Persona 3 is a shining example of how RPG's should be.
Now, for the most part, this palate of storytelling and game-making has created some pretty good games. (Final fantasy for instance) But one must admit that clawing your way up from village local to knight in shining armor is only fun so many times.
Persona 3 has done a stellar job of bringing RPG's into the modern world. The Japanese high-school setting, though occasionally campy, brings out a nice modern flare, interesting characters, and even relatability (I couldn't sworn that at least once I'd lived the same kind of day our protagonist had). And the mechanic of strengthening your persona through relationships was just brilliant. And while Persona isn't the first game to ever bring RPG's to the present or future, it certainly does a better job than any other i've ever played.
My one and only qualm with this game is Tartarus:
combat is interesting and fun, but as soon as you've leveled high enough and finished the current area you're working on; you have to wait days or even weeks just to get to the next full moon and unlock the next area, which left me just sleeping through a lot of nights because all of the monsters in the area I was up too were already far too easy.
This complaint, however, is merely a smudge on the near-perfect experience that is Persona 3.
Dark, Witty, Exciting, and even heartfelt at the right moments, if you have ever loved RPGs, or even a good story this game is for you.