Persona Battle Royale

There was some talk of this in my thread but it was just between me, Fynn and WK. I want to know what the rest of EOFF thinks.

How would you rate the Persona games you have played from favorite to least favorite?

I'll start:

Persona 4 Golden
The rest
Persona 5

There rarely is a popular game that deserves all its hype. In fact, I once was a loud skeptic of P4's popularity. But after playing it, I can vouch for the fact that P4G truly is a 10/10 masterpiece.

Could break this down into more complex and specific topics too like
Best Party
Best Non-Party Social Links
Best Soundtrack
Best Antagonists

I might do that later but right now, I just feel like talking about how great P4 is.

Persona 5/3 fes (they’re both tied at the moment)
Persona 2 Innocent Sin psp
Persona 4 Golden
Persona 1 psp

I can't do the main games in a list format due to already doing so in another thread. I'll do the breakdown instead:

Best Party - Persona 2 actually.P3 or 5 are in close second but I'm not sure which would come out on top.
Best Non-Party Social Links - In the past I would have said 3, but P5 takes this.
Best Soundtrack - Persona 5, easily. The jazz influenced soundtrack works really well for the Phantom Thieves angle of the plot.
Best Antagonists - Nyaralothtep, no contest. There isn't a villain that has come close to it's caliber. My second place would be Kandori from the first game surprisingly enough.
Favorite Velvet Room Attendant - Elizabeth
Favorite Starting Persona - Nike, Helios, Izanagi, Lady, and Arsene
Favorite Ultimate Persona - Apollo, Hades, and Thanatos
Favorite Arcana - Fool, Emperor, Death, and Devil
Best Negotiation - 100 Ghost Stories
Best "Bro" - Junpei
Best Final Boss Fight - Nyx Avatar
Best "Best" Ending - Persona 2 and 3.
Best "Worst" Ending - P2:IS and P4
Best Non-Human Companion - Aigis, Koro-chan, and Morganna

Well, first up, my favorite to least favorite, overall:

Persona 5
Persona 4
Persona 3
Persona 1

Now to elaborate on that order, starting with the omission of Persona 2 IS/EP:
I never played Eternal Punishment because I never played Innocent Sin. I never played Innocent Sin because I had no desire to play its one localized version (the PSP version) after dropping Persona 1's PSP version after 5 hours because I didn't like it at all.

The remaining games are in this order because my main concern when playing SMT games, including Persona, is the gameplay. I find Atlus' stories pretty good at best and just plain bad at worst. Persona 3 had the best story of the bunch IMO but I still only consider it a pretty good story. I thought Persona 5's story was just plain decent but it has the best gameplay of them all, hence its spot at the top of my list.

I'll do a base ranking of the games and come back to the detais later. Keep in mind I haven't played 5 yet and I'm still making my way through Eternal Punishment. Also, I think it's worth noting that my opinion is pretty much the opposite of WZ's in that I think the stories and characters in these games are stellar, some of thebest ingaming, while bamelay ranges from ugh to pretty cool :p

#4: Persona 1 - easy choice here even though it's really grownon me. Though goofy inits story and very clunky in gameplay, it's still very fun with a very amusing cast and the story actually represents Jungian psychology farily well.
#3: Persona 4 - easily digestabke with a likeablecast. It sucks you with its bubbly atmosphere but sadly fails to recapture that harshness that was upuntilhis point pretty emblematic ofPersona and MegaTen ingeneral.
#2: Persona 2: Innocent Sin - stellar cast and a story that smurfs you up from the inside in the best possible way. i crei evertym
#1: Persona 3 - excellent execution of its theme. Every aspect of the game revolves around the theme ofdeath and life, rEally reinforcing the heavy, hard-hitting story. Also, Junpei is bae


alright, details!

Best Party: Innocent Sin. In a way, they're very tight like the P4 gang, but then there's a twist on it that works so well
Best S-Links: 3
Best Soundtrack: 5, though they're all upthere except for 1. It has two soundtracks that are very flawed. One doesnt fit too well while the other has the worst battle theme in existence
Best antagonist: Nyarlathotep. It's a shame noneof the later games have anyone with even half pf this dude's... well, everything
Fav Velvet Room Attendant: the Demon Painter
Fav Starting Persona: Helios
Fav Ultimate Persona: Durga, Trismegistus, Hyperion
Fav Arcana: Moon
Fav Contact: Full band rendition of Luv Beam
Best Bro: Junpei
Best Final Battle: Nyx for gameplay, Ameno Sagiri for A E S T H E T I C
Best good ending: 3
Best bad ending: Innocent Sin and 4G Accomplice ending
Best non-human sidekick: Koromaru (jnpy pls)

This only really applies to "Nu" Persona but I have a new category.

Best Home
Welcome back vs. Welcome home big bro vs. ...You're back.

Winner is P4.


I don't even see how this one can be a competition. Even when Sojiro warms up to you, you're still just a guy living in the attic of a store. There's not a lot of time for feeling like you're home with family.

And in P3 I swear 99% of the dialogue with the other people in the dorm was tutorial garbage or otherwise irrelevant uninteresting. Also it has the worst music in the entire game until the last month. (Then it becomes the best music but that doesn't count)

So the only real choice is P4. Between Dojima and Nanako, you actaully feel like you have family. You're also actively helping them both become closer to each other and not just you.There is a warmth and affection in P4 that is decidedly lacking in P3 or 5.

what Iwatodai dorm had the best theme

Another category I thought of!

Favorite Shadow Self: To me, Shadow Maya wins this. Shadow Teddie was basically a rip-off of this and the intense nihilism expressed by this shadow was all the more shocking because the character it was a part of was actually likable. Also, it was pretty much the first shadow you encounter in the entire series, so the introduction is incredibly chilling because you encounter Maya after splitting up and know something is off, but you're not quite sure what it is. This is pretty much the only shadow in the series that made me feel legitimately creeped out.

Actually I like P5's the best. I mean I love coming home to Nanako, but I'm the type that doesn't like to be bothered when I come home so the "exchange looks" approach to greets and then going on my merry way suits my personality better. Also, there is no contest it has the best music of the three.



As for my favorite Shadow Self...Either Shadow Lisa, Shadow Kanji, or P2:EP Spoiler for FynnJoker Cursed Ulala

Shadow Kanji was very fascinating considering how easy it is to misinterpret it - and I feel it's actually one of the first points in the game where it's hinted that Shadows aren't necessarily only a representation of someone's hidden desires, but also what the people watching the Midnight Channel want to believe to be true.

Still, overall I felt the Shadow Selves were done better in P2 since the "I am a Shadow, the True Self!" formula got really tired right around Kanji.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fynn

what Iwatodai dorm had the best theme

Another category I thought of!

Favorite Shadow Self: To me, Shadow Maya wins this. Shadow Teddie was basically a rip-off of this and the intense nihilism expressed by this shadow was all the more shocking because the character it was a part of was actually likable. Also, it was pretty much the first shadow you encounter in the entire series, so the introduction is incredibly chilling because you encounter Maya after splitting up and know something is off, but you're not quite sure what it is. This is pretty much the only shadow in the series that made me feel legitimately creeped out.

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Comparing these two is really stretching things. Like, okay, Teddie is cheerful and Maya is cheerful. That's really it.

Shadow Teddie's entire speech is tearing down the main theme of the game.P4 is about uncovering the truth and stripping away the superficial lies we all live by. S. Teddie says there is no truth, no deeper meaning. You can search all your life and never find the answers to the questions you have. It's actually quite poignant and realistic because that's 100% true. There are things - infinite things - that we will wonder about but never know. We'll go to our graves with those questions unanswered.

Shadow Maya just...comes and goes. That's really it. It also happens during the Big Reveal so it's not a tall surprising, unlike Teddie. Oh Maya's dark side comes out when we are learning about her darkest moments. Makes sense. Teddie's reveal is a lot more poignant because it's a lot more unexpected. He's been basically a comic relief character but then he saves everyone's lives. Only for his Shadow to appear right then and there in his greatest moment of triumph. If I had any Shadow in P4 that was even vaguely like what my Shadow might be, it would be Shadow Teddie since I've had all those thoughts before.

But really, I just don't know why you even compared the two since they have nothing in common in the story.

I have no idea what my favorite Shadow is. I'll think about it.

I compare them because they're two very cheerful characters who get shadows that seem to be nothing like them and spout edgy nihilism about the pointlessness of bonds, etc.

I still think Maya's shadow does it better because at this point nobody knows what a shadow even is. Heck, you might be inclined to think that's Maya at that point and that something really bad has happened to her, and it really works much better when you don't know what's going on at that moment. Even her initial scene when she just comes into the Kuzunoha agency and Tatsuya takes a step back is just chilling. With Teddie, though, when he shows up, you already know the drill - beat him up and Teddie gets a Persona. Tension - gone.

P4G
P5
P3P

Best Party: P4G
Best Non-Party Social Links: P5
Best Soundtrack: None
Best Antagonists: Uhh... 3? I guess?

I’m with Kanno on the P5 home theme being my favorite, and that atmosphere would probably suit me best. I tend to like my own space, and I’m not a big fan of spending a lot of time around kids.

The different reactions to coming home really suit the games, though. You are visiting family in P4, so it makes sense to have a really warm reception there. Both P5 and P4 would be preferable to the P3 dorms considering there is a ton of friction and you immediately are dealing with some pretty creepy and life threatening stuff.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Scotty_ffgamer

I’m with Kanno on the P5 home theme being my favorite, and that atmosphere would probably suit me best. I tend to like my own space, and I’m not a big fan of spending a lot of time around kids.

The different reactions to coming home really suit the games, though. You are visiting family in P4, so it makes sense to have a really warm reception there. Both P5 and P4 would be preferable to the P3 dorms considering there is a ton of friction and you immediately are dealing with some pretty creepy and life threatening stuff.

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Yeah, it's the interesting feeling you get from all three. There are just times in P3 where it felt really awkward coming home, especially when the whole team is reeling from some major story moment in the last few months or when you're aware of the in-fighting. It becomes less of a comfortable environment compared to the other two for a lot longer.

NSFWAttachment 74596

I always got the feeling that sojiro cared about your wellbeing, he just tried not to show that. It could be easy not to see that though, especially being an outcast that everyone is talking about. The P4 home would seem much safer considering it is a loving home. It also helps that you are just sent to Dojima due to your parents work if I remember right, unlike the bad circumstances in P3 and P5.

It’s hard to pick favorite individual aspects from the games for me. Despite what I say, I like them all pretty evenly in a lot of ways, and it would greatly depend on my mood. They are all games I get fatigue on too due to the pacing, though. It’s kind of a necessity to allow you to maximize your time spent with social links and stuff. I might try picking up P3 and P4 again this year so I can better compare them.