zswordsman
Member
God I have to just man up and get through P2. Everyone says it has the best story but damn does the gameplay get a bit repetitive. Being attacked every 10 seconds gets annoying.
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Rate best to worst, all 3 Persona games (UNMARKED SPOILER!)
- Thread starter warheat
- Start date
P5 > P4 >> P3
I love all three, but I think 4 and 5 are a big step up from 3 because of certain gameplay and presentation improvements.
5 and 4 are close, but I think 5 is my favourite. The art style and overall presentation is incredible, the palace dungeons are better than 4's, and I actually love the main cast / confidants in 5. I like it as much as 4's cast, if not more.
I love all three, but I think 4 and 5 are a big step up from 3 because of certain gameplay and presentation improvements.
5 and 4 are close, but I think 5 is my favourite. The art style and overall presentation is incredible, the palace dungeons are better than 4's, and I actually love the main cast / confidants in 5. I like it as much as 4's cast, if not more.
SoulUnison
Banned
To my total surprise, after absolutely loving P3, P4, and P4g and being unable to put them down from start to finish, I've hit a series of excessively tedious "puzzles" in one of the later dungeons of P5, and it's sapped ALL motivation for me to continue.
These
are such a blatant example of padding and tedium that I put the game down for a second a month and a half ago, and just can't get myself to go back.
That never happened to me in 3 or 4.
These
rat mazes
That never happened to me in 3 or 4.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
Lol at "all 3"
Anyway 5 is the best of the most recent 3. The junior high grimdark of 3 got old fast and I really liked 4 but it got overexposed
Anyway 5 is the best of the most recent 3. The junior high grimdark of 3 got old fast and I really liked 4 but it got overexposed
Nintendoga
Member
Lol, "all 3 Persona games"
If we're judging P3-5 alone then
Story: P5>3>4. P5's story follows a repetitive nature like 4, but at least stuff happens all throughout. P3 has too many huge moments of nothing happening story wise for weeks on end until the finale, and that can't save the overall story. Persona 4's story is just kinda there till the end.
Music: P4>5>3. I appreciate P5's more subtle ost, and it has a ton of damn good tracks, but P4's soundtrack was heaven. Heh.
Gameplay: P5>4>3 No contest.
Characters: P5>4>3 I don't care for half of 3's cast and despite how shallow they can be I still love P4's cast. P5's cast just shits on the other two tho in a lot of ways. However P4's cast still feels like they're the closest in terms of being friends.
Overall: P4>5>3. I think Persona 5 is a better game in a ton of ways, but Persona 4 was my first Persona game and that experience still sits at the top with me.
If we include all the Persona games tho,
Story: P2>5>3>4>1
Music: P4>5>3>2>1
Gameplay: Reverse release order.
Characters: P2>5>4>3=1
Overall: P4>5>2>3>1
I just realized I don't like Persona 1 that much.
If we're judging P3-5 alone then
Story: P5>3>4. P5's story follows a repetitive nature like 4, but at least stuff happens all throughout. P3 has too many huge moments of nothing happening story wise for weeks on end until the finale, and that can't save the overall story. Persona 4's story is just kinda there till the end.
Music: P4>5>3. I appreciate P5's more subtle ost, and it has a ton of damn good tracks, but P4's soundtrack was heaven. Heh.
Gameplay: P5>4>3 No contest.
Characters: P5>4>3 I don't care for half of 3's cast and despite how shallow they can be I still love P4's cast. P5's cast just shits on the other two tho in a lot of ways. However P4's cast still feels like they're the closest in terms of being friends.
Overall: P4>5>3. I think Persona 5 is a better game in a ton of ways, but Persona 4 was my first Persona game and that experience still sits at the top with me.
If we include all the Persona games tho,
Story: P2>5>3>4>1
Music: P4>5>3>2>1
Gameplay: Reverse release order.
Characters: P2>5>4>3=1
Overall: P4>5>2>3>1
I just realized I don't like Persona 1 that much.
Ryu bogard
Member
Story and music
1. P3
2. P4
3. P5
I liked story and music in p3 the best. The characters in in p4 are better. P5 didn't do anything for me.
Gameplay
1.P5
2.P4
3.P3
P5's streamlined battle system is great
1. P3
2. P4
3. P5
I liked story and music in p3 the best. The characters in in p4 are better. P5 didn't do anything for me.
Gameplay
1.P5
2.P4
3.P3
P5's streamlined battle system is great
Haven't played P5 yet, but between P3 and P4, I prefer P3.
In protagonists, FeMC > P4 MC > P3 MC.
Party: P3
Story: P3
Social Links: FeMC > P4 > P3 MC.
Gameplay and music are the same; both have awesome soundtracks and the dungeon gameplay is boring and repetitive as hell. But, in a way, climbing up Tartarus is more satisfying than clearing P4 dungeons.
In protagonists, FeMC > P4 MC > P3 MC.
Party: P3
Story: P3
Social Links: FeMC > P4 > P3 MC.
Gameplay and music are the same; both have awesome soundtracks and the dungeon gameplay is boring and repetitive as hell. But, in a way, climbing up Tartarus is more satisfying than clearing P4 dungeons.
Still need to get to P5 myself, but even as someone who bought P3 twice (original and FES) and played it well before P4, I still consider P4 far superior to P3. I could go either way in respect to soundtrack depending on my mood, but I found P3 lacking in regard to everything else by comparison. Tartarus was an awful dungeon, party members getting sick was an annoying quirk, not being able to control all party members was a poor decision made even worse by the dumb A.I. and only served to make a not particularly noteworthy battle system more mediocre, the pacing was hobbled by the need to wait until full moon missions for the story to advance, S. Links reversed entirely too easily, the cast was a very mixed bag and the co-worker vibe they had as a group wasn't particularly inspiring or compelling (The Answer only dragging them down even further), Strega were indeed half-baked as far as antagonists went, and it beating the player over the head with its grimdark themes not only got old but also contributed to its perception as still being in a transitory stage in distinguishing itself from SMT (rather than firmly establishing itself as its own thing).
I should make it clear that I don't hate P3, but I do see it as very flawed as a product and as a representation of the franchise.
I should make it clear that I don't hate P3, but I do see it as very flawed as a product and as a representation of the franchise.
P4G > P5 > P3
Honestly can't get very granular with this. All I'll say is that when I finished 4G I was genuinely bummed out for a bit, thinking man I will miss these guys. 5 was enjoyable but didn't have the same impact and some of the way it's structured kind of bothered me. 3 I have yet to get all the way through, I also tried watching the movies since I figured if I couldn't slog through the game why not, but they were pretty boring.
Honestly can't get very granular with this. All I'll say is that when I finished 4G I was genuinely bummed out for a bit, thinking man I will miss these guys. 5 was enjoyable but didn't have the same impact and some of the way it's structured kind of bothered me. 3 I have yet to get all the way through, I also tried watching the movies since I figured if I couldn't slog through the game why not, but they were pretty boring.
Coolbgdog12
Member
P5>P4G>P3FES
Music:
P5>P4G=P3
Gameplay
P5>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P4G>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P3
Story
P5>>>>>>>>>>>>>P4=P3
Characters
P5>>>>>P4>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P3
Ending
P3>>>>>>>>>>>>P4>>>>>>>>>>>P5
(I think P3's ending was amazing and 4 was impactful. I haven't finished 5's yet in English so I'm not judging it fully since I played it in Japanese and I didn't fully understand everything.)
Oveerall
P5>>>>>>>>>>P4>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P3
Music:
P5>P4G=P3
Gameplay
P5>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P4G>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P3
Story
P5>>>>>>>>>>>>>P4=P3
Characters
P5>>>>>P4>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P3
Ending
P3>>>>>>>>>>>>P4>>>>>>>>>>>P5
(I think P3's ending was amazing and 4 was impactful. I haven't finished 5's yet in English so I'm not judging it fully since I played it in Japanese and I didn't fully understand everything.)
Oveerall
P5>>>>>>>>>>P4>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P3
Phrozenflame500
Member
P5 > P4 > P3 for me. But P5 in general is such a tremendous step forward in so many ways it kinda retrospectively blows the other two out of the water
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
P3>P5>>>>P4
Still do like P4 though, despite its many flaws.
Still do like P4 though, despite its many flaws.
Overall, I'd say 5 > 4 > 3.
5 does the same thing that 4 did in many respects, taking the few things from its predecessor that can be improved and improving them. Having "real" premade dungeons instead of lifeless randomly-generated ones is great (though they are crazy massive). While I initially groaned about demon negotiations being added in (since they make getting Personas that much harder), the upshot of getting to fight them is that battles are now against varied and interesting enemies rather than generic "shadows". The cel-shaded art style is great, and jumping and sneaking through dungeons like a thief feels amazing. Also, not only was the final dungeon pretty cool, but you don't have to do the insane Konami-code style crap to trigger it that you do for P4's "true ending". I also think this game has the best normal battle theme of the three (though it sucks that it gets interrupted every time you get a "Hold it!" screen).
That said, P5 is not without its own weaknesses. The memorable songs in this game are great, but there are literally like 5 of them, whereas the soundtracks for 3 and 4 have loads more. P5 is also more punishing than its predecessor, dialing the difficulty back closer to P3 with its added elements, lack of any sort of SP replenisher in-dungeon, and super-high stat walls for social links.
Some people might like added difficulty (especially after how easy P4G was), but I personally didn't; the final dungeon in particular with
really started to annoy me. Of the three, I'd say P3 probably has the least ridiculous plot twists - though that's not saying much, lol. And that damn cat needs to stop telling me to go to bed. It'll be interesting to see how and what changes they make in the inevitable remake some years down the line, though; P4G has enough extra stuff to make it a significantly better game than the original
.
And finally, while one should not forget P1 and the P2 games, the games from P3 on are distinct enough that they are basically their own subseries (Sub-subseries? Lol.) Thread title could've maybe said "modern Persona games" I guess.
5 does the same thing that 4 did in many respects, taking the few things from its predecessor that can be improved and improving them. Having "real" premade dungeons instead of lifeless randomly-generated ones is great (though they are crazy massive). While I initially groaned about demon negotiations being added in (since they make getting Personas that much harder), the upshot of getting to fight them is that battles are now against varied and interesting enemies rather than generic "shadows". The cel-shaded art style is great, and jumping and sneaking through dungeons like a thief feels amazing. Also, not only was the final dungeon pretty cool, but you don't have to do the insane Konami-code style crap to trigger it that you do for P4's "true ending". I also think this game has the best normal battle theme of the three (though it sucks that it gets interrupted every time you get a "Hold it!" screen).
That said, P5 is not without its own weaknesses. The memorable songs in this game are great, but there are literally like 5 of them, whereas the soundtracks for 3 and 4 have loads more. P5 is also more punishing than its predecessor, dialing the difficulty back closer to P3 with its added elements, lack of any sort of SP replenisher in-dungeon, and super-high stat walls for social links.
Not to mention suddenly adding new stat walls midway through, which is not okay, lol. My friendship with Yusuke should not depend on my ability to fix a door.
that self-healing bastard Michael and the craaaazy long and punishing final boss
"Time to Make History" notwithstanding
And finally, while one should not forget P1 and the P2 games, the games from P3 on are distinct enough that they are basically their own subseries (Sub-subseries? Lol.) Thread title could've maybe said "modern Persona games" I guess.
Look I know 8 was a disappointment for a lot of people but it didn't kill the damn series!
I swear I saw this thread with this topic title originally before mods posted, so either they changed then posted or this is going to be the new "we really are the Last of Us."
😗
encephalon
Member
P2 IS > P2 EP > P1
... Wasnt the shadow created by the Kijiro group which is why they try to atone for it ? Weren't they the ones who wanted the whole thing dead ? I thought it was incredibly stupid too.
But to be honest, i also found the P3 Story to not be any good. The character's developement took most place of the story which mean they are usually "better" than others... But it's more because of the structure of the game (character development during S Link mean that we can't see it during the normal story) than anything else.
To be fair, the whole story is so strange that it meant the game was REALLY cool atmosphere-wise. But yeah, the game dropped the ball scenario wise to me too.
Not THAT obvious, i don't see a lot of people agreeing with me about the fact that P1 have better gameplay than P2... To be fair i'm thinking of the PSP version of P1 which don't have an absurdly difficult dungeon at the end (at the price of a less appropriate soundtrack... Unfortunatly..) But i don't think a game annoyed more with its gameplay than P2. Those dungeon were infuriating ! Long, with a lot of encounter and the fact that the story was so good meant that you REALLY want them to end.
I largely preffered SMT 1 et 2 on SNES gameplay-wise than P2... And that's saying something !
4 > 5 > 3
4 had my favorite cast, which is the biggest reason for it being my favorite. Also my favorite soundtrack.
5 had my favorite gameplay (duh). Music was great, my second favorite. It had my favorite plot, but there were things it failed to capitalize on.
3...eh. I played FES, so the party controlling thing was obnoxious. Tartarus was boring. I mean 4's dungeons weren't great, but they offered a visual difference anyway. At best, it's cast was so so (personality wise, not writing). Wasn't particularly into the story, villains, the cast, anything. It wasn't bad, but I felt nothing for the game, really.
4 had my favorite cast, which is the biggest reason for it being my favorite. Also my favorite soundtrack.
5 had my favorite gameplay (duh). Music was great, my second favorite. It had my favorite plot, but there were things it failed to capitalize on.
3...eh. I played FES, so the party controlling thing was obnoxious. Tartarus was boring. I mean 4's dungeons weren't great, but they offered a visual difference anyway. At best, it's cast was so so (personality wise, not writing). Wasn't particularly into the story, villains, the cast, anything. It wasn't bad, but I felt nothing for the game, really.
Are you me?
Deadpool_X
Banned
"Rate best to worst, all 3 Persona games"
*Looks over*
*Looks over*
UnlimitedRulebook
Member
P5>>>>P4>P3
Just keeps getting better in my opinion. Dungeon design, confidant skills, UI design and music are a few reasons why Persona 5 is my pick for best so far. And 5 is the only one where I couldn't wait to get to New Game + even after 115 hours.
Just keeps getting better in my opinion. Dungeon design, confidant skills, UI design and music are a few reasons why Persona 5 is my pick for best so far. And 5 is the only one where I couldn't wait to get to New Game + even after 115 hours.
It's hard to rank them as they're all wonderful in various ways and each have some glaring flaws that others don't (or that they all have, like too much anime Japanese bullshit like stupid fanservicey shit that harms all of their messages, especially 5).
I wish we could get a remake of 4 with actual dungeons, since some of the concepts I found better than P5 actually.
Gut instinct wants me to say 4 > 5 >= 3 but again, it's tough.
I wish we could get a remake of 4 with actual dungeons, since some of the concepts I found better than P5 actually.
Gut instinct wants me to say 4 > 5 >= 3 but again, it's tough.
Common Knowledge
Member
I imagine there were some very confused NA gamers in the 90s who legit thought they crossed timelines when Final Fantasy III was followed by VII.
charlequin
Banned
This is really surprising for me to hear. I would've called P5 the easiest Megaten game ever released in English, probably; it's certainly the only one I can recall beating without fusing any top-level personas, or taking multiple attempts at the final dungeon or boss. The base gameplay structure is pretty much equivalent to what we had in P4, but this game layers so many additional benefits on top of that: full control in fusion, much easier persona acquisition, tons of powerful S-link abilities that are relevant in dungeons, and a side dungeon that probably overlevels you a bit if you actually go through it thoroughly during normal gameplay.
Story:
3>4>5
3 built up the story so well, you knew bad shit was coming the whole time, and then halfway through you learn what the bad thing is and then you build toward beating it. The thing that bothered me with 4 and 5 was that last second "twist" that had almost no forwarning. To be fair I thought it was kinda hackey in p4, but it did take me by surprise and I enjoyed it. When 5 did the same thing though I was really disappointed
Characters
4>5>3
4's cast honestly just knocked it out of the park. They actually felt like a family and all had different wants and desires that are explored through the story. It was just handled the best. 5's cast was...fine. Honestly a lot of them just felt like rehashes/slight twists on previous characters tropes. and I mostly am indifferent about 3's cast besides Mitsuru and Akihiko. Ken can go fuck off.
Music
3>4=5
Honestly I just liked 3's musical styling the best, the hip-hop/urban feel of stuff like "Dorm" or "When the Moon's Reaching Out to the Stars" were all time favorites, and "The Battle for Everyone's Soul" is my all time favorite final boss theme. 4 had just a lot of very good unbearably upbeat pop songs which were solid. And a lot of 5's sound track is not super stellar, but when it hits (Beneath the Mask) it hits SO HARD.
Overall
3>4>5
I played 4 first but honestly 3 is my favorite, with my favorite OST in all of video games and an incredibly good story its just my favorite. 5 had every opportunity to pass 4, but 5 was just paced SO poorly.
3>4>5
3 built up the story so well, you knew bad shit was coming the whole time, and then halfway through you learn what the bad thing is and then you build toward beating it. The thing that bothered me with 4 and 5 was that last second "twist" that had almost no forwarning. To be fair I thought it was kinda hackey in p4, but it did take me by surprise and I enjoyed it. When 5 did the same thing though I was really disappointed
Characters
4>5>3
4's cast honestly just knocked it out of the park. They actually felt like a family and all had different wants and desires that are explored through the story. It was just handled the best. 5's cast was...fine. Honestly a lot of them just felt like rehashes/slight twists on previous characters tropes. and I mostly am indifferent about 3's cast besides Mitsuru and Akihiko. Ken can go fuck off.
Music
3>4=5
Honestly I just liked 3's musical styling the best, the hip-hop/urban feel of stuff like "Dorm" or "When the Moon's Reaching Out to the Stars" were all time favorites, and "The Battle for Everyone's Soul" is my all time favorite final boss theme. 4 had just a lot of very good unbearably upbeat pop songs which were solid. And a lot of 5's sound track is not super stellar, but when it hits (Beneath the Mask) it hits SO HARD.
Overall
3>4>5
I played 4 first but honestly 3 is my favorite, with my favorite OST in all of video games and an incredibly good story its just my favorite. 5 had every opportunity to pass 4, but 5 was just paced SO poorly.
Literally 80% of all of the plot happens in November/December
ASilentProtagonist
Member
Story
P3 > P4 > P5
Music
P3 > P4 > P5
Gameplay
P5 > P4> P3
Characters
P3 > P4 > P5
Overall
P3 > P4 > P5
P3 > P4 > P5
Music
P3 > P4 > P5
Gameplay
P5 > P4> P3
Characters
P3 > P4 > P5
Overall
P3 > P4 > P5
Gunslinger
Member
I played p3 on PS2. And I didn't like it as much as 4 & 5. So for me 4>5>3.
They're the Anti-Valve.
Having played P5 now, my ranking stand as this:
P3>P5>P4
Persona 3 continues on my top list. FeMC is still my favorite MC, I still love the cast of P3 and the music is the best. Plus it never gets old climbing Tartarus. And of course, most of the social links are interesting.
Persona 5 has Joker, which is my favorite male MC. The cast isn't as great as 3 or 4, but still enjoyable; Makoto and Futaba are the best. Story is also good, with villains that actually make you hate them. And the confidants are interesting too, like Soujiro, Chihiro or Kawakami. Sadly, the social stats requirements are ridiculous, like 5 in handiness for proceed with Haru's confidant.
P3>P5>P4
Persona 3 continues on my top list. FeMC is still my favorite MC, I still love the cast of P3 and the music is the best. Plus it never gets old climbing Tartarus. And of course, most of the social links are interesting.
Persona 5 has Joker, which is my favorite male MC. The cast isn't as great as 3 or 4, but still enjoyable; Makoto and Futaba are the best. Story is also good, with villains that actually make you hate them. And the confidants are interesting too, like Soujiro, Chihiro or Kawakami. Sadly, the social stats requirements are ridiculous, like 5 in handiness for proceed with Haru's confidant.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
Having played the last one to be released here back in 2011:
EP > IS > 1
EP > IS > 1