Exploring A 1997 Persona Fansite

Flair managed to stumble across a Persona 1 fansite from 1997, it is an absolute treasure trove. See what Persona fans were thinking about 20 years ago, learn about the heavily anticipated sequel Persona 2, and learn that waifu culture did indeed exist back then.
The site; gomorning.com/velvetroom/perso...
Ed; / @roboticbomberv2
twitter; @fitherfith
patreon.com/fither

[@Coolcleverstone]

It's easiest to access the website during the dark hour.

[@awooga-gunga-israel]

Coolcleverstone lmao in the dark hour the site is still working and people are still posting 😂

[@sparkydoodle696]

Coolcleverstone well it is the Velvet Room

[@chaliceohearts4658]

Aw dammit. I knew I shouldn’t have tried to stick my laptop into the tv...

[@ruikirisame1744]

it's literally a more legit version of the jigoku shoujo website

[@stonalisa3729]

The devs are only ever active during the Dark Hour. Legend has it if you stare at the laptop when it isn’t turned on you’ll access a portal to another world.

[@NotAFakeName1]

I like just how many of these og P1 fans were begging Atlus to make the game more anime. If only they knew...

[@Maid_of_Spiders]

"Even 20 years ago, fans still wanted to duck their teacher." I love this quote

[@phantomnite]

Most of the persona teachers are pretty hot though

[@yeasstt]

Kynan Bunce Kashiwagi says hi

[@phantomnite]

@@yeasstt except kasiwagi

[@yeasstt]

Kynan Bunce fair enough. What about Morooka?

[@phantomnite]

@@yeasstt and him. Fuck morooka

[@clintmckee1751]

Much like how Elizabeth embarked on a journey to save the P3 protag, we must begin to search for the creator of this site. It's the only way to get a remake of P1 and P2.

[@Sketchy_2]

Instead of the Persona compendium Elizabeth carries, it's the Revelations: Persona Strategy Guide the creator of the site co-wrote.

[@gamerprince-tl5hg]

Nah sorry. Atlus needs to re-release Persona 3 for the 15th time ;)

[@NotAFakeName1]

Clint McKee you'd be playing with fire by asking for p1/p2 remakes.

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Mr. Surname they really dont. Y'all still have Golden. 1 2 and 3 are priority imo (ive seen ppl starting to talk about how p3 has aged badly too now on top of the hate towards 1 and 2 which...idk man, think some new persona fans are pussies lol)

[@Infernape7890]

Didn't those come out on the PSP? Atlus could easily make ports of those.

[@Dylsky6]

Praying that the creator just so happens to watch Fither

[@jackstriderknightoftime8560]

Lol same

[@sam____5124]

WELP

[@KeybladeSpirit]

Why doesn't this website have a section on the Persona 1 girls as moms?

[@Hawwwlucha]

Maki: Probably the best mom, as she pursues her therapist career to help others and would definitely extend to her kids Yukino: A cool mom, but can be terrifying Eriko: A weird and rich mom Yuka: Stay at home gyaru mama for sure That's just from my memory of completing persona 1

[@broattab9807]

@@Hawwwlucha not too bad

[@KhaiNguyen-ru7lk]

@@Hawwwlucha (Her love interest dies) Yukino probably won't be a mom now

[@Yuri_Vaga]

history in it purest form

[@opalpal1673]

Too pure for this future.

[@gamerprince-tl5hg]

20+ years later and we're still having waifu wars about the same type of characters...

[@kana22693]

Makes perfect sense, I mean what about human nature has changed in these 20+ years? Nothing.

[@zero123alpha6]

@@kana22693 Raw.

[@jacobwansleeben3364]

War.....war never changes.

[@DeadRebornKid]

I wonder what Shidoshi thinks of persona now. On the site it says he loved Revelations for it's dark aesthetic and school setting. Needless to say, I'm really curious to hear his opinion on P4 lmfao. I never really hear older fans opinions about the newer titles. Just newer fans who went back to play the older games.

[@chaoticneutral6871]

Shokai捷 same I've never heard from an old fan either

[@strawberrysherbet4847]

Has anyone been able to track him down? Maybe he has a social media account now.

[@FuriousFluffs]

the most i can find is that someone using the same name wrote an article in PLAY magazine on persona 4 back in 2008. ive been trying to find the specific article but currently no luck. Another name i have seen him using is doshichan when he was talking about things for PLAY magazine on forums. Also he did play p3 and p4 and it seems he enjoyed them.

[@ghostlanceryderwilson]

the site owner's still around on twitter, and some people asked her opinion on the persona series. she said she: -played EP when it first came out and hated it (then played IS when it came out on the PSP and liked it, apart from the encounter rate) -absolutely loved P3 -really enjoyed P4, but not as much as P3 -also really enjoyed P5, but thinks the current format (high school, s.links) is getting too old her handle's @mollipen

[@DeadRebornKid]

Oh wow! I 100% imagined a middle aged Japanese man with semi broken English to be behind the shortly mysterious "Shidoshi." Glad she kept up with the series even after the massive gameplay changes. Being a fan of a series for just ten years seems like a lot, but 20+... That's just dedication and pure love.

[@Jon_the_Wizard]

So this was the Phan-Site 1.0?

[@Coolcleverstone]

Jon the Wizard yo, you're right

[@vedgerna3366]

Hee Ho!

[@SteveJonesGamingGWO]

-4.0

[@cursedphotos7515]

It's the pre aphla

[@its_heeho]

@@vedgerna3366 Hee Ho moment

[@gamerprince-tl5hg]

It's nice to see that people legit liked the old games and knew about them when they came out.

[@MooeysAura]

Yeah #remakepersona1 PERSONA 1 REMAKE PLEASE

[@dragontamer7371]

That website is a time capsule that needs to be preserved.

[@daevious_]

15:25-15:49 No, that love square was actually in the original P1. As far as I can recall how it went: Masao(Mark) has a crush on Maki(Mary), who doesn't return the feeling. Maki doesn't show much interest, but the Ideal Maki implies that she has a romantic attraction to P1MC. Eriko(Ellen) realises she's also attracted to P1MC after the bad ending is avoided, which gives her untold grief because she doesn't want to steal P1MC away from Maki after the shit she's been through. And the manga adaptation of P1 (which does a far better job of fleshing the P1MC out) has the P1MC and Maki as childhood friends, which is where that attraction comes from. TL;DR: P1MC and Maki are attracted to one another, while Masao and Eriko suffer from unrequited love.

[@MagillanicaLouM]

daevious well Its implied in P2 that Eriko and P1MC are kind of about to be a thing

[@jouheikisaragi6075]

Musomania27 Maki wants Eriko to get together with MC more than herself. That just screams how much of a good girl Maki is.

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Satan The Arbiter either that or Makis a huge freak and is trying to set up a threesome lol

[@revolvingworld2676]

Damn even P1 mc is a harem master

[@BetaXeeta]

I thought that this was gonna be a shitty fan site that was gonna be cringy but this is actually nice to see that someone put in the dedication to make a site for Persona back in 1997 There’s a lot of charm in this!

[@Ayryvyl]

Truly a treasure trove. I often wonder what people thought of old shows and games when they first came out and what their experiences were.

[@Blacktwinswords]

48:56. Wow! Debating over waifus existed at the very beginning of the fandom. This is amazing.

[@arempy5836]

If there is pussy to be fought over, men shall go to war.

[@hu12a3-axalanyeshuazack4]

@@arempy5836 well, da fuk you think happened in the trojan war?

[@bdd4556]

"PeRsOnA aLsO BrokE ThRoUgH NeW gRoUNDS" "Oh My GawD"

[@soarel325]

That waifu section is extremely powerful.

[@CountXDracula]

I don't know if anyone else mentioned it but Mark was indeed crushing on Maki and was slightly jealous of the MC, not only that but of course Elly was also into the MC. This is further conveyed in the Persona 1 Manga, and of course in Persona 2 EP, Elly's fear of being rejected by the MC is conveyed through a projection conjured by the black cat, and the memory of the MC saying goodbye to both Elly and Maki, obviously implying a romantic complication. In attempt to explain the "love square" or whatever

[@opalpal1673]

I didn't know Guido Mista was in P1.

[@legendofsonic3979]

Opal Pal What? you don't remember that one time in P1 where you went to the prison to get guns and met Mista there but he refused to join because he'd be the fourth party member? That was really cool man what do you mean you don't remember?

[@End3rDJgaming]

I'm glad that this is what the persona 2 fanbase was spending money on yesterday.

[@mary34channel]

I legit spat my drink when the FAQ was talking about the various girls I just lost it

[@blueseanewt2138]

This is not just a beautiful peek into the mind of a 90's rpg fan but a 90's internet user.

[@horizon5670]

Persona 1: The Confidants

[@ziro6319]

i literally like everything about persona 1 except the battle system, the story is pretty great on either snow queen or sebec quest, the music is either super catchy or super atmospheric depending on which version (before someone asks which i prefer, in general i prefer ps1 except the boss and battle themes) its a super cool game but the battle system is just so clunky and unentertaining that i always get bored after 1 dungeon, which is why i reccomend the manga, but if you could give it persona 2s battle system either innocent sin psp or eternal punishment, i bet the amount of people that like it would go up tremendously.

[@NotAFakeName1]

Ziro ironically, the battle system is the main thing I liked about the game, and what bored me was the dungeon design and to a lesser extent the story. Music was good thougj

[@ziro6319]

wow that's funny

[@Hawwwlucha]

15:27 THAT WAS LEGITIMATE! Ellen had a crush on the MC, Mark was good friends with Mary, but the MC & Mary ended up together in the end!

[@purplelemondoesstuff3044]

I wonder where the creator is now?

[@sophilia8565]

i wonder if they kept up with the series

[@namecannotbeblank8920]

There's this girl on twitter claiming its hers but idk, seems legit to me

[@namecannotbeblank8920]

Its @mollipen if you want to check it out

[@pokestar9994]

Also, I'm not sure if you noticed but Shidoshi, the guy who wrote the email at 1:04:57, was the original website creator (probably explaining why he had knowledge of the other MegaTen titles and the japanese versions of persona since his name is pretty japanese and all.)

[@MakoTenseii]

Tbh I got the good ending and all the ultimate personas in p1 by pure luck. I just picked the options I liked and they happened to be the right ones. I didnt even know the choices will affect my ending or what I get back when I played it. I did look up how to get reiji tho cause someone told me he is the best dude

[@nintenx1235]

ah yes philemon is best "butterfly spirit"

[@tandandy272]

I honestly am gonna use this when I do eventually play Persona 1

[@YourFriendlyKebab]

So, did you play it yet?

[@MooeysAura]

@@YourFriendlyKebab if he didn't he should its the best persona game #RemakePersona1

[@stevecosmolove1045]

@@MooeysAura but how to play it? i really wanna play Persona 1, 2, 3. Do I have to buy consoles for each version or what

[@isaiahmolina1907]

@@stevecosmolove1045 You can get a ps vita you can play p1-p4 on that. There's always emulation as well.

[@broattab9807]

@@stevecosmolove1045 or i use a psp

[@clashmanthethird]

49:57 Timestamp for Fither saying "Niggas"

[@ethanmull6476]

MRS OBAMA GET DOWN!!!!!!

[@wills4579]

This is really interesting to look at thanks for including the link

[@jasonwu1847]

Geez this guy is probably like 40 by now

[@jinkisaragi874]

Girl*

[@bruis1527]

Never in a million years did I think father would say niggas 😂😂

[@deathfalcon5023010]

Oh dear. That site makes me remember the good ol days of late 90s internet.

[@stevecosmolove1045]

oh my god it's true a lot of the population didn't grow up with that. OMG I''m old...like old old..OMG your comment was 2 years ago...FML

[@alphajohne3676]

Why do people consider Raidou Kuzunoha the first Devil Summoner game? Poor Kyouji Kuzunoha no one even knows he exists

[@Infernape7890]

The first Devil Summoner has been forgotten even by Atlus. Heard Atlus lost the source code to it.

[@yes-jp5fj]

@Phoenix Wright So I know this is from two years ago but apparently the script wasn't entirely translated and parts of it are still in Japanese so that's probably why

[@yes-jp5fj]

@Phoenix Wright Dude really? That's exciting

[@yes-jp5fj]

@Phoenix Wright Is it a twitch channel or a youtube channel? Either way I'm interested in watching

[@yes-jp5fj]

@Phoenix Wright Oh awesome thanks man 👍

[@chaoticneutral6871]

I love that you guys spent (a well deserved) 1 hour on this . Good shit.

[@Samm815]

I asked myself what he thought about persona in 1997: goo goo gaga.

[@Infernape7890]

Sam Lucas I asked my 1997 self the same thing. They started singing Barney songs. I don't think that kid heard a word I said.

[@phillemon7664]

@@Infernape7890 I asked the same thing and all I got was an intense silence.

[@trollzor85]

I asked my 1997 self that and they said baaaaaaaaaaah

[@luctheluckytd2264]

I love taking a look at all the Old forum because it’s super interesting for a time I wasn’t there for

[@aidenshaw4620]

the final question of the persona faq threw me for a fucking loop, cause it made me realize that we've always been the same. there's always been waifus and arguing on who is best girl in persona holy shit

[@remke5137]

I don't understand how its been so many years since this video came out. Feels like yesterday

[@nekoparafraise]

I know but then I realize I was still in middle school when this came out lmfao

[@sapple7509]

You should try and interview the guy who owns this website

[@brunop.8745]

We don't know if he's still _alive_

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Suren XIV its apparently a girl and has a twitter. A couple comments mention the handle to be @mollipen

[@chk2596]

You probably never expected that comment to become a reality

[@shaymin491]

MARK IS FEMC

[@kabronex9877]

Atlus' Nocturne and DDS1 NA sites from 2004 are still up.

[@cooperhansen4679]

Juan Ruvalcaba Where can I find em?

[@kabronex9877]

@@cooperhansen4679 I lost them, sorry m8

[@AIXONA]

idk why but Fither saying the N word makes me laugh so fucking hard

[@HoudiniFontmeister]

Apparently the woman who created this site works in Game Journalism. I am sure that helped keep her informed. She's still in the industry. Seems like a pretty awesome person. :)

[@zyonhunter]

i was 6 years old when that site was made...

[@sophilia8565]

i was -6 when this site was made

[@HoboGirl09]

Same it's crazy.

[@NotAFakeName1]

zyonhunter I was probably in my mothers womb

[@Infernape7890]

I was 3.

[@jinkisaragi874]

4

[@gamerprince-tl5hg]

Reading people's thoughts about the game and a couple of them hyping FF7 before its release...

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

gamerprince1999 hilariously enough the irony of this is so funny given that Persona 6 is coming out when FFVIIR is releasing By that time Pokemon gen 9 will be launching

[@stonalisa3729]

Haruhi Suzumiya hilariously we seem to have gotten FF7R before P6

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Im actually really happy to learn about this. Will check it out myself later. Love P1

[@TheWanHui]

Am Rory, can confirm game has new magic and alot better grafix

[@pokestar9994]

49:58 Ayo FIther said the N word now he'll get banned off of youtube by butthurt people for this unforgivable sin.

[@CykaBlyatAlex]

pokestar999 hes from new Orleans. He good.

[@edwardelric1300]

Truly an internet treasure, I need to find more stuff like this

[@NotAFakeName1]

I think snes emulation started in the late 90s, it's possible people who frequented a persona fansite in 1997 were also the kind of people who were downloading translated roms of bahamut lagoon and shin megami tensei

[@trapscancreate5760]

I am currently finishing up my first real playthrough of Persona 1. All of my support materials are old game FAQs and a single comprehensive negotiation guide that looks like it has atleast a decade on this website. To be fair to persona 1 it's a breath of fresh air when you marathon through the SNES games with hardly any support after SMT 1.

[@circusfreak7322]

was that the original Phansite

[@Dadan-dan]

We are delving into the primordial Persona ooze!

[@KyrieKirigiri]

1:11:54 that reminds me of what i thought about social links when i first played Persona 3 (my first Persona game) - i thought that if you completed all of a character's social links they would awaken to their persona and join your party. I was so dissapointed when i realised all it did was boost fusions.

[@qwertyuiopman100]

Persona 1 is my favorite persona game, and this is exactly what the inside of my brain looks like.

[@themaid9254]

I actually like Revelations Persona.....

[@MooeysAura]

SAME P1 is just SOOO good

[@MooeysAura]

#RemakePersona1

[@ManTimeline]

I can't believe you guys found my internet homepage

[@kurocomics]

This is actually the velvet room in the persona game we're in. The world has been so overtaken by the internet and technology that the state of our hearts is always fixated on the internet.

[@BearfaxII]

The back to back "99 of 1 item" and "I'm addicted to video poker" almost made me suffocate from laughter

[@ghostlanceryderwilson]

you should interview Brian at ATLUS

[@SteveJonesGamingGWO]

That legit could be something with the 2 disc guy who says he's got persona 2. innocent sin was completed the year after that site died and eternal punishment a year after with a translation finished and game released less than 6 months after (insanely fast translation and turn around)

[@BasedRamen]

Jesus, this site just screams 90s... Well I mean it is, but that what I really just like about it.

[@MooeysAura]

P1 Remake ima say that on EVERY persona vid I see

[@roxas372]

Eriko had a crush on Boy with Earring during and after the events of Persona 1, this is proven in Persona 2 Eternal Punishment.

[@cryguy0000]

"Broke new ground" was way funnier than it should've been

[@GinraiPrime666]

"This is older than most of our viewers" I was 11 when this site was running, only thing is it was dial-up internet back then and having the internet was a true luxury back then! Trying to look at websites and then being told to get off the 'net cause your parents want to use the phone....now I'm showing my age lol

[@malicekingofshadows]

man I'd love to see more of this From the current generations prespvties I was was 6 at this point I wasn't even into video games​ back then as the whole video games are for nerds thing was so strong to think a helthy community existed back then and didn't become some sort of vengful organization or something is interesting.

[@nathanzavala2861]

can't believe they have a site nearly as old as Space Jam still up

[@Scout-Fanfiction]

As of June 23rd, 2021 it's still up.

[@qazwer333]

the game the guy at 16:47 could be referring to is Revelations: The Demon Slayer which had a english game boy color release. In addition, jackbro's was on a very obscure console and it is unlikely that he would know that its a Shin magami tensi game.

[@sapple7509]

Do you think he browses /pg/ today

[@kabronex9877]

Sir Appleton No because only P3+ fans use /pg/

[@fu886]

1:07:40 he was asking for Ultima more, around this time Ultima was more iconic as RPG in western eyes. SMT alignment system probably drew a lot from Ultima 4/general RPG.

[@quentontaylor3066]

Thanks for making me feel old.

[@edwardsimpson119]

"People knew that back then? There are people now who don't even know that!" (Paraphrasing, not meant to be an exact quote from the video.) Well, back then the internet was far more niche and not as accessible, so that right there filtered out most casual fans. And while there wasn't as many sources, often that meant fan communities coalesced around sources that proved themselves reliable. For imported media like anime and video games, these sources were often people with access to official source material.

[@jasonwu1847]

Damn, nice discovery

[@justanotherguywithamoustac8893]

21 years worth of hindsight, god damn

[@bennyboi5179]

wow cant believe fither said niggas it was kinda funny tho

[@oreox1000]

Funny. I've finished more Persona games than Final Fantasy games. I've only finished X-2 compared to FES,Golden, and 5. Priorities my dudes.

[@NotAFakeName1]

oreox1000 why x-2 of all the final fantasy games in the world

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Elly did have feelings for MC. Ideal Maki confesses her love to MC but actual Maki isnt interested. Mark had an obvious crush on Maki but it was one sided. The manga and Persona 2 EP did a better job showing it admittedly.

[@sadgamershow2273]

This is pure gold.

[@TheMetalsonic23956]

The 'I have a friend who works at Atlus of Japan' sounds like the Uncle who works at Nintendo BS

[@adrianmalacoda]

It all ties back to Freeza in the end

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Look up the p1wikidot for a guide on the more cryptic stuff on P1, namely recruiting Reiji and starting Snow Queen.

[@SuperOtakuKyo]

Love Persona 1 with all my heart no matter how kinda bad the grid battle system is, no matter how crazy the puzzles are, I just love it with all my soul.

[@Coolcleverstone]

Oh fuck, I actually had to pause the video for the date part. I almost fell off my couch laughing.

[@ywnrnf6028]

*It BRoKe NeW GrOuNDs*

[@CatboyJerma2]

The persona 2 news was last updated exactly 24 years ago today

[@insertwittynamehere587]

It’s so quaint. Truly a different age.

[@Boofudyne]

Imagine going back in time and finding one of these people and just sitting them down and having them play 2-5 and just recording there face the whole time

[@horaciohernandez2850]

There's even broken links, how sweet.

[@OblivionFalls]

37:54 I KNOW WHAT THAT ISSSSZZ

[@bigtoasty5591]

Wow my dad was either a teenager or a child (I don’t know his exact age) when this website stoped updating

[@timesstopdinosaur]

what a blast to the past

[@alezarde211]

This site belongs in a fucking museum

[@PunkThrashMetal]

55:40 One of the best old school KZbin poops in history

[@That_One_Guy-.]

48:53 20 years later, this guy went to Altus and force them to make his ideal game.