Persona 3 Portable is a lengthy and worthwhile RPG, but if you can get your hands on the PS2 version instead, do so.

User Rating: 8 | Persona 3 Portable PSP
By FreakshowGamer | Review Date:
Persona 3 Portable is a lengthy JRPG for the PSP. You play as a character you name and of a gender of your choice. This game takes place in Japan, and you are a high school student who can witness a strange phenomena known as the "Dark Hour"; an extra hour after midnight that very few people experience, while the rest of the world is paused. You meet up with others who also experience the dark hour, and try to discover the truth behind it. You still follow your character and their friends through a normal high school life, adding social aspects to this game and tons of character depth. But during the Dark Hour, you can choose to investigate a large tower that takes the place of your high school during the Dark Hour. It is a massive dungeon with a massive amount of floors, and you are to attempt to reach the top by the end of the game. Not only that, but you will need to discover the truth behind the Dark Hour and defeat the 'shadows' which the Dark Hour brings.

This is a port from the original PS2 version released in 2006. If you didn't know that already, hopefully you'll turn your attention to that version if possible. The PSP version is somewhat of a downgrade from the original. Only a few minor gameplay elements were added, but the PSP version was stripped of any animated cutscenes, whether they be the in-game ones or anime-style sequences. Also, navigating through nice 3D environments has been taken away, and you simply point and click your way around other than when you are in combat or dungeon crawling. If you can successfully get ahold of the PS2 version, that would be the better path. But if you have already played the PS2 version before and wish to play the game from an alternate female perspective, this may be to your fancy.

The good:
-Great character development and story.
-Memorable moments and heartbreaking scenes will stay with you long after you complete it.
-Fantastic voice acting from the entire cast, when there is voice acting in the game.
-Capturing 'Personas' and leveling them up is an interesting and addictive gameplay element.
-Extremely lengthy adventure. Completed my first playthrough in 71 hours.
-A new female main character perspective to those who've played the game before, or wish to simply play as a female.

The bad:
-Tedious, mind-boggling amounts of repetitive dungeon crawling.
-All of the 3D environments besides 'Tartarus'; the large dungeon you must crawl throughout the game, are completely stripped from this PSP port.
-All of the in-game animated cutscenes are gone and replaced with simple portrait-style conversations over pictures. All of the anime-style sequences are also absent.
-Story is stretched apart and takes a lot of playing to get into.
-Does not contain the FES: The Answer extra content.

In the end, I give Persona 3 Portable an 8/10 for being almost the definitive choice for PSP RPG fans. If only P3P could have lived up to the PS2 version in order to be a true improvement.

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