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Persona 3 Portable,Persona 4 Golden, andPersona 5 Royalare considered modern-day games by the fans, focusing on the new calendar system and introducing shadows. Whilethese mainline gamesare mostly disconnected, the recurring blue butterfly and velvet room brings the returning character Igor, with different velvet room attendants for each title.
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While there is amassive gap in the persona seriesbetween the first three titles and the later three in terms of fans, story, and gameplay elements, thefew hints that connect these games revolve around the blue butterfly. The first three games introduce players to the character of Philemon, and while he doesn’t directly appear in the later games, he is a prevalent figure in the whole persona series.
Who Is Philemon
Philemon is introduced in the first Persona game andgifts the characters with the ability to summon Personas. Philemon is a god of this universe who acts as a guide for humans using personas to battle against the negative emotions of humanity. While other deities introduced in the series represent a negative emotion,Philemon represents Hope. Despite being powerful, Philemononly acts as an observerthroughout the events of the first three games.
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Philemon is shown wearing a butterfly mask covering much of his face and inhabiting the realm known as the velvet room. Igor and the Velvet Room attendants work to help the protagonists of each story, and they were all created and given power by Philemon to do so. After the events of Persona 2 Eternal Punishment, Philemon is not seen directly buttakes the form of the blue butterfly to observe the events of each gameas a new group of humans face the negativity within humanity. Philemon also can bestow the power of the Wild Card and only does so to powerful humans, giving him a smaller but still noticeable role in the later persona games as each protagonist is given the Wild Card. The butterfly in Persona 5 was confirmed by Atlusto be Lavenza,but this still represents the lasting power and effect of Philemon, as Lavenza’s power is from Philemon.
Philemon’s Wager
Being the embodiment of Hope,Philemon believes that humanity has it within themselves to save themselvesand reach enlightenment beyond the negativity that will often plague the general public. Philemon made a wager with the god of chaos, Nyarlathotep.Nyarlathotep believes that humanity will bring about its own destruction, and the events of all the persona games are the gods testing humanity using the characters we play as.
While these gods aren’t seen directly, each persona game deals with a different issue brought about by the general public. The butterfly is Philemon sticking to his strict no-interference rule and following the protagonist. Nyarlathotep isn’t given the same rule as seen in theearlier persona games, as he directly interferes with the party and pushes humanity further toward chaos. Philemon believes that even against Nyarlathotep, humanity doesn’t need his help to save themselves, become enlightened, and grow beyond the chaotic emotions his rival is trying to spread.
Next:Persona 4 Golden: How To Get The True Ending
