"Let's Play a Video Game!" : Shin Megami Tensei - Persona 3

So here's my shot at something somewhat unfamiliar to me: an RPG with Japanese high-school elements, simulating a social… simulator. Persona 3.

So Persona 3, if you take out the whole high school element stuff, plays like your basic Square Enix RPG. No choices to make, no social simulation, monsters on a screen to kill, climbing up and down floors to train, etc. I'm going to assume this high school simulator is what makes this game original.

Anyways, game starts off… normally. You're on your way to your dormitory building and, suddenly, in the station, everything stops functioning and the sky turns green. Eerily green. Of course, once a girl in the same dorm as you, Yukari Takabe, asks you about it, you can choose to say you never noticed it. A few days later, it's a full moon. As it turns out, every full moon, there's a new trial to be overcome. In other words, some very ugly, unwanted monster called a Shadow is going to spawn in some huge building for the night. To be more specific, for one hour. The Dark Hour. On this day, the main character summons his Persona, Orpheus (which goes berserk shortly after becomes Thanatos, and destroys the first Shadow in a very Neon-Genesis-Evangelion-esque way).

According to the game itself, it happens in between right when the clock strikes midnight sharp and one. Or something like that. Oddly enough, those without "potential" (potential as in "the ability to summon a Persona with the use of a trinket called an Evoker") are shut into coffins, oblivious to everything outside. Those with this so-called "potential", are not affected and have to fight the Shadows. Those without potential are shut into coffins, right? I mentioned this. Anyways, many of those misfortunate souls experience so much trauma, they end up becoming victims of Apathy Syndrome, a very common disease in this game in which not a word comes out of the victims' mouths due to being so traumatized by the experience of the Dark Hour.

Every 28 days, a full moon, right? Apparently, the full moon plays a pretty big role in the game. It tells you when the next big battle will be. First few fights are all right, it's just one Big Boss. But later on, it becomes two per full moon.

Now, there's another Persona-using group aside from S.E.E.S. called "Strega." Strega. Just what kinda name is that? I just looked it up and the dictionary says:

"Strega - n. - a kind of orange-flavored Italian liqueur."

And that doesn't even make any sense to me. Why would anyone name a group after an Italian drink? Unless, of course, the group leader likes oranges, Italy, and/or beverages. Anyways, these Strega guys are bad business. They're stronger than normal humans. Well, that's what I assume since normal humans don't have the potential to stop the end of the world from coming (aka The Fall).

After all the Shadows are beat, there's not much to do anymore, is there? That's how it seems, until a boy named Kyoji… Ryoji Mochizuki appears. And his surname doesn't have anything to do with "mochi", so too bad. Anyways, for a while, everything seems all right (except Aigis who just holds a huge load of suspicion against Ryoji). And as it turns out, Aigis was right about holding suspicion against Ryoji. This guy was the thirteenth Shadow. He's Death. It also turns out the Fall is nearing and there's not a thing anyone can do about it. Nyx, a prominent character in the ShinMegaTen series, is mentioned and is thought of the one to bring the end of the world. The last full moon in the game reveals that the moon is in fact not a moon. It's a giant death star thing that's going to destroy the world with everything on it. Sounds like something we've seen before. (like Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann's Cathedral Terra disguised as the moon (later found out that the moon is hidden in some other dimension) that attempts to destroy the world by crashing, Legend of Zelda: The Majora's Mask's moon that attempts to destroys the world in three days in a similar fashion, or Final Fantasy VII's Meteor) Anyways, it's here or somewhere in between the Ryoji and moon event where the characters make a promise to meet on the school roof after everything is over.

Nyx, inside the moon, is stopped by the protagonist after an EXTREME buffage. It goes like this: The moon is quickly crushing the earth, everyone is struggling to stop the moon (or at least trying to stand so they can). Suddenly, the protagonist enters a god mode gets up on his two feet without even trying, flies to the moon where he gets a heroic beating by Nyx (who just spams Death all day), and seals Nyx within himself. The game ends happily with everyone spontaneously remembering the promise made before they fought Nyx (even though they forgot everything that happened with the Dark Hour, Fall, Nyx or anything relating to it).

Now, if you know your Tarot stuff, there are, what, 21 Arcana. Shadows are 1-12: Magician, Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers, Chariot, Justice, Hermit, Fortune, Strength, Hanged Man, Death. Every full moon, one (or two) appear, and they appear in the order listed above. I'm not sure how this whole thing serves any purpose in the game aside from common strengths/weaknesses among Shadows/Personae.

Personally, I find this game an all right game to play. It's not the greatest game, but it's still good nonetheless. 4.5/5. The soundtrack is all right, I'll say "The Fight for Everyone's Souls" is amazing. More amazing than some things like FFVII's entire soundtrack.

Edit: So apparently, humans aren't the only ones able to summon a Persona. Koromaru's a dog and he has a Persona. Aigis is a robot and she (?) has a Persona. And Ken is a little boy and he has a Persona.