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. 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
  2. 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?
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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.
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. Crysllar
    Aug 1, 2020
    7
    It is not subtle or nuanced, rather it is crass and immature. But, it alright.
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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

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

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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.
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  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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