So it seems the game flopped. It bombed. It did really really abysmally. However, i'm going to say, this game is not bad. It's just a matter of a salty fanbase, myself included. It had the potential to be one of the greatest JRPGS of all time, and it turned into something almost entirely forgettable. They put a lot of work into it, and i'm going to do my best to support it. But maybe atlus learned something today.
I think the problem with the game is that it's trying to become it's own "thing" but has the title of two great franchises who are known for having dark storylines. The battle system is very nice to be quite honest. Lots of depth. Everything else in the eyes of a diehard Megaten and FE fan is not very appealing. If they made it so the storyline was more dark and about the issues with the entertainment industry as a whole, maybe it would be better. But once again, it would only fit if it was its own game series.
I mean, fire emblem isn't terribly light now days, and it's mega ten, not shin megami tensei.. which includes persona 4, devil children and the last bible series. So it's not entirely off the mark. I watched a lot of the gameplay (a LOT) and it does get awfully creepy/dark at times. It reminds me a lot of persona 4 how the characters are happy and enjoying themselves then every once in awhile things get really strange for a moment. I think the only real problem is the fact they chose the idol theme. If this game changed JUST that main concept to something even bland and generic (stuck in the tv world..) it would have done a lot better. But that said there are still a few other problems. For example, in shin megami tensei, we have hundreds of demons to play around with. In persona, it's personas but the same thing. In this we get one mirage each. It's like if the main character simply couldn't fuse or change his persona. I could rant about this all day but i've actually got to leave.. i might edit this post a bit later.
The multiple personas/demons isn't that much of an issue. Digital Devil Saga had 1 demon for each party member and that was still very fun. I suppose they had an interesting idea, but didn't include enough to make it have a decent enough storyline. Can't say enough though since I can't really read Japanese, I guess I have to wait until the western release to say more.
I think honestly more people just don't know it has a good story rather than it not having one.. the side portions are in my opinion as good as any persona dialogues 'studying' or 'hanging out with friends' but it's something were not entirely used to and not as willing to give a shot. The actual creepy portions get really good in my opinion. When you read the negative comments about the game it's almost always just talking about idols or it being light.. I feel like the persona 4 fans should be playing this and realizing they like it, but instead they jump on the band wagon. I mean persona 4 is very popular. But I suppose a lot of them just play it because it's an improved persona 3, which actually fits the megaten vibes. It's hard to say, but I think it'll catch on a bit more in Japan.
