History Main / Persona

* The Creator/{{Atlus}} video game franchise, ''Franchise/{{Persona}}''

* The 1966 film by Creator/IngmarBergman, ''Film/{{Persona 1966}}''.

* UsefulNotes/CarlJung's psychological concept, the persona.

* The Creator/{{Atlus}} spinoff of the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' franchise, ''Franchise/{{Persona}}''
** The first game in the aforementioned series, ''VideoGame/{{Persona|1}}''

* The first game in the aforementioned series, ''VideoGame/{{Persona|1}}''

* The subset of the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' franchise, ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona''
* The first game in the aforementioned series, ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}''

* The subset of the ShinMegamiTensei franchise, ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona''

* The 1966 film by Creator/IngmarBergman, ''Film/{{Persona}}''.

* The ShinMegamiTensei series video game, ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona''

* The ShinMegamiTensei series video game, ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}''

* The 1966 film by IngmarBergman, ''Film/{{Persona}}''.

* The 1966 film by IngmarBergman, ''Film/{{Persona}}''.

* The 1996 film by IngmarBergman, ''Film/{{Persona}}''.

[[quoteright:270:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Coverforpersona.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:270:Japanese cover for ''Megami Ibunroku Persona'']]

->''Stupid people can be happy when ruled by smart people!''
-->'''[[{{Americanitis}} Nate Trinity]]'''

->''[[UpdatedRerelease The masses are only truly happy when being shepherded by the elite!]]''
-->'''[[BadassBookworm Kei Nanjo]]'''

''Persona'' is the first title in the ''Persona'' JRPG series, a spin-off of the ''ShinMegamiTensei'' video game series by {{Atlus}}. It's known as ''Megami Ibunroku Persona'' in Japan, ''Revelations: Persona'' in its first North American release, and ''Shin Megami Tensei Persona'' in its later North American PSP re-release. Why all the titles? Because the first release had...[[{{Macekre}} issues]]...with its localization.

The game begins with you and your classmates in an empty classroom, taking up a dare to play a game called "Persona" that appears to be a ritual of some sort. Just when it seems nothing has happened, everyone sees an apparition of a little girl in a white dress, crying and asking for help, which is then followed by everyone that hadn't played the Persona game before being struck by bolts of lightning. While unconscious, the group has a dream of a golden butterfly. Since the teacher and nurse aren't sure if you have any serious injuries they don't know of, they have you go to the hospital for a check-up. You get there and decide to visit another classmate, Maki Sonomura (US: Mary), who's been in the ICU for a year "for minor delusions". But not long after visiting Maki, she is rushed into the emergency room and the hospital suddenly transforms into a demon-infested maze - but you and the participants of the ritual now possess the power of "Persona" to fight back. What follows is a struggle for survival in a city infested with demons, cut off from the rest of the world.

Of course you are not alone. You're assisted with {{class clown}} and {{Delinquent}} (and [[TokenMinority black]] JiveTurkey in the old US version) Masao Inaba, nicknamed "Mark" (kept as his only name in the US), stuck up rich kid Kei Nanjo (US: Nate Trinity), and a girl who claims to be Maki. In addition, there are a lot of optional characters: {{class clown}} Hidehiko "Brown" Uesugi (US: Brad), [[LadyOfWar elegant,]] [[TheOjou Ojou]] Eriko "Elly" Kirishima (US: Ellen), [[TheDitz airheaded]] [[GenkiGirl cheery girl]] and "licensed [[SubculturesInJapan kogal]]" Yuka Ayase (US: Alana), IneffectualLoner Reiji Kido (US: Chris) or [[{{Delinquents}} ex-delinquent]] Yukino Mayuzumi, (US: Yuki and thanks to the Macekre, unplayable for more than an hour without hacking in the old US version).

At the time, the ''ShinMegamiTensei'' series was known for its incredibly deep, yet NintendoHard gameplay. ''Persona'' was an attempt by Atlus to create a ShinMegamiTensei 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 [[{{Persona 3}} most recent]] [[{{Persona 4}} incarnations]] have eclipsed the main series in popularity. Many of the main characters from ''Persona'' would later go on to make cameo appearances in the ''{{Persona 2}} duology''. (Three even being ''playable characters'' in ''{{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 ''{{Persona 2}}'' (and sadly dropped in {{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 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. 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 ''{{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.

----
!!Provides examples of:
* AdaptationDyeJob: To go with the RaceLift
* AdaptationExpansion: The Manga adds some additional plot to the story, mainly regarding [[CanonName Naoya's]] backstory.
** AdaptationDistillation: It also compresses some plot elements such as removing the Shrine section and helping the nurse before Elly arrives (instead, she met Ms. Sonomura on the road and awakens her Persona off screen), and Mark and Nanjou were the ones captured and to be taken to SEBEC rather than Police Station, leaving Brown to inform the rest, and they included the early parts of Snow Queen Quest (Toro and the penis demon) before they try going to SEBEC, awakening Ayase's Persona. And lastly? It seems that ''everyone'' minus Yukino ARE tagging along rather than 'just pick one aside of Naoya, Maki, Mark and Nanjou'.
* {{AKA 47}}: Averted.
* AllMythsAreTrue: At least those myths involving rituals that grant you demonic powers.
* AlternateUniverse: early in the game the Deva System ends up sending the party into a parallel world which is similar to how the real world was when Maki was first hospitalized, and indeed is practically a utopia for her. [[spoiler:And as it turns out, the Maki travelling with you is ''from said parallel world''.]] Disturbingly subverted much later, when it's revealed that [[spoiler:the parallel world is actually the Deva System's projection of the real Maki's ideal vision of her world. The System is capable of replacing the real world with Maki's ideal world, which would enable the real Maki to live in it as her ideal self; however, Maki's inner conflict over whether to enforce the change or reject it manifested itself as the [[StrangeGirl Strange Girls]] of the game, Aki and Mai.]]
* AlwaysCheckBehindTheChair: The hidden passage in Kandori's office.
* {{Americanitis}}: 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.
* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Your party is limited to five members. Once you have five, you can't recruit anyone else. While this makes sense gameplay-wise, and is explained plot-wise by having one of your party members pissing off a potential recruit so they leave, it's {{egregious}} because [[{{Persona 2}} later events]] imply everyone worked to save the city ''together''.
** Although, considering how both the SEBEC and Snow Queen chapters are canon, and how different characters become mandatory and optional in each, it's possible to have been with one person each if you choose Elly and Brown in the Snow Queen chapter and Reiji in the SEBEC one.
* ArcWords: ''I am thou... Thou art I.''
* AuthorAvatar: Tadashi.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Stat buffs/debuffs from spells will stack, with no theoretical limit. This means you can spam spells like [=MAGUp=] until the damage hits the 4000 mark... except that it takes ''many'' turns to reach that kind of damage, in which time most enemies can be killed repeatedly. In fact, it's only useful for the last boss, which spams debuffs, forcing you to counter with buffs.
** Another example is [[spoiler: Reiji]] if you recruit him. He has the potential to have the highest physical damage output (even stronger than Mark)and has the option of using several unique personae such as Lucifer at level 99 and Beelzebub at level 77. What makes him awesome but impractical is that he can't equip personae belonging to arcanum of the other 8 members, which are generally the majority of the personae of the game. In addition is the fact both Lucifer and Beelzebub are two very high level personae well beyond the levels needed to complete the game (the gamer can generally finish around level 70 if not earlier) not to mention finding the monster [[{{Continuity Nod}} Alice]] needed to drop Beelzebub's item (as well as her dropping the item)is about as rare as obtaining a [[{{Final Fantasy IV}} pink]] [[{{That one sidequest}} tail]]. The only real bonus about obtaining Lucifer is that once he is maxed out [[spoiler:his 8th rank Judgment spell changes and he maxes all of Reiji's stats.]].
* AwesomeYetPractical: Unlike {{Persona 3}} and {{Persona 4}}, Personae can be ranked up to rank 8 and then returned for an item. Many personas return into valuable items for use in later fusions such as the dark ash needed to make [[{{Satan}} Satan]] and melee weapons that can't be bought in stores and are infinitely better than enemy drops, such as the [[{{An Axe To Grind}} Mandau Spoon]] for Masao and the [[{{Good Old Fisticuffs}} Fuuma Ankoku Sho]] for Reiji. [[{{Guide Dang It}} The catch is to know which personae return for which items]].
* AxesInSchool: As soon as you look at Mark's equipment, you see that he indeed brought an axe to school.
* BilingualBonus: The Drugstore song for international audiences, as it's left untranslated. The song lyrics how to use the healing items it sells. Maybe that's why it's stuck in everyone's head?
* BishonenLine: [[spoiler:Pandora crosses this in her second form.]]
* BlindIdiotTranslation: The original US version.
* BurgerFool: Peace Diner, though they don't serve food until ''Persona 2''.
* ButThouMust: At one point, you're given the option to cut a [[WireDilemma red wire or a blue wire]], but either way the Deva System malfunctions and sends you back to your school anyway - [[OrIsIt or does it?]].
** There's also several other points where you have to make choices, and aside from a few events which decide [[spoiler:whether you get the DownerEnding or go on to EarnYourHappyEnding]], Thou Must.
** Also, if you didn't fulfill the requirements to get [[spoiler:Reiji]], and not having Brown or Elly when you enter the Factory, when Ayase wants to join you, Thou Must.
* ButtMonkey: In gameplay terms, Mark. For some reason, most of his Personas have really crappy weakness setups, poor speed and minimal multi-target abilities. Since experience is calculated by how much damage you do, and that's amplified by hitting multiple opponents, he'll lag behind the rest of the party very quickly. He also tends to take an assload more damage than the other characters. Still an okay party member, since his ability to [[MemeticMutation dance crazy]] is surprisingly useful in negotiations, but he gets into a lot of trouble.
** Not necessarily. While true that his arcanum doesn't allow him to equip the speedy Justice Personae, he serves to sweep up the mess with the Chariot arcanum's powerful spells and high Offensive Magical Power. Like with the Priestess class personae, how much use you can make out of his initial arcana depends upon [[{{difficult but awesome}} how skilled you are in fusion]]. In addition, one could remedy the fact by simply giving him another speedy arcana like Magician or by simply letting [[{{The Only One}} everybody else defend with him attacking]] to counteract this.
* CallingYourAttacks: In the Playstation original, Queen Asura in the Snow Queen quest does this in somewhat contracted form. Rakukaja becomes Rakaja, Mahabufudyne become Mahabudyne, and so on.
* ChekhovsGunman : [[spoiler:Yamaoka, Nanjo's dead butler, returns as his Ultimate Persona. This gets carried over to {{Persona 2}}]]
* ContinuityNod: The Snow Queen Quest is rather similar to the plot of ShinMegamiTenseiIf. Similarly, it looks like {{Persona 3}} took a few cues from this game. (Giant tower, Hypnos, Thanatos, Nemesis and [[spoiler:a "Night Queen"]] as plot-important beings)
** [[spoiler: Heck! It states right off the bat at the end that the Night Queen will return [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil as long as humanity wants to turn hope into despair.]] It seems that Atlus did some planning.]]
* CoolGuns: You get to use all kinds of them, from pistols to rifles.
* CoversAlwaysLie: The blurb on the back of the PSP remake states: "''In the near future, mankind has conqured dimensional travel, but the opened door swings both ways. Demons have invaded...''" This is quite different to the actual plot.
** Well, that is what the plot looks like at first. They're trapped in another dimension, and demons seem to be crawling out from nowhere. They didn't ''have'' to lie and say it took place TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, as the game was made in 1996, [[spoiler:but the last two points would be major spoilers if they said what was really going on]].
* CreepyChild: Two of them. One of them is actually ostensibly on your side, the other....[[EnfantTerrible erm...]]
** Mai is a little debatable on the "creepy" part. Very distrusting, yes. But out-and-out creepy? People find her to be quite cute in-game.
* CuttingOffTheBranches: In the original game, you could pick either the SEBEC route or the Snow Queen Quest, and for the SEBEC route, you had a choice of Brown, Elly, Ayase, or Reiji, while in the SQQ, you had a choice of two between Nanjo, Brown, and Elly. In {{Persona2}}, the SQQ took place before SEBEC's first boss, and involved Elly and Brown, while SEBEC involved Reiji.
* DieOrFly: The main characters all awaken their Personas when they're attacked by demons in pre-scripted battles.
* DingDongTheWitchIsDead: The general response among the denizens of the Black Market when you defeat the Harem Queen.
* DiscOneNuke: The Phaleg Persona, which learns Tarunda, Mediarama and Crimson Sublation (in a game where stat buffs from spells stack), ''and'' it blocks most spells. Its level? '''18'''.
** Gozu-tennoh is another example, giving you Megido and Megidola at level 18. Equip him on the main character and you're pretty much unstoppable, although you'll have to switch him out occasionally so ''others'' can get experience.
*** Returning Janus, a level 22 personae earns Masao the Mandau Spoon, which jumps his weapon attack power from about 65 or 92 to [[{{Readings are Off the Scale}} 181]]. He can't find another excellent weapon until the player returns a max rank Varuna for his ultimate weapon.
* DownerEnding: The Snow Queen Quest, [[MultipleEndings if]] [[spoiler:you don't collect enough mirror shards]].
* TheDragon: Takeda to Kandori. Anticlimatic, since he's merely a WarmupBoss.
** [[spoiler:He's later replaced by Pandora, who not only provides much more of a challenge, but goes on to be TheStarscream ''and'' FinalBoss.]]
* DramaticUnmask: [[spoiler:Philemon during the ending. The significance for this isn't fully known, however.]]
* DummiedOut: The room that contains the Snow Queen's Mask (needed to trigger the Snow Queen Quest path) ejects you in the US version of the game; it's still possible to trigger the Quest by placing the Mask in the inventory with a cheat device. The Snow Queen Quest itself was never actually translated until recently; the reason for this has been the subject of quite a few EpilepticTrees among fans.
** [[SarcasmMode Clearly it was the dick-demon, of which none appear in the main quest, and not a rushed release date.]]
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: For one, SP usage only varied between Personas and not skills, meaning Agi and Megidolaon could use the exact same amount of SP. And speaking of which, the Megido line of spells aren't NonElemental in this game: they're classified under the "Nuclear" line of spells. (Which explains its symbol in {{Persona 3}})
* EarWorm: In-universe, the Drugstrore song is this for Kei.
* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler:Pandora, TheDragon and FinalBoss, is essentially a manifestation of Maki's deep-seated desire to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and looks exactly like... oh screw it, just watch [[http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=2ChhiJxcY9o this]]. Oh, and a warning - did I mention just how [[NightmareFuel trauma-inducing]] this game actually is?]]
** Then there's Kandori. Poor bastard... What makes the main villain a poor bastard? Well, his Persona is [[spoiler:fucking ''Nyarlathotep''. This does, in fact, come back to screw him.]]
* EldritchLocation: Philemon's realm and [[FinalBossNewDimension Avidya World]].
* [=~Everything's Deader With Zombies~=]
* EvilMask: The Snow Queen mask says hi!
* GenerationXerox: There are multiple Satomi Tadashis around town, and all of the look the same. One of them is even implied to be a ''ghost,'' and looks just like the rest of them. Even the youngest of them, in the same high school that you're in, has a striking similarity to his relatives.
* FightWoosh
* FiveManBand: Your party size is, of course, five.
** SEBEC Route Canon:
*** TheHero: Naoya
*** TheLancer: Reiji
*** TheSmartGuy: Kei
*** TheBigGuy: Mark
*** TheChick: Maki
** Snow Queen Quest Canon:
*** TheHero: Naoya
*** TheLancer: Yuki
*** TheSmartGuy: Elly
*** TheBigGuy: Brown
*** TheChick: Ayase
* FridgeHorror: Avidya World. [[spoiler:It looks like your typical final boss dungeon, with creepy music and dark, distorted halls. But if you look at the doors closely enough, you'll notice that Avidya World is basically a twisted version of ''your school''. And nearly all the doors of the "normal" school refuse to budge now...]]
* GlassCannon: It can be anybody depending upon your persona setup. The character equipped with Gozu-Tennoh, for example, while possessing the power needed to sweep en masse, he is frighteningly fragile, and if any demon gets first shot at him, his host is toast. Same can be said for a persona of a holy element facing a Mudo spell and vice versa.
* GoldenSaucer: The Casino.
* GoodBadTranslation: ''"Mark danced crazy!"'' is the only thing kept from the horrid translation in the remake. Truly the SpoonyBard phenomenon of the 21st century.
** And the silly password Elly recites to get back inside the school ("Roses are red, zombies are blue, but my face is white, so you know I'm true"), which has been improved greatly by changing the third line ("[...] but I don't want brains [...]")
--->'''Brown''': "You can make a tofu taco, a tofu burger, but you can't make a tofu cow!" [[{{Flat what}} What?]]
* GottaCatchThemAll: The missing shards of a MagicMirror [[spoiler: Later revealed to be a {{MacGuffin}}]].
* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: [[spoiler:The SEBEC route true end. SEBEC and Takahisa's name gain media attention, but not the students who were involved, which is the heroes. Only they know the true story behind it.]]
* GreenEyedMonster: [[spoiler:Chisato, which is why she decided to become the Harem Queen. Thankfully, [[ThePowerOfLove her boyfriend]] helped her come to her senses. That, and a [[DefeatMeansFriendship good beating.]]]] [[spoiler: Then again, [[NotSoDifferent it's not like Maki was any better...]]]]
* GuideDangIt: unlocking [[spoiler:Reiji]] is notoriusly difficult and requires one to take many steps that are literally ''counter-intuitive'' to ''any'' person who has ''ever'' played a game of this type before. [[spoiler: Would ''you'' think to refuse every person to join you and go through ''entire dungeons'' with only four characters, when you have a FiveManBand?]]
** Getting on the Snow Queen Quest also requires a guide.
** For that matter, the ''entire game'' is pretty much one big GuideDangIt. You are either spending hours poking around trying to find items or experimenting with demons to try and get items and spell cards, or are spending a couple minutes with a strategy guide or online FAQ. Having a guide is practically ''REQUIRED'' for this game!
* HelloInsertNameHere
* HelloNurse: The school Nurse. Yowza.
** Averted with the [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies Dead Nurse]] enemies.
* IcePalace: In the Snow Queen quest, St. Hermerlin High School effectively becomes one.
* IconicItem: The protagonist's pierced ear, Maki's pendant, Mark's NiceHat, and Nanjo's #1 scarf, just to name a few.
* IdleAnimation: Every character sprite is set to nonstop idle animation, even during cutscenes. This could be fanwanked as them just being fidgety teenagers, though.
* InnBetweenTheWorlds: The Velvet Room and [[HealingSpring Trish's Fountain]].
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Mark, Yukino and Nanjo.
* KarmaMeter: Sort of. In the SEBEC route, which Ultimate Personas you can fuse depends on making "good" moral choices at several points.
** Speak to the little girl at Peace Diner. If she says that you've made the wrong choice somewhere, you probably have.
* LampshadeHanging: Mark does this a few times, at least. The most prominent is when you run into Reiji in the second floor classroom. Considering it's Reiji's best contact (and the best contact in the whole game), it's hilarious.
-->'''Mark''': What a gloomy Gus! But hey, for all we know... Maybe he's the kinda guy who secretly practices magic tricks at home.
* {{Leitmotif}}: Maki, and the rest of the characters Brown, Elly, Ayase and Reiji have their own. Unfortunately, except for Maki's, Nanjo's, Reiji's and Masao's, the leitmotifs are removed in the PSP remake.
* TheLegionsOfHell: Started pouring out into the real world after the first activation of the Deva System. They're mainly composed of UrbanLegends, {{obake}}, {{youkai}}, and the odd angel.
* LethalChef: The nurse is stated to be this. The characters actually feel sorry for her ex-boyfriend once they see her dream of him.
* LightningCanDoAnything: Including stun people, [[spoiler:form into a ball and blow up half a city district to make way for an ElaborateUndergroundBase]] and render the entire main cast unconscious so that they have a dream of a butterfly and gain their NewPowersAsThePlotDemands.
* LostWoods: The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Lost Forest]].
* MeaningfulName: Pandora, obviously.
* MoreDakka: The main character and Brown both utilize machine guns and uzi automatics respectively.
* MultipleEndings
* NamesTheSame: There's Yosuke here, but his last name is not [[{{Persona 4}} Hanamura]]. For those who doesn't know, he's [[{{Americanitis}} Bruce]]. His girlfriend is [[{{Batman}} Selina]].
** Naoya? Don't you mean [[DevilSurvivor that genius programmer in Aoyama?]]
* NoobCave: The Hospital.
* NonElemental: Averted in the remake. Everything, even axes and uzi automatics have strengths and weaknesses against demons. Apparently, Angels can take shotgun fire, but certainly hate getting [[{{More Dakka}} peppered in the face by an uzi automatic]]. Upheld only on one noticeable attack: Butterfly Storm.
* NowWhereWasIGoingAgain: Averted. Since Peace Diner serves no other purpose, it's hinted early on that it acts as a place where you can get hints from your party members, and in that sense is like the hint stand from ''{{Earthbound}}''.
* OneWingedAngel: Kandori and [[spoiler:Pandora]]. Kandori is a variation, as his transformation is the result of [[spoiler:''his own Persona taking control of his body'']].
* PersonalityPowers: The titular Personas are literally elements of one's personality given physical form.
* RedOniBlueOni: Masao and Kei.
* ThirdOptionAdaptation: Its 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) Presumably, after reuniting with Maki, things went as they did in the main game, only with Yukino there.]]
** 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.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Everyone from the alternate dimension? The imagination of a certain Maki Sonomura.]]
* SacrificialLamb: Yamaoka
* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack: Justified since the ZombieApocalypse occurs, leaving no time for a reasonable wardrobe change.
* [[{{ptitlev2ypgugs}} Schrodinger's Butterfly]]: The exact quote is a major part of the game!
* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: Variation: There are five possible party members - Brown, Ayase, Yukino, Elly, and [[GuideDangIt (if you jump through the right hoops)]] Reiji. You get to recruit one of them. (Possibly two if you take the Snow Queen path, if you replace Ayase with Nanjo, the latter of which is prerequisite for the SEBEC story.) The rest? Well, who knows what happens to them?
** Sent to safety, completed the Snow Queen Quest in-canon.
* SdrawkcabName: [[spoiler:"Erusaer Tsymmom", the spell that Maki's mom taught her when she was little so she wouldn't feel lonely.]] Now read it backwards. [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther They really did care for each other!]]
* SelfDeprecation: Actually easy to miss even by seasoned vets to the game. At one point in the game, Aki calls Maki a [[{{Pettanko}} flat-chested woman]]. Once you learn [[spoiler: Maki's dirty little secret]], the joke seems much harsher in hindsight as she is apparently [[spoiler: insecure about her figure]].
* SinisterSubway: You even get to fight [[HPLovecraft Yog-Sothoth]] in it!
* SkippableBoss: [[spoiler:The mutant teddy bear and Hariti]]. In fact, [[spoiler:Skipping Mutant Teddy Bear is the only way to get the Good Ending. You can still get the Good Ending by fighting Hariti, but it bars you from getting some Ultimate Personas.]]
** It may be all the more wiser to avoid that fight anyway. [[spoiler:Hariti]] can actually put the hurt on a given party, especially if the player was foolish enough to leave Maki as the sole healer since she steps out of that battle.
* SlapSlapKiss: Tamaki and Tadashi have this relationship.
* SpoilerOpening: The PSP version.
* 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.
** Starting the Snow Queen Quest requires unsealing a mask that everyone says is cursed. [[{{Sarcasm Mode}} Obviously the logical thing to do.]]
** So, it would be the logical thing to debunk a myth? Just because everybody says something or other is cursed doesn't mean it totally applies in real life, where curses and the norm are completely superstitious. Then again, considering the power of the Deva System, it may not be the case.
* SummonMagic: The summoning of one's Persona, complete with [[CallingYourAttacks lots of shouting]] and InstantRunes.
* SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity: The puzzle on the last floor before fighting Kandori basically amounts to free healing.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Not actually to ''death,'' but you have numerous options to escape without having to fight.
* TrappedInAnotherWorld: [[spoiler:Subverted in that its not another world at all, but a manifestation of Maki's imagination.]]
* UselessUsefulSpell: Averted, since, as per Megaten tradition, buffs and debuffs can be ''quite'' useful in this game.
** Not really. In persona 1, these spells waste turns when it really is faster to just kill them. Buffs and Debuffs aren't useful in Persona 1, unlike other games.
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: [[FinalBossNewDimension Avidya World]].
* 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.
* WastedSong: About half of the soundtrack is made up of songs that are rarely played more than once or twice, especially the {{Leitmotif}}s.
* WhereItAllBegan: [[spoiler: The school library is a gateway to Pandora's lair]].
* WorldTree: The [[SavePoint Agastya Tree]].
* [=~You Can't Thwart Stage One~=]: [[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]].
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''Mark danced crazy!''

-->''Stupid people can be happy when ruled by smart people!''\\
'''[[{{Americanitis}} Nate Trinity]]'''

-->''[[UpdatedRerelease The masses are only truly happy when being shepherded by the elite!]]''\\
'''[[BadassBookworm Kei Nanjo]]'''

* DemonicSpiders: Grimies, purposely placed where they are in the final dungeon to make you risk the 40 minutes it takes to actually reach the final boss in one fell swoop. They are also TheUnintelligible, which means that they're hard to negotiate with.
** Pretty much any demon capable of spamming multi target ailment attacks like sleep and guilt, such as Nightmares and Arpachis. Imagine being powerless and mesmerized to attack each other.
*** The above is remedied by equipping personae which reflect or null their magics, but the trope is still upheld due to the rarity of those personae, plus the need to move onto better, more capable personae.
** Kuchisake-Onne is extremely hazardous against those who do an SQQ max Ambrosia run, in which the gamer at level 20 has to go into [[{{Luck Based Mission}} Thanatos Tower]] first. In there, she's commonly fought, she can't be talked away, and she spams Mamudo, which will most likely off any member not fortunate enough to have a dark type persona, which at that point in the game, is extremely limited.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: This got an K-A rating from the ESRB. Admittedly Persona's a bit lighter than most of the series, and the horrible translation supports that somewhat, but '''it's still a [=MegaTen=] game.'''

* YouBastard: If you listen to Kei. His preferred options are to [[spoiler: [[SaveTheVillain let Kandori's lead scientist die]], and [[IfYouShouldDieBeforeYouWake pull the plug]] on an unconscious Maki]].

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 ''{{Persona 2}}'' (and sadly dropped in {{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?

* HeyItsThatVoice: The PSP remake has minimal voice acting, but there was a Drama CD that used some NamesToKnowInAnime. Including:
** AkiraIshida as the main character (Naoya). He'll voice the main character of {{Persona 3}} (Minato) in the future.
** KosukeToriumi as Mark. He'll voice {{Persona 3}}'s clown comic relief (Junpei) in the future.
** ToshiyukiMorikawa as Kei. He'll reprise the role in {{Persona 2}}
** RyotaroOkiayu as Brown.
** {{Yukana}} as Elly. Unfortunately, she [[TheOtherDarrin doesn't reprise the role in the second game]].
** KazuyaNakai as Reiji. He'll voice {{Persona 3}}'s tough loner guy (Shinjiro) in the future.

''Persona'' itself is quite an experiment, and one that doesn't entirely work. 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 ''{{Persona 2}}'' (and sadly dropped in {{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?

''Persona'' itself is quite an experiment, and one that doesn't entirely work. 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 ''{{Persona 2}}'' (and sadly dropped in {{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?