Persona PS2 Games

"Persona 3"

• Though tagged with a "3" in the title, this is the first "Persona" game for the PS2. Like all PS2 "Persona" games, "Persona 3" was produced by Atlus and follows the same formula of exploring randomly generated dungeons by night, while maintaining personal relationships during the day. The game follows the story of a group of high school students who summon demons by shooting themselves in the head with special guns. Players take the role of a nameless student who awakens every night at a special hour. During this hour, all but a few people are transformed into coffins, and a mysterious tower appears in the middle of the city. The protagonist, along with his group of friends, must reach the top of the tower by the end of the school year in order to save the world.

"Persona 3: Fes"

• Following on the success of "Persona 3," Atlus released a special expanded version of the game called "Persona 3: Fes." In addition to various game play tweaks, the game includes an extra campaign that expands the main story. This time, players control a female robot from the first game. She, along with the rest of the characters, become trapped in a time loop and must descend into a new dungeon in order to free themselves from the loop.

"Persona 4"

• "Persona 4" was one of the last major releases for the PlayStation 2. It featured another nameless hero who moves to the countryside. The game play is mostly unaltered. This time, the main character and his friends stumble upon a special television channel that only appears at midnight. The channel seems to have an inexplicable connection to a series of murders in the small town, and the group of friends must enter the television to solve the case.

Other "Shin Megami Tensei"

• Although there are only three "Persona" games for the PS2, there are a number of other games in the larger "Shin Megami Tensei" series. The "Devil Summoner" series are real-time action games with role playing elements. Both "Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Souless Army" and "Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon" from this series were released for the PS2. The "Digital Devil Saga" also has two iterations on the PS2 and like "Persona" has turn-based RPG game play, but features characters that transform into demons rather than summon them. Finally "Nocturne" is the third game in the main series and is another turn-based RPG that follows a half-human, half-demon protagonist.