PERSONA: Revelations

Do you think games like Final Fantasy 7, FF8, and Legend of Dragoon are the best RPGs on the Playstation? If you do you will probably hate this game and should go away. If you like old style, deep RPGs like the old Final Fantasys, AD&D computer games, Suikoden or games of that type then I think you may want to check this game out. It's not so hard to find, and is for sale at stores like CompUSA, who have used game bins. You should be able to pick it up for around $20 or less, and it is worth it.

Persona was considered the first good RPG by many publications, and got some decent reviews. The game is the first in a series. So far this is the only game in the series to be released stateside. Persona 2 has been released in Japan in two chapters: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment. Luckily, Atlus has seen it fit to release Eternal Punishment in America and it should be out around Christmas 2000. YES!!

Anyways, this is one of my favorite PSX games, and while the majority of people seem to disagree with me about it, let me point out what I think are its strong points. First of all, this game takes place is a modern setting. Not some strange fantasy world, the ruins of the future, or some other dimension. That makes it different from 90% of the RPGs out there right away. Persona takes place basically in a normal town, that is until Demons take it over... but that's another story. The characters are *gasp* normal. None of them are warriors, mages, or even anyone important. They are plain normal high schoolers, which to me makes this game easier to get into. Its more real and for some reason this makes the game more interesting, despite some of the really stupid things the characters say. The game is basically about these kids having a normal day, when the town is suddenly overidden in demons. For whatever reason this group of friends have the power to summon creatures known as Persona... the Persona are basically angels and demons that coexist with the souls of these teenagers. Because of this ability the kids get into a lot of problems and decide they must to something to save the town. Afterall, no one else can.

The thing about this game that won me over right away was the battles. You can obviously attack, using either guns or hand weapons -- this is particulary cool, as a character may use both types of weapons during the same fight. There is also magic, which you learn depending on the Persona you currently have, kind of like the Esper system in FF6 (FF3). You may also summon a Persona to help you out. The best thing though it the Contact option. Through this you are allowed to talk to your enemies, trying to scare them away, or even get items from them. This is actually very cool, and VERY rare in RPGs. I think there are some old PC RPGs that use this as well, but it is really uncommon and adds a lot to the battles. In fact, you HAVE to talk to monsters to get the things you need in order to obtain new Persona's. The conversations are not too bad either, as there are quite a few responses, and things really depend on the personality of the monster you are talking to. Overall, very cool.

Graphics: The graphics in this game are not going to blow you away, I'll tell you that, but they are by no means bad. The 2D sections of the game (fights and rooms) are clean, but rather sterile. They have a 3D rendered look, but honestly are nothing incredible. The game has a strange style that is all its own though, and for some reason it draws you to it. There are lots of polygonal sections as well. All the traveling is done through 3D hallways which are rather boring and repetative, and a 3D map that could probably have been done on Super Nintendo.

Sound: The music in this game is EXTREMELY Japanese. It's a turn off for many many people. I enjoy it though, its quiet and never gets in the way... it has yet to get annoying as well. The sound effects are kind of a mixed bag. While you are walking around there is an extremely bad sound effect that is supposed to be the sound of you all walking around... needless to say, it's annoying as hell. The effects in battles are not so bad though. Each character has battle cries, as well as do many monsters.

Control: The control in this game is a pain sometimes. In the fights there are so many things to pick from that it gets tiring sometimes. Walking in the 3D sections is not so bad... but in the room sections it is annyoing. The contol is not centered normally, so when you push up you don't go up, you go diagonally up and to the right. This is because of the way the graphics are laid out, but it drives me nuts, and I find myself going to places I don't mean to when I'm not paying enough attention.

Theme and Fun: The game is fun, but also tedious. I enjoy the characters and settings, and the battles and Persona creation are just awesome. Its just that sometimes this game feels like TOO much, and I have to turn it off. Its easy to get stuck or lost in some maze, some fights are really tough, and sometimes it just gets boring. I do eventually get back to it and enjoy it for a few days or so, but then I just tire of it again. Its one of those on again-off again games.

Replay Value: There are a few endings to the game, and that makes this go up quite a bit. By choices you make you miss having some characters in your party, but gain others. Also there are so many different Personas that you could mess around with that for a long time in itself.

Challenge: The game isn't really hard, its just not what a lot of people want. I'd say it was above average for an RPG, but certainly nowhere near impossible.

Overall: If you are into deep, complex RPGs go and try this out. Overall its a really good and original game and is worth checking out, even if you personally wind up hating it.