I think this game is severely overrated. People may think it's forgotten but I hear so many people talk about how it's secretly the best Persona game and it's so dark and this and that so I had high expectations. What I found was the worst combat in any game I've ever played, a just decent soundtrack (in a series known for it's genuinely masterful sound work), and a story that seemed a bit nonsensical. The characters were pretty well written overall but I really didn't appreciate the kind of humor they went for, things like Lisa calling Eikichi "Undie boss" and the exaggerated loony toons esque animations for the character sprites, it really undercuts a lot of the potential connect I could've had with them. The game has a few really good moments but the amount of horrid gameplay and boring unfunny cutscenes and dialogues I had to go through almost didn't make it worth it. One thing that this game does very well are those 2D cutscenes, I think they're genuinely beautiful and usually are saved for very important and emotional scenes which only add to it. I wish I liked this game more but I don't think it really comes across as all it was trying to be. I'm hoping Eternal Punishment is worth it.