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Persona 3 Portable |OT|: Mixing Things Up for Third Trimester
- Thread starter I AM JOHN!
- Start date
firehawk12
Subete no aware
pirata said:
Oooooh damn son!
Fimbulvetr said:
I kind of wonder though... they basically didn't harass the dudes who did the translation, so maybe they're letting that go.
Fimbulvetr
Member
firehawk12 said:
This is a fanbase that bought the same game thrice.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Fimbulvetr said:
Yeah, but 1 and 2 are so different... I mean, I didn't finish 1 or Strange Journey because I figured out that I can't do first person dungeon crawls now. Probably the only reason why I'd pick up 2 is because of the whole "pander to the women by having a gay relationship" thing and even then I'm not sure how far I could get into it.
I mean, I have to imagine that US sales of P1 are less than P3P anyway.
I just started P3P and I finally chose the female MC since I've completed the game before. My only concern with the female MC is the socal links. It would be awkawd to max a social link in a lover path with a male NPC, isn't it? Or can I still pursue Yukari and Mitsuru? I'd rather see some hot lesbian actions...
firehawk12
Subete no aware
They're still heterosexual relationships though. And if it makes you feel any better, Akihiko and Shinjiro act like bashful girls anyway.
I'm almost there! Just after the early
full moon sequence, 44 hours in, meaning the entirety of the preceding month only took me 3 hours.
This was the part of P3 that pissed me off, when it dragged its feet for so long. It is so much better when everything takes half as long.
........ December ......
This was the part of P3 that pissed me off, when it dragged its feet for so long. It is so much better when everything takes half as long.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
pirata said:
P5RSONA
Yaweee said:
Someone over at Giant Bomb posted all of his dialogue.
http://www.giantbomb.com/shin-megam...27861/mysterious-npc-mild-spoilers/35-432668/
He mentions that rumour about dying in your dreams quite often.
Edit: Maybe Persona 5 will begin with this guy getting killed.
Tranced Shadow
Member
BlazingDarkness said:
videogamesplus.ca and AxelMusic are the usual choices. I got mine from VGP and didn't get stung on import tax. You coud also hunt down a US PSN card and buy it off the US PSN store, but this requires making a US account and logging into it on your PSP whenever you want to play it. (If you want to switch between your US and UK accounts, your PSP needs to be connected to the Internet IIRC)
harriet the spy
Member
Sorry for not reading much of the thread guys - I am trying to spoil myself as little as possible. But holy cow, this game is fun! I have never tried a Persona game before, I had some negative a priori (not a big fan of grinding in general, but somehow in this game it's fun).
Just a few questions i had while reading very very sparsely from this thread:
a) is the game very hard to beat if you don't 'do certain things' (i saw some people talking about endless grinding or getting some hearts items), was that the main quest, or some kind of extra boss (=>real ending or just extra boss for fun?), or the extra quest of P3 FES, or..?
I am playing kind of randomly right now (still in the first segment, I am waiting for the second to open, or at least i have no clue on how to make this happen), and game doesn't seem hard. But maybe it's going to bite me in the ass very soon.
b) has there already been any talks of a p4 portable by any chance?
Just a few questions i had while reading very very sparsely from this thread:
a) is the game very hard to beat if you don't 'do certain things' (i saw some people talking about endless grinding or getting some hearts items), was that the main quest, or some kind of extra boss (=>real ending or just extra boss for fun?), or the extra quest of P3 FES, or..?
I am playing kind of randomly right now (still in the first segment, I am waiting for the second to open, or at least i have no clue on how to make this happen), and game doesn't seem hard. But maybe it's going to bite me in the ass very soon.
b) has there already been any talks of a p4 portable by any chance?
I don't know about that, i think that the people who find this MUCH quicker are those who already played it, and without realizing it are speed-running or something.Yaweee said:
18 hours in, in my case, and
the last member i met is Fuuka.
I may be wrong, mind you.
Of course, if you actually use quick travel a lot that's a different story.
I use it once in a while.
As for P2P I don't really care, but Maya's Theme is my song of choice in Tartarus <3
I don't think i'll ever buy Persona 1 or 2, but Persona 4 is calling my name
Wizpig said:
The first two months of the game are the longest, imo. I think I was at 13 hours by the time I beat that event, while the following months were all 3~6 hours.
As for the speed differences, I don't think they are just the result of having played the game before. Both my P3 and FES files took roughly the same amount of time (within ten hours), but my run through P3P has been an overwhelming reduction, somewhere between 30-40 hours.
There's a lot going on that reduces the playtime:
- The largest chunk is removing the animated models and movement during the (3D) cutscenes, and I suspect that even for people that haven't played the game, it would knock 10~15 hours off of playtime.
- The improved menu interface and reduced lack knock out a few hours
- Shorter load times knock out a few hours (yes, they were that bad in the original)
- Instant text speed and faster textbox "pop-in" knock out a few hours.
- Square shortcut (better implemented than P4) knocks out a few more hours.
- Better fastforward/text-skip function knocks out a few more hours, especially in the cases where I died against a full moon boss. Instead of fifteen minutes of cutscenes to sit through, it now only takes ~1 minute.
- Faster map movement cuts out a considerable amount of time. I don't buy the argument that it isn't "free roaming" anymore, unless can convince me that the world maps in the Devil Summoner and P1/2 don't constitute free roaming, either. So it's a cursor instead of a model or sprite that moves faster and lets you hold down O to move even faster.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
I still don't believe that the animated sequences would add that many hours to the game. There's no way that they were that long. :lol
firehawk12 said:
I meant the animated 3D models (I edited the post for clarity). Yeah, the actual animated (drawn) scenes were only 20~30 minutes total, and some of their removals are significant losses to the game. Atlus was too cheap/lazy to change their resolutions or redraw for MShe, unfortunately.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Oh yeah, I know what you mean. I just don't remember them being that much longer than what we got now. I suppose all the moments where the characters had to walk and hit their mark before they started talking might have added time...
firehawk12 said:
That's exactly it, and is a problem in many games that let you fast-forward or skip dialogue but not the animations that go along with them. Have you played Persona 4? Remember that huge sequence leading up the dialogue tree that determines your ending? In regular time, it is about 40~45 minutes. Even when holding down triangle to "skip" the scenes to go back and make new decisions to get an ending, it took around 15 minutes to reach the decision point. All of that is the distilled effect of just the model animations and transitions.
Mass Effect did it right where the facial animations and pantomime would fast forward to the appropriate positions when you skipped a line, but I can't think of any other games that did that.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Maybe I was just really into the game, but they never seemed all that long for me. The only time I was really annoyed was at the beginning - and that's because you don't actually do anything for 3 hours.
I guess they could just add a cutscene skip button though, but I wonder if on the PS2 they're just constantly streaming data so they can't do that.
I guess they could just add a cutscene skip button though, but I wonder if on the PS2 they're just constantly streaming data so they can't do that.
Made it into the last month with 47.5 hours on the clock. Progress has been pretty straightforward, too; I probably won't have to grind until the very last boss, but some of the new bonus bosses seem nice, so I might.
I have no idea how I'll go about beating The Reaper on Maniac. He should be able to one-shot my party until I'm well into the 80s (currently only 59)
I have no idea how I'll go about beating The Reaper on Maniac. He should be able to one-shot my party until I'm well into the 80s (currently only 59)
Fimbulvetr
Member
Yaweee said:
They also made the skip button one of the 'select dialogue' buttons for no reason. *rage*
I don't remember if ME2 fixed that though.
WascallyWabbit
Member
Melhisedek said:
Probably easy then, unless you're well versed in the rpg genre, then go with normal. But make sure, cause u can't go back!!!
Also, just realized i've played this game 3 times now, i think something like 180 hours, and now i think i hate this game (despite my love for it) for making me waste all my time
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Fimbulvetr said:
Nope, still the X button on the 360 pad.
My thoughts on difficulty:
Beginner - If you don't give two shits about the gameplay difficulty and just want to go for the story
Easy - If you're new to RPGs
Normal - If you've played other RPGs, but not any of the SMT games
Hard - If you've already played some of the other SMT games
Maniac - If you've already played P3 and are coming back for a challenge, or just want a really damn hard RPG
World Balance is giving it to me rough. I'm dying on the turns that my Tarunda lapses.
EDIT: After getting hit for 2006 damage with Ziodyne against somebody not weak to it, I've decided to not bitch about the Tartarus bosses anymore.
World Balance went down once I gained a few levels and fused an awesome Scathach. Level
Beginner - If you don't give two shits about the gameplay difficulty and just want to go for the story
Easy - If you're new to RPGs
Normal - If you've played other RPGs, but not any of the SMT games
Hard - If you've already played some of the other SMT games
Maniac - If you've already played P3 and are coming back for a challenge, or just want a really damn hard RPG
World Balance is giving it to me rough. I'm dying on the turns that my Tarunda lapses.
EDIT: After getting hit for 2006 damage with Ziodyne against somebody not weak to it, I've decided to not bitch about the Tartarus bosses anymore.
World Balance went down once I gained a few levels and fused an awesome Scathach. Level
Freyjadour
Member
Coming back to this after breaking off to finish DQIX I think. Can't really muster the will to play it at the moment, but I'll get around to it.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
To make up for the time I spent playing the game, I ended up blabbing about the dating sim aspect of it (and RPGs in general) on Bitmob if anyone cares:
http://www.bitmob.com/articles/an-analysis-of-video-game-romances-featuring-female-protagonists
http://www.bitmob.com/articles/an-analysis-of-video-game-romances-featuring-female-protagonists
viewtiful_dru
Member
Who else is playing on Maniacs?
I started but I have to finish SJ first so I don't make myself go crazy...
I started but I have to finish SJ first so I don't make myself go crazy...
He's baaaaaaaaaack!
Before skill cards:
After learning all his skills and an Auto-Raku skill card:
Really sucks that you can't make him until unique quad-fusions unlock on 9/18, by then my MC was easily into the mid 40s and BF starts at 34. But I boosted his stats with all the incense I collected from bosses up till that point.
Really hope I can find Mind Charge, Agidyne and Bufudyne skill cards soon!
Before skill cards:
After learning all his skills and an Auto-Raku skill card:
Really sucks that you can't make him until unique quad-fusions unlock on 9/18, by then my MC was easily into the mid 40s and BF starts at 34. But I boosted his stats with all the incense I collected from bosses up till that point.
Really hope I can find Mind Charge, Agidyne and Bufudyne skill cards soon!
toastyToast
Member
Does anyone have any recommendations on what personas I should fuse so I can tackle the 4th block?
Everything is kicking my ass and most of the enemies I've encountered have either light or dark as their only weaknesses.
Everything is kicking my ass and most of the enemies I've encountered have either light or dark as their only weaknesses.
Freyjadour
Member
Really liking some of the Girl Side music changes. Some of it feels more SMT than P3's did originally.
I did it for the lulz (and also because I needed a Star type)
This song alone makes me excited to try female MC's side.
I'm in Block 4 now, and every shadow I've encountered that have only had Light or Dark as a weakness were also susceptible to all of the Phys types, so just hit em with your sword! Never underestimate a good crit.
If you need more specific advice about Personas to make, post your best ones in here, and maybe which S-links you have the highest ranks in.
Freyjadour said:
This song alone makes me excited to try female MC's side.
toasty_t said:
I'm in Block 4 now, and every shadow I've encountered that have only had Light or Dark as a weakness were also susceptible to all of the Phys types, so just hit em with your sword! Never underestimate a good crit.
If you need more specific advice about Personas to make, post your best ones in here, and maybe which S-links you have the highest ranks in.
GG, Reaper.
On Maniac, surviving against him unless your party is around 80 with buffs/debuffs and a full set of Null accessories to cover up your weaknesses feels nearly impossible. Farming Rubies for Armageddon was easier and less time-consuming, so I did that, and then gained 4 levels in 4 fights in Monad using a 6 Null Seth and
Oh, and I have 4 Tomes of the Void already, so I'm ready for the final boss (once I gain a few more levels). I still have 15 more days for S. Links; I'll probably max Akihiko, Junpei, and Misturu during that time, leaving Aigis my only teammate non-maxed. Temperance will be the only other one left out.
On Maniac, surviving against him unless your party is around 80 with buffs/debuffs and a full set of Null accessories to cover up your weaknesses feels nearly impossible. Farming Rubies for Armageddon was easier and less time-consuming, so I did that, and then gained 4 levels in 4 fights in Monad using a 6 Null Seth and
Oh, and I have 4 Tomes of the Void already, so I'm ready for the final boss (once I gain a few more levels). I still have 15 more days for S. Links; I'll probably max Akihiko, Junpei, and Misturu during that time, leaving Aigis my only teammate non-maxed. Temperance will be the only other one left out.
I'm now playing all-new content!
In other words i'm after the part where i stopped playing P3 FES.
I
and... and... i'm not even level 30.
If people finish the game around level 70... what the f-?
Other than this, can you guys link to me all the cutscenes i've "missed"?
Like
how was that on the Ps2?
In other words i'm after the part where i stopped playing P3 FES.
I
met this little boy that will probably join SEES... and Junpei was an ass for the last few days... and the full moon boss was in a love hotel or something...
If people finish the game around level 70... what the f-?
Other than this, can you guys link to me all the cutscenes i've "missed"?
Like
the shower scene in the hotel,
mattiewheels
And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
Do the dungeons stay relatively the same but with a new coat of paint every now and then? I'm on the 25th floor and it just gets more monotonous than i'd like. But i guess that's just how it is?
Gamer @ Heart
Member
mugwhump said:
Yes, for Light/Dark spells, the % chance is increased.
% Weak > % Normal > % Str
(I'm almost positive that the percent is increased. It is quite common for a Boosted Mahamaon to kill 3 out of 4 or all 4 against a group of weak enemies, while that is super rare against enemies without said weakness.)
However, the enemy will also get an extra turn if it hits with a Hama/Mudo spell if the target is weak against it, as it does when it lands any other elemental weakness.
TurboLibre
Member
I've been trying to hunt those damn dice on the second block for quite a while now but they never show up. It's annoying because I fought them all the time when I was hunting the Snakes just the other day, but now that I need those damn bronze figures I can't find them anywhere.
Tkawsome said:
I wouldn't bother with those types of quests. They are gargantuan wastes of time.
I just hit level 99 in Monad. Time to wrap this bitch up. Only 11 more days to go, and I'm not even sure who I am going to use for the final fight. My Seth is level 90+, and between his natural abilities and skills and my MCs equipment and level, I have:
Null Slash
Null Pierce
Reflect Fire
Null Ice
Absorb Elec
Resist Wind
Reflect Light
Null Dark
Boots with Evade Strike (High)
Tome of the Void to null all mental status ailments
And a Vel Vel Muruga as a weapon (450 ATK, 100 Hit, +10 to all stats)
And dressed like a maid
And 999/999 HP/MP
Done, ~66 hours on the clock. That's about 30 hours shorter than my FES or P3 playthroughs, despite spending around 15~20 more hours in Tartarus than I did previously. The breakdown was probably ~45 in Tartarus, ~20 outside for social and story. I died around 60 times, but all but 7 or 8 were in boss fights so the clock is pretty close to how much I actually spent with the game as I often placed it to the side awake while web-browsing or watching TV.
I didn't max Bebe, Mitsuru, Akihiko, or Aigis (so close with those first three, sadly). Junpei and Saori had great epilogue sequences, with the latter being absolutely vital in understanding the point of her S. Link and how it pertains to her Arcana.
I'll probably do a more detailed writeup later, but I thought the girl's side of P3P was the best of the Persona series. I liked her music a little bit more, thought the S. Links added a bit more to the story, and her S. Links are spread about day and night much, much better to the point where the entire S. Link system feels like a better game. I didn't max my social stats until the third to last month, or the night S. Links until the last.
I didn't max Bebe, Mitsuru, Akihiko, or Aigis (so close with those first three, sadly). Junpei and Saori had great epilogue sequences, with the latter being absolutely vital in understanding the point of her S. Link and how it pertains to her Arcana.
I'll probably do a more detailed writeup later, but I thought the girl's side of P3P was the best of the Persona series. I liked her music a little bit more, thought the S. Links added a bit more to the story, and her S. Links are spread about day and night much, much better to the point where the entire S. Link system feels like a better game. I didn't max my social stats until the third to last month, or the night S. Links until the last.
Holy Order Sol
Member
...I've actually found worse than GAF regarding silly complaints about this game. :lol Some French guy wrote an article which consisted of rambling about how the presence of
was in total contradiction with the whole series and how unacceptable it was to have replaced a pile of chairs in Tartarus with a green halo. :lol
Also includes some "it's all about P4 fan-tards" inane bitching.
Margaret
Also includes some "it's all about P4 fan-tards" inane bitching.
Finally received my copy of P3P!! and I'm somewhat disappointed. I didn't think the change in presentation would feel so bad to me, but it does.
I miss the intro, for example, more than I thought I'd do, also with it being all text and still images, the start of the game feels even slower in a way (although the triangle helps a lot).
Ok, with that over, there is a thing I don't remember and I need to know before I start really playing. Do Academics/Charm/Courage carry over on new game+?
I miss the intro, for example, more than I thought I'd do, also with it being all text and still images, the start of the game feels even slower in a way (although the triangle helps a lot).
Ok, with that over, there is a thing I don't remember and I need to know before I start really playing. Do Academics/Charm/Courage carry over on new game+?
toastyToast
Member
Mo the Hawk said:
The personas I get the most use out of are Take-Mikazuchi, Orobas and Sati. I've never been all that clever with skill inheritances so I was wondering what's a good 'stock' persona to have when you're around level 40?
I just reached
table
Question about the story, why is Junpei
so sprung over that hideous monster Chidori? I know he likes to play the ladies man and fail at every opportunity but damn. Is she at least controlling his mind or something
Final Thoughts on P3P:
Overall, I thought it was the best of the Persona games. I'd still give the advantage to P4 with regards to plot, characters, voice acting, and music, but the gameplay mechanics and overall flow and pacing of P3P felt like such large improvements over the other S. Link games/versions that it was simply the most enjoyable. Pretty much all of the gameplay tweaks are pluses, and the new difficulty level really made me appreciate some of the subtleties in the boss fights and character skill sets that I just never got out of the previous versions.
The presentation is really hit-or-miss. Most (like, 90+%) of the scenes don't lose a thing with VN style presentation, but Atlus should have included more still animations, movie sequences, or big still images of the 3D models in more scenes.
As for the new or redesigned S. Links (listed by Arcana):
Male Hermit > Female Hermit (even if I really liked Saori's plot, especially her epilogue
Kenji < Junpei (I really liked his epilogue, and it is understandable why they removed any romantic path that may have existed)
Male Fuuka < Female Fuuka (Cooking club was generally funnier, and I tended not to like the Male MC's forced romantic plots)
Male Moon < Female Moon (not much of a contest, imo. I really liked the new one, while Moon was one of FES' weakest)
Male Fortune < Female Fortune (against, not much of a contest. It really adds quite a bit to the central plot. It's essentially an automatic S. Link now, but you can opt of doing it for 3~4 free phases.)
Male Strength = Female Strength (Koromaru) Both have their moments, Koro's is a bit more touching, but overall nothing special.
Chihiro = Ken Both pretty good, all things considered. It does add quite a bit to Ken's character.
Male Star = Akihiko Both are pretty good. Akihiko gets some much needed character development.
Having more night-time S. Links, more gifts to give, more time for Sunday dates, and the new shrine functionality (choose specific S. Links to earn points with) made for a much better game of the S. Links system. I strongly recommend playing MShe for that reason alone; less getting screwed by arbitrary availability, and many more things to do at night.
As for the music, the only tracks I liked less were the new town music (still good, though). The school and boss music I liked about the same, and the S. Link musics weren't as obnoxious as the old ones.
But take this all with a grain of salt. I seem to have disliked P3's music, uncontrollable party members, and the clunky pacing of the S. Link Persona games far more than most GAF users.
As for P4P, the animations/direction/blocking were generally much better than P3, so it would lose more in the transition. There's also not as much room for improvement as there was for P3's gameplay. I'd prefer they wait until after P5 is out if they really insist on doing it.
Overall, I thought it was the best of the Persona games. I'd still give the advantage to P4 with regards to plot, characters, voice acting, and music, but the gameplay mechanics and overall flow and pacing of P3P felt like such large improvements over the other S. Link games/versions that it was simply the most enjoyable. Pretty much all of the gameplay tweaks are pluses, and the new difficulty level really made me appreciate some of the subtleties in the boss fights and character skill sets that I just never got out of the previous versions.
The presentation is really hit-or-miss. Most (like, 90+%) of the scenes don't lose a thing with VN style presentation, but Atlus should have included more still animations, movie sequences, or big still images of the 3D models in more scenes.
As for the new or redesigned S. Links (listed by Arcana):
Male Hermit > Female Hermit (even if I really liked Saori's plot, especially her epilogue
Kenji < Junpei (I really liked his epilogue, and it is understandable why they removed any romantic path that may have existed)
Male Fuuka < Female Fuuka (Cooking club was generally funnier, and I tended not to like the Male MC's forced romantic plots)
Male Moon < Female Moon (not much of a contest, imo. I really liked the new one, while Moon was one of FES' weakest)
Male Fortune < Female Fortune (against, not much of a contest. It really adds quite a bit to the central plot. It's essentially an automatic S. Link now, but you can opt of doing it for 3~4 free phases.)
Male Strength = Female Strength (Koromaru) Both have their moments, Koro's is a bit more touching, but overall nothing special.
Chihiro = Ken Both pretty good, all things considered. It does add quite a bit to Ken's character.
Male Star = Akihiko Both are pretty good. Akihiko gets some much needed character development.
Having more night-time S. Links, more gifts to give, more time for Sunday dates, and the new shrine functionality (choose specific S. Links to earn points with) made for a much better game of the S. Links system. I strongly recommend playing MShe for that reason alone; less getting screwed by arbitrary availability, and many more things to do at night.
As for the music, the only tracks I liked less were the new town music (still good, though). The school and boss music I liked about the same, and the S. Link musics weren't as obnoxious as the old ones.
But take this all with a grain of salt. I seem to have disliked P3's music, uncontrollable party members, and the clunky pacing of the S. Link Persona games far more than most GAF users.
As for P4P, the animations/direction/blocking were generally much better than P3, so it would lose more in the transition. There's also not as much room for improvement as there was for P3's gameplay. I'd prefer they wait until after P5 is out if they really insist on doing it.