Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES
Score: 88% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Atlus Developer: Atlus Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: RPG
Graphics & Sound: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES is a hybrid "Director's Cut"/ Expansion for Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, one of last year's better, yet criminally overlooked RPGs. Persona 3 FES features two episodes, a pumped-up version of Persona 3 and a brand-new, 30-hour "real ending" that follows the exploits of Aigis, one of the characters from the original game. Persona 3 FES carries through with the same great presentation as the original. The visuals aren't exactly stunning, though they still help develop a great identity for the game that allows it to stand out. The art-style has a toned-down anime feel; it looks the part, though with a muted feel. The familiar stable of enemies and Personas are present, as are a number of new additions that fit right in with the game's look and tone. The game's visual identity is complimented by great audio. The background music may be a little too "Japanese" for some players, but when taken alongside the game, it works. Although there is some awkward dialogue translation, especially in the new segments, the voicework makes up for the shortcomings.
Gameplay: Persona 3 focuses on a group of students who spend their days occupied with the typical drama that comes with being a high school student. When the lights go out, however, these not-so-typical teens battle demons in a giant, dungeon-like fortress called Tartarus that only appears during the "Dark Hour". Although running through dungeons isn't particularly new territory for an RPG, Persona 3 shook up the norm by introducing several social interactions into the mix. Just as much time could be spent navigating tricky social situations as it was hacking through labyrinthine dungeons. The reworked original game, now called "The Journey", keeps the fundamental gameplay and adds new Social Links, Persona and other items. The brand new quest, entitled "The Answer", picks up directly after the events of the original and follows Aigis as she leads a group of students through a completely new dungeon. Overall, "The Answer" follows the same gameplay formula as the original game, though it drops the social aspects. Taken alone, the dungeon crawling gets dull and as a result, "The Answer" isn't as engaging as the original game, but it is still fun in shorter doses.
Difficulty: Although the new additions might not be enough to hook veteran players, the addition of a new, harder difficulty level might be just the thing to grab their interest. Monsters are numerous and more aggressive, which will really put your Persona mastery to the test. The new Social Links and Personas help to balance out the increased challenge, though it will still give you a rough time. "The Answer" puts up an even harder fight. It should go without saying that players should probably play through Persona 3 before jumping into, "The Answer", and not just for story reasons since it will put you through the wringer. If you have your Persona 3 save file, you can transfer spells, Social Links and other data from your original game, which does take a bit of the edge off.
Game Mechanics: Although you are joined by party members throughout your journey, you are only in direct control of Aigis. They are independent, though you can call out orders during battle, which they are pretty good about following. Though more direct control would have been nice, especially in tighter situations, the system still works on a basic, playable level. However, since the social aspects are missing, the connection that could develop between you (the player) and your party members does suffer a bit. There's no "bond" between you and the group, so they feel like hired weapons rather than members of the group. The gap between player and party is furthered by the rush feature, which literally lets the game play for you. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES is a great second chance for RPG fans who may have missed Persona 3 last year. The expanded, "Director's Cut" of the game is the most complete version of the game and, unlike other "expanded" versions of games, the new and old content blends well. Veterans might find the new content compelling, though the lack of social aspects in "The Answer" may turn off players who want something more than just a dungeon hack.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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