The game starts with the protagonist, along with schoolmates Hidehiko, Yuka and Masao, playing a fortune-telling parlor game called "Persona" while Nanjō and Yukino watch. After playing the game, the group see a ghostly figure, and the protagonist, Masao, Nanjō, and Yukino are rendered unconscious. The protagonist is then drawn into the realm of Philemon, who grants him the power of Persona and warns him that his new power will soon be needed. After the four recover and at the suggestion of their teacher Saeko, they go to have a check-up and visit classmate Maki at the hospital. While visiting, Maki is taken ill, and while they are waiting for news, the ICU where Maki is being treated vanishes and the town is attacked by demons, the summoned manifestations of people's inner darkness. Using their Personas, the four defend themselves, and after meeting up with Eriko, they head to the town's Ayama Shrine to find Maki's mother Setsuko. Upon arrival, they find Setsuko wounded after an attack by Kandori. Setsuko reveals him to be the culprit behind the changes to the town, caused by a reality-altering machine called the Deva System.[18] Nanjō and Masao head out to confront SEBEC, while the protagonist, Eriko and Yukino bring Setsuko back to the school. After this point, the game splits into two story routes: the main SEBEC route, and the alternate Snow Queen route.
