"Welcome to the Velvet Room."
Igor is a recurring important figure in the Persona series. His role is crucial in every Persona protagonist's journey.
Appearances
- Megami Ibunroku Persona
- Persona 2: Innocent Sin
- Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
- Persona 3 / FES / Portable
- Persona -trinity soul-
- Persona 4 / Golden
- Persona 4 Arena
- Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
- Persona 5: Fool Confidant
- Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: Mentioned
Design
Igor has the appearance of a bizarre old man with a long nose, pointed ears and bulging, bloodshot eyes. He wears a black suit with white gloves.
In Persona -trinity soul-, he wears a black robe with a theatrical comedy mask.
Personality
While presenting himself as a mere servant of Philemon, Igor seems to be far more than this. He was originally a doll handmade by a mysterious person, who became alive thanks to a magic ritual. Because of that, Igor ponders upon the question of whether he is merely a doll or perhaps even human. Thus, he shows an interest in human beings. Further on, he creates Margaret, Elizabeth, Theodore, and Lavenza, as assistants who pursue similar questions in life to assist him in the Velvet Room.
In every Persona game to date, Igor has played the role of Proprietor of the Velvet Room, a space which transcends both dream and reality. As the proprietor, Igor provides insight to the protagonists regarding their powers, emotional bonds, and possible dangers that await them in their journey. Igor also provides the vital services of Persona fusion, which allows the creation of vastly more powerful Personas from preexisting ones; and the use of the Persona Compendium, which allows previously created and/or acquired Personas to be recalled at a later time.
Despite his rather striking appearance, Igor bears a calm and courteous demeanor while speaking with the protagonists. Though the well-being of the protagonists is important to him, he reserves the disclosure of certain information for more "timely" points in the story. During conversations concerning the protagonists’ actions, Igor opts for rather cryptic comments that tend to foreshadow coming events and possibly the outcome of the story as a whole, regardless of whether or not those comments are at the time understood (which may be his intent). This suggests that Igor may have near-omniscience, though by his own admission, there are things that even he can't foresee.
Profile
Megami Ibunroku Persona
Igor is the mysterious proprietor of the Velvet Room. In Persona, Igor calls himself "a servant of Philemon." He is always found in The Velvet Room between consciousness and unconsciousness, alongside Nameless and Belladona. He uses a phone made of bone to call up Personas from the depths of the soul.
Persona 2
Igor remains mostly unchanged. He is still a servant of Philemon and he handles Persona summoning in much the same way. Nameless and Belladona return, only this time they are joined by the Demon Painter. Outside of Persona summoning and dismissal, Igor tends for a brief while to Ulala Serizawa following her bout of Joker insanity, warning her to be careful with her emotions lest the Joker power return.
Persona 3
Igor is no longer seen with the phone but he still handles Persona fusion through the use of cards. Additionally, Nameless, Belladona and the Demon Painter are absent; instead, Igor is accomapanied by an assistant named Elizabeth. Only the protagonist can enter the Velvet Room, and he does so for the first time in a dream. None of the other Persona users can see the entrance to the Velvet Room. The protagonist signs a contract with Pharos and Igor at the start of the game agreeing to take responsibility for his actions. Philemon is never mentioned.
Portable
Igor's role remains the same in the portable remake of Persona 3. Players choosing the female route may choose to switch Elizabeth out for Theodore.
The Answer
Igor gives a key to Aigis and allows her access to his and Elizabeth's services.
He displays a small amount of kindness towards Aigis, commenting that they are both similar beings, referencing his origins as a doll given life by Philemon.
A Certain Day of Summer
Igor decides to reward the protagonist by reviewing memories of past events. The first event is something that happened after the trip to Yakushima.
Persona -trinity soul-
"We meet again. Where your body and mind have been offered once before... Right now.. you have a chance of a random thing taken from your home and will be returned tomorrow. You have already awakened..."
He is one of the few game characters to appear in the anime Persona -trinity soul-, appearing to Shin Kanzato and Takuro Sakakiba in dreams. Shin Kanzato has a clay statue of Igor that he sculpted.
Persona 4
Igor is seen with a new assistant named Margaret. Igor has the same role in this game as in Persona 3 guiding the protagonist. In Persona 4: Golden, the two are also joined by Marie, who serves as an apprentice.
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Igor is mentioned by Elizabeth, who states he has left the Velvet Room on the day the protagonist enters. His disappearance results in the room being unstable, and has Theodore tasked with aiding his sister while he is away.
During a Stroll after entering Inaba Pride Exhibit Night 2, Elizabeth mentions that she feels like she's growing weaker by the moment while Igor is absent from the Velvet Room.
Persona 5
"Trickster... Welcome to my Velvet Room."
Igor once again retains his role as the proprietor of the Velvet Room, and now is aided by twin assistants: Caroline and Justine.
He first appears shortly after the protagonist arrives at the curry and coffee Cafe Leblanc, welcoming him to his Velvet Room, with the twins telling the protagonist that he is still asleep in the real world. Caroline scolds him to stand up straight as Igor is present. Igor greets him, explaining that the Velvet Room is a place that exists between dream and reality, and is only accessible to those who have, in some form, made a contract. He then explains that he brought the protagonist here in order to discuss an important matter that will affect his life. He also expresses surprise at the state of the Velvet Room, mentioning that its form represents the state of the guest's heart. Igor also refers to the protagonist as a "Prisoner of Fate," and that destruction awaits him in the future.
Igor informs him that there is a way to avoid that destruction, stating that he must be "rehabilitated into a free man." He also asks the protagonist if he is ready to fight against the world's corruption. After the protagonist gives his answer, Igor expresses his delight, saying that he will observe the miracle of his "rehabilitation." He then introduces his newest attendants: Caroline and Justine, his prison guards. Caroline tells him that fighting is pointless, whereas Justine informs him that, as his guard, it is their duty to protect him, but only if he is obedient. Igor states that he will explain the twins' importance another time, as dawn has already approached in the real world.
Igor is also a Confidant in the game, serving as the Fool Confidant specifically. His Confidant allows the protagonist to engage in negotiation with demons, bonus experience for fusions, the use of the Third Eye skill, as well as increase his Persona stock capacity.
During the final dungeon of the game, it is revealed that the Igor the protagonist had been interacting with the entire story is actually an almighty being named Yaldabaoth. Yaldabaoth imprisoned Igor in Mementos and took up the appearance of Igor to test humanity to see if they were worthy of being able to live their lives of their own volition or be ruled by a being of order. To further conceal his identity, he also split Lavenza into the twin wardens, causing both to lose memories of his masquerade. After Yaldabaoth manipulates the masses into believing that the Phantom Thieves do not exist, he merges Mementos with the real world, causing everyone's manipulated cognition to make the Phantom Thieves actually cease to exist. Back in the Velvet Room, Igor informs the protagonist that they failed to change the hearts of the people and the world is destined for ruination. However, the protagonist restores the Twin Wardens back into their original form, Lavenza, and exposes "Igor's identity.
After Yaldabaoth leaves to complete his plan, the real Igor reappears back in the Velvet Room and formally greets the protagonist for the first time. Despite the fact that the masses' congnition denies the Phantom Thieves' existance, Igor reveals that the Phantom Thieves were merely held in special cells within the Velvet Room.The protagonist talks to his fellow thieves and spur them back into action. The last thief, Morgana, is nowhere to be found, whereupon Igor reveals that Morgana is a special existence that he created as a last ditch effort to guide the protagonist through his journey before he is captured. Igor tasks the Phantom Thieves with one final heist, steal the heart of Yaldabaoth. Overseeing their final battle, Yaldabaoth ruefully admits that Igor was right about humanity before returning to his original form of the Holy Grail. In the victory of their battle, Igor congratulates the protagonist for overcoming a perilous ordeal and calls him an exceptional guest before the Velvet Room vanishes having fulfilled its duty on the protagonist's journey.
In the staff roll, False Igor's voice actor is not credited as performing Igor but "Warden."
Confidant
"Indeed. You should be prepared to use even myself, or your ambitions will not come to fruition. *chuckle* We have a deal then."
Igor's Confidant ranks up automatically since April 12th as the story progresses. Maxing this Confidant unlocks the fusion of Vishnu.
| Rank | Available | Ability | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 12th | Wild Talk | Allows you to negotiate with Shadows after performing a Hold Up. |
| Arcana Burst | Earn bonus EXP when fusing Personas based on their arcana's Confidant rank. | ||
| 2 | Persona Fusion tutorial | Third Eye | See things normally visible to the naked eye by pressing the L1 button. |
| 3 | May 5th | Power Stock | Increases your Persona stock to 8 slots. |
| 4 | Clear Madarame's Palace | - | - |
| 5 | June 11th | Super Stock | Increases your Persona stock to 10 slots. |
| 6 | Clear Kaneshiro's Palace | High Arcana Burst | Increases the EXP bonus granted by Arcana Burst. |
| 7 | August 22nd | - | - |
| 8 | August 31st | Ultra Stock | Increases your Persona stock to 12 slots. |
| 9 | October 11th | - | - |
| 10 | December 24th - Expose Yaldabaoth | Max Arcana Burst | Greatly increases the EXP granted by Arcana Burst. |
Persona 5 The Animation The Day Breakers
"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. For just a fleeting moment, I gave you a glimpse of the future. But that was just one possibility... What kind of story you will weave from here on in... That is up to you. Let me ask again... Prisoner. What is your name?"
Igor gives the protagonist a vision of one of the many possible futures. He tells him what kind of story will be up to the protagonist. He refers the protagonist as the prisoner and asks for his name.
Gallery
| Megami Ibunroku Persona | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Igor's bone telephone.
Igor's portrait from Megami Ibunroku Persona
Igor as he appears in the Megami Ibunroku Persona manga
Art
Igor in the Velvet Room in Megami Ibunroku Persona
Igor in the Velvet Room in Persona
|
| Persona 2 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Igor's portrait from Persona 2: Innocent Sin
Igor as he appears in Persona: Tsumi to Batsu
Igor in the Velvet Room in Persona 2
Igor and Vulcanus
Igor sitting
|
| Persona 3 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Igor's portrait from Persona 3
Igor in the Velvet Room
Concept artwork from Persona 3 The Movie
Igor's design from Persona 3 The Movie
Illustration countdown of Spring of Birth
Igor in Persona 3 The Movie
Igor in Persona 3 The Movie
|
| Persona 4 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Igor in the Velvet Room
Concept artwork from Persona 4 The Animation
Igor in Persona 4 The Animation
Igor's design in Persona 4 The Golden Animation
|
| Persona ~Trinity Soul~ | ||
|---|---|---|
Igor in Persona -trinity soul-
|
| Persona 5 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Illustration artwork of Igor, Caroline, Justine and the protagonist
Theme
Igor in anime cutscene of Persona 5
Portrait
Portrait
The false Igor, confronted by the protagonist and Lavenza.
Igor in the Persona 5 manga adaption
|
Trivia
- Igor's Japanese voice actor Isamu Tanonaka was best known for his voice-over for Medama Oyaji (Eyeball Father) in the anime series GeGeGe no Kitaro. The choice of Igor's voice actor could be related to the age and the salient eyeball of the character. Tanonaka died at the age of 77 on January 13, 2010 of a heart attack.[1]
- Although Persona 4 The Animation was produced after Tanonaka's death, the Japanese staff roll lists him as a "special cast" for Igor. The animation reuses the audio data from the original game instead of recording new voices.[2] This continues into Persona 3 The Movies and Persona 5, with Tanonaka being listed as Igor's voice actor. In Persona 5, after the protagonist meets Igor at the end of the game, he speaks with reused lines from previous games and is muted on new dialogues.
- While Dan Woren, the iconic English voice actor for Igor, has seen his voice clips reused as well, Igor's English voice acting situation has been very different compared to his Japanese one. New lines for Igor in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax were provided by Vic Mignogna, and while the Japanese version of Persona 5 simply reused Isamu Tanonaka's voice clips for when Igor appears at the end, the English version provides Igor with another new voice actor, Kirk Thornton.
- Another Japanese voice actor who played Igor was Takeshi Aono in the Drama CD Persona 2: Innocent Sin ~ The Errors of Their Youth. However, in May 2010, Aono was hospitalized due to the heart attack and stroke. He eventually passed away on April 9, 2012.
- Igor's name, along with Margaret, Elizabeth, Theodore, Lavenza, Caroline and Justine may come from Frankenstein, though Igor was a later addition and did not appear in Mary Shelley's original novel.
- As stated above, Igor functions as the Fool Confidant with the protagonist, the Fool Arcana is usually associated with the protagonist's party, examples being S.E.E.S of Persona 3 and the Investigation Team of Persona 4.
- Even though the Confidant was forged with the Fake Igor/Yaldabaoth, the game continues to treat Igor as if he and the protagonist had forged a bond.
- Along with the change of voice and inability to create Personas himself, another more subtle hint as to False Igor's identity occurs whenever he greets the Persona 5 Protagonist, saying "Welcome to my Velvet Room," as opposed to "the Velvet Room."
- According to the Persona World guide, every visitant of the Velvet Room is aware and initially taken aback by Igor's overly long nose. However, none of them dare to mention that.
- According to Lavenza, the protagonist of Persona 5 is the first person in history to have saved Igor.