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Persona Community Thread |OT8| Coming Winter 2014

Eternal Punishment was never released here in any capacity.

The only legal way that I can play it is to buy and download it on my american account on the PS3. And to be honest, I've got other stuff to play right now.

Well, but you do have that option.
Besides, we were just discussing the fan translation of the PSP version on the previous page, once it's done, we'll be able to play Japanese physical copies in English.
 
Well, but you do have that option.
Besides, we were just discussing the fan translation of the PSP version on the previous page, once it's done, we'll be able to play Japanese physical copies in English.

Yeah, that's one thing that I guarantee I'll never do. I'd need to buy a psp, a copy of the game, learn how to apply the patch (if it ever gets completed), and that's just too much hassle for someone as lazy as myself.

For those who really want it, it'll be a good option to have, I just dont care enough.
 
Yeah, that's one thing that I guarantee I'll never do. I'd need to buy a psp, a copy of the game, learn how to apply the patch (if it ever gets completed), and that's just too much hassle for someone as lazy as myself.

For those who really want it, it'll be a good option to have, I just dont care enough.

Oh OK, personally I'm grateful for the opportunity to play it thanks to that fantastic effort from these fans.
Anyway, if you can't be bothered to download it from PSN I'm guessing you didn't like the game very much, especially if you already have an US account set up.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I'm pleasantly surprised with the sidequests they put into P2P IS' theater mode.

And just think, Atlus neutered the US version, as quietly as possible.


Kind of amazed the end of IS wouldn't have someone frothing at the mouth to play EP... it's an amazing cliffhanger.

By the way, someone from PH51 helped summarize what makes EP special:

P2 EP is clearly the best Persona game, the best map system, best characters, best music.
The only thing it's not the best in are battles, but it's not as if 3 or 4 are any better in that regard.
Playing through P2 EP made me realize how P3 & p4's battle system are actually based off of P Ep's rules but they over simplified it. In P2 EP, the majority of your damage comes from fusion attacks. In P3 & p4 most of your damage comes from the party weakening the entire enemy opposition and then jumping in as a crew to beat the shit out of the enemies while in weakened state.

I much prefer P2's fusion system since you actually had to go out of your way to find & build fusions whereas you can cheese through the entirety of P3 & p4 just relying on the All-out group attack. The story for P2 EP is so damn relevant to today's world. It's prolly coz the cellphone culture hit Japan first before it became widespread worldwide.
P2's plot revolves around rumors becoming reality due to a collective belieft to will it into reality. This is like today's version of meme magic where enough people shitpost the same thing over & over until it eventually becomes reality because people lost track of what is real or fantasy that the fantasy eventually gets willed into reality.


What I loved about Persona 2 is how that game actually asks those questions but then answered it with a new world order. I honestly don't think that's any different from how it is in real life. All of this is the result of globalism to create serf class who are completly controlled by their hedonistic & materialist desires.


I got me Xillia 2 the other day which is a good game, but I'm way more hooked on Persona 2 EP because everything about that game is good. THe writing makes me laugh because the dialogue is so self-aware. It also has a fairly deep plot. I thought it was deep back when I first played it but replaying P2EP as a middle aged man who still looks like playboy, I have to say that P2EP's plot & characters stand the test of time. It had the best cast simply because they were adults who act like adults. I mean come on, they had a guy who was full blown NSA like Baofu, lol.

I find it funny how P2 EP was derided in the West back when it first came out, because so much of the plot revolved around cellphone culture and the internet only for I to replay it and see how relevant P2 EP still is. A lot of Jap games during the 2000 - 2005 era revolved around memes being spread through the internet (Metal Gear Solid 2, Persona 2, Killer7, Silver Case) and every single one of them is still relevant today.

I always did like P2 for its story, but I'm more amused by how good the gameplay is. A lot of people claim that the gameplay is boring but that's because they seem to be relying on physical attacks or don't understand how to properfly form fusions. Persona 2's combat is basically the same as P3 & p4 it's just that P2 forces you to look for the most effective fusions whereas P3 & p4 just give you an overpowered group attack move which functions like a P2 fusion attack.

Another thing that I love about P2 was the ost. The soundtrack sounded so much like G-FUnk, lol. (Gangsta FUnk)


Persona 2's Sumaru was based off of Japan's Yokohama so that citie's aura was meant to mimic Yokohama.
Persona 5 is based off of Shibuya and already the music sounds very similar to this site's theme song. P5's music is a mixture of jazz and hiphop.
I'm liking the gameplay for p5 so far.

Even the city traversal system just looks like Yakuza which is how I'd imagined a remade Persona 2 to look like. My favorite part of P2 was to just walk around the whole city in between dungeons.

Here's to hoping that P5 is as great or even better than P2. There's a high chance it will be.

This is my long winded way of saying that damn, PsX rpgs truly were the best. They had the huge world building of Wrpgs, but unlike modern Wrpgs, PSx Jrpgs actually had deep & complex combat systems with rulesets that were actually hard to master. Just look at how people still complain about Persona Revelation's combat. That game works like a charm once you play with it under the mindset that you're just managing & coaching a team so you put them in specific formations to fulfill certain actions. There has never been a Persona game where you could actually do that because the strongest attack is to simply play it smart. This is why I prefer the PSX Persona games, they didn't intentionally balanced the rules into your favor like P3 & p4 do.

I'm hoping that P5 is more similr to the original games in terms of difficulty. I died in my very first battle when I first played Persona 2 Eternal Punishment way back in 2000. It almost happened to me again yesterday but this time only Ulala died (In one fucking hit, lol.) before I wised up and made Maya a Mage/healer/ tank while Katsuya acted as aggro. Ulala is just there, to be there. Like she says herself, "What was the point of my life?" LOL.

What I like is how Persona 2 actually makes fun of the animu characters like Tatsuya who's such an animu emo stereotype. The rest of the EP cast actually tell him to grow up, lol..
 
I dunno what to tell you guys other than it just wasn't my favourite.

I think overall the game part of the whole experience is what soured me the most. Ludicrously high encounter rate mixed with a battle system that's neither fun nor challenging does not make me want to play more of it.

The story is good, if a bit bonkers, and the characters are fine, but at no point did the game hit me with a huge emotional reaction. Now I dont know if this was me rushing through the game or not (I basically went from one main story beat to the next), but plot and character points tend to come along and get resolved super quickly with not a lot of explanation or touched upon once, ignored for 15 hours, and then resolved out of nowhere.

Thats not to say ALL of the plot points are like that. Some are really well done, the Lisa/Tatsuya story, the group's connection to Maya, Jun in general. Hell, Lisa was my favourite character in the entire game, she's the only one I found to have genuine development throughout the entire thing.

I dunno, something just didnt sit right with this game, if EP really is as good as you say it is, I may give it a go at some point in the future, but I was fine with how IS ended honestly.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Eh? It's not a cliffhanger at all. It finishes quite wonderfully in fact.

It could be seen that way, but there's a lot of unanswered questions, and everything is clearly not well on the Other Side.

And EP is infinitely better than IS. It's the adult side of the teen story.
 

Dantis

Member
The best part of IS is that it brought us Unbreakable Tie.

Also the line 'AINT NOBODY CAN HOLD, HOLD ME DOWN' for Lotus Juice to reuse every now and again for no reason.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
The best part of IS is that it brought us Unbreakable Tie.

Also the line 'AINT NOBODY CAN HOLD, HOLD ME DOWN' for Lotus Juice to reuse every now and again for no reason.

You really think Unbreakable Tie's better than the original OP? The original has a melancholy, sad vibe, and in the remake it's wildly different.

At least EP PSP realized that was the wrong route and just remixed the original OP.
 

Dantis

Member
You really think Unbreakable Tie's better than the original OP? The original has a melancholy, sad vibe, and in the remake it's wildly different.

At least EP PSP realized that was the wrong route and just remixed the original OP.
Unbreakable Tie is leaps and bounds better.

And EP didn't 'realise' anything, it's just that Konishi did the opening instead of Meguro.

Rest assured that if Meguro would have done it, it would be still been a Meguro vocal track.

Persona 2 is a very silly game. It doesn't need a chanty electronica track for the opening. (Not that I don't like Knights, of course).
 

Sophia

Member
I like Unbreakable Tie for what it is, but the original opening quoting Der Doppelgänger is the GOAT. There's no beating that.

Also, echoing the comments that you should play P2EP now Rean. Infinitely better game than the PSP version of Innocent Sin, despite missing some of the UI improvements.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Unbreakable Tie is leaps and bounds better.

And EP didn't 'realise' anything, it's just that Konishi did the opening instead of Meguro.

Rest assured that if Meguro would have done it, it would be still been a Meguro vocal track.

Persona 2 is a very silly game. It doesn't need a chanty electronica track for the opening. (Not that I don't like Knights, of course).

Persona 3's pretty damn silly too. Heck, they all are, but there's nothing like this in IS PSP:

hqdefault.jpg


I just kind of prefer that vibe.
 

PK Gaming

Member
The only thing that Persona 2 excels at is characters and world building. In that regard, it's very, very good. (P2:EP straight up has the best narrative on the franchise and Tatsuya has the best arc), but the gameplay is truly, truly terrible.

No offense Iwakura, but the person you quoted comes across as delusional, since they opt for the tried and true fallacy of dismissing complaints directed towards their favorite game by saying the sequels aren't much better (ie: they're wrong).
 

cj_iwakura

Member
The only thing that Persona 2 excels at is characters and world building. In that regard, it's very, very good. (P2:EP straight up has the best narrative on the franchise and Tatsuya has the best arc), but the gameplay is truly, truly terrible.

No offense Iwakura, but the person you quoted comes across as delusional, since they opt for the tried and true fallacy of dismissing complaints directed towards their favorite game by saying the sequels aren't much better (ie: they're wrong).

I disagree on that point too, but he still defends the gameplay of P2 better than I can. I still enjoy it a lot. I never saw what makes it any worse than any other turn based RPG of the era(or ever, really).
 

Sophia

Member
I remember even back in the day disliking specific aspects of Eternal Punishment's gameplay. Specifically the tarot card collecting.

That being said, the UI was a huge improvement in most areas over the PS1 version of Persona 1. Also, the PSP version of Innocent Sin is really awful compared to the PS1 version of EP.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I remember even back in the day disliking specific aspects of Eternal Punishment's gameplay. Specifically the tarot card collecting.

That being said, the UI was a huge improvement in most areas over the PS1 version of Persona 1. Also, the PSP version of Innocent Sin is really awful compared to the PS1 version of EP.

I grew to love the tarot collecting when I realized it's a 'get out of battles free' card(literally). I don't mind the PSP version much, apart from the lack of music looping and nerfed difficulty(of an already absurdly easy game).
 

PK Gaming

Member
I disagree on that point too, but he still defends the gameplay of P2 better than I can. I still enjoy it a lot. I never saw what makes it any worse than any other turn based RPG of the era(or ever, really).

He really doesn't though. He only asserts that P3/P4's gameplay rules are based off P2:EP (which is wrong). He doesn't address:

-How P2's game flow is very slow. High frequency random encounters coupled with long loading times and long animations make for an unpleasant playing experience.
-The trial and based contact system
-The grinding (for EP)
-The complete lack of difficulty (for IS)

These are just some of the things that make P2 a complete chore to play.

And him claiming that P3/P4 can be cheesed with All Out Attack is downright laughable when Fusion Skills break P2:IS and are by far the most efficient method of ending battles in EP.
 

Dantis

Member
I'd like to know what that guy is talking about when he says P5's OST is jazz and hip hop. From what we've heard it seems to be jazz, rock and electronica, like, oh, everything Meguro does.
 
Yeah, I hated the persona system in IS. The card collecting was so tedious that I eventually just straight up stopped doing it and just left the characters with what personas the story gave them.

Also, the one major thing that bugged me about the battle system was the spells. Every spell in a characters arsenal cost the exact same SP regardless of what it was. Bufula? 54 SP. Crescent Moon? 54 SP. Why?

Also, fusion spells were kinda worthless most of the time. I'd usually get more damage output by not using them.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Yeah, I hated the persona system in IS. The card collecting was so tedious that I eventually just straight up stopped doing it and just left the characters with what personas the story gave them.

Also, the one major thing that bugged me about the battle system was the spells. Every spell in a characters arsenal cost the exact same SP regardless of what it was. Bufula? 54 SP. Crescent Moon? 54 SP. Why?

Also, fusion spells were kinda worthless most of the time. I'd usually get more damage output by not using them.

The best thing in EP is the first Pixie you get. She learns Megido and it costs like 4SP.

The thing is, SP costs are based on the Persona, and their affinity to it. So if a low level Persona learns Megidolaon, it'll always be whatever their SP cost is.

Lisa and Pixie are both Lovers, so they're compatible, but if, say, Eikichi used it, it'd cost way more(if he could even use her).
 

kboyrulez12345

Neo Member
Just a little observation seeing this P2 talk, but it's funny how similar the fanbase of Fallout and Persona are. Fallout 1 & 2 are seen as superior overall by some compared to the latter titles, while others heavily disagree.

Same thing with Persona I think. Although from what I've gathered, P1 has a general consensus of being too dated I think?
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Fuck it

CnBdrJ6WcAAkark.jpg


If I dont do it now, I'll probably never do it
Nier%20clapping%20gif_zpsv3yuyw5v.gif


Just a little observation seeing this P2 talk, but it's funny how similar the fanbase of Fallout and Persona are. Fallout 1 & 2 are seen as superior overall by some compared to the latter titles, while others heavily disagree.

Same thing with Persona I think. Although from what I've gathered, P1 has a general consensus of being too dated I think?

P1 has its charms, and it's still the highest selling game, hilariously enough.
 

Sophia

Member
Just a little observation seeing this P2 talk, but it's funny how similar the fanbase of Fallout and Persona are. Fallout 1 & 2 are seen as superior overall by some compared to the latter titles, while others heavily disagree.

Same thing with Persona I think. Although from what I've gathered, P1 has a general consensus of being too dated I think?

It really depends on what version of Persona 1 you play.

The original PS1 version is definitely too dated, but the PSP version holds up pretty well despite clearly being an overly ambitious title (multiple routes, characters, secrets, the sheer excessive amount of weapons and elements, imbalances, etc) for it's time. I consider it a pretty good RPG myself, even if it has it's flaws.

Persona 2 also suffers from another problem that's unique to the western fanbase: We got the drastically inferior version of Innocent Sin, and didn't get the superior version of Eternal Punishment. That tends to color people's expectations, especially because Innocent Sin PSP is really awful in the balance department.

The Persona fanbase tends to be relatively accepting of Persona 3 and Persona 4 too. Yes, they're different in styles, but they're a clear evolution in the battle system and continuation of the themes that Persona 1 and Persona 2 Innocent Sin set up. Obviously people have their arguments over which one has the better story, and there are clear criticisms to be made at Persona 3/4's randomized dungeons tho.
 

PK Gaming

Member
Fuck it

CnBdrJ6WcAAkark.jpg


If I dont do it now, I'll probably never do it

Aight, imma hook you up with some helpful tips to get you through it

1) Regarding Maya's stat spread. Pump points into to TEC, keep VIT and AGI relatively high. TEC is the most important stat since it affects damage and how much HP you gain from healing.

2) Don't be a dick your best friend (it will make sense in context)

3) Spam Fusion spells. Fusion spells are powerful (though not as broken as IS) and they're the only way you can mutate Personas (mutation = new skills or even the ability to upgrade a Persona)

3) After a certain point, you'll be able to get Maia Prime. This is the most important Persona in the game. Make sure you grab Pixie too and mutate until it gts Megido.

4) This guide will help with Contacts. Trust me, you'll need it.

5) Constantly updating your Personas is mandatory. This was the biggest shock I experienced going from IS ---> EP since you could coast on your default Personas in that game. Since it takes so long to grind for tarots, you don't want to waste them on crap Personas. Use this guide to get the right ones.

6) You're going to need to grind like crazy. Prepare for the suffering.
 

Sophia

Member
I just want to expand on the sheer amount of crazy skill types in Persona 1.

Ya'll know how Persona 3 has the three attack types, four magic types, two superntural types, healing spells, support spells, and Almighty right?

Well, here's Persona 1. These are all classified differently from each other, and with many subtypes. For spells, you have:

Element
  • Fire
  • Ice
  • Wind
  • Earth
Force
  • Electric
  • Nuclear
  • Blast
  • Gravity
Holy
  • Expel
  • Miracle
  • Bless
  • Prayer
Dark
  • Death
  • Curse
  • Nerve
  • Occult
Other (including a handful of things not classified under the above in any way)

For physical you have:

Tech
Rush
Melee
  • 1-Hand Sword
  • 2-Hand Sword
  • Spear
  • Axe
  • Whip
  • Fist
Ranged
  • Thrown
  • Arrow
  • Gun
Special

Like 35 different types of abilities, total. Counting subtypes and stuff. Game had way too many for it's own good. And I'm not even sure that's everything despite using a wiki.... >_>;
 
It really depends on what version of Persona 1 you play.

The original PS1 version is definitely too dated, but the PSP version holds up pretty well despite clearly being an overly ambitious title (multiple routes, characters, secrets, the sheer excessive amount of weapons and elements, imbalances, etc) for it's time. I consider it a pretty good RPG myself, even if it has it's flaws.

Persona 2 also suffers from another problem that's unique to the western fanbase: We got the drastically inferior version of Innocent Sin, and didn't get the superior version of Eternal Punishment. That tends to color people's expectations, especially because Innocent Sin PSP is really awful in the balance department.

The Persona fanbase tends to be relatively accepting of Persona 3 and Persona 4 too. Yes, they're different in styles, but they're a clear evolution in the battle system and continuation of the themes that Persona 1 and Persona 2 Innocent Sin set up. Obviously people have their arguments over which one has the better story, and there are clear criticisms to be made at Persona 3/4's randomized dungeons tho.

Having played both versions of IS, I'm not sure where the "drastically inferior" comes from but whatever. My only significant complaint is the low difficulty.

As for comparing it to the other games, I love them all for different reasons and that's all I need to know.
 

Mediking

Member
Yeah... I'm totally gonna play Persona 5 on Easy. My gaming schedule has been slapped around. I'll do a harder playthru on my second run.
 
I just want to expand on the sheer amount of crazy skill types in Persona 1.
Having just started with P1, I'd like to say that this has helped me a lot
I'll keep playing kinda randomly though, ain't got no time to memorise all of these skills and sub-types. If I could stop getting Megaten'd by those toilettes I'd be happier though.
 

asagami_

Banned
Aight, imma hook you up with some helpful tips to get you through it

1) Regarding Maya's stat spread. Pump points into to TEC, keep VIT and AGI relatively high. TEC is the most important stat since it affects damage and how much HP you gain from healing.

2) Don't be a dick your best friend (it will make sense in context)

3) Spam Fusion spells. Fusion spells are powerful (though not as broken as IS) and they're the only way you can mutate Personas (mutation = new skills or even the ability to upgrade a Persona)

3) After a certain point, you'll be able to get Maia Prime. This is the most important Persona in the game. Make sure you grab Pixie too and mutate until it gts Megido.

4) This guide will help with Contacts. Trust me, you'll need it.

5) Constantly updating your Personas is mandatory. This was the biggest shock I experienced going from IS ---> EP since you could coast on your default Personas in that game. Since it takes so long to grind for tarots, you don't want to waste them on crap Personas. Use this guide to get the right ones.

6) You're going to need to grind like crazy. Prepare for the suffering.

I want to add more:

-Don't use Estoma frequently. EP is more difficult than IS, so it's a bad idea avoid many battles.

-Use the negotiation system just with few demons to get from them free cards. It's the best way of get new Personas. This is because I see that negotiation in this game it's to only get free cards, and to escape from demons, better when they are friends with you.

And I am with all of you who recognize EP, even in its original version, has a better battle system that IS (I am salty that PSP IS don't copy it)
 

Satsuya K.

Neo Member
I enjoyed playing the duology. Sure the gameplay is flawed but I really enjoyed the character development and it's themes of dreams and having to go through adulthood. I can relate alot to Tatsuya. Both of us having no dreams (I always pick the choice of having no dreams in the beginning of IS), going through tough times in childhood and having to eventually become an adult. I yet to find a career that I can enjoy doing for the rest of my life but I'm leaning to becoming a noveltist to write about stories that references real-life issues.
 
It'd probably be better than that one that goes through the whole megaten franchise, then ends with giving P4 the lowest score possible.

Or the one that purports to be a series history overview but just goes over the first few minutes of the first three games and turns into a spoilerfest of 3 and 4.

Getting more knowledge may be easy enough, but I need to work on my expression…
 

Makio

Member
it's too bad her original VA couldn't make it for most of the spinoffs, but valerie arem did a great job in her place. same for matt mercer as kanji

And Marisha Ray as Margaret .... right ....

Right....

Ok i go now.

(Sometimes i think im the only one who like her take of Margaret or maybe im using her too much in Ultimax recently so im gettting used to it)
---------

In a side note i see Rena Strober and Rachel Kimsey end up voicing someone in Persona 5. (Party members , cooperation / social links or whatever)

Both kinda newcomers (so fresh addition over the overused VA of always) , getting more and bigger roles , working with Arem very recently , and with a Atlus / Persona past who always love to recast and give them a second Persona role to many actors. (Just like happen with Lee Morris aka Morgana).

PD: If not one of them is voicing a character in SMT IV Apocalypse already , specially Asahi which i cant still figure it out who is her dub voice.

Same with DC Douglas the guy is a given.
 

daevious

Member
And Marisha Ray as Margaret .... right ....

In a side note i see Rena Strober and Rachel Kimsey end up voicing someone in Persona 5. (Party members , cooperation / social links or whatever)

Both kinda newcomers (so fresh addition over the overused VA of always) , getting more and bigger roles , working with Arem very recently , and with a Atlus / Persona past who always love to recast and give them a second Persona role to many actors. (Just like happen with Lee Morris aka Morgana).

Same with DC Douglas the guy is a given.

I've been playing Lost Dimension lately it surprises me that Atlus can contact Michael Sinterniklaas for such a minor project. Based off that game, I'm guessing he'd do well as Goro.
 

lilty

Member
I completely forgot we're going to have another livestream in exactly one week. Wow.

Wondering if I want to bother with it. We're getting so close to release that I'm thinking I've had my fill of pre-release footage. Like, I don't want to have the entire game laid out before it even releases here.
 

MSMrRound

Member
seems like there's P5 stuff in Dengeki this week.

https://twitter.com/bk2128/status/752898062981353473

Persona 5's dungeons implied to be fixed, not randomly generated.

Already arranged for my off day to fall on next Tuesday so that I can watch the livestream. Spoilers wise I'm generally okay with stuff that they throw at us through official trailers, but I'll always find myself reading into the theories and guesses that other people are able to dig out of those. Siiigh.

I wanna see the full P5 opening though. Yet to see how the other cast members will go about ice-skating on the freeway. Wonder if AtlusJP's gonna keep it close to their heart like they did with Persona 4 Dancing (only releasing the game's opening a few days prior to release).

If that's the case we will need John to appear in a stream (preferably Easy Allies, with Kyle Bosman) and "accidentally" broadcast the opening to us fans in a fashion similar to E3 2015. =D
 

Nachos

Member
I've been playing Lost Dimension lately it surprises me that Atlus can contact Michael Sinterniklaas for such a minor project. Based off that game, I'm guessing he'd do well as Goro.
He isn't as big as he was in the mid 2000s, and beyond Venture Brothers, he doesn't have any real mainstream roles, either. Apparently he's been trying to break into LA games and animation for a bit now (all his big roles were cast through New York), so it's more surprising that he's not in more stuff.

But yeah, he'd be a really good fit for Goro. Just have to wonder if he's on PCB's radar yet or not.
 

MSMrRound

Member
Oh yea 7th Dragon III CODE VFD for the 3DS should be released today.

If you want to build your party via the custom options, I think you can pretty much safely roll with a main core team featuring voice talents from Persona 5.

-Nana Mizuki (Ann/e)
-Mamoru Miyano (Ryuji)
-Tomokazu Sugita (Yusuke)
-Rina Satou (Makoto)
-Aki Toyosaki (Velvet Twins-Justine/Caroline)
-Aoi Yuuki (Futaba)

and possibly more, if you want to include previous Persona titles e.g Akira Ishida (P3MC), or P4MC.

Just a small reminder for fun!
 
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