Review: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (PSP)

The Shin Megami Tensei series that has a long tradition with JRPGs and everything from the series has been solid gold in my eyes. So when I heard that the original Persona had been ported, it was what nearly pushed me to go out and get a PSP until my co-host Andyb0y so graciously donated both the PSP and Persona to me. So how does this stack up compared to its PS2 sequels, and was it worth all my wanting?

The story line seems pretty standard JRPG fare. As a group of high school students, you are thrust into an event set off by an evil corporation, SEBEC. This event is a machine that brings demons into the real world that the company wishes to control and make an army of. As some of the few people in the town who can summon powers called Persona’s, you take it upon yourselves to overthrow the  evil SEBEC and restore order to your home town. But the story takes a twist as when you think you are about to take down the head of the company, you are thrust into another dimension that has become accustomed to the over running of monsters in their world, and you have to both find a way back, and end the infestation on that side. Interesting, and creative, but with some weak dialog and very rigid feeling characters could stand to have more feeling to them.

The game feels very much like an early 90’s dungeon crawl. With the first person movement and the large maze like structures, it is great for any fan of  these old school RPGs, and fans of another Atlus entry, Etrian Odyssey.

The combat system is very unlike anything else I have seen in an RPG in a long time, where rather than having the characters standing up in a line fighting, each character is assigned space on one side of a grid, and where they are effects where the character can use weapons like guns, swords, axes, spears, and bows. The grid is also used for spells, as many spells you learn on your journey are AOE spells and if the enemy clusters, it makes them easier to kill in one swift blow.  Every character, depending on their persona, and every demon has some weakness in the game, and most battles come down to realizing an enemies weakness, and then striking it for massive damage.

In the combat, there is also a system called the contact system. To create new personas for your characters, you are required to contact enemies in battle to gain their tarot cards. This is achieved by appealing to one of the traits of the demon, be it foolish, timid, gloomy or a number of others. Although a innovative system for character evolution, and one that is needed to progress through the game, it can be frustrating as you try to find out what appeals to the demon the right way to get their tarot card.

Graphics are nothing too major. They are fairly standard fare, with some of the sprites for enemies being rather fun to see and interesting. One major standing out for me was a giant rat tank with a gatling gun you fight after the second major dungeon, that made me laugh.

But by and far, one of the main points in this game and any Persona game, is the soundtrack. Shoji Meguro, I tip my hat to you. This man has an uncanny ability to make not only one of the most catchy, but diverse soundtracks for any game I have ever played. I often find myself siting down humming the battle theme “Let Butterflies Spread Until The Dawn”, or on the bus just listening to it on my iPod, this soundtrack is just phenomenal.

Overall, this defiantly was one of those games that make you feel getting on more console to add to the stack worthwhile. Although the characters are a bit weak, and the battle system rather strange, it is a great game to have with you whenever you are on the bus, on the go, or just at home before you go to bed at night. And the soundtrack is something I am very very glad to have woken up to on more than one occasion.

$35 out of $40, A highly overlooked and underrated game of 2009, here’s to Persona 3 PSP in the near future