Sunday, August 19, 2007

What's the plural of "Persona"?

I came for the teenage-suicide mechanic, but stayed for the dating simulator...

The above words could not describe my feelings about the Playstation 2 "Persona 3" any better. When the game was originally announced for Japan over a year ago, I was more than intrigued by the game's battle system; specifically, the method in which you summon your Personae (creatures that act as the game's magic system), i.e. shooting themselves in the head with a gun. Sure, they call it an "evoker" and it doesn't actually fire any ammunition; however, when the damn thing looks like a gun and all the characters (all teenagers, I might add) are pointing the muzzle against their temple/mouth/between the eyes, it's hard not to suspect that a little controversy is bound to follow this game to America. After a good 17 hours of play, I'm finding so much more to enjoy about this game.

There are many things that keep me playing Persona 3, but the biggest reason is what has been dubbed by some as the "dating-sim" portion. Essentially, when you're not fighting through the game's main dungeon, you attend school and form relationships with other people, including trying to score yourself a girlfriend. Right now I'm working on winning over the bookish Chihiro. What can I say? Guys make passes at girls who wear glasses :P

I should also note that the music is FANTASTIC! I got a copy of the soundtrack (part of it anyway) just for buying the game, and I'm so glad I did. This is the type of stuff I want on my iPod, and it's a relief to to have to look for a copy online.

Updates to follow in the coming days/weeks.

Ja ne!

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