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. Apart from this, this project features an entirely new Persona Compendium made exclusively from this project.
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 get to stay at a dormitory located near their school, where rumor has it of the existence of a mysterious room in the basement.
Out of curiosity, the protagonist and his friends get down to the basement at night and discover the exact room from the rumors: A large hall with 12 different doors, each of them with a different sign of the horoscope. They first shrug it off and leave, but days later, the door with the mark of Saggitarius is slightly open. After convincing his friends to accompany him and finding a pair of daggers lying about, the protagonist enters. However, while exploring the room, they get surrounded by Shadows and it's impossible for them to escape.
It's at this moment when the protagonist awakens to his Persona, MegaManEXE, which he uses to defeat the Shadows. Later on, they're confronted by another Shadow, this one being much larger and having a strange ressemblance to a centaur, the symbol of Saggitarius. However, it is easily defeated by the Protagonist's Persona. The trio leaves and they're immediately greeted by a woman named Alba, who explains them the situation completely: The room and its doors are the home of the Zodiac Shadows, which are awakening one by one in order to bring chaos to the real world, and the centaur-esque Shadow was actually one of them. However, there's still hope, as those who can see this room are prone to awaken to their Personas to fight back the Shadows. The protagonist is one of them, but he has the power of the Wild Card, making him able to summon any Persona at will.
As the plot progresses, the protagonist and his friends will meet new party members and fight the remaining Zodiac Shadows.
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.
- Equippable weapon: Knives (Cut)
- Persona: MegaManEXE (Initially, but he has the power of the Wild Card, making him use any Persona at will)/Excalibur Sonic (Only for the final battle)
- Jotaro 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.
- Equippable weapon: One-handed swords (Cut)
- Persona: Ike/????
- Mariko 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.
- Equippable weapon: Spears (Pierce)
- Persona: Rosalina/Mipha
- Danjiro: A child genius that has been promoted to high school as a first-year. He's incredibly intelligent, but due to his age, he's still quite innocent and he finds himself a bit uncomfortable among older people.
- Equippable weapon: Slingshots (Pierce)
- Persona: Asriel Dreemurr/????
- Riharu Mioda: A second-year student, although located in a different classroom than the protagonist, with a passion for music. She's very laid-back and sometimes looks like she's not paying attention at all due to how quiet she is most of the times, but it's due to a reason that the protagonist discovers in her Social Link.
- Equippable weapon: Duffel bags (Bash)
- Persona: Angewomon/????
- Katsuo Warui: A fellow second-year classmate of Riharu. His strong build and mean appearence can scare some people, but he does it for a reason, and it's to act like a protector for Riharu and, after joining the party, for everyone else.
- Equippable weapon: Hammers (Bash)
- Persona: King Dedede/Reinhardt
- Hasumi: A highly optimistic first-year student that befriends Danjiro so he can feel less alone. She considers herself a fan of videogames and can't resist gushing about any new game she has played and liked. Her Persona cannot be fully used into battle so she acts at the team's Navigator once she joins the crew.
- Persona: Fi/Plain Doll
- Shigeji: The last member to join the team. He's first introduced as a rival to them, as he owns a Persona but uses it for different reasons. However, he's defeated and, in return, decides to join his former rivals' cause.
- Equippable weapon: Handguns (Pierce)
- Persona: ProtoManEXE/????
Other characters
- Alba: A mysterious woman in charge of the dormitory where the protagonist stays during his school life. She also owns her own Velvet Room, where she has the duty of fusing Personas into new ones for the protagonist to use, as well as handing out several requests and keeping the Persona Compendium. She can be fought as an extra boss and, in said battle, will be using the Persona Palutena.
- 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.
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: Jotaro Miyamoto
- Priestess: ???
- Empress: Alba
- Emperor: ???
- Hierophant: ???
- Lovers: Mariko Mizu
- Chariot: Katsuo Warui
- Justice: Riharu Mioda
- Hermit: Danjiro
- Fortune: Shigeji
- Strength: ???
- Hanged Man: ???
- Death: Taiki Ryuunosuke
- Temperance: ???
- Devil: ???
- Tower: ???
- Star: ???
- Moon: ???
- Sun: Hasumi
- 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, Guts, 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 o 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.
Persona Compendium
As stated earlier, Persona S features a selection of Personas greatly different the original games. A common factor is that these Personas are existing video game characters that are turned into amiibo-like figures. To summon the Persona, the user scans this figure into an ethereal NFC reader.
List of Personas coming soon.