First Impressions of Persona 3: FES

Yes, yes, I'm the slacker. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, the "best RPG of 2007" slipped through my fingers. Well, not technically...I knew about it, but I just didn't feel I had the time to play yet another RPG at the time it originally came out, so I skipped it.

Until now.

I played it for roughly three hours yesterday evening and I must say, I'm really enjoying it. This actually isn't the first "high school sim" JRPG I've played, however that aspect of some recent games, including this one, interests me. On one hand, you have this deep, involving story where the fate of the world rests in the balance, yet on the other hand you have "regular" teenagers dealing with the pressures of high school. [Cue Haruhi theme song...aaahhhhhhhh!!!]

The first 30 minutes of the game is absolutely awesome! I don't say that lightly. It has been a very long time since the first half an hour of a game grabbed me and dragged me into the mood and feel of the story so much. I was getting chills.

There are a lot of little things I notice right away that actually fix and/or improve upon pet peeves I have about most other standard JRPGs. I also love the anime art style of the entire game. The look and feel of the game - especially the bright, contrasting colors of the menus and the eclectic soundtrack - reminded me almost immediately of Cowboy Bebop.

When you see the Shadows for the first time, you really, truly feel a sense of dread and hopelessness. I was tense when I saw the characters point guns at their heads and pull the trigger for the first time. I had heard about it, of course, but seeing them go through the motions in the heat of action is almost surreal.

There are a couple things that worry or annoy me. The first, and least worrisome, is the fact that I have to talk to other people or the party members themselves to get their status and change their equipment. It would have been a lot easier to just have access to everything from one main menu. I also kind of wish you could actually control each of your party members in battle instead of them taking actions on their own. Although, I will say, so far they've done a pretty darn good job of adhering to what I tell them to do via the "party commands" menu.

The more potent worry for me so far is that there is a very large timer on the entire game. You have roughly a year of game calendar time to finish (its a little less, but close enough). From what I found out after a little bit of research, the game ends on January 31, 2010, and at that time, you're "forced" into the final dungeon. You begin in early April of 2009. You actually progress through each and every day in game. I'm concerned that at some point you will feel rushed. For me, that would ruin the freedom of being able to manage your social and school life however you see fit. That being said, I read some forum posts where people have put 100+ hours into this game - that doesn't seem "rushed" to me. I hope it really is nothing to be worried about, but I guess time will tell.

So far though, its the absolute best JRPG I've played in quite a while. I'm looking forward to delving more into its complexities. (Wow, that was almost the length of a full review...but not. ;)