NG+ is mad fucked up yo. I did one level of the monad and Yukari and Junpei are like level 50, but Yukari doesn't learn any healing spells other than dia before the story progresses to a certain point I'm now stuck with a healer that is useless for healing. Also, the monad is crazy difficult. I don't have any bail-out potions so I have to rely on warps and that's very scary.
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Persona 3 Portable |OT|: Mixing Things Up for Third Trimester
- Thread starter I AM JOHN!
- Start date
mauaus said:Just finished it yesterday, it was my first Persona Game, i loved the overall experience but i do feel like it drags at times. Ill be getting 4 soon after Ys Seven.
What was your final playtime?
And how about everybody else that finished it? I don't recall seeing how long many people took, but I suspect that the game would take most new people about 20~30 hours less than the original versions would have taken them.
Just finished P3P. Gosh, I dumped nearly 100 hours into that thing. Imagine all the real-life things I could accomplish with that amount of time
It's my first time playing Persona 3 ever, and overall my feelings are mixed. It's not a *bad* game, but it was not easy completing it - meaning, it dragged so much at times that I considered giving up. Which is not a good attribute at all...
Comparatively I thought the game is a step back from Persona 2: Innocent Sin, which IMO is one of the best JRPGS I've ever played: fantastic characters, a totally nuts storyline and some of the most insane events ever in a video game. In comparison, P3's story seems almost...generic. To be fair, other JRPGS are even MORE generic, but I guess my expectations were heightened because of its predecessors. Somehow though I just felt the characters were quite cliched (the robot developing a heart??? Isn't that the most boring anime cliche??). I found Yukari quite irritating, and some, like Ken, aren't even properly developed. Worse is the revelation about
, which I thought was downright silly. But there are also some nice plot twists that I enjoyed. Like
. I also thought that the people who voiced Junpei and Mitsuru did an excellent job.
But more troubling is the game's combat, which, frankly, felt broken. For one, all the other characters barely get to even do anything because mostly the battle is decided with the main character's actions and Personas. Apart from boss battles, the other characters just aren't very useful at all. The "weakness" system means that as long as you keep a well-stocked group of Personas with all the different abilities, the battles are usually deciding by the leading character once you figure out the enemies' weaknesses. It makes for pretty boring combats.
This is exacerbated by the randomly generated dungeon BS. I actually did NOT know that P3 is just one huge tower with 260+ floor of dull and generic randomly generated dungeons. This is a huge, huge step back from P2 in every way. It got so dull that I basically try to go to Tatarus as little as possible since at least the S-link stuff is more interesting. And having to grind in it makes it even more unbearable.
And I was super annoyed by my teammates because in the dungeons, they always get in the way, especially when I'm trying to sneak up on those yellow shadows. Sometimes I'd just drop all my team members and just go fight alone, rather than put up with their stupidity.
Persona-collecting is fun, except that the game is so utterly unintuitive in terms of its menus. I have to keep on going back and forth between menus and writing down Persona names just so that I can fuse them.
Same goes for the S-links. I can't even tell you how many times I have to reset and reload after "talking" to the wrong person then wasting an afternoon of S-link time. The game should have more of a visual cue as to who you world be more likely to succeed in leveling up the S-link with BEFORE you waste time talking to them. Or a better way to tell your S-link completion rate. That said, I like some of the S-link, especially the
.
The town itself is also boring. Whereas in Persona 2 I felt like we were really inside a big city, P3's locales are very small and restricted. And you end up having to go to each location over and over and over...
Geez, what I wrote sounds really negative, but still I can't say I hated the game. I'd give it 6 or 7 out of 10. Maybe it's because Persona 2 totally warped my expectations, but I just expected more from it.
It's my first time playing Persona 3 ever, and overall my feelings are mixed. It's not a *bad* game, but it was not easy completing it - meaning, it dragged so much at times that I considered giving up. Which is not a good attribute at all...
Comparatively I thought the game is a step back from Persona 2: Innocent Sin, which IMO is one of the best JRPGS I've ever played: fantastic characters, a totally nuts storyline and some of the most insane events ever in a video game. In comparison, P3's story seems almost...generic. To be fair, other JRPGS are even MORE generic, but I guess my expectations were heightened because of its predecessors. Somehow though I just felt the characters were quite cliched (the robot developing a heart??? Isn't that the most boring anime cliche??). I found Yukari quite irritating, and some, like Ken, aren't even properly developed. Worse is the revelation about
Ryoji living inside you
taking Koromaru to the cinemas! LOL
But more troubling is the game's combat, which, frankly, felt broken. For one, all the other characters barely get to even do anything because mostly the battle is decided with the main character's actions and Personas. Apart from boss battles, the other characters just aren't very useful at all. The "weakness" system means that as long as you keep a well-stocked group of Personas with all the different abilities, the battles are usually deciding by the leading character once you figure out the enemies' weaknesses. It makes for pretty boring combats.
This is exacerbated by the randomly generated dungeon BS. I actually did NOT know that P3 is just one huge tower with 260+ floor of dull and generic randomly generated dungeons. This is a huge, huge step back from P2 in every way. It got so dull that I basically try to go to Tatarus as little as possible since at least the S-link stuff is more interesting. And having to grind in it makes it even more unbearable.
And I was super annoyed by my teammates because in the dungeons, they always get in the way, especially when I'm trying to sneak up on those yellow shadows. Sometimes I'd just drop all my team members and just go fight alone, rather than put up with their stupidity.
Persona-collecting is fun, except that the game is so utterly unintuitive in terms of its menus. I have to keep on going back and forth between menus and writing down Persona names just so that I can fuse them.
Same goes for the S-links. I can't even tell you how many times I have to reset and reload after "talking" to the wrong person then wasting an afternoon of S-link time. The game should have more of a visual cue as to who you world be more likely to succeed in leveling up the S-link with BEFORE you waste time talking to them. Or a better way to tell your S-link completion rate. That said, I like some of the S-link, especially the
Dying Young Man one
The town itself is also boring. Whereas in Persona 2 I felt like we were really inside a big city, P3's locales are very small and restricted. And you end up having to go to each location over and over and over...
Geez, what I wrote sounds really negative, but still I can't say I hated the game. I'd give it 6 or 7 out of 10. Maybe it's because Persona 2 totally warped my expectations, but I just expected more from it.
Grimmy said:
There's an underlying point system for the S. Links. You never "waste" a phase by spending time with somebody, as that brings you closer to the next rank-up. There's nothing at all about people being "more likely"; if you have enough points to advance, you'll advance, and if you don't, you just get a giant lump sum of points for that S. Link.
I'm guessing you played as the male? The female has better development for some of the characters (all of the male party members are S. Links), and she also has more S. Links at night so you don't run out of things to do nearly as soon.
Yaweee said:
Actually that doesn't seem to be the way it works? I tried it out. For example, I chose to go out with Yukari and i gained a social link, but on another try I didn't do so, and tried to contact her 2 weeks later. This time, she didn't give me a S link, instead it just says that "you are becoming closer". So it seems to me that you DO waste a phase if you let a relationship cool down for too long.
Yes, I played as a male since it's my first time playing P3. That's good to hear re: the girl having more to do at night, because the male side is SO boring at night...
Grimmy said:
I'm guessing the later one was on a Sunday or other vacation day where she contacted you by phone. The dates where the other person calls you and asks you to do something can increase your S.Link points but cannot level up the link, even if you had enough points for the next level already.
Another possibility is that you had a Lover's arcana persona the first time but not the second.
Or, you might have done something to drop her S.Link points such as breaking a date with her.
But as Yaweee said, there is no randomness involved in when you get your S.Link levels. You just need to learn the ins and outs of the system.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Grimmy said:
I know the original did that with the girls - you had to keep seeing them to maintain relationships. Since I was using a guide though, it never was an issue for me.
If the tower bored you, you should try P4. At least there's a change in scenery? :lol
tokkun said:
Nope, not a vacation or sunday. It's one of those instances in the school (during the afternoon) when Yukari comes up and says she MUST see me. The options given really don't give you a choice. But on that day I wanted to complete another S-link, then the next few days were Obon. It doesn't happen a lot, but it happens enough to be an annoyance. When I get back to school, she doesn't give me a level-up S-link anymore... (whereas if I choose YES, she does).
But anyhow, this is not as major a problem as some of the others I mentioned...
firehawk12 said:
I haven't tried P4. But are you saying it's even worse in P4?
I'm *really* not interested now....Punchy4486
Banned
Hey guys, after the Giant Bomb Endurance Run (LTTP, I just finished), I wanted to give Persona 3 a shot as my first Persona game. I'd like your opinion on whether P3P or FES is the right version for me.
I play games mainly for the stories, be they good or bad, and I know P3P is missing the additional epilogue dungeon/content. I'm also not likely to replay the game too often, so for the most part, the other sex's campaign wouldn't be much use to me.
I know that P3P has greatly improved the gameplay, however. Are the cuts to the story insignificant enough that I won't miss what I'm missing, or should I just stick with FES?
I play games mainly for the stories, be they good or bad, and I know P3P is missing the additional epilogue dungeon/content. I'm also not likely to replay the game too often, so for the most part, the other sex's campaign wouldn't be much use to me.
I know that P3P has greatly improved the gameplay, however. Are the cuts to the story insignificant enough that I won't miss what I'm missing, or should I just stick with FES?
Espada said:
Ah ok. I'm looking at some youtube of P4 battles and they seem pretty much the same as in P3 though (albeit with better gfx).
I actually really prefer the whole conversation/recruitment of enemies that was in P1/P2. To me P3's Personas lack personality precisely because now they are just merely summons.
Punchy4486 said:
Many folks think The Answer in FES was crap, so its exclusion from P3P is not missed. The portable version brings so much more content than FES that the only reason you'd opt for the PS2 version is if you really want the anime scenes.
Grimmy said:
Yup. Just accept them for what they are in the story rather than comparing them to something to how they were presented in earlier games.
Holy Order Sol
Member
Grimmy said:
Not in this case it's not.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
The improvements in P3P make it the version worth playing - you should try to watch some of the key scenes on youtube though. I'd also watch the ending of The Answer after you beat the game, because nothing's really explained at the end.
So in my FES playthrough I got to the part where even more stuff happens. (Early November events)
Man, if this game had this much plot from the beginning instead of 6 months of "Well you can go like go into Tartarus if you want. And something might happen on a full moon. Maybe?" it wouldn't have taken me 2 years to get to this point.
Also, Surt is an amazing Persona that is pretty much steamrolling every enemy in the 5th Block.
The chairman was evil! *sarcastic gasp* People got shot! The dog saved the day! And now we have no idea what we're doing but might as well go into Tartarus because we a new block opened up. And that one guy on Strega apparently had a briefcase full of grenades!
Also, Surt is an amazing Persona that is pretty much steamrolling every enemy in the 5th Block.
OK -- I just got my ass saved.
I was ~68 by the time I went to the last boss...
I thought I'd be stuck in the grind trying to get the best persona as the last boss rolled on me multiple times..until...
now grind time is cut by 3/4th the time as I rack around 16k exp each mob.
I might just go ahead and overkill this and hit lv99..
I was ~68 by the time I went to the last boss...
I thought I'd be stuck in the grind trying to get the best persona as the last boss rolled on me multiple times..until...
I killed The Reaper and opened up Monad
I might just go ahead and overkill this and hit lv99..
Holy shit :lol The amount of exp you get from the red enemies on the special floors on level 4 is insane if you're not scared of Death and get those lvl 6 exp cards each fight Fuuka said she sensed Death just after I had cleared the entire floor, choosing the exp card with the black skull wherever possible. I heard his rattling chain or whatever but he never managed to find me before I got to the stairs Around 2500 exp per fight is crazy Went from 49-53 last night, while looking for that stupid sword for Elizabeth in a rare chest... Didn't find a single rare chest in all of level 4 :'( I'm gonna be lvl 60 before I even reach October
Fuuka said she sensed Death just after I had cleared the entire floor, choosing the exp card with the black skull wherever possible. I heard his rattling chain or whatever but he never managed to find me before I got to the stairs Around 2500 exp per fight is crazy Went from 49-53 last night, while looking for that stupid sword for Elizabeth in a rare chest... Didn't find a single rare chest in all of level 4 :'( I'm gonna be lvl 60 before I even reach October Grimmy said:
It feels like they have personalities until the moment you realize that they're all just copy/pasted conversations based on their personality type, like all other SMT games. I think the conversation systems got old somewhere around the 5th or 6th incarnation for me.
tetrisgrammaton
Member
Is playing on normal going to be too easy? I never played P3 or 4, but have played a bunch of other SMT games. Grrr games with too many difficulty settings are a pain, especially when you have to put in a good hour or two to get to the first battle.
Now I have the dilemma of being a few hours in and just breezing through the first 15 floors of the dungeon. Will it get harder, or do I need to start over? :\
Now I have the dilemma of being a few hours in and just breezing through the first 15 floors of the dungeon. Will it get harder, or do I need to start over? :\
InternHertz
Member
I finished yesterday my first playthrough at about 98hours...and now I'm in a new game+ with the girl, already over 100 hours. First playthrough I had two chars at 99 and everyone else at ~93. Last boss was way too easy heh.
I love how now in one fight my supporting chars went from level 9 to 29 due to Monad being unlocked from the beginning
My goal is to get all remaining personas I couldn't before because of S-links, and complete that Compendium.
Oh I wish P4 was on PSP...I really love playing them in my bed rather than in front of a big screen. Makes for much more playtime.
I love how now in one fight my supporting chars went from level 9 to 29 due to Monad being unlocked from the beginning
My goal is to get all remaining personas I couldn't before because of S-links, and complete that Compendium.
Oh I wish P4 was on PSP...I really love playing them in my bed rather than in front of a big screen. Makes for much more playtime.
So, I'm playing through NG+ with the dude and when I hit lvl8 with Yuko there was a line of untranslated dialog. Anyone else gotten that? Kinda weird seeing as how the male storyline has had three iterations.
Also, when does Yukari and Mitsuru open up?
Also, when does Yukari and Mitsuru open up?
Tranced Shadow
Member
Brobzoid said:
For Yukari, max out your Charm. For Mitsuru, you have to max out Academics and finish top of the table on at least one exam IIRC.
Haven't seen it myself but it's apparently not the only mishapBrobzoid said:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/971508-shin-megami-tensei-persona-3-portable/55749277
Edit: I didn't see an option for social linking with my team mates until a couple of months into the story. That might be it? I'm almost in October and I haven't been able to start anything with them yet (due to low stats I assume).
Tranced Shadow
Member
Brobzoid said:I have all my stats maxed from my previous playthrough and I've already ranked #1 on one exam.... they must not care for me.
Whoops, forgot about stats passing on when you switch genders!
Brobzoid said:I have all my stats maxed from my previous playthrough and I've already ranked #1 on one exam.... they must not care for me.
You can't start Yukari and Mitsuru until after specific events. Yukari begins after
the beach trip
the Osaka trip.
tetrisgrammaton
Member
Jerk 2.0 said:
eh, think I'll bump it up to Hard. It'll give me an excuse to switch over to the girl anyway.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
Gaf thinking of picking this up for my trip to pax, do I need to have played the others?
Anonymous Tipster
Member
P3 takes place in the same universe as the rest of the series and makes some references to characters in the earlier games (and P4 in the PSP version), but none of that is necessary for enjoyment of it.
They're just some neat throwbacks for fans of the series.
They're just some neat throwbacks for fans of the series.
D
Deleted member 30609
Unconfirmed Member
I'm about to impulse buy this. I want to buy this.
Someone talk me out of or into this.
Someone talk me out of or into this.
drtomoe123
Member
Okay, so I finally rebought a copy from Amazon after selling my initial copy to a friend because he couldn't find it locally. (Now I've got two Junpei hats!)
...and I'm hooked all over again!
This is the first time I've replayed through P3 since playing through P4 when it came out, and I really like some of the improvements that were carried over from P4, although I've only directly controlled my characters for one boss battle so far. I'm only about 13 hours into it, but I love it...but playing this is just reminding me of how much more I liked the atmosphere, writing, and setting of P4. However, playing with MShe is giving me enough of a twist to keep me interested.
...and I'm hooked all over again!
This is the first time I've replayed through P3 since playing through P4 when it came out, and I really like some of the improvements that were carried over from P4, although I've only directly controlled my characters for one boss battle so far. I'm only about 13 hours into it, but I love it...but playing this is just reminding me of how much more I liked the atmosphere, writing, and setting of P4. However, playing with MShe is giving me enough of a twist to keep me interested.
drtomoe123 said:
Exact opposite for me. It's made me appreciate how much more I enjoyed the personality of the characters of P3.
I really feel like the dorm situation in P3 helps the character interaction. You get a lot of extra material if you talk to the people in the dorm at night. Most of them get new text every couple days, so it is like 100 conversations with each character.
Finished this yesterday. Fantastic port of a spectacular game and one of the best experiences you can have on the PSP. Am going to mess around with NG+ for a bit on Hard and see if I get hooked again, but looking forward to finding something new to play on my PSP now that I'm in love with it again.
rainking187
Member
Minamu said:Reached lvl 10 with the mmo slink today. Disappointing ending. Was hoping for something else
Wait till the end of the game.
Fimbulvetr
Member
Minamu said:
Sun Arcana
I NEED SCISSORS
Banned
Just started the game. This is my first time playing Persona 3. Reading above that the male character is boring at times, might it be better if I just switched to the girl? I'm only 30 mins in, so I won't lose anything major. If i'm worse off with her since I haven't played P3 before, it's no issue sticking with the guy.
Also, having played P4 before - wtf happened to Igor's voice?
Also, having played P4 before - wtf happened to Igor's voice?
I NEED SCISSORS said:
A few people feel that the female protagonist has more "attitude" in the tone some of her responses; and by "some" I mean a handful throughout the entire game. The difference is pretty minor and not worth switching characters.
The choice between different S.Links and romantic interests is a much more significant difference.
I NEED SCISSORS
Banned
tokkun said:
Sorry, I meant that people have implied that the female character has more things to do, so that I won't get bored.
I might make a female save file, play a bit, then decide.