#like one... think tartarus of persona 3. and another was a strange maze

[orcelito]

I think one of the most fascinating things about my dreams is the fact that there are reoccurring locations in the dreams.

Not like places I know in real life, though there are a few of them that occur somewhat regularly. But places my mind just... fabricated, that it decides to go back to.

I have an abandoned house with long corridors that has been the source of several creepy dreams. I have a weird... tower of sorts, in a city, that has been the location of both a dinosaur attack and an anime convention (in different dreams). I have a pseudo-Boston, where I know it’s Boston (in the way that dreams are), but none of the buildings are actually ones in Boston... but I’ve been to these made up buildings several times, in a variety of dreams.

There are more, but these r just examples. It’s weird to experience a dream and realize upon waking that I had been there before. Especially when they are dramatically different dreams, but for some reason taking place in the same location.

[alfstop50]

Game #9: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

”We're all trapped in a maze of relationships, Life goes on with or without you I swim in the sea of the unconscious, I search for your heart, pursuing my true self...”

Released: July 10th, 2008 Synopsis: A young high school student resides with his uncle in Inaba for a year, attending Yasogami High School while his parents are abroad. But when a series of strange murders begin to plague the town, he must band together with his new friends to find the culprit, while also solving the mystery behind the Midnight Channel, which appears to be the key to solving the case. Chosen Music: I'll Face Myself (Another Version) --- Persona 4 is definitely a game that would have benefited me way more if I had played it earlier in my life. It’s got some of the strongest theming I’ve ever seen in a JRPG, and in its best moments it nails its theming absolutely perfectly. It’s got an incredible main cast, and the theme of “reaching out to discover the truth about yourself” fleshes them out in lots of unique and highly creative ways. There are some very subtle but much needed improvements to the gameplay from Persona 3, some of which include having direct control over party members and dungeons that aren’t just exploring Tartarus forever. And despite the numerous quality-of-life improvements, it still manages to be an incredibly balanced game that knows how to deliver a satisfying challenge for the player to overcome. As one of the PS2’s swan songs, this game stands head and shoulder above everything coming out alongside it and every PS2 game that came out before it, and it’s the very definition of a JRPG masterpiece. So why isn’t it higher up on my list, you may be wondering? Well, aside from the simple fact that there are other games on this list that have had a greater impact on me, the fact that it’s difficult to get a good ending without a guide hurts this game quite a bit for me. Like, I know that’s all part of the theme of “being true to yourself” and “searching for the truth” and what not, but it can get frustrating when the path for getting the best ending is something you can easily miss right before you finish the game. And even though the hospital scene is important and everything, I really hate most of everything that goes on in that scene. Between half the cast acting irrational, and Yosuke in particular being a petty little bitch, and how you basically have to yell at your friends to get the good ending, it’s just... it’s a fuckin’ mess all around. But I will say that my annoyance with avoiding the bad ending in this game doesn’t outweigh how much I respect Persona 4’s overall theming. We all have sides to ourselves that no one wants to see; sides of us that represent an uglier view of the world that we want to keep repressed as much as possible. Persona 4 handles this in an incredible way by forcing our main characters to confront this ugly side of themselves, and though they may angrily deny that this side of them exists at all, they eventually come to accept their Shadow selves as a part of them, and they grow stronger as a person as a result. Watching these characters confront their true selves and learn how to deal with that side of themselves is a beautiful thing to behold, and they always end up as some of the biggest highlights to their characters (save for some of their S.Links). If there were anything else I had to say about Persona 4, it’s that I really appreciate how much it emphasizes searching for the truth. Even if it ends up leading to one of the worst scenes in the game in my opinion, it’s nevertheless a hugely important life lesson to consider, since the truth you think you know may not always be what you believe it to be. I know that I’ve been more mindful of making sure something is truthful ever since I beat Persona 4, and no matter how awful that truth may be, I’ve learned that denying it will only make things worse in the long run. So for all that it’s taught me, and for how much of a well-written, strongly themed, and flat out fun game it is, I really do love Persona 4. It’s a game that calls into question how honest you are with yourself, your friends, and the world around you, and that’s helped me to appreciate the game more than anything. Teaser for Game #8: Features an annoying dog