Persona 3 (gamerankings|official|wiki) has really hit me where it counts - right in the brain.
Whenever a game so impresses and enthralls me, I like to spend some quality time determining why. What mystic formula or feature made the game so different from its contemporaries or anti-derivatives. After pondering these questions (and others like why did this game have to come out right before PAX - now I want to stay home and play), I think I have found what makes this game great and unique.
Character.
Those who’ve listened to an EGR or few probably know my stance on ‘roleplaying’/'freedom’ versus story all too well, but to quick summarize: I believe there are two fundamental types of video games - ones that guide you down a story that was decided upon, and ones that let you make your own story and provide the sandbox and tools or don’t guide you anywhere. Of course, most games fall between these extremes but I still like evaluating both of these elements separately as I don’t think you can legitimately compare a story game to a freeform game on most aspects.
Story games are typically very much like interactive movies. They’re pretty, have amazing sound and production values and typically cost a fortune to make. One defining factor is that each person who plays through it gets largely the same experience as everyone else. This is not a ‘bad’ thing, simply a design choice. Games that fall under this category are typically more like very interactive movies than they are ‘games’. This isn’t by any mistake, nor is it my own distinction.
Then there’s the other kind of game. The kind of game that isn’t included in the ‘next-gen’ marketing wank. The defining focus of these is that every gamer has a different experience. They may wind up with the same ending or main story elements, but the memories are not the same between people. The choose-your-own-adventure game, as opposed to the non-interactive story type. These games are typically less of a money-maker as they are not blockbuster movies (though there are some notable exceptions), but they often become the cult favorites. These are what I call real “role-playing” games… Role-playing to me does not mean hit points and mana, but choice. Some of my favorite role-playing games have been the likes of Fallout, Morrowind, Deus Ex, Knights of the Old Republic, etc.
However, there’s one thing that Persona 3 has that I find scare in both camps, and that is character depth. Persona 3 does not have the best story - it does not really feel like it deserves a movie or book (though an anime OVA would be nice pls). Persona 3 does not give you amazing amounts of choice like something like Fallout. It does not let you fuck up the story or be the bad guy. Instead it does something different. It tells a series of little stories through character interaction. Each NPC you interact with is its own story. Those stories are choose-your-own-adventures… you can fuck those up at your leisure. You learn more about each character in the world the more you interact with them.
The thing I love about this game is that I really care about the characters. I want to know more about them, and never stop learning. This feeling I’ve only really experienced in books and the rare movie, very rarely video games. Even my favorite pinnacles of role-playing (with possible exceptions of KoToR, Digital Devil Saga and a few others), rarely are the characters that deep. Those worlds are comprised of lots of little interactions and lots of ‘little’ characters. Persona 3 has few characters, but they are larger than life.
I love the game mechanics of dating-sims. What stops me from being a true afficianado of the genre is the plasticity of most of the characters (given that you’re primarily trying to see them without clothes, a manikin is probably a good analogy). Persona 3 replaces the sexual incentive with sexy tarot card powers, but that isn’t the true incentive.
There’s one other character that has a lot of depth in this game - me. I’ve found through playing this I’ve actually learned things about myself - and not just what type of girl I like. In picking a character concept and trying to consistently play it, I keep finding bits of myself sticking through that I can’t really avoid. Any game that teaches you about yourself through character interaction is a good game, in my opinion.
The actual battle mechanics are very flavorful (not quite as much as Digital Devil Saga, but close), the character progression is enjoyable (mixing persona is fun, especially finding out about new ones, though it feels very uncontrollable and hard to specialize), and the story is enjoyable too (different enough from the norm at least).
There’s definitely a ‘pokemon’ thing going on here… gotta collect all the tarot and the persona. You don’t have to but it makes you salivate to that end. Playing Pokemon: Diamond along side of this game, I notice a lot of similarities as far as combat is concerned. More of the time though, I do not feel like I want to level up and find new personamons - I want to go back to school and hang out with my friends in town.
All dating sim games have the added benefit of something I call the “Sims afterglow”. After playing the game for a long session, your world feels a little different. You feel as if everything has a meter to it - talking to a friend and spending quality time with them is leveling up something, as is deciding to spend sunday cleaning the house. You suddenly want to get better at everything. And then you come home and get back to playing the game again, and all of that goodwill goes to shit.
At least, in the case of Persona 3: it’s DEEP shit.
