it's easy to write off the psp post of persona 2: innocent sin due to its frustrating battle system, but doing so means you miss out on a brilliant story with incredible depth i don't believe the persona series has come close to replicating since. i fell in love w this game slowly, then all at once, similarly to how the plot plays out in a surprising mirror of the game's events,,, but that's where innocent sin's beauty lies. it's a game w shocking depth when you take the time to look at it from every angle, and it has a lot to say abt the nature of truth and trauma. one's father may define them, but overcoming said father will lead to self-actualisation; quite a hopeful message, if i'm honest, in a society where older generations pull up the ladder on younger generations. we don't need success and the security of turning into the same dusty, grey men our fathers are. we can become our own ppl, follow our own dreams, and live w youthful exuberance.
perhaps the pain in that lies in innocent sin's deepest conflict, which i won't spoil here. everything in this game has a duality; hope links to hopelessness, arrogance links to shattered self-esteems, freedom ties right in w enmeshment by the time the curtain falls. sumaru's a fascinating city w a wealth of depth (hell, the duality's present on the bloody map!) and the way rumours intersect w ppl's dreams and anxieties give innocent sin added stakes. not only are you fighting yourself and the life that's been laid out for you, but you're also fighting a world that's suffering from the same dilemma. there are those who see the world as heading towards life, and those who steer it towards destruction, but you have the power to change, however small or big. ripples turn into waves, mistakes turn into disaster, yet innocent sin always offers you a chance to keep dreaming.
i didn't expect this game to affect me so deeply, and yet i couldn't stop crying for hours afterwards. giving others that experience would be a joy.