Persona games live and die by combat and characters. The characters in this game are great. I love them and their artwork. Their stories are genuinely tragic and heartfelt.

The combat, on the other hand, is a slog. I'm not one to complain about random battles. I've played a lot of Pokemon and Dragon Quest, and I can handle random battles. But this game? There are too many. I would be fine with random battles if the combat was quick or good, and it is neither. It takes so long to select what to do in this game. It's also more generic JRPG than SMT or later SMT games, which is such a disappointment. If battles moved even a little faster I think I would enjoy this game much more, but as it stands it was a slog to play despite the riveting story and great characters.