45. Persona 3
Remember back in the olden days when GameSpite was pretty much the all-Persona-3-all-the-time website? Consider this a fond remembrance of those bygone days! Thank goodness the game is finally coming out in a portable form so I can finally see what all these people have been going on about through my website. Ah, the promise of peace of mind.
35 thoughts on “GameSpite Quarterly 2, #45: Persona 3”
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“Persona 3 shines as the best RPG of the last decade, and it’s easy to see why.” Really? That’s a pretty bold claim. I’ll readily grant it “best straight-up Japanese RPG of the last 3 years” but you’re really dismissing a lot of strong contenders as is. Bioware and Bethesda have done some pretty impressive things recently, Disgaea is darn impressive if we open the door to TRPGs, 10 years is long enough to have to consider Skies of Arcadia. Heck, even if we narrow things down to just PS2 games, you have Dragon Quarter, Wild ARMs 3, and 75% of the Shadow Hearts weighing in, most notably Covenant.
Now, if you want to call it better than any RPG Square/Enix/Square-Enix has tossed out there in the last 10 years, that one I’ll grant you. DQ8’s still pretty darn underrated though.
I picked up the “FES” version of this game a few months ago, played it for a bit (up until shortly after the first exams section) and just.. stopped. I mean, with some games you can rattle off a long, detailed list of the various things wrong with it, but I can’t even summon the enthusiasm toward P3 to even do that.
I could mention the way you’re railroaded through a fixed time period in which to do everything, making you constantly worry that any wrong move is going to screw you over later in the game, or point out the way the social links make me really feel like a dick since I kept thinking “You know, I’m not really here because I want to be around you, I’m just pretending to like you so that I can get some bonus levels on my monster summons” but even that seems a bit petty.
Really, the game is just… there, and I can’t really summon up any kind of feeling towards it at all. I was hoping this article would either crystallise the reasons why I didn’t like the game or give me a reason to pick it up again, but after reading this substance-less collection of buzzwords I feel like I know even less about the game than I did before (which, I guess, makes it a perfectly appropriate description of the game in question.)
Realy, Wild Arms 3?
I was thinking the same thing…I enjoyed the in-game novels more than the game’s actual story.
You know, I hear about this game all the time, though I’ve never played it. Might’ve been nice if this article explained what some of these mechanics are instead of just talking about how great they are for us laymen.
Dear people bitching about this article: an in-depth review of P3 is already available on this site. That is why this was not an in-depth review: it would have been redundant.
I will second the sentiment that Persona 3 is the best RPG in the last decade. And yes, I’m fully aware of how long a decade is and what games came out during that time. I’m sure Tomm is, too.
I really have to agree with Googleshng on this one. “Persona 3 shines as the best RPG of the last decade, and it’s easy to see why.” This quote really puts me off. Probably the first article that I didn’t enjoy. Of course, I’ve noticed in the past that Tomm and mine tastes tend to flow in different directions.
Geez you guys universally suck.
hmmm I guess I should get off WoW/Champions and unwrap my Persona 3 Fez and play it. But, until I do I still consider Mother 3 the best JRPG of this decade. It takes talent to evoke emotion from a sprite based game. Wonder if P3F will beat Persona 2 IS/EP for best Persona game? :)
You should unwrap your Persona 3 Fez and wear it.
Persona 3 IS the best RPG of the last decade. Tomm is right. And, crazy as this is, Tomm, I got the hardcover edition of this book mostly just to see what you wrote about P3 (so I didn’t have to wait for the article to be posted online) and I feel like I got my money’s worth.
Thanks BuckTwenty. That improves my day :)
I thought we all liked Persona 4 better now.
I thought Persona 3 was incredibly boring. :
I just received word that these articles are opinions reflecting a poll and the individual authors’ views. This changes everything!
Did you ever feel like… thinking this would last forever?
At an earlier age I would see a growing pool of foolishness like this and say, “I need to jump right in, countering grandiose claims with sweeping statements and personal attacks to boot!” (Believe me, I’ve views on this specific subject.) I’m not wise enough to stay out of the pool altogether, but I hope I can just say we should stop pissing in it without my having to snipe at individual contributors.
What about SMT: Nocturne? Not that I’ve played either of them as of yet still, due to my horrendous procrastination tendencies.
@cartman414 once again: All content in these articles reflect their authors’ opinions.
Personally I’d rank P3 just after Nocturne, but that’s just me. It’s still one of my top five favorite games and this one of the few articles (along with Calorie Mate’s) that managed to do it some justice.
I definitely meant my comment to give a “I respectfully disagree…” vibe, and please accept my apologies if it didn’t. There are times when the tone of my inner monologue misleads my fingers. Tomm makes some great contributions, and Gamespite would be less without him.
I know it’s an opinion piece, but that he said Persona 3 was the first to get it right sounded a little curious.
I was kinda dissapointed teh game didn’t end when the protagonist put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Watching the rest of the game involving a bunch of high school children shooting themsevles in the head over and over and over and not dying was rubbing my face in some miserable weeaboo wet dream chore of a game that didn’t want to die. I think I can understand the main character’s motivation; its like he was trying to get out of a sucky jrpg, but some soulless jerk wanted to make wads of cash of his eternal misery and suffering.
Just some constructive criticism:
“The island nation of Japan, like publisher Atlus, makes a lot of RPGs.” Isn’t this like saying “The human body, like the heart, pumps a lot of blood”?
The Matrix reference at the end is also pretty forced. “If the RPG industry were the first Matrix film — and I’m not saying it’s not …” No, I’m sorry, but an industry is not a film. I see where you were going with this, but it’s poorly worded.
Anyway, Persona 3 was a big surprise and a lot of fun, although I liked the changes and fixes that Persona 4 made a lot more, as well as the overall cast and dungeon variety. I just don’t think that Persona 3 – or 4 – is going to scare Square-Enix anytime soon, as much as we might want it to.
My only problem is that Matrix analogy, especially there at the end. If the Machines are Squeenix, and P3 is Neo, then the Dance Orgy was Neo’s side, not the machines.
Man, i hate that movie.
Wow. Since when are we not allowed to use opinions or metaphors?
Since the Internet, of course.
I bought into the hype on this, and it’s good, but… it’s not the greatest. At least not for me. The structure of the game doesn’t work for me. I don’t particularly like the random dungeons and the whole “getting tired” thing. To me, Persona 4 seems much better in that regard.
I agree with the first poster, I’m a big fan of Shadow Hearts: Covenant. Dragon Quest VIII is also top-notch. Not saying that this isn’t, it’s just not necessarily my style.
Note to self: Never, ever write a fun article ever again.
Don’t take it personally. As you’ve already stated, it comes down to taste, and some people love the game, and I totally see where it comes from. State your opinions with boldness, and expect others to do the same. Now if everyone would be tactful while doing so… that would be a beautiful thing.
Besides, you’ve got most of critical professional opinion on your side. :)
Sarge is right!
@SilentSnake: Nobody said that either was forbidden, but people are allowed to 1) respond with their own opinions, and 2) say whether or not they liked a metaphor.
@Tomm: It’s all just constructive criticism. If you’re happy with what you did, then feel free to ignore everybody and be happy. If you’re looking for advice or honest thoughts, then you’re free to acknowledge them and learn what you can. It’s all up to you. You don’t have to take it badly.
“Persona 3 shines as the best RPG of the last decade, and it’s easy to see why.” Maybe this sentence should have been reworded to sound like a personal opinion and not a fact? But what do I know? English isn’t my native language.
I echo what Shellshock said.
If supposedly “these articles are opinions reflecting a poll and the individual authors’ views”, then perhaps opinions would go over better if they weren’t presented as absolute facts. Not trying to be offensive, just saying.