This review contains spoilers
After rating Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal a perfect score, Persona 3 FES had some big shoes to fill. And it didn't.
...At first. With an all too familiar slow start, Persona 3 sets up everything you need to know to have a basic understanding of its systems in place. Only now, retroactively, do I understand the significance of the slow start of this game. I was confused why I would only get lore every full moon, feeling like it would be more engaging and purposeful to get more early on. And while it was a struggle to find the time to play at first, I truly appreciate it for what it is now.
The slow dripfeeding of the narrative, characterization and establishing bonds is meaningful in the specific themes of Persona 3. SEES exists out of necessity, to get rid of the Dark Hour and its shadows. Our main crew didn't join SEES because they were friends with each other, their purpose was to fulfill their goal. Having the main characters of Persona 3 only be vaguely acquainted with one another through school, barely being able to call each other friends and even being suspicious of one another makes the bonding and gradual build-up in their overall dynamic that much more meaningful. Take Yukari and Mitsuru, a girl that doesn't know her purpose in the grand scheme of things and the leader of SEES. There was an inherent distance between the two, but over the course of Persona 3, their bond becomes something special and a unique dynamic exists between the two which can be said about a lot of its members.
In a sense, this works on a meta level too. The more time you spend with these characters, the more you wanna see them, talk to them and form a unique bond with them. It feels authentic.
Among the things that this game does badly and does well, the development and meaning of the group dynamic of SEES and its ties into the message of Persona 3 stands out on top as its strongest component. Finding purpose and comfort in uncertainty through the bonds you create and the people you love is incredibly meaningful. As someone who struggles with finding a purpose in life, I feel like this game tells me that that's okay. And that I should be okay with that too.
Forever grateful for the friends that watched me, pushed me, encouraged me and supported me throughout this playthrough.
...At first. With an all too familiar slow start, Persona 3 sets up everything you need to know to have a basic understanding of its systems in place. Only now, retroactively, do I understand the significance of the slow start of this game. I was confused why I would only get lore every full moon, feeling like it would be more engaging and purposeful to get more early on. And while it was a struggle to find the time to play at first, I truly appreciate it for what it is now.
The slow dripfeeding of the narrative, characterization and establishing bonds is meaningful in the specific themes of Persona 3. SEES exists out of necessity, to get rid of the Dark Hour and its shadows. Our main crew didn't join SEES because they were friends with each other, their purpose was to fulfill their goal. Having the main characters of Persona 3 only be vaguely acquainted with one another through school, barely being able to call each other friends and even being suspicious of one another makes the bonding and gradual build-up in their overall dynamic that much more meaningful. Take Yukari and Mitsuru, a girl that doesn't know her purpose in the grand scheme of things and the leader of SEES. There was an inherent distance between the two, but over the course of Persona 3, their bond becomes something special and a unique dynamic exists between the two which can be said about a lot of its members.
In a sense, this works on a meta level too. The more time you spend with these characters, the more you wanna see them, talk to them and form a unique bond with them. It feels authentic.
Among the things that this game does badly and does well, the development and meaning of the group dynamic of SEES and its ties into the message of Persona 3 stands out on top as its strongest component. Finding purpose and comfort in uncertainty through the bonds you create and the people you love is incredibly meaningful. As someone who struggles with finding a purpose in life, I feel like this game tells me that that's okay. And that I should be okay with that too.
Forever grateful for the friends that watched me, pushed me, encouraged me and supported me throughout this playthrough.
2 Comments
@Talketsu i wouldnt be able to give a true review on Persona 3's gameplay since i cheated since i mainly wanted to play for its story. however it has some really neat gameplay-story integration, specifically towards the end. id say the gameplay is pretty good and gives some cool incentive to build a strong persona deck. having ur teammates decide their own actions was really cool for me and tied very well into some thematic exploration of self-exploration but i could see this be bothersome for people who want to control the party to maximize damage output or smth
Talketsu
5 months ago