Ageru yo. Also, I now need a Persona 3 icon.
Ehhh, because I'm bored at work and have finally gotten far enough into this game to have an impression of it, here's
Well, first I should point out that when I say "overall storyline" I actually mean "lack thereof", but the complete and absolute utter SHORTAGE of actual shit going on is kind of disappointing. I mean, the daily school life and dungeon crawling is interesting enough to where yeah, I'm enjoying this game pretty hardcore, but the plot about the Shadows, and Apathy Syndrome, and all that, is pretty freaking substandard. I'm in the beginning of June now, so hopefully things'll pick up sometime later.
So, true, the storyline isn't the greatest. With a cast of only four to five characters at the moment, and one of them situationally mute (y hello thar main character), it's kind of to be expected. I'll hold out on giving judgement on it until later, though I must say, being a huge fan of the other Shin Megami Tensei games, which have usually fucked with your head royally by the end of the first dungeon (DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA, PERSONA 2, ETC.), the slow start to Persona 3 was kind of a personal let-down. D: Oh well.
That said, the cast of characters is pretty much what you'd expect by their appearances, which is acceptable yet kind of bland. The slanty-eyed, red-headed Mitsuru is the tough, independent, bossy woman-leader? WHO THE HELL'D HAVE THOUGHT etc. I loathe every word that comes out of Yukari's mouth and wish passionately for her to shut up. She's not very cute either, what the fuck. I mean, even if Mitsuru IS predictable I'd still do her. Oh yeah. Though I don't have her in my party yet, Aigis isn't that cute, either. Nor is Fuuka. WTF, NON-CUTE GIRLS, PERSONA 3???
Like, I can forgive a girl with THE MOST ANNOYING PERSONALITY IN THE WORLD so long as she is adorable. I'm that type of, uh, chavaunist, I guess. But either way, P3 needs moar cute girls. I mean, every guy in your party is physically attractive with the exception of, like, Junpei if only because his buzz haircut is creepy. (But he wears a freaking hat all the time anyway, so who the fuck would notice?) Well, also, his psuedo-beard. But even he's not terrible-looking.
AND EVERYONE BUT MITSURU HAS SHORT HAIR. ;____; Me, lover of all girls long-haired, find this to be a travesty. My female party for Persona 3 has left me sadly disappointed. Alas.
Anyway, carrying on. I also really kind of wish that Jun-pie would shut up, too, but that might just be because I hate Vic Mignogna. A LOT. I cried manly tears when I saw he was doing the English voice for who I'd lovingly dubbed then "Baseball cap-kun". But I might also just want him to shut up because I want him to shut up. He is kind of annoying. I like him more than Yuka-tan, though. She, just...fja;dkfadkfds. She's so predictable. And obnoxious. I hope real teenaged girls aren't like that today. D: Though my Lovers personae will undoubtedly suffer, I'm totally not building my S.Link with her at all lol. :P
(BESIDES, SHE CALLS ME "MINATO-KUN" RAWR SO IMPOLITE *eats*)
Though, actually, I'm wondering if that's a localization error or what? O.o Because I totally went with the official manga name for the protagonist, which is Arisato Minato (you know, surname first, first name last, etc.?) and yet all these people are calling me "Minato-kun" and "Minato-san" and even that crazy goddamned French kid calls me "Minato-sama". Which is...not really what you do with suffixes in Japan. So I feel like Atlus NA fudged the localization and made it all weeaboo by adding the "-san"s and "-kun"s and shit WHILE ATTACHING THEM TO THE FIRST NAME WHICH IS NOT RIGHT ARGH.
Why am I such an elitist fag
Well, regardless, I, the sexy but rather retarded Minato-kun (shut up why go study in the library when you can hang out with GREAT WINNARS LIKE KENJI) am forced to trounce around at night with people like Yuka-tan and Jun-pie, and sometimes Akihiko when he's not sitting on his couch (either eating or sewing, I can't figure out which O.o) and just being generally FAAAAAAAABULOUS.
Which, seriously, Akihiko is so faaaaaaabulous I could barf. I never get tired of his innuendo-y battle talk. He totally wants my body. My only regret with the S.Link system is that you can't build an S.Link with the dudes in your party. D: Or any of the girls, really, besides Fuuka and ugly Yuka-tan. FAIL. An S.Link with Akihiko-senpai would be perhaps the greatest and most epic of justices. Besides, like, the S.Link with Kenji which is just so much win that I don't even know what to do with myself.
Which, okay, my general opinions of the main cast are pretty established (haaaaaaaet Yuka, sometimes haet Jun-pie, would probably do Mitsuru and am totally gay for Akihiko), what REALLY sold me on this Persona 3 game was the freaking SOCIAL LINK SYSTEM. I am so in love with randomly getting to know my classmates more than I am interested in saving the world, this is true. I do, however, love some Social Links more than others, obviously.
S.Links I BUILD RELIGIOUSLY:
-Magician. Oh, Kenji, your random relationship with, like, your English teacher or whoever the fuck she was is the greatest. The fact that you always insist on going to the movies with me instead of her never fails to amuse me. I mean, your "relationship" with her is probably just a ruse in order to seek advice on how best to operate in a relationship with me. :D Don't worry, Kenji, I feel you, man. When the time comes for you to admit that, freely, I, your beloved Minato-kun, shall welcome you with open arms. (rofl)
-Justice. OH GOOD GOD LITTLE NERDY TREASURER GIRL CHIHIRO, I WANT TO FEED YOU DRUGS AND RAPE YOU. Seriously. I visit her every freaking day I'm able. My Justice S.Link will be maxed before I know it. I'm totally gonna date her. Fuck you, Yuka-tan and also girl from kendo club. Fuck you all. Chihiro is my preferred raep target of choice. Just - SHE'S SO NERDY. *__* She gets all embarrassed and mad when people kiss in public and totally stutters and blushes and shit whenever she talks to me. I mean, I would too, 'cuz I'm freaking MINATO ARISATO-SAMA, KING OF CHARM (but a retarded pussy lol) but still. Unf. I have this unnatural fetish for girls with long hair and glasses, which is ironic because I used to BE a long-haired girl with glasses. XD Either way, she's so adorable and I need to remember to buy her a freaking book cover ASAP so I can give it to her whenever. Eeeeee. Rabu. ^__^
-Temperance. Similarly, crazy little French boy, your weeaboo Japanese never fails to make me LOL. The fact that I am your only friend makes me want to rape you, too. If I have some spare drugs left over from when I'm done with Chihiro, I'll consider it. Though your face is kind of scary. I guess it's made up for the fact that you can sew. If you don't sew me a yutaka I'll be PISSED. D< Not that I'd rape you any less, zettai ni etc. etc. MY LEETLE TOMODACHI. (Seriously, this kid's French/English/Japanese mishmash is the greatest thing EVAR.) I visit Andre on the days when Home Ec club doesn't intefere with my time with Chihiro (which is only, like, Wednesdays, I think. D: Not nearly enough, sadly.)
S.Links I build when I can:
-Hermit. I really have to wonder how old "maya" is in real life. XD She's probably this crazy woman in her 30's totally trying to hit on me. It's single-handedly the greatest thing ever. The one downside is that while the Interwebs speak is kind of funny, at times, it's mostly really annoying because I deal with enough people like that on the Internet as it is. I don't need more. D: Another sad thing is that I can only build this S.Link on Sundays, and I'm usually hanging out with Kenji or trying to bone Chihiro on Sundays.
-Hanged Man. Maiko is cute. Her emo life with her parents makes me sad. D: I want to take her away and raise her as my own. Is that wrong of me? I build this S.Link when all my Gekkoukan High fags are studying for exams.
S.Links I SHOULD build but just don't care about:
-Chariot. Eh, Kazushi, you're okay, but I, the great and charming Minato-kun, mostly find athletics boring. Hence every conversation I have with you bores me to TEARS. Except, of course, when you bitch about your naggy overbearing mom. :D
-Emperor. Hidetoshi, you're a heel. Kiss my ass. The only reason I GO to Student Council meetings is because Chihiro is there. And sometimes she speaks. Sometimes.
-Hierophant. I actually like the old amnesiac couple at the bookstore, but they're just really far out of the way at Iwatodai Station. D: If only their shop was, like, right next to Gekkoukan. I do visit them while exams are going on, though.
I don't think I have any other S.Links. I've hung out with Kazushi enough where I think I can get the kendo club captain or what the fuck ever to give me the Priestess S.Link, but I can never seem to find her anymore these days. She always used to hang out at the front entrance and now she's, like, dead. Oh well.
I need to go sing more karaoke in the evenings so my Courage goes up. Seriously, I'm like scared of my own shadow here. FAIL.
Anyway, all that aside, the actual gameplay is fun, too. Battles aren't really hard or anything, but I always find myself randomly running out of SP. D: I mean, I guess I should let my faggy teammates do some of the work instead of just Once More-ing enemies to death, but I find that way a lot more quick and efficient. XD Especially because, like, when Jun-pie or Aki-kun gets a Once More, instead of exploiting ANOTHER enemy's weak point and knocking THEM down, they'll, like...attack, or some useless shit. O.o Thus blowing up the chain. Faggots.
One thing I WILL say about the battle system is that it seems to me like there's a huge freaking gap in difficulty when it comes to the normal dungeon enemies and then the bosses. While enemies are freaking running away from ME in the dungeon as soon as I hit the next boss I'm all like "Gack! *die*". And I'm doing the game on EASY, too. Shit is ass. I mean, I'm glad it preserves SOME sense of challenge because wow, when I first started this game I was all like, "Damn, ATLUS has lowered their standards for Megaten games by like tenfold", but it's kind of jarring, nonetheless.
SPEAKING OF JARRING, FUCK YOU, EVER-MOVING, EVER-CHANGING DUNGEON. When it comes to releveling on specific floors it's kinda annoying. You have to find the stairs up all over again. Or the little glowy yellow point that takes you back to the first floor. Either way, blech. Also, the fact that you can only restart from specific floors with those little yellow-green lift things that you have to activate is annoying. It'd be cooler if you could just restart on whatever floor you were last on. In a regular RPG, starting from specific points wouldn't bother me, except this ISN'T a normal RPG - your faggy party members actually get TIRED, and start bitching and whining until you let them go back to their dorm and sleep. Which means your leveling/exploring time is SOOPAR LIMITED, and it's even MORE limited when you spend half that time going up floors you've already been through just because the map can't make up it's goddamned mind.
Also, it sucks that only your main character can change Personae. D: I miss Persona 1/2 where your characters were more COMPATIBLE with specific Personae, true, but could equip pretty much any kind. It made the game a bit more flexible, though certainly not less difficult, but more fun in general. Plus, the tarot that your party members in 1/2 were compatible with were kind of relevant to their personalities, so it was a little bonus character study. ^__^ (For example, in P3, if Personae were done by compatibility, Jun-pie would certainly NOT be compatible with the Magician. -__-;; That'd be more, like...Yuka-tan, maybe. Of course, Lovers fits her pretty well, and Emperor/Empress go well with Akihiko/Mitsuru, respectively.)
I JUST REALLY WISH THEY'D DONE IT THAT WAY, INSTEAD. I'm tired of all these Megaten games of late where it's pretty much just you, solitary, because your other party members are next to useless (y hello thar Devil Summoner). I mean good God don't RPGs make PLAYER-CONTROLLED ALLIES ANYMORE HOLY FUCK??? I'm tired of this ally AI shit - the AI is usually ass, in most cases, and uses all your foa'fjadsfkdfldasfs items I'M LOOKING AT YOU JUN-PIE. I/YUKA-TAN/AKIHIKO-SENPAI WOULD HAVE CURED YOU IN LIKE THE NEXT TURN BUT YOU HAD TO USE LIKE A FREAKING BEAD CHAIN YOU SON OF A BITCH HAAAAAAAAAAATE.
I just miss games like FFX where, like, your characters were all developed and shit and had their own very obvious strong/weak points YET YOU COULD STILL TELL THEM WHAT TO DO. Some of them obvious sucked at doing things more than others (RIKKU SPECIALTY WHAT?), but at least they'd toss the freaking items at you that you wanted them to. D:
Anyway, basically, Persona 3 is pretty fun in terms of sidequests and battling and such, but I wish something amazing would just hurry up and happen in the main storyline already. Little Pedo-bait Boy showing up from time to time doesn't count as something "amazing" though I CAAAAAAAAAAME. XD
Well, first I should point out that when I say "overall storyline" I actually mean "lack thereof", but the complete and absolute utter SHORTAGE of actual shit going on is kind of disappointing. I mean, the daily school life and dungeon crawling is interesting enough to where yeah, I'm enjoying this game pretty hardcore, but the plot about the Shadows, and Apathy Syndrome, and all that, is pretty freaking substandard. I'm in the beginning of June now, so hopefully things'll pick up sometime later.
So, true, the storyline isn't the greatest. With a cast of only four to five characters at the moment, and one of them situationally mute (y hello thar main character), it's kind of to be expected. I'll hold out on giving judgement on it until later, though I must say, being a huge fan of the other Shin Megami Tensei games, which have usually fucked with your head royally by the end of the first dungeon (DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA, PERSONA 2, ETC.), the slow start to Persona 3 was kind of a personal let-down. D: Oh well.
That said, the cast of characters is pretty much what you'd expect by their appearances, which is acceptable yet kind of bland. The slanty-eyed, red-headed Mitsuru is the tough, independent, bossy woman-leader? WHO THE HELL'D HAVE THOUGHT etc. I loathe every word that comes out of Yukari's mouth and wish passionately for her to shut up. She's not very cute either, what the fuck. I mean, even if Mitsuru IS predictable I'd still do her. Oh yeah. Though I don't have her in my party yet, Aigis isn't that cute, either. Nor is Fuuka. WTF, NON-CUTE GIRLS, PERSONA 3???
Like, I can forgive a girl with THE MOST ANNOYING PERSONALITY IN THE WORLD so long as she is adorable. I'm that type of, uh, chavaunist, I guess. But either way, P3 needs moar cute girls. I mean, every guy in your party is physically attractive with the exception of, like, Junpei if only because his buzz haircut is creepy. (But he wears a freaking hat all the time anyway, so who the fuck would notice?) Well, also, his psuedo-beard. But even he's not terrible-looking.
AND EVERYONE BUT MITSURU HAS SHORT HAIR. ;____; Me, lover of all girls long-haired, find this to be a travesty. My female party for Persona 3 has left me sadly disappointed. Alas.
Anyway, carrying on. I also really kind of wish that Jun-pie would shut up, too, but that might just be because I hate Vic Mignogna. A LOT. I cried manly tears when I saw he was doing the English voice for who I'd lovingly dubbed then "Baseball cap-kun". But I might also just want him to shut up because I want him to shut up. He is kind of annoying. I like him more than Yuka-tan, though. She, just...fja;dkfadkfds. She's so predictable. And obnoxious. I hope real teenaged girls aren't like that today. D: Though my Lovers personae will undoubtedly suffer, I'm totally not building my S.Link with her at all lol. :P
(BESIDES, SHE CALLS ME "MINATO-KUN" RAWR SO IMPOLITE *eats*)
Though, actually, I'm wondering if that's a localization error or what? O.o Because I totally went with the official manga name for the protagonist, which is Arisato Minato (you know, surname first, first name last, etc.?) and yet all these people are calling me "Minato-kun" and "Minato-san" and even that crazy goddamned French kid calls me "Minato-sama". Which is...not really what you do with suffixes in Japan. So I feel like Atlus NA fudged the localization and made it all weeaboo by adding the "-san"s and "-kun"s and shit WHILE ATTACHING THEM TO THE FIRST NAME WHICH IS NOT RIGHT ARGH.
Why am I such an elitist fag
Well, regardless, I, the sexy but rather retarded Minato-kun (shut up why go study in the library when you can hang out with GREAT WINNARS LIKE KENJI) am forced to trounce around at night with people like Yuka-tan and Jun-pie, and sometimes Akihiko when he's not sitting on his couch (either eating or sewing, I can't figure out which O.o) and just being generally FAAAAAAAABULOUS.
Which, seriously, Akihiko is so faaaaaaabulous I could barf. I never get tired of his innuendo-y battle talk. He totally wants my body. My only regret with the S.Link system is that you can't build an S.Link with the dudes in your party. D: Or any of the girls, really, besides Fuuka and ugly Yuka-tan. FAIL. An S.Link with Akihiko-senpai would be perhaps the greatest and most epic of justices. Besides, like, the S.Link with Kenji which is just so much win that I don't even know what to do with myself.
Which, okay, my general opinions of the main cast are pretty established (haaaaaaaet Yuka, sometimes haet Jun-pie, would probably do Mitsuru and am totally gay for Akihiko), what REALLY sold me on this Persona 3 game was the freaking SOCIAL LINK SYSTEM. I am so in love with randomly getting to know my classmates more than I am interested in saving the world, this is true. I do, however, love some Social Links more than others, obviously.
S.Links I BUILD RELIGIOUSLY:
-Magician. Oh, Kenji, your random relationship with, like, your English teacher or whoever the fuck she was is the greatest. The fact that you always insist on going to the movies with me instead of her never fails to amuse me. I mean, your "relationship" with her is probably just a ruse in order to seek advice on how best to operate in a relationship with me. :D Don't worry, Kenji, I feel you, man. When the time comes for you to admit that, freely, I, your beloved Minato-kun, shall welcome you with open arms. (rofl)
-Justice. OH GOOD GOD LITTLE NERDY TREASURER GIRL CHIHIRO, I WANT TO FEED YOU DRUGS AND RAPE YOU. Seriously. I visit her every freaking day I'm able. My Justice S.Link will be maxed before I know it. I'm totally gonna date her. Fuck you, Yuka-tan and also girl from kendo club. Fuck you all. Chihiro is my preferred raep target of choice. Just - SHE'S SO NERDY. *__* She gets all embarrassed and mad when people kiss in public and totally stutters and blushes and shit whenever she talks to me. I mean, I would too, 'cuz I'm freaking MINATO ARISATO-SAMA, KING OF CHARM (but a retarded pussy lol) but still. Unf. I have this unnatural fetish for girls with long hair and glasses, which is ironic because I used to BE a long-haired girl with glasses. XD Either way, she's so adorable and I need to remember to buy her a freaking book cover ASAP so I can give it to her whenever. Eeeeee. Rabu. ^__^
-Temperance. Similarly, crazy little French boy, your weeaboo Japanese never fails to make me LOL. The fact that I am your only friend makes me want to rape you, too. If I have some spare drugs left over from when I'm done with Chihiro, I'll consider it. Though your face is kind of scary. I guess it's made up for the fact that you can sew. If you don't sew me a yutaka I'll be PISSED. D< Not that I'd rape you any less, zettai ni etc. etc. MY LEETLE TOMODACHI. (Seriously, this kid's French/English/Japanese mishmash is the greatest thing EVAR.) I visit Andre on the days when Home Ec club doesn't intefere with my time with Chihiro (which is only, like, Wednesdays, I think. D: Not nearly enough, sadly.)
S.Links I build when I can:
-Hermit. I really have to wonder how old "maya" is in real life. XD She's probably this crazy woman in her 30's totally trying to hit on me. It's single-handedly the greatest thing ever. The one downside is that while the Interwebs speak is kind of funny, at times, it's mostly really annoying because I deal with enough people like that on the Internet as it is. I don't need more. D: Another sad thing is that I can only build this S.Link on Sundays, and I'm usually hanging out with Kenji or trying to bone Chihiro on Sundays.
-Hanged Man. Maiko is cute. Her emo life with her parents makes me sad. D: I want to take her away and raise her as my own. Is that wrong of me? I build this S.Link when all my Gekkoukan High fags are studying for exams.
S.Links I SHOULD build but just don't care about:
-Chariot. Eh, Kazushi, you're okay, but I, the great and charming Minato-kun, mostly find athletics boring. Hence every conversation I have with you bores me to TEARS. Except, of course, when you bitch about your naggy overbearing mom. :D
-Emperor. Hidetoshi, you're a heel. Kiss my ass. The only reason I GO to Student Council meetings is because Chihiro is there. And sometimes she speaks. Sometimes.
-Hierophant. I actually like the old amnesiac couple at the bookstore, but they're just really far out of the way at Iwatodai Station. D: If only their shop was, like, right next to Gekkoukan. I do visit them while exams are going on, though.
I don't think I have any other S.Links. I've hung out with Kazushi enough where I think I can get the kendo club captain or what the fuck ever to give me the Priestess S.Link, but I can never seem to find her anymore these days. She always used to hang out at the front entrance and now she's, like, dead. Oh well.
I need to go sing more karaoke in the evenings so my Courage goes up. Seriously, I'm like scared of my own shadow here. FAIL.
Anyway, all that aside, the actual gameplay is fun, too. Battles aren't really hard or anything, but I always find myself randomly running out of SP. D: I mean, I guess I should let my faggy teammates do some of the work instead of just Once More-ing enemies to death, but I find that way a lot more quick and efficient. XD Especially because, like, when Jun-pie or Aki-kun gets a Once More, instead of exploiting ANOTHER enemy's weak point and knocking THEM down, they'll, like...attack, or some useless shit. O.o Thus blowing up the chain. Faggots.
One thing I WILL say about the battle system is that it seems to me like there's a huge freaking gap in difficulty when it comes to the normal dungeon enemies and then the bosses. While enemies are freaking running away from ME in the dungeon as soon as I hit the next boss I'm all like "Gack! *die*". And I'm doing the game on EASY, too. Shit is ass. I mean, I'm glad it preserves SOME sense of challenge because wow, when I first started this game I was all like, "Damn, ATLUS has lowered their standards for Megaten games by like tenfold", but it's kind of jarring, nonetheless.
SPEAKING OF JARRING, FUCK YOU, EVER-MOVING, EVER-CHANGING DUNGEON. When it comes to releveling on specific floors it's kinda annoying. You have to find the stairs up all over again. Or the little glowy yellow point that takes you back to the first floor. Either way, blech. Also, the fact that you can only restart from specific floors with those little yellow-green lift things that you have to activate is annoying. It'd be cooler if you could just restart on whatever floor you were last on. In a regular RPG, starting from specific points wouldn't bother me, except this ISN'T a normal RPG - your faggy party members actually get TIRED, and start bitching and whining until you let them go back to their dorm and sleep. Which means your leveling/exploring time is SOOPAR LIMITED, and it's even MORE limited when you spend half that time going up floors you've already been through just because the map can't make up it's goddamned mind.
Also, it sucks that only your main character can change Personae. D: I miss Persona 1/2 where your characters were more COMPATIBLE with specific Personae, true, but could equip pretty much any kind. It made the game a bit more flexible, though certainly not less difficult, but more fun in general. Plus, the tarot that your party members in 1/2 were compatible with were kind of relevant to their personalities, so it was a little bonus character study. ^__^ (For example, in P3, if Personae were done by compatibility, Jun-pie would certainly NOT be compatible with the Magician. -__-;; That'd be more, like...Yuka-tan, maybe. Of course, Lovers fits her pretty well, and Emperor/Empress go well with Akihiko/Mitsuru, respectively.)
I JUST REALLY WISH THEY'D DONE IT THAT WAY, INSTEAD. I'm tired of all these Megaten games of late where it's pretty much just you, solitary, because your other party members are next to useless (y hello thar Devil Summoner). I mean good God don't RPGs make PLAYER-CONTROLLED ALLIES ANYMORE HOLY FUCK??? I'm tired of this ally AI shit - the AI is usually ass, in most cases, and uses all your foa'fjadsfkdfldasfs items I'M LOOKING AT YOU JUN-PIE. I/YUKA-TAN/AKIHIKO-SENPAI WOULD HAVE CURED YOU IN LIKE THE NEXT TURN BUT YOU HAD TO USE LIKE A FREAKING BEAD CHAIN YOU SON OF A BITCH HAAAAAAAAAAATE.
I just miss games like FFX where, like, your characters were all developed and shit and had their own very obvious strong/weak points YET YOU COULD STILL TELL THEM WHAT TO DO. Some of them obvious sucked at doing things more than others (RIKKU SPECIALTY WHAT?), but at least they'd toss the freaking items at you that you wanted them to. D:
Anyway, basically, Persona 3 is pretty fun in terms of sidequests and battling and such, but I wish something amazing would just hurry up and happen in the main storyline already. Little Pedo-bait Boy showing up from time to time doesn't count as something "amazing" though I CAAAAAAAAAAME. XD