Shin Megami Tensei: Persona Review

By Jason Nimer

If there is one thing gamers can be counted on to love, it's nostalgia. For whatever reason, we continue to buy and re-buy new versions of games that we've not only played before, but in most cases, we've played a number of times before. Just look at how many different versions of the original Final Fantasy are available and you'll see what I mean. Having "played it before-itis" isn't what contributed to Atlus redoing the PS1 game Shin Megami Tensei: Persona. The decision was made, no doubt, by the legions of fans who ate up and swear by Persona's third and fourth chapters, both latecomers released in the final months of the PS2, but a new classic in the minds of more than a few RPG fans. Surely gamers would plop down the cash to experience the very beginning of the Persona story, right? After playing this game, all I can say is that I hope not. Warning: I'm going to make some enemies with this review.

What makes a great RPG? If you said characters and story, you're right. Persona doesn't really boast either of those things. The game begins with some Japanese high school kids playing "Persona," which is, to the best of my knowledge, kind of like chanting "Candyman" in front of a mirror fire times. Well, it turns out there is some truth to that, and before long, the characters are using their Personas (kind of disembodied spirits of each of the characters) to fight demons and take down Evil Corporation #279,341 (that's not the real name, just me being sarcastic). Aside from the Persona aspect, this is a story you've heard no less than three or four times before.

The characters have a little more going for them. Each of their personalities plays heavily into the gameplay (more on this later), and the new translation of the original Japanese text helps flesh them out a little more than they were in the PS1 original. But we both know the Japanese teen group cliche is becoming about as common as copying the personalities of the Space Marines from 'Aliens.' From beginning to end, the interactions within this group are a lot like those in the found in the film Battle Royale, only a lot less interesting.

But a rehashed story and cookie cutter characters aren't what does this game in. The gameplay itself is far more responsible for dragging this game down. First, things are presented in an isometric, slightly tilted overhead view. I'm a big fan of this perspective (Final Fantasy Tactics, Jeanne De Arc, Scurge:Hive), but the character controls are stiff and counter-intuitive, making the simple act of walking around and talking to NPCs a maddening chore. Even after hours of playing, I still had to second-guess myself about what pressing down on the d-pad would actually do. Now that I've mentioned it, I STILL can't remember whether that action makes the character move right or down. If just moving your character is a frustrating guessing game, it couldn't get much worse, right?

Wrong. When not in the isometric view, you'll be either in first person view when exploring environments or jumping from set point to set point on a lame, point-and-click map. The latter is just boring and unimaginative (some would argue lazy), but the former can make you want to tear your hair out. If you ever played Golgo 13 on the NES, you know how headache-inducing long, winding corridors with little personality can be. Golgo 13 had an excuse, though; it was an NES game. Persona has no excuse for the uniform, boring environments that have so little visual flair, you'll often spend time lost, wondering if you're passing the same set of boring doors and hallways over and over. Remember when Fred Flintstone ran and the background was just the same thing, looped over and over? That trick makes Persona look inferior by comparison; at least Bedrock had some interesting things to look at, albeit more than once.

I've saved the worst for last - random encounters. Anyone who knows me knows that this boring, antiquated system is the largest of all my gaming pet peeves, and Persona might be the worst offender I've ever come across. Exaggeration aside, you'll be forced to fight a new enemy - literally - every three steps. Exploring a single area can take up to an hour, because you'll be dragged away from your environs so often, you'll forget what you were even doing in the first place. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again; random encounters were played out in the 80's. No game post-1991 has an excuse for using this system, and games that do need to be reviewed harshly before being quickly shuttled to the very bottom of the $5 heap at your local game store.

Aside from some new cut scenes and a fairly good musical score, there is next to nothing to like about this game. Random encounters, horrible controls, boring environments, recycled characters and a ripoff story all add up to make Persona one of the worst games I've played this year. If you're a fan of Persona 3 or 4, you should be thanking your lucky stars someone, somewhere decided to make sequels to this horrendous, borderline unplayable game. Whether nostalgia has you in its grasp or you are just curious, stay as far away from Shin Megami Tensei: Persona as humanly possible. You'll thank me later, I promise you. It's a terrible remake of a terrible game, and will probably top my "Worst of 2009" game list come December.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 28%.