CANON STUFF. (no spoilers)
Quick things!
What is a Persona?
Goooood question. A Persona is like another side of you, and those with the ability to use it can gain greater powers. From Shinji: "... soul-pokemon is a good comparison, except that all the characters (except the main character, who is SPESHUL) only gets one-two of them, and can't switch without undergoing major plot devices. They're also based on mythology/history/religion in some way and usually fit their user quite well. Sorta like a super-powered daemon, if you've read His Dark Materials."
And according to wiki, "The main character and his allies shoot themselves in the head with a special gun, called an Evoker, to force their Persona out of their souls. While the other allies in the game can only bring forth one Persona, the player's character is able to gain many Personae and change them in battle. Personae gain additional abilities and benefits that the player gains as they gain experience by being equipped in battle."
When Persona can be used is a bit trickier. The game implies first that it's only during the Dark Hour (when Shadows can come out, only SUPER SPECIAL PEOPLE can be active, blahblah plot), but later, there's mention of using those abilities during normal hours. No matter what, though? I don't see this being a huge issue since A) Shinjiro doesn't fight much and B) Akihiko is pretty discreet about how he fights.
on Shadows and Tartarus
This may or may not come up! Shadows are the creatures that the Persona users are fighting against in order to keep the Apathy Syndrome from spreading. BASICALLY, Shadows come out during the Dark Hour and-- attack people, leaving their victims in this sort of catatonic state. Whenever the group defeats a large boss Shadow, though, these victims recover. So, you know, SEES fights the shadows, people recover, there aren't as many victims, all is good!
Tartarus is a large tower that appears only during the Dark Hour. It's the school during normal times, and evolves into this gigantic, 200+ story tower when the Dark Hour arrives. Akihiko refers to it as a Shadow's nest, and it's where the majority of the fighting takes place. They go in, they travel up ten or twenty floors every month, and gather information on the Shadows as well as levelling up for the monthly boss fight keeping the Shadows at bay. ish.
There is also a disco floor.
What is a Persona?
Goooood question. A Persona is like another side of you, and those with the ability to use it can gain greater powers. From Shinji: "... soul-pokemon is a good comparison, except that all the characters (except the main character, who is SPESHUL) only gets one-two of them, and can't switch without undergoing major plot devices. They're also based on mythology/history/religion in some way and usually fit their user quite well. Sorta like a super-powered daemon, if you've read His Dark Materials."
And according to wiki, "The main character and his allies shoot themselves in the head with a special gun, called an Evoker, to force their Persona out of their souls. While the other allies in the game can only bring forth one Persona, the player's character is able to gain many Personae and change them in battle. Personae gain additional abilities and benefits that the player gains as they gain experience by being equipped in battle."
When Persona can be used is a bit trickier. The game implies first that it's only during the Dark Hour (when Shadows can come out, only SUPER SPECIAL PEOPLE can be active, blahblah plot), but later, there's mention of using those abilities during normal hours. No matter what, though? I don't see this being a huge issue since A) Shinjiro doesn't fight much and B) Akihiko is pretty discreet about how he fights.
on Shadows and Tartarus
This may or may not come up! Shadows are the creatures that the Persona users are fighting against in order to keep the Apathy Syndrome from spreading. BASICALLY, Shadows come out during the Dark Hour and-- attack people, leaving their victims in this sort of catatonic state. Whenever the group defeats a large boss Shadow, though, these victims recover. So, you know, SEES fights the shadows, people recover, there aren't as many victims, all is good!
Tartarus is a large tower that appears only during the Dark Hour. It's the school during normal times, and evolves into this gigantic, 200+ story tower when the Dark Hour arrives. Akihiko refers to it as a Shadow's nest, and it's where the majority of the fighting takes place. They go in, they travel up ten or twenty floors every month, and gather information on the Shadows as well as levelling up for the monthly boss fight keeping the Shadows at bay. ish.
There is also a disco floor.