Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable

Persona 3 is the next installment in a series of jRPGs that dates back to the days of the first PlayStation. It was originally released on the PS2, and was later ported to the PSP. In 2023, meanwhile, it was also published for PC and eighth- and ninth-generation consoles. The game was developed by the Japanese company Atlus.

Plot

The story presented in the game does not follow the events of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. Instead, players can experience a completely new story and meet other characters.

The story is set in 2009 in the fictional Japanese city of Iwatodai, built by the Kirijo Corporation. As a result of experiments conducted a decade earlier, a phenomenon known as the Black Hour was created there. This period is suspended between days.

Most people transform into coffins during this time. However, this does not apply to a group of students from Gekkoukan High School. Their educational institution transforms at night into a huge, labyrinthine tower called Tartarus. In turn, dark beasts known as Shadows appear in its vicinity.

A squad of high school students known as the SEES ( Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad). In their clashes with the Shadows, the students use Personas, or their "second souls," which "live" deep inside a person's heart. They are completely separate personalities, revealing themselves in the face of supernatural danger - they can be summoned with a gun-like Evoker by firing it at their own head.

The protagonist, whom we observe from a third-person perspective (we give him a name in the game, although in the manga it is Makoto Yuki), also becomes a member of SEES. During the day, he and his peers lead a normal student life, and hang out like other teenagers after class. At night, however, they go off to fight the Shadows. That's why it's important to remember to meet the team members in the sunlight as often as possible, as it improves their skills, which are essential in clashes fought after the moon rises.

Game mechanics

The game is designed to get us through the entire school year. So all the "attractions" that accompany learning - exams, school balls, student illnesses, sports competitions, etc. - must be taken into account. This translates directly into our second night life - it may happen that friends can't help us, because they are, for example, sick or have to study for exams.

The combat system in Persona 3 does not deviate too much from what is offered by the classics of the jRPG sub-genre. Thus, clashes take place in turns and consist mainly of selecting commands from a selection wheel. What follows is an important role in preparing for them, such as by acquiring more and more powerful Personas. We can do this either by finding cards with their images - allowing us to summon a given being repeatedly - or by using the protagonist's special ability. He can combine already existing Personas with each other, resulting in the creation of completely new variations of them.

Graphics & Sound

Persona 3 was designed to best appeal to the tastes of schoolchildren of the early 21st century. The authors have tried to reflect the behavior and clothing of teenagers as closely as possible. The game's menu is also done in a youthful way, for example, the portraits and descriptions of the characters look like pictures torn out of one of the color magazines fashionable at the time.

Not counting the Adventured Act track by Yosuke Uda, Persona 3 entire soundtrack was composed by Shoji Meguro.

Game reception

Persona 3 has been very well received by both gamers and industry media (every release of this production has an average reviewer rating on Metacritic.com higher than 85/100). Many popular gaming sites - such as Famitsu, GameSpot and GameSpy - awarded it the title of best RPG of 2006/2007.