TAG writes: "Atlus has a well deserved reputation for "giving the fans what they want" when it comes to their titles. Back in the PSOne days, when the JRPG market here in the States was in its nascent form (known as the pre-FF7 days), Atlus introduced us to the Shin Megami Tensei series with Revelations: Persona. Before the internet was in its current form many fans of the genre were blissfully unaware of how much Atlus changed in the game to make it more appealing to American audiences. Aside from the usual localization changes such as character names, the game also had its setting changed from Japan to the US. In addition, anything remotely Japanese was targeted for removal, even going so far as to change one character's race to make the game more diverse."
Demon negotiation is a Shin Megami Tensei staple. Ever since Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei was released on the Famicom in 1987, players have been able to talk with their supernatural enemies and attempt to get them to join their ranks. Each game offers its own variation on this unique form of communication and recruitment, but Shin Megami Tensei: Persona has one of the most interesting and realistic approaches to the mechanic.
How Atlus’ localization of the popular Persona games have helped the JRPG make a resurgence in the West.
NIS America has always done a great job of localization and has helped the genre as well.
Never got into Persona but so glad to see the series making it's way to the US with such polish.
A lengthy and informative interview on Persona 1 has been translated into English for the first time.
The interview originates from the Persona World book, which came with the Megami Ibunronku Persona Digital Collection that released in 1998 as a Windows 95 CD-ROM.