Original Persona Remake Trailer Appears to Leak Online

A trailer for a remake of the original Persona appears to have leaked online, posted without warning by a new YouTube account. Neither Sega nor Atlus has confirmed the project, but Persona 4 Revival producer Kazuhisa Wada said in August that remakes of the early games are something the team should do.

What the footage shows

The video appears to be a montage of gameplay, combat and dialogue. Its look is close to the recent Persona 3 and 4 remakes, though with a modified UI, and it includes remixed versions of music from the original game.

Fans should still be cautious. Videos like this can be made with AI, so nothing is truly confirmed until there is an official reveal. Still, the general consensus among Persona fans seems to be that the footage is legitimate. The debate is over what it actually is: real in-engine gameplay, or an internal pitch video made to get a remake greenlit.

What Atlus has said so far

Neither Sega nor Atlus has announced a remake of the first game. In August, though, Wada was asked in an interview whether fans would ever see remakes of Persona and Persona 2, or whether Atlus would shift its focus entirely to Persona 6 once Persona 4 Revival launches.

"At this point, I can't say for sure," Wada replied. "But personally, I think it's something we should definitely do. I think we have to do it."

The dormant early games

Revelations: Persona launched on PS1 in 1996 and came to PSP in 2009 with an updated UI, faster battles, balance adjustments and a new soundtrack. Persona 2 arrived as two separate games, Innocent Sin in 1999 and Eternal Punishment in 2000, both on PS1. They were ported to PSP in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Since those ports, the three games have largely sat idle while Atlus has put its weight behind the third, fourth and fifth entries, which have collected numerous remakes and spin-offs. A leaked trailer, if real, would be the first sign that the older titles are getting the same treatment.