A fantastic RPG that you shouldn't miss out on.
So what is Persona 3? people may define this game as a group of high school students who go into a time between one day and the next in a dungeon called Tartarus and shoot themselves to kill these beings that are named as "Shadows".
And yes, that's basically what it's all about, but I'm telling you know, the characters are NOT EMO, sure they look emo but killing yourself alone doesn't make you emo, you need to be regularly in despair to pull it off otherwise, don't judge.
Gameplay: Dungeon crawling, doesn't that word make you think of going through dungeon killing shadows again and again right? Well yeah, the gameplay is a turn based system with a tiny twist, that would be the 1more system , basically if you get a critical attack or hit someone's weakness, you get another turn and if all enemies are knockdown, you can do an all out attack that is basically an anime fast brawl. But beware, the enemies can also get a 1more. The dungeon crawling levels is randomly generated, you go up one floor, search and destroy/run, and level up, and the next floor, rinse and repeat, but the phases of a full moon affect some things, full moon has the story moving forward which makes for some interesting battles and elements. that's the other "half" of Persona 3. The other half has you being a normal high school student that goes around studying, dating (yes dating girls.) and school events. What makes the other side of High School life is the gameplay element called "Social Links". Social Links are your emotional ties with other people, basically having a relationship with someone will grow the more you spend time with them and it also helps you explore Tartarus by giving your personas extra experience points when you fuse them together. The fusing element of the game can be very addictive, getting the right skills on it can be difficult but if you get right, you'll feel the satisfaction flow.
Design: For a PS2 game, it looks pretty good, the graphics look pretty next gen from faraway but a close look tells you otherwise. the Menus have a nice fashion with a cool look like you've never seen before, while most of it is in a simple 2D style, it's pretty hypnotizing and there are also anime scenes in this game, they are simply done but the design never fails to amaze.
Sound: The special effects aren't the same stuff, there are some cartoonish sound effects like when you hit something with your weapon but one of the highlights in Persona 3 is the music. I'm saying that you'll love it all in one seeing as a vast majority of people these days despise rap, well I'm telling you this is J-pop and I'm sure your first impression could poison the game, but never fear, this rap isn't the usually you seem evertime, the artist is Shoji Meguro, a master composer, you better remember his name because he is a GENIUS!
Story: The story is a real highlight of SMT games, and Persona 3 does not disappoint. The story starts up pretty slow but it picks up at November, from that month on, the story is just AMAZING, the ending is fantastic as well as the last boss and all the characters become very likable and memorable. When it comes to the Story, Persona 3 is one of the best in the WORLD in gaming. It's just amazing.
Overall: It's an amazing game, if you have a PS2 or a PS3 with BC then get this game! The only drawback is that the game lacks exploration and it requires you to be patient, REALLY patient. if you can forgive these flaws then you will be rewarded greatly with epicness to a whole new level along with a 100+ hours of gameplay and fun.
---Rhen_Var
