Finally done with my NG+ playthrough and got the platinum trophy. Absolutely amazing game and the best game on PS4. I can't think of anything else that has a chance to beat it for GOTY for me.
Man I'd forgotten how vague all the skills were in persona 4. Like, Gale Slash is learned after Rampage for chie, so it you would think it must be better. But gale force is only "light damage to all foes" while rampage is "light damage to all foes 1-3x"
Meanwhile Chie also learns 3 different single target "light damage" physical attacks.
Persona 4's balance was all over the place because of that physical skill silliness. The reason it's like that is because they didn't adjust it from Persona 3, where Gale Slash and Swift Strike (Rampage's name in P3) were two separate categories. X_X
The design of Chie's skills in Persona 4 almost makes me think that merging physical skills was a last minute decision or something.
I'm convinced they cut a dungeon between 4 and 5. Has to be, that part is weirdly paced and stretched out longer than any other section of the game. It'd also potentially resolve some weird issues with the story, particularly:
Morgana's sudden desire to leave the team and then immediately coming back within a few days. That felt like it needed one or two more story beats to hit harder. Haru's introduction is also very sudden, and the emotional weight of "we don't have unanimous consent for going after Okumura" wasn't built up properly. It's actually a really cool concept: the one time that clause is tested. It's just rushed and didn't feel like they set it up well.
Also, there's not one, but two beach scenes in this stretch, and both of them feel aimless.
I'm still far from the ending, but I'm really up and down with this game. So much of it is a massive improvement but it's constantly being held back by small, almost indescribable things. The longer dungeons don't mesh well with the calendar system and the social stats seem overbearingly present in this game compared to past entries. They shouldn't have added stat gates to main party members. I'm sitting at halfway for Yusuke and Makoto right now, and that's frustrating because I use them both most in battle. And as Dantis put it, the script is shonky, holding back an otherwise interesting cast.
Also, I miss the disembodied narrator. Something about that was charming, lol.
But these are all nitpicks against what is an otherwise stellar game that improves on the original in so many ways. The game doesn't feel cynical, I don't think they made any choices in this game to accommodate a new audience or fundamentally undermine the series' core principals (a problem i've had in so many games recently). In many ways, I think they doubled down on the SMT roots which gives it an extremely unique feel compared to the previous two games.
I like cast interaction more in this game, and, despite a few slip-ups, the whole cast seems pretty competent and gets things done. They take a lot of initiative outside of the MC, and I appreciate that. It's a good balance between P4's BFF's and P3's Co-Workers. Still, I would like to see more ongoing development in the story compared
I think my main problem boils down to the fact that they turned everything up to 11, for better or worse. There's simply more of everything, activities, dungeons, dialogue, options in battle, personas, social link benefits, etc. Some of that's great, particularly the battle system. For other things, like dialogue, activities, and dungeon length... could have gone with maybe 20% less of it. I might have felt differently if the script had more charm to it, though.
I'm convinced they cut a dungeon between 4 and 5. Has to be, that part is weirdly paced and stretched out longer than any other section of the game. It'd also potentially resolve some weird issues with the story, particularly:
Morgana's sudden desire to leave the team and then immediately coming back within a few days. That felt like it needed one or two more story beats to hit harder. Haru's introduction is also very sudden, and the emotional weight of "we don't have unanimous consent for going after Okumura" wasn't built up properly. It's actually a really cool concept: the one time that clause is tested. It's just rushed and didn't feel like they set it up well.
Also, there's not one, but two beach scenes in this stretch, and both of them feel aimless.
Yeah that whole section was just odd, pacing wise. Especially the lack of free time you get just prior to the 5th dungeon just seems uncharacteristic. It and the above Palace are something I'd like to see them revamp in a future version of the game.
If they want to have Persona reach a wider audience, IMO they should consider not making every game about high school life and instead focus on adults and adult issues, as they did with Catherine. Well I can't speak for the Japanese audience, but I think this would increase interest in the west.
Although it's just one group of employees, it's nice to see so many women working there. I'm kind of surprised.
I switched down to normal difficulty for this part of the game, because it's so tedious. The difference between difficulty levels is huge. I just cleared the miniboss I was having issues with in a single round of combat o_o;
Yeah, it is. I played all of my initial playthrough on Normal because Hard was more strict than I expected. I'm only now playing on Hard halfway through NG+ (and only using equipment and Personas I could actually normally have at this point).
I switched down to normal difficulty for this part of the game, because it's so tedious. The difference between difficulty levels is huge. I just cleared the miniboss I was having issues with in a single round of combat o_o;
is indeed trash. I'm in it right now and it's shockingly bad. I thought was mentally prepared considering how much other people were complaining about it, but no, I was not prepared for how poorly designed it is.
The enemies don't leave room for mistakes, but the time between save points is punishingly long. I've died 4 times in this dungeon so far, compared to the 1 time I've died across all the other dungeons at this point. I also forgot to bring a persona with curse into a miniboss that just so happened to only be weak to curse. The hiding spots are also badly spread out, so you end up going across an obstacle only to be planted right next to an enemy with nowhere to hide.
On top of this, Decarabia is an enemy in this palace, which... if you get ambushed, they'll all immediately pop a physical shield on them making that battle an instant escape.
I try not to play Atlus games on the easier difficulties myself because they have a tendency to overdo it and make them too easy. Easy mode in this game isn't that bad, but Safety Mode basically trivializes the game in a way that's akin to cheating, what with earning three times the regular XP, five times the regular money, and doing twice as much damage. @_@;
is indeed trash. I'm in it right now and it's shockingly bad. I thought was mentally prepared considering how much other people were complaining about it, but no, I was not prepared for how poorly designed it is.
The enemies don't leave room for mistakes, but the time between save points is punishingly long. I've died 4 times in this dungeon so far, compared to the 1 time I've died across all the other dungeons at this point. I also forgot to bring a persona with curse into a miniboss that just so happened to only be weak to curse. The hiding spots are also badly spread out, so you end up going across an obstacle only to be planted right next to an enemy with nowhere to hide.
Real talk, if it hadn't been for the difficulty select,
I would have put the game down at the Barracks section. There's NO REASON it has to be that tedious. Nothing else in the game so far has been designed like that. Unavoidable enemies, enemies on fire that you have to wait out to move around, minibosses that don't count as minibosses and require you to rerun from the save point if you lose, four loading screens with extra long animations, and only one save point that's distant from everything else in the area. Completely absurd.
Real talk, if it hadn't been for the difficulty select,
I would have put the game down at the Barracks section. There's NO REASON it has to be that tedious. Nothing else in the game so far has been designed like that. Unavoidable enemies, enemies on fire that you have to wait out to move around, minibosses that don't count as minibosses and require you to rerun from the save point if you lose, four loading screens with extra long animations, and only one save point that's distant from everything else in the area. Completely absurd.
So far it's been an improvement if only thanks to the fact that I can kill everything in the path easily now, even with the difficulty set back to Hard.
The fucking airlock puzzles oh my god, the enemies in there were rough and considering how annoying the second airlock segment was if I had died there I would have been so mad. But dying on the lunch break rooms still made me furious.
Morgana really carried the whole team in that palace for me. If I wasn't able to get an all out attack asap things got nasty, Not gonna lie though the final boss of the palace was probably my favorite so far.
The lunch break room was infuriating because I'd dash to the crusher and every time I'd get spotted by an enemy who would ambush me before I could jump up.
In persona 4 golden, do any of the social links other then death advance regardless of points earned in dialogue? (not counting the ones that storyline advance like fool) Basically I'm asking who I can hang out with without worrying about arcana.
In persona 4 golden, do any of the social links other then death advance regardless of points earned in dialogue? (not counting the ones that storyline advance like fool) Basically I'm asking who I can hang out with without worrying about arcana.
In persona 4 golden, do any of the social links other then death advance regardless of points earned in dialogue? (not counting the ones that storyline advance like fool) Basically I'm asking who I can hang out with without worrying about arcana.
I think p4 is really strict about carrying the matching arcana for slink events, I do feel like naoto didn't need a matching arcana to get hers up though since her conversations all had lots of bonus points. At least I don't recall carrying a fortune arcana for the bulk of that slink.
Real talk, if it hadn't been for the difficulty select,
I would have put the game down at the Barracks section. There's NO REASON it has to be that tedious. Nothing else in the game so far has been designed like that. Unavoidable enemies, enemies on fire that you have to wait out to move around, minibosses that don't count as minibosses and require you to rerun from the save point if you lose, four loading screens with extra long animations, and only one save point that's distant from everything else in the area. Completely absurd.
That palace was quality whiplash after how good I thought the previous palace was. The final boss was great but everything else was just straight up tedious, including the music. Worst dungeon theme in the whole game.
That palace was quality whiplash after how good I thought the previous palace was. The final boss was great but everything else was just straight up tedious, including the music. Worst dungeon theme in the whole game.
I just finished the fifth dungeon and didn't have any complaints about it - having only been vaguely aware that people seemed to hate it from glancing at this thread every so often. And I really liked the music, maybe I just have shit taste.
I just started a 'relationship' with one of the characters and turned down the chance to start off another one. Are there any consequences for cheating (like reversing/breaking links) or is it like P4 where you can get a vast harem going with no repercussions?
I just started a 'relationship' with one of the characters and turned down the chance to start off another one. Are there any consequences for cheating (like reversing/breaking links) or is it like P4 where you can get a vast harem going with no repercussions?
I just started a 'relationship' with one of the characters and turned down the chance to start off another one. Are there any consequences for cheating (like reversing/breaking links) or is it like P4 where you can get a vast harem going with no repercussions?
Speaking of harems and my previous comment about women working at Atlus, I wonder how they feel about the relationships in Persona games. Or that sexist apron item in P5 with a description something like, "This apron is great in battle and in the kitchen", which only female party members can wear.
Having just finished the dungeon before the terrible one, I'm really curious to see what you guys are talking about. I haven't had any real problems on hard so far, so I wonder if that'll make me switch.
So far though, I don't think P5 will stick with me the way 3 and 4 did because the localization bugs me almost every other scene. There's a lot too like, but there's also just too much wonky dialogue for me to ignore. It's a shame too, because I like the characters and where the story goes; the road is just too bumpy.
Speaking of harems and my previous comment about women working at Atlus, I wonder how they feel about the relationships in Persona games. Or that sexist apron item in P5 with a description something like, "This apron is great in battle and in the kitchen", which only female party members can wear.
So looks like they intend to make Persona 6 with the current P studio staff + freshly hired people and won't wait for Hashino and co to finish making Project Re Zero.
Told ya'll Hashino wasn't coming back. Shame we'll never get to see his "travelling the world" Persona game, but I'm also interested in seeing what Re:Fantasy is about. Right now I'm most interested in knowing whether it'll be turn-based or real time action. I also want to see where Persona goes from here. It sounds like they're trying to avoid stagnating the franchise by hiring new blood which will hopefully bring new ideas to the table, so that's something to be excited about.
Cool that they aknowledge their overseas success. Let's hope this means a more timely WW release next time and some proper European localization.
I'm alright with P6 getting a different director so we can get a fresh new take on the Persona series. P6 being like P5 and P4 might be saturated (if not, safe and sure successful).
Seeing fresh blood take on creating Persona 6 is exciting.
I haven't played P5, but I hope the new blood brings in more relationship options and whatnot as well as ensure comedic scenes don't weaken the actual story's message.
Also hoping that this means better and faster localization for Atlus' upcoming games.
so apparently the weapon's store equipment in persona 3 portable is based on lvl, since i have access to equipment that were only available in January in previous playthroughs on 9/30
What exactly are the rules for hanging out with Adachi at night time in persona 4 golden? The internet says it's that you can't advance a social link other then empress or hermit during the day and still advance adachi at night. But I just advanced Ai ebihara during the day into Adachi the same night.
What exactly are the rules for hanging out with Adachi at night time in persona 4 golden? The internet says it's that you can't advance a social link other then empress or hermit during the day and still advance adachi at night. But I just advanced Ai ebihara during the day into Adachi the same night.
I don't know the logistics of Japanese game development companies, but they could still do some small scale stuff in an advisory kind of role, I would have thought?
