The Persona franchise has garnered a lot of attention over the years. Reaching close to the levels of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, the series has gotten more and more popular with fans. Originally a spin-off of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, it eventually garnered its own identity. However, although it is fairly recent compared to long-running series in video games, the franchise had changed over time to meet up with today’s generation of gamers.
Here are the many ways the franchise has changed and ways that the series is still the same.
10 Different: Art Style
This is one of the more obvious changes towards the Persona franchise. But within the games, the artwork was originally done by Kazuma Kaneko, whose gothic artwork was primarily used within the Shin Megami Tensei universe. This can be seen with the way the characters are designed along with the Persona designs being based around SMT demons.
However, by the time of Persona 3, Kaneko had been replaced by his successor Shigenori Soejima. Unlike Kaneko’s more gothic and darker style, Soejima had a unique manga style that is stylistic in its design. Bringing out a fresh design to the franchise in a way only done by Soejima. It is also Soejima’s Persona that people are most familiar with.
9 Same: Setting
When it comes to the setting of the Persona games, although the franchise eventually starts to become more global as the threats get bigger, everything always happens within Japan. As a result, the majority of the conflict has always been centered around that country. It is only fair as a majority of the quirks and culture within the franchise is centered around Japan in the first place. Places like Shibuya and Akihabara. So it would be a bit jarring if it was anywhere else.
8 Different: Different Worlds
Ever since the third Persona game, technically with the birth of Tartarus, Persona has established itself as having different worlds to play in. Originally, the events of Persona were happening alongside the real world but that has since changed. Worlds like the Dark Hour, the TV world, and Mementos have become a major aspect of the series. Something that might change or might never change in the future.
7 Same: Concept Of Persona
Similar to a stand-in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, the Persona is a representation of the human soul. More specifically, it is a representation of the user in particular. As such, the world of Persona often revolves around the collective unconscious one way or another. The evolution of the Persona’s within the characters has also been there from the start as they continued having their character development.
6 Different: Wild Card
The wild card concept was created during the development of Persona 3. It has since then stuck around with the rest of the franchise, with the latest holder being Joker. Primarily they are the protagonist of the game. However, other characters from Persona 1 and 2 were not actually wildcard users. However, they were able to use multiple Personas.
5 Same: Silent Protagonist
The silent protagonist has always been an element of the franchise since day one. From the boy with the earring to Joker, the characters have always acted as a proxy for the player if anything. However, there are moments where the characters talk, like Joker and people like Tatsuya Suou are shown to talk. Although the characters of Persona 2 seem to be the only real exception to the rule.
4 Different: Music
One of the evolutions that might’ve been missed by some newer fans was how the music of Persona wasn’t always what it was today. Although the music of Persona 3-5 is one of its strongest traits, the music for Persona 1 and 2 was much different. Essentially being far more atmospheric and less reliant on elements such as J-Pop or rap.
3 Same: Arcanas
The arcana trees have always been present with the franchise since day one. As with all of the characters that are involved with the series, each one is dedicated to a particular arcana. All of which represents their personalities as well as what gameplay type they will be when being controlled by the player. These are one of the many things that have been kept by the franchise.
2 Different: Gameplay
Although the gameplay of the Persona franchise has generally stayed the same from a surface level standpoint. Many things have been added or modified to really evolve the series. One of the most popular things that made the series evolve a lot more was the social links.
Social links are gameplay mechanics that allow the player to interact with the world and characters around them in a way that makes it substantial. Elements such as gameplay changes or getting stronger Personas to allow for a deeper gameplay experience.
1 Same: Passive Connection To Shin Megami Tensei
Shin Megami Tensei is the main franchise that Atlus is known for. Although the Persona series is more recognizable towards general fans, Shin Megami Tensei is the reason why Persona would exist in the first place. From the turn-based mechanics to the Persona designs used.
That being said, the connection between the two seems to be fairly passive at most. While the spin-off was more connected to SMT during the first two iterations, by the latest titles, they only have passing ties to one another. To the point that it almost feels like its own universe.
NEXT: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax: 10 References You’d Only Understand If You Played The Main Games
