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Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (PS2)
By: Adam Waddilove Does this game have enough persona to make an impact? In Persona 3, you’ll assume the role of a high school student, orphaned as a young boy, who’s recently transferred to Gekkoukan High School on Port Island. Shortly after his arrival, he is attacked by creatures of the night known as Shadows. The assault awakens his Persona, Orpheus, from the depths of his subconscious, enabling him to defeat the terrifying foes. He soon discovers that he shares this special ability with other students at his new school. From them, he learns of the Dark Hour, a hidden time that exists between one day and the next, swarming with Shadows. These monsters have been steadily claiming victims aptly nicknamed “The Lost”—people who’ve inexplicably become mindless zombies. Under the supervision of school chairman Shuji Ikutsuki, he joins his new companions in confronting this threat to humanity… Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Features: I must have been living in a cave for a few years, since I somehow missed the previous Persona titles. I’m not sure if the past titles were as crazy as Persona 3 is, but I would imagine it being so. The story details are above and while it sounds simple, it’s absolutely nuts. You’ll see fantastic anime cutscenes that are so well done that you wonder why it isn’t a TV show rather than a game. I won’t give too much away but you will certainly be surprised with the look and pace of the game. It’s certainly not what I expected, but in a good way. For the first hour or so, you won’t be doing much except watching cutscenes and going through dialog boxes. There is voice-acting and it does the job just fine, it’s not too bad. But after playing through it, it makes sense why they made the first part of the game that way, it sets the stage for a great, mind-twisting story that is somewhat lacking in games today. This is just a brilliant example of how special games can be and how they can deliver a weird and crazy story.    The gameplay is like that of an RPG, its turn-based battles are simplistic but enjoyable. But you won’t really be as engrossed with that as you will with the story; it’s got everything from people shooting each other in head to other things I can’t go into without spoiling elements of the story, that’s what makes reviewing this game quite difficult. The story makes up the big part; the reason why you want to keep playing but to give too much away in this review would be a crime. Let me just say its 100% unique and for the first few hours you will literally be thinking “WTF!” but not in a bad way. The game looks quite basic in its 3D moments, but its 2D art-style is something to be admired. Sure, the characters look simple in 3D, but the great cutscenes make up for that. You will become attached to the characters, wanting to know what comes next and what they will get upto. I very rarely find such appreciation for characters that I have in Persona 3, but somehow I found them to be unforgettable. The Verdict Like I said, I couldn’t go into too much detail about the game without spoiling elements of the story. That would just be cruel, because this is something that you must experience firsthand, away from spoilers and no idea what to expect. The way the game is meant to be seen, and I can promise you a unique but fun experience, one that most games seem to miss these days. The 3D look may be too simplistic for some, but the game is about more than looks. It’s about an off-the-wall story and truly memorable characters that will stick with you for quite a while. 
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