ooooh...I'm tired...

Just gotta push the button, I'll do it.

No, I got it...one of the few things to look forward to.

Eh...but yeah! Me too! It's gonna be greeeeatttt!

Ok "Tony"...oui...here we are...

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"Terrible creatures lurk in the dark, preying on those who wander into the hidden hour that lies between one day and the next. As a member of a secret school club, you must wield your inner power-Persona-and protect humanity from impending doom. Will you live to see the saga's end-and beyond?"

That is the description on the back of Persona 3 FES, a game that, at the time I looked at it, was unsure of investing in. I had heard that it mixed in RPG elements...with everyday school life (as far as Japan goes. One day off??). The former I liked, the later...no idea. I don't remember school too much, and I doubt few people enjoy going back to it, even virtually.
I never would have imagined what I was in store for when I played. I expected boring school interactions and lack-luster combat mechanics placed into a lackluster story. But what did I get? Perhaps one of (if not the) best RPG games on the PS2 I have ever played!

My first foray into the Persona series was a happy one. While I have experienced the PSP versions of the first and second Personas later on, I like the direction 3 started to take things (oh man was that negotiation system annoying...).
You play as...well...whomever it is you name the guy as (or girl, in the PSP version, opening up new things as well), though he's called Minato or Makoto depending on if you go with manga or movie adaptions. But lets just call him the Protagonist. While he's essentially a silent protagonist, and you can name him whatever you want, the Protagonist is a wild card. No, literally, he's a WILD CARD, a person with the unique ability to take on an wield multiple Personas, manifestations of one's personality made into reality.
Upon the signing of a mysterious contract and admission to his new school, the Protagonist gets wrapped up in events concerning the "Dark Hour", a time between days where Tartarus, a gigantic tower that contains Shadows, malevolent versions of inner thoughts, exists. The Protagonist joins the SEES, a group of other students who have the power to summon their own Personas as well, to investigate it. Though can note that to "summon" a Persona, they questionably hold an "evoker gun" (doesn't actually have bullets mind you) to their heads (a little controversial and a questionable thing, but in context it makes sense when it's explained in-game).

While Tartarus is the main "dungeon" and there are few others, the heart of Persona lies in how everything links together. Relationships with people play a big part in how strong the Protagonist becomes, both figuratively and literally. To empower the Protagonist's wild card ability, he forms connections with people in his life, from those of the SEES squad, to students and people he encounters in school and the local town.
These interactions form their own mini stories, from helping an old couple come to terms with the remnants of their lost son, to having a terminally ill writer live life to the fullest, and to helping a fellow student's struggle with following his passion or following in the steps of his father.
Unless you're following a guide, you probably won't see all this stuff fully, giving lead to some replay value. You may have a year or so, but it's up to you what you want to do with it. Did I say year? YEP! You practically go through an entire year of storyline, most to make with as you want to.

Persona 3's bits and pieces accumulated into such a wonderful experience, it's a must for RPGers. When will you get that awesome persona you want to try out? What's next in this Social Link story? Will the Protagonist and Yukari hook up!? Well, that's up to you!
I swear, by the ending, I nearly cried, it was so epic and awesome and sad I still remember it even to this day...ooooh....

Then Persona 4 came with much of the same mechanics with few changes (such as summoning persona by arcana cards rather than stress-gun) but new characters and new stories. Don't need to fix what's broke after all.
The Protagonist (named Yu in other media), is yet another student who moves to a new place, and get sucked into an investigation of local murders involving the "Midnight Channel", a tv world that is littered with shadows and takes on the appearances of those it has drawn inside.
Things have changed (included more varied dungeons), but the core of it all is still fresh. The characters are just as awesome, the story gets bigger and bigger, and makes you question if something that seems obvious is really true at all.

Both Persona 3 and 4 are fantastic games, probably the best ones on the PS2. And now, 5 has come out! The hype for his game is well justified and I've kept myself mostly out of the loop and am looking forward to it FINALLY coming here! It's been a few years, yeah, but it's shaping up to be the best one yet!

So, I dived myself into a simulation to see what my Persona could be. Unfortunately...I lost the information on what it's name is, didn't recognize it from the games, and what Arcana it belonged to. Ah, oh well.
It's time to go back to school and smile deviously with the knowledge I've been saving the world twice over now...maybe it's about time to go vigilante after all heheh. Dawn your masks, it's time for emancipation! (sooooo...this all about getting more than one day off school...?)