[Time once more for the Badass of the Month Club, wherein the staff highlights a character or industry figure of noteworthy badassery.]
There he sits, silent, smug, smiling, with the crooked fingers of his hands crossed and his skinny legs folded. He projects an air of importance and knowledge, yet still seems to be an approachable individual, despite his unconventional looks, which manage to come off as both sly and wise. His pointed ears and bushy eyebrows seem to fall just beyond the bounds of what could be considered normal human features. Oh, and his nose. His nose is so unnaturally long that it could be considered perverse.
He sits on a vintage couch lined with plush violet velvet, in front of a table lined with the same material, set on a carpet of the same. This otherworldly Velvet Room is the only place you'll find this man, alongside his lovely and elegant assistant. They both wait for you in place that you can only guess is beyond sleep, beyond consciousness.
This is the only time you'll meet with Igor.
We have no need for the muscle-bound, gun/sword toting brute meatheaded club members, as there's too many already. How about an intellectual for a change? How about a Badass whose depth comes from his character and not his physical ability. That's the Persona series' Igor for you.
There's no point in telling Igor anything. You see, he probably already knows. He knows what's going to happen to you and he knows what you've already done. He's like your own personal big-nosed Santa Claus, except for instead of giving you gifts, he gives you demons.
How does Igor know everything? Who knows. He's certainly not letting on, and he's not the type that would even let you know what's going to happen to you anyway. While he hasn't said much on the topic, he seems to be serving a higher power, and you kind of get the feeling that he's not allowed to divulge much. Series fans might remember the masked man at the beginning of the first Persona game; that man is believed to be Igor's boss. But he's a butterfly, and nowhere near the badass that Igor is.
Igor in his office.
What makes Igor so great? How about the power he commands over every beast and devil ever? He has some command over time and space, and he does it all while seated. The persona you collect on your quests can be taken to him to be whipped up into something bigger and better. And the end result? His creations? He's like a short-order cook in speed, but a prize-winning chef in quality. You can't question the badassness of a being that can create Beelzebub, Lucifer, and Satan, among others. Or, if you're a goody two-shoes, someone called Messiah. He may be a scrawny old man, but I don't think you'd want to mess with someone that can conjure these forces with only cards and a velvet lined table.
Butterfly/mask man must be impressed with the work Igor has done in the past few Persona episodes, because there seems to be some side benefits that have trickled down to the Velvet Room's proprietor. While he used to work alone, Igor now has lovely assistants. First, he was aided by the delicious Elizabeth in Persona 3. Later, in Persona 4, he was joined by the lovely Margaret. Both acted as personal assistants to Igor, doing what used to be his work, leaving him the time to kick back and relax and listen to his favorite piano and vocal song on repeat. Oh, and did you know that Igor has a fully-stocked limousine now, complete with ride-in assistant? He sure has worked his way up the corporate ladder. Sure beats working from an elevator!
Such a badass. Look at him!
In the end, Igor is a well-dressed (nice suit, pocket square, tie), large-living power player that works for some crazy mega-deity that makes sure he gets the hottest secretaries and best offices ever. Forget the whole full command of time and space thing: I mean, the guy's got the best eyebrows in the business, hands down. And his nose. Can't forget the nose.
You know what they say about guys with big noses, right?
Contest:
4:20 PM on 06.17.2009
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I'm actually surprised. I played persona 4 the whole way through to the best ending, and not once did he have an accident.
In Persona 3 on the other hand, he seemed to mess up whenever I didn't have a social link. >:(
And as for his boss, Philemon? Even though he doesn't appear that often, I wouldn't downplay his importance. Igor is the more likeable and iconic character (and more badass), but Philemon has much more significance. His name is a reference to a character in Carl Jung's mind, a "spirit guide." Jung questioned whether he was less than sane, but came to the conclusion that Philemon represented a force that wasn't quite himself, but resided in his consciousness, opening the way for his theory of collective unconsciousness. In this regard, the character of Philemon, who would give you your "important" or "canonical" personas, has actual meaning, while Igor is just a cool character who has less meaning.
At least, that's what I've gathered so far. I'm playing both halves of Persona 2, and have 3 and 4 waiting for me later this year. It just irks me to see so much focus on the recent installments and see little love or recognition for what I consider to be a stunning story so far.
Now lets talk a bigger badass. Victor, the vampiric, time travelling/immortal/dimension hopping, demon fusing, weapon making, electric harnessing, mad scientist, pirate, captain, person from the Devil Summoner series.
Always look for the Blue Butterfly -_0
Igor's a bad-ass. He's such a Bad-ass that he fucks up my fusions all day, in full knowledge that I'm going to reload and make him do it again because he's a useless bastard, and he fucks it up again.
I once chucked in 3 crappy level 65-70 Persona and got a kick-ass Satan through his fuck up once though, so It's not all bad.