Cult of Persona

The Shin Megami Tensei Japanese Role-Playing Game has always been golden in my eyes with its philosophical questioning of identity. When I heard that the original Persona had been ported, it pushed me to go out and get a PSP. So how does it stack up compared to its PS2 sequels?

The storyline seems like standard Japanese Role-Playing Game (JRPG) fare. As a group of high school students, you are thrust into an event set off by an evil corporation, SEBEC. In true evil corporate empire fashion, they want to control a machine that brings demons into this world. These greedy white-collar criminals want to create their own demon army. Maybe their legal department was lacking staff.

As someone who has the power called Persona, you take it upon yourselves to overthrow the evil corporation and restore order to your world. The story takes a twist when you are thrust into another dimension that has become accustomed to the overrunning monsters. However, you have to find a way back, and end the infestation on that side.

It's a storyline that's interesting and creative, but with some weak dialog and very rigid voice acting, the characters stand to have more depth of feeling. The game feels very much like an early ’90s dungeon crawler. With the first person movement and the large maze-like structures, it is great for any fan of old school Role Playing Games (RPG) and fans of another Atlus entry, Etrian Odyssey. The combat system is very unlike anything else I’ve seen in a long time. Instead of having the characters standing up in a line fighting, each character is assigned space on one side of a grid.

There are effects where the character can use weapons like guns, swords, axes, spears, and bows. The grid is also used for spells. Every character has some weakness dependent on their persona. In true art-of-war fashion, the outcome of most battles come down to realizing an enemy’s weakness as well as your own.

In the combat, there is also a system called the contact system. To create new personae, you are required to contact enemies in battle to gain their tarot cards. This is achieved by appealing to one of the demon’s traits, for example, foolish, timid, or gloomy. Although it's an innovative system for character evolution, it can be frustrating as you try to find out what appeals to the demon the right way to get their tarot card. Graphics are nothing too major. They are fairly standard fare, with some of the enemies being rather fun to see. A major standout for me was a giant rat tank with a Gatling gun. It made me laugh.

A highlight of any Persona game is the soundtrack and this time composer Shoji Meguro outdid himself. Meguro has an uncanny ability to make some of the catchiest and most diverse-sounding soundtracks of any game I’ve ever played. I often find myself sitting down humming the battle theme “Let Butterflies Spread Until The Dawn.” Overall, this was definitely one of those games that will make you feel like getting a console. Although the characters are a little weak, and the battle system rather unusual, it's still a great game to have with you whenever you are on the go.

Graphics: 7 out of 10 Gameplay: 9 out of 10 Audio: 10 out of 10 Story: 10 out of 10 Overall: 9.5 personae out of 10

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