EPT![[image loading]](http://jorgegamer.atomixblogs.vg/files/2008/06/persona3fes_01_1280_1024.jpg)
--------
For those that are new, I'll start off with some boring history/information. The following information included from the indented dashes above to the ones below will contain side information that you can skip. To start, know that Persona 3 FES is the expansion of Persona 3, much similar to how Starcraft Brood War is the expansion to Starcraft. Basically, FES is a two-part game that has Persona 3 with extra features PLUS another chapter in the story, which pretty much acts as a sequel in itself. The first and original part is called The Journey, while the sequel is called The Answer. I'll be covering the first half (The Journey) of the FES expansion in this blog. That being said, Persona is a spinoff series from Shin Megami Tensei and its sequels, commonly abbreviated into the Megaten series. In turn, that series is based on the novel series Digital Devil Story by author Aya Nishitani. I want to mention this because I personally confused Persona with the actual game Shin Megami Tensei. To clarify, take a look at the case covers:
Persona 3/Persona 3 FES
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/47/Persona3cover.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://blog.lib.umn.edu/kras0047/walkthrough_faq/images/persona3fes.JPG)
Shin Megami Tensei 3
![[image loading]](http://xgamedvd.com/ps2album/images/149-Shin%20Megami%20Tensei%203%20Nocturne_jpg.jpg)
Observe that these two separate game titles contain "Shin Megami Tensei" in them; however, the two are completely different games. More information on that can be found on its wikipedia page.
--------
Now, with that fun little FYI session out of the way, let's move onto the actual game!
How the game breaks down
I'll say this straight up and to the point: Persona 3 is a big game, a big game that separates what you do during the day, from the morning when you start school, to after school/evening when you decide on what to do or where to go, to midnight when you enter a separate time dimension called the "dark hour".
Daytime
During the day, you are a normal second year high school student. After waking up, you go to school and decide how you want to live your high school life. You might be the type to become involved in many clubs and make many acquaintances. Or maybe you're the type who loves flirting and hanging out with girls. It is your choice to determine what kind of high school student you'll become. In any case, the decisions you make to establish your reputation will determine your three social status areas:
Charm - How popular you are, usually determines your ability to talk to girls.
Academics - How smart you are, can influence how well you do on your mid term and final exams. Also lets you talk to certain people.
Courage - How brave you are, you might find yourself able to converse with intimidating people depending on your courage.
As these social stats increase, you will find yourself with a broader selection of people you can seek to socialize. In turn, the people you meet provide you with social links, an established factor that helps boost the experience of a summoned persona depending on the level of that particular link. Generally, it is in your best interest to meet new people, establishing as many social links as you can. However, it is also wise to focus on nurturing a relationship with a few people to raise their social links if you wish to raise a particular class of personas. Ultimately, it is up to you to balance those factors.
That being said, what exactly is your daily life like? In the morning, you'll usually find yourself at the school gate. Depending on which days, certain characters may come up to you and ask you a question or strike up a conversation with you. You can usually respond with any answer and it basically has no effect on the actual game. A particular morning, for example, may consist of a character approaching you to simply talk.
![[image loading]](http://www.decisionproblem.com/persona3-1.gif)
Senior Ahkihiko Sanada talking with you.
Generally, the game places you at different times throughout the day (lunchtime, afterschool, evening, etc), depending on any events that may occur on a specific day. For example, your teach may call on you during the morning to answer a question (a correct answer will raise your charm), then during lunch, an acquaintance might come up to you in order to hang out after school (a chance to raise a social link). A school day will almost always have the time "afterschool", when you can make the decision to hang out depending on who's available, or join a club depending on which days they meet, or even hang out by yourself at a local strip.
![[image loading]](http://images.gamestyle.net/games/screenshots/ps2-persona3-250308-04.jpg)
You are being scolded for giving the wrong answer in class.
![[image loading]](http://www.primotechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/4854520080129_152419_22_big.jpg)
The team captain Kazushi puts up a bold front for newcomers to the track team
The Dark Hour
Once midnight strikes, you are no longer a regular high school student. You are a persona user that fights shadows, enemies of mankind who cause apathy syndrome, a condition that pretty much turns you into a vegetable. It is the Dark Hour that makes this game an RPG instead of a japanese school life simulation game, starring a cast full of high school kids.
The dorm you live in comprise of the select few who are your comrades and fellow persona users. Depending on who's available, you might make a trip to Tartarus, a mysterious tower that appears during the dark hour in place of your school. Inside are shadows that lurk around every corner, growing stronger as you climb each level of the giant structure.
To survive within the daunting tower, you'll finally get to use what we've been discussing all along - your personas! Basically, the purpose of your persona is to provide you with the power needed to defeat shadows. Your default persona is Orpheus, a Fire-type persona that provides you with those attributes. The skills that your persona has will be at your disposal on the battlefield (or off, if you have healing skills!) On that note, you have one special ability that the other persona users don't: you can summon multiple personas. This unique ability allows you to choose from many different arcanas, the different classes of persona. It is also this ability that gives you flexibility depending on your enemy's strengths and weaknesses.
Keep in mind, this is also why it was previously mentioned that establishing multiple social links was so important - each social link will represent a specific arcana. Take your time to discover them all - it'd be no fun to limit yourself to the same skills and attributes throughout the entire journey through the Dark Hour.
Some examples of the different persona:
![[image loading]](http://teknogazm.googlepages.com/persona3-2.jpg/persona3-2-full;init:.jpg)
A Tower arcana persona gaining bonus experience from the maxed out social link.
![[image loading]](http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2007/121/932312_20070502_embed010.jpg)
The stats of Jack Frost, an ice type persona from the Magicians arcana.
![[image loading]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3112/2342293179_940715b338.jpg)
Your default persona Orpheus of the Fool arcana leveling up and learning a fire skill.
Final Comments
Overall, Persona has earned the top spot in my favorite RPG series next to Tales. I have just started playing this series and am about 30 hours into The Journey, so I am unable to really delve into the mechanics and gameplay. I know a few of you already know the Persona series, so please leave a comment!
~Fin~
