Atlus fuses a new Persona

[02.03.99] » Persona 2 revealed at an exhibition in Japan.

   Atlus announced the newest entry in its cash cow Megami Tensei series (known as the Revelations series in North America) last Sunday at a special show in Roppongi, Tokyo. Titled Persona 2: Tsumi [Sin], the game is rather obviously the sequel to Persona, the only game related to the series to see a North American release (Soul Hackers is part of the Megami Tensei series, but not related to Persona). Set a few years after Persona, it will feature a number of returning characters from the first game, as well as many new characters.

   This time around, the story involves a mysterious disease spreading through the main characters' high school. The disease is apparently confirmation of a rumor that if people were to wear the high school's insignia, which is cursed, disaster would strike. Enter the main character, Tatsuya Suo, who must unravel the mystery with the aid of his friends.

   Most of Persona 2's gameplay features are still in the dark, but we do know that a number of elements from Persona will be included, such as the ability to collect Spell Cards by talking to monsters and then fusing them into Personas (similar to FF6's Espers or BOF3's Masters).

   The show featured a great deal more than just the unveiling of Persona 2. The producer of the Megami Tensei series, Koji Okada, and its character designer, Kazuma Kanedo, paid a visit to talk about their latest creation. There was also a live perfomance of some of the music from the series, and even a fashion show of the school uniforms designed for the game (see images below).

   Persona 2 is due out this summer in Japan, and a demo of the title will be included the PlayStation version of Soul Hackers, to be released in Japan this April. But will Persona 2 see the light of day in North America? Atlus is still fighting to get Soul Hackers past Sony, so don't get your hopes up just yet.