits Sumaru Prison, where he and his friends Ken and Shogo hang out, and plan to start a rock band (though they don't play any instruments). This time, Miyabi Hanakouji is his groupie, and they may or may not be going out (she was his first love in Innocent Sin). We also see him in a lab later on in the game (in Nate's story), where he tries to help a fellow classmate, Sugimoto. Lisa, Jun, and Eikichi seem unable to remember anything they did in Innocent Sin, but after seeing Tatsuya, they are all plagued by the feeling that they have forgotten something important. They can all be found hanging outside Araya Shrine later in the game, wondering why they feel drawn to it.

Mary Sonomura

Psychiatrist's assistant in Hiiragi Therapy. This is the same Mary from the first Persona game, although her hair is much shorter. She plays a small role in Nate's path.

Guido Kandori

The villain from Revelations: Persona. He was named Guido Sardenia in that game, but his last name was changed back to Kandori as it was in the Japanese version. He is brought back to life by the power of rumors, and quite possibly Nyarlathotep. He and Nate share words quite a bit.

Chizuru Ishigami

A famous fortune-teller and Onmyou (oracle), and member of the NWO. She uses her heavy exposure on television to push rumors on the public, and has a number of familiars including a black cat. She is also in love with Guido Kandori, and has a larger role in Ellen's path.

The Count

A well-dressed and odd silver-haired man who runs the Time Castle shop. He always seems to know exactly what is going on, fully aware that rumors are changing reality around him and what the party's role in it is. (In fact, according to "Persona Encyclopedia Britanica", the Time Count is actually a disguised Nyarlathotep.)

Tatsuzou Sudou

Father of Tastuya Sudou, the original Joker in Eternal Punishment. He is the mastermind of the New World Order.