Fan of RPGs? Want a game that will last you for a summer? Then look no further. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is just the game for you; not only will it keep you occupied for a while, it challenges you and makes you think in a way that ensures you won't soon forget this Atlus title.
Persona 3 follows a male character, which you can name, that just transferred to a new high school in Tokyo. (Note: In the PSP version, you can choose between a girl or a boy character.) Shortly after, strange things start happening. At first people just go missing, but then unexplained murders start occurring. In due course, you find out about the Dark Hour, which occurs every night at midnight. It's a hidden hour, during which the world is stuck in-between dimensions. Most humans are transformed into beasts and coffins at this time, and thus they are unaware of what is happening. Turning into a coffin every night would be boring, though, so of course, the main character isn't one of these "normal" people.
The main character becomes a part of a group called S.E.E.S. (Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad), which tries to identify the purpose of these beasts, or shadows, that appear during the Dark Hour. They also want to eliminate them as a threat to the human world. As such, gameplay is divided into night and day. You have to continue to go to school while you fight these shadows, but instead of being an annoyance, this is actually an integral part of the game. Your other S.E.E.S. members also go to school, and it is during this time that you can build relationships or social links with them. This in turn strengthens your abilities that you use to fight the shadows at night. You have personal stats as well, such as charm, academics, and courage, which effect how the game will turn out. You will be faced with decisions, and you will have to set priorities of who and what you want the most. How you relate with people and how you play the game are left entirely up to your discretion.
The battle system is turn based, and is a lot like any other RPG. You have normal attacks and magic (or Persona) attacks. Each person you acquire has different strengths and weaknesses. You have to pick your party members and equipped spells in order to best exploit the enemies' weaknesses. As mentioned before, the battle-system is standard, but well done. The only irritating thing is that you can only control the main character. While you can give commands to suggest what your teammates do, whether they follow them, or if they just stupidly make the wrong decisions, well... that's uncertain. For the most part, if you set a team member to heal, they will heal. However, there have been instances where even though I asked someone to heal me, they instead decided to attack, and I died. This was rare though, and was easily fixed with a resurrection item.
All in all, I thoroughly recommend Persona 3. Yes, it's a standard, straight-forward RPG, but it's so well done it will remind you of why you got into RPGs in the first place. The story is fantastic and engaging, the characters are likeable and have depth, and the graphics are on the high-end of the PlayStation 2's capabilities. Of course that doesn't mean it's blu-ray quality, but the graphics don't make me cringe when I see them right after playing a PS3 title, either. Give it a try, and then keep your eyes peeled for Catherine, a new release (In Japan) for the PS3/360 from Atlus. [EDITORS NOTE: I'm playing it now, so look for the review sometime soon]
Persona 3 follows a male character, which you can name, that just transferred to a new high school in Tokyo. (Note: In the PSP version, you can choose between a girl or a boy character.) Shortly after, strange things start happening. At first people just go missing, but then unexplained murders start occurring. In due course, you find out about the Dark Hour, which occurs every night at midnight. It's a hidden hour, during which the world is stuck in-between dimensions. Most humans are transformed into beasts and coffins at this time, and thus they are unaware of what is happening. Turning into a coffin every night would be boring, though, so of course, the main character isn't one of these "normal" people.The main character becomes a part of a group called S.E.E.S. (Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad), which tries to identify the purpose of these beasts, or shadows, that appear during the Dark Hour. They also want to eliminate them as a threat to the human world. As such, gameplay is divided into night and day. You have to continue to go to school while you fight these shadows, but instead of being an annoyance, this is actually an integral part of the game. Your other S.E.E.S. members also go to school, and it is during this time that you can build relationships or social links with them. This in turn strengthens your abilities that you use to fight the shadows at night. You have personal stats as well, such as charm, academics, and courage, which effect how the game will turn out. You will be faced with decisions, and you will have to set priorities of who and what you want the most. How you relate with people and how you play the game are left entirely up to your discretion.
The battle system is turn based, and is a lot like any other RPG. You have normal attacks and magic (or Persona) attacks. Each person you acquire has different strengths and weaknesses. You have to pick your party members and equipped spells in order to best exploit the enemies' weaknesses. As mentioned before, the battle-system is standard, but well done. The only irritating thing is that you can only control the main character. While you can give commands to suggest what your teammates do, whether they follow them, or if they just stupidly make the wrong decisions, well... that's uncertain. For the most part, if you set a team member to heal, they will heal. However, there have been instances where even though I asked someone to heal me, they instead decided to attack, and I died. This was rare though, and was easily fixed with a resurrection item.
All in all, I thoroughly recommend Persona 3. Yes, it's a standard, straight-forward RPG, but it's so well done it will remind you of why you got into RPGs in the first place. The story is fantastic and engaging, the characters are likeable and have depth, and the graphics are on the high-end of the PlayStation 2's capabilities. Of course that doesn't mean it's blu-ray quality, but the graphics don't make me cringe when I see them right after playing a PS3 title, either. Give it a try, and then keep your eyes peeled for Catherine, a new release (In Japan) for the PS3/360 from Atlus. [EDITORS NOTE: I'm playing it now, so look for the review sometime soon]
Submitted By: Layanie Ahlers (Employee)
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