Persona 1 has this mysterious, nostalgic vibe that makes this game a lot more special than one would think at first glance. The scenario writer behind this game: Satomi Tadashi, stated this was his intention, to create a narrative that is unapologetically rooted in the struggles and emotions of adolescents. To relate to those who are currently in that stage of their life or to remind adults of those times in a positively trippy way. But make no mistake this game doesn't adhere to your usual high school anime tropes in an annoying way, it's surprisingly cartoony and charming at times while being able to also feel like a fever dream. Sort of reminds me of Earthbound in some ways.
However this game is one of those games that definitely has a lot more focus on said scenario rather than the gameplay. Rather the gameplay does have quite a bit of thought put into it and isn't completely terrible, but I highly suggest you just play it on the easiest difficulty. This game is tough and drawn out for no real good reason, it's not that fun but it's definitely a lot more playable than some other brutal JRPGs I've gone through. A notable feature is the "Contact" option you have when encountering enemies which makes for interesting dialogue and character interactions at times.
The game allows you to have up to 5 party members at a time and numerous times throughout the game's two scenarios you can pick to add certain characters but also be locked out of the rest of the later ones if you do so. It's pretty annoying but regardless the synergy and dialogue between everyone, no matter who you pick is extremely cohesive and entertaining. I don't really think I dislike any party member in this game whatsoever and by the end I fell in love with everyone.
Persona 1 predates the structure of the games from Persona 3 onward so expect a faster paced, linear story. Honestly even with a shorter play time and more emphasis on the plot it's still able to develop the characters and keep them involved with good reason consistently compared to the modern games that should theoretically make it even easier to do so. There's a super bunk localized version of the game for PSX in English and only the original version with the second scenario is translated and available on PSP.
However the tone of the game is completely different on the PSP version due to Shoji Meguro rescoring the soundtrack (notably less songs too.) The music he made was great but doesn't get the game's original atmosphere across. There's a patch for the PSP version to re-add the old music but it doesn't add all of the tracks, only replaces the tracks that are there with the old ones. At the moment since there is no translation of the JP PSX version this is the best way to experience it in my opinion.
This game created a blueprint for which the sequels would follow in their own ways and while I prefer Persona 2 over this game I think this game took an approach to the JRPG genre that was very unique for the time and to this day stands alone. Awesome dialogue, beautiful atmosphere, and a superb cast of characters with an unpredictable and fun narrative. The antagonists in this story are definitely not as huge of a focus (which falls in line with most Persona games) and it's definitely all about the heroes in the story but they're still interesting enough to merit some thought.
This is also one of the last games to feature the older style of Kazuma Kaneko's artwork alongside the original Soul Hackers before his jump into the style most people recognize today. It looks and feels super homely and really adds to that aforementioned nostalgic feeling that this game has. The sound design in the original version oozes "90's" in a really good way and personally pleasured my eardrums every step of the way. (Rest in peace Hidehito Aoki.)
If you're looking to start with this game I would say you should be an experienced RPG player, if not I would say jump ahead to P3 and come back to P1 and P2 later as its gameplay might scare away the uninitiated. Despite that it's a game I fondly look back on and I feel most who appreciate it share that same sentiment with it. It's kind of a shame that Satomi Tadashi to this day tried to emulate the experiences contained in this game with his newer IP but ultimately failed. Atlus truly peaked in the mid to late 90s and the way this game was composed clearly shows that.
All in all, if you're looking for a trippy story with relatable and fun characters you'll quite like this game. Have fun!
However this game is one of those games that definitely has a lot more focus on said scenario rather than the gameplay. Rather the gameplay does have quite a bit of thought put into it and isn't completely terrible, but I highly suggest you just play it on the easiest difficulty. This game is tough and drawn out for no real good reason, it's not that fun but it's definitely a lot more playable than some other brutal JRPGs I've gone through. A notable feature is the "Contact" option you have when encountering enemies which makes for interesting dialogue and character interactions at times.
The game allows you to have up to 5 party members at a time and numerous times throughout the game's two scenarios you can pick to add certain characters but also be locked out of the rest of the later ones if you do so. It's pretty annoying but regardless the synergy and dialogue between everyone, no matter who you pick is extremely cohesive and entertaining. I don't really think I dislike any party member in this game whatsoever and by the end I fell in love with everyone.
Persona 1 predates the structure of the games from Persona 3 onward so expect a faster paced, linear story. Honestly even with a shorter play time and more emphasis on the plot it's still able to develop the characters and keep them involved with good reason consistently compared to the modern games that should theoretically make it even easier to do so. There's a super bunk localized version of the game for PSX in English and only the original version with the second scenario is translated and available on PSP.
However the tone of the game is completely different on the PSP version due to Shoji Meguro rescoring the soundtrack (notably less songs too.) The music he made was great but doesn't get the game's original atmosphere across. There's a patch for the PSP version to re-add the old music but it doesn't add all of the tracks, only replaces the tracks that are there with the old ones. At the moment since there is no translation of the JP PSX version this is the best way to experience it in my opinion.
This game created a blueprint for which the sequels would follow in their own ways and while I prefer Persona 2 over this game I think this game took an approach to the JRPG genre that was very unique for the time and to this day stands alone. Awesome dialogue, beautiful atmosphere, and a superb cast of characters with an unpredictable and fun narrative. The antagonists in this story are definitely not as huge of a focus (which falls in line with most Persona games) and it's definitely all about the heroes in the story but they're still interesting enough to merit some thought.
This is also one of the last games to feature the older style of Kazuma Kaneko's artwork alongside the original Soul Hackers before his jump into the style most people recognize today. It looks and feels super homely and really adds to that aforementioned nostalgic feeling that this game has. The sound design in the original version oozes "90's" in a really good way and personally pleasured my eardrums every step of the way. (Rest in peace Hidehito Aoki.)
If you're looking to start with this game I would say you should be an experienced RPG player, if not I would say jump ahead to P3 and come back to P1 and P2 later as its gameplay might scare away the uninitiated. Despite that it's a game I fondly look back on and I feel most who appreciate it share that same sentiment with it. It's kind of a shame that Satomi Tadashi to this day tried to emulate the experiences contained in this game with his newer IP but ultimately failed. Atlus truly peaked in the mid to late 90s and the way this game was composed clearly shows that.
All in all, if you're looking for a trippy story with relatable and fun characters you'll quite like this game. Have fun!