Introduction

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment is actually the third game in the Persona series and is part of the Megami Tensei (MegaTen) universe. Despite being a part of a larger universe, the game is playable as a stand-alone title. (Though, obviously, more will be gotten from it if the other games have been played as well). Accomplishing that may be a trick since only the first game, Revelations: Persona, was released in North America. The second one, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, never made it out of Japan.

Both Persona 2's are sequels to Revelations: Persona, but are alternate realities. The story tn a nutshell is that Persona 2: Innocent Sin took place after Revelations: Persona. As a result of events in Innocent Sin, the world was 'reset' to ten years previous. History was rewritten with the result being Persona 2: Eternal Punishment.

To fully appreciate the events that place in Eternal Punishment, you need to know what happened at the conclusion of Innocent Sin. Maya was killed at the end and her four friends struck a deal with Philemon to bring her back. They would 'forget' this reality so that he could erase it. Things would go back to how they were ten years ago and they could 'try again'. Everyone gave up their memories except Tatsuya, who refused to forget. Because of this innocent sin, reality tore, bringing forth eternal punishment.

The Story

Eternal Punishment takes place in Sumaru City. The main character is Maya Amano, who is the editor of the teen magazine "Coolest". Besides keeping on top of trends like fortune telling and the Joker curse, Maya is sent to Seven Sisters High School to investigate a murder. She is accompanied by her roommate, Ulala Serizawa. The pair of then meet sergeant Katsuya Suou, who is also conducting an investigation. When Maya goes to the principal's office to interview him, she discovers that he's been murdered. Katsuya takes off to search for the perpetrator.

In a hallway the serial killer, Joker, ambushes them. Rumor has it that if you call your own cell phone, you can request that he murders someone. Katsuya tries to arrest Joker, but Joker calls forth demons to battle instead. He taunts them, asking if they aren't going to summon their Persona. The trio hasn't a clue what he's talking about. He triggers their memories and their Persona awaken. From there it's a horror / mystery to figure out what the Joker is and why strange things keep happening in Sumaru City.

The Characters

Maya Amano

Maya is the heroine of this story. She's an upbeat person who is always encouraging others to "think positively". She experienced a feeling of deja vu from a boy that she saw and has been idly fascinated by him ever since.

Baofu

He is a mysterious man with a past that is even more clouded. His profession could be politely referred to as hacker. He is knowledgeable in the ways of the underworld and only has moderate respect for the law as Katsuya represents it.

Ellen Kirishima

Ellen is a character from Revelations: Persona who will help you depending upon your decisions during the game. She's fascinated by the occult and is working with Nate to investigate the odd goings-on in Sumaru City.

Nate Nanjo

Nate is a character from Revelations: Persona who will help you depending upon your decisions during the game. He's well off and it shows. He's snooty and used to having the best in life.

Ulala Serizawa

Ulala is Maya's best friend and roommate. Personality wise she's a priss, and jaded in matters of love. She's aggressive and will follow up her words with her fists if she must. She's also a neat freak (while Maya most definitely is not) if their apartment is any indication.

Katsuya Suou

He is a sergeant in the violent crimes division of the police department. He's the older brother of Tatsuya. He prefers to see the world in black and white with very few shades of gray. Because of this he often bickers with Baofu.

Tatsuya Suou

Younger brother of Katsuya and Maya's deja vu boy. To someone unacquainted with his plight he would seem to be a loner. He carries a heavy burden on his heart that threatens to crush him.

Persona

The Persona system that is the game's namesake is deceptively complicated and requires a good amount of thought if you're going to get through the game. On the surface Persona could be compared to Summons from the Final Fantasy games, but unlike Summons if you don't use your Persona you're *not* going to get very far in the game. In other words, you can't finish Persona without learning the system and taking advantage of it. This is a quirk that may throw Final Fantasy gamers off since the last few games could be breezed through without fully understanding the quirks of the Materia / Junction / Jewel / Sphere Grid systems.

Now that I've scared you, let me tell you why the Persona system is so cool and you won't look back after figuring it out. First off, most Personae except the ones that your party receives at the very start have to be summoned. To summon a Persona you must have enough Tarot cards of that Persona's class. There are also special Persona that can only be summoned with a combination of Tarot cards and a hard-won Material card. Each character will have one Persona equipped at any given time and that Persona's stats are averaged into the character's.

The Personae have up to eight spells at their disposal. When the Persona is first summoned they have three to four spells. One spell can be added by using a Spell card at the time of creation. The rest of the spells are learned during the course of the Persona gaining levels, along with one of the spells being a Mutation rare spell. Having certain combinations of Personae casting a spell in succession can create Fusion spells, which are the key for getting through the game.

When Personae perform an action on the character's behalf they will gain experience. Persona can go up to level eight, though that doesn't mean that their stats are maxed or that they are finished developing. If you end a battle using a Fusion spell there is a chance that one of the Persona involved will undergo a Mutation. Mutations tend to be things like the Personae's stats rising or them gaining two levels, but there are other ones. They can also learn special abilities, unlock a rare spell, or gain the ability to be Mutated into another Persona altogether.

Game Play

The battle system is one of the most unique ones I've ever experienced. There is the average "walk over and shoot them with your gun" option, but once you get more than a few hours into the game you'll rarely find yourself doing that. Using the Persona to battle is much more effective.

The truly unique battle aspect is that you can enter negotiations with the demon you're battling. This opens up a wide range of possibilities for how the battle goes and allows the player to mold the battle more to their goals. If you want to gain experience or money then just defeat the demons without talking to them, but if you want Tarot cards for summoning other Personae then you're going to have to talk to the demons to get them. Demons hand out cards from the Tarot that they belong to, but not all Tarot classes are represented. To get cards from unrepresented classes you have to enter a Contract with the demon (convince them to befriend you) and then sweet talk Free (faceless) cards out of them. Those cards can be taken to the Velvet Room (where the summoning takes place) and have the face of your choice put on them. Demon can also be talked into giving the party Yen or Items. The most interesting thing they can give you is information and demon rumors.

In Sumaru City rumors have a nasty tendency of becoming true if they are spread. The rumor system is extremely powerful and can change the inventory of shops, abilities of demons, and so on. There are only a handful of rumors that are "required" in order to advance the game, but the more of a rumormonger that you are the more you can tweak the odds to your advantage.

Other ways to kill time if you're tired of talking to demons is to spend some time in the casino earning enough points to buy rare items. You can spread a rumor that allows you to become a "Man Searcher" (someone who searches for missing persons). Another rumor will unlock an eccentric millionaire who collects maps. He'll reward you well if you make a map of the dungeons you explore by stepping on every square in that dungeon.

Overall

I've barely scratched the surface when it comes to explaining the depth of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. With so many Final Fantasy's and clones floating around on the market it's nice to encounter a game that's difficult in all the right ways (not artificially difficult like Hoshigami). You will have to put thought into which Personae you want to take with you into dungeons and monitoring how they develop.

The music itself is about average for a game of its generation. A few tunes rise above the rest, especially the ending theme "Change Your Way".

There is a fair amount of cussing in this game (both in text and during sound bits). The game is dark and has mature themes involving demons, the occult, etc. In short, I have no clue how Persona 2: Eternal Punishment skirted by the ESRB with only a T rating. (They must have not played more than 20 minutes into the game).

Another aspect I would like to comment on that I usually wouldn't is the Prima strategy guide. I've seen it harshly criticized as the most useless guide ever printed (the Final Fantasy IX guide holds that distinction in my opinion..). The thing about the guide is that it doesn't go into a lot of the deeper details that you'll need if you want to master the game. It's good if all you're expecting are level maps and a basic guide of what events are going to happen. Don't look to it for actual strategy or advice on how to build your characters and Personae or you'll be disappointed. Fortunately, there is a wealth of very detailed guides to be found at GameFAQs.

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment takes a while to finish (especially if you do both path). Expect to peg the time counter at 99:99 by the time you're finished with everything. I highly recommend this game for the more mature players out there. It's a steal for the $25US that I've seen used copies of it on sale for at the game store.

Originally reviewed by Greenbeans on August 5th, 2002