Let's Discuss Persona 3 [SPOILERS]

Where we talk about the game Persona 3 and its remake.

No spoilers for the other Persona games, please.

Ah I loved that game. I used to think I liked Persona 4 more, but I think it's popularity got too much and really worn it down for me. I do, however like the characters of Persona 4 better. But Persona 3 had much better plot and music. It also gets points for P3P allowing you to play as a girl. If they included that option for Golden, I would have gotten a Vita just for that one game.

On the characters and playing as a girl note, I noticed Yukari was a lot more tolerable when you played as a female. It's kind of weird though how the characters treat you entirely differently just because of your gender. But I guess that's true for real people, too.

YES. I loved Yukari as a BFF rather than a romance. Her character really doesn't need a boyfriend, and her whole S.link underscored that. She's terrified of turning out like her mother and in the male version you fix that by...dating her.

Also, Ryoji's romance (I can't really say S.link because it's so much more than that) is incredible. It really puts the whole game in context, and I can't go back to playing as a guy because it's just so perfect.

I tried original recipe P3 way back when and only got about as far as July, but playing as a female protagonist really does make a world of difference.

Gotta say that I preferred Persona 4, but P3 was still a lot of fun. My only problem with it was that most of the people you could social link with (Yukari, Fuuka, Chihiro, etc.) annoyed the hell out of me while those you couldn't link with (Akihiko, Shinjiro, Koromaru) were really fucking awesome. But then, I had FES instead of the portable one, so maybe that changes things.

Ryoji is the entire reason I haven't ever tried playing as a guy yet. (Well, that and I really like having female friends in a game for once, but it's mostly Ryoji.) When I first got the game I wanted to give it a try eventually, but I don't think I'll end up doing it because the game just feels right to me when the FeMC is with Ryoji.

I never played the original Persona 3 because it was impossible to find by the time I heard about it/had the right system for it; was it very different at all? I know there were animated cutscenes and you couldn't control your friends in battle (and there was no FeMC, obviously)...

P3P fixes everything. You have new S.links with the best characters and the not so good characters are dropped (anyone remember Nozomi? Yeahhh we got Shinji instead). Also, you can actually control your party members in battle this time around, and spell cards makes fusing so much less of a chore.

But if I play as a girl, how will my masculinity stay intact? Seriously though, getting Shinji instead of Nozomi is the single best trade I have ever heard in my life. I'm downloading this once I finish up p4g.

More Shinjiro is never a bad thing. Never.

Y...you have P4G? /brb sobbing and slitting wrists should I get the vita just for this one single game omg cries a river forever

And yeahhh, the FES moon link was pretty atrocious. Actually, most of the SLs in P3: FES were pretty atrocious (the only character I really loved on my first playthrough was Mitsuru <3), which is partly why I preferred P4 more. The other part is the fact that I can't even control my party members and that SL-ing has no effect on gameplay other than persona fusing. But as Nebty said, all of that was fixed in P3P! (I did really love Shinjiro's SL - and I really should get around to reading Ryoji's.) It's also nice that in P4 you feel like you're part of a group of close friends, instead of the standoff-ish attitude the P3 MMC has towards other people. :<

Here are the substitutions that P3P makes (if you play as the FeMC).

Magician: Junpei Iori instead of Ken, thank god.

Chariot: Rio Iwasaki instead of Kaz. I liked Kaz, but Rio is really awesome.

Justice: Ken Amada instead of Chihiro. This one has the potential to be "romantic", but it never goes past "prococious crush" levels.

Hermit: Saori Hasegawa instead of Maya. I like Saori, but her S.link is very different from Maya's tone-wise.

Fortune: Ryoji Mochizuki (a.k.a the best one) instead of Keisuke. A much-needed trade.

Strength: Koromaru instead of Yuko. I liked Yuko a lot, but you still see her via Rio's S.link.

Star: Akihiko Sanada instead of Mamoru. Akihiko's a doof, but the S.link is very sweet.

Moon: Shinjiro Aragaki (a.k.a the other best one) instead of Nozomi.

Yeah, that's how I felt about the original P3, but in P3P I actually felt really close to SEES. A lot of that had to do with the fact that I could finally have S.links with them all, as well as the way the FeMC was written to be much more cheerful and outgoing than the MMC.

Also, the non-team member S.links in P3/P3P are much more memorable than P4. Akinari's link made me sob like a baby and Maiko was adorable, but I can't really recall P4's Sun or Hanged man, or really any of the non-team S.links.

I went a a little over hundred dollars into debt for the Vita just to buy this game. I've been paying off said debt by subsisting entirely off of Hamburger Helper and I regret nothing. It adds so much awesome crap to an already awesome murder mystery with demons and Chie!
The links in general just pissed me off. That and the fact that you had to date every woman you linked with besides the hermit link, which was the only one I wanted to date. Still though, it's hard to beat a game that gives you the spellmaster/armageddon/victory cry combo. Good times.
Edit: Thanks for that list of reasons I'll never play p3 as a dude again, Nebty.

Ha! That's the one thing that doesn't carry over to P3P (besides the graphics). Armageddon is item-dependent now.

Yeah, FeMC makes you realize exactly how lame Male MC is by comparison. Apparently he's too cool to S.Link with a dog.

I'm gonna miss being able to one shot the reaper twice and having full magic when the battle ends. Oh well,

While Maiko was one of my favorite social links in 3 or 4, I was sort of bored by Akinari and I think that Dojima and Nanako make up for the lack of other enjoyable non-party member social links. But then, I could just be a moron.
Since this thread is spoiler warning'ed and everything, how did you guys react to the month of everyone complaining about inevitable death leading up to the ending? I tended to yell a string of profanity at my tv whenever a character suggested giving in rather than fighting to the death, the cowards.
Edit: Seriously male mc, you think you're cooler than a dog with a knife and fire magic? Fuck you.

I feel the same way, actually! The family bonding thing that P4 had just made it feel so much more warmer than FES. I adored Nanako and I really loved how both her and Dojima's SLs were resolved.

Nah, I should've said "non-party S.links except Nanako and Dojima". But really, who else is there? The nurse? The old lady? The mom? The fox? Maybe it's just personal preference. And it wasn't so much Akinari's link itself but the little epilogue when you talk to his mom. That's when I cried.

Also, P4 doesn't have Tanaka. A Tanakaless game cannot be better than one that has him.

That was the most excruciating month in the game. Not because it was emotionally taxing, but because it was so boring. Most of the S.links were done and all I could do was go to Tartarus or sing some pointless karaoke.

True Fact: I never actually finished Akinari's. I'd get halfway through before getting bored of sickly mcprobably-a-ghost, go raise a stat, and talk to that awesome monk at the club. If his link ends well, I might actually go back to it and play it through.

I always imagined the mc singing Row Row Fight the Power. It just made sense considering I would get him to max courage and charm without ever touching academics. Also, that month was indeed boring. Persona games in general seem to have a problem with pacing.
Edit: Fucking Tanaka. That guy. I'm pretty sure I ended up reversing his link or at least making him kiss my shoes or something.

So what I'm getting is that P3P is way better than the original? Is that for the PSP or Vita?

I have FES, but I've haven't beaten it or even played it in a long while. I was pretty far in, but I got stuck on some boss in the tower. Actually, I think it was two mid-boss-ish enemies that apparently aren't weak to anything, forcing me to do a lot of grinding before I ultimately got distracted by new, shiny games.

It's much better. I'd go so far as to say that it's better than both the original P3 and P4, but that's just personal preference. And it's for PSP but you can play the downloadable version on your Vita (which I've been doing. It looks excellent).

P3P WAS THE BEST THING and then my PSP broke and wouldn't read any disks anymore and it made me incredibly sad.

I really, really miss P3P because I liked the upgrades it made to P3: FES.
And the music. I like the music of P4 more (from what I recall), but P3P added some SWEET BEATS to the girl's side of the game. I didn't get to the end of any romance routes before it broke, so I can't comment from that end, but...yeah. ;w;

also i want to date ryoji okay

I know a thing that belongs here.

I need to play P3. I don't think anything will stop me loving P4 more though. It's my favorite game I've ever played.

Pffft, I love hiimdaisy.

I actually own a PSP and only, like, two games for it. So now I'm wondering if I should ditch FES all together and start over with P3P.
That controlling the entire party thing sounds pretty inciting, for one. I mean, why didn't they have it that way in the first place? Who doesn't want complete and total control in battles? dance puppets dance

I'm actually wondering the opposite: I finished P3P and picked up FES when I heard the post-ending bit isn't included in the PSP port, but it seems like a slog to start over another male protagonist run on a new save and without the newer gameplay improvements. Plus, uh, I didn't like Aigis all that much and I hear you play as her. Is it still worth it to go for the Answer or should I save that for retirement?

Edit: I do want to play Hamuko just so I can romance Akihiko. I realise he doesn't appeal to many ladies, but that is because he is designed to be a mancrush.

Edit edit: BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY

If you enjoy grinding, a higher difficulty, Yukari becoming even worse somehow, grinding, playing as Aigis and grinding then The Answer is worth playing.
Edit: Also, every party member goes back to around level 20ish (or level 1, I forget) and you lose your compendium in The Answer.

TBH I prefer Akihiko in his P4A form. That sweatervest does him no favors.

Do it! You won't be disappointed. P3P really is worth it.

Also, The Answer is awful. I wouldn't bother. All it is is angst and grinding without your compendium.

Yuck, I don't need that. More P3P it is.

Also, I hate you all now because I'm at the office and don't have any way to listen to Mass Destruction so now it's going to be stuck in my goddamn head all day.

OOH YEAH TALALALATALALALA~ BABY BABY~

Why is it not allowing me to post? I am getting pissed off.

Edit: Pasted here!

Seriously, if someone makes a P4 thread, I better flippin' be invited. I have lots of weird P4 links, including the complete fandub of Hiimdaisy's.

Also, yes. Party control is the difference between life and death. Auto is useful in game likes Suikoden where standard encounters are fun to slaughter with even mages using blunt weapon skills, but each turn, you get control back. And on Tales of Symphonia I remember being able to cntrol one at a time, but switch at will, and set the fighting style of other chars. That had it's uses.

Boy I can talk a thread by itself about battle systems, really. Throw Shadow Hearts in with the fucking JUDGEMENT RING in there, and you have the opposite of auto battles. You have, 'LOOK AWAY FROM THE SCREEN AND DIE, YOU BITCH!' Thank god you get used to it after a while.

Back on topic, one ting I love about the games is that the writing is AMAZING. Some of the story parts may have holes or wtfs, but the dialogue? The things they say, the reactions, it all feels natural and believable. Relateable! When's the last time you've said that about a video game script? P4 seriously, I couldn't have felt more at home in that game. It made the social links that much more emersive that it REALLY felt like speaking to another person. And judging from what I know of P3 and it's fandom, I'm fairly certain it still applies. I know I've seen vids of some of the P3 gameplay and it did have that familiar humor and reality that makes these games so truley enjoyable to play.

To make the supernatural and all sorts of psychodelic shit seem like it could happen to you on your street by making it relatable, that is impressive.

P3P might be like that, but not for the FES version that I played. Eh.

Agreeing with this. FES tended to feel sorta grimdark, which was cool for the plot (honestly one of my favorite endings in anything) but didn't help the characters become interesting people. They just kinda stood around being aloof and not doing much of anything.
Edit: Except Shinjiro. He kicked all kinds of ass.

That's probably the biggest thing besides price that has kept me from playing P3 since I learned about it. P4 was so lighthearted considering all, and you didn't feel like a sword was hanging over your neck all the time, even when it was. I don't think I could play a game as hopeless as P3 and really enjoy it. And the ending... Nope. Too much.

Persona 3 is the Evangelion to Persona 4's Gurren Lagann. It's still great in it's own way and has some cool moments, but everyone is depressed all the time, the main character is way less likable, the plot is dark enough to inspire apathy at some points, and I can't sit through it for more than half an hour without thinking "Wow, I could be playing the other game that is just this, but better." Though I still think Persona 3's ending was god damned amazing.
Alright, pissing off Evangelion fans and Persona 3 fans in one post.

P3FES bored me, mostly because I couldn't get invested in any of the characters since they were all busy trying to look cool instead of being real, vulnerable human beings. If I don't care about the characters, the story isn't going to engage me because who gives a shit if the world's going to hell? I don't care if these people die! It's still worth playing though, I think, if you even remotely enjoy P4, because there IS some cool stuff in there. Just pick up P3P instead.

Whereas in P4 you really get attached to the people around you. You go home everyday, you see Nanako, you talk to her, you talk to Dojima, you go to school and talk to your friends, there's a familiarity that can only be developed through engaging with these people and these environments constantly, in a meaningful way, and by the end the MC's home really, truly feels like home to you. Heck, you even get attached to Adachi even though he's a total klutz because he keeps coming home with drunk!Dojima and having dinner with you! I could relate to the people in P4, but the P3-verse felt rather generic anime to me. Maybe it's because I was raised in a small town myself - the kind of community feeling P4 fosters really resonated with me.

Re: Not being able to control party members

I think the idea there is to convey the feeling that the party members are autonomous individuals, and as their leader, you don't control them but can only give them orders, which is what would actually happen if it was real life. P4 dealt with this much better, for example, by giving individuals their own special attacks, which really makes their battle styles and personalities come out. You can't mention Chie without thinking of Galactic Punt, for example. Each of those character attacks help to convey a sense of individuality and autonomy, especially because it's your party member who tries to initiate an attack on their own, but you also have control over it by having the power to decide whether or not they should go through with it or not.

Overall, I just feel like the developers took a lot of lessons from P3 and applied them to P4 and P3P, so it's not really fair to compare them, haha.

Yeah, I mainly played it because I was hungry for more P4, and this was the closest I could get to it. *sigh* P4G...

I feel that I should make a Persona 4 thread just to brag about how fucking great p4g is without derailing this one. (also, other people could talk about persona 4 things they liked, I guess)
Edit: Thread made!
Edit Edit: Person 3 4TW?! I love that guy!

I took the middle ground and experienced the game through a webcomic.

I got an idea fr the characters and story through that parody, plus the comments of the author and readers. And it was kept funny and bearable still.

And I've never been able to sto using the phrase 'ya dumb broad' thanks to Akihiko.

P3P is sort of a middle ground between P3 and P4, tone-wise. Things are still pretty grim in places, but I sort of like that. P4 tended to get a little carried away with its goofiness, and rather than being charming it just got tiring. In P3P you actually cared about your companions and that made all the difference, imo. I also felt much more connected to the protagonist. The FeMC is a wonderful character (for a silent protagonist).

Oh yeah, some of the high school shenanigans were a little meh. I also wasn't a huge fan of how Hanako and that teacher were constantly the butt of stupid jokes. And Yukiko. Fucking Yukiko. Hate her voice acting soooo much. And the laughing. All the goddamned laughing. For all that though, I just felt like P4 had more heart to it, when it wasn't trying (and sometimes failing) to be funny. I'm probably biased because I've never actually played P3P, I just read an LP of it because I did NOT want to sit through all that grinding.

Play P3P! You can just download a NG+ save so you can sail through Tartarus and not have to worry about grinding. I'm really not exaggerating when I say that it fixes nearly everything wrong with the original P3.