I have not played a JRPG this... strong in years. I don't know if it's the best RPG in my "now playing" set (Final Fantasy VI is in there as well), but it is the most absorbing. Absorbing enough to keep me playing until 5AM two nights running. Yikes.
I hadn't been playing this game much, since I had bought the original version of Persona (which I've since given away to a friend), and restarted the game (with some stat bonuses) for FES. It was slow going having to go through the overly lengthy exposition again, then go through social links I had already discovered, but I turned the corner the other night and am well into new content. I met the seventh SEES member and added the fifth playable character, and I finally feel like I grasp the entire system of the game.
Incredibly strong gameplay. Fighting is just difficult enough to make you work, but if you're smart, you can stay ahead of your foes. The random generated dungeons does not allow for a whole lot of unique layouts, but searching for loot and dealing with or avoiding enemies is an enticing formula, and climbing ever higher into Tartarus is tense and exciting. The characters are far more believable and likable than your average anime archetypes that plague these sorts of games; Junpei is a convincing loser, Yukari's mix between kindness and aloof pretension is fun to watch play out, Akihiko is a fun mix of seriousness and wry humor, and Mitsuru's coolness combined with her insistence upon personal ettiquitte is intriguing. These people seem like, well, people. And the presentation is stylish (and even seems to work the limitations of the PS2 to its advantage), with excellent character and monster designs, attractive visuals, good voice acting (some stronger than others, mind you). Oh! The side story social links are all intriguing. The plot burns slowly, but it's gradually starting to pick up, with questions about the exact nature of the dark hour, the Shadows and what, exactly, Apathy Syndrome is. But there's certainly enough side content in the game to not make you care that the story advances at its own pace. It gives room for all the small bits of character development and getting a chance to meet others.
I've talked myself into playing this game more. Unfortunately, I've got an errand to run this afternoon, so I won't get a chance until later. But if you haven't already, give this one a shot.
And personally, I can't wait to move on to Persona 4, which by all accounts, is at least at the same level as this one.
Comments
Mostly the ability to control your party members, since they never really did what I wanted to in Persona 3. That's not to say they're incompetent, but occasionally they'll do something dumb and I'll pout for a few minutes.
I also think the fourth has a much more interesting story and deeper characters, although that aspect of the game is more subjective. The only part I felt was a step back was the dungeons - Persona 3's dungeons are boring, yes, but they're small and quickly navigated. Persona 4's dungeons are excessively large, requiring lots of treking back and forth, and the structure of the levels (including save points) completely discourage 'quick' dungeon runs.
Donutta, I find the team AI pretty smart... although I think they made some tweaks to the FES version that weren't in the original (if there's a group of enemies with the same weakness, your characters will attack the same one several times in a row). And as you go along, the game gives you new commands that allow you to get them to do more specific things. I think it gives you enough to work with. And I know the environments are repetitive... but I think it's just the nature of the beast. Unlike most RPGs, this one simply is not about exploration... it's about combat, customization, character development and dialogue. I don't have a problem with that.
DJ, I know what you mean about not doing what you want to, but I find they generally do productive things. And considering how much there is to manage in one character... it's fine by me that the rest of them are automated.
Donutta, focus on loot and climbing floors. The fighting makes a little bit more sense in that context.
Coding, please do so. Just be warned... this is a game that you have to stick with. You might want to set aside a whole session or two of gaming for just Persona 3 in order to get going, because you'll need some momentum from the start if you're going to propel yourself through a game that, twenty hours in, I'm maybe 30% through.
The gameplay is very similar but P4 makes a couple tweaks that improve upon P3's gameplay, starting with the ability to control your own party. So while similar, it's also better in that department. The games are very comparable in quality. For me, the first 75-80% of Persona 4 was one of the three most enjoyable times I've ever spent with an RPG but I felt it screwed some things up later in the game (others might disagree). Both games are terrific though and you will probably feel just as strongly about P4 as you do about P3, if not more so. Everything you listed here that you like about P3 is equaled in P4, if not exceeded.
gigaman299