The stock market's surge was, of course, built on a foundation of good news.
And Atlas's recent good news, besides the sequential release of several sequel games like Final Fantasy III, was this very game.
A game personally led by Kobayashi Tetsu and created with the Persona Engine, Persona! Priced as high as 9,800 Yen!
Released simultaneously in Japan and North America!
With just a little more effort, you could buy a Mega Drive console!
However, although some people still had objections, the majority felt that this price was acceptable.
On one hand, MD cartridges were not cheap, with 5,000 or 6,000 Yen being common. On the other hand, a role-playing game that supported saving, plus the cartridge enhancement chip developed and integrated by Atlas itself. This price was still within an acceptable range.
Osaka.
Shinji Mikami, who had been unemployed since graduation, had been using the Persona Engine to make games, but his progress was not very fast.
Osaka also had an Atlas offline experience store, so Shinji Mikami went to the offline experience store just like before, preparing to buy some Persona Engine materials.
Just as Kobayashi Tetsu had previously guaranteed, in the six months since its public release, the Persona Engine had issued two discs: one with free assets and one with paid assets. Both were licensed for developers to use freely in their own games.
When Shinji Mikami arrived at the experience store, he was shocked to find it so crowded that there was no room to move, with a line already forming outside.
Televisions suspended from the ceiling played a commercial featuring Kobayashi Tetsu himself on a loop. The music pulsed continuously, creating a comfortable yet dynamic atmosphere.
"Why are there so many people?"
As Shinji scratched his head, the person in front of him turned around.
"No way! You don't know that Persona is being released today?"
"Today is already March 14th?!" Shinji gasped.
I've never been in a relationship, but I still feel bad for not having a gift for White Day!
He had originally only planned to buy the free assets, but with the crowd this size, he had no choice but to wait patiently in line.
When his turn finally came, Shinji thought for a moment before saying, "One disc of the free assets, and a copy of Persona."
The clerk looked down.
"That will be 9,800 Yen. Would you like a bag?"
"No thanks, I'll just carry it."
Shinji Mikami stuffed the cartridge into his pocket. Before leaving, he glanced back into the store, where several people had already started playing the game. The graphics were unexpectedly refined. Having spent a lot of time working with the Persona Engine recently, Mikami could tell at a glance that it had indeed been used here.
He even spotted some familiar assets!
For example, that flowerbed was identical to the free assets in the Persona Engine!
At this rate, it's bound to become an Atlus heirloom, he thought.
Having spent 9,800 Yen, Mikami headed home in high spirits, setting the engine assets aside for now.
He was eager to see just how far this game could push the Persona Engine!
He didn't expect much from his own work—if he could reach even 30% of its potential, he'd consider it a success.
He inserted the cartridge, which was twice as thick as a normal one, into his console. The Atlus logo, outlined in white, flashed on the screen, followed by the Sega logo.
"Oh! It's starting! So this is Persona."
Though it couldn't match the quality of an anime, the graphics were still impressive for a game.
Intrigued, Shinji Mikami selected "New Game."
The subway ride felt endless. Makoto Yuki, the protagonist and a new transfer student to Gekkoukan High School, stepped off the train.
The synthesized music from the game console, though lacking clarity and lyrics, was still recognizable as the same track from the commercial.
Shinji Mikami hummed along to the upbeat tune, thoroughly enjoying it as he began his exploration.
The streets were eerily empty, not a soul in sight. Shinji shook his head in silent disappointment.
"I can't believe Atlas, a company with such a stellar reputation, would cut corners and not put any NPCs in the environment."
He shook his head again and, consulting the town map that came with the cartridge, located the Iwatodai Dorm.
The moment he stepped inside, the screen went pitch black. Suddenly, the scene shifted, and a face-to-face portrait popped up, just like in a text adventure game.
It was a stranger—a boy in a prisoner's uniform.
After learning Makoto Yuki's name, the boy vanished.
"What the hell? That was a bit creepy," Shinji muttered, scratching his head as he pressed on.
The lights in the dorm flickered back on, suggesting power had been restored. An NPC, Yukari Takeba, now appeared in the first-floor lobby.
Despite the Mega Drive's limited color palette, the character art was remarkably detailed. With the cartridge's enhancement chip, the visuals reached anime-level quality.
Shinji admired the girl in the pink wool sweater, his eyes widening in awe.
Oh my god! I've seen this girl before!
The two exchanged a few words. Yukari Takeba was surprised by Makoto Yuki's sudden appearance, but what surprised her more was—she had never seen any "boy in a prisoner's uniform," and was instead startled by Makoto Yuki.
Shinji Mikami felt inexplicably nervous.
"Wait, could this be a ghost?!"
Just as he was thinking this, the camera panned, and a new female character walked down the stairs.
Red hair, a powerful presence, and a majestic posture.
The Student Council President of Gekkoukan High School, Mitsuru Kirijo.
Shinji Mikami gasped at the sight of her black silk stockings.
Oh my god! I've seen this one before too!
"Wait, is this still a role-playing game? I thought it was a dating sim! Should I choose Mitsuru Kirijo or Yukari Takeba? How am I supposed to choose?!"
As Shinji's imagination ran wild, the plot proceeded to take him to the dorms, which he found perfectly normal.
But after walking a few steps, Shinji suddenly realized something.
"Wait a minute, we live in the same building?! What kind of school is this? How can boys and girls live in the same dormitory building?"
Just as this thought surfaced, Yukari explained in the story.
The boys are on one floor, and the girls are on another. They don't all share the same room.
As the story unfolded, Shinji Mikami couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder when he saved his game by going to sleep.
This game was truly peculiar. As a role-playing game, it was set in a modern city rather than the traditional dungeons of a Western fantasy world.
"So how am I supposed to start exploring? I saw the ads and descriptions before, and they said the school building turns into a labyrinth during the Dark Hour... but why would I go to school in the middle of the night?"
Just as Shinji was pondering this, text suddenly appeared on the screen, indicating the date.
Shinji stared in astonishment.
A whole day has passed just like that?
The concept was so foreign that it took him a moment to process.
In all the adventure RPGs he'd played—like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy—the story progressed through actions. Different dungeons offered different adventures, and resting in towns merely restored stats without any actual passage of time.
But now...
The line of text on the screen made Shinji question everything he knew about games.
The game was actually tracking the date, and the story progressed day by day.
This was a gameplay mechanic he had never experienced before!
In an instant, Shinji's interest in the game surged, and he clicked to advance to the next day.
As an opening sequence, this part simply introduced the school and daily life. Although the monster-fighting gameplay had yet to begin, Shinji Mikami was still thoroughly enjoying the game.
To his surprise, the game even featured a character-building system with three daily attributes. Attending classes wasn't just a routine; it actually had a meaningful impact on his growth.
After exploring the entire school, Shinji finally left the premises to advance the plot.
That night, a crisis erupted in the dorms. Under the effects of the Dark Hour, monsters invaded the building. The upperclassmen, Mitsuru Kirijo and Akihiko Sanada, handled the dangerous areas, while Makoto Yuki, guided by Yukari Takeba, moved upstairs.
Unexpectedly, the enemies climbed the stairs to the rooftop to launch an attack. Yukari, participating in battle for the first time, pulled out her Evoker, but her hands trembled so much that she couldn't hold it steady. The Evoker fell to the ground, landing right in front of Makoto Yuki.
Responding to the call, Makoto aimed the gun-type Evoker at his own head and pulled the trigger.
Shinji Mikami watched as the pixelated character raised his hand.
Bang!!
A gunshot rang out.
Yet, instead of a blood-splattered mess of brains and gore, a new figure materialized behind him.
The Fool—Orpheus!
So-called Personas were the awakening of power hidden deep within one's own heart. As The Fool, it symbolized Makoto Yuki's infinite possibilities. The battle officially began, and the music suddenly shifted, becoming more impassioned.
After easily destroying the slime-like enemy before him, Shinji Mikami felt his heart pounding wildly.
Finally, it has begun! The power known as Persona!
After the first battle, Makoto Yuki fell into a coma due to overexerting his power and had to rest for several days. Only then did he return to school and learn the truth about the Dark Hour, the Shadows, and the Personas they controlled.
The game had officially started: Social Link building, team bonding, battles, the first exploration of the Shadow Campus, and Tartarus under the Dark Hour.
Surprisingly, there were even questions during the daytime classes.
"Hiss, what was the place where people threw away trash during the Jomon period? Damn it, I'm not from the Jomon period, how am I supposed to know that!"
Shinji Mikami scratched his head in frustration.
Fortunately, he knew a classmate who was well-versed in Japanese history. He quickly dialed his landline and started making calls.
"Hello? It's Shinji! Do you know anything about the Jomon period?"
"Hello? Hello—"
After a frantic spree of phone calls, tapping into his vast network of contacts for over twenty minutes, Shinji Mikami finally trembled as he selected his answer.
"The Jomon period... the place where garbage was discarded is called a shell mound."
A pleasant sound effect chimed from the game, instantly washing over him with a sense of relief and satisfaction.
The teacher gave her approval, and his classmates buzzed with conversation. Text flashed across the screen: Academic Ability +1.
Shinji Mikami fell back, staring at the ceiling with his arms spread wide.
His intelligence had increased! His brain had been upgraded!
On the other end of the line, his friend was still utterly bewildered. "Shinji, since when did you get interested in history?"
"It's not about history," Shinji replied. "It's the game. I'm learning history through the game."
"You can learn history in a game?!"
"Yeah, this game is different! You should try it. It's the new one from Atlus—Persona!"
With that, Shinji hung up and dove back into the game, his passion fully reignited as he continued his exploration.
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