I guess there was a novel that explained it or something in Japan. I've never read it tho.
... why is so much of Persona 3's plot not in the game?
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Persona Community Thread: The Butterfly Effect
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I guess there was a novel that explained it or something in Japan. I've never read it tho.
... why is so much of Persona 3's plot not in the game?
Because it was written after the fact.
CrazyTank940
Member
It was pretty much that. SEES wanted to get rid of the Dark Hour, Strega liked the dark hour.
It's as ethical as having a blood feud over who gets the last footlong sub sandwich at a Subway
we.are.the.armada
Member
Supermanisdead
Member
Strega talked about their history which was super interesting, but I wish it was done through flashbacks.
SloaneRisette
Member
Ooh, Persona 3 talk? My favorite! 
we.are.the.armada
Member
Ooh, Persona 3 talk? My favorite!
It was such a feat for Atlus to essentially reboot the Persona franchise as a convergence of many genres and pull it off with Western appeal is pretty damn incredible. Then, they followed it up with Persona 4.
I have this feeling that Atlus is going to blow up, globally, and on a foundation of their traditional gameplay methodologies no less. Some people will feel sad about it, but I like the prospect.
buddha0991
Member
I just hope Persona 5 is closer to Persona 2 in writing and characters...
SloaneRisette
Member
I would definitely like to see Atlus blow up globally quite a bit, after P3 FES and P4 I think they definitely deserve it. Persona 3 FES was probably my Game of Not 2012 last year. I loved P4 too, and I can see why people like it more than 3 in some sense, but I feel like 3 doesn't get nearly enough credit or love.
buddha0991
Member
I feel like 3 is the worst in the series, a series only filled with great games, but still!
SloaneRisette
Member
It's probably different for me in that 3 is the one I came into the series with, and I came into it kind of unsure, with only recommendations from my friend, and ended up loving it as soon as I saw that I got charm for answering a question right in class, lol.
1 is the worst. Easily. Playing it felt like a chore, and there was no joy in it, at all.
buddha0991
Member
I have a soft spot for it....Then again...I have as soft spot for DMC2...................................................
I agree. It's probably the most bland of all the games.
Supermanisdead
Member
3 is the best in the series
we.are.the.armada
Member
James Xie told me that it might be too early to know for sure just how much ass-kicking Japan will do in Persona 4 Arena at EVO2013. https://twitter.com/XiePlus/status/301197064543563776
I'll go one step further and say that I hope that Persona 5 is close to the best writing and characters of each game.
I'll go one step further and say that I hope that Persona 5 is close to the best writing and characters of each game.
SloaneRisette
Member
3 is the best in the series
My man!
Yeah, Evo season has only just kicked into gear, and that's just for America, not sure what it'll really be like or is like elsewhere in the world right now.
And the one thing I want most from Persona 5 is just making social links much more expanded/dynamic. Of course, that isn't to say I don't want the writing/characters to be the best in the series thus far, but that's just my extra little wish for it.
P4 is my favourite, and it was also my introduction to the series (and Atlus games in general). I've since played P3P, P3 FES, P1, P2: Innocent Sin and P4: Golden (in that order), and I find P1 to be a real slog. I did not enjoy that game at all. Innocent Sin was good, but only because it's considerably shorter than most other Persona games.
I'd be glad if it happened, but obviously not at the expense of the games, if you get what I mean. Generally when companies try to get big, they "broaden" their games (i.e. cater them for a large niche of manchildren), and this how these games often "explode" in popularity.
I like the idea of Atlus doing well, but not if it means the games go downhill. Conversely, them doing well means more timely releases for those of us in Europe.
I'd be glad if it happened, but obviously not at the expense of the games, if you get what I mean. Generally when companies try to get big, they "broaden" their games (i.e. cater them for a large niche of manchildren), and this how these games often "explode" in popularity.
I like the idea of Atlus doing well, but not if it means the games go downhill. Conversely, them doing well means more timely releases for those of us in Europe.
we.are.the.armada
Member
Mr. Shankly
Neo Member
Persona 3 talk? more like
I think P5 will be it's own thing, but in line with P3 and 4. Not just because it's the same creative leads, but because P1 and 2 are closer to SMT, right? With P3 they established their own identity. SMT4 is coming out as are other things, so there's no need to get closer to that. P4's popularity solidifies the point.
They effectively have two different franchises now.
They effectively have two different franchises now.
If anything, SMT is becoming more like Persona.
Also, hypothetical question: If they remade P1 and P2 on 3DS and Vita in a P4 style and using the P4G engine, how would you feel about it?
Day 1 import. But I guess a lot of the puritans would be upset. I'd be a little sad to see P2 get "modernised" like that, because it's an okay game today and a good product of its time, but P1 is broken by today's standards and I'd welcome never having to touch the original again.
Almost as ecstatic as I would be for a P5 announcement.
Supermanisdead
Member
Day 1! Although, I'd be apprehensive if they went with the colourful style.
EDIT: You know what's weird, there's no P3+4 HD collection yet.
buddha0991
Member
What if they announced P5 would have no social links?!
SloaneRisette
Member
Would probably Day 1 both of them. At least if they ever released them in America.
As long as its not a first person dungeon crawler, it can have anything.
I'd be okay with that.
we.are.the.armada
Member
Not a chance. Maybe an evolution of them, like P4 did from P3.
Every game should have Social Links. Many other games make me feel as if the characters don't even relate to one another, or only communicate during cut scenes, etc.
It's a gameplay system that is completely based on Jungian philosophy, particularly the individuation process and social structure. The bonds are here to stay, in one form or another
What if the next Call of Duty doesn't have MP?
You know, since we're being ridiculous.
buddha0991
Member
^I remember when they were gonna release an adventure game CoD staring Ghost lol
But characters don't relate to each other at all in the social links, only you and the one character you are slinking with. They also did the bad thing of limiting most character development to just the Slinks in Persona 4. Also, it feels very mechanical when you finally become lovers or close, unbreakable friends with someone, only to never hang out with them ever again because you achieved that. They need to have a way more dynamic character relationship system.
But characters don't relate to each other at all in the social links, only you and the one character you are slinking with. They also did the bad thing of limiting most character development to just the Slinks in Persona 4. Also, it feels very mechanical when you finally become lovers or close, unbreakable friends with someone, only to never hang out with them ever again because you achieved that. They need to have a way more dynamic character relationship system.
we.are.the.armada
Member
Sure, it's in a vacuum because "video games". The question is not about its dynamic capacity, the question is one of its necessity as a form of development integration.
It works well, it'll work even better if they keep evolving it.
Supermanisdead
Member
I don't want social links with the main characters. I want all social links to be with NPCs and then the main characters stories and relationships can be told through the game.
Whoever you are dating in P4, even if it's multiple people, none of that impacts the character relationships in story cutscenes. Rise is still jokingly flirting with you no matter what.
Whoever you are dating in P4, even if it's multiple people, none of that impacts the character relationships in story cutscenes. Rise is still jokingly flirting with you no matter what.
we.are.the.armada
Member
I like that P4 had SLinks with the main cast - you could choose to make them grow, both in narrative development and combat wise.
I'd like more SLinks in general, actually. Like, double the amount in the game, make the ranks go up to 20, have their accessibility be conditional as hell, give us negative/reverse Slinks that actually grow! Atlus, come on!
EU misery update:
GAME and ShopTo are saying May 3rd for Persona 4 Arena.
Some of the regional distributors who Zen sublicense to for distribution (like pQube, who distribute the games in the UK) have been feeding March 28th/29th to their pals in retail as of late.
I'm inclined to think both dates are real. The EU PS3 version is finished, the EU Xbox 360 version is not. The game is going to have zero promotion, and at this point Zen are just sending it to die at any point after March. It wouldn't surprise me if they've opted to just releasing the versions at different times, as and when they're ready to roll.
Thoughts?
GAME and ShopTo are saying May 3rd for Persona 4 Arena.
Some of the regional distributors who Zen sublicense to for distribution (like pQube, who distribute the games in the UK) have been feeding March 28th/29th to their pals in retail as of late.
I'm inclined to think both dates are real. The EU PS3 version is finished, the EU Xbox 360 version is not. The game is going to have zero promotion, and at this point Zen are just sending it to die at any point after March. It wouldn't surprise me if they've opted to just releasing the versions at different times, as and when they're ready to roll.
Thoughts?
It's not that the system is perfect (it's not, but it works pretty damn well. Remember we're discussing a game from 2008), but it's a key feature at this point. They have a really good thing going with S. Links. So many games struggle to make characters compelling and convey relationships. They've used the system twice. It'd be foolish to come to new hardware without it. The PS3 and 360 are what give them the bandwidth to improve and expand on the system. That's my main concern, too. Not so much the battle system and certainly not the graphics, but evolving S. Links.
buddha0991
Member
As a Megaten and SMT fan, I would hope they put some thought, equal amount at least, into the combat and the dungeons, as they do for the slinks.
Supermanisdead
Member
I didn't like that evolved personas were tied to maxing out the SL either. Made me have to max out boring Yukiko and Chie's stories just to get their evolved personas. I would have done Yosuke anyways just for the maxed out Magician, but I didn't like his story either.
I do think next game they need to make each S.Link have multiple branches and if they are going to do it with the characters, it NEEDS to affect the party outside of the S.links. If not, it'll be as disjointed and messy as P4's main character links.
Oh, I'm sure they will I was just mentioning my personal primary concern. If they were gonna completely rehash things the game would've been out by now. Building an engine takes a while, but not this long. Even considering Catherine, at no point have they been on something like Skyrim where all this time is required.
It's a gameplay system that is completely based on Jungian philosophy, particularly the individuation process and social structure. The bonds are here to stay, in one form or another
Dude, they are just VN sequences.
They're really not considering VN sequences don't feed into anything. S. Links are tied to battle and fusion. All that stuff feeds into each other in a cohesive gameplay loop.
And it's all based on Jungian philosophy.
That's DEEP dude.
But personally, i think they are just VN sequences (especially in P3P where the game is literally a VN) used for pandering and to tie the dungeon crawler aspect with the social aspect, just like other series with Dating Sims elements (yes, i said it, deal with it!) do.
But personally, i think they are just VN sequences (especially in P3P where the game is literally a VN) used for pandering and to tie the dungeon crawler aspect with the social aspect, just like other series with Dating Sims elements (yes, i said it, deal with it!) do.
BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO
Junior Member
I wonder what Soejima is going to do for P5. If you look at P3>P4>Catherine you can see him getting better with each game and honestly I find it fascinating. At this point I prefer his art style over Kaneko's but I feel like he doesn't have that OMFG holy shit character yet. I would have never played Nocturne if I wasn't for Demi-fiend(I still remember my Grandma hating the game due to religious reasons hahahahaha) and I got my friend interested in DDS by simply showing him the box art. I feel like Izanagi comes closer but isn't really up there with hitoshura,Serph or the strange journey protagonist. I can't wait to see what P5 looks like, I know Soejima is going to nail it.
Feel free to think anything you want, I'm just putting facts out there. You're arguing taste. I'm telling you about game design. Deal with that.
SloaneRisette
Member
I think the deep psychology behind the Social Links is that you (you being the main character) don't really care about any of these chumps at all, and instead you're using them to further your own abilities and just for your own gain.
You're a sociopath.
You're a sociopath.
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