Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

Ah, Persona 4, how awesome you are. This is my first dip into the huge amount of games in the Megami Tensei franchise, and what a hell of a start.
The game takes place in 2011, you are an unnamed protagonist (you get to name him) who has to moves in the small country town of Inaba for a year, on account that his parents are working overseas. He lives with his Uncle, Ryotaro Dojima, and his cousin, Nanako Dojima. Soon after your arrival, a series of strange murders start taking place in Inaba, and you learn of a mysterious "Midnight Channel", where every rainy day at midnight, if you look into a TV that's turned off, you see your soulmate. However, this "Midnight Channel" seems somehow related to the murders in Inaba, and when you and your new friends Yosuke Hanamura, and Chie Satonaka discover a world inside of the TV, you realise they are all linked and it is your duty to save any more possible victims and find out who the killer is. 
That is all the exposition my friends, and yes, it takes a while to get started. On average it takes me about 2 hours to get through the exposition and into the meat of the game, but for a 50+ hour quest, that's forgivable. The main plot of the game can also drag. A lot of times you think it's finally all over, but BAM it hits you with a new plot twist and there's more for you to do. While it's good for a game to have plot twists, these are kind of ridiculous and can make the game seem out there. The game can seriously drag because of this. Inside of this TV world I mentioned earlier, is where the game's combat will take place. Combat is done mainly with Personas which can use abilities which are basically your magic. Every party member has their own Persona, except the Protagonist, who has the ability of the wild card, and can use any Persona he happens to find after a battle. But there is another way to get new personas. Fusing. A man named Igor who lives in the Velvet room can fuse personas for you. You can do this to create newer, more powerful personas. Initially you can only fuse 2 or 3, but as time goes on, you gain the abilities to fuse 4, 5, or 6 peronsas. There are so many different personas that it would take you at least 2 playthroughs to get them all. Outside of combat, you are a Japanese, 2nd year high school student, and you have to deal with exams, friendships, clubs, etc. Every character you can have a friendship with has there own social link card. As you proceed with your friendship you get EXP bonuses when fusing personas of that arcana. For friends you do battle with, when completing their social link, they unlock their ultimate persona, which is far more powerful (and cool looking) then their regular persona. These Social links aren't just waste a day trying to max it out" each one has its own story, and they are all very interesting. 
Being on PS2, this game doesn't have the best graphics, but the enemy and boss design is fantastic. They all look so other worldly that they just can't belong to a normal world. The personas look cool as well. They all look extremely creative and some have visual puns as well. 
This game is just overall fantastic. Without a doubt if you like JRPGs or just RPGs, pick it up. NOW.