I'm very glad that I played Persona 3, but man, going backward after starting with P4 was rough. Having your party members be controlled by the AI leads to A LOT of frustration. I felt like my protagonist was forced into being built as a healer because I couldn't trust the AI with that level of responsibility. There are several times where the game pulls stunts that just feel cruel, like two highly luck-dependent bosses, back to back with no opportunity to save between them. There are several minibosses that are noticeably harder than the "real" bosses, often in ways that feel particularly cheap.
As is always the case with Persona, the game's themes are expertly explored, though perhaps not as well as P4 or P5. The actual plot on a more surface level is also weaker, at least in my opinion. Social links haven't hit their stride yet either. All that aside, Persona 3 is still worth seeing, and is still cool.
As is always the case with Persona, the game's themes are expertly explored, though perhaps not as well as P4 or P5. The actual plot on a more surface level is also weaker, at least in my opinion. Social links haven't hit their stride yet either. All that aside, Persona 3 is still worth seeing, and is still cool.
its got some good characters
Death is an odd subject to tackle in any piece of entertainment. Persona 3 is an example of how well a story can show the audience it's themes and ideas without being so blatant. While gameplay can get grindy, it is all worth it for the emotional rollercoaster.
Employing a creative fusion of life simulation and JRPG scaffolding, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 repackaged Shin Megami Tensei's dark flavor and style in a more accessible format, propelled by one of the most infectious soundtracks of all time. Its primary gameplay elements are divided into two major segments: A simplified version of life-sim, and a pseudo-dungeon crawler. This blend of genres, and the interplay of mechanics connecting them offer a fresh, creative approach to JRPGs.
Adding to the experience were the charming personalities of Persona 3's cast. Impressively arranged character moments alternate between overly tragic and profoundly sobering, and The occasional poignant issues surrounding them is where this work truly shines, not to mention the themes delved into for characters such as Aigis and Ryoji. The social link system, where relationships with characters both major and minor can be nurtured, further explored the idea of its lifesim/RPG dynamic.
Not only does the gameplay stand apart, the tone succeeds in its assembly of dance party/spy thriller staging that masks the dark themes of hopelessness. The character designs and story are strong cases of this, but its soundtrack conveys its attitude more effectively as the tone gets more bleak. At its best, the game offers a terrifying vision, conjuring images of depraved delinquents celebrating as the apocalypse looms over the horizon, the theme is an exercise in hedonism, resignation, and apathy.
Despite the accomplishments in story, characters, themes and soundtrack, Persona 3's change in combat is a major disappointment. The basic combat system of Persona 2 is replaced by Pokemon's approach revolving around elemental weakness/resistance, so heavily that every other strategy is rendered obsolete. It boils down to finding and exploiting the enemy's weaknesses with no need of progression or creativity. The lack of player control in-battle and randomly generated dungeons limit the RPG aspects even further. But the combat & systems seem negligible in the face of its non-gameplay merits. By simply entrusting their development to revealing chats and domestic subplots, Persona 3 marked the final stage in JRPG's quest for an ever more personal sense of companionship among party members, a sort of 'crystallization' of what Sakura Wars and Tales hinted at in their approaches to character-building.
Adding to the experience were the charming personalities of Persona 3's cast. Impressively arranged character moments alternate between overly tragic and profoundly sobering, and The occasional poignant issues surrounding them is where this work truly shines, not to mention the themes delved into for characters such as Aigis and Ryoji. The social link system, where relationships with characters both major and minor can be nurtured, further explored the idea of its lifesim/RPG dynamic.
Not only does the gameplay stand apart, the tone succeeds in its assembly of dance party/spy thriller staging that masks the dark themes of hopelessness. The character designs and story are strong cases of this, but its soundtrack conveys its attitude more effectively as the tone gets more bleak. At its best, the game offers a terrifying vision, conjuring images of depraved delinquents celebrating as the apocalypse looms over the horizon, the theme is an exercise in hedonism, resignation, and apathy.
Despite the accomplishments in story, characters, themes and soundtrack, Persona 3's change in combat is a major disappointment. The basic combat system of Persona 2 is replaced by Pokemon's approach revolving around elemental weakness/resistance, so heavily that every other strategy is rendered obsolete. It boils down to finding and exploiting the enemy's weaknesses with no need of progression or creativity. The lack of player control in-battle and randomly generated dungeons limit the RPG aspects even further. But the combat & systems seem negligible in the face of its non-gameplay merits. By simply entrusting their development to revealing chats and domestic subplots, Persona 3 marked the final stage in JRPG's quest for an ever more personal sense of companionship among party members, a sort of 'crystallization' of what Sakura Wars and Tales hinted at in their approaches to character-building.
My rule of thumb for JRPG’s is if their gameplay loop and overarching story is enjoyable enough to me to overlook their inevitable parade of shonen anime cliches. This comes close to the top of the heap in that regard.
Good
Persona 3 is the first Persona game to have the now iconic gameplay that the series became known for. The gameplay is very dated but not at all unplayable. Tartarus serves as the games only "dungeon" which you go through each month to grind and go farther to the top more and more. I personally liked it as it was straight to the point and rewarding to do so. Each month you have missions where you go fight a boss battle that is usually more than underwhelming due to the game not forcing any grinding on the player. The game's biggest drawback is how laughably easy the boss fights are. They have such great presentation and build up yet go down with little effort. I assume this was to let players who dont grind much or arent always prepared not be stuck dying over and over again but it is way too forgiving to the player for no reason. On top of that, unlike most JRPG's, this game does not feature controllable party members. Instead you control them by giving "commands" telling them what stuff to do and the AI is very outdated and can do stupid or wasteful things that can be very annoying but at least make the game feel like less of a cakewalk. The story and characters on the other hand is the peak of the series's writing in my opinion. Relatable characters who feel like they live in this world and are believable. They all go through arcs and develop as people which feels realistic. Sprinkled throughout the game are little cutscenes every now and then that happen out of nowhere which makes the world more immersive and lively which i also like. With great and deep writing the game has my favorite story and execution out of all the games i played but the underwhelming and flawed gameplay makes it hard to find reason to coming back to the game for a second playthrough.
oyunun atmosferi kapalı kutudayken bile garip bir şekilde içine sindiriyor özellikle her karakterine bayılmadım ama karakterlere bakınca kendimden bir şey buldum 5 verdim ama bunu eksiksiz olduğu için vermedim savaş sistemi bir remakele falan yaparlarsa gelmiş geçmiş en iyi jrpg diye koyulursa kimsenin zoruna gitmez sanırım
Wonderful game. In terms of Persona series, this entry has some of the best writing and more realistic characters.
it's not the worst but it's not the best
I gotta say, I love this game.
The graphics are... decent. I mean, it's a PS2 game from 2006, what'ya expect? Still, the UI is nice and the graphics look pretty for a PS2 game, and graphics-wise that's all I can really ask for.
The music, though. It's some REALLY good shit. It's got a lot of rap in it, as well as an assload of rock. And if you know me, you know I'm a sucker for rock music. Mass Destruction is a great battle theme, and Master of Tartarus and Master of Shadow are great boss themes.
The gameplay is very satisfying, but has some quirks. It's turned based combat with relatively fast paced combat. It revolves around exploiting enemy weaknesses and if you are bad at strategising or are simply just underleveled, your ass WILL be handed to you on a silver platter. However, the party members are AI controlled in the PS2 versions, and the AI can get really, really stupid. However, if you know how to use battle commands, you should be fine. Or RNG can hit you like a truck, because that can also happen.
You're playing this game for the story though, and it CERTAINLY does not disappoint. The characters are really likable (though I will admit the cast of 4 was funnier), and the story itself is great. It's about a few teenagers who climb a tower during an hour that only they and a few others can utilize. I admit that I just SEVERELY oversimplified it, but when you watch it for yourself, you'll understand. And the game has moments that can hit HARD! Please play this game blind, because some moments are amazing blind. The last parts of the game are near perfect.
I kinda wish I could say more, but I'm lacking words to say. This game has amazing music, combat, story, characters, and is overall a VERY great time. I give this game a 9.5/10.
Just a sidenote, if you will play this game, the PS2 versions have the much better presentation, but Portable has controllable party members. I'd say newcomers go to Portable, and RPG vets go to PS2.
The graphics are... decent. I mean, it's a PS2 game from 2006, what'ya expect? Still, the UI is nice and the graphics look pretty for a PS2 game, and graphics-wise that's all I can really ask for.
The music, though. It's some REALLY good shit. It's got a lot of rap in it, as well as an assload of rock. And if you know me, you know I'm a sucker for rock music. Mass Destruction is a great battle theme, and Master of Tartarus and Master of Shadow are great boss themes.
The gameplay is very satisfying, but has some quirks. It's turned based combat with relatively fast paced combat. It revolves around exploiting enemy weaknesses and if you are bad at strategising or are simply just underleveled, your ass WILL be handed to you on a silver platter. However, the party members are AI controlled in the PS2 versions, and the AI can get really, really stupid. However, if you know how to use battle commands, you should be fine. Or RNG can hit you like a truck, because that can also happen.
You're playing this game for the story though, and it CERTAINLY does not disappoint. The characters are really likable (though I will admit the cast of 4 was funnier), and the story itself is great. It's about a few teenagers who climb a tower during an hour that only they and a few others can utilize. I admit that I just SEVERELY oversimplified it, but when you watch it for yourself, you'll understand. And the game has moments that can hit HARD! Please play this game blind, because some moments are amazing blind. The last parts of the game are near perfect.
I kinda wish I could say more, but I'm lacking words to say. This game has amazing music, combat, story, characters, and is overall a VERY great time. I give this game a 9.5/10.
Just a sidenote, if you will play this game, the PS2 versions have the much better presentation, but Portable has controllable party members. I'd say newcomers go to Portable, and RPG vets go to PS2.
Melhor Persona !
sistema de combate retrógrado?
My favorite persona story however a game breaking bug exists in this version which is why playing the more updated version fes would be a better option
I've written a rather long article, but after rereading it, I felt it was too long, so I've cut it down to just the conclusion and a quote. What you think of Atlus, Megami Tensei and its offshoot, Persona, is up to each individual.
Conclusion (summary)
Persona 3 is the savior of Atlus (brand). Without Persona 3, Atlus would be dead.
If we hadn't changed the course with Persona 3 and continued with the default Megami Tensei series, everything would have disappeared.
What Persona 3 did, it attracted a new audience. I don't know if this was the intention, but the way it was done was similar to that of Shonen Jump.
Because we died once with Persona 3, we are now Atlus.
*
https://www.4gamer.net/games/367/G036702/20170810127/
"A look back at the journey to Persona 3 by Katsura Hashino."
Katsura Hashino - "To sum up, Shin Megami Tensei III-NOCTURNE didn't give us a satisfactory result. To make the game more accessible to as many people as possible, we've added new elements, such as the ability to train devil, and created press-turn battles that take advantage of attribute compatibility.
It made the game itself not so bad.
It was so good that all the staff said, "This is really interesting, even though it's our own work", and they went crazy debugging it. And we were able to finish the master on schedule, which gave us a sense of satisfaction that we had done a good job.
But we didn't get the result. After that, "DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA Avatar Tuner" was in the same vein.
From that point on, I started thinking like a producer: "Of course it's important to make a good game, but we need to make it known to as many people as possible. What approach should we take to achieve this?”.
It was at this time that I was asked if I would like to be a producer for "P3".
One day, I was called in by the executive at the time and he told me that if things continued as they were, it would be difficult for Atlus to continue making games.
This was a time not only when I was struggling personally, but also when the company itself was struggling to expand its user base.
In the midst of this conversation, the chairman suddenly asked me, "Mr. Hashino, by the way, how old are you now?"
I was a little over 30 at the time, and I said, "About 30".
Then he said, "You know, Che Guevara succeeded in the Cuban Revolution when he was about 30 years old, just like you. ......" He suddenly changed the subject to Guevara. He went on to speak something like "one revolutionary can change a company".
So I had no choice but to say, "Well, why don't I try it?"
*
There are other interesting stories(God's curse and exorcism etc.), but I don't want to get caught up in the politics between old Megami Tensei fans and Persona fans, so I might write them on request.
I'm not going to write a review of the game itself.
Oh, but I would like to see a remake.
Conclusion (summary)
Persona 3 is the savior of Atlus (brand). Without Persona 3, Atlus would be dead.
If we hadn't changed the course with Persona 3 and continued with the default Megami Tensei series, everything would have disappeared.
What Persona 3 did, it attracted a new audience. I don't know if this was the intention, but the way it was done was similar to that of Shonen Jump.
Because we died once with Persona 3, we are now Atlus.
*
https://www.4gamer.net/games/367/G036702/20170810127/
"A look back at the journey to Persona 3 by Katsura Hashino."
Katsura Hashino - "To sum up, Shin Megami Tensei III-NOCTURNE didn't give us a satisfactory result. To make the game more accessible to as many people as possible, we've added new elements, such as the ability to train devil, and created press-turn battles that take advantage of attribute compatibility.
It made the game itself not so bad.
It was so good that all the staff said, "This is really interesting, even though it's our own work", and they went crazy debugging it. And we were able to finish the master on schedule, which gave us a sense of satisfaction that we had done a good job.
But we didn't get the result. After that, "DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA Avatar Tuner" was in the same vein.
From that point on, I started thinking like a producer: "Of course it's important to make a good game, but we need to make it known to as many people as possible. What approach should we take to achieve this?”.
It was at this time that I was asked if I would like to be a producer for "P3".
One day, I was called in by the executive at the time and he told me that if things continued as they were, it would be difficult for Atlus to continue making games.
This was a time not only when I was struggling personally, but also when the company itself was struggling to expand its user base.
In the midst of this conversation, the chairman suddenly asked me, "Mr. Hashino, by the way, how old are you now?"
I was a little over 30 at the time, and I said, "About 30".
Then he said, "You know, Che Guevara succeeded in the Cuban Revolution when he was about 30 years old, just like you. ......" He suddenly changed the subject to Guevara. He went on to speak something like "one revolutionary can change a company".
So I had no choice but to say, "Well, why don't I try it?"
*
There are other interesting stories(God's curse and exorcism etc.), but I don't want to get caught up in the politics between old Megami Tensei fans and Persona fans, so I might write them on request.
I'm not going to write a review of the game itself.
Oh, but I would like to see a remake.
Still extremely special and tonally braver than the later games in many ways but also unfortunately pretty rough to revisit after the immense quality of life improvements made in subsequent games. The acid hip hop elements of the ost are SO strange and fabulous and I miss when Persona vocalist accents sounded this awkward and stylized! Very bizarre that the PSP version has the option to enable direct party member commands but P3:FES doesn't?
brabissimo
I don't like press turn combat and the history could be better. Chairman and the emo duo being retarded wasn't a good choice.
Also, have good ideas like inheritance but when developed are the worst shit ever. Still is quite good.
Tartarus isn't that bad.
Also, have good ideas like inheritance but when developed are the worst shit ever. Still is quite good.
Tartarus isn't that bad.
peak gaming
... just ... holy fuck. Jesus Christ.
How many good things can you flush down the toilet?
This game has amazing characters, a unique style and premise and an extremely powerful story and plot.
Aaaand it ruins all of that with some of the worst design blunders I have ever seen in my life. It simply beggars belief.
Let's start with the fact that this game has the pacing of a glacier. The beginning up to the first dungeon is particularily bad.
How was this acceptible?
Another one of the worst offenders is actually that some of the best characters in the game (Shinji, Akihiko, Aegis, Junpei) DO NOT HAVE A FUCKING SOCIAL LINK! WHY?!? It makes absolutely no sense and egregiously prevents these great characters from having the same impact and screentime as the characters that do have social links.
Some that do are actually not only just... bad social links, but also bland characters, like Kenji, who is just a complete bufoon and his social link is so cringe I actually had to force myself to finish it.
Oh, and the backtracker-dungeon, the so called Tartarus is a gigantic grindfest that constantly interrupts the storys momentum and your immersion and it TAKES ON FOREVER! WHO MADE THIS?!?!? AND WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA AND SHOULD BE KEPT IN THE GAME?!?
... what else? Oh yeah, you... can't... control your party members directly... like... ever. They are always NPCs and you just have to hope that they make the correct decision.
... just... wow. Like... seriously??? Who programmed this shit?
This is basically what's wrong with this... thing. There is some other stuff you can critizise but it just pales in comparision to the monumental blunders I have just listed. They make this game impossible to enjoy and impossible to appreciate everything it does well.
Don't play it. At least not this version.
Try out the PSP Version or some certain... questionable version (not FES, that's also pretty bad).
How many good things can you flush down the toilet?
This game has amazing characters, a unique style and premise and an extremely powerful story and plot.
Aaaand it ruins all of that with some of the worst design blunders I have ever seen in my life. It simply beggars belief.
Let's start with the fact that this game has the pacing of a glacier. The beginning up to the first dungeon is particularily bad.
How was this acceptible?
Another one of the worst offenders is actually that some of the best characters in the game (Shinji, Akihiko, Aegis, Junpei) DO NOT HAVE A FUCKING SOCIAL LINK! WHY?!? It makes absolutely no sense and egregiously prevents these great characters from having the same impact and screentime as the characters that do have social links.
Some that do are actually not only just... bad social links, but also bland characters, like Kenji, who is just a complete bufoon and his social link is so cringe I actually had to force myself to finish it.
Oh, and the backtracker-dungeon, the so called Tartarus is a gigantic grindfest that constantly interrupts the storys momentum and your immersion and it TAKES ON FOREVER! WHO MADE THIS?!?!? AND WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA AND SHOULD BE KEPT IN THE GAME?!?
... what else? Oh yeah, you... can't... control your party members directly... like... ever. They are always NPCs and you just have to hope that they make the correct decision.
... just... wow. Like... seriously??? Who programmed this shit?
This is basically what's wrong with this... thing. There is some other stuff you can critizise but it just pales in comparision to the monumental blunders I have just listed. They make this game impossible to enjoy and impossible to appreciate everything it does well.
Don't play it. At least not this version.
Try out the PSP Version or some certain... questionable version (not FES, that's also pretty bad).
Amazing game, a bit of change of pace for the Persona series as it was the one that introduced the Social Link system, and while it definitely shows it could use some work, it's still really fun. The story is great, the main characters are awesome and memorable and gameplay is still really enjoyable (if a little boring at points)
Scenario pretty successful but gameplay and dungeon was shitty
This game is basically my high school experience. Mp3 player with edgy music as people pass by you, emotionless and not giving a single fuck. This game was made for me.
Best music in the Persona series
It's story and characters are still some of the best in the series, but Persona 3's core gameplay is remarkably clunky and makes the game frustrating to come back to.
there's like 145 persona's smh
Damn good game
I could go into detail about how wonderful Persona 3 is and how much of a life changing experience it was for me...Or I could talk about how much I love Chihiro Fushimi!
I love Chihiro so much!
I love Chihiro so much!
This review contains spoilers
Aigis isn't a social link in this one, so it's the best one.
i did not finish this game but i will restart it sometime