Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Comments by Rob Fahey

@ caoslayer:

http://www.play.com/Games/PlayStation2/4...
SO mayhaps best to shop elsewhere?

That is nice, although my girlfriend is employed in GAME and I still get it cheaper.

The price is valid for anywhere in Europe or just UK?

Was not expecting this at all. I seriously thought God Hand would be the last game I would buy for my PS2, but after this review I'm inclined to keep the old bugger alive. I can't believe it's still churning out games which piss on 90% of Next-Gen offerings, even now.

"No online features, no Achievements, no downloadable demo or add-on content?"

The way you say that it'd lead people to believe those things are actually good? I'd rather not have online features or download content. Call me old fashioned, but when I buy a game I expect it to deliver my £30-40+ worth of content along with knowing that I don't have to take the title online to get the most out of it.

And Achievements? I prefer spending time unlocking features in the game, rather than adding some useless number to my gamercard.

@ Chtulie "So the special edition of persona 3, the game and the expansion for a reduced price is confirmed for a realease in the US. "

It's true I just preordered it today from Gamestop at the reduced price of $29.99 USD.

@ caoslayer:

I would think so. The best bit about play.com over amazon is that price includes shipping, vat, etc. So unless it's pricey enough for customs to add a charge, the listed price is what you'll pay, unlike Amazon.

I've had an import copy of this sitting in my rack for months, must get around to firing it up. But on the other hand, Atlus announced the FES expansion for it is out in April...

It's pretty unfortunate timing that this game is coming out just as Atlus announced the expanded FES version for the USA at the ridiculously low price of US$30 (£17.49 from videogamesplus.ca) due out on April 22nd. As for myself, since I have no idea if Europe is even likely to get FES, I've jumped on the NTSC preorder bandwagon. Sorry Koei but it's just too good to pass up.

Are we definitely only getting the original version then, not the expanded FES? I was about to order but I'll chance it and wait now.

i really want to buy it, but, does it have a japanese AUDIO option? without it it would be like watching american dubbed animes which i seriously dislike.

I can't wait to pick this up, sounds brilliant :)

systems wrote:
"Are we definitely only getting the original version then, not the expanded FES? I was about to order but I'll chance it and wait now."

Yes the PAL version is definitely the original, and unlike the original (non-FES) USA version it does not come with an artbook or soundtrack - although GAME have a special preorder offer where you can get an artbook with it.

konnsky wrote:
"i really want to buy it, but, does it have a japanese AUDIO option? without it it would be like watching american dubbed animes which i seriously dislike."

The USA version did not have a Japanese audio option, so the PAL one is not likely to either. The dub isn't bad, but if you really hate it I believe there is an unofficial "undub" patch you can find on the internets somewhere and use with a modded console.

The English Dub. is alright, they have used professional anime actors like full metal alchemist´s main character as Junpei and he is great.

On the other hand, it cant be helped to have a couple of awful voices like Fuuka.

"@Les - I had an email from someone at Koie earlier today saying that they had tested it and it worked on a 60gb PS3. I know its not a difinitive but its good enough for me to take the chance with Game."

Roll on, Friday! :D Can't wait to play this!

well, that sounds great. but, does it tell a story, too?!

Okey. I have saw the game today: no art book, no sound track, no translation, nothing extra at all. So Im decided, I going to buy FES online.

Which place is the best for importing games to spain?

CaoSlayer wrote:
"Which place is the best for importing games to spain?"

Dunno about Spain but I use VideoGamesPlus.ca for my US imports.

“Which place is the best for importing games to spain?”

I’ve used movietyme.com in the past though the UK mail system doesn’t seem to be very consistent. First few games arrived in time, the next couple of games I reported missing but they arrived in the end, 3 months late (together with an eBay order I placed in the UK so it doesn't appear to be a fault of movietyme)… However, I know other people that never had trouble with them.

Nowadays I use tronixweb.com. They offer very cheap ($15) FedEx express service. My last two orders arrived within 3 business days after shipping. Chance of stuff gone missing is minimal though you might get hit with import duties (happened with my first € 200 order though for some reason it was only € 20 (much less than VAT rate)).

Btw, just to be sure (as it seems you have little experience importing): you do have a US PS2 (or PS3 with PS2 compatibility) don't you?

Thanks for the advice.

For all I have heard, videogamesplus seems the most reliable, that or play-asia.

I use a hard disk for the ps2, so I just have to turn the game into a iso and then copy it, it worked nicely with most games (including regular persona).

This game deserved a score of a perfect 10.

How about some videos?!

I've just got this game, played (or should I say 'watched') it for about an hour and a half and I'm seriously not impressed at all so far, graphics are bland and uninteresting, characters seem to be stereotypical and generic, music is God awful (cheesy badly sung pop and the worst rap lyrics I've ever heard "So dance while I put you in a trance, move your body, make sure you don't hurt no body, I say, hay hay hay" ...I mean WTF? Seriously, this game had better improve ALOT or it's going straight back to the shop!

Just got to playing this game:

+ Fun Story
+ Charm
+ Style
+ Nice Strategy
+ Addictive
+ Accessible

However:

- Holds hands for a LONG time
- J-Pop, not my style
- A bit low on the polygons and the frame rates
- semi-fixed camera angles (now you can rotate left-right, now you can't)
- Strategy not too advanced, I still prefer a little more complexity and stat whoring a la FF

At least it's better than MGS4.

Excellent game. Tinkering with control options allows "normal" handling. It's a 10/10 game charming and a mixture between maybe the sims (during the day) and rpg (during the night - the 25th hour). English dubbing is so far excellent (I am only 4 hours in the game). And it's refreshing to have pop and rap in a game instead of some special "rpg" music.