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Thread: FL Plays the Persona Series

  1. #136

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    So in case it wasn't obvious, I was kind of burnt out on Persona 3. I'm taking a break.

    I just did Destinyland in Digital Devil Saga 1. There's a faint whiff of a plot here butit's even more remote than in Nocturne. I was told this is the most linear and standard JRPG in the SMT series. Maybe it is standard and I'm just not used to dungeon crawlers.

    Battle system is interesting. I like that I have permanent access to every skill I learn and not just six or seven of them. It's just that my team seems like a bunch of psychopaths apart from Argilla and Cielo but I don't like Cielo so Argilla and Sera are the only characters I can really stand.

    Normal battle music is fantastic. Although Strange Journey is beginning to seem like the odd one out with its "traditional" orchestral score. Nocturne and DDS love the rock and Persona 3 was very hip-hop inspired.


  2. #137
    Radical Dreamer Fynn's Avatar
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    The whole point of these games is that everyone starts out as a psychopath but suddenly get the capacity to feel. DDS kind of explores the notion of growing empathy, which makes it one of my absolute favorites.

  3. #138

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    I have my PSTV and P4G will be here tomorrow!

    I jus tneed to finish P3
    And Digital Devil Saga
    And Innocent Sin

    ....



    I think this is my favorite normal battle theme so far. Ironic because I hear DDS2's is a fan favorite for best.

  4. #139
    Radical Dreamer Fynn's Avatar
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    DDS2 does have an awesome remix of it used as a boss theme, though



    As a general rule, I think DDS1 has the better dungeon themes, while DDS2 has the better battle themes.

  5. #140
    'Just Friends' Formalhaut's Avatar
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    Heh, I wonder how many people bought a PSTV just to play P4G. I know that's what I did.


  6. #141

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    Well I bought a Vita primarily for P4G, and I wasn't even as big a fan of the series yet as I am now.

  7. #142

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    I like the final boss themes. They kept me awake as I dropped Thunder Reign's and Megidolaon's on Nyx Avatar for a half hour or whatever. Shame I didn't get Satan's last skill since it seems a lot stronger but I didn't know that until I looked up how to spell Megidolaon.

    What if you didn't master a single Social Link all game? Who "reaches out to you" then to give you the power?

    So it obviously doesn't matter but I sometimes muse on how the Persona people would be like, ripped apart by the main SMT dudes, especially the Demifiend. But now, P3 Guy has the power of the universe at his disposal. He could maybe beat the other protagonists now?

    Earlier I was speculating about Persona protagonists and typical SMT alignments. This game is super duper Neutral. The whole Cult thing, our heroes constantly mocking "believe and you will be saved", Aigis' ending speech about "Thinking for yourself... Not running away... Accepting the inevitable..."

    I'm not sure I agree with your Aesop, game. Although, peculiarly, I'm reminded of the one dialogue choice worth anything in DDS. Argilla is freaking out and asking you about WHAT IS THE POINT OF IT ALL and you can reply "Maybe we live to determine how we die."

    So am I dead? That's gonna be a lovely surprise. They cut out right as the joyous reunion is cut short by the corpse.

    I kinda suspected he'd die because he's likened a lot to Jesus and what did Jesus do but die. I'm joking obviously but you get my meaning.

    And that's Persona 3. My thoughts? I'm hungry and will give my thoughts on the whole game after I eat and have time to reflect.

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  9. #144
    Radical Dreamer Fynn's Avatar
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    Regarding alignment - it's interesting to note that the Persona games follow a pattern. In P1 and both parts of P2, the big bad embodies typical Chaos values, in P3 and P4 they are Neutral (death is hardly law or Chaos, isn't it), and from what I heard of P5's story (and, sadly, I've been spoiled on a lot) you're going against Law.

  10. #145
    'Just Friends' Formalhaut's Avatar
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    Fynn's assessment makes sense; I'm pretty sure he told me that as well before. Persona 3 is all about fighting against nihilism, finding a meaning and reason for living.


  11. #146

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    Chie: HOW ARE WE GONNA GET HOME?!!!

    Me: We're doomed.

    I got my Understanding increased just a second ago for asking how they were doing after our little trip but I just couldn't pass up the chance to say this.

    But man, this game is so much fun already. Everyone is so lively and chummy. I know some people overreact to P3's party having tension between certain members and they say they all hated each other but while I think that's totally false, it was a pretty serious group. Granted, a lot of serious trout was going down. But right now, it feels like everyone is Junpei. Except Yukiko. I like her. And Unfriendly Girl. Where the hell di she go?

    But man, I think Yu is mentally challenged. Who sticks their head into anything they don't know about, let alone a TV?

    Dojima is the killer, isn't he? The person in charge of investigating the murders is always the killer.

    Man, Shadow Yosuke was annoying for literally the first boss of the game. I had to waste allthe items I had. Well, I have one or two Medicines left but I'm damn lucky his last attack missed because I was pretty much dead as I accidentally used the SP restoration item instead of a Medicine.

    So Margaret basically said I have to form a lot of Social Links in order to find the killer and get the best ending? That right?

    Me: -gets bit-]

    Chie: You okay?

    Me: I think I'm gonna cry....

    I'm gonna make the sorriest hero ever. Everyone is so frickin' nice here, why not play everything up for sympathy from cute girls and boys?

    Seriously, everyone loves transfer students in these games.

    I had to use two of my three Revival Beads in the Shadow Chie fight, too. Even with Rekunda the fight took forever. I should have bought more medicine but I was pretty much broke after buying our troutty new weapons.

    Also I totally forgot Direct Command existed in this game. I was just looking at teh freshly acquired Tactics Menu during the boss and then saw "hey, I can control him myself now!" Then again, I had far less to complain about P3's AI than other people. It was better than FFXIII or XIII-2. Then again, those are harder games. Well, XIII-2 isn't hard per se but it's different. In XIII-2, your monsters are all better than you whereas in Persona 3, you're better than all of your party. So relying on AI in XIII-2 could be tricky while in P3, you're doing all the heavy lifting anyway.

    Also I forgot to mention I met Marie. Some people I have talked to seem to dislike her. I wonder if it's because she's the new charactr on the block.

    Also there's a lot more to do in this game than Persona 3. Fishing, part-time jobs, gardening... This game seems to love gardening. I mean, Teddie even gave me those seeds along with combat items. I can only assume these things help develop your Social Skills. I had hoped that was a mechanic they eliminated or simplified but NOPE. There are even MORE of them. It took forever just focusing on two of them in 3..... What the hell is Expression anyway?

    I was promised there was no Reaper in this game and thus I could explore freely. Yet I know for a fact I heard, when leaving on my first day of training, the unmistakable sound of chains rattling and a creepy rattling breath as well. I waited around at the entrance to see if he popped up but nothing happened for a solid minute or two and I wasn't about to go looking for an unbeatable super boss.

    What a nightmare Shadow Yukiko was... I lost my first attempt because I didn't come with any Personas that had Bufu. Apart from Chie's, obviously. Then when I reloaded, I forgot I had gotten items for healing and went to the TV World and saved here...with like, 2 Medicines. So needless to say, i felt boned. I was fairly certain this was the last day I had to save Yukiko and this was confirmed when I decided to jus tsay screw it and try to go back. They found her body and I felt bad and reloaded. Anyway, I managed to scrape a win against the boss thanks to the power of buffs, debuffs and the fact I at least had a lot of Revival Beads.

    But man, this game is super frickin' stressful and I don't mean just because of the amped up difficulty. The time management in this game is brutal. I tried to do as much as I could but I still only managed to get two Social Links to Rank 2 and read that entire book that increased your Knowledge gain. I got a part-time job but never did it, I haven't figured out how to fish or garden, I have no idea where Yosuke or Chie are so I can talk to them and increase their Social Links... Overall, I barely managed to save Yukiko while accomplishing very little else. Money is also so tight in this game, I can't afford new weapons for anyone. I barely got new armor for Yosuke, I can probably get it for Chie now I guess thanks to the boss' Yen drop but even still....

    Overall, this game is pulling me in so many different directions. It's very stressful.

    And I think I'll stop there for now. Tired.

    Game is pretty fun. A lot more going on in Inaba than wherever P3 was. I am glad Yukiko has retured and is part of the party. Although at present I think I like every character about equally. Yosuke is like a likable Junpei. Chie is kinda whatever but she has a wonderful battle stance.

    I have to be as sweet as possible to poor Nanako. I agreed to go on that trip wit her and Dojima, although I'm not even sure if it was really optional. I figure I must be able to learn to cook to help Nanako out.

    School music is excellent. I love the normal TV World music and wish it played in the dungeon part.

    Any answers to my questions or advice be welcome.

  12. #147
    Radical Dreamer Fynn's Avatar
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    The Reaper won't appear in the dungeon like in 3, BUT he'll appear in chests, very occssionally. You'll be warned and asked like three times before you open that chest, so don't stress.

    And Marie... ugh... Yeah, I know a lot of people who do like her, actually. I don't. Her only redeeming feature in my eyes is her voice because Eden Riegel is up there with Laura Bailey (who is also in this game!!) and Cassandra Morris as brilliant VAs who can do no wrong. I'll go into detail as to why she annoys me later on, so as to avoid spoilers. And to be fair, I was excited to see what she'd bring to the table, so it's not exactly that I was against the idea of a new character!

    (I also can't for the life of me understand how anyone could consider XIII hard but that's irrelevant to the discussion >.>)

  13. #148

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    So...bizarrely, the Fox bothers me less than Koro did. Maybe I just grew accustomed to how wacky Persona is?

    Nanako is Justice huh? Then just like last game Justice will see me through the game. Definitely gonna be working on that way.

    Everything feels so much more "organic" here. I loved that you could go hang with Nanako, Yosuke and your athlete buddies all at once like, ya know, normal people.

    Heh, I was bamboozled about where to get a Fishook...until I looked it up. But for smurf's sake, it's timed. I went to the jewel trading place every night anyway but as soon as I looked it up and then went there, the necessary event happened. So I wasn't slow about being able to fish, I just literally could not have done it until now apparently.

    Finally got to Gardening, too. Yay.


    So I forgot to mention the SOS system or whatever. That's a pretty frickin' neat feature. I'll never use it but its mere existence is laudable. Having the ability to help other people avoid a game over is awesome, even if I doubt anyone is still around to save the poor newbies like myself.

    Nanako: I made flowers for my mom but I don't have one so what should I do with them?

    Option C: Give them to me.

    Jesus, what a dickhea


    Awww... I paired with Yukiko for the stakeout but I didn't have enough Courage to say I'd protect her. I don't care if it is inconsequential, I hate when I can't do what I want. Balancing everything in this game is still a pain in the ass. I also didn't have enough Expression to continue the Dojima S Link. Frustrating.

    My trip to the TV World was positively luxurious at least. Until I got to that Shadow where Shadow Yukiko was. He annihilated me.

    Also Kanji is like, super gay. Somebody told me he wasn't "in spite of what the Internet says" but this is not even remotely subtle or ambiguous. Short of them utilizing the M Rating to the max and saying "stick a huge cock in my ass", it couldn't be more obvious. And that's fine. I don't know why someone would try to argue this.

    smurf I tried everything, I can't beat the Wealth Hands. They're too tough. They resist all elements and take almost no damage from physical attacks. I keep running into them an dI keep failing to beat them. I smurfing need money, too.

    Maybe they are vulnerable to Hama and Mudo....? I just thought of this now. Goddammit.

    Well, I managed to beat one. Hama wasn't working so I desperately looked at my items list. I had randomly procured a few items and I just now realized they do fixed damage. So resistant to Fire or not, I still do 50 points of damage with a Firecracker. Is that the trick?

    Has anyone here used the Retry function? I felt really lame when I had to but I didn't want to lose 20 or so minutes of grinding because an enemy opened up with an attack that oneshotted me.

    There's absolutely no excuse for party leader death = instant game over in these games anyway.

    I saved Kanji a few days early. Yay. I'm trying to bang out my attributes so I can get the best jobs and also focus on Social Links. Proving to be difficult and frustrating. There's so much to do in this game and, unlike P3, I kinda want to do it all. I dunno what it is...there's a charm here I felt lacked in 3. Everything feels alive, ya know? I still can't stop raving about combined Social Link outings because they make so much sense and make everything so much more believable. In 2, Social Link events might as well happen in their own little universe where it was just you and the other person. Why Empress never did anything even though Mitsuru was in love with me.

    So I am trying to remember what names I know from 4.... I get the feling the party is nowhere near as big as 3's. But I mean, it has to be larger than just me, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko and soon-to-join Kanji. I know of Rise of course but she's like, the navigator so she replaces Teddie, she isn't another playable person. I usually stick with a core team of my favorites but I still appreciate large casts because it increases the odds I'll find a character I love to play as.

    But man, I love the party member S Link skills. Being able to instantly eject or knock down an enemy is very useful. Plus Chie and Yukiko have some weird combo move they usually use when our All Out Attack fails and it's jus tenough to finish off whatever we were fighting. But overall, it all just feels very....I dunno what the word for it is. It creates a great atmosphere of comradeship. Everything about the game does that so the gameplay integrating with the cutscenes is good storytelling.

    In terms of S Link Progress, I have everyone around 3 except Marie who is 4 and Yukiko who is only 2. No Kanji yet. Hermit is still 1. Does leveling that up make the Fox charge you less for healing? If so, I need to get on that.

    I'm now rather interested in what will happen with Marie. I wonder if this is "become a real girl" situation.

    Oh and Adachi or whoever is still only Rank 1. I was told to chat him up but... I don't care about him. He could be the killer for all I know but right now, he's just a bumbling sidekick and not a particularly endearing one.

    Why is everyone in this game so adorable?! First Marie was Unfriendly Girl but now she talks in this sweet ihateyoubutnotreally way, Yukiko was serious and uptight but now she has the giggles and Kanji went from foul-mouthed ass to potentially a bigger kid than Yosuke.

    I keep forgetting to ask, does what I say after the Shadow bosses matter? You always get the same dialogue options to comfort whoever it is. Basically "everyone is like that", "it's only a part of you" and one more. I always pick "everyone is like that." Except one time... I think with Yukiko I said something different.

    So Yukiko takes the lead over the other party members with S Link Rank 4. I also finally managed to get Courage and Diligence up to Rank 3. I would guess I need at least Rank 4 for everything and I should aim for Rank 5 in Knowledge, Courage and Understanding. After that, smooth sailing for everything. It will be a lot more fun I will tell you. I feel so pressured right now. I stopped right after the disastrous Okina trip to try and execute Yosuke's plan and before the class outing thing. It's like, middle of June I think. Everyone tells me I have plenty of time for everything, especially since Golden apparently lengthened the calendar time you get, but I still feel put upon. I'm basically Tweak from South Park.

    Also I went to do the Daycare job and got a cutscene out of nowhere. I figured it was just for money. I am intrigued but I haven't been able to go back there yet. Do Iget a S Link with that kid's stepmom? I will have to go back.

    Also I really have to repeat this song is way better than the actual dungeon music.


    Speaking of which, the normal battle music is way better than the boss music. What's up with how generic the boss music is?

    I think the town theme is my favorite song in the game... That or the above track.

    P.S.

    Forgot to mention how great it is to see my old buddy Tanaka again. Him and his great theme song.

  14. #149
    Radical Dreamer Fynn's Avatar
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    Ugh.... Kanji's issues are something that really has little to do with sexuality and more with society's expectations of masculinity. I would know. I was there.

    Also, in all further installments in the series that he appears, he's blatantly confirmed to have an enourmous crush on a female character.


    Could he be bi, pan, or anything else - of course. But the fact remains that his personal struggles and issues have way less to do with sexuality than it is initially presented. That is more for shock value, imo.

    You'll notice that one of the tropes on his TVTropes page (and remember that's a collaborative wiki, not just one person noticing it or anything) listed is "Ambiguously Bi" (proceed at your own risk, though. Spoilers are generally marked but some aren't)

  15. #150
    'Just Friends' Formalhaut's Avatar
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    I would say given what we end up knowing about Kanji, I'd say he was bisexual, or at least bicurious. Honestly though, Fynn is right. The questions over Kanji's sexuality is more of a vehicle to drive discussions about masculinity and how Kanji subverts some aspects of the dominant hegemonic masculinity that is present in society.

    Besides a few gags and jokes (including a very questionable scene at that camping event), Kanji's sexuality isn't really brought up much after he is recruited.


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