I'm staring at "Persona 1 Origins" and "Persona 2 Duality" merch from Atlus and willing myself to believe that the OG PS1 JRPGs are finally making a comeback

Earlier today, Atlus announced a new line of merch themed around the first two Persona games. That announcement broke a lot of hearts thanks to some awkward phrasing that made it sound like the OG titles were getting a modern re-release, but those hopes aren't entirely dead. Atlus has applied some new branding to those PS1 JRPGs that's almost got me willing to believe something bigger is on the way.

"Persona and Persona 2: Innocent Sin / Persona 2: Eternal Punishment are coming to Amazon," Atlus proudly exclaimed on Twitter. You can probably see why a number of Persona fans were annoyed when they realized that the publisher meant a selection of merch – shirts, mugs, hats, and the like – based on those games is now available rather than new re-releases.

But here's the weird thing: all that merchandise is listed under the names "Persona 1 Origins" and "Persona 2 Duality." Those are not titles the original games have ever gone by. Maybe it's just some kind of branding update, and it probably means nothing, but… As we continue to get more and more remakes and remasters of older Persona titles, I can't help but find myself hoping that the original games are in line for similar love.

Both these games were previously remade for PSP, but that's the most modern platform they're officially available on. If you want to play them these days, you're either going to be spending a whole lot of money on eBay or dipping into the world of piracy, and it's tough to stomach the idea that there are no other options. Especially when other Persona games are getting such lavish modern versions.

Persona 4 Revival is on the way, and that's a notable factor as I try to reckon with how plausible Persona 1 and 2 comebacks really are. I very much doubt that Atlus would be working on multiple full-scale remakes simultaneously, but something smaller – maybe a modern version of those PSP remakes, like when Persona 3 Portable came to current platforms – feels very possible. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

You can't argue with our rankings of the best Persona games or the best JRPGs.