The Future of JRPGs Lies in Handheld Games

I had written a blog a few months ago in which I had expressed my general discontent towards JRPGs over the past decade or so and it was met with pretty good feedback and praise and I want to thank you all for what turned into a really good discussion. Now then, this blog is sort of a companion piece or a rebuttal to my own work if you will. While my general feelings of JRPGs needing to advance still exist somewhat, here in 2010 there seems to have been a revival of sorts that might show good signs for the genre. Good signs provided you have a handheld at least.

You see, this year I’ve spent more time playing my PSP and my DS more than my Wii or PS3 simply because this is the greatest time ever to be a handheld gaming fan. If you’re a gamer who loved the 90s and the SNES/PS1/Saturn era of gaming then you have to be estatic with the amount of games that have been being released for handhelds over the past few years. This year in 2010, was simply the greatest year for handheld RPGs ever and there’s still more to come. This then is my rebuttal as I said. I shall now direct you to some great fantastic RPGs that have come out in just this year alone and encourage any fan to try these games as examples that hey, maybe there is a future for JRPGs at least on the small screen. I will be employing a new game rating system, one that is flawless and you simply cannot argue with. The Dragon Quest slime rating system! 5 slimes equals awesomeness and if you don't buy it I will come to your house and beat you and greedily grab the gold you leave behind.

1. Glory of Heracles

The Story: While it begins with the usual cliché of the main character having amnesia, this is offset by the unique atmosphere of ancient Greece. Believing himself to be the legendary Heracles, he is believed to be immortal and descended from the Gods themselves and along the way meets several characters who also have amnesia. Once again they get embroiled in the epic clash between Zeus and the Gods vs the Titans and the plot is driven from there. Think Clash of the Titans mixed with Final Fantasy and a little God of War sprinkled for good measure and you’ve got it.

Why Should I Play It, Kenola?: Glory of Heracles is like a nice mix of traditional turn based combat and strategy RPG. After placing your characters on a grid, you can select various commands that have you utilize the DS stylus to get maximum performance for attacks and magic spells. This can vary from touching circles in order or drawing the magic incantations yourself. While it does slow combat somewhat it does present a fresh take on what could have been a very boring battle system.

The Verdict: Not the greatest RPG ever, but definitely worth a look see.

2. Lunar-Silver Star Harmony

The Story: Well, being a remake of the original game on Sega CD and Playstation 1, most gamers are familiar with the plot of this game already, but if you don’t know, the main character Alex has dreams of becoming a Dragonmaster to protect the Goddess Althena. After venturing to the cave of the White Dragon and getting his quest he discovers that members of the Vile Tribe who hate Althena have been capturing girls for whatever reason, his girlfriend Luna being among them.

Why Should I Play It, Kenola?: Lunar was my very first RPG ever on the Sega CD and it holds a special place in my heart to this very day. While this version isn’t quite as good as those other ones, it’s got a entirely new prologue that lets you play as the Four Heroes and updated graphics and sound to make it look even better than before. If you’ve never experienced Lunar, now is the time.

The Verdict: If you’ve never experienced Lunar, now is the time. If you’ve already played through it once, you won’t find this one better, but still, it will be a nice trip down memory lane for you.

3. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

The Story: Set in a unique science fiction setting, you and a team of UN Inspectors are sent to investigate the Schwarzwelt, a gigantic portal deep in the Antarctic. Once inside you’ll discover a portal full of demons at which point you’ll eventually have to come to a decision. Save mankind or destroy it?

Why Should I Play It, Kenola?: Hell, it says “Shin Megami Tensei” on the box, that’s why. Ok, what sets this one apart from the others is the unique setting and characters. For the first time ever for this series, this game doesn’t take place in Japan and uses mostly American characters. The plot is more akin to a sci-fi action movie and feels like something James Cameron would have come up with to accompany the usual classic Shin Megami Tensei gameplay of negotitating with demons and recruiting them to make them for your own. If you’ve never played an SMT game, think of it as Pokemon with a bit more challenge and mature storyline.

The Verdict: SMT fans, you owe it to yourself to play this one. It’s every bit as great as Nocturne in my opinion and will keep you busy for quite some time. New fans to the series, don’t fret, this is a great introduction to the series and prior knowledge of past SMT games is not required. Check it out!

4. Persona 3 Portable

The Story: You are a high school student who recently moved into town with a very special ability. With a gun called an “Evoker” you can bring out our power known as Persona. You and others like you will combat what’s known as the Shadows that prey upon human souls during the Dark Hour, a hidden hour at midnight between one day and the next. Of course during the day you still have to go to school and carry on a social life. Time rests for no one.

Why Should I Play It, Kenola?: Well, anyone who’s played any of the PS2 versions of this game will give you plenty of reason. Fantastic story, great gameplay and a great challenge for one of the best games in the SMT franchise. Anyone who already has played the PS2 games should still check this one out as an all new female storyline complete with new social links to develop as well as many of the improved play mechanics from P4 such as the ability to control all party members show up here.

The Verdict: The best version of Persona 3 there is. Check it out!

5. Valkyria Chronicles 2

The Story: Set 3 years after the original game (or something like that, I dunno), you play as Avan of a Gallian Military Academy who leads a squadron known as Class G. Class G is called to defend Gallia against rebels who do not like this current era of peace, nor the idea that their country has fallen under Darcsen rule. Calling themselves rebels and declaring their intent to take back Gallia, they seek to rekindle the flames of war.

Why Should I Play It, Kenola?: Well, anyone who’s played the original game can see why you should play this one. The same gameplay that made the original so great returns, mixing action game elements with RPG strategy. The ability to command multiple vehicles as well as assign different classes to your troops is a natural expansion upon the original game. Everything is generally improved here and the game boasts some of the best graphics the PSP has to offer.

The Verdict: Even if you’ve never played Valkyria Chronicles 1, this game is still worth checking out as it has a plot that not only caters to fans of the original but is structured in such a way that it’s a standalone story as well. Those looking for an SRPG fix need look no further.

6. Lufia Curse of the Sinstrals ( Oh what, I just reviewed the damn thing don’t judge me! Okay fine I’ll tell you how many slimes it gets!)

7. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (Yes, you must type the subtitle as well.)

The Story: You are a Celestrian, a guardian angel of sorts who performs good deeds from upon high in the Observatory overlooking the world. The fyggs of the Yggdrasil Tree must come to full bloom before all Celestrians can ascend to the realm of the almighty. In order to accomplish this task, you must venture toward the world below and collect benevolescence or the crystallized gratitude of the humans below.

Why Should I Play It, Kenola?: It’s very simple. This is in my opinion the best Dragon Quest in the series. Your entire party can be created from scratch, from their appearance to their name to what class they areto how many. You can choose to go it solo if for some reason you desire. The options in DQIX are unlimited. Random encounters have mercifully been abolished and enemies can now be seen on the adventure map. New quests and items are available through the online shop and there’s never any real dull moment in the game. It’s the perfect blend of Western and JRPG concepts and not just one of the best RPGs you can play this year, its one of the best JRPGs period.

The Verdict: Buy it if you haven’t done it yet. I told you so and that’s why, don’t argue with me.

So there you have it. There’s 7 great RPGs I’ve played for handhelds this year alone. The future looks bleak on consoles but I’m glad developers are still committed to providing a fun JRPG experience on the go and there's more to come with a new Golden Sun being released for the DS as well. Don’t miss out on this stuff!

JRPGs are a slave to anime and I want no moe.

JRPGs and Prince have something in common. They both party like it’s 1999. For the past 10 years now JRPGs have grown into a period of stagnation where no new fresh ideas are flowing down the pipes and creativity and originality are simply a stalwart of the 1990s and were promptly left behind along with flannel shirts. Their popularity and influence in the industry continue to wane further and further. The reason for this is quite simple. JRPGs have become a slave to anime, they have no idea where to innovate and most important of all, they no longer let the player assume a role, which is the core idea behind an RPG to begin with. JRPGs are instead excessively lengthy films with a pointless minigame or two tossed in.



Now JRPGs have always had a somewhat close relationship with anime, but never before in the history of the genre have the two just been so closely connected. Its also not that I have some seething hatred with anime in particular either. It’s just that ever since Final Fantasy VII literally took the world by storm which was obviously the most anime inspired FF game to date, JRPGs have been stuck within a bubble of Japanese pop culture from which it can’t escape. Nearly every main character of a JRPG today is some effeminate moe zippers and hairspray pretty boy who looks like he just came off the set of a music video. He is often accompanied by other anime archetypes as well. Cute traditional Japanese looking Mary Sue? Check. Pretty boy hot guy with glasses? Check. Cute lolicon/catgirl? Check. Emo pretty boy warrior who is the strongest in the land? Check. “Sexy” older and more mature mysterious girl with a large rack? Check. Cute animal thing with a squeaky voice? Double check. Nearly every JRPG in the last 10 years now have had those sort of silly redundant stereotypes. Mixing and matching the settings and locales won’t alter this fact. Be it Tales of Whatever in a medieval setting or Xenobabble in space, or even Wild Arms in what I guess is supposed to be some warped vision of what the Wild West is supposed to be, all of these games mix and match all of these stereotypical archetypes we’ve been seeing in anime since the early 90s. While RPGs have been known to have clichés in the past, it’s abundantly clear that nearly every single RPG these days contain cookie cutter one dimensional characters you’ve seen before.

Can’t sell plushies on J-List without one of these things in your game.

That’s not to say that JRPGs haven’t tried to innovate….the problem is that they have no clue as to where the innovation should be begin. Giving a car with a bad fuel pump a fresh coat of paint doesn’t help it run any better. The real areas JRPGs need innovation in aren’t being addressed. Instead we are constantly bombarded with crazy nonsense battle systems and confusing menus and dumb mini games. Nowhere is this more evident than in Resonance of Fate. It takes the average player nearly five hours just to grasp the basics of that game’s combat system. Meanwhile the plot literally goes nowhere as the character’s names aren’t even given any introduction much less any back story as to who they are or where they came from. Placing the game in a steam punk setting doesn’t cover up the inherent clichéd mess of a plot and boring characters and overly complex battle systems doesn’t give the game any more originality than other JRPGs. Final Fantasy for all of it’s attempts at trying to innovate has made progress in some areas but not enough in the key areas. Sure, Final Fantasy 8, 10 and 13 have all made attempts at innovation, however FF12 was the most innovative FF game in the past ten years simply because it knew where to innovate. It took key lessons from western RPGs and incorporated them into traditional Final Fantasy, but even that game had an identity crisis. That ugly anime influence crept into the game as a main character in Vaan was hastily inserted into a plot that really had little to do with him. It was clear Square-Enix was afraid to lose sales if an effeminate male didn’t play the lead. They were afraid to leave from their protective bubble. They are a slave to anime.

The by-products of focus tested schlock.

The only real JRPG series that has managed to thrive and retain it’s credibility over the years and stay fresh and interesting is Shin Megami Tensei. Now, of course this would seem instantly contradictory given the heavy Japanese influence of these games, namely the Persona games, but there is a bit of a difference. SMT has anime influences, but just like older JRPGs of the past, they aren’t a slave to it. They aren’t bound by familiar stereotypes or appearances. The characters are usually multifaceted in Persona and have realistic personalities. They learn and grow through life experience. SMT overall has managed to stay fresh by not being afraid to try something different. Even the latest in the franchise Strange Journey has deviated from its Japanese cultural roots and taken a nod to American Sci-Fi films and nearly all of the cast is American.

However the one thing that sets those apart and this is the biggest reason JRPGs simply aren’t as fun anymore; no longer do you play a role. Essentially role playing games are supposed to be that. You assume a role and from there the story around you unfolds, you are a part of the story and your choices directly influence it. Developers went through painstaking lengths to try to create this illusion with the limited technology they had in the old days, but fundamentally JRPGs have actually regressed somewhat regarding this. Far too often in JRPGs (and this is my biggest complaint with FF13), is that the player does not assume the role of that character and instead simply moving that character from one plot point to the next. No choices can be made that actually affect the outcome of the plot, they’re simply there along for the ride. At best the player is a fight choreographer for a movie. Shin Megami Tensei sets itself apart by still giving the player control of not just how they build their player, but the choices that character makes. In some games major choices can even effect who will become your allies, or your enemies. It’s this feeling of being in control, feeling as if you yourself take an active role in the events unfolding that helps you better connect with the plot and retain interest.

JRPGs are stuck in a rut, creatively. However, that doesn’t have to be the case. If they wouldn’t be afraid to step out of the anime cliché bubble for once and focus on the basics of what an RPG is designed to do, rather than focus on silly overbearing combat systems that serve no real purpose in extending the vested interest of the player, this genre would be a lot better off. And no, no amount of online or social networking will change that Square-Enix. Atlus seems to be on a lone boat sailing away from the trappings of what is expected out of an RPG in the land of the rising sun. I oblige other companies over there to do the same.

Final Fantasy XIII: I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?

Um...so I pretty much went into this game thinking it would suck and be the ruination of the series.


This is because I'm an idiot.

Yes Ken, yes you are.

No, far from it. This game boldly redefines the JRPG genre in ways that work. The trials and tribulations of FF VII, VIII and X have come together to forge this game. All of the bad parts of those game have been taken out, keeping the good things about those games. Coupled with some of the best storytelling and character development a JRPG has had in years, I owe a heartfelt and public apology to a game I now have trouble putting down.

Final Fantasy XIII, I am so sorry. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?

Grandia's voice acting sucks and other obvious statements.

So Grandia is available for purchase and download as a PS One classic on PSN. I urge all those with PS3s to download this not because it's a great game (it is by the way) but because you can all finally shut the fuck up with your nitpicky bullshit about how bad the voicework in Persona or Final Fantasy games are. Seriously, play Grandia and weep.

In other news...Bobby Kotick is an idiot. That is all.

White Knight Chronicles: Oh what could've been Level 5...oh what could've been.

White Knight Chronicles is a tough game to rate. It's tough because most of the game will be spent playing the offline story mode, however, it is the online functionality that is the best aspect of the game and saves it. It was a tough decision to weigh but overall I can place White Knight Chronicles just barely into the "worth the $60 purchase" category provided you have access to online.

If you enjoy playing RPGs for fantastic plots with memorable scenes and epic moments, then don't bother with White Knight Chronicles. Despite a few plot twists, there's absolutely nothing here that anyone who has ever played an RPG for the past 20 years wouldn't be able to see coming. The main character of the plot is driven by a young boy, Leonard who, for reasons that are grossly inadequately explored, falls in love with Princess Cisna because he saw her once when they were children many years ago and has taken the mantle upon himself to save her from a group known as the "Magi" who wish to use her to awaken the powers of the "knights", large body armor suits a la Escaflowne or Aura Battler Dunbine for those familiar with those anime shows. Of course, "because I saw her once a few years ago" hardly constitutes any realistic justification to involve oneself with such important world matters and in any realistic scenario the Princess wouldn't be waiting to be saved by her shining "prince" Leonard, and would probably issue a restraining order or in the very least assume he's just as evil as those that would kidnap her. Nonetheless along the way you'll meet the usual ragtag bunch most of whom just tag along "just because" with the only real interesting characters of the bunch being Kara and Eldore who's mysterious personalities barely hold the plot above water during your quest.

This is unfortunate given that terrible pacing of an already hum drum, paper thin plot only compounds matters. Once the party arrives at the city of Greede about halfway into the game, I very nearly quit as the storyline comes crashing to a screeching halt and the game enters "fetch quest hell" as at least 4 to 5 hours of the game are spent backtracking to previous areas to find items only to have to repeat the process and find yet another item the party must obtain before finally progressing to the next chapter of the story. This wouldn't be such a problem if any meaningful advancement was made. There's no character development, no new areas to explore, no meaningful backstories revealed. It's literally there to pad the length of the game and try to squeeze every last ounce out of a plot that barely held much water to begin with. Once this awful valley is finally overcome, the plot does improve towards the end, but that middle portion will have many gamers less patient than myself crying foul.



Fetch Quests are really nothing new to RPGs really, but its particularly noticeable with this game's plot due to its length, or rather, lack thereof. The main quest can literally take no more than 20 hrs just playing it normally, so when nearly 1/4 of a game's plot is relegated to fetch quests, it's highly noticeable. Once finished the game feels like a TV dinner for starved RPG fans. It satiates those of us that were looking for a next gen RPG experience just enough, but ultimately I and many others are probably already hungry for a real, true next gen RPG storyline. The story ends on a cliffhanger, which hopefully will lead to a much more intriguing plot in future installments, but for now the plot just seemed like a complete waste of time as the only moments of merit could be summed up in about 5 hours.

Well, the storyline is out but what about the gameplay? Suffice to say, the gameplay is vastly more interesting than the scenario. Once the game begins the player must create his/her avatar to use in not only online play, but you can also take that character and use them for the story mode as well. This is an exciting feature that unfortunately is amazingly underutilized by Level 5. Often times during scenes the avatar is barely even seen in the background and has virtually no involvement with the main plot whatsoever. The idea of the avatar being not the main character but rather an "onlooker" to the events unfolding isn't a particularly bad in and of itself but the problem lies in the fact that the other characters in the story never even acknowledge the avatars presence. The avatar never expresses any kind of emotion whatsoever and is really just a doll who happens to pop up in a frame from time to time.

Gameplay is structured very similarly to that of Final Fantasy XII. Combat is a combination of free roam and turn based. A timer bar fills up and once filled the player can execute a variety of commands that the player assigns from the menu screen. Unfortunately, the combat is really just a poor man's version of the previous mentioned battle system as it lacks any of the refinement or challenge of FF XII. Simple tasks like changing targets is made ridiculously cumbersome as it requires a few seconds of fumbling around the menu systems just to find the command. A "hot key" that instantly allows you to switch targets would have been much preferred. A nice plus to the game is the amount of customization. You can literally build your party members however you like as you earn ability points to spend on various skills and magic. Weapons each have their own class and abilities allowing for a large amount of flexibility and strategy. You can even create and name your own combos by stringing together abilities and assigning them to various command slots provided you have enough Action Chips stored to do so.

Not that you'd need to employ strategy or anything. Unfortunately the game is so ridiculously easy that you can pretty much skate by the entire game by teaching the party healing spells and giving them the strongest equipment and weapons. This is without employing the main characters ability to transform into the White Knight armor. Then the game becomes borderline broken. I never once had to transform into the knight unless the game dictated that I do. Magic doesn't even become a remote factor until perhaps the final area of the game when the game begins to present at least some modicum of challenge. RPGers looking the plumb the depths of strategy and really be tested akin to something of a Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne will be sorely disappointed here.


Where this game shines is in it's creativity. How creative of a person are you? That's really the question that has to be asked when deciding on a purchase of this game. The most shining moments of the game come in the form of the different ways you can be creative. The game gives you the option to literally create your own town and populate it with select residents in the various towns in the storyline. You can find and pick up materials to build houses and other structures and then assign those residents to cultivate the town. Hiring different professions yield different items that are created. This town can then be uploaded into the online mode and you can invite players to come visit the town or visit other players towns as well. You can take materials and items and combine them to create new, more powerful weaponry. Online is literally where its at. Up to four people can go on assigned quests that can be purchased in the story. Eventually you'll recieve a camera that lets you take pictures of you and your friends and upload those online as well. If you get involved and make friends online you can have tons of fun playing the game and its many shortcomings become less noticeable. I've logged about 60 hours total myself because I was having so much fun online.

Even still, even though I'm having fun going on quests with other players and friends, once you return to the main game, you're reminded all too well of how mediocre everything really is. The game isn't awful by any stretch of the imagination but you can't help but notice that Level 5 had a ton of unrealized potential here and coming from them, that's a disappointment. Also a company known for having great graphics in their games, Level 5 did a surprisingly subpar job here compared to their previous work. Rogue Galaxy and Dragon Quest 8 are among the finest games ever graphically on the PS2 but White Knight Chronicles doesn't even come close to maximizing the graphical potential of the PS3. The graphics aren't bad, but this game is seriously behind the curve and the fact that this finally released over year later doesn't help matters. Even still, there's fun to be had in this title provided you make a lot of friends who also enjoy the creative aspects of the game and if you so desire, you can go through the main quest one more time and unlock even more items and equipment on a second playthrough, but suffering through it once may be enough for most gamers. The final verdict: Level 5 and JRPG fans who are looking to be creative and not to be challenged, will get most enjoyment out of this game. The rest of you are perhaps better off looking further to the horizon to get your RPG fix.

Final Fantasy XII, one more time.....

So, what game have I decided to play now that I've tossed in the towel in Demon's Souls? Actually, I've gone back to Final Fantasy XII. I figured I'd give it one more go around before FF XIII releases. But this time, I'm gonna do everything dammit. I will hunt every last mark, even Yiazmat and unearth every secret the game has to offer. I owe it to this game. And honestly, I have to say, after 10 hrs of play already, the game has aged quite gracefully, unlike well, just about every last Final Fantasy game since the SNES games. I couldn't stand to play FF VII through X-2 for any longer than 5 hrs before just giving up and quitting and lord knows I've tried. Anyway, I'll probably write up a big long article about exactly why FF XII rules, why FF games haven't aged well and why FF XIII looks to be a cosmic disappointment, but right now football is on. Bye!

I am teh weaksauce.

When I stated that I was tossing in the towel on Demon's Souls, I didn't necessarily mean that I didn't like the game. I do. And I likely won't get rid of it, if only because it's an Atlus game and I already paid for the special edition version and if I ever wanted to go back and play it I'd probably have to pay a hefty price online for it. Besides, the game is fantastic. It's just, well, I'm getting too old for this shit.

What I mean is, I just don't have the patience for extremely difficult games that I once had. I remember as a kid going through and actually beating all of the Ninja Gaiden games on NES because I actually had things like time and patience to do those things. Nowadays I get probably like 1 to 2 hours tops of gaming in a day because I attend college and work about 20-30 hrs a week. I don't feel like spending that time going through and doing the same thing over and over until I clear it. Because then it just begins to feel like work. Its time to stop playing when you're loading up the game and just going through the motions. And no, the game isn't perfect by any means at all. The targeting system is a little wonky; sometimes you can't exactly target which specific enemy you want, particularly if there are a lot present and in a game where a split second could mean the difference between life and death that's pretty important. The lack of music starts to get to you after awhile also, especially after you've gone through the same area for 50 times and worst of all, while you can reclaim any lost souls you have when you die, if you die in a boss battle you have to enter the boss arena to reclaim it, but of course you have to beat the boss all over again....which, if you're unprepared for the boss you may as well kiss those hard earned souls goodbye.

Oh well, I'll probably return to it at some point later but for the moment at least I'm done.

YOU DIED

......That's a message I've been seeing a lot lately in the past week, thanks to Demon's Souls. Don't get me wrong, I still keep coming back for more, because like I said, it's perversely fun and truly rewarding when you actually get ahead in the game.

It just takes a lot of deaths and a lot of broken controllers time and effort to get there. That being said, I was planning to review this game, but I don't think that review is coming anytime soon because I like to beat, or at least, you know, get far in any game I plan to review but good God I don't think that this game is going to allow me to progress anytime soon. I've had the game for about a week but only have managed to get as far as Armor Spider. (Which ain't far, no sir.)

Of course, when I'm not embarrassing myself with pathetic attempt after pathetic attempt to clear Demon's Souls, Katamari Forever has been soaking up my time also. It's amazing how fun rolling a stupid ball around and picking up a bunch of shit can be.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona Review

You know, I’ll be honest. I’m very torn about my feelings when it comes to Persona. On one hand what you have is an excellent redesigned port of an older game that addressed many of the issues that plagued it previously. But on the other hand, the game itself just had a few nagging flaws already to begin with that keep it from being fantastic.

Like many games in the Persona series, this game has an excellent, stylish presentation. Many changes were made to give the game an updated feel and it all works. The new opening video is marvelous and captures the feel of the story perfectly. Other new fully animated FMVs, with voice acting exclusively for the English version as well, and of course, the translation has been completely overhauled, in order to present a more authentic version to the English audience. To continue this update, the music has been entirely redone in the style of some of the more contemporary Persona games. It’s all personal opinion really, but for the most part the new music works and tends to get catchy after awhile, even if you have absolutely no clue what they’re singing. It just gets indoctrinated into your brain after awhile and eventually you start to enjoy it. Of course, this a problem in other Persona games as well, but the biggest problem with the soundtrack is that many of the same tracks often repeat way too many times and your growing affection for the music may quickly turn into seething hatred for the music depending on how long your play session is. 2 to 3 hours nonstop of listening to the battle theme tends to have you reaching for the volume button irregardless of how catchy it becomes. But really that’s a minor issue, even if you hate the music there’s plenty more put into this re-release to enjoy that makes it all worthwhile. But unfortunately, the visuals for the most part have remained largely untouched. It’s initially jarring to see how the graphics have aged to a degree, particularly when witnessing the stiff, wooden, battle animations, but really, the graphics overall haven’t aged that badly and while the graphics have remained largely untouched, the menus have been given a brand new look and are easier to navigate and the absolutely atrocious world map from the original game has been mercifully redesigned. Instead of a hideous 3D map, the developers wisely opted for a panned out 2D map and a simple press of the square button will tell you each location in the immediate area. Game progression is handled much more smoothly this go around. Load times have been shortened. An option to shorten battle animations has been added. Walking speed has been greatly increased and holding down the circle button lets you move even faster. All of this helps create a more enjoyable gameplay experience from the original.

This is a fun game. But it helps to remember that this game is not the same experience you’ll get from playing some of the more recent Persona games. This game settles itself in sort of a limbo between the old school dungeon crawling RPGs of yesterday (dungeons are actually in first person in this one) with the more contemporary story driven RPGs of today. Story is secondary to the actual gameplay and you’ll spend most of your time navigating the many of the labyrinths the game offers. That’s not to say that the story isn’t memorable or doesn’t have memorable characters. In fact, one of Persona’s greatest strengths is in the excellent pacing of the game. The plot is revealed in such a fashion that you get just enough information so that you’re able to figure out what your objective is and move forward with little hassle. Never does the game get sidetracked in its plot, dragging the length of the game to an unnecessary level; in fact the game is only about 20 to 30 hours long depending upon your play style and by the end it doesn’t feel like it was too short or too long, but just right.

However, like I previously stated, you’ll be walking around and navigating dungeons in this game. A lot. That’s not particularly a bad thing though. Because where this game shines more than any other area is in its unique battle system. Similar to a chess board almost, you have to place your characters on a grid and their placement on that grid, coupled with their weapon choice is what determines what enemies they can attack. Characters can choose between both weapon and gun attacks, with guns generally providing better range, but sacrificing power over weapons and of course characters can also summon their Personas in battle as well. Each of your characters can keep a stock of up to 3 Personas at a time, with each character having a different affinity for different Personas. In other words, some Personas work better than others depending on who has it “equipped.” Now a staple of any Persona game, players can create new Personas by visiting Igor in the Velvet Room and fusing them together by obtaining various spell cards from the demons you encounter, which brings up the most unique aspect of the battle system, the negotiations. Yes, in order to be successful in Persona, holding conversations and trying to pick out the right answer to please demons so that they’ll relinquish these cards and other items and money is essential. It seems a little confusing at first but really it’s just a matter of mix and matching, and eventually you’ll figure out what to say to which demon after a few encounters. To help you out a meter that displays the demons’ various emotions is displayed and shows your progress with the negotiation. If you find yourself angering it further and further, try having another character negotiate or try a different approach with the same character. It’s this interaction that keeps battles fun and fresh. They can also save your hide if you’re low on health and suddenly get ambushed from behind.

If you feel put off by things like “dungeon-crawler”, and “negotiation” because it sounds like it’s complicated, don’t be. Actually, arguably this game is perhaps the easiest game in the series, provided you do the main storyline. While the inability to attack every enemy on the screen and only those “in range” force you often times to rely on magic, your magic slowly regenerates as you move outside of battle and no matter what spells that particular Persona has learned, it costs the same amount of MP to use no matter what. In fact, your Personas level up based upon how much you use them in combat so there’s absolutely no reason not to use them frequently in combat. If your main character dies, it’s not an instant game over and while exploiting weaknesses is still a part of the strategy, it’s not as absolutely vital to success as it is in P3 or P4. In fact I progressed through the game and very rarely had to use a healing item. Not to imply that this game is a cakewalk or anything. A cheap death is still very possible. There are a lot of nasty status effects in this game that can disable you if you’re not paying attention and your whole party could be quickly wiped out because they continue to neutralize your members and attempting to flee the battle results in failure more than half of the time. Couple this with a very high encounter rate and you could quickly find yourself loading up your last save if you’re not careful. The game isn’t the hardest RPG out there, but it certainly doesn’t allow you to get lazy. Easily the worst aspect of the game is the ridiculous encounter rate. While negotiation with demons helps somewhat it’s still aggravating to take two steps and immediately be thrust into another battle.

But for all of the game’s flaws there’s still plenty of reasons to give the game at least one play through, but really to get the maximum enjoyment from it, multiple play throughs are recommended. In fact, the alternate side-quest, the Snow Queen Quest has been added to this version of the game which was cut out of the original and offers a completely different storyline from the main game. While this is intriguing, I should give a fair warning and say that this is significantly more difficult than the main storyline, although it’s still do-able provided you have the time and patience to complete it. Each story has both a bad and a good ending and which party members you can take along can vary depending upon your responses and choices as you play which makes each play experience different from others.

It’s a little rough around the edges, but overall I enjoyed this revisit to see where the Persona series began. This game won’t set the world on fire or anything but I encourage all fans of the Shin Megami Tensei series to check it out, especially if you’ve never played the original release on PSX. It’s been given a cool new look and feel and while visually it doesn’t really impress by today’s standards the game mechanics still shine and provide two things that are timeless; an intriguing story and plain good ol’ fun.