Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

Persona 3 OP

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, released in Japan as PERSONA3 (ペルソナ3 Perusona Surī), is the fourth video game in the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series of console role-playing games developed by Atlus, which is part of the larger Megami Tensei series of video games. Persona 3 was originally published in 2006 on the PlayStation 2 by Atlus in Japan; the North American release of the game was delayed due to issues with the publication of the official art book. An add-on disc entitledPersona 3 FES, containing a "director's cut" of the original game, as well as a new epilogue, was released alongside Persona 3in Japan in 2007, and in 2008 in other territories. A PlayStation Portable version of Persona 3, titled Persona 3 Portable was released in Japan on November 1, 2009, and in North America on July 6, 2010. The remake adds the ability to play as a female protagonist, new story elements and music, and a new interface designed for the PSP.

In Persona 3, the player takes the role of a male high-school student who joins the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES), a group of students investigating the Dark Hour, a time period between one day and the next that few people are aware of. During the Dark Hour, the player enters Tartarus, a large tower containing Shadows, creatures that feed on the minds of humans. To fight the Shadows, each member of SEES is able to summon a Persona, a manifestation of a person's inner self. The game's most iconic feature is the method by which the members of SEES release their Personas: by firing a gun-like object called an Evoker at their head. In addition to the standard elements of role-playing games, Persona 3 includes elements of simulation games, as the game's protagonist progresses day by day through a school year, making friends and forming relationships that improve the strength of his Personas in battle. The North American release of Persona 3 includes the aforementioned art book, along with a selection of music from the official soundtrack.

There are official soundtracks for Persona 3, Persona 3 FES, and Persona 3 Portable, as well as an arrangement album containing music from multiple games in the Persona series. Music from the game has also been performed live at two concerts dedicated to the Persona series. Persona 3 has seen a manga adaption, multiple radio dramas. Critical reception of Persona 3was mainly positive; reviewers enjoyed the game's social elements, while some found its combat and environments repetitive.Persona 3 FES was said to give narrative closure to the original game, although it was criticized for not featuring the simulation aspect of Persona 3. The sequel to Persona 3, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, was released in 2008.

In 2008, an original animation set 10 years after the events of Persona 3, entitled Persona: Trinity Soul, was released in Japan. According to the official Persona 3 Portable fanbook, Trinity Soul is considered a spinoff and a non-canonical entry in the series, although it shares with Persona 3 the same world and certain characters.

Characters of Persona 3

Atlus's award-winning 2006 role-playing game Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 focuses on the exploits of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES), a group of high-schoolers defending their home city from monsters known as Shadows. Persona 3 is set in a fictional Japanese city in the year 2009. Due to past events, there is a hidden period of time between one day and the next known as the "Dark Hour", during which most people become unconscious (a state the game calls "Transmogrification", symbolized by normal people turning into floating coffins), and Shadows feed on the minds of those still aware of their surroundings. In addition, a large tower called Tartarus, filled with Shadows, rises out of the ground during the Dark Hour. SEES is composed of students attending Gekkoukan High School. The player names and controls the game's protagonist, who leads SEES in its exploration of Tartarus. Persona 3 mixes elements of role-playing and simulation games: during the day, the player attends school, and is able to spend time with other characters, forming relationships known as Social Links. These Social Links, when formed, have gameplay benefits, increasing the player's proficiency in battle.

To combat Shadows, each member of SEES is capable of summoning a Persona, a being which is a manifestation of one's psyche. Persona-users summon their Personas by firing a gun-like object called an Evoker at their head. Shigenori Soejima designed the world and cast of Persona 3. The members of SEES include Yukari Takeba, a popular girl;Junpei Iori, a class clown and the Protagonist's best friend; Akihiko Sanada, the captain of Gekkoukan's boxing team; Mitsuru Kirijo, Gekkoukan's student council president;Fuuka Yamagishi, a shy girl who takes on a support role in battle; Aigis, a female android designed to fight Shadows; Ken Amada, an elementary school student whose mother was killed by a Persona-user; Koromaru, a dog capable of summoning a Persona; and Shinjiro Aragaki, a returning member of SEES who had previously left the team. The group encounters other Persona-users who are working against their efforts to eradicate Shadows, Tartarus, and the Dark Hour.

Atlus released an enhanced remake of Persona 3 entitled Persona 3: FES. The new game makes revisions to the original gameplay of Persona 3 (referred to as "The Journey"), and adds a new epilogue to the original story, entitled "The Answer". The Answer introduces a new character, Metis, an anti-Shadow weapon like Aigis. In 2009 Atlus released a PlayStation Portable remake of Persona 3 entitled Persona 3 Portable, which adds more characters, including appearances by characters from the successor to Persona 3, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, released in 2008.

SEES members

SEES is an acronym for the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad of Gekkoukan High School. They hunt down Shadows and investigate the Dark Hour with the support of the Kirijo Group. All of the members of SEES are Persona-users. They live together in a specialized dorm.

Protagonist

Year of birth: Unknown, 1992

The protagonist (主人公 Shujinkō, lit. "protagonist" or "hero") of Persona 3 is the character named and controlled by the player. He moves into the dorm in the introduction of the game, learning of his ability to summon a Persona when the dorm is attacked by Shadows during the Dark Hour. Mitsuru asks him to join SEES and he is later elected the team's leader in combat. The Protagonist is unique among his cohorts in that he has the ability to carry multiple Personas and switch between them during battle. He is also the only character with access to the Velvet Room, in which the player is able to fuse together multiple Personas together to create a new, more powerful one. Over the course of the game, the player is challenged to manage the Protagonist's day-to-day schedule as he attends school, takes part in extracurricular activities, and spends time with classmates and other characters Igor, the proprietor of the Velvet Room, encourages the Protagonist to form Social Links with people, as they will determine his potential in combat. Within the simulation elements of Persona 3, the player is able to form Social Links with characters in-game, each represented by one of the Major Arcanaand granting various bonuses during Persona fusion, increasing the player's proficiency in battle.

The Protagonist is an orphan; his parents died ten years prior to the events of Persona 3, which sees him returning to the city he grew up in In December, the player learns that a Shadow known as "Death" was sealed in the Protagonist as a child by Aigis, who was unable to defeat it herself. The Death Shadow was able to lead the Protagonist to twelve other greater Shadows; by defeating them, The Appriser was created, a being which summons Nyx to the world to bring about its destruction. SEES battles The Appriser on the roof of Tartarus, but are not able to stop Nyx's descent to Earth. The Protagonist enters Nyx and is able to seal it using the power of the Social Links he formed over the past year. While able to seal away Nyx from humanity, the Protagonist dies after the battle and his soul becomes the Great Seal. In Persona 3 FES, during the events of The Answer, SEES is led to the Great Seal the Protagonist formed, which is under attack by a creature called Erebus. In Persona 4, it is revealed that Igor's assistant Elizabeth left her position to find a way to rescue the Protagonist from his fate as the Great Seal.

The initial Persona of the Protagonist is Orpheus, although through Persona fusion and other means he has access to over 150 different Personas.^] He is voiced by Akira Ishida in the Japanese version of Persona 3 and Yuri Lowenthal in the English version. In the manga adaption of Persona 3, the Protagonist is named Minato Arisato (有里 湊Arisato Minato). Soejima took longer to design the Protagonist than any other character, as the game's other characters would be made to complement his design. Soejima wrote in Art of Persona 3, "Initially, he looked more honest, like an ordinary, handsome young man. But, I worked to achieve greater ambiguity in his expression." In Persona 3 Portable, released on the PlayStation Portable in 2009, an option was added to control a female protagonist, voiced by Marina Inoue in the Japanese adaptation, and Laura Bailey in the English adaptation. This selection alters several aspects of the story, various Social Links, and background music. It also changes the design of the player's first Persona Orpheus.

Yukari Takeba

Yukari Takeba (岳羽 ゆかり Takeba Yukari) Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)
Persona: Io and Isis of The Lovers arcana

Yukari Takeba is a classmate of the Main Character. She wields a bow and arrow in battle. Yukari's zeal for investigation brings SEES a lot of trouble, but also gains the group valuable allies and information. She has a high aptitude for magic and her Persona excels in wind and healing spells. She is regarded as the heroine of the game, as she possesses all of the typical RPG heroine qualities, such as being a healer, being romantically involved with the Main Character, and being the first female companion to join the party.

Yukari is popular at school because of her good looks, cheerful disposition, and energetic attitude. But there is more to Yukari than meets the eye. Though outwardly friendly and extraverted, she is very careful not to let anyone get truly close to her. She constantly picks on Junpei, hides her true motives from the group, and represses a lot of anger and sorrow about her past. At the beginning of the game she has trouble summoning her Persona and becomes distressed when holding an evoker gun to her head.

It turns out that Yukari has been on her own for quite some time. Her father died a mysterious death a decade ago, and her mother neglects her in favor of a string of shallow boyfriends. She slowly begins to open up to the Main Character because he is an orphan and can understand her isolation. Midway through the game, Yukari discovers that her father was involved in the incident that unleashed the Shadows upon the world. Yukari is forced to face her anger and overcome it, and decides to fight for her friends and her father's memory. She is no longer alone.

In The Lovers S.Link, the protagonist helps Yukari mend her relationship with her mother. Since Yukari is very popular, he must maximize his Charm statistic in order to ask her out. If the Main Character makes the correct choices, Yukari will fall in love with him. If the player chooses not to date any of the girls, Yukari will appear for the dating events. It is also noticed that she possesses the most romantic events with the main character, being noted for being the only datable girl with romantic moments actually included within the story, which may serve evidence to the fact that Yukari fell in love with the Main Character.

In Persona 3: FES, Yukari is the group member who is most reluctant to go back into battle against the Shadows. It seems that she only wants to move on with her life. However, she fell in love with the Main Character, and as such, was quite bitter and jealous towards Aigis, who inherited his power.

Shigenori Soejima comments that he designed Yukari with the contemporary look, which caused her to be popular on and off with the development team during the making of the game.

Yuzu Tanikawa from Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor shares many similarities to Yukari. Both have the same first syllable in their first and last names, same initials, similar appearance, similar preference in clothes, and both have divorced parents, and currently live with their mothers, who they have problems with, and both are also healers.

Junpei Iori

Junpei Iori (伊織 順平 Iori Junpei) Voiced by: Toriumi Kosuke (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English)
Persona: Hermes and Trismegistus of The Magician arcana

Junpei Iori is the Main Character's best friend, though the two often find themselves at odds. Junpei is a poor student who plays the class clown in order to mask his insecurities. His chosen weapon is a two-handed sword which he wields like a baseball bat. Junpei's Personas excel at physical attacks and party buffs, and can also cast some weak fire magic.

Junpei becomes a member of SEES near the beginning of the game. He is found crying in a convenience store during the Dark Hour, and does not realize that he has the potential to call a Persona until Akihiko tells him about it. His decision to join SEES is a swift one, and Yukari is dismayed when he immediately moves into their dorm.

Initially, Junpei fights because playing hero makes him feel like less of a loser. He uses his place in SEES to prop up his low self-esteem, neglects his classwork, and snaps at the Main Character out of jealousy over his unique Persona abilities. Junpei only becomes more serious after he meets the Strega member Chidori. They fall for each other, and though she continues to fight SEES, her feelings for Junpei eventually come into conflict with her loyalty to Takaya and her fear of death. When Takaya fatally attacks Junpei, Chidori uses her Persona powers to save his life at the cost of her own.

Junpei becomes a focused and determined young man after Chidori's death. It's possible to revive Chidori in the FES version of the game, if certain requirements are met.

In Persona 3 Portable, Junpei becomes the S. Link for the Magician Arcana when the player plays as the Female Protagonist. Junpei's relationship with the Female Protagonist remains strictly platonic, because of his feelings towards Chidori.

Shigenori Soejima has stated that Junpei is "the most important character when it comes to getting the player to buy into the story," because he is the major character who looks and acts the most like a normal teenager.

Mitsuru Kirijo

Mitsuru Kirijo (桐条 美鶴 Kirijō Mitsuru) Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (Japanese), Tara Platt (English)
Persona: Penthesilea and Artemisia of The Empress arcana

Mitsuru is the only child of the head of the Kirijo Group, Takeharu Kirijo. Beautiful and elegant, she is the school's top ranking valedictorian and student council president. In battle she wields one-handed swords such as rapiers and sabers. Her Persona excels at ice spells, and she is the most powerful offensive magic caster aside from the Main Character. She uses Mind Charge to excel her power in ice spells. She also possesses powerful healing spells.

Mitsuru has been battling Shadows for a long time, as the unofficial leader of SEES. At the beginning of the game she avoids battle and acts as a support character, offering analysis and advice. She joins the party in combat only after the discovery of Fuuka Yamagishi, whose analysis power is much stronger.

Throughout the story, Mitsuru hides many details about Tartarus and the Dark Hour from the group, due to feelings of guilt over her family's involvement in the accident that created them. Since her grandfather was responsible for everything, she believes that she alone bears the burden of setting the world right. Her Persona was artificially induced to allow her to participate in the battle against the Shadows. Mitsuru is the only SEES member that had her ability to summon a Persona forced on her.

Mitsuru loses all will to fight after Ikutsuki kills her father, since restoring the family honor is meaningless without a family. Fortunately, she regains her resolve thanks to some timely intervention from Yukari. She decides to take over leadership of the Kirijo Group after the conflict with Nyx is finished and she graduates high school.

In the Empress S. Link, the Main Character will help free her from some of the expectations attached to her family name. In order to attract such an ambitious young woman he must maximize his Academic statistic, and rank first in his class for at least one exam. If the player makes the correct choices, Mitsuru will fall in love with the Main Character.

Shigenori Soejima created Mitsuru to be a tough-looking woman on the exterior, but with a weak side in the interior.

Akihiko Sanada

Akihiko Sanada (真田 明彦 Sanada Akihiko^?) Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Liam O'Brien (English)
Persona: Polydeuces and Caesar of The Emperor arcana

Akihiko is the mature and confident captain of his school’s boxing team, as well as a senior at Gekkoukan High. He is a hard worker who balances a high GPA with near-constant training. Since Akihiko is a boxer, he uses gloves and claws in battle. His Persona can be used to cast electric magic and debuff spells. He cannot fight for the first part of the game due to injuries received during the Dark Hour.

Akihiko was one of the three Persona users who originally founded SEES, alongside Mitsuru and Shinjiro. He and Shinjiro were close friends as children, having grown up in an orphanage together with Akihiko's now-deceased sister Miki. However, one night when the two were chasing down a Shadow, Shinjiro’s Persona went out of control and an innocent bystander was killed: Ken Amada’s mother.

After the incident, Shinjiro left SEES and his friendship with Akihiko became strained. The two only reconnect when Ken joins SEES, and Akihiko convinces Shinjiro to rejoin the group in order to protect him.

When Akihiko realizes that Ken only volunteered for SEES as a means to get revenge on Shinjiro, he tries to save both of them from making grave mistakes, but he arrives too late. Though Ken lets go of his vendetta, Shinjiro is fatally shot while protecting him from Takaya. In the end, Shinjiro’s way of facing death head on gave Akihiko the courage to carry on in spite of all his losses. Akihiko is determined that Shinjiro's death not be in vain and to be just as fearless in the face of his own mortality. He is the character that is the least upset and conflicted about the impossible odds of fighting Nyx.

In Persona 3: FES, a door which shows Akihiko's past reveals why the evoker looks like a gun. When Mitsuru first asked him to join her in fighting Shadows, she decided to create an evoker that would grab his attention, and so she chose the gun shape. Akihiko, however, was disappointed when he found out the evoker wasn't meant to shoot others, but to shoot himself in order to free his Persona.

In Persona 3 Portable, he is the S. Link for the Star Arcana, but only when the player plays as the Female Protagonist. In his S.Link he expresses his deep memory towards Miki.

He also appears in the non canonical anime Persona -trinity soul-, which takes place in an alternative universe of the Persona 3 world. 10 years older, he seemingly has lost the ability to control his Persona.

Shigenori Soejima had wanted to create a "cool upperclassman" when Akihiko was developed with "an impressive aura about him".

Aigis

Aegis/Aigis (アイギス Aigisu) Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English)
Persona: Palladion and Athena of The Chariot arcana, Orpheus of The Fool arcana

Aigis is an android created by the Kirijo Group; she is the last surviving model of their experimental anti-Shadow weapon. In combat, she uses a wide variety of high-tech weapons, from machine guns and rocket launchers to long range guns and “rocket punches.” She has her own unique tactic called "Orgia Mode" in which she disables her limiters, allowing her to attack at full power, although she can't be given orders or use recovery skills while in Orgia Mode; after a few turns she has to cool down, thus skipping her next turn. Aigis has the highest durability of any of the characters, and her Personas focus on physical attacks as well as support spells.

Aigis is introduced during SEES' summer beach vacation, where she is simultaneously the target of Mitsuru's retrieval mission and Junpei's "Operation Babe Hunt." She immediately shows an instinctual interest in protecting the Main Character which even she cannot explain. Ikutsuki has her assigned to aid SEES, and she enrolls in Gekkoukan High to act as the Main Character's bodyguard. Later, when Ryoji transfers to Gekkoukan High, she is also instinctively suspicious and alarmed.

During her battle with Ryoji on the Moonlight Bridge, Aigis regains the memories trapped in her damaged circuits. The player learns that, ten years before the game, her mission was to defeat or seal away Death so that the coming of Nyx would be averted. Since she was unable to defeat Death, she sealed the entity away in a young boy who was the sole survivor of a nearby car crash. That young boy was the Main Character. She is driven to protect him both to try and suppress Death and because she feels a great deal of guilt over her actions. Since Ryoji is an incarnation of Death, she senses that he is her natural enemy.

Aigis is damaged during her fight with Ryoji and must be repaired by the Kirijo Group. When she returns she shows more human-like qualities and emotions, and decides to stand against the power of Nyx with her friends in SEES. She is the only one who remembers Tartarus, the Dark Hour, and the Main Character's sacrifice during his borrowed month of life after the defeat of Nyx. She allows him to live like a normal student for the few precious weeks that he has. Finally, on Graduation Day, as she is holding the Main Character in her lap, she suddenly realizes what it means to be human and also the true purpose in her existence is to protect the life of the Main Character. Yet sadly, as soon as she comes to this revelation, the Main Character begins to fall into a coma in her arms. Even though Aigis understands and helplessly witnesses what is happening to the Main Character, she vows to always protect his life and arguably falls in love with the main character.

In the Persona 3: FES expansion, the player can access an epilogue to the main game called The Answer ("Episode Aegis" in the Japanese version). There, Aigis replaces the Main Character as playable protagonist, inheriting his power to summon multiple Personas, but unfortunately she can no longer use Orgia Mode. As the story progresses, Aigis/Aegis begins to lose her senses as a robot.

The Main Character can also date Aigis in Persona 3: FES as the Aeon Arcana (The World Arcana, in the Japanese version) and when you max her S-link she will fall in love with him. Maxing Aegis' Social Link allows you to create her strongest weapon, Metatronius, by fusing Metatron, the last Persona of the Aeon Arcana, with any kind of Nihil weapon in the Antique Shop. Unlike the other Social Link cards, the Aeon is not a part of standard Tarot decks. It replaces the Judgment card in Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot.

The development of a cell phone game starring Aigis has been announced in Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu. Aegis: The First Mission will follow Aigis' adventures before she sealed Death.

Aigis was created to remind people of the robots being used in manga, even though Shigenori Soejima admits that he didn't want to create her since a robot like her does not exist currently in the modern world.

Ken Amada

Ken Amada (天田 乾 Amada Ken) Voiced by: Megumi Ogata (Japanese), Mona Marshall (English)
Persona: Nemesis and Kala-Nemi of The Justice Arcana

Ken is an elementary school student capable of summoning a Persona. His mother was killed two years prior to the events of Persona 3 by a Persona-user, although the death was officially listed as an accident. He moves into the dorm in July, when it is discovered that he is a Persona-user, and later joins SEES as a fighter. In August, he learns that his mother was killed by Shinjiro Aragaki, a former member of SEES, who briefly lost control of his Persona. In October, during a full moon, Ken lures Shinjiro to an alley behind Port Island Station, intending to kill him and avenge his mother. However, Takaya, a member of the group Strega, intervenes, revealing that Shinjiro will soon die anyway due to his use of Persona-suppressant pills, and that Ken was planning to commit suicide after killing Shinjiro.^[17] Takaya resolves to kill both of them first, but his revolver shot is blocked by Shinjiro, saving Ken's life. Ken briefly runs from the dorm following the incident; after being encouraged by Akihiko, however, he gains the resolve to return to SEES, and his Persona changes form.

In battle, Ken wields a spear. He chose this as his weapon because it would compensate for his lack of height, although his height makes the spear more difficult for him to use. Ken is the Social Link for the Justice Arcanum in Persona 3 Portable if the player is controlling the female protagonist. However due to the significant age difference between the two, the female protagonist must have Rank 6 Courage (Max) to ignore this social taboo and the possible resulting social backlash. His S. Link is heavily edited in the English version.

In designing Ken, Soejima focused more on his appearance than his characteristics. He believes the shorts Ken wears give him a "nostalgic" look in contrast to the modern setting of Persona 3, noting in Art of Persona 3 that "kids these days hardly ever wear shorts." Because the character's design is focused on the idea that he is a young boy, Soejima jokingly wrote Ken's name as "Kid Amada" on concept sketches.

Koromaru

Koromaru (コロマル Koromaru)
Persona: Cerberus of The Strength Arcana

Koromaru is a dog capable of summoning a Persona. He was the dog of a priest who maintained a local shrine, before the priest was struck by a car and killed. Ever since his owner's death, Koromaru walked the same route he did with his master every day, by himself. In July, he is found injured by the shrine during the Dark Hour, having summoned a Persona to defeat a Shadow attacking the shrine. Several weeks later, he joins SEES as a fighter, and is given a special collar which allows him to control his Persona. Aigis purports to be able to understand Koromaru, although during the events of The Answers she expresses difficulty in doing so. In battle, he uses Fire- and Darkness-based magic. In Persona 3 Portable, Koromaru is the Social Link for the Strength Arcanum if the player is controlling the female protagonist.

Shinjiro Aragaki

Shinjiro Aragaki (荒垣 真次郎 Aragaki Shinjirō) Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai (Japanese), Grant George (English)
Persona: Castor of The Hierophant Arcana

Shinjiro is a Senior at Gekkoukan High School and a former member of SEES. Two years prior, while the group was hunting a Shadow, he briefly lost control of his Persona, resulting in the death of Ken's mother. This prompted him to quit SEES. Shinjiro is a childhood friend of Akihiko, who continually asks him to forget the past and rejoin SEES. He continually refuses the offers, only returning to fight when he learns that Ken has joined the team as a Persona-user. When Shinjiro is lured by Ken behind Port Island Station to be killed, he accepts the death of Ken's mother as his fault, saying death is what he deserves. However, Shinjiro warns Ken that if he kills him, he will "end up like me...Even if all you have now is hatred, one day you'll regret it." Takaya, a member of Strega, intervenes and attempts to shoot Ken, instead hitting Shinjiro, who sacrifices himself to save Ken. Before he dies, he tells Ken and the rest of SEES, "This is how it should be". At his funeral, it is learned that Shinjiro rarely attended school and was generally not well-known among the student body.

In battle, Shinjiro attacks with blunt weapons. He is forced to regularly take special suppressant pills to properly control his Persona, at the cost of his health. Shinjiro represents the Social Link of the Moon Arcanum in Persona 3 Portable, if the player is controlling the female protagonist. If the player is able to complete the Social Link before the encounter between him, Ken, and Takaya, he will survive the gunshot, remaining hospitalized for the rest of the game.

Fuuka Yamagishi

Fuuka Yamagishi (山岸 風花 Yamagishi Fūka) Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Paula Tiso (English)

Persona: Lucia and Juno of The Priestess arcana

Fuuka is a Junior at Gekkoukan High School. She is found to be a Persona-user by Akihiko, although he suspects that she would be unable to fight. She is the target of bullying by several female students, and in May she is found outside of the front of the school gate, unconscious. A rumor begins to spread that she was attacked by a spirit inside Gekkoukan. SEES later learns from Natsuki Moriyama that Fuuka was locked in the school gymnasium by the same group of girls who were bullying her. The same day they returned to let her out for fear that she would commit suicide, but find she is not there. Mitsuru believes that Fuuka is trapped inside Tartarus, which replaces Gekkoukan during the Dark Hour. The team locates her inside the tower and finds that she had been able to avoid detection by Shadows.

The same night during the Dark Hour, SEES encounters two powerful Shadows at the entrance of Tartarus. Fuuka is able to summon her Persona for the first time, and finds that she can detect the weaknesses of the enemies. Several days later, Fuuka accepts Mitsuru's offer to join SEES, and moves into the dorm with the rest of the team. She replaces Mitsuru as the player's support character, and Mitsuru becomes an active combatant in battle. In June, she is asked by Yukari to research an incident related to Gekkoukan which occurred ten years ago, as she believes Mitsuru is hiding something about the origins of Tartarus.

In the Priestess S. Link, the main character helps Fuuka become more confident and believe in herself. In order to begin seeing her, the player must have maxed out courage, as the player must try one of Fuuka's cooking dishes.

Soejima, in his designing Fuuka, tried to make her not seem weak or helpless. In addition, he worked to "convey her strong will through her facial expressions."

Metis

Metis (メティス Metisu) Voiced by: Chiwa Saito (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English)
Persona: Psyche of The Hierophant Arcana

Metis is an android like Aigis, who refers to herself as Aigis' sister. She first appears during the events of The Answer in Persona 3 FES, when she attacks SEES. The player learns that the day March 31 has been repeating itself over and over, and that the characters are trapped inside the dorm. Metis attempted to kill the members of SEES to end the time skip and save her sister, but was subdued by Aigis. When the player's characters discover the Abyss of Time, an expansive area underneath the dorm connected to the time skip, she joins SEES to help investigate, becoming a character under the control of the player. Aigis later learns that Metis awoke in the Abyss with no memory of her past, and only the knowledge that she had a sister who was in danger. At the conclusion of The Answer, SEES learns that Metis is actually a facet of Aigis' personality which escaped her body, representative of her despair after the death of the Protagonist. In combat, Metis uses blunt weapons and can enable Orgia Mode like Aigis, who herself has lost that ability in The Answer.

Antagonists

Strega

Strega is a group of three rogue Persona-users who use the Dark Hour for personal benefit. They set up an internet site called "Revenge Request", where users can contract Strega to commit assassinations and other illegal activities. They become enemies of SEES because SEES is trying to put an end to the Dark Hour, as Strega carries out its activities during the Dark Hour.

Near the end of the game, the player discovers that Strega are artificial Persona users created by the Kirijo Group. They were picked up off the street and used as fodder for the corporation's experiments. Because their Personas were not awakened naturally, they must take suppressants supplied by Ikutsuki. The drugs keep their Personas from killing them, but have lethal side-effects.

It is revealed in Persona 3: FES that some of the artificial persona users turned into Shadows.

The three main members of Strega all dress similarly to specific sub-cultures - Takaya dresses like a hippie, Jin wears a bomb expert's jacket, and Chidori wears a ruffled gothic lolita dress.

Takaya Sakaki

Takaya Sakaki (榊貴 隆也 Sakaki Takaya) Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna (Japanese), Derek Stephen Prince (English)
Persona: Hypnos of The Fortune arcana

Takaya is the confident and charismatic young leader of Strega. He functions as the Main Character's foil, leading the rival group of Persona-users and setting himself up as afalse messiah. In battle, Takaya uses a six-shot revolver to strike down his opponents. Aside from Aigis, he is the only Persona-user in the game who does not use an Evoker to manifest his Persona, instead summoning it "manually" by clutching his head and falling to his knees. Persona-users in previous games also did not use Evokers, but summoning their Personas never appeared to cause them any pain.

Since Takaya doesn't have long to live, he lives fully for the moment, heedless of the harm he causes others. His dearest wish is to see the world end along with his own life. Though he does have some care for Jin and Chidori, he has no qualms about using either of them as tools. At first, he tries to prevent SEES from killing the twelve Arcana Shadows, since it'll end his Revenge Request website business and his 'powers', and as if he is trying to save the world in his own way. But he embraces death once he realizes their true purpose. Near the end of the game he creates a cult centered around the coming of Nyx as a salvation, with himself as the high priest and Jin spreading rumors around the network.

Takaya's final defeat occurs when he tries to forcibly stop SEES from climbing Tartarus and facing Nyx. Afterwards he crawls to the top of the tower to witness the final battle. It is unknown whether he survived after the Main Character sealed Nyx away; if he did, it is likely that he did not have long to live, since he still needs to take the lethal suppressant drugs. Before he falls unconscious he calls Jin's name, making his last statement, that he didn't want to see the end without him.

A scene involving Takaya and the other members of Strega would later be parodied in Persona 4 by Teddie.

Jin Shirato

Jin Shirato (白戸 陣 Shirato Jin) Voiced by: Masaya Onosaka (Japanese), Grant George (English)
Persona: Moros of The Hermit arcana

Jin is Takaya's faithful right-hand man, acting as his tactical adviser, the webmaster of "Revenge Request," and the occasional voice of reason to prevent Takaya from making foolish choices. He uses grenades and bombs in battle and is also a skilled computer hacker.

Jin appears very eager to be rid of SEES, since he believes that they are hypocrites who don't appreciate their own power. However, he is rational enough to limit Takaya's actions when necessary. Whenever Takaya takes a reckless approach, Jin is there to hold him back and remind him of what they are truly there for.

Jin is a zealot with strong belief in Takaya's goals. He is fiercely loyal to Takaya for "showing him out of darkness" and helping him through the Kirijo Group's experiments. In spite of this, he often inadvertently helps SEES by revealing important information. It is Jin who informs the Main Character about the truth behind Strega, their involvement in the coming of Nyx, and Shuji Ikutsuki's real allegiance.

After SEES defeats Jin near the end of the game, he commits suicide with a grenade as a horde of shadows swarm towards him.

Chidori Yoshino

Chidori Yoshino (吉野 千鳥 Yoshino Chidori^?) Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese), Mona Marshall (English)
Persona: Medea of The Hanged Man arcana

Chidori is the third member of Strega, and is known for her gothic lolita dress style, self-harming tendencies, and artistic ability. In battle she utilizes a red chained hand-axe. She is Fuuka's counterpart on the Strega team, and uses Medea's ability to radiate life energy to keep Strega from being detected by Fuuka's Persona. Like Takaya, she shows unusual Persona abilities, such as being able to heal living creatures (including her own wounds) and manifest Medea outside of the Dark Hour.

Chidori and Junpei meet by chance at Port Island Station. While she is initially very unpleasant to Junpei because he keeps interrupting her sketching, she eventually opens up to him due to his kindness and persistence. At the same time, Junpei tells her everything about SEES without knowing that she is a member of Strega. Chidori is led to believe that Junpei is SEES' leader.

During a full moon, Chidori kidnaps Junpei, thinking that he has the authority to call off SEES' mission to kill the Arcana Shadows. When the plan fails, she is wounded and ends up imprisoned in a Kirijo-controlled hospital. Mitsuru and Akihiko try to interrogate her, but meet with little success.

Junpei continues to visit Chidori in the hospital, and the two become closer. He is very concerned about her habit of cutting her wrists. However, after faking his death, Takaya returns to remind her where she truly belongs. Chidori is broken out of the hospital and rejoins Strega. However, her loyalties begin to falter when she is forced to fight Junpei, and when he is wounded by Takaya, she comes to terms with her love for him. She sacrifices her life to save his through the use of her Persona, and ends up giving Junpei some of her Persona's regenerative power, namely the passive skill Spring of Life which restores HP every turn. After her death Junpei inherits her sketch-book, which turns out of have been full of pictures of him.

In the Persona 3: FES expansion, it is possible for the player to revive Chidori later in the game if certain requirements are met. If so, then the player along with Junpei will arrive in the hospital to find Chidori alive. Unfortunately, Chidori has lost her memories only up to the point when she had awakened her Persona and no longer has a functioning persona.

She was revived when doctors took her corpse in for autopsy. For a tribute, they used the flowers she had in her room and placed them on her chest. Since Chidori constantly gave her life force to them every time Junpei came to visit her, her body took back its energy from the flowers and brought her back to life. It was hinted that Chidori had not completely lost all her memories, and that she had plans to find the person of her dreams as soon as she recovers.

Shuji Ikutsuki

Shuji Ikutsuki (幾月 修司 Ikutsuki Shūji) Voiced by: Hideyuki Hori (Japanese), Dan Woren (English)

Ikutski is the chairman of the board at Gekkoukan High School, and an adviser for SEES. He experiences the Dark Hour but does not have a Persona. He is known among the members of SEES for his bad jokes. He establishes a link between twelve greater Shadows that have been attacking the city, and the Dark Hour. He informs SEES that eliminating these twelve Shadows would eliminate the Dark Hour. However, after doing so, SEES learns that they were actually aiding in Ikutsuki's efforts to summon Nyx to Earth and bring about the end of the world. Ikutsuki attempts to offer the members of SEES as sacrifices on the roof of Tartarus. However, his efforts are thwarted by Takeharu Kirijo, Mitsuru's father. The two simultaneously fire guns at each other, killing both of them.

Nyx

Nyx, or the "maternal being", is the mother of Shadows and the final boss of Persona 3. She is drawn to humanity by The Appriser, and would bring about the end of the world if brought to Earth. At the conclusion of Persona 3, the Protagonist is able to enter Nyx and seal it from humanity, at the cost of his own life. In Persona 3 FES, during The Events of The Answer, Metis informs SEES that Nyx is not a malevolent being, and that a seal would ordinarily not be necessary. However, the seal prevents humanity itself from calling out to Nyx through their own wishes for death. This accumulated malice of the human race manifested in a monster called Erebus, which is attempting to break the seal created by the Protagonist.

Erebus

Erebus (エレボス Erebosu) is the final boss of The Answer in Persona 3: FES. It is a large monster created from the accumulated malice of the human race; it is attempting to break the seal the Protagonist created to keep Nyx from returning to Earth. When SEES encounters Erebus, it targets Aigis, who shares the ability of the Protagonist to carry multiple Personas. SEES is able to defeat it, although they suspect it will eventually reappear as humans continue to wish for death.

Other characters

Igor

Igor (イゴール Igōru) is the long-nosed man who presides over the Velvet Room and aides the player in Persona fusion. He appears in a similar capacity in every Personagame. Early on in Persona 3, he encourages the Protagonist to form Social Links, saying they will determine his potential in combat. Near the conclusion of the game, when SEES is unable to stop Nyx's descent to Earth, Igor aids the Protagonist in unveiling the power of the "Universe", using the power of the Social Links he has formed. The Protagonist uses this newfound power to seal away Nyx. Igor is voiced by Isamu Tanonaka in the Japanese game and Dan Woren in the English. He appears in the animeseries Persona: Trinity Soul as a fortune-teller, and interacts with the series' protagonist Shin Kanzato.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth (エリザベス Erizabesu) is Igor's female assistant. She maintains the Persona Compendium, from which the player may retrieve previously-owned Personas for a price, and gives the player special requests in exchange for special rewards. These requests include tasks such as retrieving specific items or creating Personas with specific abilities. In Persona 3 FES, requests were added which allow the player to accompany Elizabeth outside of the Velvet Room. In Persona 4, Elizabeth has left the Velvet Room, her role being filled by her sister, Margaret. She left to find a way to rescue the Protagonist of Persona 3 from his fate as the seal between Nyx and humanity. This had left some people to create rumors and theories, stating that the protagonist might indeed make a return. Elizabeth is voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro in Japanese and Tara Platt in English.

Theodore

Theodore (テオドア Teodoa) is Igor's male assistant, and the younger brother of Elizabeth and Margaret. He was introduced as a character in Persona 3 Portable, and can take Elizabeth's place as Igor's assistant if the player controls the female protagonist.

Both Elizabeth and Theodore are hidden bosses in the game which can be challenged one-on-one after meeting certain conditions. In Persona 4, Margaret mentioned Elizabeth has offered the duel to the Protagonist and hinted he has accepted the duel offer. Like the Protagonist, they can summon multiple personas, and they were the most difficult bosses since only certain persona/item combination are able to beat them.

Margaret

Margaret also appears in the Persona 3 Portable as the person-in-charge of the "vision quest", which simulates special battles based on their memories with rewards (As because of this, Aragaki who got killed/hospitalized may participate certain battles in it). The party may challenge her upon completions in all vision quests.

Pharos

Pharos (ファルロス Farurosu) is a mysterious boy the player first encounters during the opening of Persona 3. Throughout the game, he occasionally appears in the Protagonist's bedroom at night to talk to him, and remind him of an upcoming full moon. He represents the Social Link for the Death Arcanum, which advances automatically as the story progresses. Initially, his memory is fragmented, but by the end of the Link, he clearly remembers who he is and what his purpose is. Pharos and the Protagonist's last talk in November, during the day rather than the Dark Hour. He says goodbye to the Protagonist, who later learns that he and Ryoji Mochizuki, a student at Gekkoukan High School, are the same person. The voice of Pharos is provided by Akira Ishida in Japanese and Yuri Lowenthal in English.

Ryoji Mochizuki

Ryoji Mochizuki (望月 綾時 Mochizuki Ryōji) is a recent transfer to Gekkoukan High School. He becomes known for his tendency to ask every girl he sees at school on a date. Upon meeting him, Aigis says he is dangerous, and warns the Protagonist to be cautious around him. Ryoji and Aigis eventually meet on the Moonlight Bridge during the Dark Hour. It is here Ryoji regains memory of his past, realizing he is actually a human manifestation of Death, or The Appriser. Ten years prior to the events of Persona 3, the two fought on the same bridge, and Aigis, unable to defeat Death, sealed it inside the Protagonist, who was a child at the time. Ryoji informs SEES that his purpose is to summon Nyx to Earth, who will bring about the end of the world. He asserts that Nyx is impossible to defeat; however, he offers SEES an alternative. If they were to kill him, their memories of the Dark Hour would vanish, allowing them to continue living unaware of their impending death. The player is given the choice to either kill Ryoji or spare him; if the latter is chosen, SEES fights Ryoji, who has transformed into The Appriser, on the roof of Tartarus. Ryoji is voiced Akira Ishida in Japanese and Yuri Lowenthal in English.

He is the S.Link of the Fortune Arcana in Persona 3 Portable, when the player plays as the Female Protagionst. Knowing his fate of being the human manifestation of Death, he develops his sense of humanity, especially with the feelings to the Female Protagionst.

Natsuki Moriyama

Natsuki Moriyama (森山 夏紀 Moriyama Natsuki) Voiced by: Yuka Komatsu (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English)

Fuuka's closest friend, and emotional support throughout the game. A Ganguro, she has an extremely tanned complexion, and orange-ish hair, similar in the style of most ganguro, or gyaru. She's shown to have a rather sadistic side, and has a knack for anyalzing people, and knowing exactly what to say to make them feel worthless. Fuuka, at first, was her target, because of Natsuki's own insecurities. She was drawn in by Fuuka's calls for help, and went into Tartarus. Fuuka saved her from a Shadow by summoning her Persona, which encased them in a protective shell inside of her. After the ordeal, Natsuki lost her memory of the event, but apologized to Fuuka. The two quickly became best friends, and Natsuki's attitude proved a positive influence on Fuuka, making her a more confident girl. Natsuki's father became ill, and her family didn't have enough money, so they were forced to move. Natsuki then revealed that she and Fuuka were more similar than they thought, because Natsuki's parents both didn't pay much attention to her, claiming that they acted like she didn't even exist. She provided Fuuka with the resolve to earn her ascendant Persona, sending a text message to Fuuka saying that "No matter how far apart we may be, we will always be connected", which gave Fuuka her resolve. She also provided Fuuka another set of advice, claiming that "If they don't accept you for who you are, then screw 'em." Throughout the game, Natsuki is the closest person to Fuuka, despite their differences. Natsuki also claimed that "I like you, even if you don't like yourself."

Minor characters

Officer Kurosawa

Officer Kurosawa (黒沢巡査 Kurosawa Junsa, lit. Policeman Kurosawa) is a police officer found at a station in Paulownia Mall. Although he is not conscious during the Dark Hour, he aids in the efforts of SEES by selling weapons and armor. He is voiced by Hirofumi Tanaka in Japanese and Grant George in English.

Takeharu Kirijo

Takeharu Kirijo (桐条 武治 Kirijō Takeharu) is Mitsuru's father and the president of the Kirijo Group. He is the son of Kouetsu Kirijo, the corporation's former president, who began a series of experiments on Shadows seeking to harness their power. He rejects the ideology of his father, who believed death was a form of deliverance. Shuji Ikutsuki murders Takeharu on the roof of Tartarus, saying he did not understand his father's vision. Derek Stephen Prince provides the voice of Takeharu in the English release of Persona 3, while Kōji Totani initially provided his Japanese voice. Following Totani's death in 2006 due to a heart attack, Takeharu's voice in Persona 3: FES andPersona 3 Portable was done by Yasunori Masutani.

Eiichiro Takeba

Eiichiro Takeba (岳羽 詠一郎 Takeba Eiichirō\) is Yukari's deceased father and one of the scientists who was a part of the Shadow experiments carried out in 1999. The corporation blamed the incident on him, although he was attempting to stop the Kirijo Group's work. He recorded a video for his daughter prior to his death, which Shuji Ikutsuki altered in order to manipulate SEES. He is voiced by Masashi Hamano in Japanese and Liam O'Brien in English.

Persona 4 characters

With Persona 3 Portable, Atlus inserted cameo appearances by two characters from Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. A younger version of Yukiko Amagi, a playable character in Persona 4, makes an appearance in Persona 3 Portable. She is seen when the player's character visits Inaba, the setting of Persona 4, in a new event added inPersona 3 Portable. Noriko Kashiwagi, the player's homeroom teacher in Persona 4, also makes an appearance during Junpei's "Operation Babe Hunt", making a pass for Akihiko.

Vincent Brooks

A Persona 3 Portable exclusive character, he is the main protagonist from Catherine. He appears in the bar "Club Escapade" on certain days, though in the game he never reveals his name and is simply referred to as "Man Drinking Alone" in his dialogue boxes. In conversing with the player character, he reveals hints related to his problems (presumably his nightmares), though also states specifically that they are "nothing that [the player character] needs to worry about".

Social Links

Kenji Tomochika

Kenji is a classmate of the Protagonist; he is attracted to older women and is attempting to ask out his ethics teacher.

He is the social link for the Magician Arcana. However, if playing the female path in Persona 3 Portable, Junpei Iori replaces Kenji as the Magician S. Link.

Kazushi Miyamoto

Kazushi is a student athlete and member of the Protagonist's sports team; he is developing problems in his knee, which he asks the player's character to keep a secret from their teammates.

He is the social link for the Chariot Arcana. However, if playing the female path in Persona 3 Portable, Rio Iwasaki replaces Kazushi as the Chariot S. Link.

Keisuke Hiraga

Keisuke is a member whichever cultural club the player joins. He is a talented artist, but he is pressured by his father, who is a doctor, to inherit his family's hospital.

He is the social link for the Fortune Arcana. However, if playing the female path in Persona 3 Portable, Ryoji Mochizuki replaces him as the social link of Fortune Arcana.

Hidetoshi Odagiri

Hidetoshi is the vice president of the student council; he is unpopular among the student body due to his strict enforcement of rules.

He is the social link for the Emperor Arcana.

Yuko Nishiwaki

Yuko is the student manager of the Protagonist's sports team. She fears that she is too much of a tomboy to ever been seen by someone in a romantic light. However, she seems to have feelings for Kazushi Miyamoto.

She is the social link for the Strength Arcana. However, if playing the female path in Persona 3 Portable, Koromaru replaces Yuko as the Strength S. Link.

Chihiro Fushimi

Chihiro is the student council treasurer; she initially has a phobia of men, which she is able to overcome with the help of the Protagonist. In Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, set two years after the events of Persona 3, Chihiro is now the Student Council President.

She is the social link for Justice Arcana. However, if playing the female path in Persona 3 Portable, Ken Amada replaces Chihiro as the Justice S. Link.

Andre Laurent Jean Geraux (Bebe)

Bebe is a French exchange student engrossed with Japanese culture. He is part of the sewing club, and his dream is to live in Japan while making one of the best kimonos ever. In midpoint of his Social Link, Bebe receives news that his aunt in France passed away, and is being ordered to return home. He decides to make a sophisticated kimono and show it to his uncle to try and convince him to let Bebe stay in Japan. At the near end of the game, the protagonist receives a letter from Bebe saying that his uncle was convinced to let him stay, but decides not to as he realizes that he is not very knowledgeable of Japan just yet.

He is the social link for the Temperance Arcana.

Nozomi Suemitsu

Nozomi is the self-proclaimed "Gourmet King"; he has an inferiority complex with his younger brother, who was intellectually and athletically superior to him.

He is the social link for the Moon Arcana. However, if playing the female path in Persona 3 Portable, Shinjiro Aragaki replaces Nozomi as the Moon S. Link.

Mitsuko and Bunkinchi

Mitsuko and Bunkinchi are an old couple who run a used bookstore. They are dealing with the death of their son, a former teacher at Gekkokan, and want to stop the school from cutting down the tree planted in his memory.

They are the social link for the Hierophant Arcana.

Maya

Maya is a player in the fictional MMORPG Innocent Sin Online; at the conclusion of her Social Link's story, she professes her love to the Protagonist in the game. The player later discovers that Maya was actually the Protagonist's homeroom teacher.

Maya is the social link for the Hermit Arcana. However, if playing the female path in Persona 3 Portable, Saori Hasegawa replaces Maya as the Hermit S. Link.

Maya's name and both Innocent Sin Online are both references to Persona 2: Innocent Sin. Maya's Japanese name, "Y-ko" is a reference to a character in Shin Megami Tensei.

Maiko Oohashi

Maiko is a little girl distressed over her parents' pending divorce; she runs away from home in an attempt to bring her parents back together.

She is the social link for the Hanged Man Arcana.

President Tanaka

Tanaka is a businessman who sells products on television. He takes the protagonist under his wing to teach him about the business industry.

In Persona 4, Tanaka has become a very successful business man, selling his items Sundays on a local network.

He is the social link for the Devil Arcana.

Mutatsu

Mutatsu is a monk who regularly drinks at a local club. He abandoned his family to become a monk, and is afraid of facing them. With the help of the protagonist, Mutatsu gains the courage to face his family and ask for forgiveness.

He is the social link for the Tower Arcana.

Mamoru Hayase

Mamoru is a student athlete the Protagonist meets at a sports match. Originally his rival, Mamoru reveals much about his personal life and how he has to financially support his family. The protagonist encourages him not to give up and continue to strive for being the best he can.

He is the social link for the Star Arcana. However, if playing the female path in Persona 3 Portable, Akihiko Sanada replaces Mamoru as the Star S. Link.

Akinari Kamiki

Akinari Kamiki (神木秋成 Kamiki Akinari) is a dying young man who writes to ease his mind. Through the Protagonist' interaction with Akinari, he helps him in understanding his purpose in life and helps him to overcome his grief of his disease.

In Persona 4, Kanji Tatsumi reveals that Akinari's book was indeed published.

Akinari is the social link for the Sun Arcana.

Reception

The cast of Persona 3 was well-received by critics. Damian Thomas of RPGFan wrote in his review of Persona 3 that he was able to connect with the game's cast "in a way that I can't in most RPGs. Some of the relationships are humorous, some are heartbreaking, and some are downright goofy." He also wrote that, because the game takes place over the course of a school year, the player is able to see the characters "grow and develop as you interact [with them]." Heidi Kemps of GamesRadar said that Persona 3contained "a memorable cast of characters", although listed "Fuuka's inability to shut up" as a negative point at the conclusion of the review. In his review for Eurogamer, Rob Fahey wrote that developer Atlus made a "wise decision" in choosing to represent characters in the world in 3D, while using "lovely 2D artwork to convey expressions and emotions." Patrick Joynt of GameSpy found the Social Link stories of Persona 3 to be "universally fascinating", adding, "We were honestly worried about our friend from Kendo pushing his knee too hard; our friend's relationship with a teacher was sad to watch; and the tragedy of the old couple who owns the local bookstore will move anyone with an ounce of decency."

Plot

Setting

The story of Persona 3 takes place in a 900 CE Japanese city called Iwatodai (厳戸台), built and funded by the Kirijo Corporation. Experiments carried out ten years ago created the Dark Hour, a period of time that exists between one day and the next. During this time, most people are transmogrified into coffins and are not aware of the Dark Hour; however, there is a select group of people who are. The Dark Hour bends reality; Gekkoukan High School, where most of the characters attend school during the day, becomes a huge labyrinthine tower called Tartarus, and beasts known as Shadows roam the area, preying on the minds of those still conscious. The Shadows leave their victims in near-catatonic states outside of the Dark Hour. To investigate and learn about the Dark Hour, Shadows, and Tartarus, the "Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad", or SEES, was created. SEES is a group of high-schoolers capable of summoning beings known as Personas to combat Shadows. The Persona 3 instruction manual describes Personas as being "a second soul that dwells deep within a person's heart. It is an entirely different personality that emerges when a person is confronted with something from outside his world." Persona-users usually summon their Persona by firing a gun-like object called an Evoker at their head.

Characters

The main character of Persona 3 is a silent protagonist, named by the player at the start of the game. He is a teenage boy, orphaned as a child, returning to the city he grew up in ten years prior to attend Gekkoukan High School. After learning of his ability to summon a Persona, he joins SEES, which is composed of students at his school: Yukari Takeba, a popular, cheerful girl; Akihiko Sanada, a calm and collected senior who leads the school's boxing team; and Mitsuru Kirijo, the Student Council President and daughter of the head of the Kirijo Group, who provides backup during battle. As the game progresses, SEES gains several new members: Junpei Iori, a class clown and the Protagonist's (Minato Arisato) best friend; Fuuka Yamagishi, a shy girl who replaces Mitsuru as a support character; Aigis, a female android designed by the Kirijo Group to fight Shadows; Ken Amada, a middle schooler whose mother was killed by a Persona-user; Shinjiro Aragaki, a former member of SEES who quit due to past events;and Koromaru, a dog capable of summoning a Persona.

Story

Persona 3 begins with the Protagonist transferring to Gekkoukan High School, and moving into a dorm in the city. After learning of his ability to summon a Persona, he is asked to join SEES, and is eventually elected its leader in combat. Additional members join SEES over time, all students attending Gekkoukan: Junpei, who had only recently discovered his ability to summon a Persona; Akihiko, whose arm injury prevented him from fighting; and Fuuka, who replaces Mitsuru as the team's support member. After awakening to his Persona ability, the Protagonist is transported to the Velvet Room, which its proprietor, Igor, says is a realm between "dream and reality". Igor explains to him that his Persona ability is special: he is the only member of SEES capable of wielding multiple Personas in battle. In-game, the Velvet Room is where the player may fuse two or more Personas to create a new one. Igor also encourages the Protagonist to meet people and form bonds with them, known as Social Links. According to Igor, the power of his Social Links will determine his potential in combat.

On nights when the moon is full, the city is attacked by a Shadow more powerful than the ones found in Tartarus. After several of these incidents, Mitsuru is forced to reveal to the team the origin of Tartarus and the Dark Hour. Ten years earlier, the Kirijo Group, a research company founded by Mitsuru's grandfather, began amassing and containing Shadows. They studied and performed experiments on them, in order to harness their power. However, the experiments went awry, allowing the Shadows to escape and assemble into twelve larger creatures. Each is affiliated with one of the twelve Major Arcana. SEES's leader, Shuji Ikutsuki, informs them that, if they were to defeat all twelve of the greater Shadows, Tartarus and the Dark Hour would disappear forever.

As the year continues, the group adds two more Persona-users to their team: Ken and Koromaru. While vacationing in Yakushima, Junpei, Akihiko, and the Protagonist encounter Aigis, who had recently escaped the laboratory where she was kept, despite having been deactivated for years. For reasons she cannot explain, she has a need to be near the Protagonist, even breaking into his dorm room at night to monitor him. Aigis is also enlisted in SEES. It is revealed soon after that Shinjiro accidentally killed Ken's mother by losing control over his Persona; during an altercation between the two, Takaya threatens them both at gunpoint, when Shinjiro throws himself in front of his revolver, saving Ken's life and leading to his own death. After defeating the twelfth and final Shadow, SEES learns that they had been mislead by Shuji Ikutsuki. By destroying the greater Shadows, they have freed parts of a being known as Nyx, which will bring about the end of the world if it is fully restored. Nyx, or the "maternal being", is the creator of Shadows; she is drawn to Earth by The Appriser, or "Death", a Shadow of the Death arcanum. SEES encounters The Appriser disguised as Ryoji Mochizuki, a recent transfer student to Gekkoukan High School.

The Shadow experiments performed ten years earlier created the Death Shadow, albeit in an incomplete state. Aigis, unable to defeat the Shadow, sealed it inside the Protagonist, who was a child at the time. By defeating the twelve greater Shadows, the Death Shadow was recreated. Its purpose is to usher Nyx into the world, who will bring about the extinction of the human race. Ryoji insists that Nyx cannot be defeated; however, he offers SEES an alternative. If they were to kill him, their memories of the Dark Hour and Tartarus would vanish, allowing them to continue life unaware of their impending death. Aigis, who now realizes why she wanted to protect the Protagonist, begins to believe that she is useless. She urges SEES to kill Ryoji, as they cannot defeat Nyx. Through encouragement from her friends, however, she gains the resolve to join with SEES as they attempt to fight Nyx.

On December 31, New Year's Eve, the player must decide whether to kill Ryoji. If he is spared, then the game continues, and on January 31, SEES ascends to the roof of Tartarus to face Ryoji, who has transformed into the Nyx Avatar. While they are able to defeat him, Nyx continues to descend to Earth. As this is happening, the Protagonist is summoned to the Velvet Room, where Igor reminds him that the power of his Social Links would determine his potential. The Protagonist hears the voices of his friends encouraging him. The strength of his Social Links grants him the power of the "Universe", allowing him to seal away Nyx from humanity. The world returns to normal, though the memories of the past year are lost to the members of SEES. However, Aigis and the Protagonist do remember. On Graduation Day, the two go to the roof of the school, where the members of SEES had promised to meet should they stop Nyx and live to see their graduation. It is here that Aigis thanks the Protagonist for giving her a purpose in life: protecting him. Shortly afterwards, he closes his eyes, and is implied to have passed away.

Gameplay

 

Combining elements of traditional console role-playing games and simulation games, the gameplay of Persona 3 involves following the day-to-day life of the game's protagonist, as he attends school and works to build relationships with other people. Each day is broken up into several periods of time, such as "Morning", "After School", or "Evening"; certain activities are restricted to certain times of the day. Free time can be spent engaging in a number of activities, including participating in a sports team or club meeting, seeing a movie, eating at a restaurant, or spending time with someone to improve a Social Link.

Social Links are bonds of friendship the Protagonist has formed with other characters, each associated with one of the Major Arcana. Each Link has its own narrative arc, starting at Rank 1; spending time with a Social Link character progresses their story, and increases the Rank of the Link. Increasing Social links usually needs certain conditions - attributes, friendship points, or require other social links or items. Bringing the Persona with the same Arcanum to the Social links will increase friendship level better, although it is not a must to achieve the social link. It is noted that leaving a social link unattended for too long, or doing something like meeting multiple girlfriends or selecting incorrect option in some social link may get the Arcanum reversed, preventing the Protagonist to summon that arcana's Personas unless it reverses back again. The worst case, however, may "break" the Arcanum which cannot be reverted again through the game.

The Protagonist has three social attributes—Academics, Charm, and Courage—which can be improved by engaging in specific activities. For example, studying after school or at night will increase Academics, correctly answering a question during a class increases Charm, and singing karaoke at night will increase Courage. Some Social Links cannot be started unless a specific attribute is at a certain level.

At night, the player may enter Tartarus, the primary dungeon of Persona 3. Tartarus is a tower containing over 250 floors, divided into several "blocks" . The floors of Tartarus are randomly-generated, each containing chests with money or items inside, enemies to fight, and a stairway to the next level. Certain floors contain mini-bossesthat must be defeated before moving on, or having road-blocks that is inaccessible without certain movements in story, along with a teleport point which allows the player to return to the entrance of Tartarus (or returning from the entrance to that point). To fight Shadows, the player may bring into Tartarus up to three members of SEES, in addition to the Protagonist and the supporting-member (which is fixed and only changed once as story's movement) who did not engage in battles; these five characters comprise the player's "party". The condition of members of the player's party will worsen as they continue to participate in battles. A "tired" or "sick" character will perform worse in battle, and must be given time outside of Tartarus to recover. Every full-moon day's midnight the story's plot will have a big movement, which they're usually accompanied with boss battles, which may, or may not happen in Tartarus.

Combat

A typical battle in Persona 3. The portraits on the right-hand side of the screen indicate the status of the player's party.

While in Tartarus, the player will encounter numerous Shadows roaming each floor. When the player's character comes into contact with a Shadow, or strikes it with his weapon, the game switches to a battle screen where combat takes place. Battles are turn-based, meaning the player's characters and enemies wait their turn to attack. In original and FES version, the player only directly controls the actions of the Protagonist, but the actions of other party members may be guided via a "Tactics" menu. Each character can perform a basic attack using an equipped weapon, summon their Persona to use a special ability, or use recovery and battle items.Offensive abilities are classified by type of damage done, such as "Slash", "Fire", "Ice", or "Darkness". Enemies, as well as members of the player's party, have a set of strengths and weaknesses to these attack types; striking a foe with an attack it is weak against will knock it down. This allows the attacker to act again, and requires that the knocked-down combatant use its next turn to stand up. If all on-screen enemies are knocked down at once, the player may commence an "All-Out Attack", in which the party rushes the knocked-down enemies, creating a large cloud of cartoon-like smoke and inflicting a high amount of damage.

Personas

Each member of SEES has a Persona they can summon during battle. Each character's Persona has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, as well as its own unique set of abilities. It also identifies with one of the Major Arcana. When a battle is won, each Persona gains experience points, eventually causing it to level up, increasing its strength in battle and granting it new abilities. The Protagonist is unique among the members of SEES, as he is able to carry multiple Personas. By switching between them during battle, he has access to a wider variety of skills than any other character. In addition, he is the only character who has access to the Velvet Room, in which the player is able to fuse multiple Personas together to create a new, more powerful one. A new Persona inherits several abilities from the Personas used to create it; in addition, it can gain an experience point bonus, based on the rank of the Social Link that matches the Arcanum of the Persona being fused. The player is limited by the level of his character when fusing a Persona; the level of the Protagonist must be at least equal to the level of the Persona to be fused. There is also a Persona Compendium which contains all previously-owned Personas; this allows the player to retrieve, for a price, an older Persona to be used.

Development and design

Persona 3

In March 2006, the first details on Persona 3 were unveiled in the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsū. In addition to announcing the game's Japanese release date of July 13, the three-page article detailed the game's premise, combat systems, and the Social Link system (known as Community in the Japanese version). It also profiled three characters—the Protagonist, Junpei, and Yukari—as well as their respective Personas: Orpheus, Hermes and Io.

While localizing Persona 3 for English-speaking countries, the honorifics used by the characters in the original Japanese script were retained. According to Atlus script editor and localizer Nich Maragos, their use "adds so much more meaning to the text."  In an interview with RPGamer, project editor Yu Namba explained that during the process of translation, some of the Japanese humor, "things that made absolutely no sense in western culture…were replaced with jokes that at least somewhat parallel the originals."In an interview with the magazine Play, lead director for Persona 3 Katsura Hashino discussed why the decision was made to have party members be directed by an artificial intelligence: "I think it's more fun to have the party members controlled by their AI, so each member's characteristics and personality are on vivid display. There were no objections raised among the Persona 3 development team, either." He also notes that the system "wasn't well received" by players of the game. Persona 3 does not include the negotiation elements of previous Persona or Megami Tensei games, which allowed players to talk to enemies during a battle to recruit them, earn money, or obtain items. However, the social elements of Persona 3 (and its successor, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4) are considered the equivalent of the negotiation system by the development team. Maragos said in a 1UP.com interview that "negotiation isn't gone…And [it] still factors into Persona Fusion; it's still a big part of the game. I feel like it's disguised, but it's there."

Audio

The soundtrack for Persona 3 was composed entirely by Shōji Meguro, with the exception of "Adventured act:", which was co-composed by Yosuke Uda.^[53] It was released as two discs on July 19, 2006 by Aniplex in Japan. A selection of tracks from the original soundtrack was bundled with the North American release of Persona 3. An arranged album titled Burn My Dread -Reincarnation: Persona 3- was released in Japan on April 18, 2007 by Aniplex. It contains eleven arrangements of tracks from Persona 3, as well as an extended version of the song "Burn My Dread." Reincarnation was composed and arranged by Shōji Meguro.^[55] Meguro has said that the development ofPersona 3 was one of his first opportunities to fully realize his music in video games. In the past, the hardware limitations of the original PlayStation required him to compose music in 100-200 kilobyte samples, which he felt made the music sound "pretty cheap". The move to the PlayStation 2 allowed for real-time streaming of music. Meguro considers this "the point at which I was finally able to express my music without making any compromises".

Meguro returned to compose new music for Persona 3: FES. Released in Japan on May 2, 2007 by Aniplex, the soundtrack contained the original score for FES, as well as arrangements of music from earlier games in the Persona series. "The Snow Queen", composed by Kenichi Tsuchiya, is a remix of the theme to Revelations: Persona. "Maya's Theme", composed by Kenichi Tsuchiya, and "Time Castle", composed by Toshiko Tasaki, are remixes of tracks from Persona 2. Persona 3 Portable contains new background music, which can be heard if the player chooses to control the game's new female protagonist. The game's official soundtrack was released by Aniplex in Japan on November 25, 2009.

Music from the Persona series has been performed at two live concerts presented by Aniplex. The first, Persona Music Live: Velvet Room in Akasaka Blitz, was held inAkasaka, Tokyo on August 22, 2008, and featured music from Persona 3, Persona 3: FES, Persona 4, and the anime series Persona: Trinity Soul. The setlist was mainly composed of tracks from Persona 4, however, which was a recent release in Japan. Aniplex released a DVD of the event in September 2009. The second, Live in Velvet Room, was held at the Wel City Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo in September 2009. The concert featured music from Persona 3, Persona 4, and two PlayStation Portableremakes in the series: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona—a remake of Revelations: Persona, the first game in the Persona series—and Persona 3 Portable.

Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Original Soundtrack (US)

Persona 3 Original Soundtrack Disc 1 (Japan)

Persona 3 Original Soundtrack Disc 2 (Japan)

Burn My Dread -Reincarnation: Persona 3

Persona 3 Fes Original Soundtrack

Persona 3 Portable Original Soundtrack

Persona Music Live Velvet Room in Akasaka Blitz

Persona Music Live Velvet Room in Akasaka Blitz Limited Edition Bonus CD

Remakes

Persona 3 FES

The expansion to Persona 3, in addition to adding new content to the main game (referred to as "The Journey", or "Episode Yourself" in the Japanese version), includes an epilogue to the original story entitled "The Answer" ("Episode Aegis" in the Japanese version). The core gameplay of The Answer is similar to that of The Journey, although the Social Link system has been removed, and the player does not attend school.Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (ペルソナ3フェス Perusona Suri Fesu) is an add-on disc for Persona 3 containing updates to the original game, as well as a new epilogue in which the player controls Aigis. FES was released in Japan on April 19, 2007, as both a stand-alone game, and with the "director's cut" version of Persona 3. Overseas, the combined edition was published in North America byAtlus U.S.A. on April 22, 2008, and in Europe by Koei on October 17, 2008. According to the game's director, Katsura Hashino, the subtitle "Fes" is derived from the word "festival". Players of the original Persona 3 are given the option of transferring certain data from the original version's save file, such as the player's compendium, social-related stats and maxed Social Link items.

 

The Answer story

The events of The Answer begin on March 31, shortly after the end of the original game. During the opening sequence, it is revealed that the Protagonist has died; the other characters speculate that his death is related to his defeating Nyx. The school year has ended, and the dorm is to be closed down soon. However, the characters discover that they are trapped in their dorm, and that the day March 31 is repeating itself. Later, a large hole opens in the floor of the dorm, and SEES is attacked by Metis, an anti-shadow weapon like Aigis. In the midst of fighting Metis to protect her friends, Aigis's Persona, Athena, transforms into Orpheus, the original Persona of the Protagonist. She also gains the power to summon multiple Personas, like the Protagonist. Aigis is able to subdue Metis, whose actions were an attempt to end the time skip and save Aigis, who she calls her "sister".

Underneath the dorm is the Abyss of Time, the cause of the time skip. The Abyss contains seven doors, the insides of which contain multi-floor dungeons, similar in design to Tartarus; it is in these areas that the game's combat takes place. At the top of each door, the characters witness an event from the past of a member of SEES. After seeing several of these flashbacks, the characters discern that the event shown in each door relates to how that person obtained their Persona. At the top of the seventh and final door, SEES fights a Shadow of the Protagonist. After defeating it, each of them obtain a key. By combining the keys, they would be able to end the time skip and leave the dorm. However, Metis presents SEES with an alternative: instead of unlocking the front door of the dorm, they may also use the keys to travel back in time, to before the fight against Nyx and the death of the Protagonist. Unable to agree on how to use the keys, the characters determine that they must fight each other to decide. Aigis and Metis claim all eight keys, but then discover a third, new door in the Abyss of Time, which leads to the moment the Protagonist sealed Nyx from the world.

Metis explains that the purpose of the seal created by the Protagonist was not to seal Nyx from humanity, but to prevent humanity from calling out to Nyx. However, the malice of the human race manifested in a monster called Erebus, which was able to break through the seal, causing the time skip. SEES realizes that the wishes that created Erebus came also from them, and so they fight it, and are able to defeat it. Mitsuru points out that Erebus will return someday, as humans will never stop wishing for death. After breaking the time skip and exiting through the front door of the dorm, Metis, Aigis, and the rest of SEES are summoned to the Velvet Room. It is here they learn of Metis's true origins: that she is a manifestation of a part of Aigis's personality. Distraught over the death of the Protagonist, she no longer wanted to live like a human, and wished to return to being a machine. However, after being set free from the Abyss of Time, Aigis changes her mind, deciding to continue to attend school, something she had chosen not to do earlier.

Persona 3 Fes OP

Persona 3 Portable

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable (ペルソナ3 ポータブル), an enhanced remake of Persona 3 for the PlayStation Portable, was released in Japan on November 1, 2009, and released in North America on July 6, 2010. Europe has still not been given an official release date. The announcement in Famitsū revealed that the player would have the option to play as a female character. This selection alters some aspects of the story: the first Persona gained by the Protagonist, Orpheus, will have a different appearance; Igor's assistant in the Velvet Room, Elizabeth, can be replaced with a male equivalent named Theodore. The gender choice also alters some aspects of the Social Link stories. In addition to the new playable character, there are two new difficulty levels to select from alongside the original game's three. Persona 3 Portable only includes the story of the original Persona 3; however, general changes have been made to the plot, regardless of character choice.

The game's revised battle system draws on elements added in Persona 3's successor, Persona 4. In combat, the player is able to directly control every character, as an alternative to utilizing the game's artificial intelligence. The ability to guard has been added, and allies will take fatal attacks for the Protagonist, preventing his or her death. Outside of Tartarus, instead of navigating the game world by directly controlling the Protagonist, the player guides an on-screen cursor around an area, allowing interaction with characters and objects. The game includes the voice acting of the original game, although characters are not shown in the world, instead being represented by on-screen portraits. In addition, the animecutscenes seen in the original Persona 3 have been replaced to feature in-game graphics. Shōji Meguro composed new music for Persona 3 Portable; some of the game's music is different if the female protagonist is selected. Several cameos of characters from Persona 4 have been added to Persona 3 Portable, including Yukiko Amagi, a playable character from Persona 4. It also features a cameo by Vincent, the star of another game by the Persona development team, Catherine.

Persona 3 Portable OP

Release

The North American release of Persona 3 shipped as a collector's edition box, containing the game, a soundtrack disc, and a 52-page art book. The game's original release date was July 24, 2007. However, Atlus encountered a problem with the manufacturing of the art book several days before the intended ship date. Instead of shipping the game without the book, the company decided to push its release back three weeks, to August 14. Atlus issued a press release explaining that they were delaying the game so as maintain the quality of the package, which would have been "irreparably compromised" if they had "revise[d] or abandon[ed] the deluxe package." Persona 3 FES was first released alongside the original game in two forms: the "Regular Edition" — containing both the "director's cut" version of Persona 3, and the new epilogue — as two separate discs, and the "Append Edition", containing only the epilogue, on a single disc. Persona 3 and its expansion were released simultaneously in Japan on April 19, 2007. At the time, Atlus had not announced plans to release FES outside of Japan. This announcement did not come until February 2008, when the game's North American release date was revealed to be April 22, 2008.

Persona 3 Portable was released as a stand-alone game and as part of a bundle package, which includes a t-shirt and desk calendar. The game on its own retails for 6,279 yen (US$68), while the bundle (known as Persona 3 Portable DX) sells for 8,495 yen (US$92). In its first month of release, Persona 3 Portable sold over 158,000 copies. During the North American release, Atlus offered Junpei's hat a pre-order bonus for purchasing "Persona 3 Portable".

Critical reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	87.36% (60 reviews) (Org.) 87.63% (26 reviews) (FES) 91.33% (32 reviews) (PSP)
Metacritic	86/100 (52 reviews) (Org.) 89/100 (25 reviews) (FES) 91/100 (31 reviews) (PSP)
GameStats	9.0/10 (35 reviews) (Org.) 8.9/10 (23 reviews) (FES) 9.0/10 (26 reviews) (PSP)
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	A- (Org.) A (FES)
Famitsu	33/40 (Org. 32/40 (PSP)
Game Informer	8.5/10 (FES)
GameSpot	8.5/10 (Org.) 8.5/10 (FES)
GameSpy	(Org.)  (FES)
GamesRadar	9/10 (Org.)
GameTrailers	9/10 (Org.)
IGN	8.3 (Org.) 8.8 (FES)
Play	9.5/10 (Org.)
Awards Entity Award Famitsu RPG of the Year GameSpot RPG of the Year GameSpy PS2 RPG of the Year RPGamer RPG of the Decade RPGFan RPG of the Year

Persona 3 has seen generally positive reviews since its release, earning a Metacritic score of 86. Shane Bettenhausen of1UP.com called the game a "refreshingly new take on the MegaTen [Megami Tensei] concept", and "the best RPG hitting the PS2 this year." He praised the "excellent" AI created to direct the actions of party members during battle, which he felt created "the series' speediest and most dynamic battle system to date." This sentiment was shared by other reviewers: Play magazine's Eric Patterson said that the game's characters are a "smart bunch" in battle; in addition, Patterson wrote that the concept "strengthens the idea that each character is not just some sprite in a video game, but a real character in a real world." Jeff Haynes from IGNcriticized the system, finding that it would occasionally result in the death of the player's character, which causes a game over.

GameTrailers gave the game a score of 9.0, calling it "a rare supernatural delicacy" stating it's an RPG that fans of the genre shouldn't miss out on. GameSpy's Patrick Joynt praised the social elements of Persona 3, calling the game's Social Links "almost universally fascinating." While he suspected the simulation elements would "probably be the biggest hurdle" for fans of role-playing or Megami Tensei games, in his review he wrote that he "can't stress enough how well-done it is." Heidi Kemps of GamesRadar found the game's teenage themes to be "a refreshing change" from those of other games in the genre, as they touch on "the social awkwardness common at that point in life." Patterson commended developer Atlus for how "utterly enjoyable" they made the "mundane life of a typical Japanese high school student" be. Jonathan Hunt of G4 commented on the day-to-day structure ofPersona 3, which he found to be both "a blessing and a curse." While "look[ing] forward to seeing what new characters or events are revealed" each day, "having to visit a single dungeon…is not always appealing." Similarly, Game Informer's Joe Juba found the game's environments to be weak, as "most of the game takes place within one tower [Tartarus]." He also in his review noted that the game's roots in the Megami Tensei series would come across as foreign to new players. "If you don’t know anything about fusing Personas, or simply that 'bufu' means 'ice attack,' you have some catching up to do."

Persona 3: FES received a score of 89 on Metacritic, slightly higher than that of Persona 3. The plot of The Answer provides "much-needed narrative closure" to the story of The Journey, according to Shane Bettenhausen. Kevin VanOrd called FES a "wonderfully enhanced version of an already-great RPG"; in his review, he recommends the game to new players and those who had already finished the original game. The gameplay of The Answer was criticized by several reviewers for not including the social elements of the original game. VanOrd found the new chapter to be "less interesting" because of this. Jeff Haynes commented that the change "harkens back to a classic, more hardcore RPG experience of fighting and grinding", while done at the expense of what "made Persona 3 so intriguing in the first place." The reviews of GameSpy and IGN reiterated issues found with the original game, such as the inability to directly control party members in battle.

While some critics like IGN criticized Persona 3 Portable for "losing some of its polish", it was the most acclaimed version of the game, receiving a 91 out of 100 from Metacritic, making it the second best reviewed PSP game on the website. It was praised for, despite having been released twice already, being an adventure worth playing again. This was echoed by GamesRadar, IGN, 1UP.com and GamePro. It received a score of 32/40 from Famitsū; one reviewer wrote that the remake includes "enough differences in the Social Links to make it fun even for old players.", and perfect scores from websites such as Destructoid and GamePro. GameTrailers went on to nominate the game for "Best PSP Game" in their awards, losing to God of War: Ghost of Sparta and "Best RPG", losing to Mass Effect 2. Three websites specific to coverage of RPGs honored it in annual award postings, namely RPGamer (Best Re-release), RPGFan (Best Traditional RPG on Handheld), and RPGLand (Best Port).

Shane Bettenhausen considered the inclusion of Evokers "a ballsy and shocking move" on the part of Atlus, but felt their inclusion created "an edgy sensibitliy that fits perfectly with the overall dark tone" of the game. Similarly, Joe Juba thought the concept fit "perfectly" with the game's "dark tone". Jeff Haynes found the animations of characters using their Evokers to be "intriguing and shocking at the same time". While previewing Persona 3 for GameSpot, Kevin VanOrd said that the continued use of Evokers "never gets old and it never gets any less awesome to watch, and considering that you could play this for fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty hours or more, that's saying something." Atlus U.S.A. did not remove the Evokers from Persona 3 for its worldwide release, despite the possible controversy. Nich Maragos said on 1UP.com'sRetronauts podcast that the company did not receive any criticism for their inclusion, however. "There was never any Jack Thompson-ing…we didn't get any letters from concerned parents."

Persona 3 was named the best role-playing game of 2006 by Famitsū, and of 2007 by GameSpot and RPGFan. GameSpy gave the title its 2007 PS2 RPG Game of the Year award and placed it second in the 2007 PS2 Top 10 Games of the Year. IGN placed Persona 3 FES fifteenth in their feature "The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time". 1UP.com's 2007 game awards, which ran in the March 2008 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, included Persona 3, given the award for "Most controversial game that created no controversy". In 2010, Persona 3 ended up coming first place in RPGamer's "Top RPGs of the Decade" list, and second place in RPGFan's "Top 20 RPGs of the Past Decade" list behind Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga & Digital Devil Saga 2.

Related media and merchandise

A non-canonical spin-off anime to Persona 3 entitled Persona: Trinity Soul aired in Japan starting in January 2008 and ran for twenty-six episodes. Taking place ten years after the events of the game, the anime features Akihiko as a secondary character. There is also a manga adaptation of Persona 3, written and illustrated by Shūji Sogabe, and published monthly in the Japanese magazine Dengeki Maoh. Several figurines of the characters have been produced by Kotobukiya, a Japanese collectible toy company. They include the Protagonist of the game, Aigis, Mitsuru, and Akihiko. The figurines have interchangeable parts, such as an Evoker or weapon, which can be stored in the base. Alter, another Japanese company that specializes in collectibles, has also released 1:8 scale figurines of Elizabeth, Aigis, and Mitsuru. The headphones worn by the Protagonist are sold by Audio-Technica, model ATH-EM700(Japan-only version).

Several series of radio dramas based on Persona 3 and Persona 3: FES have been released in Japan. Persona 3 Drama CD: A Certain Day of Summer features an original story voiced by the game's original cast. Persona 3 Drama CD Vol. 2 -Moonlight- links the story of Persona 3 and the epilogue released with Persona 3: FES. From February to June 2008, a series of character dramas were released as five CDs. The volumes respectively focus on the Protagonist and Ryoji; Junpei and Chidori;Fuuka, Ken, and Aigis; Yukari and Mitsuru; and Akihiko, Shinjiro, and Koromaru. In early 2009, a two-volume side story about Mitsuru was released.

Copas From http://www.wikipedia.org/ & http://megamitensei.wikia.com/  

By: Hirachi Rika ^^