overdrive's Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES review

Persona 3 is the game that changed my mind about JRPGs, and I absolutely love it. But I can see what you're saying. The empowerment fantasy is a particular thing I like to joke about with my friends who are into Persona and it is taken to EXTREME levels. But I still enjoy it. The PSP version is also the only one I played, and like Ben pointed out you can control your party in it.

Yeah, I saw that the PSP version gave you full control of your party. I prefer that to be an option, with computer control of allies being an option you can click if you desire.

I've played SMT I (would have been good if not for the utterly insane battle frequency), Nocturne, SMT IV, P3, Revelations: Persona and the Raidou Kuz...whatever vs. the something Army action-RPG. And one of the Game Boy games that is affiliated with SMT in some form (Revelations: The Demon Slayer).

Nocturne and SMT IV are the best two. P3 and SMT I, I'd probably rank about the same, but for different reasons. Revelations: The Demon Slayer was very meh. Revelations: Persona gets an incomplete because when I played it, I didn't understand the Persona system at all and was a total screw-up who wound up completely doomed when I got to the dungeon where you had to only use magic.