Few developers have the audacity to go against the grain, but Atlus is one of the few that manages to get away with it consistently. In fact, their Shin Megami Tensei (Megaten) line of RPGs basically thrives on its distance from the happy go-getter fantasy worlds or angst-riddled, steampunk universes that comprise the overwhelming majority of today's Japanese RPGs. And while some standard JRPG fundamentals worm their way into Persona 3, the game is certainly unique, both from other JRPGs and even from its Megaten brethren.

Anyone who has played one of the long-running Megaten titles knows, generally, what to expect, and Persona 3 does not disappoint. A large and diverse cast of weird demons? Check. Some irreverent and usually twisted historical, religious, or sociological allusions? Check. Combat strategy centered on exploitation of enemies' elemental weaknesses? A lot of weird items to collect and quests to accomplish? An overly sardonic tone? Tons of abilities that work in tandem? Check, check, check, and check. Persona 3 has all of this; players familiar with Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga, Devil Summoner, or the previous Persona titles will feel right at home here. After all, what other series would force characters to literally shoot themselves in the head with an Evoker (which looks exactly like a revolver) every time they want to use a skill or spell?

Newcomers, though, need not feel overwhelmed; Persona 3 features a few allusions from the Megaten and Persona series, but it is very much its own game. Likewise, Megaten followers will not feel as though they've already been down this particular road. In short, the game takes place over a school year. The protagonist and his allies all belong to a secret club in their high school devoted to repelling the shadows that infest the world during the "dark hour" - a period of stasis that occurs at midnight during which only certain people are able to move freely about.

To aid in this, players can acquire and assume various "personas" throughout the game, many of which are demonic cameos from previous Shin Megami Tensei titles (Jack Frost, Omoikane, and Nekomata, for example). But that's not all. In a unique twist, players must not neglect the day-to-day life of a high school student. Players must make sure they build social links (which allow them to create and control more personas) and keep up their academics, charm, and courage with various activities, which enables them to develop stronger social links and perform various other actions throughout the game.

Additionally, players must make sure their characters stay in shape. Extended periods spent exploring dungeons can cause characters to become fatigued, a status that adversely affects their performance and may actually require a few days of rest in order to recuperate. Staying out late every night to build skills will make characters very ineffective in the long run.

The personas - acquired either after battle or by fusing existing personas together in the Velvet Room, which is a whole minigame unto itself - all have various elemental weaknesses and strengths as well as various skills. By acquiring and equipping personas, the main character will assume the personas' abilities and elemental properties for use in battle. Most enemies have some kind of elemental weakness that can be exploited by certain abilities. Some are weak to fire, and others to ice, or wind, or lightning, others can nullify or even absorb certain elemental attacks, as as the game continues, players will encounter monsters with increasingly diverse elemental strengths and weaknesses.

The main character is unique in that he can carry multiple personas (the initial limit is six, but this increases over the course of the game) and may change into any of them at will, once per combat turn. The other thing to note is that by successfully exploiting a monster's elemental weakness, an enemy can be knocked down, giving the player an extra turn, which is essentially a watered-down version of Digital Devil Saga's press-turn system.

Combat, then, while rather simple, features an element of strategy, and while some players may not appreciate the inability to directly control their party members, at no point will they swear at their monitor wondering why a party member or ally did something so stupid. Characters learn how to exploit enemy weaknesses on their own. They also follow logical "gambits" which can be used to give additional tactical direction to allies. All in all, battles are quick, fluid, and though they feel less strategic than, say, Digital Devil Saga, the simplified mechanics bring a new pace to combat.

The persona fusion is very similar to the method seen in Nocturne or Devil Summoner, for those familiar with both titles, and allows players to fuse two or three persona together. Of course, the success and the power of the resulting persona largely depends on the player's social link rating for the target persona. So, if the player has spent a great deal of time building up his classmate social link, a newly-created "Magician Persona" will be a lot more powerful than if he created a persona of a social link he hadn't spent time developing.

This may sound confusing, and at first it is, but once players get into a groove, the interweaving mechanics of fusion, social links, and personas become easier to comprehend. With skill inheritance as another factor, it is possible for characters to carry around a rather diverse group of well-versed persona, allowing them to strategically hop in and out of these in mid-battle and exploit opponent weaknesses. It should also be noted that some personas have a synergy that grants access to a fusion spell. By equipping one persona and having a certain other persona in stock, hidden, powerful skills may unlock for use in combat.

Persona 3 may be best described as a "beautiful mess" - it strings so many tangential gameplay mechanics together into an expertly-built combat system and game world. The "school year" backdrop, and the way the main character interacts with the world as well as with the dungeon he explores allows for a measure of both freedom and choice that is missing from many of today's RPGs.

Not many RPGs allow players to have their character watch a movie instead of exploring a dungeon. Choice is an important element of RPGs, and though it really is just another strategic element in Persona 3, it is a step in the right direction. All in all, while this game doesn't have the visual gleam of a Final Fantasy title and the voice acting is unremarkable, it does feature a very unique and thoroughly engaging game world as well as an extremely enjoyable combat system, story, and characters; it is a worthy purchase for any Japanese RPG fan, Megaten cultist or not.

Jul 18, 2007 | 2 comments
Roger Helgeson