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Tuesday 30 September 2014

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (ペルソナ Perusona) - [Atlus] - [1996-2014]

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, conosciuto in Giappone come PERSONA (ペルソナ Perusona) è una serie di videogiochi di ruolo sviluppati e pubblicati dalla Atlus.
La serie è uno spin-off della popolare serie Megami Tensei, che parla di un gruppo di invocatori di demoni. Tuttavia, la serie Persona ruota intorno ad un gruppo di adolescenti che hanno l'abilità di invocare alcuni aspetti della loro psiche in esseri viventi, conosciuti come "Persona". Il gioco trae molti elementi dagli archetipi della psicologia analitica. Il primo gioco della serie è intitolato Megami Ibunroku (女神異聞録?) che si può tradurre dal giapponese "Cronache delle strane avventure della Dea", denotando la sua caratteristica natura di side story o universo alternativo.
La serie ha subito un drastico cambiamento nel design durante Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, che ha introdotto elementi dei giochi di simulazione nella serie che è stata continuata in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. Ogni titolo della serie utilizza un metodo diverso per invocare Persona come gli evocatori in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 ed i tarocchi in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4.
Dalla serie sono stati tratti due anime intitolati Persona -trinity soul- nel 2008 e Persona 4: The Animation nel 2011, e un film d'animazione intitolato Persona 4 the Animation: The Factor of Hope nel 2012. Una serie di film basati su Persona 3, inoltre, sono stati annunciati. Essi ripercorreranno fedelmente tutti gli eventi del videogioco, ed il primo film, intitolato Persona 3 The Movie#1: Spring of Birth è stato proiettato in Giappone il 23 novembre 2013. Il secondo film, intitolato Persona 3 The Movie #2: Midsummer Knight's Dream, è stato annunciato durante i titoli di coda del primo film, ed è previsto per il 2014.


                           For the video game of the same name, see Revelations: Persona.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
Persona PSP Logo.jpg
The logo of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, the remake of the first game in the series.
GenresRole-playing game
Social simulation
DevelopersAtlus
Dingo (P4D)
Arc System Works (P4U)
PublishersAtlus (Main)
Koei (P3, P3FES Europe Only)
Square Enix (P4 Europe Only)
Ubisoft (P4 Australia Only)
Ghostlight (P3P, P2IS Europe Only)
NIS America (P4G Europe Only)
PlatformsArcade
Microsoft Windows
Nintendo 3DS
PlayStation
PlayStation 2
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Vita
Xbox 360
Platform of originPlayStation
First releaseRevelations: Persona
September 20, 1996 
Latest releasePersona 4 Arena Ultimax
August 28, 2014
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, known in Japan as Persona (ペルソナ Perusona) is a series of role-playing video games developed and published by Atlus. The series is a spin-off of the Megami Tensei series which focuses on demon summoners. However, the Persona series centers around groups of teenagers who have the ability to summon facets of their psyche, known as Personas, into being. The game draws many elements from Jungian psychology and various Jungian archetypes. The first game in the series is calledMegami Ibunroku (女神異聞録?) in Japan which translates to "Record of the Goddess' Strange Tales," denoting a side story or alternate universe. The series underwent a drastic change in design during Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 which introduced elements of simulation games into the series which was continued in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. Each title in the series utilizes a different method to summon Personas such as Evokers in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 [1] and Tarot cards in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4.[2] While the North American localizations of the Persona series all carry the Shin Megami Tensei label, the Persona series is actually a spin-off of the Megami Tensei main series. Persona 4 Arena is the first game of the series to drop the Shin Megami Tensei label for its North American release, reflecting Persona's status as a spin-off of the main series.















Titles

The series consists of three anime and three film adaptations and eight games — six main games developed by Atlus, two enhanced versions of the PlayStation 2 game Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 titled Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3: FES and Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable. Other remakes include a PlayStation Portable remake of the PlayStation game Revelations: Persona titledShin Megami Tensei: Persona.
The second title in the series was released as two installments: Persona 2: Innocent Sin, released in 1999,[3] and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, released in 2000.[4] Both games were released on the PlayStation. Only Eternal Punishment was localized and released in North America on the PlayStation. Innocent Sin was released for the first time in America on September 20, 2011 on the PlayStation Portable. Ironically, the PlayStation Portable port of Eternal Punishment was unable to be localized.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 represented a drastic change in design for the series, as it introduced elements of simulation games. The player controls a high school student, who attends classes during the day; after school, the player's character is free to engage in a number of activities, such as seeing a movie or spending time with a classmate. These actions all have effects on the game's combat, which takes place at night. A character can summon their inner-self persona by shooting themself in the head using a special device known as an "Evoker" an instrument shaped like a gun but used to forcefully bring out their Personas.[1]
A similar concept was applied on the fourth game, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 but characters use Tarot cards rather than Evokers to bring forth their Personas.

Console games

Handheld games

Anime

Film

 


Common elements

Persona

In each game Personas are summoned differently and have different attributes though they are usually used for combat. In Revelations: Persona each character is allowed to have three Persona, more powerful Persona are acquired by fusing spell cards gained from enemy demons in the Velvet Room. These spell cards cannot be obtained by fighting demons, but instead require the player to communicate with them, a feature the game shares with games in the Megami Tensei series.[11] In both Persona 2 games, summoning Persona is similar to that of Revelations: Persona, however characters are limited to equipping persona according to their arcana. Philemon also transforms the main characters Persona into more powerful versions. In both Persona 3 and Persona 4, each of the supporting party characters has a unique Persona, whilst the protagonist characters can carry multiple Personas and change between them during battle, gaining access to a wider variety of skills than other characters.[12][12] From Persona 3 onwards, each party member's Persona will transform to a more powerful form after completing certain events in the game's story relating to that character.[13]

Negotiation

In the spirit of past Megami Tensei games, which allow players to recruit demons to fight for them, Revelations: Persona and Persona 2 allow players to negotiate with enemies to gain money, items, or information. This is known as the "Contact" system. Contacts are performed during battles, and allow the player to skip combat entirely. To contact an enemy demon, the player selects a character to talk with the enemy. Each playable character has four unique methods of communication, such as praising the enemy or singing to them.[14]Every enemy, based on its specific personality, will give a different response to specific forms of contact. A demon will elicit one of four emotions: joy, fear, anger, or sadness. Generating enough interest in a demon will prompt it to give the player a spell card, used to create a Persona in the Velvet Room.[15]
In Persona 2, each playable character has a specific method of communicating with enemy demons. For example, The game's protagonist Tatsuya (in Innocent Sin), who is always silent, sometimes will make sounds like jets, a construction site, etc., Maya, who works for a teen magazine, will attempt to interview an enemy, while the character Ulala (in Eternal Punishment) will offer to read its fortune. In addition to using one character, the player may combine up to three characters to initiate a conversation as well. As with Revelations: Persona, demons have a set of personality traits which determine how they will respond to different methods of communication. The player can elicit four different responses out of a demon: anger, fear, joy, or interest. Triggering the same emotional three times will cause the demon to do something. An angry demon will assault the player, a scared demon will flee the battle, a joyful demon will give the player money or items, and an interested demon will give the player a number of Tarot cards, which can be used to create new Personas.[16]

Social Links

Social Links, first introduced in Persona 3, is a mechanic pertaining to the life and dating simulation elements of the game, which tie back into the Persona creation mechanic. Social Links, known as Community in the Japanese version, are bonds the protagonist character form with both fellow party members and non-playable characters, each represented by one of the Major Arcana. After a Social Link is formed with a character, the player can build up their Social Link Rank by spending time with them (some Social Links will automatically increase in Rank as the story progresses). Social Links may be brought closer to increasing in rank by carrying Personas of the same Arcana or performing certain activities. Some Social Links may only be accessed or progressed by increasing the protagonist's attributes, either by selecting certain dialogue choices or performing certain activities, or possessing certain key items. Certain Social Links may allow the player to start dating specific characters. Negative actions, such as poor dialogue choices or dating multiple characters, can cause Social Links to become reversed, preventing them from progressing. If they are not repaired, such as by using fortunes, they may break, preventing players from summoning Persona from that Arcana.
Social Links help advance the creation of Personas in the Velvet Room. When possessing a Social Link, players can gain bonus experience when creating Personas of the resepective Arcana, with more experience gained from higher ranks. When a Social Link is maxed (at Rank 10), the player is given a key item which allows them to create a powerful Persona pertaining to that Arcana. In Persona 4, building the Social Links of the main party members grants them and their Personas new abilities, whilst maxing their rank will give their Persona a new form.[17]

Velvet Room

The Velvet Room is a special room that is present in all Shin Megami Tensei: Persona games, it is usually manned by a person named Igor and its functions remains the same throughout the series: to fuse and strengthen existing Personas though the methods used are usually different each game. In Revelations: Persona a more powerful Persona is acquired by fusing spell cards gained from enemy demons.[11] In Persona 2, a more powerful Persona is acquired by fusing spell cards gained from enemy demons; however all characters have restrictions on which personas they can equip. In Persona 3, the main character is the only character who has access to the Velvet Room in which the player is able to fuse multiple Personas together to create a new, more powerful one.[18] A new Persona inherits several abilities from the Personas used to create it; in addition, it can gain an experience point bonus, based on the rank of the Social Link that matches the Arcanum of the Persona being fused.[18] The player is limited by the level of his character when fusing a Persona; the level of the Protagonist must be at least equal to the level of the Persona to be fused.[12] There is also a Persona Compendium which contains all previously-owned Personas; this allows the player to retrieve, for a price, an older Persona to be used.[18] In Persona 4, the functions of the Velvet Room are similar to that of Persona 3 with the exception of a number of new features. Each Persona is of one of the Major Arcana. Fusing Personas of an arcanum that matches an established Social Link will grant the Persona a bonus when it is created.[17][19] The bonus is greater based on the current rank of the Social Link.[20]

Development

In March 2010, the director and producer of Persona 3 and Persona 4, Katsura Hashino, told Japanese gaming magazine, Dengeki PlayStation, that he is beginning to develop the next game in the Persona series. He also mentioned that he "wants to add things that are being expected of the series and change things that can be changed within those boundaries."[21] In September 2009, Shoji Meguro, a member of Atlus, was listed in Sony's site as the producer on Persona 5 exclusively for the PlayStation 3.[22] At E3 2010, a game in the series was announced for the Nintendo 3DS system; all that is known at this point is that it will be part of the Persona series - it is unknown if it will be a port, remake, or a new game altogether.[23] In August 2011, Persona 5 was officially confirmed to be under development, with Soejima, Meguro, and Hashino returning to their roles as art designer, composer, and director. However, Hashino stated to "wait for quite some time for Persona 5 to be released."[citation needed]In August 2012, it was confirmed that Shigenori Soejima had already submitted sketches for Persona 5 and that the game was in "full-speed ahead" development.[citation needed]
On November 24, 2013, as part of a countdown, Persona 5 was announced for Winter 2014, exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Later at Tokyo Game Show 2014, Persona 5 was also announced for PlayStation 4, and the release was pushed back to 2015. The rumored Persona game for 3DS was also revealed to be Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, a crossover dungeon crawler game that features characters from Persona 3 and Persona 4. Another Persona 4 related game was announced, titled Persona 4: Dancing All Night and featuring gameplay similar to that of the Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA series.

Reception

Aggregate review scores
As of April 14, 2011.
GameGameRankingsMetacritic
Revelations: Persona79.79%[24]78%[25]
Persona 2: Innocent Sin92.00%[26]-
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment83.83%[27]83%[28]
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 387.36%[29]86%[30]
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES87.63%[31]89%[32]
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 492.40%[33]90%[34]
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona78.44%[35]78%[36]
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable91.59%[37]89%[38]
Persona 4 Golden94.16%[39]93%[40]
The Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series has received overall positive reviews with the more recent entries in the series receiving high praise for its improved battle systems which have been praised as "fluid" as well as strong storylines. It has also been praised for the integration of dating simulation elements into the series which has been extremely well received. GameSpy's Patrick Joynt praised the social elements the series calling them "almost universally fascinating" as well as saying that he "can't stress enough how well-done it is."[41]
Persona 3 and Persona 4 have been listed at or near the top of several "RPGs of the Decade" lists. In RPGFan's "Top 20 RPGs of the Past Decade" list, Persona 4 was ranked at fourth place, while Persona 3 was ranked in second place behind Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga.[42] In RPGamer's "Top RPGs of the Decade" list,Persona 3 was ranked at first place.[43]
As of October 19, 2011, the series has sold 1.65 million games in Japan.[44]

References

  1. Jump up to:
    a b VanOrd, Kevin (2007-07-24). "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Review"GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  2. Jump up
    ^ Anderson, Lark (2008-12-10). "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 Review"GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
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    ^ "Persona for PlayStation"GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
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    ^ ""Persona 3 The Movie #1" Slated for Next Year". Crunchyroll. 2013-07-30. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
  11. Jump up to:
    a b Katala, Kurt; Christopher J. Snelgrove. "Hardcore Gaming 101: Megami Tensei / Shin Megami Tensei"GameSpy. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
  12. Jump up to:
    a b c Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES North American instruction manualAtlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. pp. 26–27.
  13. Jump up
    ^ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 North American instruction manualAtlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. p. 19. SLUS-21782B.
  14. Jump up
    ^ Katala, Kurt; Christopher J. Snelgrove. "Hardcore Gaming 101: Megami Tensei / Shin Megami Tensei". Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  15. Jump up
    ^ "EsquE". "RPGFan Reviews - Persona". RPGFan. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  16. Jump up
  17. Jump up to:
    a b Anderson, Lark (2008-12-10). "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  18. Jump up to:
    a b c Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES North American instruction manualAtlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. pp. 38–39.
  19. Jump up
    ^ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 North American instruction manualAtlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. p. 28. SLUS-21782B.
  20. Jump up
    ^ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 North American instruction manualAtlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. p. 11. SLUS-21782B.
  21. Jump up
    ^ Brian Ashcraft (March 24, 2010). "Persona Developers Making New...Persona"Kotaku. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
  22. Jump up
    ^ Brian Ashcraft (August 6, 2009). "Sony Cell Phone Site Lists Persona 5 Producer."Kotaku. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
  23. Jump up
    ^ Michael McWhertor (June 15, 2010). "Nintendo 3DS: Every Announced Game Right Here"Kotaku. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  24. Jump up
    ^ "Revelations: Persona Reviews"GameRankings. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  25. Jump up
    ^ "Revelations: Persona Reviews"Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  26. Jump up
    ^ "Persona 2: Innocent Sin"GameRankings. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
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  41. Jump up
    ^ Joynt, Patrick. "GameSpy: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Review"GameSpy. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
  42. Jump up
    ^ "Top 20 RPGs of the Past Decade". RPGFan. Retrieved 2011-02-05.
  43. Jump up
    ^ "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3"RPGamer. Retrieved 2011-02-05.
  44. Jump up
    ^ Gantayat, Anoop (19 October 2011). "More on Catherine's Sales and Persona in 2012 From the Atlus Earnings Briefing". Andriasang. Retrieved 12 August 2014.

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