So, I'm currently playing what will henceforth be known as PQ2. Why make my first foray into the vast and ever-expanding Persona universe with a spinoff series, you may ask — and the second instalment to said spinoff series to boot? Well, the answer is twofold. First, I just purchased this game, and I wanted to indulge in the all-too-rare pleasure of playing a game right upon acquiring it. Secondly, I dislike crossovers as a rule; and thus I wanted to play that game without any knowledge of the Persona lore and pretend that I was dealing with a particularly inventive Etrian Odyssey spinoff.
I'll admit it: things didn't go well at first between me and PQ2. I had the fondest memories of Etrian Odyssey's first labyrinth and its soothing vibe — the lush greenery, the ethereal music, the crisp sound of my feet in the grass; so suffice it to say that I was not exactly enthralled by the ugly urban landscape and the faux-jazzy theme track of its PQ2 counterpart. And my gripes with the game didn't stop here: I was also seriously aggravated by the lack of exploring leeway and the overabundance of cutscenes, which contrasted nastily with EO's exhilarating freedom and lack of interference in the player's business. And don't get me started on combat, which managed to be both boring and irritating due to an uncanny combination of overall slowness, hysterical theme track and obnoxious interjections from the crew. Also, why were there so many darn doors to open along the way, and why did opening them always go hand-in-hand with an unskippable animation? In a nutshell: I didn't like what I saw, and I was just an inch from shoving that darn cartridge back into its box after an hour of play.
Then I remembered that I was dealing with a spinoff indeed, rather than with a canon EO game; differences were thus unavoidable, and I had to welcome them if I ever wanted to enjoy PQ2. I had to embrace such changes as the cast getting mammoth amount of screen time: while EO gave you blank slates with no backstory, Persona seems to be all about memorable personalities and chara development. I had to come to terms with the absence of the deliciously intimidating vibe that engulfed me whole when I played EO, and embrace the wackier and sparklier vibe of PQ2. I had to suck up the relative lack of freedom, the absence of solo options, and the presence of a story that was more than a mere pretext to roam dungeons. I just had to discover PQ2 and learn to love it for what it was, period.
A couple of hours and adjustments later, I can say I reasonably succeeded. Since this is no true blue EO, I had no qualms about selecting the lowest difficulty level — if I have to endure a million cutscenes, better make the ride smooth and relaxing! I then proceeded to study my crew and get to know them inside out — if I have to roll with established characters, better make the most of them indeed! I've also gotten used to the flow of battle, and I'm starting to seriously dig the lively, zany, colourful vibe of the whole game — especially stuff like the All-Out attacks in battle and the characters' flourishes when opening doors, which triggers sweet memories of superhero animes and detective cartoons from my childhood. Last but not least, I play it my way by indulging in as much level-grinding and farming as I want — which probably explains why I still haven't gotten past the 2nd floor after 4 hours of play.
And since I'm mentioning this: let's get back to the grind! It's safe to assume I'm on a roll now as far as all things PQ2 are concerned; expect thus more ramblings about that game very soon, dear fellow gamers!
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