Persona 4 Revival Producer Says Persona 1 and 2 Remakes Are “Something We Should Definitely Do”

The Quote: What the Producer Actually Said

The producer of Persona 4 Revival said remakes of the original Persona and Persona 2 are something Atlus "should definitely do" at some point. Translations of the same Japanese-language comment vary slightly, with one version rendering the sentiment as "I think we have to do." Both phrasings point to the same underlying message: the people steering Persona today are aware of the franchise's earliest entries and believe they deserve another look.

It is important to be clear about what this is, and what it is not. This is not an announcement. No official Persona 1 or Persona 2 remake has been confirmed by Atlus or Sega. The producer's remarks are aspirational, a recognition of longstanding fan demand rather than a greenlit project. But for a fanbase that has spent decades hoping for exactly this, even an aspirational comment carries real weight.

The producer's name was not disclosed in the interview's initial coverage, though the statement comes from someone directly involved in the series' current direction. That context matters, because it means this is not an idle remark from a peripheral figure. It is someone with creative oversight saying, publicly, that the old games should not be forgotten.

Atlus's Modern Remake Pipeline Is Already Rolling

The context for this comment is hard to ignore. Atlus has spent the past several years systematically revisiting its most celebrated entries. Persona 3 Reload launched in 2024, modernizing the game that defined the modern Persona formula with a full visual and mechanical overhaul. Now Persona 4 Revival is scheduled for February 18, 2027, bringing the 2008 classic back in fully remade form, building on the expanded content of Persona 4 Golden from 2012.

Together, these two projects establish a steady remake cadence. The logic is straightforward: the modern trilogy, Persona 3, 4, and 5, represents the franchise's commercial and cultural peak, and remaking those games is a relatively safe bet. A Persona 5 remake would presumably complete that run.

But the producer's comments point to something far more interesting. Instead of stopping at the games that made Persona a household name, the conversation is turning to the entries that predate everything modern audiences associate with the series.

Why Persona 1 and Persona 2 Are Different, and Harder to Remake

The original Persona, released in Japan in 1996, and the two-part Persona 2 saga, Innocent Sin (1999) and Eternal Punishment (2000), are radically different animals from the games that followed. They predate the social-sim structure that Persona 3 introduced. There are no daily schedules, no social links, no classroom scenes. Instead, these are first-person dungeon crawlers with a heavier, more occult atmosphere and a moral ambiguity that the later games largely smoothed over.

Remaking them is not a matter of updating textures and animations. It would require rethinking core gameplay systems, pacing, and narrative presentation from the ground up. The dungeon-crawling mechanics would need to either be preserved as a retro homage or replaced with something that fits modern expectations, and either choice carries risk. The darker tone of the original games, which drew heavily from Jungian psychology and occult horror, would also need careful handling in a market where Persona is now known for its stylish, upbeat presentation.

Fans have campaigned for years precisely because these games are the hardest to access and the most different from what Persona means to most players today. The original Persona has seen ports and re-releases, including a 2009 PSP remake, but it has never received the kind of full modernization that Persona 3 just received. Persona 2's two-part story is even more fragmented, with each installment having its own release history, platform quirks, and, in some regions, its own localization gaps.

This makes the producer's comment both exciting and sobering. It is a recognition of demand, but also a hint at the design challenge ahead. Anyone who has played the original games knows they cannot simply be reskinned and shipped. They would need a fundamental reimagining.

What a Full Persona Remake Sweep Would Mean

If Atlus commits to remaking Persona 1 and 2, it would be a significant signal. It would demonstrate that the studio values its full back catalog, not just the era that filled arenas. It would also represent a much riskier bet than the Persona 3 and 4 remakes. Those games built on an established formula with a known audience. The pre-modern games would require Atlus to trust that the strength of the franchise's brand can carry interest in a fundamentally different style of game.

The producer's phrasing, "should definitely do," suggests internal desire rather than an active project. This is likely still in the wish-list phase. But the fact that it is being said aloud tells us the conversation is happening inside Atlus. The success of Persona 3 Reload and the anticipation surrounding Persona 4 Revival give the studio a strong foundation from which to take a leap. Whether that leap extends backward to the PS1 era remains to be seen.

For readers, the honest framing is this: this is a hopeful possibility, not a roadmap promise. Atlus has not committed to anything, and the gap between a producer's hopeful remark and a fully funded, multi-year development project is enormous. But the conversation itself is meaningful.

A Door Left Open for Persona's Forgotten Roots

The interview matters because it shows Atlus is at least thinking about its own history. For years, the original Persona and Persona 2 felt like abandoned artifacts, mentioned only in retrospective features and fan forum threads. Now, with the remake era in full swing, they are part of the conversation again. The demand for their return is growing louder, and the people making Persona have said, publicly, that they hear it.

Fans should temper their expectations until an official announcement arrives. But they should also take a moment to appreciate how far the discourse has come. Persona's oldest stories are no longer being ignored.

In the meantime, there has never been a better time to revisit the originals. The PSP port of Persona 1 and the various re-releases of Persona 2 remain accessible for dedicated players, and they offer a glimpse of a franchise that was once smaller, stranger, and unapologetically dark. These games are rough around the edges, awkward in pacing, and deeply idiosyncratic. They are also where one of gaming's most beloved franchises truly began. If the producer's words are any indication, Atlus might one day give them the treatment they deserve. Until then, the fan campaign lives on.