Okay, this is really sad
I'm now blogging about my virtual life in a video game instead of my real life. *sigh*
Anyhow, after (virtual in-game) weeks of nobody inviting me out, this week I think every active social contact I have in Persona 3 called me to ask me to hang out on Sunday. And, of course, the first call I got (which I accepted) was from the student who is trying to date his teacher that I'm not all that interested in. (The student... not his teacher. I haven't met his teacher yet.)
I've also decided the girl I was chasing after (Chihiro) bugs me, and the girl I was flirting with on the side (Yuko) is the girl I probably should be going after. Chihiro is cute, and has the glasses thing going for her, but the more I've been hanging out with her, the more I'm not a fan of her attitude. We were studying in the library after school one day, and there were two students at our table who decided to go smooch somewhere. Chihiro totally freaked out about that kind of thing going on at school, and said she was going to bring it up at the next Student Council meeting. (She's the treasurer.) Then, when we were at the mall, this strange guy started messing with her, and I acted a bit tough to make him go away. She freaked out at me a bit for showing a "strong" side.
Meanwhile, I met Yuko at swim team practice, and she's turning out to be a really fun girl. She eats too much, and she knows it, but since she does a lot of swimming she says she can get away with it. She's pretty easy going and not obsessive over things, she showed a devish yet amusing side to her when dealing with a girl at school who doesn't like her, and she's a fan of some sort of sanctioned (or maybe non-sactioned) combat sport. That, or she just enjoys standing around watching when fights break out at school... not too sure yet.
I also found out the semi-crazy girl I met in the MMORPG my character is playing (yes, I'm playing an RPG, and I'm making my in-game character play an MMORPG... the universe is eating itself) is one of the teachers at school. I'm now trying to figure out which one it is.
Comments
Long story short, Persona 3 is an RPG where during the night you go through this dungeon and battle demons, but during the day you have to balance your life as a high school student. In previous versions, you could talk to the demons, and in doing so you could convince some to be on your side as "Personas." In this version, it's different, and your ability to create new personas and make them stronger comes from who you have social links to, and how strong those links are.
I'm making the game sound a little more open-ended than it really is, but it has a ton of events that can take place depending on who you choose to get to know, and how you interact with them.
The social stuff is a lot of fun, but nowhere near as deep as Tokimemo. You basically have to figure out how to get a relationship going with each character, and then it is mostly a decision of who to spend time with when. Hanging out is usually: Find character on a day they're free -> talk to them -> say yes to hanging out / walking home together -> make a couple decisions while hanging out. You can screw things up while you're out depending on what answers you give, but for the most part it has been pretty obvious how not to.
That said, I haven't gotten to a level of actually "dating" either of the two girls I'm currently after, so I'm not sure if there is any more depth added to the game at that point or not.
This is basically RPG + Tokimemo light. The social aspects aren't nearly as deep as I'd like them to be, but on the other hand, they are surprisingly fleshed out when you consider that the game is first and foremost an RPG, not a dating sim. So, playing it mostly for the sim aspects would probably be a disappointment. That said, I am absolutely in love with the game - it's amazingly fun and enjoyable. If she can get through the combat stuff, I think she'd dig it. The social parts are really fun and just silly, and I really think she'd get a huge kick out of the different Personas in the game and the supernatural/mythical aspect to it all.
Absolutely give it a rent, or if you decide to get it, pick up a strategy guide (I'm sure there will be one) to go along with it, that way you don't have to get bogged down with the more hardcore aspects of the game. (Stuff like Persona creation, which can be a bit daunting if you haven't played previous Persona titles.)