It took me a long time to beat Persona 3. Way back in 2012, I picked up it up, enjoyed it, and then got frustrated and put it down. In 2013, I picked it up again, and this time got further and enjoyed it even more. However, in surprisingly meta turn of events, due to my real life student schedule I had to put it down.
2014. I download from the PSN store, determined to this time finish. And I did.
And it was magnificent. Let me break it down for you, dear reader.
The gameplay is excellent. Both the "social link" and "Tartarus" parts of the game are well formulated, accessible, challenging, and surprisingly inventive. The battle system is familiar to anyone familiar with turn based JRPG's, but with the extra twist of the press turn or "one more" system, that gives extra hits for weaknesses.
The fusion system for personas makes the game REALLY hard to put down. So many combinations, and when you keep doing it, the increase in strength feels tangible. The game's level progression is excellent, and even if there IS quite a lot of grinding, there are plenty of places to grind, so it's never "difficult" to level up when you need to.
The social side of the game is also great. The characters you interact with are all fleshed out, believeable, and likeable (mostly) so you'll want to max links anyway, even if there wasn't persona levels to be gained.
The story is also great. Operating in an almost Buffy the Vampire slayer style, a group of high school students must fight "shadows" during the dark hour, a time most do not know exists. From this premise, we get plenty of great characters and several genuinely shocking twists. Don't wanna spoil it for people who don't want to know though. It has a very beautiful ending.
The graphics are amazing for the PS2, making the very best of the system, and the music is godlike thanks to Shoji Meguro's genius.
I now need to play Persona 4, for comparison and well, fun.
Oh, and watch the new movies based on this game.
Anyway, ciao! Buy this game. It's only £7.99 or whatever your country's equivalent on the PSN, so you have no excuse not to play it.
On another note, the final boss gives some great life advice.
So this is the only Persona i've played so far.....
And I will have to make amends to change that.
It took me a long time to beat Persona 3. Way back in 2012, I picked up it up, enjoyed it, and then got frustrated and put it down. In 2013, I picked it up again, and this time got further and enjoyed it even more. However, in surprisingly meta turn of events, due to my real life student schedule I had to put it down.
2014. I download from the PSN store, determined to this time finish. And I did.
And it was magnificent. Let me break it down for you, dear reader.
The gameplay is excellent. Both the "social link" and "Tartarus" parts of the game are well formulated, accessible, challenging, and surprisingly inventive. The battle system is familiar to anyone familiar with turn based JRPG's, but with the extra twist of the press turn or "one more" system, that gives extra hits for weaknesses.
The fusion system for personas makes the game REALLY hard to put down. So many combinations, and when you keep doing it, the increase in strength feels tangible. The game's level progression is excellent, and even if there IS quite a lot of grinding, there are plenty of places to grind, so it's never "difficult" to level up when you need to.
The social side of the game is also great. The characters you interact with are all fleshed out, believeable, and likeable (mostly) so you'll want to max links anyway, even if there wasn't persona levels to be gained.
The story is also great. Operating in an almost Buffy the Vampire slayer style, a group of high school students must fight "shadows" during the dark hour, a time most do not know exists. From this premise, we get plenty of great characters and several genuinely shocking twists. Don't wanna spoil it for people who don't want to know though. It has a very beautiful ending.
The graphics are amazing for the PS2, making the very best of the system, and the music is godlike thanks to Shoji Meguro's genius.
I now need to play Persona 4, for comparison and well, fun.
Oh, and watch the new movies based on this game.
Anyway, ciao! Buy this game. It's only £7.99 or whatever your country's equivalent on the PSN, so you have no excuse not to play it.
On another note, the final boss gives some great life advice.