Let me start out by saying that this is one of those games that hits you slowly. I'll admit, after the first couple hours of playing P3, despite the very cool opening sequence, I was a little bored. This game takes place in the world and daily life of a japanese high school student--so if you're sick of that ever popular gaming concept, you might find yourself a little annoyed. As my boyfriend said the other night while I was playing, "That has to be the most japanese game I have ever seen." In a way, he's right. Americans who aren't familiar with japanese culture might be put off by all the "-kuns" and "-sans" and "senpais" in the characters speech and the differences between American and Japanese high schools. School is on Saturdays too, clubs are much more important, and responsibilities are higher. I commend Atlus for keeping the Japanese flavor of the game and not trying to Americanize it at all, because the schedule and world of the game works and relies on this subtly complex system.

That being said, it's possibly one of the most well thought out and rewarding RPG experiences I've had in awhile. Heck, in general.

The game centers around a young transfer student, you, the nameless hero. Yes, this is one of those games where the main character has little or no personality. There's a good reason this time around, though, as Persona 3 let's you define and shape his personality through your actions through his school year.

But this isn't a normal school year. Being a Shin Megami Tensei game, you can be sure it is populated by gods and demons. Every night at midnight, a hidden "Dark Hour" appears in which humans turn into crystallized coffins and shadows come out to wreak havoc. Those humans that don't turn into coffins either quickly become prey to shadows or must learn to fight with a powerful demonic alter-ego, a Persona. And it's summoned by blowing your brains out. The home of the shadows, a dark tower called Tartarus, just so happens to be in the exact same location as the place you spend your days, Gekkoukan High School.

Here's where it gets interesting. Every day is broken down into portions: Morning, Daytime, Lunchtime, Afternoon, After School, Evening, you get the idea. And in each of those portions of time, you have to choose what to do. Do you increase your charm by spending your afternoon drinking coffee in the local cafe? Or do you further a relationship with that kid in your class who's got a crush on an older woman? And every choice has it's consequence. If you spend all night with your friends leveling up in Tartarus, you'll get tired. And if you spend the next night studying instead of getting that extra sleep you missed, you'll get sick.

The same goes with fusing your Personas. You can combine 2 or more to create a stronger persona, but do you want to say goodbye to the ones lost by making it? Especially when certain combinations of Personas open up special attacks, this can be a difficult choice to make. To make Persona fusions even more complicated, all those relationships you make during the day have effects on those fusions as well. Every character and Persona has an associated tarot card--for example, if you further your relationship with the character associated with the "Hermit" card, your Personas under the "Hermit" class will get that much stronger.

I know it all sounds pretty overwhelming, but it's put together in a way that keeps it fun without being daunting. Your characters get tired fighting in Tartarus at about the same pace as you would get bored with it, so it's a good excuse to go to bed. Choosing a certain path over another, while often hard for someone as OCD as myself, is rewarding enough that you don't regret your choice. And the characters are really lovely. Even though they can be slightly cliched, they're full of life with great voice acting, evocatively animated cutscenes, and lots of development. I'm a little biased, but all the boys are particularly cute. While the system of the game kind of tricks you into doing it, seeing these relationships develop quickly becomes the most rewarding experience of the game.

For that reason, some people have described the game as "dating sim" but I think that does it a disservice. While a dating sim revolves around a solid goal of "getting the girl," Persona 3 is about all kinds of relationships. Classmates, teammates, the old folks that run a bookstore, a lonely girl who sits at a playground every afternoon, they all play their part. And as you help them, they help you grow as a person. Which makes you a stronger fighter. It's all so seamlessly interwoven that you can't bring yourself to stop--there's always another goal waiting just around the corner. It also doesn't hurt that it's packaged in a such a clean and stylish interface.

If I have any complaints, they're minor. The R&B/rappy music, while interesting and a welcome change from the usual game music, can grate on your nerves after the 15th hour or so, and menus take awhile to load. In fact, there's a lot of time spent waiting for things to load, but it's not so bad that it detracts from the game's fun. Atlus packaged the game with it's usual panache of extras: the box set includes a stunning 50+ page book of the game's art as well the original sountrack on CD.

I kind of want to say this is the Japanese Grand Theft Auto. Which means that it is a true RPG in the sense that the focus is on stat building with a heavy focus on storyline and character development, and you can create your character as you wish, although within the parameters of the game. Instead of going around busting caps in hookers and juicing your pecs, your working on your academic strength and fighting shadow demons with your sword skills and a magical alter-ego. On the surface they seem so different, but they follow the same idea that makes games so great to begin with--the player has the power to do it as he wishes. This sense of cause and effect, rewards from hard work, and the pleasure of seeing a full world develop in front of you that you can change through your actions in the way that you see fit... that's what brings us back to games time and time again. It's an experience that you can't replicate in any other setting, and when it's done right, it's something you'll never forget.

Persona 3 is one of those games. If you give it a chance it will have it's proverbial shot in your temple, and will make you question everything you thought you knew about what makes a game special. My vote for game of the year.