Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Message Board

You can *crag* dudes.

Allow us to get your week on track, PlayStation.Blog readers. SOUNDtrack, that is. SIGNED soundtrack, even. That’s right, we’ve got 10 soundtracks graced by the pen/magic marker/writing instrument of one Shoji Meguro, master composer of games like Persona 3 and Persona 4, and we’re giving them away. Here. Just to you folks.

“How do I enter?” you inquire, leaning forward in excitement. Easy! Just tell us what you’re most excited about regarding the upcoming P3P as a comment under this post. Maybe it’s the fact that you can take one of the highest rated RPGs of all time on the road now? Or the cast of memorable characters you just can’t get enough of? Or the dating sim elements? The fantastic music? The great art? The addicting gameplay? The original story?

10 lucky winners will be randomly (or as close to randomly as possible) chosen and sent a SIGNED soundtrack CD. Only North American residents are eligible to win, however. It’s not that we don’t love you rest-of-the-world’ers; we just want to focus this giveaway on the region in which the game is actually releasing.

Why are we doing this? Well, we’d love to use this opportunity to remind you that:

In case you all are a bit unfamiliar with the P3P soundtrack, perhaps we should share a sample with you:

For more music samples, visit the official Persona 3 Portable website!

“The music seems awesome,” you say, pensively prodding your chin with your finger, “but I’m not guaranteed to win it. I just wish there was some cool bonus with Persona 3 Portable that I was guaranteed to receive.”

Funny you’d say that, because there’s still time to pre-order your copy of Persona 3 Portable at a participating retailer (GameStop and Amazon in the United States and Canada) and receive a collectible Junpei Baseball Cap. It’s modeled after the one he wears in the game!

“Wow, they’re sure giving us a lot of physical awesome to celebrate the release of the game, but what about the game itself?” you muse aloud to no one in particular, gently tapping your pointer fingers together in front of your mouth.

We’ve already told you in previous posts about how Persona 3 Portable puts you in the shoes of a team of gifted high schoolers forced to use their developing supernatural abilities to save the world from destruction, and how the game cleverly mixes addicting RPG dungeon crawling with social sim elements. And how the PSP system release introduces a new female protagonist who experiences the events of the game from a new perspective, not to mention the addition of one-button menu shortcuts, a streamlined user interface, and more.

We’d say more about the game, but really, why not let others speak for us? Early reviews are in, Blog readers, and they’re glowing:

Gaming Nexus – A
“Atlus added enough new content to make this the first must-own PSP RPG of the year!”

Gamervision – 10 out of 10
“Persona 3 Portable is one of the strongest games in the PSP catalogue, and a shining example of a role-playing game done right.”

GamerTell – 99 out of 100
“Simply said, Persona 3 Portable is a system seller. If you own a PSP and can purchase “Mature” games, you should own it. If you don’t own a PSP, Persona 3 Portable is easily a game to inspire you to pick one up.”

PlayStation Illustrated – 95 out of 100
“It’s a fantastic RPG stuffed with things to do and interesting, yet unusual, ideas.”

1UP.com – A-
“I’d actually recommend Persona 3 Portable as the best introduction to the series — even ahead of the console versions of Persona 3 or Persona 4. But I’d also highly recommend P3P for longtime fans of the franchise…”

gamrReview by VGChartz – 9 out of 10
“PSP fans can rejoice that such a grand RPG has arrived on their system of choice…”

GameZone 8.5 out of 10
“…a solid version of a great RPG.”

Look for Persona 3 Portable on retail shelves and in PSN Store on July 6, 2010! For more info about P3P, visit the game’s official website.

Don’t forget: What about the upcoming Persona 3 Portable are you most looking forward to? Tell us below for a chance to win a SIGNED soundtrack CD! We’ll try and choose winners by the game’s release date (winners will be notified with a message sent to their PSN account).Wiping All Out

Well, hello again, PlayStation.Blog patrons. I come bearing gifts, and by “gifts” I of course mean the official full trailer for Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable, Atlus’s upcoming handheld RPG epic.

What’s it full of? Why, WIN, of course, and lots of it! What other portable roleplaying game gives you dozens upon dozens upon dozens of hours of satisfying combat, character interaction, side-quests, and a riveting story? Moreover, few handheld RPGs, if any, deliver the aural and visual impact of Persona 3 Portable, with its stunning world and character design, and a soundtrack courtesy of master composer Shoji Meguro. I could go on and on, PlayStation Bloggerists, and not just because they’re paying me to, but I digress:

For those of you who’ve never been properly exposed to Persona 3, allow me to pull back its long black trench coat to reveal a bit more about the concept of the Dark Hour. In the world of Persona 3 Portable, there is a hidden hour between the end of one day and the start of another. It is imperceptible to most, save a select few. You’re one of this gifted minority (of course you are) and in fact, you’re even more special than the others: you have the ability to not only summon your own inner-power — an alter ego of sorts called your Persona — but also the ability to collect and summon other Personas as well. The fact that most of the populace is catatonic during this Dark Hour means that it’s up to you to stop the Shadows that come out of the great dungeon Tartarus (more on that in a future post). That also means you’re high on the Shadows’ “kill them all” list… Fun!

And when it comes to the whole Persona swapping thing, if you’ve yet to play a Persona game, or any of the Shin Megami Tensei titles, you’re missing out. The level of addictiveness found in acquiring, managing, and fusing Personas is tremendous. It’s on par with a very popular RPG franchise that rhymes with… Moke-a-pon.

*stares expressionlessly at PlayStation.Blog audience*

We hope you enjoy the trailer, so much so that you decide to pre-order immediately. And we’re not just saying that to look out for ourselves (well, we are, granted), but also because if you happen to reserve a copy at a participating retailer (GameStop or Amazon in the United States and Canada, and ONLY while limited supplies last), you’ll snag a rather awesome pre-order bonus baseball cap modeled after the one worn by the popular character Junpei Iori, Gekkoukan High School’s bantering, jabbering class clown.

Look for Persona 3 Portable on retail shelves and on the PSN Store on July 6, 2010! For more info about P3P, visit the game’s official website.