Persona questions from someone who hasn't played

So I hear a lot about the Persona series and I checked out some trailers and stuff so I had some questions and concerns before I get in to the series. The trailer I watched was for the 3rd one I think?

Number one, I can think of very few Atlus games I like and most of the ones I've played have mildly scared me. This one also seems to have that "dark" atmosphere to it. Is this an actual concern? Are some of them "lighter" than others?

The different persona things interest me, but the system seems a bit complicated. Like you can merge 2 together and make 1? Are you killing them? Can you every get them back? Does this stuff actually matter?

This game seems really difficult. Like you have a time limit and you have to juggle school and... whatever weird dungeon thing they seem to be doing... I don't do well with time limits, they're stressful and I'm bad at them. Is it a strict limit? Is it difficult?

How many playable characters are there?

Any other information would be appreciated or if you have any more commentary or whatnot as well, thank you!

The games are a bit dark. If you want a lighter one, play Persona 4. I prefer Persona 3 (and I vastly prefer the Persona games to any of the Shin Megami Tensei series that ATLUS is most known for. But you are enjoying Radiant Historia, right?

The time limit thing isn't too much of a problem. The day itself is split up into a couple chunks, but the chunks are not timed, so you can still go at a leisurely rate. The time limit is more to make you manage your Social Links than anything else. As long as you do not ignore the dungeons and story tasks completely, you're unlikely to fail from time.

There are seven to eight playable characters in Persona 4, depending on if you count Rise. Persona 3 has eight or nine, depending on how you count Fuuka (or ten, if you count Metis).

Persona themselves aren't actually alive, unlike the demons in the Shin Megami Tensei games. They are manifestations of the Persona-user's psyche. The main character is the only one who can combine or switch them, but it's not "killing" them. It's just changing which aspects of his psyche are presented to the world. Also, after the first month or two, you'll unlock the Persona Compendium, which lets you call back any Persona you have gotten rid of, whether you fused it or just junked it for space. So don't feel too bad, because you can always get them back.

P4 is a weird combination of cutesy and creepy, in the usual Atlus way. It's not jump-scares scary, but the environments and monsters and things that happen are vaguely weird and twisted. If you don't want a dark game, Persona might not be where you want to go.

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It's tough to pick my personal favorite in the series, but I'm going to recommend you Persona 4.

1. I like to describe Persona 4 to my friends as "the most upbeat game about murders ever." It's a murder mystery that you solve through ~anime power of friendship~. If you wanna dip your toes into Persona but Atlus games creep you out too much, P4 isn't totally without creepiness, but it's probably the tamest place for you to start.

2. Fusing personas is actually a lot simpler than it looks and it's a lot of fun! In Persona 4 basically you'll start with one Persona because the plot, and you have the option of obtaining more after you defeat enemies. When you fuse them together they are lost to create the new persona, but a little ways into the game you'll be given the option to "register" them and retrieve them as they were in exchange for money. The tutorials are well paced so that you're never overwhelmed with too much at once.

3. Persona 4 takes place over most of a year and many things you do in the game take up "time." Basically you have a month-ish to finish most plot points as far as the dungeons go, and most of the school year to finish the "social links" and for the most part each day you choose between dungeon exploring and friend making. Meeting your deadlines for the main plot is easy enough, but if you want to finish every single social link before the end of the game that's going to be very difficult to do without referencing a guide (you unlock a special Persona for doing this). It's pretty easy to just wing it and get enough social links done for a hefty amount of experience, so if you give the game a try you don't really have to fret over time unless you're just real anal about being perfect in everything you do.

Thanks for the replies, guys! So far it seems like if anything, I should try Persona 4 first and see if I like that one. I'll watch some trailers and see if its something that interests me. I think Persona 4 is still a little bit expensive but I could be wrong about that. It would be a little while before I could get it anyways

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Originally Posted by shion

Thanks for the replies, guys! So far it seems like if anything, I should try Persona 4 first and see if I like that one. I'll watch some trailers and see if its something that interests me. I think Persona 4 is still a little bit expensive but I could be wrong about that. It would be a little while before I could get it anyways

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It's running about 14-18 bucks on Ebay (or about five bucks used). Which is only about four dollars cheaper than Persona 4 Golden (which, by the way, you should already own if you actually have a Vita), but still a decent price.

If you happen to have a PS3 you can also buy Persona 4 on the PSN for $10 or so.

Oh I didn't realize it was so cheap! I have two more games on there I want to get but I might add it to the "list"

Persona games offer a pretty typical JRPG experience. The only thing I feel that really makes it stand out in terms of gameplay is that they're made like old games. You know the kind, the ones where you could suddenly die and there was nothing you could do about it so you saved frequently.

If you try to rush through the game it probably won't go too well for you. Like, after defeating your first real boss in Persona 4 an extra boss appears in that area and at lv 18 it was just too difficult to take down because it would use a move that would pretty much one shot your entire party.

You acquire Persona Cards at the end of battles and then you can fuse them together to make new ones. If you register them in the compendium you can get them back for a fee.

P3 has like 9 playable characters and I believe P4 has 8(?).

The time limit is really only an issue if you are neglecting the clearing of floors or trying to unlock the ability to create the main character's ultimate version of their Persona which requires you to max out all of your social links. Bosses can also be really difficult if you aren't adequately prepared.

I think the only ATLUS games I've ever played are Persona and Disgaea though. Disgaea games are pretty much anything but dark. They have their moments, but it's mostly just cheesy storytelling and some of the most magnificent scores you've ever heard

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Originally Posted by Vivi22

If you happen to have a PS3 you can also buy Persona 4 on the PSN for $10 or so.

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are you serial? is this the US PSN or what?

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Originally Posted by Mirage

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Originally Posted by Vivi22

If you happen to have a PS3 you can also buy Persona 4 on the PSN for $10 or so.

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are you serial? is this the US PSN or what?

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I'm in Canada so yes (ironically). I don't know about other territories. We've had a trout ton of Megaten stuff coming out on the PSN lately too.

I can't even find the P4A DLC that the game is advertising in-game in the news ticker at the bottom on my PSN store. That's how fun europe is, guys.

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Originally Posted by Mirage

I can't even find the P4A DLC that the game is advertising in-game in the news ticker at the bottom on my PSN store. That's how fun europe is, guys.

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Meh. You've only got like two months until Ultimax anyway.

Yeah but who knows when we'll get that in Europe.

ATLUS USA just announced yesterday that it's going to be region free. If you're too lazy to move to a decent continent, you can just import it. :D

Yeah I'd move to Canada if I just had the money.

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Originally Posted by Mirage

Yeah I'd move to Canada if I just had the money.

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Start saving. troutty government aside you'd be making an excellent choice.

all countries have troutty governments

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Originally Posted by shion

Number one, I can think of very few Atlus games I like and most of the ones I've played have mildly scared me. This one also seems to have that "dark" atmosphere to it. Is this an actual concern? Are some of them "lighter" than others?

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As others have stated Persona is the lighter softer side of the MegaTen fracnhise along with the Devil Summoner series. Of the Persona games, P4 is easily the lightest and happiest entry. I mean its bad ending is a bit depressing but both its normal and true ending are largely super special awesome happy-go-lucky compared to earlier installments whose endings often ranged from bittersweet to tear jerker. There are a few eerie moments in P4 but nothing like the stuff from P2/P3 or heaven help us, the mainline Shin Megami Tensei titles. Despite being a murder mystery story, its more like Scooby Doo crew doing it. The game also has a heavier emphasis on the building up the party as a group of friends, so between social links and dungeon crawls the game is filled with story scenes just showing the cast hanging out and having fun.

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The different persona things interest me, but the system seems a bit complicated. Like you can merge 2 together and make 1? Are you killing them? Can you every get them back? Does this stuff actually matter?

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It is much easier than the mainline games which have more complicated rules but it doesn't take long to get used to the ins and outs. One of the Social Links is also largely designed to make you learn the ins and outs of the fusion system. When two persona are fused together, they often make a stronger persona who inherits skills from both its parent personas. The main thing I will stress for new players of the MegaTen series is to not treat the Personas like it is Pokemon. Fusion is vital and you will need to learn to let go of your attachment to certain Personas and fuse them to create newer and stronger ones. On the other hand, P4 does a better job of giving better longevity to using certain Personas (Jack Frost comes to mind) so feel free to love them but understand that you will eventually reach a difficulty jump which will force you to fuse and create new Personas. As also mentioned, the game does give you a special book early on that will allow you to record your Personas into it and allow you to re-summon them later for a fee so it is not like they are gone for good.

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This game seems really difficult. Like you have a time limit and you have to juggle school and... whatever weird dungeon thing they seem to be doing... I don't do well with time limits, they're stressful and I'm bad at them. Is it a strict limit? Is it difficult?

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You generally have a month in-game time to rescue people which can be a few hours or a few days in real time depending on your playstyle so don't worry about time limits as much especially since screwing up just means you get shot back to a few days before to try again. In truth, you have plenty of time. The main challenge of the game is to find a balance of dungeon crawling and dealing with the real world stuff but its honestly not hard, I am just going to tell you now that you should not expect to complete everything in one playthrough and you really shouldn't bother to try, the games make good use of NG+. If you keep that in mind and simply stick to what you find enjoyable, then you'll find its not too difficult to make a workable schedule. The dungeons are also mostly really simple so don't worry about getting lost or difficult puzzles.

The gameplay can be tough, luckily it has difficulty options and the Easy mode is pretty generous. The main issue I found with P4, was that money could be a pain to get especially when trying to outfit your whole party and persona fusions but its also not like the game is so difficult you need to be outfitted with the best stuff to survive. I find that P3 is actually the easiest of the games in the series but even there its not too difficult to find yourself listening to Igor reprimand you for getting killed off. Easy mode offers some nice freebies to make those moments less stressful like direct continues.

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How many playable characters are there?

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Not counting the Navigator characters...

Persona 3 has 9 playable characters (though one is a temporary character)

Persona 4 has 7 playable characters