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Persona 4 |OT|
- Thread starter U5230
- Start date
So I was able to find a copy of this game before I found one of P3:FES.
I know that nearly everyone said play P3 first in the thread I started. But I just wanted to try P4 out and it just sucked me in. Honestly, I think it's probably my fave PS2 game, or at least in the top faves. Now it's like a dozen hours later, and I'm in the steamy bathhouse (lol) and I can't see anything that really points to anything prior. Do people say play P3 first just because it's a good game but just not as good as P4? After I got my FES copy I played for a few hours but got sucked back into P4, I also didn't care for the gun/head animations.
Another question: Can your social link levels go down if you don't grow them? Or once you've gained a level it stays there?
I know that nearly everyone said play P3 first in the thread I started. But I just wanted to try P4 out and it just sucked me in. Honestly, I think it's probably my fave PS2 game, or at least in the top faves. Now it's like a dozen hours later, and I'm in the steamy bathhouse (lol) and I can't see anything that really points to anything prior. Do people say play P3 first just because it's a good game but just not as good as P4? After I got my FES copy I played for a few hours but got sucked back into P4, I also didn't care for the gun/head animations.
Another question: Can your social link levels go down if you don't grow them? Or once you've gained a level it stays there?
Hitlersaurus Christ said:
Yeah...no. Leaving out the vocal clues what is the first thing Igor does for MC in the Velvet Room? He reads his fortune via the Tarot, i.e. he's a Fortune Teller. How are Igor and Margaret certain to win the bet? They are fully aware of the MC's social links. Kashiwagi? She was in charge of the "Beauty" Pageant and all wrapped up in that. Of course since you don't actually see them there will be people who debate the issue but it seems pretty clear to me. /shrug
Red Scarlet
Member
For some reason I am thinking that I had a Hermit arcana Persona and it brought me up to max right there, but I'm thinking I'm wrong and I thought it took 2 extra visits to get it max the first time and only 1 extra visit the 2nd time. Probably wrong, though.
Tranced Shadow
Member
Hey guys. I'm finally gonna jump in on Friday (UK) and I was wondering if there's some sort of spoiler-free "Beginner's Guide"?
I have played P3 (not finished) but I messed up the first time. I suppose I'm worried about doing Social Links right or things I could easily miss. I don't mind if it spoils some gameplay mechanics...
I have played P3 (not finished) but I messed up the first time. I suppose I'm worried about doing Social Links right or things I could easily miss. I don't mind if it spoils some gameplay mechanics...
KibblesBits
Member
Red Scarlet said:
you can dream about the fox.
that will have some impact on whether or not you need an extra day.
RocketDarkness
Member
It's a good game with a vastly different personality. Storywise, it holds its own compared to P4, but some of the conveniences they added to P4, along with the updated Once-More turn system, make P4 clearly superior gameplaywise. It's hard to go back.ronito said:
Red Scarlet
Member
KibblesBits said:
I pretty much never go to bed early, so it wasn't from a dream. The dreams are really weird, though.
ronito said:
I think it has most to do with some of the upgrades/streamlining/new conventions of a bunch of play aspects in 4 that make it play smoother than 3 did. You don't have to use AI, you can use the square button to get through the town areas quickly (although you COULD talk to someone in the classroom in P3 to get to the map as well), S-Links don't seem to reverse (never did for me in 4), there's more ways to raise stats and make money outside of dungeons, dungeons are a little more varied scenery-wise, you CAN'T GET SICK, and the Fusion Forecast adds a new factor to fusioning.
On the flip side, money is a pain in the ass to accumulate compared to P3 (need chest keys to open the rare chests, equipment from these is rare and sells for chump change), bosses are fewer and farer between than in 3, MP is harder to keep up early on in the game, Shuffle Time has more varied results, but you can't get money remotely nearly as efficiently from it now, some of the S-Links seem too samey to some in 3 (to me, at least), and the game uses a lot of same "sprites" for monsters and Personas from 3 (maybe earlier?). Supposedly it is easier to max out all the S-Links in 4, I think? Plus in Hard Mode in 4, Personas don't cost quadruple what they would in the other modes, which would have been absurd had they kept that. I sold ALL my crap at the end of the game in 4 and only got 800,000 the first time and 645,000 the second time. I went over 1,000,000¥ in P3 who knows how many times (finished the game with 8,000,000).
I like both games, but I see no reason why I won't be able to play 3 after I finally do finish this one. In 3 I can go hog-wild with fusing since I can afford to, in 4 I can use Fusion Forecasts to try to get the most out of whenever I fuse. I can go dungeoning in both games for the same amount of time though.
charlequin
Banned
ronito said:
P4 streamlines the game interface in pretty much only ways that are improvements, and streamlines the gameplay in ways that I think are improvements on balance (although occasionally less awesome in specific places, like the money problem Scarlet talks about above.) I definitely don't think it would be impossible to play and enjoy P3 after P4, but since they're both good games and P4 is a "smoother" experience, it'll be safer to play it second rather than potentially finding some interface problem in P3 extra-bothersome when you go back to it.
Red Scarlet
Member
As an addendum ronito:
Forgot to mention that the main character in 4 is stuck using swords, compared to being able to use any kind of weapon in 3. I mainly used swords in that one, so it wasn't a big gripe, but this also brings to mind that you can't create new weapons like you did in 3 with Personas, which I really liked doing in that. One plus in 4 for a lot of completionists is probably the fact that there don't seem to be any 'deadline' requests like the ones in P3 where you had to talk to someone on an exact day. I have no idea if you have to do some of the requests by a certain time period in 4 or they can no longer be done though, and there is the +/- about requests in 4 now being multiple people in the game instead of just Elizabeth, where that can be a plus for variety, but also a negative in that there is not one source for requests to keep up with; you need to talk to lots of people constantly through the game to get new requests unlocked.
Forgot to mention that the main character in 4 is stuck using swords, compared to being able to use any kind of weapon in 3. I mainly used swords in that one, so it wasn't a big gripe, but this also brings to mind that you can't create new weapons like you did in 3 with Personas, which I really liked doing in that. One plus in 4 for a lot of completionists is probably the fact that there don't seem to be any 'deadline' requests like the ones in P3 where you had to talk to someone on an exact day. I have no idea if you have to do some of the requests by a certain time period in 4 or they can no longer be done though, and there is the +/- about requests in 4 now being multiple people in the game instead of just Elizabeth, where that can be a plus for variety, but also a negative in that there is not one source for requests to keep up with; you need to talk to lots of people constantly through the game to get new requests unlocked.
fistwell_old
Member
Question: there were items in P3 you could use to boost persona stats. Is there something similar in P4? Thanks.
Fistwell said:
I am currently halfway through my first playthru of P3FES. I have yet to use any of those items, I am hoarding them for no good reason like I usually do in these type of games.
My question is whether I should move to P4 instead. I have a friend who just finished it and raves about it, so I can just shift over really.
I am not terribly invested into P3, the main thing that turns me off is the suicide undertones every time you use a persona. Is that in P4? Although I do very much enjoy having a dog, a robot and a 10 year old on my team.
Have they improved stuff in P4 to justify me moving over? I dont think I have the hundreds of hours to complete both.
fistwell_old
Member
I don't know. I think i enjoyed P3 more than i have P4 so far. The story feels a little weaker to me. But that's definitely subjective.AndyD said:
What's not so subjective tho is that they streamlined some of the play mechanics to make P4 play a little more smoothly. You also get more flexibility in combat. I think P4 is probably the better game, technically. Still, i somehow enjoyed P3 more. The fake suicide thing didnt really bother me overmuch. But if that's an issue to u, there's none of it in P4.
fistwell_old
Member
Snap.Vorador said:
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
I thought there are plenty of +MAG, +STR, etc items.Vorador said:
Vorador said:
Kind of... After every normal battle, there's a "Shuffle Time!" and cards sometimes pop up that will increase (or decrease) your Persona's stats permanently. That's about it, it's not as broken as the Incense Cards were, but you can get boosts as large as +4 in one go...
noi5e said:
But it's not a object, nor you can really influence the process in any way. Sometimes you can get a random boost to a stat, and likewise you could get a penalty on one stat or something completely different. You can't "broke" the game and dope the hell out of a Persona like in P3 with the cards.
Femmeworth
Banned
Wait, what? Those things were permanent? I thought they were just temporary so I never bothered with them. I feel stupid. :lolnoi5e said:
Red Scarlet
Member
What use would they have been at the end of a battle if they weren't permanent? The Magician card ability changes were permanent, too. So keeping a Persona registered helped if you got a crappy negative boost or a spell downgrade. Game hated me earlier, I wanted to keep Bufudyne on Skadi and Magician cards upgraded it to Mabufudyne, then back down to Bufudyne, then up to Mabufudyne again..affect something different. 
KibblesBits
Member
MotherFan said:
It's supposed to be done before 3/20. Not on 3/20 iirc...
Urban Scholar
Member
Ok off topic but seemingly related...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh184/chadnickell/persona.jpg
can anyone tell me where this imagine originated from? Was this in some artbook I missed?
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh184/chadnickell/persona.jpg
can anyone tell me where this imagine originated from? Was this in some artbook I missed?
Just finished this game a couple days ago. Wow was it good. Seriously! The quality in this game was absolutely astonishing. I cannot say enough about this game. Hot stuff. Could possibly be my favorite game yet. Also, the game has some nice writing, which was unexpected. The story is quite enthralling. And the characters... just wow. It really is the ultimate RPG. Sorry FES, but P4 takes the cake. I love how all interconnected all of the events seemed to be. There was only brief bits of filler, most of which was used for character development. And oh my God, what was that crazy art style? DO WANT! I can't wait to start this game again. All the praise is wholly deserved.
The only category that's up in the air between FES and P4 is the music, in my opinion, of course. I loved the Jazzy Rap approach P3 took with its arrangements. The addition of a few Pop selections suited the soundtrack well. However, with P4, it doesn't really have any particular identity. The songs themselves are real good, but I lost that overall theme. It's like a mix of Rock, piano, and Pop with a thumping Bass to boot. I don't know how to describe it. The Pop and Rock songs kicked all sorts of ass, but the piano bits mixed in, save the last few songs, were kind of random for me. So what was the overall feel of the soundtrack for anyone else? It wasn't very techno-ie. More House-ish, perhaps? Was that what they were trying to go for? Well, whatever, that's just nitpicking.
EDIT: Oh yeah, anybody know of a good Dojima avatar I could sport. I want to share the love, but haven't seen very many yet. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places.
Oh, and I meant to state above my favorite Social Link was the Heirophant with Dojima, obviously. But not just because he was a God awesome character, but because the writing for those particular scenes were really good. Loved the dramatic spin, and, well, just an all around awesome guy. By far my favorite Social Link since Akinari's in P3.
The only category that's up in the air between FES and P4 is the music, in my opinion, of course. I loved the Jazzy Rap approach P3 took with its arrangements. The addition of a few Pop selections suited the soundtrack well. However, with P4, it doesn't really have any particular identity. The songs themselves are real good, but I lost that overall theme. It's like a mix of Rock, piano, and Pop with a thumping Bass to boot. I don't know how to describe it. The Pop and Rock songs kicked all sorts of ass, but the piano bits mixed in, save the last few songs, were kind of random for me. So what was the overall feel of the soundtrack for anyone else? It wasn't very techno-ie. More House-ish, perhaps? Was that what they were trying to go for? Well, whatever, that's just nitpicking.
EDIT: Oh yeah, anybody know of a good Dojima avatar I could sport. I want to share the love, but haven't seen very many yet.
Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places.Oh, and I meant to state above my favorite Social Link was the Heirophant with Dojima, obviously. But not just because he was a God awesome character, but because the writing for those particular scenes were really good. Loved the dramatic spin, and, well, just an all around awesome guy. By far my favorite Social Link since Akinari's in P3.
BlazingDarkness
Member
is this out in the UK yet guys? i was hopin' to pick it up this weekend
That's odd, I still find P4's soundtrack better than P3's, but that's neither here nor there.
House-ish is a good word... There's a lot more emphasis on jazzy horns instead of synthesizers. J-pop elements have mostly been leached out. The P4 theme's a good lead-in to the rest of the soundtrack; even though P4 is generally a more cheerful game, the soundtrack is a little darker & moodier. Awesome stuff.
House-ish is a good word... There's a lot more emphasis on jazzy horns instead of synthesizers. J-pop elements have mostly been leached out. The P4 theme's a good lead-in to the rest of the soundtrack; even though P4 is generally a more cheerful game, the soundtrack is a little darker & moodier. Awesome stuff.
noi5e said:
My favorite songs from the game were probably Never More, A New World Fool, Backside of the TV, Your Affection, Heaven, Omen, Game, Awakening, Electronica in the Velvet Room, The Genesis, and Almighty, with an honorable mention to Edge of Madness and Theater. I have both P3's soundtrack and FES'. P4 will join them some day. You know, I can't stop listening to some of P4's music right now. I should be getting some rest, but... My fav song in P3 was Burn My Dread-last battle-, possibly one of my favorite songs of all time. P4 really needed a remixed version of the theme. It kind of got old after awhile. But Almighty, The Genesis, Never More, Backside of the TV, and A New World Fool made up for it thankfully.
Android18a
Member
BlazingDarkness said:
Yup. My UK copy arrived on Wednesday.
Basch said:Just finished this game a couple days ago. Wow was it good. Seriously! The quality in this game was absolutely astonishing. I cannot say enough about this game. Hot stuff. Could possibly be my favorite game yet. Also, the game has some nice writing, which was unexpected. The story is quite enthralling. And the characters... just wow. It really is the ultimate RPG. Sorry FES, but P4 takes the cake. I love how all interconnected all of the events seemed to be. There was only brief bits of filler, most of which was used for character development. And oh my God, what was that crazy art style? DO WANT! I can't wait to start this game again. All the praise is wholly deserved.
The only category that's up in the air between FES and P4 is the music, in my opinion, of course. I loved the Jazzy Rap approach P3 took with its arrangements. The addition of a few Pop selections suited the soundtrack well. However, with P4, it doesn't really have any particular identity. The songs themselves are real good, but I lost that overall theme. It's like a mix of Rock, piano, and Pop with a thumping Bass to boot. I don't know how to describe it. The Pop and Rock songs kicked all sorts of ass, but the piano bits mixed in, save the last few songs, were kind of random for me. So what was the overall feel of the soundtrack for anyone else? It wasn't very techno-ie. More House-ish, perhaps? Was that what they were trying to go for? Well, whatever, that's just nitpicking.
EDIT: Oh yeah, anybody know of a good Dojima avatar I could sport. I want to share the love, but haven't seen very many yet.
Oh, and I meant to state above my favorite Social Link was the Heirophant with Dojima, obviously. But not just because he was a God awesome character, but because the writing for those particular scenes were really good. Loved the dramatic spin, and, well, just an all around awesome guy. By far my favorite Social Link since Akinari's in P3.
Hierophant is very good, but I think my favorite link was justice. She really is one of the best written little kids in any game I have ever played. She is realistic, she has her own important issues (that are not crazy out there like alot of children in games), she is not annoying....I mean they did everything right with her.
^^ Yeah, Justice was pretty good too. But I didn't actually get to finish that one in time. I was Rank 7, and about to hit Rank 8.
So I meant to share this a while back, but I forgot. I'm seriously at a loss of words of how to introduce this, but all Persona 4 fans should really check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8ZopvJluy8 (SPOILER WARNING). :lol
While I'm on that train of thought, what did you all think of the romantic relations between the characters? Who could you see with who in the future? I love doing this pairing up game. Don't know why, but here's mine:
Souji x Yukiko
Yosuke x Chie
Kaniji x Naoto
Teddie x Rise
Am I right or am I right? Victory!
I was Rank 7, and about to hit Rank 8.So I meant to share this a while back, but I forgot. I'm seriously at a loss of words of how to introduce this, but all Persona 4 fans should really check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8ZopvJluy8 (SPOILER WARNING). :lol
While I'm on that train of thought, what did you all think of the romantic relations between the characters? Who could you see with who in the future? I love doing this pairing up game. Don't know why, but here's mine:
Souji x Yukiko
Yosuke x Chie
Kaniji x Naoto
Teddie x Rise
Am I right or am I right? Victory!
Cataferal said:Persona 4 PAL version = borders/squashed image
Borders?
I thought since SE was publishing it they would make sure the game was in tip top shape. I actually thought for a while you guys would get the best version. Sorry to hear it. Hopefully the game is still enjoyable for you. 
Basch said:Borders?
I was following that assumption too, given SE's stellar form with localisation as of late. I bought it in the hope I'd be able to play it upscaled on the PS3. It's not just the borders though; I had an NTSC version installed to my old PS2, and I'm now running side-by-side comparisons (thank you PIP). It seems like the full whack:
-Frame insertion for the animated cut-scenes. This involves repeating every 24th frame to fill in for the 25 frames per second inherent in the PAL standard. It's FFIX all over again: we're left with a constant "juddering" effect during cut-scenes.
-Slower 50Hz gameplay. You know the drill.
While I appreciate the bonus OST, I think I'll stick with the NTSC format for my full play-through. To put it simply: if I put 60 hours into the PAL version, I'd be at the exact same point as someone who's played 50 hours of the NTSC. Why waste time?
I'm guessing SE didn't allocate it a FFXII/KH2 scale localisation budget due to the fact the PS2's now in it's twilight years. The market is diminishing, and the Persona series is probably not as widely renowned as their own in-house franchises.
Ah well. It's still playable.
Ah well. It's still playable.
<error> I'm trying to finish P4 and I just can't find any motivation.
<@Dragona> ah
<@Dragona> ah
<error> Really hope this is the last game with this type of gameplay.
<@Dragona> i'm at the end of blue dragon and I think the area is really stupid
<error> The dungeon crawling in P4 is HORRIBLE.
<error> It's worse than P3
<error> the loot is absolutely horrendous
<error> there's no incentive to do dungeon crawling
<error> I'm getting fucking peach seeds
<error> in one of the last dungeons in the game
<error> wtf
<@Dragona> glad i didntpick it up :S
<error> I mean, it might be an improvement overall. But it just isn't the same, P3 was fresh and awesome. This game feels to 'me too' at times. I hate how you can't do your teammates S.Links if there's a person on the tv.
<error> So you are encouraged to do the dungeon crawling as fast as possible
<error> to raise your teammates s.links
<error> once you do the dungeon, you are left with nothing but school sim
<error> in P3 you chose your own pace, in P4 the pace is chosen for you.
<error> Also in rainy days, the vast majority (like 95%) of the s.links are unavailable.
<error> it feels more linear, and that sucks.
Sorry Atlus, but if P5 is the same as P3 and P4. I'm not interested. P3 was awesome, it was something fresh and cool. P4 just tries to be the same and fails, because this formula only works once. I like the story and the characters, it's just that the gameplay is boring.
I forgot to mention that getting money is a huge pain in the ass. So you can't experiment with fusions like you could in P3, the weapons and armors are super expensive too.
<@Dragona> ah
<@Dragona> ah
<error> Really hope this is the last game with this type of gameplay.
<@Dragona> i'm at the end of blue dragon and I think the area is really stupid
<error> The dungeon crawling in P4 is HORRIBLE.
<error> It's worse than P3
<error> the loot is absolutely horrendous
<error> there's no incentive to do dungeon crawling
<error> I'm getting fucking peach seeds
<error> in one of the last dungeons in the game
<error> wtf
<@Dragona> glad i didntpick it up :S
<error> I mean, it might be an improvement overall. But it just isn't the same, P3 was fresh and awesome. This game feels to 'me too' at times. I hate how you can't do your teammates S.Links if there's a person on the tv.
<error> So you are encouraged to do the dungeon crawling as fast as possible
<error> to raise your teammates s.links
<error> once you do the dungeon, you are left with nothing but school sim
<error> in P3 you chose your own pace, in P4 the pace is chosen for you.
<error> Also in rainy days, the vast majority (like 95%) of the s.links are unavailable.
<error> it feels more linear, and that sucks.
Sorry Atlus, but if P5 is the same as P3 and P4. I'm not interested. P3 was awesome, it was something fresh and cool. P4 just tries to be the same and fails, because this formula only works once. I like the story and the characters, it's just that the gameplay is boring.
I forgot to mention that getting money is a huge pain in the ass. So you can't experiment with fusions like you could in P3, the weapons and armors are super expensive too.