Riding on the coattails ofPersona 3 Reload’s success, Atlus has many decisions to make when it comes to the series' future. While the company’s work onPersona 6is already a given, remakes of the franchise’s origins have remained highly anticipated, especially by fans in Japan. Asurvey from 2022 revealed thatPersona 3and thePersona 2duologywere tied for audience interest in remakes, and withReload’s release, it remains likely that the latter will receive similar treatment. Given the length and focus of each of the duology’s entries, it remains to be seen whether a rumoredPersona 2remake would be comprised of one game or two.
Though thePersonafranchise has become renowned with audiences across the world, the focus has been largely oriented onPersona3 through5, at least in its mainline entries. Notably,Revelations:Personaand the first ofPersona 2’s duology,Innocent Sin, haven’t been as easily accessible outside of Japan, thoughP2: Eternal Punishmentdid receive a Western localization back in 2000. While theP2duology does show signs of age, there is much to be said about the compelling nature of its characters, plot premises, and world-building. BetweenP2: Innocent SinandP2: Eternal Punishment, however, there’s a lot of ground to cover, begging the question of how Atlus might approach a remake.
How Atlus Might Re-Imagine the Persona 2 Duology
A Persona 2 Remake Needs to Decide Whether to Release the Duology as One Game or Two
ThePersona 2duology is an outlier in the franchise for a number of reasons. For starters, the games were conceived before Social Links became a prominent mechanic for the franchise. Moreover,P2: Eternal Punishmentfeatured an adult cast, and the very nature of a duology as part of the franchise’s mainline entries remains to be replicated. While content likePersona 3 FES’The Answerand other spin-offs have played with the idea of showing events beyond their respective mainline plots,Innocent SinandEternal Punishmentwere intrinsically tied to each other in a way that completed their stories.
Even with the time it takes to complete most modern RPGs, thePersona 2duology would still be considered quite substantial. WhileInnocent Sinwas shorter thanEternal Punishment, both could take anywhere from 30 to 60 hours to complete story-wise. Combined, their runtimes could hover around the 100-hour mark, and that’s without any modern-day updates that Atlus might consider.
Rumors ofPersona 2’s remake treatmenthave yet to verify how exactly this might be achieved; to do them justice would mean two separate remakes, though that would cost substantial time, effort, and money to accomplish. With game development timelines becoming longer in recent years, this would be a large risk to consider, but greater risks could yield greater rewards if successful.
How In-Depth the Remake Treatment Could Be
Of course, there’s also a question of how in-depth aPersona 2remake, or remakes, would be. Receiving the same treatment asPersona 3 Reloadwould require an intensive amount of art, localization, and mechanical upheavals, which would be an evenbigger hurdle thanP3 Reloadgiven how the duology’s gameplay was structured. Going for a more faithful reimagining, on the other hand, would play into the strengths of the duology’s nostalgia, though would run the risk of being less acceptable to newer fans of the franchise.
A safer option would be to consider remastering versus remaking, a decision that could end up being more cost-effective, but ultimately disappointing to dedicatedPersonafans.
Risks and Rewards of a Persona 2 Remake
With many risks and many rewards to consider, there are a few avenues that Atlus could take concerningPersona 2:Innocent SinandEternal Punishment. GivenPersona 5’s own runtime, having one title comprised of bothInnocent SinandEternalPunishment’s plots could technically be viable, at the risk of making things feel slightly rushed.
Having separate remakes for both of the duology’s entries could be a better choice overall, and may end up working to Atlus' advantage; as many fans know, the company has no problem bringing its stories/casts back in multiple contexts. Ultimately, the question comes down to how big of a leap Atlus is willing to take, and how much that leap might pay off.
