Atlus certainly did not waste the rare opportunity to tell a character focused story where most of the main cast isn’t composed of snot nosed brats. No stupid kids here to spoil the fun of leading a party of nothing but sad, pathetic individuals going through their quarter-life crisis. FUCK you, Persona 5. Adults ROCK!

Joking aside. Within the context of the Persona franchise, Eternal Punishment is definitely among one of the more distinct entries. As opposed to the other games, major character moments don’t consistently act as these scenes of clarity that overtly define a character’s progress as a person. In fact, it’s not uncommon that these moments will raise more questions than they answer, rarely ever making it immediately clear how a scene reflects on someone’s journey in the moment. And it’s through this handling where I think P2EP’s cast shines. At the start of the story, these characters feel genuinely detached from each other. They really struggle to open up, sometimes even lashing out over the simple idea of emotionally connecting. But they don’t strictly develop through opening up about their insecurities and immediately growing past them. It’s more so through their amazing chemistry and challenging each other through their unique perspectives on life that you feel a real bond begin to form. It’s a perfect balance between focusing on the cast members as individuals while also highlighting their importance in how they work as a collective.

I find one of the more under-appreciated aspects of Eternal Punishment are the major, fundamental changes it makes to Persona 2’s core to accommodate for the new, jaded perspective of its characters. The tone is far more subdued. Gone is the goofy, lighthearted bickering between Ginko and Eikichi; replaced now by moral conflicts of ideals between Katsuya and Baofu. The importance of individuality is put into question by the recurring motif of ‘Fate’. Asking what purpose is there to finding one’s self if one’s self can crumble under the power of nihilism, fortune, and higher powers? Its apparent emphasis on challenging gameplay, not only finally forces the player to fully engage with the duology’s battle mechanics, but reinforces the brutality the characters endure throughout the story. The game isn’t some cynical tale that spits in the face of its prequel. Nor is its prequel worse off because of its more outlandish and comedic nature. FAR from all of that. These aspects just allow for Eternal Punishment to act as a wonderful contrast to Innocent Sin, establishing a tone that compliments and builds off the heavy nature of the prequel’s final act.

Where Innocent Sin is remarkable for its effective balancing act of heartfelt character work and the most insane set pieces you could possibly imagine, Eternal Punishment looks to take a bit of a different approach with its priorities. The constantly escalating tension and shocking revelations remain, but the downtime between these moments become just as integral. It’s the short conversations mixed with powerful silence and contemplative penitence that’ll leave just as big of an impact as most of the overarching drama. It’s no surprise one of the lead writer’s favorite scenes is a short, one minute exchange revolving around the nature of adulthood where most of the dialogue boxes are filled with nothing but pauses.

As I further age into early adulthood, it’s easy to get lost in the confusion spurred forth by taxing shit like sin, identity, and especially responsibility. I’m not usually one to see myself reflected somewhere within a story’s world, but I find it’s so easy to attach myself to a cast so… human in their writing and presentation. Whether it be Ulala’s longing for comfort. Katsuya and Baofu’s ever-present battle with their regret. Tatsuya struggling to introspect on his strange, confusing life while dealing with consequence. Or the way everyone is able to find some sort of value in their relationships and provide for each other in their own ways. There’s a resonant aspect to find in every character that hits twice as hard thanks to the narrative’s mature handling of its personal beats.

It’s good, for my sake, that Eternal Punishment is here to affirm that there truly are some good things about being an adult… Just a few.

Yep, this is the one. This is what I've been wanting from Persona.

Truly special story and a cast that I absolutely fell in love with.

Pretty much at a loss for words but this is undeniably one of my favourite pieces of media. Gonna treasure this one so long as my mortality permits.

No Sinner can go on without a Punishment.
Any word that I can put in this review would not be enough to convey my feelings about this game. Saying that it is a masterpiece is not sufficient, for no language has a word to describe this story.
I simply love this game and the story that it portrays. For me, this is a story of love, how Tatsuya descended to the lowest mental state a person can endure just for Maya's and her world's sake is beautiful. How he tries to atone for his Sin and receive his Punishment for it, how the only thing he wants is to protect her smile, how he pleads that she never stops smiling. That was too personal for me, and I adore this type of story. And the ending of this game... What can I say about it? It's bittersweet. Tatsuya was able to save his lover and protect that wonderful smile, but at the same time, he had to atone for his Sin. He cannot live with her; the only thing he was granted to do is give her a kiss and a promise, and finally, he atoned, asking for his brother and friends to protect her in his place.
As for me, as a spectator of this story, I can only pray... for they are connected by that ocean, they can meet again.

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔: 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉."

Persona 2 Eternal Punishment is the continuation of the story of Persona 2 Innocent Sin. This game works as the Part 2 of the 2 Part Persona 2 story (however technically there are Parts 1.5 [Persona 2 Tsumi: Lost Memories) and 2.5 [Persona 2 Batsu: Infinity Mask]) and concludes the story in a somewhat positive and beautiful, yet tragic way.

Persona 2 Eternal Punishment picks up sometime after Persona 2 Innocent Sin however this time, instead of controlling Tatsuya, you control Maya instead.

In this situation, Maya becomes a silent protagonist that occasionally has player choice dialogue, however her own voice takes a backseat and instead we are now able to hear Tatsuya's thoughts and voice.

The characters in this game who you play as are as follows:

Maya Amano - Reporter who investigates the rumors, she has memories of the OTHER SIDE but can seem to remember properly. She has a connection to Tatsuya Suou but she doesn't know the reason. She gives hope and positivity to the group and is the leader.
Arcana: The Moon

Ulala Serizawa: Maya's best friend who is amazing at boxing, she's very girly considering her appearance but can also be hotheaded. She struggles due to being conned by a conartist boyfriend, and is jealous of Maya's life style. She still loves and cares for Maya, and gets along well with Katsuya and Baofu. She wants to be as strong as Maya mentally and pushes herself to do that.
Arcana: The Star

Katsuya Suou: Katsuya is a detective/police officer in Sumaru City, and is the older brother of Tatsuya. He's very serious and is attempting to find out the truth of his fathers death. He is motivated in solving the Rumors case, and also is attempting to help his brother who appears to be getting involved with the rumors, Tatsuzou Sudou, and other events. He wears a grey suit with a red suit shirt and a black tie. Katsuya secretly loves Maya.
Arcana: Justice

Baofu (Kaoru Saga): An extortionist and tap buster who claims to be Taiwanese. He has a hatred for the Tien Tao Lien (Chinese Mafia), and has a regrets over something that happen in his past with his partner Miki. He is very techsavy and great at wire tapping conversations. He butt heads a lot with Katsuya due to them sharing opposite ideologies when it comes to justice however both come to respect eachother. He gets along well with Maya, however is always chastised and gets beat up by Ulala. He wears a yellow detective style jacket, with Bluish sun glasses and has really long black hair.
Arcana: The Hanged Man

Kei Nanjo: Returning member of Persona 1. He is now the owner/leader of the Nanjo group and is attempting to stop the New World Order in order to stop the rumor incidents from happening in Sumaru City. He still loves all his friends from Saint Hermelins, and has Eriko as his assistant. He always cherishes the moments from Persona 1, and he also respects Naoya Toudou and always remembers him for how he motivated everyone. Nanjo is so happy to see Maki and Reiji alive and well and willing to help him out, Nanjo cherishes all his friends. He sports a motorcycle outfit and wears a helmet in this game.
Arcana: The Hierophant

Eriko Kirishima: Returning member from Persona 1. Eriko is now working as a model and actress. Depending on whether you choose for her or Nanjo to appear is based upon what rumor you spread. Her personality is mature yet still girly for the most part. Like Nanjo she cherishes the memories from her past at Saint Hermelins and remembers Naoya. She still loves him very much so much so she shares a rivalry with Maki over who loves Naoya more.
She is now wearing a badge outfit with long sleeves and short shorts, she now also has a short hair.
Arcana: Judgement

Tatsuya Suou: Herald of the Sin, he's from the OTHER SIDE who's taken control of Tatsuya Suou of THIS SIDE's body inorder to prevent the world from ending in this universe. He tries to keep Maya and the group away from him and doesn't want Maya, Lisa, Eikichi, and Jun to regain their memories of the other side. He makes the ultimate sacrifice to allow for the new universe to live happily, while his world is doomed for eternity. He loves and cares about Maya, Lisa, Eikichi, and Jun that he bares the sin of the other world. He wears a red jacket with a black X. He has a mark of sin on him that's like a black tattoo.
Arcana: The Sun

The game's story has to do with the spread of Rumors and how rumors are becoming reality and getting worse, similar to the first game however in this situation the rumors are specifically about Jokers. Throughout the game you'll meet several familiar faces from the previous entries, like previous Persona 1 characters, and appearances of Eikichi, Lisa, and Jun who take a back seat in terms of the story.
However the good reason as to why they take a backseat in the story is due to them playing a big part in the overarching story in Persona 2 Eternal Punishment, with the need of having their memories be forever locked away in order to make sure that the fate that befell the world in Innocent Sin, not to happen in this new time.

The Innocent Sin world is called "THE OTHER SIDE" (Aka the original side)

In Persona 2: Eternal Punishment it's explained to us that Jokers are corrupted Personas that sap the energy of negativity, hatred, and malice thoughts of those who it's infecting. The reason being is because in this universe Tatsuzou Sudou, leader of the New World Order wants to unleash Kiyotada Sumaru/Gozen to destroy the world with the 12 dragons. His son Tatsuya Sudou in this timeline has become a pawn and a joker of Nyarlathotep trolling Tatsuya in his endeavor to save this timeline.

The story starts at Seven Sisters High with Maya Amano, her friend Ulala Serizawa, and Tatsuya's older brother detective, Katsuya Suou, investigating a recent murder that was pinned on Anna Yoshizaka (returning from Innocent Sin, however in this timeline she's a regular student, as a opposed to a member of the Masked Circle).
We find out Tatsuya Sudou pinned the murder on Anna and attempts to kill her, on the way Maya, Ulala, and Tatsuya unlock their respective Personas, and Tatsuya saves Anna and tells Maya not to interfere nor remember the memories of her past.

Maya, Ulala, and Katsuya travel throughout Sumaru city and meet with another Persona user, Baofu (also known as Kaoru Saga) who is a techsavy who claims to be Taiwanese, and he wants to take out the leader of the Taiwanese Mafia of Tien Tao Lien, Yung Pao for something that happened in Baofu's past.

They go through similar situations as the Masked Circle in Innocent Sin, like for example, the burning of the Museum where Maya, Ulala, Katsuya, and Baofu save children from the burning Museum, and Tatsuya appears again to save them against Tatsuya Sudou, where a similar boss fight like in Innocent Sin happens against him, where he meets the same fate.

The game continues with antics like Ulala getting infected by the Joker virus, due to what happens with her Ex-conman boyfriend. She is saved and the parasite is removed by having her being taken to the Velvet Room.

After being left stuck without any clues, Katsuya gets info from "SNEAK" a police officer giving information about the corrupt police who are actually apart of the NEW WORLD ORDER. He gives them photos of 2 persona users (Eriko and Nanjo from Persona 1) the group gets the idea to contact 2 Persona users associated with the SEBEC Incident in Persona 1. [Here the choice is up to you as to whole will appear. If you spread a rumor that it's a man, Nanjo will appear. If you spread a rumor that it's a woman Eriko will appear.]
They all head to the bar in Parabellum, and theres a chance of Kei Nanjo or Eriko Kirishima to appear and have the situation explained to them. Here they become your 5th member throughout most of the game.
In Nanjos situation they head to Nanjo's facility because he heard how they were doing experiments on people.
The group infiltrates a Nanjo facility, and we see the return of Maki and Reiji who want to help as much as they can, as Nanjo is so happy to see them. In the facility they see that Eikichi was captured since one of his friends was taken and experimented on. Eikichi doesn't recognize Maya but asks the group to save his friend and to have him tag along.
The group find out the true intention of the New World Order and that is to unleash Gozen by sucking out the evilness and sin of the humans. That and attempting to fuse their bodies with that of Personas, which angers Nanjo when they find out what they're doing at one of his facilities.
Here we see the return of Persona 1's villain, Kandori who has also become a pawn of Nyarlathotep however he goes by his own volition, with Nanjo attempting to save him in a later part of the game during the boat sequence.

In Eriko's sequence of events the group head to Sumaru TV to stop Chizuru Ishigami, who is also apart of the new world order. In this situation, Eriko gets help from Hidehiko "Brown" Usegi (from Persona 1) whos always happy to help a fellow friend from the past.

The group after finding out the truth of the New World Orders plan attempt to stop and save Tatsuya from the robots, since Tatsuya is attempting to stop Tatsuzou from escaping and to try to change his fate (which he doesn't).

The group escape with Tatsuya and Tatsuya tells them what's going on by heading to Mount Iwato, where everyone's past is revealed, as well as Maya's past memories of the other side are unlocked. Tatsuya also explains that he is from The Other Side and is merely using This Sides Tatsuya's body in order to save everyone. Tatsuya feeling remorseful and sad because he's afraid of what might happen to Maya and his friends again. Tatsuya explaining that it's his sin to bare. Maya cheers Tatsuya up and so does his brother Katsuya, Ulala, and Baofu. Eriko/Nanjo take their leave saying, they'll protect what they need to in order to have a better future, and leave.

The group now consists of Maya, Ulala, Katsuya, Baofu, and Tatsuya who head to Xaliba in order to stop the Masked circle. Fighting against soldiers and grotesque mutants. The later fight at the top of the newly formed Sumaru Castle where the group fight against a mutated Tatsuzou, and later against Gozen to stop the destruction of the world.

Nyarlathotep [now appearing as Tatsuya with his Innocent Sin School Uniform outfit with glowing yellow eyes] says he's seen enough and taunts Tatsuya, Maya and co by making fun of the fact that Tatsuya is attempting to change the fate of the world, and challenges him to one final game. He reveals he's captured Eikichi, Lisa, and Jun, and that rule of the game is to not have their memories be revealed or else the world will become the same as the Innocent Sin world.

In my playthough I decided realistically the only one who should never remember their memories is Jun since regardless of what you do, his memories will never be restored, but I decided to have Lisa and Eikichi remember since it's realistic, heartwarming, and sad when they find out.

Nyarlathotep attempts to cause Eikichi and Lisa's memories to be restored by taunting Katsuya, Ulala, Baofu, and Maya with Shadow versions of themselves and their true inner feelings. Depending on your choices here, it can cause Eikichia and Lisa to regain their memories, depending on the right and wrong choices.
I purposefully chose the wrong choices since I wanted them to make sure they remember and to mourn for the loss of their friend/ Lisa's Other side lover.

At the end the 5 fight against Nyarlathotep who is defeated and can't believe that he actually lost, he disappears yet tells him that if Jun were to remember, everything would revert back to the world where he won. As Jun falls and Philemon catches him, Jun's memories will never be restored.

Here is where Tatsuya of the Other Side states his purpose is done and that he's happy he was able to save everyone in this timeline, he plants a kiss on Maya, and tells everyone to live their lives, as his souls is transfer back to his body in the Innocent Sin world. As everyone sadly watches.

The epilogue of the game has Maya finishing up a personal report as she is later told by a fellow employee that she has a a new assignment and has a positive outlook on it. We then cut to Baofu and Ulala now working as detectives, as Baofu visits the grave of his dead partner, as Ulala hurries him up for another mission but also tells Miki, "I'll take care of Baofu for you", it then shows the Persona 1 gang meeting at Parabellum, as Nanjo, Eriko, Maki, Reiji, Hidehiko, and Yukino all meet up together to reminisce and meet up, we then hear the door open and Eriko and Maki welcome their past crush of Naoya Toudou (Boy with Earring). [He is seen on screen in terms of a flashback with Nanjo and Eriko as a teenager in his Saint Hermelins, however as an adult we never see him, we only see Maki and Eriko greeting him as romance rivals].

[This next epilogue is dependent on whether or not you revealed Eikichi and Lisa's memories] We cut to Ayala Shrine where Eikichi and Lisa are crying, saying "You always had to do it by yourself Tatsuya, you didn't have to bare all that pain and sin on your own!"
They cry as they mourn the loss of the original world and of Tatsuya of the other side, as he is the only one who's stuck their to bare the sin.
Jun walks up and asks why they're crying, and says he feels a pain, sadness, and sorrow but he doesn't know why. Eikichi and Lisa know not to tell him, and both state they won't cry anymore for Tatsuya's sake. However this proceeded by Lisa continuing to cry with Eikichi.

We finally cut to Tatsuya of this new world with Katsuya who talk about what Tatsuya want's to do in the future. Tatsuya ask what it's like to be a detective and asks if their deceased father would approve. The 2 talk about it and Katsuya says he'll teach Tatsuya all about being a detective, finally answering Tatsuya's question from Innocent Sin if he's decided what he wants to do in his future.

Tatsuya rides off in his motorcycle as Maya walks by in the crosswalk and sees him, she remembers the Other Side Tatsuya, and her memories, but also sees the New Tatsuya and the new world and has a positive outlook of the future. As the screen zooms in on her face and she smiles. The game cuts to white and the credits role.


The story of the game is an amazing way of finishing up the Persona 2 Story, the story is one about having hope and changing fate. The characters here are superb by having pervious characters from Persona 1 show up as well as revealing everything from 2 Innocent Sin.
Maya, Ulala, Baofu, and Katsuya are amazing characters who have their own struggles and pains to deal with however come together to bring out the best in themselves.
Tatsuya Suou is the best protagonist in all of Persona, as he is both the strongest with Time Manipulation as well as being able to cross dimensions with Apollo, but he's the most tragic as even though he was able to allow the follow of time to continue in the alternate Eternal Punishment time, he's still stuck in the Innocent Sin world on Sumaru City.

The gameplay of the game is similar to that of Innocent Sin but in terms of the battle system has a downgrade.
As instead of how Persona 1 and 2 Innocent Sin have you select what abilities you want each user you want to do one after another, here you HAVE to select them all at the same time, which can ruin the flow of combat since there isn't an auto attack this time. However combat still for the most part is faster than in 2 Innocent Sin.
The usage of Personas and obtaining them is lifted straight from Innocent Sin so it's just as easy. The rumors in this game are just as easy to use. The game does not feature a theater mode that has more content but instead you can unlock these memories of Tatsuya and what he was doing before the events of Eternal Punishment.
The soundtrack for this game is equally as amazing as in Innocent Sin and is a great addition to the franchise and the duology that is Persona 2.

Persona 2 Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment must be experienced together as they are both amazing titles.

If you want to experience the PSP version of this game, I recommend downloading the rom and playing it on PPSSPP as there is no other way of playing the PSP version since it was originally never released on PSP in the West.

It truly is a crime that Persona 1, Persona 2 Innocent Sin, and Persona 2 Eternal Punishment have never been rereleased again, as all 3 of these games are absolute masterpieces.
All Persona games have something amazing in each of them, but it's truly a shame Atlus doesn't feel remasters for these 3 are needed.

I hope one day we can get proper remasters of these 3 games. If not remasters then certainly remakes, I would love to finally see Persona 1, 2 Innocent Sin, and 2 Eternal Punishment for modern audiences to experience.

I absolutely recommend Persona 2 Eternal Punishment

If I were rating this game on story alone, it'd easily be a 4/5. Being a continuation of Innocent Sin's story, naturally, one would need to play it to understand this game. As a story, I enjoyed it. This is the only Persona game ever with a primarily adult party, and we never got another adult party member ever again until Strikers with Zenkichi.

As a game however, along with the problems with grinding ranks from Innocent Sin applying here, this game is not on the same block of difficulty as it's prequel. While Innocent Sin usually put you into 5v1 boss encounters where you overwhelmed them with your sheer numbers and Fusion Spells, Eternal Punishment usually faces you off against either groups of enemies or enemies that can hinder you, like the Joker bosses and their Old Maid skill.

As this is the PSP version, Tatsuya's Scenario is available, and I do like how we get a glimpse into what our Paradox Boy was doing while Maya and the gang were in the middle of their business. The third part is pretty long and has the same encounter table as the final dungeon.

As for the finale, Nyarlethotep is brutally hard. He can be made harder, but even the weakest form made me work for that victory. It's a real shame about Tatsuya, though, that he has to go back to the Innocent Sin world. You know, the one where the planet's rotation stopped and destroyed the world aside from Sumaru City.

I'm giving it a 3, mainly because of the grindy nature of the game. This was originally a PS1 game, so I shouldn't be too surprised it's a bit on the grindy side, but the primary reason it's getting a 3 is due to how demons sometimes refuse to give you the rumors they want, making you run into more encounters just to find them again, contact, and pray you get the rumor.

Also like Innocent Sin, the encounter rate is absolutely insane without Estoma, which is in very limited supply early in the game.

"There are good things even when you become an adult... Just a few..."

Inteligente como sequência, tratando das consequências dos atos do jogo anterior, e brincando com percepções preestabelecidas, como o Joker e seus boatos. Tornando o vilão mais do que um personagem, mas uma "infecção", que reforça a temática apresentada de "Kegare" [穢れ] forma de "poluição" causada por sentimentos negativos, como inveja, angústia e principalmente pecados, focando mais nesse lado do ocultismo e da reação humana a grandes tragédias, se prendendo a superstições e opiniões públicas.

A exploração inusitada de personagens adultos, em interação e temática, é sua principal característica. Uma interação peculiar, os personagens por muito tempo nem se consideram amigos, e nem se esforçam para ser, apenas seguem o mesmo objetivo, cada um com seus problemas. As brigas leves foram trocadas por discussões morais, e mesmo os insultos levam tons diferentes. E claro, há destaque para o texto, se tratando de sentimentos causados pela transição para a vida adulta, incluindo arrependimento pelas escolhas passadas, inveja pelos mais bem-sucedidos, busca por conforto causada pela falta de autossatisfação e responsabilidade inevitável. É impossível não se identificar a personagens tão humanos, ainda mais para mim, que recém me tornei adulto.

É idiota continuarem com a fórmula do protagonista mudo em P2, já que paralelamente os dois são interativos, então nesse jogo a Maya vira silenciosa, enquanto o Tatsuya é explorado. Seu texto trata de seus arrependimentos e seu fardo a eventos passados, junto de sua caracterização trágica mostrado nas suas interações recolhidas com os personagens, e também no "Tatsuya Scenario", em fórmula similar a uma visual novel, com narração em primeira pessoa, explorando seus pensamentos com muita descrição para imersão, mostrando muito de quanto ele exige de si mesmo e se culpa por tudo.

Diferente do Innocent Sin, nesse jogo os inimigos realmente dão dano, mas o balanceamento ainda não é bom. A dificuldade é inconsistente, o dungeon crawler continua fácil pela recuperação frequente de SP, causada pelos passos, level up e até nas interações com demons, além dos fusions spells destruírem grande parte das batalhas aleatórias, mas em certas boss battles se torna problemático, continuando com aquele padrão de "quanto mais inimigos, mais difícil", além de debuffs e HK ainda serem quebrados. E sua principal mudança negativa, tornarem o sistema de combate em presets, diminuindo muito a fluidez e imersão na estratégia, atrapalhando até o charme da ordem dos turnos.

Fico confuso em minha satisfação com a gameplay em comparação ao seu anterior, mas em execução textual cumpriu o esperado como sequência, trabalhando perfeitamente o personagem do Tatsuya e tendo um cast adulto e suas complicações por tal fase, se tornando único na franquia.