For how popular Persona has gotten in recent years, people often forget how old the series is. With the first entry dating all the way back to 1996, Persona has somehow maintained longevity similar to other RPG series, while largely going unnoticed by the mainstream gaming community. However, with new fans starting to explore older titles, one, in particular, has noticed an unexpected change in the online guidebook for Persona 2.
According to the update, the author of the original guidebook that was written back in 2011, has become a born-again Christian. The author goes on to condemn Persona and other forms of Japanese media, such as anime and JRPG games, for promoting demonic imagery, fortune-telling, and witchcraft. The author urged people to stop promoting the series and also posted Bible verses.
What's nice about Persona becoming a more mainstream series is that new fans can go back and experience the classic Persona games for the very first time. However, most of the older games feature strange design and require strategy guides in order to be more approachable. Though, as one fan has noticed, the GameFAQs guide for Persona 2 has received a lengthy and concerning update from the original author.
Right now it is impossible to say whether the author is serious or if it is a joke. If it is a joke, then why wait a whole nine years after writing the guide? It could possibly have something to do with Persona's recent rise in popularity, but that's largely a result of Persona 5.
If there's one video game franchise that would be considered a late bloomer in terms of popularity, it would definitely be Persona. The amount of attention and traction the franchise has gained in the last few years has been tremendous, largely thanks to the fifth installment.
Though, if the author is serious, they don't seem to understand how intense this will be perceived. For one thing, Persona is a fictional series, meant to entertain people. Surely, the developers were not actively trying to promote actual Satanic black magic or witchcraft, so the reaction seems to be a bit out of proportion, especially after so long.
Persona 5 is available now for the PS4 and PS3.