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[jayu26]

Hey kids, did you know that Persona 5 is coming? That is why I wanted to get Persona 3 and 4 out of my back log. So at the start of this year I started working towards that goal with Persona 3 FES.

Persona 3 FES:

I liked it from the start. It does have annoying things such as no quick way to get around the map, getting tired while dungeon crawling, and deliberate slow start; but I found the core parts interesting. I tried to do as many side quests as possible which probably exacerbated some of these annoyances.

These games are often described as half dungeon crawler and half visual novel. I think that is wrong description. I ended up spending one third of time dungeon crawling, one third on social linking and one third on fusing personas. Fusion can take lot of time specially if you are trying to complete Elizabeth's requests (Margret's requests in P4G) about making certain personas with certain spells. The great thing about these games is how all three parts complement each other. Fuse just the right persona and you will have great time in the dungeons. To fuse a high level persona you have to level up in the dungeons. To get the personas with high level skills you have to work on you social linking. It all works great in tandem and breaks up usual JRPG monotony.

Eventually I became so enamored by Persona 3 that one weekend I did nothing but bodily functions and play Persona 3. I woke up at 7 am and went to bed at 12 pm pretty much locked in a room for two days straight. At that point I realized that I had to step back a bit. This coupled with the fact that I found out that I had boned one of side quests leaving me unable to finish it finally made me stop playing it all together. I had spent about 90 hours in Persona 3 FES and got to November and I was exhausted.

Around June/July I was thinking that I should at least finish Persona 4. I had no motivation to go back to Persona 3. Persona 4 Golden is on Vita, so I could play it in little chunks hear and there and hopefully not get tired of it.

Persona 4 Golden:

Right away the improvements were obvious. There was fast travel (relatively fast compare to Persona 3), you directly control your party members, and you could chose what skills the Personas would inherit. When you die you don't have to start from the last save but from the beginning of the dungeon floor. Vita lets you put the system in stand by with game still on, which also made for a much nicer experience. I was playing it all the time without feeling like it was taking over my life.

I also started watching bits of the famous Giant Bomb's Persona 4's Endurance Run. I was amazed to find out about all the improvements that Atlus made to Golden from original PS2 release, which alright had cut some of the jank from Persona 3. All the added story scenes to flash out the original characters and added new character and dungeon makes Persona 4 Golden the definitive Persona experience so far. Not all the added content is great however. The Hanako (fat chick) and Yosuke's comedy bits for example did nothing for me.

By the end of it I was so into it that I felt like going back to Persona 3 and finishing last three months in that game.

Persona 3 FES again:

I was in the Persona mode after finishing Golden, so I was able to jump right into my 90 hours save with the goal to just get to the end.

Persona 3 has a darker tone than Persona 4. Persona 4 is a murder mystery for more than half the game and the people get murdered in fucked up ways but the tone is light heart-ed. The impending doom atmosphere only lasts for about a month in Persona 4, whereas Persona 3 retains that atmosphere for most of the game. That is why I think the ending of Persona 3 hits harder than Persona 4. I finished FES last night and it's still stuck in my head. Also the ending song is just perfect in Persona 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-CSZDbKuL4

I mean, just look at some of those comments. I don't know how much of this comment is true, but I believe it.

I'd recommended this game to a friend, and he began playing through it. In the process, his wife began to take an interest in the game's story and eventually would watch him playing through.

When it got to the Nyx battle, he realized what was going to happen when he saw the cost of the Great Seal. His wife didn't realize that and when Minato came back, she thought that was it and there would be a happy ending.

Then came the rooftop scene and this song. She was confused by the rooftop scene, but then this song played, and my friend's wife is fluent in Japanese. It was then that she realized what was happening. At that point, according to my friend, she was devastated and began crying. His efforts to comfort her that night were for naught, and she ended up crying herself to sleep.

What does it say about this game that the story and ending drew such a reaction from someone who was only observing?

I know that Persona 3 Portable removes some of the jank, but it is also handicapped by limitations of PSP. It is a shame that we never got the definitive experience for Persona 3 because it might be the better game of the two.

But who cares about choosing which is better. They both are great and deserve to be played by RPG video game lovers.

 

[Jarmel]

I'm playing Persona 3 right now and finding it to be utterly dull. The dungeons are such a buzzkill that I can't consider the game good.

 

[jayu26]

I'm playing Persona 3 right now and finding it to be utterly dull. The dungeons are such a buzzkill that I can't consider the game good.

You should stick with it. Don't fight everything in the dungeon. If you get to the end of the dungeon before full moon you are good. Also you have to work on fusing and social link. That breaks up the monotony.

 

[Unknown?]

I got P3P but I don't really like the lack of walking around. I do like how it lets you control all the party members like P4 but maybe I should try FES instead?

 

[Choomp]

I'm playing Persona 3 right now and finding it to be utterly dull. The dungeons are such a buzzkill that I can't consider the game good.

I kind of thought it was a bit dull but it just might have seemed like that to me after having P4G type expectations, which is one of the best things ever

 

[Alcotholic]

I'm playing through P4 again in anticipation of P5.
Oh man, P5 looks so good. A step in the right direction for JRPGs.

 

[SephLuis]

I'm playing Persona 3 right now and finding it to be utterly dull. The dungeons are such a buzzkill that I can't consider the game good.

Persona 3 and 4 are regular and simple dungeon crawlers with a good battle system and excellent story and characters.

It's no surprise that you find the worst aspect, the dungeon crawling, dull. And the battle system only shines in bosses and other secrets so, until then, it's your regular enemy army that takes the same commands over and over again.

Still, I would recommend for you to keep at it. Slowly if need be. A friend of mine played P4G for months on his Vita while going to work. Took him some time but he finished and said it was worth it. You should do something similar, playing in smaller amounts of time so that the dullness doesn't affect you to much.

 

[JimJamJones]

I'm just finishing my 3rd playthrough of P4G, and will definitely start a 4th.

I keep trying to get into P3P, but it just isn't as fun as 4. I want to like it. I'm only about 2 or 3 weeks into the game, and I believe I made it to the 10th or 11th floor, so I'll keep marching on for now.

 

[Greatest Ever]

One of those is a fantastic game, the other is terrible no matter which version you try.

Also, fuck Junpei.

 

[Man God]

4 has even worse dungeons if you could imagine such a thing. Lamer combat as well.

 

[Nintendoga]

Did you play The Answer yet? A lot of people have mixed opinions on it (Being generally more difficult, A lot of the bosses being bullshit, iffy story) but I still think it's worth at least one playthrough.

Spoiler

If you liked Yukari in the Journey 9/10 times you'll hate how she acts in The Answer...

 

[jayu26]

I got P3P but I don't really like the lack of walking around. I do like how it lets you control all the party members like P4 but maybe I should try FES instead?

There are fans of both versions. People who prefer FES say that P3P looses a lot of charm. I have P3P, which I will play at some point because of the female MC, so I probably will find out id that's true some day.

Did you play The Answer yet? A lot of people have mixed opinions on it (Being generally more difficult, A lot of the bosses being bullshit, iffy story) but I still think it's worth at least one playthrough.

Spoiler

If you liked Yukari in the Journey 9/10 times you'll hate how she acts in The Answer...

Yeah I have heard mixed things about it. I don't know if I have the energy to go back and play The Answer without social link stuff and just combat. Besides I like the ending as it is.

 

[Moaradin]

Just finished playing P3:FES a couple weeks ago. Absolutely love that game. Played Persona 4 a few years ago and loved that too. Thinking about playing P4: Golden on Vita TV eventually.

You should check out the P3 movies. The last movie nails the final moments of the game so well. Beautifully animated at times.

Had an opposite experience, I tried P4G and thought it was really good...until I decided to work backwards and try out P3FES. 4G made improvements, but I feel it came at the cost of interesting gameplay mechanics. I enjoyed weapon fusion in P3FES as you could end up with really nice equips mid-late game, if you have the money to replace your Personas. I also LOVE the Fusion Spells you were given access to. In comparison, P4G felt barebones in gameplay.

All that being gone (or rather re-interpreted, except for weapon fusion) has made it impossible for me to come back to P4G. The story in P3FES is also something that I have a stronger emotional connection to, than in P4G. The soundtrack is also just perfect for the mood it wants to set. The ending is just crushing considering how much time you've spent building links and creating a life for MC.

I just fucking love P3FES. One of -if not- the best RPGs I've ever had the opportunity to play.

I don't think I did weapon fusions once in the 90 hours it took me to beat the game. I would check every once in a while and the stats were never as good as the weapons I had.

 

[MegaManTrigger]

Had an opposite experience, I tried P4G and thought it was really good...until I decided to work backwards and try out P3FES. 4G made improvements, but I feel it came at the cost of interesting gameplay mechanics. I enjoyed weapon fusion in P3FES as you could end up with really nice equips mid-late game, if you have the money to replace your Personas. I also LOVE the Fusion Spells you were given access to. In comparison, P4G felt barebones in gameplay.

All that being gone (or rather re-interpreted, except for weapon fusion) has made it impossible for me to come back to P4G. The story in P3FES is also something that I have a stronger emotional connection to, than in P4G. The soundtrack is also just perfect for the mood it wants to set. The ending is just crushing considering how much time you've spent building links and creating a life for MC.

I just fucking love P3FES. One of -if not- the best RPGs I've ever had the opportunity to play.

 

[rackham]

Might catch shit for saying this but persona 3 was way too edgy for me

 

[jayu26]

Had an opposite experience, I tried P4G and thought it was really good...until I decided to work backwards and try out P3FES. 4G made improvements, but I feel it came at the cost of interesting gameplay mechanics. I enjoyed weapon fusion in P3FES as you could end up with really nice equips mid-late game, if you have the money to replace your Personas. I also LOVE the Fusion Spells you were given access to. In comparison, P4G felt barebones in gameplay.

All that being gone (or rather re-interpreted, except for weapon fusion) has made it impossible for me to come back to P4G. The story in P3FES is also something that I have a stronger emotional connection to, than in P4G. The soundtrack is also just perfect for the mood it wants to set. The ending is just crushing considering how much time you've spent building links and creating a life for MC.

I just fucking love P3FES. One of -if not- the best RPGs I've ever had the opportunity to play.

As you can see, I completely agree with you when it comes to the story.

As far as fusion weapons go, I barely used it. I think just once just for the novelty of it. Is that system retained in P3P? I might invest more time in it.

Might catch shit for saying this but persona 3 was way too edgy for me

Could you explain that?

 

[AquaWateria]

Might catch shit for saying this but persona 3 was way too edgy for me

Edge is such a useless word these days.

 

[LinkMaster111]

I absolutely adored Persona 4 from the very first time I played it, it's probably in my top 10-15 games of all time, but I kind of hate Persona 3.

There are just way too many cases where I would die without even getting a chance to heal, not to mention all the times the CPU controlled allies would cost me my life. Beyond that, I found the characters to be extremely wooden and boring and the "Hot Topic circa 2005" aesthetics did absolutely nothing for me.

I think 3 definitely could have benefited from its own "Golden" and maybe I would enjoy that version, but FES just had way too many frustrating aspects that ended up leading to me quitting the game halfway through.

 

[Cipher Peon]

Persona 3 is a masterpiece and one of the greatest games I've ever played.
Persona 4 is a great game.

I have a ton of problems with 4 because I think it's a serious step down from 3 in gameplay, storytelling, characters, atmosphere, etc etc
But I still liked it a lot and Golden added a ton of stuff to distract me from the massive problems I had with the original.

But FES is still king and I can't wait for Persona 5.

Might catch shit for saying this but persona 3 was way too edgy for me

The fact that edgy is derogatory makes me so sad
Edgy is awesome and wonderful! I wish more things were SUPER edgy

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

I don't think I did weapon fusions once in the 90 hours it took me to beat the game. I would check every once in a while and the stats were never as good as the weapons I had.

You can fuse certain personas into unique weapons. They're really powerful. I used Thor's hammer for a good portion of the game, before having to upgrade.

 

[Francokid1]

I played them not too long ago. They are great games.

I did like P3 just a little bit more. I'm not sure why, but it had a bigger impression on me.

 

[Moaradin]

You can fuse certain personas into unique weapons. They're really powerful. I used Thor's hammer for a good portion of the game, before having to upgrade.

Guess I just never got the special personas for those weapons. It would just give me generic sabers or something.

 

[Opa-Pa]

Cool to read your experience with these OP, they're indeed very special games. Persona 4 may have refined a lot of the systems and I think I like it better, but 3 felt pretty revolutionary for me at the time. Pretty cool that you went with FES too, for all the improvements in P3P I feel like it loses some of the original charm in the downgrades.

That ending hit pretty hard too, but back then I think 4's was equally impactful for me for different reasons.

I'd suggest checking out The Answer eventually at least in youtube form because it gives some interesting development to the party and some boss battles near the end are quite special if you care about the characters. Not gonna lie tho, unless you're into learning the fusion system without relying on the compendium and can deal with boring, unfair bosses silly "evade X" skills that make them fights against RNG itself, I can't say I suggest that you play it yourself. I enjoyed the last parts but overall it was painful to play through it.

I've been considering to replay 3 in Portable form sometime while waiting for P5, because no way I'm going back to FES after playing 4.

Might catch shit for saying this but persona 3 was way too edgy for me

Nah it's true. It didn't bother me too much at the time but in retrospect, the game tries too hard to seem deep and tragic. Just like P4 kinda tries to be overly positive when at times it feels out of place, although a bit more genuine than 3. I think it gives them extra charm in a way, though.

You can fuse certain personas into unique weapons. They're really powerful. I used Thor's hammer for a good portion of the game, before having to upgrade.

I think once I got Thor's hammer I basically didn't need a new weapon for the rest of the game. So goodm

 

[pizzacat]

Should have gone with P3P but yeah

Once P3 gets you it never lets go, replaying for like the 30th time

 

[KennyL]

I played p4g first and it's the best. I then played p3fes and oh man, that was hellish..... That combat almost broke me... Had to switch to emulator and savestate every damn turn. People are pissy as fuck and I pretty much hate everyone. Didn't like all the social links except for mmo one, which is hilarious.

P4g made me feel good and reevaluate my real world friendships. P3fes made me realize I'm so fucking over this post evangelion anime angst. I should've went with p3p with female path.

I then played p1 on psp. Good ass game.

 

[MoonFrog]

Just played FES and P4 (PS2) this past summer for the first time myself (on hard/expert or whatever the modes were called in both). They ate up my entire July. Pretty much played them dawn to dusk with household affairs and chores interspersed.

My thoughts on them in comparison:

I liked P4 better in terms of premise, from setting, to story, to characters. I liked the faux-retro, small town vibe and the normal-kids-do-a-murder-mystery better than the posh, private school in a developed city with super-kids-in-secret-super-club. I also feel 4's story was more modest and better done, while P3 was a bit too 'teenage-thoughts-on-death-and-how-cool-it-is' for me. 4 just spoke to my own experience better and I liked the lower key drama.

4 was super chatty to the point of being too chatty, but it also brought the characters in better, especially with the characters in FES not all having social links and the more honest approach FES had to dating the girls (mixed feelings on that--P4 was more generous to the game systems, P3 more generous to the sim).

4 did have more cringeworthy moments in the main story, mostly gender/sexuality stuff but also the fat girl stuff. As to the gender/sexuality stuff, I felt that it mostly just lacked counterbalance. It is okay to have Yosuke, Chie, etc. have gay panic. They're teenagers; that is dubious content that is very much a part of high school. It is okay to have Kanji be confused and turn out to be straight. It is okay to have Naoto flirt with being male but ultimately identifying at some level as female. It is just the complete body touches on the issues and makes sure it avoids saying anything to the effect that it is fine to be gay or feel your gender doesn't match your body. Really classic anime bait and switch, pulling out at the last minute in every case.

4's dungeons were better than Tartarus and full party control was better too, but the weakness system in P3 was more tactical, which idt was entirely to the good but it did provide some good, tight mid-bosses. It also prioritized on the field movement and shadow approach, which, again idt was entirely to the good but definitely sets the games apart. Both of them struggled on main bosses and dungeons imo. Normal battles were good and engaging. Leveling was much better in 4, as was the money game.

Edit:
Also, P4 had better use of days with dungeon delving competing with more and the jobs.

 

[inner-G]

P4 was great but I loved the atmosphere of P3, especially FES on PS2.

It was LSD and P4 was MDMA

 

[AquaWateria]

Yeah Persona 3 story felt so impactful that even till this day it still has left a big impression on me. Memories of You legit made me cry because once you realize what happens you go "oh fuck" and everything starts to set in. Its probably one of the most memorable gaming experience I've had in my life. Still remember the days where I stayed all night playing the game.

As for Persona 4 it was a enjoyable game, but the ending felt whatever like so what they'll meet once a month lmao. Didn't leave a lasting impression because there wasn't any consequences. Fucking Yu was too perfect. Also too much Jpop to.

 

[Aters]

I can never understand how people can hate P3 while enjoy P4. P4 improves on none of P3's flaws (dungeon, calendar system with same shit everyday, bad pacing), and the main story is somehow even less important. Also, my personal taste: P3's character design is better than P4's, so is the music, blue is better than yellow, moody teenager is better than Mr Perfect.

As for Persona 4 it was a enjoyable game, but the ending felt whatever like so what they'll meet once a month lmao. Didn't leave a lasting impression because there wasn't any consequences. Fucking Yu was too perfect. Also too much Jpop to.

thank you

 

[eyeball_kid]

Yeah I have heard mixed things about it. I don't know if I have the energy to go back and play The Answer without social link stuff and just combat. Besides I like the ending as it is.

Yeah, honestly, I'd skip The Answer. It messes with some of the characters in ways that many don't like, and it's pretty much grinding through dungeons in order to get the next cutscene. I went through it all, and I really regret the time wasted on it and the way they portrayed some of the characters. Honestly I wouldn't even recommend watching it on YouTube. There was no "answer" needed. P3 told the story it needed to tell.

P3 though, aside from maybe some pacing issues towards the end, it's pretty much in my top three RPGs, and probably in my top 10 games of all time.

 

[Lynx_7]

To me Persona 3 has the better final boss and ending while Persona 4 trumps it in everything else. Even the story, which people usually give to P3, I thought was more engaging in 4 since I liked the characters much better and the premise of "small town murder mystery" hooked me more than the SEES stuff in 3. Both soundtracks are great, but Reach out to the Truth made me want to kill myself slightly less than BABYBABYBABYBABYBABYEEAAAAAH by the end of the game, so I gotta give it to 4. Also has the better boss themes as a whole.
Pacing is also better in 4 since a lot more stuff happens between dungeons, mainly character moments with some slight plot progression inbetween, whereas in 3 you sometimes got these huge lulls with absolutely nothing going on before the next Full Moon event and it got pretty bad specially by the end of the game.

FES is still great, 4 just happens to be one of my favorite games of all time. If 5 is as good as it looks though it has the potential to dethrone both.

 

[Francokid1]

I liked The Answer. Mostly because it gave me more to play and some more story of course.
I felt that most of the characters were improved except

Spoiler

Yukari

(iirc).

 

[rackham]

As you can see, I completely agree with you when it comes to the story.

As far as fusion weapons go, I barely used it. I think just once just for the novelty of it. Is that system retained in P3P? I might invest more time in it.



Could you explain that?

the main mechanic has you pointing a gun at your head.

 

[AquaWateria]

Honestly the Jpop, Scooby doo detective cringe, Gary stu protagonist, and last but not least nanako fake death scene kinda of killed P4 for me. I enjoyed the game but damn did those impact the game for me.

Also fuck Teddy and Yosuke, the worst characters in the Persona series and annoying even till the end. People complain about Junpei, but at least he matured throughout the game and became a bro.

Yosuke stays losing taking Ls lmao.

 

[Meia]

I can never understand how people can hate P3 while enjoy P4. P4 improves on none of P3's flaws (dungeon, calendar system with same shit everyday, bad pacing), and the main story is somehow even less important.

Opinions. A lot of people who try Persona 3 first tend to stop at some point during the game because the pacing is absolutely atrocious. For me, it was the middle of the summer when nothing is really happening. For the OP, it was November, and the part where the blocks in Tartarus don't change at all, just one large uber block.


P4 being a murder mystery can have more liberal twists and turns throughout it's entire narrative, making it more interesting over the course of the game. In terms of which story is more "important", that's also an opinion, really.

Spoiler

Both wind up leading to the same point, an end of the world scenario. Persona 3 has a slow build-up to it, where the characters are given over two months to worry over it, and then reach a decision about it. Persona 4 is more sudden with it, so it can never really settle into the main cast about what it means to face what they're about to. Then again, this is also deliberate as the Persona 4 cast has been on it's own since the beginning, while Persona 3's is more of an organization well equipped with weaponry and knowledge about what they're facing.

I do agree, game-play wise, a lot of things were steps down though. The "One More!" changes from P3 to P4 were not for the better as it made it easier to wipe out enemies without any ever attacking, and P4G goes off the deep end in terms of what they throw at you to beat the game.

 

[PrinnyBomb]

I only played P3P with the femc, and had an incredible time. Really liked the femc, or at least as much as you can like a "silent protagonist".

been meaning to do a runthrough with male MC, but not sure if i want to sink another 100~ hours into the game

 

[AquaWateria]

I don't know if anyone had a problem with it, but man that Nanako scene was terrible.

 

[Hung_real]

Persona 3 tone and setting fit SMT overarching story better and for me it reaches much higher place than Eternal Punishment and 4

i still hold Persona 4 close to my heart cause of how well the small town setting resonate with me and its consistency is on another level

also haters be damned, grand dungeon like Tartarus is awesome.

 

[Aters]

I don't know if anyone had a problem with it, but man that Nanako scene was terrible.

You are not alone. I never like things like that in any videogames. Too manipulative. Those kind of drama only works on me when I have spent a lot of time with the characters and really care for them. Nanako is never more than a stereotype little girl with social link to me, even her father is more interesting. And the overreacting of Yosuke made me cringe.

I also don't like the opening of The Last of Us (yeah I'm a monster). I couldn't cry for someone I just met.

 

[JCX]

Persona 3 tone and setting fit SMT overarching story better and for me it reaches much higher place than Eternal Punishment and 4

i still hold Persona 4 close to my heart cause of how well the small town setting resonate with me and its consistency is on another level

also haters be damned, grand dungeon like Tartarus is awesome.

Did you play 3 before 4? I played 4 first. Going from dungeon specific scenery and music to one slightly changing tune in a dark grid was such a letdown.

 

[Hung_real]

Did you play 3 before 4? I played 4 first. Going from dungeon specific scenery and music to one slightly changing tune in a dark grid was such a letdown.

3 first

but i like the constant feeling of progression and the accomplishment from scaling the big dungeon, it goes well with the ending stretch of "damn look how far have we gotten, only a bit more to

Spoiler

nyx

"

I only really remember the game and heaven from 4 and felt pretty bad when they were done.

 

[Tinfoilhatsron]

Persona 3's story is way better and much more impactful than Persona 4.

That said Persona 4 was chill as fuck so I may have enjoyed it more.

 

[toastyToast]

P3 put me to sleep. Fuck all happens most of the time until the game ramps up near the end. Took me months to finish.

 

[Dylan]

I finished P3FES gradually from 2012 to a few months ago.

I really liked it, but if I could go back, I would have ignored the vast majority of the Elizabeth sidequests. They were a real slog and didn't pay off in the end.

 

[ZoronMaro]

I like the cast and story of 3 more than 4, also 3's OST is FAR superior.

However I also got really bored of P3 around the 90 hour mark and the whole game has worse pacing I think (although I don't think P4 had particularly great pacing either). I'm not sure which I like more, I think P3 had higher highs, but also lower lows.

 

[kiaaa]

I'm not gonna say the dungeons in either game are particularly strong, but I got sick of Tartarus really fucking fast and I was basically just forcing myself through the game until somewhere near the end where I quit.

 

[Moaradin]

I tried to play Tatarus like I did with the P4 dungeons and that was a huge mistake. Basically I was clearing out each floor before I moved on to the next. DON'T DO THAT. It will make you go insane. Characters will get tired before you find the checkpoints and you'll end up making no progress.

Basically, go up the stairs as soon as you find it. What I started doing is trying to get as far as possible and get the checkpoints as early as I can. Then I would grind a little in the upper floors. I spent maybe 1-2 days in Tartarus each month. Had a lot more fun that way.

 

[Paradox me]

I can never understand how people can hate P3 while enjoy P4. P4 improves on none of P3's flaws (dungeon, calendar system with same shit everyday, bad pacing), and the main story is somehow even less important. Also, my personal taste: P3's character design is better than P4's, so is the music, blue is better than yellow, moody teenager is better than Mr Perfect.

While Persona 4 failed to improve on the crap gameplay of P3 in a meaningful way, P4 did a better job of integrating the high school theme into the main plot. I can deal with a group of kids investigating the murders in the community a lot better than SEES, an elite teenage shadow busting team posing as a school club. Yu, Naoto, Nanako and especially Kanji are pretty bad, but Junpei, Ken and Aigis aren't great either. I feel like they balance out in terms of characters. Overall I liked P4's vibe, where as looking back P3 just didn't have a lot going for it.

 

[PrinnyBomb]

While Persona 4 failed to improve on the crap gameplay of P3 in a meaningful way, P4 did a better job of integrating the high school theme into the main plot. I can deal with a group of kids investigating the murders in the community a lot better than SEES, an elite teenage shadow busting team posing as a school club. Yu, Naoto, Nanako and especially Kanji are pretty bad, but Junpei, Ken and Aigis aren't great either. I feel like they balance out in terms of characters. Overall I liked P4's vibe, where as looking back P3 just didn't have a lot going for it.

just curious, what is there not to like about junpei?

 

[jayu26]

the main mechanic has you pointing a gun at your head.

Well shit! Evoker are edgy. Maybe (teenage) depression is a theme of the game. Apthysyndrom is also a thing in the game.

just curious, what is there not to like about junpei?

He is kind of dick of the most of the game. I understand why he is that way at the start. Even in December he is still a dick when he finds out that Ryoji was inside MC. Some might see that as no character growth. I think they were made him the one character needed who just doesn't instantly start kissing MC's ass because he is the chosen one.

I tried to play Tatarus like I did with the P4 dungeons and that was a huge mistake. Basically I was clearing out each floor before I moved on to the next. DON'T DO THAT. It will make you go insane. Characters will get tired before you find the checkpoints and you'll end up making no progress.

Basically, go up the stairs as soon as you find it. What I started doing is trying to get as far as possible and get the checkpoints as early as I can. Then I would grind a little in the upper floors. I spent maybe 1-2 days in Tartarus each month. Had a lot more fun that way.

This is the advice I would give too. If you want to level up for the final boss fight level up in Monad instead of tiny experience points in Tartarus.