Mini-Review: Persona 4

Now, after having played a good chunk of Persona 4, here's a few things I thought about the game - some are new features, some are tried and true.

Pros:

• Believable characters and setting
• Less imposing dungeons
• The ability to manually control all the characters in your party
• More social link options
• Great, energetic soundtrack
• Engaging story that always keeps you guessing

Cons:

• Sometimes the voice acting is just too melodramatic
• Too much hand-holding
• Persona fusion is still way too confusing with unpredictable results
• Can we get a PS3 Persona title next? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

A little note about the hand-holding that goes on here. I really don't remember it being this overbearing in Persona 3. I'm reminded every day, multiple times per day that "the next fog will come after an extended period of rain". This "fog" is usually when the person you're trying to rescue in the TV world will be killed and it will be "game over" if you don't save them. I understand the importance of doing that, especially if you aren't following a strategy guide, but it is very annoying. Also, they give you multiple confirmations for way too many things, mostly when you choose to spend a block of time doing something or especially when you go into the TV world. Three confirmations? No thanks. Asking me once is enough.

Overall though, my cons above are very minor details in an otherwise awesome game. This game is so much better than most of the drivel that was on current-gen systems last year its not even funny. Its too bad it didn't get recognized on many end-of-the-year lists because its on a "last gen" system.

Posts of the Day: 1.30.2009

You know those (arguably weird) people (like my wife) who enjoys picking works of literature apart and analyzing every little possible detail presented in the way every word of every sentence on every page is laid out? Today we have a couple discussions about Persona 4 that fit that description. They're actually quite interesting.

Persona 4 - Reflecting the Self
Sexuality and Homophobia in Persona 4

Tomorrow, prepare for some booty action.

Everyone Else is Doing It

Ok, so I really am not into posting my own "best games of 2008" list, mostly because my best games are never anyone else's best games. Its all subjective, you know. I rarely am enthralled by any AAA games like the rest of the world. GTA4, MGS4, Fallout 3 - they don't do it for me. (There are exceptions, one of which I'll discuss in a bit.)

My favorite game experiences this year came, not on current generation systems, but on the PS2. Of course, I'm talking about the latest Persona games, most recently Persona 4. That is Japanese RPGs at its best right there, regardless of the console its on, that's the best of the best. Play Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 or you will never forgive yourself and will likely rot in gamer hell when you die.

That being said, my second favorite game of the year actually goes to one of those AAA titles that I spoke about earlier - Fable 2. Luckily I was able to get a 360 last month and I tore through Fable 2 - I couldn't put down the controller while playing through it (there's still a few things I want to do in the game, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming DLC, as well). Its unusual that a Western RPG takes one of the top spots in my mind for my favorite games of the year, but this year one does.

A few runners up that I feel the need to throw out here are the very much underrated Valkyria Chronicles, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core and Prince of Persia. I would have to say Valkyria Chronicles joins the highly regarded ranks of games such as Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and The World Ends with You as some of the best games that no one knows about. Its unfortunate that the AAA games of the holiday season of 2008 drowned out the awesomeness that is Valkyria Chronicles.

Crisis Core makes my list for a completely different reason. While I'm not as opposed to it as some game critics were, it makes my list of favorite games of the year for purely nostalgic purposes. Playing that game brought back memories of playing Final Fantasy VII for the first time all those years ago on a borrowed PlayStation console.

Prince of Persia makes my list because it is an action/platformer and that's not usually one of my favorite genres. Contrary to what many other reviewers stated, I actually liked the ease of play and the "no death" mechanics they had going on there. It allowed me to concentrate a lot more on the story, the dialog and the gorgeous visual presentation the game had to offer.

So, there you have it, the run-down of my favorite games of the year - all five of them. ;) Granted, there were other decent games I played throughout the year, but none struck a chord with me as much as these five games.

Persona 4 and Prince of Persia Impressions

Two games have come out over the last couple weeks that I'm interested in - Prince of Persia and Persona 4. I have them both right now, one in from GameFly and, the latter, I picked up at GameStop yesterday.

Monday I got quite a bit of play time in with Prince of Persia. I wasn't quite sure about this game because, as I've said before, I'm not really an action game fan. But, this seems like more than just an action game, in fact there's a moderately low level of actual fighting involved. Through the first four "levels" so far, the majority of time has been spent going to and from various story locations. At each of those locations you would fight a boss, and then be done with it. One time I ran into a single enemy outside of a boss fight.

I like this. I'd much prefer focusing on the running, jumping, wall climbing and swinging that is the platforming part of the game as opposed to the beat-em-up part. Also, its not as difficult figuring out what to do and where to go, let alone performing actions, as a first person title like, say, Mirror's Edge (sorry, had to take that shot).

I'll touch on this briefly now and possibly more in depth in my actual review - a lot of people are complaining about the ease of play. There's one difficulty and that difficulty level seems awfully easy. Its nearly impossible to get a "Game Over" screen. Every time you miss a jump or fail to grab hold of something you should have, your ever-faithful traveling companion Elika is there to save you. On the one hand, this saves you from repeatedly having to go through a "restart from last checkpoint" mechanic. On the other hand, it lessens the consequences of performing badly. In my opinion, the former is more important than the latter. Also, in my opinion, the story and game mechanics are more important than some insane difficulty roadblocks that the developers could have decided to throw in.

Last, but not least, the graphics are absolutely beautiful.

Persona 4, how I love thee. Let's backtrack a bit. Persona 3 came out and I pretty much ignored it, given the fact that I had a lot of other games to play at the time. Persona 3 FES came out and I got it, figuring it was high time I did so. Played it, loved it, best RPG I had played in a long while. Fast forward to yesterday - Persona 4 finally hit store shelves here in North America. Picked it up (I had it pre-ordered) and played it for several hours last night. I got engrossed in it as quickly as I did in the previous game. I'm sure I'll review it, as well, in the coming days, so I'll hold off most of my thoughts until then. Needless to say, this game might actually be better than its predecessor, if that's even possible. My PS2 will definitely be working overtime in the coming weeks.

What Happaned to My Strategy Guide?!

GameStop has been disappointing lately in its stock of strategy guides for any non-AAA titles. They didn't have the strategy guide for Valkyria Chronicles and a couple other new games I've picked up over the last six months or so. That being the case, instead of waiting until release day and being disappointed again, I ordered the Persona 4 guide directly from the publisher, Double Jump.

It arrived very quickly - two days after I ordered it, which was nice. It gives me time to learn about the game systems before the game actually comes out (next week), so I can hop right in without worrying too much about screwing something up.

The problem? The guide is the size of a paperback book. I'm talking physical dimensions. When it arrived yesterday I thought they got my order wrong, because the packaging it was in sure wasn't big enough for a strategy guide. But, sure enough, it was. Its just so...small. I will be honest - I don't particularly like the change. I assume the change was made to save materials yet I'm still being charged the full price of a typical strategy guide (although I did get a discount that they happened to be having on Monday when I ordered it).

The print is also rather small and the guide is impossible to lay flat across my lap. Its like the difference between reading a paperback novel and a magazine. The magazine easily lays flat on any surface while the novel will close up if you attempt the same thing.

Don't get me wrong, the guide is very comprehensive (and actually reads like a novel, which is funny, yet sad). Its not a problem with that, I just wish, for logistic purposes, they wouldn't skimp on game guides. They just don't "work" the same way they used to.

"Last Gen" =/= Bad

Is it a bit odd that one of the most anticipated games on my list is a PS2 game? But, that's last gen? Aren't those systems obsolete by now? Persona 3 certainly proved otherwise and, by all appearances, Persona 4 will do so again. Perhaps the following title in the series will finally make its way to current generation platforms, but that doesn't make the "last gen" games any less amazing. Given the lack of (good) RPGs seen anywhere on current generation systems, its not surprising that fans of that genre are reaching out to whatever they can.

What I enjoyed so much about Persona 3 was that it was a classic, turn-based RPG, but with many twists to that traditional scheme, both in the story and in the game play. It doesn't matter what console its on or what "generation" its considered to be part of - a good game is a good game.

The sad thing is, I know of people who wouldn't even give it a look because its on a last generation system. That's really sad. Persona 3 was one of the best RPGs of last year and Persona 4 will likely be one of the best RPGs of this year (although Valkyria Chronicles is a contender). That's saying a lot, really. Too many people get caught up in what is the newest and "best", the shiniest and the "in" thing and yet forget about these gems that belong to what are considered by many people to be obsolete console libraries.

If you haven't played Persona 3 and enjoy RPGs, you're seriously missing out. Also, Persona 4 hits store shelves in just over a week. Don't miss it just because its a PS2 title.

GameStop Oddities

Yesterday I picked up Valkyria Chronicles. I had intended to get the strategy guide, as well, but they didn't have it in stock. What's odd is GameStop's web site is selling it. I have never come across something they had on the site that I couldn't get in the store, besides a larger selection of used games, that is. Interestingly enough, I'm not sure the strategy guide is really needed. Its pretty easy to follow and the tutorials on battle situations are very well done during the course of the first few encounters.

I'll get into this deeper once I review the game after I've had a chance to play it more, but I really like the way the graphic artistry, story and music all come together to pull you in very early on. In fact, just during the prologue part of the story, which includes several cut scenes and one very easy starter battle, I was hooked and was immediately emotionally attached with the characters. A game hasn't done that for me in quite some time. More to come when I can review it at length.

Back to GameStop, another odd thing that occurred when I was in there yesterday. I wanted to pre-order Persona 4, which is set to come out the first week of December, and, according to them, they didn't have a date for it yet, so I couldn't pre-order. How does a game that comes out in a month not have a pre-order date set in their system yet? That's a bit odd and annoying.

Although, through it all, I did confirm that they were having a midnight release for Wrath of the Lich King next week, so I can strut my stuff and show the world how geeky I am by showing off my druid t-shirt.

Game Status Update: Nov. 1, 2008

I'm considering doing one of these "status updates" every month, much like several other gaming blogs. Its basically a list of what I've tried, what I'm playing completely through, what I've decided I'm completely skipping, etc. Depending how things go, I may do this bi-weekly, but I've got a lot of games to play and Wrath of the Lich King coming out this month so...perhaps monthly is the way to go.

Games I've tried and will likely not finish for various reasons: Eternal Sonata, Metal Gear Solid 4 (yes, yes, cry me a river).

Games I'm currently playing and intend to finish: LittleBigPlanet ("finish" as in, at least clear the developer-made levels), Tales of the Abyss.

Games I don't intend to play for quite some time: Tomb Raider: Underworld, Fallout 3 (more tears, let me have them).

Games I intend to play through: Valkyria Chronicles, Star Ocean: First Departure, Rock Band 2, Midnight Club: Los Angeles, Persona 4, Bioshock, Mirror's Edge.

Games I intend to try if/when I get a 360: Fable II, Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Remnant, Mass Effect.

Game the will likely take up most of my play time and cause me to not get any of the above games finished: Wrath of the Lich King.

And, there you have it. If I had to put two games (besides WotLK) at the top of my list to play this holiday season, it would most likely be Valkyria Chronicles and Persona 4.

Persona 4 Social Link System Tweaked

Playing through Persona 3, I didn't have a single major gripe. The game is one of the best RPGs I've ever played. However, I had a few minor issues with certain aspects of the game. One of these issues was the fact that you couldn't "just be friends" with female characters. Your character either went all the way or didn't talk to them at all. If you did become close with that special someone and you started getting too friendly with another girl, you ran the risk of breaking the social link you've worked hard to establish with your first love. (If all that sounded incredibly cheesy, you obviously haven't played the game.)

Apparently in Persona 4 you can choose who to become more than friends with and who to keep in that "friends only" category. This will likely provide many more options when building social links, and also make it a bit easier to be friends with who you want without running the risk of angering your better half.

I'm also looking forward to the fact that establishing social links with your teammates nets them special abilities to use in battle. These improvements over the previous installment all sound pretty nifty to me.

Persona 4 Edging Closer

Persona 4, the followup (but not direct sequel) to last year's awesome Persona 3, is due to hit shelves in Japan this month, with a North American release to follow in December. I'm really looking forward to this, even though it is on the PS2.

Here's a trailer for the RPG, it looks pretty spiffy. Looking over the screens available on the Interwebs, there's some similarities to Persona 3, and a lot of differences. One thing I'm worried about it some things being too similar, however. In some Persona 4 screens I've seen enemy mobs that look just like the baddies in the previous game. Mix things up a little, eh?

All that aside, I am definitely looking forward to its release here in North America. The PS2 still has a lot of life in her yet. ;)