Persona 2: Innocent Sin is a really difficult game to try and review, because on one hand, the gameplay and combat is an absolute chore, the battle system is legitimately unfun and is guaranteed to turn some people away from the game... yet on the other hand the story of P2:IS is absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking, but I don't think it could be fully enjoyed if you just watched a lets play on Youtube. Plenty of people believe Persona 3 sets the template Persona games follow to this day, but I can see the foundations laid here, excluding Social Links and hitting weaknesses for knockdowns, Persona 2: Innocent Sin is the real template that Persona 3 expanded upon by leveraging the power upgrade of the Playstation 2 to really solidify the beloved formula we know now.

tl;dr, Persona 2: Innocent Sin is a foundational game for the franchise, and I strongly recommend playing for yourself with speed up to get through the awful battles and encounter rates to really enjoy this heartwarming and heartbreaking story about what friendship means, how fragile the human memory is, and overcoming trauma.