Tatsuya is a student at the Seven Sisters High School. A lone wolf by nature, Tatsuya exudes that cool demeanor that makes him popular with the ladies and admired by the gents. While
trying to get his motorbike to start one evening after class, Tatsuya begins hearing a voice in his head. “Thou art I and I art thou.” The classic calling card of the Persona. A harrowing experience for sure, but what could have triggered this event? Many students of the Seven Sisters High School are being effected by a curse. A curse that disfigures their faces. A curse that started as a rumor. Other rumors are coming true as well. A mysterious figure known only as the Joker seems to be at the root of these events. How is he doing this, and more importantly, why? It seems Joker is out for revenge. Revenge on Tatsuya for something he did in the past, but what?
1.Graphics(Great)-Persona 2 looks like a reworked classic PS1 game. I couldn’t help but be reminded of one of my old favorite games called Breath of Fire 3. Very similar to an animated GIF picture in someome’s profile picture, characters will zip across the screen like they were in full sprint run. I suspect it is because the hardware it is being played on is more powerful then 
its previous incarnation. This does not detract from the game as the animated sprites still look good dashing in and out of buildings and hallways. What really gives the graphics the kick in the pants are the reworked and beautifully animated cut scenes that pop up throughout the game. Like rewarding pieces of candy, the new FMV films are well worth the effort to unlock them. One of the cooler new aspects of the game is a gallery mode. The gallery will let you re-view all the unlocked scenes as well as give you the option to view the old FMV cut scenes to compare.
2.Gameplay(Good)- Being a veteran of Persona 3 and Persona 4for the playstation 2, Persona 2 feels familiar but at the same time way different. The familiar setting of a school starts as your base of operations. From there the world is opened up into four districts that you can explore. Talk to people, shop, and reveal possibly embarrassing encounters the Persona series is known for.
After beginning the game, your party forms quickly. Moving from one partner to two, and swelling to a party size of five characters, It seems that everyone is forming around you just because you walked by instead of developing a relationship with each individual. It’s not
because of the main character is bleeding charisma. It’s more like he has promised a piece of candy to random strangers so they follow him with everlasting hope. This is different from later incarnations of the series as the player normally has to meet and form bonds with characters before they will start helping you.
Battles are initiated using the classic random encounter system. This means you will be cruising around and get thrown randomly in battle unlike Persona 3 and 4 where you can see the monsters and try to avoid them. The big downside with this form of battle system is that when you need to run up floor by floor through your high school or building, it seems like you cant take more then three steps before being thrown back into battle. Jumping randomly in and out of battle makes it hard to keep perspective of where you were going. Make sure you use the provided compass to remember which direction you were heading. Otherwise you’ll be walking back and forth trying to remember what you were doing, possibly adding more encounters.
Combat plays out in a traditional turned based series of events. I have longed for classic JRPG style of combat where I can control every characters’ actions and not be forced to let the computer make choices for me. If you however don’t feel the same way, there is an auto battle function. Be mindful though, some monsters are immune to certain attack types like guns or fists. With the auto battle system, characters will use the same attacks over and over even if the monster is immune to the attack type. Party members can also combine attacks during combat to form fusion spells. Somewhat similar to Chrono Trigger, two or more characters can combine an attack to form a larger, more devastating attack. This may be important when it comes to boss battles.
Aside from the standard attacking, use item, and magic options if party member has unlocked any, there is a cool new feature called contact. With the contact ability you can actually talk to the demon or monster you are facing. Shake them down for money, items, or even form bonds with them. Monsters and characters are linked together through the ever complicated system 
of Persona where bonuses are given for alike species and penalties are given for opposites. Each character has a different list of possible choices to use when it comes to the contact ability that reflect their own personality. For example, I ran into a group of fairies and picked my main character Tatsuya to talk to them. My options included making sound effects to amuse them or discuss with the fairies what it means to be a man. Needless to say they were unimpressed about my manliness discussion and proceeded to attack me and my party. The next time I ran into a group of fairies I turned to one of my team members of the female persuasion. Quickly choosing the dance option, she promptly started to bust a move. I couldn’t help but grin. My manipulation was working well and eventually I was able to form a contract with them. The fairies quickly handed over some tarot cards which I will need to collect and use in the Velvet Room. In the Velvet room I can use the tarot cards to acquire new personas and special abilities. Sometimes you can even select multiple party members to try and combine their contact skills producing hilarious results.
Another feature in Persona 2 that is different then Persona 3 and 4 is the rumor system. From your interactions with random people and the main story line, players can collect and exchange rumors with rumormongers. These rumors can then be taken to the Kuzunoha Detective Agency. For a fee, the detective will help spread the rumors and they may become reality. Depending on how you handle things, there are random outcomes to these spread rumors. One of the first rumors you spread will result in a new place to buy arms and armor to equip your characters.
While playing Persona 2 there were many options and things I could do. I think I have been spoiled by current games. With quest logs and follow this path heads up displays, I could never shake the feeling of being lost. More times then I can remember I stumbled across what I was intended to do rather than having a clear idea of what was necessary to progress the story.
3.Story(Great)-Always an ever quirky tale of oddness, Persona 2 will keep you coming back for more and more.
4.Soundtrack(Great)-Although there isn’t much spoken dialog to add to the soundtrack, the music alone of Persona 2 is well worth looking into. Most retail copies will come with a sample of the soundtrack that will satisfy all comers, but it may be worth your while to find the whole thing. It will keep your blood pumping.
5.Replay Value(Great)-With so many combinations of persona and the velvet room, not to mention alternate outcomes from spreading rumors, Persona 2 will warrant at least another play through. Like many movies, playing it a second time will help your understanding of events that have happened in game and possibly shed light on others you may have missed.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Shin Megami Tensei’s Persona 2: Innocent Sin is well worth your time. Anyone into JRPGs will fall in love with this game if they arn’t hung up on cutting edge graphics. Offering several hours of game play, the low price tag will make anyone happy about their investment.
A BIG THANK YOU goes out to Atlus for providing a copy of Shin Megami Tensei’s Persona 2: Innocent Sin for review.
Game Rating:(3.5)[Great] Game type:(RPG) Game System:(PSP) By:(Atlus)
Rating system: Rating Point Value: (Trash)=0 (Meh)= .25(Good)=.5(Great)=.75(Outstanding)=1.0
Game Score System: Overall Total Value: (Trash)=0-1.5(Meh)=1.75-2.25(Good)=2.5-3.25(Great)=3.5-4.25(Outstanding)=4.5+
Rating Suggestions:
(Trash): Don’t bother with any form of purchase. This product isn’t worth the effort to purchase it.
(Meh): Not at all impressive. This product isn’t something that should be recommended for most people to enjoy. Flawed or incomplete.
(Good): An average score this product does what it is intended to do and will be worth at least a rent if you are interested in it. A solid item that will be enjoyed.
(Great): This product is highly recommended. It is well worth the investment if you are interested in it. You will not be disappointed in a purchase of this item.
(Outstanding): You needed to own two of this product yesterday. Superior quality, going beyond what it was intended to do.
