Persona 3, P3P, or P4?

[TrollHunter]

So, I've never played a persona game in my life, and I've recently starting doing some research on it, and I'm obsessed. Which of these 3 would the EoFF community recommend?
I have a ps2 and a psp, so I can play all 3 if I can find them.
Persona 3 and P3P are basically the same game, but I remember reading somewhere that P3P has quite a few gameplay differences that set it apart.
I'm ignorant here, and all 3 games look amazing, so I just want to hear some thoughts on which I should check out first.

Also, I am aware of how character-driven these games are, and that's one of the things I'm the most excited for.

[Momiji]

Persona 4 has more polished gameplay than Persona 3, I personally think. Persona 3 was pretty fantastic though, too, so I don't think it matters all that much since they're both great games with interesting characters.

That said I don't know much about P3P since I've never played it, but I heard that it's a really dumbed-down version in comparison to the original.

[NeoCracker]

P4 is my favorite to date. The Golden sounds good, but it has something in the game I feel is a mistake, and that you'd be better off playing the PS2 version over the PSP, but It would spoil it to discuss it. :p

If you go P3, FES is my favorite version if only for 'The Answer', and additional story in the game that takes place after the events of P3. Since that is lacking in P3P I'd give FES the best version of P3.

[Mirage]

Persona 4 has more polished gameplay than Persona 3, I personally think. Persona 3 was pretty fantastic though, too, so I don't think it matters all that much since they're both great games with interesting characters.

That said I don't know much about P3P since I've never played it, but I heard that it's a really dumbed-down version in comparison to the original.

P3P is not dumbed down, it just has the better gameplay of P4 while still being P3. It does however not have the FES stuff in it. Also, you can be a girl in P3P.

[Wolf Kanno]

Oh hey, its Momiji! :squeeze:

P3: FES is my favorite. P4 kind of botched the balance and strategy of the games by relegating the Navigator role to being mostly useless, making physical centric players useless, the dungeon design leaves much to be desired (not that P3's is any better and MegaTen in general, but at least P3's main dungeon's sections are short and to the point) and the economy system is busted and makes grinding more necessary than it should be. P3 is definitely more user friendly. I feel the dungeon crawling aspect of P3 is superior to P4's but P4 is better with the social sim, side of the gameplay.

I also feel it has a better story since its easier to come back to it rather than P4's where once you learned who did it, the actual plot isn't as exciting. Though which has the better cast is debatable.

I don't like P3P, I honestly feel you lose a lot out of the game by dumbing down the interface of the world and Persona doesn't work as well as a visual novel style as you would think it would. I also hate how the girl's story was kind of lazy with the Social Links, largely just making her have no one but the party to talk to and only two actual new characters are introduced, making her version of P3's world feel smaller. They also added in P4's obnoxious "dizzy" status which really screws the player out of making the most of good fortune like landing a critical hit. :roll2

[TrollHunter]

So I cant really go wrong with either FES or P4?
That's good.
I may just have to flip a coin.

[Del Murder]

P3P was my first Persona game and couldn't get through it. It was too boring and honestly caused me to question the taste of some of the members here who love this series so much. I could have picked the wrong game, or it could just be me. So you should probably go with one of the console versions (assuming those are better).

[Mirage]

So I cant really go wrong with either FES or P4?
That's good.
I may just have to flip a coin.

Or just buy both. THey can't be very expensive these days.

[TrollHunter]

So I cant really go wrong with either FES or P4?
That's good.
I may just have to flip a coin.

Or just buy both. THey can't be very expensive these days.

They're roughly 20 bucks each on amazon.
I intend to buy both, I was just asking which I should play first.

[Mirage]

Play P3 first, I'd say. Once you get used to having full control in P4, it'll suck a lot to go back to P3's level of battle control.

[nirojan]

Okay so P3P lets you play the entire game as a female character. And I don't think this is too spoilerish but ill tag it anyways:
It can determine the fate of certain characters, which is not possible in a male playthrough not to mention new romance options BOMCHICABOWOW ;)

The tower of Tartaras (where you do your combat) is perfect for mobile gaming. Getting some grinding sessions in while on the subway or lounging around in bed is a blast. Don't listen to these people saying that it has a "dumbed down interface". The PS2 game looks god awful by today's standards. And while P3P may not look as good as P4G, it's still looks really good on the PSP. Definitely go for it first! It's more recent (released 2010 I think) so you'll be able to find it more easily in stores :D

[Skyblade]

My own personal vote goes to P3P. It's my favorite of them.

However, assessing without my personal bias, I'd probably say that Persona 3 FES is the best.

As much as I love Persona 3 Portable, it's lack of a 3D overworld to explore does hurt immersion. If you're already familiar with the stories and characters, already attached, it's fine. But if you're starting new, it takes longer to get immersed, which can be hard on a game with a slow progressing plot such as Personas 3 and 4 (that's probably why Del Murder got bored with it, the slow plot progression tied with the less immersive interface lost his interest before he really got hooked).


BTW, if anyone's interested, I'll put my NG+ save up on here for P3Portable. Full Compendium Completion with nearly every Persona knowing the game's top skills, a nearly full equipment list (including enough Omnipotent Orbs for the entire team), and level 99.




I'll detail my reasoning below.


-Persona 3: Not a bad game, but there is absolutely no reason to get this one instead of FES. Enough said.


-Persona 3 FES: Persona 3 with some additional content. A few more personas, a new social link, a bit better development, and an entire optional additional epilogue (which I dislike for various reasons but which I can't get into without bringing up spoilers). The characters are phenomenal, and the story is incredibly good.

It has some flaws, however. Excellent though the story is, it suffers from some presentation and handling issues. Tartarus (the game's main dungeon) is largely disconnected from the story, serving more as a place to grind and level than it does a plot point. The plot events that involve it are awesome, and incredibly important, don't get me wrong, but the dungeon as a whole feels sort of separated from the whole. Also, the Persona fusion/skill inheritence system is way too random for my taste.


-Persona 4: This game has better plot structure and presentation than Persona 3 does, but I don't like it's plot nearly as well. Persona 3 centers around the exploration and elimination of a global supernatural threat, while Persona 4 centers around a murder mystery (that's not spoilers, you learn that stuff almost immediately, or by looking at the back of the box) That's not a bad thing, but the moods, themes, and atmosphere of Persona 3 I just find way more interesting. Also, while the characters in both games are simply incredible, Persona 3 has the edge in awesome characters. To the game's credit, the Midnight Channel, the new dungeon is tied in incredibly well with the plot, and is a fascinating concept once you start to explore it. Unfortunately, it also has inferior combat mechanics, ditching the three types of physical attacks in favor of one single type. It also botched the economy to the point that acquiring yen is painfully slow.


-Persona 3 Portable: I love this game. I love it to death. Buy it, play it, love it. The female character's revamped story is great. They took the least popular and worst put together Social Links from Persona 3, and removed them in favor of some incredibly well put together interactions with your fellow team members. They revamped the combat some, stealing some stuff from Persona 4, such as full control for party members and Skill Cards, without grabbing the "only one type of physical attack" stuff that I didn't like from Persona 4, giving it some of the most solid gameplay in the series. The Skill Cards also make passing Skills among Personas a lot easier than it was in the original Persona 3 or FES.

Now, for the flaws. First and foremost is its presentation. Without being able to explore the world the way you could in the console versions, the game is slower to engage you, and this is a problem. Awesome though the story of the Persona games is, they don't progress quickly. Having the presentation slow down the immersion even more means that you might get bored before you get invested. Which is a shame. Because once you're past that, the game is just as good as the original, with a series of great new Social Links to explore, and some changes that make it much easier to play.

The other flaw is that you lose the epilogue "The Answer". I have some gripes with this chapter, so it's not a huge loss to me, and I definitely consider it a worthy trade off in exchange for the female MC's story and the ease of play considerations P3P includes.

[Del Murder]

Oh, so the original P3 had an actual world to explore instead of just clicking everywhere you want to go? That was a big detractor for me.

[Agent Proto]

I started off playing P3 FES , and then moved on to P4. P4 is definitely the better game of the two, since it is far superior. However, it you start off playing P4 first, you would probably regret ever starting P3 later on.

[Skyblade]

Oh, so the original P3 had an actual world to explore instead of just clicking everywhere you want to go? That was a big detractor for me.

Yep. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhM9io3M3Lg=10m37s)

I already love the story, characters, and world, so it didn't really hurt me, but it definitely can hit newcomers hard.

If they ever did a Golden style version of P3P + FES combined, though, that would be a game which has the potential to knock Chrono Trigger off it's throne of best game ever.

[Del Murder]

I wouldn't go that far. Chrono Trigger has more than 6 areas you ever visit.

The 3D models are nice, but I doubt I'd like it a lot more if the game was fundamentally the same. It probably just isn't the series for me.

[NeoCracker]

P3P was my first Persona game and couldn't get through it. It was too boring and honestly caused me to question the taste of some of the members here who love this series so much. I could have picked the wrong game, or it could just be me. So you should probably go with one of the console versions (assuming those are better).

I say this, only because you sound a lot Like how Spoony Felt during P3 (Only in terms of how you felt about the game mind you. :p) and he felt P4 as massively the better game.

If you felt the story or plot dragged on a lot in Persona 3, the plot structure and pacing is a lot different in P4. Because in honesty, there's very few point in P3's plot that actually move the main plot itself forward, where as P3 is more symbolic in nature rather then having things actually happen. :p

I love both myself, but I wouldn't let a slow paced plot of 3 detract from wanting to play 4. :p

Edit: Also, the world exploration in both games is centered in the towns you are in. It isn't much, but there was a small bit I think would be lost from cutting them.

[Skyblade]

I wouldn't go that far. Chrono Trigger has more than 6 areas you ever visit.

The 3D models are nice, but I doubt I'd like it a lot more if the game was fundamentally the same. It probably just isn't the series for me.

Different games have differing strengths. Persona 3's atmosphere and characters are incredible, even if it's not big on exploration.

Persona 4 (and especially P4Golden, which adds in a couple extra areas) handle that aspect a little better, and give you some non-dungeon quests to shake things up a bit, but exploration is not the focal point of the game, except in dungeons.

Everything takes place in one town, yes. But that town changes as you go through it. It's not like most other RPGs where characters say one thing and repeat that line to infinity. Random NPCs gradually rotate dialogue over the course of a few weeks (rarely more than two change in one day), and reflect the thoughts and mood of the town.

By the time the story is drawing to a close in Persona 3, the town feels very, very different than it did when you started, and it's one of the things that I really, really love about the game. I can't say more without spoilers, though. :(