For such a prolific series, Persona in its modern format has never really followed the rules compared to traditional JRPGs. Sure, the overarching story beats about achieving great strength and attacking a god-like villain are generally there, but everything outside of that well-trodden formula is vastly different in comparison. One of which is the titular manifestation of “Persona,” which are essentially the source of magic and unique abilities for party members.
Every game has handled the manifestation of a character’s Persona differently, but one Persona entry, in particular, made the action of using a Persona far more insane and expressive compared to its predecessors and successors. Persona 3 introduced players to the S.E.E.S. team, but it also introduced them to the Evoker, which was a literal handgun used to summon Personas. It’s never filled with actual ammunition or fired upon enemies, but instead fired upon the Persona user themselves.
In the last few Persona games, the summoning of Personas has been impactful, but comparatively more heroic. In the case of Persona 4 in particular, awakening to and summoning Personas in the fourth game are the tamest in comparison to other entries. While the Shadows of each main character all unveil traumatic backstories, the actual summoning of their Personas becomes less of a show of strength and more like just a mysterious ability from a Tarot card. Granted, Personas are meant to aid the characters in their battle against Shadows and Inaba’s serial killer, but they don’t seem like as much of a representation of characters’ inner strengths compared to other entries.
Persona 5 handles these moments of awakening and summoning with a bit more emotional strength, especially with the bloody tearing of masks off each character’s faces to summon their Personas. The Tarot imagery is gone in favor of Personas taking on a much more spiritual Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure-style summoning visual design. At least in Persona 5 the summoning and awakening moments are a bit more visceral. Characters cover their faces like masks as a reference to previous games, but it’s still relatively tame compared to Persona 3, where summoning a Persona is far more dramatic.
If there’s one thing that Persona 3 can be criticized for, it’s the overt usage of dramatic imagery as a form of allegory or metaphor. Whether it’s the use of coffins to represent the transmogrification of people in the Dark Hour, or the blatant usage of Christ-like imagery, Persona 3 never shies away from being inherently dramatic in presentation. While the effectiveness of this imagery is up to interpretation, there is no doubt that the awakening of characters’ Personas using the S.E.E.S Evoker pistols is the most evocative and unsettling way to summon Personas in the series.
The premise of the S.E.E.S. Evoker used to summon a Persona is an insanely unique premise compared to previous games, which just manifested characters’ personas based on their inner spirits. Persona 3 is known for being much darker than more recent iterations, but one of the most evocative conceptual designs that emphasize its darkness are the Evoker pistols. Obviously, other games in the series have traumatic awakenings of their characters’ Personas, but putting a literal gun to the head and firing to summon a Persona carries tons of meaning. Every time a Persona is used, the Evoker is a literal evocation of life or death, the resignation to someone’s strongest self.
That kind of unthinkable conceptual design would be interesting to see a return in the next Persona game. It doesn’t necessarily have to bring back a version of the Evoker specifically, but something on par with that imagery would be striking. Persona 5 did move the needle a bit closer to edgy with its Persona awakenings, and those were awesome in their own regard. As the game goes on, the act of summoning a Persona largely becomes a symbol of strength just like previous games, whereas Persona 3 treats Personas differently. The gun-to-the-head Evoker reflects vulnerability and resignation, a total acceptance of someone’s persona as their true strength and not their own power.
How something on par with the Evoker could be implemented remains to be seen, but it would make sense considering the story Persona originally wanted to tell. The idea of Persona, based on Jungian psychology’s disguising of someone’s true nature, can be up to interpretation. Previous Persona games have used that psychological theory as a method of empowering the game’s characters with strength, but Persona 3 handles it differently. The Persona is more literally used to mask someone’s weakness, rather than as an empowerment of one’s true self. The next game, presumably Persona 6, should play with that concept in the next entry.
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