SO CLOSE TO PERFECTION. I despise that Joker can date adults and some of the overall decisions for female characters. I also think the Strength arcana is way too OP and ruins the balance. There are some poorly designed encounters as well, particularly in the 5th palace. And fusion doesn't make a ton of sense.
BUT
With this being my first MegaTen game (and me not really being into JRPGs before this), I quickly became addicted to this game and even bought Shin Megami Tensei V as a result of playing this. I'm hooked on Atlus. This is how you make turn-based combat engaging. It isn't always challenging but it'll also throw a few curve balls at you to keep you on your toes. Not to mention the beauty and absolute perfection of the social link system that merges narrative/characters with gameplay in a really unique way. There are so many possibilities for the future of the social link system and I cannot wait to play the other Persona games and I also can't wait to see what they do with 6. Also, I've listened to the soundtrack COUNTLESS times it's just so damn perfect.
BUT
With this being my first MegaTen game (and me not really being into JRPGs before this), I quickly became addicted to this game and even bought Shin Megami Tensei V as a result of playing this. I'm hooked on Atlus. This is how you make turn-based combat engaging. It isn't always challenging but it'll also throw a few curve balls at you to keep you on your toes. Not to mention the beauty and absolute perfection of the social link system that merges narrative/characters with gameplay in a really unique way. There are so many possibilities for the future of the social link system and I cannot wait to play the other Persona games and I also can't wait to see what they do with 6. Also, I've listened to the soundtrack COUNTLESS times it's just so damn perfect.