This game was overhyped for me. From what I read from everyone, I was expecting to get a depressive tale with lovable folks. Not just that, I heard this game was the best of persona. I... Didn't get that.

First let me start with the positives because they are short

Sun arcana is really emotional and I liked that.
Last month(last %10 of the game) is awesome with it's melancholic, majora's mask like dark vibes.
Lots of persona to fusion of course.
Best persona soundtrack

And the rest is...
Story is a giant timewaster that repetitive as heck. You learn about a person that have potential, kill the shadow boss that suddenly appeared, let that person join your group, repeat x6. Story only starts to go somewhere the moment bad guy group shows up(in the damn last quarter of this game).

People that say this game is depressive as heck just talks about intro of this game, persona calling animation that uses a gun to the head, 2 social links that is a bit depressive and last %10 of this game. But how a game can be named depressive if the %85 of the content is la la la upbeat colorful happy tones? I literally have any idea. Btw I don't have any problem with upbeat atmosphere but fans themselves create wrong expectations

Question is, can you like a story if only %10 of it just interesting? It's really good %10 I won't lie but what about the repetitive as heck rest? Sorry but I am not the "ending justifies the repetition" kind of person. Sorry.

Gameplay is... Repetitive as heck too. Level design is non-existent, one lazy person just flat out modelled 8 different room and colored it different 10 times with combining a randomizer and called it a day. What. The. Fu#k. Don't get me started on repeat enemies as well, if there is 20 enemy models, then don't worry they also have 10 different color variations that only difference of them is a slight stat difference. Only thing that refreshes the pace a little bit is, bosses are once in a while needs a different strategy rather than spam the same handful of elemental attacks and watching the same all out attack for the millionth time.

Social links
Other than Sun, lovers and hierophant social link...
Rest is meh at best and plain garbage at worst. Moon arcana(that damn fat kid), chariot(stubborn sports kid), hanged man(pedo... social link), priestess(i can't cook food fuuka soical link) etc. If your excuse is, in reality there are idiots or infuriating people in real life as well then why I am playing this game? This is a work of fiction. Give me something memorable. Unfortunately there is not much of that memorable feeling...

So yeah. For the %15 content sake, I don't give 1/5. But I can easily say, I can't see any of the praise other folks does. Sometimes I hate myself with joining the flow of hype and taking wrong decisions. I have not just persona 3 and 4. I also have 5 and it costed me. Probably I couldn't be able to gather enough motivation to start 5 so I really did a wasteful decision for myself.