awoolcott's Full Review: Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES for PlayStation 2
Though released at the tail end of the PlayStation 2's prime, Persona 3 managed to gather a large following of RPG fans, thanks to its unique take on the genre – the combination of roguelike dungeon crawling and light life-simulation elements made for something you'd never see out of the big RPG developers. You'd also never see these big RPG developers spend any time releasing an “ultimate edition” of the game outside of Japan, yet Atlus, ever-keen of their small but dedicated following...they did. Dubbed Persona 3 FES – short for Festival – is a combination of enhancements and adjustments to the core Persona 3 adventure, with what could be called a Last Mission (the post-Final Fantasy X-2 adventure that only shipped in FFX-2 International Last Mission) style expansion pack that puts any questions The Journey (the term FES uses for vanilla P3) might have left on the table. At a budget-friendly price of $30, it's worth the pickup for fans of the original Persona 3 release to see all the bonuses, and the correct choice if you're looking to get any version of the game. Though P3 has been surpassed in many ways by Persona 4, FES is still a fantastic game and the game to pick up just to see Atlus charm at work.
Persona 3's core game, redubbed The Journey, isn't much different from what was in the original game. The story, characters, events, and Social Links are the same, and if anything there's some minor touches and recalculation as to how things work. You can read the whole review of Persona 3 here, instead of repeating myself here. Most everything new to The Journey is an expansion on what was already there. Tartarus functions the same, as do the battles, but Elizabeth has even more requests, and you can “date” her in a series of increasingly weird adventures through the city. Also the game adds numerous new Persona fusions. Owners of a Persona 3 save file can carry over their entire compendium, which are available once that function unlocks. Better yet, if you have the scratch, you can buy a Persona of a much higher level, making a somewhat challenging game really easy. The catch is many Persona have been rebalanced; Helel (formerly Lucifer) no longer has Victory Cry so he's only a tad less powerful. The Personas you acquire can be fused with weapons at the antique store at the mall, adding another layer.
The life-simulation aspects haven't been adjusted as much. One Social Link (Devil) switches times and locations, but everyone else is the same. There is a new S.Link, letting you socialize with Aigis, your robotic ally. It's mostly there as a lead-in to the Epilogue, and actually only pops up in the final month of the game. However, it's much easier to max out the S.Links in FES – what would take a few days of hanging out now takes only 1-2 days if you have a Persona that corresponds with the arcana of the Link. In addition, there's new cutscenes at the beginning of the game that subtly introduce all your future friends, a special event based on how your progress is going, and if you max out a Link, a cutscene with that person towards the end of the game. The touches are small and very heavy on fan service, but they also bring some added interactivity with the people you've been hanging out with all year. In school, the questions asked are completely different, as are the exam questions, making one relearn everything again. Speaking of, all your social stats can carry over with a Persona 3 save, making it possible to immediately start S.Links with you three female SEES teammates upon unlocking their stories.
The post-game adventure, dubbed The Answer, is the meat of FES. New players shouldn't, but it can be accessed immediately, with no need to play the main game. The Answer picks up a month after the end of Persona 3, and the SEES kids are getting ready to move out of the dorm they occupied for a year during their battle with Shadows. The tone is very different, as the characters are suitably weary and tired, ready to get on with their lives. However, on the day before the dorm is scheduled to close, a bizarre “skip” occurs and ultimately the party becomes trapped in the dorm, unable to leave. To make matters worse, a woman called Metis has somehow broken in, and is willing to kill everyone for her “sister” Aigis, to free her from this curse. Ultimately Aigis manages to calm her down, and Metis explains what's going on; SEES is stuck in the dorm until they explore something called the Abyss of Time and understand why the happenings of the previous adventure happened.
The Abyss of Time is similar to Tartarus in that it's a roguelike RPG, with randomized floors and lots of loot, but done in reverse – instead of climbing, you go downward through each door in the Abyss. At the end, a challenging boss battle occurs and a cutscene is shown explaining the origins of each character and why they became a member of SEES. Though the party is stuck in their dorm, they figure out how to access the shopping mall to buy accessories and weapons, though in typical fashion they're actually about 9 months in the past, putting the mall to June or July. It leads to some amusing exchanges with the police officer who deals your gear. Unlike Persona 3, The Answer isn't quite as friendly with saving; rather than being able to warp to a save, recharge health, and take on the boss, you can save before the boss but if you warp...you have to descend again. It can be a bit tricky.
Mostly because The Answer is based on the Hard difficulty level from The Journey. Boss battles can be an exercise in annoyance thanks to enemies that dodge like they're psychic, and their keen sense of taking advantage of weaknesses. Regular battles aren't too bad, the only difference being Shadows move much faster in the field compared to P3 so it's tougher to sneak up on them at first. Getting that initial advantage takes out the potential danger of enemies you don't know. The battles function the exact same though. Fusion works much differently now too – while there's still over 150 Personas, there is no compendium; when you fuse, the allies used are gone forever. On the flip side, they level up a whole lot quicker to match the shorter length of time to complete the game. As a stand-alone game, The Answer is average; with just dungeon crawling and no life-sim aspects, it drops the game time in half – the story can be finished in 20-30 hours depending on how much grinding you do. A suitable epilogue to be sure, but not the strong point of the package.
Final Thought Persona 3 FES combines the ultimate version of Persona 3 – offering 100 hours of gaming – along with a passable epilogue to tie up loose ends. For newcomers, the combination can offer months of gaming, and veterans can still get their money's worth even if they aren't into replaying the main game again given the length of The Answer. Atlus is becoming well known for their awesome treatment of their fanbase; FES is a great demonstration of that treatment; giving western fans a chance to play a revised version of a game, something that Square Enix, rich as they are, never has the gusto to match. Though the newer Persona 4 offers an improved game using the same formula, P3 FES is a great starting point to get into the Persona series – and by proxy, the entire Shin Megami Tensei franchise – a low price of entry and a fresh take on a familiar genre.
Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 is a strange and wonderful trip into an anime adventure. You're an orphaned high school student, transferred to Gekkoukan...More at eBay
Includes an enhanced version of the original game plus the new FES as well as a soundtrack CD and artbook Thirty additional hours of gameplay that pla...More at Amazon Marketplace
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