Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES

 PlayStation 2
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 862 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 649 out of 862
  2. Mixed: 54 out of 862
  3. Negative: 159 out of 862
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  1. Jc360x
    Nov 29, 2018
    10
    Whoever is review bombing needs to get a **** life. This game was at 8.8 a few weeks ago.
  2. JonT
    Oct 6, 2009
    10
    Epic Adventure! For those who have not played persona 3 this is a must get! For those of you who have, FES has a bunch of new features and a Loonnggg epiloge! Its a must play!
  3. Bombloco94
    Nov 23, 2019
    10
    This game and Persona 5 are easily one of my favorite games of all time,and for me, this is the second best of the franchise

    Sorry for the **** English, I'm Brazilian :/
  4. GentlemanHunter
    Jul 16, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Things I like:
    - The Music is Top Tier (as expected from a Megami Tensei game)
    - The Story is the best in the series (at least as far as modern persona games go)
    - The ending is one of the best in all of gaming IMO
    - The Characters are very memorable
    - The game introduced the gameplay loop between life sim and dungeon-crawling JRPG that has made the Persona series into what it is today. And for their first attempt, they nailed it very well

    Things I dislike:
    - No social links with the male party members
    - Romance is forced onto you if you reach a certain point in a girl's social link
    - This wouldn't be a problem if romanced girls didn't get jealous when you hang around other girls, causing the social link to break and you to waste precious time repairing those social links
    - The game doesn't do a good job of getting you invested in Shinjiro before he gets killed
    - The moment when Junpei settles the differences between you and him doesn't feel earned because of the aforementioned lack of social link
    - The story kind of loses
    - Tartarus can be annoying and tiring at times
    - You can't control your party members (although you can install a mod that allows you to control them if you have the know-how)
    - The party member's AI is meh and often doesn't do what you expect it to do

    Verdict: Although some of the game's aspects haven't aged well (if they were even considered good to begin with), that doesn't change the fact that this game is a masterpiece to me and has one of my favorite stories of all time.    … Expand
  5. AndresXgame
    Sep 16, 2021
    10
    Obra maestra que mezcla el combate de SMT con opciones sociales que enriquecen la historia. Un imprescindible para todo amante de los JRPG y es atemporal.
  6. VioIrdsGX
    Apr 18, 2023
    9
    (This game was played from PlayStation 3). Great Persona 3 game, I started playing this in 2021 and it's good, this was the first game in the Persona series to have the first soundtracks composed and sung by Yumi Kawamura and Lotus Juice, this game is different than the first original and the portable version because it has a secondary story called "The Answer" starring Aegis in the game,(This game was played from PlayStation 3). Great Persona 3 game, I started playing this in 2021 and it's good, this was the first game in the Persona series to have the first soundtracks composed and sung by Yumi Kawamura and Lotus Juice, this game is different than the first original and the portable version because it has a secondary story called "The Answer" starring Aegis in the game, but still this game has a problem and it's one that I hate or I don't know if people hate it too, and it's that they still the companions are controlled automatically, seriously this had never happened with Revelations Persona and the sequel to Persona 2 that they do have manual control, so if you want to defeat the bosses then survive because your companions seem to want self-suicide.… Expand
  7. Poccigoni
    May 25, 2023
    9
    Take a good story and ambience, mix it with some natural and well-written characters, top it off with an amazing art style and music and you've got Persona 3 FES. A game about what happens when you are aware of your end. Can't give it a 10 because the main dungeon can get repetitive after the first 20 hours, and the epilogue "The Answer", while being good story-wise and working as a goodTake a good story and ambience, mix it with some natural and well-written characters, top it off with an amazing art style and music and you've got Persona 3 FES. A game about what happens when you are aware of your end. Can't give it a 10 because the main dungeon can get repetitive after the first 20 hours, and the epilogue "The Answer", while being good story-wise and working as a good end to the main plotline, is incredibly linear gameplay wise. The battle can also be a bit clunky for someone coming from P4/P5, due to the lack of controllable party members and how unbalanced some Personas and moves are (I'm looking at you, Thunder Reign).… Expand
  8. Laurier
    May 10, 2008
    10
    Persona 3 was an incredible RPG, with a unique vibe, great blending of two apparently different gameplay styles, and FES only adds to this greatness. No need to list all the additions here (especially since some would be rather spoiler-ish), but for 30$, you get more content than in the original game, more things to do, and even a separate new game to go with it, for a fraction of the Persona 3 was an incredible RPG, with a unique vibe, great blending of two apparently different gameplay styles, and FES only adds to this greatness. No need to list all the additions here (especially since some would be rather spoiler-ish), but for 30$, you get more content than in the original game, more things to do, and even a separate new game to go with it, for a fraction of the price. Definitely worth buying, whether you have the original or not.… Expand
  9. MarvinR.
    May 5, 2008
    10
    Persona 3 Fes is a blast...To those who haven't played a shin megami tensei game before..this is now the time to start experiencing one. The story and gameplay is very profound and addicting that you will find yourself playing this one through days without sleep. To those fans who played the original you will surely be overwhelmed with joy from all the new material...from new Persona 3 Fes is a blast...To those who haven't played a shin megami tensei game before..this is now the time to start experiencing one. The story and gameplay is very profound and addicting that you will find yourself playing this one through days without sleep. To those fans who played the original you will surely be overwhelmed with joy from all the new material...from new equipments made by fusion, enhanced social links with great never before seen cutscenes, a more enjoyable character status buildup system, to new kickass personas and a faster loading screen. Even the costumes of the characters in battle changes now according to what is equipped on them. Of course lets not forget "the answer" which is a brand new action packed game all in all and is a must play to those who want to know what happen after the ending of the journey. Overall Persona 3 Fes is the best RPG I have enjoyed in the ps2 console because of its original gameplay and well developed characters that you will surely love. If the original persona 3 has flaws this version is pure perfection.… Expand
  10. KevinR
    Apr 29, 2008
    10
    One of the lengthiest and most enjoyable games I've ever played. With well over 100 hours of content (great content), it shines as what may be the true swan song of the PS2.
  11. iKen
    Apr 13, 2020
    9
    Played on PlayStation 2.
    Gameplay: GREAT.
    Story: GREAT.
    Graphic: GREAT.
    Music/Sound: GREAT.
    Dialogue: GREAT.
  12. Allyptic
    Oct 23, 2021
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Great game with a huge focus on story, characters, and world-building. I don't remember the last time when the story absorbed me so much. Yes, there are few bugs here are there, but nothing game-breaking. Usually minor visual glitches.… Expand
  13. jelikey
    Feb 17, 2023
    9
    One of the lengthiest and most enjoyable games I've ever played. With well over 100 hours of content (great content), it shines as what may be the true swan song of the PS2.
  14. nyxo100
    Jul 21, 2022
    8
    this game is amazing the soundtrack slaps the character development is on point and the final boss battle is leggit a one of the best fights in RPG
  15. Kluco
    Jun 21, 2020
    10
    Persona 3 is my favorite game in the series, the story is phenomenal and there are so many characters you will adore.
  16. Zokti
    Jul 11, 2020
    10
    My favourite game ever. Good story, soundtrack and characters. I’m only writing this review to try and get the user review score higher than Persona 5’s because that game sucks
  17. Jekile
    Jul 20, 2020
    8
    Persona 3 ambitiously creates a new formula for JRPGs by splitting the game into two distinct halves: the standard dungeon crawly turn-based RPG, and a Visual Novel. Despite this being the first attempt of this melding of modes, Persona 3 pulls it off suprisingly well. First, let's look at look the writing side of the coin.

    This game is decisively character-focused; the game's value lives    Persona 3 ambitiously creates a new formula for JRPGs by splitting the game into two distinct halves: the standard dungeon crawly turn-based RPG, and a Visual Novel. Despite this being the first attempt of this melding of modes, Persona 3 pulls it off suprisingly well. First, let's look at look the writing side of the coin.

    This game is decisively character-focused; the game's value lives or dies based on the quality of the character writing. And for the most part Persona 3 the cast of characters are very memorable. Unlike Persona 4, I don't get this warm feeling where everyone in the main cast are all the great friends. In this game the relationships are a bit more messy. But by the end it's easy to get attached to them. With all that being said, many of the Social Links with side characters in this game are rather forgettable, and would mostly improve in the later games.

    While their character work is solid, the narrative is even more impressive. In the first half of the game the narrative is somewhat formulaic and unsurprising. But, eventually the stakes increase and culminate into a fantastic ending. And unlike later games in the series, the stakes feel much more real and actually dangerous. Leading to a more dark game relative to others in the series.

    When you aren't talking to friends or studying in your room, you will be exploring the dungeon of Tartarus. This dungeon is randomly generated and relatively, well boring. The lack of interesting dungeon mechanics or artistic differences between floors really can make this at times an exhausting task. However, what does help keep things interesting is the combat system. The combat is the first in the series to employ the One More system, meaning to effectively combat enemies you must exploit enemy weaknesses to knock down enemies and pull off an all-out attack. This system is very satisfying, making each battle almost like a puzzle. What holds it back is the lack of controllable party members. While the game is balanced around this, it can be frustrating to see your teammates playing unoptimally.

    There are many rough edges to the game that were not mentioned, but despite all these minor issues, the game overall is very good. If you love the other Persona games definitely check this game out. Or if you are just interested the series this is a great starting point.    … Expand
  18. WellEvil
    Jan 6, 2022
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Great game with a huge focus on story, characters, and world-building. I don't remember the last time when the story absorbed me so much. Yes, there are a few bugs here are there, but nothing game-breaking. Usually minor visual glitches.… Expand
  19. epicgamereal
    Dec 16, 2022
    9
    My favorite game of all time. This game does not feature control of party members, unlike the other persona games, and I found this to be a fun challenge. The story is the best of any persona game. The soundtrack does not disappoint. The only thing I do not like about this game is that it is missing some QOL fixes that can be found in Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal. Besides the gamesMy favorite game of all time. This game does not feature control of party members, unlike the other persona games, and I found this to be a fun challenge. The story is the best of any persona game. The soundtrack does not disappoint. The only thing I do not like about this game is that it is missing some QOL fixes that can be found in Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal. Besides the games age, I believe this is as good as the persona franchise gets. Unfortunately, this version didn't come to to steam, and instead, ATLUS chose the inferior PSP port instead. Oh well.… Expand
  20. avis_davus
    Sep 20, 2022
    10
    Easily the greatest jrpg of all time, blows any other persona game out the water by a long shot.
  21. ayoobro
    Jan 8, 2023
    10
    literally perfect. Easily the best persona game out of all of them. better than p5
  22. WindlessNight
    Jan 31, 2023
    9
    A beautiful game for its time. The main story is great with fantastic animated cutscenes and one of the few things to ever have hit me emotionally. Combat is fun but sometimes can feel like you’re not only fighting the enemies, but your teammates too as you’re not able to control outside of a list of strategies. Gameplay is frustrating but so rewarding to win. The Answer tells anA beautiful game for its time. The main story is great with fantastic animated cutscenes and one of the few things to ever have hit me emotionally. Combat is fun but sometimes can feel like you’re not only fighting the enemies, but your teammates too as you’re not able to control outside of a list of strategies. Gameplay is frustrating but so rewarding to win. The Answer tells an absolutely beautiful story that I can still remember scenes from. The work done with the 3D models and cinematography was lovely. I’d absolutely recommend the Answer if you have played the regular or Portable.… Expand
  23. TheQweast
    Mar 3, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is the best out of the main persona trilogy (3,4,5) in terms of story you will find yourself being very immersed in the world and worried about the stakes. The world does feel more real as well because this game has people that just don't care about you. Love the true ending with Makoto dying, it's so emotionally gripping and persona 4 and 5 can never reach that level of story telling. Tartarus is inherently annoying however with the constant grind needed to progress.… Expand
  24. Naked_Snakee
    Apr 7, 2023
    9
    Just text (crutch) to save the game to the list. Such things. Maybe I'll do a review later.
  25. 77kbk77
    Feb 19, 2014
    9
    While the dungeon crawling and social sim combination may not be for everyone, any person who calls themselves an RPG fan would be doing themselves a disservice by not at least trying this title. P3FES builds upon the original P3, fixing many of the gripes people had with original while adding a new social link, multiple mechanics regarding combat and stat building, and an all new epilogueWhile the dungeon crawling and social sim combination may not be for everyone, any person who calls themselves an RPG fan would be doing themselves a disservice by not at least trying this title. P3FES builds upon the original P3, fixing many of the gripes people had with original while adding a new social link, multiple mechanics regarding combat and stat building, and an all new epilogue which explains the closing hours. With a large cast of likeable characters, a solid (albeit at times annoying) combat system reminiscent of Pokemon, and intriguing story and supporting elements, P3FES has all the great makings of a perfect RPG, but falls just short of the mark due to a few complaints.

    Combat can be a drag as the amount of control you have over your teammates is very small, Tartarus is the only dungeon in the game and it's literally the same floor repeated over and over again, the inventory system is clunky and confusing at most times, the art style and music is an "either you love it or you hate it" deal, the story slows down considerably near the end, and at times the game feels more like a social/waifu simulator with the rare dungeon dive.

    The Persona series gets a lot of scrutiny due to the lack of depth outside of the Social Links , but this much is certain: P3 FES is a greatly improved version of the original, and definitely warrants a try.    … Expand
  26. sinker
    Aug 15, 2021
    7
    it is a good game, the story, characters, music and social simulator aspect are great, but the pacing of the story is a bit boring at times, and the message is **** beautiful
    the worst part of the game is the dungeon that it is just SO **** BORING AND JUST PLAIN BAD, IT IS JUST SO **** REPETITIVE, IT HAS MORE THAN 200 FLOORS, AND IT IS JUST BAD
  27. Samotslayer
    Jan 26, 2013
    10
    This game is truly a masterpiece, with It's brilliantly crafted story to It's perfect combat system this is one of best games made in the last ten years. If you haven't played it yet I would not only recommend doing so. I will guarantee you will have a great time.
  28. palladiondsw2
    Oct 2, 2013
    10
    Hands down my favourite JRPG. I know people love the 4th and stuff however this game i dont know it holds a place in my heart because its just so good. With this game you will be doing one of two things Grinding in tartarus or spending your days in school with some pretty amazing characters from a french exchange student to a drunk monk who hangs out at the night club.Some are alittle lessHands down my favourite JRPG. I know people love the 4th and stuff however this game i dont know it holds a place in my heart because its just so good. With this game you will be doing one of two things Grinding in tartarus or spending your days in school with some pretty amazing characters from a french exchange student to a drunk monk who hangs out at the night club.Some are alittle less interesting while others are badass.The only problem i had was grinding...it does get on your nerves sometimes but I'm not gonna fault this game for that...this amazing game you can get on psn,psp and ps2 and it is well worth your money.… Expand
  29. Kyle34
    Dec 29, 2013
    10
    Excellent music and great characters make this game truly satisfying from beginning to end. The game can be extremely unforgiving if someone wants to get 100% completion on their first play through but, do not let that deter you. The boss battles are very challenging and the combat is fluid and makes leveling up less of a grind.10/10.
  30. DanHazy
    Mar 2, 2016
    9
    So you will know what type of gamer is writing this review, I"ll list three of my favorite games.  

    Danganronpa  Atelier Totori  Fire Emblem    THE GOOD:  STORY: Great storyline that has one ofthe best endings I've seen in RPG's.   VOICE ACTING: Voice acting is top notch and there's quiet a bit of it.   GRAPHICS: The graphics are good for a PS2 game.   MUSIC: Music is    So you will know what type of gamer is writing this review, I"ll list three of my favorite games.  

    Danganronpa 
    Atelier Totori 
    Fire Emblem 
     

    THE GOOD: 

    STORY: Great storyline that has one ofthe best endings I've seen in RPG's.
     
    VOICE ACTING: Voice acting is top notch and there's quiet a bit of it.
     
    GRAPHICS: The graphics are good for a PS2 game.
     
    MUSIC: Music is some of the best you will hear in an RPG. From jazz to rock to slow piano solos.

    GAMEPLAY: Gameplay involves quiet a bit of strategy. Fusing your favorite personas and exploiting enemies weaknesses (if any) is quiet fun. I'll delve more into gameplay further down in the IN DEPTH REVIEW section.

    GAME LENGTH:Rather a long game, 60 to 70 hours for Persona 3, then about 30 hours in the expansion. A great deal for the price. 

    IN DEPTH REVIEW:

    You can have a party of up to four characters in this game, but you only have direct control over the protagonist in battles. This creates quiet a few issues. You can assign tactics to the other three in your party such as, full assault, heal and support, and others; but this doesn't come in as handy as you may think. Such as a party member using a healing item that heals one member only a little, when you really needed them to cast a spell to heal the whole party. Also, a party member might try to put a status effect on an enemy when they could have just attacked and finished them off. They will also try to use status effects in boss fights, when the bosses cannot be effected by any ailments. This causes much frustration of course, and may lead you to a game over screen. 

    Also, the enemies have instant kill moves. Imagine that you have been grinding for about an hour and then you get wiped out by an enemy who kills with an instant kill spell and thus, come to the beloved game over screen that you will undoubtedly see many times throughout the game. This isn't uncommon either as the enemies have just of good of a chance of instantly killing you as you do them. There is something you can aquire throughout the game called homucolous that will prevent the protagonist from dying from an instant kill move but only them. The rest of the party can still go down in a heartbeat and leave you all alone for a beating. There is also an accessory you can obtain for the other party members that nullifies an instant kill move but these are quiet rare and I believe they can only be obtained late in the game. These things can be quiet the headache and will cause you to waste many hours in the game but, somehow it is still worth it. 

    You should know that The Answer expansion is a down scaled version of the original Persona 3. No social links, no compendium to register personas, none of the advanced fusions, only two or three personas can be fused together at the time. No request from the velvet room. 
    Still, the expansion is still worth playing as it tells the events after Persona 3. Still enjoyable to play also but it is quiet the grind fest as its difficulty is higher than Persona 3. It actually states this before you begin playing. 

    Also, the final boss in Persona 3 could make you jump the ship on this game. It's about an hour to an hour and half long boss fight, and at the very end, the boss can charm one of your party members and then that party member can heal the boss completly. So back to square one you go and you already used all your healing items, so what now? That is if the boss doesn't completly annihilate you to begin with. I died four times on this boss fight and each time it was toward the end of the boss fight because that's when the bosses difficulty rises. So I would say I spent about 5 to 6 hours on this boss fight. You also have to fight this boss before a certain day, so that means you can't grind for level ups if you wait untill the last day and then save over your save file before the boss fight.

    Overall, a fantastic RPG with a few headaches but still quiet a gem. 
    You may consider Persona 4 over this because if memory serves right, the enemies wasn't as likely to instantly kill you in Persona 4. Also I liked Persona 4's characters and the games tone more than Persona 3. Persona 3 has a dark tone and Persona 4 has a charming eerie tone.I would of course recommend both. If you don't already know, Persona 4 has released a new and improved version of Persona 4 for the PS Vita. Also Persona 3 did also but I believe it may have been for PSP. 

    That wraps this review up, hope it helps.    … Expand
  31. Mattxx
    Aug 29, 2010
    10
    One of the best RPGs of the past decade (in my opinion of course). This game is great. It's length is good ($30 for 120+ hours? Pretty good in my opinion), the actors do a very good job (aside from Fuuka who can go from pretty good to abysmal). The story is good and the characters really help push it along. The combat is the same as any other JRPG. One thing that most people complain aboutOne of the best RPGs of the past decade (in my opinion of course). This game is great. It's length is good ($30 for 120+ hours? Pretty good in my opinion), the actors do a very good job (aside from Fuuka who can go from pretty good to abysmal). The story is good and the characters really help push it along. The combat is the same as any other JRPG. One thing that most people complain about is the lack of being able to control your party members, believe me when I say, it's not as bad as it sounds. The worst of the AI is probably Misturu, but everyone else has pretty good AI, so don't worry about that. The Persona fusion system is a lot of fun to mess with, you could easily spend 20+ minutes fusing Personae together. Awesome game.… Expand
  32. thedarkorb
    Sep 22, 2010
    9
    All I need to say is that if you like console RPGs then you will like Persona 3 FES. The few flaws the game has are nothing compared with it's varied gameplay, superb pacing of events, excellent story and superb dialog, catchy original soundtrack, replay value and enjoyable length. While the expansion isn't nearly as good as the original game if you haven't played either Persona 3 FES isAll I need to say is that if you like console RPGs then you will like Persona 3 FES. The few flaws the game has are nothing compared with it's varied gameplay, superb pacing of events, excellent story and superb dialog, catchy original soundtrack, replay value and enjoyable length. While the expansion isn't nearly as good as the original game if you haven't played either Persona 3 FES is still the version to get. If you have played or own the original the bonus content added to the original game coupled with the continuation of the story in The Answer should give you ample reason to pick FES up and play it one more time.… Expand
  33. theshonen8899
    Apr 19, 2011
    10
    This definitely comes in as one of my favorite RPGs of all time. Any fan of JRPGs or anime in general needs to pick up this game as well as Persona 4. The Social Link system is an amazing way to mix up the action, and the end result is a perfect blend of dungeon crawling, monster collecting, and visual novel. The grind might be repetitive, but the boss battles are great and theThis definitely comes in as one of my favorite RPGs of all time. Any fan of JRPGs or anime in general needs to pick up this game as well as Persona 4. The Social Link system is an amazing way to mix up the action, and the end result is a perfect blend of dungeon crawling, monster collecting, and visual novel. The grind might be repetitive, but the boss battles are great and the story/characters are amazing. Definitely not an RPG to be missed!… Expand
  34. whitespider999
    Mar 1, 2012
    8
    One of my favorite jrpgs. And the core combat mechanics are only passable. It's the story, originality, characters and presentation that make this game great.
  35. BlacksitePSU
    Nov 13, 2013
    9
    Persona 3 FES is a fantastic RPG. My entry point in the series but also my favorite (Persona 4 is also really good). A unique, engaging story, memorable characters and dungeon-crawling mixed with attending school and social bonding await.
  36. ageofwinter
    Nov 13, 2012
    10
    I played Persona 3 FES, so I will submit this review for both the original and FES. Persona 3 is right up there on my list of "greatest games of all-time" alongside Shenmue. The story in this game is simply the best ever, it's emotionally engaging, great voice actors and really puts you in some tough positions when you have choices to make. This is RPG at it's finest. I fell inlove withI played Persona 3 FES, so I will submit this review for both the original and FES. Persona 3 is right up there on my list of "greatest games of all-time" alongside Shenmue. The story in this game is simply the best ever, it's emotionally engaging, great voice actors and really puts you in some tough positions when you have choices to make. This is RPG at it's finest. I fell inlove with all the characters here and I never stopped. The gameplay is top-notch, dungeon crawling has never been more fun, the combat is the best I've seen for a JRPG, the use of Personas gives it a nice, unique twist to it. When you're not in combat, you're either in the dorm, at the mall, in school or exploring the other areas of the city. There is so much to do, and the game is extremely long, took me ~110 hours to complete this. Oh and lets not forget the soundtrack, simply one of the best, if not the best, of all time. If you love JRPGS, great stories, and great combat, make sure you purchase this game, you WILL NOT regret it.… Expand
  37. RyuuzakiBjorn
    Mar 3, 2013
    10
    Having not played any of the previous Persona games, I went into this one with an open-mind, they way they summon their "inner-guardians" or Personas by shooting themselves in the head really struck me as "WTF" when I first heard about it. So naturally I had to give it a try. The game is absolutely fantastic, everything about it just bleeds awesome. The story, the characters, the gameplay.Having not played any of the previous Persona games, I went into this one with an open-mind, they way they summon their "inner-guardians" or Personas by shooting themselves in the head really struck me as "WTF" when I first heard about it. So naturally I had to give it a try. The game is absolutely fantastic, everything about it just bleeds awesome. The story, the characters, the gameplay. After playing Persona 4 as well, I have to say Persona 3 is a lot quicker to get into and if Persona 4 was named the best JRPG of all time, then Persona 3 would be close second. As I said in my Persona 4 review, if you're reading these reviews and wondering if you should buy the game or not; Buy it. Buy it 100 times and donate it to your family and friends; You all won't be disappointed.… Expand
  38. blade6309
    Oct 31, 2014
    10
    Oh man I barely know where to start. While this was my childhood go to game and still holds the number 1 spot on my all time favourite games I guess I need to explain why...
    First off if your new to the game don't worry about getting social links and just enjoy the story and the personas, Once you've beaten the game go back and play it again with the goal of getting all the social links    Oh man I barely know where to start. While this was my childhood go to game and still holds the number 1 spot on my all time favourite games I guess I need to explain why...
    First off if your new to the game don't worry about getting social links and just enjoy the story and the personas, Once you've beaten the game go back and play it again with the goal of getting all the social links you can then play the answer. Honestly if someone where to ask me for a RPG this is ALWAYS my go to. Character development is slightly lacking sometimes though and once you've played it 2 or 3 times you see there's less personas but still that AFTER you've played it. Persona 3 is worth getting a PS2 or worth the buy on the PS3 store this game gets a full 10 for me.    … Expand
  39. VidyaBum
    May 21, 2015
    10
    The greatest success of this game is without a doubt its tone and atmosphere. Persona 3 is dark. I mean really dark. It's a story of human tragedy, loss, sadness, regret, heroism, teenage life in its best sense(the learning about life sense), deep personal problems with relationships or self-image, impending doom, abandonment, deadly sickness, social violence and of course, rejecting theThe greatest success of this game is without a doubt its tone and atmosphere. Persona 3 is dark. I mean really dark. It's a story of human tragedy, loss, sadness, regret, heroism, teenage life in its best sense(the learning about life sense), deep personal problems with relationships or self-image, impending doom, abandonment, deadly sickness, social violence and of course, rejecting the very desire to live further.

    This tone is also very well served by the characters, as each of them is very specific and different, yet they all come together as a wonderfully cohesive world, none of them ever breaking the dark and realistic tone of the game, except President Tanaka, who is over-the-top to the max, but is as enjoyable as it gets.

    The tone is excellently served by everything in the game, the music, the visual art style(which is kinda sucky sometimes, especially in cutscenes), the characters, the story, the themes, everything in this game just screams sadness, depth and a profound love for the less bright side of life and human society. By itself, the tone makes this one of the best games ever.

    But the characters are the second most awesome part of it. From the best (Mitsuru, Akinari Kamiki, Tanaka, Shinjiro Aragaki, Aigis, Ryoji) to the least interesting (Mamoru, Kenji), there isn't a single bad apple or even a mediocre one. The least deep or most one-note characters still feel like complete and well-rounded imitations of real-life people. The social links all provide a new insight in life from a different personality, and there is no part of the social link planning that I dislike simply because no matter how much of a hassle it is to plan for all of that, the whole game is such an enjoyment for me that I never dislike the idea of planning for hours if I have to. I want all the social links at every playthrough, and it's not because of a completion spirit, it's just that they all are so good that I want to miss none.

    With that said, the whole soundtrack has a few flunks. Some hip-hop and jpop mixes come off as really wierd for a non-japanese like me, even as poor taste at the start; But I warmed up to all the tunes over time, except for one or two. The vast majority of the soundtrack is an amazing hit though, especially the inevitable Aria of the Soul, which needs to be listened to on Youtube at least once if you never heard it.

    Graphically, it's weak. It's a late PS2 title yet FFX looks quite a lot better. Atlus doesn't have the resources of bigger devs and it shows. The anime cutscenes are particularly weak and I always think that engine-based character animations look a lot better.

    The battle system just sucks.

    The system relies on 4 elementals, 2 Instant death elements, and 3 types of physical attacks. It's weak. It wouldn't be so weak if it was only part of the gameplay system, but because of the weak+all out attack system, it becomes the main feature of every fight.

    In P3FES, if you can strike an enemy with the type of attack it's weak to, it'll go into a "weak" state. If all the enemies are in such a state, you can launch a devastating all-out-attack. The problem is that about 80% of the enemies of the game have at least one elemental weakness. Logically, that means that about 80% of the fights are done WITH THE EXACT SAME TACTIC EVERY TIME. Grating is an understatement here, it's just outright boring as hell.

    The fights that don't use elemental weakness are also long and generally boring since the system is very stiff and relies on extra large health bars for bosses. The status effects are too random and unreliable, the buffs are too stiff(they always last three turns and give the same bonus no matter your level), the whole gameplay just lacks any sort of fun factor. Its saving grace is the card minigame and the 170 Personas you can fuse, these breathe a lot of life in this overall bad system.

    But poor gameplay or not, this fully deserves 10/10. I have to state that after having played RPGs over 20 years, I have never been blown away from start to finish like this. Not a part of this game is bad, and its best is literally amazing.    … Expand
  40. Ishi123
    Oct 31, 2016
    10
    An absolute must-own for JRPG fans. Persona 3 is an amazing adventure from start to finish, and the new FES version adds even more to the already stellar Persona 3.

    The gameplay is centered around dungeon crawling juggled with high school life. The characters are well presented and the turn based battles are fun and strategic. Although I lament the fact that I can't take direct control    An absolute must-own for JRPG fans. Persona 3 is an amazing adventure from start to finish, and the new FES version adds even more to the already stellar Persona 3.

    The gameplay is centered around dungeon crawling juggled with high school life. The characters are well presented and the turn based battles are fun and strategic. Although I lament the fact that I can't take direct control of party members, there are only a few instances in which this actually became a real issue.

    The story is the real selling point of this game, and it deals with some pretty depressing themes, such as death and depression. The game tells its story incredibly well, and near the ending, you really feel the weight of your entire journey so far on your shoulders, and it all culminated to a bittersweet but immensely satisfying ending that you will remember forever. But just in case that wasn't enough, FES has added a lengthy epilogue chapter called "The Answer", where you play as a different character and go on another adventure to discover a truth after the main game.

    The characters are very well written and believable. Even if some characters get on your nerves, it's not for lack of characterization. The characters in this game feel relatable, and a few of them you will downright love as you go through the adventure together. They become stronger with you, in battle, in their connection with you, and in themselves. It's a hell of a feat to get the player to care as much about the characters of a game as Persona 3 does, but this game manages it wonderfully.

    Persona 3 alone was already an amazing and unforgettable experience, and FES only makes it better with the addition of some new and altered Personas, new sidequests, costumes, and The Answer. If you're a JRPG fan, and even if you aren't, this game will amaze you in so many ways.    … Expand
  41. ppytry
    Apr 27, 2021
    5
    Это персона?Какие то странные существа и рыцари.Этот анимешный графон и геймплей не как в Дум 3,где тебя цепляла стрельба и атмосфера,а тут какие то боги...Неужели нельзя сделать настоящюю персону без всей этой фантастики?Это персона?Какие то странные существа и рыцари.Этот анимешный графон и геймплей не как в Дум 3,где тебя цепляла стрельба и атмосфера,а тут какие то боги...Неужели нельзя сделать настоящюю персону без всей этой фантастики?
  42. AzurealZX
    Apr 14, 2017
    2
    I expected something better for all of the hype this really average franchise gets.

    All characters were boring anime archetypes with no flavor of their own. The story was an extremely generic premise that flows in the typical Japanese way of story telling like Light Novels. Tartarus, the main gameplay feature was fun at first but as you progress in the tower, it becomes more and    I expected something better for all of the hype this really average franchise gets.

    All characters were boring anime archetypes with no flavor of their own.
    The story was an extremely generic premise that flows in the typical Japanese way of story telling like Light Novels.

    Tartarus, the main gameplay feature was fun at first but as you progress in the tower, it becomes more and more tedious by the second. In the end, I forced myself to complete the game.

    Bosses have a terrible gameplay design, for example the ones under the Millitary base, you have to kill the 2 bosses in the exact same turn or the one that wasn't killed will revive the other one ON FULL HP. No, they don't warn you about that, they never tell you about it until the first revive happens.

    One of the bosses even relies COMPLETELY ON LUCK. That's bad game design.
    He uses a move that spawns a roulette in front of you and you spin it and stop it.
    Whether you damage him for some small amount or he 2-3 shots you, that's up to luck.
    Whether you get debuffed or he gets debuffed, that's up to you..
    Oh, did I say that there' s another boss fighting besides that guy? Yeah, 2 enemies at the same time.
    Not only you have to rely on luck but you also must simultaniously fend off that other guy who has an attack that can one shot you if you have an Ice based Persona. or leave you barely alive on about 30 hp if you don't.

    The whole game is riddled with badly designed bosses and the pacing of the story is bad. A story sequence happens and you're left with a whole month of free time before the next one.
    Either you grind which is boring, or do Social Links, which are just unfleshed dialogues that get the other characters attached to you. The characters seem to start loving you way too quickly. You go and say hi and you already got a girlfriend... (It's an over exaggerated example, chill.)

    This version has the least content and is the most bare-bones one but at least it doesn't contain The Answer so I give it a better score than I did to FES.    … Expand
  43. 6xdandangp
    Dec 29, 2012
    9
    Amazing story, excellent game. A few complaints include a weak mid-game and repetitive dungeons. However, Atlus was definitely on the right track when they created this and I recommend any gamer who wants a great experience to try this out.
  44. PhiloDandy
    Aug 20, 2012
    5
    in the last years of the playstation2 i was already gone, haven't played anything on this console anymore, but years later i realized that i missed a lot of good games. So 4 years after the release i played this game, which was so highly praised everywhere and for me this was a HUGE disappointment. I always loved RPGs, especially japanese ones, and a more modern teen story sounded well forin the last years of the playstation2 i was already gone, haven't played anything on this console anymore, but years later i realized that i missed a lot of good games. So 4 years after the release i played this game, which was so highly praised everywhere and for me this was a HUGE disappointment. I always loved RPGs, especially japanese ones, and a more modern teen story sounded well for me, also the graphics looked amazing on the pics, but at the end i cannot understand all these euphoric reviews. the dating-part in this game is so simple and it felt more like a facebook-game, in which you are doing stuff to upgrade more and more, but not because you really like it, you have the feeling you have to do it, and the RPG part is also boring. Shuffled mazes which dont look good. It was also too easy, and if you are not strong enough then go there again and again and your states will rise and you will win. so easy. there is nothing strategic in this game, just level up and you will solve the fights. it doesnt depent on your strategy or your decisions, just that you had enough fights till this point. the 2 parts dont fit together, the story needs so much time that something interesting is happening and so on... i can't understand you fans out there. for me this one felt more like polished cellphone-game.… Expand
  45. JuniorMac
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. You know, i was a big fan of this game until the very end. You spend over a hundred hours just for everybody you spent your adventure with forgetting everything, just to have their memories snap back. Once this happens they just rush to you but your character just **** dies right before they get there. You die, you're dead. You don't even get to experience meeting with the version of your friends that matters before you just die and never come back as is revealed in the answer. **** this game, wasted a hundred hours of my life.… Expand
  46. GundamBoy
    May 28, 2018
    0
    Clearly the inferior game out of the recent three. You might've heard somewhere before that people hyped this game as the best one in the franchise, which isn't true since those people are likely speaking from nostalgia perspective.

    The gameplay are unbalanced and you can't control your party members in battle, plus the AI aren't helping either. I lost count as how many times i've    Clearly the inferior game out of the recent three. You might've heard somewhere before that people hyped this game as the best one in the franchise, which isn't true since those people are likely speaking from nostalgia perspective.

    The gameplay are unbalanced and you can't control your party members in battle, plus the AI aren't helping either. I lost count as how many times i've encountered groups of enemies which all shares the same weaknesses and i set one of my party member to knock them down, but guess what? they decide to hit them one by one instead of doing it with multi-target skill attack. I don't mind if the enemies are weak to certain physical attacks since regular attack command will do. But when the enemies are weak to certain elements, prepare to waste more of your precious time & in-game resource.

    Next is the dungeon, in this game there's only one big dungeon called Tartarus, you have to climb this one and only lazy-designed dungeon to reached the top before the last day in the game, there's no real time limit here but you should still keep up with it every month if you don't want to get into trouble near the end. The worst part? not only does the process are tedious, but your allies could also got tired from exploring and thus severely limited your exploration.

    Lastly, the story use the same formula as in Persona 4 & Persona 5 but didn't executed as good and the characters are mostly okay except for this one robot girl (yes, a robot girl) that's just came out of nowhere and become the center of the narrative, not to mention that in some scene they make her looks like her sole purpose is to please the male playerbase by holding the main character's hand immediately after she saw him for the first time or going into the main character's room when he sleeps at night. Though there are some other annoying characters like the french guy at school or the fat dude in mall, the robot girl stand out the most since she's part of your team.

    The final boss battle are a drag because usually final boss in JRPG have 3 forms, but this one got 13 forms! and the optional boss aren't as hard as people makes it sound to be, just need lots of preparation not worth getting stressed over, complete with an epilogue called "The Answer" which is also tedious. If i have to say a good thing about this game, it's the music, "Burn My Dread" and "Battle Hymn of the Soul" are one of the best video games soundtrack i've ever heard.

    Overall, this game isn't as good as what the fans are saying. If you played this game expecting another Persona 4 or Persona 5, chance are you'll be disappointed. If you haven't played Persona 4 or Persona 5, play those instead since they're better in almost every way.    … Expand
  47. BasilG
    Jun 23, 2009
    5
    I love Persona 3, but that will not change my decisive opinion of one thing: it is not a good game. The story, music, characters and its distinctive style made Persona 3 what it is. The actual GAME is borderline bad. The Social Link aspect is enjoyable because the characters are attractive and develop the more time you spend with them, however its actual effect on gameplay is not I love Persona 3, but that will not change my decisive opinion of one thing: it is not a good game. The story, music, characters and its distinctive style made Persona 3 what it is. The actual GAME is borderline bad. The Social Link aspect is enjoyable because the characters are attractive and develop the more time you spend with them, however its actual effect on gameplay is not significant enough. The same applies to character stats (charm, courage etc). You spend most of the first half playing this game developing these stats to unlock and level up Social Links that do not help as much as they are promised to. There are a fair amount of locations in this game but barely any reason for you to visit them. Throughout the full course of the game, Port Island Station is a perfect example. The battle system, at its core, is below average because it is plague with a number of massive flaws. The first being: you cannot fully control your party members. The extent you can being only with a number of vague AI command presets that don't always work as they are supposed to. Why Atlus implemented this feature is a mystery as it is nothing more than wasted effort. Even RPGs 10 years ago allowed you to control your party. When using the Health/Support tactic, the AI prioritizes the lowest health first not matter what. Why is this bad? I cannot count the number of times I had to re-load because a party member healed someone else instead of me. Here is an example of a typical scenario: an enemy uses a skill that leaves your parties' HP close to nothing. If you have ten hit points but everyone else has less, the healer will tend to everyone else before you. This also leads us to our next flaw: if the main character dies, it's game over. This is incredibly frustratingly especially in the case where all enemies decide to attack you, uses an instant kill spell or if you're currently weak against an element. If you get knocked down from a weakness or a critical hit, you lose the only chance to change the AI of a party member to heal you until the next turn when you get back up - BUT you're most likely already dead at this point. Almost every death I have had in this game was unfair. That aside, fusing new Personas is easy and can be surprisingly a lot of fun, especially when preparing for boss fights of which you already know what to expect. If you are playing Persona 3, you will be surprised by how much better Persona 4 is. Nearly every negative mentioned above is fixed. If you are considering to play this game, pick up Persona 4 instead as you will most likely enjoy it over this frustrating gaming experience.… Expand
  48. mongoman
    Nov 3, 2012
    7
    I bought this game on PSN without any idea what persona games were like. I admit that it is fun, mostly, but I hate dying in a boss fight and having to replay the last hour all over again. There are very few save locations and NO checkpoints. very aggravating. the controls are great, the story is great, and the music is god-awful crap. If you enjoy the classic final fantasy games (VII,I bought this game on PSN without any idea what persona games were like. I admit that it is fun, mostly, but I hate dying in a boss fight and having to replay the last hour all over again. There are very few save locations and NO checkpoints. very aggravating. the controls are great, the story is great, and the music is god-awful crap. If you enjoy the classic final fantasy games (VII, VIII, or IX) then you should check this out. it is worth the $10 price to download but be forewarned..you will get frustrated and it takes up 4.5 gigs of HD. Also be advised the graphics here are PS2, and there are many long cut scenes to watch.… Expand
  49. VidM
    Apr 30, 2008
    10
    This game is BAD@$$ and blew away all of my expectations. If you're a FF fanboy or fangirl, it's high time you played a real RPG. Stop reading this and go buy it. Now. If it's even still available. Grrr, Atlas and your limited presses.
  50. SwitSwat
    Aug 3, 2015
    10
    I was warned that this game would take some getting used to if I played Persona 4 beforehand (Especially Golden, which is the version I played). They were right. The battle system, the social links, the time management - everything is harder in this game. Luckily, I do love a good challenge, and this game certainly provided one (Not that persona games are known for being really hard). ButI was warned that this game would take some getting used to if I played Persona 4 beforehand (Especially Golden, which is the version I played). They were right. The battle system, the social links, the time management - everything is harder in this game. Luckily, I do love a good challenge, and this game certainly provided one (Not that persona games are known for being really hard). But anyway, the game is amazing - Likable characters, dark, gripping storyline, and the funkiest battle music you will probably ever here in your gaming life. Highly recommended, even for people who already played through the original P3, as this has an extra chapter called "The Answer" which adds 30+ hours of gameplay. 10/10… Expand
  51. Maxson
    Dec 31, 2018
    9
    I'm not a fan of the dungeon in this game, but this game is still amazing. I really like all the characters, the story is great, and soundtrack is awesome as well. In my opinion, it's one of the best games on the PS2.
  52. smahlt
    Sep 24, 2020
    6
    If you're not going to allow the player to control the other party members, their AI needs to not be as dumb as it is.

    Otherwise, pretty solid story. I will never replay this game due to the above AI issues though.
  53. Xtord
    Feb 19, 2015
    10
    Persona 3 fes Review
    This game is an absolute masterpiece. I heard it was a little like final fantasy in terms of turn based gameplay. My friend persuaded me and after a long discussion he gave me the last push to buy this game on psn , and I don’t regret for it for one second. This game is brilliant.
    When it comes to the story is very good and actually some of the twists I did not    Persona 3 fes Review
    This game is an absolute masterpiece. I heard it was a little like final fantasy in terms of turn based gameplay. My friend persuaded me and after a long discussion he gave me the last push to buy this game on psn , and I don’t regret for it for one second. This game is brilliant.

    When it comes to the story is very good and actually some of the twists I did not see coming. Your are a transfer student. And one every full moon you are going to face a boss as long as you level up in tartarus they shouldn’t be that hard, and you will keep on reminding yourself that the gameplay isn’t that bad. Yes, you cannot control your party members except from the main character but you can give them commands and if you learn to use it, they aren’t that bad. . You are going to use most of you time leveling up social links. And the social links are mostly very well done
    The atmosphere, the graphic design and music is absolutely phenomenal and the character development is magnificent. The ending is also very good.    … Expand
  54. CorixAsk
    Jan 31, 2021
    10
    To the person that was hurt so badly by the Shin megami tensei so much that review bomb all the games in the franchise
    Wtf is wrong with you?
  55. likevin96
    Jan 12, 2017
    9
    Pros:
    - Invented the blockbuster modern Persona formula (blend of VN elements in the S. Links with SMT battle system)
    - Gripping story with twists, turns, and incredible emotional highs - Genuinely grow to care about the characters - Fun RPG battle system that you can sink dozens upon dozens of hours into - Stellar soundtrack, particularly the school and battle themes - HUGE game    Pros:
    - Invented the blockbuster modern Persona formula (blend of VN elements in the S. Links with SMT battle system)
    - Gripping story with twists, turns, and incredible emotional highs
    - Genuinely grow to care about the characters
    - Fun RPG battle system that you can sink dozens upon dozens of hours into
    - Stellar soundtrack, particularly the school and battle themes
    - HUGE game (took me ~100 hours) with meaningful content

    Cons:
    - Some of the social links are pretty subpar in terms of plot
    - Inheritance of Persona skills is needlessly tedious
    - Can't control party members' actions/poor AI
    - There's exactly TWO dungeons in the game and the second one you only unlock at the very end
    - End game feels a bit empty
    - Some of the voice actors, Fuuka in particular, give flat performances

    True Score: 9.1    … Expand
  56. marvs869
    Mar 11, 2017
    9
    I came to play this franchise with no expectations and Atlus has really established itself as a brand that can compete with the like of Square Enix in the JRPG genre. Persona 3 is one of my favorites games in the PS2 and I recommend it practically to everyone. Its gameplay is unique because no other game, AFAIK, has ever tried mixing in bonds and friendship as a source of levelingI came to play this franchise with no expectations and Atlus has really established itself as a brand that can compete with the like of Square Enix in the JRPG genre. Persona 3 is one of my favorites games in the PS2 and I recommend it practically to everyone. Its gameplay is unique because no other game, AFAIK, has ever tried mixing in bonds and friendship as a source of leveling power/capability. Guaranteed a great game for its time and will always have a special place in me.… Expand
  57. jptiamzon
    Dec 27, 2017
    10
    GOOD:
    MUSIC
    STORY (Executed well in my opinion and the best one yet compared to newly released persona games)

    BAD:
    MECHANICS (You can only control the protagonist during battle)
    THE F ING GRIND IS REAL

    One more thing:
    REMAKE PLEASE
  58. AkiraKurusu
    Dec 30, 2017
    10
    One of best JRPG ever. The story, gameplay and music are amazing. You must play this game, if you really love anime or wonderful games. 10 of 10!
  59. Vadrael
    Apr 7, 2018
    10
    This was my First Shin Megami Tensei game and one of the best JRPGs in History.
    Great Music,Story and Characters.
  60. Lulcy
    Jun 27, 2019
    10
    One of the most emotional high school drama videogames out there. Can't say more than that. I wish the grind was a bit less punishing though.
  61. Revoltado
    May 6, 2018
    10
    Melhor Persona!! Trágico, personagens super interessantes com histórias interessantes.... E o melhor de tudo diálogos na medida certa (diferente do 4 e 5)
  62. Verrus
    Jun 11, 2018
    10
    One of the best games i ever played,The story is lengthy and rewarding,the main highlight of the game to me is the Social Links,with interesting and complex characters,The game is Jam-packed with content,The music is upbeat,catchy and matches the atmosphere of the game really well
    The only criticism i can say about this game is the animations and graphics look really outdated compared to    One of the best games i ever played,The story is lengthy and rewarding,the main highlight of the game to me is the Social Links,with interesting and complex characters,The game is Jam-packed with content,The music is upbeat,catchy and matches the atmosphere of the game really well
    The only criticism i can say about this game is the animations and graphics look really outdated compared to today's standards,And the combat can get repetitive and a bit frustrating at times but nonetheless,this game is truly a masterpiece and i can't recommend it enough,Play it you will have the time of your life    … Expand
  63. vodkaffee
    Jan 20, 2020
    3
    great music and a revolution in combat and combining simlife with jrpgs. but is literally unplayable. the only persona game that does not lets u control your party. u can use a tactics system that barely works. no character development. horrible pacing
  64. SergioJRM
    Dec 9, 2018
    8
    A little inferior to 4 and 5, but I can't valorate it less than an 8 because I just liked it too much. I have plenty of complaints, such as the fact that it happens absolutely nothing during the last two months, or that the chapther "The answer" dissapointed me a bit, but nice game though.
  65. Medium18
    Apr 16, 2019
    10
    I have just started to play this again after 2 months of not playing it. All that I can say is this game is amazing and the battle theme and the music in general is just amazing
  66. lidwang
    Mar 1, 2019
    7
    Th story and themes of dead are amazing, it's what holds the game up. And the character development is also quiete amazing of how it correlates with the main theme of the game. Sadly th gamplay and mechanics are meh, the social link system feels clunky(you can't complete two links with two different girls unless you cheat on them) and the main dungeon, tratarus, is boring and the aren'tTh story and themes of dead are amazing, it's what holds the game up. And the character development is also quiete amazing of how it correlates with the main theme of the game. Sadly th gamplay and mechanics are meh, the social link system feels clunky(you can't complete two links with two different girls unless you cheat on them) and the main dungeon, tratarus, is boring and the aren't really other more complex dungeons to compensate.… Expand
  67. shootingstars99
    Aug 13, 2019
    6
    An okay RPG. While the art is good and the initial hook grabs you into the story, the overall plot overstays it's welcome far too long and 80% of the game feels like filler. While you do get some insight to characters and their personality, many of them leave something to be desired, or they exist only to move the plot forward. My main issue with this game was the pacing, and how you couldAn okay RPG. While the art is good and the initial hook grabs you into the story, the overall plot overstays it's welcome far too long and 80% of the game feels like filler. While you do get some insight to characters and their personality, many of them leave something to be desired, or they exist only to move the plot forward. My main issue with this game was the pacing, and how you could probably have someone watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy back to back to back in the next room, and by the time they are done, you are probably still drowning in filler in this game that happens to be paced at a snails pace. I get that maybe they want to leave you in suspense and feeling the sense of dread the characters do, but the only thing you will dread is the 25 in game days of filler in the 30 in game day blocks of time between bosses.… Expand
  68. BambiRue
    Mar 30, 2020
    7
    Good game but damn this thing is edgy.

    The game does a good job of blending school life, dating sim, and RPG together. It has good voice acting and has my favorite OST of the persona games so far and has a good battle system and social links flesh out characters. But damn this game has the subtly of taking a baseball bat to an antique vase. The death imagery is so over the top it -    Good game but damn this thing is edgy.

    The game does a good job of blending school life, dating sim, and RPG together. It has good voice acting and has my favorite OST of the persona games so far and has a good battle system and social links flesh out characters.

    But damn this game has the subtly of taking a baseball bat to an antique vase. The death imagery is so over the top it - with coffins, water becoming blood, and shooting yourself to fight - it can be funny and not scary and it hammers it in the imagery from the first few minutes of the game. If you take a shot for every-time someone mentions a dead loved one or talks about death and you'll have an untimely death too!

    The school life aspect helps things from getting to narm-y but near the end it isn't able to help anymore. The game also has some pretty bad pacing and some of the jokes have aged badly. The cast is great and varied, but damn the bickering and drama between them gets annoying.

    The final part, 'The Answer', has one hell of a difficulty curve and has some of the character's worst moments, but does help give closer to those who weren't satisfied by the ending of the main game.

    Good game, but not for everyone.    … Expand
  69. INU4SH4
    Jun 22, 2020
    6
    I will make 2 different reviews for Persona 3. I have played both versions and I have very different opinions about them. Persona 3 Portable is the superior version in my opinion. But let's move onto the actual review.

    I loved the story and the turn-based combat in general but there were many characters with boring/uninteresting personalities (this issue was fixed with the addition of    I will make 2 different reviews for Persona 3. I have played both versions and I have very different opinions about them. Persona 3 Portable is the superior version in my opinion. But let's move onto the actual review.

    I loved the story and the turn-based combat in general but there were many characters with boring/uninteresting personalities (this issue was fixed with the addition of new characters in Portable). Tartarus also felt really repetitive but it was still cool conceptuality. Persona 3 has an incredible soundtrack though, I can't deny that.

    The deal-breaker for me is not having the ability to control the party members in the PS2 version. It literally killed my experience.

    Anyway, I have a review for Portable which is a lot more positive so check it out.    … Expand
  70. Crysllar
    Aug 1, 2020
    7
    It is not subtle or nuanced, rather it is crass and immature. But, it alright.
  71. Cpercent
    Feb 20, 2021
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................persona threez nuts… Expand
  72. Adriarro
    Sep 14, 2021
    7
    Persona 3 Fes is a good game. This game is mostly focused on the polt. In my opinion, because of that, the characters in this game are the worst when I compared them to Persona 4 Golden and 5 Royal. The story is very interesting and emotional, but near to final boss fight, the story becomes cliché and makes the player look like an idiot. Fortunately, the last scene keeps a high level. ThePersona 3 Fes is a good game. This game is mostly focused on the polt. In my opinion, because of that, the characters in this game are the worst when I compared them to Persona 4 Golden and 5 Royal. The story is very interesting and emotional, but near to final boss fight, the story becomes cliché and makes the player look like an idiot. Fortunately, the last scene keeps a high level. The story from Fes DLC is just a clarification of the basic game ending. Gameplay in is familiar to the basic game, but with more grind and without daily operations.… Expand
  73. PanchaMiguela
    Mar 3, 2023
    5
    The story is the best one of the series and where the whole daily life started, BUT Tartarus is so bad that makes everything in the game so retroactively worse, and makes me sick of the idea of playing this game again or trying one of the early games. I couldn't do The Answer and had to look it up online the cutscenes because of how disgusted I was after playing so much Tartarus to justThe story is the best one of the series and where the whole daily life started, BUT Tartarus is so bad that makes everything in the game so retroactively worse, and makes me sick of the idea of playing this game again or trying one of the early games. I couldn't do The Answer and had to look it up online the cutscenes because of how disgusted I was after playing so much Tartarus to just play ONLY TARTARUS THE CAMPAIGN.… Expand
  74. [anonymous]
    Jan 21, 2010
    8
    The game overall is very good. It is a mix between fighting and a life simulation. I've heard that in Japan life simulation games are frequent enough to have their own genre, but this is a rarity here, so it's unique just for that, but I've barely scratched the surface. The enemy designs are the best I've seen in an RPG, especially the bosses, and the dark hour looks The game overall is very good. It is a mix between fighting and a life simulation. I've heard that in Japan life simulation games are frequent enough to have their own genre, but this is a rarity here, so it's unique just for that, but I've barely scratched the surface. The enemy designs are the best I've seen in an RPG, especially the bosses, and the dark hour looks pretty beast where water turns to blood and people sleep in coffins. The story is extremely interesting, and beating the final boss (I wont spoil anything) is the greatest moment in gaming. The story is also the only one I've ever heard in gaming that made me tear up with the exception of Modern Warfare 2. The combat is good, but lacking team control is an issue sometimes. The AI is not dumb, but it can make screwups, and it is impossible to build a strategy if you only have a vague idea of what your allies would do next. It's not bad in "the Journey" because battles are pretty straight foward, but in "the Answer" enemies are kind of all over the place, which makes battleing pretty hard. A frequently reoccuring situation in the Answer is when you are up against three minibosses at once, with weakness to one element and immunity to most others. Lets say I wanted Akihiko, a thunder user, to attack the one that is weak to thunder. I can select "assign target" from the tactics menu and assign him that target, but he uses "mazio" which thunder attacks his target as well as all other enemies, causing them to reflect the attack back at him or absorb it or something while he gets no second turn. To top that off, there is no compendium in the Answer, so you can't store more than twelve or something personas. That would be like if in Pokemon you were only allowed to carry the six in your party. It is also silly that if you attack a downed enemy they stand back up, and it takes up a turn slot to get back up, too. Also, the minibosses are incredibly hard. The story and life sims are extremely immersive. What makes the story so great, besides the story itself are the little distractions that are thrown in every once in a while ("operation: babe hunt" for example) which just brings a smile on everyone. Except for battling shadows in the dark hour, the game is in a contemporary setting, which just sucks the audience in even further. What fractures the immersion is how in during the cutscens your party seem to undermind the protagonist, which is odd because you're the leader. An other thing is that social link options feel very one sided. For example, I was asked if I have any friends, and the two options were "I can't say that I don't" and "I don't have any friends." Where's the "I'm the most popular dood at school" option? Your friends also get mad at you a lot. An other thing about social links is the dating sim, which is completely broken. If you are higher than rank four in a social link with any girl, you are dating them. There is no "just friends" option, so often times you would find yourself cheating with five girls at once! This is Persona, not Tiger Woods!! The music is pretty good, by the way, and the animated cutscens have a cool artsy effect. The second video that plays before you see the title screen is the best in start up movie in gaming. Overall, Persona 3 FES, though flawed, is an extremely good game. One more thing is that if you get the choice, get Persona 4 because, other than being the best game of all time, it is also one of the best sequels because it fixes everything wrong wiht this game and enhances all the good stuff that is all ready here.… Expand
  75. ChrisT
    Dec 5, 2008
    10
    Persona 3 FES takes the groundbreaking Persona 3 to the next level by making multiple improvements/adjustments and adding an entire new 40+ hour chapter to the already nearly 100 hour game. The perfect mix of traditional J-RPG and dating sim, Persona 3 delivers quite possibly one of the greatest RPG experiences of all time. Certainly the best on the PS2.
  76. AngelicaR
    Aug 16, 2009
    10
    This is probably one of the best RPGs I have played in a long time and a definite must-play for anyone who owns a PS2: Compared to your standard group of RPG heroes, this involves a group of high school students that fight during the Dark Hour: a hidden hour between midnight and the following day. When you are not grinding, you attend Gekkoukan High School and make friends that help This is probably one of the best RPGs I have played in a long time and a definite must-play for anyone who owns a PS2: Compared to your standard group of RPG heroes, this involves a group of high school students that fight during the Dark Hour: a hidden hour between midnight and the following day. When you are not grinding, you attend Gekkoukan High School and make friends that help strengthen your Personas.… Expand
  77. guiletheguiles
    Jan 29, 2021
    8
    The feeling of finishing Persona 3 was almost the complete opposite of finishing Persona 4. When I finished my trip in Inaba, I felt nothing but joy, but when I finally destroyed Tartarus, I felt nothing but... sadness!
    And that felt surprisingly good!
    Persona 3 felt like a game on the verge of something incredible. It has all the right ingredients that would make the franchise    The feeling of finishing Persona 3 was almost the complete opposite of finishing Persona 4. When I finished my trip in Inaba, I felt nothing but joy, but when I finally destroyed Tartarus, I felt nothing but... sadness!
    And that felt surprisingly good!

    Persona 3 felt like a game on the verge of something incredible. It has all the right ingredients that would make the franchise stunning, but its formula was still being worked upon, at the time.
    But that's not to say that the game is bad! Because it's definitely not!
    While P3's gameplay may feel arcaic, the story and characters shines on the entire experience. The story does take A LONG time to actually develop and the pacing of progressing/leveling up does feel a little dull, but whenever something big happens, it floored me. Every character motivation is well written, dialogues are melancholic, making you care about each person's tale, the protagonist has an actual interesting past in comparition to P4 and P5 and the ending... MY GOD, THAT ENDING IS PERFECT! Sad, sure... But superb.
    I also noticed that leveling up your social links in this game was simpler than the others. Side characters weren't as great as seen in future games, but they were nicely developed, nonetheless. The soundtrack has few tracks, but they're VERY memorable and good to listen to. I am a sucker for every soundtrack that Shoji Meguro touches and this is no different. It perfectly captures the sorrow and urban distress of the game, making its atmosphere balanced and unique.

    As for the dungeon crawling aspect of P3, well... I don't like it too much.
    Fusing personas, managing the different and creative characters, exploiting weaknesses and making your party as tactical as possible is still fun and, honestly, the saving grace of P3's dated battle nuances - but DAMN, is it bland! -
    I didn't think this game was harder than P4, but leveling up here is A CHORE. The dungeons' design sucks, enemy variety is a joke, traversing through Tartarus breaks the story's pacing and everything feels VERY slow. And the worst of all: Grinding might be boring, but it's a necessity. If your level is low, than get your ass down to killing some shadows IMMEDIATELY!
    ALSO, I WANT TO PERSONALLY PUNCH THE DUDE THAT DECIDED TO TAKE AWAY THE POSSIBILITY OF CONTROLLING YOUR PARTY MEMBERS! **** THAT AND **** THAT AI!
    It's sad that Tartarus sucks so bad, because that's the only negative thing I can think of. If it wasn't by Tartarus, even story and character development would feel more natural and just faster. I'm glad Atlus improved on their dungeons.
    Oh, one other thing, DO NOT play The Answer! It's unbalanced, ruins a perfect story and requires EVEN MORE GRIND!

    While I wouldn't recommend P3 as your first Persona or JRPG, I'd definitely recommend to any fan of the franchise and genre. Especially if you crave a good, thoughtful, bleak story and atmosphere. It filled me with joy, than broke me and I loved it ( despite gameplay hindrances)!
    Memento Mori, everyone.    … Expand
  78. death12123
    Dec 1, 2019
    9
    Persona 3 still stands as one of the more powerful games in the franchise and is a great entry for newer Persona fans.

    - One of the best stories available - Even the side stuff like social links are cool to look at - Characters and their developments continued to grow on me amazingly - Soundtrack is amazing but can become repetitive - One of the better 3D RPGs available especially    Persona 3 still stands as one of the more powerful games in the franchise and is a great entry for newer Persona fans.

    - One of the best stories available
    - Even the side stuff like social links are cool to look at
    - Characters and their developments continued to grow on me amazingly
    - Soundtrack is amazing but can become repetitive
    - One of the better 3D RPGs available especially at it's time
    - 90+ Hrs of gameplay
    - The difficulty feels more or less like SMT but easier
    - Social links have lots of variety
    - Game isn't too grindy

    The negatives?
    - If Player goes down it's game over. What's the point of buying items and Yukari having recarm then?
    - The school life can become very boring especially with the learning aspects.
    - Forced social links to make the actual gameplay better
    - Can't control allies
    - Some side quests just plain suck
    - It's one dungeon area with random layouts as opposed to several areas to travel to
    - The fatigue system
    - Having to actually upgrade your stats in the normal life
    - Annoying analysis characters that you can't turn off. I know how to play the game yet it treats me like a child.
    - Shadows instead of demons    … Expand
  79. supermalik987
    Feb 3, 2023
    7
    The only thing for me this can easily get a higher score if you let me control the party members. So I won't die easily
  80. Benonline27
    Sep 27, 2020
    10
    Masterpiece doesn't even begin to describe this game, from the story to the sound, it was absolutely amazing and isn't just one of the best jrpgs but one of the best games of all time, a tragic story full of twist and turn (there are quite a few inconsistencies though), the unique thing about this game is that all the characters are very significant in some way, game play is a bit meh butMasterpiece doesn't even begin to describe this game, from the story to the sound, it was absolutely amazing and isn't just one of the best jrpgs but one of the best games of all time, a tragic story full of twist and turn (there are quite a few inconsistencies though), the unique thing about this game is that all the characters are very significant in some way, game play is a bit meh but that is with most jrpgs, sound is the best out of any game i have ever seen, please play this, there are tons upon tons of hours of awesomeness, you won't regret it one bit… Expand
  81. Ryuail
    Feb 1, 2020
    10
    If ever you needed a master class example of theming done right in games look no further than Persona 3.

    Death is the name of the game, and much like the tarot card Death doesn't just mean one thing to the characters of Persona 3. The looming omnipresent threat of death is there sure, but the game explores other meanings of death too. Death of innocence, Death of self as a means to    If ever you needed a master class example of theming done right in games look no further than Persona 3.

    Death is the name of the game, and much like the tarot card Death doesn't just mean one thing to the characters of Persona 3.
    The looming omnipresent threat of death is there sure, but the game explores other meanings of death too.
    Death of innocence, Death of self as a means to change, Time as Death, and so on.

    A warning though, FES is the superior edition of Persona 3 as it fixes some exploits in the original, but do NOT play "The Answer". It cheapens the experience of the base game, and informs nothing to the observant player.    … Expand
  82. HarrianFinny
    Nov 24, 2019
    8
    Full Disclosure. I have tried many times before to beat this game. When I decided to use a social link guide I had WAY more fun. I also played on easy mode as I was only really here for the story and I do NOT regret it. The Personas were so well designed and I had fun collecting them all...every...single...one. The social links were great and really fleshed out the world and made me careFull Disclosure. I have tried many times before to beat this game. When I decided to use a social link guide I had WAY more fun. I also played on easy mode as I was only really here for the story and I do NOT regret it. The Personas were so well designed and I had fun collecting them all...every...single...one. The social links were great and really fleshed out the world and made me care about everyone even more.

    I loved it. Story was there but not amazing, the characters were great however. Dungeons were lame in design but fun to grind with a tv show in the back ground.

    The ending of the game made me cry, so many tears and i'm 26 at the time! All in all I had fun and recommend it.

    I skipped the Answer.    … Expand
  83. ArturReview
    Nov 9, 2020
    10
    Persona 3 FES has a masterful blend of gameplay and character development. By introducing the Social Link system to the series, all of the characters you interact with feel more conected to the action aspect of the game. Dungeon crawling has been expanded to great heights and both main and secondary characters are masterfully written, with beautiful development to their stories. Even if itPersona 3 FES has a masterful blend of gameplay and character development. By introducing the Social Link system to the series, all of the characters you interact with feel more conected to the action aspect of the game. Dungeon crawling has been expanded to great heights and both main and secondary characters are masterfully written, with beautiful development to their stories. Even if it hasn't aged well in many elements, Persona 3 FES is still a must play game because it starts what makes the Persona series great.… Expand
  84. pmasterfunk
    Nov 13, 2019
    9
    Although mechanically Persona 4 is better in just about every way, Persona 3 has a certain gravitas to it that neither P4 (or P5) has acheived.

    There is one important decision to take near the end of the story, and while the answer is obvious in-game, I'm not sure in real life I would make that same decision. It really is a deep existential question, about the meaning of life and the    Although mechanically Persona 4 is better in just about every way, Persona 3 has a certain gravitas to it that neither P4 (or P5) has acheived.

    There is one important decision to take near the end of the story, and while the answer is obvious in-game, I'm not sure in real life I would make that same decision. It really is a deep existential question, about the meaning of life and the nature of human struggle. Apart from Nier:Automata, I can't think of any games where the impending sense of helplessness is quite as pronounced, the temptation of nihilism surprisingly strong.

    Sure, the battle mechanics are a bit frustrating, as the ally AI is a hassle to manage, the knock-down mechanic is abusable, and there are a few mid-bosses that are obscenely difficult. It's true that once the main character's stats are maxed out, there isn't much to do at night. Yeah, Tartarus is kind of a drag, even though the creepy atmosphere is on point. I've never actually played through the Answer, the epilogue to the main game. I've started it up a few times, and I've always lost interest pretty quickly.

    On the other hand, I quite like the fact that Social Link interactions are usually short. With small amounts of dialog and very little exposition, these minor characters still feel like real people with real feelings and real issues. I think Persona 4 did this as well, but Persona 5 really screwed the pooch in this area, with tons of dialog, yet thin characters.

    I also like the music better in this one than P4, but P5 has it beat in this category.

    All in all, even though Persona 3 has some frustration inducing mechanics, the story is so strong that I really consider it to be one of the best games I've played.    … Expand
  85. WakeUpJeff
    Apr 5, 2020
    9
    Somehow, despite the incredible frustrations which come from this games many flaws, I still reached the ending and felt more than satisfied. The music, art direction, and believable characters pulled together an otherwise typical plot and had me immensely invested in the game's themes, messages, and general emotion. I cared about what happened to characters because a lot of them felt tooSomehow, despite the incredible frustrations which come from this games many flaws, I still reached the ending and felt more than satisfied. The music, art direction, and believable characters pulled together an otherwise typical plot and had me immensely invested in the game's themes, messages, and general emotion. I cared about what happened to characters because a lot of them felt too relatable to not root for. By the end, I felt like I had truly played something special to me, and I think it's because I just so happened to form a very personal connection with it.
    Don't let this praise fool you though. The game still has problems, and they're pretty bad ones at that. They're the same problems about combat and the main dungeon that I'm sure other reviews have already explained in more depth than I can. I think that if this game can manage to click with you personally though, it's truly something special.    … Expand
  86. Pokenight
    Sep 3, 2022
    9
    Bro, this game sucks ass. The ai sucks. The dungeon sucks. Then I saw the story...
    This is one of my favourite games of all time.
  87. Just_Critical
    Mar 30, 2020
    10
    for my second persona game i really enjoyed this game, from the start to the end its different and give you something to play and or do. its a worthy PlayStation 3 game and a worthy PlayStation 2 game give it a shot if you like persona
  88. Gamer1465
    Jul 3, 2020
    9
    My Favorite Persona story with only a few problems makes this the best Persona game to date.

    Persona 3 FES is a re-release of Persona 3 with added features and social links, even a whole new conclusion to Persona 3 named the answer. The characters are still fantastic, easily the best in the persona series and now with Aigis having a social link it adds even more depth to an already    My Favorite Persona story with only a few problems makes this the best Persona game to date.

    Persona 3 FES is a re-release of Persona 3 with added features and social links, even a whole new conclusion to Persona 3 named the answer.

    The characters are still fantastic, easily the best in the persona series and now with Aigis having a social link it adds even more depth to an already amazing cast. Voice acting is amazing apart from a few like Fuuka but for when the game came out it really was some of the best in video games. This also has the best social links in the Persona series although some aren't at the standard that was expected from this game.

    The Story hasn't changed and is still this dark story about death and grief. This is a much more mature tone than what 4 and 5 take on (nothing wrong with those games) and this tone is when Persona is at it's best.

    Tartarus to me personally still feels like a chore grinding to be the recommended level at the start of the game and could of been easily fixed with this re-release and sadly even with P3 Portable this issue was never fixed. I love Tartarus and it's lore but goddamn this is the reason the game goes for much longer. Not being able to control your party was never an issue for me but it is annoying at pivotal moments in a boss fight when someone does something stupid and costs you the fight.

    The Answer was okay, nothing spectacular just more Tartarus grinding with some story added. The flashbacks for the characters in my opinion was the highlight of the Answer. Metis as well is a good character which adds depth to our new protagonist Aigis which is always great. But a problem with the answer as well is some characters acting unlike themself which was annoying and eye rolling. The Answer overall is a 7/10. If you enjoyed The Journey definitely check out The Answer whether watching it or playing it yourself.

    Overall Persona 3 FES is still the fantastic game which was released 2 years before with improvements to the game, added events, social links and a 30 hour conclusion to the story although it is mostly just grinding. Although at first grinding Tartarus takes a long time eventually grinding is made more fun and easier. This is a must play for any fans of JRPGs, the Persona series or Shin Megami Tensei series.    … Expand
  89. IhSeVe
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    One of my 2 favourite games of all time, this game is more like an experience than just a game.
  90. littlea
    Dec 10, 2019
    10
    10/10 let me put it out there all those bad reviews are retarded people that never played a shin megami tensei game or **** play persona 5 on the safety diffulculty. But this game is awsome it looks even better with PCSX emulator for ps2 it **** GOOD STORY but taturas is anoying after a while
  91. RIPTunaMan
    Mar 22, 2020
    10
    The penultimate JRPG experience slightly tainted by a poor final chapter "The Answer". There's nothing particularly wrong with it, it just can't stand up to everything present in the original. The final cutscene was impactful enough to make it worth it though and adding another ~30 hours of gameplay can't hurt. I'd still recommend this version over the original.
  92. MercusMassacre
    Mar 23, 2020
    10
    The story is impactful, the characters are lovable, and it is fun. This is my favorite Persona game, and it's story is the best.
  93. H9Stalin
    May 15, 2020
    10
    Fes mejora y añade más contenido al original que expande la historia de buena manera, este juego es simplemente maravilloso, que nos transmite un mensaje sobre la muerte.
    Todos sus apartados me parecen geniales desde su historia hasta su música.
    Juego recomendable y unos de los mejores de Ps2
  94. JimPickens
    May 31, 2021
    8
    Almost Perfect

    Being the Persona game that first introduced many of the standout features we all know and love in the modern games, Persona 3 will obviously suffer from a big of "first game syndrome" and feel pretty clunky. For example; there are no S. Links with any male party member, Akihiko, Junpei, Ken for the 3 people who like Ken, none of them have links. Your female party members    Almost Perfect

    Being the Persona game that first introduced many of the standout features we all know and love in the modern games, Persona 3 will obviously suffer from a big of "first game syndrome" and feel pretty clunky. For example; there are no S. Links with any male party member, Akihiko, Junpei, Ken for the 3 people who like Ken, none of them have links. Your female party members however, all DO have Links, only... it's treated like a romance option, the only way to max out any female social link (with a few exceptions) is to romance them, which makes things a little awkward. Party members aside S. Links are pretty hit or miss, some like Akinari are great, others, like Kenji, are downright unbearable, it seems like an even split between great S. Links and Kenji.

    Social aspects aside, the story and characters are superb, some of the best in the series, and certainly the best of 'Neo-Persona'. Each party member has their own arc where they all overcome some kind of personal struggle, so far so run of the mill, but it's how these characters in particular act, their individual writing is captivating, especially when arcs intertwine, like Ken, Akihiko and Shinji, or Mitsuru and Yukari, even your gormless protagonist has a pretty interesting story, that I won't spoil here, even though we are talking about a ps2 game here.

    The villains are where this story falls apart, 'Strega' may be the most forgettable group of "literally who's?" I've ever seen, Revolver Jesus, who's name I'm too lazy to google, is a jarring character, or lack thereof, he doesn't really DO anything, he shows up, says some fancy nonsense, and leaves, save for one very specific scene around midway through the game, his side kick is even worse, Jin REALLY doesn't do anything, he shows up with R. Jesus, condescends to you, and sometimes serves as the easiest Boss fight in the game, rinse and repeat a couple times, the final member Chidori, would be the worst offender, if not for her connection to Junpei, otherwise, she's a bland goth girl for people who like bland goth girls I guess. I don't know how we get some of the best main characters in S.E.E.S and some of the worst villains in Strega in the same game, the big bad, Nyx is at least kind of interesting, so there's that.

    Combat ranges from "this is fine" to "AKI YOU HAVE ZIO! USE ZIO WHY DID YOU USE SONIC PUNCH?!" this is because your party is entirely AI controlled, you can influence their AI with a Tactics option but this functions as more of a "suggestion" and can occasionally break the game, I once had Aigis set to "Conserve SP" and no matter what I did she refused to fight AT ALL, even if I changed her to "Act Freely" she stood there like she was short circuiting or something, I had to leave Tartarus and come back the next night. Your lack of control isn't always detrimental to your success, typically the AI will do the smart thing but every now and then it'll do something incredibly dumb and there's nothing you could have done to stop it.

    Overall, the game is good, but not without its flaws, the AI works in mysterious ways, but will almost always work well enough, the characters are great, save for the villains, and the social aspects are very hit or miss, but when they hit, they hit HARD, sometimes emotionally, and you will cry... a lot. Persona 3 is a game I can easily recommend to any Persona fan, just be aware how far the series has come since and that you're playing a Playstation 2 game and you should be just fine.    … Expand
  95. Nekrom221
    Jul 20, 2020
    9
    Persona 3 FES is definitely a great game for me, it does have some flaws, but the pros of this game overpower the cons.

    PROS: - It has a banger soundtrack - Story is arguably the best in the Persona series - Characters are great - Symbolism / Foreshadowing - Hard, if you're into that CONS: - Has the weakest gameplay when you compare it to persona 4 and 5 - The story feels dull    Persona 3 FES is definitely a great game for me, it does have some flaws, but the pros of this game overpower the cons.

    PROS:
    - It has a banger soundtrack
    - Story is arguably the best in the Persona series
    - Characters are great
    - Symbolism / Foreshadowing
    - Hard, if you're into that

    CONS:
    - Has the weakest gameplay when you compare it to persona 4 and 5
    - The story feels dull in the beginning (It's worth getting through it once you get around the mid point in the game)

    Story/Characters - 9/10
    Gameplay - 7/10
    Sound/Music - 9/10
    Graphics - 8/10

    Overall - 9/10

    seems like this game got review bombed from what i can see and hear :(    … Expand
  96. Roast
    Jun 21, 2020
    10
    I love this game ever since I played it on a Christmas day on the psp. It's completely immersive, has the best characters in any persona game in my opinion and I believe it was quite a groundbreaking game.

    I think the fes version is slightly better because of the cutscenes although there aren't many, and running about with your character.
  97. Soutelo
    Jun 28, 2020
    10
    Best game ever made. The story, the characters, the symbolism, the message, the OST... It's all perfect (well except for being forced to date all girls in order to complete her SL but it's a really minor flaw)
  98. obamagaming22
    Jul 12, 2020
    10
    This game is by far the best in the series when it comes to the writing of the story, and the main characters. Some social links are disappointing when compared to the other games, however keep in mind this was the first atlus game that integrated a "highschool life" system. Overall, a masterpiece :)
  99. EarlLp
    Mar 20, 2021
    10
    Best game i ever played and a great story great characters and fantastic OST
  100. Aidilmuhaimin
    Dec 7, 2020
    10
    Masterpiece
    Good game my childhood game
    Must play this game was masterpiece
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best PS2 Game of 2008
2
#2 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2008
5
#5 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. GameZone
    80
    Persona 3: FES will increase your appreciation of its storyline. The characters are great, the dialogue is believable (how’s THAT for an RPG!?), and if you enjoyed the gameplay last year, there are several new reasons to play through the original quest all over again.
    Read full review
  2. G4 TV
    80
    The three interwoven role-play threads in Persona 3 FES are so deftly sewn that it's easy to tune out the rest of the noise.
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  3. Game Informer
    83
    With a mere $30 price tag, it's the perfect way for fans and newcomers to experience this exceptional RPG. [May 2008, p.94]
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