Persona 1 PSP Pushes Past Production
Fusion Frenzy Follows Forthwith!
Published: August 3, 2009
When the Persona series first hit the PlayStation, I didn't know anything about it. Never played 1, never played 2, never realized we only got HALF of 2 here in the U.S... hell I didn't even know what the hell the whole Shin Megami Tensei series was. I knew nothing! Then one day about 4 years ago, I was in my local GameStop back when they still had used PS1 games, and suddenly there were about a dozen copies of Persona 2, essentially brand new, sitting in the PS1 bin (along with a bunch of Rhapsody : The Musical Adventure) and the cover looked pretty intriguing. I think it still somehow might have cost $30, but I grabbed one anyway, since I had heard the clerk there raving about the series a few days earlier.
That was still sitting in the big pile of unplayed games I have, in it's shrinkwrap 3 years later. Just the thought of putting 60-80 hours into was pretty intimidating. I forgot about it. Suddenly Persona 3 came out, but I was so heavily involved in my Xbox 360 (sorry!) that I didn't really think about PS2 games anymore. Soon, however, my 360 red-ringed and I sent it away, banished back to the halls of Microsoft tech repair. By a strange coincidence, Persona 3 FES hit stores. I was bored, I figured, why not? So 100 hours later, I finally completed my journey through The Journey, and answered my questions with THe Answer, and lo and behold, Persona 4 was hitting... a new PS2 game? OK, sure, why not! Chalk up ANOTHER 100 hours lost working on my popularity with Japanese school girls, and plenty of mad-scientist fusing of personas. Exhausted, I took a break and went back to playing WipeOut on the PS3. Then I couldn't take it, and I finally cracked open my sealed Persona 2, and I am about 21 hours into THAT little adventure, and plotting how to get a fan translation of Innocent Sin.
But what about Persona 1? Long forgotten, and really much more basic than later iterations of the series, yet still intriguing as an earlier part of the series. Copies of the original for PS1 are hard to find (at least for me) and the graphics and gameplay more reminiscent of a SNES-era game. But Atlus, badasses that they are, have decided to release a new updated version for the PSP, called simply Shin Megami Tensei : Persona. Featuring a slew of enhancements, including widescreen graphics, new CGI cutscenes, a new overowrld map, and a "speed" mode to speed up battles and travel.
Persona 1 includes many of the gameplay elements you are used to from the series, including quick battels, fusions, the velvet room, and plenty of dialogue. It also features something missing from the newer incarnations, namely the ablility to negotiate with demons rather than fighting them. Coming to the PSP this September, and featuring 2 CD's containing the full soundtrack to the game, this is something SMT, Persona and Atlus fans should be all over. If you are on the fence, take a look at this 7 minute walkthrough!
That was still sitting in the big pile of unplayed games I have, in it's shrinkwrap 3 years later. Just the thought of putting 60-80 hours into was pretty intimidating. I forgot about it. Suddenly Persona 3 came out, but I was so heavily involved in my Xbox 360 (sorry!) that I didn't really think about PS2 games anymore. Soon, however, my 360 red-ringed and I sent it away, banished back to the halls of Microsoft tech repair. By a strange coincidence, Persona 3 FES hit stores. I was bored, I figured, why not? So 100 hours later, I finally completed my journey through The Journey, and answered my questions with THe Answer, and lo and behold, Persona 4 was hitting... a new PS2 game? OK, sure, why not! Chalk up ANOTHER 100 hours lost working on my popularity with Japanese school girls, and plenty of mad-scientist fusing of personas. Exhausted, I took a break and went back to playing WipeOut on the PS3. Then I couldn't take it, and I finally cracked open my sealed Persona 2, and I am about 21 hours into THAT little adventure, and plotting how to get a fan translation of Innocent Sin.
But what about Persona 1? Long forgotten, and really much more basic than later iterations of the series, yet still intriguing as an earlier part of the series. Copies of the original for PS1 are hard to find (at least for me) and the graphics and gameplay more reminiscent of a SNES-era game. But Atlus, badasses that they are, have decided to release a new updated version for the PSP, called simply Shin Megami Tensei : Persona. Featuring a slew of enhancements, including widescreen graphics, new CGI cutscenes, a new overowrld map, and a "speed" mode to speed up battles and travel.
Persona 1 includes many of the gameplay elements you are used to from the series, including quick battels, fusions, the velvet room, and plenty of dialogue. It also features something missing from the newer incarnations, namely the ablility to negotiate with demons rather than fighting them. Coming to the PSP this September, and featuring 2 CD's containing the full soundtrack to the game, this is something SMT, Persona and Atlus fans should be all over. If you are on the fence, take a look at this 7 minute walkthrough!
