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[Red Scarlet]

Persona 2 Innocent Sin had a gay guy in it as one of the party members.

And according to Internet fanfiction, every character in every game is gay.

Image sites, too. Hi danbooru!

I actually don't mind the AI in Persona 3:FES, it's GREATLY improved from P3 original.:lol

1 enemy left, about 100HP.
Mitsuru: THIS ENDS NOW
*Mitsuru casts Mind Charge*

Overall I didn't mind the ai in 3, but sometimes they were really stupid. After awhile I could have just gone through with the main guy mostly unless I needed a meat shield.

Oh, and since you DID finish the game firehawk, this is where you post your endgame Personas and what abils they had. It is law.

 

[firehawk12]

Oh wow, I really depended on the daytime saves just to test out social link stuff in P4. I didn't really want to "play by guide" but I guess I might need to for P3 just to save the loading times.

You know, as for the gay character in P2 - and I keep referencing the P4 guide for some reason - but the designer admitted that it was just fan-bait for yaoi fangirls. :lol
I get the implication that it didn't turn out well, because he was like "we'll have to evaluate whether or not we'll introduce a similar character in future games" or some such.

 

[Red Scarlet]

P3 is a lot tougher to max out the S-Links than 4, to me. I've only ever done it with a daily guide. I tried on a new game + the second time I played P3, and failed, so I used a guide the 3rd time and got it, then on the replay I pretty much knew I wouldn't pull it off so I just did whatever the first time then used the guide the 2nd.

On P4, I managed to get them all on my own on my first new game+, then when I started a completely new playthrough after starting to watch the endurance run, I managed to max them all out on a fresh game (I had to redo early November-eary December about 2 times though). So afaik, it is much easier to max them yourself on P4 than it is on P3..it seems to be much more forgiving and less precise in 4 than 3.

 

[Red Scarlet]

I actually don't mind the AI in Persona 3:FES, it's GREATLY improved from P3 original.:lol

Also, Personas needed a shitload more XP to level up in P3 than 4. Especially since it had that completely different Shuffle Time mechanic, which I actually prefer personally.

A combo of them both would be pretty ace..although I got used to 4's after a while and figured out how to use some of the cards to my advantage (150,000+ yen? Thanks!). I really liked the Magician card too (Alice learned Megidolaon! Sarasvati learned Magaru!).

When I was playing 4, I really missed 3's, but after playing 3 again I think I like them both about the same.

 

[firehawk12]

Oh, and since you DID finish the game firehawk, this is where you post your endgame Personas and what abils they had. It is law.

Haha, maybe I'll go into more detail later because I just don't want to turn on the PS3 for a while, but I finished the game with a Trumpeter for Debilitate and I managed to get a Helel with Victory Cry, which saved me so much time.
Although, getting Victory Cry probably took as much time as I saved. :lol

If I ever, in some parallel universe, have enough time to play P4 again... I figure I'm set though.

 

[Tamanon]

On one hand, there are so many extra options to raise S-links in 4, on the other hand, it takes days to go in the dungeon instead of nights. I mean, just the addition of getting S-link advantages from answering questions is big. You basically almost never have a period of time where nothing is being raised.

And then it was tough enough in 3 to max them out that they even added Aeon to it too.:lol

 

[Red Scarlet]

Just those 2 were your mains? What other abils did they have? When did you get VC? These are important bits of info.

 

[firehawk12]

P3 is a lot tougher to max out the S-Links than 4, to me. I've only ever done it with a daily guide. I tried on a new game + the second time I played P3, and failed, so I used a guide the 3rd time and got it, then on the replay I pretty much knew I wouldn't pull it off so I just did whatever the first time then used the guide the 2nd.

Yeah, when I first looked at P3, the guide pretty much said you had to stick to it completely. Although one of the FES guides I peaked at said that it was much more relaxed than the original.

I just find it funny that in P3 there are consequences for being a man-slut whereas in P4, it's - for the most part - all fair game. I kind of wonder if they got complaints from people who wanted a Harem. :lol

 

[XiaNaphryz]

I never really had too much an issue with the AI in P3, I pretty much left everyone on Knockdown and if there was any need for buffing or healing, I'd let the main take care of it. Boss fights are a different story of course, and I juggled people through various tactics as needed.

 

[Red Scarlet]

Yeah, when I first looked at P3, the guide pretty much said you had to stick to it completely. Although one of the FES guides I peaked at said that it was much more relaxed than the original.

I just find it funny that in P3 there are consequences for being a man-slut whereas in P4, it's - for the most part - all fair game. I kind of wonder if they got complaints from people who wanted a Harem. :lol

The consequences in P3 aren't too hard to overcome; you just need to talk to everyone within a certain amount of time (like every 60 days), and for the girls, once you start going out with them, any time you hang out with another girl, it takes off 15 days from that 60 day limit.

If you made and liked P4 Alice, making P4 Alice in P3 was pretty nifty, I liked it better than the first one I made (4-elemental).

 

[Tamanon]

The only AI that really frustrated me in P3 was Mitsuru's, especially since Tentarafoo was so damn worthless in that game and she would cast it all the time. It was a pain since she was such a strong magic user, especially once you got her an Ice boosting accessory.

 

[firehawk12]

Just those 2 were your mains? What other abils did they have? When did you get VC? These are important bits of info.

I did that Kaiwan Skill Change Fusion Forecast "cheat" that people on GameFAQs found, so it was pretty early. I used other Personas and swapped in the Kaiwan to recharge SP, but it's all so blurry right now. Like, I used a Black Frost for a while as well... but I honestly can't remember when I used him or when I stopped. It probably doesn't help that I just spent a lot of time grinding the lower dungeons over and over again.

But, I finished the True Ending boss using a lot of Debilitate and God Hand and Yukiko's Salvation. The Chakra Ring helped tons.

I must admit though, I played the game on easy, so maybe that made the boss a little less tough on me.

 

[Tamanon]

Probably used Black Frost in Void Quest. He's pretty much the only way that boss isn't a gigantic pain in the ass to fight.

 

[firehawk12]

The consequences in P3 aren't too hard to overcome; you just need to talk to everyone within a certain amount of time (like every 60 days), and for the girls, once you start going out with them, any time you hang out with another girl, it takes off 15 days from that 60 day limit.

Yeah. I was reading that the time limit was cumulative though? So you could only have 3 girlfriends at a time based on the fact that if you had 4, your 60 days would go to 0?

 

[firehawk12]

Probably used Black Frost in Void Quest. He's pretty much the only way that boss isn't a gigantic pain in the ass to fight.

Yeah, I definitely used him a lot in the mid game. At this point, I can't even remember who I used in Heaven. This is the bad thing about trying to cram 100 hours into a few weeks. :lol

 

[Red Scarlet]

Oh, didn't know Kaiwan gets something that can change to VC (I'm guessing Tetrakarn, not Evade Phys). I mostly just change a 'repel' to it in November on a specific day. Some cycle of making Skadi with about 5 things that can change to it.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

The only AI that really frustrated me in P3 was Mitsuru's, especially since Tentarafoo was so damn worthless in that game and she would cast it all the time. It was a pain since she was such a strong magic user, especially once you got her an Ice boosting accessory.

I never saw this, so never understood what people were complaining about.

I guess I always had her set to tactics where she never was scripted to use it?

 

[Red Scarlet]

I never saw this, so never understood what people were complaining about.

I guess I always had her set to tactics where she never was scripted to use it?

Act Freely on Mitsuru is really 'be a moron' for her.

 

[Tamanon]

The biggest improvement/change in P4 you will notcie pretty early in P3 is guard negating weaknesses and being knocked down and losing your turn if hit with your weakness, instead of having to be hit twice with it to turn dizzy.

Makes some fights really abusive though.:lol

 

[firehawk12]

^
Damn, that sounds painful. :lol

Oh, didn't know Kaiwan gets something that can change to VC (I'm guessing Tetrakarn, not Evade Phys). I mostly just change a 'repel' to it in November on a specific day. Some cycle of making Skadi with about 5 things that can change to it.

Yepyep, Tetrakarn.

 

[ultron87]

Well I went back to P3 to give it one more shot tonight. Holy crap I can't play that game. I can't stand that you can't control your party members in battle. Also, the people getting tired mechanic is annoying.

But from what I've seen on Giant Bomb's Endurance Run (which I should stop watching if I pick this up) P4 fixes those problems. So I'll probably give it a shot soon. I'm excited, because I haven't been able to get into a JRPG in quite awhile.

I think the only thing from P3 I'll miss is the shooting yourself in the head animations, which are just cool looking in an emo sort of way.

Edit: Apparently this is $30 at Gamestop. And several stores in my area have it in stock. Awesome.

 

[Red Scarlet]

You don't get tired in P4 and can control the people manually, yeah. Being tired doesn't matter too much for just fighting around, it's easily counterable for the main character and you get more xp anyway by being alone.

 

[Tamanon]

I'm sorry guys, but Vinnie's impression of Kanji on the Endurance Run is just hilarious.

"I am super psyched to be here guys! ALL RIGHT!":lol

 

[drtomoe123]

The only AI that really frustrated me in P3 was Mitsuru's, especially since Tentarafoo was so damn worthless in that game and she would cast it all the time. It was a pain since she was such a strong magic user, especially once you got her an Ice boosting accessory.

I haven't been in this thread for months, but I'll never forget.

Tentarafoo is Japanese for "Wasted turn of Mitsuru"

XD

 

[ronito]

just got to the true last dungeon but I'm afraid that Oblivion's siren song is calling. We'll see when I get back to it.

 

[firehawk12]

You don't get tired in P4 and can control the people manually, yeah. Being tired doesn't matter too much for just fighting around, it's easily counterable for the main character and you get more xp anyway by being alone.

The lack of any meaningful SP items early in the game is the solution in P4, and by the time you do have some good items, you probably can hit up Fox for some SP, you're already grinding the 70s or 80s.

I guess it's a good way to keep you from getting ahead too quickly and it felt somewhat contrived, but I have no idea how they dump you out of the dungeons in P3 so I suppose it could be less intrusive.

 

[Thrakier]

Should I start this or Odin Sphere?

 

[Red Scarlet]

The lack of any meaningful SP items early in the game is the solution in P4, and by the time you do have some good items, you probably can hit up Fox for some SP, you're already grinding the 70s or 80s.

I guess it's a good way to keep you from getting ahead too quickly and it felt somewhat contrived, but I have no idea how they dump you out of the dungeons in P3 so I suppose it could be less intrusive.

I just made someone with Invigorate, then simply defended against monsters from the first dungeon to get through them all in 1 day. Very easy.

In P3, you get your HP and SP restored when you warp back to the entrance of Tartarus, but any other party members in the group will leave Tartarus if they get tired.

 

[Dave1988]

Should I start this or Odin Sphere?

This.

 

[hwateber]

Should I start this or Odin Sphere?

P4 for sure. Odin Sphere is garbage

 

[firehawk12]

I just made someone with Invigorate, then simply defended against monsters from the first dungeon to get through them all in 1 day. Very easy.

In P3, you get your HP and SP restored when you warp back to the entrance of Tartarus, but any other party members in the group will leave Tartarus if they get tired.

Oh yeah, it's very easy to get around when you have the right tools. Just the start can be tough if you're not careful. It's probably why Yukiko gets that +50 SP fan early in the game anyway, since they expect you to use her as a healer for the next dungeon or so.

They probably didn't expect people to find easy ways to break the game that early though. :lol

 

[Thrakier]

P4 for sure. Odin Sphere is garbage

Why? It got very decent reviews and it looks great. Additional info: I don't want to spend like 80 hours on an RPG, I'm just looking for a normal single player walkthrough between 20 and 40 hours. And I stopped with Persona 3 because at some point I got bored by this dating stuff and the grinding.

 

[archnemesis]

Why? It got very decent reviews and it looks great. Additional info: I don't want to spend like 80 hours on an RPG, I'm just looking for a normal single player walkthrough between 20 and 40 hours. And I stopped with Persona 3 because at some point I got bored by this dating stuff and the grinding.

You'll need somewhere around 80 hours to get through Persona 4, so you might as well play something else if you have no intention of ever finishing it. The game is also very similar to Persona 3 with social links and "grinding". I haven't started playing Odin's Sphere yet, but it's supposed to be 40 to 50 hours.

 

[Thrakier]

80 hours for a NORMAL walkthrough? Without grinding and trying to see and get everything!? Wow that's...a lot of time.

 

[Red Scarlet]

Was Odin Sphere the one people thought was pretty cool until they saw that they kind of repeated the same 'book' 4 or 5 times with different characters or was that Grim Grimoire?

80 hours for a NORMAL walkthrough? Without grinding and trying to see and get everything!? Wow that's...a lot of time.

The Endurance Run guys are a little over 65% through the game and have almost 60 hours of playtime. They are doing very few of the sidequests and have grinded very, very little. They haven't spent much time with fusing, either.

 

[Danielsan]

You'll need somewhere around 80 hours to get through Persona 4, so you might as well play something else if you have no intention of ever finishing it. The game is also very similar to Persona 3 with social links and "grinding". I haven't started playing Odin's Sphere yet, but it's supposed to be 40 to 50 hours.

There really is no grinding and I beat every dungeon and boss in 70 hours the first time through. Still a huge time investment though.

 

[Tonza]

80 hours for a NORMAL walkthrough? Without grinding and trying to see and get everything!? Wow that's...a lot of time.

My playtime of Persona 4 was around 55 hours. And I pretty much didn't do anything optional.

So I didn't do the true ending only the normal and no optional bosses/quests.

 

[ixix]

Was Odin Sphere the one people thought was pretty cool until they saw that they kind of repeated the same 'book' 4 or 5 times with different characters or was that Grim Grimoire?

Yeah, that's Odin Sphere.

Not that Grim Grimoire is immune to such accusations either.

 

[sikkinixx]

Ugh... I'm having trouble getting motivated to finish the game. I'm on the second to last dungeon, after all the plot stuff and have to grind a bit. Kinda bummed because I have a bunch of social links close to maxed but not enough days left to finish them all. I put in about 25 hours in 10 days but since then I haven't touched it in almost a week. :s

 

[firehawk12]

Yeah, getting stuck doing that - especially when it's just grinding for grinding's sake, is a pain.

I'll say that you can get an XP boosting item in the late game at least.

 

[Red Scarlet]

You can always try for those free 'dreams with the S-Link' to boost, but it can take awhile. I had to get a dream with Ai to max her out since she was level 5 and only had about 7 days max left in the game to boost her up.

 

[firehawk12]

Oh god, yeah. I reset the game so many times just to get a Naoki or Ai dream. Although in hindsight, I should have went for the people who can only go up through working.

 

[Red Scarlet]

It's a drag when it is a character that it doesn't matter, like Death/Hermit/Empress (I think Empress can be one, I know the other two can).

 

[firehawk12]

Oh yeah, totally. I've become Fox's parent so many times. :lol

I wonder if it really is a random die roll or if there's a way to "game" the dreams?

 

[Red Scarlet]

I believe it's random. I've slept and not gotten a dream, then reset and would get a dream with someone, then reset and get a dream with someone else, then reset and not get a dream at all again. So if you REALLY wanted to, you could probably get what you wanted every day you can choose to go to bed.

 

[mileS]

haha that would be hardcore.

 

[firehawk12]

Sadly, that's exactly what I did to make sure I could finish S-links before the end of the game.

I kind of wish that the feedback was a little more... specific. But I also understand that would make the "gameyness" of the social links that much more artificial. I suppose in real life, people just hang out without expecting the other person to spill all their personal secrets to them every time they meet.

 

[Thrakier]

So I started it. Anything I should know?

 

[Red Scarlet]

Without breaking the game, a little tip would be to check the Liquor Store and go through the first dungeon again after you beat it, you'll find a weapon that gives +40 and +50 SP (MP) for two characters which can be very useful early on in the game.

 

[Thrakier]

OK, I'll try to remember that...the beginning is very slow though. Wow, 1 1/2 hours of text wall without any gameplay.