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Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Persona3cover.jpg
Developer(s) Atlus
Publisher(s)
Director(s) Katsura Hashino
Producer(s) Katsura Hashino
Artist(s) Shigenori Soejima
Composer(s) Shoji Meguro
Series Megami Tensei (main)
Persona (sub-series)
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Role-playing, social simulation
Mode(s) Single-player
Aggregate score
Aggregator Score
Metacritic 86/100 (52 reviews) (Org.)
89/100 (25 reviews) (FES)
89/100 (40 reviews) (PSP)
Review scores
Publication Score
1UP.com A- (Org.)
A (FES)
Famitsu 33/40 (Org.)
32/40 (PSP)
Game Informer 8.5/10 (FES)
GameSpot 8.5/10 (Org.)
8.5/10 (FES)
GameSpy 4.5/5 stars (Org.)
4.5/5 stars (FES)
GamesRadar 9/10 (Org.)
GameTrailers 9/10 (Org.)
IGN 8.3 (Org.)
8.8 (FES)
Awards
Publication Award
Famitsu RPG of the Year
GameSpot RPG of the Year
GameSpy PS2 RPG of the Year
RPGamer RPG of the Decade
RPGFan RPG of the Year

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (ペルソナ3 Perusona Surī?) is a role-playing video game developed by Atlus, and chronologically the fourth installment in the Persona series, a subseries of the Megami Tensei franchise. Persona 3 was originally published in 2006 on the PlayStation 2 by Atlus in Japan; the North American release of the game was delayed due to issues with the publication of the official art book. An add-on disc titled Persona 3 FES, containing a "director's cut" of the original game, as well as a new epilogue, was released alongside Persona 3 in Japan in 2007, and in 2008 in other territories, with a re-release of FES on the PlayStation Network in 2012.

In Persona 3, the player takes the role of a male 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 member of SEES is able to summon a Persona, a manifestation of a person's inner self. The game's most iconic feature is the method by which 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.

Critical reception of Persona 3 was mainly positive; reviewers enjoyed the game's 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. A PlayStation Portable version of Persona 3, titled Persona 3 Portable was released in Japan in November 2009, and in North America in July 2010. The remake adds the ability to play as a female protagonist, new story elements and music, and a new interface designed for the PSP. Two fighting games that continued the storyline of select members of S.E.E.S., Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, were released in the early 2010s. Persona 3 has also seen related forms of media released, including soundtrack albums, musical concerts, a manga adaption, multiple radio dramas, an anime series, and an episodic animated film series.


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