Dark Tales of SMT Persona 2 Innocent Sin

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 Innocent Sin.

 

A tale of mystery, suspense, drama, tragedy, and many things supernatural. Rumors become all too real once they are spread, strange memories resurfacing with every action taken. Is the bizarre enemy called 'Joker', who makes wishes come true at the cost of ideals, the cause behind all this?

 

Very interesting premise, and intriguing enough to pull you through the game regardless of what may stand in the way. Unfortunately, a LOT of things stand in the way, a lot of monster battles, that is, that stand between you and the tiny snippets of cutscenes that draw out the plot. Implications of sin and hidden identities are the bait that drags the player through the constant dungeons and constant battles that are the price you must pay for seeing what happens next.

 

Then there's the random bits of Nazis, twitchy aliens, the Zodiac.......oh my.

 

The overall story of Persona 2 is well-written in terms of mystery. Though the clues the characters drop may feel obvious, it doesn't answer the major questions that are guaranteed to drive the player nuts enough to bear through the monster battles that (unless it's just my natural impatient nature) seem to grow slower and more cumbersome.

 

However the random bits of Nazis and aliens are far more interesting than getting into the characters themselves. Of the main cast Maya stands out to the point of overshadowing the other characters, including the protagonist, and beyond one girl's crush on said protagonist, there doesn't seem to be much of a connection between them. They stand out the most only in regards to how they react to the past (a point I cannot explain without giving away a chunk of the plot). Speaking of reactions, aren't they getting over the shock of rumors becoming reality a little too fast, too smothly? Wowza, I say to their coping speed.

 

And then, while the story cannot be complete without the protagonist, you pretty much get the feeling he ain't too important either, not to the story or to the members of the main cast. I got the idea that, if positioned in a poster, the character Maya would stand out huge and in front, with the other characters smaller behind her, and the protagonist placed in a way that made him more invisible yet, each of them ranked in importance by size. And that's all there is.

 

Now alas! I can say no more, not without giving away the answers to the story's questions. All must remain a mystery.