of the two p2 games I was surprised how I prefer this one which I know is not really a hot take or anything, it was more of a surprise on my end considering how much of how this game handles certain subject matter terribly.

the game is really good until you get to the Nazis and it just falls off the interesting antagonists get replaced, there's a really dumb character arc for one of your party members and there is uncomfortable nazi sympathy implications with certain characters and its just awful. but the ending is really good and bittersweet and Id argue stands on its own.

I guess I perfer this one to taste as well I think the combat system is whatever but it is so piss easy that I found myself comfortable in the braindead loop I was going through.

Good game imo but people don't talk about the story issues it has enough.

despite me having replayed this game countless times i could not for the life of me tell you what the story actually is about because I feel like i was/am just fixated on the vibe and all the really great characters.

I'll keep my comparisons of the persona franchise short because I don't necessarily think it's helpful to talk about any of the persona games by comparing them. But I will definitely say it was incredibly refreshing to play it the first time just because the cast is actually treated with humility with realistic character arcs as teenagers (which cannot really be said for any future persona games). Also just incredible humour just random weird shit scattered everywhere that kinda breaks you away from the heavy themes floating in the game.

I've always been fascinated on how much this game keeps up the theme of fate, magic, and mythology. Every little thing in this game always comes back to reference some kind of myth from zodiacs to demonology, which is really fun to pick apart. Also LOVEEE the music so many great tracks in the 3 part soundtrack.

Something that this game always reminds me when i replay it is that the mystery and obscurity of themes in the persona games genuinely vanish in favour of marketable dating sim aspects for the future persona series, and it's beyond depressing to see it continue to devolve. One of the main things I point out is that I could never understand why they dropped the mystery of the velvet room and inexplicably stop any characters outside the protagonist from entering.

Aqui persona estava começando a criar forma, a ter sua identidade, por mais que quase tudo que faça a fama da franquia tenha surgido no 3.
Eu tinha altas expectativas para esse jogo, e a parte dos personagens e história realmente não decepciona nem um pouco. Tatsuya é o protagonista mais interessante da franquia com certeza.
Maaaaas, esse jogo tem muitos, mas MUITOS problemas. Ele é chato, repetitivo, e muitas vezes parece ir para lugar nenhum. Toda dungeon é igual, com os mesmos corredores lineares e talvez a pior exploração que ja vi em um RPG na minha vida, somada com essa putaria de encontro aleatório. Você passa uma quantidade exaustiva e totalmente desnecessária de tempo nesse loop maçante de exploração ruim e dungeon cagada. Foi um dos poucos jogos que eu demorei MUITO pra progredir, mas não porque tava difícil (o jogo é até bem fácil), mas porque eu simplesmente não tinha saco pra aguentar o loop tedioso de horas e horas.
O combate também não é nada de mais, e falta um pouco de personalidade.

Em Resumo, é muito bom que esse jogo exista, porque foi o segundo passo para a franquia que eu tanto amo.
Mas como jogo ele é bem fraquinho

A game where I definitely feel compelled to gloss over some of the flaws because I really appreciate what it's trying to do.

The combat isn't necessarily bad, but it is definitely mediocre at best. Even playing the harder PSX version of the game it just felt more like going through the motions than anything requiring a ton of thought or strategy. Spam fusion spells, maybe keep a healer going and hope to burn things down as fast as you can. It's a shame that when there is difficulty it comes off as more frustrating than anything, with an overreliance on status inflictions from a lot of the later bosses.

The contact system is something I do enjoy quite a bit though, it works particularly well with how charming all of the cast is even if it gets a bit repetitive as the game goes on. It's a fun way to incentivize not having to fight some battles but still getting something out of them. I do think it could have been more clear early on though that this is how you should be using it, mainly to recover SP if you need to.

All that being said, the story is definitely where this game gets the most praise and for good reason. I really enjoy how much emphasis there is on the dangers of rumors and misinformation, while the plot starts out slow I think it was worth it so we can see how these elements really start to snowball over the course of the game. I particularly like how it not only showed the lies told to others but also the lies that people tell to themselves, either to deny a trait they have or to forget the past. The way the central characters exemplify this and tie it all back to the central mystery is really satisfying as well.

The ending does feel a bit rushed though, they don't really do a great job of making the actual supernatural mechanics super clear or interesting. I definitely think this is something they did a lot better in the later games, at least in terms of making this stuff more accessible/palatable. I haven't played Eternal Punishment yet though either.

In general, Innocent Sin still feels a bit like a series figuring out what it wants to be in many ways, crossing a lot of older SMT type stuff with more new and unique elements. Yet it still stands on its own as well with such a strong cast and story, and it's easy to see how it really sticks with people who play it.