Atlus succeeded in making a year in this game feel like a legitimate year. 80 hours later I have finally finished Persona 3, and I would like to talk for just a moment about a few memories that will stick with me after I put this game on the shelf (after The Answer of course).



Memory 1: Junpei Iori.

This character was written so well. The first time it was really evident to me was during the time when he becomes slightly jealous of the main character. He begins to have a very outward and somewhat negative opinion of your role as the leader toward you and other members of the dorm. I thought I was able to predict what would happen with this. You see, around this time Strega is becoming part of the plot, and I predicted that Junpei would become the cliche "Judas" of SEES. That wasn't the case at all. They handled this moment in the game very maturely. All that happens is that Junpei confronts your character to settle the dispute so that there wouldn't be any sour attitudes during the vacation that he wanted to enjoy so much. Junpei says, "Hey... I know I've been kind of a dick lately... but we're still cool, right?".

That was it.

They settled the dispute in a very human way. The way two good friends would. They didn't lazily weave it into an amatuer plot device that would eventually have catostrophic outcomes. Junpei continues to be doubtful about his abilities and his role in life during a good portion of the game though, but that didn't waver his opinion on who he stood by once. He was loyal to the end. What a fantastic character.



Memory 2: Ms. Toriumi

I loved this woman from the moment I laid eyes on her, and was hoping for a Social-Link with her. If I was a character in Persona 3, it would probably be Kenji. Thankfully I was told that the MMO that you can play in the game had a Social-Link. I thought that would be a neat Social-Link to try out. I was pretty happy when I caught on early that it was Ms. Toriumi. The reason this moment sticks with me the most is because of the timing that I finished this S-Link. It was during the Winter Holiday leading up to the final confrontation. The music in the dorm at this time was a lot more somber than usual and I decided to stay in the dorm every one of these days to spend time with "Maya" online. I felt the impending doom and the outside world wasn't such a great place at the moment. I found solace in my room getting closer to Ms. Tori- I mean, Maya. The way the S-Link ended left me empty inside. It reminded me that old friendships were coming to a close and that a final battle awaited. When she wrote: "i luv u" in the sand inside the game as the last message to "Tatsuya" it really affected me knowing that was the end of the S-Link. The fact that the script writers were not afraid to use the word "Love" in this game has also impressed me.

A few days later the winter holiday was over and it was back to school. I believe the first teacher I saw was Ms. Toriumi and it killed me to not be able to say anything. I had no idea that during the epilouge I would be able to wrap up that S-Link. I was ecstatic to say the least. I thought it was handled very well, and Ms. Toriumi was adorable during the segment.



Memory 3: The Main Characters death

This whole sequence was handled amazingly in my opinion. It was depressing as hell, but it was handled beautifully. They did a good job of making you feel tired and sick as if you were on your death bed. The main character was ready to pass on from the moment he sealed Nyx, but he made sure he kept his promise to his friends that they would all meet on the roof of the school. Once he knew that promise had been fulfilled, he smiled, and then the game gave you two decisions for his last action.

They were: "Close your eyes" and "......"

To me, "Close your eyes" was an option for a content and peaceful acceptance of death. The other option, "......" was a final contemplation on everything leading up to that point. Either way it was basically the same ending. They put his death in your hands in a very Metal Gear Solid 3 kind of way.

It's rare anymore that a game makes me feel for the characters the way this game did. The last game that did it was Metal Gear Solid 4 I believe. This game was still different. It completely put me in the shoes of the Main Character and made me fall in love and find friendship in the company of too many people to name. In 80 hours, Atlus allowed me to live for a whole year in someone elses shoes. That. Is probably what sticks with me the most.