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Rumors (噂, Uwasa)? are an important plot element in the Persona 2 Duology.

Appearances[]

Profile[]

Sumaru City, in the Persona 2 duology, has the ability to create "Rumors," which is the ability to turn words into reality just by spreading them and having the population believe in them. In game, they can be used to unlock new features around Sumaru City, such as creating additional weaponry and medicine stores, spawning demons of the Rumor race to get new items, and expanding the inventory of current stores with advanced medicine or weaponry. The people in Sumaru City use this ability to make the city prosper, ensure good fortune and create loving relationships. Rumormongers receive this information, spread it and turn it into reality.

However, the power has a much more sinister side, which is any event that has a negative influence on humanity, such as those that pertain to world destruction, can become reality due to rumors, regardless of how nonsensical or childish they might sound. Antagonistic factions of the game, such as the Masked Circle and New World Order fabricate these seemingly nonsensical events to turn them into reality by spreading them, allowing them to destroy the world just by spreading these rumors.

In reality, the power is granted by Nyarlathotep to Sumaru City in order to allow him to rig his bet with Philemon in his favor, displaying that humanity desires destruction instead of salvation. He manipulates his servants such as the aforementioned Masked Circle and New World Order into spreading bizarre and nonsensical catastrophic events and turning them into reality, effectively destroying the world via people's thoughts. He did succeed in his plans during the Innocent Sin timeline by engineering the Oracle of Maia, but Philemon averted it by wiping out the memories of the previous timeline from the party. However, Tatsuya Suou refuses to have his memories wiped out, allowing Nyarlathotep to attempt to restore the memories of the Other Side in order to destroy the world again. Fortunately, the plan was thwarted, and Nyarlathotep was banished to parts unknown.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin[]

In Lak'ech IS

The Oracle of Maia, one of the rumors that Nyarlathotep spread to guide the world to its destruction.

The Oracle of Maia is a bogus prophecy that is dictated by Nyarlathotep to Tatsuya Sudou, which he spread to Akinari Kashihara to have him write it in the In Lak'ech and is one of the rumors that pertain to world destruction.

The Last Battalion is another one of the destructive rumors that is spread via In Lak'ech during the events of the game, which involves the revival of Hitler as a commander of the super-advanced Nazi army.

Nyarlathotep's plan is eventually successful due to him manipulating Maya Okamura into killing Maya Amano with the Spear of Destiny, fulfilling the Oracle of Maia to destroy the world and causing Xibalba to be the only part of the world alive. Philemon averted this by wiping out the memories of the party, but Tatsuya Suou's memories remained and thus allowing Nyarlathotep to possibly revive the old timeline and cause world destruction.

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment[]

Nyarlathotep spreads new rumors in order to destroy the world via people's thoughts, such as manipulating the creation of the New World Order when they unearthed a mummy of Gozen from the construction site of Honmaru Park, and having them spread the rumor that via the mummy's kotodama they have the power to move the entire country. The rumor eventually leads to a seemingly nonsensical apocalyptic event where Kegare will be leaked to the center of the earth, which enrages the earth dragons and cause them to destroy the world while the New World Order escapes via Ameno Torifune to utopia. In reality, Gozen's story is likely fabricated in order to taunt Tatsuya Suou about the Other Side. The fabricated history also results in the creation of Ancestor Personas, which are all based on personalities created from the fabricated history of Gozen.

Further manipulation of the rumors results in the revival of Takahisa Kandori, the antagonist from Megami Ibunroku Persona, as well as Chizuru Ishigami advancing the power of the Joker Curse by first spreading that people can become a Joker themselves by using JOKER's services, then exaggerating it further by spreading the rumor where people can randomly become Joker without even contacting JOKER. The true purpose of the events is to collect Kegare from people infected by the Joker Curse, then send them all to the Earth's core and destroy it by enraging the earth dragons.

However, the plan is thwarted when the team defeats Gozen and sends the Ameno Torifune into the Collective Unconsciousness, resulting in the party climbing Monado Mandala to confront Nyarlathotep. They manage to defeat and banish him from the Persona universe, allowing Philemon to win the bet and eradicate the power of rumors once and for all.


Major Characters
Playable Tatsuya Suou - Maya Amano - Lisa Silverman - Eikichi Mishina - Yukino Mayuzumi - Jun Kurosu
Non-Playable Philemon - Nyarlathotep - Joker
Minor Characters
Plot Relevant Maya Okamura - Akinari Kashihara - Shunsuke Fujii - Katsuya Suou - Ulala Serizawa - Daisuke Todoroki (Kyouji Kuzunoha) - Head Monk - Maki Sonomura - Kei Nanjo - Eriko Kirishima - Hidehiko Uesugi - Reiji Kido - Tamaki Uchida - Tadashi Satomi - Trish - Noriko Katayama - Miho Ogishima - Mami Shibata - Miyabi Hanakouji
Masked Circle Tatsuya Sudou - Ginji Sasaki - Anna Yoshizaka - Junko Kurosu - Shadow Tatsuya - Shadow Maya - Shadow Lisa - Shadow Eikichi - Shadow Yukino - Akari Hoshi - Hiroki Sugimoto - Takashi Hanya - Yasuo Inoe - Youichi Makimura
Last Battalion Fuhrer - Order of the Holy Lance
Velvet Room Igor - Nameless - Belladonna - Demon Painter
Rumormongers Kenta Yokouchi - Baofu - Chika Ueda - Sumaru Genie
Shop Time Count - Garcon Soejima - Kankichi Mishina
Climax Theater Motoko Mitsugi - Naozumi Kariyazaki - Musubu Torikiri - Akari Torikiri - Rose Futaba - Minato - Umiko Shiyama - Persephone - Tamaizu Nirasawa - Haruo Weyland - Kushiel
Locations
Sumaru City Seven Sisters High School - Club Zodiac - Kasugayama High School - Air Raid Shelter - Mu Continent - Giga Macho - Aoba Park - Smile Hirasaka - GOLD - Aerospace Museum - Mt. Iwato - Mt. Katatsumuri - Caracol - Aquarius Temple - Taurus Temple - Scorpio Temple - Leo Temple - Silver River - Xibalba - Abandoned Factory - Climax Theater
Music
Albums Original Soundtracks - The Errors of Their Youth - Persona 20th Anniversary All Time Best Album
Songs "Kimi no Tonari" - "Joker" - "Satomi Tadashi Drugstore Song" - "Unbreakable Tie"
Archives
Terminology Persona (Initial / Prime / Ultimate / Reverse) - Persona user - Cards (Tarot / Material / Skill / Incense) - Mystic Change - Affinity - Mutation - Ideal Energy - In Lak'ech - Oracle of Maia - Spear of Destiny - Muses - Phoenix Ranger Featherman R - Shadow Self - Ambrosia - "Infectious Groove" - Crystal Skull - Ideal Self - Growth Rate - Rumor
Lists Arcana - Personas - Demons - Bosses - Skills (Fusion Spells) - Items - Rumors - Restaurants
Other Media
Productions Lost Memories
Publications Innocent Sin (novel) - Persona 2: Tsumi ga Ataeshi Batsu - Persona: Tsumi To Batsu - Comic Anthology: Short Comic Heaven / Innocent Children / Innocent Memory / Comic Anthology (DNA Media Comics)
Major Characters
Playable Maya Amano - Tatsuya Suou - Katsuya Suou - Ulala Serizawa - Baofu - Kei Nanjo - Eriko Kirishima
Non-Playable Philemon - Nyarlathotep - JOKER/Tatsuya Sudou - Metal Trio
Minor Characters
Plot Relevant Maya Okamura - X series robots - Eikichi Mishina - Lisa Silverman - Jun Kashihara - Daisuke Todoroki (Kyouji Kuzunoha) - Takashi Hanya - Youichi Makimura - Ginji Sasaki - Suou's father - Trish - Noriko Katayama - Akinari Kashihara - Shunsuke Fujii - Miho Ogishima - Mami Shibata - Junko Kurosu - Akari Hoshi - Hiroki Sugimoto - Yasuo Inoe - Matsuoka - Yung Pao - Miyabi Hanakouji - Miki Asai - Makoto Kuwahara - Anna Yoshizaka
New World Order Tatsuzou Sudou - Takahisa Kandori - Chizuru Ishigami - General Sugawara - Captain Shimazu - Chief Togashi
St. Hermelin High School Graduates Hidehiko Uesugi - Maki Sonomura - Reiji Kido - Yukino Mayuzumi - Tamaki Uchida - Boy with Earring
Velvet Room Igor - Nameless - Belladonna - Demon Painter
Rumormongers Kenta Yokouchi - Chika Ueda
Shop Time Count - Garcon Soejima - Sumaru Genie - Kankichi Mishina
Shadow Selves Shadow Maya - Shadow Katsuya - Shadow Baofu - Shadow Ulala
Tatsuya's Scenario Lieutenant General Zula - Shiori Miyashiro - Chandraputra - Kouji Nakamura
Locations
Sumaru City Kasugayama High School - The Seedy CD - Mu Continent - Seven Sisters High School - Mt. Mifune - Sanitarium - Sky Museum - GOLD - Club Zodiac - Aoba Park - Padparcha - Sewers - Laboratory - Sumaru TV - Smile Mall - Factory - Nichirinmaru - Undersea Ruins - Mt. Iwato - Subway Tunnel - Ameno Torifune - Sumaru Castle - Monado Mandala - Bomb Shelter - Extra Dungeon
Music
Albums Original Soundtrack (PSX / PSP) - Punitive Dance - Persona 20th Anniversary All Time Best Album
Songs "Change Your Way" - "Satomi Tadashi Drugstore Song"
Archives
Terminology Persona (Initial / Prime / Ultimate / Reverse) - Persona user - Cards (Tarot / Material / Skill / Incense) - Mystic Change - Affinity - Mutation - Unknown Power - JOKER Infection (Artificial Persona) - Kegare - Other Side - Nanjo Group - Trapezohedron - Muses - New World Order - Tien Tao Lien - Shadow Self - Tatsuya's Scenario - DEVA System - Growth Rate - Rumor
Lists Arcana - Personas - Demons - Bosses - Skills (Fusion Spells) - Items - Rumors - Restaurants
Other Media
Productions Infinity Mask
Publications Eternal Punishment (novel) - Persona 2: Tsumi ga Ataeshi Batsu - Persona: Tsumi To Batsu - Comic Anthology: The Atoners / The Unforgivable / The Strays
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