Metaphor Refantazio review

 Fantasy lives on...

Persona has risen very much from the depths of niche-hood into the very heart of relevance thanks to the runaway smash-hit of Persona 5. Just like the Yakuza franchise had done before it- 5 introduced a whole new breed of potential fans to the wonders of the Japanese game market- wherein forgoing the absolute cutting edge of technology allows for quicker turn arounds, developers who are more familiar and adept with their current toolsets and, usually, more introspective and interesting stories. I still find myself utterly stunned with just how many ATLUS projects we've seen in the past 5 years compared to the best of the western world. Five games in as many years- (with one technically being a re-release with more content in 'Persona 5 Royal') What about Naughty Dog? Last of Us Part 2 and... remasters of both games. With an upcoming second remaster of Part 2 soon. My point is- the Asian gaming market is on the rise and for good reason.

Of course I did find myself wondering just how transitive the success of Persona would ultimately be on ATLUS as a whole. I mean sure- I ended up really gelling with the brand and introducing myself to the wider world of their products- but I'm an anomaly with too much time on my hands. Shin Megami Tensei V certainly did decently, but it's still a niche brand in comparison to Persona and it seemed like ATLUS really understood that what with how thoroughly the team committed to milking Persona 5. What else did they have? Soul Hackers 2? That game got panned, unfairly so I'd argue, for the crime of not really being anywhere near as good as the Persona games. (Not that it was really trying to be- you could feel the lower budget seeping through every aspect of that game.) Which is what brought me to considering Metaphor a risky proposition.

Don't get me wrong- from an artistic standpoint I thought that marrying the ATLUS formula with the creative freedom of a pure fantasy world was such a no-brainer that it honestly astounds me that the team seem so surprised that they went this direction ultimately. The tacit comprehension of complex themes disseminated and personified into tangible aspects of a thematically driven plot, broad and emotionally driven character writing that colours shades of personality into even the most drab places, a deep grasp of various international cultural myths and the intellect to cleverly appropriate those aspects to create fascinating world spaces. (Take note: 'Devil May Cry'; you haphazard culture-nicker, you!) ATLUS had been cultivating these skills with every one of their projects up until now- of course they were primed to bring it together into a fantasy. In fact, a fantasy setting could even be the perfect melting pot to bring all those talents to their ripe-most fruition!

Now those are very bold proclamations that I make, and it was with a tempered heart I reflected on what Metaphor would actually be. First off, ATLUS were forming a new team to make it, Studio ZERO- which could either be an investment made in confidence that this would form a team worthy of carrying their own legacy for years to come- or a calculated risk to isolate a limb in the off-chance it may need to be cauterised if things go south. In a manner so very fitting for the subject matter of the day, I gave into my fear of the unknown and allowed anxiety to close off my heart to the hype train for Metaphor- only really re-engaging around about release time when I figured- "Eh, there's a free demo- might as well see what it's like." Needless to say, I brought the game on the spot soon after.

In many ways Metaphor feels like a marriage of everything ATLUS has achieved up until now, in every aspect from the character writing to the storytelling to the gameplay. But for the sake of observable and easily communicable evidence, lets start with gameplay. Metaphor borrows the press-turn combat system from Shin Megami Tensei alongside it's buff/debuff stacking kit- accessing the much greater tactical burden and reward afforded this system over the more pithy, albeit quicker and punchier, Persona route. Yet it neatly nicks the celebrated Social Link relationship heart of the Persona games in order to bring the relationships to the forefront of the narrative and world every bit as successfully as that franchise does. Picking and choosing.

This comes from the pedigree of Studio ZERO which is picked from across ATLUS' greatest hits with talent from Neon Genesis and elsewhere padding out the other artistic positions- presumably lending to the uniquely lively style of ReFantazio's visual artistry. And personally, as one deeply entrenched in ATLUS' emotionally-poignant examinations of the human condition, I am so happy to find Metaphor not just full to bursting with one of the studios most complete breakdowns of their theme, but a beautifully evocative commentary on so much more besides, from the very nature of power to the purpose of art as a concept. Once more ATLUS amaze with how aware and clever their narratives can be- leaving not a pinch of doubt in anyone's mind when they took the 'Best Narrative' award at the Game Awards.

Metaphor presents a fantasy world that slips away from many of the usual go-to tropes that Japanese fantasy in particular falls down- there's no World Tree- thank god! In fact- there's no central worshipping force around which all the world revolves- sorry, Final Fantasy. Instead there's a deeply grounded soul to the world of Euchronia. (very cute synonym there, by the way- with 'Euchronia' literally meaning a utopian era of technological and social achievement- in stark contrast to the world present.) The world is made up of fantastical races split into tribes, with Elf-like Rhodanthe prized for their martial strength to the bat-like Eugief who are treated as an ugly and dirty people- likely for how distinct they look from other more humanoid style peoples. This is a land of social struggles and racially-enforced classism that leads to strife and discord across the land- it's a near endlessly rich world depicting a society on the brink in such a tangible way.

Such a turbulent world is brought to a boiling point where the king is brutally assassinated by a villain we establish directly from the get-go- Louis, or as I like to call him: "Fantasy-Dio". Forgoing the cat-and-mouse of later Persona titles we have our man of the hour front and centre before we even have controls in our hands which gives Metaphor plenty of time to give us one of the best villains ATLUS has ever made. Both distant enough to remain a point of intrigue for a good portion of the story and oppressively present so that his essence looms over proceedings finally complete enough that when the puzzle pieces do start coming together, it feels every bit as rewarding as you'd hope. Louis feels like the perfection of the Takaya-style Strega character that ATLUS have been taking a shot at every now and then ever since Persona 3.

That 'conflux of good practises' comes to a pinpoint in the combat too, which really seems to nail all it aims for. Aside from hitting on a more tactically rich space than Persona without getting overwhelming, Studio ZERO also built in one of the most user-friendly features I've ever seen from a JRPG. At the press of a button you can instantly reset any fight to the start in order to try it again. If ever things aren't going your way, or you used too many resources that one time, or maybe you just missed an opening you really wanted to nail and are willing to save scum to get it right- Metaphor gives you that power in the most seamless way possible and I simply love how accessible it makes an otherwise potentially foreboding fight system. You can get to learn a fight by slamming yourself up against it before starting again with a clearer idea of how to tackle it. Clever- but that's just the iceberg.

What they did for dungeons is hats-off brilliant yet so-very simple. As you can imagine- dungeon delving is an important part of Refantazio, both in side-questing in the surprisingly rewarding side-content on offer or simply hitting the main dungeons throughout the core game. Each of these spaces are visually distinct and usually filled with their own brand of thematically appropriate enemy, sometimes with cute gimmicks such as a fear of mages that causes goblins to flay into a rage whenever they see a staff and becoming much harder to kill. But engaging with these dungeons takes valuable days to commit to- you don't want to waste a trip on an ill thought-out loadout, do you? Thus was born the informant system. People shoed up in Inns who, for a small pittance, give stories about locations of interest stuffed with hints about the kinds of monsters there, the gimmicks at play and what sort of weaknesses you'll want to exploit or shore-up against. Suddenly you're gearing up for dungeons beforehand- spending wisely on appropriate gear, changing up your party makeup prematurely. In a simple hint system built within the game's fiction Studio ZERO have reinforced the 'adventurer fantasy' so beautifully that I'm going to be asking for something similar out of my future RPGs. That alone has reshaped the standard. So smart! 

And that's without even touching on the boss fights themselves! Metaphor contains some of the most interesting boss fights across the ALTUS catalogue by, again, just injecting a little bit more core creativity in design. Of the larger bosses you'll find mechanics built into various targetable limbs that serve different functions throughout the battle and offer specific steps-up if you target them, explicit attack patterns that demand study and dutiful response and classic attack chains that challenge the player's rounded party composition. Once again, these take the best from across the board. The gimmick fights of Persona 5, the attack patterns of Soul Hackers and the attack chains of SMT (and some choice Persona 3 bosses.) Identifying the best-of-the-best is one victory- bringing them together so deftly is yet another.

These flexible fights are made feasible by the archetypes system, which is personally the only aspect I'm still not in-love with when it comes to Metaphor. It presents the overall flexibility of demon/persona-collecting with skill-swapping and collecting in a manner somewhat reminiscent of SMT. Which it gives a lot of play variety, I personally found it robbed the individuality of your teammates until the very late-game when your builds are set in stone. Which in some ways is very much the point of the system, allowing for definite replayability when it comes to totally fresh party builds- but I guess I just have a soft-spot for knowing who my damage dealer is from the moment I lay my eyes on their stat sheet. More of a personal preference issue I guess. Also I'm not a huge fan of the over-designed style of the archetypes, a lot of which look indecipherable at a glance- but that is the first and last time you'll hear be critiquing Metaphor's art style.

Refantazio is ATLUS' most gorgeous looking game by an absolute country mile- solidifying the company's refined anime style just as some bigger slop studios were starting to work their way around to something similar. 5 decent-quality anime waifu-collector games dropped in 2024 and Metaphor totally shot past the rapidly-deprecating generalised anime visual with grace. Metaphor breathes with swirls and patterns that dance in the sky and even in the shading on people's bodies. There is constant subtle movement painted into the groves of this world that conjure to my mind some of the abstract of JOJO's art-style, and which make the otherwise intentionally grim environs, such as the backstreets of Gran Trad, alive and almost squirming. It feels flowing and never stagnant, matching the beating heart of the world and narrative neatly.

And then there's the music, oh the music! Had I been on the Metaphor hype train and spent months listening to what was coming, I probably wouldn't have got it. The bombast, the weird monk chants- none of it gells with the typical ATLUS image in a vacuum- but in context it is pitch perfect. Dramatic, ritualistic, anxious, alive! Music is actually canonical to the fiction of the world, presented as 'the first music' and played within the protagonist's head by his guiding fairy, Gallica, and that pans out with the how every track perfectly enhances the moment. From the hollow tones of the Sandworm burrow to the rapid rap-pace of the 'surprise' theme- ATLUS have once again proven utterly singular in the art of game soundtracks, even when stepping into ostensibly well-trodden musical mediums.

What more can I really say whilst keeping this a specifics light-review? I loved every single character dearly, from the core cast all the way down to the incidentals who show up once or twice but leave an impression. I am absolutely enraptured by the world of Metaphor that even though I feel it almost sacrilege to the spirit of the game to do so I simply yearn for a sequel. Or prequel. Or re-release with more content. Just anything to keep me in this world! Once again ATLUS have nailed their ending in a way only they can. Beautifully rich and narratively fulfilling- they make it look easy. I've come away thinking about this game, it's story, it's themes and mulling over the messages it imparts. I haven't felt this buzzed about an ATLUS game since I first discovered them, and that is the highest praise I can muster given how they are my current favourite JRPG developer. 

After having Baldur's Gate 3 totally redefine the standard for Western RPGs last year I absolutely was not expecting to have similar bars raised over in the Eastern world. And to be fair, Japanese RPGs tend to be distinct enough that there isn't really a thing as 'overall bar raisers'. But if any title was going to do it, it would be Metaphor Refantazo. A step-up from what many, myself included, believed to be their defining game in Persona 5- Metaphor does the near-impossible by encompassing the best of what ATLUS is and distilling it into an inspiration of a product. The game is art and none of my little gripes here and there with things like the Archetype system or certain aspects of the endgame (particularly the final boss composition) detracts enough from my view of Metaphor- as an example to the artform. And you know what examples get, don't you? A recommendation, of course, and an S grade in my arbitrary review scale- which technically breaks my school-theme I've got going for these grades but I gave the same to Baldur's Gate so I figure the ship's already sailed on that one. If you only ever play one JRPG in your life (and I strongly recommend you make the time for at least a few more) let it be this one. 

ReFantazio tops the top

 

When it comes to ATLUS I truly do consider them to the pinnacle of modern day JRPGs, and I play quite a bit of them to make such a claim! Modern Day RPGs all throw truly commendable acts of creative fruitfulness to make their genre feel original whilst familiar, sometimes coming up with truly original spins on the basics, othertimes depending a bit too heavily on gimmick systems that don't quite achieve everything the developers want it to do for a full video game length's worth- which is why I don't begrudge it when a studio like ATLUS finds a niche and kind of just develops that, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel over and over. On it's surface ATLUS just presents the 'weakness hunt' gameplay loop, but it takes just a little bit of familiarity with really any one of their games to know that system is really just the basis for a largely foundational RPG slice they've explored exhaustively.

Though I consider them always improving, in terms of the core of the game and how ATLUS handles their RPG elements I really did think they were close to hitting something of a wall- what for the past twenty odd years of doing this. Persona 5 pretty much rewrote the trajectory of the company and how they worked- honing in on presentation and style- cranking up playability and accessibility. Persona 3 Reload really hammered down on that sensation of 'we've hit our peak', what with a lot of design concepts borrowed from 5 in UX speed and personability- as well as gameplay variety like Theurgies and Shift attacks that were introduced new into the remake. Which is probably why 'gameplay' was the last place I expected to be surprised by when it came to Metaphor ReFanazio.

What blows me away with Metaphor is all the number of what that the team essentially took what wasn't objectively broken and works on it anyway because the team simply can. Because that team feels some insatiable urge to challenge their own boundaries whether they feel their backs rubbing up against the wall or not- (Can you imagine Ubisoft ever feeling something like that? Passion for their craft? Neither can I.) The Persona formula wasn't broken, activities in the daytime and hunting in the nightime- the classic superhero dichotomy- and I very much expect that to return for Persona 6 and I would be happy to engage with it again when it does- but despite being very drawn from the same mould as Persona, with some Shin Megami Tensei mixed into the pot for good measure, ReFantazio takes the formula further.

Now we have a narrative based around forward momentum, where the team is on a world wide adventure and visiting new lands- activities are visited between day long trips spanning them out to feel like treks- the environments change, the routine feels dynamic. Of course, this is natural evolution upon the Roadtrip concept for Persona 5 that was originally scrapped, which would have seen returning locations across the franchise as well as at least one old character reintroduced as a potential companion. Metaphor takes that idea to a new world and fresh genre spin, proving their ideas relied on solid bones and not nostalgic gimmicks like some assumed.

One thing I love about Fantazio is the renewed take on making challenging and unique boss encounters, specifically for side content. Odd wisdom led to trial and error gameplay where typically you'd be thrown into a battle, figure it's peculiarities through trial and error and then reload a save before the fight and prepare- or just grind through the mechanics. Fantazio totally leap frogs this antiquated system with a new swathe of creatively designed boss mechanics and an intractability with the world. Now you can visit an informant before you ever even leave for the hunt, who teach you about vulnerabilities and potential 'no no's. (Such as equipping a certain class that automatically rages the enemy.) Then you have NPCs throughout the dungeon, some for flavour and some for a last few special clues- such as not picking off all the adds least it makes the chief unkillable. Prep time actually feels purposeful and directed, and mechanics are fun to learn and engage with- rather than the reward to figure out after knocking up against a brick wall.  

Of course little can ever be said of an ATLUS game without bringing up the Music at this point- and I'll agree that this was the toughest sell going in. Previously ATLUS have been so good at mixing contemporary music into their world with stupidly talented artists perfectly conjuring unforgettable soundscapes that marry beautifully with the themes and mood of the game. Bringing us into the Fantasy realm would rob them of the ability to use the contemporary believably, just ask Final Fantasy's bizarre Linkin Park song in 'Stranger to Paradise'- weird. But when it came to being more traditionally orchestral and bombastic ATLUS never loses their unique edge which marks them so very different to their contemporaries in a field you'd expect to me mined dry.

Everyone is going on about the obvious thus far, the throat singing mumble rapper who accompanies the advantage and regular fighting themes- and that is because he is great. Outside of the context it might be hard to figure out why he works so very well but when you're in that moment, facing down the twisted monstrous 'humans' of this world, listening to the deep throaty drone racing alongside your heart- it's impossible not to feel the moment! But even beyond that I want to spread my praise. The background tracks for many of the dungeons you visit on your journey are unique and gorgeous to listen to. Whether it's the haunted broken arias of the Sandworm cave or the ringing cries of the castle dungeon track- the music is absolutely unforgettable once again- I can scarcely believe they pulled it off!

ReFantazio had such an act to follow considering the franchise it spawned from and I think we've all seen similar titles of it's type struggle and fail to capture the magic of their parent franchises. Bethesda's Starfield is a good game, but nothing in the face of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls- but I suppose that was never going to be the case with ATLUS, was it? They managed to effectively spin off SMT into a more successful franchise- and now they're spinning off Persona and SMT into something possibly greater than that. (I'll see how the story builds and improves before labelling any victories or successors just yet.) And I am so happy to see the unreachable ceiling that ATLUS shoots for. Good god, I need to play more right now! 

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Review

 No matter how much I cry or shout, this nightmare won't end.

So I have been a Persona fan for a while now, and since that means everytime I bring it up around nerds I have to be fed the never ending gusset of facts about how the franchise is actually a spin off, don't ya know? Yes, Atlus created the very niche Shin Megami Tensei franchise, which span off several which ways- one such way was to a game called 'Revelation Persona'. That little game would become a franchise. By the time of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3- those games started to develop a identify distinct from the core brand. And then when Persona 5 came out- that little franchise weren't so little anymore. Now Persona is frankly the biggest brand Atlus has ever made and old hats are stuck sitting on the edge of street curbs crying about how great SMT used to be before Atlus became 'The Persona company'.

Okay things aren't that dire. SMT fans got to eat with SMT V and SMT V: Vengeance- both of which have been very well received- but you know how fans of storied franchises can get. Heck, fans of storied JRPG franchises! Did you know that you haven't actually played a Final Fantasy game until you've played Final Fantasy VI? Which is nice to hear, because otherwise I might threat about the around 400-500 hours I've devoted to that franchise on the main games alone. (Thank goodness that time is... refunded, I guess?) Fans won't accept a supposed 'fan of ATLUS' games until they've touched the holy grail of the franchise according to them. Which means playing Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. Which means you can slap a rapier in my hand and a stylish blue waistcoat on my back because I'm about to become a real boy. Which is to say- I'm going to play Nocturne. Not sure how that turned into a Lies of P reference. (I really loved that game.)

First off I might as well be straight and fair- this is the recently released HD version of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, and before going in I wasn't aware of how significant of a deal that is. Let me be clear- if you want to play this game for yourself, skip the base game and get the HD version. It is more than just a 'HD upgrade'- it comes imbued with very specific Quality of Life features that make some of the game's more unintentional tedium vanish- whilst still retaining the very 'quintessential' tedium which you can bet I'm going to touch on in this review. Still- if you are an SMT head and suddenly think that disqualifies me from having an opinion on this game because I didn't suffer the indignity of rerolling fusion inheritance skills- I don't really know what to say except- don't worry: I found a much more direct method of consuming the pure torture that Nocturne is renowned for.

Here's the part where I do my 'Do as I say, not as I do' message. Because you see- even though this was my very first time playing Nocturne ever, and my first SMT game to boot- I'd played all of the modern Persona games- two to utter completion- I figured that I knew what was up. I even beat Persona 4 and P3P on hard- I mean that ain't no mean feat! (3 was really the headache, obviously.) But here's the thing, I was only mildly aware of the reputation Nocturne has for being painfully unforgiving. I also didn't realise that people meant it was that hard... on normal. So yeah. I picked Hard. And let me tell you that decision alone was a mistake. I directly scuppered my chances to like this game in the early few hours by this direct blunder, and much of my later heartache can be traced by to this complete butterfly-moment screw up. The game is said to be utterly fair and fine on Normal. That being said- this review is for the Hard version of the game- and you can bet I'm going to talk about some of the hoops this game made me jump through on the daily for that decision! 

I reckon that if you kidnapped your average Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne fan off the street, strapped them to a chair and refused to let them leave until they coherently conveyed exactly what it was about the game which made they go all go-go eyed around it- one of the first words out of their mouths, after they've finished crying for their closest family member, would be 'atmosphere'. And there's a reason for that. Shin Megami Tensei takes place in the desolate wastes of a world that had ended, not one scorched in radioactive fire or drained of it's water or any of those other more traditional 'apocalyptic settings'- Nocturne's Japan has ended. As though the thread of fate was just cut and everything ceased to be. What remains doesn't stand as a testament to what was before so much as it does to be an unsettling transitory limbo utterly inhospitable to the very idea of conventional life.

There's an oppressively wide-open emptiness about this world, reinforced in the droning accompaniments to many of the quietest background tracks to even the oddly electric, and typically funky, overworld theme that plays on themes of 'weirdness', and feeling 'out of step' and 'uncomfortable'- but in those typically creepy ways a horror soundtrack might. Of course, the sense of being a round pin for a square hole is reinforced in a gameplay sense by the sheer fact that for the vast majority of the game you are always in danger. SMT 3 employs the 'ambush' system of RPG games and there isn't a single safe tile for the first 15 hours of gameplay at least. You can be attacked at anytime, anywhere and if you play in Hard difficulty- you also cannot run away. Thus you can be killed at anytime.

Alongside static save spots which are of course a staple of games from this age, you pretty much always feel a sense of lurking danger as something precious is in peril of being lost, whether that is a demon you finally managed to bag or just the last hour or so of your freetime given that save points aren't exactly around the corner from one another in this lost world. Personally I suffered having to beat the first major boss of the game three times because I found myself ambushed and killed literally at the door to the save room both other times. Which is about where the sense of 'wow, this really aids the mood' starts to melt away into 'okay, this is deeply frustrating and I hate it'. (But that's Nocturne for ya!)

But before I get any further I should probably touch on the rather unique quirks to combat that SMT rocks over any other ATLUS RPG. This is still very much a turn-based affair with all that entails, except turns are not as cut-as-dry as one might expect. Instead there is a 'stock' system in place wherein each turn is awarded a 'stock' of actions determined by how many are on that side which they are allowed to conduct before the turn switches to the enemy. Now this is basically the same as your average Persona experience with the exception of the way stock is spent. You see, attack or spending an item (Items can only be used by the protagonist, by the way. Which is horrendous design.) will use up a single stock, but failing an attack uses up two. Failing by missing, or having the attack be resisted can chew up the amount of turns your team would have had. Perform a group attack that hits two enemies but two others dodge? Well sorry but that turn expended four stock instead of just one and now it's the enemies turn. Conversely scoring a crit, or hitting a weakness, adds stock to your turn- allowing players to prolong the punishment. A pretty cool tactical change-up to traditional turn taking, I actually really like it!

Another interesting aspect of SMT combat that literally no one felt necessary to tell me was the fact that debuffs and buffs stack. Only in SMT- they stack up to four times and last until dispelled. This is pretty much essential information because one stack of buffs fails to be enough to achieve anything pretty much right away necessitating familiarity with how to work this tools. Especially on hard difficulty, if you haven't got a fog breath build by the end of the game you might as well kiss your chances of finishing goodbye as every enemy rocks up with an extra 6 stocks per turn- you need to be able to force those misses! I would have appreciated a tutorial on that matter at some point, though- or some sort of visual indicator to tell me how buffed I was or how debuffed an enemy is. But I guess we all start somewhere, huh.

Demons are of course SMTs original iterations of what would come to be known as 'Personas' in their more popular franchise- and these creatures come to populate the world you explore and beat the foes you fight. (Similar to Persona 5.) They even have personalities that become relevant when you need to fill out your party by recruiting them in the middle of a fight (on the last survivor, obviously) during which Nocturne throws everything in your way from Quizzes to monetary demands that either accept or rejecting can be the right choice. Honestly, there's a hint of creativity I commend in this idea- even if the entire system is much more trouble than it's worth. Being stuck with an underpowered party because the game keeps RNG-ing every demon you talk to running away is a slap around the face to an already frustrating gameplay experience- without having to then wrestle with the fact that you're supposed to try and recruit only on the new stage of the moon cycles that rotate every 10 steps throughout the game. (Which, of course, is never explained anywhere because this game was made by and for insane people.)

At least in the later game you have so much funds, and have enough demons already registered, to be able to just fuse a decent party. And that's where the natural charm of ATLUS games starts to shine through. Building teams of Demons with complimentary skills and affinities is always fun no matter what the Megaten game, and learning all the quirks of the system just amplifies the amount of small details you can dedicate yourself to. Such as how the Mitami Demons don't change demons but rather reinforce their stats on fusion- or how certain special demons can only be fused at a certain stage of moon being up- those are cool little things the game doesn't explain to you and which don't scupper the experience by not knowing. Push and pull.

Ah, but all this talk of being in 'parties', and using 'Demon' companions belies the core most sensation that Nocturne exemplifies so much you might even call it a core philosophy of the entire story: loneliness. Given that the vast majority of mankind has died it shouldn't come as any great surprise that you aren't exactly rubbing shoulders with fellow mortals all that often but SMT 3 takes that to the extreme. Those handful of survivors aren't like the supporting cast you find in your average Persona game, they are all singularly disaffected and disengaged. Islands to themselves that persist to shape the vortex world in their own images and bring those ideologies to fruition.

You see, the heart of SMT 3's narrative is based around this idea of 'extremist solutions to the world's ills'. In fact, you might say that is something of a prevailing echo in these plots if what I've read about SMT 1 is worth anything. Seeing the faults in our world is one thing, but how about serious discussion into rebalancing the world in a grand restart? Reforming our way of life to focus around exemplification of solitude or total dedication towards the worship of unchanging serenity or complete fulfilment and individual happiness? In isolation these sound like worthy pursuits but faced as actual world policies even the populist measure one can seemingly imagine seeps into dictatorial decrees or regressive indulgence.

Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne does not necessary wave these ideologies in your face to pick holes in them, but rather presents these ways of thinking and the types of people who can end up formulating such dreamlike, if flimsy, extreme ideals. It's really the vast tracks of land you have to walk between objectives, the funky soundtracks, the isolation- that gives you room to really digest it all. That and the way that no matter what the cause, whichever group of demons or angels is formed to bring it all to life, it all seems to waver and crumble to ruin. There's no such thing as the perfect world, the perfect society or the perfect idea- and we get to see that play out time and time again in a relatively lean narrative- cutting away all the excess.

But what I'm commending there is the meat of the narrative- not the presentation. Nocturne is an old game and the age shows in the structure of the game and the way most of it's story beats are quite literally shuffling your way across the world driven by vague pointers from passing non-hostile demons in order to hear a cutscene before being pushed somewhere else. It is not all that engaging and that lets down the breadth of what the audience is being asked to treat with somewhat involved introspection. It kind of feels like stumbling around lecture halls around the world's biggest, and most deserted, and most dangerous, university campus. Really the only place where Nocturne actually tries to go above and beyond with it's presentation is within their dungeon mazes- and let me tell you something about their dungeon mazes...

The Nocturne community seems fairly self aware about the pain-points of the franchise they love, but when it comes to the dungeons they will fall on their sword to defend them. Which surprises me given that nearly all of Nocturne's mid to late game dungeons are eye-gougingly bloated mazes stuffed silly with false turns, dead-ends, traps and time stealers. You'll be dropped down a floor for taking the wrong corner, teleported to the other side of the map thanks to an utterly random and invisible trap-teleporter, be treated to an obtuse upside down dungeon which requires moon logic in order to solve. (Give a spoon to a NPC that looks identical to all others around him so that he can dig a hole through a stone floor. I'm not making that up.) These are all asinine.

And I like the idea of creative dungeons, don't get me wrong. Giving us more to do than just 'kill the unique enemy types' is engaging on paper and I wonder if Persona dungeons might be more interesting with a little bit more to them- but the amount this game invests into making these sprawling diatribes into madness defies belief. You can spend actual hours trying to figure out what is even the correct way to go in some of these later mazes, particularly the final one which slaps you with so many random, unprompted, teleportation's you'd be forgiven for thinking there isn't a way through at all. But there is! It's just painfully long to reach through. My favourite of these was a little moon-cycles addition puzzle that was related to a three-prong boss fight in that last dungeon- but of course that ended up being stretched out past the point of novelty because this comes from the age were JRPG meant 'I'm taking all your time and punishing you for ever having it to begin with.'

When it comes to the optional dungeons in the Labyrinth of Amala I was much more forgiving about the crazed puzzle navigation because they both felt more fitting over there and, crucially, never dragged themselves out to painful degrees. In fact, the later Kalpas become curiously more straightforward as they went along- as though someone recognised that the challenge of the bosses themselves was the actual draw of the gameplay and the journey to face them should be a bit more direct. God knows what possessed the original team to decree the path to the final bosses should be an invisible mousetrap hellhole- but I hope they learnt to temper themselves in future titles. Gimmick dungeons are cool, frustrating puzzles for the sake of time wasting is not. 

But speaking of Amala- these is an entire network of optional bosses and dungeon unique to the rerelease editions of the game that all really amp up the challenge at the various points of the narrative in which they're introduced. The menorah holders all, alongside the boy and his maid, provide perhaps the clearest questions and answers in the game and thus drew me more to their story than to the overarching main plot. This alone makes it somewhat contentious with fans of the original game, who see the inclusion of an alternative route through this plot as an imposition upon its themes and values- but personally I like the agency of taking this world of choice and giving the player their own place within it, instead of just expecting their capitulation to another's dream as the core game does- even if this alternative route is, in some ways, a manipulation from the mind of the master deceiver themselves.

In these alternative optional routes throughout the game comes a unique companion, which makes the only non-demon character in the game that you can actually recruit and thus oddly the only friend it feels like you can make in the desolate world. Within the Japanese version of the game that friend is a cameo from the Devil Summoners games, and in the European version they are... Dante from Devil May Cry? I'm not kidding- for some insane reason Dante is a character within this game and his inclusion is as random as that sounds. The new voice acting introduced with the Nocturne re-release also brings the modern Dante rather than the DMC 2 boring version of him that would have been accurate to the time of the release too- so the man has some charisma! Another controversial addition for a community that seems to recoil in the face of change- but I enjoyed seeing a oddly fitting addition from across franchises in this world of demons. (I also very much appreciated his Stinger sword which cuts through the type system!) 

Speaking of- yes Nocturne's recent Steam Release is slightly different from even the original re-release editions all those years ago in a couple of interesting ways. In one, the game comes with new voice acting from a cast that are more modern than the original game was- providing a performance that was actually solidly good and broke my brain for a time as I couldn't reconcile an early 2000's JRPG with quality localisation acting that talented. As it turns out the original was voice acting free which- again- means that series veterans harrumph and grumble that the new voice acting 'ruins the mood' of the original. Because at this point they'd complain if the game ran better. (You can mute the voices if it kills your mood that much.) More pressingly, however, some of the dialogue was also retranslated- which leads to some straight anachronistic moments were terms such as "Simp" are dropped- actually undercutting the mood. Otherwise the port is pretty solid. 

As you've likely deduced if you've any knowledge of this game, I ended up pursuing the path of the True Demon throughout my hard playthrough and, honestly, that was kind of a masochist choice on my end. Like I had to prove something for my own mistake of choosing 'hard'. What I willingly subjected myself to was something of the alternative path that takes something of a detached look at the conflict between the various reasons that seek to shape reality- whilst assaulting you with some of the difficult bosses that the game has to offer. Menorah holding horsemen of a vaguely apocalyptic nature, these damage wall roadblocks demanded full mastery of every tactic available to you at that level in order to progress- pushing you up to the wall in a way that not many other RPGs make too much of a habit of.

This is also the way into my favourite dungeon of Amrita, even if they did suffer from the most confusing 'checkpoint' system possible alongside an honestly comically annoying 'minigame' travelling between each Kalpa. As brutal as it can be I think the Megaten combat works at it's absolute best when you are pushed up against a wall using every tactic to get ahead- that's when the veneer of 'just affinity hunting' falls away and actual strategic planning takes hold- managing buffs, baiting reactions, sometimes even drawing aggro when possible. At it's best you'll get a tough duel you'll feel like you earned- at worst you'll bang your head against a wall of perpetual bad luck.

The final boss of this mode had me sweating even up against the level cap- which is startling when compared to my other experiences playing ATLUS games. I was up against a enemy so unpredictable that I literally no idea whether any of his attacks would magically oneshot me every turn- and don't get me started with his health pool- good god! But in the manner of all the best challenging games out there- I relished that fight because of how unfathomable of a hill it seemed to climb, I relish the achievement of having overcome it and I respect the ending it gave me. Even if some might say that the True Demon Ending is the least conclusive out of all the endings. Such as me- kind of felt like a beginning.

Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne is a master of atmosphere draped across the widely successful demon-collecting and affinity hunting framework that has ensured ATLUS' continued success across all of these years. It does suffer a lot of pain points of a game of it's age however- lacking the neatness of well presented narrative events the game coasts by on admittedly powerful vibes and a fascinating scenario- which do a lot of heavy lifting but don't relieve all sins. Also, a lot of Nocturne's difficulty is tied to the ever annoying 'explain nothing to the player' style of presentation which keeps an artificial mystery around what is otherwise a decently fun JRPG monster collector-style game. They don't even explain what moon cycles are let alone how oddly important they'll decide to be or not be on random systems throughout the game.

Otherwise challenge is deferred to genuinely tough bosses or frustrating gauntlets of dungeons that stretch on for what feels like hours at a time. As is the case with many old RPGs, however, often that difficulty devolves into cheese. Be it a roadblock enemy who dumps moves of a higher tier than you can currently do- basically forcing you to go off and grind up 10 or so levels, or a stalker boss who literally follows you around the map and forces you into a boss fight you can't win. There's that one guy who spams 'Beast Eye' giving himself unlimited turns, (that was because of a bug, but it still sucked) and then the moments when you're literally at the whims of an AI's random choice whether it decides to kill you. Nocturne all too often slips into the worst side of challenge and not always in a way that feels worthwhile on the otherside.

At the very least the rerelease came with exclusive grind dungeons to make up for this. Two unique areas, one offering money grinding and the other EXP grinding, and both in a way that isn't just cheating- it's time saving. You still have to go through a ton of successive fights, you still have to deal with an unforgiving drop rate calculation and you'll still be spending considerable grinding time- you just don't have to spend tens of hours in order to grind up for the big finale bosses. Well... not multiple tens of hours at least... Behind the frustration the general quality of Megaten game systems holds the game up just enough, which is why I bet a Normal playthrough wouldn't be too bad at all for the average, non psychotic, player.

SMT had a reputation in my head ever since I heard the first game was literally about tyrannical order and uncaged chaos symbolised in heaven versus hell- and I'm glad to see that even by their third iteration the franchise was finding nuanced and interesting ways to subvert those universal black and white conflicts. In terms of gameplay there have definitely been better Megaten games since and I don't believe there's any special spark of SMT 3's take on the formula that draws my heart it's direction. But for World and scenario, atmosphere and mood, narrative and pathos- I'd say that Nocturne is worth at least one run through. Maybe even a watch through if you can't stand the prospect of it's painfully tuned difficulty settings. Where does that sit on a grade scale? It's a difficult one. In the moment I would have probably graded lower but there is a certain fondness the game has left me with in the weeks since- so lets call it an even B+ Grade. Above the average, but lacking the overall mark of quality that higher grades denote. Still, I enjoyed my time and have moved on to other SMT and general Megaten games since to see if any one gets the balance just right- I have high hopes in 'SMT V: Vengeance'! 

The Shin Megami Experience

 

I have been a diehard fan of Persona for a good lone while now. To the point where my feelings on the franchise are that of rabid adoration that concerns even me at times. Seriously, between this and Like a Dragon it feels like Japan is conspiring to bankrupt me with never ending high-quality releases! But in all the time that I've spent going through Persona 3, 4 and 5- never once did I actually zoom out to the wider franchise that Persona was drawn from. Because yes, Persona is a spin-off; remember? Shin Megami Tensei is the woefully underserved original franchise that has seen such little support that Shin Megami Tensei 4 is still currently a 3DS exclusive title for the foreseeable future. What is it about these games that just fails to 'suck in the masses' like Persona does? 

To get to the bottom of this I decided to lightly dip my toes into this most famous, and overshadowed, Japanese roleplaying franchise by going in on Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne. On Hard difficulty. In my defence, I figured that being a Persona veteran would give me some wiggle room against the challenges that would come my way- but it didn't take long until I knew exactly why this franchise lacks the fandom of it's spin-off; accessibility. That's as far as it goes, truly. Persona is a franchise built and bred to be accessible to the common man- easing you in gently to it's rigors that even the hardest games offer a little breathing space. The best way I can describe Shin Megami Tensei 3 is 'unrelenting.'

I think this was best contained within the literal first hours of the game, for the very first fight the game threw my way. After absolutely assaulting me with new terms I need to start caring about like 'The Conception' and such, I get pushed into my very first brawl and learn- oh, I literally don't have any other move aside from 'attack' and 'pass'. Also, I'm up against two enemies who kill me. That's right, the very first encounter is against mobs it is mathematically impossible to out-damage. I died in my first fight. As it turns out the two medicine the game gives you beforehand can actually be used mid battle by scrolling to the side with the directional buttons- unlike how Persona does it- And that was just the beginning.

Shin Megami also makes use of the now outdated system of enemy encounter I like to call the 'ambush system'. When you explore there is a chance you'll be thrown into a battle out of nowhere with no indication of a mob around you whatsoever. There's no crawling shadow avatar to avoid, you just get the ambush. Additionally there's a small chance the game will decide that they get advantage over you, which is apparently affected by the luck stat, and there's a supremely inconsistent cooldown meaning that sometimes (I think it may be dependent on the entirely unexplained 'phase of the moon' system the game assumes I already know.) You may be attacked literally two steps away from where you just last got attacked. It sucks, to be be honest. It sucks greatly.

All of these systems came clashing in the first boss fight of the game. An enemy preluded by dozens of friendlier demons hidden in various Hospital wards all offering the same piece of advice- about 'talking'. Seriously, it is insane how many of these demons nattering on about how people can talk to demons to get by them with fighting, and even how a couple saw a human talk their way around the very boss I'm approaching. That is, in typical design parlance, an indication of how you should approach the coming encounter. Can you see where this is going? The boss is immune to talking. It was all complete hogwash. And then, to rub salt in my wounds, I had to beat this boss three times, because the other two times I got ambushed on the way back to my save point and killed because of the ridiculous encounter rates. This game feels roughly slapped together on a mechanical level and it irks the living hell out of me.

It irks me so much because I would love to engage more with the promising sounding story of Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne. The end of the world, the warring post world quotes, the fascinating time bending old man and his maid that seem to represent some esoteric concept of the cycle of life or perhaps the relationship between life and death- it's hard to quite say. And then I happen to also know that Dante is palling around because this franchise makes no sense. There's a mood to this that feels plucked right of an apocalyptic anime that I'd watch- and I wonder if the game is going to live up to that potential as much as I'd expect!

What does have me somewhat confused is the music. So Persona has become renowned for having incredibly thematically empowering and just spectacularly composed soundtracks that gain a life on their own through 3, 4 and 5. 1 and 2 aren't as well known for this music, but what snippets I've heard seems to imply they're both damn good on their own. SMT 3's music on the otherhand isn't even in the same league! It isn't, I hasten to say. I think the soundtrack is genuinely good and I like listening to it- but the Persona games demonstrate a clear mastery of the additive nature of music as tool and discipline, whilst SMT 3 sounds like some solid tracks that the team commissioned. Sure, you get the 'in their own world' 'Shin Megami' heads who will die on a hill for the SMT 3's music, but there's little denying it from even the perspective of music laymen- Persona music just has more substance and spice to it. And I struggle to understand why that is given the same company oversaw both. (Although to be fair, I hear that SMT 4's soundtrack is supposed to be one of the best that ATLUS ever produced, so many I just need to wait for that port... whenever that's coming... any day now...)

My time with Shin Megami Tensei has been a dose of genuine intrigue damped by a messy and overly aggressive presentation that I'm pushing myself through because when every thing is working- I'm genuinely having fun. The 'stock' system for battles creates a great risk and reward dynamic to take advantage of, stacking buffs and debuffs are always welcome tactical decisions, bosses are a challenge to learn as well as to grind over, and I particularly like the feeling of building my entire team from figurative scratch rather than just building my hero and dealing with the team build the game fed to me, (like for Persona) but it sucks when all that goodness is what I'm struggling to see beyond the frustrations. 

Love and hate

 

So I've been in something of a MegaTen kick of late. Oh that's right, I'm calling it 'MegaTen' now! That's how you know I'm really in the franchise! As evidenced by the small blog I've penned on my experience with Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne which should be going up next week- you can tell I'm not having what I would call an equivalent time from one franchise to another- and in fact I can honestly say that without my experience with Persona to keep me interested in hopes that these games are made by similar incredibly talented storytellers- I might have dropped Nocturne by now. And I really came to realise this divide when I just casually hopped on to Youtube earlier and found myself listening to 'I'll Face Myself (Reincarnation)' which gave me such a reaction I knew I had to talk about it.

Now love and hate are often considered twin stars in the sky for both being extreme emotions that blend into one another. We can love the things we hate and hate the things that we love, which is why I don't get disappointed by games like Callisto protocol and Atomic Heart- they just disappoint me. Neither game has engaged me strongly enough to trigger the emotional centres that contain the nuclear-grade emotional responses and thus I feel closer to nothing than I do to excitement. A heart that throbs is a heart that can seethe, one might say- and it's with that which I say that right about now- I'm coming around to hating Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne. 

Without getting into the specifics which will no doubt be covered in that follow up blog- let me air my grievances out for a bit. So the very thing that I fell in love with Persona Golden over it totally absent from every Nocturne and is slightly drive me barmy. What Persona presents is a delightful balance between the delights of experiencing such a fleshed out and coherent world space and throwing oneself against deadly and often uncompromising challenge. (At least in harder difficulties.) I knew that things would be slightly different with an SMT title, lacking the back and forth aspect which defines Persona- but I'm not sure I was ready for how aggressive Nocturne would be.

I'm all for exploring a world driven mad by demons- but at some point you have to ask yourself if the development team even knew how to not coat an area with 'random encounter' sauce. When literally every square inch of the game world is dangerous walking space- making this game unique in that you can, and will, get ganked by a successive chain of enemies whilst trying to sell things to shops and fuse your monsters- because literally no where is ever safe. I've not seen any other RPG this overzealous about throwing monsters everywhere and it, predictably, devalues the novelty of being 'in danger'. I don't feel like I'm scouring a dangerous world between points of rest and repose in my exploration- I feel like I'm slogging through a mire getting jumped by the same hoodlum squad every couple of minutes. It's boring.

But here's the thing- I think that part of what the core development team were going for when making these games was to try and illicit some feeling towards that of hatred. Perhaps not hatred for the systems and the people who implemented them, that's just an extrapolation that I do as someone who understands these as products with people behind them, but rather hatred of being weak and vulnerable and forever in the crosshairs of someone else's hunt. I should loathe the fact that I'm not the powerful hunter who is deflecting attacks without breaking a sweat, rolling over small mobs whilst flashing several hundred thousand in my bank. They want me to struggle to get better.

Persona, on the otherhand, particularly Persona 4, just want you to feel comfortable. They want to give you a world, people and setting that you connect with in order to pull all kinds of emotions out of you. Pity, affection, comradery, sadness- the Persona franchise tries to explore dozens of folk simultaneously under a, sometimes, unified theme and with some of the games that sought state of cosiness worms it's way into your little heart. God knows that at it's most harrowing we all got to feel our hearts stop playing Persona 4, probably sometimes around Christmas. (those who know the game know exactly what moment I'm referencing there) But if something similarly horrible was to happy in Shin Megami Tensei, the most it would get out of me is a dismissive grunt. 

I don't begrudge the game for being hard. In fact, at the times when the game is actually hard- and I have to struggle to utilise the right tools in order to match the chaos in front of me- I really like the game. I hate that it's also unfair. Getting thrown into disadvantage by random chance is absolutely asinine! Utterly refusing to explain so much as the UI through out the supposed 'tutorial' dungeon is just a failure in game design! Dragging out every insular activity by assaulting me with fights every 5 seconds weighs on the soul. I shouldn't have to find out on a bloody internet forum that Buffs stack 4 times! It sucks to think that this was back in a time that developers genuinely believed that there was no more fun to be derived from a game once you understood it on a base-most level. Really doesn't speak to highly of their trust in their own products.

The Persona franchise seems to come from a different school of thought and the genuinely pervasive stories and characters it presents, Shin Megami seems intentionally obtuse in a manner that makes it hard to enjoy. Those that stick with it claim that Nocturne is some sort of fantastic subversive masterpiece however, and I want to find that love myself- so I'm going to try to stick with it. At the very least, when the game isn't nagging me and I'm actually engaging with challenging fights I am actually enjoying what I'm seeing. Although that love can and will very easily slip into hatred the more this goes on.

Metaphor ReFantazio looks interesting

 

What is in a name? One's very first glimpse into anything can be as ephemeral as a glance at the colour make-up of a banner ad, too quick to ascertain content or words, spotted for a millisecond as one scrolls through their life. This is the challenge of advertising that I always find so oddly wonderous- breaking down the very elements of catching the corner of someone's scrolling eye- it's a matter of split-second baiting. That means nailing a colour composition that is eye-catching and not overdone, a banner image that can be identified from distance yet is complex enough to inspire imagination and finally a name that is pithy enough to stick in your head after you've moved on for the day. Halo. Starfield. Fallout. Persona. Of course, you could chuck all of that away and just slap a name so bizarre I couldn't forget it if I paid the Men in Black to slap the Neuralyzer on me.

'Metaphor ReFantazio' who comes up with this crap? I mean that in the nicest possible way of course, because the team behind one of my favourite franchises of all time are making it. ATLUS and Studio Zero, formed after the success of Persona 5 by it's director, are preparing to release a more 'fantasy typical' take on the ATLUS RPG genre. Gone are the school children learning to become more full people as they take on threats both mystical and psychological that threaten to undermine society. Here we have a mirror of our real world beset by your typical fantastical happenings- a murdered king, a cursed child and a quest to uncover the truth about oneself whilst maybe, potential, earn the right to seize the monarchy. Okay, the game description doesn't explicitly claim that is the goal but if this is a true RPG- I expect an evil path!

Perhaps the most striking building upon the Persona formula that ReFantazio promises is the idea of gathering individual support across the land in order to win the vote to become King, essentially creating a narrative reason to go off the beaten path and grind out enemy drops for the materials to recreate someone's missing toupee- at least if we're going to keeping to side quests of the level of typical Persona. This actually expands the interpersonal relationship building key to ATLUS's flagship brand and creates a game-wide popularity contest with the world, which I'm sure is going to present some real world parallels to political campaigning and that brand of 'fame' in the way that these developers typically do. Although I'm not sure how that pursuit lines up with finding a way to release a curse from your childhood friend, the Crown Prince. How do 'Crown Princes' even work in a system of voted monarchy? Questions for the game, I suppose.  

Now the very reason that Studio Zero was formed in the first place was because Persona 5's director left the Persona franchise behind after declaring a shift in creative direction in the process of that game. Lacking any personal insight to the man's mind I can only speculate as to what that could be because thematically I found Persona 5 to be largely consistent with 4 and 3. Perhaps the team leaned rather heavily into the 'stylish' nature of the Phantom Thieves, to such a degree that Persona 5 became something of a fashion statement all of it's own, but I find no reason to hold that against the game at all, rather the opposite! Either way, something about ReFantaszio must be a departure from the direction that Persona is headed down- and I'm curious to put a pin on exactly what.

Of course, one of the biggest and most horrifying announcements regarding the actual contents of ReFantazio has already been made and it's ramifications have reverberated around the player base. Because yes, this game will not feature romance of any kind. (Oh, the humanity!) But, of course, those aspects of roleplay have pretty much always been exclusively the domain of the Persona franchise, I'm pretty sure SMT never delved such ways, thus it's absence here is no great shock. Besides, I get the feeling from the premise that our player character is more of a 'vibes vampire' that absorbs the adoration and love of those around him and offers nothing back. A totally callously and unloving politician. The scariest of gods rejects.

Perhaps the most striking thing I can't help but remark on everytime I look up anything about the game is it's graphical design, an aspect of development always worthy of commenting on with ATLUS games. Persona 5 really started their bold and striking push into stark but effective UI design that really worked in an industry that too often overlooks innovation in this area. Persona 3 Reload was kind of a victory lab, interpreting the stylisation in a manner unique to that style of story without losing the striking colouration of it all. This game is going for more of a colour-drained sketch-pad style which evokes an almost concept-esque sensation whilst standing out heavily thanks to it's heavy lined finishing strokes. It leans into the storybook and the creative, flowing back into the theming of this new budding franchise.

Of course I've spent all this time rabbiting on about the Persona influence touching this game when in all honesty I think Metaphor seems to carry more DNA originated within SMT. Not least of all for those monster designs which, like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy before it, are borrowed and remixed from previous titles in a manner that dubs these games almost pseudo anthological. Most systematically significant is the inclusion of the Press Turn gameplay system originated in SMT 3: Nocturne which evolves typical Turn Based combat into a resource consumption affair somewhat similar to how Divinity Original Sin works. The DNA of the franchise still very much rests on the sleeve of this title for all to see. 

Metaphor ReFantazio is a messy title for what could very well be the missing third to the SMT franchise that we didn't even know we wanted. Full fantasy RPG exploration borrowing all the sleekness of modern ATLUS with the pedigree of multiple decades perfecting this genre, distilled down into a special brew of something different. That will always be what draws me to this long running franchise developers in the East like RGG and ATLUS- they know how to touch on and preserve the soul of a property, whilst changing up just enough to keep newer titles feeling interesting and unique. As opposed to some other Western Franchise lovers who are up to their eyes with middle of the road sub-improvements to their titles that drag more and more with each passing day. Thank you ATLUS, I can't wait to lose another 100 hours to your work!

Remaking Persona 3

 I've been waiting for this!

The Persona franchise has grown very near and dear to my heart recently, such that I consider it some of the greatest games ever to be published and am slowly being drawn into the rest of the Shin Megami Tensei universe as a consequence. I can hardly help myself, can I? Catherine literally butts it's way into Persona 3, I've not experienced the whole world unless I play that game too. (Slippery slope commence...) And as such I've gone from hearing talk about the Persona 3 Remake and being utterly disinterested, to seeing a leak and thinking it looked fine, to actually experiencing the original and coming away slightly hopeful about the leak, to exploring a bit more into the Persona 3 brand and deciding that this Remake has the potential to blow us all away if the team over at ATLUS handle it correctly. I really have turned around on the little guy.

First off you should probably know my thoughts on what Persona 3 was and how I think it could be improved. Of the three Persona games that are considered the 'modern Series', I think Persona 3 might rank as my least favourite. Which isn't to say the game was bad, I think it was actually a great game- but for the key defining elements of the Persona sub-series that gives it it's individuality, the relationships and bonds we form with one another, Persona 3 doesn't really hold a candle to it's successors. Using purely the game as reference material, I never really brought the SEES team being close-knit friends like I know the Inaba Investigators and the Shadow Thieves are. And it seems that the creators agree with me given how the Persona 3 anime purposefully rewrote characters and how they behaved to better reinforce the unit. (In doing so giving Ken and Shinjiro a relationship which makes their shared narrative actually mean something in it's climax.)

I know, it's a very controversial opinion to have considering there are many who call the game the best of the three- and you can call me a misguided heathen for having experienced the game in it's worst possible form, though Persona 3 Portable- but my gripes reach deeper than the presentation. The MC was never much of a leader, or presence within the team at all outside of being the heavy hitter in fights, the key concept of 'sacrifice' which plays such a key role loses it's bite when the key most realisation of the theme is made unwittingly and without any real indication- and I still don't understand why the many intro videos for the game fly by a plethora of scientific concepts that play no bearing on the game's narrative. Butterfly Effect? Arguably relevant in a very tenuous manner. Cogito, Ergo Sum? 'Sentire, Ergo Sum' seems like it'd be more related. (My Latin's not very good but you can get the gist of what I'm saying) Topological Space? I don't... what does that have to do with anything? Explaining Tartarus? Don't pretend the scientific possibility of the high school transforming into a 250 floor death dungeon is essential to understanding the inner workings of this narrative!

But I'm not entirely heartless either. I think that Persona 3's exploration on the concept of acceptance and facing death is particularly unique and affronting in this world of media, and I love the way the game touches on these ideals so abrupt and jarringly that the audience is forced to acknowledge and ruminate on them. I even like the idea of what they were going for with the ending, which is what I suspect so many people fell in love with when it comes to Persona 3's finale. The idea of the ending is perfect, the execution seems abrupt and confusing- somewhat contrasting with the entire idea of the final act: knowing what is coming and choosing to face it, not cower or live in fear. I really think that finale could have been incredible. Which is why I'm coming around on the idea of this remake really throwing the Persona 3 narrative into high gear. 

Still, the real reason I've come around so heavily on the idea of this remake is because watching the anime has revealed the single depiction of the MC that makes sense within the context of his story. Unlike within the game, the anime depicts Makoto (the generally accepted canonical name of the protagonist- not that I personally care about canonical names, my characters are always the name I picked for them in my heart) as a largely apathetic, almost, airhead. At least at the beginning, Makoto seems to lack any sort of strong emotion in the face of anything. The prospect of a grisly death doesn't appear to frighten him, he accepts the reality of the '25th hour' of the day totally at face value without questioning a thing, and when trapped abroad a speeding train that's about to crash into a stationary train causing chaos and potentially killing hundreds- he casually strolls into the driver's cabin that Yukari and Junpei are frantically slapping buttons in and simply says "Oh, you want to stop it?" Before casually pulling the breaks. He is... uniquely disconnected. 

And it works! It works increadibly well. Of course, the very concept of 'apathy' is a huge reoccurring theme throughout Persona 3, with the 'Apathy Syndrome' being a supposed illness that is spreading across the land as the increasingly aggressive Shadows of the Dark Hour eat the emotions of those oblivious to the hour's existence, robbing their drive and passions for life. Makoto earns his apathy in a another way, however. Having lost his parents 10 years ago, Makoto drifts through life without friends or strong ties, like a ghost being dragged along in corporeal form. He has a uniquely disparate view on the concept of society and connection that are best recognised by anyone who has gone through the throes of directionless depression like he has. And I can attest personally, the depiction is apt. And most importantly of all, it creates a base for the evolution of the character throughout the narrative.

Starting as an odd-ball loner with nobody and no ties to the world, carrying the heart of death inside of his soul, Makoto going on to learn to be close to those members of SEES and come to rely on them in battle and life allows us to really recognise the change inside of him, better explaining how that shift of place reflected on Pharos and later The Avatar of Nyx. Going from an apathetic no-one with nothing to lose to a integral and irreplaceable heart in the midst of a team of steadfast, tragically touched, heroes presents the most distinct character evolution possible in this story- and I'll bet a set-up like that will make that finale act hit with every single emotion that the lovers of this game remember it hitting with in their recess of their rose tinted memories. I'd love to have my devastated heart soar in the way that thr beloved final song attests that it should.

All in all, I think that any remake of Persona 3 absolutely needs to depict Makoto the way that anime does, to bring the touch of narrative mastery back around to the game, resulting in that ideal depiction of the game's themes coming to fruition and resonating the way this story should. Alongside rewriting the Social links to be more about personal development than unintentional harem forming, and making Ken's relationship with Shinjiro existent. Oh, and while we're at it- How about making Junpei and Akihiko's social links accessible to male characters? You know, so we can actually feel like we're close friends with our fellow SEES members? Oh what, you'd have to cut 'Kenji' to make that work? Mr 'delusional-and-hot-for-teacher'? What a terrible shame that would be! And Hidetoshi? Honestly, I never liked Hidetoshi anyway...

Persona 3 Portable Review

"I can sense death!"

When I fell for Persona, as described in my last review, the plan was very simple; I was going to play through Golden and when the time came, move on to Persona 5: The game I had waited nearly 5 years for. But plans are plans and reality is something else entirely and when the time came I had to really confront the situation and ask myself: do I really want to play through Persona 5 and have 3 waiting for me, or play through Persona 3 and have 5 waiting for me? It really sounds like a matter of basic numericals but some more matter did play into my decision. Keeping lightly to promotional material I dove into both games and and actually found the basic described premise of Persona 3 more intriguing. "What if I told you there was a hidden hour between one day and the next called the Dark Hour"? Who doesn't want to know what that's all about? And after Persona 4 absolutely wowed me with it's use of thematic symbolism and pathos- what was there to lose?

One sacrifice of my schedule later and I could delve into one of the most contentious ports that ATLUS has put out yet. Contentious why? Perhaps due to the fact that the company decided the best version of the game to port to PC was going to be Persona 3 'Portable'; the version created for PSP. What's the problem there then? Well, as the Playstation Portable was such an archaic piece of hardware, the port for Persona 3 on that platform had to give up a lot of it's more taxing systems in order to run smoothly. Namely; the open world. That's right, no navigating the world as you come to love the town you exist in- everything is navigated through menus and selection across screen grabs of what these backgrounds would have looked like if they were rendered. That also means all in-engine cutscenes, anything that would have 3D models, including all impactful scenes and SL link meetings, are conducted on background slides with nothing but the text box to inform you about any events happening in the scene.

Now if that sounds frustrating, I actually think it's a little worse than that. I actually think this kills the impact of some of the coolest reading scenes in the game. Especially coupled with the fact that, increadibly, ATLUS couldn't even fit the anime cutscenes on the game disk either! That means iconic moments, such as the very first moment the protagonist is forced to confront the monstrous 'Shadows' is performed entirely in somewhat flat text descriptions with the impassioned VO and music layered on top like this is a lazy-man's VN. Without seeing my character physically interacting in the world I'm a little robbed of my place within it and personally I struggled to connect with the members of the SEES team of Persona 3 quite as staunchly as I did the defenders of Inaba from Persona 4. Although the port is only a part of the issue, we'll get there...

But what Persona 3 Portable does have which makes it an interesting idea for a port, is the playable female protagonist who changes the course of the plot in subtle ways, with certain new characters that only she can meet and interact with. Think of it as an alternative storyline. But then also simultaneously dash that idea, because I believe one of the side games literally features a moment where she and the male protagonist cross paths so... alternate universe? Portable also comes with a plethora of features that have become series standard, such as the ability to directly control your teammates and- wait, you couldn't control your teammates in the original? That's- wow, yeah I can see why ATLUS didn't want to 

expose anyone to that sort of torment...

However, it is kind of disappointing that ATLUS did the bare minimum of making this port functional on PCs. Certainly remixing the open world elements of the original into this modern day port would be a decent bit of work on their end... but it would at least be the definitive way to experience this storyline. Whatsmore, Persona 3 Portable doesn't feature the epilogue chapter that the first rerelease of the game, Persona 3 FES, does; leaving the ending feeling weird and incomplete. Because it absolutely is. I had my creeping suspicions about what the end was alluding to, and it sucks that I had to read a synopsis to confirm I was totally right- which in turn makes the ending feel entirely hollow for it's bizarre (feels like there's more story here) conclusion. Although... I'm not that upset. Which is probably the worst part of it all. If Persona 4 had this sort of problem I would be devastated. I loved the characters so much that not being able to experience every nook and cranny of their story would feel like a dagger right in my heart, but for Persona 3... the blood just doesn't run that thick.

Persona 3 presents the mystery of a secret hour known as the 'Dark Hour' perceptible only to those with 'the potential'. (Persona summoning potential, obviously) Taking one quick look at the concept of 'the Dark Hour' pretty much lays the key theme of this game out for all to see- All normal citizens metamorphize into coffins, totally oblivious to the events of the mysterious hour, all operating systems stand still, and the game's central school morphs into a giant tower known as 'Tartarus': The mythological Greek land of the dead. (Or the most grim part of it, to be specific.) And if all that wasn't obvious enough, protagonists of Persona 3 can't just summon their Personas like Jojo cast members, they have to force it out of their bodies by using an 'Evoker' (which is essentially a gun) and shooting it out of themselves. Typically by putting the gun to their head and blasting the Persona out. Everytime they need to summon it. (It's amazing how quickly you become desensitized to watching high school kids shoot themselves in the head. Hmm... I don't like that sentence I just wrote. But it's the thought that Persona 3 leaves me with.)

Rounding back on that 'Tartarus', that there lies the central dungeon at the heart of the Persona 3 mystery and the grinding spot you'll be forcing your way through during the length of the story. Every month an 'operation' will demand your immediate attention, but those only serve as significant story bumps that unlock the next character, and section of Tartarus. You'll be coming back to this place (thankfully the only place that Persona 3 Portable managed to render in intact 3D) throughout the entire school year to pump up levels, fight dozens of painful minibosses and shoring yourself up for the unknowable threat of the next storyline boss. To that end I actually think the concept of Tartarus is actually quite clever. A testing ground in which if your party is capable of reaching the cut-off barrier to the next section, they'll definitely be strong enough to face the next story boss the game will throw your way. I'm not sure if I like that idea more than the unlocked themed dungeons that Persona 4 had, but I certainly am sure that I like the execution less.

Because, my god does Tartarus get repetitive! Even as the enemies become tougher and more varied and the environments change, the music is always the same. You can change it for a bit manually, but everytime you re-enter those tracks will reset. And grinding is robbed of some of it's mindless pleasure thanks to the 'Elizabeth Requests' (Which can be 'Theodore Requests' if you pick the female protagonist) that task you to do a plethora of mindless tasks, many of which is grinding random drop-rates up and down Tartarus for rare item drops, really rare golden hand enemies, or rare drops from annoying sparse enemy types. (Persona 4 had the same sort of quests, but at least they were a little rarer. Elizabeth dishes them out like she's your damn shift manager!) And there's also the 'Shuffle Time' system for winning fights with 'pile on' attacks- which presents annoying minigames instead of just letting you select the bonus arcana card you want. Overall, Tartarus is a bit of a pain. Not in any overwhelmingly offensive way, but with a procession of small cuts that add up into a bit of a bad gash after a time.

I can only thank the lucky stars that Persona 3 Portable is freely of the frankly garish 'Tiredness system' which plagued the original game. With that, characters would have a chance of becoming 'tired' after every battle depending on what level they were; with a 'tired' debuff effecting everything from hit-rate, to damage output to received healing. It essentially made you a vegetable. And the only way to recover? To leave Tartarus, sacrificing a day, and then spend the next day sleeping in bed, sacrificing two days. Totally horrific! In P3P, Tiredness only hits after you've left Tartarus, or if you allow a teammate to die and don't revive them before leaving the floor. Much more concussive to endgame grinding. The original system sounds like a genuine crime against RPG humanity.

Oh, and did I mention the Grim Reaper? Making his debut in the land of the dead, the Reaper serves as your incentive not to stick around any floor of Tartarus for too long; as in, more than 10 minutes. (Although there are some ways to summon him early.) The Grim Reaper will bee-line his way to you and attack you with a moveset and life bar strong enough to make end-game veterans blush. He is chaos incarnate, but the fact that facing him requires 10 minute waiting intervals is perhaps the biggest slap the Persona franchise has handed my thus far. Nothing is worse, in gaming, than wasting time for no gain. I have no idea how Persona 5 is going to handle it's Reaper iteration, but good god I hope some sort of lesson was learned because this is not how it's done!

Much as with the Persona subseries of Shin Megami Tensei as a whole, Persona 3 immerses it's players with a cast of high school classmates, the main cast of which are also secret members of SEES; a organisation dedicated to learning the secret truth of the Dark Hour and eliminating the shadows who roam the streets feeding on the emotions of the unwitting during that static hour and leaving them afflicted with unbreakable 'apathy syndrome'. (A little 'blunt force' with that metaphor, but okay.) It's a bit more 'secret agent task force' than the group of friends who teamed up in Persona 4, and the 3 cast were mostly around before you even showed up, making the protagonist feel like more of a tag-along than a central figure. (A feeling I don't think the narrative ever really successfully shakes.)

That being said, I think the main cast themselves are yet again a great and interesting lot. Mitsuru is the senpai of the team, a rich girl heiress raised under the weight of the responsibility of being the face of a prestigious organisation and struggling to relate with her classmates consequentially. Yukari is the popular girl with deep ties to the Dark Hour that she uses as both her strength and clings to as her weakness. And Junpei is your typical 'school friend' character who is revealed to be a little overshadowed and searching for purpose in a way that makes him latch onto being a Persona user with all of his might. Again, there are a whole cast of characters who I don't want to spoil, but I cannot move on without mentioning the best main character, Aigis, who's exploration into humanity and the purpose of life may not be groundbreaking but it's perhaps the most heartfelt growth you experience due to it's central importance to the narrative. Even if some of the emotional highs make actually no sense which slightly ruins them in my lens. (I appreciate the idea of what it represents- but how can she just start crying on a whim? That- she doesn't have- Argh!)

I think the real problem with this cast of characters comes from the slightly peculiar way that Persona 3 handles it's social links, firstly every main character can be interacted with to build a relationship, but only if you max out one of the related attribute skills, which is a considerable time investment which could have been spent, you know, actually getting to know the people you're risking life and limb alongside! You literally fight to the death alongside Yukari and you're telling me she's so worried about her 'image' that she won't even hang out with you after school unless you are 'charming' enough to talk her into it? But that's only the issue of getting the S-Link to begin with, then there's the contents themselves...

In typical Persona fashion, you slowly become closer with those around you by getting to know them and ranking up your social link. The higher the rank, the deeper into their soul you'll peer until they've bared all and you've had an effect in shaping who they are- bonding the two of you for life. But Persona 3 has a particularly... 2007 approach to it's writing. For one; both protagonists, male and female, are incapable of forming relationships with cast mates of the same gender. Meaning that even though characters like Junpei are positioned to be 'friend' characters to the male protagonist, he can't actually hang out enough with him to get to know the guy, so he only ever really feels like an acquaintance. This is because every single social link is written under the impression that you, the protagonist, are actively trying to romance the related character. Which is... problematic.

Why is that problematic? Well, remember that the cast of Persona 3 is made up of several male and female characters- meaning that if you want to rank up your Social Links- a necessary step to unlocking the top Personas of the related Arcana trees which is vial for the endgame- you need to start building a harem and romance everything with a heartbeat. There's even a 'cheating system' built into the game where one girl who's grown attached to you will become angry if you go a certain amount of days not talking to her or speak to another girl instead- as if the developers knew what a bizarre approach this was to take and committed anyway. Of course, the female protagonist alone posses the ability to form platonic bonds- but the male can't help himself- he just attaches to any girl who'll have him. (I guess there's something relatable there.)

This has the knock on effect of tainting the writing of these S-links. Because whereas the top ranks are usually dedicated to some epiphany moment wherein the associated character gradually connects with their inner self and is somewhat transformed- but with the approach that Persona 3 takes those higher tiers are instead dedicated to each character revealing their affection towards you which- I've got to be honest, I'm not even sure why they start feeling that way to begin with. The Persona 3 protagonist is not the leader guiding SEES, he's doesn't take much of an active role in main narrative events, a lot of key character conversations take place when he isn't even present, and without being able to see his presence in the world (Thanks Portable!) it kind of feels like you're just a heavy hitter wildcard who has the ability to change their Persona and that's the only point of interest about you. Until the final act, of course, but what draws people to you before that?

The side cast S-links of Persona 3 are pretty interesting as well, from a terminally ill young boy struggling to find purpose, to a young grade-school girl trapped in a sad home circumstance that she is frustrating powerless to effect. The drunk Monk who replaced his heart with alcohol, the sporty kid who places achievement and momentary prestige above long-term health and the best friend (who honestly seems closer to the protagonist than Junpei, as sad as that is) who's only real struggle in life in his indomitable teacher crush and his delusional tendencies which feed that doomed 'relationship'. They and the others are all solidly written and fun to get to know, with poignant apotheosis moments attached at the maxing of their S-links- which is what I would have hoped for from the main cast. The only character I flat-out didn't like was the Gourmet King- I found him and his story just stupid. Oh, and Vincent from 'Catherine' shows up in a wild cameo. And 'Margaret' from Persona 4. Both games that came out several years after Persona 3, which is pretty cool. Discovering the history of Persona backwards is really providing a lot of Easter eggs I would have otherwise brushed right by.

One point of the gameplay that I will commend Persona 3 on without 'backhanding' the compliment are the bosses. That is, the main game bosses. They're all increadibly creative, not just in their 'arcana related' design but the way you have to use your team to defeat them despite party weaknesses or enemy strengths. A stand-out has to be 'Fortune', and the weird 'roulette wheel' game you have to play simultaneously whilst fighting him and 'Strength'. And I think the final encounter is drawn out but rewarding if you get to the point of mastery enough to be able to trade those blows. I far over levelled for her (I thought I was going to beat the mega bosses, but the various S-link requirements to even get close made me realise that I needed to just new game + it if I really wanted to go that route.) and that fight still ran on for ages before I could get the upper hand. And then there are the side bosses.

Your progress up Tartarus is impeded by certain 'side bosses' who count as 'skill check' walls that if you can beat prove your team is strong enough to face the equivalent story event coming up, like I discussed. However these bosses aren't particularly interesting, mostly just bigger versions of level enemies whom (thanks to the way that 'analysis' works in Persona 3) you can't strategize for without annoying trial and error in the moment. (Unless you memorise what Arcana is typically weak to what, but even that is an imperfect system- these side bosses play by their own rules nearer to the top.) I understand their purpose and I've already praised it as worthwhile game design- but good god why did there have to be so many? I think I had to kill somewhere close to twenty five just to climb up Tartarus, and they were never more than a groan-inducing necessity to progression that rarely felt fun to face. Which seems to be the same for point a lot with this game, doesn't it? Great idea, curious execution. Not always bad, but definitely curious.

 

As I 'subtly' implied earlier without spelling it out; death and the way we choose to confront it and it's inevitability is a key theme to Persona 3; as is the way way we choose how to live our lives and the value we find in those days alive. Persona 3, once again, does a fantastic job exploring these themes in a manner that unravels naturally and thus has a chance to settle and ferment in the heart, as well as abruptly in it's climax through a confrontation which wields allegory like a club. I actually really like this approach that imbues it's message and stands proud alongside it, it helps make the heavily symbolic design of the game feel satisfying and worthwhile by the end. Although Persona 3's narrative doesn't slide into place quite as neatly as 4's did in its final moments. With some extended reading it seems like an FES port would have done a much better job tying up those loose ends, and I'm not even talking about that direct loose end at the final moments of the game. (To be fair, that scene was just blatant enough that I was more questioning if the allegory was supposed to be literal. Which FES reveals it very much was.) Alas, P3P has left me a little unsatisfied in some of the most nagging places. 

Once again the music is just brilliant, featuring a lot more harsh musical genres with a lot more atmospheric and more aggressive tracks than 4. (Or maybe I just noticed 3's more because Tartarus has that single repetitive soundtrack it keeps reverting to.) The living world themes are all great too, if slightly more 'of their decade' than 4's soundtrack. Don't get me wrong, they're not like '2000's pop rock' level, but you can recognise the environment they spawned from. I particularly took notice of the garbled English in this game's soundtrack, which I recently heard rumours of is intentional throughout the Persona franchise in order to create solid sounding music tracks with lyrics that a Japanese audience wouldn't understand and read too much into, and which an English audience might hear, but be unable to decipher unless they literally looked up the lyrics. Which is a pretty cool premise if true. Oh, and once again the final theme of the game which plays during the credits, Kimi no Kioku, just absolutely slaps. God, I love that they always save their best material for the credits, I can't wait to see what Persona 5 has in store! Oh, and the male singer who sometimes appears in the tracks is 'Lotus Juice' whom I instantly recognised as the voice behind 'Overdrive' from Jojo Battle Tendency. This time the reference is unintentional because this game was released years before the Anime for Jojo was even conceptualised, but I love that extra bit of connective tissue between two of my favourite franchises.

Summary

My summation may come as a bit of a shock, because reading through my thoughts you may have come to the conclusion that I didn't like my time with Persona 3; but you would be absolutely wrong. I compare my experience to the unmatched heights of Persona 4, and all my gripes are reasons why this game doesn't hit that same apex. But even then, shooting for the top still lands this game high. I think the story is great, the writing is solid, the soundtrack is fantastic, the combat is surprisingly nearly as good as a modern JRPG. The issues I've expressed are not, in any way, game ruining- and if anything each one are feasible fixes that a prospective upcoming remake could iron out. Persona 3 Portable would not be, in my opinion, the ideal way to play this game. Even with the unique Female protagonist, which is a cool addition, Persona 3 FES is literally more canon. Persona 4 had dialogue directly referencing FES content- we should have gotten a port of that game. Still, being able to experience Persona 3 is some fashion has granted me a chance to play a game which many consider formative to their person, and though Persona 3 didn't resonate with me on that level (which is the level Persona 4 hit me at, by the way) I can totally understand why, in it's best form, this game might have done just that. Ultimately, I'm going to give Persona 3 Portable a A- Grade on my arbitrary ranking system, still solidly landing greatness but not quite reaching my fresh-hold for a truly legendary title.  That being said, I absolutely recommend the game- it's a fantastic JRPG in every sense of the word and a great place to start your exploration into the world of Shin Megami Tensei if that's a direction you want to pursue. Honestly, it's a testament to how good this game was that even though it left me dissatisfied- it also has left me increadibly eager to try that apparent remake ATLUS is cooking up knowing that a few modern changes in direction (and perhaps an extended epilogue that stretches the story just a bit past FES's conclusion) could easily make this game every bit as near-perfect as Persona 4. Once again, the Persona franchise does not disappoint.