Story & Gameplay

Story

Revelations: Persona, known in Japan as Megami Ibunroku Persona (女神異聞録ペルソナ, Megami Ibunroku Perusona?, lit. "Alternate Tale of the Goddess: Persona"), is the first in a series of role-playing games for PlayStation consoles – one of several spin-off series within developer Atlus's Megami Tensei franchise. A few years later the original Japanese version was also ported to PC for Microsoft Windows. In Japan, it has the Roman-character tagline "Be Your True Mind".

The story is set in contemporary times, with high school teenagers serving as the heroes of the game. Armed with weapons and imbued with magical beings known as Personae, they band together to repel demons that are invading their city.

On February 6th, 2009, Famitsu Magazine announced that Atlus will be making an enhanced remake for PlayStation Portable and is now rebranded without the title Megami Ibunroku. It will feature revamped UI, brand new cel-shaded cutscenes, difficulty level choices, and the soundtrack will be completely redone by Shoji Meguro, who will serve as the game's director. [2][3] The remake is simply titled Persona.

The story revolves around an unnamed player character and his friends at St. Hermelin High School, located in the city of Lunarvale. While playing a ritual-like children's game called "Persona", each of the students are knocked unconscious. While asleep, they encounter a man named Philemon who bestows several Personae upon them. When they wake up, the youths discover they can summon Personae.

Meanwhile, Guido Sardenia, head of the SEBEC corporation, has invented a machine to create and allow passage to an alternate dimension.[5] This machine is somehow linked to the mind of Mary Sonomura, a frail, bedridden girl and close friend of the main character, who visits her often. During one such visit, the party members realize that the city is slowly changing; while it looks the same, it is cut off from the outside world and is being invaded by demons.

Gameplay

Game mechanics

Like the games in the 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 (usually bosses and human-type enemies) cannot be contacted no matter how much the player might try. Each playable character has a set of different Contact commands, which will affect the selected demon in one of four ways: Joy, Anger, Fear or Interest. There are occasional questions posed by the demon, and the chosen answer will also have an effect on its mood.By making a demon interested three or four times in a row, they will offer the player their "Spell Card". These Cards can be used in the mystical Velvet Room to summon new Persona.

While not engaged in battle, the party wanders the city streets via an aerial view map. Unlike future entries in Persona series, dungeons and outdoor areas are navigated using a scrolling first-person perspective. However, whenever the party enters a room, the camera shifts to an angled third-person perspective, where party members and non-playable characters can be seen and interacted with.

Battles are also from a third-person view. Each party member is confined to a space on a grid, which dictates the range of their attacks and where they can move during their turn. Ranged weapons can travel over many 'squares' to hit an enemy, while melee attacks are confined to one square. Enemy demons are positioned in front and rear lines on the grid; When the front line is defeated, the rear line advances to take their place.

The player is allocated various Personae, one per character, which grants the party magic-casting capability. Each Persona also comes with a stat boost that improves the character's attributes when they gain a new level. In order to access a more powerful Persona, the player must create one by fusing two demons together using their Spell Cards.[6] The keeper of the Velvet Room, Igor, oversees the Fusion process and gauges its probable success. In the Fusion menu, a color icon determines how compatible each pair of demons are: A red icon warns that the pair of demons are incompatible, and are in danger of resulting in a failed Fusion. A white icon indicates that the demons are of average compatibility, and no complications will arise. Finally, a blue icon indicates that the demons are very compatible, and may produce an enhanced Persona with favourable spells and/or attributes.

Occasionally, a failed Fusion will result in a "Fool" Persona or a mishapen ("Jellyman") Persona. Fool Personae are extremely rare, but possess enhanced abilities. Conversely, a Jellyman Persona will actually lose attributes after a Fusion rather than gain them. There will be no change to its appearance, but Igor will alert the party that a Jellyman has been created by mentioning that it "seems irregular".

An on-screen meter that shows the phase of the moon is always present. Besides showing the passage of in-game time, the current status of the moon affects the mood of most demons, meaning that certain Tarot cards can only obtained from them at certain times. A full moon also makes them more dangerous.

Differences between Megami Tensei and Persona

Unlike the Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei games, the plot of Persona does not involve "devil summoners". Instead, the main party consists of a group of "normal" teenagers equipped with firearms and melee weaponry.[4] Each can summon a Persona – other "selves" or shadow psyches from within – and wield great power with them. Personae do not participate in melee attacks; instead, they function as a source of magic spells, a traditional element in role-playing games.

Although Persona was among the first of the Megami Tensei games to feature angled third-person viewpoints, dungeons are still navigated in first-person. Both these vestiges of the parent series would be dropped in later Persona games. Another MegaTen trademark, an icon displaying the lunar phase, also appears in the first Persona.

credits @ wikipedia