Revelations: Persona Characters

Name: "Hero" (Named by the character)

Information: The "Hero" of the title has no official American name and is named by the players themselves instead. Decisions made through him during the game affect the flow and outcome of various events. Just as in many other RPGs, the hero does not have a full speaking role, instead relying on your own imagination. In Japan he is referred to as "the boy with the earring".

During the English localization of Revelations: Persona, Atlus USA decided to change the appearance of the main character. His artwork in the manual and over dialogue boxes was changed to look more "American" and less "Japanese" to suit the rest of the alterations. To accomplish this, he was given a different hair cut and reddish hair. For whatever reason, his earring was removed entirely. The in-game sprite was also adjusted to meet this change. The image to the left shows the Japanese original.

Name: Mark (Japanese is Masao "Mark" Inaba)

Information: Mark is a very active and artistic student. He also dances in his free time. He and Brad often fight with one another and think of eachother as competitive rivals. Despite this, they actually share a strong bond and look after one another in times of need.

Mark cares strongly for Mary and visits her very regularly at the Hospital. It seems as though he has formed a crush on her over the years.

Masao Inaba was the most altered in his American transformation to Mark. The image to the left is of the original Japanese design. Atlus USA decided to change various things about his appearance, most obviously his skin color. In the US, Mark is a young African-American male, wearing a baseball cap with the letter "D" on it. This would not have been an issue for most people if it wasn't for the fact that Mark was given a very "token-black-guy" attitude and dialogue. The change is largely considered offensive because of those stereotypes.

Mark does not reappear in future Persona titles.

Name: Ellen (Japanese is Eriko "Elly" Kirishima)

Information: Ellen is well known for her beauty throughout her High School and apparently Lunarvale as a whole. Ellen is very aware of her looks and plans on becoming a beauty student or model in the future. In addition to her beauty, she also possesses strong intelligence, although she tends to not take things as seriously as they should be.

Ellen also appears in Persona 2. In that case, her appearance is modernized and her full Japanese name remains, although she is regularly referred to by the nickname "Elly". This nickname also appears in various Japanese books concerning the Persona series and is not strictly from the English translation.. It is obvious that Atlus USA took that nickname and made a small alteration to come up with the full name of Ellen.

Aside from the lightening of her hair in the English version, Ellen's appearance is largely the same in both versions.

Name: Nate (Japanese is Kei "Nanjo Kun" Nanjo)

Information: Nate is the young hair to the Trinity Family fortune. He is followed everywhere he goes by the family butler, Alfred (Yamaoka in Japan), which seems to embarrass him. While he acts incredibly stuck up, there seems to be a nicer person underneath his generally cold exterior. On the whole, he does not get along well wih

Nate's change from Kei Nanjo, like Ellen's, only involves the lightening of his hair. He too appears in Persona 2 as Nate Nanjo, a combination of his Japanese and American localized names. In that case, he is a largely changed man bent on finding out more about the secret, illegal dealings of various organizations.

Name: Alana (Japanese is Yuka Ayase)

Information: Alana fits the typical dumb blonde stereotype: a ditzy, flirty girl who is more concerned with her appearance than anything else at hand. Despite this, Alana is actually a very nice person and a good, loyal and reliable friend.

In terms of appearance, Yuka remains completely unchanged from her Japanese artwork that's pictured on the left.

She does not appear in future Persona titles.

 

Name: Brad (Japanese is Hidehiko "Brown" Uesagi)

Information: Brad is a very cocky and self-indulgent character that believes he is right at all times. Thanks to this he often drags his friends into messes they'd probably be best off ignoring. Brad is the one who originally proposed the idea of playing "Persona" at school with his friends, which of course resulted in their current predicament.

He does not get along particularly well with many of the characters, although they are all still strong friends. He and Mark, in particular, share a strong rivalry.

Brad's appearance remains unchanged between the Japanese and English versions. His red hair seems to be more the result of a dye job than anything natural.

Name: Chris (Japanese is Reiji Kido)

Information: Chris is a very mysterious man in the outset of the game and not much is known about him. In the Japanese titles he is known as the leader of the Six-Packs, which corresponds well with his abs. He holds a very deep hatred for the SEBEC Corporation and their efforts.

Reiji's purple hair remained intact on his way to US shores, as did the rest of his appearance. He reappears in Persona 2, shedding his old tough guy appearance for something far more businesslike.

 

Name: Yuki (Japanese is Yukino Mayuzumi)

Information: Yuki is portrayed as a problem child and a major gang member. However, she was rescued from this self-destructive lifestyle by her teacher, Ms. Smith. Since then she has remained on a good track, becoming a caring, although still very strong and independant, person. She still fights with razorblades, so perhaps all her old habits haven't died yet.

Yuki's appearance remains totally unchanged between both versions. Oddly, her name is also the least altered and holds on to some semblance of the Japanese original.

Yuki reappears in Persona 2 as a close friend of Maya and a photographer for the magazine "Coolest".

Name: Mary (Japanese is Maki Sonomura)

Information: Mary is a close friend of all the main characters within Persona. She is a fragile, illness-prone girl who spends a large portion of her time in bed or in the Hospital. She is often visited by Mark, but doesn't seem to know of his seemingly deeper feelings. The imaginary world she creates for herself to escape from these troubles becomes a reality thanks to SEBEC's experimental machinery.

Mary's hair was very slightly altered from a dark brown or black to a lighter, chestnut brown upon English localization. She remains the same otherwise. She too reappears in Persona 2 with a far more modern appearance and shorter hair.

Name: Guido Sardenia (Japanese is Takahisa Kandori)

Information: Guido is, most importantly, the head of the SEBEC Corporation and the largest antagonist throughout much of the game. He is seemingly being instigated and supported (perhaps even controlled) by a higher being than himself.

Guido formerly attended the same High School as the main characters, St. Hermelin, albeit in years past. He appears in his school uniform as an ally in the Snow Queen quest that was removed from the English version of this title.

Guido's appearance is completely unchanged between the English and Japanese versions. He also appears in Persona 2 in a rather important role.