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Persona 3 versus Persona 4  

18 members have voted

  1. 1. Which one do you like more?

    • Persona 3
      14
    • Persona 4
      4


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I've just started playing Persona 4 and haven't seen too much of the story,

although some jackass on Reddit already spoiled me that the killer is Adachi

but I've got to say that even though I'm enjoying it quite a bit (it is a great game), the characters don't seem to have the same depth to them that the characters in P3 did. Perhaps this is just because I've only cleared the first couple of dungeons, but I really don't see much more character development going on for the likes of Yosuke/Chie, whereas in Persona 3 you're still finding out things about the characters you get right at the beginning of game as the plot continues:

Junpei and his arc with Strega, Yukari's dad, Mitsuru's dad, Akihiko and Shinjiro's relationship, etc.

Also, I thought the not being able to control your party members in P3 was pretty cool, since it made battle tactics (no pun intended) a lot more involved to work out.

You just started playing it? So the LLG I saw you do on youtube just now is your first playthrough? Or another file managed at the same time?

I'm sorry to hear that you got the culprit spoiled to you, that's like half the fun of the game.

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Guys, by all means use spoilers in your discussions but at least hide them under spoiler tags like DodgeDusk did, a lot of new players are jumping into the series with the announcement of P5.

Whoops, fixed that. Sorry.

I've just started playing Persona 4 and haven't seen too much of the story,

although some jackass on Reddit already spoiled me that the killer is Adachi

but I've got to say that even though I'm enjoying it quite a bit (it is a great game), the characters don't seem to have the same depth to them that the characters in P3 did. Perhaps this is just because I've only cleared the first couple of dungeons, but I really don't see much more character development going on for the likes of Yosuke/Chie, whereas in Persona 3 you're still finding out things about the characters you get right at the beginning of game as the plot continues:

Junpei and his arc with Strega, Yukari's dad, Mitsuru's dad, Akihiko and Shinjiro's relationship, etc.

Also, I thought the not being able to control your party members in P3 was pretty cool, since it made battle tactics (no pun intended) a lot more involved to work out.

There's not really a ton of character depth in the story-mandatory scenes in P4. The development of party characters is really reserved for the social links in that game. Chie especially has a very good social link, so if you're unhappy with her character development then either you and I have differing tastes or you haven't ranked her link up enough yet. If I remember your thread right you're planning on maxing all the links anyways, so this shouldn't be an issue, but in general you have to actively pursue a character to learn more in P4, unlike P3 where a lot of the development happens in story scenes. The only exception I can think of are the mandatory social links, which have character growth linked into plot progression for pacing reasons.

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You just started playing it? So the LLG I saw you do on youtube just now is your first playthrough? Or another file managed at the same time?

I'm sorry to hear that you got the culprit spoiled to you, that's like half the fun of the game.

Yeah, that's right it's my first playthrough. (Although I've gotten past Kanji's dungeon on a separate file; I need to know what's going to happen in advance for a dungeon so I can make preparations).

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Whoops, fixed that. Sorry.

There's not really a ton of character depth in the story-mandatory scenes in P4. The development of party characters is really reserved for the social links in that game. Chie especially has a very good social link, so if you're unhappy with her character development then either you and I have differing tastes or you haven't ranked her link up enough yet. If I remember your thread right you're planning on maxing all the links anyways, so this shouldn't be an issue, but in general you have to actively pursue a character to learn more in P4, unlike P3 where a lot of the development happens in story scenes. The only exception I can think of are the mandatory social links, which have character growth linked into plot progression for pacing reasons.

Right now on my LLG file (a bit after the midterms) I have Chie and Yosuke at 4 (and I think Strength at 4 as well).

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As I was saying before with P3P, the female protagonist has social links with every member in the dorm (including Koromaru) instead of some of the male protagonist's social links. The battle style is the exact same is P4 and, well, it's pretty much a good comprimise between the two. Please play P3P, it's so good.

Edited by shujinkou
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Right now on my LLG file (a bit after the midterms) I have Chie and Yosuke at 4 (and I think Strength at 4 as well).

I looked up the social link scripts again and Chie really picks up when you hit 5. That's pretty true in general, actually. The first 3 or 4 ranks tend to be socializing and small talk while the last 6 ranks or so introduce and (at least partially) resolve some sort of character-specific story arc.

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As I was saying before with P3P, the female protagonist has social links with every member in the dorm (including Koromaru) instead of some of the male protagonist's social links. The battle style is the exact same is P4 and, well, it's pretty much a good comprimise between the two. Please play P3P, it's so good.

Trust me, I'll consider it, I don't have a PSP though, nor do I consider it worth buying.

So I can't play it unless I use an emulator.

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Trust me, I'll consider it, I don't have a PSP though, nor do I consider it worth buying.

So I can't play it unless I use an emulator.

It's on the PSN store, so if you have a PS Vita then you can buy it for around $20 without having to get a PSP.

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It's on the PSN store, so if you have a PS Vita then you can buy it for around $20 without having to get a PSP.

I used to have a Vita, it's gone now. Which is a shame because I had Persona 4 Golden and never finished it. I also really wanted to play Persona 4: Dancing All Night, I'm not a rhythm or dancing game guy but it looked appealing to me, I guess it's because of the characters.

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The PSP emulator is really good, but if you don't like emulating, then the Vita TV is a nice, cheap option if you already have a gaming screen and a dual shock 3/4. Especially if you want to play Golden and Dancing All Night anyway.

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I used to have a Vita, it's gone now. Which is a shame because I had Persona 4 Golden and never finished it. I also really wanted to play Persona 4: Dancing All Night, I'm not a rhythm or dancing game guy but it looked appealing to me, I guess it's because of the characters.

Dang, that's horrible. I heard that P4:DAN was pretty entertaining but I don't really see a point in getting a Vita myself if PSP games aren't compatible. I'm not going to suggest you buy the system again just for those two games, but thanks for the consideration.

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Dang, that's horrible. I heard that P4:DAN was pretty entertaining but I don't really see a point in getting a Vita myself if PSP games aren't compatible. I'm not going to suggest you buy the system again just for those two games, but thanks for the consideration.

Actually, I love Radiant Head's PS Vita TV suggestion, as far as I know it's a cheaper non handheld Vita. So I will consider buying that.

I get to experience two better versions of already great games and play P4:DAN.

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well, Persona 4:Golden isn't much different than the first Persona 4 game. There's just Marie, the winter event, mopeds and other minor stuff. Atlus just kept milking Persona 4 dry until Persona 5 eventually comes out.

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I used to have a Vita, it's gone now. Which is a shame because I had Persona 4 Golden and never finished it. I also really wanted to play Persona 4: Dancing All Night, I'm not a rhythm or dancing game guy but it looked appealing to me, I guess it's because of the characters.

Your Vita is gone? Did you sell it, or did it break?

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Your Vita is gone? Did you sell it, or did it break?

I left it with my brother who lives overseas, I thought I wouldn't need it anymore. I know he doesn't want it anymore so I may ask him to ship it or if he's coming to visit New York, he could bring it over.

But those are both unlikely to happen so it may be gone for good, but then again maybe not.

Edited by Rxmonste
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Absolutely, I intentionally left my Microsoft Word document empty for two days because I knew my review would've been negative if I didn't let the experience sink in a little bit. I looked at it again yesterday and thought, this is a magnificent game all on its own feet, which lead me to write the review without comparison clouding my judgement.

You said Persona 4 had your favorite villain of the two games, I think I know who you're talking about, and I agree that [spoiler=Massive Spoilers, do not show until you finish Persona 4]Adachi is the best villain out of the two games. Is that who you were talking about?

I just hope that Atlus are paying attention and are aiming to deliver the best Persona experience in Persona 5. I think the series was still being figured out in P4 and P3, the experimentation phase is over, it's (Hopefully) time to see what they can really do.

Persona 4 and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax spoilers.

Yes. Adachi is overall one of my favorite characters in both P3&P4, along with Junpei and Kanji. (I don't count the main characters simply because their personalities are what we make them). He's a character I really sympathize with, I mean the things he did are really unforgivable but I can understand his feeling of getting incredibly good grades and have almost nothing coming of it, humanity just overall being terrible, that sort of thing. And honestly my least favorite character overall is probably Shu in P4AU. He tries to destroy the whole world for incredibly childish reasons and the main cast just says "hey it's okay he can be redeemed let's keep him from the police and be his friend.".

As I was saying before with P3P, the female protagonist has social links with every member in the dorm (including Koromaru) instead of some of the male protagonist's social links. The battle style is the exact same is P4 and, well, it's pretty much a good comprimise between the two. Please play P3P, it's so good.

I honestly disagree with playing P3P before completing P3FES. Portable makes a lot of upgrades gameplay wise, but the cutscenes are a bit harder to understand and sometimes doesn't even get the point across near as well as the animated cutscenes that P3FES has. That and the female route is nice and all, but it's strictly noncanon and isn't recommended for first time players who care about that. (The male route is available though, but the cutscenes still aren't nearly as well presented if you ask me.)

Edited by Deviddo
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Persona 4 and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax spoilers.

Yes. Adachi is overall one of my favorite characters in both P3&P4, along with Junpei and Kanji. (I don't count the main characters simply because their personalities are what we make them). He's a character I really sympathize with, I mean the things he did are really unforgivable but I can understand his feeling of getting incredibly good grades and have almost nothing coming of it, humanity just overall being terrible, that sort of thing. And honestly my least favorite character overall is probably Shu in P4AU. He tries to destroy the whole world for incredibly childish reasons and the main cast just says "hey it's okay he can be redeemed let's keep him from the police and be his friend.".

Spoilers for P3 and P4

Unlike Takaya who was a sick bastard that I just wanted to see gone, even after he explained the motivations and backstory behind Strega. Adachi is one I felt sorry for, and for all the reasons you mentioned.

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I honestly disagree with playing P3P before completing P3FES. Portable makes a lot of upgrades gameplay wise, but the cutscenes are a bit harder to understand and sometimes doesn't even get the point across near as well as the animated cutscenes that P3FES has. That and the female route is nice and all, but it's strictly noncanon and isn't recommended for first time players who care about that. (The male route is available though, but the cutscenes still aren't nearly as well presented if you ask me.)

I'm not saying you should play it first. Yes, I know the entire female route is non-canon but to be honest, it's much more entertaining than the male route because she actually has a personality. The male protagonist seems to be bored and not caring half the time (or at least when I played FES). Plus, Yukari isn't as annoying as she was in The Answer.

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That he was bored was kind of the point; the male MC was kind of a creepy, apathetic nihilist which fits everything he'd gone through. The female MC was just your stereotypical bubbly personality.

Edited by Radiant head
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  • 3 months later...

First of all.

I don't care, if I'll get warned for doing a necro here.

It's a videogame review, so it's not short lived.

Reviews should be pinned.

So now my short opinion about this game: I enjoyed this game quite a lot.

The gameplay, a mix of a round starategical RPG and simulation (day organization) was already good. You have to plan each day carefully to get the social links, but also the required charm to get a new link or get the academics to do the exams well.

The battle system worked excellent. I prefer it even more than in Devil Survivor, because it's not as random.

The only thing I noticed was the bad A.I. It happened way too often that the enemy attacks one of my units, who blocks. It's kinda stupid and took me a bit of fun, escpecially in late game. The final boss had tons of phases, but wasn't all that strong and often attacked the wrong units from his sight.

(PS: Played on easy mode for the first time)

I liked pretty much each character, especially Aigis got my heart. (didn't even know before she's a robot)

All of them had an unique personality, so I could identify with almost each of them.

I haven't done "The Answer" yet, which I won't do next, because the main game was long enough for me (>65 h).

So I'm going to play the sequel Persona 4 next.

Honestly I've very high expectations of this game. Let's see...

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