SMT: Persona reviews thread

[Inzaghi]

The game's still a few weeks away, but the first reviews are showing up:

PlayStation Illustrated (http://www.psillustrated.com/psillustrated/soft_rev.php/4711/shin-megami-tensei-persona-psp.html): 86%

ABC News10 "Game Guys" (http://www.news10.net/life/entertainment/game-guys/story.aspx?storyid=66098&catid=99): B+
(Note: They mention that it felt weird to go diagonally left instead of diagonally right when you press Up, but I guess they never found the option in the menu that lets you change that.)

Digital Chumps (http://www.digitalchumps.com/game-reviews/37-psp/3654-shin-megami-tensei-persona.html): 9

Destructoid (http://www.destructoid.com/destructoid-review-persona-psp-146931.phtml): 8

Gamervision (http://www.gamervision.com/gamer/sarah/reviews/article/shin_megami_tensei_persona): 8.5

Gamertell (http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-shin-megami-tensei-persona-for-psp/): Two thumbs up, 95/100, A, **** 1/2 out of 5

RPGFan (http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Shin_Megami_Tensei_Persona_PSP/index.html): 91%

RPGamer (http://www.rpgamer.com/games/persona/personapsp/reviews/personapspstrev1.html): 3.5/5

Tech-Gaming (http://tech-gaming.com/2009/09/01/smt-persona.aspx?ref=rss) (no score)

4 color rebellion (http://www.4colorrebellion.com/archives/2009/09/01/4cr-video-review-shin-megami-tensei-persona/) (video review, no score)

Thunderbolt Games (http://www.thunderboltgames.com/reviews/article/shin-megami-tensei-persona-review-for-psp.html): 8

ZTGD (http://www.ztgamedomain.com/8227/Shin-Megami-Tensei-Persona.html): 8.5

Play Magazine (http://playmagazine.com/index.php?fuseaction=SiteMain.Content&contentid=1845): 8.5

Game Informer: 8, second opinion: 8

Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/5364350/persona-psp-review-this-time-its-persona) (no score)

GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/persona/review.html): 5

[PainKilleR-[CE]]

(Note: They mention that it felt weird to go diagonally left instead of diagonally right when you press Up, but I guess they never found the option in the menu that lets you change that.)

Thank you (though I'm sure it was probably a choice made in development rather than localization). I couldn't tell you off the top of my head which way it feels like it should be, but it drives me nuts when they don't go the direction I expect them to. I'm always thankful when I dig into the menu and find the option available, and I rarely continue playing a game if I find the option missing (when it doesn't feel like the default is the right way, at least).

Other than that, well, reviews before the game is released, yay, but then I pre-ordered anyway ;p

[Inzaghi]

More:

Destructoid (http://www.destructoid.com/destructoid-review-persona-psp-146931.phtml): 8

Gamervision (http://www.gamervision.com/gamer/sarah/reviews/article/shin_megami_tensei_persona): 8.5

Gamertell (http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-shin-megami-tensei-persona-for-psp/): Two thumbs up, 95/100, A, **** 1/2 out of 5 [apparently they use all these rubrics? Geez]

[Enzeru]

Gamertell (http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-shin-megami-tensei-persona-for-psp/): Two thumbs up, 95/100, A, **** 1/2 out of 5 [apparently they use all these rubrics? Geez]
I guess they want an accurate score for every Metacritic-ish site? lol

[Juanblue85]

RPGFan Review.

http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Shin_Megami_Tensei_Persona_PSP/index.html

[AdrianMorales]

RPGamer as well:
http://www.rpgamer.com/games/persona/personapsp/reviews/personapspstrev1.html

[Enzeru]

RPGFan Review.

http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Shin_Megami_Tensei_Persona_PSP/index.html
Wow, Editor's Choice? That's pretty awesome.

[Inzaghi]

Four more:

Tech-Gaming (http://tech-gaming.com/2009/09/01/smt-persona.aspx?ref=rss) (no score)

4 color rebellion (http://www.4colorrebellion.com/archives/2009/09/01/4cr-video-review-shin-megami-tensei-persona/) (video review, no score)

Thunderbolt Games (http://www.thunderboltgames.com/reviews/article/shin-megami-tensei-persona-review-for-psp.html): 8/10

ZTGD (http://www.ztgamedomain.com/8227/Shin-Megami-Tensei-Persona.html): 8.5

[sharpsword]

FYI: The Tech-Gaming score shows a B+ at the bottom :o

[TheSheepman]

Classic game room hd review http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XJki8Ykz7A


Weird He's usually into retro-style games that aren't graphic-holic, but I guess this time is different. Makes me sad. He's right about the music I suppose, though it fits kinda well when I hear it in the video. But I guess hearing it over and over again might change that opinion of mine when I play this game.

[AdrianMorales]

^The guy from Classic game room hd has also reviewed other SMT games. Apparently he likes them. Then again he is also into flamethrowers and Blade Runner. Don't ask how I know.

[Manic Expressive]

I stopped watching when he started complaining about the battle system not being like Devil Survivor/Front Mission. Is he aware that the game has been out once before? That they are just merely touching up an old game?

[Tello, the Hark!]

It sounds like more than a face lift, like the face was ripped off and Hellena Bonham-Carter's face was plastered on. The PS release was a nightmare to play, but with scores like these in todays gaming industry, it sounds like a completely different game! I'm go again for P1 now.

[DamageCity]

It sounds like more than a face lift, like the face was ripped off and Hellena Bonham-Carter's face was plastered on. The PS release was a nightmare to play, but with scores like these in todays gaming industry, it sounds like a completely different game! I'm go again for P1 now.

Sorry to dissapoint you but it's the same game.

[Quig]

I was surprised that the douche bags at Game Informer gave Persona an 8! They completely forgot to mention that the Snow Queen quest was left out and that the game was not altered like the original was. I am so used to see GI being an X-Box 360 and Nintendo DS fan-boys, that I was shocked when I seen the score...

[Pibbman]

PlayMagazine - 8.5 - http://playmagazine.com/index.php?fuseaction=SiteMain.Content&contentid=1845

[Inzaghi]

Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/5364350/persona-psp-review-this-time-its-persona) (no score)

[Nephlabobo]

I swear RPGamer have the worst reviewers on the internet.

Classic game room hd review http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XJki8Ykz7A

I stand corrected.

[DrJonAngus]

Mark's review got me a bit annoyed because he is so biased when it comes to games. If it isn't a platformer, shooter, or in real time, he doesn't like it. I love Classic Game Room, but I doubt he put any time into the game to full pass judgment. I'm glad to see it received overall good ratings. Anyways, I can't wait to play this. I just picked up my copy today at Game Stop, even though I don't have a PSP yet. I just wanted to make sure I got a limited edition haha. The SMT series has been very good to me this past year, so I think I'm definitely in for a treat.

[lily]

http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/persona/review.html

5.0, what the hell...

[Foobar]

http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/persona/review.html

5.0, what the hell...

Its PN03 reviewer syndrome. They can't take the game in context of what it is and must grade it against things they liked more rather than actually play the game and review it on its own merits.

He said the same things I would say as a caution toward those drawn in by Persona 3 or 4, but even in saying that I'd feel like I wasn't giving P3 and P4 credit for being challenging in their own respects. They're just challenging for different reasons.

Persona just comes from a different time of RPG. Personally, I think this game aged a lot better than say, Final Fantasy VII or Legend of Dragoon. I'd hate to see what this reviewer thought of those games now.

You can tell the guy didn't put in much effort, because if he did, he would have noted conversing with demons have the very distinct benefit of making those high encounter rates end with reward or a non-confrontation. Reacquiring spell cards after persona fusion has already become instinctive to me. so if I don't want a fight, I negotiate.

[DamageCity]

People still read reviews from gamespot?

[Foobar]

I don't think that many people take Gamespot that seriously anymore, seeing as they feel the need to callously slam a good product at random just to look "Journalistic" and "impartial." Usually, if its not totally top-end and cabable of pandering to the mainstream gamer, they'll lowball it somehow.

Gamespy I take much the same way. Expcept they're not trying to look journalistic, they're just out to anger people for attention and site hits.

[Karkarov]

I dont know so far the reviews seem fair. Honestly it is scoring higher overall than I thought it would. This is basically the original P1 with new music, the localization removed (in the case of masao I wish they had left it in), and the snow queen still in game. After playing it for awhile I also have to agree the music doesn't fit as well as the original soundtrack did. Unlike P3 and P4 the story is a much darker and desperate affair the music is just a little too upbeat.

In the defence of Mr. HD Game Room the boss he is fighting at the end there and loses to is at least 3-4 dungeons into the game and probably takes about 6+ hours of playtime to reach minimum. He played enough of the game to form a real opinion. Don't ever bash a reviewer for an honest opinion the alternative is the paid one which is far worse.

Regardless I am playing it through again right now and enjoying it just fine.

[Foobar]

In the defence of Mr. HD Game Room the boss he is fighting at the end there and loses to is at least 3-4 dungeons into the game and probably takes about 6+ hours of playtime to reach minimum. He played enough of the game to form a real opinion. Don't ever bash a reviewer for an honest opinion the alternative is the paid one which is far worse.

There's a difference between learning a system and "playing enough," though. He cites frustrations with high encounter rate, but didn't learn how to make them more bearable when it can be learned within the first couple of hours, paricularly so if you knew anything about SMT games prior.

The need to draw in P3 and P4 for reference doesn't help the credibility of the review. Yes, they're both great and more progressive, but you can't seriously expect a mass-overhaul of the old system just so this one feels synced up to those. That would defeat the purpose of reissuing the classic version of the gameplay. Preferring the style of P3 and P3 - and I'll admit I do - shouldn't have any context to a game that came out twelve years ago.

[Karkarov]

The need to draw in P3 and P4 for reference doesn't help the credibility of the review. Yes, they're both great and more progressive, but you can't seriously expect a mass-overhaul of the old system just so this one feels synced up to those. That would defeat the purpose of reissuing the classic version of the gameplay. Preferring the style of P3 and P3 - and I'll admit I do - shouldn't have any context to a game that came out twelve years ago.

He actually never mentioned P3 or P4 he mostly compared it to Devil Survivor and Devil Summoner 2. I think you are missing my point in that he played the game long enough to form an opinion and felt the game wasn't to his taste. Also negotiating does not lower the encounter rate it just avoids some fights, which frankly is only beneficial to a certain point because you do need to grind exp at times in P1.

Lastly I will say this. Saying you cant compare one persona game to another does not hold water. Look at Final Fantasy. If you asked me if I would rather play the 10+ year old FF7 or the much more recent FF11 I would not hesitate for a moment to tell you I would rather play FF7.

[DrJonAngus]

People still read reviews from gamespot?

Gamespot gets on my nerves with their overly critical reviews. I'm not calling bias on this review, but just a lack of quality. I think the game was shown for its negative aspects rather than its merits. I plead not having played the original, but I know people who have and they said the remake was pretty good. The funny thing is, they gave Persona 1 for the PS1 a 7.3 compared to the now 5 for a more polished version of a game. I suppose I can understand going back to a game after a while and it not being as good as you remember. I can't personally say I would know the difference between the remake or the original, but I don't think the remake could have done something to make it worse at all. I think it was reviewed unfairly, but I'm not going to bash Game Spot for just doing their job though. I'm also not going to let the Game Spot review ruin my eventual playing of the game, nor will comparing it to Persona 3 or 4 do so. This isn't the end of the world, so I'll just end this here haha.

Two little side notes: Lunar Dragon Song got a higher score than Persona for the PSP and that has to be a joke. Also, I'm a huge fan of the Classic Game Room, but RPGs are not his expertise. I have nothing against Mark because he is one of my favorite reviewers, so I'm not bashing him for an "honest" opinion.

[Foobar]

Lastly I will say this. Saying you cant compare one persona game to another does not hold water. Look at Final Fantasy. If you asked me if I would rather play the 10+ year old FF7 or the much more recent FF11 I would not hesitate for a moment to tell you I would rather play FF7.

Expect you didn't make a comparision, you stated a preference, which only proves my point. Since you had to invoke the alimighty FFVII, how would you feel if we reviewed that game based on its graphics compared to FFXIII?

FFXIII just has a lot of technological advantages and time on its side right now, not exactly fair, is it? The PS2 era of SMT on forward has seen different gameplay ideas and opportunities that Revelations Persona did not have.

Do we scrap the original gameplay and refit it to suit the flavor of current SMT games or do we take it for what it is in context to when it was released? Its counterproductive to totally overhaul a classic experience intended to show us what the game was like. Presentation elements being overhauled is one thing, but changing the gameplay entirely to be consistant with PS2 era-iterations would be a bit excessive.

One Mores and All-Out attacks are great, but its pretty clear there were ways to speed up battles or get out of them even back at the start of the series.

If there's really anything to complain about in Persona PSP, its that perhaps too many of the dead ends in the dungeons were retained. Setting the Map function to Absolute helps prevent getting turned around, but still. That and Persona requirements seem a tad steep.

[Gachimayaa]

It sounds like more than a face lift, like the face was ripped off and Hellena Bonham-Carter's face was plastered on. The PS release was a nightmare to play, but with scores like these in todays gaming industry, it sounds like a completely different game! I'm go again for P1 now.

Sorry to dissapoint you but it's the same game.

I think he's right. Back when SMT was first released here, the market wasn't up for darker-themed games like the Persona series. I remember the reviews saying how much SMT wasn't like a Final Fantasy and canning it on that alone.

Now, with a more open market and reviewers who are used to the idea that Diablo and FF aren't the be-all and end-all of RPGs, SMT, the same game, is getting a fairer shake from reviewers.

[Eddie Van Helsing]

I was surprised that the douche bags at Game Informer gave Persona an 8! They completely forgot to mention that the Snow Queen quest was left out and that the game was not altered like the original was. I am so used to see GI being an X-Box 360 and Nintendo DS fan-boys, that I was shocked when I seen the score...

I stopped giving a damn about Game Informer when GameStop salesdroids started trying to upsell me on a subscription to that rag.

[Eddie Van Helsing]

I don't think that many people take Gamespot that seriously anymore, seeing as they feel the need to callously slam a good product at random just to look "Journalistic" and "impartial." Usually, if its not totally top-end and cabable of pandering to the mainstream gamer, they'll lowball it somehow.

Isn't GameSpot the site that fired an editor for slamming Kane & Lynch: Dead Men after Eidos paid GameSpot a ####load of money to promote the game?

[Mank]

Hope nobody minds a bump for IGN's ridiculously late and somewhat questionable review: http://psp.ign.com/articles/104/1048621p1.html

[Foobar]

Saw that earlier tonight. I've always felt IGN just leaves the PSP channel for the interns, because that's what the quality of the reviews feel like. And yet look at them go and review that Lego Indiana Jone 2 in the same day.

Meanwhile I think Phantasy Star Zero on DS still only has the Nintendo Power review going for it.