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The Persona series has gone through several changes over the years. From the various ways in which 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:demons influence reality to the way that a character summons their Persona, each game has made an effort to make itself unique. However, despite the various changes made to each game over the years, there's always been one constant. The Velvet Room.
While its design has gone through various changes, the Velvet Room has remained a haven for the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:protagonist of each game. The soothing blue-colored room and its creepy yet helpful host have beꦡen the one thing that has existed within every iteration of Persona, but what exactly is the Velvet Room?
A Room Like A Dream
The Velvet Room, despite its name, isn't so much of a room as it is a space that 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:exists outside of reality. Like many of the interactions within the Persona universe, the Velvet Room exists in between the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. This room can only be accessed by those who have formed a contract and gained the ability to summon Personas.
The room's purpose, on a gameplay level, is to summon, fuse, and upgrade Personas to aid the game's protagonist. Like the room itself, how these events occur is just as diverse. In the first Persona, fusion occurs when Igor uses a phone to call into the realm of unconsciousness, and the tear he cries after hearing a sad story triggers the action, while fusion in Persona 5 is performed through an execution.
Shifting Forms
The Velvet Room has had various forms over the years. In fact, its appearance has changed in each Persona game. However, this isn't a case of there being several rooms with different designs. The Velvet Room is just that. A singular room. No matter what game or timeline the protagonists find themselves in, the Velvet Room is one thing that always remains, even if its appearance changes.
In the past, it has taken the form of a lounge bar, an elevator, and a limousine of all things. It is stated that the room will shift its form to fit the consciousness of the current Guest. For example, the ever-ascending elevator form of the Velvet room from Persona 3 directly reflects the protagonist's climb up Tartarus and their personal climb in status.
As a side note, when the Velvet Room is in the form of a limousine, the 'vehicle' only stops when the group itself reaches a standstill, and the surrounding fog is lifted when the case is solved. Despite its various changes, the functions of the room remain mostly the same, with the only differences coming from additions added to later games.
The Velvet Prison
As previously stated, the Velvet Room is supposed to act as a haven for the protagonist. A place of refuge and a source of aid for their trials to come. That has always been the defining factor of the room; however, this isn't the case for Persona 5's protagonist's Velvet Room.
While, from a gameplay standpoint, this iteration of the Velvet Room gives the player the ability to summon and fuse Personas, this room hinders the protagonist more than helps them. This particular version of the Velvet Room takes the form of a literal prison with the protagonist locked in a cell. It's explained that the room took this form to reflect how trapped the protagonist feels by society, but this was a lie.
Instead of taking changing its shape to fit the protagonist, the Velvet Room was broken into and twisted by 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:a demiurge named Yaldaboath. Their goal for this was to stop anyone with the power to rival his own before they came into strength. To do this, he dawned the guise of Igor and tore the room's attendant into two beings that he could control to keep up his charade. When the Protagonist arrives, the faux Igor manipulates them into committing crimes in the Metaverse in a rigged experiment to prove that humanity will lead itself to ruin.
Origins
The Velvet Room was created as a means to win a bet, funnily enough. A powerful being known as Philemon made bet with another being named Nyarlathotep made a bet revolving around huඣmanity. Nyarlathotep believed that humans were innately corrupt and destructive beings and thus would destroy themselves. Philemon, on the other hand, believed that humanity could overcome their nature and become enlightened beings.
While he couldn't directly interfere with humanity, Philemon could tilt the odds in his favor. To give humanity the edge in overcoming their faults, he created the Velvet Room. This proved to make the bet even as Nyarlathotep wasn't above influencing humans to fit his design.
The Residents Of The Velvet Room
The Velvet Room isn't just a safe haven for those who form contracts, but it's also home to several individuals that call the Velvet Room home. The most iconic of these beings is a balding, long-nosed man named Igor, who refers to himself as the 'host' of the Velvet Room as well as a servant of Philemon. It's this individual that welcomes the protagonist to the Velvet Room and is in charge of fusing Personas. The only game where there's no mention of Igor is Persona Q2: Cinema Labyrinth.
Along with Igor, two others exist within the Velvet Room. Belladonna, the singer who is capable of calming the souls of those who enter, and Nameless, the pianist who perpetually wears a blindfold. Both aid Igor in fusing Personas, with Belladonna calming the various demons that are summoned and Nameless empowering Igor so that he can convert the demons into Personas. While these two aren't seen after Persona 2, it's heavily implied that they're still present, as their music can still be heard.
The Attendants
Along with the three permanent residents of the Velvet Room, there are a host of other individuals that have resided within the Velvet Room. There have been several others that have resided within the Velvet Room at one point or another. These particular characters are known as attendants and their pu♓rpose, like Igor, is to aid൩ the guests who find themselves coming to the Velvet Room.
Typically, these attendants handle summoning various Personas through the use of the Persona Compendium, a physical list of every Persona that the player has encountered, summoned, or fused. Starting in Persona 3, these attendants also give out optional quests for the protagonists to fulfill in exchange for a variety of rewards. In Persona 5, the attendants also take up 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the duty of fusing Personas.
Much like the others, the origins of these 'attendants' is unknown. Persona 2's Demon Painter claimed that he was once human though he shed his humanity and lived within the Velvet Room for several decades. It's also unclear if the attendants exist outside their games like Igor does as there's no mention of them after the end of their respective games. Many speculate that, like the room's design, the attendants change to fit the needs of the current Guest.