Starting the Persona Series

[fat_moogle]

I thought I'd bump this thread seeing as though I started Persona 4 Golden today.

EVERYDAY'S GREAT AT YOUR JUNES!
EVERYDAY'S GREAT AT YOUR JUNES!
EVERYDAY'S GREAT AT YOUR JUNES!
EVERYDAY'S GREAT AT YOUR JUNES!

I'm only a couple of hours in, but so far it seems like a big improvement over P3P.

[Wolf Kanno]

P3P was not exactly the best port. Glad to hear you're enjoying P4 though.

[Formalhaut]

I enjoyed it well enough, but I'll probably try out FES for my male protagonist play-through, seeing how I finished the Fem!P3 path.

[Fynn]

Meh. I still think the PSP version is optimal. The Answer is ridiculously overrated.

[Midgar Mist]

Quick Question: why doesn't this class as General Square Enix? Is it because Square only had something to do with it in PAL regions?

[Formalhaut]

As far as I'm aware, Square Enix didn't have anything to do with Persona.

[Fynn]

As far as I'm aware, Square Enix didn't have anything to do with Persona.

Yup. It was even published in Europe by Ghostlight. I don't think it ever had anything to do with SE

[Wolf Kanno]

Meh. I still think the PSP version is optimal. The Answer is ridiculously overrated.

The Answer is a nice treat, but not the reason why FES is better than P3P. For me it has more to do with the better interface and it retains some of the more interesting ideas from P3's battle system, where P3P pretty much just aped P4's system.

[Vyk]

I don't mind visual novels, but when the only options are talk to people, and fight, I tend to get tired of the fighting. And P3 is a grind, regardless of the alternatives. But having the option to walk around and talk to people makes me feel less confined. So I guess for me it is an interface thing too. It's a small thing, but I doubt I would have enjoyed P4 half as much if I wasn't allowed to wander around and do my own thing

[Wolf Kanno]

It also helps that the original maintains the Fusion Spells for the hero giving him another angle for customization, the original also didn't have the "rescue people in Tartarus" side missions which seemed like a cool idea at first but forced you to deal with something most people hated anyway which was running through Tartarus. I also understand that P3's version of the battle system is a required taste but I honestly liked the artistic integrity of it as opposed to the functionality of P4's system. Course I'm the minority on that front.

About the only two elements I really love about P3P was the Female Scenario and the Skill Card system.

[fat_moogle]

So I failed miserably at my first attempt fighting Shadow Kanji in Persona 4 Golden. Damn you and your lighting weakness, Yosuke! So I tried the battle again when I died with just Chie and Yukiko on my team and JUST managed to scrape victory with them both dead and my main on 20 HP.

[Formalhaut]

Yeah, Shadow Kanji is one of the tougher bosses in the game. Having Yosuke pretty much constantly defending is good, with Yukiko on almost constant support. The key is getting rid of the two sidekicks as fast as you can, honestly.

[fat_moogle]

I removed Yosuke from the team completely, so I had my main at level 20 and Chie and Yukiko at level 19. I think I was a bit under levelled, so I'll put in some more training before the next rescue mission.

[Formalhaut]

Removing Yosuke wasn't a bad plan. I tend to keep him around, if only because if Yukiko can't keep on healing and your main character is hurting, Yosuke can pitch in with an item. Otherwise, yeah levelling is always a decent plan. And like always, have a good Persona repertoire for your main character is very useful. Thankfully, after getting Kanji you can swap someone out if they are weak to a boss or mini-boss, meaning you won't have to carry burdens.

Actually about Kanji - he's a strong physical attacker, much like Chie. You can have both of them in your party, but it is generally a good idea to have one or the other. With Yukiko a strong magical striker/supporter and Yosuke doing a bit of both, you have a balanced team.

[Fynn]

Guard is your best friend for those initial battles. By guarding, characters can actually cover up their elemental weaknesses, making fighting Shadow Yukiko easier if you have Chie guard often, for example.

[fat_moogle]

Oh that will be handy being able to swap people out. I stopped playing last night once I saved Kanji so I haven't had a chance to use him yet, so I've got to wait for him to recover. I'll play some more tonight.

[Midgar Mist]

Will i ever pick up this game again? Persona 4 i mean? I'm not sure.....i guess im a little disillusioned. I'm sure Kanno will talk me round eventually.....

[Fynn]

Have you played P3?