Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable

1. MKAUS

   Oct 17, 2010

   10

   My favourite PSP game yet, coming on the tail of Metal Gear and Kingdom Hearts (both of which I loved) that is a big call. I cannot recommendMy favourite PSP game yet, coming on the tail of Metal Gear and Kingdom Hearts (both of which I loved) that is a big call. I cannot recommend this game enough to RPG fans there has been proper care taken to make this PSP version as addictive and fun as the PS2 releases without making it feel watered down, and in my opinion it is the best version of all three.… Expand

   • 7 of 10 users found this helpful
2. VidyaBum

   May 19, 2015

   10

   While the lack of control of your character in the world(you control a dot which you move around and click on people to talk to them) isWhile the lack of control of your character in the world(you control a dot which you move around and click on people to talk to them) is slightly killing the great atmosphere that P3FES had, everything else is roughly the same or slightly better. Much better gameplay(which is still simplistic crap), better overall control(easier to move from room to room, lots of user-friendly buttons), and the new female protagonist adds several new social links and makes the whole game enjoyable all over again, if you can deal with the awkwardness that comes with playing as a female who actually expresses her feminity at all times.
   
   That's for the PSP speciality version.
   
   But as a whole, Persona 3 on PS2 or PSP is just about the best JRPG I have played in my entire life. It goes in a list of "best games ever" with Super Metroid or Final Fantasy VI.
   
   The greatest success of this game is without a doubt its tone and atmosphere. Persona 3 is dark. I mean really dark. It's a story of human tragedy, loss, sadness, regret, heroism, teenage life in its best sense(the learning about life sense), deep personal problems with relationships or self-image, impending doom, abandonment, deadly sickness, social violence and of course, rejecting the very desire to live further.
   
   It's a game where the characters make the most deep part of the game, as each of them is very well designed, but they all really come together as a wonderfully cohesive world, none of them ever breaking the dark and realistic tone of the game, except President Tanaka, who is over-the-top to the max, but is as enjoyable as it gets.
   
   The tone is excellently served by everything in the game, the music, the visual art style(which is kinda sucky sometimes), the characters, the story, the themes, everything in this game just screams sadness, depth and a profound love for the less side of life and human society. By itself, the tone makes this one of the best games ever.
   
   But the characters are the second most awesome part of it. From the best (Mitsuru, Akinari Kamiki, Tanaka, Shinjiro Aragaki, Aigis, Ryoji) to the least interesting (Mamoru, Kenji), there isn't a single bad apple or even a mediocre one. The least deep or most one-note characters still feel like complete and well-rounded imitations of real-life people. The social links all provide a new insight in life from a different personality, and there is no part of the social link planning that I dislike simply because no matter how much of a hassle it is to plan for all of that, the whole game is such an enjoyment for me that I never dislike the idea of planning for hours if I have to. I want all the social links at every playthrough, and it's not because of a completion spirit, it's just that they all are so good that I want to miss none.
   
   With that said, the whole soundtrack has a few flunks. Some hip-hop and jpop mixes come off as really wierd for a non-japanese like me, even as poor taste at the start; But I warmed up to all the tunes except for one or two over time. The vast majority of the soundtrack is an amazing hit though, especially songs like Brand New Days or the inevitable Aria of the Soul, which needs to be listened to on Youtube at least once if you never heard it.
   
   Graphically, it's weak. It's a late PS2 title yet FFX looks quite a lot better. Atlus doesn't have the resources of bigger devs and it shows. It's still an honest effort and the visual novel style of just showing characters' top half and faces works wonders in conversations, but it's not that great to look at as a whole.
   
   Gameplay...
   Well that's certainly THE weak point of this game. The appeal of P3FES and P3P is entirely in its glorious cast, tone and story(which I would never spoil but every plot twist and every new development of the story is just excellent), and I'd love to say that the gameplay perfectly accompanies that, but I'd be lying.
   
   In the social links gameplay, you get 1-5 lines to say while the characters talk to you all the time. It's a little weak that you can never propose anything like choosing where to go out with someone or having more conversation options. It still does the job.
   
   It's the battle system that just sucks. 4 elementals, 2 Instant death elements, 3 types of physical attacks. It's weak. It wouldn't be so weak if it was only part of the gameplay system, but because of the weak+all out attack system, it becomes the main feature of every fight.
   
   In Persona, if you can strike an enemy with the type of attack it's weak to, it'll go into a "down" or "weak" state. If all the enemies are in such a state, you can launch a devastating all-out-attack. The problem is that about 80% of the enemies of the game have at least one elemental weakness. Logically, that means that about 80% of the fights are done WITH THE EXACT SAME TACTIC EVERY TIME. Grating is an understatement here, it's just outright boring as hell.
   
   The fights that don't use elemental weakness are also long and generally boring since the system is stiff.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
4. JRPGBen

   Jan 27, 2011

   10

   I think this is the best version of one of my favourite games, the option to play as a female main character and the changes to the combatI think this is the best version of one of my favourite games, the option to play as a female main character and the changes to the combat make the game worth playing even if you've already played the PS2 versions.… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful
5. rossbr

   Jan 27, 2011

   10

   This was one of my favourite game on PS2. The PSP version is even better. The new campaign is great as are some of the new features.This was one of my favourite game on PS2. The PSP version is even better. The new campaign is great as are some of the new features. Definitely worth getting if you enjoyed the PS2 version.… Expand

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful
6. iamtrent424

   Feb 10, 2011

   9

   Very fun game. I love this game its so fun. The gameplay is just right. I never played any Shin Megami Tensei games until this one. This isVery fun game. I love this game its so fun. The gameplay is just right. I never played any Shin Megami Tensei games until this one. This is one of psp best games of ever. The graphics is just right for a console game, Playing this game make it feel like you living in an anime series. I think everybody who has a psp should most definitely this game it is worth getting. At first this game looking so bored to me. Then I started playing it . Very awesome story to the game. I recommend this game. A excellent role playing action game.… Expand

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful
7. MyNameIsNobody

   Aug 30, 2010

   8

   A great port of a classic RPG, Persona 3 Portable boils Persona 3 down to its essence: a romance/adventure sim coupled with the familiarA great port of a classic RPG, Persona 3 Portable boils Persona 3 down to its essence: a romance/adventure sim coupled with the familiar gameplay of the Shin Megami Tensei series. By changing the story sequences from a free-roaming 3D environment to the traditional visual-novel format, Atlus has allowed PSP players to experience Persona 3 in full, while adding several new scenes, the option to play as a female, and reducing tedium to a minimum. Great for fans of the original game, or for those new to the series.… Expand

   • 3 of 4 users found this helpful
8. AzurealZX

   Apr 14, 2017

   3

   I expected something better for all of the hype this really average franchise gets.
   
   All characters were boring anime archetypes with noI expected something better for all of the hype this really average franchise gets.
   
   All characters were boring anime archetypes with no flavor of their own.
   The story was an extremely generic premise that flows in the typical Japanese way of story telling like Light Novels.
   
   Tartarus, the main gameplay feature was fun at first but as you progress in the tower, it becomes more and more tedious by the second. In the end, I forced myself to complete the game.
   
   Bosses have a terrible gameplay design, for example the ones under the Millitary base, you have to kill the 2 bosses in the exact same turn or the one that wasn't killed will revive the other one ON FULL HP. No, they don't warn you about that, they never tell you about it until the first revive happens.
   
   One of the bosses even relies COMPLETELY ON LUCK. That's bad game design.
   He uses a move that spawns a roulette in front of you and you spin it and stop it.
   Whether you damage him for some small amount or he 2-3 shots you, that's up to luck.
   Whether you get debuffed or he gets debuffed, that's up to you..
   Oh, did I say that there' s another boss fighting besides that guy? Yeah, 2 enemies at the same time.
   Not only you have to rely on luck but you also must simultaniously fend off that other guy who has an attack that can one shot you if you have an Ice based Persona. or leave you barely alive on about 30 hp if you don't.
   
   The whole game is riddled with badly designed bosses and the pacing of the story is bad. A story sequence happens and you're left with a whole month of free time before the next one.
   Either you grind which is boring, or do Social Links, which are just unfleshed dialogues that get the other characters attached to you. The characters seem to start loving you way too quickly. You go and say hi and you already got a girlfriend... (It's an over exaggerated example, chill.)
   
   One good thing about P3P is that there is at least fast travel and no pointless walking.… Expand

   • 0 of 17 users found this helpful

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