Persona (universe)
Persona (universe) | |
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Developer(s) | Atlus P-Studio |
Publisher(s) | Atlus |
Genre(s) | Role-playing |
Console/platform of origin | PlayStation |
First installment | Revelations: Persona (1996) |
Latest installment | Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth (2018) |
Article on Wikipedia | Persona (universe) |
Persona (ペルソナ, Persona) is a series of role-playing games developed by Atlus. A sub-series of the Megami Tensei franchise, the games blend life simulation with dungeon crawling.
Franchise description
The Persona series began in 1996 as an experimental spin-off of the Megami Tensei series of RPGs. Departing from the traditional first-person gameplay and post-apocalyptic setting of its parent series, Persona games take place in a modern metropolis and focus on a party of high school students, each wielding the power of "Personas". Personas are described as "masks to wear through everyday life", and bestow the user with a guardian entity which takes the form of a mythological figure and is capable of magic and other supernatural abilities. The games take heavy symbolism from Jungian psychology, as well as the tarot cards. Each game takes place in a separate locale and makes few direct references to its predecessor, though various Personas recur from game to game, as does the series' mainstay location "The Velvet Room" and its mysterious master Igor. Inevitably, the protagonists end up confronting the supernatural being responsible for the game's central conflict, and defeat them in combat in order to resolve it. More modern Persona games (3 and onward) place additional emphasis on "Social Links", a visual-novel like system where the player character converses with various NPCs, including their party members, and helps them through the struggles of their individual character arcs. In turn, the strengthened bonds of the Social Links grant the main character additional power, such as new Personas to wield or added inventory to shops.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
The Persona franchise makes its Super Smash Bros. series debut as the first DLC franchise in the Fighters Pass. In addition to one newcomer, the series is represented by a stage, several character cameo appearances, 11 music tracks from across three games, four Mii Fighter costumes, and 11 Spirits. The series made its debut alongside the Version 3.0 update and its associated new content.
Character
- 71. Joker: The protagonist of Persona 5 appears as the first newcomer who is part of the Fighters Pass. In battle, he wields a knife and an airsoft gun, but the power of the Wild Card allows him to call upon multiple Personas to his aid. Chief among them is Arsene, his starting Persona whom, when Joker’s Rebellion Gauge is maxed out, will be unleashed and give his attacks a slight boost. Arsene cannot be damaged and will persist until the gauge runs out. Finally, his Final Smash calls upon the Phantom Thieves to catch any opponents in an All-Out Attack. He is confirmed to release on April 17, 2019 alongside Mementos and its 11 music tracks.
Stage
- Mementos: The psychedelic Metaverse subway station from Persona 5 where Morgana first revealed his ability to transform from a cat into a bus. The stage’s layout is mostly flat with a handful of platforms similar to Battlefield, but walls may close in from any of the blast zones and a train may come rushing through the bottom of the screen. The Morgana car will drop off familiar Phantom Thieves who will watch and react to the battle at play. Finally, the background colors will change depending on the music track concurrently playing.
Music
New Tracks
Persona received three arrangements for Ultimate.
- Beneath the Mask (New Arrangement): A remix of the theme that plays in the Tokyo overworld at night in Persona 5.
- I'll Face Myself (New Arrangement): A remix of the main boss theme of Persona 4.
- Aria of the Soul (New Arrangement): A remix of the Velvet Room theme present in every Persona title.
Source Tracks
- Last Surprise: The main battle theme of Persona 5.
- Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There: The opening theme of Persona 5.
- Rivers in the Desert: The boss theme for the fights against Shadow Masayoshi Shido, the Holy Grail, and Caroline and Justine in Persona 5.
- Our Beginning: The second phase of the final boss theme of Persona 5.
- Reach Out to the Truth: The main battle theme of Persona 4.
- Time To Make History: The main battle theme of Persona 4 Golden.
- Mass Destruction: The main battle theme of Persona 3.
- Battle Hymn of the Soul: The final boss theme of Persona 3.
- An instrumental version of "Life Will Change" was used in Joker's reveal trailer, as well as the track "The Spirit". However, neither of these tracks are in Ultimate.
Other content
Games with elements from or in the Super Smash Bros. series
Revelations: Persona
- Aria of the Soul, a recurring track throughout the series, debuted in this game and receives a remix in Ultimate.
- Igor, a recurring character in the series since the first installment, appears as a spirit.
Persona 3
- Mass Destruction and Battle Hymn of the Soul are both taken from this game.
- A Mii Costume based off of the main character from this game also appears.
Persona 4
- Reach Out To The Truth and I'll Face Myself are both taken from this game.
- A Mii Costume based off of the main character from this game is available, as well as a hat based on Teddie, the game's mascot.
Persona 4 Golden
- Time To Make History is taken from this updated version of Persona 4.
Persona 5
- Playable Characters:
- Mii Costumes:
- A Morgana Hat appears as headgear for Miis.
- Stages:
- Mementos originates from this game.
- Music:
- Last Surprise, Beneath the Mask, Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There, Rivers In the Desert, and Our Beginning all originate from this game.
- Spirits:
- Morgana, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts (both in a group and individually), and Caroline & Justine all appear as DLC spirits.
Trivia
- The Megami Tensei series, from which the Persona series deviates, previously crossed over with the Fire Emblem series in Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE.
- In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tsubasa Oribe, as well as her "Carnage Form", a character from the crossover, appears as a Spirit.
- In addition, Chrom and Marth, playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, appear in the crossover.
- Persona, EarthBound, and Final Fantasy are the only universes without playable characters from the first installment in their series in Super Smash Bros.
- Persona is the first third-party universe (with a playable character represented in Smash) that is a sub-series (as Persona deviates from the Megami Tensei franchise).
- Persona is also the first sub-universe to not have its root universe featured in Smash.
- Following Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Bayonetta, and Castlevania, Persona is the fifth universe with a playable character to have games in its series be rated M by the ESRB.
- Persona is the first universe to introduce a new company in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as the copyright in Joker's reveal trailer mentions Atlus (although it is wholly owned by Sega, who is already represented in the game).
- Persona is the first long-running series to use a specific logo from one installment (the Phantom Thieves's logo from Persona 5) to represent the whole franchise instead of a more generic symbol like Cloud's (the Final Fantasy title initials) or Ryu and Ken's (the Street Fighter logo's initials).
Persona universe | |
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Fighter | Joker (SSBU) (Arsène) |
Stage | Mementos |
Other | Ann Takamaki · Futaba Sakura · Haru Okumura · Makoto Niijima · Morgana · Protagonist (Persona 3) · Protagonist (Persona 4) · Ryuji Sakamoto · Teddie · Yusuke Kitagawa |
Spirits | Spirits |
Music | Ultimate |