Revelations: Persona

General Information

Revelations: Persona was released by Atlus for the PlayStation in the United States in 1997 and is the first in the Persona series of games. Notable for being set in modern day, the plot involves an unnamed protagonist and his classmates at St. Hermelin High School. The story begins as the protagonist and his classmates play a game called "Persona", akin to the ritual game "Bloody Mary". While playing, the students lose consciousness and meet a mysterious man in a butterfly mask named Philemon, who gives them the ability to summon reflections of their personalities, which are known as Personae. A bit shaken by their collective experience, the group visits a hospitalized friend but are attacked by demons. It is up to the protagonist and his friends to save the now isolated town and figure out the mystery behind the demon attacks and their new ability to summon Persona.

Characters

Protagonist

The silent protagonist of the game, He's described as a boy from St. Hermelin High School with dark hair and a pierced ears. He is sometimes unofficially referred to by fans as Naoya Toudou; the name given to him in the game's manga adaptation. The protagonist wields a rapier and an MP5 as his weapons, and his initial Persona is Seimen Kongou of the Emperor Arcana.

Maki Sonomura

U.S. Localization Name: Mary

A frail, bedridden girl who is a student from St. Hermelin High School, however she appears as being healthy and cheerful after the incidents with the demons begin. She is not playable in the Snow Queen Quest, but is mandatory for the main quest. Maki uses a bow and a handgun, and her initial persona is Matsu of the Priestess Arcana.

Masao Inaba

U.S. Localization Name: Mark

A friend of Naoya who has a crush on Maki. He hopes to be an artist. He is not playable in the Snow Queen Quest, but is mandatory for the main quest. Masao uses an axe and shotgun, and his initial Persona is Ogun of the Chariot Arcana.

Kei Nanjou

U.S. Localization Name: Nate

A wealthy student who stands to inherit a large company. He is a very rational and has a stiff personality. He was renamed as Nate Trinity in the US version. He is optional in the Snow Queen quest, and is mandatory for the main quest. Kei uses a broadsword and rifle, and his initial Persona is Aizen Myouou of the Hierophant Arcana.

Hidehiko Uesugi

U.S. Localization Name: Brad

Class clown who tells jokes to get attention. He is optional in both the main quest and the Snow Queen Quest. Hidehiko uses a spear and a TMP machine gun, and his initial Persona is Nemhain of the Justice Arcana.

Eriko Kirishima

U.S. Localization Name: Ellen

A popular girl who is interested in being a model. She is optional in both the main quest and the Snow Queen Quest. Eriko uses a rapier and a rifle, and her initial Persona is Nike of the Judgment Arcana.

Yuka Ayase

U.S. Localization Name Name: Alana

A student who is popular with the guys, but her habit of being overly frank gets her into problems. She is optional in the main quest, but is mandatory in the Snow Queen Quest. Yuka uses a whip and handgun in battle, and her initial Persona is Houri of the Magician Arcana.

Reiji Kido

U.S. Localization Name: Chris

A transfer student who is often antisocial and rarely attends class. He is known for being hard to acquire as a party member, having a long list of requirements to get him to join. He is not available in the Snow Queen Quest. Reiji uses his fists and an assault rifle, and his initial Persona is Bres of the Devil Arcana.

Yukino Mayuzumi

U.S. Localization Name: Yuki

A former delinquent who reformed due to the efforts of her teacher. She is not available in the main quest, but she is mandatory in the Snow Queen Quest. Yukino uses razorblades and a shotgun, and her initial Persona is Vesta of the Empress Arcana.

Gameplay

Similar to other role-playing games, Revelations: Persona utilizes a turn-based combat system that allows the player to manage a party and use various attacks, items, and spells to defeat the enemy. Additionally, the game allows the player to avoid some combat situations by talking, bribing, and flirting with the enemy. These non-combat options are not always available to the player and fighting cannot be avoided. While not in combat the party explores city streets, the high school, shopping malls, and other locations in the town. During interior exploration the camera takes a first-person perspective but when the party moves into enclosed rooms or cuts to dialog scenes the camera takes a third-person isometric perspective. When navigating the city streets the camera takes a top-down perspective with the party and the buildings being represented with abstract geometric shades.

Localization

The western release of Revelations: Persona saw many cosmetic and technical changes. Many details of the plot were changed to "westernize" the game for the North American market. Characters were renamed, sprites and character portraits were redrawn to look more "western", and items in the game were changed to downplay the games original Japanese origin. In the most extreme example, the character Masao Inaba from the Japanese version was renamed Mark, redrawn to have darker skin, and his dialog was changed to be more urban, essentially making the character African-American. All references that the game takes place in modern day Japan were stripped out; the name of the town, originally Mikage-cho, was renamed Lunarvale and yen currency was changed to dollars. The game was also made easier for the western market. In the North American version, the randomly triggered encounters are less frequent and experience points awarded for each battle was increased. Additionally, the Snow Queen quest, an alternate, optional story route with completely different challenges, was removed from the game entirely.

Compendium

Another result of the game's localization was that many of the personas' and demons' names were mistranslated or altered. What follows are their names as presented in the game, but linked to their real identities.

Personas

Personas are ordered by level, from highest to lowest.

Demons

Like the persona table, this lists demons as they were originally translated, but linked to their actual names.

Revelations: Persona was also the first localized Shin Megami Tensei game to feature the series' traditional demon races. However, due to space restraints, they were confined to two-letter abbreviations for each. The real race name follows in parentheses.

Bosses

Where applicable, boss names are linked to their real identities. Otherwise, the actual names are listed in parentheses. Certain bosses in the game can be encountered at different levels depending on criteria met or failed by the player

PSP Remake

A remake of the game from 1996 was released on the PSP on September 22, 2009. It contains new and updated animated cut-scenes from Kamikazegouga, revamped UI to take advantage of the PSP widescreen, a rebalanced game system with the option to adjust the difficulty, new dungeon floors added that were not included in either the Japanese or American releases, and finally, rearranged music featuring Yumi Kawamura, the vocalist for the Persona 3 tracks, composed by Shoji Meguro. In this remake, battle animations can now be skipped entirely, and the battle load times have been decreased to 2/3 the rate of the original game, There are more save points available throughout the game, as well as a quicksave feature. Additionally, the overworld map has been redrawn to bring it up to the standard of the rest of the series.

The PSP version also contains extra dungeons, including the Snow Queen quest not included in the original PS1 US release. The English edition also features a completely redone localization more faithful to the original material. The remake's new animated cutscenes are also fully voiced. Every copy of the game released in North America was packed with a two-disc soundtrack. It was also one of the first PSP titles to be released simultaneously on UMD and PSN.