Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

1. SexyTractorDsco

   Jun 26, 2020

   10

   One of the best games ever man. The fact that it got bombed for no reason is some bull

   • 3 of 5 users found this helpful
2. Kyle34

   Dec 29, 2013

   10

   Excellent music and great characters make this game truly satisfying from beginning to end. The game can be extremely unforgiving if someoneExcellent music and great characters make this game truly satisfying from beginning to end. The game can be extremely unforgiving if someone wants to get 100% completion on their first play through but, do not let that deter you. The boss battles are very challenging and the combat is fluid and makes leveling up less of a grind.10/10.… Expand

   • 0 of 2 users found this helpful
4. DarkwingSchmuck

   Mar 5, 2022

   10

   Persona 3 didn't just reinvent the Persona series, it set a new standard for JRPGs; a standard that no other franchise has matched still toPersona 3 didn't just reinvent the Persona series, it set a new standard for JRPGs; a standard that no other franchise has matched still to this day. Persona 3 is a stylish game that took the unlikely combination of sim life and dungeon crawler and merged it into something far better than the sum of its parts. Furthermore, every aspect of the game's design -- from story, structure, characterization, battle system, dungeon design, social links, etc. -- are all finely crafted to fit with the game's overall themes.
   
   Match all this with an engrossing narrative from start to finish in what could easily hit triple-digit hours, and what you had was the very best RPG on the PS2.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
5. TonyJ.

   Aug 14, 2007

   9

   Below are my thoughts on Persona 3 after completing about 45 hours of the game. While not a review per se, most of what I would cover within Below are my thoughts on Persona 3 after completing about 45 hours of the game. While not a review per se, most of what I would cover within one is handled here. I'm not going to bother getting into things such as how the battles work or that the game uses randomized dungeon layouts. What I do want to get into is what makes Persona 3 a good game and trying to give some concept of what makes it fun and what about it seems to work so well. You play as a student in a Japanese high school with the ability to summon Personae. Becoming a member of an elite group of Persona users known as SEES, you fight against the … Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. EW7783

   Oct 15, 2017

   9

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Persona 3 combines Life Simulation & Role-Playing Game (RPG) genres, making it a unique gaming experience. It falls under the JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game) genre with games like ‘Final Fantasy’ or the ‘Tales of’ series, due to the Japanese anime style of the characters & Japanese setting. It was released by Atlus for PS2 in 2007 with a Mature (16+) rating. It is a long journey, spanning 70+ hours. Due to the way the game is paced, with one day leading directly into the next, it is easy to get trapped in very long play sessions. Some segments last over an hour without a place to save. If you die, you go back to the last save, so I recommend playing on easy on the first run, as you get 10 ‘Plume Of Dusk’ items which revive your whole party, restoring all HP/SP, these can’t be bought after they’re used, so use them sparingly!
   
   The game is centred around the trials & tribulations of Japanese high school life, where you spend the day developing ‘Social Links’ with classmates & others you meet in the town of Tatsumi Port Island. By night you & your team fight monsters (‘Shadows’) to save the world.
   The main mechanic is the ability to evoke a ‘Persona’. Personas are a ‘manifestation of one’s psyche’ (a part of your personality manifested into real form). There are 170 personas that the protagonist can obtain & make use of, due to his ‘Wild Card’ nature. Other persona users can only access 1 persona – methods of this include cards in ‘shuffle time’ at the end of battles & when using the ‘Velvet Room’ where you can fuse personas to make others. Personas can be levelled up by Social Links, relationships the protagonist makes through the course of the game. Each one has an ‘arcana’ (corresponding to tarot cards) & are levelled up the more you talk to people during life simulation periods. Social Links are like real relationships, you want to spend enough time with the person so the link doesn’t become reversed, preventing you from levelling up personas of that arcana until it is fixed. However, this can also happen if you spend too much time with that person, making it a complex balance. The game has a dark atmosphere, including the method that party members evoke their personas, putting the evoker (an instrument closely resembling a gun) to their head & pulling the trigger. One of the main aspects is the mysterious Dark Hour, said to fall between one day & the next. During this time normal humans are transmogrified into coffins, all electrics cease to work, besides those modified to, & all liquids turn blood red. Those transmogrified remain blissfully unaware of the hours’ presence, but S.E.E.S can experience this hour & use this time to defeat enemies (Shadows) in their nest, known as Tartarus, the main dungeon in the game. The Shadows came about with the Dark Hour & feed on the psyche of humans who have been lured out of their coffins.
   
   The protagonist is a 17 year old Japanese school boy who has the ability to use a persona, at the start you are asked to join a ‘school club’ called S.E.E.S (the Specialised Extra-curricular Execution Squad) a group of persona users you are living in the dorm with. S.E.E.S expands over the course of the game, eventually encompassing persona users of many types that are strong & weak to different abilities.
   
   Battles occur when you hit an enemy or an enemy hits you, taking you to a separate screen. During a battle you can use persona specific abilities: Bufu (ice), Garu (wind), Agi (fire), Zio (electricity), Light, Dark & Almighty. Abilities that characters can equip through various weapons & that personas can also have are strike, slash & pierce attacks – physical attacks demonstrated during the powerful ‘All-Out Attack’ you can perform once all enemies have been knocked down by having their weakness exposed. You can find these out by asking your out of field scouter to analyse the enemies.
   The games’ graphics aren’t as good as other PS2 titles of the time, Final Fantasy X (2001) graphics far excel those of Persona 3. In addition, colours appear quite washed out, mainly being dirty greens/reds during the dark hour. Black looks more green, seen on enemies crawling the dungeon floor, & white looks more grey as seen on character uniforms/floor tiles. However, animated cut-scenes & drawn elements look stunning. The graphics don’t really hold your understanding of the game back, as character emotions are expressed in drawn portraits above their speech & convenient over head emoticons (exclamation marks/sweat drops).
   
   Overall, Persona 3 is a great game, with an in depth story & developed & unique characters. I would definitely recommend it to JRPG fans & also dungeon–crawler fans who are looking for a new experience.… Expand

   • 3 of 4 users found this helpful
7. Rox22

   Feb 14, 2014

   9

   I suppose the biggest problem I had with this game was that I played Persona 4 first. Because of that I feel my experience of the game was notI suppose the biggest problem I had with this game was that I played Persona 4 first. Because of that I feel my experience of the game was not what it could have been.
   
   It is clear that this game is the game before Persona 4 as all the same mechanics are there, just in a far more raw form. I did really want to like this as much as I did P4, but I just could not get past the flaws that I think I wouldn't of noticed had I not played P4 first.
   
   Story wise it is on par with P4. The narrative is deeply engaging, but perhaps a little too transparent at times.
   
   Most of the characters are well developed and interesting, however not as flushed out as in P4. I never felt any deep connection to any of the characters, at least not to the same degree as I did for the P4 cast. I suppose it could be because there are perhaps far too many character and your time is spent to spread out to really feel a strong connection to each individually.
   
   Combat is practically the same as P4 however clearly an earlier stage. The inability to directly control anyone except the main character is deeply annoying at times. If anything, it helps you appreciate the P4 system even more.
   
   In game visuals are on par with P4 but the Anime cut scenes are clearly inferior.
   
   Soundtrack is OK, but doesn't feel as ...... personal as P4's.
   
   To round up. I know this sounds like me bashing on the game, but in truth I'm not. P3 is a fantastic game and if not for it, P4 would never have been. I just wish I could go back and play them in the right order.
   
   Overall:
   A great game, that is a little rough around the edges, but worthy of any JRPG fan's collection.… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful
8. Kingdomhear

   Nov 12, 2020

   0

   Noioso e scritto male come gli altri capitoli della saga...recensioni alte solo per vendere giochi da serie d...tutti i dungeonNoioso e scritto male come gli altri capitoli della saga...recensioni alte solo per vendere giochi da serie d...tutti i dungeon identici...almeno sforzarsi a cambiare un po...esteticamente vuoto… Expand

   • 0 of 4 users found this helpful

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