Added: 05.12.2014 3:00 | 22 views | 0 comments


[Forgive the potato-quality] Detective Prince Naoto Shirogane has a few interesting details about her if you haven’t already played some of the Persona games following 2008’s Shin Megami Tensei Persona 4. That game introduced Naoto and the rest of the Yasogami High group you can use in your party for Persona Q, the game we’ve been talking about all week. If you’re sick of the game, feel free to let it out. Persona has proven an exceedingly dense work of video gaming heavyweight P Studio, particularly as it has expanded outward following the success of Persona 3 and it’s various releases. I entered the franchise from Persona 3 Portable and followed through by playing Persona 4 Golden, each on my PlayStation Vita, before summarily following the series wherever it’s gone since. Nintendo 3DS owners have their first shot at a Persona game in Shadow of the Labyrinth or Persona Q, for short, though Shin Megami Tensei IV is also fantastic. Regardless, Naoto, pictured in this article speaking with the Persona 3 protagonist I’ve named after myself, is a fan favorite. You’ll find her playing spacing games with her pistol in Persona 4 Arena and its Ultimax sequel-of-sorts, and you’ll not forget her understated investigative style. She can be incredibly thorough and in fact irks superiors and older detectives at the police department such that she hides her sex at first. If you’re looking for a means by which Japanese role-playing games obtain characterization faster and more deeply than most Western role-playing games, look to Naoto. In fact, it was this factor that made me worry all of the characters from two previous games in the series would get lost in some kind of shuffle where you only really heard from your party. Forming a bond between the player and a fictional character is hard enough, but to do so with so many in a role-playing game inevitably proves impossible even after it becomes the very basis for game structure as is the case in Persona. Thankfully, Atlus and the P Studio developers behind Persona Q ensured plenty of people could get to know Koromaru too. In one request, Chie Satonaka has misplaced a snack. While you’re exploring the Labyrinth, you may occasionally run into instances of side quests presented as narrative interruptions and this one turns into a case for yourself and Naoto Shirogane. In order to find the stolen snack, Naoto leads the player from location to location in the overworld, checking the shop, nurse’s office, and velvet room. For the most part, everyone denies having taken the item and I love hearing Naoto walk the player through the case, doing it a second time should you misread or forget things. To many players, this instance of inherently silly expository dialog would leave room for a disconnection that actually removes you from the kind of gameplay loops that have to be engaging, at least in JRPGs. Exploring the dungeon has to be really entertaining and for an hour or more at a time, otherwise a 70+ hour experience will go unfinished or worse, abandoned. For a niche publisher like Atlus, a used copy sitting on a GameStop shelf could spell death for any future Persona games on Nintendo 3DS and in that way, this scene featuring Naoto Shirogane, Chie Satonaka, the Protagonist, Velvet Room-attendee Theo (replete in a pink apron), and meat-themed desserts proves essential. I love the humor and the subject matter. More importantly, I love getting taken away from the combat and dedicated map-drawing because those elements can prove too timid or frustrating. I’ve lowered the difficulty on Persona Q once, helping shadow-battling greatly, but long time fans will miss the social links. Outside of the Labyrinth, you can go on walks and excursions with others either together or in groups but they often present some gameplay too. Anyone brand new to the franchise will likely end up ignoring these as the dialog remains largely character dependent. Junpei acts and behaves as he does, so don’t worry if you end up ignoring him naturally. While Persona’s strength seems focused in the combat and overall style, this moment goes a long way in ensuring it keeps the already active and vocal fan base entertained, catered to, and more importantly telling friends to pick up and play this game. To read more on Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth before our final review and score, click any of the links below: Click here to read Review Log 03: Best 3D Effect on Nintendo 3DS, Shadows Down>>
Click here to read Review Log 02: Combining Casts in Combat>>
Click here to read Review Log 01: Get Down to the Chi-Beat>>

Added: 04.12.2014 12:08 | 25 views | 0 comments


Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem Rumored to be Cancelled

Added: 04.12.2014 10:30 | 15 views | 0 comments

Online rumblings seem to suggest so, but have your pinch of salt ready

Added: 01.12.2014 17:12 | 18 views | 0 comments


Callum May at The Koalition writes: We dont see games like Persona very often. Branching out from the Shin Megami Tensei franchise and eventually hitting mainstream popularity with Persona 3, particularly in the West, these titles offer a balance between gameplay and narrative like no other. In most JRPGs, the plot works to drive the gameplay along and guide you through your adventures. However, Persona JRPGs are built in a way that the plot and the gameplay push each other along. You can not get anywhere without completing a dungeon and you wont be able to complete that dungeon if you dont engage in conversations with your friends, or in the case of earlier titles, other demons. So when a brand new main series title was announced, I was excited. Persona 4 Golden still maintains its place as my favourite game of all time and Im looking forward to seeing Persona 5 challenge that. So here is a list of the 5 things I believe would make Persona 5 even better than its prequel.

Added: 01.12.2014 10:41 | 26 views | 0 comments


No longer just a (final) fantasy.
Xbox has never been the place for JRPG fans. They've always been off in their clubhouse, playing Shin Megami Tensei and reading about how to make your hair all pointy and gravity-defying. But that might be about to change.

Added: 21.11.2014 14:11 | 33 views | 0 comments


NLife: "Atlus Megami Tensei series has been an RPG institution for over two decades, but to Western audiences its perhaps best known in connection with a numbered pair of revolutionary PlayStation 2 titles: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 and Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. Starring modern Japanese high school students and integrating elements of dungeon-crawling and dating sims, lore rooted in mythology, tarot, and Jungian psychology, and an absolutely irrepressible sense of style, Persona 3 and Persona 4 are some of the most important and beloved JRPGs in the gaming canon. While 3DS owners have been treated to series stablemates Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers and Shin Megami Tensei IV, the Persona games proper have remained a purely PlayStation property until now."

Added: 04.11.2014 9:56 | 7 views | 0 comments


Silver Award winning classic JRPG Shin Megami Tensei is on sale on the App Store. You can grab the 40 hour game for just £2.49 / $3.99, which is about half as much as it cost yesterday. The game is a super-difficult dungeon crawling scrapper. It's all about collecting and fusing demons, and trying to save the world while you're at it. There's no hand-holding here though, you're very much to...

Added: 04.11.2014 9:56 | 11 views | 0 comments


Silver Award winning classic JRPG Shin Megami Tensei is on sale on the App Store. You can grab the 40 hour game for just £2.49 / $3.99, which is about half as much as it cost yesterday. The game is a super-difficult dungeon crawling scrapper. It's all about collecting and fusing demons, and trying to save the world while you're at it. There's no hand-holding here though, you're very much to...