The Video Game Revue

Persona 3

I've been making the occasional effort to play Persona 3, specifically when Fritzkrieg is over. On the surface it's an appealing game, and I'm sure I could get into it with a bit more of a time investment, but overall I'm disappointed with this game. It's slick and daring, but fails in some critical ways.

The biggest failing in Persona 3 is its confused gameplay balance. On the one hand, Persona 3 positions itself as an accessible RPG suitable for younger audiences and new-comers to the genre, and on the other hand it is deliberately cryptic and frustrating at times. If you're a fan of games like Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga, you're likely to find the gameplay stripped of its hardcore appeal, such as how you only control one character in combat, and how short the dungeon sections of the game are. On the other hand, if you're new to RPGs and looking for an easy entry point, you'll likely be put off by the obscure names of enemies, spells, and abilities, and you'll be frustrated by how suddenly and easily you can die and lose your progress, as well as how tricky the boss battles can be.

In most areas of the game--such as its story, its presentation, and the overall flow of the game--Persona 3 does an excellent job of striking a balance between accessibility and traditional RPG challenge. The story progresses at a steady, easy pace, and the combat sections are broken up by lots of NPC interaction that isn't vapid or tedious. The graphics and artwork are great, and the overall game design feels very polished. It's only once the dungeon areas of the game start that I feel like I'm being cheated of a good time.

Persona 3 would definitely benefit from an auto-save feature. I've found that the game's non-threatening tone can lull one into a false sense of security that is rudely interrupted at intervals when one realizes that it is, after all, a Shin Megami Tensei game--which is to say that it's easy to die and be forced to start over from your last save. While playing Digital Devil Saga, I enjoyed the challenging combat system in which even random encounters could suddenly take a turn for the worse and wipe out your party, but that Persona 3 shares this characteristic of other Shin Megami Tensei games while discarding so many others strikes me as simply awkward.

It's possible that Persona 3 simply maintains those hardcore challenge aspects that it feels are necessary to prepare newcomers for other, more serious Shin Megami Tensei series games. It's also possible--perhaps likely--that I simply haven't played far enough into Persona 3 to get to a point where the game world opens up and things start getting truly interesting. It pains me to write about not liking Persona 3 because I had high hopes for it and at first it played right into the ways in which the Shin Megami Tensei series is enchanting to me, but the grim reality is starting to set in that I am likely already finished with Persona 3. It's at that juncture now where I'll probably just read ahead about the game in a FAQ to decide whether or not it's worth any more of my time. As for the next time Fritzkrieg comes over, we may end up starting a play-through of something like Okami or Dragon Quest VIII instead.

posted by Parappa @ 11:40 AM