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:
- a) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable, Atlus’s upcoming handheld RPG epic, is right around the corner, releasing in stores and via PlayStation Network on July 6th.
- b) It features one of the best soundtracks ever, and in order to further emphasize that point, we want to give a few of those soundtracks away. SIGNED.
In case you all are a bit unfamiliar with the P3P soundtrack, perhaps we should share a sample with you:
[audio:https://blog.us.playstation.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/05_Wiping-All-Out_short-3.mp3]
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).
I’ve always been a fan of the Persona series and Meguro-sama’s godly music so finding out that I’ll be able to bring the game around with me is truly fantastic! I’ll be able to immerse myself into the world of my most favourite Persona game again (I wonder if FES’s “The Answer” will perhaps go to the hand held too?) and groove to the beautiful beat of Meguro’s music once more!
I’m most excited by the fact that in the hand held version, you can choose to be a girl. How will the story differ, I wonder, when you’re acting as a female protagonist compared to Persona 3’s original male protagonist? I’m extremely excited to find out!
My most exciting reason to want to own this game? Obviously to be able to actually control all the characters in my party and be more strategic /gg :3. To fall asleep to the fantastic music that Shoji Meguro makes and to walk around town with that Junpei hat going Persona 3 Portable owns! Yay for Atlus for making this fantastic series~
I’m excited to play persona 3 portable because it will be my first persona game. Also loving the hat i will recieve! Hope I win the soundtrack because I never win anything!!!!
Best RPG I played, leaves Final Fantasy in the dust, in 2007 I fell in love again after playing P3.
Then P3Fes came out & got it, beat it two times & just cant wait to take P3P on the road or at the office and go at it once again :-) pure Magik
I”m looking forward to the fact that even though I’ve already bought the game twice, I still feel the desire to play through it again to see how much of an improvement the new battle system is with the ability to control all characters now.
This was actually the first game in a long time that brought me back to the RPG genre. I have played videogames for a long time and have loved all genres. Unfortunately, over the years I’d stopped finding anything interesting in RPGs. All the storylines had the same basic plot, battles were the same, and they all just used the same shiny CG cut scenes and whatnot. But in 2007, while randomly looking through game store shelves, I found Persona 3 and thought it had some kind of flare that made it stand out from the others so I gave it a shot. On a whim, I bought it, not knowing what to expect. No surprise, I loved it! I bought Persona 3 FES as soon as I found out about it and pre-ordered Persona 4, Persona for PSP, and now Persona 3 Portable. I guess that everything about Persona 3 raised the bar for me. Story, soundtrack, well-thought out levels and world, everything was original and perfect. To be able to have all of that portable is amazing. Even without wining, seeing what my chances are, I’d like to thank you guys for bringing my interest in RPGs in general back and introducing me to the amazing Persona franchise.
P.S.- Junpei is awesome!!! Thanks for stealing his hat for me!
I doubt my comment will get read but for me the reason why I’m most excited about getting the game is the fact I’ll actually have a shot at playing through a good chunk of the game. PSP is my favorite current system as it just gives me more opportunity to play the games I love (I take my psp everywhere). I do have Fez & P4 but I never had the free time to really give them a chance (even though I love them). So for that reason I will not only be buying the game but it will be bought as soon as it hits the PSN store on Tuesday. =)
Now, Please bring over Tokyo Mono Harashi next. I’ll promise to buy it too!! ^_^
The fact that my favorite RPG is now portable of course! And a 2nd main character to boot, different S.Link scenarios, and let’s not forget the hat.
Now…are you considering making Persona 2 Innocent Sin + Eternal Punishment for the PSP? C’mon complete the circle! Persona 1’s already made it, now connect 1 to 3 by making 2! :D
I wasn’t able to find the PS2 version in any store that I’ve ever been to, so now I’m happy that it’s being re-released on the PSP so I’ve got a better chance at getting it! Thanks Atlus!
Oh, and thanks Shoji for creating many of the songs in the Shin Megami Tensei series (including this soundtrack, of course)!
Part 1:
All right. I will show you some dedicaiton, bear with me, it’s going to be a long one!
It’s hard to narrow it down to one specific thing, to be honest.
Persona 3 left such an incredible impact on me even though I played Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne before it, which says a lot about the game.
Without going into too much detail about the original release, it was a fanastic piece of gaming achievment. It excelled in its fun factor so much that it even beat the power of nostalgia and ranked itself as one of the best, if not the best, gaming experiences of my life.
More to come…
Part 2:
Among the new personae, new difficulty settings, adjustments to tartarus (along with traps and new ways to heal and crawl the dungeon), smoother interfaces, additional story-telling, new bosses and challenges, there is ONE thing that excites me the most and that is to once again re-experience the joys that this game brought me. Never in years have I had so much fun as I had with the two (3 counting FES!) newly released Persona titles.
Of course, all of my life I’ve considered myself a portable gamer- the game being on a PSP will because of this only enhance the experience even further!
That’s right, if I have to narrow it down, I’d have to say it’s the EXPERIENCE, no, the REFINED EXPERIENCE!
More to come…
Part 3 THE ANSWER IS IN HERE:
A refined experience that will once again have me venture through tartarus hallways and waste countles of (dark) hours having to grind for experience all over just because an enemy relentlessly attacked me with my weakpoint…or should I say, “hit my feminine side” this time around? (Don’t hit on me you silly boy! *wink*)
The refined experience of getting to know my party members better and once more delve into their troubles and totally ignore my real life friend’s problems!
Although, this time around it’s portable so I can probably sit next to them instead of crawling into the corner of my room like I had to with its console counterparts.
SO HERE IT GOES:
WHAT EXCITES ME THE MOST ABOUT THE UPCOMING PERSONA 3 PORTABLE IS TO EXPERIENCE A REFINED EXPERIENCE OF AN EXPERIENCE THAT ALREADY PUT OTHER EXPERIENCES OF MINE TO SHAME! THAT’S WHAT I’M EXCITED FOR!! THE ONLY WAY TO NARROW IT DOWN IS TO GO WITH THE WHOLE PACKAGE!
More to come…
Final Part:
This game is going to be so sweet to play!
I can’t believe how excited I’ve been ever since August last year when this was announced in japan- it’s finally here!
I’m so excited! If I won this I’d even pay for the shipping costs(…all the way to Sweden…in Europe).
Cut me some slack, I want to take part of this too America! We probably won’t even be given any soundtracks over here! why can’t you guys be a sport and send it over!…or send it over to a friend of mine in America?
FINISHED.
I’m looking forward to P3P because of the additions to the game, namely the all-party control borrowed from Persona 4 and the MShe plotline. Persona 4 cameos don’t hurt either ;) Having it portable is a bonus, too, as I was never able to find time to finish it on console after buying the original and FES XD I also feel that being portable the game will be easier (seems to be the trend) and I definetly want to support this in an effort to see my second favorite game in the series, Persona 2 Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment! <3
im eager to hear shoji’s(i know refer him by first name is rude lol but whatever) new songs with p3 style again, i love lotus juice and yumi kawamura too XD cmon more of deep breath deep breath and shinsou shinri-like songs~ haha
gamewise, im looking forward to see new stories, improved system of social link maybe? more interactive quests,user interfaces! i love persona’s UI’s simplicity and dynamic design, looking forward to see that. i also hope the town/city wud be much bigger/detailed, and more activities in school life and other business such as part time jobs in P4, but i want new innovations there, i hope many things improved :D *go hate me for being too demanding lol* im personally dont really care about new female protagonist, since i liked minato’s design better, but i know it’ll be interesting to see the love relationship with male characters heheh
as for battle and dungeons i really hope p3p adds more interactions like dialogs in dungeon or something fun, more dressing up lol. and more balanced database, i like it not too easy but not too hard subjectively :P also i hope tartarus isnt too boring there x.x
two words
The. Hat.
and i guess the female route has something to do with it too >_>
I have always loved the concept of bringing the graphics-lite RPGs that were on the PS2 (like Disgaea) to the PSP. Additionally, Persona 3 and 4 were epic in my life (among my top 5 games of all time), and would love the chance to re-experience the lifestyle that comes out of playing that games over 300 hours without counting Death-Resets.
I own Burn My Dread: Reanimation and the first Persona 3 soundtrack, so I’d love to have the P3P one to fill in the gaps of songs and to have that actual disc version again.
Also, I’m looking forward to seeing if Audio-related things will become available on PSPlus, since I’ve just subscribed to that.
I don’t normally post in comments sections, but the chance to win a signed soundtrack so easily is just too good to pass up!
Anywho…
Why I want this game: The Persona series is one of very few series that I hear pretty unanimous compliments about, which is an extremely rare occurance in gaming.
I was first introduced to the Shin Megami Tensei franchise through Nocturne, which is a game I enjoyed immensely. While I know the Persona series isn’t directly associated with Nocturne, I’m still confident in the Shin Megami Tensei name itself, as well as the glowing reviews and huge fan love for it.
Even if I didn’t know about all that, a high-quality RPG and dungeon crawler with good music/story/characters is way up my alley anyway, so on that ground alone I’d still be excited for it. Plus the fact that it’s on the PSP means that I can play it pretty much whenever, which is always a plus. Pretty much any way you slice it, I want this game muchly and am excited for its release! :D
Taking P3P on the go with me anywhere, as well as the new content they added on, is enough for me to get this game ASAP. X3
What I am most excited about regarding this new version of an already amazing game is that I can’t wait to relive (yet again) this amazing story that left a crazy impact on me from another character’s point of view. In other words I’m most excited about playing as a female MC and all the many changes I’ve heard about that come with it. This game must freaking amazing just like the original.
What I am most excited about in P3P?
Aegis.
Sliced bread has nothing on gun fingers and a red bow tie. All in portable form.
I absolutely cannot wait for P3 Portable. Persona 3 FES was the game that got me into Shin Megami Tensei; I’d played Atlus games before, but the Persona series satisfies everything I want from a video game; unforgiving difficulty, a beautiful soundtrack, gorgeous visuals, an absolutely astounding story, and the ability to creep all of my friends out (Just look at Mara! Or don’t.) Shoji Meguro is seriously one of my favorite composers, with “Aria of the Soul” being one of my favorite songs to relax to. Shin Megami Tensei, and Persona 3 and Persona 4 in particular have taught me that video game music can be more than window dressing: it can be true art.
I can’t wait for all the new characters, once i buy this game i will have all the shin megami games except for persona 4 (will buy it soon)
I need to play as the female character. Also, Persona 3 on portable is a must. Can’t wait. =D
I am anticipating EVERYTHING about this game from its being handheld to the new female protagonist to of course, new Shoji Meguro music! And, well, I would love to have that soundtrack signed by the composing god of SMT games, Shoji Meguro himself. *drools* I love all of his stuff!!! ><
OF course, its always nice to have a free consolation gift if i don'd get the soundtrack though ):
(can't wait till the game comes out, gonna play it while resting from wisdom teeth operation haha perfect timing Atlus <3)
I am looking forward to locking myself in the closet avoiding social links of the real world.
I’m very much looking forward to having this game on PSP. I bought both versions on PS2, but was never able to finish them due to the sheer amount of content and length of the game, coupled with my inability to sit and play one game for an extended amount of time. Portables I can do, though, especially when the games come with kick-ass hats.
Persona 4 on PSP would officially win Atlus my soul. *crosses fingers*
I love my PSP and Atlus. Its got to be good. Plus, based on what I’ve read about the PS2 versions, this is a pretty unique and great gaming experience.
It would be nice if every version came with the soundtrack like with the first Persona game.
I’m in Japan for the next 4 months with only my PSP for entertainment, so I am psyched for this game.
As I own the entire series that’s been released in English, I want to support the continuing trend of awesome RPGs on the go. Pre-ordered the game day one, waiting on the awesome Junpei hat to arrive in the mail. The new MC is going to make it well worth another playthrough, but so does having full party control P4 style, so I guess I’d say I’m most excited to spend another forty hours in fusion building the perfect epic team as the story reaches its grand conclusion
This was a sweet game on the PS2 with that awesome artwork and can’t wait to play it on the go with my PSP!
I’m excited that the improvement from persona 4 have been brought over to persona 3 portable making a great game even better.
Well, owning Persona 3 and FES, I’m afraid I’ll have to pass up on this one. I’m just not going to play the same game with minor tweaks for the third time. But, I absolutely LOVE Shoji Meguro’s work. Owning most of the SMT games since PS2, I own all of them except Raido ones (They’re rare). Strange Journey is also my personal favorite DS game of the year. Shoji Meguro’s work for DDS and SJ (Shame they were loops) was astounding really.
I’d love to get it.
I like the idea that I can take the game with me wherever I go, since I’m lucky enough to have a psp to play it on. I played through P3:FES up until the “shocking plot twist” and then slowly fell out when I switched my focus to keeping on track at school (college > persona, sadly).
Worse yet I still haven’t finished it, as when I once again found myself with free time I just started P4 instead. So, a portable version gives me a) a reason to start over and b) the ability to play somewhere other than in front of the tv, which means more playtime in general! Couldnt be more excited to finally finish the game!
I am most looking forward to… the PRE ORDER HAT! I will admit to already owning both ps2 versions of the game, including the art book and such. P3 is an incredible game, and reignited my Atlus fandom fury; I have since hunted down a complete copy of every ps2 game they released. The whole SMT series is a joy to play and often a fresh breath from your standard rpg fare.
I am a huge sucker, however, for all the Atlus spoils! This Junpei hat is an amazing pre order bonus and a great gift to all of us pre existing fans. Now if only I can get a autographed soundtrack to match with it…
Even through I own the PS2 version of the game, am looking forward to this game and to the dynamic battle system and being able to take the game and play when ever I want to. Really having the soundtrack and being able to play them also will be fantastic. I do hope I get selected.
There are many aspects of why I am so excited about P3P which I have preordered ages ago such as playing as a female which alters the game enough to warrant another playthrough (according to 1up.com). Also the fact the you can control all the party members (persona4)and the it’s PORTABLE!!!!!! But the main reason I am so excited is because this is the only game since Dark Cloud 2 that I have spent more than 100 hours on and would gladly do to again but in small sittings because of it’s new portability.
Obviously what im going to look forward to is the awesome music and gameplay on the go and not to mention the special place that features margaret in the abyss-esque like place for a challenge for those who already know the story and want a challenge for boss attack
I already finished this game like, six times through. I’m really looking forward to blasting through this game another few more times through, on the go, AND as a female.
I like the fact that you can play as a female.
I have the second ver of the game and can’t wait to get this on my Handheld!
Less than a week to go, cant wait for this one…and a new hat to boot.
I love the Persona series, Persona 4 was one of my favorite games of all times, unfortunately I never got to play Persona 3. That is why i’m super psyched to be able to play it on my PSP Go. One of the best RPG series of all time now portable, it is incredible beyond words!!! I still listen to the Persona 4 soundtrack to this day, if P3P’s soundtrack is as good(which i suspect is, from the sample) I will be in audio heaven. Pop in the headphones and crank up the volume. :)
Persona 3 was my favorite game for the PS2. The deeper, darker elements of the story are uncommon in games and make the game more enjoyable while the social and school system gives you a better attachment to the characters and a multi-element play that can keep most players involved in the game despite its 50+ hr playtime and still be left wanting more. I could go on and on, but I’ll leave it at I’ve played both releases on the PS2 and still bought the PSP version. From what I’ve read the thing I’m most looking forward to are the story variations, party control (with AI option) and spell cards. The spell cards will be most appreciated having to start over again, and since its portable I can enjoy the game whenever I’d like.
Man, I have purchased every version of this game, It is so very amazing. They make awesome improvements every time. I have been a huge fan of the whole series from Persona 1 all the way to this. I hope they keep giving my PlayStation consoles more sweet shin love!
I’m looking foward to the female character’s social links (especially the out of cannon Yukiko’s older sister link since you get to see Yukiko :P)
Given that I’ve already played the game twice on PS2, I’m most looking forward to replaying it as the new female main character. The Persona series has always focused on characters more than any other SMT game, and I think it’ll be an almost completely different experience.
I’m also looking forward to playing on the go, the new streamlined interface, and, of course, the awesome music.
I was always interested in the MegaTen series for awhile, so I finally tried it out with vanilla Persona 3, and now I have all the PS2 and recently released MegaTen games. Persona 3 introduced me into it, so of course I was going to buy it again for the 3rd time. xD
Of course the main draw is the female storyline. As I’m a girl myself it’s pretty nice to finally get the option to choice which gender bits I get instead only have the male option. The game was awesome enough on boy’s side, but I cannot resist the temptation of social links with Akihiko and Shinji, and well, all the new ones they added.
And well, I’m looking forward to the fact that it is more Persona. That is really all I need. The female path will just give it a new twist.
I am looking forward to being able to play not only the old gameplay on the PSP, but as well as a newer story – a female version. It’s able to appeal to both sides of me, and I’m quite happy to have the opportunity to play it! In general, I’m just excited for the whole game. The music, the gameplay, the ability to have it on the go. It’s what I’ve been waiting for!
I’ll be going to college this fall and was so excited when I heard this would be released before then. I spent so many hours on this game at home, but I won’t have that luxury as a full time student. But, now that it’s on PSP, I can play in between classes (and maybe in class… XD). I can enjoy the awesome music and battle system and spend another hour and a half fighting Nyx XD. Win release is win.