Persona 2 Fuhrer Guide

The Persona series is no stranger to controversy. Still, none is as egregious or decidedly unnecessary as the Fuhrer in Persona 2: Innocent Sin. Before we go any further in this Persona 2 Fuhrer guide, I would like to offer a warning. The following guide will deal with the horrific real-life events of World War II and the Nazis. That is throughout the entirety of this article, so please turn away now if that bothers you.

With that warning out of the way, the Fuhrer is one of the final enemies you face in Persona 2: Innocent Sin. Yes, this person is exactly who you think they are. Atlus had no shame in unnecessarily bringing this person back when it didn’t add anything of value to the game’s plot. But here we are with this being the case nonetheless. As such, if you play Innocent Sin, you will face off against this vile enemy. Here’s what you need to know to be ready in the Persona 2 Fuhrer guide.

Bottom Line Up Front

Trigger warning once more, but the Fuhrer is one of the final bosses in Persona 2: Innocent Sin. This person is, indeed, Adolf Hitler from Nazi Germany. He returns to the modern day through the power of the rumors in Persona 2 and while being controlled by the demon, Nyarlathotep.

He was initially known as Hitler in the PS1 version of the game but was changed to be known as the Fuhrer in the PSP remake. Players must take him down in battle to reach the game’s ending.

Persona 2 Fuhrer Overview

I am not always against controversial material in video games. There are times when I think that it adds some flair or shows another side of the equation. The Persona series is certainly no stranger to controversy in the past. Still, there is definitely a time and place for everything.

Take, for instance, one of the most controversial parts of Persona 4. Many people don’t like the portrayal of Kanji in that game as a closeted gay man who remains in the closet for the entirety of the plot, despite the events that happen. Then there are the jokes that make fun of gay people that aren’t okay.

But, at the same time, the representation is welcome. I think it is okay to acknowledge that while noting that the execution was horribly done. However, then there are other controversies in the Persona series that shouldn’t have ever happened.

Or, namely, one particular instance. The second game in the series, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, made the horribly intentional and totally not innocent sin of bringing back Adolf Hitler from the dead. Yes, the genocidal, disgusting human being is in a video game he doesn’t need to be in.

And the worst part is that he isn’t in the game as some little cameo or brief appearance, either, even though that wouldn’t exactly be welcome at the same time. In the main story, he plays a significant villainous role in the JRPG as one of the primary antagonists you face off against.

That’s right, you can’t beat Persona 2: Innocent Sin without taking down the Fuhrer, who is very much clearly meant to be this vile person from real-life history. It is entirely unnecessary for him to be there, but Atlus did it anyway. Sadly, his presence taints what would otherwise be one of the best stories in the Persona series.

Appearance Explained

For this part, I will note the appearance of the Fuhrer as he looked in Persona 2: Innocent Sin’s PSP remake. In this version of the game, some censorship happened to make the JRPG more toned down when it comes to the Nazi imagery, not that it helped the horrible situation much.

In this version, the Fuhrer is clearly meant to be like an anime version of the real person, without a doubt. Atlus didn’t even try to hide this fact when designing the character. Everything from the short dark hair to his facial hair to his facial structure all resembles that particular person.

There are slight changes to give an anime feel, and the outfit is more like that of a standard suit with a trench coat, so there is some modernization there. At the same time, the character is wearing aviator sunglasses that hide his eyes and seem out of place given the rest of the design.

This is likely due to the changes that were made following the PS1 version, which was much more controversial (more on that in a little bit). Other than that, I don’t have anything else to say about the appearance of this unnecessary, forced villain inclusion.

Origins Explained

The origins of the Fuhrer in Persona 2: Innocent Sin are pretty simple. Atlus foolishly wished to bring back this vile person from the dead and make him one of the big baddies in a video game. A video game, I should add, that has nothing at all to do with World War II or Nazi Germany.

But, alas, here we are with a JRPG that included Adolf Hitler, of all people, in it as one of the final bosses that you face in the storyline. There is not much else to say about the inspiration or origins of this character, as the game itself makes it abundantly clear that this is no caricature or person modeled after Hitler.

This is literally him in the flesh, brought back from the dead for the purpose of what? Filling the role of the evil villain and giving some disturbing alternate history vibes? It is pretty ridiculous and unnecessary. If Atlus truly wished to introduce a villain who people will know from history, plenty of other choices could have been made.

I can think of a few like Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Alexander the Great, King Henry VIII, and many more. Heck, even Genghis Khan would’ve made for a better option, especially given that there is, hilariously enough, a popular mutton dish that is named after him in Japan already.

Key Moments

Here is the obligatory spoiler warning for Persona 2: Innocent Sin, but, honestly, I don’t think it matters this time. You’re better off just reading this synopsis than dealing with this nonsense by actually playing the game. The background for the return of the Fuhrer in Persona 2 has to do with the rumors at the heart of the plot.

Rumors are spreading around the city, and, for some reason, they have immense power. If someone can spread a rumor enough that everyone is talking about it, the topic in question literally comes true. This is something that the player experiences throughout the game.

However, it takes a turn for the worse when a specific book in the events of the game is leaked before coming out. The book is about the person in question. It leads to many people talking about Fuhrer and his army of soldiers that are mentioned in the story.

Unfortunately, the town talks about He Who Shall Not Be Named far more than he deserves, and it leads to the return of him coming to the present-day world. This version of him changes history entirely and makes it so that he never killed himself at the conclusion of World War II.

Instead, he has built up the Last Battalion, his army, to try and take over the world again. Fuhrer takes up the floating Xibalba as his castle, from where he will dominate the world. It is up to the player and his party members to take Fuhrer down and send him back to the grave where he belongs.

Yes, I am well aware that this horrific writing here in Persona 2 makes even the plot of Star Wars Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker and that particular villain’s return sound more enticing.

Tatsuya Suou and his party members infiltrate Xibalba and eventually make their way to the center where the Fuhrer is located. After finding out about the real mastermind pulling the strings of the entire situation, they defeat him and stop him from once again tormenting the entire world. As I mentioned before, absolutely not required.

Last Battalion

The Last Battalion is the army that the Fuhrer brings with him when he arrives in the modern day, or, well, the 1990s, I guess. With the rumor that spread during the events of Persona 2, it led to the survival of the Fuhrer and his army, which was apparently hiding this entire time in Antarctica.

The penguins certainly didn’t deserve this suffering. Still, they had to spend many decades with the Last Battalion as they bided their time for a second attempt at dominating the world. In the long time that the Last Battalion was there, the two million-strong force grew in number and technology.

This is seen in Innocent Sin, with the Last Battalion being composed of not just regular troops but plenty of robots and mechs, too. In fact, many of the normal enemies that you face off against from the Last Battalion are mechanized troops that remind me of spider drones from fiction.

The goal of the Last Battalion is not only to take over the world but, specifically, to do so starting in Japan of all places. The idea is to take over Sumaru City, the primary location of Persona 2, and go from there. It started with taking down the Masked Circle, which includes most of the main characters.

From there, the Last Battalion’s goal was to take over Xibalba as their home base, precisely what happened in the main story.

Fuhrer Persona Explained

Oh, did I mention that Fuhrer comes back with a new trick up his sleeve? He is actually a Persona user now or at least sort of is. His Persona is none other than Nyarlathotep. Or, at least, this is sort of his Persona. The problem with this is that it is sort of a complicated scenario.

When you first face off against the Fuhrer in battle, it looks like he is summoning this Persona as his own. However, that isn’t the case since Nyarlathotep is more like the mastermind behind everything. He is the cause of the power of the rumors. He is essentially controlling the resurrected Fuhrer to do his bidding.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin Boss Battle Guide

Unfortunately, if you want to complete Innocent Sin, you must face the Fuhrer in battle. He is one of the final bosses in the game, so he is moderately strenuous. I would say that there are some more challenging boss fights in the game that you have to worry about, but this is a decently tough one.

Of course, I would like to take this moment to once again recommend that players just watch the cutscenes for Persona 2: Innocent Sin on YouTube or something. The story is genuinely pretty good, Nazis aside, and ranks up there with the better Persona plots.

Ignoring the entire controversy of this boss battle for a moment, I am still not a massive fan of the gameplay. I didn’t think it held up a decade ago when I played it for the first time, so it is only more true now. But if you want to do this fight anyway, so be it.

The general idea is that you must ensure that you are adequately prepared for this fight. That is where I come in to help you out with this battle. If you want to take down the Fuhrer once and for all as I do, then here’s what you need to do to succeed in this fight.

How to Prepare for the Fight

Before you begin the fight, there are a few key points that you should know about to properly prepare for this challenging boss battle. Keep in mind that the Fuhrer is level 63 when you battle him. This is a decently high level but one that you might already be at by the time you reach the center of Xibalba.

If not, this dungeon is one of the better places in the game to grind for more levels and experience. I find that it is also really the last place in the game to grind, and it is one of the better ones, too. Though grinding can be annoying, it is part of the experience with this sort of older JRPG.

In general, my recommendation is always to be at least level 63 for this fight. But suppose you are only matching the level of the Fuhrer. In that case, you will probably be pretty screwed if you don’t have some amazing Personas and items to help you out.

My recommendation is to have around level 70, if possible. Even level 75 would be better if you can manage to get to that point, which could take even more grinding in the final dungeon. The reason for this is that this final segment of the game is a bit of a gauntlet, so you want to make sure you’re ready. Plus, this is welcome if you want to engage in the optional endgame content.

Tips for Winning

Like I already mentioned, if you have good Personas and are at the right level, the Fuhrer fight is a decent challenge but nothing too crazy. There are harder fights in other Persona games, especially this game’s sequel, Eternal Punishment.

The general idea is to be ready for the attacks that Fuhrer has, which are extremely powerful. He only has a few skills at his disposal. Still, they are pretty powerful and can be frustrating in specific scenarios. I recommend using Personas that have resistance to dark and electricity.

Those are the two elements that Fuhrer uses that you are able to somewhat mitigate and avoid in battle. They are also the main two that he uses that can deal some devastating damage. The same goes for sword attacks, but this may not be as easy for you to avoid.

When it comes to his attacks, the Holy Ark and Vril-Blitz deal some heavy damage using both electric and dark elements. However, there is the almighty damage that you can’t really avoid. This makes Holy Ark one of the more devastating skills that Fuhrer uses, but this is something that you just have to heal through the best that you can.

Omega Cluster is another dark skill, but the problem here is that it has a chance of instantly killing your party. This can be detrimental to your team in this fight, which is why picking your Personas carefully is crucial here. However, none of these compare to the final skill you need to know about: Holy Lance.

The problem with Holy Lance is not necessarily the high sword damage that it deals with but the fact that it will seal your Persona for a time. This can render your healer or best skills useless if an unfortunate party member is targeted.

Outside of that, the only other skill you need to worry about is Holy Grail. When the Fuhrer uses this ability, he will be immune for a period of time ranging from one to three turns. During this time, don’t waste your time trying to attack or deal damage. Focus solely on recovery and getting ready for when the Holy Grail disappears.

PS1 Version vs PSP Remake of Persona 2

Persona 2: Innocent Sin originally came out in 1999 for the PlayStation 1. When this happened, the landscape of media was a little bit different. The internet was still young, and social media was a far-off thought at this point. So, the controversy of having Adolf Hitler in the game, I guess, wasn’t really a concern.

As such, things changed a lot with this section of the game when the PSP remake came out more than a decade later. There are some distinct changes that you should know about, even if they were, unfortunately, not enough in the end.

First off, the name is the most important part. Literally, in Japanese, his name in the PS1 version is Adolf Hitler, not at all trying to hide the fact of who this person is. This was extremely problematic, and it was changed simply to Fuhrer in the PSP remake to at least not directly reference his name.

In addition, there were certain Nazi symbols that were used in this area that was featured in the original PS1 title but removed in the PSP remake. All good changes, but there was still a lot more that could have been done.

Lastly, there are changes to Fuhrer’s appearance. His outfit is primarily the same, but he wears sunglasses in the PSP version. I don’t really get what Atlus was going for, as if hiding his eyes would make anything better at all. I mean, his mustache remained the same, so it’s not like they were trying that hard to hide the clear inspiration for the character.

FAQs 

Conclusion

I won’t stop giving Atlus some flack for the poor decision of bringing the Fuhrer back for Persona 2: Innocent Sin. The changes that I mentioned were made to the PSP remake over a decade ago did little to rectify the foolish situation, in my opinion. It would’ve been better to replace the character with someone else entirely, as the name change didn’t do anything at all.

This is one blemish that will forever be on the record of Atlus and Sega as a whole since it shouldn’t have been allowed in the first place. That person only makes sense in smartly chosen stories that either depicts the real events of World War II or change them up with intelligently-written alternate histories like in the case of The Man in the High Castle. It sucks, too, because the Persona 2 games have one of the better overall plots in the series, besides this notorious part.

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Cody Perez

Cody is a writer who discovered the Persona series about 10 years ago. As a huge Pokemon fan growing up, he was recommended to check it out on his PSP. He started with the very first game and when in sequential order before catching up with Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden cemented his love for the series. He was proud to be able to eventually spread his passion into the Shin Megami Tensei series and be there in time for the launch of Persona 5, which is one of his favorite games of all time.

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