Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth Reviews
Persona Q is a 60-plus hour roleplaying experience that both charms and entertains. Though there were points when its puzzles completely stumped me, and the combat's steep difficulty, made me want to launch my 3DS into orbit a few times, the enjoyable battle system, deep exploration, and generous dollops of fanservice made it worth the effort.
It's principally aimed at the series' fans, but the mesh of interlocking systems ensures that its appeal runs deeper than fan service.
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is a pleasing amalgam of first-person dungeon exploration and role-playing elements that injects just enough humor to keep things fresh.
Persona Q is strong on all fronts, from the great character interactions to the fun dungeons
Persona Q is a fan-pleaser that doesn't sacrifice quality
Persona Q is a cute and exceptionally enjoyable role-playing game that amplifies the series' humor to great effect.
Persona Q should be a hardcore Persona fan's dream game, and if you only come to the series for its character writing then it kind of is.
Persona Q has something for everyone. If you're a Persona fan, you'll get a huge kick out of seeing your old Gekkoukan and Yasogami classmates in an all-new adventure, and Etrian Odyssey fans open to a change will love it — this is the story-driven experiment of Etrian Odyssey Untold taken to the next level, with a stylistic overhaul to match. And if you haven't played either of its inspirations, you're still in luck — this isn't just a great crossover, it's a fantastically fun RPG in its own right, with colourful characters, engaging gameplay, and a whole heap of style. Persona fans will undoubtedly get the most out of the fan-service, but even if you can't tell Junpei from Junes, you'll still have a blast exploring Persona Q.
It's not quite Persona 5, but it's still a meaty (down, Chie) role-playing experience.
An amazing first person dungeon crawler for fans of Persona 3 and 4, but not a gateway into the Persona series.
I can't say that the mystery, that all of us reaching out to such a densely obfuscated truth, will amount to much more than the satisfaction felt in any other Persona game. In fact, you should consider your own purchase of Persona Q carefully. Bear puns aside, you will feel like you need to dance between the darker, more serious cast of Persona 3 and the lighter cast of Persona 4 as there are so many lovable archetypes at play. It's to the P Studio development team's credit that everyone gets at least a little time in the spotlight here.
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is the first time a Persona title has made the jump to the Nintendo 3DS platform, though Shin Megami Tensei IV offered a similar experience last year. While it offers much of the Persona experience fans will enjoy, such as the deep and challenging combat system, ability to fuse Personas, and unpredictable story, there are still some things fans of the series will certainly miss. The inability to randomly explore your surroundings or to take one of your friends out for a bowl of ramen in order to improve your bond with them is one I missed greatly while playing Persona Q. The social aspect plays a major role for the Persona series, and to see such a vital part of the equation missing is disappointing.
A fantastic crossover that despite a few necessary simplifications manages to do some things better than either of its parent games, especially in terms of accessibility.
Persona Q is rich with characters and tactical pursuits, familiar but slightly tweaked to make for something new.
Persona Q can be grind. It can be frustrating, and, at times, it made me want to fling my 3DS across the room. It's also a heartwarming love letter to Persona fans, and an engrossing role-playing game, among the best the 3DS has to offer. Let go and enjoy the ride.
3DS owners looking for a new RPG to dig into will find a fantastic one here. Persona fans shouldn't think twice about picking this up. It truly feels like a sequel to Persona 3 and Persona 4. The production value and game play are really well done, and very enjoyable.
Having never played a Persona RPG, I enjoyed Persona Q: Shadow of the Layrinth. The fact that it resembles the Etrian Odyssey series in terms of gameplay is a plus and as a person new to the Persona series, I feel that this is another solid RPG from Atlus.
Despite losing part of its complexity, Persona Q2 is a great way to enjoy the best from the Persona franchise characters in a fun, entertaining way. We might be in front of the last big title for the Nintendo 3DS.
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If there's a single downside, it's that with a cast of over 16 characters, only five of whom can physically be in your party, there's very little reason to play around with your party's composition.
While Persona Q's story may be meaningless on its own, the dungeon crawling and strategic battle system are great challenges with an excellent cast to keep you company.