Persona 3 (Kinda Sorta Mildly Spoiler-y) Review

Well, I take back my original comments on “Persona 4” wherein I state it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever played.  Back then, I didn’t know, I just didn’t know at all how much better its predecessor was on almost every level.  That’s not to take away from “Persona 4” at all, the game is superb and I immensely enjoyed my time with it and plan to return to Inaba for some more shenanigans in the near future.  Still though, aside from some technical aspects, better dungeons and more refined Social Links, “Persona 4” comes nowhere close to touching “Persona 3”, not from a narrative and thematic perspective, nor does it come close in terms of challenge.

Backwards as it is to play “Persona 4” first and then “Persona 3” second, the series doesn’t really seem to focus on one large overarching narrative.  Save superficial connections, each narrative stands alone and does not rely on its sequels or predecessors to work.  So, thankfully, I don’t have to worry about having things confused, given playing the games in a particular order isn’t really necessary.

Anyway, on to what makes “Persona 3” great.  Like its sequel, “Persona 3” is pretty basic JRPG fair.  Dungeon exploring, turn based combat, your typical stuff.  What I do love about this series though, is that level grinding (while definitely helpful) isn’t exactly a necessity.  A smart, well equipped player can get through most challenges and encounters without having to worry too much about their level in relation to the enemies.  Properly managing your party, tactics and items tends to be more important than an arbitrary level.  Like I said, it’s still pretty wise to level up yourself and your party, but, unlike contemporaries, it’s not an absolute necessity.

Alright, to the meat of things, the place where “Persona 3” shines the most, the story, themes and characters.  I’d already rattled on about how good the characters and themes were in “Persona 4”, but unlike in that installment, P3 doesn’t just have good themes and characters, it actually tells a consistent story.  The biggest issue I had with P4 was the pretty simplistic story and the characters being pretty slow to figure out things we, as the player, figured out hours ago.  On top of that, another issue I didn’t quite touch upon in my initial review was just how static the characters were throughout P4.  I think this is more of a retrospect thing, especially now having played through P3, but no one really changes or evolves throughout the story in P4, they’re all about the same and any developments your lead crew may have is relegated to Social Links.  P3 on the other hand, leaves much of the development to the story itself.  Characters change and grow as the plot progresses and, given several lead characters don’t have Social Links of their own, it’s more natural and fitting to the story.  You could max out a link in P4 and get the full development of a character early on, whereas here in P3, most developments are left to the plot.  If a lead character does have a Social Link available, you actually have to work to unlock their Social Link.  In the case of a couple characters, certain plot developments also had to occur before you could start the Link.  In other words, you and the characters have to be sufficiently developed in order to unlock a Social Link.  This not only gives the S. Links more reward, as it’s something you worked for, but it also means a character has already gone through sufficient development already, making the S. Link feel more natural to the progression of the story and to said character’s development.

If there is one major gripe I have about the S. Links in P3, it’s that pretty much all female links lead to romance, you have no choice in the matter.  While the version of the game I played removed the jealousy feature, (wherein problems can arise if you have multiple romantic partners at a time) it still doesn’t give the player an option to not take the romantic route with a given female S. Link character.  So while it’s nice you don’t get punished as you would in P4, it is kind of shitty that you can’t choose to not date specific characters.  Granted, you can avoid maxing out a link and taking your relationship with a character all the way, but the game is based around S. Links.  The better your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona become.  If your link with a character is say, Rank 6, then when you fuse a Persona of the corresponding Arcana, they’ll get an XP boost.  Since the game encourages you max out S. Links, it is kind of a disappointment that, in order to do so, you have to be a big fat cheating asshole.

On the topic of links and characters, there's one specific character I'm compelled to speak of, and that character's name is Elizabeth.  She starts out as just a regular old assistant of Igor, (who himself essentially acts as a guide for the protagonist, helping them understand how the Persona work) but as the game progresses and you get to hang out with her, Elizabeth goes from being a quirky assistant to a game seller on her own.  While the title of my favorite character goes to Aigis, Elizabeth isn't far off.  She doesn't get her own Social Link, but she does have events you can choose to go on that act similarly, including the eventual progressions to romance. It's in these moments where Elizabeth truly gets to shine.  Having little understanding of our world, she wishes the protagonist to take her out and show her basic activities and traditions.  That's not to say she's a stupid character, far from it, she's quite intelligent and inquisitive. However, having never actually experience the outside world, she's naive to much of it and it's her naivety that pushes her character from pretty good to unadulterated awesome.  From dumping seemingly endless amounts of coins into wishing fountains and offertory boxes to going down the up escalator, to running around the school track like a maniac, every date with Elizabeth is endlessly entertaining and instantly charms the player to her character.  She's excitable, cheerful and, really, just an all around joy of a character.  And, like I'll mention with the majority of the other characters, the arc found in Elizabeth's dates also plays into some of P3's narrative themes.  Even if you're looking to make your protagonist an honest man and refuse to push all but one female link into romance, I'd suggest you ignore that rule with Elizabeth.  The moments with Elizabeth are too joyous to avoid and you'd be doing yourself a disservice to avoid these segments.

Awesome character aside, P3 does an excellent job at telling its story and developing its themes and characters.  P3 may be a story about a bunch of gifted teenagers secretly saving the world from monsters, but there’s way more to it than that.  At its core, P3 is a story about existential dread and, most importantly, the inevitability of death and loss.  To carry this home, every single main character’s arc is, in some way, informed by death and loss.  Be it through their backstory or through their arc in the primary story, each character has some connection to either.  The existentialism comes in as the characters must accept their lack of agency in the face of death.  They must also come to grips with the fact that there’s no explicit purpose or meaning to life, it begins without our consent and it ends without our consent.  There’s no control and there’s no objective meaning or purpose, save that which we make ourselves.  These themes, I think at least, are completely embodied in the character Aigis.  While each character and each character’s S. Link plays with the themes of death, loss and existentialism, Aigis’ entire story is informed by all of these major themes.  From her learning what it means to be alive, to coming to terms with the fact that life has no explicit meaning or purpose and her coping with the inevitability of death and loss, Aigis, more than any other character, really sees all the themes played out in her major arc.

Hell, besides the themes being played out through characters, the gameplay mechanics and visuals are also informed by death.  Each time one of the lead characters summons a Persona, they literally put a gun to their head and pull the trigger.  This symbolic act of suicide is what gives the characters their power and it comes at a price.  If Yukari’s initial fear of using an Evoker is anything to go by, summoning one’s Persona is a painful act and, potentially, feels exactly like suicide.  In order for the character’s to fight, they must first embrace the pain of death and use it as a tool.

The game’s heavy emphasis on time also reinforces these themes.  While the main mechanics don’t necessarily inform the player of such, they do reinforce inevitability and lack of agency.  The strongest way these mechanics conflate with death is through the use of the Dark Hour, the time between midnight and a new day.  During the Dark Hour, a bridge is made between time and death.  Only those with the Potential can remain active during the Dark Hour, regular human folk take the shape of coffins, further creating a thematic link between time and death.  It’s also not coincidence that the Dark Hour takes place between the end of a day and the beginning of a new one.  The end of a day symbolically represents its passing, in between its passing and a new day, the link is created.  This is also true of the game’s most important decision, which just so happens to take place at the end of the game year, which, like the Dark Hour, creates a link

It’s also of note that, during the Dark Hour, clocks, like the coffins, are a prevalent part of the scenery.  The entrance to Tartarus is, itself, a massive clock.  Every aspect of the Dark Hour reinforces the connection between time and death.  Even the save point on Tartarus’ ground floor resembles a grandfather clock.  The act of exploring Tartarus and ridding it of its denizens is, itself, an act that brings death and, ultimately, the destruction of mankind.  The player and the characters unwittingly bring about the apocalypse, while attempting to prevent it.  Again, this furthers the themes of powerlessness.

This is where the protagonist and the player comes in.  The protagonist is responsible for bringing Death, as he had unknowingly nurtured and housed Death within himself.  Unknown to him, he is manipulated into returning to Port Island, where Tartarus and the shadows reside.  Upon killing a number of shadows, Death is allowed to physically manifest and is no longer sealed within the protagonist.  In the end, the protagonist is both destroyer and savior, as it is he who brings Death and he who must stop it.  Again, through the protagonist’s arc, we’re reminded that death is out of one’s control, only this time, it’s directly told to the player.  Given the protagonist is the player avatar, the player is forced to confront this inevitability on a much more intimate level than the player would through the other characters.  It does so by removing the player’s agency, forcing them to realize that they are ultimately helpless and have absolutely no control over death.

It’s really quite interesting how Atlus utilized pretty much all aspects of gameplay to inform and reinforce its narrative themes.  Through its characters, mechanics, setting and pacing, the game outlines its themes and speaks to the player on a visceral and intimate level.  Unlike “BioShock”, “Max Payne 3” and, hell, most games, where the narrative and gameplay mechanics are disconnected and do not inform each other, (creating what is referred to as ludonarrative dissonance) Atlus creates synergy between the two.  It’s a shining example that supports the “games as art” argument.

There’s still loads of detail to go into regarding the theming, mechanics and narrative in “Persona 3”, but I feel I’m bordering on rant already.  Plus, it’d take a lengthy dissertation (and loads of spoilers) to really explore “Persona 3’s” themes and how all of this works in tandem with the narrative, gameplay and mechanics.  Instead of doing that, I’ll end with the following summation:

“Persona 3”is a deeply existential and sobering experience that will leave its player emotionally drained by the end.  It also pushes the player to think about the inevitability of death, as well as the kind of meaning they place on their own lives and the lives of those around them.  While the game is depressing, I’d say it’s ultimately more uplifting and positive than it is a downer.  Sure, death, loss and existentialism aren’t things that’ll bring a smile to your face, but there’s a silver lining to these.  In the end, the game leaves the player with a positive feeling, reminding them that life is what we make it, that it is us who gives it meaning and molds it how we see fit.  It also reminds us that, while we may die, the bonds we create with others, is our immortalization.  It’s through this that we, in some way, justify and prove our existence.  So yeah, “Persona 3” is a masterpiece and more than deserves its place in the halls of gaming’s greatest achievements.