This review contains spoilers
You know when persona fans take the Hashino trilogy and say each one is the best in a certain category? The broken record of "3 has the best story, 4 has the best characters and setting, 5 has the best gameplay"? Well, throw that garbage out the window: Persona 3 is the best in everything except dungeons, and even there I'd make the case Tartarus is better than any Mind Palace, at least thematically. How P-studio managed to get so much stuff right on the first go and then fumble on subsequent releases is baffling.
I love this game and want to shower its story with praise, especially how it's not afraid to pull its punches from the start, the stakes and risks of your situation clearly established from the word ‘go’. It admittedly drags halfway through, I'd say the Summer section is probably the weakest part of the game, with the formula having fully set in and with it your complacency. Then October comes in like a truck, smacks you upside the head and yells: “you messed up, this shadow business is not a game, kid”. After that the story gets even better, each event that follows turning up the tension as you fight even harder and try to savour the last moments of your life, the calendar counting down to your eventual passing. Bit of a crap life, sure, but at least you’re not in it by yourself.
The characters of Persona 3 seem pretty shallow at first. Pretty much everyone plays their cards close to their chest, from the main cast to the social link options, with some coming off as especially unlikeable. Yet as you face hardships together and make an effort to better know your pals, as they experience the worst of what their situation has to offer, everyone grows and changes into stronger human beings, which is true even for the robot. Not really for the dog though, he just wants to help and is happy to be along. Good for him. In the case of the party, outside of the tragedy of Shinjiro’s death, and because of it, everyone finds a way to keep on living, striving for new goals with a clarity of purpose. In particular, the awakenings are amazing moments for each character, never feeling forced due to them going in lock-step with the plot, avoiding one of many missteps of future titles. Speaking of awakenings, let’s talk about Junpei.
Junpei starts out as the bro. Loud, jokey and obnoxious, always looking to prove his virility in a childish way. The eternal class clown. And much like a clown it’s an act, as he’s one of the most insecure members of the cast. Yet he never lowers his guard around others. It’s exactly because of his flaws he ends up in danger by the hands of Strega and it’s by facing his demons head on with Chidori that he starts to change. The jokey veneer never flakes off, yet as the months pile on, his core becomes ever more determined, driving him to stare directly into the jaws of death, literally, with a little help from his friends. This culminates with Chidori’s death, her spirit now alive within him, even passing her regenerative abilities onto him in battle, in one of the single best uses of a mechanic I’ve seen in any videogame. By the time March 5 2010 rolls around, Junpei is still the bro, yet he is much closer to really being “da man”.
Since I’ve mentioned battles, let’s settle the CPU party control debate to rest once and for all. In my objective opinion: it’s alright. It helps to further characterize each member other than your as their own person, warts and all. It’s a bit clunky, especially when the menu, as nice as it is, makes tactics switching feel like a bit of a chore. I know, I know, Mitsuru Marin Karin Mind Charge Ice Break, yeah we’ve all heard the joke. Thing is, it works. It’s a restraint which, coupled with the many design choices that are closer to Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne than they are to Persona 4, keeps you on your toes and thinking tactically.
I apologize to fans of Persona 4 and Persona 5 for badmouthing those games. I like them too, yet after playing Persona 3 it’s apparent how both misunderstand and/or misuse the groundwork laid by this title. I get it, 4 had to be made in two years alongside FES, it’s a miracle the game even shipped in the first place, while 5 probably wanted to stick to the plan because that’s the series’ identity after nearly ten years between instalments. Yet this leaves them feeling less complete, like they’re carrying vestigial elements which are there because they have to be or it won’t be a Persona game anymore. I hope this isn’t taken as an insult or as a slight against the series, but as an invitation to grow, to not be afraid of mixing it up and shed off the old skin, just like 3 did. I believe this makes for stronger experiences which, like the Kirijo Group claims, favour the harmony of two over the perfection of one. In this case, harmony of mechanics and story for maximum thematic power. Put that shit in Persona 6, Atlus employee who is definitively real and reading this review.
I love this game and want to shower its story with praise, especially how it's not afraid to pull its punches from the start, the stakes and risks of your situation clearly established from the word ‘go’. It admittedly drags halfway through, I'd say the Summer section is probably the weakest part of the game, with the formula having fully set in and with it your complacency. Then October comes in like a truck, smacks you upside the head and yells: “you messed up, this shadow business is not a game, kid”. After that the story gets even better, each event that follows turning up the tension as you fight even harder and try to savour the last moments of your life, the calendar counting down to your eventual passing. Bit of a crap life, sure, but at least you’re not in it by yourself.
The characters of Persona 3 seem pretty shallow at first. Pretty much everyone plays their cards close to their chest, from the main cast to the social link options, with some coming off as especially unlikeable. Yet as you face hardships together and make an effort to better know your pals, as they experience the worst of what their situation has to offer, everyone grows and changes into stronger human beings, which is true even for the robot. Not really for the dog though, he just wants to help and is happy to be along. Good for him. In the case of the party, outside of the tragedy of Shinjiro’s death, and because of it, everyone finds a way to keep on living, striving for new goals with a clarity of purpose. In particular, the awakenings are amazing moments for each character, never feeling forced due to them going in lock-step with the plot, avoiding one of many missteps of future titles. Speaking of awakenings, let’s talk about Junpei.
Junpei starts out as the bro. Loud, jokey and obnoxious, always looking to prove his virility in a childish way. The eternal class clown. And much like a clown it’s an act, as he’s one of the most insecure members of the cast. Yet he never lowers his guard around others. It’s exactly because of his flaws he ends up in danger by the hands of Strega and it’s by facing his demons head on with Chidori that he starts to change. The jokey veneer never flakes off, yet as the months pile on, his core becomes ever more determined, driving him to stare directly into the jaws of death, literally, with a little help from his friends. This culminates with Chidori’s death, her spirit now alive within him, even passing her regenerative abilities onto him in battle, in one of the single best uses of a mechanic I’ve seen in any videogame. By the time March 5 2010 rolls around, Junpei is still the bro, yet he is much closer to really being “da man”.
Since I’ve mentioned battles, let’s settle the CPU party control debate to rest once and for all. In my objective opinion: it’s alright. It helps to further characterize each member other than your as their own person, warts and all. It’s a bit clunky, especially when the menu, as nice as it is, makes tactics switching feel like a bit of a chore. I know, I know, Mitsuru Marin Karin Mind Charge Ice Break, yeah we’ve all heard the joke. Thing is, it works. It’s a restraint which, coupled with the many design choices that are closer to Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne than they are to Persona 4, keeps you on your toes and thinking tactically.
I apologize to fans of Persona 4 and Persona 5 for badmouthing those games. I like them too, yet after playing Persona 3 it’s apparent how both misunderstand and/or misuse the groundwork laid by this title. I get it, 4 had to be made in two years alongside FES, it’s a miracle the game even shipped in the first place, while 5 probably wanted to stick to the plan because that’s the series’ identity after nearly ten years between instalments. Yet this leaves them feeling less complete, like they’re carrying vestigial elements which are there because they have to be or it won’t be a Persona game anymore. I hope this isn’t taken as an insult or as a slight against the series, but as an invitation to grow, to not be afraid of mixing it up and shed off the old skin, just like 3 did. I believe this makes for stronger experiences which, like the Kirijo Group claims, favour the harmony of two over the perfection of one. In this case, harmony of mechanics and story for maximum thematic power. Put that shit in Persona 6, Atlus employee who is definitively real and reading this review.
3 Comments
There was some update to backloggd you need to log a game's finish date now for it to show up in people's feed.
I did that and it still doesn't appear for me, even when I log out. Maybe it's because I posted the review on the 17th but logged it as finished on the 16th. That's my best guess
Tauranoro
9 months ago