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[MetalliCabombination]

Why he should play persona
- monster taming
- feels like rpg through and through
- fantastic visuals
Im not a huge turn based fan but goddamn persona has me hooked, excellent story telling, likable and relatable characters, extremely unique gameplay
,*insert snarky ffxv shitpost*

Why he shouldn't play nier
- plays like an action game stripped off of its complexity instead of an rpg, and it has a lot of shootemup sections. Like alot.
- the game asks a lot of you, for one the story doesnt start to get interesting until the end of your 2nd playthrough and you need 3 playthroughs minimum to beat it. Its not about the time, its about the repetition with a combat system that barely evolves from the beginning of the game.
-its doesn't look to great.

Unpopular opinion here but i don't find nier a hell lot better than the first. Infact i think i enjoyed the first one more. It had a much better story and it was fun to dick around with magic. Automata has you slog through for hours with a serviceable combat system for little reward.
Im pretty sure i enjoyed ffxv's combat way more. Took 35 hours to beat nier and by the last playthrough i was just button mashing on easy with my eyes closed because damn does it get boring in terms of gameplay

Edit : oh shit, first post of the page imma get stomped on

 

[Unknown?]

If he likes WOFF and FFVIII I'd go with Persona.

 

[donutzsick]

Nier Automata is better in every way and sounds like it will be in his wheel house because of gameplay! Definitely Nier Automata!

 

[t1gerjaw]

Dunno why but I find Tilda weirdly attractive.

 

[Masked Man]

NieR! Already my GOTY (tied with Zelda).

 

[gngf123]

Nier Automata will blow his mind, but he should be aware that when he "beats it" he is really just beginning and needs to continue playing.

 

[ULTROS!]

Seems like it's leaning on NieR but once I added WoFF, people are starting to recommend P5.

Anyway, he saw P5's battles too and he thought it looked cool

Bonus: his all time favorite game is Final Fantasy VIII.

 

[Arttemis]

 

[Nielm]

I'd recommend Persona 5 if he likes Final Fantasy and he likes a good story.

 

[KodaRuss]

They are both really good but I think Persona 5 might be the safer pick. Nier is weird and I can see some people not getting into it.

 

[TyMiles2012]

As much as I would choose Persona over Nier, I'm going to suggest Nier to your friend. Persona is about the story but Nier fits his gameplay type, but definitely have Persona in his radar if he really wants a hell of a ride from a story. Even though he's not a huge anime fan, the hook is real social drama and issues, as is for the other Persona games (Well, at least compared to 4) Definitely interesting and I honestly recommend P5 to anyone if they want something completely different.

 

[Moaradin]

Nier sounds more up his alley. Has a great story as well, so can't really go wrong with it.

 

[gngf123]

Persona is about the story but Nier fits his gameplay type, but definitely have Persona in his radar if he really wants a hell of a ride from a story.

Nier will give him one hell of a ride from a story too, don't forget.

The gameplay is great like you'd expect from Platinum, but it's a story driven Yoko Taro game at heart and makes you very aware of it.

 

[30yearsofhurt]

Does your friend like butt-holes.

 

[OniBaka]

You know guys NieR has a good story too.

 

[Outtrigger888]

Yakuza 0

 

[Iva Demilcol]

Tell him that Naruto is part of the cast of Persona 5, OP. I mean, he's about to do a rasengan there.

 

[Wesley-Sigma]

NieR.

 

[mike6467]

Based on his history with turn based stuff I'd say P5, as it's pretty much the epitome of the genre.

Mind you I'm not nearly as high on Nier as most people here. A lot of the game felt redundant, and as such dragged for me. I got endings A-E and I just don't see myself going back to it.

On the other hand I've put 12 hours into Persona 5 over the last 48 and haven't been hooked on a game like this since FFVII when I was 13 years old....So my opinion is pretty biased.

Edit: Or this, so much this:

Yakuza 0

Edit 2:

Anyway, he saw P5's battles too and he thought it looked cool

Bonus: his all time favorite game is Final Fantasy VIII.

If his all time favorite game is a turn based RPG, you're doing him a disservice recommending Nier over P5. It'd be like someone saying their favorite game was Team Fortress, and proceeding to recommend Battlefield 1 instead of Overwatch.

 

[Perineum]

Persona 5.

Completed Nier, but the game really lacks in enemies and bosses worth a shit to fight. You get this cool combat system and really have nothing worth a shit to use it on.

P5 is fuck awesome right out the gate.

 

[Salty Rice]

Nier sounds like the better choice.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Tell him to flip a coin and get one of them, then once he saves up some money go get the other one.

 

[Iceternal]

All those people recommanding Nier ...

You have to realise that Nier is an extremely niche game.

Such a depressing tone is certainly not for everyone and you really have to know what you're getting into.

I did endings A to E and ended up hating it (though I recognise its qualities and I know it's a good game but too divisive).

 

[TissueBox]

How about, does he want to be happy or sad?

 

[Hasney]

Persona 5 easily. Nier falters in the gameplay department quite a bit, so I can't recommend it over P5 in that regard either.

Yeah, totally. Niers story kept pushing me through, but by the end of Nier:A, the Platinum Lite gameplay was boring me and I turned auto-fire on.

37 hours into Persona 5 and I much prefer ambushing, finding weaknesses and demon negotiation to DODGE AND KILL.

 

[Zolbrod]

- Final Fantasy XV was his system seller for the PS4 and he loved it, he even platinumed it.

Based on this, I'd say NieR.

- He's also playing World of Final Fantasy and loves it.

Based on this, I'd say Persona 5.


Be forewarned that NieR is heavy on bullet hell elements, which might not be his cup of tea.
I'd say Persona 5 is the safer option, but NieR is the more emotionally rewarding one.

 

[SaniOYOYOY]

How about, does he want to be happy or sad?

.

but, he needs to play both anyway like the rest of us

 

[Hektor]

Smh @ this thread and all the responses

The only right answer is forcing him to buy both.

Any REAL friend would do that.

Are you a REAL friend ULTROS?

 

[Oreiller]

Both are fantastic picks but I think Persona 5 is easier to get into tbh.

 

[SiegfriedFM]

Does he like taking screenshots of his adventures as he goes along?

 

[LotusHD]

All those people recommanding Nier ...

You have to realise that Nier is an extremely niche game.

Such a depressing tone is certainly not for everyone and you really have to know what you're getting into.

And? OP said to pick between the two, and that he likes both anyhow. I'm sure he'd know if his friend couldn't handle it or not...

Also I don't know how P5 ends, but it certainly has its own fair share of dark subject matter as well lol

 

[sonicmj1]

I love Nier, but based on your friend's historic love of the Final Fantasy franchise, Persona 5 seems like a safer bet. It will be more familiar mechanically than Nier's action-based systems, both in battle and in terms of character progression.

 

[LifeBrandRobot]

It's like asking me to pick between my children. If it's one or the other, I'll reccomend Persona 5.

The true answer is both though.

 

[ULTROS!]

Smh @ this thread and all the responses

The only right answer is forcing him to buy both.

Any REAL friend would do that.

Are you a REAL friend ULTROS?

The issue is budget!

As much as I want him to buy both, he can only afford one (then eventually the other one).

 

[Phoenix944]

The issue is budget!

As much as I want him to buy both, he can only afford one (then eventually the other one).

He buys one, you buy the other.

C'mon man

 

[LotusHD]

He buys one, you buy the other.

C'mon man

.

 

[NahaNago]

i'd say persona 5 as well since he liked world of final fantasy and ff8. It is simply a bit more similar to those games than nier.

 

[Gunkankun]

Go Nier, without a doubt. Persona 5 is a fantastic game on its own, but its anime influences are really apparent, although that might not be a problem for him if he likes Naruto. Nier grabbed me from minute one and didnt let go for the 60 hours it took.

 

[_Ryo_]

If he likes WoFF, he'd love Persona 5.

 

[marmoka]

Perhaps Nier is more for him, because of the sci-fi atmosphere, and gameplay more similar FFXV.

But Persona 5 is turn-based, just like FF VIII, if he liked that game, he may also enjoy playing P5.

And both have anime aesthetic, Nier is closer to FFXV, and P5 is more cartoon than Nier. If he didn't mind FFXV emo characters, I don't see why he wouldn't enjoy P5, and the character design is not embarrassing.

Difficult question to answer. I'm playing Persona 5 now, and only played Nier Automata Demo. Both have a great gameplay, and I will leave Nier for later this semester.

I think the best you could do, is tell him to download Nier Demo, and if he likes it, then get the game for him. Leave Persona 5 for later.

 

[ULTROS!]

He buys one, you buy the other.

C'mon man

Q1 emptied my wallet already... and I'm still saving up for DQHII, The Nonary Games, KHI.5+II.5, Danganronpa Reloaded, and another $10 PSN card for Kero Blaster,

 

[MisterShine]

Does he want a 25-hour Action RPG or an 80-hour turn based RPG?

They're both phenomenal in their own right (I'm only like a dozen hours into P5 but I've beaten Nier) but they're decently far apart in terms of style. Which sounds more interesting to him?

 

[Phoenix944]

Q1 emptied my wallet already... and I'm still saving up for DQHII, The Nonary Games, KHI.5+II.5, Danganronpa Reloaded, and another $10 PSN card for Kero Blaster,

How many kidney do you have?

Spoiler

I understand the struggle :/

 

[Hades Hotgun]

Totally Nier given all you've said OP. Make sure he plays thtough it like 4 or 5 times for the complete experience. If that sounds offputting change to Persona V.

Both great.

That isn't accurate at all. Maybe you are thinking of the original Nier, because Nier Automata doesn't require anything like that.

 

[Jiraiza]

Buy both seems like the only good answer here. Nier's my GOTY, but it's definitely a less rounded package than Persona altogether.

 

[Aressa]

I think Persona 5 is the "safer" game honestly. NieR is a weirdo Yoko Taro game that might be my new favorite game... but is still a weirdo Yoko Taro game so it's harder to judge if people will be into that from my experience.

+

Update: he's also playing World of Final Fantasy and loves it.

Persona 5 is the safer bit here. I would honestly go with that if that was my friend.

 

[Cleve]

So I have a friend who's looking for an RPG to play and he's considering both games. Problem is I love both games and they're both very good. Hoping a diverse opinion on GAF would help.

Basically his background:
- Final Fantasy XV was his system seller for the PS4 and he loved it, he even platinumed it.
- His last console was the PSone, last game was FFVIII. Never had a PS2 or PS3.
- He doesn't like anime but he loved Naruto.
- He's more into gameplay, but a good story should still help.

Update:
- He's also playing World of Final Fantasy and loves it.

I have bad news for your friend. I think he likes anime.

That said, if he's enjoying WoFF, Persona would easily be up his alley. Both games are great obviously, and worth getting but I'd start with persona.

 

[Ouroboros]

Does he like taking screenshots of his adventures as he goes along?

Go with Nier, while P5 is "anime" in aesthetics only (the plot and subjects are great from what I've played so far), your friend might be off put by it and the heavy Japanese influence in the game.

 

[rotpb517]

Echoing what a lot of others have stated, I believe he'd like Nier a little more. Both games are amazing, but if he leans more toward gameplay then I think Automata would gel better.

 

[killatopak]

Action RPG
You want to be depressed
Amazing OST
T H I C C
World Building

Buy Nier

Turn Based RPG
You want to be happy
Amazing OST
Cool
More personal relationships

Buy Persona


But please buy both.