With a Persona 4 remake on the horizon and Persona 6 looming, fans worldwide are calling for proper remakes of the much-missed Persona 2 duology.
The Persona 2 duology has been a beloved but difficult part of the series’ history for a long time, since it came out in pieces and wasn’t always translated correctly outside of Japan. Both games were first released on the PlayStation 1, but were later remade for the PSP. However, not all versions were released around the world.
While both PS1 and PSP versions of Revelations: Persona were sold all over the world, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, the first game in the duology, was only available in Japan on PS1. Fans in the West had to wait more than ten years for the made-in-the-West PSP remake. The second game, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, came out in Japan and North America for the PS1, but it was never made for the PSP outside of Japan.
Because of this, many people outside of Japan played Persona 2 backwards: they played Eternal Punishment first, then Innocent Sin years later on the PSP. Fans were eager for properly localized and fully remade versions of both games, not just updates to the graphics and gameplay.
Sony tried to fix part of the problem by putting the PS1 version of Eternal Punishment on the PlayStation Network in 2013. However, the localization wasn’t perfect, with character names changing and translations that didn’t make sense. In 2022, a fan translation for the PSP remake of Eternal Punishment came out, but there is still a strong demand for official remakes or better remasters.
As we wait for the announcement of the Persona 4 remake and the possibility that Persona 6 will be revealed before the series’ 30th anniversary, rumors about possible remasters or remakes of Persona 1 and the Persona 2 duology grow. This year could finally bring long-awaited updates to these old games, letting fans all over the world play them the way they were meant to be played.
