Mask

Masks are recurring items in the Persona series. As Persona literally means "mask" in latim, it has been used throughout the series in a symbolic and literal way both in-game and in official artwork.

Appearances

 * Megami Ibunroku Persona
 * Persona 2: Innocent Sin
 * Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
 * Persona 3
 * Persona 4
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
 * Persona 5

Megami Ibunroku Persona
Philemon uses masks as a metaphor when explaining the concept of a Persona to the protagonist. Many other important masks appear throughout the game, such as the Snow Queen Mask and the Totems used to fuse Vishnu and Nyarlathotep: the Avatar and the Faceless Mask.

Persona 2
Masks play an important role in the game. The members of the original Masked Circle used Phoenix Ranger Featherman R masks in order to hide their identities when playing together. For some of them, like Eikichi Mishina and Lisa Silverman, who were bullied by their peers due to their weight and ethnicity, respectively, it was a way to hide their insecurities. Joker and his four executives also hide their identities using masks as a nod to the original Masked Circle. In Innocent Sin, those masks are also used as means to summon the character's Ultimate Personas.

All character-exclusive Personas are also humanoid in design, as if their hosts were wearing a costume. This is evidenced by a piece of official artwork showing that Artemis looks like a yellow-eyed Maya Amano under her helmet. In the PSP ports, the icon used to represent the Velvet Room in shopping malls is a mask.

Persona: Tsumi to Batsu
Kazumi Kiba and Rihito Shimizu first encounter Igor in a mask shop, where he explains how they've been used throughout the ages by humans in symbolic ways.

Persona 3 and 4
All enemy Shadows have masks whose color and design change depending on their Arcana. The "Change Persona" icon in Persona 3's battle interface is also represented by a mask.

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
The Velvet Room is represented by a mask icon.

Persona 5
Masks function as a summoning medium for the protagonist, Ryuji Sakamoto, Anne Takamaki and other Persona users. It appears to be symbolic of their Personas, as captured Personas are shown taking the form of masks.