13 Years Later, Atlus’ Remake Still Parties Like It’s 1997

When Atlus originally released “Persona” on the Sony Playstation in 1997, it was largely considered a sleeper hit, acclaimed mainly for its unique story and setting.

Over 10 years later however, its slightly revamped remake on the PSP puts you to sleep.

In spite of polished graphics, improved loading times, better localization and added anime scenes, this is one title that hasn’t aged well at all and is only for those who fell in love with it the first time around.

Following a band of teenagers on a deeply philosophical and spiritual journey, “Persona” features the type of story that is easy to get lost in, even for intellectual gamers. Regardless of the improved dialogue (the original’s translation often made the game hard to follow) there are questions presented pondering life that many gamers would never ask themselves outside of it. Nevertheless, the modern-day setting and relatable characters help make the topics presented a bit less heady.

Aside from the complex story, the real problem with “Persona” is the camera. While maneuvering around rooms works well in a three-quarter overhead view,  dungeon-crawling, in first-person, is a hot mess.

Feeling like you’re stuck in a maze, it’s almost impossible to escape the claustrophobic feeling you’ll get while walking around in this game.

It worked 20 years ago with games like “Shining in the Darkness” for the Sega Genesis and even for this one when it was first released, but when it’s all said and done, because of the shoddy camera, exploration is an utter bore and an inescapable chore.

Add in a crazy amount of battles in one of the zaniest random encounter engines ever and it’s safe to say that this title best belonged on the dust-covered shelf it’s been laying on.

While the added cinemas do an excellent job of bringing out the story and the improved loading times speed up would could be a tiresome experience, they are not redeeming enough qualities to make this game worthwhile for anyone who hasn’t played the original.

With that being said, even fans of the original will find something unfulfillable here.

All in all, it doesn’t matter if the battle system is solid and there’s plenty of game to be played here either. Simply put, like a pack of pogs, “Persona” is best remembered as the game it was when it was released and not what it is now- an obsolete homage to a great era of gaming and a reminder of how far the RPG has come over the last decade.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14260 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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