History Franchise / Persona

** As the ancient humans invent gods and spirits in their minds to explain away various natural phenomena, the collective consciousness gives birth to those exact entities with the ability to manipulate said phenomena to their will — the birth of magic and mystics. Gods and demons are born of the collective consciousness without any conscious control from humanity itself, hence a mix of WildMagic and Theurgy.

** Played straight in ''VideoGame/Persona2 Eternal Punishment''. The big bad keeps going on about how you can't fight fate. Right before the final battle, Baofu tells him to "Grab that fate of yours and stick it up your ass!"...[[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu yes, he said it to]] [[EldritchAbomination Nyarlathotep]] himself.
** A major theme in ''VideoGame/Persona3'', especially since [[spoiler: you actually have to choose to adapt a screw destiny approach in order to complete the game. Faced with the revelation that your friend is actually the harbinger of Nyx, the resident BigBad, you're given the choice to kill him or let him live to become one with Nyx. Killing him erases the cast's memories of the entire adventure, allowing them to live peaceful lives for two months until Nyx arrives and destroys the world. Not killing him means you'll have to fight Nyx...except that the story tells us over and over again that you CAN'T fight Nyx, since Nyx is death itself, and thus you're destined to lose. Our heroes choose to ignore this and spend the next month preparing for the final battle with the attitude that destiny can suck it and Nyx is just as killable as anything else. Well, she's not, but you end up winning anyway by [[SealedEvilInACan sealing]] her instead, at the cost of [[HeroicSacrifice the main character's life]]]].

* SoLastSeason: ''3'' introduced the idea of Evokers, devices that are needed to summon Personas. The idea being that they tend to come during emotional stress, such as the feeling of danger; so to consistently create this feeling, Persona users simulate the stress of suicide using evokers loaded with blanks. With ''4'' and ''5'', no such concept exists; Persona users are capable of summoning their personas much more casually. This is eventually justified in ''Arena'' with the idea that gameplay in ''4'' and ''5'' took place closer to the Collective Unconsciousness of humanity compared to ''3'' which seems to have taken place more within the "rea" world. When the cast of ''3'' find themselves within the Midnight Channel in ''Arena'', they find their personas come to them much more naturally with no need to use evokers.

** The ''Persona 2 Eternal Punishment'' PSP port, on top of the graphics and soundtrack work that was also done in ''IS'', added ''[[AnotherSideAnotherStory Tatsuya's Scenario]]'', which tells the events of the game from Tatsuya's POV, heavily expands on the lore and plot of the game, introduces new characters, and includes a BonusDungeon and several new bosses. That version was never released out of Japan.

** ''VideoGame/Persona3'''s Tartarus is an {{Eldritch Location}} which isn't exactly connected from the collective consciousness, instead being an AlternateDimension and PlaceBeyondTime formed as a result of dimensional distortions caused by a sufficient amount of Shadows roaming the real world. However, like the Velvet Room it serves as a pathway to the collective consciousness and allows for more Shadows to emerge from its depths and into reality. Being space-time anomalies, Tartarus isn't actually much of a physical place as it destroys and reconstructs itself to exist for about 1 hour in stopped time every midnight. [[spoiler:It serves as a metaphorical "antenna" for Shadows and Death to call down their "mother" in the Moon.]] The UpdatedReRelease's Abyss of Time is in many ways its inversion: distortions of space-time creates metaphorical "gaps" in space-time to form near Tartarus, as a literal Abyss. [[spoiler:These gaps existing outside of regular space-time make it possible to observe the past, and if sufficient amount of energy is concentrated, even time reversal]].
** ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' introduces a domain located at the absolute bottom, deepest part of Sea of Souls, which first formed before life even became ''sentient''. It appears similar to outer space, with 'stars' filling the sky being living souls and colorful auroras being the colors of life. Elizabeth describes it as a realm filled only with "the darkness of death and the radiance of life" -- here souls disperse into its constituent components and no longer become tangible in the mortal world. [[spoiler:This is where Erebus, the incarnation of humanity's wish for death, tries to awaken the spirit of Nyx, the maternal entity who influenced life on Earth into ''evolving'' the collective consciousness. The protagonist of ''VideoGame/Persona3'' sets themself up as the Great Seal here, barring Erebus from calling to Nyx, so the latter would not awaken to cause [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the Fall]].]]

** ''VideoGame/Persona3'''s Tartarus is an {{Eldritch Location}} which isn't exactly connected from the collective consciousness, instead being an AlternateDimension PlaceBeyondTime formed as a result of dimensional distortions caused by a sufficient amount of Shadows roaming the real world. However, like the Velvet Room it serves as a pathway to the collective consciousness and allows for more Shadows to emerge from its depths and into reality. Being space-time anomalies, Tartarus isn't actually much of a physical place as it destroys and reconstructs itself to exist for about 1 hour in stopped time every midnight. [[spoiler:It serves as a metaphorical "antenna" for Shadows and Death to call down their "mother" in the Moon.]] The UpdatedReRelease's Abyss of Time is in many ways its inversion: distortions of space-time creates metaphorical "gaps" in space-time to form near Tartarus, as a literal Abyss. [[spoiler:These gaps existing outside of regular space-time make it possible to observe the past, and if sufficient amount of energy is concentrated, even time reversal]].

* EldritchLocation:
** The world of ''Persona'' is defined by one of these: the Collective Unconsciousness, also known as Sea of Hearts or Sea of Souls. While some form of a collective consciousness is often implied to exist in other ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games, here it is the central source of almost all supernatural forces, with both protagonists and antagonists deriving their power (and in some cases, their very existence) to it. It is described as a "plane of information" which coexists with reality, [[MentalWorld formed from the collective psyches of all life on Earth]], but especially shaped and stirred by humans, who have the most complex psyches. The plane possesses countless [[LayeredWorld layers and realms]], which constantly expand and multiply, and capable of [[RealityBleed affecting the real world]] in the right ([[GoneHorriblyRight or wrong]]) circumstances. The nature and forms with which the collective consciousness can manifest are continuously explored with each subsequent game.
*** The Velvet Room is a location aptly described by Igor as existing between dream and reality, mind and matter. As the description implies, it connects both to the physical world and to the realms in the collective consciousness, manifesting as a room saturated in velvet blue. It serves as a base of power for those chosen by Philemon, offering Persona fusion as a service. In the earlier games, the Demon Painter implies humans who are "attuned" to the world of conscious wander here and become residents, with himself having entered the Room an unspecified amount of decades prior to ''Persona 2''. The Velvet Room is also implied to predate Persona users (who first appeared during [[UsefulNotes/CarlJung Carl Jung]]'s lifetime), with the Nameless pianist stating it has been "90,000 and 155 nights" since he covered his eyes to play music. From ''Persona 3'' and onward, the Velvet Room also becomes an instrument to measure the hearts of its Guest: metaphorically changing its form to give a shape to their Journey, categorizing the bonds they make as Social Links (Confidants in ''Persona 5''), recording the Personas they acquire, in addition to assisting Persona fusions.
*** ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' eventually reveals Mikage-Cho as a whole [[spoiler:has been dragged into Maki's inner world, as a result of her being connected to the DEVA System. The machine itself is technology meant to connect an individual's ego with the world of consciousness, implied to be invented by Nyarlathotep -- one of the two masters of the collective consciousness]].
*** ''VideoGame/Persona2'' ''Innocent Sin'' has Xibalba, while ''Eternal Punishment'' has Ameno Torifune, both of which are mystical ships which spawn as a result of rumors becoming reality in Sumeru City. Both are actually entrances to a realm deep in the collective consciousness: Monado Mandala, described as the realm where all souls rise from and would return to upon death. Appearing like an endless abyss with a network of portals and shrines floating at the center, this is where all unconscious thoughts gather, and also where Philemon and Nyarlathotep -- the two entities embodying humanity's creative potential and existential contradictions -- rise from, with the shrines being their personal domains.
*** The UpdatedReRelease of ''Eternal Punishment'' introduces Kadath Mandala, also known as the Dreamlands by the first few Persona users in history. It also appears as an abyss with portals and shrines, but it exists one level above Monado, where "archetypes" as Jungian psychology defines them are formed. It contains memories from all which have lived, and thus also every single identity ever conceived by humankind (including multiple interpretations of any entity), the blueprints which give rise to gods and demons -- and by extension, Personas. The Shadow Self/Persona within every human resonates with an appropriate identity from here, one which reflects the human's own experiences, which is why they usually take the form and powers of gods and demons. The realm is guarded by all manners of entities, but especially Yog-Sothoth (who in this verse is the incarnation of the boundaries of human mind, that which divides the conscious from the unconscious), as well as Philemon and Nyarlathotep. Normally, a human can only enter this realm (and implicitly, Monado) with the assistance of one of these entities, but it is stated a sufficiently trained master of Persona could reach this realm through dreaming, while one person -- Randolph Carter -- is the only known person in all of history who can ''physically'' open a gate to the Kadath and enable others to enter it.
*** ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' introduces a domain located at the absolute bottom, deepest part of Sea of Souls, which first formed before life even became ''sentient''. It appears similar to outer space, with 'stars' filling the sky being living souls and colorful auroras being the colors of life. Elizabeth describes it as a realm filled only with "the darkness of death and the radiance of life" -- here souls disperse into its constituent components and no longer become tangible in the mortal world. [[spoiler:This is where Erebus, the incarnation of humanity's wish for death, tries to awaken the spirit of Nyx, the maternal entity who influenced life on Earth into ''evolving'' the collective consciousness. The protagonist of ''VideoGame/Persona3'' sets themself up as the Great Seal here, barring Erebus from calling to Nyx, so the latter would not awaken to cause [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the Fall]].]]
*** In the same game, Elizabeth elaborates the Sea of Souls also contain "the innumerable faces" of the world, various realms created by cognitions and thoughts, as well as by entities from the collective consciousness. The Midnight Channel from ''VideoGame/Persona4'' and Mementos from ''VideoGame/Persona5'' are both considered examples of these, each being realms created from a specific local region's inhabitants and shaped by a specific deity born from the collective consciousness.
** ''VideoGame/Persona3'''s Tartarus and the UpdatedReRelease's Abyss of Time are both {{Eldritch Location}}s which are disconnected from the collective consciousness, being forms of PlaceBeyondTime spawned by dimensional distortions caused by Shadows roaming the real world.

* LostInTranslation: Arguably more prominent here than in ''Megami Tensei'' in general. The UpdatedReRelease of the earlier games generally fail to translate Japanese words which denote important concepts related to Jungian psychology, Japanese Buddhism or other religious concepts. One example is translating 自己 (lit. "self") into "soul", which derails Philemon's explanation about himself and Nyarlathotep as the source of selves (the things which reinforce and weaken the sense of self to be exact) in humans rather than their souls. While games post ''Persona 3''are generally better about this, certain elements and references to Japanese culture simply can't be translated and must be changed -- particularly prominent for class quizes and tests.

** ''VideoGame/Persona3'''s Tartarus and and the UpdatedReRelease's Abyss of Time are both {{Eldritch Location}}s which are disconnected from the collective consciousness, being forms of PlaceBeyondTime spawned by dimensional distortions caused by Shadows roaming the real world.

*** The UpdatedReRelease of ''Eternal Punishment'' introduces Kadath Mandala, also known as the Dreamlands by the first few Persona users in history. It also appears as an abyss with portals and shrines, but it exists one level above the Monado, where "archetypes" as Jungian psychology defines them are formed. It contains memories from all which have lived, and thus also every single identity ever conceived by humankind (including multiple interpretations of any entity), the blueprints which give rise to gods and demons -- and by extension, Personas. The Shadow Self/Persona within every human resonates with an appropriate identity from here, one which reflects the human's own experiences, which is why they usually take the form and powers of gods and demons. The realm is guarded by all manners of entities, but especially Yog-Sothoth (who in this verse is the incarnation of the boundaries of human mind, that which divides the conscious from the unconscious), as well as Philemon and Nyarlathotep. Normally, a human can only enter this realm (and implicitly, Monado) with the assistance of one of these entities, but it is stated a sufficiently trained master of Persona could reach this realm through dreaming, while one person -- Randolph Carter -- is the only known person in all of history who can ''physically'' open a gate to the Kadath and enable others to enter it.

** ''Persona 3'' goes back to the Greeks. The Personas are minor deities or demigods, and the whole game is one big recreation of the legend of Orpheus. However, it mixes this with some ''[[UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} christian]]'' themes, like [[spoiler:Messiah]].

*** In the same game, Elizabeth elaborates the Sea of Souls also contain "the innumerable faces" of the world, various realms created by cognitions and thoughts, as well as by entities from the collective consciousness. ''VideoGame/Persona4'''s Midnight Channel and ''VideoGame/Persona5'''s Mementos can both be considered examples of these, each being realms shaped by a specific deity born from the collective consciousness.

* EldritchLocation: Each game has at least one; [[spoiler:Maki's mental world]], Xibalba / Ameno Torifune, Monado Mandala, Tartarus (which is the page image), the Abyss of Time, the Midnight Channel, Mementos... What most of them have in common is that they are [[spoiler:locations connected with the Collective Unconsciousness where thoughts can become reality]], except Tartarus and Abyss of Time (both of which are explicitly PlaceBeyondTime spawned by dimensional distortions).

** ''VideoGame/Persona3'': A downplayed example. While not outright ostracized, the protagonist is viewed with a certain amount of envy and jealousy due to having just arrived and yet getting to stay in the same dorm as some of the most popular students in school (in truth, this to make their WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld activities easier). In addition, his aloof, detached air also makes him difficult to approach, something brought up by some of the Social Link characters. In fact, it's even brought up that bad rumours follow him around because he doesn't socialise and has been seen wandering around seedier parts of town.

** ''Persona 1'' has planetary total extinction of the human race via mass brainwashing.

* PoliceAreUseless: Zigzagged. Some cops in this franchise are unhelpful or obstructive at best, and others are fully villainous (such as [[spoiler:Adachi in 4 and members of the Tokyo police who are working under Shido in 5]]). But then there are ones who are either allies (Kurosawa in 3 and Arena), Social Links (Dojima in 4), or even outright party members (Katsuya in 2, Naoto in 4, and Zenkichi in Strikers).

* BagOfSpilling: If any characters return in sequels or spinoffs, they can expect to have their power levels reset and their Ultimate Personas discarded in favor of their Initial Personas. This is especially noticeable with the appearances of Yukino, Kei, and Eriko in the Persona 2 duology, which takes place three years later and after the three of them saved the world in the first game. That said, they do join at a ''bit'' higher of a level than the rest of the party is at to reflect their previous adventures and expertise. However, there are some justified examples:

** The background music in the protagonist's place of residence and while exploring the local town/city have vocals, the lyrical content of which usually deals with depressing themes (heartbreak, [[CannotSpitItOut inability to confess a crush]], and LossOfIdentity, to give examples).
** One of the first party members is a [[ChivalrousPervert perverted-yet-friendly]] classmate of the protagonist that quickly grows to be the protagonist's [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend]]. He also always has a VitriolicBestBuds relationship with the first female party member.
** The main plot begins with the protagonist taking a train into [[CityOfAdventure a new town]].
** There is a primary ColorMotif that pervade the game's artwork and UI: Blue for ''VideoGame/Persona3'' (and pink for the female protagonist in ''3''s remake), yellow in ''VideoGame/Persona4'', and bright red for ''VideoGame/Persona5''.

** Since ''VideoGame/Persona2'', the games all conclude with a female-sung vocal credits theme, usually sung in Japanese with a few GratuitousEnglish lines during the refrains and clearly told from the perspective of one of the main characters (the one exception is ''Persona 2: Eternal Punishment''[='s=] ending theme, which is performed in English by British singer Elisha La'Verne). This is especially notable as almost all other vocal themes in the series are sung entirely in English.
** Every game since the first ''VideoGame/{{Persona|1}}'' features the Velvet Room and [[SpiritAdvisor Igor]], who are the main source of Persona fusion. Additionally, all the games since ''3'' have Igor assisted by a silver-haired, gold-eyed female attendant dressed in blue - Elizabeth in ''VideoGame/Persona3'', Margaret in ''VideoGame/Persona4'', and twins Caroline and Justine in ''VideoGame/Persona5'' ([[spoiler:though said twins are actually two parts of a single personality named Lavenza, having been split apart by the BigBad]]). In the female route in the PSP remake of ''3'', the attendant can instead be a man named Theodore, but other than gender he matches the look of the other attendants. Although the female route is an AlternateContinuity, Theodore canonically exists. The similarities between the attendants aren't a coincidence; they're all siblings.
** Butterflies have been a recurring motif since the first game. They're usually associated (either explicitly or via WordOfGod) with [[BigGood Philemon]], but other characters, like Aigis in ''3'' and [[spoiler:Lavenza]] in ''5'', also have butterfly motifs.
** Characters associated with the Magician arcana tend to have bad luck with their love interests. From having their love interest [[spoiler:being killed]] (Junpei), having their love go unrequited (Kenji and Morgana), or both ([[spoiler:Yosuke]]).

** While ''Persona 3'' has you automatically hook up with any compatible character you reach a high enough rank with, the overtones are more obvious with [[RobotGirl Aigis]]. She has UndyingLoyalty towards you, can be romanced [[GayOption regardless of gender]], and is so [[SingleTargetSexuality single-mindedly dedicated to you]] that if [[VideoGame/Persona4 Yu]] gets her as his destined partner during ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'''s Group Date Cafe dungeon, she'll continue to insist that the MC is her most important person.

** In the ''Persona 2'' duology, every playable Persona user that appeared in ''P1'' returns as an NPC - or in Yukino, Nanjo, and Eriko's cases, as party members.

*** Shadows in ''3'' and ''4'' have strange forms with masks (representing Tarot's major arcana 1-12) and are derived from blob-like "Maya" shadows. In ''5'', Shadows take different forms depending on where they are encountered in the Mementos, but once that shell is broken they instead take the forms of mythological demons, and the Maya shadows are nowhere to be seen.

** Subverted with ''Persona 5'', which takes place in 2016 and early 2017 (but is referred to in-game as [[YearX 20XX]]). The game was supposed to be released in 2014, but ended up in DevelopmentHell until the real 2016, thus narrowly missing the pattern. Another possible reason for only referring to it as 20XX in the final game is perhaps to do with the [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump 2016 US presidential election]], which considering that the game tackles corrupted politicians as a main central plot-point, it might cause problems for the game if they were to still leave it as 2016, similar to all the media that were forced to be changed due to the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror 9/11]] event.

** Subverted with ''Persona 5'', which takes place in 2016 and early 2017 (but is referred to in-game as [[YearX 20XX]]). The game was supposed to be released in 2014, but ended up in DevelopmentHell until the real 2016, thus narrowly missing the pattern. Another possible reason for only referring to it as 20XX is perhaps to do with the [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump 2016 US presidential election]], which considering that the game tackles corrupted politicians as a main central plot-point, it might cause problems for the game if they were to still leave it as 2016, similar to all the media that were forced to be changed due to the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror 9/11]] event.

** Subverted with ''Persona 5'', which takes place in 2016 and early 2017 (but is referred to in-game as [[YearX 20XX]]). The game was supposed to be released in 2014, but ended up in DevelopmentHell until the real 2016, thus narrowly missing the pattern. Another possible reason for only referring to it as 20XX is perhaps to do with the [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump 2016 US President election]], which considering that the game tackles corrupted politicians as a main central plot-point, it might cause problems for the game if they were to still leave it as 2016, similar to all the media that were forced to be changed due to the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror 9/11]] event.

** Subverted with ''Persona 5'', which takes place in 2016 and early 2017 (but is referred to in-game as [[YearX 20XX]]). The game was supposed to be released in 2014, but ended up in DevelopmentHell until the real 2016, thus narrowly missing the pattern. Another possible reason for only referring to it as 20XX is perhaps to do with the [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump 2016 US President election]], which considering that the game tackles corrupted politicians as a main central plotpoint, it might cause problems for the game if they were to still leave it as 2016, similar to all the media that were forced to be changed due to the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror 9/11]] event.

** Subverted with ''Persona 5'', which takes place in 2016 and early 2017 (but is referred to in-game as [[YearX 20XX]]). The game was supposed to be released in 2014, but ended up in DevelopmentHell until the real 2016, thus narrowly missing the pattern. Another possible reason for only referring to it as 20XX is perhaps to do with the [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump 2016 US President election]], which might cause problems for the game if they were to still leave it as 2016, similar to all the media that were forced to be changed due to the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror 9/11]] event.

** Subverted with ''Persona 5'', which takes place in 2016 and early 2017 (but is referred to in-game as [[YearX 20XX]]). The game was supposed to be released in 2014, but ended up in DevelopmentHell until the real 2016, thus narrowly missing the pattern. Another possible reason for only referring to it as 20XX is perhaps to do with the 2016 US President election, which might cause problems for the game if they were to still leave it as 2016, similar to all the media that were forced to be changed due to the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror 9/11]] event.