I just reviewed Trials in the Sky recently, and considering it was such a joy to play a hardcore old-school RPG like that, Persona 2: Innocent Sin just takes it to another level. Again, this is a decade old game released again for the PSP, and features some of the most intriguing story ever seen. As mentioned, this is an old-school JRPG, so you’ve been warned.

It’s not for everyone. It features some archaic gameplay mechanics and visuals, as well as some terrible technical issues.

It doesn’t feature a player-friendly game design considering it’s not a modern JRPG, but if you persevere with the game for a while, it will reward you in the end with some gripping conclusion to a great story.

I am a sucker for turn-based combat and punishing games, so this was right up my alley. If you are interested in this game, you should know some of the finer details, which is helpful for making a purchasing decision.

For starters, the story is absolutely fantastic. You are Tatsuya Suou, a teenager who studies at the Seven Sisters high school. The school is a hipster one, hosting all sorts of popular students from Sumaru City.

All goes well, until things start getting weird at the school, with students’ faces getting manipulated. Rumours start spreading around that the school is cursed. It’s really gripping in the way the events play out, and is one of the best stories I’ve seen in a JRPG before.

The great thing about the gameplay is that you can talk to your enemies. You can select any given dialogue and the enemies’ respond based on their personality. They do a lot of things based on what you have selected and may choose to attack you or strike a deal with you. They also give our tarot cards with which you can unlock new Personas for your character.

This is the main thing about the gameplay, though. Depending on what Personas you unlock, you get unique abilities to boost your stats which are helpful during battle. You have to trade the tarot cards given by enemies after a dialogue and exchange them in the Velvet room. This mechanic is a bit complicated, but once you start playing the game for a while, you will get used to it in no time.

The visuals are very average, but that is expected since the game is a decade old and was released on the PS1. Although, considering the PSP’s strong screen, it isn’t much of an issue. But I can see the visuals turning off a lot of people from the game. Along with the visuals, there are a lot of technical issues like long load times which may, again, ruin your experience with the game.

If you are a JRPG fan, then this game will provide you a deep compelling story, along with some satisfying gameplay provided you can handle the technical issues and have a lot of patience. Patience is the key word when it comes to this game, though.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin is one of the most satisfying JRPGs to have been released for the PSP, or rather re-released for the PSP. I can imagine the hardcore fans getting buying it, but if you are a casual JRPG fan looking for a good story and have a lot of patience and free time, then by all means get this game.

This game was reviewed on the PSP.