In the world of JRPGs, it used to be that, if you wanted a great game, you need look no further than the Square Enix release schedule. So many classics of the genre can be found in their back catalogue of games that it is easy to forget that, for the last 18 years, someone else has been making the best JRPG series out there. I’m talking, of course, about Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series, and though it has sometimes had a rocky road to release here in the west (The first half of Persona 2 wasn’t actually released in North America until 2011, 12 years after it hit Japan), last week the latest entry, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, hit European shelves and it has completely absorbed my life since.

I have to start with a disclaimer. The truth is that this game is pure, unadulterated fan service, an attempt to cash in on the exceptional popularity of the third and fourth entries in the series by creating a crossover game with the main casts of both games. That doesn’t mean that it is a bad game; Atlus put more effort into making their cash in games than most companies put into making their main titles. The voice actors return to their respective roles, the anime cutscenes are beautifully drawn, and the music remains as catchy as anything else in the series to this point. It also features more than thirty hours to playthrough, with more if you want to fully explore every dungeon and complete every quest, meaning it will take you time to complete the entire thing (I’m still only about halfway through now).

The gameplay itself takes a big cue from another Atlus series, Etrian Odyssey, and sees you alternating between exploring massive dungeons filled to the brim with monsters to fight and shopping, resting, and spending time getting to know your fellow students, all while unravelling the multiple mysteries that present themselves for you to solve. Where exactly have you all found yourselves? What is that giant clocktower that suddenly appeared counting down to? What brought these two teams together in the first place?

The main way you advance through the plot is exploring the dungeons and mapping them out using the 3DS’ stylus and touch pad. Just like in Etrian Odyssey, you’ll need to do the drawing for yourself, with as much or as little detail as you’d like, though it is likely to come back to bite you if you neglect even a seemingly minor detail. You’ll want to spend the extra moment to make sure your map is up to date as you explore each floor of each dungeon.

Combat will feel both familiar and alien to fans of the series. Just like before, each enemy you come across will have its specific strengths and weaknesses and exploiting these will be the key to your victory. They are so important that one even small mistake can turn the tide of a battle from one side to the other, meaning that learning the enemy’s weakness is often the only thing between you and dying. Which you’ll do with relative frequency. However, returning fans will notice that striking a weakness doesn’t result in the enemy being knocked down as it has in the past. Instead, characters enter a boost mode, meaning that they will go first in the next round of combat and any special abilities they use will have no cost associated with them. This is vital as exploring the dungeons becomes more arduous and healing becomes more expensive as the game progresses.

A lot of fans have wondered about the change in art style between this game and the rest of the series, with the characters undergoing a sometimes bizarre chibi-fication. Which is really odd when you note that one of them is only ten to begin with and even the oldest of them is only 15-16 years old, but whatever. Its Japan. The truth is that the style works for the more upbeat story that is told here. Persona 3 focused on monsters tearing a city apart every full moon and Persona 4 was about a bunch of high schoolers trying to track down a supernatural serial killer. Compared to that, Persona Q is, literally, child’s play.

The main question is always “Is it a good game?” and that really depends on what you want. If you’re a fan of the series and you simply want more of what you love about it, then this is the perfect game to tide you over until the release of Persona 5 next year. If you love dungeon crawling and a fun and challenging combat system, then this is definitely worth checking out. If you don’t like JRPGs or anime or you simply haven’t played both of the previous games, then this might not be for you. However, for people like me who have been waiting patiently for a new Persona game, this has everything you could ask it to. Great music that will burrow its way into your psyche until you begin to think primarily in JPOP tunes. A large cast of characters who are both genuinely funny and heartfelt at all the right times. Fantastic combat that rewards strategy and punishes carelessness.

Persona Q is the perfect Christmas present to tide all of us over until Persona 5 finally hits Western shores.

© 2014 – 2015, zero1gaming.com. All rights reserved. On republishing this article your must provide a link to this original post