Welcome, once more – to The Velvet Room.
Yes, the JRPG franchise is back with this latest installment on the 3DS and, it’s arguably as deep an experience as one could hope to have on a handheld console, this ain’t no quick 6-8 hour experience, no – this is one that if you get into – you can really sink your teeth into, and rightly so, there’s plenty on offer here.
As somebody who played Persona 4 and a couple of the spin-offs, the most important thing about any Persona game (or and JRPG really) should be the story, that’s no exception here. Granted, you spend a lot of time going through dialogue and interactions, as well as cut-scenes but the characters are all that great – with good voice acting – and all manage to add different elements with their unique personalities which come across well. They should do as well – the cast of characters aren’t new, the characters from Persona 3 and Persona 4 are back. You read that correctly, characters from both Persona 3 AND 4, feature in this game. In fact, that’s where the depth really comes from. You get to play the story from either casts perspective. Meaning in order to get the whole experience, you have to play it twice. Not to fear though, as although they overlap and are intertwined – with the mysterious aforementioned Velvet Room, a trademark of Persona games, playing a critical role in both stories – there is enough differentiation to keep things fresh. Plus both casts are so loveable – playing the Persona 4 side, I found myself enjoying their company just as much as I had in the past, whilst I found the Persona 3 cast to be an array of characters just as unique and interesting, particularly impressive is that across the casts, none of the characters feel overly similar – minus you as the protagonist but you serve the same purpose – you instantly find yourself falling in love with all these characters, so the story will keep you hooked.
In terms of the look and feel of the game, they’ve gone for an over-the-top style, meshing the traditional anime style with an almost cartoon like vibrancy. It serves to create just that effect though – it’s vibrant, it’s engaging, and don’t be fooled by the childish look the cartoon element may give it, it’s a Persona game, the characters stay true to who they are – nothings watered down here. At heart, it’s a dungeon crawler, but exploring these dungeons – or, ‘Labyrinth’s’ – only reinforces my praise for how this game looks. Especially early on, I explored a Labyrinth that was resembling a twisted version of an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ type landscape, that was nothing short of breathtaking in how bright and twisted it looked. This game has charm in abundance and whilst the characters no doubt add lots towards that, it’s the art-style that really cements that charm.
As for the gamplay itself, whilst it may be standard Persona or even JRPG fare, that is by no means an indictment on it. From the list of characters you have, you took four into battle with you alongside yourself – setting your formation up either defensively with two at the front and three at the back, or offensively with three at the front and two at the back. Also where you put certain people may affect how effective you are in battle so it’s important to learn what works and what doesn’t. What’s most fun about Persona games though is the Persona itself that battles alongside you. If you have enough energy, you can summon your Persona to deal a high-impact attack or provide your party with some form of help. Not limited to one though, you have a second which costs less to use and you are also able to freely change a characters second Persona freely from those available, to allow you to mix up your options in battle. A traditional JRPG feature that I’m less thrilled about being on the game is map-drawing. Basically,whilst you have an outline of where you are going with the map at the bottom, for the most part you have to explore the area and fill it in yourself, you are giving guidelines and it’s never particularly time consuming as you can do it as you move, but a distraction i find you could do without, although I understand it makes the idea of you being on an adventure in an unknown territory more ‘real’. Call that a personal gripe I guess.
Overall then, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is quite possibly the best ‘pure’ JRPG experience out there right now. The vast story that manages to remain interesting whilst combining two sets of characters, is pulled off expertly. Combine that with a gorgeous and unique look that gives the game a wealth of charm, and solid if not groundbreaking gameplay, and you end up with a well rounded experience that is firing on all cylinders.
Welcome back to the Velvet Room, I doubt you’ll be leaving anytime soon.
The Analog Stick 