Comic Con 2009

 <-During this convention, I learned to summon a new Persona, Bumblebee. He's level 76 and of the Chariot Arcana

It occurs to me that I have not told all of you about my epic and perilous journey to comicon yet, despite being home for about a week Overall, it was incredibly awesome, on the level of Anime Expo. However, Comiccon was good because the actual convention was better, not because of my skill at convention hopping. Which is good, because Anime expo really relied on me knowing what to do. This was my first comicon, and I had a wonderful time despite not having a bloody clue what to do

Oh yes, pictures can be found on my myspace

Rather than act like the know all authority on comiccon, I'm going to just go over the events I attended each day.

DAY 0: After a long moderately difficult ride to San Diego, the team arrived at the convention center. Parking was difficult, but God smiled upon the convention, and decided that the wait in line to get in would be a mere 10 minutes. I wad even allowed to attend preview night, although I did not have the proper ticket. Indeed, it was a glorious occasion where I was able to see a shopping center capable of eating Anime Expo alive. This exhibition hall was freaking HUGE! I was afraid my head would explode from all of the hugeness. Walking from one side to the other took like 10 minutes, and the entire place was filled with comic book stands, freebies, booth babes, a guy dressed as a giant pikachu, and everything a dork could want. Also, we got some preview night exclusive freebies. It was pretty cool.

DAY 1: Oh yeah, after day zero, we realized there was more to this convention than a bunch of exhibits. On this day, I donned the Yasogami high colors (see above cosplay), and traveled around as the Persona 4 main character once more. I was genuinely shocked that, aside from the shin Megami Tensei gathering at Anime Expo, more people asked me for pictures. We started by dropping off my friend in the line to get into purgatory.... wait.... oh, no it was the line to get in the Twilight panel, sorry. That was the scariest line I had encountered in my life. It extended around the convention center, all the way to a couple blocks away (see picture, but we couldn't fit the whole thing in one shot). Me and my friend the photographer went up to the person in front of the line and asked when they started waiting, and she said.... TWO DAYS AGO! Well, apparently Robert Pattinson and the cast to Twilight were there, so I guess it makes sense... I guess I'll compare it to waiting for Star Wars to understand it. On another note, my friend DID bring up a strong point about guys taking their girlfriends to that panel..... “Why would you take your girlfriend to go a see a guy she would dump you for in a heartbeat?”

After that I traveled around the exhibition hall some more, and took picture, had pictures taken of me, gazed in awe at the 25-foot tall statue of Bumblebee from Transformers. I took pictures of the very awesome figurines on display.... all of them were out of my price range. They don't sale action figures for little kids at this convention, they crate them specifically for comic book-guys. I ended the day by seeing the premiere of the movie “Green Lantern: First Flight” This movie was AWESOME... but sadly I was a teensy bit late, so I only saw the end part of … wait for it.... The creator of the movie forcing the crowd to state the Green Lantern slogan! It sounded like a church chorus!. Oh, yeah then my friends placed like 5th in a Magic: the gathering Tournament. I guess all that money they blew on children's card games payed off in the end.

DAY 2: Ah yes, the day where I really comicon'd. On this day, I waited in the line to purgatory starting at around 9:00 AM, in order to get into Hall H (the big event hall) at around 12:30. Fun. Once we got in, I saw the disney panel..... Their doing some cool flashy stuff, and they announced Toy Story 3 was coming. On another note, Miyazaki himself was at the con (My friends at Expo were SO pissed that he went to Comicon instead of anime expo) After that, we saw some interview about “Legion” (Angels with machineguns, looked kinda meh) “9” (Post apocalyptic world run by vodoo doll people running from robots..... is looking AWESOME) and “District 9 “(Documentary about aliens living on earth and people defending their rights, getting violent... I'm SO seeing that opening weekend) After that came the Star Wars panel. Their apparently making a MMO set in the Knights of the Old Republic universe.... I'm on the fence here, I love the old republic more than the Original Trilogy, but I don't like MMOs. Also, they are releasing a expansion to Force unleashed, that expands on the darkside ending, where the apprentice goes and slaughters the rebellion. Sweet.

After I sat around and watched people announce things on day 2 (we camped in Hall H, and saw the big events) I decided to head on to the Klingon lifestyles panel, and watch some guys dressed as Klingons do a skit. It was hilarious, and the commanding officer changed 4 times throughout the skit. After spending an hour being a big trekkie, I decided to go be a Star Wars Nerd and see the Star Wars fan film awards. Never before have so many people dressed as Boba Fett been in the same room. That was pretty interesting, as I saw some neat videos, and saw a preview to the sequel to the Star Wars gangsta rap. My favorite fan made video was probably “Star Wars in a notebook,” but the votes said “Saber” was the best.

DAY 3: The last day that I spent at the con was pretty schweet. Not as good as the second, but schweet nonetheless. I actually did some buying in ye exhibition hall, took picture of more cosplayers, and then... well, my systems were overloaded and I hung around with the team for a bit. When I regained my stamina, I journeyed to the Venture Brothers panel (Where they mainly talked about cartoon penis) After Dinner, I ended comicon by going to Flynn's arcade. Yes, the Arcade from Tron. They recreated an arcade from the 80's just to promote the new Tron movie. Inside this arcade, there where arcade machines playing video games from Tron. Inside, they had an actual lightcyle from Tron. This was nerdy to the extreme, and was just about one of the best promotion I've ever seen. One of our teamates looked like he jizzed in his pants. Thankfully, we concluded comicon quite well

COMPARISON TO ANIME EXPO: Well, why not, I'll compare Comicon to Anime Expo. Comicon was bigger, that much was for certain. Comicon had better daytime programming, a better Exhibition hall, and better promotions. Comicon had better cosplayers, although Expo had more of them. Expo had some great cosplayers, but come on, Comcion had a Klingon that was assimilated by the borg. Expo did have it's strong points over comicon though. There was way better nightlife at expo, better panels, and it had a rave. Also.... uh.... the movies and anime shown at Expo was better. Well, if I prefered American Comics to japanese ones, I'd like Comicon more.... but Comicion was selling just as much anime stuff as the anime convention. I had slightly more fun at Expo, but not by a large margin.... but if Expo keeps going at it's current rate, I may end up likeing comicon more.

Related Posts:
Anime Expo 2009
Convention trances. Drawing on the essence of anime conventions

Anime Expo 2009

 <-That's me in costume on the left, and some Chie cosplayer I met on artist alley on the right.

As an anime blogger, it is my duty to attend anime expo ant tell you all how it went. I can tell you that this year was fun, but not as fun as the previous year. I find that if it were not for my keen convention senses, I would not have nearly as much fun as I did, but, my experience from the past five anime expos that I attended (Yeah I’ve attended six anime conventions now. Take that anime club president!)

Just because this year was fun does not mean that it was the best of anime expo. This year was not as good as last year (which was not as good as the year before it, although 2007 managed to be better than 2006) for several reasons. I find that although the Los Angeles convention center is nice, the con isn’t filling it with as much good stuff. The Long beach convention center was too small to contain it, but they managed to put in much more effort, creating a better con. I also found that holding major events in the Nokia theater had a much better feel than in some hall in the convention center (alas, I understand that Nokia theater is expensive) Furthermore, the weapon policies and safety procedures of the Los Angeles convention center simply blow. A decent summary of the weapon policy is “If your weapon looks like fun, you can’t bring it in.” The weapon policy makes it so that if your weapon looks like something your character would use, you can’t weild it. I wanted to bring a golf club for my costume, but that doesn’t even comply with their ridiculous policies. Not to mention, there’s a lot of restrictions on throwing items into crowds. Two years ago, ADV had an awesome booth with a tower that they threw free stuff into the crowd from. At LA? I didn’t even see an ADV booth this year. Overall, they didn’t put as much effort into this year’s con.

Lets see, programming. This year’s AMV contest was not nearly as good as last years. My favorite AMV was “Code Roll,” followed by an AMV to “Through the Fire and Flames” by Dragonforce. Nothing that could compare to “The Harrassement of Kyon” from last year. The previous year was a bit more explosive, and I got a much better overall vibe. This year had some sparks, but nothing that could top last year.

Ah, I also attended the Masquerade this year (unlike last year) Some skits would be funnier had I seen the anime they came from. Alas, I had not seen them. I thought the over-elaborite costumes on display were nice, such as a guy dressed as Safer-Sephiroth. Some parts were less than interesting.

Let’s See, Anime I watched while there…. I watched a few episodes of Ouran host club, which was HILARIOUS. I watched the first few episodes of Lucky Star, which did not live up to its creator’s other work (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya) The best anime I saw was definitely Gurran Laggan: The movie. My Friend Iron Peanut was right about that movie. That movie was so manly that watching it almost made me grow a full beard. It was an anime that managed to be about as manly as 300. Yeah, that movie was very manly, and it warrants its own review. I’ll do that later though.

Let’s talk about the people at the con. Well, I managed to make it to quite a few cosplay gatherings. Shin Megami Tensei gathering had a lot of cool people, except it was disappointing due to the fact that nobody dressed up as the main villain from Persona 4. I got to participate in the gathering at least, which was fun. Other gatherings I attended include: The Kingdom Hearts gathering, which was rather funny, and the Legend of Zelda gathering, which had some amazing costumes. The Yu gi Oh gathering was interesting because of the dedication of the fans, while finally, the Rurouni Kenshin gathering was interesting because a lot of my friends were in it (I may go to next years Rurouni Kenshin gathering dressed as Shishio.) On another note, my Hotel Group managed to be about on par with last years. I was roomed with an Axel cosplayer and a Demyx (Kingdom Hearts II), along with one of the best Uhara (Bleach) cosplayers in the con. Everyone was pretty nice.

Oh yes, and the underground fun that lies in the con…. The parties! Yes, when you get 50k people together, there happen to be some party animals in there. I found the parties to be satisfactory, despite the fact that they were in the Westin hotel instead of the convention center. Now then, having the parties in the same hotel that I am staying at isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it did limit a few of my friends abilities to go to it. Blech. First type of party was… THE RAVE! I was only able to get into the rave on night 2, because on night 3 the line was too bloody long. Also, I was only able to stay for an hour, because I had to see the AMV contest. What raving I did do was awesome, however, despite the fact that I couldn’t get into the hotel room to drop off my bag. Stupid hotel room rules) Now then, on night three, the line extended about half the length of the lobby, making attending the rave nearly impossible. (it got shut down before I would have gotten in anyway) So on the third (and final) night, I managed to find a party in my hotel lobby. Better yet, I got to dance with a girl wearing an outfit with like, a bajillion buttons on it, which was pretty fun. She wasn’t a very good dancer, but really, it’s the effort that counts. In summary, the parties were pretty great this year, assuming you were cool enough to get in. Which I obviously am.

Although it had its downsides, AX managed to be rally fun. Still the highlight of the year (well, actually, I’m going to Comicon this year, so it has an opponent) Any Otaku should attempt to make it, at least just to see how insane it is. However, hopefully next year the people running the event manage to get their act together, because quality has been sinking.

Next Year: Anime Expo 2010->

Related Posts:
Comic Con 09
Convention Trances: Drawing on the Essense of an anime convention
Getting the most out of an anime convention

Anime in Focus: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya Season 2 Episode 1

And thus, the second coming of Haruhi came, and all was good

Ah, the world’s fastest growing religion is back in full force. Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about the Church of Haruhi Suzimiya. Yes, this church has been gaining support in many corners of the internet from casual anime fans, to the hardcore people who will traumatize you life. As a high priest of this religion, it is absolutely mandatory that I view the first episode of the second season and report how it’s looking.

Fear not, for this season does not appear to be suffering decay from the first season. Kyon is still his old sarcastic self, Haruhi is still the worlds leading rebel, and Mikuru excudes so much moe that youre head will explode. Alas, we have seen little of Ikutski or Yuki, so a report on their status is unavailable for now. However, KyonxMikuru shippers will be pleased to know that this season starts with a healthy dose of the favorite couple. HaruhixKyon shippers get a little too, but as always, it is not as pronounced. It matters not, however, because Kyon is cuter with Mikuru anyway.

This season starts with a time travel episode, that shows a bit of Haruhi at a younger age, and Kyon causing confusing time paradoxes. Alas, if one wanted coherence, they should go watch another show. For, as all who have seen the first season of this show will realize, this show is nothing, if coherent.

Should you watch this show? Yeah, right now (link) It’s realatively new, so nobody should get into trouble, as it hasn’t even been officially translated yet. But really, enough of my opinion, go watch it before they take it off Youtube. Do I like it? Look at my avatar!

Next Episode-> 

Related Posts:
The Dissapearance of Haruhi Suzumiya review
The Dissapearance of Haruhi Suzumiya preview and info
My resignation from the church of Haruhi

Being prepared for swine flu

Left: Jeremy, 20 has reached the second stage of the disease

Swine Flu is an epidemic sweeping around the world, causing mass chaos. What should you know? What should you be doing about it? Here at BryAnime, we like to have a great time and joke around, but I like for people to take something back from this blog. Hence, we will be telling you everything you need to know about this epidemic that is spreading throughout the nation.

HOW DO I KNOW THAT I’VE BEEN INFECTED

There are a great deal of symptoms to swine flu, some that can be detected early, some are not apparent. Early symptoms include increased hunger, lethargic ness, and increased aggression. Over the course of the disease, the victim may become more susceptible to scars, and less receptive too pain. At this point, it EXTREMELY important to seek medical help. After this point, victims awareness to their surroundings decreases, and eventually they will stop responding. At this point, all that a hospital will be able to do is put them down peacefully. After this stage, they will enter the final stage of swine flu, in which the victims hunger increases to the point where cannibalism becomes a viable option. Victims will then lurch towards a target, and attempt to consume anything that looks remotely edible. Call professional help immediately, or remove the victims head. Do not worry, for the victim is no longer aware of their pain at this point.

PREVENTING SWINE FLU:

Get lots of vitamin C. Also, avoid contact with places you believe to be carriers of the disease. Wash your hands frequently, and if you suspect that you or somebody that you know has the disease, MAKE SURE THAT PERSON GETS TO A HOSPITAL!

Although airborne pathogens exist, they are not nearly as potent as the bloodborne pathogens. If the pathogens come into contact with your blood, you WILL become infected. WARNING: People who have reached the final stage of swine flu will try to bit you. If you are bitten, receive medical help immediately. Being bitten by a swine flu victim will cause you to become infected. SEEK MEDICAL HALP IMMEDIATELY!

HOW TO BE PREPARED FOR A MAJOR OUTBREAK
Right: Robert, Age 45 Reached the final stage of the disease. He died demanding brains



In a worst case scenario, you may not be able to access food or water for a long time. Have fresh water and non-perishables ready in case of an emergency. More importantly, have a secure location and a shotgun ready if the disease spreads too rampantly. IF the disease spreads too far, it is advisable for people who do NOT have the disease to find a secure location and barricade themselves away from those who have reached the final stage of the disease. Malls are a popular place for people to barricade themselves, although grocery stores are a much smarter choice, due to a readily available food supply. People who have reached the final stage of swine flu will attempt to break into a barricaded location, in an attempt to eat those who do not have the disease. DO NOT hesitate to shoot these people, for, as earlier stated, they cannot feel pain.

Just follow these helpful tips, and YOU will be safe in case of a swine flu outbreak.

WORKD CITED:

"YouTube - Bush Vs. Zombies." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 01 May 2009 .

"YouTube - Re: Your Brains." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 01 May 2009 .

Planet Hulk

Ah yes, I’m sort of kind of making a comeback to the blogging field. Isn’t that nice of me? Anyhoo, next up in the "Thing’s I’ve read but haven’t gotten around to reviewing" category is “Planet Hulk” a story about Hulk kicking some ass.

What? You say Hulk always kicks ass? How very true indeed. But in this book, Hulk’s asswhooping ability turns out to be an advantage, rather than a curse. In this story, Hulk has been banished to the deep regions of space, hopefully never to be seen again. This leads Hulk into a more exiting adventure this time, unlike those suckers stuck in Civil War. Instead, Hulk has crash landed on a planet in an earlier stage of development. A planet where people still hold Gladiatorial matches, and keep slaves. Hulk is captured on this planet, and is forced to smash his way to freedom. Along the way, he teams up the freaks he is supposed to be fighting in gladiatorial combat, and starts a rebellion. Yes, because Hulk is THAT awesome.

Is this book good? Hell yeah, this is now my favorite book by Marvel. It’s a book where Bruce Banner is a hindrance to society, and Hulk gets to be helpful. Hulk is struggling with Banner. Hulk gets to smash freaks, zombies, and overthrow an evil Empire. Hell, it would even serve as an excellent conclusion to all of the Hulk stories (*sigh* too bad that would end sales, now wouldn’t it) It’s exiting, action packed, and hotblooded. And you can tell that the creators put a lot of effort into this project. They even included an miniature history for the planet Hulk invades, and how the empires run, where they get their technology. It’s got all of the details that make a good comic. It show’s Hulk’s anger, his struggles, and how much society shuns him, and the fact that he has the capacity for good at the same time. Hell, I may even go check out the sequel “World War Hulk.” If you only have to read one thing by Marvel this year, read this, and you won’t regret it. Now then, next thing on my backlog of things that I need to review.

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Wolverine: Prodigal Son

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Artist Profile: Andrew Dickman

Nightwing Year One

Hay guys, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here. Anime club’s showing an anime starting from the end, so I’ve vouched not to have the ending blown

Although people say that Superman is a dick, I must say that he isn’t the only dick in Superhero comics. Batman can be a real dick sometimes too. This book starts with Batman being a dick to Dick Grayson, the original Robin, causing him to quit. This causes Dick to attempt to branch out as his own Superhero, living without the bat. A great idea for a story, because it shows that superheroes CAN grow and change, despite what retcons do tell us.

Is this book good? Yes, it’s very good, especially for an origin story. Should you read it? Sure, go ahead, if you wanna see Robin move out from Batman’s place. I’d say this is a pretty good superhero story, if not for the sole fact that it changes something in the DC continuity, and for the better at that. So check your local library, order online, or wherever you go to pick up comics.

More reviews to come, since I happen to have time right now.

Pixel Lust

Ever since I’ve been blogging, I’ve always felt the need to do a valentine’s special.

Usually I moan and bitch about how stupid this holiday is, But this year, I’m feeling extra optimistic. This year, I’m feeling pretty optimistic. I’m going to focus on the positive aspects of romance, and discuss my opinions on several subjects.

Oh wait, this is me. That means I’m going to discuss my favorite fetishes, and discuss which video game/anime chicks I find HAWT. YAY ^_^

Fetishes

Robot Headgear- Oooh, yes, something that almost always gets me exited. I can’t explain why, but I find big, antennae-like pieces of metal to strangely arousing. I particularly like the ones that look sort of like Elven ears, such as Kos-Mos ver.4. Another good one is Chacamaru(sp) from Negima. They really bring attention to a girl’s face, which is one of the main reasons I find robot chicks hot.

NEXT- You know what I find really hot? A girl with a large, round pair of….. glasses. Yeah, the bigger the better. I like the big ones, Like what Naru from Love Hina wears. Their freakin’ awesome, for some of the same reasons as the robot headgear. Perhaps I’ve grown to like them because they’re associated with bookworm types, which I find cute. Or perhaps it’s because whenever somebody has a makeover, glasses are the first thing to go. Which is stupid. Glasses are very cute, and quite often greatly amplify a cute face, bringing somebody from pretty cute to OMGFREAKINKAWAIII!

Gothic Lolita- Y’know, I’m kinda funny. Most guys seem to get exited the less clothes a girl wears, but I get more exited the more useless accessories and more elaborate an outfit is. Bikini? Woop de doo, I can get that in a sports magazine. Maid outfit with dozens of ribbons and buckles, stockings, lacy gloves, and other useless accessories…? *drools* Well, I guess you can say it’s the thought that counts…. Those outfits take FOREVER to put on. It’s probably a bigger pain in the ass than putting on that cross academy uniform in my closet.

People

Haruhi Suzimiya- Our lord and savior, her will be …. Wait, what am I doing? Gah, Haruhism, you stupid fake religion! Anywhooo…. Haruhi is awesome because she’ll rape you if you disagree. She does what everybody else wishes they were brave enough to do, and if you got a problem with it, TOO BAD! The world will know how to live an awesome life, or suffer the consequences. It’s hard to tell if she’s the protagonist or the antagonist sometimes, but that’s part of the fun with that show

Lenneth Valkyrie-(Valkyrie Profile) IT SHALL BE ENGRAVED UPON YOUR SOUL!
Odin’s warrior of justice, sent to slay the undead and evil people among the world., and to gather powerful warriors to fight when Ragnarock comes. Yeah, it’s an RPG where the main character is both female and a warrior (Paladin or archer actually, but whatever) and I like it. Seriously, the main girl in a JRPG is usually a healer, and it gets stale. Now then, a goddess of death gathering the souls of the world’s best warriors? FREAKIN’ AWESOME!

KOS MOS- (Xenosaga) Ah yes, how did I discover my fetish for robot headgear? Why, we can thank Kosy-Wosy for that. She’s wonderful, because of her robotic attitude, which often manages to triumph over any foe. Spock would be very pleased with her. Whether it’s her attitude, her long blue hair, or her ability to solve all problems by shooting things, she makes a wonderful impression on anybody playing Xenosaga.

Chie Satonaka- (Persona 4, Girl in the green jacket in that picture up there) Y’know, actually, this girl’s been driving me crazy. She has like… none of the things I normally find attractive. No glasses, no giant headgear, her hair’s pretty short ( I normally like it long) hell, her most defining feature is a green jacket she always seems to wear. So why do I like her so damn much? Because… her personality’s pretty cute. There, I said it. She’s cute because Persona 4 is a 60+ hour long game where you really get to know the characters. Chie just happened to grow on me. And really, out of all these people mentioned, she’s the one I wanna date the most. All of those weird things she does. The obsession with meat (meat flavored gum….wtf?) Her complex with people. Her jealousy over her best friend. Oh yeah, and she quotes Bruce Lee a lot, so you can tell she’s a keeper. She’s by no means perfect, but she does her best to defend those she cares about. She livens up the party, and often has great ideas (Okay, she usually just suggests that we kick their asses) Have you ever heard an RPG character suggest that we go powerlevel for the sole purpose of beating the shit out of somebody? Her personality’s perfectly believable which is a plus. Her weirdness, her bravery… shes just so… just…. CHIE CHAN! *fanboy squeal*

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 review

Yeah, yeah, I know, where the hell have I been for the last three weeks? Well, I had final exams and they were fairly stressful. After that….. Well, I went to the mall and bought a copy of Persona 4. And played it nonstop It was pretty freaking awesome. Imagine if they took everythincg great about Persona 3, made it better, gave it better plot and characters, and released it. That’s pretty muh what Persona 4 is. And it’s pretty sweet.

This game (like 3) is one of the strangest gaming experiences I’ve ever had. It’s a bizarre fusion of a dating sim and an RPG. Although this appears to be a major genre clash, this game manages to mesh them in a method that enhances both genres. The dating sim helps you care about the people you’re fighting evil with…. And the fighting evil makes you actually care about these people. I guess you could say it’s like a superhero movie. Spider man is more relatable due to Peter Parker, and you actually care about Parker because he has Super powers. The two become inseparable, and the end result is quite entertaining. This time around, the party functions much better, feels closer together, and feels more alive than in Persona 3.

Oh yeah, the main plot. People are winding up dead. At the same time a urban legend is believed to show people their soul mate. The main character investigates this, and finds out that the two are connected. This leads to you entering an alternate dimension inside the TV… where you gain the ability to summon an alter ego known as a “Persona.” The plot manages to be more personal than most RPGs, and revolves more around the characters than the universe around them. It’s not about a freaking apocalypse (at least not until the end) which is pretty cool, cuz I’m getting sick of the apocalypse. Better yet, the plot has multiple layers, and just when you think you have it figured out, it throws another curveball at you. Probably one of the better plots I’ve seen in a game.

I like this games method of awakening a Persona user much better than the one in Persona 3. Hypothetically, anybody in this game could summon a Persona, while in 3, you had to shoot yourself in the head. (Thanks to that game, I’m entirely unphased when somebody sticks a gun to their head) Instead of just a few chosen to use Personas, anybody can use them, assuming they are strong enough to survive a certain encounter in the TV realm.

Gameplay: Well, it works. You live your life as a normal high school students, make friends, hit on girls (Chie-chan ^_^) and fight crime. You have two separate sets of stats, your combat stats and your social stats. Social stats are important because they dictate whether your character is a loser who has no friends, or the guy who knows everything and hot women fall in love with on sight. Also, it dictates whether or not your character has the spine to do stuff (Like, I dunno, tell somebody off, crack jokes, e.t.c.)… so you should probably pay attention to them. Also, they help you make friends…. And the power of friendship is quite prevalent in this game. If you have a close relationship with your friends, they will do cooler stuff in combat, like to tag team attacks, or heal status conditions. It really makes the party feel like a group of people rather than some numbers. Simply put, S-links have a much larger effect in this game than they did in Persona 3. Combat stats do the same thing they do in every other RPG, unsurprisingly.

Bosses are interesting in this game. They employ vastly different strategies, and keep you guessing. If you don’t know what you’re doing, this game will eat you alive. It’s got lots of side bosses, and the dungeons manage to be about as hard as the one in Persona 3. The design of the dungeons is quite interesting, at least concept wise. What other game will make you fight your way through a steamy bathhouse to rescue a person trapped inside a sick fantasy?

Anyhow, this game manages to take a brilliant idea (Persona 3) make it BETTER, and releases it.

Related Articles:
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne

You can purchase the game on Amazon here: