Megami Ibunroku Persona (1996)
Genres:Role-playing (RPG)
Themes:Fantasy, Mystery
Game modes:Single player
Story:While the West got Persona: Revelations, an Americanized port for the Playstation, Japan got its first Persona game under Megami Ibunroku Persona. The West eventually got a more faithful and enhanced remake on the Playstation Portable titled, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona with changed UI and music.
This 1996 Atlus role-playing game takes you on an adventure throughout Mikage-cho, where your classmate, Maki Sonomura, suddenly goes missing. Battle against demons as you fight your way to the suspicious SEBEC branch president, Takahisa Kandori. Additionally, join the battle back at St. Hermelin and rival against the Snow Queen as she freezes the school and possesses your beloved homeroom teacher, Ms. Saeko.Show more
Vote to bring this game to GOG and help preserve it.2 216
As soon as the game let me talk to a demon, and then to a tree, I was transfixed. I knew I would love it forever.
Megami Ibunroku Persona is not only a worthy first installment that laid the groundwork for its series to grow and become a household name, but an atmospheric, interesting, charming experimental JRPG title in its own right.
The game's art style, which in its isometric diorama rooms and vibrant UI echoes the likely influences of the dreamlike CGI art of the time, and its varied spectacular soundtrack by composers Hidehito Aoki, Kenichi Tsuchiya, Misaki Okibe and Shoji Meguro come together to form a wonderful atmosphere. It wraps writer Satomi Tadashi's excellent psychological, philosophical narrative centered around themes of escapism, nihilism and finding your true self among the masks you wear in a surreal, dreamlike coat.
The gameplay while lacking modern polish is full of interesting ideas from the grid-based movement to the at the time all-new Persona system, which allows your party members to wield a variety of gods and demons that represent facets of their self.
Persona encompasses all kinds of tones. 'Deep, dark and psychological', as described by the PSP edition's box art, only covers half the truth. The game also has moments where it feels silly, light, funny, and above all full of heart. You can feel the love and care put into the game's development in every music track, each one of Kazuma Kaneko's character designs, demon designs and character portraits, every line of dialogue
It would be incredible to see the original game, as intended by the developers and retaining its original features, preserved with a translation more like the quality of the otherwise controversial PSP release...and maybe faster load times and battles. Pretty please...
Did I dream that I was the butterfly, or am I now a butterfly dreaming that it is me?
Just all around a really unique game that was quite ahead of its time in regards to its themes. Its atmosphere and music are just so special and while they don’t hit the highs of the later games, the characters can be quite entertaining too. This game has not been rereleased since the PSP, and the original PC version was never released outside Japan. This game needs to be preserved.
I would love to have this game easily accessible to modern gamers, put this and the 2 duology on PC. Fans of the modern Persona titles should play the old ones as well.
This game is something truly special and it's such a shame there are no ways to legally play the game nowadays, aside from buying a PSP and getting an expensive copy. More people need to play this gem!
Last year, I grew an obsession with this game and its two sequels on the same platform following my playthroughs of SMT I and II. The dark, futuristic aesthetic of the game and psychological elements drew me in, and I just had to play it. Even within the greater Megaten umbrella, there are no other games like Megami Ibunroku Persona. Every crevice of this game is oozing with style and atmosphere, from the unique UI to the satisfying SFX. The soundtrack is easily one of my favorite VG OSTs of all time and is certainly my favorite under the Megaten umbrella. Not to mention the beautiful surreal story is a lovely mind-bending emotional trip that needs to be experienced. Yes, the game has its flaws, I absolutely despise leveling personas and do not like the way XP gain works, but I can forgive most of it as the rest of MIP is absolutely stunning. It’s such a travesty that the most commonly played and accessible version for English speaking players is the neutered PSP version, which negates almost all of my praises for the game. I played that version first with the original music restored, and still unsatisfied, I opted to play the Snow Queen Quest, an alternate route of the game, on PSX with an English script. I was blown away by how much better the original was. I really hope that a definitive version of the game comes out some day, with the superior PSP translation and the original elements of the PSX version that made this game such an impactful hit in Japan. Plus some nice QoL that actually benefits the game.
This was the first Persona game I played. I wanted to get into the series because I had a friend that was pestering me to play Persona 5 for like three or four years, and I finally caved when I bought my other friend's PS4. I bought the game, but realized I really don't like playing games in a series starting at number 5, so I went online to do some research on the other entries, and found myself fascinated by the first game. I decided for one reason or another to play through the series in release order, instead of starting with 5 (or one of the other newer games) and I am so glad that I did.
This game has a special place in my heart, not only for getting me into the Persona series, but for leaving a lasting impression on me, even after I've finished the main series. It inspired me to get into the other SMT games, which has become one of my favorite new obsessions, and made me fall in love with Persona.
I love this game so much that when I was going through my first playthrough of Persona 3 I dropped it halfway through to replay this because I was bored with the gameplay in 3. Can you believe that!?!
I love the characters, the music, the story, the vibes, and I love what this series inspired in years to come. It's far from my favorite entry in the series but I will always love it and it will always mean a lot to me.
This game is the start of the persona series and quite frankly, due to its unique nature doesn't get talked about as often as the modern games. It's a unique more classical JRPG adventure in the series, but that doesn't make the game less fun, it in fact makes it more unique just due to its nature. I loved the OST and its pretty unique visuals and cast, and it's rather unique grid battle system, I wont call it perfect but I feel like its a pretty unique attempt in trying to differentiate the game from others at the time. While the game is somewhat accessible in the PSP re-release, it also has quite some controversy regarding how it handled its OST, visuals and even battle systems to some, while I believe that's still a playable experience, the original still stands to a testament to how the series truly began, its roots as well as its rather unique story that unfortunately not a lot of people talk about these days. This is a game I'd love to see come back and give another shot at, and maybe even get more people to try it out in the process.
Oh dude an official release of this PC version of Persona 1 would be a legendary moment! Its one of my rarest games I own, but an accessible version for everyone to experience would be incredible. Especially if the translated text was imported from the psp version. I can't imagine it being that much work besides getting the OK from Atlus. Ohhhh man I hope this happens!
Only ever played the PSP version and it's honestly just kinda eh, would love to be able to properly experience where the series originated but in English on modenr platforms that just isn't possible.
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