Persona will never be this great again.

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment is justifiably hailed as a classic for its gripping story, unique atmosphere, and memorable characters who are not constrained by the typical student roles found in many JRPGs and later entries in the Persona series.

Just like P1 and P2:IS, the vibe and atmosphere presented in this game are immaculate with its gritty urban setting and eerie supernatural elements. Eternal Punishment delves into mature themes the series never really has since, at least not in a way like EP did. As a sucker for old-school and adult characters, the stylized character designs not only reflect the era in which the game was created but also contribute significantly to the overall atmosphere and tone. It's a rarity in JRPGs and anime these days, which is a shame because I believe these mediums could benefit greatly from more variety.

However, one aspect that really disappointed me was Maya's sudden role as a silent protagonist. It's an annoying trope all too common in JRPGs and in a game with such rich character development, Maya's silence felt like a missed opportunity for further exploration of her character. I've never really been a big fan of silent protagonists to begin with, but this trend never fails to annoy me. I get that silent protagonists are popular in JRPGS, but Maya being one in a story and character-driven game like EP felt like a huge mistake.

Despite this, the story of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment hooked me from the very beginning. Just like its predecessor, its intricate plot weaves together supernatural elements with psychological depth, creating a narrative that kept me engaged throughout the whole thing.

P1 and P2 are, without a doubt, the best Persona games Atlus has ever cooked up, despite their clunky and dated gameplay. If you're a Persona fan, you will be doing yourself a disservice by not trying out these amazing games. But what made me really love and appreciate these games, aside from the great characters and stories, are the atmosphere and vibes that only retro games can truly emphasize.

Tatsuya going from a silent MC to a proper, active and talkative character in this works, but Maya going from non-silent to silent from IS to EP is really jarring. Why force that trope?

Anyway, I prefer most things to IS here. The cast is almost all adults, the music is better, and it's got the climax of Persona 2, since it's the second half. I also really like the ED song. The gameplay is better but still nothing crazy for me. My problem with Persona 2, and especially Persona 1 gameplay is that it just looks very bland aesthetically, or even ugly, to me, especially the combat. I also think I was burnt out at this point from IS so I didn't appreciate it as much as I could have, I was definitely forcing myself to finish IS. Oh well. It's pretty good. Also, I didn't play the PSP-exclusive Tatsuya scenario.

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment.
An amazing game that works perfectly with Innocent Sin to achieve a phenomenal duology of games. The stories and ties between them are extremely interesting to see, both Main Character's stories across both games are incredible to watch. The casts of both games work well for their respective stories and MCs. For EP specifically I love Maya and Tatsuya of course, Katsuya and Ulala were great but Baofu is definitely my favorite of the new additions. Tatsuya's scenario was great too. Always love side stories like that.

Gameplay wise it's much better than P2IS in that I actually had to think for a majority of the time. Dungeons I felt were better here as well, especially love the last worlds in the final act. Actually having reason to mess around with Personas here unlike in P2IS made me appreciate how much I like this game's mechanics. Though Card grinding can be tedious if you need a certain Arcana, but overall it's some great gameplay. Rumors continue to be a very fun element I like a lot in these games as well, using them both in big story stuff and smaller gameplay aspects that benefit the player and reward talking around and exploring.

Love the world design of these games as well, when a big event happens you're able to feel its weight and see the effect it has on the world map around you physically.

There's also plenty of smaller charming bits, the game has great funny moments, I like the P1 cast being involved.

OST is excellent.

Love a lot of the demon designs and animations in this game.

Overall this was an amazing experience of, I guess all of P1, P2IS, and P2EP, though I'm not praising P1 much here it's good but I'm more-so praising its involvement in the P2 duology.

Tatsuya and Maya my beloveds.

Um dos jogos mais interessantes da série na minha visão, e que conseguiu atender a maioria das minhas expectativas.

A história, como era de se esperar, está muito boa, e com uma pegada um pouco diferente, não tão absurda/cheia de surpresas, mas igualmente bonita, focando nos problemas e dificuldades de quando se torna adulto, como o medo e a incerteza do futuro, ou o apego excessivo ao passado.

O cast de personagens principais é excelente, com vários personagens já conhecidos e com outros novos e muito bem feitos. Destaco em especial o Baofu e a Ulala, que são boas representações da fase adulta, cada um do seu jeito e com seu carisma. Também vale destacar a "inversão de papeis" entre o Tatsuya e a Maya, o personagem que era mudo ganha destaque, enquanto o outro perde em troca do storytelling. Não vejo como um problema, mas é uma mudança considerável pra quem gostava muito da Maya do IS.

A trilha sonora mantém a alta qualidade da série, com destaque pro tema dos créditos "Change Your Way". Música linda e que toca no mapa em uma versão bem bonitinha.

A jogabilidade é ok, as dungeons são bem legais, mas problemas como a necessidade de grinding e os MUITOS encontros aleatórios realmente tiram meu apreço pelo combate.

No mais, Eternal Punishment é um ótimo jogo, bem único dentro da série Persona, visto que muitos dos seus temas focam na vida adulta, (escolhi não falar muito para não dar spoiler) e com certeza vale a pena ser jogado, mesmo com o problema do combate datado.

it gets everything right
the immediately apparent and very convinient improvements in the ui are a quality of life change that was sorely needed in Innocent Sin, this game can be played at a much faster pace if wanted and it feels so much better, it's also overall harder than the previous installment which is appreciated, and even if the amount of tools you get does eventually limit the ways in which the game can truly challenge you it still feels satisfying to master persona switching strategies, even more so than in Innocent Sin
the themes of the story are built on so well I'm still in awe after finishing it, the adult cast of the game not only allows it to go to darker places but also to feel more sincere in its hopeful messaging, Maya's motto "let's think positive!" is not a hollow encouragement to ignore your problems and indulge in ignorance that's coming from a shallow person, it's about finding a way to be optimistic in spite of tragedy and learning to be the master of your own life, while not succumbing to hatred, and the game plays on it excellently
and it definitely helps that the cast are all fantastic and that the game even finds ways to give more meaning to the journey of Innocent Sin, making both games feel like they matter

"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.

the internet was a paradigm shift, wasn't it? since the late 90s we've seen an increasing amount of discussion around fact and fiction becoming muddied, with the distinction seemingly being irrelevant to many. information is as free as it gets, but the direct consequences for misinformation are minimal. of course, there's no end of works focusing on the subject of truth in the information age; in this very medium you have one of the most prescient and unique statements on the matter with MGS2. the persona 2 duology, however, is unique in that a lot of what it has to say feels before it's time. this is certainly an internet-age set of games, but calling them cyberpunk in any way would be a misnomer. persona 2 really is concerned about the broader societal implications that come about from people being willing and able to believe almost anything, and it directs that focus towards the physical world. in a lot of ways, P2 feels responsive towards the increasing prevalence of conspiracy theories in pop culture (a lot of popular conspiracies are even used as inspiration for plot beats in innocent sin), and i think P2 takes a unique stance in that they don't flat out deny that these things are worth believing in or looking into. rumors come to life, but rumors do have to start from somewhere; there's shreds of truth in any lie.
P2, and especially EP, puts a ton of emphasis on allowing the city to feel lived-in and breathing. for anything you do, there's new dialogue everywhere, and the main progression gimmick (rumors coming to life at the player's will) is utilized in a lot of clever ways to achieve that goal. persona games are known for being text-heavy in general, but i wouldn't be surprised if these two games had some of the larger scripts in the franchise, because every story moment basically changes the whole city. in a game all about listening to the pulse of the city, this feels very appropriate, creating a much stronger sense of immersion than you'd expect for a game like this.

now for stuff focused solely on EP:
out of all of the traditional storytelling archetypes, probably the most common for a JRPG to use is the coming of age story. this makes a lot of sense, logistically; most video game consumers are teenaged, most JRPG protagonists are teenaged, and the power fantasy typically inherent to the genre is about starting from a weak position and growing to be strong. eternal punishment doesn't have these sorts of goals, and it's a lot more engaging for it. EP's cast is a group of adults, and you'd be forgiven for thinking at the beginning of the game that this cast doesn't have much room to grow. indeed, EP's characters definitely do not "grow up" in the way typical for JRPG writing; these characters start out pretty divided and uncomfortable with each other, but there isn't a big climax where they confront their fears all at once and become a team. instead, EP uses optional dialogue to subtly paint a portrait of each of it's cast members and has them slowly begin to open up over time. it's rewarding and immersive to have these characters actually gain new contacts due to these little nuggets of development, and it's a much more lifelike approach to party development than you see in more traditional narratives. a key concept this game has about identity is that it's self-determined; people aren't simply on a search to discover how they really are, but are ever-changing and create the path they walk. i think integrating this into the story by making much of the development up to the player is exceptionally clever. it's a fairly common statement among writers attempting subversive character writing to say that human beings don't have arcs. i feel that this is often used to justify uninteresting or directionless character writing, but in EP it feels like a pretty considered thesis for the game's writing. i guess a better way of saying it is that people don't just have arcs, they don't grow up at one specific point. development here is more like a stream, ebbing and flowing.

STORY SPOILERS HERE
all that being said, eternal punishment was greenlit for a very specific reason; to give an alternate perspective to tatsuya. i also felt that this was done quite well. tatsuya was about as well-characterized as a silent protagonist could get in IS, i felt, but getting a voice definitely helps him. his self-imposed suicide mission is a great narrative hook, and the reasoning behind his existential guilt is one of the best reveals of the story. tatsuya commits (yet another) innocent sin by refusing to forget his friends again, and it's not surprising that he'd try to shoulder the burden to protect their reality. tatsuya is ultimately a character whose greatest weakness is his protective instinct, but through the comfort of the main cast he's able to get past that and use his sins as blessings. it's beautiful payoff for a story that's rife with personal loss and seemingly hopeless odds.
in a lot of ways, P2 reminds me of panzer dragoon saga. both are these hugely ambitious games from around the same time that are driven by the urge to do something different. when i played innocent sin, i felt that that game's attempts at novelty wore thin; the character writing didn't feel dense, the combat was far too easy, and the deviations from standards felt poorly justified by the narrative. although there are still things i dislike in EP, the overall package feels more cohesive. rumors are more immersive and offer more variety, character dialogue is more interesting, the combat and character progression is more difficult but offers more interesting decisionmaking. definitely a huge improvement.

Olha sinceramente, eu acho muita sacanagem a desfeita que a Atlus faz dessa duologia, já que esses dois entregaram uma história que eu não imaginava ver na franquia persona.
Eu fico surpreso pq essa continuação é muito perfeita, ela melhora tudo em questão de gameplay do anterior e mesmo tendo um cast totalmente diferente ele ainda desenvolve esses personagens de um jeito maravilhoso, isso me deixou muito ansioso pra ver como podem trabalhar eles num possível remake. A espera pra eu jogar essas pedradas valeram a pena.

While Innocent Sin feels like the introduction in terms of gameplay, mechanics and story, Eternal Punishment ramps up its difficulty and stakes in terms of gameplay, giving more proper cohesion and make you fully invested during the combat (though, if you play your cards right, you could end up just spamming Last Quake or Meltdown for most of the game), the rumor system offers more fun results that gives you a complete edge on certain levels and the cast is fantastic.

Despite its reputation as "the snob's choice" in the series, it is just a really well made duology where every single theme, character and meaning come together into a full circle, a coming of age on the most extreme way possible with a nice sprinkle of lovecraft into it.

I wasn't very into Innocent Sin, but I had respect for it, I understood that me not being very into it was very personal, and I had some general fondness for the plot.

Eternal Punishment has the same issues (poor combat and dungeon design), but everything that was good about Innocent Sin is not present.

The plot is messy in Innocent Sin, but it felt like there were some trough-lines. Even if the plot didn't feel concise, the similar themes tied everything together. On the other hand, Eternal Punishment feels completely all over the place, with no common ground.

Even the rumor system feels much less grounded and part of the world of Eternal Punishment than it did in Innocent Sin, which is a shame since rumors are so essential to the game's identity.

I think at the heart of it Innocent Sin was good since it was the story of Tatsuya, Eikichi, Lisa, and Jun; Eternal Punishment is also that, but wrapped around a bunch of other things that feel pointless.

Maybe it's a bit rude to compare the two so closely, but it is a duology, and Eternal Punishment is at its best when it's just the second half of Innocent Sin— which it is for the last five minutes.

Also, to end on an incredibly petty note, making Maya a silent protagonist is terrible. Tatsuya as a silent protagonist was also terrible, so they made the smart move and made him an actual character—at the cost of Maya's character.

I very desperately wanted to like Persona 2 as a whole— I am a pretentious person, honestly— but I just do not see anything interesting in the story of Eternal Punishment until the literal last moments. I do respect that the game was willing to end on an imperfect and somber note.

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."

Logging completion of the Additional Scenario that the PSP remake added.

Really cool stuff. Was super fun to jump back into this world after so long and feel all those feelings I loved again. Halfway through it I realized I really just want to replay the whole game again but I think I'm gonna have to save that for another time. Not sure I'm going to have the time to sink into this before Reload comes out in a few weeks lol.

Anyway, this was a joy. Running around as Tatsuya smoking bad guys was fun, and I liked the kind of visual-novel thing they had going on with describing every scene.

Fighting Kandori and Nyarlathotep in this game was fucking amazing, two of my favorite characters in Eternal Punishment, fucking cool as shit.
Also interesting you fight Izanami who is the main antagonist of Persona 4? So that's cool ??

Overall a fun time, rather short, but that's quite alright with me. Maybe one day I'll replay the whole game, who knows.

Imaginate Persona pero con personajes adultos, un deleite. Es una continuación obligatoria de jugar si ya jugaste el Innocent Sin. Eso si, acarrea los mismos problemas que su antecesor, y ahora hay que agregarle que la dificultad se fue a la mierda, es el polo opuesto a lo que pasaba en Innocent Sin (encima tengo la sensación de que aumentó mucho el encounter rate, haciendo que tengas el doble de combates que antes (ojo esto puede deberse a mi esquizofrenia)). Por suerte agilizaron un poco mas el combate, se pueden saltar las animaciones y la navegacion en los menus es un tanto mas rapida.
Fuera de eso, si sos capaz de aguantarte las mierditas que menciono, te vas a llevar una historia hermosa con unos personajes que vas a amar para siempre.
Ojala que Atlus se ponga la 10 y haga un remake tanto del Innocent Sin como de este juego (me encantaría que los fusione en uno solo). No hace falta ponerle el sistema de calendario o social links como los modernos, de hecho quedaría bastante para el orto, con tal de que funcione como cualquiera de los últimos Shin Megami Tensei estaría más que bien.

Nota final: 60/100.