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Massive Weaponry
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Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)
Game Info:
US/Canada Release Date: 4/22/08
Japanese Release Date: 4/19/07
Developer: Atlus Co.
Type: Single Player
Genre: Role-Playing
Platform: PS2 Exclusive
ESRB: M (Mature)
Price (New): $29.99 CDN
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I would just like to say this before I begin: This is, by far, the best RPG that I have ever played.
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Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES is a bit of a mouthful, so I'll just call it P3F for the sake of the review. Let's jump right in, shall we?
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Overview:
This game is the essentially the director's cut to the original Persona 3 (which won 2007's 'RPG of the Year' Award). As a result you get treated to the original chapter (entitled 'The Journey') with expanded content, PLUS a bonus chapter entitled 'The Answer'.
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Story:
The story is the most epic and involving story that I have even seen in a videogame. I'll give you the general gist of it:
In 'The Journey' you play a male with blue hair who just transferred to Gekkoukan High, a Japanese high school. The name of this character is irrelevant, since you name him in the beginning of the game anyway (but, for the record, it's officially 'Minato Arisato'). Sounds boring, right? Wait. It gets a lot better. So, anyway, within the first week you become aware of a special hour at night called the 'Dark Hour'. It occurs between 12:00 and 12:01, and is unkown to the majority of humanity as MOST people turn into coffins and hibernate for the duration of the Hour. Those select few who stay awake are usually able to use a special ability called 'Persona' (a manifestation of your inner soul) and can call upon it to assist them during battle against the inhabitants of the Dark Hour, the Shadows. Shadows are basically the definition of strange. They come in all shapes and sizes and are on a constant quest to kick your ass. Fortunately, they all hang out at your school at night (except for 12 of the uber-powerful ones, if I say any more than that, I'll spoil some of the plot). That's right. The school. Except that it's not your school during the Dark Hour. It is this gigantic, 200+ story tower referred to as 'Tartarus' that stands where your school is supposed to be. Anyhoo, so it turns out that you (yes, you) can use persona as well BUT with one crucial difference: You can wield more than one. That's right. You have around 170 different personas swimming around in that soul of yours, you just need to discover them.
To explain 'The Answer' would be to give MASSIVE spoilers, so I'll skip it.
The Score: An ever-so-deserving 10/10
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Graphics:
At first glance, the in-game graphics are nothing special (hey, it's a PS2). BUT the cutscenes take the game to a whole new level. You see, all the important cutscenes are not done with in-game models, no. They are done as ANIME, of all things! This makes for a truly awe-inspiring game experience.
The Score: The in-game graphics are simply a'ight, but the cutscenes jack this rating up to a 9/10
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Sound:
A seemingly endless arsenal of catchy background music ranging from soft piano to funk/jazz/hip-hop fusion. The sound effects are very polished and the cutscenes have been well-translated and flawlessly dubbed in English.
The Score: From catchy beats to funny dialogue, this games sound gets a big, honkin' 10/10
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Gameplay:
This is where the game really shines. We'll start wth the combat system. The combat system is tried and true, just your standard turn-based combat with a simple menu that allows you to choose attacks/skills/items/etc. a la Final Fantasy. Outside of combat, you use the thumbstick to move around and the X button to interact with stuff. But, remember that you are still in high school, so you have to attend classes six days out of the week (minus holidays). During the course of the day you are sometimes presented with the option to catch some Z's during class, and sometimes you are quizzed by the teachers. You also have to write exams! So pay attention! After school you can hang out with your classmates, go to the Wild Duck Burger, the movies, or even date some of the games girls, if you feel like it. This enactment of day-to-day life brings the game experience to a whole new level.
The Score: Amazing, simply amazing. Well deserving of the 10/10
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Conclusion:
I have explained many things in great detail, but I'll summarize here: PLAY THIS GAME! If you like RPG's, play it! If you don't like RPG's, play it, and you will! If you like video games in general, just play it!
Final Score: If I could give it 11, I would. But, since I can't, it gets the final 10/10
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Video:
As a 'thank you' to my first critics (Big Boo and shadowspeedy), I've decided to include a link to a video. This video is the opening video (basically, the first thing you see when you turn the game on) for P3F. Yes, I know it's for the Japanese version, but it's the exact same, with English text in mine. It gives a good example of ingame graphics, cutscene graphics, and music from the game, so enjoy!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oyV9jrMSnww
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Length:
I'll put it simply. This game is LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG. We're talking 70+ hours in 'The Journey' (and you can replay the game with all the stuff you collected in your last run once you beat it) and another 30+ hours in 'The Answer'. So, in short, this game will keep you going for quite a while.
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Well, this was my first review. So, please folks, give me some feedback!
Until next time,
Fitz.
Last edited by Massive Weaponry, 5/8/2008, 5:14 pm
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4/30/2008, 9:16 pm
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Big Boo
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Re: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)
Good Review! Only thing I can point out for improvement is the formatting of the review. Maybe for each section (graphics, dialogue, etc.) underline it and have it as a header with the information about it underneath. This will just help to distinguish what part of the game you are talking about a bit better. Other than that, great job.
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4/30/2008, 9:38 pm
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shadowspeedy
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Re: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)
BEST REVIEW THIS MONTH!
Big Boo pointes out what i was going to say. it's kinda hard too see where ratings are.
also next time im over im playing it
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i have played over 1100 houres of brawl WOOT!
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4/30/2008, 9:51 pm
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Big Boo
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Re: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)
Great job! The formatting really helped make it look better. 
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5/4/2008, 8:22 pm
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Stazora
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Re: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)
good job i liked the reveiw, clear and simple
--- fc:4038-56813302 for brawl
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5/7/2008, 6:04 pm
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Massive Weaponry
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Re: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)
quote:
Stazora wrote:
good job i liked the reveiw, clear and simple
Goooooooooooooooooooood! I like good feedback! I'm currently working on another review in my spare time (which is not something I have in abundance, mind you), so it might take a while to put up.
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5/8/2008, 8:52 am
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BIG Z
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Re: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)
awsome job. i played this game and didnt find it to good.
--- Wii Code:3323-3172-9445-3397
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5/19/2008, 4:20 pm
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Massive Weaponry
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Re: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)
quote:
BIG Z wrote:
awsome job. i played this game and didnt find it to good.
ORLY? O_o
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5/20/2008, 9:35 am
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syluxx
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Re: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)
wow with ur review u make me wana play this game even tho rpg games arent my thing........expect for final fantasy.....i loved crisis core, but great review ur ratin may seem a little bias, but again its ur review and its nice to see other ppls opinions.
great review 9/10
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5/27/2008, 3:50 pm
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