fbpx
Wikipedia

Persona 3

March 07, 2023

Persona 3,[a] released outside Japan as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It is the fourth main installment in the Persona series, which is part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. Atlus originally released the game for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in July 2006; the North American release of the game was delayed until 2007 due to issues with the publication of the official art book. Persona 3 FES, an extended version containing a new playable epilogue among other changes, was released in Japan in 2007 and worldwide the following year.

Persona 3
Japanese box art
Developer(s)Atlus
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Katsura Hashino
Producer(s)Katsura Hashino
Programmer(s)Hirokazu Tohyama
Artist(s)Shigenori Soejima
Writer(s)
  • Yuichiro Tanaka
  • Katsura Hashino
Composer(s)Shoji Meguro
SeriesPersona
Platform(s)
Release
July 13, 2006
  • Persona 3
  • PlayStation 2
    • JP: July 13, 2006
    • NA: August 14, 2007
    • EU: February 29, 2008
    • AU: March 6, 2008
    Persona 3 FES
  • PlayStation 2
    • JP: April 19, 2007
    • NA: April 22, 2008
    • EU: October 17, 2008
    • AU: November 13, 2008
    Persona 3 Portable
  • PSP
    • JP: November 1, 2009
    • NA: July 6, 2010
    • EU: April 28, 2011
    NS, PS4, Win, XB1, XSXS
    • WW: January 19, 2023
Genre(s)Role-playing, social simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

In Persona 3, the player takes the role of a high-school student who joins the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES), a group of students investigating the Dark Hour, a time period between one day and the next that few people are aware of. During the Dark Hour, the player enters Tartarus, a large tower containing Shadows, creatures that feed on the minds of humans. To fight the Shadows, each SEES member can summon a Persona, a manifestation of a person's inner self. The game's most iconic feature is how the members of SEES release their Personas: by firing a gun-like object called an Evoker at their head. In addition to the standard elements of role-playing games, Persona 3 includes elements of simulation games, as the game's protagonist progresses day by day through a school year, making friends and forming relationships that improve the strength of his Personas in battle.

The reception of Persona 3 was mainly positive; critics enjoyed its social elements, while some found its combat and environments repetitive. Persona 3 FES's epilogue was said to give narrative closure to the original game, although it was criticized for not featuring the simulation aspect of Persona 3. An abridged PlayStation Portable version, Persona 3 Portable, was released in Japan in November 2009, in North America in July 2010, and in Europe in April 2011. This version added the ability to play as a female protagonist, new story elements and music, and a new interface. Portable was also released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2023. Two fighting games that continue the story of SEES, Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, were released in the early 2010s. Persona 3 has also seen other related media released, including a rhythm game, multiple soundtrack albums, musical concerts, radio dramas, a manga, an anime series, and an episodic animated film series.

Gameplay

 
The protagonist gains academic skills by studying in the school library. The upper-right area of the screen indicates the current date, time period, and phase of the moon.

Persona 3 combines elements of traditional role-playing games and simulation games. The game follows the protagonist character, balancing their daily lives of going to school and building relationships with other people with fighting evil beings known as Shadows during the mysterious Dark Hour. Each day is divided between various time zones, the most common of which are "After School/Daytime" and "Evening." Except for scripted events, such as plot progression or special events, the player is free to choose how each day is spent, with most activities causing time to pass on. The types of activities and characters that can be interacted with vary depending on the day of the week and time of day. Additionally, some activities are limited by the protagonist's three attributes; Academics, Charm, and Courage, which can be built by performing various activities or making certain correct choices.[1][2] During the evening, players can choose to visit Tartarus, the game's main dungeon, where they can build their party's experience and gain new items. On the day of the full moon, players will participate in a boss battle to progress the story.[3]

Personas and social links

The main element of the game are the Personas, various creatures, and monsters which are associated with the Major Arcana of the Tarot.[4] Each Persona has its own set of strengths and weaknesses and possesses various abilities, ranging from offensive and support abilities to passive abilities that support the character. Whereas each of the game's main characters has their own Persona, some of which change form as the story progresses, the protagonist is capable of wielding multiple Personas, which can be switched between battles.[5] New Personas can be created by visiting the Velvet Room and fusing together multiple Personas, passing along certain moves from the Personas used. The current level of the protagonist limits the Personas that a player can create.[5][6] Personas can also be obtained from Shuffle Time following battles, and previously obtained Personas can be summoned from the Persona Compendium for a fee.[6] The Velvet Room additionally allows players to take on quests, such as retrieving certain items, in order to obtain a reward.

New to the series are social links,[b] bonds that are formed with several of the game's characters, with each social link representing a specific Major Arcana. By spending time with these characters, these social links increase in rank. When creating a Persona of a particular Arcana, an experience bonus is granted if that Arcana possesses a social link, with greater bonuses awarded depending on the rank. Carrying a Persona of a respective Arcana can help bring a social link closer to increasing in Rank. Maxing out a social link gives players the ability to create specific Personas of each Arcana. Conversely, negative actions, such as incorrect dialogue choices or dating multiple characters (cheating), can result in a reversed social link, preventing players from summoning Personas of that Arcana until fixed. In the worst-case scenario, a reversed social link can break, effectively removing all Personas of that Arcana from the game.

Tartarus and combat

 
A typical battle in Persona 3. The portraits on the right-hand side of the screen indicate the status of the player's party.

Tartarus is the game's main dungeon, which can be visited during the evening, provided the conditions allow it (e.g. the absence of some characters may prevent the player from visiting Tartarus that night).[7] The player may order the other party members to split up to explore the area, or automatically attack Shadows on sight. Players will eventually come across boss floors, in which the player must defeat powerful Shadows to continue their progress. Additionally, certain floors halt further progress through the tower until the story progresses.[8] Occasionally, innocent civilians will wander into Tartarus, winding up on certain floors. Rescuing these civilians safely before a full moon appears grants bonus rewards obtained from the police station. Spending too much time in Tartarus may cause characters to become "Tired" or "Sick," which can affect their performance during battle. Additionally, if the protagonist becomes Tired or Sick, some activities, such as studying at night, may be hampered. Players can recover their status by taking certain items, visiting the infirmary, or going to bed early.[8]

Battle occurs when the player comes into contact with a Shadow roaming the floor, with the battle party consisting of whoever is nearby. Attacking the Shadow without being noticed will give the player an advantage, whilst the enemy gains an advantage if the player is attacked first.[9] Battles use the "Press Turn" system, in which both allies and enemies take turns to attack using weapons, items, or Persona abilities.[4] Using the Tactics option, the player can assign specific battle AI to each party member (in Persona 3 Portable, they may also choose to issue direct commands).[10] Offensive attacks are divided into three physical types; Strike, Slash, and Pierce, and six elements; Fire, Ice, Electricity, Wind, Light, and Dark, attributes of which both Personas and Shadows may possess strengths and weaknesses against. Physical abilities use up HP whilst elemental and support magic use SP. By exploiting an enemy's weakness or performing a critical attack, characters can knock the opponent down, granting that character an extra turn. However, enemies can also take advantage of an ally's weakness to gain an additional turn.[7] If the player manages to knock all opponents down, they may be granted the opportunity to perform an All-Out Attack, in which all able party members assault the enemies for massive damage.[4] Allies who lose all of their HP can be revived using revival items and abilities, but the game will end if the protagonist loses all of their HP.

When a battle is won, players gain experience points that are divided amongst the party members. Earning enough experience allows Personas to increase in level, granting improved stats and new abilities.[5] Some Personas may also grant Skill Cards, which can be given to other Personas to teach them new abilities. In addition, raising the protagonist's level will allow higher-level Personas to be summoned in the Velvet Room and allow the player to carry more Personas. At the end of certain battles, a minigame known as Shuffle Time may appear, in which players select a card from a set that is shuffled around. These can grant bonuses, such as additional experience points, cash, restore health, or give the player new Personas. However, selecting a cursed card will cause an extremely powerful monster, Death or better known as the Reaper, to appear on the current floor.

Story

Setting

The story of Persona 3 takes place in 2009 and is set in a Japanese city called Iwatodai,[c] built and funded by the Kirijo Corporation. Several experiments carried out ten years ago created the Dark Hour,[d] a period of time that exists between one day and the next.[11] During this time, most people turned into coffins, and they are not aware of the Dark Hour; however, there is a select group of people who are.[11] The Dark Hour bends reality; Gekkoukan High School, where most of the characters attend school during the day, becomes a huge labyrinthine tower called Tartarus, and beasts known as Shadows roam the area, preying on the minds of those still conscious.[7] The Shadows leave their victims in near-catatonic states outside of the Dark Hour.[12] To investigate and learn about the Dark Hour, Shadows, and Tartarus, the "Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad," or SEES, was created. SEES is a group of high-schoolers capable of summoning beings known as Personas to combat Shadows.[7] The Persona 3 instruction manual describes Persona's being "a second soul that dwells deep within a person's heart. It is an entirely different personality that emerges when a person is confronted with something from outside this world."[11] Persona-users usually summon their Persona by firing a gun-like object called an Evoker at their head.[3] An effect that appears to be broken glass comes from the user's head when the Evoker is used.

Characters

Main article: List of Persona 3 characters

The main character of Persona 3 is a silent protagonist named by the player at the start of the game.[13] He is a teenage boy, orphaned as a child, returning to the city he grew up in ten years before attending Gekkoukan High School.[11] After learning of his ability to summon a Persona, he joins SEES, which is composed of students at his school: Yukari Takeba, a popular, cheerful girl; Akihiko Sanada, a calm and collected senior who leads the school's boxing team; and Mitsuru Kirijo, the Student Council President and daughter of the head of the Kirijo Group, who provides backup during battle.[14] As the game progresses, SEES gains several new members: Junpei Iori, a class clown and the protagonist's best friend;[14] Fuuka Yamagishi, a shy girl who replaces Mitsuru as a support character; Aigis, a female android designed by the Kirijo Group to fight Shadows;[15] Ken Amada, an elementary schooler whose mother was killed by a Persona-user;[16] Shinjiro Aragaki, a former member of SEES who quit due to past events;[17] and Koromaru, a dog capable of summoning a Persona.[18]

Plot

The Journey

Persona 3 begins on April 7, 2009, with the protagonist transferring to Gekkoukan High School and moving into a dorm in the city.[11] After learning his ability to summon a Persona, he is asked to join SEES and is eventually elected as leader in combat. Additional members join SEES over time, all students attending Gekkoukan: Junpei, who had only recently discovered his ability to summon a Persona; Akihiko, whose arm injury prevented him from fighting; and Fuuka, who replaces Mitsuru as the team's support member. After awakening to his Persona ability, the protagonist is transported to the Velvet Room, which its proprietor, Igor, says is a realm between "dream and reality."[19] Igor explains to him that his Persona ability is special: he is the only member of SEES capable of wielding multiple Personas in battle.[20] In-game, the Velvet Room is where the player may fuse two or more Personas to create a new one. Igor also encourages the protagonist to meet people and form bonds with them, known as social links. According to Igor, the power of his social links will determine his potential in combat.[21]

On nights when the moon is full, the city is attacked by a Shadow more powerful than the ones found in Tartarus. After several of these incidents, Mitsuru is forced to reveal to the team the origin of Tartarus and the Dark Hour. Ten years earlier, the Kirijo Group, a research company founded by Mitsuru's grandfather, began amassing and containing Shadows. They studied and performed experiments on them to harness their power. However, the experiments went awry, allowing the Shadows to escape and assemble into twelve larger creatures.[22] Each is affiliated with one of the twelve Major Arcana. SEES' leader, Shuji Ikutsuki, informs them that if they were to defeat all twelve of the greater Shadows, Tartarus and the Dark Hour would disappear forever.[23]

As the year continues, the group adds two more Persona-users to their team: Ken and Koromaru. While vacationing in Yakushima, Junpei, Akihiko, and the protagonist encounter Aigis, who had recently escaped the laboratory where she was kept, despite being deactivated for years.[24] For reasons she cannot explain, she has a need to be near the protagonist, even breaking into his dorm room at night to monitor him.[25] Aigis is also enlisted in SEES. After defeating the twelfth and final Shadow, SEES learns that Shuji Ikutsuki had misled them. By destroying the greater Shadows, they have freed parts of a being known as Nyx, which will bring about the end of the world if it is fully restored.[26] Nyx, or the "maternal being," is the creator of Shadows; she is drawn to Earth by The Appriser, or "Death," a Shadow of the Death arcanum. SEES encounters The Appriser disguised as Ryoji Mochizuki, a recent transfer student to Gekkoukan High School.[27]

The Shadow experiments performed ten years earlier created the Death Shadow, albeit in an incomplete state.[28] Aigis, unable to defeat the Shadow, sealed it inside the protagonist, who was a child at the time.[29] By defeating the twelve greater Shadows, the Death Shadow was recreated. Its purpose is to usher Nyx into the world, which will bring about the extinction of all life on Earth. Ryoji insists that Nyx cannot be defeated; however, he offers SEES an alternative. If they were to kill him, their memories of the Dark Hour and Tartarus would vanish, allowing them to continue life unaware of their impending death.[30] Aigis, who now realizes why she wanted to protect the protagonist, begins to believe that she is useless.[31] She urges SEES to kill Ryoji, as they cannot defeat Nyx. Through encouragement from her friends, however, she gains the resolve to join with SEES as they attempt to fight Nyx.[32]

On December 31, New Year's Eve, the player must decide whether to kill Ryoji or spare his life. If the protagonist kills him, the game cuts to Graduation Day, with the entirety of SEES (barring Aigis) losing their memories of the Dark Hour and the Shadows, ending on a dark note as they prepare to celebrate in blissful ignorance until Nyx inevitably brings about The Fall and all of humanity dies. If he is spared, then the game continues, and on January 31, SEES ascends to the roof of Tartarus to face Ryoji, who has transformed into the Nyx Avatar.[33] While they can defeat him, Nyx continues to descend to Earth. As this is happening, the protagonist is summoned to the Velvet Room, where Igor reminds him that the power of his social links would determine his potential. The protagonist hears the voices of his friends encouraging him. The strength of his social links grants him the power of the "Universe," allowing him to seal away Nyx from humanity.[34] The world returns to normal, although defeating Ryoji has resulted in their memories of the past year related to the Dark Hour being lost to the members of SEES. However, Aigis and the protagonist do remember. On Graduation Day, the two go to the school's roof, where the members of SEES had promised to meet should they stop Nyx and live to see their graduation. As Mitsuru gives her graduation speech, she and the rest of SEES suddenly regain their memories, and the group rushes to the roof to fulfill the promise they all made. As the protagonist lies on Aigis' lap, she thanks the protagonist for giving her a purpose in life: protecting him. The protagonist, who has been feeling tired and unwell, then closes his eyes.[35]

The Answer

The events of The Answer begin on March 31, shortly after the end of the original game. During the opening sequence, it is revealed that the protagonist has died, never waking up after closing his eyes at the end of the original game;[36] the other characters speculate that his death is related to him defeating Nyx.[37] The school year has ended, and the dorm is to be closed down soon. Aigis reveals to the group that she will not be attending school next year.[38] During their last dinner party, the SEES members discover that they are trapped in their dorm and that the day March 31 is repeating itself.[39] Later, a large door-like hole opens in the dorm floor, and SEES is attacked by Metis, an anti-shadow weapon similar to Aigis. In the midst of fighting Metis to protect her friends, Aigis's Persona, Athena, transforms into Orpheus, the original Persona of the protagonist. She also gains the protagonist's Wild Card ability.[40] Aigis can subdue Metis, whose actions were an attempt to end the time skip and save Aigis, who she calls her "sister."[41][42]

Underneath the dorm is the Abyss of Time, the cause of the time skip. The Abyss contains seven doors, the insides of which contain multi-floor dungeons, similar in design to Tartarus; in these areas, the game's combat occurs.[43] At the bottom of each dungeon, the characters witness an event from the past of a member of SEES. After seeing several of these flashbacks, the characters discern that the event shown in each door relates to how that person had awakened to their Persona.[44] At the bottom of the seventh and final door, SEES fights a Shadow-like version of the protagonist. After defeating it, each of them obtains a key. By combining the keys, they would be able to end the time skip and leave the dorm.[45] However, Metis presents SEES with an alternative: instead of unlocking the front door of the dorm, they may also use the keys to travel back in time, to before the fight against Nyx and the death of the protagonist.[46] Now unable to agree on how to use the keys, the characters determine that they must fight each other to decide; Yukari and Mitsuru wish to travel back in time and save the protagonist from his fate, Akihiko and Ken wish to honor his sacrifice and leave the dorm, while Junpei and Koromaru intend to act as a neutral party and hold the keys until the others can make a rational decision.[47] Aigis, Fuuka, and Metis claim all eight keys, which fuse into the Final Key. After debating on what to do now, they discover a third, new door in the Abyss of Time, which the group uses (without the Final Key) to travel to the moment the protagonist sealed Nyx from the world.[48]

Metis explains that the purpose of the seal created by the protagonist was not to seal away Nyx herself (who is not inherently evil) but to prevent humanity's despair from calling out to Nyx and bringing about the Fall once more. The subconscious will of humankind to despair and wish for death constantly rebirths a monster called Erebus that summons Nyx to destroy the world; Metis implies that Erebus's contact with Nyx is what caused the Fall (that was prevented by SEES).[49] SEES realizes that the wishes that created Erebus also came from them, and so they fight it and can defeat it.[50] Mitsuru points out that Erebus will return, as humans will never stop wishing for death.[51] After breaking the time skip and exiting through the front door of the dorm with the Final Key, Metis, Aigis, and the rest of SEES are summoned to the Velvet Room, much to Igor's surprise.[52] It is here they learn of Metis's true origins: that she is a manifestation of a part of Aigis's personality. Distraught over the protagonist's death, she no longer wanted to live like a human and wished to return to being a machine.[53] However, after being set free from the Abyss of Time, Aigis changes her mind, deciding to continue to attend school, something she had chosen not to do earlier. Furthermore, the members of SEES decide to make the best out of their lives in order to honor and respect the protagonist's burden.[54]

Development

 
A Japanese ad for Persona 3, created by the game's art director, Shigenori Soejima. The ad "contains three important game elements: school, Persona, and friendship."[55]

Persona 3 began development in 2003, after the completion of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga.[56] In March 2006, the first details on Persona 3 were unveiled in the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsū.[57] In addition to announcing the game's Japanese release date of July 13, the three-page article detailed the game's premise, combat systems, and the social link system (known as "community" in the Japanese version). It also profiled three characters—the protagonist, Junpei, and Yukari—as well as their respective Personas: Orpheus, Hermes and Io.[58]

The main character artist and art director for Persona 3 was Shigenori Soejima.[59] The previous Persona titles' character artist, Kazuma Kaneko, gave the job to Soejima so he could gain more experience.[60] Soejima felt a degree of pressure when designing the characters as he did not want to disappoint the series' fanbase. The goal was to make players of the Megami Tensei series feel gratified that they had supported the Persona series. In an interview, Soejima compared the game's aesthetic and style to a fantastical manga, citing its use of mecha-like Persona and Mitsuru's flamboyant styling. Soejima returned to design the character Metis for FES.[59] The user interface was designed to stand out during the game's marketing, with its blue-colored design intended to evoke a cool and stylish atmosphere.[61] The anime cutscenes for Persona 3 and FES were animated by animation production company Point Pictures.[62]

In an interview with the magazine Play, lead director for Persona 3 Katsura Hashino discussed why the decision was made to have party members be directed by an artificial intelligence: "I think it's more fun to have the party members controlled by their AI, so each member's characteristics and personality are on vivid display. There were no objections raised among the Persona 3 development team, either." He also notes that the system "wasn't well received" by players of the game.[63] Later, the use of AI for the secondary party members was described as a stylistic choice representing the game's theme of conquering the fear of death through "bonds": each character was their own person, and the player could only influence things by interacting with them.[64] Persona 3 does not include the negotiation elements of previous Persona or Megami Tensei games, which allowed players to talk to enemies during a battle to recruit them, earn money, or obtain items. However, the social elements of Persona 3 (and its successor, Persona 4) are considered the equivalent of the negotiation system by the development team. Maragos said in a 1UP.com interview that "negotiation isn't gone...And [it] still factors into Persona Fusion; it's still a big part of the game. I feel like it's disguised, but it's there."[65]

Localization

The localization of Persona 3 was handled by Yu Namba and Nich Maragos. During this process, the team worked to leave as much of the original Japanese content intact, continuing a trend started with Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. One of the ideas had by the team for Persona 3 was to use it as a medium for introducing Japanese culture to a western audience.[66][67] While localizing Persona 3 for English-speaking countries, the honorifics used by the characters in the original Japanese script were retained. According to Maragos, their use "[added] so much more meaning to the text".[65] In an interview with RPGamer, project editor Yu Namba explained that during the process of translation, some of the Japanese humor, "things that made absolutely no sense in western culture…were replaced with jokes that at least somewhat parallel the originals."[68] One of the changes that needed to be made was to the school tests, which were based around questions on the English language. A similar change was Mitsuru's second language: in the original version it was English, but for the localized version her second language was changed to French. This choice was influenced by her cultured appearance. In addition, in-game references to the original Shin Megami Tensei were altered to references to Persona 2.[66][67]

Music

The original soundtrack for Persona 3 was composed entirely by Shoji Meguro, with the sole exception of "Adventured Act", which was composed by Yosuke Uda.[69] It was released as a two disc soundtrack in Japan by Aniplex on July 19, 2006. A selection of tracks from the full soundtrack was bundled with the North American release of the game.[70] An arranged album, titled Burn My Dread -Reincarnation: Persona 3-, was also released in Japan by Aniplex on April 18, 2007. It contains eleven arrangements of tracks from Persona 3, as well as an extended version of the song "Burn My Dread."[71] Meguro stated that the development of Persona 3 was one of his first opportunities to fully realize his music in video games. The soundtrack features a high use of vocals, though Meguro did not consider this as special or exceptional. A tune from previous Persona titles he rearranged was "Aria of the Soul", the theme of the Velvet Room. The game's battle theme, "Mass Destruction", was originally just a prototype, but the reception to it was so positive that it went into the final game.[72] In the past, the hardware limitations of the original PlayStation required him to compose music in 100-200 kilobyte samples, which he felt made the music sound "pretty cheap". The move to the PlayStation 2 allowed for real-time streaming of music. Meguro considers this "the point at which [he] was finally able to express [his] music without making any compromises". He was also worried about the pronunciation of the English lyrics.[73]

Meguro returned to compose new music for Persona 3:FES. Released in Japan by Aniplex on May 3, 2007, the soundtrack contained the original score for FES, as well as arrangements of music from earlier games in the Persona series.[74] "The Snow Queen", composed by Kenichi Tsuchiya, is a remix of the theme in Revelations: Persona. "Maya's Theme", composed by Kenichi Tsuchiya, and "Time Castle", composed by Toshiko Tasaki, are remixes of tracks from Persona 2: Innocent Sin.[75] Persona 3 Portable contains new background music, which can be heard if the player chooses to control the game's new female protagonist.[76] The game's official soundtrack was released in Japan by Aniplex on November 25, 2009.[77]

Promotion and release

The North American release of Persona 3 shipped as a collector's edition box containing the game, a soundtrack disc, and a 52-page art book. The game was originally scheduled to release on July 24, 2007. However, Atlus encountered a problem with manufacturing the artbook several days before the intended ship date. Instead of shipping the game without the book, the company decided to push its release back three weeks, to August 14. Atlus issued a press release explaining that they were delaying the game to maintain the quality of the package, which would have been "irreparably compromised" if they had "revise[d] or abandon[ed] the deluxe package."[78]

Persona 3 FES

Persona 3 FES[e] is an add-on disc for Persona 3 containing updates to the original game, as well as a new epilogue in which the player controls Aigis. FES was released in Japan on April 19, 2007, as both a stand-alone game and the "director's cut" version of Persona 3. Overseas, the combined edition was published in North America by Atlus USA on April 22, 2008, and in Europe by Koei on October 17, 2008.[citation needed] According to the game's director, Katsura Hashino, the subtitle "Fes" is derived from the word "festival".[79] This version of the game was re-released as a PS2 Classic on PSN for the PlayStation 3 in 2012. Players of the original Persona 3 are given the option of transferring certain data from the original version's save file, such as the player's compendium, social-related stats, and maxed social link items.

Persona 3 FES was first released alongside the original game in two forms: the "Regular Edition" — containing both the "director's cut" version of Persona 3, and the new epilogue — as two separate discs, and the "Append Edition", containing only the epilogue, on a single disc.[80] Persona 3 and its expansion were released simultaneously in Japan on April 19, 2007. At the time, Atlus had not announced plans to release FES outside Japan.[68] This announcement did not come until February 2008, when the game's North American release date was revealed to be April 22, 2008.[81] An exclusive Amazon.com limited edition bundle was released on November 28, 2008, containing Art of Persona 3 artbook, Persona 3 soundtrack disc and the FES edition in a cardboard sleeve.[82] The FES edition of the game was also released on PSN on April 10, 2012.[83]

The expansion to Persona 3, in addition to adding new content to the main game (referred to as "The Journey," or "Episode Yourself" in the Japanese version), includes an epilogue to the original story titled "The Answer" ("Episode Aegis" in the Japanese version). The core gameplay of The Answer is similar to that of The Journey, although the social link system has been removed, and the player does not attend school.[39]

Persona 3 Portable

Persona 3 Portable[f], an enhanced port of Persona 3 for the PlayStation Portable, was released in Japan on November 1, 2009,[84] and released in North America on July 6, 2010.[85] It came out to most of Europe on April 29, 2011, and the UK on April 28, 2011. The announcement in Famitsū revealed that the player would have the option to play as a female protagonist. This selection alters some aspects of the story: the first Persona gained by the protagonist, Orpheus, has a different appearance; Igor's assistant in the Velvet Room, Elizabeth, can be replaced with a male equivalent named Theodore.[86] The gender choice also alters some aspects of the social link stories. In addition to the new playable character, there are two new difficulty levels to select from alongside the original game's three. Persona 3 Portable only includes the story of the original Persona 3, otherwise referred to as "The Journey";[87] however, general changes have been made to the plot, regardless of character choice.[84]

The game's revised battle system draws on elements added in Persona 3's successor, Persona 4. In combat, the player is able to directly control every character, as an alternative to utilizing the game's artificial intelligence. The ability to guard has been added, and allies will take fatal attacks for the protagonist, preventing their death.[86] Outside of Tartarus, instead of navigating the game world by directly controlling the protagonist, the player guides an on-screen cursor around an area, allowing interaction with characters and objects. The game includes the voice acting of the original game, although characters are not shown in the world, instead being represented by on-screen portraits. In addition, the anime cutscenes seen in the original Persona 3 were replaced to feature in-game graphics.[76] Shoji Meguro composed 10 new musical tracks for Persona 3 Portable; with the majority of them being written for the female protagonist's playthrough.[76] Several cameos of characters from Persona 4 have been added to Persona 3 Portable, including Yukiko Amagi, a playable character from Persona 4.[88] It also features a cameo from Vincent Brooks, the protagonist of Catherine.[89]

Persona 3 Portable was released as a stand-alone game and as part of a bundle package, which includes a T-shirt and desk calendar.[90] The game on its own retails for 6,279 yen (US$68), while the bundle (known as Persona 3 Portable DX) sells for 8,495 yen (US$92).[91] During the North American release, Atlus offered Junpei's hat as a pre-order bonus for purchasing "Persona 3 Portable".[92]

Ports for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S were released on January 19, 2023.[93]

Reception

Critics

Persona 3 received positive reviews upon its release, earning a Metacritic score of 86.[103] Shane Bettenhausen of 1UP.com called the game a "refreshingly new take on the MegaTen [Megami Tensei] concept", and "the best RPG hitting the PS2 this year." He praised the "excellent" AI created to direct the actions of party members during battle, which he felt created "the series' speediest and most dynamic battle system to date."[94] Jeff Haynes from IGN criticized the system, finding that it would occasionally result in the death of the player's character, which causes a game over.[7]

GameTrailers called the game "a rare supernatural delicacy", stating it is an RPG that fans of the genre shouldn't miss out on. GameSpy's Patrick Joynt praised the social elements of Persona 3, calling the game's social links "almost universally fascinating." While he suspected the simulation elements would "probably be the biggest hurdle" for fans of role-playing or Megami Tensei games, in his review, he wrote that he "can't stress enough how well-done it is."[100] Heidi Kemps of GamesRadar found the game's teenage themes to be "a refreshing change" from those of other games in the genre, as they touch on "the social awkwardness common at that point in life."[96] Game Informer's Joe Juba found the game's environments to be weak, as "most of the game takes place within one tower [Tartarus]." In his review, he also noted that the game's roots in the Megami Tensei series would come across as foreign to new players. "If you don't know anything about fusing Personas, or simply that 'bufu' means 'ice attack,' you have some catching up to do."[97]

Persona 3: FES received a score of 89 on Metacritic, slightly higher than that of Persona 3.[104] The plot of The Answer provides "much-needed narrative closure" to the story of The Journey, according to Shane Bettenhausen.[95] Kevin VanOrd called FES a "wonderfully enhanced version of an already-great RPG"; in his review, he recommends the game to new players and those who had already finished the original game.[39] The gameplay of The Answer was criticized by several reviewers for not including the social elements of the original game.[39][43][101] VanOrd found the new chapter to be "less interesting" because of this. Jeff Haynes commented that the change "harkens back to a classic, more hardcore RPG experience of fighting and grinding", while done at the expense of what "made Persona 3 so intriguing in the first place."[43] The reviews of GameSpy and IGN reiterated issues found with the original game, such as the inability to directly control party members in battle.[43][101]

While some critics like IGN criticized Persona 3 Portable for "losing some of its polish", it was as acclaimed as FES, receiving an 89 out of 100 from Metacritic,[105] making it the third best reviewed PSP game on the website.[120] It was praised for, despite having been released twice already, being an adventure worth playing again. This was echoed by GamesRadar, IGN, 1UP.com and GamePro.[105] One of the reviewers from Famitsu wrote that the remake includes "enough differences in the Social Links to make it fun even for old players.",[99] and perfect scores from websites such as Destructoid[121] and GamePro.[122] GameTrailers went on to nominate the game for "Best PSP Game" in their awards, losing to God of War: Ghost of Sparta[123] and "Best RPG", losing to Mass Effect 2.[124] Three websites specific to coverage of RPGs honored it in annual award postings, namely RPGamer (Best Re-release),[125] RPGFan (Best Traditional RPG on Handheld),[126] and RPGLand (Best Port).[127]

Shane Bettenhausen considered the inclusion of Evokers "a ballsy and shocking move" on the part of Atlus, but felt their inclusion created "an edgy sensibility that fits perfectly with the overall dark tone" of the game.[94] Similarly, Joe Juba thought the concept fit "perfectly" with the game's "dark tone".[97] Jeff Haynes found the animations of characters using their Evokers to be "intriguing and shocking at the same time".[7] While previewing Persona 3 for GameSpot, Kevin VanOrd said that the continued use of Evokers "never gets old and it never gets any less awesome to watch, and considering that you could play this for fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty hours or more, that's saying something."[128] Atlus USA did not remove the Evokers from Persona 3 for its worldwide release, despite the possible controversy. Nich Maragos from the localization team said on 1UP.com's Retronauts podcast that the company did not receive any criticism for their inclusion. "There was never any Jack Thompson-ing…we didn't get any letters from concerned parents."[129]

The PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S and Switch versions of Persona 3 Portable received "generally favorable reviews", according to Metacritic.[106][107][108][109]

Sales and accolades

Persona 3 sold 127,472 copies in its first week and 210,319 copies overall in Japan by 2008.[130][131] Persona 3 Portable sold over 158,000 copies in Japan within its first month of release.[132][133][134][135]

Persona 3 was named the best role-playing game of 2006 by Famitsu,[110] and of 2007 by GameSpot and RPGFan.[111][114] GameSpy gave the title its 2007 PS2 RPG of the Year award and placed it second in the 2007 PS2 Top 10 Games of the Year.[112][136] IGN placed Persona 3 FES fifteenth in their feature "The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time".[137] 1UP.com's 2007 game awards, which ran in the March 2008 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, included Persona 3, given the award for "Most controversial game that created no controversy".[138] In 2010, Persona 3 was listed first on RPGamer's "Top RPGs of the Decade" list,[113] and second place in RPGFan's "Top 20 RPGs of the Past Decade" list.[139]

Persona 3 was nominated for Best RPG at 2007 Spike Video Game Awards, but lost to Mass Effect.[citation needed]

Legacy

Spin-offs and tie-ins

Main articles: Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, and Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is a dungeon crawler RPG developed for the Nintendo 3DS. It features both the characters from Persona 3 and the ones from Persona 4 and includes some gameplay elements from the Etrian Odyssey series. The Persona 3 campaign starts two weeks before October 4. Just as SEES prepares to enter Tartarus that night, they are pulled into the Velvet Room and sent to a school they have never seen before. While searching the area, they meet the amnesiacs Zen and Rei and the Investigation Team, the latter of whom have also been pulled into the strange school: they must now work together to escape. The game was released in Japan on June 5, 2014, North America on November 25, 2014, and Europe on November 28, 2014.

A rhythm game based on the setting and characters of Persona 3, titled Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, was released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in Japan in May 2018 and worldwide in December 2018, alongside Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight.[140] [141][142]

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth serves as a sequel to Persona Q. The game was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on November 29, 2018, and worldwide on June 4, 2019. The game retains the casts from Persona 3 and Persona 4, joined by the Phantom Thieves of Hearts from Persona 5 and the female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable.

Related media

Merchandise

Several figurines of the characters have been produced by Kotobukiya, a Japanese collectible toy company. They include the protagonist of the game, Aigis, Mitsuru, and Akihiko.[143] The figurines have interchangeable parts, such as an Evoker or weapon, which can be stored in the base. Alter, another Japanese company that specializes in collectibles, has also released 1:8 scale figurines of Elizabeth, Aigis, and Mitsuru.[144][145][146] The headphones worn by the protagonist are sold by Audio-Technica, model ATH-EM700(Japan-only version).[147] Atlus collaborated with the Japanese publishing company Enterbrain to publish the game's multiple strategy guides and an artbook detailing character and setting designs.[citation needed]

Manga

A manga adaptation of Persona 3 written and illustrated by Shūji Sogabe was published monthly in the Japanese magazine Dengeki Maoh until it went on hiatus once Persona 4 was released. However, it began serialization again starting November 7, 2011, moving from Dengeki Maoh to Atlus's official Persona Magazine.[148][149] As of February 2017, 11 volumes have been released.[150]

Anime

See also: Persona: Trinity Soul and list of episodes

A non-canonical spin-off anime to Persona 3 titled Persona: Trinity Soul aired in Japan starting in January 2008 and ran for twenty-six episodes. Taking place ten years after the events of the game, the anime features Akihiko as a secondary character.[151] NIS America licensed the show and released it in two half-season deluxe edition box sets with the original Japanese audio track in 2010.[152]

Films

See also: Persona 3 The Movie: No. 1, Spring of Birth; Persona 3 The Movie: No. 2, Midsummer Knight's Dream; Persona 3 The Movie: No. 3, Falling Down; and Persona 3 The Movie: No. 4, Winter of Rebirth

In June 2012, it was announced that Persona 3 would receive a four-part film series adaptation.[153] It was produced by AIC ASTA (first film) and A-1 Pictures (films two through four). The first film was directed by Noriaki Akitaya, the second and fourth by Tomohisa Taguchi, and the third by Keitaro Motonaga. The main Japanese voice actors from the original game reprised their roles in the film series.[154]

Radio drama

Several series of radio dramas based on Persona 3 and Persona 3: FES have been released in Japan. Persona 3 Drama CD: A Certain Day of Summer features an original story voiced by the game's original cast.[155] Persona 3 Drama CD Vol. 2 -Moonlight- links the story of Persona 3 and the epilogue released with Persona 3: FES.[156] From February to June 2008, a series of character dramas were released as five CDs. The volumes respectively focus on the protagonist and Ryoji;[157] Junpei and Chidori;[158] Fuuka, Ken, and Aigis;[159] Yukari and Mitsuru;[160] and Akihiko, Shinjiro, and Koromaru.[161] In early 2009, a two-volume side story about Mitsuru was released.[162][163]

Stage production

See also: Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade

Persona 3 was adapted into five live stage musicals, with the first one performed in 2014. The series of plays were first announced in August 2013[164] and were written by Kumagai and Kotora Kagurazuka, with music by Meguro. The plays included separate shows for both the male and female protagonists, who were named Sakuya Shiomi and Kotone Shiomi, and had minor dialogue and scenes unique to each protagonist.[165] The plays starred Shouta Aoi as Sakuya, Kana Asumi as Kotone, Maho Tomita as Yukari, Genki Okawa as Junpei, Yuki Fujiwara as Akihiko, Asami Tano as Mitsuru, Marina Tanoue as Fuuka, ZAQ as Aigis, and Waku Sakaguchi and Tomonori Suzuki as Ken. The musicals were also broadcast live on Niconico[166] and a behind-the-scenes special aired on Tokyo MX.[167]

The first play, Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade: The Blue Awakening ran from January 8–12, 2014, at Theater G Rosso,[168] and was given a home release on May 14, 2014.[169] The Blue Awakening followed events up to Fuuka's inclusion into the party.[170]

The Blue Awakening was followed up with a sequel, Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade: The Ultramarine Labyrinth, which ran from September 16–24, 2014, at Theater 1010[171][172] and was given a home release on January 28, 2015.[173] The play follows in-game events from July to early November. Richard Eisenbeis from Kotaku reviewed the play favorably, approving of its casting and special effects, but felt that the musical numbers were "out of place" and the protagonists had "zero personality."[174]

A third musical, titled Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade: The Bismuth Crystals ran from June 5–13, 2015,[175] and was given a home release on September 30, 2015.[176][177] The fourth and fifth stage plays, Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade: Act 4: Indigo Pledge and Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade: Final Act: Beyond the Blue Sky, ran from April 14–23, 2017.[178]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: ペルソナ3, Hepburn: Perusona Surī
  2. ^ コミュ, komyu, lit. "commu," short for "community"
  3. ^ 巖戸台
  4. ^ 影時間, kage jikan, lit. "Shadow Hour"
  5. ^ ペルソナ3フェス, Perusona Surī Fesu
  6. ^ ペルソナ3 ポータブル, Perusona Surī Pōtaburu

References

  1. ^ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual. Atlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. p. 28.
  2. ^ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual. Atlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. p. 25.
  3. ^ a b Barnholt, Ray (May 8, 2007). . 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d VanOrd, Kevin (July 24, 2007). "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual. Atlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. pp. 26–27.
  6. ^ a b Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual. Atlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. pp. 38–39.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Haynes, Jeff (July 24, 2007). "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Review". IGN. from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  8. ^ a b Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual. Atlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. pp. 20–21.
  9. ^ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual. Atlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. p. 22.
  10. ^ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual. Atlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. pp. 31–32.
  11. ^ a b c d e Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual. Atlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. pp. 04–05.
  12. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Mitsuru: A Shadow feeds on the mind of its prey; the victim becomes a living corpse. They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not all of them.
  13. ^ Alexander, Leigh (January 28, 2009). "Persona 4: Reflecting The Self". Kotaku. from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  14. ^ a b Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual. Atlus U.S.A, Inc. 2008. pp. 06–07.
  15. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Junpei: She's so cute, but... she's a robot... / Shuji Ikutsuki: Anti-Shadow weapons were created ten years ago to combat uncontrollable Shadows. Aigis was the last to be made... and she's the only one that still remains today. / Mitsuru: An Anti-Shadow weapon... Does that mean she...? / Aigis: Yes, I am capable of operating the Persona "Palladion."
  16. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Mitsuru: We were in a residential area, but the Shadow was all we were thinking about... Aragaki was still new, and he momentarily lost control of his power... Unfortunately, there was a casualty: Amada's mother.
  17. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Akihiko: ...You still haven't made up your mind? / Shinjiro: ...Is that what this is about? / Akihiko: We've got four new members. Things have changed quite a bit since you left. We're more aggressive now. / Shinjiro: I'm not interested. / Akihiko: Think about it, Shinji. Don't let your power go to waste. / Shinjiro: My power ain't worth shit. / Akihiko: Shinji! / Shinjiro: I made up my mind a long time ago. I ain't going back. / Akihiko: You have to let the past go. What's done is done. It's time you moved on.
  18. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Akihiko: Man... He's one tough fighter. He defeated that Shadow all by himself. / Junpei: Wait, does that mean... this dog's a Persona-user!?
  19. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Igor: This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter... It's been years since we've had a guest.
  20. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Igor: Your power is unique. It's like the number zero... It's empty, but at the same time, holds infinite possibilities. You, my boy, are able to possess multiple Personas, and summon them as needed.
  21. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Igor: The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links--your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please remember that.
  22. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Mitsuru: My grandfather was obsessed with Shadows. He wanted to harness their power, and create something extraordinary. / Fuuka: Harness their power? / Mitsuru: He assembled a team of scientists, and over several years collected a significant number of Shadows. / Junpei: He what!? Damn, that's freaking crazy! / Mitsuru: However... Ten years ago, during the final stages of the experiment, they lost control of the Shadows' power. Consequently, the nature of the world was altered. / Fuuka: You mean... / Mitsuru: Yes... Tartarus and the Dark Hour... By their account, the mass of Shadows they collected split into several large ones that then dispersed. These are the Shadows we've been encountering on nights when the moon is full.
  23. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Shuji Ikutsuki: What if I told you that those twelve Shadows are the cause of everything? / Akihiko: Then, if we defeat them all, Tartarus and the Dark Hour will disappear...? / Shuji Ikutsuki: Exactly! That's what I was going to tell you earlier. See, it's good news, isn't it?
  24. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Shuji Ikutsuki: She suffered major damage in combat and has remained in the lab ever since. It is still unclear as to why she suddenly reactivated herself this morning...
  25. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Yukari: Aigis!? How did you-- / Aigis: He was asleep, so I unlocked the door. / Yukari: That's unlawful entry! Didn't we tell you to stay in the command room at night!? / Aigis: I propose to be on standby in this room from now on. Is this acceptable?
  26. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Akihiko: You said the Dark Hour and Tartarus would disappear if we defeated the 12 Shadows. That's why we fought so hard! But, now-- / Mitsuru: ...What is your intention? It was all a lie, wasn't it? You knew from the beginning that the Dark Hour wouldn't disappear. / Shuji Ikutsuki: Excellent deduction, Mitsuru. Unfortunately, your realization has come too late. / Yukari: No... / Ken: ...You tricked us!? / Shuji Ikutsuki: Everything is as I planned... It is not unexpected that the Dark Hour and Tartarus remain. In fact, I never intended for you to rid the world of them. Quite the opposite, actually. / Fuuka: What do you mean? / Shuji Ikutsuki: The 12 Shadows were parts of a whole... They were destined to be reunited. ...And that was accomplished in no small part, thanks to your efforts. Soon, Death, the almighty, shall arise and bring forth the Fall...
  27. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Mitsuru: ...You know the "truth" about Shadows? / Ryoji: Yes. Shadows are here to facilitate the rebirth of the maternal being. She will begin to awaken as she is drawn to me... The Appriser. / Mitsuru: You? You're The Appriser?
  28. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Ryoji: Ten years ago, a man collected a great number of Shadows and contained them in a laboratory... That's where I was born. ...But the unification was interrupted, and I awoke in an incomplete state.
  29. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Aigis: Your strength was far greater than I anticipated. The only possible alternative was to seal you away... And as circumstance would have it, a suitable vessel was available: a human child standing nearby... So I did what was necessary.
  30. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Ryoji: Nyx's coming cannot be avoided. But, it is possible to live in peace until she arrives. You'll have to... kill me. If I were to disappear, all memories of the Dark Hour would disappear with me, as would any recollection of the fate that awaits you. You won't remember anything.
  31. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Aigis: Why...? Why did I come back here? My mission is to protect humanity from Shadows. But now, I know that I can't defeat them! So then... why am I here? I'm useless!
  32. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Aigis: This is the promise I've made to myself. I don't know how I'll do it... but I guess that is a part of living, too. Will you allow me to join with you all? / Junpei: Of course! You've always been one of us. / Aigis: ...Thank you! I will be with you all... no matter what happens...!
  33. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Aigis: You are... / Yukari: Ryoji-kun...!? / Nyx Avatar: That was my name for a time... I didn't mind it. / Mitsuru: ...What's going on? Wait, are you...? / Nyx Avatar: I am merely a harbinger of the Fall... Although, Nyx and myself are now one in [sic] the same.
  34. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Igor: Behold the last power you and I shall unveil... It is the power to bring about a new beginning, or the ultimate end. It may be possible now, with this newfound power... You may be able to defeat the one who cannot be defeated. What you have in your hands is the power of the Universe... Nothing is outside the realm of possibility for you now.
  35. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Aigis: When I thought I might never see you again, something else became clear to me--what I wanted most. And so, I made up my mind. I decided that I would continue to protect you. I want to be your strength. I know I'm not the only one who can do this... but that's okay. My life will be worth living if it's for this reason... Thank you...
  36. ^ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Fes Review. G4. April 7, 2008. Event occurs at 0:30. from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2009. The new adventure is called "Episode Aegis." It's basically a free sequel that's set after the events of the final battle in the original game. Of course, the character you played in that game perished at the end.
  37. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Ken: But I still wonder... Why did it happen? The doctors didn't find anything wrong with him afterward... It just seemed like he fell asleep, didn't it? /Fuuka: He must've used up all his power to protect us...at that last battle.
  38. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Fuuka: Huh? The lab...? Are you planning to commute to school from there next semester? / Aigis: Oh... No, I... / Mitsuru: Aigis is returning herself to the lab tomorrow. She...won't be enrolled as a senior.
  39. ^ a b c d e VanOrd, Kevin (April 23, 2008). "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES Review". GameSpot. from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  40. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Igor: In awakening to the power of the Wild Card, you are now bound to a contract. From this moment forth, you are our guest in the Velvet Room. / Aigis: Wild Card...? / Igor: Surely you know of which I speak: the ability to hold multiple Personas and wield their powers. Until recently, a young man with the same talent [the Protagonist of Persona 3] was our guest here. / Aigis: [standing up in surprise] You...know of him? / Igor: Indeed I do.
  41. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Metis: The only way to survive is to somehow find a way to eradicate the Abyss of Time. / Ken: Eradicate it? How're we supposed to do that...? /Metis: I've already tried the simplest, most direct way: eliminating all of you. The Abyss of Time connected to this dorm, as if drawn to it. That, together with the way you can all perceive the time skips...it seems clear to me that you have a lot to do with the reason for this happening.
  42. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Metis: Um...Aigis? I promise to listen to what you say, so...could I...call you Sister...? / Aigis: Go right ahead. / Metis: Thank you...Sister!
  43. ^ a b c d e Haynes, Jeff (April 22, 2008). "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES Review". IGN. from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  44. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Yukari: Ken-kun's story, Akihiko-senpai's story...Junpei's and Koromaru's, too. Mitsuru-senpai's is the one that makes it the most obvious. / Junpei: Huh...? I'm not following you here... / Yukari: What we've seen is each of our reasons for awakening to our Persona.
  45. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Metis: You should be able to leave using those keys. Once you make it outside, the Abyss of Time should disappear on its own.
  46. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Junpei: You're all about the here and now, right, Yuka-tan? I mean, you say it all the time—"You gotta look forward!" / Yukari: I...I...want to go back. To the time before the last battle... [...] If there's a way for him to come back...I'll take it, no matter what.
  47. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Yukari: *sigh* There's no use going around and around like this. We're never gonna reach an agreement. So if no one gives in...we'll have to settle this another way. / Fuuka: Another way...? Yukari-chan...you don't mean—!? / Yukari: Taking the keys by force... That'll work too, right?
  48. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Aigis: So this...is the miracle he performed. / Fuuka: What... What is this? /Metis: ...This is his life essence. As you can see, this is what happened. He himself became the Great Seal.
  49. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Fuuka: This...isn't a Shadow... So many... All those people's... /Metis: As I thought: the seal's real purpose. It wasn't to hold back Nyx; it was a seal so that it couldn't be touched. / Mitsuru: What do you mean? / Fuuka: That monster...isn't a Shadow. It's the accumulated malice that came from the hearts of countless living people. All of them...deep down are calling Nyx!
  50. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Metis: Don't tell me you're going to fight that thing! It's impossible...it's just too big! / Mitsuru: This is a battle we can't run from. The feelings that gave birth to this abomination were inside me as well. Because I couldn't accept reality, I foolishly sought solace in a past filled with death and strife. There's no mistaking it: this monster is the reason for all our troubles. / Akihiko: You got that right. If we run away from this, we're off to a lousy start for our future. / Ken: That's what I think too... This was already a battle against myself.
  51. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Mitsuru: To stop the heart's yearning for destruction...it's a formidable task. People try to keep death at bay, but without it, they lose sight of life. It may be that there's no way to fully eliminate this monster.
  52. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Junpei: Hey, wait a second! What's going on here!? This isn't the front of the dorm! / Aigis: Everyone!? What's going on...? / Igor: There is no need to worry. I only summoned you here that we might say our farewells. I am rather surprised, though...I did not expect your friends to follow you here.
  53. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Mitsuru: Metis... Who are you really? Won't you tell us? / Aigis: I think... she's the other me... I couldn't bear the pain of losing [the protagonist]...so I wished to be a mere machine again. [to Metis] You must be...the part of myself I wished away. My lonely sister, always being afraid of being left alone... You came to help me acknowledge and confront the pain of living. I finally understand... I only wish I had realized it much sooner.
  54. ^ Atlus (August 14, 2007). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Aigis: I know...it might not be possible because it's so sudden...but is there some ways...that I can back out of returning to the lab? Before, I thought...there was nothing left for me to protect, no reason to live. But now that I see otherwise...I'd like to go back to school with Yukari-san and everyone.
  55. ^ Soejima, Shigenori (2007). Art of Persona 3. Atlus. p. 9.
  56. ^ Romano, Sal (August 13, 2013). "A message from Persona Team's Katsura Hashino". Gematsu. from the original on April 21, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  57. ^ Boulette, Bryan (March 8, 2006). . RPGamer. Archived from the original on June 21, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  58. ^ Sloderbeck, Matt; Adrienne Beck (March 17, 2006). . RPGamer. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  59. ^ a b "Shigenori Soejima Interview". Shigenori Soejima Art Works 2004-2010. Udon Entertainment. July 1, 2010. pp. 145–153. ISBN 978-1926778327. Transcript June 21, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  60. ^ Kemps, Heidi (August 2008). "Game King: An Interview with Kazuma Kaneko". Otaku USA. Sovereign Media. 2 (1): 120–123.
  61. ^ Wong, Alistair (November 13, 2017). "Atlus Reveals The Design Secrets Behind Persona 5's Distinctive UI". Siliconera. from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  62. ^ . Point Pictures. Archived from the original on July 31, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  63. ^ Patterson, Eric (March 5, 2009). . Play. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
  64. ^ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 The Official Strategy Guide. DoubleJump Publishing. December 1, 2008. pp. 302–303. ISBN 978-0979884863.
  65. ^ a b Fitch, Andrew (July 8, 2008). "Anime Expo: Atlus Talks Persona 4, Trauma Center's Future". 1UP.com. from the original on February 28, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
  66. ^ a b North, Dale (July 7, 2008). "Anime Expo '08: Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei panel". Destructoid. from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  67. ^ a b Ward, Robert (July 20, 2015). "Localizing Persona: An Interview With Atlus's Yu Namba". Siliconera. from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  68. ^ a b . RPGamer. June 3, 2007. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  69. ^ "Persona 3 Original Soundtrack (Japan)". Square Enix Music Online. from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  70. ^ "Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Original Soundtrack (Japan)". Square Enix Music Online. from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  71. ^ "Burn My Dread -Reincarnation: Persona 3-". Square Enix Music Online. from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  72. ^ Meguro, Shoji. "Persona 3 Original Soundtrack liner notes." (in Japanese) Aniplex. July 19, 2007 SVWC-7380~1 Scans April 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2015-05-17.
  73. ^ Patterson, Eric L.; Kohama, Dai (2008). "The horrors of reality TV... Persona 4". Play. Fusion Publishing (December 2008). Scans June 23, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  74. ^ "Persona 3 Fes Original Soundtrack". Square Enix Music Online. from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  75. ^ Thomas, Damian. "RPGFan Soundtracks – Persona 3: FES OST". RPGFan. from the original on January 9, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  76. ^ a b c James Quentin Clark (December 24, 2009). "RPGFan Reviews – Persona 3 Portable". RPGFan. from the original on July 8, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  77. ^ "Persona 3 Portable Original Soundtrack". Square Enix Music Online. from the original on April 14, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  78. ^ Hayward, Anthony (July 25, 2007). . 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
  79. ^ Chris Winkler (December 7, 2006). "Atlus Announces Persona 3 Director's Cut". RPGFan. from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  80. ^ Jackson, Jordon (December 7, 2006). . RPGamer. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
  81. ^ Whiting, Mark (February 25, 2008). . 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
  82. ^ "Persona 3 FES with Soundtrack CD and Artbook". Amazon.com. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  83. ^ Moriarty, Colin (April 6, 2012). "Persona 3 FES Coming to PlayStation Network". IGN. from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  84. ^ a b Gifford, Kevin (August 18, 2009). "All About Persona 3's PSP Port". 1UP.com. from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  85. ^ "Official Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable Website". from the original on January 23, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
  86. ^ a b 『ペルソナ3ポータブル』謎の敵"シャドウ"に挑む特別課外活動部 (in Japanese). Famitsū. September 5, 2009. from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  87. ^ Atlus.com January 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  88. ^ 『ペルソナ3ポータブル』天城雪子が登場 (in Japanese). Famitsū. October 16, 2009. from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  89. ^ "Catherine's Connection To Persona 3 Portable". Siliconera. August 18, 2010. from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
  90. ^ "ペルソナ3 ポータブル DXパック 注文受付中！" (in Japanese). Famitsū. from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  91. ^ McElroy, Griffin (September 21, 2009). "Persona 3 Portable DX bundle bonuses revealed". Joystiq. from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  92. ^ Jabbari, Aram (April 28, 2010). . Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  93. ^ Robinson, Andy (October 8, 2022). "Atlus confirms January release for Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  94. ^ a b c Bettenhausen, Shane (August 14, 2007). . 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
  95. ^ a b Bettenhausen, Shane (April 22, 2008). . 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
  96. ^ a b Kemps, Heidi (August 16, 2007). "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3". GamesRadar. from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
  97. ^ a b c Juba, Joe. . Game Informer. Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  98. ^ "Persona 3 – Famitsū Score". Digital Devil Database. from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
  99. ^ a b Gifford, Kevin (October 21, 2009). . 1UP.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2009.
  100. ^ a b Joynt, Patrick. "GameSpy: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Review". GameSpy. from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
  101. ^ a b c Joynt, Patrick (April 23, 2008). "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES". GameSpy. from the original on April 10, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  102. ^ "Gametrailers.com – Persona 3 – Review". GameTrailers. from the original on June 4, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
  103. ^ a b "Metacritic: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  104. ^ a b "Metacritic: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  105. ^ a b c "Metacritic: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. from the original on April 25, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  106. ^ a b "Persona 3 Portable for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  107. ^ a b "Persona 3 Portable for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  108. ^ a b "Persona 3 Portable for Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  109. ^ a b "Persona 3 Portable for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  110. ^ a b 速報！ ファミ通ゲームアワード2006開催！ 各受賞タイトルを一挙発表！ (in Japanese). Famitsu. April 20, 2007. from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
  111. ^ a b "GameSpot's Best of 2007: Best Role-Playing Game Genre Awards". GameSpot. from the original on April 8, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
  112. ^ a b . GameSpy. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2007.
  113. ^ a b . RPGamer. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  114. ^ a b "RPGFan Feature - Games of 2007". RPGFan. from the original on November 3, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  115. ^ Shearon, Andrea (January 17, 2023). "Persona 3 Portable review". PC Gamer. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  116. ^ Ramsey, Robert (January 17, 2023). "Review: Persona 3 Portable (PS4) - Brooding JRPG Is Still Superb". Push Square. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  117. ^ Vogel, Mitch (January 17, 2023). "Review: Persona 3 Portable - A Fine Series Entry, Though One That's Tough To Return To". Nintendo Life. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  118. ^ Beck, Adam (January 17, 2023). "Review: Persona 3 Portable - Hardcore Gamer". HardcoreGamer. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  119. ^ Rudek, Jordan (January 17, 2023). "Persona 3 Portable Review - Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  120. ^ "All PSP Video Game Releases". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  121. ^ North, Dale (July 2, 2010). "Review: Persona 3 Portable". Destructoid. from the original on August 8, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  122. ^ Kemps, Heidi (July 6, 2010). . GamePro. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  123. ^ "Best PSP Game HD". GameTrailers. December 21, 2010. from the original on December 25, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  124. ^ "Best RPG HD". GameTrailers. December 23, 2010. from the original on December 26, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  125. ^ . RPGamer. January 20, 2011. Archived from the original on March 2, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  126. ^ "Best Handheld Traditional RPG". RPGFan. January 21, 2011. from the original on January 17, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  127. ^ "Best Port". RPGLand. February 13, 2011. from the original on February 16, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  128. ^ Gallup, Rich; Gerstmann, Jeff; VanOrd, Kevin (July 26, 2009). On the Spot – 07/26/07. GameSpot. Event occurs at 39:50. from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  129. ^ Barnholt, Ray; Bettenhausen, Shane; Fitch, Andrew; Maragos, Nich; Parish, Jeremy (October 12, 2008). Retronauts Episode 61: 12/10/2008 (MP3) (Podcast). 1UP.com. Retrieved November 12, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  130. ^ . Japan-GameCharts. November 2, 2008. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  131. ^ "GID 2467 - Persona 3 - PS2". garaph.info. from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  132. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (November 6, 2009). "Big in Japan Oct. 26-Nov. 1: Bayonetta, Tekken 6". GameSpot. from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  133. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (November 13, 2009). "Big in Japan Nov. 2-8: Pro Evolution Soccer 2010". GameSpot. from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  134. ^ Magrino, Tom (November 20, 2009). "Big in Japan Nov. 9-15: J-League Pro Soccer Club". GameSpot. from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  135. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (November 20, 2009). "PSP go Falters in Japan". IGN. from the original on November 26, 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  136. ^ . GameSpy. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2007.
  137. ^ IGN PlayStation Team (August 10, 2009). . IGN. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
  138. ^ 1UP Staff (March 2008). "2007 1UP Network Editors' Choice Awards". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 226. Ziff Davis Media. p. 65. ISSN 1058-918X. Rockstar's Hot Coffee sex scandal and Bully's boy-on-boy kissing's got nothing on this PS2 role-player's suicide-initiated battles or subplot involving student-teacher dating.
  139. ^ "Top 20 RPGs of the Past Decade". RPGFan. from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  140. ^ PlayStation Vita (In western countries, the game received no physical copies and was only sold on the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation Vita)
  141. ^ "Persona 5: Dancing Star Night And Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night Release In Japan On May 24, 2018 - Siliconera". Siliconera. December 24, 2017. from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  142. ^ Romano, Sal (August 9, 2018). "Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight launch December 4 in the Americas and Europe". Gematsu. from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  143. ^ (in Japanese). Kotobukiya. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2009.
  144. ^ (in Japanese). ALTER. Archived from the original on January 7, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
  145. ^ (in Japanese). ALTER. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  146. ^ (in Japanese). ALTER. Archived from the original on January 27, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
  147. ^ (in Japanese). Audio-Technica. Archived from the original on September 17, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
  148. ^ "Monthly Persona Magazine Launches on November 7". AnimeNewsNetwork. October 18, 2011. from the original on January 22, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  149. ^ "Persona 3 Game-Based 4-Panel Manga Serialized Online". Anime News Network. January 31, 2008. from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  150. ^ ペルソナ3 11 (電撃コミックス) [コミック] (in Japanese). ASIN 4048926853.
  151. ^ "Persona 3 Game Adapted as Television Anime for January". Anime News Network. November 7, 2007. from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
  152. ^ . RPGLand. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  153. ^ "Persona 3 RPG's Film Adaptation Confirmed". Anime News Network. June 10, 2012. from the original on June 13, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
  154. ^ "PERSONA 3 THE MOVIE" (in Japanese). P3m.jp. from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  155. ^ "オリジナルドラマ～A CERTAIN DAY OF SUMMER～" (in Japanese). Lantis. from the original on January 22, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  156. ^ "ドラマCD Vol.2 -Moonlight-" (in Japanese). Frontier Works. from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  157. ^ "キャラクタードラマCD Vol.1" (in Japanese). Frontier Works. from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  158. ^ "キャラクタードラマCD Vol.2" (in Japanese). Frontier Works. from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  159. ^ "キャラクタードラマCD Vol.3" (in Japanese). Frontier Works. from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  160. ^ "キャラクタードラマCD Vol.4" (in Japanese). Frontier Works. from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  161. ^ "キャラクタードラマCD Vol.5" (in Japanese). Frontier Works. from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  162. ^ "ペルソナ３ > ドラマCD New moon" (in Japanese). Frontier Works. from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  163. ^ "ペルソナ３ > ドラマCD Full Moon" (in Japanese). Frontier Works. from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  164. ^ Luster, Joseph (August 13, 2013). "'Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade' Turns the RPG into a Stage Play". Crunchyroll. from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  165. ^ "PERSONA3 -ペルソナ3-｜青の覚醒｜CAST" (in Japanese). Index Corporation. from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  166. ^ "舞台「PERSONA3 the WM ～群青の迷宮～」配信決定！" (in Japanese). Niconico. September 14, 2014. from the original on September 17, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  167. ^ "舞台『ペルソナ3』 ～人気の秘密を暴く～｜アニメ｜TOKYO MX" (in Japanese). Tokyo MX. from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  168. ^ "PERSONA3 -ペルソナ3-｜青の覚醒｜STAGE" (in Japanese). Index Corporation. from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  169. ^ "PERSONA3 -ペルソナ3-｜青の覚醒｜OTHER" (in Japanese). Index Corporation. from the original on June 12, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  170. ^ "PERSONA3 -ペルソナ3-｜青の覚醒｜ABOUT" (in Japanese). Index Corporation. from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  171. ^ "PERSONA3 -ペルソナ3-｜群青の迷宮｜ABOUT" (in Japanese). Index Corporation. from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  172. ^ "More of 2nd Persona 3 Stage Play's Cast Shown in Costume". Anime News Network. August 9, 2014. from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  173. ^ "PERSONA3 -ペルソナ3-｜群青の迷宮｜GOODS" (in Japanese). Index Corporation. from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  174. ^ Eisenbeis, Richard (October 3, 2014). "Persona 3 Works as a Stage Play, But Less So as a Musical". Kotaku. from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  175. ^ "PERSONA3 -ペルソナ3-｜蒼鉛の結晶｜SCHEDULE" (in Japanese). Index Corporation. from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  176. ^ "PERSONA3 -ペルソナ3-｜蒼鉛の結晶｜GOODS" (in Japanese). Index Corporation. June 5, 2015. from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  177. ^ "『PERSONA3 the Weird Masquerade ～蒼鉛の結晶～』DVD化決定！" (in Japanese). Index Corporation. from the original on June 12, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  178. ^ "PERSONA3 THE WEIRD MASQUERADE Schedule and Ticket" (in Japanese). Index Corporation. from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.

External links

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Persona 3.
  • Official website (FES)
  • Official website (Portable)

March 07, 2023
persona, released, outside, japan, shin, megami, tensei, 2006, role, playing, video, game, developed, atlus, fourth, main, installment, persona, series, which, part, larger, megami, tensei, franchise, atlus, originally, released, game, playstation, japan, july. Persona 3 a released outside Japan as Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 is a 2006 role playing video game developed by Atlus It is the fourth main installment in the Persona series which is part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise Atlus originally released the game for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in July 2006 the North American release of the game was delayed until 2007 due to issues with the publication of the official art book Persona 3 FES an extended version containing a new playable epilogue among other changes was released in Japan in 2007 and worldwide the following year Persona 3Japanese box artDeveloper s AtlusPublisher s JP AtlusNA Atlus USAEU Koei PS2 AU THQ PS2 EU Ghostlight PSP WW Sega NS PS4 Win XB1 XSXS Director s Katsura HashinoProducer s Katsura HashinoProgrammer s Hirokazu TohyamaArtist s Shigenori SoejimaWriter s Yuichiro TanakaKatsura HashinoComposer s Shoji MeguroSeriesPersonaPlatform s PlayStation 2PlayStation PortableNintendo SwitchPlayStation 4WindowsXbox OneXbox Series X SReleaseJuly 13 2006 Persona 3PlayStation 2JP July 13 2006NA August 14 2007EU February 29 2008AU March 6 2008Persona 3 FESPlayStation 2JP April 19 2007NA April 22 2008EU October 17 2008AU November 13 2008Persona 3 PortablePSPJP November 1 2009NA July 6 2010EU April 28 2011NS PS4 Win XB1 XSXSWW January 19 2023Genre s Role playing social simulationMode s Single playerIn Persona 3 the player takes the role of a high school student who joins the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad SEES a group of students investigating the Dark Hour a time period between one day and the next that few people are aware of During the Dark Hour the player enters Tartarus a large tower containing Shadows creatures that feed on the minds of humans To fight the Shadows each SEES member can summon a Persona a manifestation of a person s inner self The game s most iconic feature is how the members of SEES release their Personas by firing a gun like object called an Evoker at their head In addition to the standard elements of role playing games Persona 3 includes elements of simulation games as the game s protagonist progresses day by day through a school year making friends and forming relationships that improve the strength of his Personas in battle The reception of Persona 3 was mainly positive critics enjoyed its social elements while some found its combat and environments repetitive Persona 3 FES s epilogue was said to give narrative closure to the original game although it was criticized for not featuring the simulation aspect of Persona 3 An abridged PlayStation Portable version Persona 3 Portable was released in Japan in November 2009 in North America in July 2010 and in Europe in April 2011 This version added the ability to play as a female protagonist new story elements and music and a new interface Portable was also released for Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 Windows Xbox One and Xbox Series X S in 2023 Two fighting games that continue the story of SEES Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax were released in the early 2010s Persona 3 has also seen other related media released including a rhythm game multiple soundtrack albums musical concerts radio dramas a manga an anime series and an episodic animated film series Contents 1 Gameplay 1 1 Personas and social links 1 2 Tartarus and combat 2 Story 2 1 Setting 2 2 Characters 2 3 Plot 2 3 1 The Journey 2 3 2 The Answer 3 Development 3 1 Localization 3 2 Music 4 Promotion and release 4 1 Persona 3 FES 4 2 Persona 3 Portable 5 Reception 5 1 Critics 5 2 Sales and accolades 6 Legacy 6 1 Spin offs and tie ins 6 2 Related media 6 2 1 Merchandise 6 2 2 Manga 6 2 3 Anime 6 2 4 Films 6 2 5 Radio drama 6 2 6 Stage production 7 Notes 8 References 9 External linksGameplay Edit The protagonist gains academic skills by studying in the school library The upper right area of the screen indicates the current date time period and phase of the moon Persona 3 combines elements of traditional role playing games and simulation games The game follows the protagonist character balancing their daily lives of going to school and building relationships with other people with fighting evil beings known as Shadows during the mysterious Dark Hour Each day is divided between various time zones the most common of which are After School Daytime and Evening Except for scripted events such as plot progression or special events the player is free to choose how each day is spent with most activities causing time to pass on The types of activities and characters that can be interacted with vary depending on the day of the week and time of day Additionally some activities are limited by the protagonist s three attributes Academics Charm and Courage which can be built by performing various activities or making certain correct choices 1 2 During the evening players can choose to visit Tartarus the game s main dungeon where they can build their party s experience and gain new items On the day of the full moon players will participate in a boss battle to progress the story 3 Personas and social links Edit The main element of the game are the Personas various creatures and monsters which are associated with the Major Arcana of the Tarot 4 Each Persona has its own set of strengths and weaknesses and possesses various abilities ranging from offensive and support abilities to passive abilities that support the character Whereas each of the game s main characters has their own Persona some of which change form as the story progresses the protagonist is capable of wielding multiple Personas which can be switched between battles 5 New Personas can be created by visiting the Velvet Room and fusing together multiple Personas passing along certain moves from the Personas used The current level of the protagonist limits the Personas that a player can create 5 6 Personas can also be obtained from Shuffle Time following battles and previously obtained Personas can be summoned from the Persona Compendium for a fee 6 The Velvet Room additionally allows players to take on quests such as retrieving certain items in order to obtain a reward New to the series are social links b bonds that are formed with several of the game s characters with each social link representing a specific Major Arcana By spending time with these characters these social links increase in rank When creating a Persona of a particular Arcana an experience bonus is granted if that Arcana possesses a social link with greater bonuses awarded depending on the rank Carrying a Persona of a respective Arcana can help bring a social link closer to increasing in Rank Maxing out a social link gives players the ability to create specific Personas of each Arcana Conversely negative actions such as incorrect dialogue choices or dating multiple characters cheating can result in a reversed social link preventing players from summoning Personas of that Arcana until fixed In the worst case scenario a reversed social link can break effectively removing all Personas of that Arcana from the game Tartarus and combat Edit A typical battle in Persona 3 The portraits on the right hand side of the screen indicate the status of the player s party Tartarus is the game s main dungeon which can be visited during the evening provided the conditions allow it e g the absence of some characters may prevent the player from visiting Tartarus that night 7 The player may order the other party members to split up to explore the area or automatically attack Shadows on sight Players will eventually come across boss floors in which the player must defeat powerful Shadows to continue their progress Additionally certain floors halt further progress through the tower until the story progresses 8 Occasionally innocent civilians will wander into Tartarus winding up on certain floors Rescuing these civilians safely before a full moon appears grants bonus rewards obtained from the police station Spending too much time in Tartarus may cause characters to become Tired or Sick which can affect their performance during battle Additionally if the protagonist becomes Tired or Sick some activities such as studying at night may be hampered Players can recover their status by taking certain items visiting the infirmary or going to bed early 8 Battle occurs when the player comes into contact with a Shadow roaming the floor with the battle party consisting of whoever is nearby Attacking the Shadow without being noticed will give the player an advantage whilst the enemy gains an advantage if the player is attacked first 9 Battles use the Press Turn system in which both allies and enemies take turns to attack using weapons items or Persona abilities 4 Using the Tactics option the player can assign specific battle AI to each party member in Persona 3 Portable they may also choose to issue direct commands 10 Offensive attacks are divided into three physical types Strike Slash and Pierce and six elements Fire Ice Electricity Wind Light and Dark attributes of which both Personas and Shadows may possess strengths and weaknesses against Physical abilities use up HP whilst elemental and support magic use SP By exploiting an enemy s weakness or performing a critical attack characters can knock the opponent down granting that character an extra turn However enemies can also take advantage of an ally s weakness to gain an additional turn 7 If the player manages to knock all opponents down they may be granted the opportunity to perform an All Out Attack in which all able party members assault the enemies for massive damage 4 Allies who lose all of their HP can be revived using revival items and abilities but the game will end if the protagonist loses all of their HP When a battle is won players gain experience points that are divided amongst the party members Earning enough experience allows Personas to increase in level granting improved stats and new abilities 5 Some Personas may also grant Skill Cards which can be given to other Personas to teach them new abilities In addition raising the protagonist s level will allow higher level Personas to be summoned in the Velvet Room and allow the player to carry more Personas At the end of certain battles a minigame known as Shuffle Time may appear in which players select a card from a set that is shuffled around These can grant bonuses such as additional experience points cash restore health or give the player new Personas However selecting a cursed card will cause an extremely powerful monster Death or better known as the Reaper to appear on the current floor Story EditSetting Edit The story of Persona 3 takes place in 2009 and is set in a Japanese city called Iwatodai c built and funded by the Kirijo Corporation Several experiments carried out ten years ago created the Dark Hour d a period of time that exists between one day and the next 11 During this time most people turned into coffins and they are not aware of the Dark Hour however there is a select group of people who are 11 The Dark Hour bends reality Gekkoukan High School where most of the characters attend school during the day becomes a huge labyrinthine tower called Tartarus and beasts known as Shadows roam the area preying on the minds of those still conscious 7 The Shadows leave their victims in near catatonic states outside of the Dark Hour 12 To investigate and learn about the Dark Hour Shadows and Tartarus the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad or SEES was created SEES is a group of high schoolers capable of summoning beings known as Personas to combat Shadows 7 The Persona 3 instruction manual describes Persona s being a second soul that dwells deep within a person s heart It is an entirely different personality that emerges when a person is confronted with something from outside this world 11 Persona users usually summon their Persona by firing a gun like object called an Evoker at their head 3 An effect that appears to be broken glass comes from the user s head when the Evoker is used Characters Edit Main article List of Persona 3 characters The main character of Persona 3 is a silent protagonist named by the player at the start of the game 13 He is a teenage boy orphaned as a child returning to the city he grew up in ten years before attending Gekkoukan High School 11 After learning of his ability to summon a Persona he joins SEES which is composed of students at his school Yukari Takeba a popular cheerful girl Akihiko Sanada a calm and collected senior who leads the school s boxing team and Mitsuru Kirijo the Student Council President and daughter of the head of the Kirijo Group who provides backup during battle 14 As the game progresses SEES gains several new members Junpei Iori a class clown and the protagonist s best friend 14 Fuuka Yamagishi a shy girl who replaces Mitsuru as a support character Aigis a female android designed by the Kirijo Group to fight Shadows 15 Ken Amada an elementary schooler whose mother was killed by a Persona user 16 Shinjiro Aragaki a former member of SEES who quit due to past events 17 and Koromaru a dog capable of summoning a Persona 18 Plot Edit The Journey Edit Persona 3 begins on April 7 2009 with the protagonist transferring to Gekkoukan High School and moving into a dorm in the city 11 After learning his ability to summon a Persona he is asked to join SEES and is eventually elected as leader in combat Additional members join SEES over time all students attending Gekkoukan Junpei who had only recently discovered his ability to summon a Persona Akihiko whose arm injury prevented him from fighting and Fuuka who replaces Mitsuru as the team s support member After awakening to his Persona ability the protagonist is transported to the Velvet Room which its proprietor Igor says is a realm between dream and reality 19 Igor explains to him that his Persona ability is special he is the only member of SEES capable of wielding multiple Personas in battle 20 In game the Velvet Room is where the player may fuse two or more Personas to create a new one Igor also encourages the protagonist to meet people and form bonds with them known as social links According to Igor the power of his social links will determine his potential in combat 21 On nights when the moon is full the city is attacked by a Shadow more powerful than the ones found in Tartarus After several of these incidents Mitsuru is forced to reveal to the team the origin of Tartarus and the Dark Hour Ten years earlier the Kirijo Group a research company founded by Mitsuru s grandfather began amassing and containing Shadows They studied and performed experiments on them to harness their power However the experiments went awry allowing the Shadows to escape and assemble into twelve larger creatures 22 Each is affiliated with one of the twelve Major Arcana SEES leader Shuji Ikutsuki informs them that if they were to defeat all twelve of the greater Shadows Tartarus and the Dark Hour would disappear forever 23 As the year continues the group adds two more Persona users to their team Ken and Koromaru While vacationing in Yakushima Junpei Akihiko and the protagonist encounter Aigis who had recently escaped the laboratory where she was kept despite being deactivated for years 24 For reasons she cannot explain she has a need to be near the protagonist even breaking into his dorm room at night to monitor him 25 Aigis is also enlisted in SEES After defeating the twelfth and final Shadow SEES learns that Shuji Ikutsuki had misled them By destroying the greater Shadows they have freed parts of a being known as Nyx which will bring about the end of the world if it is fully restored 26 Nyx or the maternal being is the creator of Shadows she is drawn to Earth by The Appriser or Death a Shadow of the Death arcanum SEES encounters The Appriser disguised as Ryoji Mochizuki a recent transfer student to Gekkoukan High School 27 The Shadow experiments performed ten years earlier created the Death Shadow albeit in an incomplete state 28 Aigis unable to defeat the Shadow sealed it inside the protagonist who was a child at the time 29 By defeating the twelve greater Shadows the Death Shadow was recreated Its purpose is to usher Nyx into the world which will bring about the extinction of all life on Earth Ryoji insists that Nyx cannot be defeated however he offers SEES an alternative If they were to kill him their memories of the Dark Hour and Tartarus would vanish allowing them to continue life unaware of their impending death 30 Aigis who now realizes why she wanted to protect the protagonist begins to believe that she is useless 31 She urges SEES to kill Ryoji as they cannot defeat Nyx Through encouragement from her friends however she gains the resolve to join with SEES as they attempt to fight Nyx 32 On December 31 New Year s Eve the player must decide whether to kill Ryoji or spare his life If the protagonist kills him the game cuts to Graduation Day with the entirety of SEES barring Aigis losing their memories of the Dark Hour and the Shadows ending on a dark note as they prepare to celebrate in blissful ignorance until Nyx inevitably brings about The Fall and all of humanity dies If he is spared then the game continues and on January 31 SEES ascends to the roof of Tartarus to face Ryoji who has transformed into the Nyx Avatar 33 While they can defeat him Nyx continues to descend to Earth As this is happening the protagonist is summoned to the Velvet Room where Igor reminds him that the power of his social links would determine his potential The protagonist hears the voices of his friends encouraging him The strength of his social links grants him the power of the Universe allowing him to seal away Nyx from humanity 34 The world returns to normal although defeating Ryoji has resulted in their memories of the past year related to the Dark Hour being lost to the members of SEES However Aigis and the protagonist do remember On Graduation Day the two go to the school s roof where the members of SEES had promised to meet should they stop Nyx and live to see their graduation As Mitsuru gives her graduation speech she and the rest of SEES suddenly regain their memories and the group rushes to the roof to fulfill the promise they all made As the protagonist lies on Aigis lap she thanks the protagonist for giving her a purpose in life protecting him The protagonist who has been feeling tired and unwell then closes his eyes 35 The Answer Edit The events of The Answer begin on March 31 shortly after the end of the original game During the opening sequence it is revealed that the protagonist has died never waking up after closing his eyes at the end of the original game 36 the other characters speculate that his death is related to him defeating Nyx 37 The school year has ended and the dorm is to be closed down soon Aigis reveals to the group that she will not be attending school next year 38 During their last dinner party the SEES members discover that they are trapped in their dorm and that the day March 31 is repeating itself 39 Later a large door like hole opens in the dorm floor and SEES is attacked by Metis an anti shadow weapon similar to Aigis In the midst of fighting Metis to protect her friends Aigis s Persona Athena transforms into Orpheus the original Persona of the protagonist She also gains the protagonist s Wild Card ability 40 Aigis can subdue Metis whose actions were an attempt to end the time skip and save Aigis who she calls her sister 41 42 Underneath the dorm is the Abyss of Time the cause of the time skip The Abyss contains seven doors the insides of which contain multi floor dungeons similar in design to Tartarus in these areas the game s combat occurs 43 At the bottom of each dungeon the characters witness an event from the past of a member of SEES After seeing several of these flashbacks the characters discern that the event shown in each door relates to how that person had awakened to their Persona 44 At the bottom of the seventh and final door SEES fights a Shadow like version of the protagonist After defeating it each of them obtains a key By combining the keys they would be able to end the time skip and leave the dorm 45 However Metis presents SEES with an alternative instead of unlocking the front door of the dorm they may also use the keys to travel back in time to before the fight against Nyx and the death of the protagonist 46 Now unable to agree on how to use the keys the characters determine that they must fight each other to decide Yukari and Mitsuru wish to travel back in time and save the protagonist from his fate Akihiko and Ken wish to honor his sacrifice and leave the dorm while Junpei and Koromaru intend to act as a neutral party and hold the keys until the others can make a rational decision 47 Aigis Fuuka and Metis claim all eight keys which fuse into the Final Key After debating on what to do now they discover a third new door in the Abyss of Time which the group uses without the Final Key to travel to the moment the protagonist sealed Nyx from the world 48 Metis explains that the purpose of the seal created by the protagonist was not to seal away Nyx herself who is not inherently evil but to prevent humanity s despair from calling out to Nyx and bringing about the Fall once more The subconscious will of humankind to despair and wish for death constantly rebirths a monster called Erebus that summons Nyx to destroy the world Metis implies that Erebus s contact with Nyx is what caused the Fall that was prevented by SEES 49 SEES realizes that the wishes that created Erebus also came from them and so they fight it and can defeat it 50 Mitsuru points out that Erebus will return as humans will never stop wishing for death 51 After breaking the time skip and exiting through the front door of the dorm with the Final Key Metis Aigis and the rest of SEES are summoned to the Velvet Room much to Igor s surprise 52 It is here they learn of Metis s true origins that she is a manifestation of a part of Aigis s personality Distraught over the protagonist s death she no longer wanted to live like a human and wished to return to being a machine 53 However after being set free from the Abyss of Time Aigis changes her mind deciding to continue to attend school something she had chosen not to do earlier Furthermore the members of SEES decide to make the best out of their lives in order to honor and respect the protagonist s burden 54 Development Edit A Japanese ad for Persona 3 created by the game s art director Shigenori Soejima The ad contains three important game elements school Persona and friendship 55 Persona 3 began development in 2003 after the completion of Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga 56 In March 2006 the first details on Persona 3 were unveiled in the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu 57 In addition to announcing the game s Japanese release date of July 13 the three page article detailed the game s premise combat systems and the social link system known as community in the Japanese version It also profiled three characters the protagonist Junpei and Yukari as well as their respective Personas Orpheus Hermes and Io 58 The main character artist and art director for Persona 3 was Shigenori Soejima 59 The previous Persona titles character artist Kazuma Kaneko gave the job to Soejima so he could gain more experience 60 Soejima felt a degree of pressure when designing the characters as he did not want to disappoint the series fanbase The goal was to make players of the Megami Tensei series feel gratified that they had supported the Persona series In an interview Soejima compared the game s aesthetic and style to a fantastical manga citing its use of mecha like Persona and Mitsuru s flamboyant styling Soejima returned to design the character Metis for FES 59 The user interface was designed to stand out during the game s marketing with its blue colored design intended to evoke a cool and stylish atmosphere 61 The anime cutscenes for Persona 3 and FES were animated by animation production company Point Pictures 62 In an interview with the magazine Play lead director for Persona 3 Katsura Hashino discussed why the decision was made to have party members be directed by an artificial intelligence I think it s more fun to have the party members controlled by their AI so each member s characteristics and personality are on vivid display There were no objections raised among the Persona 3 development team either He also notes that the system wasn t well received by players of the game 63 Later the use of AI for the secondary party members was described as a stylistic choice representing the game s theme of conquering the fear of death through bonds each character was their own person and the player could only influence things by interacting with them 64 Persona 3 does not include the negotiation elements of previous Persona or Megami Tensei games which allowed players to talk to enemies during a battle to recruit them earn money or obtain items However the social elements of Persona 3 and its successor Persona 4 are considered the equivalent of the negotiation system by the development team Maragos said in a 1UP com interview that negotiation isn t gone And it still factors into Persona Fusion it s still a big part of the game I feel like it s disguised but it s there 65 Localization Edit The localization of Persona 3 was handled by Yu Namba and Nich Maragos During this process the team worked to leave as much of the original Japanese content intact continuing a trend started with Persona 2 Eternal Punishment One of the ideas had by the team for Persona 3 was to use it as a medium for introducing Japanese culture to a western audience 66 67 While localizing Persona 3 for English speaking countries the honorifics used by the characters in the original Japanese script were retained According to Maragos their use added so much more meaning to the text 65 In an interview with RPGamer project editor Yu Namba explained that during the process of translation some of the Japanese humor things that made absolutely no sense in western culture were replaced with jokes that at least somewhat parallel the originals 68 One of the changes that needed to be made was to the school tests which were based around questions on the English language A similar change was Mitsuru s second language in the original version it was English but for the localized version her second language was changed to French This choice was influenced by her cultured appearance In addition in game references to the original Shin Megami Tensei were altered to references to Persona 2 66 67 Music Edit The original soundtrack for Persona 3 was composed entirely by Shoji Meguro with the sole exception of Adventured Act which was composed by Yosuke Uda 69 It was released as a two disc soundtrack in Japan by Aniplex on July 19 2006 A selection of tracks from the full soundtrack was bundled with the North American release of the game 70 An arranged album titled Burn My Dread Reincarnation Persona 3 was also released in Japan by Aniplex on April 18 2007 It contains eleven arrangements of tracks from Persona 3 as well as an extended version of the song Burn My Dread 71 Meguro stated that the development of Persona 3 was one of his first opportunities to fully realize his music in video games The soundtrack features a high use of vocals though Meguro did not consider this as special or exceptional A tune from previous Persona titles he rearranged was Aria of the Soul the theme of the Velvet Room The game s battle theme Mass Destruction was originally just a prototype but the reception to it was so positive that it went into the final game 72 In the past the hardware limitations of the original PlayStation required him to compose music in 100 200 kilobyte samples which he felt made the music sound pretty cheap The move to the PlayStation 2 allowed for real time streaming of music Meguro considers this the point at which he was finally able to express his music without making any compromises He was also worried about the pronunciation of the English lyrics 73 Meguro returned to compose new music for Persona 3 FES Released in Japan by Aniplex on May 3 2007 the soundtrack contained the original score for FES as well as arrangements of music from earlier games in the Persona series 74 The Snow Queen composed by Kenichi Tsuchiya is a remix of the theme in Revelations Persona Maya s Theme composed by Kenichi Tsuchiya and Time Castle composed by Toshiko Tasaki are remixes of tracks from Persona 2 Innocent Sin 75 Persona 3 Portable contains new background music which can be heard if the player chooses to control the game s new female protagonist 76 The game s official soundtrack was released in Japan by Aniplex on November 25 2009 77 Promotion and release EditThe North American release of Persona 3 shipped as a collector s edition box containing the game a soundtrack disc and a 52 page art book The game was originally scheduled to release on July 24 2007 However Atlus encountered a problem with manufacturing the artbook several days before the intended ship date Instead of shipping the game without the book the company decided to push its release back three weeks to August 14 Atlus issued a press release explaining that they were delaying the game to maintain the quality of the package which would have been irreparably compromised if they had revise d or abandon ed the deluxe package 78 Persona 3 FES Edit Persona 3 FES e is an add on disc for Persona 3 containing updates to the original game as well as a new epilogue in which the player controls Aigis FES was released in Japan on April 19 2007 as both a stand alone game and the director s cut version of Persona 3 Overseas the combined edition was published in North America by Atlus USA on April 22 2008 and in Europe by Koei on October 17 2008 citation needed According to the game s director Katsura Hashino the subtitle Fes is derived from the word festival 79 This version of the game was re released as a PS2 Classic on PSN for the PlayStation 3 in 2012 Players of the original Persona 3 are given the option of transferring certain data from the original version s save file such as the player s compendium social related stats and maxed social link items Persona 3 FES was first released alongside the original game in two forms the Regular Edition containing both the director s cut version of Persona 3 and the new epilogue as two separate discs and the Append Edition containing only the epilogue on a single disc 80 Persona 3 and its expansion were released simultaneously in Japan on April 19 2007 At the time Atlus had not announced plans to release FES outside Japan 68 This announcement did not come until February 2008 when the game s North American release date was revealed to be April 22 2008 81 An exclusive Amazon com limited edition bundle was released on November 28 2008 containing Art of Persona 3 artbook Persona 3 soundtrack disc and the FES edition in a cardboard sleeve 82 The FES edition of the game was also released on PSN on April 10 2012 83 The expansion to Persona 3 in addition to adding new content to the main game referred to as The Journey or Episode Yourself in the Japanese version includes an epilogue to the original story titled The Answer Episode Aegis in the Japanese version The core gameplay of The Answer is similar to that of The Journey although the social link system has been removed and the player does not attend school 39 Persona 3 Portable Edit Persona 3 Portable f an enhanced port of Persona 3 for the PlayStation Portable was released in Japan on November 1 2009 84 and released in North America on July 6 2010 85 It came out to most of Europe on April 29 2011 and the UK on April 28 2011 The announcement in Famitsu revealed that the player would have the option to play as a female protagonist This selection alters some aspects of the story the first Persona gained by the protagonist Orpheus has a different appearance Igor s assistant in the Velvet Room Elizabeth can be replaced with a male equivalent named Theodore 86 The gender choice also alters some aspects of the social link stories In addition to the new playable character there are two new difficulty levels to select from alongside the original game s three Persona 3 Portable only includes the story of the original Persona 3 otherwise referred to as The Journey 87 however general changes have been made to the plot regardless of character choice 84 The game s revised battle system draws on elements added in Persona 3 s successor Persona 4 In combat the player is able to directly control every character as an alternative to utilizing the game s artificial intelligence The ability to guard has been added and allies will take fatal attacks for the protagonist preventing their death 86 Outside of Tartarus instead of navigating the game world by directly controlling the protagonist the player guides an on screen cursor around an area allowing interaction with characters and objects The game includes the voice acting of the original game although characters are not shown in the world instead being represented by on screen portraits In addition the anime cutscenes seen in the original Persona 3 were replaced to feature in game graphics 76 Shoji Meguro composed 10 new musical tracks for Persona 3 Portable with the majority of them being written for the female protagonist s playthrough 76 Several cameos of characters from Persona 4 have been added to Persona 3 Portable including Yukiko Amagi a playable character from Persona 4 88 It also features a cameo from Vincent Brooks the protagonist of Catherine 89 Persona 3 Portable was released as a stand alone game and as part of a bundle package which includes a T shirt and desk calendar 90 The game on its own retails for 6 279 yen US 68 while the bundle known as Persona 3 Portable DX sells for 8 495 yen US 92 91 During the North American release Atlus offered Junpei s hat as a pre order bonus for purchasing Persona 3 Portable 92 Ports for Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 Windows Xbox One and Xbox Series X S were released on January 19 2023 93 Reception EditCritics Edit ReceptionAggregate scoreAggregatorScoreMetacritic86 100 103 89 100 FES 104 89 100 PSP 105 80 100 PC 106 80 100 PS4 107 87 100 XSXS 108 80 100 NS 109 Review scoresPublicationScore1Up comA 94 A FES 95 Famitsu33 40 98 32 40 PSP 99 Game Informer8 5 10 FES 97 GameSpot8 5 10 4 8 5 10 FES 39 GameSpy 100 FES 101 GamesRadar 9 10 96 GameTrailers9 10 102 Hardcore Gamer4 5 NS 118 IGN8 3 10 7 8 8 10 FES 43 Nintendo Life NS 117 Nintendo World Report8 10 NS 119 PC Gamer US 80 100 PC 115 Push Square8 10 PS4 116 AwardsPublicationAwardFamitsuRPG of the Year 110 GameSpotRPG of the Year 111 GameSpyPS2 RPG of the Year 112 RPGamerRPG of the Decade 113 RPGFanRPG of the Year 114 Persona 3 received positive reviews upon its release earning a Metacritic score of 86 103 Shane Bettenhausen of 1UP com called the game a refreshingly new take on the MegaTen Megami Tensei concept and the best RPG hitting the PS2 this year He praised the excellent AI created to direct the actions of party members during battle which he felt created the series speediest and most dynamic battle system to date 94 Jeff Haynes from IGN criticized the system finding that it would occasionally result in the death of the player s character which causes a game over 7 GameTrailers called the game a rare supernatural delicacy stating it is an RPG that fans of the genre shouldn t miss out on GameSpy s Patrick Joynt praised the social elements of Persona 3 calling the game s social links almost universally fascinating While he suspected the simulation elements would probably be the biggest hurdle for fans of role playing or Megami Tensei games in his review he wrote that he can t stress enough how well done it is 100 Heidi Kemps of GamesRadar found the game s teenage themes to be a refreshing change from those of other games in the genre as they touch on the social awkwardness common at that point in life 96 Game Informer s Joe Juba found the game s environments to be weak as most of the game takes place within one tower Tartarus In his review he also noted that the game s roots in the Megami Tensei series would come across as foreign to new players If you don t know anything about fusing Personas or simply that bufu means ice attack you have some catching up to do 97 Persona 3 FES received a score of 89 on Metacritic slightly higher than that of Persona 3 104 The plot of The Answer provides much needed narrative closure to the story of The Journey according to Shane Bettenhausen 95 Kevin VanOrd called FES a wonderfully enhanced version of an already great RPG in his review he recommends the game to new players and those who had already finished the original game 39 The gameplay of The Answer was criticized by several reviewers for not including the social elements of the original game 39 43 101 VanOrd found the new chapter to be less interesting because of this Jeff Haynes commented that the change harkens back to a classic more hardcore RPG experience of fighting and grinding while done at the expense of what made Persona 3 so intriguing in the first place 43 The reviews of GameSpy and IGN reiterated issues found with the original game such as the inability to directly control party members in battle 43 101 While some critics like IGN criticized Persona 3 Portable for losing some of its polish it was as acclaimed as FES receiving an 89 out of 100 from Metacritic 105 making it the third best reviewed PSP game on the website 120 It was praised for despite having been released twice already being an adventure worth playing again This was echoed by GamesRadar IGN 1UP com and GamePro 105 One of the reviewers from Famitsu wrote that the remake includes enough differences in the Social Links to make it fun even for old players 99 and perfect scores from websites such as Destructoid 121 and GamePro 122 GameTrailers went on to nominate the game for Best PSP Game in their awards losing to God of War Ghost of Sparta 123 and Best RPG losing to Mass Effect 2 124 Three websites specific to coverage of RPGs honored it in annual award postings namely RPGamer Best Re release 125 RPGFan Best Traditional RPG on Handheld 126 and RPGLand Best Port 127 Shane Bettenhausen considered the inclusion of Evokers a ballsy and shocking move on the part of Atlus but felt their inclusion created an edgy sensibility that fits perfectly with the overall dark tone of the game 94 Similarly Joe Juba thought the concept fit perfectly with the game s dark tone 97 Jeff Haynes found the animations of characters using their Evokers to be intriguing and shocking at the same time 7 While previewing Persona 3 for GameSpot Kevin VanOrd said that the continued use of Evokers never gets old and it never gets any less awesome to watch and considering that you could play this for fifty sixty seventy eighty hours or more that s saying something 128 Atlus USA did not remove the Evokers from Persona 3 for its worldwide release despite the possible controversy Nich Maragos from the localization team said on 1UP com s Retronauts podcast that the company did not receive any criticism for their inclusion There was never any Jack Thompson ing we didn t get any letters from concerned parents 129 The PC PlayStation 4 Xbox Series X S and Switch versions of Persona 3 Portable received generally favorable reviews according to Metacritic 106 107 108 109 Sales and accolades Edit Persona 3 sold 127 472 copies in its first week and 210 319 copies overall in Japan by 2008 130 131 Persona 3 Portable sold over 158 000 copies in Japan within its first month of release 132 133 134 135 Persona 3 was named the best role playing game of 2006 by Famitsu 110 and of 2007 by GameSpot and RPGFan 111 114 GameSpy gave the title its 2007 PS2 RPG of the Year award and placed it second in the 2007 PS2 Top 10 Games of the Year 112 136 IGN placed Persona 3 FES fifteenth in their feature The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time 137 1UP com s 2007 game awards which ran in the March 2008 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly included Persona 3 given the award for Most controversial game that created no controversy 138 In 2010 Persona 3 was listed first on RPGamer s Top RPGs of the Decade list 113 and second place in RPGFan s Top 20 RPGs of the Past Decade list 139 Persona 3 was nominated for Best RPG at 2007 Spike Video Game Awards but lost to Mass Effect citation needed Legacy EditSpin offs and tie ins Edit Main articles Persona Q Shadow of the Labyrinth Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight and Persona Q2 New Cinema Labyrinth Persona Q Shadow of the Labyrinth is a dungeon crawler RPG developed for the Nintendo 3DS It features both the characters from Persona 3 and the ones from Persona 4 and includes some gameplay elements from the Etrian Odyssey series The Persona 3 campaign starts two weeks before October 4 Just as SEES prepares to enter Tartarus that night they are pulled into the Velvet Room and sent to a school they have never seen before While searching the area they meet the amnesiacs Zen and Rei and the Investigation Team the latter of whom have also been pulled into the strange school they must now work together to escape The game was released in Japan on June 5 2014 North America on November 25 2014 and Europe on November 28 2014 A rhythm game based on the setting and characters of Persona 3 titled Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight was released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in Japan in May 2018 and worldwide in December 2018 alongside Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight 140 141 142 Persona Q2 New Cinema Labyrinth serves as a sequel to Persona Q The game was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on November 29 2018 and worldwide on June 4 2019 The game retains the casts from Persona 3 and Persona 4 joined by the Phantom Thieves of Hearts from Persona 5 and the female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable Related media Edit Merchandise Edit Several figurines of the characters have been produced by Kotobukiya a Japanese collectible toy company They include the protagonist of the game Aigis Mitsuru and Akihiko 143 The figurines have interchangeable parts such as an Evoker or weapon which can be stored in the base Alter another Japanese company that specializes in collectibles has also released 1 8 scale figurines of Elizabeth Aigis and Mitsuru 144 145 146 The headphones worn by the protagonist are sold by Audio Technica model ATH EM700 Japan only version 147 Atlus collaborated with the Japanese publishing company Enterbrain to publish the game s multiple strategy guides and an artbook detailing character and setting designs citation needed Manga Edit A manga adaptation of Persona 3 written and illustrated by Shuji Sogabe was published monthly in the Japanese magazine Dengeki Maoh until it went on hiatus once Persona 4 was released However it began serialization again starting November 7 2011 moving from Dengeki Maoh to Atlus s official Persona Magazine 148 149 As of February 2017 11 volumes have been released 150 Anime Edit See also Persona Trinity Soul and list of episodes A non canonical spin off anime to Persona 3 titled Persona Trinity Soul aired in Japan starting in January 2008 and ran for twenty six episodes Taking place ten years after the events of the game the anime features Akihiko as a secondary character 151 NIS America licensed the show and released it in two half season deluxe edition box sets with the original Japanese audio track in 2010 152 Films Edit See also Persona 3 The Movie No 1 Spring of Birth Persona 3 The Movie No 2 Midsummer Knight s Dream Persona 3 The Movie No 3 Falling Down and Persona 3 The Movie No 4 Winter of Rebirth In June 2012 it was announced that Persona 3 would receive a four part film series adaptation 153 It was produced by AIC ASTA first film and A 1 Pictures films two through four The first film was directed by Noriaki Akitaya the second and fourth by Tomohisa Taguchi and the third by Keitaro Motonaga The main Japanese voice actors from the original game reprised their roles in the film series 154 Radio drama Edit Several series of radio dramas based on Persona 3 and Persona 3 FES have been released in Japan Persona 3 Drama CD A Certain Day of Summer features an original story voiced by the game s original cast 155 Persona 3 Drama CD Vol 2 Moonlight links the story of Persona 3 and the epilogue released with Persona 3 FES 156 From February to June 2008 a series of character dramas were released as five CDs The volumes respectively focus on the protagonist and Ryoji 157 Junpei and Chidori 158 Fuuka Ken and Aigis 159 Yukari and Mitsuru 160 and Akihiko Shinjiro and Koromaru 161 In early 2009 a two volume side story about Mitsuru was released 162 163 Stage production Edit See also Persona 3 The Weird Masquerade Persona 3 was adapted into five live stage musicals with the first one performed in 2014 The series of plays were first announced in August 2013 164 and were written by Kumagai and Kotora Kagurazuka with music by Meguro The plays included separate shows for both the male and female protagonists who were named Sakuya Shiomi and Kotone Shiomi and had minor dialogue and scenes unique to each protagonist 165 The plays starred Shouta Aoi as Sakuya Kana Asumi as Kotone Maho Tomita as Yukari Genki Okawa as Junpei Yuki Fujiwara as Akihiko Asami Tano as Mitsuru Marina Tanoue as Fuuka ZAQ as Aigis and Waku Sakaguchi and Tomonori Suzuki as Ken The musicals were also broadcast live on Niconico 166 and a behind the scenes special aired on Tokyo MX 167 The first play Persona 3 The Weird Masquerade The Blue Awakening ran from January 8 12 2014 at Theater G Rosso 168 and was given a home release on May 14 2014 169 The Blue Awakening followed events up to Fuuka s inclusion into the party 170 The Blue Awakening was followed up with a sequel Persona 3 The Weird Masquerade The Ultramarine Labyrinth which ran from September 16 24 2014 at Theater 1010 171 172 and was given a home release on January 28 2015 173 The play follows in game events from July to early November Richard Eisenbeis from Kotaku reviewed the play favorably approving of its casting and special effects but felt that the musical numbers were out of place and the protagonists had zero personality 174 A third musical titled Persona 3 The Weird Masquerade The Bismuth Crystals ran from June 5 13 2015 175 and was given a home release on September 30 2015 176 177 The fourth and fifth stage plays Persona 3 The Weird Masquerade Act 4 Indigo Pledge and Persona 3 The Weird Masquerade Final Act Beyond the Blue Sky ran from April 14 23 2017 178 Notes Edit Japanese ペルソナ3 Hepburn Perusona Suri コミュ komyu lit commu short for community 巖戸台 影時間 kage jikan lit Shadow Hour ペルソナ3フェス Perusona Suri Fesu ペルソナ3 ポータブル Perusona Suri PōtaburuReferences Edit Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual Atlus U S A Inc 2008 p 28 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual Atlus U S A Inc 2008 p 25 a b Barnholt Ray May 8 2007 Previews Persona 3 1UP com Archived from the original on October 18 2012 Retrieved December 16 2007 a b c d VanOrd Kevin July 24 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Review GameSpot Archived from the original on December 1 2014 Retrieved December 16 2007 a b c Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual Atlus U S A Inc 2008 pp 26 27 a b Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual Atlus U S A Inc 2008 pp 38 39 a b c d e f g Haynes Jeff July 24 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Review IGN Archived from the original on October 12 2007 Retrieved November 22 2007 a b Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual Atlus U S A Inc 2008 pp 20 21 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual Atlus U S A Inc 2008 p 22 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual Atlus U S A Inc 2008 pp 31 32 a b c d e Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual Atlus U S A Inc 2008 pp 04 05 Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Mitsuru A Shadow feeds on the mind of its prey the victim becomes a living corpse They re responsible for most of the incidents on the news if not all of them Alexander Leigh January 28 2009 Persona 4 Reflecting The Self Kotaku Archived from the original on October 24 2014 Retrieved August 18 2009 a b Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES North American instruction manual Atlus U S A Inc 2008 pp 06 07 Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Junpei She s so cute but she s a robot Shuji Ikutsuki Anti Shadow weapons were created ten years ago to combat uncontrollable Shadows Aigis was the last to be made and she s the only one that still remains today Mitsuru An Anti Shadow weapon Does that mean she Aigis Yes I am capable of operating the Persona Palladion Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Mitsuru We were in a residential area but the Shadow was all we were thinking about Aragaki was still new and he momentarily lost control of his power Unfortunately there was a casualty Amada s mother Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Akihiko You still haven t made up your mind Shinjiro Is that what this is about Akihiko We ve got four new members Things have changed quite a bit since you left We re more aggressive now Shinjiro I m not interested Akihiko Think about it Shinji Don t let your power go to waste Shinjiro My power ain t worth shit Akihiko Shinji Shinjiro I made up my mind a long time ago I ain t going back Akihiko You have to let the past go What s done is done It s time you moved on Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Akihiko Man He s one tough fighter He defeated that Shadow all by himself Junpei Wait does that mean this dog s a Persona user Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Igor This place exists between dream and reality mind and matter It s been years since we ve had a guest Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Igor Your power is unique It s like the number zero It s empty but at the same time holds infinite possibilities You my boy are able to possess multiple Personas and summon them as needed Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Igor The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links your emotional ties with others The stronger your Social Links the more powerful your Persona ability Please remember that Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Mitsuru My grandfather was obsessed with Shadows He wanted to harness their power and create something extraordinary Fuuka Harness their power Mitsuru He assembled a team of scientists and over several years collected a significant number of Shadows Junpei He what Damn that s freaking crazy Mitsuru However Ten years ago during the final stages of the experiment they lost control of the Shadows power Consequently the nature of the world was altered Fuuka You mean Mitsuru Yes Tartarus and the Dark Hour By their account the mass of Shadows they collected split into several large ones that then dispersed These are the Shadows we ve been encountering on nights when the moon is full Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Shuji Ikutsuki What if I told you that those twelve Shadows are the cause of everything Akihiko Then if we defeat them all Tartarus and the Dark Hour will disappear Shuji Ikutsuki Exactly That s what I was going to tell you earlier See it s good news isn t it Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Shuji Ikutsuki She suffered major damage in combat and has remained in the lab ever since It is still unclear as to why she suddenly reactivated herself this morning Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Yukari Aigis How did you Aigis He was asleep so I unlocked the door Yukari That s unlawful entry Didn t we tell you to stay in the command room at night Aigis I propose to be on standby in this room from now on Is this acceptable Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Akihiko You said the Dark Hour and Tartarus would disappear if we defeated the 12 Shadows That s why we fought so hard But now Mitsuru What is your intention It was all a lie wasn t it You knew from the beginning that the Dark Hour wouldn t disappear Shuji Ikutsuki Excellent deduction Mitsuru Unfortunately your realization has come too late Yukari No Ken You tricked us Shuji Ikutsuki Everything is as I planned It is not unexpected that the Dark Hour and Tartarus remain In fact I never intended for you to rid the world of them Quite the opposite actually Fuuka What do you mean Shuji Ikutsuki The 12 Shadows were parts of a whole They were destined to be reunited And that was accomplished in no small part thanks to your efforts Soon Death the almighty shall arise and bring forth the Fall Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Mitsuru You know the truth about Shadows Ryoji Yes Shadows are here to facilitate the rebirth of the maternal being She will begin to awaken as she is drawn to me The Appriser Mitsuru You You re The Appriser Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Ryoji Ten years ago a man collected a great number of Shadows and contained them in a laboratory That s where I was born But the unification was interrupted and I awoke in an incomplete state Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Aigis Your strength was far greater than I anticipated The only possible alternative was to seal you away And as circumstance would have it a suitable vessel was available a human child standing nearby So I did what was necessary Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Ryoji Nyx s coming cannot be avoided But it is possible to live in peace until she arrives You ll have to kill me If I were to disappear all memories of the Dark Hour would disappear with me as would any recollection of the fate that awaits you You won t remember anything Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Aigis Why Why did I come back here My mission is to protect humanity from Shadows But now I know that I can t defeat them So then why am I here I m useless Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Aigis This is the promise I ve made to myself I don t know how I ll do it but I guess that is a part of living too Will you allow me to join with you all Junpei Of course You ve always been one of us Aigis Thank you I will be with you all no matter what happens Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Aigis You are Yukari Ryoji kun Nyx Avatar That was my name for a time I didn t mind it Mitsuru What s going on Wait are you Nyx Avatar I am merely a harbinger of the Fall Although Nyx and myself are now one in sic the same Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Igor Behold the last power you and I shall unveil It is the power to bring about a new beginning or the ultimate end It may be possible now with this newfound power You may be able to defeat the one who cannot be defeated What you have in your hands is the power of the Universe Nothing is outside the realm of possibility for you now Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Aigis When I thought I might never see you again something else became clear to me what I wanted most And so I made up my mind I decided that I would continue to protect you I want to be your strength I know I m not the only one who can do this but that s okay My life will be worth living if it s for this reason Thank you Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Fes Review G4 April 7 2008 Event occurs at 0 30 Archived from the original on September 4 2017 Retrieved August 30 2009 The new adventure is called Episode Aegis It s basically a free sequel that s set after the events of the final battle in the original game Of course the character you played in that game perished at the end Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Ken But I still wonder Why did it happen The doctors didn t find anything wrong with him afterward It just seemed like he fell asleep didn t it Fuuka He must ve used up all his power to protect us at that last battle Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Fuuka Huh The lab Are you planning to commute to school from there next semester Aigis Oh No I Mitsuru Aigis is returning herself to the lab tomorrow She won t be enrolled as a senior a b c d e VanOrd Kevin April 23 2008 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES Review GameSpot Archived from the original on June 2 2016 Retrieved August 18 2009 Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Igor In awakening to the power of the Wild Card you are now bound to a contract From this moment forth you are our guest in the Velvet Room Aigis Wild Card Igor Surely you know of which I speak the ability to hold multiple Personas and wield their powers Until recently a young man with the same talent the Protagonist of Persona 3 was our guest here Aigis standing up in surprise You know of him Igor Indeed I do Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Metis The only way to survive is to somehow find a way to eradicate the Abyss of Time Ken Eradicate it How re we supposed to do that Metis I ve already tried the simplest most direct way eliminating all of you The Abyss of Time connected to this dorm as if drawn to it That together with the way you can all perceive the time skips it seems clear to me that you have a lot to do with the reason for this happening Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Metis Um Aigis I promise to listen to what you say so could I call you Sister Aigis Go right ahead Metis Thank you Sister a b c d e Haynes Jeff April 22 2008 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES Review IGN Archived from the original on February 9 2009 Retrieved August 18 2009 Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Yukari Ken kun s story Akihiko senpai s story Junpei s and Koromaru s too Mitsuru senpai s is the one that makes it the most obvious Junpei Huh I m not following you here Yukari What we ve seen is each of our reasons for awakening to our Persona Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Metis You should be able to leave using those keys Once you make it outside the Abyss of Time should disappear on its own Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Junpei You re all about the here and now right Yuka tan I mean you say it all the time You gotta look forward Yukari I I want to go back To the time before the last battle If there s a way for him to come back I ll take it no matter what Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Yukari sigh There s no use going around and around like this We re never gonna reach an agreement So if no one gives in we ll have to settle this another way Fuuka Another way Yukari chan you don t mean Yukari Taking the keys by force That ll work too right Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Aigis So this is the miracle he performed Fuuka What What is this Metis This is his life essence As you can see this is what happened He himself became the Great Seal Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Fuuka This isn t a Shadow So many All those people s Metis As I thought the seal s real purpose It wasn t to hold back Nyx it was a seal so that it couldn t be touched Mitsuru What do you mean Fuuka That monster isn t a Shadow It s the accumulated malice that came from the hearts of countless living people All of them deep down are calling Nyx Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Metis Don t tell me you re going to fight that thing It s impossible it s just too big Mitsuru This is a battle we can t run from The feelings that gave birth to this abomination were inside me as well Because I couldn t accept reality I foolishly sought solace in a past filled with death and strife There s no mistaking it this monster is the reason for all our troubles Akihiko You got that right If we run away from this we re off to a lousy start for our future Ken That s what I think too This was already a battle against myself Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Mitsuru To stop the heart s yearning for destruction it s a formidable task People try to keep death at bay but without it they lose sight of life It may be that there s no way to fully eliminate this monster Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Junpei Hey wait a second What s going on here This isn t the front of the dorm Aigis Everyone What s going on Igor There is no need to worry I only summoned you here that we might say our farewells I am rather surprised though I did not expect your friends to follow you here Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Mitsuru Metis Who are you really Won t you tell us Aigis I think she s the other me I couldn t bear the pain of losing the protagonist so I wished to be a mere machine again to Metis You must be the part of myself I wished away My lonely sister always being afraid of being left alone You came to help me acknowledge and confront the pain of living I finally understand I only wish I had realized it much sooner Atlus August 14 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Aigis I know it might not be possible because it s so sudden but is there some ways that I can back out of returning to the lab Before I thought there was nothing left for me to protect no reason to live But now that I see otherwise I d like to go back to school with Yukari san and everyone Soejima Shigenori 2007 Art of Persona 3 Atlus p 9 Romano Sal August 13 2013 A message from Persona Team s Katsura Hashino Gematsu Archived from the original on April 21 2015 Retrieved May 17 2015 Boulette Bryan March 8 2006 New Persona Metal Saga Games Announced RPGamer Archived from the original on June 21 2011 Retrieved May 2 2010 Sloderbeck Matt Adrienne Beck March 17 2006 New Details New Story for the Newest Persona RPGamer Archived from the original on February 6 2009 Retrieved September 8 2009 a b Shigenori Soejima Interview Shigenori Soejima Art Works 2004 2010 Udon Entertainment July 1 2010 pp 145 153 ISBN 978 1926778327 Transcript Archived June 21 2015 at the Wayback Machine Kemps Heidi August 2008 Game King An Interview with Kazuma Kaneko Otaku USA Sovereign Media 2 1 120 123 Wong Alistair November 13 2017 Atlus Reveals The Design Secrets Behind Persona 5 s Distinctive UI Siliconera Archived from the original on November 13 2017 Retrieved November 13 2017 アニメーション制作スタジオ ポイント ピクチャーズ Point Pictures Point Pictures Archived from the original on July 31 2015 Retrieved July 31 2015 Patterson Eric March 5 2009 Interview Katsura Hashino Play Archived from the original on March 28 2012 Retrieved August 22 2009 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 4 The Official Strategy Guide DoubleJump Publishing December 1 2008 pp 302 303 ISBN 978 0979884863 a b Fitch Andrew July 8 2008 Anime Expo Atlus Talks Persona 4 Trauma Center s Future 1UP com Archived from the original on February 28 2013 Retrieved August 19 2009 a b North Dale July 7 2008 Anime Expo 08 Atlus Shin Megami Tensei panel Destructoid Archived from the original on April 2 2015 Retrieved May 25 2015 a b Ward Robert July 20 2015 Localizing Persona An Interview With Atlus s Yu Namba Siliconera Archived from the original on July 20 2015 Retrieved July 20 2015 a b Run to the Sun Atlus Interview RPGamer June 3 2007 Archived from the original on January 12 2015 Retrieved December 26 2015 Persona 3 Original Soundtrack Japan Square Enix Music Online Archived from the original on August 17 2009 Retrieved August 15 2009 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Original Soundtrack Japan Square Enix Music Online Archived from the original on August 17 2009 Retrieved August 15 2009 Burn My Dread Reincarnation Persona 3 Square Enix Music Online Archived from the original on August 17 2009 Retrieved August 15 2009 Meguro Shoji Persona 3 Original Soundtrack liner notes in Japanese Aniplex July 19 2007 SVWC 7380 1 Scans Archived April 18 2015 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2015 05 17 Patterson Eric L Kohama Dai 2008 The horrors of reality TV Persona 4 Play Fusion Publishing December 2008 Scans Archived June 23 2015 at the Wayback Machine Persona 3 Fes Original Soundtrack Square Enix Music Online Archived from the original on August 17 2009 Retrieved August 15 2009 Thomas Damian RPGFan Soundtracks Persona 3 FES OST RPGFan Archived from the original on January 9 2010 Retrieved August 15 2009 a b c James Quentin Clark December 24 2009 RPGFan Reviews Persona 3 Portable RPGFan Archived from the original on July 8 2010 Retrieved May 3 2010 Persona 3 Portable Original Soundtrack Square Enix Music Online Archived from the original on April 14 2010 Retrieved May 2 2010 Hayward Anthony July 25 2007 Persona 3 Gets a New Date August 14 1UP com Archived from the original on October 18 2012 Retrieved August 23 2009 Chris Winkler December 7 2006 Atlus Announces Persona 3 Director s Cut RPGFan Archived from the original on October 24 2007 Retrieved November 22 2007 Jackson Jordon December 7 2006 Atlus Expands Persona RPGamer Archived from the original on August 30 2009 Retrieved August 19 2009 Whiting Mark February 25 2008 Persona 3 FES Confirmed For North America 1UP com Archived from the original on October 18 2012 Retrieved August 19 2009 Persona 3 FES with Soundtrack CD and Artbook Amazon com Retrieved June 28 2012 Moriarty Colin April 6 2012 Persona 3 FES Coming to PlayStation Network IGN Archived from the original on October 9 2012 Retrieved January 20 2013 a b Gifford Kevin August 18 2009 All About Persona 3 s PSP Port 1UP com Archived from the original on October 18 2012 Retrieved August 18 2009 Official Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Portable Website Archived from the original on January 23 2010 Retrieved January 20 2010 a b ペルソナ3ポータブル 謎の敵 シャドウ に挑む特別課外活動部 in Japanese Famitsu September 5 2009 Archived from the original on March 3 2016 Retrieved May 3 2010 Atlus com Archived January 23 2010 at the Wayback Machine ペルソナ3ポータブル 天城雪子が登場 in Japanese Famitsu October 16 2009 Archived from the original on March 25 2010 Retrieved May 3 2010 Catherine s Connection To Persona 3 Portable Siliconera August 18 2010 Archived from the original on March 12 2016 Retrieved December 15 2010 ペルソナ3 ポータブル DXパック 注文受付中 in Japanese Famitsu Archived from the original on March 15 2010 Retrieved May 3 2010 McElroy Griffin September 21 2009 Persona 3 Portable DX bundle bonuses revealed Joystiq Archived from the original on June 29 2011 Retrieved November 12 2009 Jabbari Aram April 28 2010 ATLUS reveals pre order bonus JUNPEI Baseball cap Archived from the original on November 19 2010 Retrieved February 5 2011 Robinson Andy October 8 2022 Atlus confirms January release for Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden Video Games Chronicle Retrieved October 8 2022 a b c Bettenhausen Shane August 14 2007 Persona 3 Review 1UP com Archived from the original on October 18 2012 Retrieved August 22 2009 a b Bettenhausen Shane April 22 2008 Persona 3 FES Review 1UP com Archived from the original on October 18 2012 Retrieved August 22 2009 a b Kemps Heidi August 16 2007 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 GamesRadar Archived from the original on June 16 2011 Retrieved August 22 2009 a b c Juba Joe Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Special Edition review Game Informer Archived from the original on June 10 2008 Retrieved September 8 2009 Persona 3 Famitsu Score Digital Devil Database Archived from the original on February 21 2009 Retrieved November 11 2009 a b Gifford Kevin October 21 2009 Japan Review Check Tekken 6 Final Fantasy Gaiden 1UP com Archived from the original on July 20 2012 Retrieved November 9 2009 a b Joynt Patrick GameSpy Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Review GameSpy Archived from the original on May 13 2008 Retrieved April 18 2008 a b c Joynt Patrick April 23 2008 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES GameSpy Archived from the original on April 10 2009 Retrieved August 18 2009 Gametrailers com Persona 3 Review GameTrailers Archived from the original on June 4 2009 Retrieved April 18 2008 a b Metacritic Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Metacritic CBS Interactive Archived from the original on February 4 2015 Retrieved May 27 2014 a b Metacritic Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES Metacritic CBS Interactive Archived from the original on June 4 2015 Retrieved May 27 2014 a b c Metacritic Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Portable Metacritic CBS Interactive Archived from the original on April 25 2015 Retrieved May 27 2014 a b Persona 3 Portable for PC Reviews Metacritic Retrieved January 19 2023 a b Persona 3 Portable for PlayStation 4 Reviews Metacritic Retrieved January 19 2023 a b Persona 3 Portable for Xbox Series X Reviews Metacritic Retrieved January 19 2023 a b Persona 3 Portable for Switch Reviews Metacritic Retrieved January 19 2023 a b 速報 ファミ通ゲームアワード2006開催 各受賞タイトルを一挙発表 in Japanese Famitsu April 20 2007 Archived from the original on June 9 2009 Retrieved December 22 2009 a b GameSpot s Best of 2007 Best Role Playing Game Genre Awards GameSpot Archived from the original on April 8 2009 Retrieved November 11 2009 a b GameSpy s Game of the Year 2007 PS2 Winners Recap GameSpy Archived from the original on October 17 2012 Retrieved October 30 2007 a b Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 RPGamer Archived from the original on November 10 2014 Retrieved February 5 2011 a b RPGFan Feature Games of 2007 RPGFan Archived from the original on November 3 2008 Retrieved November 1 2008 Shearon Andrea January 17 2023 Persona 3 Portable review PC Gamer Retrieved January 19 2023 Ramsey Robert January 17 2023 Review Persona 3 Portable PS4 Brooding JRPG Is Still Superb Push Square Retrieved January 19 2023 Vogel Mitch January 17 2023 Review Persona 3 Portable A Fine Series Entry Though One That s Tough To Return To Nintendo Life Retrieved January 19 2023 Beck Adam January 17 2023 Review Persona 3 Portable Hardcore Gamer HardcoreGamer Retrieved January 19 2023 Rudek Jordan January 17 2023 Persona 3 Portable Review Review Nintendo World Report Retrieved January 19 2023 All PSP Video Game Releases Metacritic CBS Interactive Archived from the original on July 9 2014 Retrieved May 27 2014 North Dale July 2 2010 Review Persona 3 Portable Destructoid Archived from the original on August 8 2010 Retrieved February 5 2011 Kemps Heidi July 6 2010 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Portable Review GamePro Archived from the original on June 7 2011 Retrieved February 5 2011 Best PSP Game HD GameTrailers December 21 2010 Archived from the original on December 25 2010 Retrieved February 5 2011 Best RPG HD GameTrailers December 23 2010 Archived from the original on December 26 2010 Retrieved February 5 2011 Best Re release RPGamer January 20 2011 Archived from the original on March 2 2011 Retrieved February 15 2011 Best Handheld Traditional RPG RPGFan January 21 2011 Archived from the original on January 17 2011 Retrieved February 15 2011 Best Port RPGLand February 13 2011 Archived from the original on February 16 2011 Retrieved February 15 2011 Gallup Rich Gerstmann Jeff VanOrd Kevin July 26 2009 On the Spot 07 26 07 GameSpot Event occurs at 39 50 Archived from the original on November 6 2012 Retrieved November 12 2009 Barnholt Ray Bettenhausen Shane Fitch Andrew Maragos Nich Parish Jeremy October 12 2008 Retronauts Episode 61 12 10 2008 MP3 Podcast 1UP com Retrieved November 12 2009 permanent dead link Sony PS2 Japanese Ranking Japan GameCharts November 2 2008 Archived from the original on December 30 2008 Retrieved February 10 2012 GID 2467 Persona 3 PS2 garaph info Archived from the original on July 12 2012 Retrieved June 28 2012 Sinclair Brendan November 6 2009 Big in Japan Oct 26 Nov 1 Bayonetta Tekken 6 GameSpot Archived from the original on September 4 2017 Retrieved January 13 2010 Sinclair Brendan November 13 2009 Big in Japan Nov 2 8 Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 GameSpot Archived from the original on September 4 2017 Retrieved January 13 2010 Magrino Tom November 20 2009 Big in Japan Nov 9 15 J League Pro Soccer Club GameSpot Archived from the original on October 7 2014 Retrieved January 13 2010 Gantayat Anoop November 20 2009 PSP go Falters in Japan IGN Archived from the original on November 26 2009 Retrieved May 2 2010 GameSpy s Game of the Year 2007 PS2 Top 5 GameSpy Archived from the original on October 17 2012 Retrieved October 30 2007 IGN PlayStation Team August 10 2009 The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time IGN Archived from the original on February 28 2009 Retrieved November 22 2009 1UP Staff March 2008 2007 1UP Network Editors Choice Awards Electronic Gaming Monthly No 226 Ziff Davis Media p 65 ISSN 1058 918X Rockstar s Hot Coffee sex scandal and Bully s boy on boy kissing s got nothing on this PS2 role player s suicide initiated battles or subplot involving student teacher dating Top 20 RPGs of the Past Decade RPGFan Archived from the original on October 7 2014 Retrieved February 5 2011 PlayStation Vita In western countries the game received no physical copies and was only sold on the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation Vita Persona 5 Dancing Star Night And Persona 3 Dancing Moon Night Release In Japan On May 24 2018 Siliconera Siliconera December 24 2017 Archived from the original on December 24 2017 Retrieved December 24 2017 Romano Sal August 9 2018 Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight launch December 4 in the Americas and Europe Gematsu Archived from the original on August 9 2018 Retrieved August 9 2018 フィギュア ペルソナ３ in Japanese Kotobukiya Archived from the original on August 2 2012 Retrieved August 29 2009 Elizabeth ALTER in Japanese ALTER Archived from the original on January 7 2010 Retrieved October 24 2009 Aigis ALTER in Japanese ALTER Archived from the original on December 11 2007 Retrieved November 30 2007 Mitsuru ALTER in Japanese ALTER Archived from the original on January 27 2008 Retrieved February 1 2008 Ear Fit Headphones ATH EM700 in Japanese Audio Technica Archived from the original on September 17 2009 Retrieved October 4 2009 Monthly Persona Magazine Launches on November 7 AnimeNewsNetwork October 18 2011 Archived from the original on January 22 2012 Retrieved June 28 2012 Persona 3 Game Based 4 Panel Manga Serialized Online Anime News Network January 31 2008 Archived from the original on May 19 2015 Retrieved September 8 2009 ペルソナ3 11 電撃コミックス コミック in Japanese ASIN 4048926853 Persona 3 Game Adapted as Television Anime for January Anime News Network November 7 2007 Archived from the original on April 12 2015 Retrieved November 7 2007 NIS America Goes Anime RPGLand Archived from the original on December 9 2012 Retrieved February 11 2010 Persona 3 RPG s Film Adaptation Confirmed Anime News Network June 10 2012 Archived from the original on June 13 2012 Retrieved June 10 2012 PERSONA 3 THE MOVIE in Japanese P3m jp Archived from the original on May 13 2015 Retrieved July 17 2013 オリジナルドラマ A CERTAIN DAY OF SUMMER in Japanese Lantis Archived from the original on January 22 2012 Retrieved May 12 2010 ドラマCD Vol 2 Moonlight in Japanese Frontier Works Archived from the original on July 24 2011 Retrieved May 12 2010 キャラクタードラマCD Vol 1 in Japanese Frontier Works Archived from the original on July 24 2011 Retrieved May 12 2010 キャラクタードラマCD Vol 2 in Japanese Frontier Works Archived from the original on July 24 2011 Retrieved May 12 2010 キャラクタードラマCD Vol 3 in Japanese Frontier Works Archived from the original on July 24 2011 Retrieved May 12 2010 キャラクタードラマCD Vol 4 in Japanese Frontier Works Archived from the original on July 24 2011 Retrieved May 12 2010 キャラクタードラマCD Vol 5 in Japanese Frontier Works Archived from the original on July 24 2011 Retrieved May 12 2010 ペルソナ３ gt ドラマCD New moon in Japanese Frontier Works Archived from the original on February 7 2009 Retrieved May 12 2010 ペルソナ３ gt ドラマCD Full Moon in Japanese Frontier Works Archived from the original on September 30 2011 Retrieved May 12 2010 Luster Joseph August 13 2013 Persona 3 The Weird Masquerade Turns the RPG into a Stage Play Crunchyroll Archived from the original on February 18 2015 Retrieved August 9 2018 PERSONA3 ペルソナ3 青の覚醒 CAST in Japanese Index Corporation Archived from the original on January 16 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 舞台 PERSONA3 the WM 群青の迷宮 配信決定 in Japanese Niconico September 14 2014 Archived from the original on September 17 2014 Retrieved December 3 2017 舞台 ペルソナ3 人気の秘密を暴く アニメ TOKYO MX in Japanese Tokyo MX Archived from the original on September 9 2017 Retrieved December 3 2017 PERSONA3 ペルソナ3 青の覚醒 STAGE in Japanese Index Corporation Archived from the original on March 30 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 PERSONA3 ペルソナ3 青の覚醒 OTHER in Japanese Index Corporation Archived from the original on June 12 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 PERSONA3 ペルソナ3 青の覚醒 ABOUT in Japanese Index Corporation Archived from the original on March 30 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 PERSONA3 ペルソナ3 群青の迷宮 ABOUT in Japanese Index Corporation Archived from the original on March 31 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 More of 2nd Persona 3 Stage Play s Cast Shown in Costume Anime News Network August 9 2014 Archived from the original on July 4 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 PERSONA3 ペルソナ3 群青の迷宮 GOODS in Japanese Index Corporation Archived from the original on March 31 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 Eisenbeis Richard October 3 2014 Persona 3 Works as a Stage Play But Less So as a Musical Kotaku Archived from the original on August 30 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 PERSONA3 ペルソナ3 蒼鉛の結晶 SCHEDULE in Japanese Index Corporation Archived from the original on March 30 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 PERSONA3 ペルソナ3 蒼鉛の結晶 GOODS in Japanese Index Corporation June 5 2015 Archived from the original on March 30 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 PERSONA3 the Weird Masquerade 蒼鉛の結晶 DVD化決定 in Japanese Index Corporation Archived from the original on June 12 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 PERSONA3 THE WEIRD MASQUERADE Schedule and Ticket in Japanese Index Corporation Archived from the original on August 30 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Persona 3 Official website FES Official website Portable Portals Japan Speculative fiction Video games Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Persona 3 amp oldid 1140995879, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.