Persona 3: FES is the first Persona game I've ever played. I played Digital Devil Saga and got to the end, but got defeated by the boss and never got around to complete it. Another game that I played from the SMT series seems was from the Super Famicon and I can't even remember the title. But regardless of the background of this demonic series, I am thoroughly enjoying Persona 3. The story revolves around six high school kids from Gekkokan High, somewhere in Japan. They go to school, meet up with friends, live in a boarding house, and fight demons. Yes, they fight demons with conjured spirits called Personas.
The game's protagonist goes to school and makes social links with his friends, which in turn powers up his Personas. He studies, plays sports, goes on dates, and gets picked on by teachers to answer test questions. He gains academic points by studying, charisma points by doing well in front of his peers, and courage points by taking on dares. In a sense, he's not like your regular RPG protagonist at all - and I'm loving these aspects!
The game revolves around a calendar and the phases of the moon. While every day you'll have to go to school and find clues amongst the students, nights are made for dungeon crawling. The only dungeon so far in the game is Tartarus. I've only gone up to the 50th floor, but it seems to extend towards infinity. Sundays are days where you're free, but you should go hang out with your friends to boost social links. Then there are the days with the full moons; these are days with boss battles. With that in mind, every day can be used to effect, or wasted if you're not careful. It took me awhile to get used to this format of playing, but once I did, I felt something I haven't felt in video-games for awhile. I get totally absorbed.
Another aspect is the Rated-M parts of the game. I haven't played an RPG that's rated-M since Digital Devil Saga, and it does make a difference. They can say harsher words and use a lot more blood. Even bosses expose a bit more sexual innuendo than before. But all in all, I think everyone should give this game a try. I know I'll be rushing to defeat it. Hopefully Persona 4 will be just as good. The following pictures are of the main characters: Mitsuru, Junpei, Akihiko, and Yukari.
No comments:
Post a Comment