Video Game Review: Persona Retrospective: Persona (PSP) Part 2: Worldview time!

Sorry about the delay folks, back to business. After Philemon sends you back to your body Nanjo, Mark and Yukino wake you up in the Nurse's office talking about how they all had the same dream. Once you get up the gang's homeroom teacher shows up to see if everyone is okay.

This is Saeko Takami

 She is one of the more popular teachers at St Hermelin school for her fairness with the students. She was also the one who helped Yukino reform her Yanki ways. She tells the four to head for the hospital and then straight home because, well when you get struck by lightning and survive, well that might raise an eyebrow or two. The nurse mentions that while the gang is at the hospital they should check in on their friend Maki Sonomura who has been there for about a year. But before you do be sure to check out the school for more characters that will show up later and to set up events to recruit the hardest of your fifth party member choices. Head to the teachers lounge to not only catch up on Elly and Ayase but to also talk to the man in the brown coat who tells you that they have seen someone walking into an open classroom on the second floor and he thinks that it might be you. So go upstairs to investigate in room 2-7. Once inside we see this rather shirtless gentleman.

Meet our Fonzie stand-in.

This is Reiji Kido, he transferred to St Hermelin 6 months ago when a building belonging to a company called SEBEC finished being constructed. As Nanjo astutely points out, Reiji is not one for being social as he storms off without a word. As you continue exploring the school head into the Home EC room to hear a conversation about a guy named Yosuke who supposedly ran off with his girlfriend Chisato two months ago.

Not yet, not yet.

Anyway head to the cafeteria to meet another student who will come into play later who claims to have had a dream about the girl that appeared before Naoya's group.

This is Kenta Yokouchi AKA Toro

He will be somewhat relevant later and one of my pieces of evidence in my case against Ayase. Continue to class 2-1 and talk to the guy next to Mark, he'll ask if derelict buildings should be torn down as they only attract hooligans. Mark snickers at him using the term hooligans, now on the one hand I have to agree with Mark chuckling about the vocabulary choice as no high schooler uses the term "Hooligan" unless A, they're trying to sound smart on a report, or B, are pretentious little pit-stains, I'd go more towards door #2 in this case. But on the other hand Mark, he does have a point.

Trust me.

I'll follow you on twitter if you get the reference here. After talking with (Insert Political punching bag here) Jr we meet a girl named Yuko Himino in room 2-4 who asks you to tell Maki that she'll giveback the book she lent her called "Gate to Paradise" the next time she visits Maki in the hospital. Hmmmmm a story about the Children's Crusade of 1212 trying to reach the holy land with the themes of idealistic naivete vs cynicism and moral corruption of those in power? Odd reading choice, eh must have a lot of time on her hands what with her being cooped up in the hospital and all, though personally I'd just watch the movie. After Nanjo proves that he knows as much about poverty and subtly as he does about the mating habits of Narwhals,

we then move on to the first floor hallway to meet with this obviously evil looking piece of work.

Does this guy not look like a Bond Villain?

This is Vice-Principal Hanya, and in terms of likability I'd say he's, oooooooooh about as likable as Snow from FF XIII.But more on him much later, for now continue exploring until you come across the fencing club room. Here we find someone that will cause some people to have worse headaches then those who try to find every piece of media connected to the Tommy Westphall universe.

This is Tamaki Uchida

 In this game she's a transfer student. What happened in her last school? Well for that play Shin Megami Tensai: if where she was the cannon Protagonist. Yeah apparently if was the progenitor to the Persona continuity but with this one reference along with another that appears next game it will start a domino effect that will drive certain people to try and figure out how each of the Mega Ten games, series and continuities all take place in the same universe, or try and create some Zelda timeline crap, trust me it has the potential to be even more confusing then the Toei continuity and Hypertime. Now for those of you who want to see how Tamaki got here, tough luck for those outside of Japan cause guess what? It never released outside of Japan. Now from that pile of potential mind-breaking we meet the guy that Tamaki is arguing with.

This is Tadashi Satomi

This is a self insert of the actual scenario writer of the same name. Now this caused some controversy among the fans because Tamaki is modeled after a Actress/ Pop Idol that Tadashi liked at the time and basically made these two characters to act out his own fan fiction.

Needless to say the idol's fans and the games fans were not particularly happy with this decision, but personally I don't really care I just had to put this in because if I don't mention it somebody else most likely will. Needless to say Stan Lee is ashamed.

I see you True Believers, I see everythiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

As the group finally starts to leave the school we meet Nanjo's butler/Surrogate Father Yamaoka.

I'll be there in a second Master Wayne

After inadvertently being embarrassed by Yamaoka's over attentiveness Nanjo insists that the group heads off to the Hospital, but first they group heads to the Judgement 1999 casino in the Joy Luck mall. Inside they encounter members of Mark's crew the Tailors who tell their boss that there were reportings of a guy with a scar in his face hanging around the abandoned warehouse that they use to practice their Graffiti. They head over to find Reiji who tells them that if they keep hanging around there they'll die and walks off. Heading back to Joy Street they meet Reiji's mom at Yin and Yan. She recognizes them as students of St Hermelin and asks if they know Reiji. She then asks them if they'll be friends with Reiji to help him and his lack of social skills and Naoya agrees before setting off again. The group then heads to The SEBEC building where a man named Takeda threatens to toss them out on their asses until his boss walks out of an elevator, the President of the Mikage-Cho branch, Takahisa Kandori.

EVIL, IMPOLITE AND EVIL!

After Kandori challenges Nanjo's title of "Most condescending Character in Persona" the gang finally heads to the hospital where Mark surprisingly knows exactly where Maki's room is. Why, well....

 Well okay not exactly that but it's pretty damn clear that Mark likes her enough to visit her very week. Near the hospital entrance, Yamaoka is hiding behind a vending machine/ Easter egg overjoyed that Nanjo actually has friends. I know the feeling, I honestly thought the guy would end up as another rich kid character with parental issues. But at least he doesn't have a dragon shaped jet-plane (yet). Here we finally meet Maki Sonomura.

She seems nice.

She thanks Mark for bringing Naoya, Nanjo and Yukino with him like he promised. After she had an outburst about her displeasure towards her workaholic mother she collapses and is imminently rushed to ICU, where we will pick up next time.

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Shin Megami Tensai Persona is owned by Atlus and Sega.
Miami Vice is owned by Michael Mann, Anthony Yerkovitch, Dick Wolf, Michael Mann Productions in association with Universal Television and NBC Universal Television Distribution.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is propriety of Hirohiko Araki, David Production, Tokyo MX, Warner Bros Entertainment and Viz Media.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Abridged is propriety of Anthony Sardinha AKA Antfish and Team Four Star.
"Narwhals" is owned by Johnathan "Jonti" Picking.
Star Trek The Next Generation is owned by Gene Roddenberry, Paramount Domestic Television, and CBS Television Distrobution.
The Simpsons are owned by Matt Groening, Gracie Films, and 20th Century Fox Television.