Persona 2's story will ask for a bit of the player's patience as you will first have to do a lot of interviewing as a female reporter investigating a bizarre string of murders all seemingly connected by a suspect only known as "the joker." Apparently, anyone who dials their own cell phone and asks for someone to be killed is granted their wish in short order. At a school recently plagued with these "joker" murders is where the real game begins. You'll have to run all around the school building being sure not to miss one conversation before the Joker will make his appearance, unlocking your persona (a powerful spirit side of each character). As with most RPGs there is a "dark hand" at work who has new plans for humanity, performing black rituals to meet their goals. But fate steps in, literally, in the form of Philemon, a man in butterfly's clothing who guides you in unlocking the power of your Persona and saving humanity from a horrible fate. Throughout the game there are plenty of plot twists and turns meant to shock and amuse; some you choose others are unavoidable. RPGs have always been mostly story driven and Persona 2 will easily keep you awake till the wee hours of the morning to find out what happens next.

In the gameplay department, Persona 2 has just as many blessings as shortcomings. Blessing number one is the contact system. The contact system allows you to speak to demons you run into instead of battling it out. Each demon has human characteristics: Shy, Stubborn, Fool, etc. And depending on what type they are you can ask or answer any questions they might have about humans. Ask the right questions and give the right answers and you'll be given tarot cards; keys for unlocking new personas. Upset the demons with foolish questions or answers they don't like and you'll have to rely on your battle skills to escape. Talking to the demons is a great escape from the norm of endless battles. However, you must still learn the balance of when you need to level up your characters and persona versus when you need to get tarot cards.

Therein lies the first curse of the game: leveling up. With all it's originality Persona 2 still falls victim to the RPG norm of endless hours of duking it out with lesser demons just so you can survive the next boss. Even on the first stage you will have to heavily rank up your Personas in addition to your characters. Your Personas only start out with one or two spells meaning you'll have to gain four or five levels before you earn that desperately needed heal spell. In addition, on certain levels curative items are hard to come buy so you'll want to stock up of plenty of goodies at the convenience stores before you move on to the next stage.

With all its shortcomings Persona 2 still has an edge over most other RPGs with its innovative rumor system. Want some protection from demons? Spread a rumor that a certain symbol will keep you safe. In the world of persona, rumors can become reality. In fact you'll find a rumor club in a sushi bar who likes to hear and spread the juiciest rumors around. Or you can hire out someone to spread a rumor for you as long as you have enough cash. The rumor system is a brilliant idea and is the basis for a lot of Persona 2's story. Of course, I won't give any more info away for fear of spoiling anything for you.

Graphically Persona 2 is not polished at all. If you were to come upon it being played in a store you would probably wonder why someone was playing an SNES title. Inferior sprites abound during play but the player is treated to a mix of 2-D and 3-D animation during it's CG cut scenes that total around an hour. Thankfully, the lack of graphical beauty during Persona's gameplay does not distract or disappoint since the real meat is in the story.

On a final note I have to mention Persona 2's music and voice acting. Persona 2's somber mood is conveyed through plenty of piano solos along with its racy synthesized violin for moments of panic; great for boss battles. The music is always kept simple, never overblown, except on a few occasions when it becomes annoying during visits to some convenience stores when the Muzak is turned to the "soul sucking sappy" channel. The voice acting however, is more of a mixed bag. Some of the more memorable quotes are "Whoop Ass completed!" and "Don't mess with me you f***** bastards!" complete with censor bleep. The comical quotes and varying levels of talent only add to Persona's charm. You rarely have to hear the characters speak except for boss battles and the occasional cut scene. So you never have to worry about plugging your ears to block the bad dubbing.

I may not be a hardcore RPG fan but Persona 2 had enough originality and soul to draw me in and keep me coming back. Casual gamers, however, should be warned that your patience will be tried during many of the difficult battles and hours of leveling up your characters and Personas. In Persona's favor the contact and rumor system will keep you entertained with the antics of rumor mongers and even stranger demons. The story does prove worthwhile but this game is only for those of you willing to put in the hours of dedication needed to complete it. Otherwise, you might want to try your hand at something more action oriented than text driven.