The Persona series is no stranger to follow-up games that further explore the story, setting, and characters of each numbered sequel. Among them, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment is unique. It's not a rhythm game, it's not a fighting game, it's not an action-RPG, but rather a full proper sequel that effectively qualifies as the second half of a duology, carrying on Innocent Sin's mechanics and themes in a way that feels like a natural progression. Two halves of a whole.

Eternal Punishment is even further differentiated by how it shifts the narrative focus away from teenagers for the first and only time in the franchise, instead putting the player in control of a group of adults with decidedly adult problems. Maya (former party member turned silent protagonist) works a full-time job writing for a fashion magazine, her roommate Ulala was conned out of a substantial amount of money by her boyfriend, Baofu is a professional extortionist, and even returning characters from Persona 1 are now adults who have far more weight placed upon their shoulders. What is normally portrayed as a sort of out-group in the Persona series - often times antagonistic or simply incapable of appreciating what teenagers go through - is instead represented in a different light. Maybe adults are disconnected from the troubles of youth, but likewise, teens don't know how difficult being an adult can be.

"Is it hard being an adult? No, nevermind... Forget about it..."

"What about you?"

"....."


"It's the same. Nothing feels good. The pain just keeps growing..."

I mean, a key plot point is that "society" is literally Jokerfying people. I'd love for another Persona game to feature a cast of 20-to-30-somethings who are too busy getting wasted to form Social Links. Ain't nobody is making friends after 30. Unfortunately, even if Atlus did this, I'm sure they'd find some way to put you on the other end of the high schooler-dating-adult dynamic. Would that be more creepy? Ah, I'd rather not think about it.

Overall, I enjoyed the cast dynamic better than the first game, and I found it resulted in some really fun dialog options when attempting to negotiate with demons. The rumor system also feels more robust, though still not quite as in-depth as I'd like to be. There's so much potential there, but I can see why they weren't able to live to it at the time. At least it's better here than it was in Innocent Sin, and t's definitely worth fussing with enough that you're able to unlock the secret Nekomata hiding in the detective agency's bathroom. The battle system is pretty much unaltered, so you'll probably get the same mileage out of it, though I did find Eternal Punishment to be more challenging overall, which is appropriate if you treat this as the second half of a single game as I did. Going from Innocent Sin straight to this feels good, and that's probably the best way to approach Eternal Punishment, especially considering the plot won't really make a whole lot of sense without the context of the last game. I can't imagine jumping into this back in the year 2000 with no way to appreciate the story of Innocent Sin, there's so much here that is set up prior to the start of the game, and cameos by Innocent Sin's party members would just feel hollow without all the emotional baggage of the first game.

If you have the time and the wherewithal to dig up the Innocent Sin English patch (I'll be damned if I can find it now...) and are willing to grab a PSX ISO for Eternal Punishment, and you have an interest in PlayStation era Shin Megami Tensei games, then I'd strongly suggest seeking both parts of Persona 2 out and playing them as a pair. Of course, it would be way easier if Atlus would just port these to modern consoles, but given their track record, they'd find some way to fuck that up.