We loved Persona 3 quite a bit, giving it the PS2 RPG of the year award for 2007. Persona 3: FES is more Persona 3, but better. From our early look, we have a few minor issues with FES, but it's pretty hard to argue with this $29.99 release's value. That thirty bucks gets you the full game, additional content for the game, and a new, roughly 30-hour "episode" added onto all of that. And you can access the new episode immediately upon loading the game.
Bear This Aegis Willfully
The core appeal of the game really depends on whether you've already spent dozens of hours lovingly plying Tartarus or if the whole experience is a new one. The new end game, with the "real" ending, can be started without going through the main game. This 30+ hour section casts you as Aegis, one of the characters from the core game, and is heavily focused on dungeon crawling through a new chamber of horrors. For newcomers, or vets who want to do it all again (which is worth the time; Persona 3 is well worth replaying), there are substantial additions to the core game.
In the main game, you get a new difficulty, a new social link with new Personas to go with it, new costumes, new scenes, and a fun weapon fusion system. Persona fusion is one of our favorite mini-game elements of the series, so we're happy to see that expanded. You can bring "aspects" of your saved data from the original game to this version; we'll see exactly what those aspects are as we put more time into the game for review.
Aegis' chapter is a bit up and down in terms of content. It's a huge new expanse of dungeon crawling with a high difficulty curve, which is great. But while this is combat-driven content, spoiler-free, the cut-scenes and storytelling hooks seem exceptional. The high standards of quality in visuals, story, and music from Persona 3 all seem to be holding up here.
Which brings up the two issues that we've seen so far: there is no Persona compendium, and there are no social mini-games. Unlike the straight P3, you can't simply re-purchase any of the "Persona" creatures you kick out of your party; you have to go hunting for them and hope they drop from enemies. In addition, Aegis doesn't go out to school; she's pretty much a combat machine kind of girl. So, the charming social scheduling side of P3 dries up as well.
Those losses duly noted, Aegis' time in the spotlight is still fun. Persona 3's combat system is a refined, quick, and satisfying JRPG structure, so more of it isn't a problem at all. Persona 3: FES looks like it'll be exactly what an expansion pack should be: inexpensive, expansive, and fun.
