It seems that Persona producer Wada Kazuhisa feels compelled to remake the first two games in the series. While there are no concrete plans in place to give Persona 1 and 2 the same treatment that 3 and 4 have gotten, in an interview with Gamerbraves, Kazuhisa said, “I think it’s something we should definitely do. I think we have to do it.”
In the interview, Kazuhisa spoke about the changes between the forthcoming Persona 4 Revival and the original game that released in 2008. Revival will be a more cinematic experience, with some of the static conversations between characters newly rendered as in-game cutscenes. “We can now create new cutscenes that are more immersive and realistic than before, with different tools at our disposal,” he said. He also addressed concerns around character personalities and storylines that might be changed. “The characters’ personalities that everyone is worried about have not been removed or nerfed,” he said.
Over the last few years, Atlus has gone back over various games in the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series, sprucing them up for the current generation. With Persona 4‘s remake releasing next year and Persona 6 still in development, fans are probably thinking about what Atlus might do next, and a remake of the first two games in the Persona series seems like a good fit.
Both games are well over 20 years old, with Persona 1 (known upon release as Revelations: Persona) celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. While those games do have re-releases, they were PSP ports that are now roughly 15 years old. I’d also wager that a good chunk of Persona fans came to the franchise with 3, 4, and 5 (Hi, it’s me, I’m fans) and would relish the opportunity to see how this whole “I am thou, thou art I” thing got started.