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[Jay Sosa]

Opinions...everyone has them. I won't argue that The Answer is some pinnacle of gaming but it's hardly a "PoS". If you like the cast of characters it's worth going through as it fleshs out their stories more plus it has some excellent boss fights. Not everyone's cup of tea but neither are Atlus games in general

Seriously, everything on GAf is either hate or love, same with the A.I.. Sure they sometimes do stupid stuff, but horror stories? Come on..

 

[Brobzoid]

Ok, so I just got the robot lady and she's several levels higher than any of my characters. :x

Am I severely under-leveled if that's the case?


(Also, the radio theater is increasingly annoying)

 

[Blueblur1]

Opinions...everyone has them. I won't argue that The Answer is some pinnacle of gaming but it's hardly a "PoS". If you like the cast of characters it's worth going through as it fleshs out their stories more plus it has some excellent boss fights. Not everyone's cup of tea but neither are Atlus games in general

Most of those flashback scenes don't really flesh anyone out; after playing the main game you know the supporting cast better than most characters in other games. The new scenes could have been added to the main game, to be honest. You may like it but most people find it to be undesirable because, aside from those short cutscenes, The Answer is pure dull combat. And Metis doesn't help things.

 

[FredFish]

Most of those flashback scenes don't really flesh anyone out; after playing the main game you know the supporting cast better than most characters in other games. The new scenes could have been added to the main game, to be honest. You may like it but most people find it to be undesirable because, aside from those short cutscenes, The Answer is pure dull combat. And Metis doesn't help things.

It's not just the scenes you get opening the various "end" doors though. There's a fair amount of dialog outside those as well. The surprise Battle Royale over the key and seeing who sides with whom in the fight.
If you found the combat dull how did you bring yourself to finish The Journey as The Answer is largely the same as going through Tartarus?
Also many complain about not having the Compendium but since there's no S. Links and Fusion was streamlined it's easier to get some of the most powerful Persona.
You may be right that most people won't enjoy The Answer but again I'll point out that "most people" won't enjoy Atlus games in the first place. GAF shouldn't be about what "most people" enjoy it should be about pointing out worthwhile games which are largely hidden in the shadows. You didn't like The Answer, many people don't but there are others who found it worth playing


And you're dead wrong about Metis

 

[Minamu]

http://pici.se/pictures/PPetoEjsU.jpg
I think there's a saying about how one shouldn't make general assumptions because it's usually a pretty bad idea, or something like that.

 

[I AM JOHN!]

It's not just the scenes you get opening the various "end" doors though. There's a fair amount of dialog outside those as well. The surprise Battle Royale over the key and seeing who sides with whom in the fight.

That was one of the only good parts of the game... and it took thirty-four fucking hours to get there. Lord knows how many amazing games I've played through in the time it took The Answer to stop sucking.

 

[Yaweee]

That was one of the only good parts of the game... and it took thirty-four fucking hours to get there. Lord knows how many amazing games I've played through in the time it took The Answer to stop sucking.

Yeah, there's some decent content in The Answer, but not enough to justify the time spent. It's ~25 hours (average) for 17 or so cutscenes, most of which are redundantly explained in the the regular part of P3.

 

[Flib]

I've started playing this after getting about halfway through Persona 3 and getting sidetracked. Quick question: I've been reading up on different s. links etc., but nowhere I've looked has had recommendations on the best ones to max out (besides the storyline ones, obviously). Are they that balanced that it's pretty much up to you, or are there any serious must-get ones I should work on?

 

[Yaweee]

I've started playing this after getting about halfway through Persona 3 and getting sidetracked. Quick question: I've been reading up on different s. links etc., but nowhere I've looked has had recommendations on the best ones to max out (besides the storyline ones, obviously). Are they that balanced that it's pretty much up to you, or are there any serious must-get ones I should work on?

None are really more important than others.

Note that some S. Links lead to other ones, but it's usually unlocked at a low rank (around 3 or 4, I think). Like how if you do Hierophant (The bookstore), Bebe shows up and you can start doing his S. Link in the school).

They're pretty much balanced, all and all. There are good persona of each arcana of each, and the ultimates you unlock at Rank 10 are all pretty useful. They also took out the retarded combo quests from FES which were missable if you didn't get certain ultimates, so none are required.

SOME might be better than the others, but the 3 that max out automatically as part of the story are good enough such that you'll never absolutely need any that you missed.

NOTE:
Here's some of the S. Links I know that lead into other ones:

- Heirophant leads into Temperance (Bebe), both male and female paths
- Hanged Man leads into Sun, both paths, around rank 4
- Hermit (both paths) leads into Devil
- Female Chariot leads into Hanged Man, or at least mentions her? I don't remember, but it may have been Strength in the Male Path? I really don't know.

 

[Flib]

Sweet, I was hoping I could just focus on the characters I liked instead of worrying too much about min/maxing.

Thanks!

 

[Jay Sosa]

Every Combination Skill is now an item. I guess they did that to prevent people spamming Armaggeddon and Victory Cry, rendering the game a snorefest :lol

Can you explain what you mean by that? I finished P3 and P4 but have no idea what you are talking about..

 

[Jerk]

Does anyone know at what level matching persona's become needed for the links?

Also, it is funny how much easier the game becomes after floor 10. I did not even need to use pixie to beat the floor 14 boss (despite being under-leveled).

P.S. Can we make/buy the combination items?

 

[Peff]

Can you explain what you mean by that? I finished P3 and P4 but have no idea what you are talking about..

Combination Skills are new magics that you could only use when you had certain Personas in your "team". For example, if you had Orpheus and Apsaras, you gained Cadenza, which healed 50% of your party's HP and upped their dodge rate. In P3P, these abilities are merely normal items like Medicine and you don't need to have any of the formerly required Persona to use them. Armaggeddon and Victory Cry is a ridiculously broken combo, because the former is a Combination Skill that inflicts 9.999 HP to every enemy taking all of your SP, but alas, Victory Cry is a passive ability that completely heals you after every fight. Getting the Armaggeddon item is quite a grind now (one requires 99 malachite? and 10 diamonds?), so it's not possible to do that, or at least not easily.

EDIT: Level 3 is when they start to be helpful, but you can use them from the beginning (it's just useless because the extra points once the level-up is reached are not taken into account). Using a matching Persona gives 50% more points. Also, yes, you can make combination items in the Antique Store.

 

[Wizpig]

 

[Jay Sosa]

Combination Skills are new magics that you could only use when you had certain Personas in your "team". For example, if you had Orpheus and Apsaras, you gained Cadenza, which healed 50% of your party's HP and upped their dodge rate. In P3P, these abilities are merely normal items like Medicine and you don't need to have any of the formerly required Persona to use them. Armaggeddon and Victory Cry is a ridiculously broken combo, because the former is a Combination Skill that inflicts 9.999 HP to every enemy taking all of your SP, but alas, Victory Cry is a passive ability that completely heals you after every fight. Getting the Armaggeddon item is quite a grind now (one requires 99 malachite? and 10 diamonds?), so it's not possible to do that, or at least not easily.

EDIT: Level 3 is when they start to be helpful, but you can use them from the beginning (it's just useless because the extra points once the level-up is reached are not taken into account). Using a matching Persona gives 50% more points. Also, yes, you can make combination items in the Antique Store.

Ahhh shit now I remember! Thanks!

They scrapped that in P4 didn't they?

 

[Jerk]

Ahhh shit now I remember! Thanks!

They scrapped that in P4 didn't they?

Yeah, probably because they thought it too broken.

It is a shame, I would have loved it in that game.

 

[Yaweee]

Does anyone know at what level matching persona's become needed for the links?

Also, it is funny how much easier the game becomes after floor 10. I did not even need to use pixie to beat the floor 14 boss (despite being under-leveled).

I don't think having a matching Persona is EVER necessary, and I don't think it was in any of the Persona games. It's just that it is a ~50% bonus to whatever hidden points you earn from answering questions the right way or spending time with the characters. If you start a scene without enough points to advance to the next rank, you'll get bonus points and a generic "hang out" sequence.

It seems like the MShe, having a more equal spread between day and night S. Links, requires more points per rank up for her daytime ones? Not sure about this, but that is the way it seems.

The difficulty picks up again. There's some really nasty bosses strewn throughout the later floors, and they are even harder on Hard or Maniacs

 

[ErinIsADrunk]

Does anyone know at what level matching persona's become needed for the links?

Also, it is funny how much easier the game becomes after floor 10. I did not even need to use pixie to beat the floor 14 boss (despite being under-leveled).

P.S. Can we make/buy the combination items?

My general rule of thumb is to start bring a matching persona with me starting with rank 3.

As for making combination items, you can once the antique store has been opened (June 9th, I believe) and you can exchange gems for the combination cards.

 

[firehawk12]

Anyone finish it yet? I'm heading to January and I remember that in P3, the max S-link items and Margaret's request items don't carry over in NG+. I don't suppose they changed that? I'd just rather finish the game than try to spend the few hours trying to fill out the compendium. :lol

 

[I AM JOHN!]

You're already in January? Jesus fuck, the game hasn't been out a week!

 

[Yaweee]

Anyone finish it yet? I'm heading to January and I remember that in P3, the max S-link items and Margaret's request items don't carry over in NG+. I don't suppose they changed that? I'd just rather finish the game than try to spend the few hours trying to fill out the compendium. :lol

Are you sure about that? I recall those being some of the few things that did carry over.

What is your timer at? I think I'm on par to reach January sometime between 40 and 50 hours.

 

[firehawk12]

You're already in January? Jesus fuck, the game hasn't been out a week!

30 hours man. :lol
I just want to finish this while it's fresh in my mind or it'll end up in my pile of shame next to RDR and Alan Wake.

Are you sure about that? I recall those being some of the few things that did carry over.

What is your timer at? I think I'm on par to reach January sometime between 40 and 50 hours.

I did look up a FAQ and it said that none of the S-link items carry over like they did in P4, so I'm not sure. I don't think I'm going to start up the game right away after I finish, so it's not a big deal, but I'm also OCD enough that I'd want to do that stuff just to get it out of the way.

I'll check again later but I'm under 35 hours. I did way too much grinding early on so I wanted to try to skip as much as possible. Although the final slog up the tower might add a lot of time, especially if I have to grind up to not get destroyed and catch Personas. Then there's a question of whether or not I should deal with Monad in the first run, but I suppose it doesn't really add anything to the game to do that.

 

[firehawk12]

Eek, double.

 

[anddo0]

How do you check stamina/fatigue status? Does it have any effect on battle?

 

[I AM JOHN!]

How do you check stamina/fatigue status? Does it have any effect on battle?

If your character is tired or sick, all their stats degrade. It's designated by the condition smiley face in their stats.

Should I be trying to be really diverse in my after school activities early in the game? I seem to do whatever random thing I first come across each afternoon, should I be putting more thought / strategy into it?

Depends on what social links you're trying to pursue/stats you're trying to build/whether or not you want to give yourself an edge in Tartarus that night.

 

[Barrett2]

Should I be trying to be really diverse in my after school activities early in the game? I seem to do whatever random thing I first come across each afternoon, no real rhyme or reason.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

How do you check stamina/fatigue status? Does it have any effect on battle?

You can ask your scan character to see it for the entire party(along with other stats) or just open the start menus for yourself only.

Also, being tired makes you more likely to miss(and stumble) and take more damage from attacks(also decreases your resistance to critical hits, meaning they will happen more often against a tired character).

 

[JumpJeff84]

Played about 4 hours since it came out. Really liking this on the portable. Hope they do P4 as well.

 

[Finalow]

this p3 portable seems fucking good.

 

[Yaweee]

Played about 4 hours since it came out. Really liking this on the portable. Hope they do P4 as well.

I wouldn't count on it, at least not any time soon.

The director of P3P was the guy that did the Social Links in P3/P4, and he is presumably working on P5 right now.

Also, part of P3P's appeal is backwards incorporating improvements from P4. Maybe after P5 there would be enough changes to justify making P4P.

Whatever group made Persona PSP is working on Persona 2, I'm guessing.

 

[firehawk12]

Well, really, the only thing that would justify a P4P other than just the awesomeness of having a portable version of the game is a FeMC campaign... which really just amounts to designing a game just for fanservice (Funky Student lovers S-link!).

 

[JumpJeff84]

I wouldn't count on it, at least not any time soon.

The director of P3P was the guy that did the Social Links in P3/P4, and he is presumably working on P5 right now.

Also, part of P3P's appeal is backwards incorporating improvements from P4. Maybe after P5 there would be enough changes to justify making P4P.

Whatever group made Persona PSP is working on Persona 2, I'm guessing.

Too bad. I was playing P4 on my PS3 and then it broke. Had to replace it. I was hoping I could replay it on PSP. I actually think these games are great for handheld.

 

[Yaweee]

Too bad. I was playing P4 on my PS3 and then it broke. Had to replace it. I was hoping I could replay it on PSP. I actually think these games are great for handheld.

Atlus currently has 0 announced games, so there's always hope that they're tackling many major projects at once. I'm assuming there will be an announcement of something in Famitsu some time over the next few weeks.

 

[Hcoregamer00]

Well, really, the only thing that would justify a P4P other than just the awesomeness of having a portable version of the game is a FeMC campaign... which really just amounts to designing a game just for fanservice (Funky Student lovers S-link!).

I don't know, they put a lot of thought into the girl's side. It is almost a brand new experience.

 

[Curufinwe]

And the new female characters they added look great, especially the new teacher.

 

[Davedough]

I got this game as review code and so far am very pleasantly surprised. I've been out of the Shin Megami Tensei universe since Digital Devil Saga and this is quite refreshing. I'm not sure I dug the abridged static backgrounds at first, but from a portable aspect its growing on me.

I'm only a few hours in and was told to go until I reach the first barrier... I'm about 8 floors up and still haven't found a barrier and Junpei and what's-her-face said they're starting to feel tired even tho their little smileys are still smiling. Am I close to said barrier? I just ported to refuel my HP/SP, am I close to this day's mission?

 

[Curufinwe]

You're only halfway there, but you don't need to and shouldn't expect to finish each block of Tartarus in one night.

 

[Yaweee]

Any comments from characters about getting tired as you're exploring has been incorrectly left in the game. They no longer get tired after battle, like they did in P3 and FES. You can do the entire dungeon sections in a single night if you want.

 

[JumpJeff84]

Any comments from characters about getting tired as you're exploring has been incorrectly left in the game. They no longer get tired after battle, like they did in P3 and FES. You can do the entire dungeon sections in a single night if you want.

I know purists may hate this 'dumbing down', but I like it. I HATED when my characters got tired...just bugged the shit out of me. I've got no problem with the fact that the time limits are a bunch more lax.

 

[mugwhump]

Around level 10 at floor 15 before the second full moon, having a lot of fun so far. Just got a couple questions:

-How many floors/how often should I be going to Tartarus? Do I get some kind of warning before my characters become tired?

-Are there missable social links? I really don't want to miss anything.

-Should I be fusing lots of personas? Or focusing on leveling the basic ones up first?

-How should I go about splitting up my party?

 

[firehawk12]

I don't know, they put a lot of thought into the girl's side. It is almost a brand new experience.

Yeah, which I think is to make up for the trimmed down presentation. Don't get me wrong, P3P stands on its own and P4P would probably do the same... but this is basically a game for fans rather than a game to attract new people. Any remake of P4 would end up being the same way.

 

[Yaweee]

Around level 10 at floor 15 before the second full moon, having a lot of fun so far. Just got a couple questions:

-How many floors/how often should I be going to Tartarus? Do I get some kind of warning before my characters become tired?

-Are there missable social links? I really don't want to miss anything.

-Should I be fusing lots of personas? Or focusing on leveling the basic ones up first?

-How should I go about splitting up my party?

You won't complete every social link on your first playthrough. That's just the way it is; by design, it is extraordinarly hard to do everything that can possibly be done.

For each month, just try to reach the next barrier, and you'll be set for the Full Moon boss.

Fuse lots of Persona. Leveling is often a waste of time, as level-for-level Persona require more exp than your MC.

You don't need to split up your party, so there isn't really a right way to do it.

 

[firehawk12]

Around level 10 at floor 15 before the second full moon, having a lot of fun so far. Just got a couple questions:

-How many floors/how often should I be going to Tartarus? Do I get some kind of warning before my characters become tired?

-Are there missable social links? I really don't want to miss anything.

-Should I be fusing lots of personas? Or focusing on leveling the basic ones up first?

-How should I go about splitting up my party?

Well, generally I find that you should

Spoiler

wait until Elizabeth/Theo tells you that there are missing people before going up the tower

simply because it saves you backtracking. If you don't mind the grinding, you can basically go all the way up the tower in a night and then go back when you have to

Spoiler

rescue people

You can't really miss social links, but if you don't follow a guide it'll be hard to max them out. Also, at least one of the links have to be attended to whenever the character is available or you'll miss your chance to max it.

If you're playing on normal or lower, I would say fuse just for the sake of fusing because it's relatively cheap to pull out your personas again. With the skill card system though, it's almost worth it to level up personas who give you cards just so you can add that skill to whatever persona you want. The fact that you can clone cards makes that even better.

The big beef with P3/P4 is that your party levels up independently... if you aren't OCD, you should just pick a core group of guys (to complement your own persona choices) and stick with them for the whole game. Keep in mind that

Spoiler

one of your party members will become unavailable

so you may want to hold off on using that person.

 

[Davedough]

Should I be fusing Persona even if I dont have their social link yet? I am able to create a secondary persona off of two that I use regularly and their skills will inherit, thereby giving me a better persona without the need to switch more often. I went to do the fusion and it said I dont have a social link that corresponds with that persona yet. Should I wait for that link or will it matter all that much? I'm still VERY early in the game so I only have the Fool social link.

 

[Hcoregamer00]

And the new female characters they added look great, especially the new teacher.

Yeah, and I love the design of the female lead. It is very classy and modest compared to the exaggerated proportions and skimpy clothes found in many games.

Yeah, which I think is to make up for the trimmed down presentation. Don't get me wrong, P3P stands on its own and P4P would probably do the same... but this is basically a game for fans rather than a game to attract new people. Any remake of P4 would end up being the same way.

Is it wrong that I love the "trimmed down presentation?" The pacing of the game is much much faster than I remember it to be playing it the first time around. I do agree that it is for fans, but I think the faster pacing and all the great P4 additions will actually have appeal to people who never tried the previous games.

I have a bunch of friends who love Persona 3 portable but never bothered to play P3 and FES because they wanted a more streamlined experience like P4.

 

[Curufinwe]

Any comments from characters about getting tired as you're exploring has been incorrectly left in the game. They no longer get tired after battle, like they did in P3 and FES. You can do the entire dungeon sections in a single night if you want.

They are actually tired the next day, though.

During my first proper night in Tartarus I beat all the bosses and got to the barrier, and in the menu my party was all in good condition. But the next day me, Junpei and Yukari were all tired, and Junpei and Yukari also got sick as well. Didn't really matter since I wasn't going back into Tartarus for a while, but still.


Junpei will incorrectly tell you that the Police Station isn't open at night. In P3P you can go there when it's dark and do your shopping.

 

[firehawk12]

Should I be fusing Persona even if I dont have their social link yet? I am able to create a secondary persona off of two that I use regularly and their skills will inherit, thereby giving me a better persona without the need to switch more often. I went to do the fusion and it said I dont have a social link that corresponds with that persona yet. Should I wait for that link or will it matter all that much? I'm still VERY early in the game so I only have the Fool social link.

Naw. The bonus XP helps, but it's nothing grinding can't solve.

 

[JumpJeff84]

Yeah, and I love the design of the female lead. It is very classy and modest compared to the exaggerated proportions and skimpy clothes found in many games.



Is it wrong that I love the "trimmed down presentation?" The pacing of the game is much much faster than I remember it to be playing it the first time around. I do agree that it is for fans, but I think the faster pacing and all the great P4 additions will actually have appeal to people who never tried the previous games.

I have a bunch of friends who love Persona 3 portable but never bothered to play P3 and FES because they wanted a more streamlined experience like P4.

I enjoy it as well. Don't miss running through the hallways getting lost.

 

[Yaweee]

They are actually tired the next, though.

During my first proper night in Tartarus I beat all the bosses and got to the barrier, and in the menu my party was all in good condition. But the next day me, Junpei and Yukari were all tired, and Junpei and Yukari also got sick as well. Didn't really matter since I wasn't going back into Tartarus for a while, but still.


Junpei will incorrectly tell you that the Police Station isn't open at night. In P3P you can go there when it's dark and do your shopping.

Yes on both of those counts; the tired system is basically "tired after you explore Tartarus", but they didn't change all of the related dialogue. That makes me wonder if the code for the tired system after X battles is still in place, and if it is possible to turn on in some way (might require hacking).

The police station is the same way. Remnant text that wasn't deleted.

 

[Hcoregamer00]

I enjoy it as well. Don't miss running through the hallways getting lost.

Exactly, some may see it as cutting corners.

I see it as streamlining and increasing the pace of the game. Persona 3 was always a great game, the portable iteration turns it even better by cutting out the fat.