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In light of this (sort of) recent article (two words: PERSONA 5!!!), and of course the recent release of a huge pile of SMT/Persona goodness (aka Devil Summoner Soul Hackers and Persona 2 EP (despite the fact it’s a port and not the upgraded PSP/Vita version... meh).... just wanted to capitalize on the awesomeness that is Persona and take the time to delve into the many, many, many characters I’m sure (quite a few of us) have become oh so fond of over the years.

Just a brief history: I’m one of those blasphemous people that started the series with Persona 3, despite starting with RPG’s in the good ol’ SNES era. Why did I skip Persona/Persona 2 Eternal Punishment/Devil Summoner/DDS1+2/etc? Well. I’d like to say it was because I was too busy with friends/school/extracurricular activities to dedicate myself to such a time suck as the SMT games tend to be.... but that would be a complete and total lie. Reality is, back in my foolish early teenage years, I would routinely scoff at all the games that I thought were ‘ugly’ or ‘drab’ or ‘way too oldschool’, instead electing to submerge myself in (what I perceived to be) the ‘pretty’ and ‘elegant’ games. In a nutshell: SMT = no. Final Fantasy/Star Ocean/Tales = yes. In fact, my real first flirtation with darkside of the RPG world was probably with ShadowHearts, which one of my good friends introduced to me, and never, not once, have I ever regretted my descent into the darkness. Finally, after shunning and neglecting the aforementioned SMT/persona games, I decided to go back, oh so many years later, and finish them. One, by one.

Proud to report: the only ones I have yet to complete (that have been localized) are SMT Nocturne (about halfway through, if I remember correctly), Persona 2 EP (just picked up on PSN, about ¾ of the way through), Devil Summoner Soul Hackers (workin on it... workin on it...), and Devil Summoner 1 (don’t plan on picking it up anytime soon, afraid to say, despite the re-print).

Anyways, moving on. This blog also marks the beginning of a new series of blogs, all about the games I love and a menagerie detailing all of my favorite characters therein. Cuz you know, who DOESN’T like to geek out and talk about their favorite virtual companions on this journey called life? ..... *ahem*

So. First. Exploring... a look back at the most awesome personas of.... PERSONA and SMT!!! 

 

10) Naoya- Devil Survivor

Yah, I have five, count em, five favorite Persona/SMT characters that have silver hair? Why, you ask? Because I’m crazy like that. Anyhoo, what can I say about Naoya- without giving away spoilers, what a kickass character. Rockin the big bro vibe, takin charge, the standard SMT character that preaches ‘self empowerment/put yourself above all others’ (or to put it into SMT terms: Dark-Chaos). You know how to get it done, sir.

9) Mitsuru Kirijo- P3

Hmph. Bet no one’s surprised Mitsuru is on the list. What’s not to like about her? Who else would show up on the ‘set’ of a fighting tourney in a black skin tight bodysuit with a fur lined cowl, and pull it off with grace and style? Wear a white sarong bathing suit, that flaming red hair shining in the sun, without an ounce of shame? Toss mabufula’s and bufudyne’s like simple bouquets of roses into the crowd (of... shadows, lol....) That’s Mitsi. Yes ma’am. Snow Queen, indeed (well. But not the actual one. Gah. Silly SMT tropes).

8) Tatsuya Suou- P2 IS + EP

Silent protagonist in IS turned not so protagonisty- not so silent character EP. What’s interesting for me is seeing that assertiveness in Tatsuya in EP- I feel like I actually got to know him as a character, rather than a player self identification/self insert.  Although- familiar story of many/most/almost all Persona MC’s: archetype of the Martyr. Ya know, the whole being-the-only-person-with-memories thing, and for pete sake, isn’t saving the world once enough? Yep. That’s Tatsu, in a nut shell. Zippo lighter, away!

7) Heat- DDS/DDS2

Finally. A protagonist-who’s-kinda-sorta-not-really-a-protagonist. This is what I love about SMT (as opposed to Persona, perhaps)- the turncoats, the allies that are only sort of allies, or allies when they feel like being allies but ready to turn around and stab you in the back at the first opportunity. Heat’s atma- obviously FIRE- Agni, pretty much the physical power house of the group- makes the tawdry pawns look like easy pickings for the Embryon group. Pretty much a constant member of my party, definitely couldn’t live without him (Gale + Serph + Heat, ftw). And ya know, the whole insubordination thing is kinda cool; spices things up a tad.

6) Minato- P3

Speaking of Martyrs. *cough*. Blue hair and sportin that Gekkou uniform. Never can do wrong, hapless, luckless (well. Not really. Since everyone loves him- including: every girl he meets, a dog, a velvet room attendant, and a robot or two) Minato, or hereafter known as The Wall. No pun or spoiler intended. Yep, bring down the house with the strings of your harp, Orpheus; Evoker’s-a-blazin.

5) Yamato Hotsuin- Devil Survivor 2

Second silver haired dude. Like aforementioned mastermind Naoya, take a look into his eyes, and you can’t really tell what’s goin on in this guys head. Except it’s probably something epic. Appropriate adjectives would likely be as such: world-conquering, sacrificial, apocalyptic. Anyone watching the anime knows that there ain’t no jokes in the presence of the almighty Hotsuin. Oh. Exceptions made for other silver haired dudes; read: Anguished One. Yep. They’ve got an exclusive club, apparently.

4) Serph- DDS/DDS2

Third silver haired dude. Despite the fact that on the outside, he seems relatively plain and boring compared to the previous two, Serph definitely surpasses the other two. Yes, perhaps because he is indeed the MC of DDS; but also because: Seraph. ‘Nuff said. (also- for some reason Serph reminds me of Hito-shura/Demi-fiend.......)

3) Akihiko Sanada- P3

Fourth silver haired dude (almost there... almost)... Aki, the boxer, the smash em down, beat em up, LIGHTNING FAST fighter/buffer that every well rounded team needs. And the guy has a HEART too- a true, almost brotherly relationship with Shinji; a compassionate protector watching over both Ken and Koromaru; a compatriot in arms to Mitsuru; devoted senpai of the other SEES members... bonus: hilarious ‘half naked man’ comments, commencing immediately upon stepping in the ‘ring’ into the world of P4A... need I go on? Aki, you’re #1.

2) Yu Narukami- P4

Final silver haired dude. And he’s the best one of em all. Charming, suave, tough, endearing, energetic Yu- anyone who’s seen P4 Animation knows he’s a bit of a lady killer (King’s game); P4A, kingpin with a sister complex; and of course, the almighty master of Izanagi (in Golden: x 3) in every iteration. Investigation master supreme ultimate fighting wild card champion of justice Yu. *that’s a bit of a mouthful...*   Hats off to you, Yu: P4 wouldn’t be the same without you. *chuckle; never get tired of the whole you, Yu ...  you ...  thing*...

1)Naoto Shirogane- P4

Favorite Persona character, 100%, no questions asked. She stands head and shoulders above all the rest, despite her short stature. IQ of a genius, invaluable part of the investigation team; as of yet in the persona series, unbeatable in the art of deduction. (potentially/maybe/sort of hinted at that she’s descended/related to a famous line of detectives that I’m sure all you SMT fans have some knowledge of). Sukuna-Hikona is a bit of a fake out, too: so small, yet with powerhouse insta death skills (mudo AND hama) and almighty, to boot (megidola- die gold hands, die). Yamato-Takero and Yamato Sumera Mikoto, her ‘evolved’ forms, ain’t no pushovers either. Plus – hands down the most startling reveal in persona history, ‘she’ was quite a treat to finally obtain; cuz face it, from the moment you spotted her wandering around town Kanji, you knew, ‘she’ was gonna be good. I mean, geeze, what CAN’T this girl do? .... Aside: I want that hat.

 

***Bonus character: SIX- Devil Summoner Soul Hackers***

Yah, I’ll throw him in- figure I probably have the right to have a runner up of sorts. Since it’s my blog and all. Just started Soul Hackers so literally just getting to know him, but probably my favorite character so far .... a cowardly gunner with emotional scars stemming from childhood trauma? Definitely something ‘different’ to add to my list of favorites, ‘tis true.

 

Will have an update blog... coming soon.... well, sooner then this last stretch of non blogging, I’m sure!.... (then back to the blog series, after the update blog!)

***Quick update: hopefully the pictures are fixed now, sorry for the messup! Will attempt to be better at this blogging thing from now on (lol)- aka not using Zerochan anymore, ha.