Plot
The game's story is set in the events of Persona 5 (2016) during a trip to Mementos, Joker and the rest of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts find themselves in a film, that is connected to a movie theater that is locked from the inside. With Makoto and Haru kidnapped, the Phantom Thieves encounter inhabitants in the theater who are also locked in with them, Nagi, the curator of the cinema, and Hikari, a shy amnesiac schoolgirl, as well as Doe, a Shadow in the projection room. Nagi explained that all of her customers aside from Hikari suddenly vanished, and with no other way forward, the team decided to investigate each labyrinth throughout the movie to rescue Makoto and Haru.
As the Phantom Thieves venture through movies, they are joined by Persona users from different timelines: the Persona 3 female protagonist in Kamoshidaman; the Investigation Team in Junessic Land; and SEES in A.I.G.I.S, all of them who have fallen into the movie world during a routine trip to the TV World and Tartarus. Each film the group travels through has morals surrounding discarding individuality and personality and conforming to others' expectations and consequences. Whilst traveling, the party's goal is to derail each movie's distorted moral codes by changing the films' endings, giving them happy endings as Hikari and Nagi watch from the theater. Upon returning, Doe presents them with a key that unlocks each of the 4 locks on the door.
Upon unlocking the 3rd lock, Hikari is presumably kidnapped by Doe, who escapes into the 4th film, a vivid musical with a blacked-out title. While exploring the film, the group discovers the truth of this reality exposed; the movies are actually cognitive worlds created from Hikari's repressed memories. Throughout her life, she experiences traumatic events that make her believe individuality is nothing but worthless and meaningless, causing Hikari to lose her self-esteem and eventually plunge into depression, often confining herself in her bedroom. Her father, who supported Hikari's endeavors throughout her life, brought her a notebook as a gift, but she rejected it and remained unresponsive. When he then asked her "Why do you have to be like that?", he accidentally triggered her with a turn of phrase that was repeatedly used against her by her tormentors due to a series of traumatic flashbacks, causing her to be overwhelmed by self-destructive tendencies that completely broke her down.
Upon reaching the final stage, they encounter Doe, who expresses a desire to keep her forever in the Cinema to end all of her pain, which she denies. After defeating the rampaging Doe, Hikari steps forward and shares a hug with Doe, who is revealed to be a cognitive manifestation of Hikari's father, tearfully confesses all of her negative thoughts to him, but also her admiration for him and her suppressed desire to break free from her shell. With the truth of Hikari's trauma finally resolved, Doe then transforms into the final key, and the film's title is revealed to be "Hikari".
With all the locks unlocked, the group exits the cinema, only to discover the world where the borderline between cinema and reality gradually begins to blur. Nagi then reveals her true nature as Enlil, a god created from humanity's desire to end all of their pain that draws depressed and miserable people into her world and has them re-watch their memories, trapping them there with their lack of desire to escape and sunken to despair. Using Hikari's edited films, the group purifies the Theater District and sends a calling card to Enlil. After a climactic battle with Hikari's help, the group defeats Enlil and makes her realize humanity's possibilities.
The people in her domain are freed, yet their memories are wiped, and they have no recollection of the events. Before leaving, the groups bid their farewells and leave, with Hikari tearfully bidding them all goodbye. Hikari wakes up in reality, and she makes amends with her father while expressing her desire to create her film which her father approves. The P3 and P4 cast wake up and watch their respective films, including the alternate version of the P3 cast. The P5 cast wakes up and later receives an invitation to a high-school student film festival that they attend. As they attend, Hikari steps out and introduces herself as its director, she announces that she finally produced her new film, "New Cinema Labyrinth".
Development and release
Persona Q director Daisuke Kanada had originally envisioned the game as the foundation for a larger spin-off series rather than a standalone project. Following the release and positive reception of Persona 5, Atlus decided to create a Persona Q sequel featuring the cast of Persona 5.[2] Full development for Persona Q2 began following the completion of Persona 5 in 2016, with Kanada returning as producer;[3] the director was Yuta Aihara.[2] Based on feedback from Persona Q, the team refined the gameplay mechanics and balanced the difficulty for its sequel. They also brought in new original characters and the Persona 5 cast. Due to fan demand, the female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable was also included as a character.[3] To keep the story focused, there was no option of choosing which group of protagonists to choose from. Instead, the story focused primarily on the Persona 5 protagonists.[4] As part of his original pitch, the original game's horror elements were toned down or removed, and the overall gameplay was simplified for new players. Aihara included the story-based "Special Screenings" elements based on his liking of the "Strolls" from Persona Q.[2]
Composer Atsushi Kitajoh, the composer for Persona Q and other Persona games, returned to create new tracks for Persona Q2.[4] His key words for the music were "Retro", "Pop", and "Kitsch".[3] The vocals were provided by Yumi Kawamura (Persona 3), Mayumi Fujita (Persona 3 Portable), Shihoko Hirata (Persona 4) and Lyn (Persona 5). Rapper Lotus Juice, who contributed to the series frequently since Persona 3, was also featured in several tracks. The opening theme "Road Less Taken" was a quartet performance by Kawamura, Hirata, Lyn, and Lotus Juice.[5]
Persona Q2 was first announced in August 2017 alongside fellow spin-off titles Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight.[6] Its official reveal came in August the following year, where it was released in Japan on November 29, 2018.[1][3] The game was released in North America and Europe on June 4, 2019, along with a "Showtime Premium Edition" for the former.[7] This was one of the last physical 3DS games released in North America, and is the final completely original physical game released for the Nintendo 3DS in North America. Unlike previously localized Persona games, the game does not feature an English dub.[8]
