This review contains spoilers
I have a lot of things to say about this game.
(Referring to MC as Minato, spoilery review. I don't know how to pace things, much like this game.)
(Short version)
This game is sorta like the embodiment of washing dishes. It is extraneously monotonous for long sections, as most of the game's story progression happens once a month in-game. It has a lot of cool and amazing ideas which aren't implemented in the best way. The last arc of the game is worth it for all of its faults though. Easy 7/10.
(Long version)
Out of all the Persona games, this is the one that's hooked me the most. I started the franchise with Persona 5, as most did, but I've never finished that game for reasons. Persona 3's gritty and dark nature, as well as unique soundtrack were the hook for me, and I finally sat down and played the game this summer.
This game has an extremely slow start, and there isn't really a lot to do. There's social links you can develop, but it's for boring characters. All your party members are locked behind raising your skills like charm, which is extremely dumb, considering that the story moves at a snail's pace and that you don't really do much with them besides Tartarus and full moon events. Did I mention that you can only have social links with female party members? And that you HAVE to romance them?? Yeah, the social link system is a mess, and most of the social links aren't particularly fun to go through.
The only other thing you can do until the game starts getting more interesting is raise your stats by doing events like studying, or doing activities at the mall. Hence why I say it's monotonous.
It's time I address the most gameplay heavy part of Persona 3, Tartarus. AKA the 264 floor long monolith of a dungeon. Admittedly, I really like it. Having a full month to go through about 20-30 randomly generated, albeit, VERY short floors is not the chore most think it is, even without party control. However, I wouldn't blame you at all if you thought it was grating in the early weeks of the game.
With only Junpei and Yukari in your party, and not being levelled up high enough, going up here can be a real pain with how tired they can get. The AI is also at a point where it doesn't quite adapt very well to situations. However, Tartarus gets SO much more bearable when Akihiko joins the team. Junpei and Yukari are also levelled up high enough at this point (presumably), so they stop getting tired as often, and having beat the first full moon boss, you've also gotten another Tactics command to use.
From here on out, Tartarus is basically a breeze to go through, bar the mini-bosses. I don't know if I was overlevelled, or if I was just lucky, but I only ever died on the mini-bosses after Mitsuru joined my party.
The non controllable party is something I personally really appreciate, as having TOO much fluidity overwhelms me. There's definitely a learning curve here, but this little feature gives the characters so much more life. Like of course Junpei is gonna be rash in battles and use attacks! He's trying to prove himself. Yukari missing shots feels like a sign of her own personal inferiority complex, but I'm definitely reading too much into this. Mitsuru being adamant and using her charm spells, missing and STILL constantly using them is just, such a Mitsuru thing to do. They really feel personified and seen here, and I'm here for it.
The game finally kicks into gear when you meet the deuratagonist, Aigis. It's kind of a battle staying invested until then, with everything I've outlined. The overall story about the shadows, and the Kirijos also starts to take flight here, and all of a sudden it just feels like too much info at once, given how they've only been vagueing you until this point with everything. I get what they were going for, and I would've been fine with it if things to do in-game were actually more engaging. The story structure is something I don't have a lot of complaints for on its own, but paired with the flawed game design, it's just very iffy.
Back to topic though. Have I talked about this game's themes yet? I love how Persona 3 has a single theme, focusing on mortality. The absolutely hit the nail on the head with it. The persona summoning animation is one of my favourite things to come out of a videogame, ever. Even with the game's slow start, the theme of death is ever-present, and kinda hard to escape, eerily like death itself ahahaha
October 4th 2009. This is when the this theme starts to manifest itself into the story and characters more. After one of our beloved party members dies, everybody has realistic and differing reactions to it. Most notably Ken and Akihiko. Ken became a perma member of my party from here on out (which is actually super useful, he has the most varied skillsets for no reason, from Hama to MULTI MEMBER healing). Shinjiro's death, well, death in general in this game doesn't feel like a cheap plot device. We're given a clear look into the motivations, acceptance and just general growth of the people affected by it, on all fronts. This is an extremely tricky subject to deal with, and I'm still in awe at how Persona 3 works with it.
The themes in this game don't feel contradictory at all, unlike Persona 4 and 5, but that's a topic for another time. I don't know if I CAN describe how absolutely amazing it is in the right way. They NEVER drag out the death segments, and I love them for it. For a game that has that as its main focus, they treat it with the amount of respect it deserves. It never comes off as edgy, or overdramatic or anything. It's treated as something completely natural, and while you KNOW the characters are broken through these events, these events NEVER overstay their welcome, and that just makes it so much more poignant to me. Death is just something that happens, the moment of is cruel, yet short and sweet.
Characters' newfound resolutions from major events in their lives from here on out lead to Persona evolutions and oh my gosh are all of these moments really cool. Peak show-not-tell structure.
This brings me to the final stretch of the game. Despite my many, many grievances with Persona 3, these 4 in-game months, are absolutely worth the slog and hype. The story is at its peak, with enough events happening to keep the game from being monotonous, Ryoji literally just exists and improves the game tenfold. This segment REALLY makes you lose your grip on reality and subjects you to a choice that is too impossible to even think about naturally. In the game itself, the path you must choose is extremely clear but its implications are extremely heavy and drastic, and you're fully able to immerse yourself into this dilemma you've created. That's all I really want to say about this part, I don't particularly want to do it injustice by not explaining it properly. If you still haven't played Persona 3 and you're reading this, please, just go play it. Do yourself a favour.
Of course, this review wouldn't be complete if I didn't talk about the characters for a bit. I'm going to start off with the protagonist, Minato Arisato. He's just, well, okay. I love the guy and his design but the game doesn't do itself ANY favours by making him a silent protagonist. This isn't even a fish out of water type situation where he's completely new, he is fully intertwined in the game's core story and while I guess he IS the transfer student, he's just more involved in everything, ESPECIALLY from a past perspective compared to other protagonists. The movie does a really good job characterizing his depression and growth from what I've heard, but I really wish he wasn't a self insert. Aigis or Yukari is so much more suited for the protagonist role, and I'm glad The Answer exists.
Speaking of Aigis, I love love LOVE her. She's been enriching this game ever since she first appeared, and serves as a really good contrast to what the game stands for. She has her own arc about her purpose, but aside from all that, she's the personification of the fact that life is worth living. Her attachment to Minato is very much proof of this. She's just such a ray of hope in this otherwise dark and depressing game, and for a character who's built off of a very basic trope of "Robot wants to become human", I'm in awe of how they manage her in the game. And I haven't even played through The Answer yet.
Junpei is a character I find interesting, and I wish they did more with him. I love his resentment towards Minato and his hero complex. I was really hoping they would do more with that character trait, especially after Chidori becomes a part of the story, by making him question his ideals completely after he's faced with a dilemma that she brings up. I also wish he got more moments with Minato in general, without just making them look like besties only because they're the only two guys in the same group.
I don't really have too much to say about any of the other characters that aren't social links (do NOT get me started on those or I will actually not shut up), aside the fact that they're cool and I liked what they offered in the game. Also I'm half asleep writing this.
Persona 3 is a game that is really, really rough around the edges. The blatant pedophilia in Social Links and transphobia are really eyebrow raising. The Social Links are not as fun as most claim. The pacing is something that I will never not take issue with. The game gets so monotonous over time due to lack of story progression 70% of the time. I would be lying if I said I enjoyed myself when I was still playing it. But as time goes on, I'm able to look back at this mess of a game more fondly, and appreciate the message it brings out. The battle to achieve and attain collective happiness isn't straight or true. It takes time, and as we all know, Time never waits. It delivers all equally to the same end. That End is completely dependant on the way you live your life and view your own personal journey, and I can't help but applaud Persona 3 for the way it talks about this complicated message without babying us or over-exaggerating it.
7/10
(I will edit this when I finish The Answer, and when I find things to say about the other characters)
(Referring to MC as Minato, spoilery review. I don't know how to pace things, much like this game.)
(Short version)
This game is sorta like the embodiment of washing dishes. It is extraneously monotonous for long sections, as most of the game's story progression happens once a month in-game. It has a lot of cool and amazing ideas which aren't implemented in the best way. The last arc of the game is worth it for all of its faults though. Easy 7/10.
(Long version)
Out of all the Persona games, this is the one that's hooked me the most. I started the franchise with Persona 5, as most did, but I've never finished that game for reasons. Persona 3's gritty and dark nature, as well as unique soundtrack were the hook for me, and I finally sat down and played the game this summer.
This game has an extremely slow start, and there isn't really a lot to do. There's social links you can develop, but it's for boring characters. All your party members are locked behind raising your skills like charm, which is extremely dumb, considering that the story moves at a snail's pace and that you don't really do much with them besides Tartarus and full moon events. Did I mention that you can only have social links with female party members? And that you HAVE to romance them?? Yeah, the social link system is a mess, and most of the social links aren't particularly fun to go through.
The only other thing you can do until the game starts getting more interesting is raise your stats by doing events like studying, or doing activities at the mall. Hence why I say it's monotonous.
It's time I address the most gameplay heavy part of Persona 3, Tartarus. AKA the 264 floor long monolith of a dungeon. Admittedly, I really like it. Having a full month to go through about 20-30 randomly generated, albeit, VERY short floors is not the chore most think it is, even without party control. However, I wouldn't blame you at all if you thought it was grating in the early weeks of the game.
With only Junpei and Yukari in your party, and not being levelled up high enough, going up here can be a real pain with how tired they can get. The AI is also at a point where it doesn't quite adapt very well to situations. However, Tartarus gets SO much more bearable when Akihiko joins the team. Junpei and Yukari are also levelled up high enough at this point (presumably), so they stop getting tired as often, and having beat the first full moon boss, you've also gotten another Tactics command to use.
From here on out, Tartarus is basically a breeze to go through, bar the mini-bosses. I don't know if I was overlevelled, or if I was just lucky, but I only ever died on the mini-bosses after Mitsuru joined my party.
The non controllable party is something I personally really appreciate, as having TOO much fluidity overwhelms me. There's definitely a learning curve here, but this little feature gives the characters so much more life. Like of course Junpei is gonna be rash in battles and use attacks! He's trying to prove himself. Yukari missing shots feels like a sign of her own personal inferiority complex, but I'm definitely reading too much into this. Mitsuru being adamant and using her charm spells, missing and STILL constantly using them is just, such a Mitsuru thing to do. They really feel personified and seen here, and I'm here for it.
The game finally kicks into gear when you meet the deuratagonist, Aigis. It's kind of a battle staying invested until then, with everything I've outlined. The overall story about the shadows, and the Kirijos also starts to take flight here, and all of a sudden it just feels like too much info at once, given how they've only been vagueing you until this point with everything. I get what they were going for, and I would've been fine with it if things to do in-game were actually more engaging. The story structure is something I don't have a lot of complaints for on its own, but paired with the flawed game design, it's just very iffy.
Back to topic though. Have I talked about this game's themes yet? I love how Persona 3 has a single theme, focusing on mortality. The absolutely hit the nail on the head with it. The persona summoning animation is one of my favourite things to come out of a videogame, ever. Even with the game's slow start, the theme of death is ever-present, and kinda hard to escape, eerily like death itself ahahaha
October 4th 2009. This is when the this theme starts to manifest itself into the story and characters more. After one of our beloved party members dies, everybody has realistic and differing reactions to it. Most notably Ken and Akihiko. Ken became a perma member of my party from here on out (which is actually super useful, he has the most varied skillsets for no reason, from Hama to MULTI MEMBER healing). Shinjiro's death, well, death in general in this game doesn't feel like a cheap plot device. We're given a clear look into the motivations, acceptance and just general growth of the people affected by it, on all fronts. This is an extremely tricky subject to deal with, and I'm still in awe at how Persona 3 works with it.
The themes in this game don't feel contradictory at all, unlike Persona 4 and 5, but that's a topic for another time. I don't know if I CAN describe how absolutely amazing it is in the right way. They NEVER drag out the death segments, and I love them for it. For a game that has that as its main focus, they treat it with the amount of respect it deserves. It never comes off as edgy, or overdramatic or anything. It's treated as something completely natural, and while you KNOW the characters are broken through these events, these events NEVER overstay their welcome, and that just makes it so much more poignant to me. Death is just something that happens, the moment of is cruel, yet short and sweet.
Characters' newfound resolutions from major events in their lives from here on out lead to Persona evolutions and oh my gosh are all of these moments really cool. Peak show-not-tell structure.
This brings me to the final stretch of the game. Despite my many, many grievances with Persona 3, these 4 in-game months, are absolutely worth the slog and hype. The story is at its peak, with enough events happening to keep the game from being monotonous, Ryoji literally just exists and improves the game tenfold. This segment REALLY makes you lose your grip on reality and subjects you to a choice that is too impossible to even think about naturally. In the game itself, the path you must choose is extremely clear but its implications are extremely heavy and drastic, and you're fully able to immerse yourself into this dilemma you've created. That's all I really want to say about this part, I don't particularly want to do it injustice by not explaining it properly. If you still haven't played Persona 3 and you're reading this, please, just go play it. Do yourself a favour.
Of course, this review wouldn't be complete if I didn't talk about the characters for a bit. I'm going to start off with the protagonist, Minato Arisato. He's just, well, okay. I love the guy and his design but the game doesn't do itself ANY favours by making him a silent protagonist. This isn't even a fish out of water type situation where he's completely new, he is fully intertwined in the game's core story and while I guess he IS the transfer student, he's just more involved in everything, ESPECIALLY from a past perspective compared to other protagonists. The movie does a really good job characterizing his depression and growth from what I've heard, but I really wish he wasn't a self insert. Aigis or Yukari is so much more suited for the protagonist role, and I'm glad The Answer exists.
Speaking of Aigis, I love love LOVE her. She's been enriching this game ever since she first appeared, and serves as a really good contrast to what the game stands for. She has her own arc about her purpose, but aside from all that, she's the personification of the fact that life is worth living. Her attachment to Minato is very much proof of this. She's just such a ray of hope in this otherwise dark and depressing game, and for a character who's built off of a very basic trope of "Robot wants to become human", I'm in awe of how they manage her in the game. And I haven't even played through The Answer yet.
Junpei is a character I find interesting, and I wish they did more with him. I love his resentment towards Minato and his hero complex. I was really hoping they would do more with that character trait, especially after Chidori becomes a part of the story, by making him question his ideals completely after he's faced with a dilemma that she brings up. I also wish he got more moments with Minato in general, without just making them look like besties only because they're the only two guys in the same group.
I don't really have too much to say about any of the other characters that aren't social links (do NOT get me started on those or I will actually not shut up), aside the fact that they're cool and I liked what they offered in the game. Also I'm half asleep writing this.
Persona 3 is a game that is really, really rough around the edges. The blatant pedophilia in Social Links and transphobia are really eyebrow raising. The Social Links are not as fun as most claim. The pacing is something that I will never not take issue with. The game gets so monotonous over time due to lack of story progression 70% of the time. I would be lying if I said I enjoyed myself when I was still playing it. But as time goes on, I'm able to look back at this mess of a game more fondly, and appreciate the message it brings out. The battle to achieve and attain collective happiness isn't straight or true. It takes time, and as we all know, Time never waits. It delivers all equally to the same end. That End is completely dependant on the way you live your life and view your own personal journey, and I can't help but applaud Persona 3 for the way it talks about this complicated message without babying us or over-exaggerating it.
7/10
(I will edit this when I finish The Answer, and when I find things to say about the other characters)
2 Comments
i have never played xenosaga but it's definitely something i want to get into at some point! shion and kos-mos intrigue me so much
JohnArmoredCore
1 year ago