... is on it's way.
Atlus Announces Persona 3
"Shadow Time" to hit Japanese stores this July
by Jonathan Lumb, 03/08/2006
Japan is already looking forward to a summer of triple-A RPGs, with the likes of Valkyrie Profile 2 and Xenosaga Episode III in the offing, and now Atlus is stepping up to the plate with the latest in the line of Persona games. The series, spun off from the critically acclaimed Shin Megami Tensei games, enjoyed three releases on the PlayStation: Persona, Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. Six years after the last game was released, Persona 3 is being brought to Japan. This week's issue of Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu, features a seven page blow-out on the game, including a few words from the producer/director, Katsura Hashino, and the character designer/art director, Shigenori Soejima.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment ended the story of the characters from the first three games, so Persona 3 starts fresh with a new cast and a new storyline. Like the previous games, demons known as Personae are used by the player to fight enemies, but this time the enemies are known as Shadows. The game is set on an Island Campus where regular student life ensues during the day, but when the clock strikes midnight, the evil spirits come out to play. According to Hashino, this idea comes from the Tarot cards used in the previous games in the series. The 13th Tarot card is Death, so the time after midnight is known as the "13th Hour," or "Shadow Time."
Soejima goes on to say the character designs are based on real students and what they wear nowadays. The whole game has a very modern feel about it, including the music and the way the students behave. The game's visual style is also very modern -- character portraits are represented by colorful illustrations that look like they've been torn from a newspaper, and the system menus and chat boxes all feature large, cool-looking text.
Personae can now be obtained on Persona cards at the end of battles. These cards are used to summon the Persona or they can be combined to create new Personae. This process takes place in a room which may be familiar to fans of the series, the Velvet Room. In fact, old friend Igor makes a return to assist in the synthesis process too. Also new to this game are "Communities", known as "Commu" for short. The lead character allies with communities by collecting "Commu Cards" which can be levelled up. When a Community with a high level is synthesised with a Persona of the same attribute, the player gains an experience bonus.
The game's been in development for a long time, and Hashino says fans of the series will not be disappointed, promising playtime of more than 50 hours and plenty of additional content for thorough players. Currently 75% complete, P3: Persona 3 will be released in Japan on July 13th.
This is an opportunity for me to get into the original monster breeder game series.
Y'know, since it preceeded Pokemon.
Atlus Announces Persona 3
"Shadow Time" to hit Japanese stores this July
by Jonathan Lumb, 03/08/2006
Japan is already looking forward to a summer of triple-A RPGs, with the likes of Valkyrie Profile 2 and Xenosaga Episode III in the offing, and now Atlus is stepping up to the plate with the latest in the line of Persona games. The series, spun off from the critically acclaimed Shin Megami Tensei games, enjoyed three releases on the PlayStation: Persona, Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. Six years after the last game was released, Persona 3 is being brought to Japan. This week's issue of Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu, features a seven page blow-out on the game, including a few words from the producer/director, Katsura Hashino, and the character designer/art director, Shigenori Soejima.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment ended the story of the characters from the first three games, so Persona 3 starts fresh with a new cast and a new storyline. Like the previous games, demons known as Personae are used by the player to fight enemies, but this time the enemies are known as Shadows. The game is set on an Island Campus where regular student life ensues during the day, but when the clock strikes midnight, the evil spirits come out to play. According to Hashino, this idea comes from the Tarot cards used in the previous games in the series. The 13th Tarot card is Death, so the time after midnight is known as the "13th Hour," or "Shadow Time."
Soejima goes on to say the character designs are based on real students and what they wear nowadays. The whole game has a very modern feel about it, including the music and the way the students behave. The game's visual style is also very modern -- character portraits are represented by colorful illustrations that look like they've been torn from a newspaper, and the system menus and chat boxes all feature large, cool-looking text.
Personae can now be obtained on Persona cards at the end of battles. These cards are used to summon the Persona or they can be combined to create new Personae. This process takes place in a room which may be familiar to fans of the series, the Velvet Room. In fact, old friend Igor makes a return to assist in the synthesis process too. Also new to this game are "Communities", known as "Commu" for short. The lead character allies with communities by collecting "Commu Cards" which can be levelled up. When a Community with a high level is synthesised with a Persona of the same attribute, the player gains an experience bonus.
The game's been in development for a long time, and Hashino says fans of the series will not be disappointed, promising playtime of more than 50 hours and plenty of additional content for thorough players. Currently 75% complete, P3: Persona 3 will be released in Japan on July 13th.
This is an opportunity for me to get into the original monster breeder game series.
Y'know, since it preceeded Pokemon.
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