The game:
Phenominal. I waited to review it until beating the game once, and as a fan of Persona 3 and 4(but not Etrian Odyssey), it was definitely worth it. The game took about 60 hours to beat once, and there is a new game+ that lets you carry over levels, your compendium, money, and items.
It's definitely a fanservice game. There is a plot, but the main draw is seeing the P3 and P4 casts interact outside of Arena. That said, I did enjoy the main plot. The main theme is as unsubtle as usual for a persona game, but it managed to tug on my heartstrings anyway.
The game mechanics are a blend of Persona and EO, as expected. I've never played EO, so all of those mechanics were new to me.
The battle system draws heavily on Persona mechanics, but you get boosts(let you attack first next turn with 0 HP/SP costs) instead of One Mores for hitting weaknesses. All the characters have access to subpersonas and four skill card slots, but have their core skills and stats depend on their main persona. It works well, allowing for customization while keeping characters distinct, and I'd enjoy seeing the system return in future Persona games. Certain moves and statuses are very overpowered, and I'd expect to see that fixed if we ever had another persona+EO game.
As for the labyrinths: I enjoyed the mapmaking, although I kept automap on the whole game(automatically draws walls for you, but you still have to fill in other dungeon features yourself). The labyrinths all have pre-set layouts instead of the changing layouts from P3/P4, which is necessary because they also have more complicated puzzles to solve. The puzzles were enjoyable, but they dragged on a bit long in the later labyrinths. There are shortcuts that let you bypass puzzle sections after going through them once, which was much appreciated. The FOE system is interesting - they act like a puzzle at first since they're too strong to beat, but later you can(and should) defeat them to unlock special equipment.
Character interaction is mostly in short cutscenes you see as you explore the labyrinths. Some of these are optional and easy to miss if you don't fully explore, but the longer ones are all mandatory. There are also brief optional interludes(referred to as "strolls" in-game) at the school, which tend to be short but fun pieces of fluff. You get plenty of characterization, but your interactions with the cast are definitely on rails. There are no social links in this game, and any conversation options you see only affect a few lines directly afterward.
The game runs smoothly. I haven't noticed any bugs or glitches. The default battle speed is incredibly slow, but you can make it faster in the settings menu.
The extras:
Not worth it unless you need a 3DS case. This is a shame, since Atlus has a history of good pre-order bonuses.
The soundtrack CD is four songs long. I understand that the full OST released in Japan is two discs long, which might be a bit much for a pre-order bonus, but at least give us more than four tracks!
The artbook isn't the Persona 4 artbook, that's for sure. The book itself is well-made, but the contents disappoint. It has a short blurb from the director, the official art for each character plus a description for them, a couple pages of promo art, and...that's it.
I haven't taken the tarot cards out of the plastic wrapping, but they seem well-made. They're fairly large, made of sturdy paper, and show off the arcana art nicely.
The case is great. It's made of hard(but slightly flexible) plastic, is big enough for a 3DS XL, and has a card storage compartment inside. The outside has a bright, colorful design. The inside is black fabric with art of Teddie and Koromaru, one on each side.
What do customers buy after viewing this item?
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Reviews with images
Good value and a must have for a fan.
Persona is easily one of my favorite RPG Series and for a good reason even if this game in gameplay is more like a Ethrian Odyssey i know for sure that it will not disappoint any Persona fan here.The GameThe gameplay as i just said is a Ethrian Odyssey with a Persona skin, a little slow paced compare with a Persona 4 or 3 game, its also more difficult but to solve that you just have to move the difficulty so it is not a big deal.In graphics the game looks worse than Persona 3 or 4 but that is because is on 3DS and still the videos managed to look pretty colorful and nice. The character designs were changed to pseudochibi style characters but their personalities stayed pretty much the same so it is only a cosmetic change.The music is as gorgeous as always, Light The Fire Up in the Night, Maze of Life, Laser Beam are all great songs and the background music is pretty good too.The story might be a little bit forced but thats just because it was pretty hard to make a believable story in which Persona 3 and 4 merge, but still it has great dialogs and good interaction between both parties.SummaryA great RPG overall and a must have for any Persona fan or even a Ethrian Odyssey fan.The Limited EditionThe box was pretty good looking with hologram and all, the design was really cool to have in your collection.The soundtrack mix was excellent i have both the official soundtrack and this but still prefer the Mix of Laser Beam.The 3DS case is nice looking and feel quite sturdy (not enough to drop the 3DS on the ground).The cards were awesome, just perfect to complete my collection from the Persona 4 Ultimax Set.Great for Persona fans.
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2015
Edition: The Wild Cards PremiumVerified Purchase
Persona is easily one of my favorite RPG Series and for a good reason even if this game in gameplay is more like a Ethrian Odyssey i know for sure that it will not disappoint any Persona fan here.
The Game
The gameplay as i just said is a Ethrian Odyssey with a Persona skin, a little slow paced compare with a Persona 4 or 3 game, its also more difficult but to solve that you just have to move the difficulty so it is not a big deal.
In graphics the game looks worse than Persona 3 or 4 but that is because is on 3DS and still the videos managed to look pretty colorful and nice. The character designs were changed to pseudochibi style characters but their personalities stayed pretty much the same so it is only a cosmetic change.
The music is as gorgeous as always, Light The Fire Up in the Night, Maze of Life, Laser Beam are all great songs and the background music is pretty good too.
The story might be a little bit forced but thats just because it was pretty hard to make a believable story in which Persona 3 and 4 merge, but still it has great dialogs and good interaction between both parties.
Summary
A great RPG overall and a must have for any Persona fan or even a Ethrian Odyssey fan.
The Limited Edition
The box was pretty good looking with hologram and all, the design was really cool to have in your collection.
The soundtrack mix was excellent i have both the official soundtrack and this but still prefer the Mix of Laser Beam.
The 3DS case is nice looking and feel quite sturdy (not enough to drop the 3DS on the ground).
The cards were awesome, just perfect to complete my collection from the Persona 4 Ultimax Set.
Great for Persona fans.
The Game
The gameplay as i just said is a Ethrian Odyssey with a Persona skin, a little slow paced compare with a Persona 4 or 3 game, its also more difficult but to solve that you just have to move the difficulty so it is not a big deal.
In graphics the game looks worse than Persona 3 or 4 but that is because is on 3DS and still the videos managed to look pretty colorful and nice. The character designs were changed to pseudochibi style characters but their personalities stayed pretty much the same so it is only a cosmetic change.
The music is as gorgeous as always, Light The Fire Up in the Night, Maze of Life, Laser Beam are all great songs and the background music is pretty good too.
The story might be a little bit forced but thats just because it was pretty hard to make a believable story in which Persona 3 and 4 merge, but still it has great dialogs and good interaction between both parties.
Summary
A great RPG overall and a must have for any Persona fan or even a Ethrian Odyssey fan.
The Limited Edition
The box was pretty good looking with hologram and all, the design was really cool to have in your collection.
The soundtrack mix was excellent i have both the official soundtrack and this but still prefer the Mix of Laser Beam.
The 3DS case is nice looking and feel quite sturdy (not enough to drop the 3DS on the ground).
The cards were awesome, just perfect to complete my collection from the Persona 4 Ultimax Set.
Great for Persona fans.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Mariell Gaytan
Genial
Reviewed in Mexico on December 28, 2018Edition: The Wild Cards PremiumVerified Purchase
Joel Sauer
Durchaus zufrieden, Spiel funktioniert leider nicht.
Reviewed in Germany on September 23, 2019Edition: The Wild Cards PremiumVerified Purchase
Liam T Bear
The answer to "Arf Arf!" is YES.
Reviewed in Canada on December 4, 2014Edition: The Wild Cards PremiumVerified Purchase
Cliente de Amazon
Excelente precio
Reviewed in Mexico on May 30, 2016Edition: The Wild Cards PremiumVerified Purchase
Meghan O.
Persona at it's finest
Reviewed in Canada on September 24, 2015Edition: The Wild Cards PremiumVerified Purchase
