History Videogame / Persona

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Completing the SEBEC route will reveal the fate of the four main characters (and depending who is the fifth member in the party) in the years to come. Since Yukino is not playable in the SEBEC route, hers is not reveal.

* ChekhovsClassroom: The manga adaption begins with a class about The Butterfly Dream from the Chinese text Zhuangzi.

At the time, the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series was known for its incredibly deep, yet NintendoHard gameplay. ''Persona'' was an attempt by Atlus to create a ''Shin Megami Tensei'' game that would appeal to the masses: a character-driven RPG that turned down the difficulty a few notches in order to be more accessible. And by and large it worked, creating a very successful series whose recent incarnations (starting with ''{{VideoGame/Persona 3}}'') have eclipsed the main series in popularity. Many of the main characters from ''Persona'' would later go on to make cameo appearances in the ''{{VideoGame/Persona 2}} duology''. (Three even being ''playable characters'' in ''Persona 2''.)

* ArmorOfInvincibility: Persona 1 dropped the ball in terms of ultimate armor. It DOES exist in the form of Caesar equipment for the head, arms, feet, and armor. Unfortunately, you can only make the Ceasar Feet once (as you only get that particular item needed in fusion once) and that's only if you return Ayase's ultimate persona, which means no Ayase, no ultimate legwear. The other parts come from returning three seperate persona at rank 8 (Seioubo for the Head, Baal for the Arm, and Athena for the body). But, the armor is found on a level 90 persona, by which you don't fear taking damage aynway, as it's quite a pain in the butt to keep making Athena just for that. Thankfully, it's completely possible to beat the game with store bought armor.

* StupidityIsTheOnlyOption - In order to enter a certain dungeon where Kandori is hiding, the party is [[MacGuffinDeliveryService forced to cash in]] the PlotCoupon/borderline MacGuffin they ''only just obtained'' by [[LockAndKeyPuzzle using it as a key]], which opens the door to the dungeon proper. Subverted in that Nanjo actually figures out the trap, but doesn't mention anything until after the Coupon is lost; according to him, StupidityIsTheOnlyOption if they're to confront Kandori. In the manga, he tries to get a Persona to open the door first but fails, meaning that there really is no other way.

* StupidityIsTheOnlyOption - In order to enter a certain dungeon where Kandori is hiding, the party is [[MacGuffinDeliveryService forced to cash in]] the PlotCoupon/borderline MacGuffin they ''only just obtained'' by [[LockAndKeyPuzzle using it as a key]], which opens the door to the dungeon proper. Subverted in that Nanjo actually figures out the trap, but doesn't mention anything until after the Coupon is lost; according to him, StupidityIsTheOnlyOption if they're to confront Kandori.

* GottaCatchThemAll: The missing shards of a MagicMirror [[spoiler: Later revealed to be a MacGuffin]].

* SpoilerOpening: The PSP version's animated opening contains some clues to [[spoiler: the AlternateUniverse being a ideal DreamLand of Maki's]], notably the way a giant Maki looms over the town. The song's lyrics also mentions [[spoiler:dreams]] several times, and the lines [[spoiler:"Don't wanna wake up/ 'Cause I'm happy here"]] are particularly heavy.

* WhereItAllBegan: [[spoiler: The school library is a gateway to Pandora's lair.]]

* YouCantThwartStageOne: [[spoiler: Kandori... pretty much wins, actually. His palace rises from the earth, he attains [[AGodAmI godhood,]] and the city is under his control.]]
* YouBastard: If you listen to Kei. His preferred options are to [[spoiler: [[SaveTheVillain let Kandori's lead scientist die,]] and [[SickbedSlaying pull the plug]] on an unconscious Maki.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The PSP opening, if not a straight up SpoilerOpening, at least contains some clues to [[spoiler: the AlternateUniverse being a ideal DreamLand of Maki's]], notably the way a giant Maki looms over the town and the lines [[spoiler: "don't wanna wake up, 'cause I'm happy here"]] in the intro song.

* SpoilerOpening: The PSP version.

* RevolvingDoorCasting: Igor is the only true consistent in the whole Persona series; while Philemon appears from time to time; he doesn't play a crucial role outside of ''Persona''.

Although you do not appear to have any serious injuries, you are sent to the hospital for a check-up. While there, you decide to visit Maki Sonomura, a classmate who has been in intensive care for a year despite only suffering from "minor delusions". Yet your visit is cut short when Maki is suddenly rushed into the emergency room and the hospital undergoes a weird transformation into a demon-filled labyrinth. Fortunately, you and your friends have gained a supernatural power to help defend against the demonic hordes, rescue Maki and find a way out of this maze: the mysterious inner-power of "[[SummonMagic Persona]]".

You are an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent, and the story begins with you and your friends in an empty classroom, taking up a dare to play the ritual-like children's game called "Persona". Suddenly, bolts of lightning strike you and your friends unconscious, and you experience a strange dream involving a golden butterfly.

Even though you don't appear to have any serious injuries, you are sent to the hospital for a check-up and decide to visit Maki Sonomura[[note]]US: "Mary"[[/note]], a classmate who has been in the ICU for a year "for minor delusions". But Maki is suddenly rushed into the emergency room, and the hospital undergoes a transformation into a demon-infested labyrinth. Fortunately, you and the other players of the "Persona" ritual have been granted a mysterious power that you can use to defend yourselves against the demonic hordes: the inner-power known as "[[SummonMagic Persona]]".

** Travelling through dungeons occurs in first-person, a holdover from ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei''.

*** Speaking of the combat, each cast member has a melee and a ranged attack.
** While demons would be regular enemies in ''Persona 2'' and ''Persona 5'', this is the only ''Persona'' game that utilizes a race classification system for demons (like in other SMT games), which was used in tandem with their Arcana. After this game, only Arcana would be used to group demons/Shadows.

** The Megido line of spells aren't NonElemental in this game: they're classified under the "Nuclear" line of spells alongside the Frei spells. (Which explains its symbol in ''{{VideoGame/Persona 3}}'').

** It would later be retconned that Kandori is being controlled to some degree by Nyarlathotep, but this is the only game where the BigBad is a human.

* ThirdOptionAdaptation: It's implied that both the main and Snow Queen plotlines are canon... somehow.
** [[spoiler:The ending of the Snow Queen Quest puts it right before the first boss of the SEBEC quest, ending with the gang going to SEBEC to save Maki (who was left there when Mark panicked after being overwhelmed by the demons). After reuniting with Maki, things apparently went as they did in the main game, only with Yukino there, as confirmed in {{VideoGame/Persona2}}.]]
** Also, the manga apparently follows the SEBEC chapter, yet also has the fight with Toro from the Snow Queen chapter.
* RaceLift: The original US version, again.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The playable characters barely know each other at the beginning of the story. Several hate each others' guts. Guess who it's up to to save the world.
* RegeneratingMana: Walking around restores SP.
* RescuedFromTheUnderworld: In a way. The guardian from the Thanatos Tower traps your Personas in Tartarus, and the group has to go in there to get them out. And yes, it's guarded by Cerberus.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Everyone from the alternate dimension? The imagination of a certain Maki Sonomura.]]
* SacrificialLamb: Yamaoka

* UnstableEquilibrium: Characters that are more efficient in combat -- either by doing damage, buffing their allies, or healing characters with status effects, etc. -- will gain more EXP for both their combat level and Persona level. This means that party members with less applicable use will get weaker and weaker as the game goes on. In short: The Protagonist, Maki, and Nanjo will level up normally. Everyone else will lag behind ridiculously, to the point where enemies can kill them in no time at all. It doesn't help that finished dungeons cannot be accessed after you beat them.

** There are sometimes only one or two representative Personas for certain Arcana. Jack Frost and his ilk, most whom are aligned with the Magician Arcana in later games, are all Lovers Personas, and they're the ''only'' ones representing that particular Arcana. There is also no real significance to the Fool or World Arcanas; Fool Personas can only be made through a fusion accident in the Velvet Room, and the World Arcana is treated like the rest of the deck.

[[caption-width-right:270: ''[[ThematicThemeTune Don't wanna wake up.]]''[[labelnote:*]]Pictured: Japanese cover for ''Megami Ibunroku Persona''[[/labelnote]]]]

Even though you don't appear to have any serious injuries, you are sent to the hospital for a check-up and decide to visit Maki Sonomura[[labelnote:*]]US: "Mary"[[/labelnote]], a classmate who has been in the ICU for a year "for minor delusions". But Maki is suddenly rushed into the emergency room, and the hospital undergoes a transformation into a demon-infested labyrinth. Fortunately, you and the other players of the "Persona" ritual have been granted a mysterious power that you can use to defend yourselves against the demonic hordes: the inner-power known as "[[SummonMagic Persona]]".

* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: Played straight in the main scenario; averted in the Snow Queen Quest. For the main game, it's [[spoiler:Avidya World, a massive cavern that, thanks to Pandora, spans all of Mikage-cho's underground.]] Meanwhile, the lack of a final dungeon for the Snow Queen Quest is because - with the exception of the Nemesis, Hypnos, and Thanatos Towers - it takes place entirely within St. Hermelin High, albeit frozen over.

* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: [[FinalBossNewDimension Avidya World]].

At the time, the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series was known for its incredibly deep, yet NintendoHard gameplay. ''Persona'' was an attempt by Atlus to create a ''Shin Megami Tensei'' game that would appeal to the masses: a character-driven RPG that turned down the difficulty a few notches in order to be more accessible. And by and large it worked, creating a very successful series whose recent incarnations (starting with ''{{VideoGame/Persona 3}}'') have eclipsed the main series in popularity. Many of the main characters from ''Persona'' would later go on to make cameo appearances in the ''{{VideoGame/Persona 2}} duology''. (Three even being ''playable characters'' in ''{{VideoGame/Persona 2}}''.)

The battle system is grid-based, which means that a character's position on the battle grid determines what they can attack. This makes melee fighting far more difficult than it has any right to be, and you often lose turns because your character isn't in range to attack anyone. While wandering in dungeons, you'll have a first-person viewpoint (a ''[=MegaTen=]'' mainstay at the time), but in certain rooms it switches to a third-person isometric view that lets you talk to your fellow party members. The conversation system that would be used in ''{{VideoGame/Persona 2}}'' (and dropped in {{VideoGame/Persona 3}}) was first used here, and the bad localization makes it even more bizarre than it would normally be: in what other game could you convince demons to help you by dancing the hula? Likewise, in what other game can you be killed by an evil, hula-dancing toilet?

The sudden popularity of the franchise after the successful revival with ''{{VideoGame/Persona 3}}'' led to a PSP UpdatedRerelease with brand new cel-shaded cutscenes (replaced the now-dated 90s era CG), a new interface, and numerous improvements to the game's balance, including a better mini-map and many more save points. This release came to America with much fanfare, [[OldShame especially from Atlus themselves]], who were quick to point out the newer, more faithful script, restoration of original character designs, and inclusion of ''all'' content left out of the [=PS1=] release.

** While demons would be regular enemies in ''[[VideoGame/Persona 2]]'' and [[VideoGame/Persona 5]]'', this is the only ''Persona'' game that utilizes a race classification system for demons (like in other SMT games), which was used in tandem with their Arcana. After this game, only Arcana would be used to group demons/Shadows.

** Tied to Megido above, there are far more types of attacks, status ailments, and spells that haven't been seen since this one, and indeed, across the rest of the franchise as a whole. This is the only game where Garu (wind) and Zan (force, which is usually treated as the wind element in other games) are usable together, there are four types of physical attacks, and all kinds of status ailments like Virus, Happy, and Puppet.

The really awful localization tends to be the most well-remembered element of this game outside of Japan. One of the earliest titles released by Atlus USA, it has gone down in gaming history as a textbook case of how ''not'' to localize a title. You see, Atlus had got it into its head that they were going to localize the Megaten series as the "''Revelations''" series [[note]]although this actually makes some sense -- every Megaten game features Revelations, but only the very first featured a true goddess reincarnating, and it didn't even have the word ''shin'' in the title[[/note]], and turn all the spells and demons into generic RPG-sounding names and make the characters Americans. The problem was, most of the translation didn't make sense. Yet despite all of this, it still has a die-hard cult following to this day, and copies of the PS1 English version are still incredibly rare and sell for more than ''twice'' the original retail price.

The sudden popularity of the franchise after the successful revival with ''{{VideoGame/Persona 3}}'' led to a PSP UpdatedRerelease with brand new cel-shaded cutscenes (replaced the now-dated 90s era CG), a new interface, and numerous improvements to the game's balance, including a better mini-map and many more save points. This release came to America with much fanfare, [[OldShame especially from Atlus themselves]], who were quick to point out the newer, more faithful script, restoration of original character designs, and inclusion of ''all'' content left out of the PS1 release.

* CulturalTranslation: Nearly all references to Japan are gone in the PS1 localization, though the music in the Satomi Tadashi stores and what is obviously a Japanese Shinto shrine somehow made it through localization.
** This also makes the economy of the game somewhat easier, thanks to changing yen/macca to dollars without adjusting for proper balance. As a result, many items are very cheap, and best of all, the healing spring that Trish (called Kelly in the US PS1 version) would've charged out the nose for is very cheap.

* ArcWords: ''I am thou... Thou art I.''

* UnstableEquilibrium: Characters that are more efficient in combat - either by doing damage, buffing their allies, or healing characters with status effects, ect - will gain more EXP for both their combat level and Persona level. This means that party members with less applicable use will get weaker and weaker as the game goes on. In short: The Protagonist, Maki, and Nanjo will level up normally. Everyone else will lag behind ridiculously, to the point where enemies can kill them in no time at all. It doesn't help that finished dungeons cannot be accessed after you beat them.
* VideoGameRemake - For the PSP.
* VisualPun: Takashi [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannya "Hannya"]] Hanya. What's interesting is that hannya themselves (female demons) appear as a generic enemies.
* WhereItAllBegan: [[spoiler:The school library is a gateway to Pandora's lair]].
* WorldTree: The [[SavePoint Agastya Tree]].
* YouCantThwartStageOne: [[spoiler:Kandori... pretty much wins, actually. His palace rises from the earth, he attains [[AGodAmI godhood]], and the city is under his control]].
* YouBastard: If you listen to Kei. His preferred options are to [[spoiler:[[SaveTheVillain let Kandori's lead scientist die]], and [[SickbedSlaying pull the plug]] on an unconscious Maki]].

-->''Mark danced crazy!''
----

* RescuedFromPurgatory: In a way. The guardian from the Thanatos Tower traps your Personas in Tartarus, and the group has to go in there to get them out. And yes, it's guarded by Cerberus.

''Mark danced crazy!''

* EvilTowerOfOminousness: The Snow Queen creates three towers within the school for a game. They are based off of ClassicalMythology gods, Hypnos, Nemesis, and Thanatos and each have a guardian that exemplifies them.