5/5 ★ – greatizayahman's review of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES.

Video games are always that cozy descent into another world, a form of media meant to put the player in the role of the advancer. That, no matter what, the story will never leave you behind, rather you are the one with total and complete power to keep the story to a halt or an expedited pace. Persona 3 feels like the ultimate thesis to this logic for video games, but does so in a way that makes you really step back and think “is this a game? or am I playing the pure artistic visions and motives of the designer, the programmers, the musicians?”. Are you simply playing something, or are you witnessing art at its most dynamic? Never have I been so captivated by the storytelling of a game, whether it be through the pleasantly aged and charming anime cutscenes, to the adorable yet high-staked, in-game cutscenes to even just the certain personas someone has and what they contribute to the story, the wit and clever details are always there since the beginning and when you catch them for yourself, that satisfying “AHA” is there. The themes of death, finding your purpose, loneliness, loss and grief, and triumph are displayed so maturely and perfectly articulated without losing you for one second since the cast of characters that undergo these obstacles truly feel like they were made to be cared for, they feel like real people and you always root them on to stay positive and look forward to the finish line no matter how hard fate has it out for you. The gameplay isn’t as robust and mechanically sound as other future titles, but you can really feel the modern leaps taken with this one. Even if it is a simpler battle system, nothing feels more satisfying than fighting with your own fused or caught personas, knocking down and landing critical hits on enemies and carefully making your own strategies for tough bosses or improvising on the fly. This game really wants you to learn the ins and outs of it in the first two brutal dungeons you have to play, but once you get it down, you’ll find Tartarus to be one of the greatest dungeon systems in rpg history. Scaling this 200+ floor tower and finding loot for your own taking is wonderfully blissful and making progress to that next barricade feels like a monumental event that you can relish with you and your party. The music is just BEAUTIFUL in this game, being just pure Japanese butt rap when visiting your dorm at the end of the day or melodic piano keys that take you to another world when you boot up just the title screen alone. And don’t get me started on Mass Destruction or the classic beauty that is the Velvet Room. All of these things wrap up together to make for a beautiful journey fit for anyone willing to take on this monstrous 100 hour plus story. Much like the themes of coping with the fear of death and losing others to it, finishing this game for the first time feels like a loss in it of itself, a loss at a perfect experience that I will never be able to laugh with, cry for, strive for better with, for the first time, but I know it will never be forgotten in my memory and most of all, in my heart.