Persona 7- Tuonela

Persona 7- Tuonela is the seventh Persona game, sequel of Persona 6: Runes and Men. It's a JRPG for the Playstation 6. 
== Gameplay ==
The game still retains most elements of Persona 5 and 6. 
It's split between a daytime section (which is a school life simulator where the player interacts with various characters) and the dungeons (which are where the combat plays out). Each dungeon has a "deadline": failing to complete it before said day nets you a game over. 
== Plot ==
The protagonist (a 22-year-old university student) is created by the player. They come from Kobe, and are on a language exchange program in Turku. After getting off the plane, they're met by 31-year-old Ann Takamaki (the one from Persona 5), who acts as their caretaker (and older sister figure). She takes them to her house, in the Hantse district. She tells the MC about a mysterious organization called Tuonela ("Underworld" in Finnish), and the case of 12-year-old Aleksanteri Li, who committed suicide by defenestration: before jumping, Aleksanteri had said the words "Not Worthy". 
On the first day of school, the protagonist meets Kaarina. During breaktime, Kaarina tells them that she is "worthy", echoing the "not worthy" said by Aleksanteri Li after the suicide, and that she's going to the church at midnight. The MC tries to look at her phone, but she impulsively refuses to show it to them. At home, the protagonist tells Ann about it, having connected the dots. 
TBA 
Tuonela is looking for the Nazi treasure known as Sampo, rumored to be a hoard of gold and said to be buried in Turku (though only the mastermind knows what the Sampo is). 
== Characters ==
=== Playable ===
Protagonist (canon name; Takehiro/Masago Sato) (Persona: Kullervo/Vainamoinen, Fool/World Arcana): A silent protagonist created by the player. They are an exchange student from Kobe. Their weapon is a shotgun. 
Ann Takamaki (Persona: Hecate, Lovers Arcana): A Finnish-Japanese model who was once a member of the Phantom Thieves. She is the protagonist's caretaker. She's a recurring guest, not being available in most dungeons because she's investigating the Tuonela on her own. Her weapon is a submachine gun. She becomes the protagonist in the post-game campaign that follows the True Ending. 
Kaarina Lu (Persona: Menninkainen/Mielikki, Temperance Arcana)
Juhani Feng (Persona: Ukko/Perkele, Devil Arcana)
Marco Murakami (Persona: Tonttu/Akras, Star Arcana): The party's navigator. An Italian student and aspiring fantasy writer who is in Turku on an exchange program, who soon becomes the protagonist's friend. He has a passion for North European J-Pop, and gets pissed when people think Japanese and Korean J-Pop is better (and calls Weaboo anyone who insults J-Pop group Sabaton in his presence).
Uuno Xiong (Persona: Lalli/Tursas, Tower Arcana)
Mirjam Hei (Persona: Surma/Tuonetar, Death Arcana)
Piru (Persona: Ilmarinen, Machine Arcana): A robot based on a rhinoceros beetle. It's a part of the Neo-Nazi that detached itself from the main body, animated by remains of Alberich's consciousness. It's the "mascot", however, unlike many mascots beforehand, it only appears in the post-game campaign and is not a comic relief.
=== Antagonists ===
Alberich Hei /The Oathbreaker (Persona: Tuoni, Nazi Arcana): True mastermind behind the Tuonela mostly hidden in the shadows. Has no Persona, but knows a lot about bacteria and chemical weapons. He's a famed doctor, but also a known figure in the criminal underworld, who created the Tuonela by merging together various mafia groups, secretly bailing out criminals and using mentally disturbed patients as human experiments in order to make what he calls "the second coming of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts". You never fight him until the end, when he becomes the final boss by controlling Tuoni. He had had a brain tumor, and Tuoni saved his life at the cost of making him a Great Sacrifice: he had to bring enough sacrifices, or he would die. If you go for the true ending, his consciousness survives inside the Nazi, and later detaches, forming Piru. 
Gerard Wei / Rex Gralsmeister (Persona: Iku-Turso, Emperor Arcana): A Meister of the Tuonela and its apparent leader. He was a notorious leader of the Finnish Triad mafia. He wields a heavy sword. He represents the Ice element and the suit of Cups. He's not actually real: he's a Cognition by Lothar based on a Tuonela boss that had been killed in China a year prior in the Beijing Genesis Incident, resurrected by the Sampo. 
Aleksanteri Shum/Pedites Schwertsmeister (Persona: Pellervo, Justice Arcana): A Meister of the Tuonela. He's looking for a place to die after having been forced to kill his father. He did die, in China, but was resurrected as a combination of a Cognition by Lothar and the Sampo. He uses his fists. He represents the Air element and the suit of Swords. 
Lothar Yu/Gaspare Bastoni/Ace Stabsmeister (Persona: Antero Vipunen, Hanged Man Arcana): The most elite of the Tuonela. Despite Gerard being the apparent boss, and seemingly obeying to Gerard's orders, Lothar is in contact with the Oathbreaker and obeys to him only, to the point of backstabbing Gerard on the Oathbreaker's orders and killing him. His real name is Gaspare Bastoni, he's an Italian assassin who has worked for the camorra, and the only actually alive member of the Tuonela apart from the Oathbreaker. He uses knives and bombs. He is a lesbian, was in unrequited love with Gerard, and can be romanced as a man. He represents the Suit of Wands and the Fire element. 
Viola Rao/Eques Geldsmeister (Persona: Ilmatar, Fortune Arcana): A Meister of the Tuonela. She originally was the daughter of a rich Indian oil company owner, lived a luxurious lifestyle and studied in a private university in China, when suddenly her parents divorced and abandoned her. She later joined the Tuonela under a promise of . She uses a gun. She represents the Earth element and the Suit of Coins. 
Tuoni/The Nazi/The Neo-Nazi/The Vestige of Nazi: The will of the deceased Nazi daimyo Anssi Harkino, which manifested as an artifact called Sampo after his death (the more the masses fear the return of Nazis, the stronger the Sampo manifests). It's known as simply "The Nazi" and is self-aware, wanting to mindlessly "exterminate the unworthy and save the worthy" (hinting at both Law and Chaos). The Nazi manifests inside people who have had terminal illnesses or risk death, and saves them at the cost of making them a Great Sacrifice: the Great Sacrifice is a person that will be able to control the Nazi (which, as a Persona, takes the name Tuoni), but only if they offer him enough sacrifices, else they are killed. The Nazi brands people as sacrifices, which they see in various forms: on their phone, in a dream, as an email, or even as a letter to their home: if a sacrifice fails to meet their conditions, they'll be deemed unworthy and kill themselves. Sacrifices are chosen between people who have deep traumas: if a sacrifice proves to be "worthy", they have their trauma fed to the Sampo and feel "purified", mostly living a normal life and getting easily over said trauma, though compelled to worship the Nazi as a god. Later on, the Nazi merges with the protagonist's Ultimate Persona Vainamoinen and becomes the Neo-Nazi, the true final boss, fought in two phases, first a phase to free the protagonist from the Neo-Nazi, and later the protagonist alone finishes off its remains, the Vestige of Nazi. 
Ban Al-Quraidi and Agnes (Persona: Grendel/Vagrants-Zion, Machine/Nazi Arcana): Superboss fought through the DLC "Terror from China", based on Van Arkride from said game (Agnes only heals him). Ban is a Chinese vigilante called a Spriggan who acts as a bodyguard, while Agnes is the daughter of the president of China who has come to Turku as a tourist. Ban's attacks are based on the ones in Kuro no Kiseki. His battle quotes are only voiced in Chinese, regardless of you having English or Finnish voice acting. 
== Dungeons/Manalas ==
Bosses are divided into "Nazified" things and "Musta" things. A Nazified thing is a shadow artificially driven berserk by the Tuonela (and made impossible to accept and turn into a Persona since it obeys to the Tuonela), while a Musta is a Persona forcibly awakened through torture, which appears mutated and does not obey anyone. Most of the characters who have a Manala are NPCs present in Social Links, not party members (party members either already have a Persona or awaken one in someone else's Manala).
Lu Manala: The Manala formed by Kaarina Lu's trauma. It manifests over the Turku University. Its boss is Kaarina, driven berserk by Lothar and forced to awaken a Persona, and the second phase where her Persona Meninnkainen is mutated and absorbs her, transforming into Meninnkainen Musta. 
Aronen Manala: The Manala formed by Liisa Aronen's trauma. It manifests over the Waino Aaltonen Art Museum. You meet Shadow Aronen, then Lothar mutates the Shadow into Nazified Aronen, taking the form of an Ukiyo-E like yokai figure. 
Karkinen Manala: The Manala formed by Timo Karkinen's trauma. It manifests over the Kaupahalli Market. You meet Viola and Aleksanteri, who Nazify Karkinen's Shadow, and also manage to make Juhani Feng's Persona Ukko into a Musta, having lured him inside the Manala specifically to do it. Nazified Karkinen absorbs Musta Ukko into it giving birth to The Wretched One. 
Murakami Manala: The Manala formed by Marco Murakami's trauma. It manifests over the Buddhist Temple. You fight Shadow Murakami, which later mutates into Murakami Musta, taking the form of an anime-style giant mecha made of video game consoles. 
Rytkonen Manala: The Manala of Tapio Rytkonen. It manifests over the castle. You fight Nazified Rytkonen, which takes the form of a colossal empty armor armed with a war hammer.
Hei Manala: The Manala formed by Alberich Hei's trauma. It forms over the Ruissalo Island, where Hei's hideout is. 
Nazi Manala: The final Manala, formed by a combination of all the Manalas which were absorbed into the Sampo. It merges with the Turku Synagogue. You fight the final battle with Lothar and then Alberich with Tuoni. After defeating Alberich, if you're in the normal ending, the game ends there, with Alberich being absorbed by Tuoni and you returning home, with everything apparently alright. Maxing the social link with Alberich allows you to go for the Nazi ending or the True Ending. In the former, you save Alberich by offering yourself to the Nazi, and kill the entire party as a sacrifice, which causes Alberich to survive and confess for his crimes, and the protagonist to seal themselves, having become the Neo-Nazi. In the latter, you remember of Alberich's words during the link and awaken to Vainamoinen, defeating the Nazi with the attack Sword of the Sun. The remains of the Nazi, called Vestige of Nazi, are absorbed into the protagonist, who seals themselves, having become the Neo-Nazi, then Alberich's consciousness manifests as Piru. 
Nazified Linnunrata: The big dungeon which is the setting of the post-game episode. Formed by the remains of the Nazi Manala, when the protagonist chose to seal themselves inside it as it disappeared, it appears underneath the city itself. It has various strata. Its boss is the Neo-Nazi and the Vestige of Nazi. 
Genesis Tower (DLC only): A dungeon accessible from the Velvet Room, only in the crossover DLC "Terror from China", after having fought Ban for the first time. Ban goes to the Velvet Room with you, and Philemon creates the dungeon based on his memories. It mimics the final dungeon of Kuro no KIseki and is said to be "a clock tower which had appeared in Beijing during the Genesis Incident and had the power to stop time". Here you refight all the members of the Tuonela (in a "reborn" form): Aleksanteri accompanied by a modified Cu Chulainn, Viola by a modified Titania, both Shadows mimic the movesets of Arioch and Olympia from Kuro no KIseki. Then you refight Gaspare, and finally Gerard, both of which aren't accompanied by anyone. After beating Gerard again, Ban's Persona goes berserk and becomes Vagrants-Zion, and you have to fight him as the ultimate boss. 
== Social Links ==
Fool: Philemon (Automatic): The keeper of the Velvet Room. 
Magician: Santeri Maenpaa (romance as both)
Priestess: Annikki Jaatinen (cannot romance)
Empress: Merja Peltomaa (romance as both)
Emperor: Clerval (cannot romance): Philemon's assistant in the Velvet Room. His Social Link consists of the player fusing various Personas with particular skills. 
Pope: Erik Korpela (cannot romance)
Lovers: Ann Takamaki (romance as a man)
Chariot: Timo Karkinen (romance as a woman)
Strength: Zemin Kailajarvi (romance as a woman)
Hermit: Heikki Kuusinen (romance as a man)
Fortune: Tapio Rytkonen (romance as a woman)
Justice: Kensuke Nakamoto (romance as a woman): A friend of the protagonist from Kobe. The social link is made by interacting through online meetings. 
Hanged Man: Gaspare Bastoni (romance as a man): Another transfer student from Italy, coming from Napoli, said to be an orphan ever since he was a child and have been implied in hard things with the camorra. He had always suffered solitude and feels like he needs love. Spending time with you teaches him to react well to the bad circumstances around him and get over his past. He is Lothar Yu of the Tuonela. Maxing his Social Link or romancing him as a man (he's a lesbian and was in love with Gerard until you romanced him) causes him to reveal his true identity and refuse to fight the final battle against you, surviving the events of the game.
Death: Mirjam Hei (romance as both)
Temperance: Kaarina Lu (romance as a man)
Devil: Juhani Feng (romance as both)
Tower: Uuno Xiong (romance as a woman)
Star: Marco Murakami (romance as a man)
Moon: Liisa Aronen (romance as a man)
Sun: Soile Rauhala (cannot romance)
Judgment: The entire party (automatic): A social link based on dungeon progression, which automatically levels with the plot.
Human/Nazi: Alberich Hei (automatic/cannot romance): A special Social Link. It locks at level 7 until Alberich reveals he's the mastermind, after which the Arcana changes from Human to Nazi, upon which Alberich reveals he's Oathbreaker and claims he has to control Tuoni otherwise he'll die, and offers the protagonist the opportunity to give him a normal life. Completing it gives you two new choices right after the final boss: if you support Alberich, you get the Nazi Ending (which causes the protagonist to defeat and kill the entire party in order to sacrifice them to Tuoni, become the Great Sacrifice instead of Alberich and cause him to atone for his crimes) while, if you stay with the party and decide to fight Alberich, you get the True Ending (which causes Alberich to understand you and, after being defeated and dying, access the postgame and become Piru. 
Machine: Piru: An automatic social link that instantly maxes itself right before the final boss.
== OST ==
The game's OST is made of J-Pop style rendition of classical music by the late Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. 
The DLC "Terror from China" uses music from Kuro no Kiseki, though the Kuro main theme is sung in Chinese, not in Japanese. 
== DLCs ==
* A crossover DLC with the game "Kuro no Kiseki" has been released, called "Terror from China", where you fight Van Arkride (though retconned as a Chinese tourist named Ban Al-Quraidi, since Calvard is not in the real world but it contains lots of Chinese elements), and the final dungeon of Kuro no Kiseki as a special dungeon. It allows you to fuse the Persona Grendel and Vagrants-Zion (Machine and Nazi Arcana respectively). 
* Another DLC, called "The Thunder God and the Flame", involves a fight with Yu Narukami and Yukiko Amagi (who are now adult and married), and Yukiko's Castle as a special dungeon. It allows you to fuse Izanagi, Amaterasu and Izanagi no Okami (Fool, Priestess and World Arcana). 
* Another DLC, called "The Artist's Grace", involves Yusuke Kitagawa and his new boyfriend Kristof Santos coming to Turku. You fight Yusuke, and explore the Madarame Palace as a special dungeon. It allows you to fuse Goemon, Kamu Susanoo and Gorokichi (all of the Emperor Arcana). 
* Another DLC, "The Masters of the Sword Art" is a crossover to SAO, contains Kirito and Asuna, and the Black Iron Palace (part of SAO) as a special dungeon. It allows you to fuse the Persona Kirito and Asuna (of the Moon and Sun Arcana). 
== Trivia ==
* This game has Finnish and English voice acting. It lacks Japanese voices because the protagonist is not meant to be speaking Japanese. Dialogue voiced in Japanese (obviously translated in the subtitles, but not dubbed in any language) appears when the protagonist's friends from Kobe communicate with them through phone and online meetings.
* Tuonela means "underworld" in Finnish.
*Gerard Wei's name is a reference to Gerard Dantes, a mafia boss from Kuro no Kiseki who is the main inspiration for the character. Gerard's underlings are named Viola and Alexandre. Gaspare Bastoni is also inspired by his underling Melchior, as in Italy the Three Wise Men of the bible are called Baldassarre, Melchiorre and Gaspare. 
*Finnish characters have their names written in Kanji.
*Most Persona games, in the definitive edition, contain nonexistent Arcana. Persona 3 had the Aeon and Universe Arcana, Persona 4 had the Aeon Arcana again, Persona 5 had the Faith and Councillor Arcana (and Hope and Priest in Strikers) and Persona 6 lacked a special Arcana. This game contains the Nazi, Machine and Human Arcana, though no Persona of the Nazi Arcana can be fused without the DLC "Terror from China".
*Various Chinese elements appear in this game's depiction of Finland, such as a lot of names, the prominent use of Kanji, a buddhist temple, Shaolin kung fu taught in schools and the Qipao dresses. The reason for this is that ethnic Finns aren't European, but closer to Turks and Xingjiang Chinese.
*In this game, the video game Kuro no Kiseki is explained as being inspired by a real incident that happened in China during the events of Persona 6. Those facts are canon in the Persona universe, where Ban al-Quraidi is a canon character set to appear in "Persona 7 vs Kuro no Kiseki- Chinese Bloody Arena". The Tuonela had operated in China, and was the inspiration for Kiseki's Armata.
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