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The Return Of Megami Tensei

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: December 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Megami Tensei, or Persona, as it's known in the States comes back with Persona 2: Eternal Punishment...and it was well worth the wait. Eternal Punishment (one half of Persona 2, along with Innocent Sin) improves on nearly every aspect of the first Persona. There is an improved fighting engine, more persona to master, and the real gem of the game, the Contact System, has been greatly expanded upon. This feature, unique to the Megami Tensei series, allows you to avoid battles at times, instead opting to CONVERSE with your opponents...a novel concept indeed. Everything is done better in Eternal Punishment than in the original, and it will offer RPG fans a refreshing taste of something new and different in the genre. Don't miss it.

A Change in the RPG world

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 30, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I just received this game ... yesterday and all I can say is, Awesome! I've never liked the fantasy-like RPG's like Final Fantasy or Chrono Cross but this is not like any other i've ever played. It takes place in a more realistic world with more of an evil like atmosphere. The graphics are pretty cool too, not as well as FF series but is great though. Atlus did a great job with this game and hope I'll be more popular than it predecessor. I recommend this game to any who want a change with RPG's and anyone who is a fan of them.

A big surprise

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: January 01, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Wow. I love this game. It is an amazing improvement from the first Persona( also Megami Tensei in Japan). A very long time ago I rented Persona, and found two major things that I hated. 1) The blocky buildings, slow movement, and too many random battles on the city map. 2) The 1st person dungeouns with awful control. However I loved the story, characters, battle system, and contact system. In Persona 2 they made the dungeouns 3rd person, and very detailed maps with no random battles. Throw in a creepy story, great characters, and an expanded contact system, and you get a great game. There are even some moments of suspense when you can hear your characters heart beating, and feel the controller rumble. Any RPG fan should at least give this awesome title a try.

An acquired taste

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Many will be turned off by Persona 2 because this isn't a Final Fantasy type of game. Persona 2 really isn't a game you can just take out of the box and play. Although I finished both Grandia 2 and Skies of Arcadia without opening up the instruction manual, I had to read Persona 2's manual cover to cover. The reason for a monster instruction manual is, Persona 2 is not a cookie cutter RPG. Aside from the modern day setting and characters that swear like sailors, there are some unique gameplay components like conversing with demons, summoning, and spreading rumors, all of which aren't very intuative. However once you get the hang of the game (especially the battle system), Persona 2 is very fun and completely orginal.

I wish I played the older games too.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 30, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is aweasome. It has a unique battle system, it's not always about fighting, you can talk to the demons you come across too. The graphics are great, cuz the characters actually look like people unlike some other games. The FMVs are all anime styled and has voice acting. I don't know about you guys but I like anime. It may not be like the Final Fantasy series (which are my favourites) but I think I'll play this game for long. The disappointing fact is, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment is only the second half of part 2. There was Persona 1 then Persona 2: Innocent Sin. For all I know Innocent sin has not been released in English. Thankies.

Not as good as Persona1

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is a pretty good game. I've always been a fan of the "Megamitensei" series, I own almost all of them and this is not an exception. But this game is not as good as its first half "Innocent Sin." I own the Japanese version and I believe the english version is not released yet. Anyways, the battle system, demon contact system and character design are still excellent, but I don't like the way the personas are created in this game (collecting tarot cards). It's much more fun in Persona 1 (collect two spell cards from two different demons), in which you have to consider about the moon age and other stuff. I played Persona 1 for 4 times already, but for this one, I have not even finished the first time yet. But it's still worthy to give a try!

I love it.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 06, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment is the only game of the whole series of Persona I could find. Though, There is no need to play the older series before. What I really like in this game are the music, the story and the characters. I think that the battle system is quite annoying. And it's kinda hard to gain the EXPs, also. This game is not an original RPG where dragons and swords rule the world, it takes place in the present time, so be ware if you didn't. There are stores, sushi bar, clinic, CDs store, parks, just like what you've seen in this world. But it's not that simple, mystic stuff can be found in this game also, rumors, fortune tellings, demons, and personas. You can say that this is the world where facts and fictions go together. The voice actings are easy to listen and understand, also matches each character's personality and looks (although the joker guy's is quite comic relief). If you enjoy serious, creepy and unique stories, get this game.

Forget Final Fantasy

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: May 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is the most edgy, original, addictive, and worthwhile RPG to come along in a long time. Everything in this game sets it apart from and above the other RPGs on Playstation, including the Final Fantasies and Chrono Cross; I'd say only Xenogears is better. The familiar, real-world elements of Persona 2, such as sushi bars, chiropractic clinics, therapists, and aromatherapy really give it a modern flavor, and the game does a good job of combining them with the mystical elements. There are so many things to do in this game that even with the relatively small number of dungeons you have to do to advance the story, I've only gotten halfway through at 35 hours...Manipulating the rumors, playing the man-searching minigame, slots at the casino, doing the map-making quest, and exploring the optional dungeons sucks away so much time. The battle system, however, can be pretty hard to understand at first: though it's easy to blast through enemies, boss battles can be extremely tough unless you know exactly which Persona and fusion spells to use. There is a lot of depth to it. Each Persona (something like 80 or a 100, maybe more?) has its own stats, immunities, and weaknesses which affect the character equipping the Persona, and different combinations of Persona yield different fusion spells to use during battle. There's a lot to keep track of, which can be confusing. All this is redeemed, however, by the unique and twisted story line, the ultracool character designs, the great character development, and the incredible variety. You can do about a million things to alter your battle experience. Contacting demons, of course, and some of them are pretty funny; getting your fortune told before heading to battle to double your experience points earned, get more money, have more luck contacting, and many other effects; having aromatherapy effects put on to change what kinds of demons you'll meet; and eating and drinking to temporarily raise your stats are just a few of the things I can think of. Though the game starts off a bit slowly, in the second half it really gets fascinating.

The greatest thing about Persona 2 is how much the story line comes into play. Your characters' relationships will affect the different things they say during contacts. For instance, at first Ulala's and Baofu's contact combo is relatively straightforward ("Ulala, a realist, and Baofu, a skeptic"), but after a certain point you'll get something like "Friends Who Get Closer the More they Fight," or "Friends Bonded by Drinking," something like that. There's the 100 Stories contact combo, which has 100 different ghost stories which can be told to the demons, all of which have their own preferences and personality traits. Some of the contact combos are downright hilarious, notably the ones involving Maya, Ulala, and Tatsuya. All of the characters are quirky and interesting, and you can even visit most of their homes around Sumaru City! One of the things I really liked was how your party would split up inside stores and other non-dungeon places, so you could talk to the different characters. They usually have something funny or revealing to say, and they have different things to say in every single shop, restaurant, or apartment after every single development in the game. My personal favorite characters were Big Suou (Katsuya) and Tatsuya--though I could've done without Ulala.

The level of detail in this game is so great you can even buy CDs and listen to them in Maya's apartment. The music in the game is great, often quite eerie and always atmospheric--and the Satomi Tadashi song is back!

If you're looking for something simple, this is probably not the game for you, but if you want something truly different, in-depth, and with a strong anime feeling, this is one of the greats.

One of the high points of PlayStation RPGs

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 19
Date: June 12, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment is the sequel to the currently Japan-only Persona 2: Innocent Sin (and the earlier Revelations: Persona). My biggest gripe with the game is that constant references are made to the world of Innocent Sin -- however, by watching the included trailer and through the events of Eternal Punishment, you'll get a good idea of what happened in the earlier game.

With a somewhat contemporary setting, Eternal Punishment is an oddball in the world of RPGs. That doesn't mean, however, that it's bad! On the contrary, it's a superb game with deep gameplay. In battles, you can kill the demons, like in ordinary RPGs, or you can negotiate with them for money/items/information/tarot cards (the last of which is used to summon more Personae, facets of the user's personality which can be summoned to fight for them).

The characters are interesting and more adult than your typical spiky-haired teen heroes. They range from reporter Maya and policeman Katsuya to computer hacker/wiretapper Baofu and fashion model Ellen (from the first Persona). The innovative rumor system allows you to change the face of Sumaru City by spreading rumors. Want to buy weapons at your local bar? Spread the rumor that they are, and you can get a gun along with your martini.

My only other gripe, and it's small, is with the localization. Some of the text is a little stilted (Ulala's "The goodness of a woman isn't in her bra!" is a prime example). But considering the vast amount of text in this game -- and I mean VAST -- it's a very good localization overall, and in no way hinders your enjoyment of the game.

Atlus has hinted that they may release Innocent Sin if Eternal Punishment does well enough. If it's even half as good as its sequel, RPG fans around the world should rejoice.

Megami Tensei Suki Desu!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The Megami Tensei line has done it again: another great game with interesting characters, a gripping storyline, and a very innovative gameplay and battle system. A must-have for RPG fans!

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