Just freakin awesome!
Combat is the biggest drawback to this game. You only have control of the main character the entire time. This could have proven interesting if your teammates had half a brain. I can't count the number of lost battles I incurred due to a teammate not healing me when my health was low and I was incapacitated. Then there's the annoying fact that they will attempt the same spell repeatedly on enemies that it's obviously not working on. If the AI for your team was massively improved it might have actually been cool to let the computer control them.
My other gripe with the game is dungeon design. It's hard to feel compelled to trudge through the 200+ levels of the dungeon for 60 hours straight. If there was more compelling reasons given for the dungeon earlier in the game I may have cared more, but I found it difficult to explore Tartarus (the game's only dungeon), with the way it loosely tied into the story.
Speaking of story, we now begin the good parts of the game. Strap yourself in, this could take awhile. The story is by far one of the most interesting I've ever played through. It's tough to sum up without giving anything away, but to begin with: there's an extra hour to every evening called the Dark Hour. It takes place at midnight each evening. For most people the Dark Hour is never noticed. Because ordinary folks turn into coffins and have no recollection. For a few though, this hour is quite noticeable. You, as the main character get thrown into this bizzare, monster-filled hour when you transfer to your new school. And thus does your story begin.
You and your friends have special powers during this hour as well. Persona. Basically your summon spells, but also the source for all magic-type attacks throughout the game. You invoke these powers in a rather twisted fasion. You take a gun-shaped weapon called an evoker, point it to your noggin and pull the trigger. It's always a little unsettling to watch your friends do this, but always entertaining as well.
Friends are the biggest key to what makes this game different. In your free time as a student you will be required to interact with your class and townmates. Strengthening relationships not only helps build your Personas up, but also opens up several cool, and often hilarious moments of story. Some related to the main story, some just plain entertaining. Whether you're answering test questions, going on dates, hanging out with friend, or engaged in after school activities this game never dissappoints. I'm running out of time here so I'll just sum this up by saying the main game is 70+ hours well spent regardless of flaws. Add to that an interesting, if not as good as the original extra story of 30+ hours and you have 30$ well spent.