August 4, 2007 - Saving a world is easy. All you need to do is find a big bad guy, defeat him, and you're done. But how many heroes have to study for their exams late into the night? How many heroes need to meet up with friends after school, enjoy going out for dinner and singing some karaoke, or worry about staying up too late and being too tired to defeat evil when the next threat comes around?

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is a game many people will find different from the usual role-playing game offerings. This isn't just because of its modern setting, nor because of its protagonists, which are essentially high school students. No, this difference extends far into the gameplay itself, and how you work with others in order to strengthen yourself, and what it means to have a life and still protect the world from monsters. It's the second game in the Persona series to be localized for western markets, and seems to have weathered the trip well.

The game revolves around a group of high-school students that attend Gekkoukan High School, and that appear to be the only line of defence between the world of people and the "Dark Hour". It's a period right after midnight where the normal people turn into coffins, and where those with "the Potential" find themselves in a changed world, warped and twisted with shadows and darkness. What those with Potential will find, as well, is that they are not alone in the world; the shadows themselves have physical form, and are not kind creatures. However, those with the Potential also have the ability to summon Personas, the manifestation of their inner strength, to defend them and help defeat the shadows. Most only work with one persona that symbolizes who they are. Your character, however, is unique in the fact that he can summon multiple Personas to his aid, which is both part of the story and crucial to the strategy of battles.

The main character comes in during the Night Hour, and meets a group that are like him, with Potential, and are actively fighting the shadows from the headquarters of their dormitory. What follows is a timeline of events that draw everybody into the mystery of the Shadows, where they come from. The game is somewhat unique in this regard, of having a timeline, since events occur on specific days and rely on you being prepared when they arrive.

The story does take center stage, especially in the beginning of the game, where it's an easy hour or so of text and introductions before you can even make some choices for yourself. Those who prefer action over text may not appreciate this abundance of reading. The presence of the timeline, however, makes for a story that is constantly moving forward and staying fresh; where one does not have to worry about finding the solution to the next puzzle, since the game will move the plot forward, whether you're ready or not.

The evil-fighting of the game takes place primarily in a twisted tower called Tartarus, a labyrinth of ever-changing pathways that appears during the Dark Hour. As you travel higher and higher up the twisting, dark, blood-filled corridors, more and more of the labyrinth will open up to you, and as you progress further, more secrets are revealed. Oh, and 'ever-changing' means randomly-generated; so the dungeon is different every time you enter it. The corridors are creepy to walk through, but tend to get repetitive after a while. Interestingly, you can split up your party, ordering them to explore the area or attack the shadows on their own. Any battles are automatically resolved after a bit of time, and you're your team will chime in when they've found treasure or a stairway to the next floor. In these halls, enemies wander around, and running into one (or hitting it with your weapon, for an advantage) starts turn-based combat.

In an odd twist, you can control your main character in battle, but not the other members of your group, at least, not directly. Various tactics can be assigned to the other characters like delegating them to a support and healing role, or telling them to focus on a particular enemy. Additionally, as the game progresses, you learn more tactics to assign to your allies. Direct control of only one person can be a fairly irritating aspect, since it makes planning a battle strategy tough. Even worse is the fact that when the main character dies, the game is over.

This little feature hit home quite a few times, especially when the enemy can use instant-death moves or other powerful attacks that results in a quick death. All it takes is a bit of bad luck, and you'll find yourself back at your previous save point, and all progress lost. In general, despite the solitary control of a single character, the AI of your group tends to be fairly smart, and will often make the right choice, exploiting weaknesses, defending if there is no other smart choice, and so forth.