Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth Review: Niche and Awesome

Atlus has been on a roll in the past year and a half with its “Persona” series, especially with combining the cast of “Persona 3 and 4” in both “Persona 4 Arena” games. They decided to do it once again with their newest 3DS RPG “Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth” which has got to be one of the best 3DS RPGs to date.

Both teams find themselves mysteriously sent to an alternate “Yasogami High” culture festival where the entire universe is the school. They figure out that the only way to return to their respective worlds is to unlock a door with four locks. So now both teams team up, along with two new characters, Zen and Rei, to open said locks.

The first thing many “Persona” fans will notice is that this is a strange team up since “Persona 4” takes place a year after “Persona 3” ended and the “P3” characters are still in high school. But since the “Velvet Room” is involved that’s a moot point. The story itself does seem like any other team up just to appease fans. Although the main story of this big mystery of how they got to this world, who Zen and Rei really are and what will happen to them is an interesting one. Combine that with how perfectly each character work off each other well (the game even spoof itself about this) that can be forgiven.

In this game you can choose to play as either game’s main lead. The only major differences with the choice is that some of the dialogue is different as well as the intro. Everything else is essentially the same.

The gameplay is what happens when you mix the dungeon crawling gameplay and battle syste of “Etrian Odyssey” with a mix of “Persona’s” battle system and you get one of the most enjoyable dungeon crawlers in a while. Choosing which characters to have in your party (you can only choose four plus the main lead) and assigning the proper personas for each has limitless possibilities as to what can be done. Any seasoned “Persona” player will figure ways to make an unstoppable party able to destroy any boss with just a few hits.

Besides the dungeon crawling there’s plenty to do. These include obtaining items for Theodore so he can make new weapons armor and items; the old persona fusing and also requests from Elizabeth that range from fighting certain bosses, obtaining certain items, doing certain events at the culture festival and investigating certain areas of each dungeon.

Speaking of the dungeons there are only four. This may sound like the game is very short, but each dungeon has multiple floors and will take a few hours to complete each one. These dungeons even have their own unique designs so you won’t get bored looking at them.

One of the biggest issues people have with this game is its chibi-style artwork. This style may not please everyone, but that should not deter anyone from enjoying everything else the game has to offer.

There are a few downsides though. Some of the voice work is not as well done as in the main games, nor is some of the dialogue. One of the biggest draws in any ‘Shin Megami Tensei” game, especially the “Persona” games is the music. Most of the tracks are pretty forgettable. The only real exceptions are the two battle themes (each main lead has their own theme) and the boss theme. There are times when you will hear music from the previous games, but, except for obviously “Aria of the Soul” (the “Velvet Room’s” theme) they are not played often.

In all, “Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth” is a great addition to the “Persona” series. It has the characters from two of the games, a great story and even better gameplay despite some audio issues and graphics that won’t appeal to some.