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Warning: You might want to at least play Persona 3 or 4 to fully understand some terms that I will be telling in my little review xD STORY: Persona Q Shadow of Labyrinth has one of the best stories I have ever encountered in my long running JRPG encounters (As expected from a Persona Game). Persona Q is about a girl named Rei and his "friend" Zen as they wander throughout the alternate version of Yasogami High in an attempt to discover it`s secrets and to find their lost memories. But wait, where did the cast of Persona 3 and Persona 4 comes in? Well they are included in the game (And they will help Rei and Zen) but the story isn`t really focused on them, it is centered throughout the amnesia duo (Rei and Zen, yes they have amnesia...) but do not fret, the interactions between Persona 3 and 4 characters are really hilarious and memorable(Sadly you need to play Persona 3 and 4 to get the gist of their conversations since they will most likely use each game`s terms and some bit of story). The game is relatively long and the story gets bumpier and bumpier until you reach the final parts of the game where a lot of shocking revelations will happen~ GAMEPLAY: Ever played Etrian Odyssey before? How about the previous Persona 3 and 4 games? (Persona 1 and 2 isn`t really strongly mentioned in this game xD) Well if you didn`t played any of them that is okay but it will surely give the exciting feeling for those who played those games. Persona Q is a 1st person dungeon crawler game which is heavily inspired by the Etrian Odyssey series with a touch of Persona. The player is tasked to complete labyrinths in order to proceed through the story and each labyrinth has a theme which is clearly shown with wonderful 3d graphics and shadows. The battle system is turn based, you can choose 5 active party members and 1 navigator (each character has it`s own set of unique characteristics, skills and weaknesses) and place them either in the front or back row (front row receives full damage and is most likely to be targeted by enemies). In each battle, you can use "Leader Skills" (As long as you have the needed cost) which can do various effects depending on your navigator and her persona. Unlike the Persona games (3 and 4), everyone is a "wildcard" which enables them to equip a sub-persona to increase the selection of skills they can use (which your main persona can only wield a few skills on it`s list) and also forms a temporary barrier (HP and SP) that will be depleted first before your real HP and SP. These temporary HP and SP is restored after every battle which makes them very helpful to conserve your precious HP and SP. There are also various facilities that can be used: An equipment shop, the velvet room (where you can fuse, summon and do various stuff concerning personas), the nurse`s office (where you heal your wounded characters) and some various school locations that can be accessed via "Stroll". The "Stroll" option (once it is available) enables you to see various events that ties all the characters together and do either a serious or a hilarious scenario (which most of the time, it is hilarious xD). Navigating through the labyrinths is first person and you must rely on your logic, puzzle solving brains to past most of the dungeons. Your navigator can also provide helpful info about your current location and situation from time to time. Defeating the labyrinth`s boss will either unlock the next labyrinth or if you are already at the last labyrinth, it will clear the game~ MUSIC: No doubt, the Persona series (yes, even Persona 1 and 2) has some very rad tunes that most people will enjoy and Persona Q isn`t an exemption. The soundtrack of Persona Q really lives up from it`s origin with the tracks "Maze of Life" (The opening of the game) and "Light the Fire Up in the Night: (The battle theme which has 2 versions, P3 and P4 versions) that will surely make you want to play those tracks again and again~ FUN FACTOR: The fun factor of this game lies upon the battle system and the character interactions. Exploring the labyrinths is also fun as long as you don`t get carried away and challenge an F.O.E. (Similar to Etrian Odyssey in which this particular enemy that you can see in the maze is not your regular customer. They are much stronger than the regular dungeon monsters and they also serve as puzzle elements in which you must avoid them if you are not strong enough to beat them) to a duel and you realized that all of your characters are dead. Challenge is fun but don`t overdo it~ REPLAYABILITY: Yes, this game has a new game plus which carries all your personas, money, level and items. But the game has two sides, the Persona 3 and Persona 4. The difference between the two are: Some character interactions, some side quests, 1st dungeon/ labyrinth and of course perspective. Picking either side in your first playthrough relies on who`s your favorite side or who`s side you are much more interested with. However, some unlockables can only be accessed if you played both sides which requires you playing at least twice~ ^~^ The secret boss (which is harder than the final boss as some people said) is one example that you can unlock after clearing both sides (P3 and P4 side)\ which adds a few hours in your adventure ^~^ SCORE: 9 cats out of 10 Pros: -Very good battle system -Vast amount of Sub Personas to use -Customize character`s skills with skill cards -Unexpected course of events in the story~ -Detailed and well themed labyrinths (Love the 3rd labyrinth~) -P3 and P4 interactions are really funny and memorable -Auto-mapping feature for the lazy or not so good map drawers Cons: -Kinda grindy -You must trust your map drawing capability to survive -Extremely difficult in higher difficulty settings -Only 5 dungeons to explore -Need to play P3 and p4 to understand some character interactions (Like why does Teddie like to score with the girls? xD) -There is one little combo that makes the game extremely easy, it can kill most of the bosses on one swoop if it is done correctly~ *cough Shura Tensei*