Despite some noticeable flaws, I have a lot of good things to say about this game so far. I've put roughly five hours into it as of this writing, and that was in one continuous session, so it's definitely grabbed my attention. I can't be completely sure, but I think I've already progressed further than the last time I played.
First, let's talk about some of the flaws. This is a remake of a game originally released in 1996, so there are plenty of remnants of dated design choices. As mentioned before, much of the game's exploration takes place in first person. You spend a lot of time walking through corridors and turning around corners, backtracking where appropriate. Helpfully, the minimap informs you where you've already been so it's easier to avoid getting lost. I've never been a big fan of this kind of exploration but I think it really comes down to more of a personal gripe than anything. It was a very common feature in older western RPGs. I'm starting to get used to it.
The artwork is a little inconsistent. In Persona 3 and Persona 4, just about every character is illustrated beautifully regardless of their importance. In Persona, character art tends to be a little rough around the edges, and occasionally just plain goofy.
I like her hair.
When inside rooms, the perspective is isometric and you are limited to moving in the four cardinal directions. This was confusing to me at first because sometimes it seems when you press up you're actually moving to the left or right--but you get used to it.
In combat, things proceed in traditional turn-based fashion. Unfortunately, the system present in later Persona titles in which exploiting weaknesses allows you to get an extra turn on your opponent is missing. I believe this feature wasn't introduced to Shin Megami Tensei until SMT: Nocturne, released quite a few years later on the PS2. However, there are still a huge variety of elemental spells that can be used to exploit weaknesses--but only for increased damage.
Animations in combat are very sluggish and the sound effects are laughably compressed. I can only assume they were imported from the original title, because the sound quality of the music is very high.
You can have five characters in combat at a time and each can equip three personas!
It struck me as strange that the sound effects were such low quality when the music sounded so great. It seems fair to guess that the soundtrack was entirely remastered and possibly even redone. The style is very similar to the soundtracks of the later Persona titles--and that's absolutely a good thing. Shoji Meguro makes some of the most unique and stylistic soundtracks I've heard. Most tracks feature vocals and are downright danceable. So far I would definitely rate this soundtrack on a similar level as those games.
Persona fusion is a hallmark feature of this series. It is essentially a system in which you fuse demons to create new demons--not unlike Pokemon breeding in a way, except that you generally end up with an entirely different creature than anything you started with. In Persona 3 and 4 you get the chance to automatically acquire new personas after random encounters. In Persona, however, it's a little different and has more in common with legacy Shin Megami Tensei titles.
Every demon that you fight in encounters--that is, anything that isn't human or a boss--can be negotiated with. Using the Contact feature, your characters can talk it out with these demons and obtain a variety of results. Making it angry will cause it to punish you or grow more powerful. Making it sad will cause it to flee. Making it happy may motivate it to give you a gift. However, the most important thing to do with these demons is to max out their Eagerness. If this is done properly, the demon in question will reward you with their Spell Card--allowing you to fuse it with other personas. As far as I can tell, this is the primary way to obtain new personas for each and every one of your playable characters.
This is a really interesting system that has its pros and cons. Every character has a unique set of commands ta their disposal when dealing with these demons. Maki can Lie or Plead. The main character can Sing and Invite. These commands have varying effects on different demons. The player is expected to discover through trial and error which commands work best against which demons--and to extrapolate based on a series of characteristics assigned to them, such as Foolish, Snappish, or Wise. However, it often seems that there is no surefire way to manipulate some demons, even if certain methods have worked in the past.
It can be really interesting to see what each character says to manipulate these demons and how they reply in turn, but it can also be a little tedious to go through this process repeatedly to obtain spell cards. After you've acquired a few of the cards, you can experiment in the Velvet Room with fusing them together. You'll be shown the potential results of your fusion before you actually go through with it--and what compatibility the demons have with your characters.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona certainly seems like a solid title. I'm going to do my best to actually finish it this time--and then, Persona 2 awaits.
Shoji Meguro - "Bloody Destiny" (from Shin Megami Tensei: Persona)
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