Come...to the Velvet Room
Persona 3 was one of the games that I really just tried based on all the hype. I enjoy RPGs, so it is not surprising I drifted toward it, but I really knew nothing about this game. I didn't even know anything about how the gameplay specifics worked, so I was really in the dark. When I eventually played the game, I admit that it didn't fully live up to the hype, but I understood why it was so popular -- it's an engaging game that keeps you hooked.
The gameplay combined with the story is probably what makes this game so addicting. One of the big aspects of the game is its "social" aspect. Aside from standard dungeon exploration and battle, you also must take on student life and interact with classmates. It's interesting, but can be very overwhelming. Making friendships with certain characters will allow you to increase your "Social Link" which in turn strengthens your Persona and adds the possibility of more personas to be created. It's fun to try and interact with characters but it can definitely be a lot to handle. Each day is divided into Morning, After School and Evening, in which you can choose to do different things, whether that involves increasing your skills or increasing social links. So there are many different possibilities as to what you can do each day and players who feel they have to 100% games have to follow a very strict schedule to get all the social links. So in that sense, it is very overwhelming, but it is still fun.
The battle and dungeon exploration seem to only take a second seat to everything, since you are occasionally told by your friends to rest for a night rather than battle. The battle system is standard for a turn-based game but still enjoyable. The dungeon exploration on the other hand can be a little bland at times, but that is common in most RPGs.
The music in this game surprised me at first but the more I got used to it, the more fitting it seemed. There's quite a few memorable tracks in this game and I found myself listening to the music outside of playing the game. As for the sound, the battle effects are nice but nothing exciting. The voices are a lot better and allow you to empathize with the character.
Persona 3 is definitely a game that everyone should at least try, just to know why it was so widely praised. Whether you like the game or not is up to you, but it being such a unique experience in itself should at least provide some sort of entertainment value. To fully appreciate it, it's one of those games you really have to put time into and not just dismiss right away.
Japan 
