Summary
Behind the vibrant characters and engaging battle systems, a lot of thePersonagames actually have quite serious and sometimes fairly dark undertones to their stories. While this might not become clear until venturing further through the game for some entries, others make it clear right from the get-go that they’re going to be exploring moreunsettling and bleak themesthroughout a playthrough.
Of course, sincePersonahas become so immensely popular and is now one of the most famous JRPGs on the market, the games never go too far with this to the point where they eventually becomemore of a horror game, but they can still end up being pretty dark in one way or another. These are thePersonagames that took a much more serious tone and presented a story that was a little darker than fans would have expected.
The very first entry in thePersonaseries is often considered to besomewhat of a hidden gemby the fanbase which still contains a lot of the charm of future games, but that is also very notable for its creepy atmosphere. The game is more unnerving than dark in its tone, having a very occult-like angle to its story that focuses on the existence of spirits and their ability to control humans to do their bidding.
Admittedly, when the originalPersonawas released on the PSP, Atlus did tone down a few of the creepier moments, which is a shame since this is essentially what makes the game so captivating. For example, inthe PlayStation version, there’s a moment where players will need to battle their way through a hospital while hearing the screams of others being slaughtered by monsters and demons, which is definitely enough to keep even the most hardened horror veterans up at night. Luckily, the game also has plenty of random and whacky moments which help make it a little more lighthearted for most of the story, but there are still a few very odd and dark moments here and there.
Persona 4makes it clear almost as soon as the player boots up the game that it won’t be pulling any punches with its tone as fans soon discover that a series of mysterious murders are occurring in the town that Yu,the protagonist, has just moved into. Unlike a lot of the games that progressively get darker as the story progresses,Persona 4does start to become a lot lighter, fun, and jovial as the gang gets closer to finding the killer, especially in the Social Links which tend to provide a nice break from the intense main story.
There are still a few serious and fairly dark moments sprinkled throughout though, especially if the player ignores their dungeon deadlines. If players don’t complete the December Dungeon in time, for example, they’ll be treated to a very distressing call from Naoto who tells Yu that shadows are roaming all over townbefore letting out a horrific scream. There’s even an optional ending where Yu can cover up the killer’s crimes and even shows excitement over the prospect of helping him commit more of them in the future.Persona 4takes a very serious approach to its story, but it only really becomes truly bleak if players make specific decisions that are considered “bad” choices.
It doesn’t take long forPersona 5to start digging into somereally brutal and dark topics, especially with the introduction of the despicable Kamoshida, who’s the first target of the Phantom Thieves. Joker and his friends quickly realize near the beginning of the game that the volleyball teacher had been physically abusing both his male and female students without facing any consequences due to his reputation as a former Olympian. There’s even a scene of one of Kamoshida’s victims, Shiho, attempting to take her own life outside the school due to the teacher’s constant abuse.
This is undoubtedly the darkest section of the game as the targets become a little more comical as the story goes on, but the game does still do a great job at highlighting the horrid acts people will commit just for their selfish gain. There is, however, oneending included in the Royal editionwhich is truly unsettling if players don’t complete the last Palace by the deadline. If this happens, Joker will instead look at his cell phone, which is shut off and completely cut off from the outside world, before then deciding to “sleep a little longer.” The cobwebs scattered around the room indicate that no one has checked up on Joker for a while, making for a pretty dark ending if players decide to go this way.
At its core,Persona 3is a game centered around depression, death, and feelings of being lost in a world that seems to always be moving at a rapid pace. The game is filled with imagery representing this, none more obvious than the waythe characters activate their Personawhich they do by aiming a toy gun to their head, but while it has an extremely dark undertone, there is also a very hopeful and worthwhile meaning to the story. As the player pushes the protagonist out of their comfort zone, allowing them to make new friends and battle the monsters dwelling in the dungeons, it presents a heartfelt story about making the most of our lives in a world that could end in the blink of an eye.
Still, the game does look at the concept of death from a more emotional lens too as players lose multiple characters throughout the story and are forced to deal with all the saddening emotions that come withthese unfortunate losses. While the game does have a very honest approach to the meaning of life, it also features a surprisingly depressing ending which is a far cry from the lighthearted final cutscenes of the other games. It’ll be interesting to see how Atlus tackles these themes in thePersona 3remake since they play a big part in the game’s narrative and world.
This includes bothEternal PunishmentandInnocent Sinas they both follow the same story and contain the same themes. The fact thatPersona 3, a game all about the inevitability of death, isn’t the darkest game in the series gives an idea of just how cynicalPersona 2can be in its storytelling. As the name of both games suggests, they are primarily focused on themes of punishment and how the characters come to terms with their mistakes or “sins” that they have made in the past, and if they can live the rest of their lives as “good” people from then on. This all stems from a horrific event that occurred ten years before the beginning of the story which is already chilling enough, but the game getsprogressively more unsettling as it goes on.
Another big theme thatPersona 2focuses on is the power of rumors and how much of a negative impact they can have on people. It’s also worth pointing out that in many ways,Persona 2’snarrative acts in the opposite way to all the other games in the sense that rather than embracing friendship and social links, it instead implies that the world would be better off if the gang never even met in the first place, which is highlighted near the ending. Both versions ofPersona 2are still worth playing, especially for the incredibly compelling story, but anyone jumping into it blind should be aware that it’s still considered by many to be one of thedarkest JRPGs ever made.
