Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 was popularized in Japan as Persona 3 and the fourth video game in the Persona series of console role-playing games. In Persona 3, the player takes the character of a male high-school student, who was orphaned as a young boy and recently transferred to Gekkoukan High School on Port Island. Few days after he arrives at the school dorm, he was invaded by a Shadow. The assault awakens his Persona and he soon joins the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES), a group of students investigating the "Dark Hour," a hidden time period that exists between one day and the next that few people are aware of. During the Dark Hour, the character enters Tartarus, a large tower swarming with Shadows. Shadows are creatures that feed on the minds of humans, which have been slowing claiming victims known as The Lost - poor souls who have inexplicably been turned into walking zombies. To fight the Shadows, each member of SEES is able to summon a Persona, a manifestation of a person's inner self.
Persona 3 includes elements of simulation games, as the game's protagonist progresses day by day through a school year, making friends and forming relationships that improve the strength of his Personas in battle. Its main characters’ lives deliver some unique game play ideas, but also transform it into a love-it-or-hate-it affair. With the school as the primary battlefield, characters are forced to juggle between two lives: student by day, defender against evil by night. On the eve of each full moon each greatest challenge awaits. It has a combat system that's easy to get into but hard to master; enough of difficulty curve that you’ll feel like you’re working for your victories, and a truly bizarre and memorable soundtrack.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Guide
In Persona 3, you take the character of a male high-school student during each day, controlling his school efforts, managing the dorm, and exploring the town, and your relationship with the community affects your battle skills. When the clock reaches midnight, the entire world enters "Shadow Time", and the battles begin. Once you get into battle, the game takes on a traditional turn-based mission and there you'll find a couple of twists to this standard formula. The first segment of this revolves around exploiting enemy weaknesses. Players can scrutinize Shadows while trying to find what elemental or physical flaws they possess so your force can result extra damage. Striking favorably the beasts in this approach will generally knock them to the ground. Resulting them to be incapacitated for a while and providing you with an extra attack in battle, which can be used to finish that monster off or focus on other creatures. In addition, striking down all monsters during the assault will empower you to perform an All-Out Attack with every member of your party, which can't be defended against. The alternative twist that the battle system support is a rush feature that lets you speed through battle sequences, inevitably triggering all party members to assault beyond any user input. This can be beneficial for charging through meaningless monsters or fights that you can simply win.
For the extreme part, your characters will act intelligently, utilizing their abilities at the right time or healing characters that need help. Emerge victorious from a battle you will then acquire a chance to select a tarot card from a number of cards on screen depending on the monster you overthrow. These cards hold your Persona summons and you can make a new Persona by integrating the cards. Not only will players be able to gain new personas in this way, they can acquire new items, money, experience points or even heal their party in this manner. Gamblers even have the chance to double their fortune by putting their won card up against higher ventures. Nevertheless, there are some hazards: players can lose all of their earned cards or even obtain a cursed card, which summons Death to relentlessly track your party through the halls of Tartarus. It is then a creative twist on successfully beating monsters.
Get the Official Strategy Guide at Amazon.com
Jay