We begin with an opening, of which you guys can see for yourselves here
. Kinda a bit of a Spoiler Opening though so beware people.
We then get our title screen of which, we select a NEW GAME, with our difficulty set to Beginner, since I am a wuss crunched for time. We get our usual disclaimer that this is not similar to any effect in real life before we begin...
"Once, I dreamt I was a butterfly. I forgot myself and knew only my happiness as a butterfly. Soon, I awoke, and I was myself again. Did I dream that I was a butterfly? Or do I now dream that I am a man? Yet there is a distinction between myself and the butterfly. This is a transformation of the physical."
Hmm...anyone else ever get into strange thoughts of "I am me. And I exist as I am." in this world or is it just me?
Anyway, game. We open to 1F Empty Classroom when a hat-wearing student named Masao Inaba, known as Mark, is asking if this thing called Persona works. Hey! This game is working so far! A smug student named Hidehiko Uesugi, known as Brown, says that he bets that something strange will happen. Mark takes him, betting an all-you-can-eat meal at Peace Diner. The stakes are high! A high tab on food is on the line! An airheaded student with a Valley Girl accent named Yuka Ayase bets with Brown and so does a ponytailed student, named Eriko Kirishima, known as Elly. Mark expresses his disbelief at this and asks a glasses-wearing student named Kei Nanjo and a cool-headed student named Yukino Mayuzumi for support but is only met with "I don't care." In a last minute resort, he goes to me, a male with a pierced ear for support. Can I say that "I don't care" either? No? Ah well. Being the gene-savvy person I am, I deny Mark's offer and side with Brown. To which, we this lovely response. "All ya'alls crazy." And so this Persona thing begins...
...which appears to be some sort of incantation when you have people covering the corners of the room walking around saying, "Persona! Persona! Please come here!" Which seems to be nothing at all, much to Brown's surprise. Whoops! Food for Mark! But wait, what is this...A CUTSCENE! That wasn't in the Playstation version!
(Info time: One of the updates is at times, there are cutscenes for important events. They are few and far in-between)
Nanjo finds a young ghostly girl in white in the room crying for help before he, Mark, Yukino and I get shocked by electricity from the lights. -gasp- What shall happen next?
One traveling cutscene with a golden butterfly later, we meet Philemon, who is the guide of consciousnesses and unconsciousness. He asks us for our name and so we give the name that was presented in the manga adaptation and is the one fans refer to, Naoya Todou, nickname Nat. (Nat is my making though. Since we have a Mark and an Elly as nicknames, why not Nat?) Philemon congratulates us as many don't remember themselves in this domain. He tells us of the many selves of ourselves, of divine love and of demonic hatred. Many lose themselves but thanks to our firm sense of self, he grants us the power of Persona, the ability to control those other selves. Phil then sends us back to our time and place...
We awaken in the Infirmary, and oh my god I'm going to hear this song for days. The nurse awakens us and remarks that I look cute asleep. Okaaaaay. Natsumi Yoshino is obviously that kind of nurse. Our homeroom teacher, Saeko Takami rushes in, worried sick about us. She is relieved to see us well. However, she tells us to go to the Mikage Hospital to check us out. We get electrocuted and were unconsciousness and we have to go to the hosptial? Fine but...where is the ambulance? And the concerned parents? I'd expect some more fanfare about this. Unless it's some kind of cover-up! -shifty eyes- Nurse Natsumi tells of of a student in the hospital with Mark telling us that it is Maki. Ms. Saeko suggests we visit her while we are there and tells us that she has been hospitalized for a year. A year?! How is she getting along with school work then? Does someone send homework to her?
I can now control Nat. Talking to Saeko reveals that we were preparing for the school festival which doesn't seem to be going too well and Mark gives us directions to the hospital. Our nurse reveals that the plant is one we should "talk" to and so we do...revealing that this purple plant is our save point that is known as the Agastya Tree. I have the strangest feeling that this wasn't there before and indeed, another update to the game is that there are more save spots. Not that I'll notice. And with this exposition done and over with, it's time to end this part. Any tips and advice will always be appreciated. See you all later!
Comments
