PSP World

First Impressions: Persona for the PSP

One of the most highly anticipated RPG games for the PSP is Persona. I'm completely new to the SMT and Persona series and I thought perhaps some of our readers might be, too. I thought I'd post my impressions of the new psp version of Persona.

I received my copy yesterday. My copy was a rental copy from Gamefly, and I spent a lot of time with it in my lap in the opening hour or so just enjoying the music. Now, I'm not a huge video game music buff, but I have to admit, even to my amateur ears that the music in this game is superb! It's often a mix of J-Pop (the theme that plays during battles),something that sounds like a sort of J-Classic and the one I'm currently experiencing as I travel through the hospital is moody and atmospheric; something you might hear as suspense builds in a horror film.

The next thing that stands out for me is the gameplay. Walking around in-game is a first-person view, until you open up doors or experience on of the story scenes, in which case you take direct control of the main character in a isometric view. Your character walks in a diagonal path, which is a bit irritating at first since when you press up on the D-pad, your character will walk either up-right or up-left (You can choose this in the options menu.) It takes some getting used to.

The story for me at first, was hit-or-miss, simply because it threw so many of the game's characters at me all at once, and expected me to remember who they are! Then, in a series of strange events, the story took a turn for the paranormal. These students decided to play a game called "Persona" that allegedly allows them to see into the future. Then, something odd happens and they all pass out. When they awaken, they discover they have the ability to summon demons or "personas" -alternate selves they can unleash in battle to heal themselves, support their allies or attack enemies with. By collecting cards from enemies in battle, you can then fuse these personas into stronger ones.The story, while it's something that is very new to me, is slowly growing on me as I try to figure out what's going to happen next.

Battles are on an isometric grid, too and look like the standard of turn-based strategy we've all been playing for ages.You select which of your characters you want to act, select what you want to do (cast a spell, heal, use a skill, etc), flee from battle or the most interesting selection:

Contact: In which you try to contact the demons you're fighting for their "card" which you use to fuse new demons to help you fight as you make your way through the game's unique "dungeons" which are often the hallways of malls, schools, hospitals as well as standards such as caves and shrines.

The game is quite difficult to me, as well. I'm quite good at turn-based strategy, but even I had to re-think how to play as I continued on in the game. Battles get tougher, sometimes you tick off enemies and they attack you when you talk to them, and nearly every status effect can turn badly on you if you don't cure it quickly!

My verdict so far?
After about two or so hours with the game, I dropped everything and went to buy it, along with the soundtrack. So should you. It may be a re-packaging of an older PS1 title, but as someone who has never played it before, I am finding it an excellent addition to my collection.