Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is a video game that consists of 3 releases
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Persona 3 begins with a teenage boy transferring to Gekkoukan High School, and attempting to live a normal life there -- until he's attacked by strange creatures called Shadows that feed on people's minds. The stress of the situation awakens his Persona, an odd and powerful creature dwelling within him. It can also be classified as a manifestation of his inner psyche.
With its help he defeats the Shadows and realizes that he is not the only student in the school with such powers. In fact, there is a a group called the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (or SEES for short), charged with the responsibility to destroy these creatures. Each member is armed with an Evoker, a weapon in which they literally shoot themselves in the head with (a.k.a. mock suicide), in order to cause enough strain to summon their Personas. The player soon learns of the Dark Hour, a daily transitional period between today and tomorrow in which a few people are aware of. The high school they attend in also becomes an evil tower called Tartarus during that period only. Each member of SEES has sworn to enter Tartarus every midnight to rid the world of the Shadows, Tartarus, and Dark Hour, while trying to uncover the truth behind their reasons of existence.
The gameplay in Persona 3 joins together two very different genres, role-playing and dating simulation. During the Dark Hour, the player must explore the tower Tartarus, fighting the shadows that appear in his way, through its various floors. However, when not inside the tower, he must build his stats (charm, academics and courage) by studying constantly, going to the karaoke or the coffee shop and doing other activities. These stats will help the character at establishing Social Links with other people (including some party members) which will give him bonus experience points when fusing personas, making them more powerful. Sleeping early or in class also changes the player's health status. For example, if the player's condition is either "sick" or "tired" due to exploration of tartarus, he can choose to sleep and change it to either "good" or "great".
The following Social Links can be formed in Persona 3.
Persona 3 uses a turn-based battle system that is engaged when the player either attacks or is attacked by a Shadow. If the Shadow gets the jump, or preemptive strike on the player, then the Shadow will be able to attack first (this is known as an Enemy Advantage). If the player is able to get the jump on the Shadow, then the player's party will be able to attack first (this is known as a Player Advantage). During battle, the player only has control of his/her own character, but is able to give orders to his/her party members (tactics). The player must rely heavily on character AI during battle, and cannot directly control them.
Persona 3 encourages players to exploit the enemy's weakness in order to gain an extra attack or pull off an All-Out Attack. Using the correct attack on the enemy will grant the player with an extra attack. Hitting another enemy with its weakness grants the player yet another turn, and so on and so forth. An All Out Attack is only possible if all the enemies are "knocked down," and there are at least 2 party members present (including the player). This attack involves all the party members bum-rushing the Shadow(s), engulfing them in a cartoonish cloud, dealing a large amount of damage to the enemies.
Persona 3 has ten playable characters, which include:
Name: Minato Arisato (主人公/有里 湊 )
Date of Birth: 1992
Age: 17
Height: 170 cm
Blood Type: O
Weapon: All, Excluding guns and knives.
Persona: Orpheus (オルフェウス), Thanatos, Messiah (メサイア)
Arcana/Tarot(s): Wild Card, Universe, Fool
Bio: The main character of the game. He is a transfer student who's parents died in a car accident when he was a child.
Name: Yukari Takeba (岳羽 ゆかり)
Date of Birth: October 19th, 1992
Age: 17
Zodiac: Libra
Height: 159 cm
Blood Type: B
Weapon: Bow
Persona: Io, Isis
Arcana/Tarot: Lovers Arcana
Bio: A best friend of the protagonist, and primary love interest. Her father died when she was still young, and she doesn't get along well with her mother.
Name: Junpei Iori (伊織 順平)
Date of Birth: January 16th, 1993
Age: 17
Zodiac: Capricorn
Height: 170.5 cm
Blood Type: B
Weapon: Two-Handed Sword
Persona: Hermes, Trismegistus
Arcana/Tarot: Magician
Bio: A best friend of the protagonist. He is a wise-cracking, albeit clumsy dude in every sense of the word.
Name: Mitsuru Kirijo (桐条 美鶴)
Date of Birth: May 8th, 1991
Age: 18
Zodiac: Taurus
Height: 166 cm
Blood Type: O
Weapon: Rapier
Persona/Tarot: Penthesilea, Artemisia
Arcana: Empress
Bio: Daughter of the head of the Kirijo Group. She is an intelligent student, and the head of the student council.
Name: Akihiko Sanada
Date of Birth: September 22nd, 1991
Age: 18
Weapon: Fists & Gloves
Persona: Polydeuces, Caesar
Arcana/Tarot: Emperor
Bio: A mature & competitive student who lost his sister at a young age, and he felt as though he had failed to protect her. As a result of this, he is fiercely competitive. He is also a member of the school's boxing team.
Name: Fuuka Yamagishi
Date of Birth: December 22nd, 1992
Age: 17
Weapon: None
Persona: Lucia, Juno
Arcana: Priestess
Bio: A shy student is picked on by other students. She is locked in the gym overnight one night and becomes lost as the school transforms into Tartarus. SEES locates and rescues her, bringing her on board as a support member who stays out of combat.
Name: Shinjiro Aragaki
Date of Birth: August 11th, 1991
Age: 18
Weapon: Battle Axe
Persona: Castor
Arcana: Hierophant
Bio: Childhood friend of Akihiko, he has since distanced himself from most people, and rarely attends school. He also has previous connections to Ken & Koromaru before joining SEES.
Name: Ken Amada
Date of Birth: June 24, 1998
Age: 11
Weapon: Spear
Persona: Nemesis, Kala-Nemi
Arcana: Justice
Bio: Elementary school student who is staying at the students' dorm. His mother was murdered and he has since been seeking answers & justice.
Name: Koromaru
Date of Birth: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Weapon: Knife
Persona: Cerberus
Arcana: Unspecified
Bio: A dog who's owner dies partway through the school year. Lacking a place to go, SEES accepts him into their ranks.
Name: Aigis
Date of Manufacture: September 10th, 2000
Age: N/A
Weapon: Firearm
Persona: Palladion, Pallas Athena
Arcana: Aeon
Bio: A machine built by the Kirijo Group for the sole purpose of destroying shadows. She eventually begins to form a personality and thus, a persona.
Persona 3 launched in the US as a Limited Edition box-set for a standalone retail value. Included in this release was an art book and a CD soundtrack containing a best-of sampling of the game's music. Both of these items were later included in a special factory leftovers edition of Persona 3: FES.
The Art of Persona 3
Called The Art of Persona 3, the art book contains several early concept sketches and illustrations relating to Persona 3. Character pages are included showing each main character and their Personas, as well as multiple other sketches and concept art. The book also contains trivia and descriptions relating to the game and its characters. It is written by Persona 3's Art Director, Shigenori Soejima.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack was also included in the game, titled Persona 3: Original Soundtrack. Composed by Shoji Meguro, the soundtrack contains selected songs from the game. Its vocal tracks were performed by Yumi Kawamura, Lotus Juice, and Tomoko Komiya. The full soundtrack of the game was released exclusively in Japan and contains 58 tracks. An arrangement album titled Burn My Dread -Reincarnation: Persona 3- was released to accompany the release of Persona 3: FES.
Persona 3 garnered much attention since its release, being named "Best RPG of 2007" by many gaming sites like Gamespy and RPGFan. The game was praised for its combination of turn-based RPG and dungeon-crawling elements, as well as its unique dating simulation involving Social Links. It currently holds a score of an 86% at Metacritic, based on 52 reviews.
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Persona 3 offers a unique RPG experience, combining elements of Japanese role-playing and dating simulations.
Overview
Persona 3 is another installment of the Megami Tensei series developed and published by Atlus Co. It was released on August 14, 2007 in North America. Players take on an adventure in a high school student who fights shadows with other people who have the same power to call forth their "Persona.". The game combines dungeon crawling and turn-based role-playing gameplay elements with dating simulations. Persona 3 later saw re-release with the expansion of the original on April 22, 2008, called Persona 3: FES. It contains an additional chapter and some new changes from the original release.Story
The player awakens his Persona for the first time...
With its help he defeats the Shadows and realizes that he is not the only student in the school with such powers. In fact, there is a a group called the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (or SEES for short), charged with the responsibility to destroy these creatures. Each member is armed with an Evoker, a weapon in which they literally shoot themselves in the head with (a.k.a. mock suicide), in order to cause enough strain to summon their Personas. The player soon learns of the Dark Hour, a daily transitional period between today and tomorrow in which a few people are aware of. The high school they attend in also becomes an evil tower called Tartarus during that period only. Each member of SEES has sworn to enter Tartarus every midnight to rid the world of the Shadows, Tartarus, and Dark Hour, while trying to uncover the truth behind their reasons of existence.
Gameplay
Social Links play a huge role in the game, especially in battle.
Social Links
The following Social Links can be formed in Persona 3.
- Fool: S.E.E.S. (Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad)
- Magician: Kenji Tomochika
- Priestess: Fuuka Yamagishi
- Empress: Mitsuru Kirijo
- Emperor: Hidetoshi Odagiri
- Heirophant: Bunkichi and Mitsuko
- Lovers: Yukari Takeba
- Chariot: Kazushi Miyamoto
- Justice: Chihiro Fushimi
- Hermit: Maya (a.k.a. Ms. Toriumi)
- Fortune: Keisuke Hiraga
- Strength: Yuko Nishiwaki
- Hanged Man: Maiko
- Death: Pharos
- Temperance: Bebe (a.k.a. Andre Roland Jean Gérard)
- Devil: Tanaka
- Tower: Mutatsu
- Star: Mamoru Hayase
- Moon: Nozomi Suemitsu
- Sun: Akinari Kamiki
- Judgement: Nyx Annihilation Team
- Worlds: N/A
Battle System
The typical look of battle in Persona 3. Only the main character can be controlled directly while party members act on their own.
Persona 3 encourages players to exploit the enemy's weakness in order to gain an extra attack or pull off an All-Out Attack. Using the correct attack on the enemy will grant the player with an extra attack. Hitting another enemy with its weakness grants the player yet another turn, and so on and so forth. An All Out Attack is only possible if all the enemies are "knocked down," and there are at least 2 party members present (including the player). This attack involves all the party members bum-rushing the Shadow(s), engulfing them in a cartoonish cloud, dealing a large amount of damage to the enemies.
Full Moon
A full moon will appear once every month. Once a full moon appears, players will be faced with an incredible challenge that they must overcome in order to progress through the game. Each full moon event is part of the main storyline and must face these obstacles in order to move on. The player must also utilize his or her time before the next full moon by gaining enough experience for preparation, as well as improving the player's attributes, and balancing time between social links.Characters
Persona 3 has ten playable characters, which include:
Minato Arisato (主人公/有里 湊 )
Date of Birth: 1992
Age: 17
Height: 170 cm
Blood Type: O
Weapon: All, Excluding guns and knives.
Persona: Orpheus (オルフェウス), Thanatos, Messiah (メサイア)
Arcana/Tarot(s): Wild Card, Universe, Fool
Bio: The main character of the game. He is a transfer student who's parents died in a car accident when he was a child.
Yukari Takeba (岳羽 ゆかり)
Date of Birth: October 19th, 1992
Age: 17
Zodiac: Libra
Height: 159 cm
Blood Type: B
Weapon: Bow
Persona: Io, Isis
Arcana/Tarot: Lovers Arcana
Bio: A best friend of the protagonist, and primary love interest. Her father died when she was still young, and she doesn't get along well with her mother.
Junpei Iori (伊織 順平)
Date of Birth: January 16th, 1993
Age: 17
Zodiac: Capricorn
Height: 170.5 cm
Blood Type: B
Weapon: Two-Handed Sword
Persona: Hermes, Trismegistus
Arcana/Tarot: Magician
Bio: A best friend of the protagonist. He is a wise-cracking, albeit clumsy dude in every sense of the word.
Mitsuru Kirijo (桐条 美鶴)
Date of Birth: May 8th, 1991
Age: 18
Zodiac: Taurus
Height: 166 cm
Blood Type: O
Weapon: Rapier
Persona/Tarot: Penthesilea, Artemisia
Arcana: Empress
Bio: Daughter of the head of the Kirijo Group. She is an intelligent student, and the head of the student council.
Akihiko Sanada
Date of Birth: September 22nd, 1991
Age: 18
Weapon: Fists & Gloves
Persona: Polydeuces, Caesar
Arcana/Tarot: Emperor
Bio: A mature & competitive student who lost his sister at a young age, and he felt as though he had failed to protect her. As a result of this, he is fiercely competitive. He is also a member of the school's boxing team.
Fuuka Yamagishi
Date of Birth: December 22nd, 1992
Age: 17
Weapon: None
Persona: Lucia, Juno
Arcana: Priestess
Bio: A shy student is picked on by other students. She is locked in the gym overnight one night and becomes lost as the school transforms into Tartarus. SEES locates and rescues her, bringing her on board as a support member who stays out of combat.
Shinjiro Aragaki
Date of Birth: August 11th, 1991
Age: 18
Weapon: Battle Axe
Persona: Castor
Arcana: Hierophant
Bio: Childhood friend of Akihiko, he has since distanced himself from most people, and rarely attends school. He also has previous connections to Ken & Koromaru before joining SEES.
Ken Amada
Date of Birth: June 24, 1998
Age: 11
Weapon: Spear
Persona: Nemesis, Kala-Nemi
Arcana: Justice
Bio: Elementary school student who is staying at the students' dorm. His mother was murdered and he has since been seeking answers & justice.
Koromaru
Date of Birth: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Weapon: Knife
Persona: Cerberus
Arcana: Unspecified
Bio: A dog who's owner dies partway through the school year. Lacking a place to go, SEES accepts him into their ranks.
Aigis
Date of Manufacture: September 10th, 2000
Age: N/A
Weapon: Firearm
Persona: Palladion, Pallas Athena
Arcana: Aeon
Bio: A machine built by the Kirijo Group for the sole purpose of destroying shadows. She eventually begins to form a personality and thus, a persona.
Art Book and Soundtrack
Persona 3 launched in the US as a Limited Edition box-set for a standalone retail value. Included in this release was an art book and a CD soundtrack containing a best-of sampling of the game's music. Both of these items were later included in a special factory leftovers edition of Persona 3: FES.
The Art of Persona 3 
Called The Art of Persona 3, the art book contains several early concept sketches and illustrations relating to Persona 3. Character pages are included showing each main character and their Personas, as well as multiple other sketches and concept art. The book also contains trivia and descriptions relating to the game and its characters. It is written by Persona 3's Art Director, Shigenori Soejima.
Soundtrack
The Persona 3 Soundtrack CD.
US Tracklisting
- Burn My Dread - 1:37
- Aria of the Soul - 5:41
- Want to be Close -2:35
- Shadow - 2:44
- Unavoidable Battle - 2:55
- When the Moon Reaches Out for the Stars - 2:36
- Iwatodai Dorm - 2:32
- Mass Destruction - 3:30
- Deep Breath, Deep Breath - 2:23
- Master of Shadow - 2:36
- Changing Seasons - 3:00
- Basement - 3:05
- Living with Determination - 3:08
- Memories of the City - 2:47
- The Battle for Everyone's Souls - 5:34
- Burn My Dread -Last Battle- - 3:50
- Enduring Bonds - 1:12
- Memories of You - 6:04
Reception
Persona 3 garnered much attention since its release, being named "Best RPG of 2007" by many gaming sites like Gamespy and RPGFan. The game was praised for its combination of turn-based RPG and dungeon-crawling elements, as well as its unique dating simulation involving Social Links. It currently holds a score of an 86% at Metacritic, based on 52 reviews.
| Game Name | Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Genres |
|
| Themes | |
| Original US Release |
Aug. 14, 2007
need a fuzzy date? |
| Original US Release |
know the real date? |
| Aliases | |
| CERO |
CERO: B
|
| ESRB |
ESRB: M
|
| PEGI |
PEGI: 12+
|
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