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[Red Scarlet]

SarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvati

 

[luka]

SarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvatiSarasvati

Yes yes I know. I read your book!

 

[Red Scarlet]

Take a screenie when you make her! And go through all your mains and stuff while you play. No one has yet to do this even after I demanded it.

 

[MechaX]

Pfft. Everyone knows that Titania is the best Megami Tensei demon ever.

 

[Red Scarlet]

I made a pretty cool Titania in Nocturne. But <3 Sara in P4.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Pfft. Everyone knows that Titania is the best Megami Tensei demon ever.

Arahabaki, Wu "Fucking" Kong, or Abaddon (swimming thru the floor one) or go home!

They changed her in SJ, too. He's apparently redid a ton of his old stuff in that.

 

[Uncle AJ]

Arahabaki, Wu "Fucking" Kong, or Abaddon (swimming thru the floor one) or go home!

They changed her in SJ, too. He's apparently redid a ton of his old stuff in that.

"Land shark" Abaddon returns in SJ. Although I was personally a big fan of "I AM GOING TO DEVOUR THE ENTIRE SCREEEEEN" Abaddon.

Titania and Oberon got re-designs to make them look more "fairy-like", yeah. But for the most part, it's the same artwork they've been using since SMT II.

And none of your favorite demon's aint shit. They're all just hos. Every last one of 'em.

Also reading that burger thread makes me feel a little better, since no one else seems to know who that girl in the avatar is either!

 

[I AM JOHN!]

So for you guys playing this on PCSX2, what's your system like? I'm thinking about a PC playthrough, but I've never run the emulator before and I'm not sure if my system is up to spec. I got a 2.6Ghz Core 2 Duo, an 8800 GTS, and 2 gigs of RAM? That gonna be fine or should I just go back to playing on my PS3?

And before you ask, I can't just test it because my computer is still in my apartment at school and I am not.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

"Land shark" Abaddon returns in SJ. Although I was personally a big fan of "I AM GOING TO DEVOUR THE ENTIRE SCREEEEEN" Abaddon.

Titania and Oberon got re-designs to make them look more "fairy-like", yeah. But for the most part, it's the same artwork they've been using since SMT II.

And none of your favorite demon's aint shit. They're all just hos. Every last one of 'em.


Also reading that burger thread makes me feel a little better, since no one else seems to know who that girl in the avatar is either!

Got him with Victory Cry, Retaliation, Void Nerve, and Acid Breath. Still weak to Lightning though.

Vetala's another that either got changed or brought back; he's the gaping maw/crotch zombie now, not the man-panther-elephant thingie.

 

[Blueblur1]

I'm currently watching the Endurance Run to catch up to where I left off last October and it's been fun but incredibly time consuming. Right now I'm at Episode 81; they're at 08/05 and I'm at 08/11 so I'll be back to playing P4 SOON.

 

[Uncle AJ]

Got him with Victory Cry, Retaliation, Void Nerve, and Acid Breath. Still weak to Lightning though.

Vetala's another that either got changed or brought back; he's the gaping maw/crotch zombie now, not the man-panther-elephant thingie.

There was only one Demon Source I got that had Victory Cry in it (from the black alligator in chains demon whose name escapes me), but that was pretty far past the time Black Frost outlived his usefulness. I fused him as soon as I could, so he ended up with some pretty "meh" skills like Mana Boost, Getsu-ei and Staredown. I don't really have the patience to make him god-like in SJ like I did in P4.

But we're hijacking this thread... all SJ love goes here.

 

[Adam Prime]

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbmOdo9qW4A

:lol OMG this has to be the funniest thing I've ever seen, ever, ever.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[dekjo]

I'm currently watching the Endurance Run to catch up to where I left off last October and it's been fun but incredibly time consuming. Right now I'm at Episode 81; they're at 08/05 and I'm at 08/11 so I'll be back to playing P4 SOON.

Anyone know if there an easy way to watch them in order? Instead of reloading the Endurance Run tab and having to page back to the right one to find the next episode.

 

[CPS2]

-snip-

The main thing that P3 has over P4 is new game +. In P4, you don't keep your level on NG+, so the stat boosts aren't as noticable. In P3, it's pretty easy to get to level 100 even on the first playthrough (if you can be bothered), so you spend quite a lot of time being way more powerful than any of the enemies (

Spoiler

except one right?

) and it is fun even tho there's no strategy at that point. You get to see a lot of team attacks which have cool animation, and I don't even know if there's anything like that in P4.

 

[Blueblur1]

Anyone know if there an easy way to watch them in order? Instead of reloading the Endurance Run tab and having to page back to the right one to find the next episode.

I have this page bookmarked and just use Alt+F to find the next episode. It's kind of annoying but it works.

 

[matmanx1]

Funny mentioning Black Frost as I just used him in P4 to completely own the boss of

Spoiler

Void Quest

. Mind Charge + Fire Amp + Agidyne with Tarukaja from Chie did over 700 points of damage in one cast which is of course completely OP at that point in the game (July 30 I think it was). Oh and I think I was wearing a Flame Vow at the time as well for maximum ownage.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Black Frost is easily the most kick-ass Persona you can recruit in the game. He stays useful for such a long time, too. I remember still using him and getting great returns even when he was 5-10 levels lower than me.

It was a sad day when he finally had to be fused away.

 

[Uncle AJ]

If you're nuts like me, you can make him be useful forever!

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Black Frost is easily the most kick-ass Persona you can recruit in the game. He stays useful for such a long time, too. I remember still using him and getting great returns even when he was 5-10 levels lower than me.

It was a sad day when he finally had to be fused away.

Vinny was clearly attached too. "Hey, lets use him on the end boss for old times sake, huh Jeff?"

 

[Uncle AJ]

Vinny was clearly attached too. "Hey, lets use him on the end boss for old times sake, huh Jeff?"

"You guys can't keep me down!"

 

[I AM JOHN!]

Going through the cut stuff again and I don't remember seeing some of these.
Yukiko - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BBbQ5V_rrI&feature=related
Probably the interesting thing here is that at some point, there were consequences for being a man-slut. I guess they took it out because people playing the game want the harem. :lol

Chie - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FVqdQQJmZg
What's interesting here is that her rank 9 event depends on a rainy day... Maybe they planned to have rainy-day only s-link events before realizing that players would rather use rainy days for dungeon runs/fishing.

Also, as I played as a man-slut, I never went the "friend zone" route. I never knew they'd run away if you turned them down.

Someone also managed to dump Chihiro into the main game among other things:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Dunkelzahn1#p/u/2/idsszs1F0HA

So what's the story behind these and the rest of the cut stuff? Were they cut from the Japanese release but Atlus decided to translate it just in case they decided to put it in? I kind of wish they used that Rank 9 scene for Chie, to be honest.

Either way, it's pretty fascinating to see that Atlus planned for so many different little situations that could happen depending on how you played only to remove them (like the rainy day cutscenes and the Junes scenes) and that they originally planned for reversing and breaking party links, which would've made the game way better. No matter how Atlus ends up handling the dungeon/socialization balancing act for P5--whether they stick with forcing you to decide between the two like P4 or go back to the P3 style of letting you do both--I really hope they expand on that idea and slightly change the Social Link scenes depending on time and weather variables like that. It sure would be a great use of all that extra space they will be getting on Bluray because they're definitely not going to do something unfortunate like make Persona 5 for PSP, right guys? Am I right? Guys?

It's also pretty funny to see how the game reads before NichM and the editing team comes in, since I'm guessing that this cut material was merely translated and not localized. It's the only possible explanation for why the beginning of that Rank 8 Yukiko scene is absolute gibberish. :lol

 

[firehawk12]

Yeah, it looks like someone did a translation pass before realizing that a lot of that stuff wouldn't make it into the game. Based on that alone, I'm assuming this was all planned and prototyped at some point before they decided not to complicate the S-link stuff too much.

P4 is certainly the streamlined P3 anyway. I wonder which way they'll go with P5... maybe you'll be able to invite everyone to your Christmas party instead of just one of the girls (or guys, assuming they go with a female protagonist)!

 

[dekjo]

I have this page bookmarked and just use Alt+F to find the next episode. It's kind of annoying but it works.

Works much better than what I was using - thanks!

 

[Blueblur1]

Glad I coud help.

 

[Blueblur1]

Sorry for the double post but I have a question for GAF's Persona 4 experts. According to the official guide, glancing through a book is the same as reading a book thoroughly. Is this true? I ask because I've read elsewhere that glancing the books allows you to finish it in 2 sittings but reading it thoroughly allows you to finish it in 4.

 

[Aexact]

Sorry for the double post but I have a question for GAF's Persona 4 experts. According to the official guide, glancing through a book is the same as reading a book thoroughly. Is this true? I ask because I've read elsewhere that glancing the books allows you to finish it in 2 sittings but reading it thoroughly allows you to finish it in 4.

It's just as you say. You get the same kind of boost no matter if you speed read or read thoroughly, but you only get the boost twice instead of four times. It's 1+1 instead of 1+1+1+1.

 

[Blueblur1]

It's just as you say. You get the same kind of boost no matter if you speed read or read thoroughly, but you only get the boost twice instead of four times. It's 1+1 instead of 1+1+1+1.

I figured the guide was wrong as it has been in several other instances. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[TheSeks]

I'm up to like 7/16 or there about.

Still not liking the cast of characters too much. Still preferring Persona 3 over this.

However, Yosuke's last S. Link is "persona3maincharacter:|hiimdaisydrawing.jpg"

Spoiler

HIT ME, DAMN IT!

... :|

Spoiler

Hitting you won't solve anything.

(fight breaks out)

(Persona Evolves)

At least having Teddie in battle is nice. No longer need Chie. Hoorah!

Also does the

Spoiler

Teddie needing the bear suit in the TV world but doesn't use it except at Junes in the real world

get explained? It's weird how they change between the two.

 

[I AM JOHN!]

So let me get this straight: you prefer Persona 3's cavalcade of one-dimensional anime stereotypes to the P4 cast (who are still anime stereotypes, don't get me wrong, but are far more fleshed out in every way imaginable), and you don't like Chie.

Between this and The Answer, I'm convinced that you have the worst opinions about everything.

Spoiler

And yes, they explain the Teddie thing.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

At least having Teddie in battle is nice. No longer need Chie. Hoorah!

Chie is still awesome once she learns Power Charge.

Also:

Spoiler

Beaches and Shores.

 

[TheSeks]

So let me get this straight: you prefer Persona 3's cavalcade of one-dimensional anime stereotypes to the P4 cast, and you don't like Chie.

Between this and The Answer, I'm convinced that you have the worst opinions about everything.

Spoiler

And yes, they explain the Teddie thing.

I prefer Persona 3's depressing tone to Persona 4's cheery tone, yes.

And the Answer isn't bad. Just grind, which most people hate but I enjoyed because I don't have to focus on S. Links to make better Personae.

Chie is still awesome once she learns Power Charge.

Too bad I can't care. Her personality annoys the hell out of me.

My party has mostly been me (multitude of high level Personas with mainline Mara), Kanji (only because he's ga--oh, wait. Because Atlus/game developers can't make Gay characters for their lives. ), Teddie (just to try out) and Yosuke (only because his Persona evolved and I didn't mind his S. Link).

One thing that annoys me about Persona 4 is the weakness/analyzing system. At least in Persona 3 it was "have everyone go on stand by two turns, reset them to 'knock down' win game." Here you have to direct command them as (so far 3-5 months into the game) there is "knock down" team command to where I can get them to try to use their elements to knock down the enemy to all-out attack. :|

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Because Atlus/game developers can't make Gay characters for their lives.

Jun says hi.

Unfortunately this is probably one of the reasons Innocent Sin never released in the West.



Have a good time with your bro party I guess.

 

[I AM JOHN!]

I prefer Persona 3's depressing tone to Persona 4's cheery tone, yes.

You say that as if P4 isn't plenty depressing in its own right. Admittedly it's only really the late-game where it gets crazy, but P4 is plenty fucked up when it chooses to be, and it definitely chooses to be during the last 20%. And it does so without relying on ridiculous crap like "PEOPLE TURNING INTO COFFINS AND SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE HEAD WITH A FAKE GUN." And it's not like P3 doesn't shoot itself in the foot all the time in establishing its mood.

I mean, yes, it all comes to personal taste at the end of the day, but I cannot honestly understand how people prefer P3 to P4 when P3 has glaring fucking flaws in its pacing, characters, and so on. Besides, that kind of "dark, twisted world" scenario is a dime a dozen (maybe not in the same way P3 pulls it off, admittedly), whereas I can think of very few games that are able to do what P4 does, being so upbeat and blissfully goofy and self-aware without it coming off as forced... or jarring when the game takes a step back and decides to throw dark. And lest we forget, I kind of like Persona 3... a lot.

And the Answer isn't bad. Just grind, which most people hate but I enjoyed because I don't have to focus on S. Links to make better Personae.

Counterpoint.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

So far the only thing P3 did better than P4 was not being as blatantly heavy handed.

Also the final enemies.

 

[TheSeks]

Jun says hi.

Unfortunately this is probably one of the reasons Innocent Sin never released in the West.

Have a good time with your bro party I guess.

Jun was a two hour cameo that replaced Yukino, who was more awesome than he was.

Besides, I was more gay for Michelle/Eikichi in Innocent Sin than I was for Jun. :|

I mean, yes, it all comes to personal taste at the end of the day, but I cannot honestly understand how people prefer P3 to P4 when P3 has glaring fucking flaws in its pacing, characters, and so on.

Oh, I'm not saying Persona 3 is perfect. I just prefer it's style over Persona 4's. Persona 4 has been a decent game so far. It's just the way it does things (esp coming from Persona 3: FES where I dealt with idiosyncrasies and was okay with them) that is just rubbing me the wrong way.

 

[Jerk]

P4 really isn't cheery. It's not depressing like 3 but cheery isn't the word I'd use to describe P4.

Really? Because other than late November/December, the game is pretty happy-go-lucky (with the occasional offending dark cloud).

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Besides, I was more gay for Michelle/Eikichi in Innocent Sin than I was for Jun. :|

Jun was the only male character you could go gay for in Innocent Sin though. Too bad.

Oh and one more thing P3 handled better than P4:

Spoiler

Death of major characters. Despite the revival bull in FES; Chidori's death was pretty well done. Nanako coming back, while nice, was a bit too convenient and contrived.

 

[TheSeks]

Jun was the only male character you could go gay for in Innocent Sin though. Too bad.

Yeah, and that pissed me off.

At least picking the Michelle option told "WAI WAI! TATSYUA-KUN, DO YOU LOVE ME!?" Lisa to screw off. :3

Really? Because other than late November/December, the game is pretty happy-go-lucky (with the occasional offending dark cloud).

That happens so late in the game? Damn. :/ But yeah, Persona 4 has been pretty sunshine-y minus the whole Murder Mystery plot for me.

 

[I AM JOHN!]

Oh and one more thing P3 handled better than P4:

Spoiler

Death of major characters. Despite the revival bull in FES; Chidori's death was pretty well done. Nanako coming back, while nice, was a bit too convenient and contrived.

Yeah, I'll give you that. That's one of the few parts where the game lost me, and part of why I think

Spoiler

the bad ending

is so great.

 

[Jerk]

Jun was the only male character you could go gay for in Innocent Sin though. Too bad.

Oh and one more thing P3 handled better than P4:

Spoiler

Death of major characters. Despite the revival bull in FES; Chidori's death was pretty well done. Nanako coming back, while nice, was a bit too convenient and contrived.

Contrived does not even began to describe that bs.

Not every day that I wish

Spoiler

death on an infant

. I am not proud of it, but I would pay good money to have

Spoiler

had a script where she croaked without the player getting the bad ending.

 

[Jerk]

The thing about Persona 3 and 4 is that they present themselves as happy and cheery, but if you delve into the characters, and they're anything but.

Look at Nanako and how lonely she is.

Or how Kanji is confused about his sexuality.

The problem with P4 are the s-links. In P3, you do extremely questionable things in order to gain that rank up, whether it's telling a little girl to run away from home, or telling your kendo partner to keep going to practice even if he risks the ability to participate in sports ever again.

P4 doesn't have nearly as questionable content, which is disappointing, but I would dead pressed to describe it as cheery.

I really liked the Death slink, because it involved a really interesting theme. That is, until they turns it into "help me deal with my problems".

But then, I'm still in the I prefer P3 to P4 camp even if I acknowledge that P4 is the better game.

Hence my comment in regard to the offending clouds.

The thing with P4 is that in spite of its darker moments, the 'cheery front' the game presents is not an act, but is genuinely a defining aspect.

I do not view this as a bad thing. In fact, I welcome a game that can 'maturely' handle certain issues without giving in to despair and beating you over the head with how dark it is.

 

[I AM JOHN!]

Contrived does not even began to describe that bs.

Not every day that I wish

Spoiler

death on an infant

. I am not proud of it, but I would pay good money to have

Spoiler

had a script where she croaked without the player getting the bad ending.

At least Atlus learned their lesson and didn't do something stupid like go back and put an awful contrivance like that into P3P.

Oh wait. :\

 

[Fimbulvetr]

At least Atlus learned their lesson and didn't do something stupid like go back and put an awful contrivance like that into P3P.

Oh wait. :\

Shut up it's still optional.

LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

 

[TheSeks]

Contrived does not even began to describe that bs.

Not every day that I wish

Spoiler

death on an infant

. I am not proud of it, but I would pay good money to have

Spoiler

had a script where she croaked without the player getting the bad ending.

Hey now! Nanako isn't as bad as I thought she'd be. Her S. Link is actually nice to do (when I'm not being "...Whatever *goes upstairs to read*" mode), as is Ryotaro/Dojima's.

Or how Kanji is confused about his sexuality.

Only in the Second Dungeon of the game. From then on it's mostly

Spoiler

Chie or Yosuke mentioning it, pissing off Kanji

. Which is slightly annoying as back in 2008 (while I was playing through Persona 3: FES, yes I am damn slow. It took me until last year to finish) the run up was "Is there actually going to be a gay character in Persona/SMT!?" and it's like "LOL NOPE, ENJOY A COCKTEASE!" Besides, I don't really like Kanji in that way. I like him in the "FUCK YEAH PUNK ROCK <3" way, but I rather have Yosuke despite him getting on my nerves now and then.

 

[I AM JOHN!]

What'd they do besides put the girl character in there?

Spoiler

If you max out Shinji's Social Link in Girl's Side, he doesn't die. He just goes "into a coma" or some bullshit. In other words, a convenient excuse to take him out the rest of the game that still completely ruins one of the game's emotional high points. >:|

Fun fact: my P3P OT had a couple paragraphs that I threw out before posting in which I pretty much went off about all the shit I hate about Persona 3 before concluding with "but this game is still awesome." :X

 

[Jerk]

Hey now! Nanako isn't as bad as I thought she'd be. Her S. Link is actually nice to do (when I'm not being "...Whatever *goes upstairs to read*" mode), as is Ryotaro/Dojima's.

I love both her and her story, but that is not an excuse for the writers to get lazy.

Up until that point, the dialogue was the only thing bothering me, but after that, the plot started to do funny things as well.

 

[Aexact]

Hence my comment in regard to the offending clouds.

The thing with P4 is that in spite of its darker moments, the 'cheery front' the game presents is not an act, but is genuinely a defining aspect.

I do not view this as a bad thing. In fact, I welcome a game that can 'maturely' handle certain issues without giving in to despair and beating you over the head with how dark it is.

Yeah, I agree with this. I mean, they change the color scheme from blue to yellow. That makes it brighter right away!

Speaking more seriously, I think it's reflected in the social links too. In P3, you're manipulating people and showing them a deceptive mask in order to rank up and exploit them for their stat bonus rank ups. In P4, the idea is that the mask is another side of yourself and that you're going around helping people realize this about themselves too. The take on the social link thing is much more optimistic in P4.

I think that was an Leigh Alexander article.

 

[I AM JOHN!]

What? Who?

Spoiler

Shinji

Wow, I'm an idiot and forgot to specify who. My bad!

Spoiler

Yes. >:|

 

[TheSeks]

I love both her and her story, but that is not an excuse for the writers to get lazy.

Up until that point, the dialogue was the only thing bothering me, but after that, the plot started to too funny things as well.

Oh, I don't disagree. One thing that doesn't sit well (along with a mountain of other things in Persona 4 *cough*) with me is you HAVE to save the characters, otherwise "LOL WHOOPS! TRY AGAIN!"

The same thing pisses me off in some western RPGs (like Mass Effect), you really have no choice in the matter other than morality points.

It's a really damn annoying thing for me. There's times where I want to go "NO! I DON'T WANT YOU TO JOIN MY PARTY! GET OUT"

"LOL NO. BECAUSE THOU MUST TAKE ME IN YOUR STABLE!"

"FFFFFFFF.jpg"

 

[RedRedSuit]

Wow... I actually got tripped up on saving the 2nd character (Kanji). I saw two rainy days and thought that's not enough to signal fog. And then it totally did.

I was like... fuck. But I had a save from 2 days prior. Too bad I was only on the 5th floor, hadn't even hit the mini-boss yet, and was like level 18 (with the dungeon main boss being level 27).

So then I feverishly worked through the last 6 floors of the dungeon in 2 days. I was out of SP by the end of the 2nd day (ABSOLUTELY the last day to save Kanji), had to use up some SP items, was only level 23 (and I had to grind to get to that point). The only reason I was able to eventually win the battle was a level 23 (+ S. Link) persona strong to physical attacks. The only reason I was able to beat the mini-boss was that he ran out of SP (I was probably 6 levels below him).

That was hard.

I'm never procrastinating on dungeon crawling again.

Impressions so far: The start of this game is more exciting than the start of Persona 3 (FES). There's more plot development. Persona 3 was rather aimless for like the first 15 hours. After that, though, it got seriously fucking awesome. I think I like the tone of 3 more than 4, though. 3 was a heavy fucking game in terms of plot and atmosphere. I mean, a hidden hour when everyone is transmogrified into coffins, while you endlessly scale a huge, endless tower of despair and hatred, stalked by Death at every turn? Plus, they kept evoking personas by shooting themselves in the head... fantastic. Persona 4 feels a little happy compared to that.