Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 - Development and Design

Development and Design

In March 2006, the first details on Persona 3 were unveiled in the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsū. In addition to announcing the game's Japanese release date of July 13, the three-page article detailed the game's premise, combat systems, and the Social Link system (known as Community in the Japanese version). It also profiled three characters—the Protagonist, Junpei, and Yukari—as well as their respective Personas: Orpheus, Hermes and Io.

While localizing Persona 3 for English-speaking countries, the honorifics used by the characters in the original Japanese script were retained. According to Atlus script editor and localizer Nich Maragos, their use "adds so much more meaning to the text." In an interview with RPGamer, project editor Yu Namba explained that during the process of translation, some of the Japanese humor, "things that made absolutely no sense in western culture…were replaced with jokes that at least somewhat parallel the originals." In an interview with the magazine Play, lead director for Persona 3 Katsura Hashino discussed why the decision was made to have party members be directed by an artificial intelligence: "I think it's more fun to have the party members controlled by their AI, so each member's characteristics and personality are on vivid display. There were no objections raised among the Persona 3 development team, either." He also notes that the system "wasn't well received" by players of the game. Persona 3 does not include the negotiation elements of previous Persona or Megami Tensei games, which allowed players to talk to enemies during a battle to recruit them, earn money, or obtain items. However, the social elements of Persona 3 (and its successor, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4) are considered the equivalent of the negotiation system by the development team. Maragos said in a 1UP.com interview that "negotiation isn't gone…And still factors into Persona Fusion; it's still a big part of the game. I feel like it's disguised, but it's there."

The animated cutscenes were animated by Sunrise (codenamed Point Pictures), the studio that had made popular anime like Gundam, Gintama, Kekkaishi, Inuyasha, Sgt.Frog, and Cowboy Bebop.