Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

Living out the life of a high school student may sound mundane, but Shin Megami Tensai: Persona 3 actually manages to make it compelling.

That's because the everyday activities like going to class, joining social clubs and flirting with girls serves an even greater purpose: it increases your ability to summon physical embodiments of your psyche and battle night-time demons. I know what you're thinking: why can't real high school be like this?

A Day in the Life

The setup for Persona 3 goes like this: Every night at midnight, there is a time between day and night known as the dark hour. You, along with a handful of your classmates, are able to summon personas and use them to battle against demons during this time. Most of the adventuring is done in an evolving dungeon called Tartarus and the battles are turned based; you can also see your enemies on the field and choose to engage them or try and avoid them. What truly sets the gameplay apart here is that you can order your team to split up and fight solo.

Good thing the party A.I. is up to snuff. Your party consists of up to four members at one time but you're only responsible for controlling the main character. And as the game progresses, you'll gather a nice collection of allies to pick and choose from. All in all, the balance between the high school life-sim portion and the after-school demon battling portion is nicely maintained and the interplay between the two is one of the game's main strengths.

The visuals of Persona 3 are nothing to write home about but they get the job done. The story is held together by cut scenes rendered in an anime style, which are quite spectacular and engaging; the unfortunately side effect is that when you return to the actual game, things look a little drab by comparison. What pulled me though is the fantastic music. I was so impressed by it that I jumped onto the Internet and bought the CD. If you're a fan of J-Pop and hip-hop then you won't be able to get the soundtrack out of your head. The music really develops the mood and setting in a way that complements the graphics, and even make them seem better.

At the end of the day, Persona 3 is an engaging title that truly pushes genre conventions in an exciting way. If RPG titles are you thing, then definitely don't pass this one by.

Pros: Engaging gameplay, soundtrack is fresh and new.
Cons: Daily life can get repetitive, graphics feel dated.

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