Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (2000)

First: anyone interested in the world of Persona 2 should check out this translation of a manga set between the two games: https://mangadex.org/title/2163c710-d78f-49ea-a1cf-79a03ac6a8a3/persona-crime-punishment

Had a cross-country business trip, so I finally went back to play the one alternate story mission (at one point you have to spread a rumor about either a boy or a girl and the next dungeon depends on your answer) and the final “alternate scenario” that’s exclusive to the PSP release. The former has a completely different structure from the “boy” route, which is nice, although the central puzzle is frustrating without a guide. Non-completists are fine to skip the “girl” path since the “boy” plot is much better.

The alternate scenario is similarly fine but not essential. It’s mostly appreciated for fleshing out Tatsuya’s arc, upping your investment in him during the main campaign. These alternate scenarios are definitely a welcome addition and make this the definitive version of EP, but don’t expect them to be a standout of your time with the game.

Been a long time since I felt so much love for the characters of a game. Where I'm sad I only have some side content and the final boss left not because the game itself is perfect but because that means my time with this collection of misfits is almost over. Last time might have been Kingdom Hearts 2?

Anyway, aiming to beat this tonight and see how they tie up all these threads from both Persona 1 and Innocent Sin. Glad I already have Persona 3 Reload ready to go if I need to hop straight into another Persona game.

About 10 hours in and I'm regretting diving into this one so quickly after finishing Persona 2: Innocent Sin. Sure, this is a continuation of that game's story that makes little sense on its own, but the narrative so far has consisted entirely of re-doing the dungeons and narrative beats of that first game. There's a thematic reason for this redundancy since everyone had their memories wiped at the end of Innocent Sin, but that doesn't make things any more interesting to play through so soon after doing it all in the previous game.

That being said, gameplay is great with the battle and contact systems streamlined. Hoping it starts doing its own thing soon to fulfill its potential.