I Want To Be A Junior Again

Spyderbyte | 4/25/2008 9:04 am | Game On

I'm back in high school and blame it on the full moon or something because I am loving it.

Perhaps it helps a lot that I'm not actually back in high school, but rather a virtual re-imagining of it via the gateway known as Persona 3:FES. The game features the same mix of classes and awkward social situations by day, but I don't recall having fought strange and terrifying creatures in a secret time between times before. Maybe I've suffered transmogrification during the Dark Hour?

I picked up the game on Wednesday, and two days later (on top of full-time work and other real-life mediocrities) I've already sunk over ten hours into it. As I've said several times here on Game On, I'm one who fights a battle with myself every time I start a game to actually stick with it to its end even when I do adore it. The box advertises the original game as a 70+ hour adventure (and I know fellow Game On writer Erik has clocked over 100 into the game already) not to mention the added content which is listed as another 30+. The challenge for me may not be fighting my way to the top of the mysterious tower but rather to keep climbing all the stairs.

My first impression, however, leads me to state that 'challenge' is the wrong word. I don't see this as a challenge at all. I'm absolutely hooked right now and while yes I do have a pile of games I plan to work through this year, none are calling out to me quite like this wonderfully warped world. Much of one's daytime activities when not fighting have to do with making choices, and the choices one makes do affect how the game progresses. Not only do I find myself drawn to making these choices in the game, I'm already picturing how I'd like to make them differently in a second run through. Wait a minute-that's like me committing to not 100 hours of gameplay, but 200!

I'll keep you informed of my evolving opinion as I progress my way through the halls of Persona 3:FES, but in this far-from-dark hour I will confidently state that if this is what high school is going to be like for the next 90+ hours of my life, I'd be happy to repeat the grade.