Purse Owner Guide V0.1

PURSE OWNER GUIDE v0.1

1. Persona in a Nutshell
2. Which game should I play?
3. Tips and Tricks
4. Other Media


PERSONA IN A NUTSHELL
The Persona series is a hybrid JRPG/VN series made by Atlus. The series is an offshoot of the larger Shin Megami Tensei franchise that became its own style of game focusing on characters and atmosphere over the apocalyptic mythology and hardcore dungeon-crawling of the SMT games. While initially the first games in the Persona series were similar to their Shin Megami Tensei cousins, the series has evolved into a different direction and become the realistic, psychology-based real-world fantasy series it is today.

Persona games are split into two halves, the old games consisting of Persona, Persona 2 IS and Persona 2 EP, and the newer titles Persona 3 and Persona 4 and their offshoots. The older games rely more on traditional SMT/JRPG mechanics (travelling the Overworld, visiting new locations and dungeons,exploring) while the later games adopt a more unique system of time management. Persona 3 and 4 place you into the role of a character living a structured life where you choose how to spend your time, where clearing dungeons is just a part of the overall narrative.

Modern Persona is not a particularly difficult game as it is designed to be open to newcomers. Difficulty levels do allow you to set yourself a challenge however and the tricky and SMT combat mechanics do remain, so it isn't a total cakewalk. However the time management and social systems of Persona games are the focus and meat of the series, and as a result Persona has become its own beast in the JRPG world.

WHICH GAME SHOULD I PLAY?

Megami Ibunroku Persona (1996)
*Released on the Sony Playstation in Japan
*Name means "Goddess Revelations: Persona"
*A classic SMT dungeon-crawler in form, MIP differed from SMT with a larger cast of playable characters in a real-world setting, and began the trend of school students fighting enemies using Personas that the Persona series is known for
*Very oldschool with lots of random encounters and a slow battle system, relatively simple plot
*Probably the most difficult game to complete because of the dated, unforgiving nature of the combat system and dungeon mechanics
*Released outside of Japan as Revelations: Persona, a heavily edited, localized and altered version of the game with character names and appearances altered to look and seem American as well as large portions of story removed and the ending altered
*Rereleased in 2009 as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona for the Playstation Portable in English as a full remake with remixed music, enhanced graphics, redrawn art, redesigned dungeons and a new intro. This remake version is recommended over the original for obvious reasons

Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999)
*Released on the Sony Playstation in Japan
*Story is loosely related to the events of Persona 1 and features returning characters, whoever playing Persona 1 is not needed to understand Persona 2
*Transitional title from SMT to unique IP, Persona 2 features classic dungeons yet introduced more social aspects, slice-of-life elements, and a more character-centric story that is slightly surreal and channels the quirky writing of earlier SMT games
*While still featuring random encounters and Demon negotiation from SMT, gameplay is easier and less unforgiving, which makes the title much more accessible
*Features continuity nods and references to other SMT franchise offshoots like Devil Summoner
*Rereleased in 2011 on Playstation Portable in English as a full remake with remixed music, enhanced graphics, redrawn art and better controls but keeps the gameplay mostly the same

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (2000)
*Released on the Sony Playstation in Japan and in America
*Direct sequel to events of Innocent Sin (yet for some reason was released in America while the original wasn't)
*Darker and more grounded than previous games, Eternal Punishment is the only Persona game to feature a female protagonist (thought Persona 3 Portable allows you to select male or female)
*Much more difficult than Persona 2, requiring focused and organized grinding, Demon hunting and Persona fusing
*Concludes the story-setting from Megami Ibunroku Persona, setting the stage for the second form of the Persona series
*Was rereleased in 2012 on Playstation Portable as a full remake with remixed music, enhanced graphics and redrawn art...but this version was not released in English due to disappointing sales of previous remakes

Persona 3 (2006)
*Released on the Playstation 2 in Japan, America and Europe
*Departure from SMT and previous Persona titles, Persona 3 uses a hybrid life simulation and dungeon crawler system to combine adventure, exploration and episodic storytelling
*Removes Demon enemies and Negotiation in favour of Jungian Psychology-based opponents called Shadows
*Set in a realistic world only loosely connected to the events of the previous games, basically a soft reboot
*Individual combat is easier and smoother, controls greatly improved, however party members have their own AI and fight by themselves unless given specific tactics to follow
*Challenge comes from completing time-management-centric Social Link system for new Personas and exploring hundreds of floors in the game's Dungeon
*The player can improve social stats in order to make him more appealing to other characters, which maximizes Social Links
*Time limit is a full Japanese school year
*Known as a very "blue" game, with a lot of emotional plotlines and has a very back-ended story. This encourages the player to get to know the cast over the course of the game as the focus is on interpersonal relationships

Persona 3 FES (2007)
*Released on Playstation 2 in Japan, America and Europe
*Improved version of Persona 3 with more content tweaked gameplay and a new Hard Mode
*Features The Answer, an Epilogue Story set after the main game with its own dungeon that concludes the Persona 3 story
*Generally considered the definitive version of Persona 3

Persona 3 Portable (2009)
*Released on the Playstation 2 in Japan, America and Europe
*A portable version of Persona 3, featuring more gameplay tweaks and new content
*Due to memory constraints replaces the 3D Overworld and regular Cutscenes with 2D Visual Novel Cutscenes
*Allows direct control of party members, new dungeon rescue missions, more Personas, and a new bonus boss rush mode called Vision Quest
*Features the option to pick a female main character whose tone and dialogue is changed significantly, which also changes Social Links and romance options
*Does not feature The Answer
*Recommended to be played after FES

Persona 4 (2008)
*Released on the Playstation 2 in Japan, America and Europe
*Builds on Persona 3 but is very different in tone
*Player is set into a time management situation with multiple Social Links to follow and dungeons to explore once again, however the game has a less tense pace than 3 and is easier to complete all Links in
*Combat system and general difficulty have been eased up and Dungeons aren't huge, allowing the player more freedom and give to experiment or take the game slower
*SMT affinities and elements archetypes have beens simplified and the player can directly control party members unlike Persona 3
*Storyline is based around the small-town murder-mystery with supernatural themes and features multiple endings based on your actions
*Most newbie-friendly Persona title

Persona 4 Arena (2012)
*Released on Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Arcades in Japan, America and Europe (Arcades in Japan only)
*Known as Persona 4 The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena in Japan, or P4U for short
*A 2D fighting game by Atlus and Ark System Works that features both combat gameplay and a full Light Novel-style story mode
*A story sequel to the events of Persona 4 and Persona 3, featuring the casts of both games and set chronologically after Persona 4
*Fan-oriented plotline that elaborates on how the various characters have developed, but the story itself is original
*Online play is available, and there are tournaments in Japan
*If you're not good at fighting games, the story-mode features much easier fights to allow you to complete the very long and detailed story mode, which is many hours long and told from multiple perspectives
*It is recommended that you have played Persona 3 and Persona 4 before playing this

Persona 4 Golden (2012)
*Released on Playstation Vita in Japan, America, and Europe
*Enhanced remake of Persona 4 like FES was of 3
*Features upgraded textures, new music, a very large amount of new dialog and content, several new group events, new cutscenes, two new social links, new Personas, a new dungeon, new areas, more costumes, gardening, scooters, a fast-forward button, a new Epilogue, more time to do activities, new attacks, more difficulty options, rebalanced bosses and characters, Bonus content including music videos, a quiz game, psychology lectures about the Persona series, movie viewers, and a new battle theme
*Golden expands the game's backstory and adds more content to the story itself, however the real focus is on interpersonal relationships as it adds tons of events and things to do with the cast
*Probably the easiest of the Persona games if you don't play it on hard


Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold (2014?)
*Released in Arcades in Japan in 2013 with an expected release date in 2014
*A sequel/update to Persona 4 Arena, continuing the story of the game and adding new characters
*Expected to get a console release with a full story-mode sometime in the future

Persona 4: Dancing All Night (2014?)
*Planned for release on Playstation Vita in Japan in 2014
*Chronologically the final title in the Persona 4 game series set after the other games
*A rhythm-dancing game featuring the Persona 4 cast using the power of dance to battle Shadows
*Collaboration title with dance veteran Dingo

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (2014?)
*Planned for release on Nintendo 3DS in Japan in 2014
*Features the casts of Persona 3 from the middle of their story and Persona 4 from the middle of their story meeting in supernatural circumstances
*Gameplay design based on Etrian Odyssey series of dungeon crawlers with EO's staff heading the project


Persona 5 (2014)
*Planned for release in Winter 2014 for Playstation 3
*Nothing is known about the gameplay as of yet
*Story is supposed to be emotional, cathartic and have a different tone from previous titles

Catherine (2011)
*Released on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan, America and Europe
*Created by the Persona team, yet is its own game
*Considered by some to be an "honorary" Persona title due to mythological themes, time management, emphasis on interpersonal relationships, and a pseudo-social-link system, also features Demons and Alignments from SMT
*Gameplay consists of players talking to other characters and interacting with them during the day and experiencing nightmares during the night where they climb through puzzle-like levels of pushable blocks, sometimes escaping from bosses and battling other people trapped in nightmares
*Features references and music to the Persona and SMT games, and is considered to be one of the most visually attractive games from Atlus