The best thing IMO is the detective game mechanic

I couldn't say enough good things about this game

Hero transfers to town/ school for a year where strange things happen, Hero gets involved in the strange things, and Hero and friends save the world

First day of school has your home room teaching cursing you out in front of the class (it was hilarious tho), and some of the characters even near the beginning of the game said some surprisingly racy/perverted things.

My favorite thing about the game is the soundtrack!

The amazing thing is that this game does not drag on or become a level grind.

I'd heard good things about the Shin Megami Tensei series as well as these additional Persona

As a sequel, it's game-play is almost just like it's predecessors, which is a good thing for those who don't like major changes when it comes to sequels

When you converse or hang out with your friends, saying the right things or making the right choices will make them like your more, thus getting enough points for that, you can level-up these social links which will make your Personas stronger

This if far from a bad thing, of course

Concerning the characters and their individual development I have a lot of positive things to say, but also a few negative things to say

Every time something disappointed me, five more things would crop up that took my breath away

Good thing too, cause there sure is a lot of it.

Some of these just help your character stats like Knowledge or Courage, but some of them are more important things called social links

I can almost assure you that you'll be so sucked in to the game at this point that you'll literally have knots in your stomach waiting for the next horrible thing to happen

some nice touches - characters with strong social links will rush in front of the main character (you) and take a heavy blow, or do funny things like slap people out of the confused status, or help downed team mates stand up, etc

Normally the silent protagonist thing irks me, but you are frequently given choices as to what he will say or do, and it really makes feel like you, the player, are the main character in the game .

No sweat though, when you start the game choose the Beginner difficulty; it won't be a cakewalk on this level, but using your brain to stratagize is a good thing

This is not a bad thing, but it also creates for some very perplexing moments as those who aren't familiar with the Japanese culture or have a computer nearby to look up what it is, may find themselves confused.

That said things like "has sexual inter course with men or the same thing only with women"

I love every thing about it

Concerning the characters and their individual development I have a lot of positive things to say, but also a few negative things to say

Think of the game like a hybrid and we all know hybrids are better than only one thing by itself

To me this is a great thing, and if this sounds like an interesting take on the jrpg genre, then you are likely to enjoy it as well

If you like a challenge then this is a good thing, otherwise it may be a turnoff.-The use of strong language is a bit more prevalent in this than in 3, but depending on who you are this probably won't make a difference.

It's never a bad thing when your friends help you, and not vice-versa

You will see odd quirky things like a giant toad statue in the general store, a crafty fox that guards an abandoned shrine, an actual true black-smith building adorned with ancient looking armor, and there is even a fishing hole in the flood plains

Not really a bad thing having played every copy of Pokemon, but still I can hope!

some nice touches - characters with strong social links will rush in front of the main character (you) and take a heavy blow, or do funny things like slap people out of the confused status, or help downed team mates stand up, etc

The gameplay is nothing special, the cool thing is that you can summon your personas, another part of you that is hidden deep within you

If anything you should consider the culture gap content to be a good thing, since it means that only minor adjustments (at most) were made in the translation and adaptation of a North American release

There's one extra thing worth noting as you begin

There's the social/school side of things, where you're doing things like hanging out with friends/acquaintances, studying for school, helping out town locals with their problems, and working part time jobs

The great thing is that you can rescue them whenever you want, and if you do it a couple days early then you will be rewarded with a couple extra days to do things before the next story arc starts

When you move to Inaba, strange things happen

Things like saying specific things in one part of a conversation where if you make one mistake you are ineligible to receive the true ending to give an example while not going too much into detail

There are a few cultural hiccups - the game is very Japanese at times - but that's arguably not a bad thing

I have heard so many good things about this

Heard a lot of good things about this game, but when starting it up, it takes too long for you to be in control of the main character.

I more or less stumbled upon this game after seeing all the good online reviews and the one from a popular video game review show.