Persona

[Pumpkin]

So I am now playing Persona 3 Portable and I thought it might be a good time for another one of these threads. I just fought the bosses with the (SPOILER)lover and whatever the other one was

I really really like the social aspect of the game, but I do not like the dungeon at all. There's just too much of it. So I try to get it done in one day but it's pretty not fun at all. And it takes like 3x the time as the social aspect. The days go pretty fast

So I had some questions:
-Does rescuing the people do anything? Because if not I'm not going to bother. I hate the dungeon and I don't want to have to keep going back
-When it's summer and school is out, can I still interact with the people from school? How does that work? I'm kind of worried because I don't have my school social stuff maxed out

My favourites so far are Saori and Fuuka. Saori is super sweet and pretty

I plan to try Persona 4 on the Vita at some point. Feel free to discuss all the Personas! Any tips and advice are appreciated

[Ayen]

I only played a little bit of the beginning of the first one when I was testing to see if it would work. I'll probably pick up the later titles when I can. I like the whole psychological thing the series has going for it. My aunt was explaining the premise of the games while trying to remember what it was called and kept looking at me and I had no idea what she was talking about. My cousin's a big fan of them. I guess you can even talk to the monsters and whatnot in the older games. That's cool.

[Skyblade]

So I am now playing Persona 3 Portable and I thought it might be a good time for another one of these threads. I just fought the bosses with the (SPOILER)lover and whatever the other one was

I really really like the social aspect of the game, but I do not like the dungeon at all. There's just too much of it. So I try to get it done in one day but it's pretty not fun at all. And it takes like 3x the time as the social aspect. The days go pretty fast

This is what I meant when I said the game has terrible pacing.

The game is built around you visiting the dungeons over and over again over time. But the game heavily rewards rushing the dungeon in a single visit (because the dungeon takes away time that you could use to socialize more). So you wind up stuck in the dungeon for hours before finally getting back to the writing. Even if you like the dungeons, it is HORRIBLY paced.

So I had some questions:
-Does rescuing the people do anything? Because if not I'm not going to bother. I hate the dungeon and I don't want to have to keep going back

Most of them are minor rewards, but you have to rescue Bunkichi in order to unlock the Hierophant Social Link. And there's another Social Link member who gets lost in Tartarus later.

-When it's summer and school is out, can I still interact with the people from school? How does that work? I'm kind of worried because I don't have my school social stuff maxed out

Yes and no.

You can interact with some of the school individuals, but most of the Social Links in school clubs or sports can't be progressed.

Worry not. You still have the entirety of the fall semester to go.

My favourites so far are Saori and Fuuka. Saori is super sweet and pretty

Both are awesome, but there are some you don't have yet that I like even better!

I plan to try Persona 4 on the Vita at some point. Feel free to discuss all the Personas! Any tips and advice are appreciated

If you like Persona 3, you'll probably like Persona 4 Golden as well. The dungeons are FAR more interesting than Tartarus (on a theme and style level, at least, the structure doesn't change a lot), and less tedious thanks to some improvements (like the ability to choose what abilities a fused Persona inherits). And there are some more fantastic Social Links.

[FFIX Choco Boy]

To answer your questions, Pumpkin:

Yes, you get some pretty hefty rewards for rescuing the people. (SPOILER) Plus some of the people you rescue are Social Link members, so if you leave them in the dungeon, that link is permanently stuck at whatever rank it was at before they disappeared. I would recommend waiting until near the end of the month to go into the dungeon, that way you can rescue everyone at once AND do the dungeon progression all in one trip. Makes it much simpler.

No, you can still interact with your party members, but most school-specific social links are suspended during the summer, with the exceptions being that sometimes they'll ask you out on a date, which will raise their relationship with you, but won't result in an actual link up, as well as (SPOILER) Chariot. You will go away for a few days for a competition, after which your relationship will go up quite a bit, but again, no rank up. Also, one of the playable characters from P4 makes a brief cameo during this, since you're playing as the female character. In reality, unless you're playing with a guide, you likely won't max out all your social links on your first playthrough. (SPOILER) But that's what New Game + is for!

I really love the Shin Megami Tensei series as a whole, but the Persona games stand out to me more because I enjoy the stories and connecting to the characters on a more personal level, which is something you don't get AT ALL with other SMT games. Persona 3, though, is DEFINITELY my favorite RPG I've ever played so far, and I'd really recommend getting fully invested in it. Let yourself fall in love with the characters and storyline, etc, because the emotional payoff with it is amazing. I know I shed more than my fair share of tears playing it.

[Pumpkin]

sharky has actually taken a liking to it watching me. He says it seems really interesting. But he also doesn't like the dungeon because all the floors look relatively the same so it gets repetitive. He might end up giving it a try!

He says Saori is creepy though and she's not creepy she is awesome

Oh and thanks for answering my questions guys!

[Ayen]

After a while every dungeon starts looking the same.

I'm just saying.

[Pumpkin]

This one is worse than most I've seen. It's like 30 floors of the same darn thing. THIRTY

And then you get to do another 30 floors yaaay

I want to at least max out my relationship with Saori and Rio(? I think is her name? Volleyball girl) and the old couple because they're sweet. I guess they'll still be available in summer though

[Skyblade]

This one is worse than most I've seen. It's like 30 floors of the same darn thing. THIRTY

And then you get to do another 30 floors yaaay

Don't worry. Persona 4 makes that aspect much less repetitive.

I want to at least max out my relationship with Saori and Rio(? I think is her name? Volleyball girl) and the old couple because they're sweet. I guess they'll still be available in summer though

Ok, so you already rescued Bunkichi. Good. Yeah, you can progress their Social Link during the summer.

Not Rio or Saori, though.

[Pumpkin]

I didn't think I rescued him. He's just kinda been there

I'll be sure to rescue him if he goes missing though. Maybe I missed it somehow

[Ayen]

This one is worse than most I've seen. It's like 30 floors of the same darn thing. THIRTY

And then you get to do another 30 floors yaaay

I want to at least max out my relationship with Saori and Rio(? I think is her name? Volleyball girl) and the old couple because they're sweet. I guess they'll still be available in summer though

Jesus Christ! That is ridiculous.

[Fynn]

The dungeons will start looking a tad bit differeñt soon... But yeah, they're a drag Glad you enjoy the social aspect so much, though.

[Pumpkin]

Oh I also enjoy Fuuka's comments while I'm in battle

"There are 3 enemies!"

Thank you Fuuka, I can count.

"You defeated an enemy. Two enemies remain!"

Thank you Fuuka, I passed first grade math.

"Junpei-kun defeated an enemy!"

I know Fuuka, I was right there


Not complaining too much, it's actually pretty funny. Both me and sharky are just like "thank you Fuuka" every time she talks now

[Ayen]

Not complaining too much, it's actually pretty funny. Both me and sharky are just like "thank you Fuuka" every time she talks now

Gabrielle Meme.jpg

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I want to reiterate what other people have probably said, but don't worry about maxing out all of the social links on your first play through. Unless you are following a guide, it is pretty impossible. Just pick the ones that seem most interesting to you to follow.

I agree with the dungeons. They eventually feel a little different, but not by much. From what I remember, it always just felt to me like the same thing just with different colors and maybe slightly different looking textures eventually. There are aspects I like of it over Persona 4's dungeons, but Persona 4 gives a bit more variety in how the dungeons look at least.

I hope you enjoy the game as you play though! It's one of my favorites.

[Fynn]

Not complaining too much, it's actually pretty funny. Both me and sharky are just like "thank you Fuuka" every time she talks now

Gabrielle Meme.jpg

Oh, it is. The actress's flat delivery really causes the voice to be much maligned in the fandom. She's voiced by Paula Tiso, BTW, who voiced Lulu in FFX. I much prefer her Wendee Lee voice in Persona Q