With Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, most of the earlier games in the series are still relatively unknown compared to other well-known games.
Before Persona became the beloved series it is today, the games had a long history full of interesting things that many new fans do not know about.
Persona 3 Portable Had A Female Protagonist
Although the original Persona 3 for the PS2 only allowed the player to control a male high school protagonist, Persona 3 Portable for the PSP gave players the option to be a female high schooler, instead. If the female protagonist is picked, several aspects about the game are changed including the design of the protagonist's first persona, Orpheus, and the content of various social links. Also, some of the music tracks are different, and the player can have a male Velvet Room assistant, Theodore, instead of the regular female assistant, Elizabeth.
While most adaptations and spin-offs of Persona 3 use the male protagonist, the female protagonist did appear in Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth for the Nintendo 3DS, which is one of the side games in the series like Persona 5 Strikers. She also appeared in the mobile game Puzzle & Dragons where she finally got an official name: Kotone Shiomi.
The Wild Card Protagonist Did Not Happen Until Persona 3
Recent Persona games follow a standard formula. The main character is a high-school student transferring to a new school, and the main character gains the ability to summon multiple personas while the rest of the party only has one particular persona each. But, this trend only started with Persona 3.
In Persona 1 and Persona 2, the main characters do not have the Fool Arcana and are not transfer students. Instead, all the main characters can use multiple personas, but they have to be compatible with their Arcana. For example, Maya Amano, who is one of the dual protagonists in the Persona 2 games, has the Moon Arcana, while Tatsuya Suou, who is the other dual protagonist, has the Sun Arcana.
Persona 2 Is Two Games
Despite what the name implies, Persona 3 is actually the fourth mainline game in the Persona series. Persona 2 consists of two games that each tell one half of the story, and both need to be played to get the full narrative.
The first game is Persona 2: Innocent Sin, which has Tatsuya Suou as the main playable character and Maya Amano as one of the NPCs in the party. Then, after the events of the first game, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment happens, with Maya Amano and Tatsuya Suou switching roles.
Persona 1 Had First-person Dungeon Crawling
While newer Shin Megami Tensei games no longer do this, all of the older titles in the franchise had first-person dungeon crawling. Players would navigate through 3D maze-like dungeons from the perspective of the main character, and the player would encounter random demons while exploring the confusing ageways.
As a spin-off of SMT, Persona 1 still had this gameplay feature. While the PSP remake added some shops and save points to make the dungeons easier, the original PlayStation dungeons were particularly difficult for players who were not used to SMT dungeons.
Persona 1 Had A Terrible Localization
Although the PSP remake has a good localization that closely translates the Japanese version, the original Persona 1 for the PS1 has a localization that reflects the sub-par English localization practices of the time. All of the characters had their names and designs changed. For example, one of the main characters, Hidehiko Uesugi, had his name changed to Brad, and the Protagonist's hair was completely remade.
Along with the changes to characters, the game also removed almost all Japanese culture references and even removed an entire section of the game. The most well-known change, however, is that one of the main characters; Masao Inaba, who is known as Mark in this translation, was changed to be African-American.
Persona 2 Has A Confusing Localization
The two Persona 2 games have had a complicated localization history. The original Persona 2: Innocent Sin on the PlayStation was never localized, but the original Persona 2: Eternal Punishment on the PlayStation was. Years later, Persona 2: Innocent Sin on the PSP was finally localized, but Persona 2: Eternal Punishment on the PSP was not.
Persona 2's struggles with being fully localized may have contributed to Persona 2 being the only Persona game to not have an official manga adaption. Although there were plans for Persona 2 to have an anime at one point, the plans fell through for unknown reasons.
Canon LGBTQ+ Option In Persona 2: Innocent Sin
While Persona 2: Innocent Sin does not have the social link/confidant mechanic featured in future Persona game, there is a part of the game where the player, as Tatsuya Suou, can choose a romantic partner. During one of the later dungeons in the game, the player is asked who they want to date. There are two female options, which are Maya Amano and Lisa Silverman, who might have been the basis for the Persona 5 character Ann Takamaki. But, the player can also legitimately pick one of the male party , Jun Kurosu.
Although this choice does not change much about the game besides some extra battle options and dialogue, the fact that this option was even there makes this game ahead of its time, and, in some ways, more progressive compared to later entries in the series.
Several Persona 1 Main Characters Are Main Characters In Persona 2
While all the mainline Persona games have characters from other games, these characters usually only have short cameos or references, and the more significant crossovers happen in the side games. But, the Persona 2 games are different because several of the main party are characters from Persona 1.
In Persona 2: Innocent Sin, one of the main characters for most of the game is Yukino Mayuzumi, who was also one of the main characters in Persona 1. Then, in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, Eriko Kirishima and Kei Nanjo, who were both main characters in Persona 1, returned as party .
Based on Jungian Psychology
The basis of all of the Persona series comes from Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung's Analytical psychology; Carl Jung theorized that every person has a "Persona," which is the mask that people wear in society to hide their true self. He also believed that every person has a "Shadow," which makes up the deeper parts of an individual's mind.
Both of these concepts are seen in the games, adapted in the form of combat when the main characters summon Personas to fight Shadows and demons. These Personas are also all references to well-known literary and historical figures, which is based on Jung's theory of the Collective Consciousness.
Started From Shin Megami Tensei If...
Persona 1 is a sequel to the 1994 Super Famicom game Shin Megami Tensei If..., which takes place in a universe where the events of the original Shin Megami Tensei never happened. In this game, Karukozaka High School is transported to another dimension filled with demons. As either a male or female protagonist, the player must choose one student to pair up with, which will determine which path the player goes on and which ending they will get.
While this game more closely resembles the gameplay of other older SMT titles, the game does introduce Guardians, who are like an early version of Personas. In Persona 1 and Persona 2, the female protagonist, who is officially named Tamaki Uchida, returns as a side character.