The summer of 2005 marked itself as the first time I ever held a Shin Megami Tensei game in my hands. \u00a0I knew nothing about this series, but the cover of the third title from the main series made me really curious, so I took Lucifer\u2019s Call home with me. Unsuspectingly, because I couldn\u2019t have foreseen that this game, and the rest of the series, with demons, mythical figures and dark worlds would turn my life upside down in a way that Final Fantasy could ever do.<\/p>\n
One of these spin-offs are the \u2018Persona\u2019 games, that calls out to the youth to stop the destruction of the earth as they know it. Here in Europa most of got to know this series when Persona 3 hit the shelves. Sadly, this great title didn\u2019t get the attention it deserved with the big public. But it does seem like mouth-to-mouth advertisement did its job for P3, since Persona 4 was an immediate must-play for JRPG lovers.<\/p>\n
With the success of Persona 3 and especially Persona 4 the special editions, movies, musicals and spin-off titles were not far away. Persona Q: Shadows of the Labyrinth<\/a>\u00a0for 3DS, containing all the heroes from P3 and P4, is a good example of a spin-off.<\/p>\n [youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Es_wCYzxX38]<\/p>\n Persona Q gives you\u2019re the chance to follow the story through the eyes of the group from Persona 3 or Persona 4. Your choice gives you a different prologue, makes your chosen hero the silent-protagonist of service while the others get a fixed character and change some plot points a bit, but it doesn\u2019t change the course of the story. The five different difficulties ranging from \u2018Safety\u2019 (easy fighting sequences so you can fully focus on the story) to \u2018Risky\u2019 (the \u2018prepare to die\u2019 mode where dying doesn\u2019t mean a Game Over, but a Game End) give you sufficient ways to make the game as comfortable or challenging as you want it to be.<\/p>\n At the beginning of Persona Q, the heroes from P4 are busy with the cultural festival for their high school, when they suddenly hear a strange bell. It doesn\u2019t take long before Margaret, the contact point for the Velvet Room, let them know that she heard the same bell. This can\u2019t be a coincidence! When the entire group is being welcomed in the Velvet Room for the first time, the room is transformed in an unstable mess of platforms and stairs. Two mysterious, chained doors seem to keep watch. Even the school isn\u2019t what it was anymore, where once the hallways filled itself with lively students, now there\u2019s nothing left but reflections of a non-existing reality. Strange new attractions full of Shadows appear on the weirdest places, a clock tower, who has been gone for years, is suddenly proudly standing at the school again. As if that wasn\u2019t enough, two young teenagers, Zen and Rei, are stuck in this reality for a long time. For Margaret it\u2019s clear: something disrupted the Space-Time Continuum and if the Investigation Team and their two new friends want to escape from this strange world, they are going to have to beat the Shadows and find out who is behind all this.<\/p>\n For the heroes of Persona 3 there is just a bit more sci-fi. When a typhoon hits the area of Iwatodai in 2009 and the cultural festival gets cancelled, the protagonist from Persona 3 goes, sick with SEES, to Tartarus. He still feels bad after being in bed for a few days, but a strange feeling drives him towards the with shadows loaded tower. It doesn\u2019t take long before he, all his friends and Elizabeth and Theodore hear the same weird bell in the Velvet Room and are transported to the same non-reality that the Investigation Team is stuck in. It becomes clear that if the SEES ever want to beat Nyx in their own reality, they will have to escape from this strange world first. Luckily both teams meet each other soon at the first boss-battle, and with the motto \u2018less work with more hands\u2019 they team up to reveal the secret of Yasogami High.<\/p>\n When I saw the title for the first time, I wondered where the Q stood for. \u2018Is it an alternative for the popular X?\u2019 I thought to myself, but the truth is very different. Persona Q: Shadows of the Labyrinth gets the Q from a very different Atlus series: Etrian Odyssey. Etrian Odyssey name is \u2018Sekaiju no Meikyuu\u2019 in Japanese and since Persona Q has many gameplay features from this series, it\u2019s not strange at all that the Q (or kyuu) has found its way to the title.<\/p>\n In Persona Q the gameplay focuses, like de Etrian Odyssey games, on first-person dungeon crawling in labyrinths full of enemies. Each level of the various labyrinths become bigger and more confusions until they become a gigantic boss-fight. You pass the treacherous hallways with a team of 5 while you unlock the various paths, doors, chests, Power Spots and shortcuts with your stylus. The last thing is a really fun thing to do when you find your way through the labyrinth. The 3D-effects in every room makes perfect use of the abilities of the 3DS in my opinion. For the first time while playing a SMT 3DS title, I got the feeling that both the use of the 3D as well as the use of the touchpad were really good.<\/p>\n During the fights you feel the effort the various teams from Persona Q put into the game to mix the elements of both Etrian Odyssey and Shin Megami Tensei. The \u2018One More\u2019 principle that you have in P3 and P4, is no more, but is replaced in Persona Q with a \u2018Boost status\u2019. A persona in \u2018Boost\u2019 can conduct the next attack without using HP of SP (which is really handy), but loses the status when you are being attacked. \u2018Boost\u2019 isn\u2019t online handy for energy-saving; the more Persona\u2019s are in \u2018Boost\u2019, the bigger the chance for you to have an All-Out-Attack and to receive a new Persona!<\/p>\n A different aspect from the Etrian Odyssey games, are the different FOEs that cross your path. FOEs, aka \u2018Field On Enemies\u2019 in Etrian Odyssey or \u2018Physis Oikein Eidolon\u2019 in Persona Q, are strong enemies who are best to be avoided. This part really reminds me of the Reaper who stalks you through Tartarus in Persona Q, your dead if he catches you when your low level. Each FOE have a different behavioural pattern so most of them are easily avoided.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t talk about a Persona game and don\u2019t discuss de Persona\u2019s. In the Persona series each persona can, as part of their true self, call the mask or the \u2018Persona\u2019 to fight for him\/her. Each Persona is impersonated by a mythical figure and is part of the users\u2019 personality. In both Persona 3 as 4 everyone can only call 1 Persona, with exception of the \u2018wild-cards\u2019, the protagonists, who are the only one in their team to switch Persona.<\/p>\n In Persona Q it can get pretty messy if two different characters want the same Persona. If two wild-cards come together in the same place, it messes with the powers of it, so everyone gets the powers in a mild form. This makes the fights a lot more interesting, since you can combine Persona\u2019s with attacking and healing skills, making you a lot stronger.<\/p>\n The soundtrack of Persona Q is finger-licking good. They mix the soundtrack from P3 and P4 and it fills the game with nostalgia, while it\u2019s still a new sound. Especially the soundtrack during the boss-battles gets you in the right mood to kick some ass. A downside of the soundtrack, is that the duration can get too long, if you\u2019re lost in a dungeon for example, and it drives your completely crazy. The first level is like this, but luckily the soundtrack changes once you get deeper into the labyrinth.<\/p>\n Persona Q is completely voiced-oved, minus the parts that aren\u2019t immediately important to the main story. The original English voices are back, and again with excellent quality.<\/p>\n Persona Q is a really fun game, that\u2019s a fact, but there are a few points that are a bit less. In P3 and p4 social interactions are a big part of the game. In Persona Q these experiences are sadly enough replaced by the so called \u2018Strolls\u2019, which are moments you experience with the rest of your team.\u00a0 They are fun little pauses of the dungeons, but they have little added value. You get to know your team better, maybe do a job for them, but that\u2019s about it. I also dislike the claustrophobic in-game menu. Almost half the screen is menu-options, while a small 3D scene shows the situation in school. I wonder if a different usage of the double screen would have been better.<\/p>\n Finally, there is the story, that doesn\u2019t give a really good reason for the many characters to work together. During the game this is made very obvious by the ability to pimp your favourite characters so you don\u2019t need anyone else, this results in you playing the whole game with the same team. Unlike other Persona RPGs, there is no difference between the \u2018good ending\u2019 and the \u2018bad ending\u2019 which makes the game straighter forward than it has to be. And to be honest, I really missed the \u2018bad ending\u2019. Nothing is more frustrating than the game being ended to early due to some stupid choice you made, and this makes the Persona storylines that bit more exciting.<\/p>\n Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is a fun game for those who have Persona 3 and Persona 4 on their list of favourite games, or for those who want to get to know the series before Persona 5 is released. The story may not be big or important, but the interaction between characters, the killer soundtrack, the Etrian Odyssey-like cartography, the nods to plot points who still have to happen and the references to other Atlus titles (like Catherine), make Persona Q a must-have for every Persona-fan.<\/p>\n Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is in stores since November 28th<\/sup> 2014 for Nintendo 3DS.<\/p>\n Info:<\/strong> Rating:<\/strong> 87\/100<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The summer of 2005 marked itself as the first time I ever held a Shin Megami Tensei game in my hands. \u00a0I knew nothing about this series, but the cover of the third title from the main series made me really curious, so I took Lucifer\u2019s Call home with me. Unsuspectingly, because I couldn\u2019t have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3018,2976],"tags":[3007],"class_list":["post-20144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-reviews-en","category-all-reviews","tag-2015-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20144"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20145,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20144\/revisions\/20145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Orpheus of Izanagi<\/h4>\n
The story<\/h4>\n
Kyuu Gameplay<\/h4>\n
Sub-Persona<\/h4>\n
Soundtrack and\u00a0Voice-acting<\/h4>\n
Hiccups?<\/h4>\n
Conclusion<\/h4>\n
\nTitle: Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
\nGenre: JRPG, dungeon crawler
\nDeveloper: Atlus
\nPublisher: NIS America (Europe)<\/p>\n
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![\n <\/a>\n](\"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/PQmap.png\"){kind=link}
![\n <\/a>\n](\"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/gevechtPQ.png\"){kind=link}
![\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\nIn Persona Q the gameplay focuses, like de Etrian Odyssey games, on first-person dungeon crawling in labyrinths full of enemies. Each level of the various labyrinths become bigger and more confusions until they become a gigantic boss-fight. You pass the treacherous hallways with a team of 5 while you unlock the various paths, doors, chests, Power Spots and shortcuts with your stylus. The last thing is a really fun thing to do when you find your way through the labyrinth. The 3D-effects in every room makes perfect use of the abilities of the 3DS in my opinion. For the first time while playing a SMT 3DS title, I got the feeling that both the use of the 3D as well as the use of the touchpad were really good.<\/p>\nDuring the fights you feel the effort the various teams from Persona Q put into the game to mix the elements of both Etrian Odyssey and Shin Megami Tensei. The \u2018One More\u2019 principle that you have in P3 and P4, is no more, but is replaced in Persona Q with a \u2018Boost status\u2019. A persona in \u2018Boost\u2019 can conduct the next attack without using HP of SP (which is really handy), but loses the status when you are being attacked. \u2018Boost\u2019 isn\u2019t online handy for energy-saving; the more Persona\u2019s are in \u2018Boost\u2019, the bigger the chance for you to have an All-Out-Attack and to receive a new Persona!<\/p>\nA different aspect from the Etrian Odyssey games, are the different FOEs that cross your path. FOEs, aka \u2018Field On Enemies\u2019 in Etrian Odyssey or \u2018Physis Oikein Eidolon\u2019 in Persona Q, are strong enemies who are best to be avoided. This part really reminds me of the Reaper who stalks you through Tartarus in Persona Q, your dead if he catches you when your low level. Each FOE have a different behavioural pattern so most of them are easily avoided.<\/p>\nSub-Persona<\/h4>\nYou can\u2019t talk about a Persona game and don\u2019t discuss de Persona\u2019s. In the Persona series each persona can, as part of their true self, call the mask or the \u2018Persona\u2019 to fight for him\/her. Each Persona is impersonated by a mythical figure and is part of the users\u2019 personality. In both Persona 3 as 4 everyone can only call 1 Persona, with exception of the \u2018wild-cards\u2019, the protagonists, who are the only one in their team to switch Persona.<\/p>\nIn Persona Q it can get pretty messy if two different characters want the same Persona. If two wild-cards come together in the same place, it messes with the powers of it, so everyone gets the powers in a mild form. This makes the fights a lot more interesting, since you can combine Persona\u2019s with attacking and healing skills, making you a lot stronger.<\/p>\nSoundtrack and\u00a0Voice-acting<\/h4>\nThe soundtrack of Persona Q is finger-licking good. They mix the soundtrack from P3 and P4 and it fills the game with nostalgia, while it\u2019s still a new sound. Especially the soundtrack during the boss-battles gets you in the right mood to kick some ass. A downside of the soundtrack, is that the duration can get too long, if you\u2019re lost in a dungeon for example, and it drives your completely crazy. The first level is like this, but luckily the soundtrack changes once you get deeper into the labyrinth.<\/p>\nPersona Q is completely voiced-oved, minus the parts that aren\u2019t immediately important to the main story. The original English voices are back, and again with excellent quality.<\/p>\nHiccups?<\/h4>\nPersona Q is a really fun game, that\u2019s a fact, but there are a few points that are a bit less. In P3 and p4 social interactions are a big part of the game. In Persona Q these experiences are sadly enough replaced by the so called \u2018Strolls\u2019, which are moments you experience with the rest of your team.\u00a0 They are fun little pauses of the dungeons, but they have little added value. You get to know your team better, maybe do a job for them, but that\u2019s about it. I also dislike the claustrophobic in-game menu. Almost half the screen is menu-options, while a small 3D scene shows the situation in school. I wonder if a different usage of the double screen would have been better.<\/p>\nFinally, there is the story, that doesn\u2019t give a really good reason for the many characters to work together. During the game this is made very obvious by the ability to pimp your favourite characters so you don\u2019t need anyone else, this results in you playing the whole game with the same team. Unlike other Persona RPGs, there is no difference between the \u2018good ending\u2019 and the \u2018bad ending\u2019 which makes the game straighter forward than it has to be. And to be honest, I really missed the \u2018bad ending\u2019. Nothing is more frustrating than the game being ended to early due to some stupid choice you made, and this makes the Persona storylines that bit more exciting.<\/p>\nConclusion<\/h4>\nPersona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is a fun game for those who have Persona 3 and Persona 4 on their list of favourite games, or for those who want to get to know the series before Persona 5 is released. The story may not be big or important, but the interaction between characters, the killer soundtrack, the Etrian Odyssey-like cartography, the nods to plot points who still have to happen and the references to other Atlus titles (like Catherine), make Persona Q a must-have for every Persona-fan.<\/p>\nPersona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is in stores since November 28th<\/sup> 2014 for Nintendo 3DS.<\/p>\nInfo:<\/strong>\nTitle: Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth\nGenre: JRPG, dungeon crawler\nDeveloper: Atlus\nPublisher: NIS America (Europe)<\/p>\nRating:<\/strong> 87\/100<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The summer of 2005 marked itself as the first time I ever held a Shin Megami Tensei game in my hands. \u00a0I knew nothing about this series, but the cover of the third title from the main series made me really curious, so I took Lucifer\u2019s Call home with me. Unsuspectingly, because I couldn\u2019t have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3018,2976],"tags":[3007],"class_list":["post-20144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-reviews-en","category-all-reviews","tag-2015-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20144"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20145,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20144\/revisions\/20145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/crossoverconvoPQ.png\"){kind=link}