Persona S is a project that crosses over the Persona video-game series (Which is also a sub-series inside Shin Megami Tensei) and the Sergioverse.
Plot[]
The plot of Persona S takes place in Tokyo in a fictional 2016, the protagonist is continuing his studies in the prestigious Kamui Boarding School as a second-year. There, he reunites with two of his childhood friends, Jotaro Miyamoto and Mariko Mizu. The three spend their time after class to catch up. However, on the train ride to the dorm where they will reside throughout the year, time suddenly stops around them and a tear in the space-time fabric appears above them, sucking them inside. Inside this twisted parallel world, the trio is ambushed by monsters named Shadows.
Suddenly, a voice calls the protagonist: "You seem to be in quite the predicament. Soon enough, your life will be cut short. But, answer me this, do you not wish to defy your destiny? Do you not wish to see the life ahead of you?" (...) "An excellent answer. Now, extend your hand and forge the contract. I art thou, thou art I. Call upon my name, and clash blades with Death!"
It is at this moment that the protagonist awakens to his Persona, Gawain, and manages to fight back the Shadows. Once the battle is over, the three find an exit back to the real world. The day after, the protagonist talks with his friends about what happened and the three agree it was real and that more people may be affected by these space-time rips, so they will meet up at the dorm's basement to investigate them.
As the plot progresses, the protagonist and his friends will meet new party members and continue investigating the space-time rips.
Theme[]
The Persona series of games all have a reason behind their plot, and Persona S is no different. Due to the signs of the horoscope being used mainly to "predict" the people's future, by fighting the Zodiac Shadows, the protagonist and his friends are trying to change the future of the world and show them that the future cannot always go as planned.
Characters[]
Main party members[]
- The Protagonist: The protagonist of the story is a transfer student from the Kamui Boarding School as a second-year. He was named in the anime adaptation as Seijiro Sonniku. He has the power of the Wild Card, which allows him to summon and use any Persona other than the one he awakens to.
- Equippable weapon: Knives
- Persona: Gawain (Initially) - Gwalchmei (Only for the final battle)
- Jirou Miyamoto: One of the two childhood friends of the protagonist and a second-year student at the Kamui Boarding School. While not as adventure-happy as his friend, he's always willing to help and sees himself as the protagonist's sidekick. His favorite food are noodles.
- Equippable weapon: One-handed swords
- Persona: Dawon - Hayataro
- Megumi Mizu: Another childhood friend of the protagonist. While mostly calm and reserved, she has an incredibly sweet tooth and likes to create new concepts for desserts as a hobby, which, to the surprise of many, actually taste incredibly great. However, this causes a lot of arguments with Jotaro over where to eat out.
- Equippable weapon: Lances
- Persona: Vivian - Anahita
- Kotone Shun: A second-year student, although located in a different classroom than the protagonist, with a passion for music. She's very laid-back, snarky and sometimes looks like she's not paying attention at all due to how quiet she is most of the times.
- Equippable weapon: Flailing weapons
- Persona: Idun - Diana
- Tarou Katsuo: A fellow second-year classmate of Kotone. He is a bit rude and aggressive, but this is a facade to protect Kotone. After joining the party, he doesn't change demeanor around people but he offers his protection to everyone else. He's also a bit of a big eater.
- Equippable weapon: Hammers
- Persona: Oumitsunu - Daidara-bocchi
- Akane Sasaki: A first-year student that appears suddenly in the middle of the school year, for reasons stated in her Social Link. She is mostly quiet, apologetic and looks pessimistic at first glance. Her Persona cannot be fully used into battle so she acts at the team's Navigator once she joins the crew.
- Persona: Cassandra - Pythia
- Ryouta Michi: A student from a different school that meets the team at some point in the story, leading him to stumble upon the basement where the 12 doors are located. He quickly makes good friends with the group and is shown as an optimistic and outgoing person, but also reveals at some point that he is bisexual, so it is possible to romance him just like the female Social Links.
- Equippable weapon: Nunchucks
- Persona: Hanuman - Wukong
- Yuuki Hayato: The last member to join the team. A second-year student that has been clamored to be a child genius. When he joins the group, he offers himself as an advisor to help the protagonist and his friends on their quest. Despite being quite intelligent, he is very modest and never looks down other people.
- Equippable weapon: Handguns
- Persona: Fionn mac Cumhaill - Uriel
Other characters[]
- Igor: A mysterious man with a long nose that aids the protagonist during the story through the Velvet Room, a place between dream and reality. Igor can take the Protagonist's Personas as fodder to fuse them into completely new Personas.
- Alba: A woman that is one of Igor's assistants in the Velvet Room. She handles the Persona Compendium, which registers every Persona the protagonist acquires.
- Ocaso: A man that is another assistant of Igor in the Velvet Room. He studies the combat potential of Personas, and is willing to teach the basics of battle to the protagonist.
- Akio Hiroshi: A worker of the Kamui Boarding School that is also in charge of the dorm. He is very kind and friendly and opens up to the protagonist as a fatherly figure. Other students say he can be a bit eccentric, but they know he means well in his actions.
- Taiki Ryuunosuke: The principal of the Kamui Boarding School. Already at the beginning, he warns the protagonist to not to make any funny business at the school. For some reason, he grows more and more sternful to him and the rest of the party as the story progresses.
- Hasumi Maemi: A first-year student that is a member of the gardening club in the Kamui Boarding School. She has a Social Link with the protagonist representing the Star Arcana. The protagonist must attend to the gardening club to increase the rank of this link and, eventually, be able to romance her.
- Danjiro Aoki: A middle school student that feels uncomfortable talking to people his age, but on the other hand, he is well versed with older people. He has a Social Link with the Protagonist representing the Hermit Arcana.
- Akihito Ichiro: A second-year student that is the captain of any of the sports club that the Protagonist takes during the school year. He has a Social Link with the Protagonist representing the Emperor Arcana. He takes his job as captain well, but as the Social Link advances (Which is done by attending the sports club whenever they practice), he begins to wonder if he's really apt for the job, as he feels that everything was given to him and he never had to work hard to achieve something.
Social Links[]
Like in other Persona games, this one features a large group of Social Links. These are bonds that the protagonist can make with other people, including his party members, in order to have the capacity of creating new and more powerful Personas. Each Social Link is represented by a different Arcana.
Ranking up Social Links of party members will make them more efficient in battle and even learn special abilities. Maxing them out will cause their Persona to get an incredible surge of power that causes them to evolve into an entirely new Persona.
- Fool: Basement Dwellers
- Magician: Jirou Miyamoto
- Priestess: Akane Sasaki
- Empress: Alba
- Emperor: Akihito Ichiro
- Hierophant: Akio Hiroshi
- Lovers: Megumi Mizu
- Chariot: Tarou Katsuo
- Justice: Kotone Shun
- Hermit: Danjiro Aoki
- Fortune: Ocaso
- Strength: Ryouta Michi
- Hanged Man: Yuuki Hayato
- Death: Taiki Ryuunosuke
- Temperance: ???
- Devil: ???
- Tower: ???
- Star: Hasumi Maemi
- Moon: ???
- Sun: ???
- Judgement: Changers of the Future
Gameplay[]
The game plays similar to other Persona games: The protagonist and his friends go to school every day except Sunday and local holidays. During that free time, the player can focus on creating and growing Social Links or their personal Social Stats (Knowledge, Courage, Charm, Kindness and Proficiency) to pass the time until Nightime, which is the time where the Basement Dwellers descend to the realm of the Zodiac Shadows. Players can enter into already-opened doors to explore the dungeons and grind for experience and money and every time they enter, the dungeon layout changes but not the number of floors it has. Once they reach the end, the player will confront a Zodiac Shadow if the door to its dungeon has opened that day, but if it was defeated in the past, the team will turn back once they reach the end and the day will be considered over.
Battle system[]
Once in the lobby of the Zodiac doors, the player can choose which team members will accompany the protagonist. Those who participate in battle and haven't been turned Unconscious during said battle will gain experience to make their Personas stronger. The protagonist doesn't only gain experience for the Persona he's equipped at the moment, but also for himself so he can use stronger Personas. Benched party members will gain experience as well so they don't get underleveled, but they won't gain as much as those who get in the front line, though it is possible for them to gain the same experience regardless of whether they're fighting or not by growing their bonds. It is also possible to swap them at any moment, but doing this will end their turn, so plan carefully.
The battle system is similar to previous games: The characters can use physical attacks with their currently equipped weapons or summon their Personas to use skills. The player has full control of the party in battle and can choose what to do depending on the situation. If the protagonist gets knocked out, the battle can still go on so another member of the party can use a reviving item or skill on him. However, in Hard and Extreme difficulties, getting the protagonist knocked out will cause a game over.
Both Shadows and Personas have a variety of strengths and weaknesses to certain elements. It's important that the player acts according to the situation. In case a weakness is found on either an enemy or a party member or any of them manage to land a critical hit, the target will get knocked down and the attacker will gain an extra turn. If all the enemies are down, you'll be given the option to perform and All-out Attack with the currently in battle party members.