Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

before you come at me and say "dude, you're like over a decade late," yes, i know. in fact, as a late bandwagon jumper as always, i feel like knocking my head off for discovering this phenomenal game just now. nevertheless, i think its safe to say that this game has successfully stood the test of time and will always be one of the top picks for jrpg aficionados.

persona 3 was originally published in 2006 as a subseries of the megami tensei franchise. we take a role as a transfer student named makoto (well its actually an assigned name since the players can always rename the character) who enters gekkoukan high school. most of the gameplay showcases light environments that revolve around sunny ambience, fun classrooms, and lively characters. but behind the peaceful life of these students something dark awaits, and yes i mean it in literal sense. its a period of time called 'the dark hour', a reality bending moment between a day and the next where people would turn into coffins and grim creatures would come out to devour their souls. in order to fight this powerful yet malicious force, we're tasked to manage a special group of students called SEES (specialized extracurricular execution squad). each member of SEES has an ability to summon a 'persona', or an elemental manifestation of their own conscience. interestingly, the way to summon their personas is by shooting themselves in the head with an evoker.

now why the hell would i call a rather graphic gesture 'interesting'? because its basically a symbol of the game's narrative. yes, persona 3's theme heavily deals with death and depression. it's portrayed not only through the persona summoning, but also via the backstories of the characters. throughout the journey, makoto would get to socialize with many types of people, from a debilitated person who awaits his impending death by writing a story book, a famous student athlete whot deals with difficult family problems, a SEES member who is grieving over the loss of her parent, and many more. its interesting because beneath the adorable character designs they still show humane sides that we could relate to. that everyone, no matter how happy they appear on the outside, is carrying a great secret or burden behind the facades. the nuance is also supported by dialogues that often hit too close to home for how personal they are.

another thing that i find interesting is the mechanism of leveling up arcana by improving social links. each arcana comes in different classes of tarot class. it does require heavy grinding to max out every stat and social link, but its worth it considering the story pays off very well in the end. persona 3 is more than a story of youthful characters that embark on a quest to save the world. it captures how people deal with their own demons and eventually grow out of it to be a better person. its a visceral experience embodied in strong storytelling that would touch many hearts out there. cant recommend it enough.