Tatsuya Suou

Tatsuya Suou is the protagonist of Persona 2: Innocent Sin and the deuteragonist of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. Though his name is set as "Tatsuya Suou" by default in Persona 2: Innocent Sin, players can change it at will.

He's a senior student enrolling in Seven Sisters High School in Sumaru City. He has an older brother named Katsuya Suou, a police detective. Tatsuya also has an unnamed father.

Appearances

 * Persona 2: Innocent Sin: Protagonist
 * Persona 2 Tsumi: Lost Memories: Protagonist
 * Persona 2: Innocent Sin ~ The Errors of Their Youth
 * Persona 2: Eternal Punishment: Deuteragonist, playable character
 * Persona 3: "Who's Who" guest
 * DemiKids Light / Dark Version: BattleNet opponent

Design
Tatsuya has brown hair worn long with a center part, brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin. At 5'11" (181 cm), he could be considered tall (especially in Japan where Persona 2 is set), although he is shorter than his fellow Persona user Eikichi Mishina.

In Innocent Sin he wears the male-variant Seven Sisters uniform, consisting of a black blazer and black pants with contrast trim worn over a white button-down shirt, and black sneakers. Additionally, he wears a blue tie, indicating his status as a third-year student. A black wristwatch can be seen on his left arm and his belt buckle has a distinctive leonine design. His childhood self is dressed in much lighter clothing: a white and blue raglan t-shirt.

In Eternal Punishment, Tatsuya sports a two-piece motorcycle outfit consisting of red pants and a matching jacket with a large 'X' symbol on its front. He also now has a distinctive tattoo-like marking winding up his right forearm.

Personality
Tatsuya Suou is the primary protagonist of Persona 2: Innocent Sin. Following the tradition of Shin Megami Tensei series, he is a silent protagonist, and some aspects of his personality, including his sexual orientation, are determined by the player's in-game actions and decisions. The most salient event regarding his sexuality occurs after the Shadow Lisa fight, where the player may choose to express feelings for one of his party members. If the player selects Jun Kurosu, then Tatsuya and Jun are treated as lovers. He has a more established history and personality than most other silent protagonists in the franchise, due in no small part to his ability to speak in Eternal Punishment.



A distinct characteristic of his present in both Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment is his habit of flicking the engraved Zippo lighter Jun gifted to him as a child open and closed. While Tatsuya lost Jun's Zippo lighter in the Eternal Punishment timeline (since they never met in this reality and thus never exchange gifts), he keeps this habit by using a new, silver-colored Zippo lighter he bought somewhere.

He's also an avid motorcycle enthusiast, and owns a bike of his own in both continuities. Because he is often seen performing maintenance work on his bike and works part time as a mechanic, rumors from Seven Sisters eventually give him the ability to flawlessly pilot any vehicle in Innocent Sin, which he carries over to Eternal Punishment as the Tatsuya from the "Other Side;" the Tatsuya of “This Side," however, has no such ability.

In Innocent Sin, although he seemingly projects the image of the quintessential aloof “bad boy” and is exceptionally popular among his peers because of it, Tatsuya is an awkward, somewhat-shy loner who tends to alienate those around him, and is strongly uncomfortable around people who pursue him persistently, either romantically, like Lisa Silverman, or as an acquaintance, like Eikichi Mishina, as a result of the Alaya Shrine incident.

His relationship with his family is strained; he’s envious of and hostile towards his successful older brother, Katsuya, despite Katsuya’s best efforts to care for him, ashamed of his disgraced ex-police officer father whom he considers a coward, and disappointed in his mother for remaining passive when his father was discharged from his capacity as a police officer on false accusations.

The one consistent exception to his usual behavior is Jun Kurosu, with whom he shares an exceptionally close bond even within the Masked Circle itself irrespective of whether he is selected as Tatsuya’s love interest. The two are repeatedly likened to one another as children and teenagers, by themselves and other characters, each carries a memento of the other, and their exclusive Personas correspond to each other. Tatsuya’s emotional reliance on Jun is so great that when Jun’s feelings of despair upon being confronted with a duplicate of his mother created by Nyarlathotep nearly cause him to fade from existence, Maya is able to bring him back solely by reminding him of how alone Tatsuya would be without him.

Originally, Tatsuya was a caring, proud, self-confident person and it's in his nature to not leave people in need. He has a vague feeling in his heart to be a person who can express ideals to others like Maya did when they were young. However, he does not know exactly what to do with his life and spends most of his free time on his bike and mechanic work, seeking economic independence from his family due to his father's disgrace.

In Eternal Punishment, Tatsuya is characterized as a fairly passive individual and a brooding figure. Upon Tatsuya's first meeting with Maya, who has no memories of the original timeline, she refers to Tatsuya as the "déjà vu kid," swearing that she had seen Tatsuya somewhere. The Tatsuya of "This Side" has a pattern of skipping classes with a friend, Anna Yoshizaka. According to another student from Seven Sisters, Tatsuya always attends school, but skips lectures.

Innocent Sin
Tatsuya, alongside Maya, Lisa, Eikichi and Jun had a playgroup called the "Masked Circle" when they were all children, with Maya being the authority figure of the group. One day, the Shrine where the circle used to play around was set on fire by an arsonist with a similar name as Tatsuya, Tatsuya Sudou, with Maya locked inside the shrine by Lisa and Eikichi in order to prevent her from leaving the playgroup. Tatsuya Suou managed to awaken a persona to fend the arsonist off. The arsonist lost his right eye and Tatsuya suffered from a knife wound, but Maya was trapped and presumed dead.

When Nyarlathotep starts betting with Philemon about the fate of humanity, he manipulates Jun into becoming Joker, and makes him believe that Tatsuya Suou was the arsonist who killed Maya by burning the shrine instead of Sudou. In reality, despite Maya being trapped inside the burning shrine, she survived the tragic incident because she awakened a persona to protect her, although it left Maya with a case of pyrophobia. Since then, Jun, as Joker, would go after Suou personally under the premise that he is the arsonist who killed Maya.

One day, Tatsuya gets a letter from Lisa Silverman about a student from their school being kidnapped by the gang leader of Kasugayama High School. The letter instructs him to go to the Sumaru Prison alone if he wants the girl, Miyabi, to live. Lisa goes with him to face Eikichi and it's revealed that the letter was a ploy set up by Eikichi's friends to get Tatsuya to join their band, Gas Chamber.

Lisa derides Eikichi, prompting him to fight them both with his Persona. Lisa awakens her Persona after being attacked by Eikichi, prompting Tatsuya to summon his Persona to attack the gang leader. All three then pass out and meet Philemon, who tells them about their Personas, and that rumors are becoming reality.

Intrigued, Lisa decides to test calling their own phone number to summon Joker, so they might see if the rumor did come true, and tries, along with Ken, Takeshi, and Shogo, while Tatsuya, Eikichi, and Miyabi watch. They successfully called forth Joker, who proceeded to turn those without a desire in their hearts into Shadowmen, who were erased completely from cognition. Much to Tatsuya's surprise, Joker angrily expresses his hostility to the party and seems to be personally obsessed in killing Tatsuya, implying that Joker is actually a person who was acquainted with him, although Tatsuya doesn't recognize him.

Joker then summons demons and overwhelms the party using a Persona before they can cast a Unison Spell. Joker attempts to kill Tatsuya for something he did in the past, but Tatsuya has no recollection of this incident and was heavily bewildered, so he spares him and leaves an Iris flower for him as a reminder for the "sin he committed." Although they manage to get the Joker to leave, they all become intrigued about his words, and decide to investigate them.

The three students are later joined by Maya Amano and her friend, Yukino Mayuzumi. The five then search for Joker, the source of all rumors that spread becoming reality. Their search leads the group to clash with Joker, who reveals himself to be Jun Kurosu, the fifth childhood friend and one of the members of the original Masked Circle. Jun represses his feelings because he was manipulated by Nyarlathotep to carry his bidding, believing that Tatsuya committed arson on Maya under the malevolent god's brainwashing. After defeating his final form, the Angel Joker, he returns fully into Jun Kurosu and reconciles with Tatsuya. Yukino then sacrifices her power of Persona to grant Jun a legit one.

Eventually, the widely spread rumor that the Fuhrer had survived World War II with his secret forces, the Last Battalion, surfaces and his forces invade Sumaru City. Tatsuya and the others fight off both remaining Masked Circle members and the Last Battalion soldiers to obtain the crystal skulls, defeating their own Shadows in the process.

Towards the end of Innocent Sin, Tatsuya and the others board an alien spaceship known as the Xibalba, another rumor that had spawned into reality. In the deepest parts of Xibalba, the group finds the Fuhrer, wielding the Spear of Destiny (the spear that pierced Jesus Christ that is said to leave a mortal wound the second it strikes flesh) and defeats him.

At the conclusion of the game, it is revealed that all of the events had been orchestrated by Nyarlathotep in an attempt to show that the negatives of humanity would outshine the positives in a thought game with Philemon. Nyarlathotep then takes the form of a monster whose limbs are formed from the party's fathers and fights them as the "Great Father". After the fight, Nyarlathotep manipulates Maya Okamura to strike Maya Amano with the Spear of Destiny, killing her quickly. With the prophecy fulfilled, the Earth's rotation suddenly stops, destroying everything on the surface of the planet, save for Sumaru City which flew away on top of Xibalba, proving Nyarlathotep victorious in his bet against Philemon.

Philemon tells Tatsuya that there is a way to prevent Maya's death and stop Nyarlathotep from destroying the world; everyone must give up their memories save for his, and if every other person but Tatsuya would remember anything from the destroyed reality, the world will end and Nyarlathotep will win. Tatsuya may then choose to punch Philemon out of rage over the cruel decision, or thank him for giving him a second chance. If he punches him, Philemon's mask falls off, but he will remain unfazed anyway, revealing his face as Tatsuya's and gives him a non-response, before Tatsuya reluctantly agrees with him to create a new timeline in which Nyarlathotep is not successful. If he thanks him instead, Philemon will give an encouraging speech to bid him farewell, with the same result as above.

Tsumi: Lost Memories
Tatsuya, Jun, Lisa, and Eikichi's Shadow Selves objected and tried to convince them that resetting the world was the wrong thing to do, and that they needed to accept reality. They had to kill off their Shadow Selves before they could advance to the spirit of Longinus, kill him, and reset the world. They were able to defeat their Shadow Selves and the spirit of Longinus only with the help of their Ideal Selves. Only Tatsuya could not defeat his Shadow Self which is why he didn't lose his memories after the world was reset.

Eternal Punishment
Tatsuya returns as a major character in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. Following the events of Innocent Sin, Tatsuya is the only one who recalls the memories that he and his friends had forged in the past. Set after the events of the previous adventure, Maya instead takes the role of the silent protagonist. It is revealed in his scenario that he is actually borrowing the body of the Tatsuya native to the new reality, in hopes of sealing Nyarlathotep away to atone for his mistake in not holding out for his promise to forget his friends. He also regrets that his actions might have repercussions for the Tatsuya of the Eternal Punishment timeline when he fades away.

In Eternal Punishment, Tatsuya swaps his Seven Sisters uniform for a red motorcyclist's jumpsuit.

In his scenario, it is revealed that EP Tatsuya is a close friend of Anna Yoshizaka. Also, before the events of the game and up to a certain point, Tatsuya attempted to cover the incidents indicating the return of Nyarlathotep; these efforts had a lukewarm success at first, considering he did not manage to stop Tatsuya Sudou's campaign of terror or many of the subsequent events, heavily depending on Shiori Miyashiro to help him.

His fervor in working alone and not allowing Katsuya, or more importantly, Maya, into his investigations, was explained as Nyarlathotep revealing the spell Philemon had used to restore the world following the events of Innocent Sin would be undone if either Maya, Eikichi, Lisa or Jun had their memories of the previous timeline restored, even branding him to remind him of the fact.

During the events of the Lab, it is he who confronts and sedates the crazed, demon-infused Shiori and helps Eikichi escape. He takes Shiori to the Velvet Room and asks Igor to help him restore Shiori, intending to collect the Trapezohedrons alone. Still, before he can launch his one-man crusade, he is joined by the full group of Persona-users and forced to accept their help. Though they are successful in restoring Shiori, he is again reminded of the high cost he had been forced to endure in his fight.

In the end, Tatsuya was allowed to forget about his friends and the adventures they had shared - at the cost of forever shattering the bonds he had forged through them. By doing so, he vacated the borrowed body and returned to the IS timeline, leaving behind the Tatsuya Suou native to the EP timeline. Soon after, the Suou brothers had a conversation in which it was implied Tatsuya intended to follow in his brother's footsteps and join the police force.

Persona 3
Tatsuya Suou makes a cameo appearance in Persona 3 as part of Trish's show, Who's Who. He is described as "Smoking hot" and in his 20's. Trish discusses that he intends on becoming a policeman like his brother, Katsuya Suou.

Tatsuya is also the online screen name for the protagonist in the English version of the game when interacting with the Hermit Social Link Maya. The MMORPG they play is "Innocent Sin Online," a reference to the subtitle of Persona 2.

DemiKids: Light & Dark
Tatsuya is an A-Rank BattleNet opponent that is said to use good type demons. After 10 defeats he gives a Speedy, 30 defeats earns a Lord Pey.

Solo Contacts

 * Do Impressions: Tatsuya does an impression.
 * Persuade: Tatsuya attempts to persuade the enemy.
 * Discuss Manliness: Tatsuya talks about manliness.
 * Death Stare: Tatsuya stares at the enemy.

Group Contacts

 * Tatsuya + Eikichi: Eikichi challenges Tatsuya. (Available from start, can be lost if Tatsuya admits Eikichi is better than him during the Kasugayama High School dungeon)
 * Tatsuya + Lisa: Lisa acts defensive of Tatsuya. (Available from start, can be lost if Tatsuya chooses someone else as his lover after the Shadow Lisa fight and regained later in Xibalba if he says he likes her as a friend)
 * Tatsuya + Maya: Maya tries to get Tatsuya's attention. (Gained if Tatsuya answers Maya's questions correctly in the bomb shelter)
 * Tatsuya + Yukino: Tatsuya and Yukino beat up the enemy. (Gained if Tatsuya tells Yukino that he is good with his fists during the Club Zodiac dungeon)
 * Tatsuya + Eikichi + Yukino: Tatsuya, Eikichi, and Yukino beat up the enemy. (Gained with Tatsuya + Yukino Contact)
 * Tatsuya + Jun: Tatsuya and Jun flirt with each other. (Gained by choosing Jun as Tatsuya's lover after the Shadow Lisa fight, and/or by not saying the player hates him at the Leo Temple)
 * Tatsuya + Jun + Maya: Maya and Jun comment on their growth and recollect about their past. Tatsuya observes. (Available when Jun joins the party)

Innocent Sin

 * "Your death will be quick!" (when entering a battle)
 * "Out of my way!" (when entering a battle)
 * "Ugh, I can still do this!" (when entering a battle on low HP)
 * "Huh!" (when attacking)
 * "Haah!" (when attacking)
 * "Ergh!" (when attacking)
 * "Too late!" (when attacking)
 * "Oof!" (when hit)
 * "This is it!" (when summoning a Persona)
 * "Come!" (when summoning a Persona)
 * "Persona!" (when summoning a Persona)
 * "Get set!" (when using Fusion Spells)
 * "Grand Cross!" (when using Grand Cross)
 * "Nova Kaiser!!" (when using Nova Kaiser with Apollo in Innocent Sin)
 * "Ugh..." (when KO'd)
 * "Bad luck, running into me." (after winning a battle)
 * "Know your enemy before you pick a fight!" (after winning a battle)
 * "Sorry about that." (rare victory quote)
 * "I just got lucky." (rare victory quote)
 * "You got off easy this time!" (when retreating)
 * "You better watch your back!" (when retreating)
 * "Being a man means..." (when succeeding with the Discuss Manliness contact)
 * "Listen." (when succeeding with the Persuade contact)
 * "Look into my eyes." (when succeeding with the Stare contact)
 * "Close your eyes." (before doing an impression)

Eternal Punishment

 * "You okay with that?" (when entering a battle)
 * "Don't get in my way!" (when entering battle)
 * "I can still fight!" (when entering battle on low HP)
 * "Hah!" (when attacking)
 * "Not good enough!" (when attacking)
 * "You're slow!" (when attacking)
 * "Persona!" (when summoning a Persona)
 * "I need you now!" (when summoning a Persona)
 * "Come!" (when summoning a Persona)
 * "Follow me!" (when using Fusion Spells)
 * "Let's go!" (when using Fusion Spells)
 * "It's over!" (when using Nova Kaiser with Apollo in Eternal Punishment)
 * "I will defeat you!!" (when using Nova Kaiser on final boss)
 * "Sorry about that!" (after winning a battle)
 * "You are not good enough." (after winning a battle)
 * "I'll protect Maya." (rare victory quote)
 * "You're no match for me, sucker." (rare victory quote)
 * "You were lucky this time!" (when retreating)
 * "Did we lose?" (when KO'd)
 * "I'm sorry... everyone!" (game over)
 * "No... I can't die yet!" (game over)
 * "There's no need for words..." (when succeeding with the Death Gazing contact)

Etymology

 * The name Tatsuya means "achieve, accomplished, reach, arrive, attain" (達) (tatsu) and "how, what, alas, question mark, ?" (哉) (ya).
 * Tatsuya's surname Suou means "circumference, lap, surroundings, circuit, vicinity" (周) (su) and "prevention, ward off, defend, protect, resist" (防) (ou).

Trivia

 * Tatsuya is the only Persona protagonist to be a main character of two mainline games; Innocent Sin and The Additional Scenario in Eternal Punishment.
 * Tatsuya is one of the four Persona protagonists to actually speak in a mainline game. The others being his castmate, Maya Amano, Boy with Earring in Eternal Punishment, and the Persona 5 protagonist.
 * Tatsuya is the only Persona protagonist to be in his third year of high school. Every other protagonist, with the exception of Maya Amano who has graduated, is in their second year of high school.
 * His favorite foods include rare steak (bloody ones especially) and seaweed-salt flavored potato chips. It's also noted that he dislikes squid entrails and anything with red bean paste in it.
 * Tatsuya's favorite subjects in school are English and Physical Education (his favorite sport being track and field, at which he hasn't lost to anyone in school yet).
 * Besides tinkering with his motorcycle, Tatsuya is fond of sleeping and is able to sleep in any kind of atmosphere regardless of discomfort or distractions.
 * Tatsuya has difficulties dealing with his strained relationship with his family, Lisa, Ms. Saeko, and boneless mollusks.
 * The subtitles of both games in the Persona 2 duology refer to Tatsuya. His "innocent sin" in the first game is his refusal to forget about his memories with his friends because he's afraid of being alone, even though he needs to in order to save the world and Maya. His "eternal punishment" in the second game is to not only live in the original world where all humans outside Sumaru City are dead, and his friends are living in another reality, but during the game's events, has to live in a world where no one but him remembers the events of the first game and his friendships.
 * Exclusively in the Persona 2 art book Innocent Sin World, Tatsuya's future dream is to become a person who can express ideals to others in the same way Maya did when they were young.
 * Unlike his friend Lisa, Tatsuya is fluent in English.
 * Tatsuya and Jun's exclusive Personas are representative of the exchange of their "treasures" as children; Vulcanus and Chronos are the Roman god of fire and Greek personification of time respectively, while the most famous myth involving Apollo and Hermes is the exchange of the lyre and the caduceus between them, both of which became heavily symbolic of their owners.
 * Tatsuya is capable of stopping the flow of time with Apollo's ultimate ability, Nova Kaiser.
 * Tatsuya actually has two Zippo lighters:
 * The first, original one is an old, gray colored Zippo lighter which is a gift from Jun in Innocent Sin. This one is engraved with the words "The most precious things cannot be seen," signifying their friendship. This lighter is lost when the world was reset, since Tatsuya and Jun never met in the new timeline.
 * The second one is a brand new, silver colored Zippo lighter in Eternal Punishment. While the reason Tatsuya bought it is never stated, it might be to keep his habit in check and honor the memory of his friendship with Jun. At the game's ending, Tatsuya of "This Side" keeps this new lighter and uses it to light Katsuya's cigarette.
 * An unused sprite of Tatsuya in his school tracksuit appears in the loading screen of the PlayStation version of Innocent Sin.
 * The reason Tatsuya can pilot vehicles flawlessly without any prior training is because of the power of rumors. In Innocent Sin, a rumor spread that Tatsuya was "good with machines" because he was always seen driving and tinkering on his motorcycle. The epilogue points this out by showing that the Tatsuya of "This Side" cannot fix his motorcycle like the Tatsuya of the "Other Side" was seen doing at the beginning of the game. As the playable Tatsuya in Eternal Punishment is the Tatsuya of the "Other Side" controlling the body of the Tatsuya of "This Side," the rumor still affects him and that's why he can pilot a blimp, a submarine and one of the X series robots.
 * At some point in development for Eternal Punishment, Tatsuya originally kept his Sevens High school uniform instead of wearing a red jumpsuit. This is shown in promotional material showing unused art of Tatsuya in his Sevens High outfit, along with unused sprites of this.
 * Tatsuya is the tallest protagonist in the series at 181 cm (5'11").