Don’y you love it when you get your Amazon orders sooner than expected? This saturday, I had the chance to find in my mailbox the next game I’ll be currently playing on my Nintendo 3DS, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth.

I was considering buying either this game or Fantasy Life, but my heart was completely swayed by this spin-off/crossover of two amazing JRPGs. I just want to enjoy spending some time watching enjoyable characters interact, especially goold old Shinjiro.

Sorry, Fantasy Life, you’ll have to wait a bit longer!

Here are some first impressions so far:

• The presentation is very appealing: the game blends the Persona universe with some Etrian Odyssey gameplay elements.
• The character design is good. I was expecting it to be a bit too chibi to my taste, but it fits so well with the art style of the game.
• You can pick between a Persona 3 scenario or a Persona 4 one: I went first for the Persona 3 one (go team S.E.E.S!), but I’ll definitely do a 2nd playthrough with the Persona 4 scenario.
• The overall mood is a bit lighter than the 2 previous Persona games: characters tend to be more prone to jokes, but you can still feel something sinister lurking in the shadows.
• Music-wise, Persona games are known for their great soundtracks. I got hooked from the start with the opening, Maze of Life. With Shoji Meguro as the sound director, you are in for a treat.

Let’s just hope these first impressions will stay strong later, after many hours of playing Persona Q.

I won’t make any promises but If I have enough free time, I’ll consider doing a full review of the game.