Megami Ibunroku Persona

Megami Ibunroku Persona is the first game in the Persona series, which is a spin-off of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise developed by Atlus. In North America it was released as Revelations: Persona.

Atlus has released an enhanced remake for the PlayStation Portable, entitled Shin Megami Tensei: Persona with the words Megami Ibunroku omitted from the title. Shoji Meguro returns as the composer.

Plot
Megami Ibunroku Persona centers around the protagonist and his classmates at St. Hermelin High School in Mikage-cho (Lunarvale in Revelations: Persona). Hidehiko Uesugi talks all of his friends into playing a game called "Persona", which is played much like the ritual game "Bloody Mary". While playing, the students lose consciousness and meet Philemon, who gives them the ability to summon reflections of their personalities, which are known as Personas.

A short time later, the protagonist and several of his friends go to visit Maki Sonomura, who is ill and bed-ridden. During their visit, they discover that the town is changing and demons are roaming the streets.

Characters
Below is a list of player characters, with their English names included.
 * Protagonist: The nameless, silent boy with the pierced ear.
 * Maki Sonomura: A frail bed ridden girl who has been sick most her life. Known as Mary in Revelations: Persona.
 * Masao Inaba: A loudmouth who has a crush on Maki. He was altered to be an African-American and called Mark in Revelations: Persona.
 * Kei Nanjo: The arrogant heir to the Nanjo group's fortunes. Known as Nate Trinity in Revelations: Persona.
 * Hidehiko Uesugi: A cocky joker student with red hair. Known as Brad in Revelations: Persona.
 * Eriko Kirishima: Aspiring model and fashion designer. Known as Ellen in Revelations: Persona.
 * Yuka Ayase: A dyed-blonde kogal. Known as Alana in Revelations: Persona.
 * Reiji Kido: A mysterious student with an X shaped scar on his head. Known as Chris in Revelations: Persona.
 * Yukino Mayuzumi: A reformed yanki who looks out for her classmates. Known as Yuki in Revelations: Persona.
 * See Also: List of Megami Ibunroku Persona Characters

Localization
Revelations: Persona was heavily changed when it was localized for a North American release. All characters were renamed and several of them had their appearance altered as well. Nearly all references to Japan or Japanese culture was cut, with the unusual exception being the shoe lockers and Shinto Shrines in the game. Many of the Personas were renamed rather than translated, and the town's name was changed to "Lunarvale". Yen was changed to dollars, and the overall difficulty of the game was reduced by lowering the enemy encounter rates and increasing the experience gained. However, while experience gain was increased to an amount proportional to the decreased random battle rate, money drops were left the same, resulting in a potential shortage of cash.

In addition to these changes, a large portion of the game known as the Snow Queen Quest was removed by only allowing the player to commit to the SEBEC chapter. This part of the game featured an optional quest that altered many aspects of the story, ultimately leading up to an alternate ending.

It was to become the first title of the flagship "Revelations" series.

Etymology
The title, Revelations, is taken from the Christian Bible's Book of Revelation of the New Testament. It is the final book and its authority and relevancy to Christianity are in common dispute. However, many modern fundamentalist Christian sects place great importance upon its portrayal of "the end of days." It's possible Atlus USA overlooked the significance of such a title when choosing it; the demographics to which this title would appeal would not be interested in Megami Tensei games, and vice versa. Perhaps Atlus USA only struggled to find a natural substitute for the admittedly cryptic title of Megami Ibunroku.

While the front of the game's case claimed it to be the first in a series, only one more Atlus USA production would bear this title: Revelations: The Demon Slayer.

Trivia

 * The Persona featured on the jewel case and in the Revelations: Persona-exclusive loading screen is Vishnu, renamed "Ashura" in the English version.