Persona Q: In which a large group of teenagers become very lost

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is a dungeon crawler RPG developed by Atlus. It was released in North America just a couple of months ago (November 28, 2014) and I happily purchased it on release day as a huge fan of the Persona series. Persona Q is a spin-off title of the main Persona series, which is itself technically a spin-off of the main Megami Tensei series--but it has eclipsed many other games in that series in popularity. Atlus is also the developer for the Etrian Odyssey series and that is the source from which most of Persona Q's gameplay is drawn. Although it features all playable characters from both Persona 3 and 4 and pays homage to their backstories and personal struggles, Persona Q feels less like a Persona title and more like an entry into the Etrian Odyssey series. And that's absolutely fine if you're a fan of EO's gameplay and Persona's plot and characters. I'd never played an Etrian Odyssey title before tackling Persona Q, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was skeptical about what Persona Q had to offer, but I now feel I can safely say I'm a fan of the format.

Persona Q takes place in a bizarre alternate version of Persona 4's Yasogami High, its inhabitants ghostly, unliving facsimiles, save for students Rei and Zen that serve as the only playable characters unique to the game. Upon starting the game, the player will be prompted to assign names to the P3 and P4 protagonists. Unfortunately, the names I chose did not fit completely. According to the Persona 4 anime, that game's protagonist is named Yu Narukami--and according to a Persona 3 manga, that protagonist is named Minato Arisato. Although the compromise made me grit my teeth, I was forced to name them Yu Narkami and Minato Arsato. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make but I'll have to admit it was irksome I was required to make it at all. I have to wonder why Atlus felt it was a priority to retain the silent protagonist concept in  Persona Q. That's right--whichever protagonist you choose at the beginning of the game will be mute for the entire running time save for dialogue options chosen by the player--which are of course not voiced. I chose Minato (the P3 protagonist) expressly because he was given little to no character development in Persona 3 and I was eager to hear him delivering lines and interacting with other characters. Unfortunately, I was left with VA for only Yu, who I'd heard plenty not only in the Persona 4 anime, but in the two spin-off fighting games, Arena and Arena Ultimax. If I were to play the game a second time, I'd definitely select Yu as my protagonist of choice just to see the content I'd missed.


Your choice of protagonist has the most effect on the game's first chapter, where you are tasked with conquering the You in Wonderland dungeon, a labyrinth with a quite obvious Alice in Wonderland theme. You'll field a predetermined party of either P3 or P4 characters. Shortly before conquering the dungeon's final boss, a group of characters from the other crossover title will find their way to you. From that point on, you'll be afforded the opportunity to field a party of your own devising. When I first heard about Persona Q, this was the part I was most anticipating. I'd already planned out the kind of parties I wanted in my head--but of course at that point I had no idea how it would actually work.

The reason behind being trapped in Bizarro Yasogami High is kept tightly under wraps for the majority of Persona Q's formidable length. Suffice it to say that it is made clear very early on that newcomers Rei and Zen must have something to do with it. Zen is tall, stoic, and humorless, whereas Rei is a bubbly teenage girl with an obsessive appreciation for food of all kinds. There's very few scenes in Persona Q involving Rei that do not involve takoyaki or various other foods for which I have no name. Surprisingly, given her zeal, Rei is quite trim. I can only speculate that her boundless energy and enthusiasm must go a long way toward burning off those extra calories. Regardless, Rei and Zen play an important part in the plot of Persona Q, although their impact is not apparent until much later on.

Denizens of the mysterious Velvet Room take much more of an active role on the storyline in Persona Q than in previous Persona titles, although series regular Igor is nowhere to be found. Persona 4's Margaret takes over his persona fusion abilities whereas Persona 3's Elizabeth is relegated to running the Nurse's Office. She is happy to charge the gang for her healing services, however. Theodore from Persona 3 Portable is available to sell various goods to the party like weapons, armors, and accessories, provided you can bring him the requisite materials looted from the labyrinths' many enemies.

One of the things that excited me most about Persona Q when I first heard about it was its status as a crossover. I'm a huge fan of crossovers in general and I think they're so much fun when done correctly. I weep openly at the amount of time it will take for fan translators to work through the rest of the Super Robot Wars catalog, for instance. I thoroughly enjoyed Persona 4 Arena and Ultimax not just for their fighting gameplay, but because they featured a lot of dialogue and interactions between characters from Persona 3 and 4. In those games, the Persona 3 characters are a couple of years older, whereas the Persona 4 characters have essentially just finished with their murder mystery case--so the dichotomy is very different from what's on display in Persona Q, where all of the characters in question are in the midst of their personal story arcs. Because of this, each of these characters feels very limited in their potential trajectories. It feels impossible to develop these characters any further because of how it would interfere with the established canon. Unfortunately, this leads to a game that is fraught with novels of dialogue about things that are essentially very trivial, with most important dialogue relegated to that which is directly relevant to whatever labyrinth is currently being explored.

There are some exceptions to this, however, but these excerpts are sadly few and far between. The storyline does pick up considerably closer to the end of the game, and a few of the established characters do get a chance to shine, particularly Yukari. Still, I'd have to say it was disappointing not to see any genuine story arcs surrounding any of these characters I like so much. It might be disingenuous to say that many of the Persona squad are caricatures of what they're supposed to be, but it's not far off. Their personalities are correct and loyal to how they have been portrayed in various titles, but they're given very little dynamic range. This is particularly disappointing for characters like Minato and Shinjiro, who are sadly absent from other spin-off titles.

Persona Q is framed from the very beginning as a giant side quest because it takes place during the events of Persona 3 and Persona 4. Because of that, it lacks the epic "end of the world" feel of Persona 3 or the very real sense of danger presnt in Persona 4. The characters' only real motivation is just to get back to their homes--while attempting to have as much fun as possible while they're stuck in the Bizarro Yasogami Culture Festival. In order for the stars of Persona 3 and 4 to make it back to their homes, they must undo the four chain locks on a pair of ominous doors smack dab in the middle of the Velvet Room. These locks correspond to each of the dungeon's four main labyrinths, although once these dungeons have been conquered, you may find there's a reason to hang out for a little while longer.

I've not played any Etrian Odyssey titles (though that's coming soon) so I can't make many comments on how the combat in Persona Q differs from that series--but I can draw comparisons to Persona 3 and 4. In those games, exploiting enemy weaknesses was an important part of strategy in even the most mundane of encounters. This is also true in Persona Q but for different reasons. Enemies aren't staggered by these attacks nearly as often (although it will occasionally happen). Instead, party members will acquire a "boost" when exploiting an enemy's weakness. On that character's next turn, provided he or she does not get hit, all skills and spells will cost no resources, whether that be HP or SP. For physical skills, critical hits will provide this same bonus. Done correctly, boosts will allow players  to minimize usage of their all important resources and plumb the depths of Persona Q's enormous labyrinths without having to frequently retreat to Bizarro Yasogami High. This difference in playstyle was jarring at first, but I grew to appreciate it in time, especially when I discovered another important mechanic in Persona Q. Each of the game's many playable characters (including the protagonists) are able to equip a sub persona in addition to their primary persona. These primary personas will learn a series of skills pulled directly from their original games (for the most part, with some exceptions) but the sub persona is chosen by the player. Instead of fusing demons only for the use of the protagonist, you'll have to maintain several more just for use by your four other party members as well as two support characters! These support characters assist you in and out of combat. Fuuka and Rise are your only non-DLC choices here, but you can assign one character to both if you'd prefer. These sub personas will significantly bolster the number of skills at your disposal, but they also boost your characters' HP and SP. This bonus refills after every battle, which means that you can easily keep your resources up over the course of a labyrinth if you exploit weaknesses and otherwise conserve.

The range of skills available to your characters in positively staggering. Although Persona Q features most skills from Persona 3 and 4, it also features many skills pulled straight from Etrian Odyssey,
although I'll admit to being unsure about exactly which ones these are. Suffice to say, series stat buffs like Rakukaja (defense), Sukukaja (evasion/hit rate), and Tarukaja (attack) return, but inventive buffs like Death Chaser and Death Counter help to significantly flesh out your strategy. Several personas also have Link attacks, which are attacks that will automatically follow up on other party members' attacks. For example, Akihiko casts Bolt Link at the very beginning of the turn. When Naoto casts Megidolaon and fails to secure a kill on an enemy, Akihiko will follow up with an additional Bolt Link. Certain abilities will augment the damage of these links and increase the number of times this can occur, making them very powerful against many of Persona Q's difficult bosses.

Each of the labyrinths in Persona Q generally feature only one primary boss, but all of them have menacing roaming enemies called FOEs, evidently a hallmark of the Etrian Odyssey series. In most cases, FOEs can be avoided altogether, although it is increasingly challenging to do so as you progress further in the game. If you're up for a challenge, you can choose to attack these enemies. In many cases, they're more difficult than the boss of the labyrinth, but will reward you with high level personas and lots of experience. Many will require strategy to defeat if challenged at a reasonable level. In most cases, optional requests can be undertaken after a labyrinth is completed to venture back in and defeat these FOEs--for a reward of additional experience, money, and special items.

Because Persona Q is primarily a dungeon crawler, ample emphasis is placed on the labyrinths and how one traverses them. Many of the puzzles and layouts on display are satisfyingly inventive, particularly in the game's latter stages when things are becoming more complex. Accurate mapmaking (drawn with assistance from a grid on the Nintendo 3DS's touch screen) is essentially to successfully
progressing through these labyrinths. The player is required to find keys for locked doors, solve puzzles, scare off or avoid FOEs, and chart entire floors in order to progress. If a floor is completed 100%, a special chest containing a rare or unique item will be unlocked automatically.

Although most of Persona Q's labyrinths only contain four floors, these floors are positively packed with puzzles and content. Each of these labyrinths took me 15-20 hours to complete. I'd wager my thoroughness played no small part in the amount of time this took me, but it's a testament to the game that I was that engrossed.

Even though Persona Q borrows heavily from the Etrian Odyssey format, it still feels to me very much like a Persona title. Most of the series' voice actors return and much of Shoji Meguro's music appears on the soundtrack--although I was surprised to learn that he was not credited as a composer. He composed the main theme, "Maze of Life," but the rest of the game's punchy soundtrack was handled by Atsushi Kitajoh and Toshiki Konishi. Many of these themes borrow heavily from Meguro's work. The battle themes struck me as arrangements of those from Persona 3 and 4, whereas a track like "Corn Dog" seems like a mashup of Persona 3's "Iwatodai Dorm" and Persona 4's "Period." Regardless of the credited composer, Persona Q's soundtrack is absurdly catchy and loyal to themes established in the original games--and unlike Persona 4 Arena and Ultimax, Persona Q at least features its fair share of new music.

Persona Q is not a perfect game and omits some of my favorite features of Persona 3 and 4--but it also adds a ton of new content that I was happy to explore and experience. Because of the game's setting, characters had very little room to grow or develop. As a result, much of the game's dialogue could easily be dismissed as typical anime filler. Regardless, the gameplay is excellent and I'm still quite happy to join in on the adventures of Aigis, Akihiko, Yosuke, Chie--of all the Persona squad. Atlus are certainly at risk of oversaturation with all of the Persona spin-offs in the last couple of years, but I imagine they'll have to be wrapping up on that pretty soon. Having said that, I might have to pass on Persona 4: Dancing All Night, where Atlus might just be jumping the shark.

Overall Score: 9/10

Breath of Fire II: A tale of a corrupt religion and an ancient dragon clan

The second entry in Capcom's Breath of Fire series was originally released in 1994 in Japan, with an official North American localization following in 1995. Capcom is indisputably better known for franchises such as Resident Evil and Street Fighter. Personally, I'm a much bigger fan of some of their other offerings, like Ace Attorney, Mega Man, and of course, Breath of Fire. I've completed three of the five main series Breath of Fire titles, so I feel I have a decent grasp on the series as a whole. Of course, I've only just recently completed Breath of Fire II, some 10 years after its original release. I can't say it's changed my opinion on which Breath of Fire title is best (that honor still belongs to Breath of Fire IV), but I'm glad I've played it, and I'd love to finally finish Breath of Fire III and possibly even Dragon Quarter in 2015.

Although Breath of Fire II is generally considered a serviceable SNES RPG, the North American localization is nonetheless infamous for its poor quality, particularly where the game's dialogue is concerned. The script's many errors resulted in a plot that is confusing and difficult to follow. Fortunately, the fine folks at Watercrown Productions took it upon themselves to remedy this problem and craft an updated translation for the game's script, vastly improving on what was the original title's worst flaw. I've played the original North American release but never finished it--so when I heard a fan translation was available, I decided to give the game another shot. I feel safe in saying it's an infinitely superior version but it is not enough to completely salvage a game that is not without a number of flaws.

Like the first entry in the series, Breath of Fire II features a blue-haired swordsman protagonist by the name of Ryu, a winged humanoid woman named Nina, as well as a certain secret character only intrepid adventurers will discover. Despite sharing their names, these are not the same Ryu and Nina from the first game, as some 500 years have passed in the interim. The series continues this tradition of featuring characters named Ryu and Nina with character designs that are similar but different in important ways. Breath of Fire II's Nina, for instance, features striking black wings, in sharp contrast to the lily-white wings of her predecessor.

The game opens by placing the player of control of a young Ryu, who lives in the town of Gate with his father Ganer, a priest of the Lord Eva and sister, Yua. After visiting the slumbering dragon perched over the opening of a nearby cave, Ryu returns to Gate to find that his family is missing and none of the town's inhabitants have the slighest clue who he is. Ryu seeks help from the mysterious Father Habalk, who has evidently been the acting pastor for many years and it is there he meets Bosch, first of many anthropomorphic animal companions (this one a portly dog man) that Ryu will recruit in his journey. The mischievous Bosch convinces Ryu to escape town during the night so they could live in the big city, but in doing so, they encounter an ancient and powerful demon in the nearby cave. The demon calls Ryu the "destined child." Ten years later, Ryu and Bosch are close friends and are employed as rangers--individuals who are hired for various mundane tasks--in the town of Newhaven.

Ryu travels the world and recruits a variety of party members, including Nina, a burly armadillo/pangolin man by the name of Rand; Lin, a feline girl; Tapeta, a frog prince; Sten, an agile monkey fighter; and Spar, a genderless Grassman. A certain immortal half snake sorceress returning from Breath of Fire is also an optional recruit. What I think is refreshing about this cast of characters is that they are all relevant in some way to the plot of the game. Each will undergo trials at various points that serve to further flesh out their personalities and backstories. In many RPGs, party members are forgotten as the storyline progresses. This occurs to much less of an extent in Breath of Fire II as each character receives their fair share of screen time--when recruited and also generally at a later stage of the game.

Nina's black wings, her status as a descendant of the "original" Nina, and her relationship with her sister Mina are all important plot points. Lin is initially just an opponent in a gladiatorial bout early in the game, but her budding feelings for Ryu and meeting with a man from her tribe by the name of Tiga later in the game also result in forward momentum for the plot. Tapeta, although unforgivably useless in combat, is central to many scenes regarding Fort Nageur, the home of the frog race to which he belongs--including the emergence of an impostor to his position as prince. During the course of the game the hometowns of both Sten and Rand will be visited. Sten will find himself undergoing a solo mission and coming into conflict with his old friend Turvoe and the sinister force now taking control of his people. Rand puts his mother in a dangerous position and must live with the consequences.

Underpinning the events of the plot is the sinister Church of Eva, a religion for which Ryu's father Ganer was a priest. As the game progresses, the party will discover the true purpose of the religion and its true leader, at which point the game is beginning to draw to a close--in the sprawling Abyss Tower. I've played many RPGs in my day that feature corrupt religions and this one strikes me as not very different in that regard.

Although the fan translation gave me an excuse to revisit Breath of Fire II, what really made me want to give the game another try was the game's combat system. I had fond memories of the shaman fusion system and really wanted to get more in depth with that. However, the combat is a bit of a mixed bag. For the most part, it's very standard turn-based fare. Your party members all have different strengths and weaknesses and are not interchangeable in any way. I really enjoy when RPGs field a cast of characters that feature unique strengths and weaknesses so that each character is useful in one way or another--without eclipsing the usefuless of another. Breath of Fire II succeeds in this in some ways, but not so much in others. In my experience, Tapeta has been close to useless, with his only real redeeming quality being his ability to cast the vaunted Warp spell, an ability that allows the party to teleport to previously visited towns. This is the only reason I ever dragged Tapeta along, unless I needed him for certain plot events. Even still, Spar learns this spell as well, while learning a few utility and healing spells in addition to that.

In most cases, though, each party member has something helpful he or she can bring to the team. Ryu is a strong all around figher and has the most powerful spells in the game--although they take all of his AP to cast. Lin is probably the strongest offensively and is blisteringly fast--but of course she's about as durable as a paper bag and doesn't have enough AP to cast any of her spells for the majority of the game. Conversely, Rand can take a lot of hits and learns some very useful healing magic, but will very rarely cast his spells before the enemy has a chance to strike. Sten is about as fast as Lin and is only decent offensively, but he has the ability to cast more spells than Lin. Bosch is the party's best healer and is reasonably strong offensively. Spar is likely the party's weakest healer, but unlocks a shaman fusion relatively early in the game that dramatically increases AP pool. Tapeta is slow, weak offensively, and casts few useful spells. I could never figure out a reason to actually use him if not forced.

Of course, the shaman fusion system was what I found to be most interesting about Breath of Fire II's combat. Throughout the game Ryu will meet with shamans associated with different elements such as fire, water, light, and darkness. Each party member will be compatible with two out of six different shaman and feature anywhere from 1 to 3 fusions when linked with these shamans. If the correct combinations are discovered, party members can be transformed in really interesting ways. Sten can become a floating djinni, for instance, and Bosch can become a bulky combat mech. These fusions augment stats and increase abilities in different ways. The system adds a satisfying element to the game's combat--more on this later.

Outside of combat, characters also have additional utility. Some special abilities can be performed on the world map or even in dungeons. Lin can break through certain obstacles with her staff. Tapeta and Rand can assume alternate forms that make travel faster and easier. Sten can make use of his agility to cross certain gaps. These further reinforce the importance of each individual party member. No one is ever irrelevant.

While adventuring all over the world, the player is also tasked with maintaining a small town and recruiting tenants for its vacant buildings. This is not only a pleasant diversion and barometer of progress throughout the game, but an excellent way to acquire various difficult to acquire items. One of three architects can be recruited to build the town, which influences the type of tenants that will reside in the town. It is up to the player to decide which six other tenants will take up residence there. Other diversions include fishing and hunting, which are both good sources of income early in the game. Fishing in particular is the only way to acquire some of Ryu's strongest items.

Breath of Fire II features a fair share of dungeon crawling, most of which is unremarakble. Occasionally a party member's power will be required to advance, but seldom are these puzzles too challenging to complete. Frustratingly, the random encounter rate is frequently a tad too high. Additionally, the handful of solo missions certain members of your party must undertake can be quite difficult, since you're given no warning about them beforehand. If these party members are underleveled, random encounters in these sections of the game are particularly challenging.

For the most part, these complaints are minor. However, Capcom decided to up the ante in the game's final dungeon, the Abyss Tower. Featuring dozens of floors and circuitous passageways, Abyss Tower also has an absolutely ludicrous random encounter rate. I have seldom dealt with a dungeon more tedious. Compounding my frustration is the fact that once you've made your way down the interminable length of that dungeon, you'll find there's no reprieve. It's not possible to warp out and renew your party's shaman forms and then return. If you've lost your shaman forms by that point, you'll have to do without them. Only a couple of hours of gameplay have elapsed since acquiring the final shaman fusions and now you can't even use them. This seems like a pretty terrible oversight on Capcom's part. I've spent 30 hours developing these characters and I want to use my shiny new shaman transformations on the game's final boss!

Of course, the game's soundtrack also does it no favors. It features a series of mostly dull and plodding tunes, but no track is as repetitive and miserable as the ubiquitous dungeon theme. The battle theme is not bad, but is nonetheless forgettable. On a console that is overflowing with classic RPGs with great soundtracks, Breath of Fire II definitely does not stand out.

Breath of Fire II is a game with many flaws, but I did enjoy it overall and feel it was an improvement on its predecessor. I haven't finished Breath of Fire III so I can't make a firm judgment on whether or not it improves on this game's problems--but I can say with all confidence that Breath of Fire IV is superior and ultimately my first recommendation for this series. Still, Breath of Fire II is memorable because of its unique mechanics that were not later repeated in the series. I'd love to play another RPG that has a mechanic like the shaman fusion system. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head that's similar to it is Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga's demon transformations, but it still doesn't really scratch the same itch.

Overall Score: 6/10