my new favorite gaming franchise.
The Shin Megami Tensei series, on the other hand, has been making widely original content from the beginning and hasn't looked back. I sit here and look at Persona 4, and it's predecessor, Persona 3, and I'm just amazed at the amount of content thrown into these games. The games are so deep, I've found myself easily playing 90+ hours, just on the first playthrough. However, I'll be starting my next playthrough soon, because I hadn't even begun to scratch the surface through that 90 hour journey.
Social Links: One of the main things that makes the Persona series so spectacular is it's bizarre popularity system. You make friends. Have serious (sometimes intimate) relationships. Take tests. Become more popular if you get high scores on your tests. Get more friends. And these friendships are merely the tipping point of the game. These Social Links may seem to be pointless at first, even if they do provide some deep stories and hilarious commentary, however, once you cross over to the "other world", you'll find that these mean more to you than you think. Now, remember a few minutes back, when I said it took my 90 hours to finish 1 game? I didn't even get half of the Social Links. There are a freakin ton.
Because you're ranked high socially with so and so, you're able to form stronger and more meaningful Personas, which in turn, will be the main decider in any battle you face. If you have a terrible Persona when facing a random battle, you're dead for sure. And then, just to add a bit more to the mix, as if P4 doesn't want to be like it's father, P3 (which would be fine, if it were), it decides to ALSO make a difference in your own party members. Now, if you're incredibly close to Chie personally, she'll take deadly hits for you; knock out enemies you're struggling with; heal your status ailments. And not only that, but unlike P3, you now have control of all 4 party members. Which makes things a tad easier :)
And by now, if you're still reading this, it probably sounds like these social links are the biggest amount of story this game will get. That's pretty incorrect, actually. These social links are only tiny side plots in this beautiful adventure. The main plot / theme of this game goes beyond the Social Links, and really makes a social commentary on our own world and society today.
Then add the insanely odd style (the art, the colors, the backgrounds, the music) and it somehow manages to work perfectly with the path the own game goes down. Pure genius all around. AND it's on the ps2. It's 40 bucks and it's better than almost any game out so far on the new generation consoles. Come on RPG fans. You need to get into this underrated series already.