Overview

Just in time for Christmas, Atlus is offering a box set of its much-lauded Persona series. The box set comes chalk full of goodies, namely all the albums from Persona 3 to Persona 4. Don't let this fool you because Persona 3 had a whopping three albums to itself. This makes the set contain six discs of Meguro fun. Contained within are Persona 3, Persona 3 Burn My Dread, Persona Fes, and Persona 4. Is this box set worth getting?

Body

The first album up is the Persona 3 Original Soundtrack. This is the first album that really marked a change in thought for Persona. Mellow J-Pop and obnoxious rapping saturate much of the music. In between these parts, however, is a wonderful lining of orchestral music supplemented by hip-hop beats. The concept of this album at first doesn't sound too satisfying but, by the end of the last track, most will realize that their time was well spent on the album. It is a little inconsistent in places, but the music always manages to be good or at least catchy.

Subsequently the Persona 3 arranged album Burn My Dread -Reincarnation: Persona 3- comes in to shake things up a little. Is it really notable though? Burn My Dread takes many of the high points and some low points of the P3 album and mixes them into one disc. Some of the tracks sound much too similar to the original, which really was a missed opportunity on Meguro's part. The tracks that were the high point of P3 have been retooled a bit and some of them come out a little worse than they were previously, but sound good nonetheless. The lower points actually come out a bit shinier than they were previously and really add to the overall atmosphere of the album. I really wish they took more chances in this album, but a lot of the improvements prove themselves worthy of this release. A solid effort indeed.

Next we move to the Persona 3 Fes Original Soundtrack. Fes is known as The Answer, which is the follow up story to the original Persona 3. Hidden within are many goodies for the clamoring Megaten audience. Fes has some music that is a bit of a retread of P3, but do not worry; if you didn't like the hip-hop influence of Persona 3, classic Meguro is back to save the day. Guitars blaze throughout and there are many darker themes as well, but try not to mind the saccrine sweet J-Pop that can be found here and there. Some themes are lifted from previous Persona soundtracks such as "Maya's Theme" and "The Snow Queen". Fan service aside, this album is traditional Meguro through and through, but he sticks in a couple of new tricks he gained from P3.

Last on the roster is the Persona 4 Original Soundtrack, the newest entry of the series. Every part of Persona 4 takes Persona 3 as its base and builds upon it instead of taking yet another departure from previous Persona titles. The rap and the J-Pop are still there, but they sound like they have been improved quite a bit. Meguro is clearly getting a hang of mashing these two seemingly distant genres together. Even more is added to the mix; lots of electronica sounding moments are apparent in this album and there is a feeling of a throwback to the 80s. Back once more is the extremely beautiful orchestral elements from previous Persona soundtracks too. This is a great evolution for the series but only a small upgrade from the P3 soundtrack.

Summary

The Persona Premium Box is a great fusion of soundtracks together. Ultimately there are a few tracks that are quite annoying, but overall the fresh take on the series is wonderful to behold. If you own more than one of the soundtracks, you may find this a hard box set to force yourself to buy, though CDJapan can accommodate you with a special offer. If you are someone who hasn't managed to pick up any of these albums before, then belly up to the VGM table for your feast has arrived. This is the most convenient way to pick up these albums, so if you haven't and you want to experience something new, then pick this up. If you are a Persona fan you will enjoy this a great deal.