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Yeah, But Is It Art?: Persona 3 FES

Posted by John Constantine

It’s always strange when games filled with truly troubling imagery go unnoticed by the most vocal anti-game pundits. Persona 3, Atlus’ exceptional RPG in the long running Shin Megami Tensei series, has been released not once but twice in the past twelve months without eliciting even a peep out of Joe Lieberman or Focus on the Family. For those unfamiliar with the game, the reason Persona 3 might ruffle some feathers is its protagonists, a team of troubled high school students who control guardian spirits to battle demons. And oh yeah, they release these spirits by shooting themselves in the head.

This confrontational imagery isn’t a single incident in P3 either, as every single action you take in the game’s many battles finds your team pantomiming suicide. The second edition of P3, Persona 3 FES, was released during the last week of April and on my second time through its sprawling narrative, I’ve been wondering: Is it art? Absolutely. Persona 3 FES is the perfect post-modern genre piece, twisting the conventions of the traditional Japanese role-playing game on their head to comment on an entire culture’s youth population, the very demographic that made the genre an institution in the first place. Persona 3 is about the confusion of youth and its jarring portrayal of literal identity crises is anything but exploitive.

At least, that’s what we think. What do you say, dear reader? What is Persona 3 FES to you?

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Posted May 09 2008, 03:00 PM

Filed under: john constantine, yeah but is it art, shin megami tensei, persona 3 fes

Comments

Will Doig said:

throw a boob in there, that'll get FotF's attention.

May 9, 2008 4:12 PM

probabilityzero said:

Video games can definitely be art, and the Shin Megami Tensei series is a perfect example of it. Rather than just entertaining you or testing your reflexes, as most modern big-budget US game do, it actually has something to say about society and identity.

In a way, I almost wish the anti-video-game-violence groups would attack Persona. It would make defending video games so much easier if we had the literary elements of Persona to shove in their faces.

May 9, 2008 11:57 PM

D said:

It looks pretty artful to me, but I'm being cursory.

Comparatively it looks high-end for concept & aesthetic.

Here's hoping some who've played through will chime in.

-- If it is art -- it probably ought to be promoted some...

I'm aware of it now, but would I invest more than another 15 minutes on the main site & wiki let alone in getting and playing? Not till I hear more from some primary sources (firsthand experience and involvement

or feed me an interview link [please?]).

The idea of the 'Evoker' is provoking at least.

But, did you just finish up so quickly and simply to qualify art by conduct? ... Scary ... Don't think I could answer.

May 10, 2008 3:30 AM

moblegend said:

Is it art? I certainly believe that videogames, like good books and good movies and so on, can transcend the medium and become art. But does the games' social commentary make it art? I am not sure about that. The Japanese, perhaps even moreso than Americans, have consistently romanticized adolescent angst- this seems only a darker twist into this fetish than a breakthrough. I think what makes the Shin Megami Tensei series artistic is it complex game mechanics- though Persona 3 is a bit simpler than, say, Nocturne. But this level of detail and this abundance of in-game machinery (for instance, demons converting into other demons and leveling up AS WELL as there being a detailed social system AS WELL as their being an emphasis on doing well in studies) is what really differentiates the SMT series from their RPG counterparts. To me this level of dedication to esoterica and obscurity somehow makes it this weird total novelistic world to inhabit.

May 10, 2008 9:49 AM

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

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