Four Early Christmas Presents

Persona has been on the mind all year, and it won't go away. Heck, nearly every year on this blog I rant and rave about something forever. And for some reason people keep coming back... I guess I'm not trying hard enough.

Anywho.

Ever since I joined a new Shin Megami Tensei forum, I've been listening to so much Persona-related new lately. The freaking out was getting pretty bad with rumors flying everywhere. So to not go on an emotional roller coaster, I watched LittleKuriboh's Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged as I played my fourth full playthrough of Fire Emblem Awakening yesterday. Once I got online today, I arrived in the aftermath of the forums exploding with conversation and squees. I tossed in a few cents on the new threads after looking up the new stuff. Real-life drama was never my cup of tea, though the place is still pretty laidback next to the rest of the internet. No bloodshed, no violence. Just the occasional poking fun at someone's alignment.

Anywho.

Today's announcements were what I needed after all the homework I finished.

A whole new branch within Atlus was made to dedicate their time to exclusively make Persona games. New logo, new website, and enough build-up for announcements to start World War III. Man, this was simultaneously fun and annoying to suffer through. Quality products are all that I'm asking, no matter how ridiculous the ideas are.

Meanwhile, the first Persona 3 movie is finally in theaters in Japan. No comment yet. I'll be tapping my feet impatiently until either I hear some feedback about how good or bad it is, or it comes out over here.

Personas on motorcycles... Never thought I'd ever see or say that.

Other than that, the trailers look promising. Just, please be good, movie. Please be good.

While that strange portal to another dimension appeared, four new games have been announced and will arrive at different times of the year. Persona 4 Ultimax Ultra Suplex... *snort* No. Persona 4 Arena 2 was pretty much a given. The trailers have been up for a while. My opinion of the big picture has not changed a tiny bit. The details have.

Sho Minazuki still leaves me on the fence. I really don't see why another new high school character is introduced. I only expected a few new characters if they're the villains behind the scenes in the first game. Unless a high school punk got stuck in the middle of it (or tossed Labrys in the TV), I really don't expect much out of this guy. He really needs to impress me and make me give a crap like Labrys did in the previous game.

I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I think I'm just getting sick of the Persona 4 milking (Persona 3 as well to a slightly lesser extent). The review IS COMING, so I'll finally spell out what problems I have with the game soon. But as a hint, Persona 4 Arena dealt a bit with it, and it still pissed me off as much as it did when I watched the anime... and played the game... TWICE.

On a positive side, I'm excited for the re-appearance of Adachi, even if his fate from Persona 4 was never completely cleared up. And Golden's epilogue did not hope much. Regardless, I wonder if he's contributed to the conspiracy plot that cropped up near the end of Arena.

The red mist that emerges reminds me of the Dark Hour, so I bet this has something to do with that subplot I hate so much. Though I'm sick of the Minato-Please-Come-Back nonsense, I only ask they don't pull more crap from out of thin air. Maybe after this, it'll be the end of that drama. Maybe we can move on to other things. Like...

Yes. Finally. And I don't have to buy a new console! No way in hell would I cough up half of a thousand bucks plus sixty for Atlus. I love 'em, but me, my wallet, my lack of income, and my upbringing have VERY conservative limits.

I admit I can't understand how desperate fans have been, waiting five years of milking Persona 3 and 4 to produce 2,000 times the milk an average anorexic cow can produce. I'm still a newbie. But even I screamed to the heavens that this was announced. Winter 2014's not far away, though I wonder how long it'll take for Persona 5 to reach the United States. Meanwhile, I'll send positive energy to Europeans, who waited for years to get Devil Survivor 2. Sega, you better fix this.

Since hardly any information has been leaked, I'm keeping an open mind. Just let it have little to nothing to do with Persona 3 and 4. For the love of the SMT community and newbies like me, other games need love and exposure. At least I'm actively hunting down the other games, even if I get my ass kicked repeatedly until I rage quit! At least I'm trying.

Moving on.

Speaking of milking...

Initial reaction.

My PS Vita is sitting around with hardly any games for it. It's really sad. I'm starting to think I need to buy games out of pity. That's not what video games are about. I'm supposed to pick up a game and play it to have fun. That's how I started out back in the early 2000s with my Gamecube. I just wanted to take some time to sit and enjoy a piece of interactive fiction that I could experience emotionally. Giving mercy points to a console by picking up something I don't like is the last thing I'd ever want to do.

That aside, I'm not against rhythm or music games. My Vita has Luminous Electronic Symphony. I'm tempted to pick up that new Hatsune Miku Project Diva game. And I'm all for something like Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. I'm all for a rhythm game that celebrates the music of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. I'd love to hear some of the best music from the games I can hardly get a hold of and get excited when songs I know and love start playing. With how long this franchise has been going and how dedicated the fans are, this would be a wonderful "thank you" treat.

Except this is Persona 4: Dancing All Night. Just Persona 4. MAYBE Persona 3 and MAYBE Persona 2 Innocent Sin with that new kickass theme Lotus Juice did. Maybe.

I am full of doubt. This makes me sad.

The last piece of news, however, made my day almost a much as Persona 5.

Next summer for the 3DS will come Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth. Supposedly the guys behind Etrian Odyssey are behind this along with Atlus, so looks like I have some more research to do.

More milking of the only Persona games that mean anything outside of Japan, except this is a spin-off crossover of the only two Persona games that mean anything outside of Japan. Supposedly it's got some time travel or alternate dimension stuff going on, but how "canon" it is is probably debatable. Still, it's an RPG I'm willing to pick up. I at least want to see the Persona 3 crew together again for one last game. The Persona 4 gang never left each other or had anything really bad or normal happen to tear them apart, so I don't give them any mercy points.

And for SEES, only the male protagonist of Persona 3 shows up. No female. That's... part a bummer... part what the hell.

She won't make or break the game for me, but I'm just a bit sad. This isn't just the me pining for fanservice, I'm surprised that she's just not here at all. Maybe an easter egg? A cameo? Maybe she's a character that will show up but is kept under wraps to catch us off guard? Is she really done for as of Portable? Is Atlus really going to deny that her existence is canon if only in a parallel universe? Hello, the butterfly effect! Did you forget that theme?!

Other than that nitpick, I'm excited to have the Persona 3 crew back in what seems to be an alternate universe cross-over with the Persona 4 cast. That's perfectly fine with me. Thank god my dad bought me a 3DS so I can play this thing the moment it's released. It's going to be fun, I hope.

Although it seems we might have a new character whose gender we can pick. Or maybe it's just two new characters and you pick who you want to play as...  Or maybe you pick between SEES or the Investigation Team to start the game off. I dunno. Whatever it is, there's some decision making going on to make the story change depending on what you pick. Still, not too shabby. If they're going to retread similar paths with an equivalent of Tartarus with that bell tower thing, I'd like to see a fresh new take with characters I've spent far too many hours with.

Now to re-watch the trailer again -

... Wait a second. Is - ?

...

OH, #$%& YOU, SHINJIRO! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!!!! #$%& YOU, YOU SON OF A -

*slaps self in face*

I, uh... need a few decades of constant medical attention...

That asshole's gonna be the death of me...

Better yet... it's good the female protagonist is denied any future spotlight...

Still... I shall purge my brain of this game's existence...

Before I do...

Let me be a Fangirl for a little while longer.