Well, I originally intended for all of this to be in a single article with the final boss, but then the original versions of 'part 33' ended up being so bloated with so many different late-game Personas that I decided to split this final segment into two pages. Maruki was always going to be the eyecatcher for the final part of this series, and I thought I could get there without having to use Ohya and Shinya... but I guess there are a lot of Personas when you count all the second-tiers that I've never unlocked, and all the new third-tiers! I swear I wasn't trying to stretch this series out longer than it should, but there are just a lot of designs in this game!
And Ohya... I just don't really like her. I'm not sure why, since on paper her story isn't bad -- it's a typical one that you find a lot in superhero stories, I guess, of an intrepid reporter going against the power of propaganda and whatnot in order to uncover the truth. But I just find Ohya as the straight-up Confidant that I don't like at all, and I really did feel very uninvested in her story. Doesn't help that even with Royal reworking a lot of the Confidants' effects, Ohya's affecting the security level seems very underwhelming.
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Lucy
- Arcana: Empress
We'll start off with Haru's third-tier Persona, Lucy, which like most third-tier Personas is tied to the original one. Lucy Hay, the Countess of Carlisle, is a real-life person who was active during the Second Civil War, and is notable for aiding both sides at different points of the conflict. Prior to the Civil War, she was an ally of the Parliamentarians, and during the war itself, she switched sides and helped the Royalists, leading to her arrest and imprisonment. Her duplicitous actions inspired the creation of the character of Milady de Winter in The Three Musketeers.
And her design is... not the most interesting? Most of the third-tier Personas are 'modernized' versions of their first-tier Persona, but while Lucy does have a lot more modern features like the hairdo, the suitcase and the manner of her dress looking more like a lady with a longcoat instead of a lady in a ball... she's just not different enough from the original, I feel? I really did think they could've given her a bit more of an oomph. Especially when you compare designs like Celestine to Carmen, or William to Kidd. It's all right, I guess, but I honestly did feel like this is a bit of a downgrade from Astarte.
Prometheus
- Arcana: Hermit
Oh! It is kind of a shame that Futaba's Persona really is out of focus most of the time. I don't think she ever says out 'Necronomicon' at all even when her effects trigger on the battlefield! But she does have an upgraded Persona, and this one is Prometheus. Where Necronomicon is a weird UFO, Prometheus is a giant pulsating ball with alien circuitry running all over it, with parts of it resembling a grinning face. Of course, the light pulsates in and out, though the markings don't actually change. This fits with the whole mysterious ancient-alien technology and circuitry vibe that Futaba's dungeon has, actually.
And Prometheus, of course, is a famous figure in Greek mythology. He's a Titan that sided with the Olympians. Prometheus sympathized with the mortal humans, and he would steal fire from Mount Olympus. Prometheus would bring fire to man, and taught mankind how to use the previously-unknown power of fire. This enraged Zeus, because Prometheus taught mankind a way to defy and trick the gods. As punishment, Prometheus was chained to a rock for eternity, where a great buzzard would come and eat his liver every single day, and at the end of each day his liver would regrow. This lasted until the hero Heracles freed Prometheus during his adventures.
As tied to Futaba's own hacker themes and the whole 'forbidden knowledge' being a stand-in for both repressed memories and conspiracies in her storyline, the idea that Prometheus as a figure that gave mankind forbidden and potentially destructive knowledge definitely fits!
Maria
- Monster Name: N/A
- Arcana: Faith
The ultimate Persona of the Faith arcana is Maria, mother of Jesus Christ in the Bible. In the Bible, after being visited by the angel Gabriel, Maria (translated as 'Mary' in English) goes through a virgin pregnancy and gives birth to Jesus Christ. Because of this, she is honoured as the mother of God, particularly among Catholics, who honour Mother Mary as a great saint.
I don't really have much to say here, though I am pleased to see that Maria isn't 'just a woman', but rather a moving block of marble with... animals around her for some reason? Which I originally thought might be a reference to the cherubim, but then one of the animals is a T-rex, and I can tell you that a T-rex isn't in the Bible. We also have three trilobites on the back part of the statue. So... eh? There are a bunch of golden discs around her and stuff, and a golden ring that I think is meant to be a halo? It's neat.
Mada
- Monster Name: N/A
- Arcana: Tower
In Hindu mythology, Mada is considered as one of the Arishadvargas, the six enemies of the mind, symbolizing negative attributes such as arrogance, pride, obstinacy and stubbornness, and an obstacle to attaining salvation.
Mada's design is a fun one here, being a four-armed giant demon with a very angry mouth and a ring behind him. I love how he's just stomping in place, and how its waist kind of flares up to something akin to a bowl of fire. Mada's head is also a literal tower that rises up to another torch. I can't find any descriptions of Mada's appearance online beyond identifying him as a giant 'Rakshasa'. I am actually surprised that we get a somewhat humanoid figure -- as cool as Persona's Mada looks -- instead of a giant set of jaws or something!
Odin
- Monster Name: N/A
- Arcana: Emperor
Huh? Huh! Emperor's ultimate Persona is the Nordic chief god, Odin the All-Father (also Odinn, Wodan, Bileygr, Drottinn, Fengr, Fjolnir and many other alternate names). And the design is... a purple-skinned man only wearing a cloth around his waist, a cape and a golden horned helmet? He's at least got the iconic eyepatch and the spear Gungir, but it's definitely not what I expected from an 'Odin', particularly compared to how the game has depicted other Nordic mythology figures like Thor, Loki, Surtr and Freyr. While I do like that they didn't go for the obvious 'just a Viking with some features' look that so many depictions of Odin and Thor do, it's a bit weird that he kinda looks like a wacky cartoon elf or something. It is admittedly an interesting look, but not one that I personally like. It does look like something from Devilman, which I appreciate, but I'm looking at the different Odin designs throughout SMT's history, and I definitely think this is the least-interesting one out of them.
Odin wields the mighty spear called Gungnir, and has many animal familiars. He has two wolves, Geri and Freki; two ravens Huginn and Muninn who bring information from Midgard to him; and rides the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. In some myths, Odin slew the primordial ice giant Ymir, and gave life to the first two humans of Midgard, Ask and Embla. He provides mankind knowledge of runes, writing and poetry. Odin is a central character of many Nordic myths, and throughout all of it he has shown many different magical and warlike abilities. Odin is also associated with the hall of Valhalla, where those that die in battle are taken there by the valkyries, where he prepares for the final battle Ragnarok with his Einherjar. In Ragnarok, Odin is prophesied to be killed by the great wolf Fenrir.
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