I honestly have a lot less to say about Eternal Punishment as I did with Innocent Sin. I found the game to be enjoyable, but definitely did start to grow dull toward the middle to end sections, and it didn't pick up much in the conclusion for me.

I think much of this has to do with a lot of the story being retreading of Innocent Sin, with a lot of the structure being entirely beat for beat recreations of events in Innocent Sin. There was nothing offensive, but very few standout moments that had me feeling satisfied. I'd say that the major problem I had was the emotional throughline felt weak to me, as it was largely pushed toward Tatsuya who is not present through most of the game and story until the very end. While it didn't have anything as offensively bad or gross as the nazis, or the wasted potential of the Masked Circle in the first game... It also just felt lacking. Such as finding the fortune telling to be weaker than the wish granting and shadow men scenario in Innocent Sin. Again, just an alright and passable story that didn't grip me as much as I would have liked.

As far as the main cast: While I did enjoy Katsuya and Baofu and their bickering, I didn't really feel much for Ulala or Maya, who was weakened greatly with her voice being taken away. Maya still served as a better protagonist that Tatsuya in my opinion, but making her silent was a large mistake. As a result, with it largely being the four characters through most of the story, I felt their chemistry could have been stronger. With Maya silent, there was no fun banter with Ulala with her, and instead the best banter Ulala gets is with Baofu. Katsuya and Baofu have their moments with their morals ending up on opposite sides given one is a detective and one is a vigilante, but there also wasn't much with Baofu and Maya. Katsuya's crush on Maya was cute however. Tatsuya himself felt like he was written into being too gloomy, and while it makes sense in this scenario and with the themes of maturing and adulthood, it does take away other aspects of his character from the past game with him making goofy sounds to demons. I had gone with Nanjo route for story, and Nanjo largely was just the same as he was in P1, but I felt he had less chemistry with the EP cast than Yukino did with Maya in IS. As a result, it often feels like there are 3 1/2 party members for the full game, with Ulala, Katsuya, Baofu, and silent protagonist Maya. I would have liked the party to have a stronger connection, which probably would have helped with Maya no longer being silent, and Tatsuya opening up more in the end game.

The gameplay was largely the same, with a bit more difficulty put onto boss fights so they weren't as braindead as they were in Innocent Sin. I found the game to be a good blend of difficulty for the limited combat system, only finding some aspects to be more annoying and not well thought out. Such as the Old Maid skill being something that bosses could spam rather than having a cooldown or trigger to activate, and that some enemies had skills that could completely drain your wallet. In that sense, they just felt more mean-spirited than difficult. Beyond that, my thoughts from Innocent Sin's gameplay is largely the same. It was serviceable, was an improvement to problems in P1, still miss the grid system, but still doesn't reward exploiting weaknesses as much as SMT games, or future Persona games. Leading to using your favorite spell over and over again generally being the best strategy.

Overall, Eternal Punishment is mostly a lot more of Innocent Sin, but without the offensive parts of it. It has a decent story, a decent cast of characters, and decent gameplay for the time it came out in. Though, I think it does lack the strong emotional core and the highlights of Innocent Sin that I liked about it. In this sense, Eternal Punishment was fun, but nothing standout to me. Compared to Innocent Sin's constant highlights and low points, Eternal Punishment was just a steady ride from beginning to end. 3.5/5

This is better than xenobalde 3 and One of my favorite RPGs of all time, my favorite cast out of any Persona game even over Innocent Sin and definitely over Xenoblade 3. The cast being comprised of mostly adults makes for a really interesting dynamic nothing else in the series really has, the plot is great but I don't think it'd be as great without them. Most people would say they dislike the gameplay but in this game specifically I found it very fun (sokmething I can't say about the horribly lame designed battle system in xenoblade 3) and challenging although the game is full of PS1 jank and it's definitely not for everyone, you'd probably be better off playing with a guide and one of the dungeons in the game pisses me off really bad even though I like the gameplay.

It's a good direct continuation from the first game. Giving Tatsuya a personality was a great idea, and the cast in this game is much better than the first. Even though Maya doesn't speak much, she still maintains her charisma. However, in my opinion, Tatsuya remains the best character in this game. The ending isn't a happy one, but that's what makes it feel more "realistic." If it were just Persona 2: Innocent Sin on its own, it wouldn't be as good as people say. But combining both games makes for an incredible experience, especially in terms of the story.

In this game, for some reason, Atlus decided to destroy the UI and create the worst battle UI I've ever seen in my life. To change your attack, you have to go through 5 different screens, which is unbearable. It's almost preferable to almost die and leave it on auto than to go through these 5 screens for each character every turn. It's definitely the worst battle UI I've ever seen. They could have kept the same UI from the first Persona 2, but aside from that, Persona 2 as a whole is a great game and it truly lives up to the hype that people talk about without a doubt, if you like Persona, it's definitely worth playing.

this possibly just might be the best ps1 game ever made, beside Ridge Racer: Type 4 (another awesome game i recommend) but wow, after Innocent Sin's somewhat half-boring game, this felt really refreshing.
The cast of characters are absolutely charming, with the adult cast facing realistic ideals that people still experience to this day, and the cast overcomes them pretty well
The story actually makes sense and doesn't get boring halfway (like in IS), certain P1 characters return to play major roles, and if you know the events of the previous game, the story comes together so well
The story would also make sense if you didn't play IS before this, which is also another thing I like about these games
you can play them in different ways but you'd still understand it properly no matter which way you play it
The gameplay is somewhat the same from Innocent Sin, but contacts are way more tolerable to grind on, and the game is more balanced, so it's not easy as shit
This is also the only persona game without a bad music track so
(love you persona mambo❤️)
yeah this game is pretty cracked
I love Eternal Punishment and you should too!

This game is flawed, it's a 90's rpg with a rather questionable translation and a clunky UI compared to IS's remastered and newer Persona games.

Even though this game might be difficult to get into, as you progress through it you will find yourself inside an story of getting into adulthood, overcoming you and your past, and admitting your sins, and embracing the future, whatever it might be and no matter how painful it is. It's a very niche but nice experience that if you like Megaten or the Persona series you need to experience.

Also the combat might be the hardest from its series, you have to select the personas for your party carefully and be prepared for everything, but it feels rewarding once you get the hang out of it, and demon negotiation is nice too.

Overall a flawed 90's rpg that I still love so much but I can't exactly describe to you why further than this

This game is home to amazing sprite work with beautiful settings, although its combat feels rather dated in the way that the moves happen in a sequence and not as you input them which hasnt left a good impression in me both in this game and its predecessor (innocent sin). What stands out about this game is its phenomenal story, Persona 2 is a masterclass of storytelling in the persona franchise, not only from the perspective of the characters own stories and relationship developments, but in how well paced it all is, in terms of Persona stories, theres this and then theres everything else

"is it hard being an adult?"

"there's nothing good...the pain keeps growing..."

fucking incredible game. i did a high effort write-up on innocent sin, but i can't talk about eternal punishment without gushing. the way this game explores navigating through life as a young adult with such a lovable cast is great. the gameplay is improved from innocent sin's and the battle system is pushed to its absolute limits. the story has a tighter focus than its predecessor, and recontextualizes it in a dark, yet compelling fashion. if you're like me, inching towards the age of the adult cast in this game, a lot of their concerns and feelings hit really hard and resonate a lot. it's just an excellent sequel and, in my opinion, the best JRPG you can play on the playstation.

at the end of the day, eternal punishment stands out as a story about moving on from past friendships and bonds rather than clinging onto the past. while tatsuya needs to let go of his friends from innocent sin, he still finds a support network in the adults around him, allowing him to make hard decisions in his life. while there is a time and place for "friendship is power" endings in stories, having a narrative that highlights how friendships sometimes need to be cut off is very compelling to me.

Eternal Punishment is far from a perfect game, but it is a very special one to me. Although I still don't enjoy some of its core mechanics, such as the fusion and combat systems, I've come to appreciate every other aspect of it as I've gotten older. Its main cast is easily the most likeable in the series, its neo-noir-ish mood is still unmatched, the soundtrack is awesome, and its themes resonate with me now more than ever. Being an adult sucks, dealing with trauma is difficult, and learning to love and forgive yourself can be tough, but there's always a bright side to everything. In a way, Eternal Punishment did teach me to think positive. With the recent release of the English patch for the PSP remake I really do hope more people finally decide to give this game a genuine shot. It deserves to be recognized as not only one of Atlus's finest, but also as one of the greatest PS1 games.