Persona

[Alex Heat]

I'm looking forward to the remake/enhanced port of Eternal Punishment (like Martian said, the interface of the original versions is terribad). I've yet to finish Innocent Sin, but I'm enjoying it when I actually sit down and play it.

 

My thing with Persona is...I liked the old games more than the newer ones, as the newer ones feel a helluva lot more archetypically Japanese (especially P3 and the high school setting). Let me tell you, I am kind of sick of Japanese highschools and teenagers.

[Strangelove]

So I got the opportunity to give a character an item, but I didnt have an item on me. Will I get another chance or was that it?

[Mister Jack]

Isn't that exactly what the first two are about?

 

I'm still on the fence about buying them, since I hear they have issues with loading times and ludicrously high encounter rates, which I despise in RPGs.

[Mister Jack]

So I got the opportunity to give a character an item, but I didnt have an item on me. Will I get another chance or was that it?

 

Was it a date/friend outing? Gifts can be given at anytime, but not everyone likes the same kinds of gifts. You're probably better off consulting a guide because otherwise it's total guesswork as to who will like what gift. The game gives you no help in figuring it out.

[Vecha]

I feel sooo guilty that I have not finished P4....and I doubt P4 Golden will make me want to finish it.

 

I've gotten like 30/40 hours in P4...tried getitng back into it a couple of months ago, but was kinda lost with the story.

[Livingtarget]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_58-XYXuJMs

Playing through P4 for the first time. Really digging the boss battle theme.

[Mister Jack]

I went ahead and bought Persona 1 for the psp (vita) since it's on sale. I figure if I like it I'll buy the second game before the sale ends at the end of the month. If I don't then oh well, it was only 10 bucks.

Edited July 5, 2012 by Mister Jack

[excel_excel]

So, Persona 4 Arena in its is region locked on 360, but more importantly on PS3.

 

Its the first game to ever been region locked on PS3. Done so at the order of the Japanese publisher so as not to cannibalise the US release apparently, but that kind of screws over European importers of the US release.

[Strangelove]

So Uhhh, is leveling up a big problem in P3? I dont seem to level up much. I havent gotten stuck yet, but I get into the social stuff a lot more than the dungeon stuff. I often neglect it, so when I go to tartarus I stay in there for a while, like an hour and maybe Ill level up once. Its just weird that I have about 20 hours in the game and im only at level 25, on floor 53. Im still using some Personas that are level 14 and Elizabeth is giving me some missions that I makes me believe I should be a lot higher up the tower than I am. The thing is, I really haven't gotten stuck yet. Not to say its an easy game, but its weird that Im doing so well and that I level up so slowly.

The difficulty really fluctuates. If I make one wrong move I could die in a matter of seconds, or I can just roll on through with ease. Basically any time one of your enemies weakens your character or gets a critical and gets a second attack, it really fucks your shit up.

Im assuming that's just how the game is.

 

I also have to scan most enemies more than once because I forget what their weaknesses are. I find that weird, but that's really my problem since I have a crappy memory.

BTW, does every single enemy have a weakness or am I just supposed to keep wailing on the ones that dont? Are there hidden weaknesses Fuuka cant see?

 

And finally - am I supposed to check every single floor or is it ok if I just keep running up? How crucial is it to check every floor 100%? I dont really find decent items when I look, mostly money or usable items.

[Mister Jack]

Well by the time you reach the end of the game you want to be at LEAST level 70, preferably higher. Tartarus has over 200 floors so you still have a ways to go. Fuuka doesn't miss any weaknesses with the exclusion of bosses, who may or may not have a weakness in the first place. I wouldn't recommend running straight for the stairs on every floor because if you don't bother to fight and level as you explore you'll eventually hit a brick wall. Some of the tartarus bosses are a bitch and a half. You're gonna want to exploit enemy weaknesses as often as possible, even when you can kill them with weapons, because doing so gets you the shuffle and shuffles can give you pretty significant exp bonuses if you get the leaf card, especially on higher floors.

 

Having the right personas can make it easier, though. If your persona is ten levels underneath you then you might want to look into fusion to see if you can get something a little closer to your level. Just remember to register all your personas in the compendium before you fuse anything in case you need them again.

 

As for checking each floor, yes, I would recommend doing so. When you DO find weapons and armor they're often good ones that would otherwise cost you a lot of money in the store. If you're in a hurry you can just have the party split up to explore independently. It's usually the quickest way to get whatever items are on that floor since they bring everything back to you once you regroup.

[「Advent Chaos」]

You will also level up faster if you venture out on your own, I think you should be able to do so now. Just know what you can and can not take on. As Mister Jack said, having the right Persona(e) makes all the difference, you will often have to rely on Fusion to get the most out of battle. I can't really remember, but I think you're able to wield a persona 5 levels higher than your current level which is always useful. Again, tackling on battles by yourself is always going to make leveling up faster, but if you still want other party members to grow as well then just split them up, stay near if they go into battle by themselves (Yukari usually requires the most supervision), if you see their HP falling dangerously low it won't even be necessary to go into their battle, you can open up either your Items or Skills menu and heal them outside of battle. This is all micromanaging of course and in the long run it might actually make it seem more like you're wasting more time doing all this rather than venturing out all together as a party. Take a risk every once in a while.

[Mister Jack]

Persona 3 spoilers

 

 

 

[Strangelove]

Fuck, I stopped playing P3 like a week ago. Its almost impossible for me to get back into a game when I havent played it that long. I also cant start again from the beginning some other time when P4 is on the horizon. Dear God...

[Mister Jack]

 

 

 

Something about P3 I found kind of amusing and silly at the same time is that for as much as the game plays up the importance of social links and friendships, half of the links outside of SEES are complete doofuses who no well adjusted person would ever hang out with in real life if they weren't getting godlike power in exchange.

[「Advent Chaos」]

Hahaha I've read that one before and still laugh like a maniac every time I read it!

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who thought some characters were just silly. One that will always strike me was Maiko, when she wants to run away, the sensible and correct choice is to tell her to calm down. While that helps, she's still hell bent in doing it then (taken from the script):

 

 

Maiko:

...But I made up my mind, and I'm going to run away!

I'd better start packing soon...

So... What do you think I need to pack if I'm running away from

home?

I'll need lots of snacks, right? What about my health insurance

card?

 

MC:

That's good enough.

 

Maiko:

Really? Wow! Running away is easier than I thought!

 

> Maiko is happier now.

 

DAFUQ?

I mean... DAFUQ!?

Yeah ok so you fail the first time at convincing a child to NOT run away, but now that you know she WILL you encourage her?

I also find it hilarious that to trigger her next event you gotta wait about a week or something, which is when her parents are looking for her all panicked. As a NORMAL teenager maybe you could have oh I don't know... CALL THE COPS OR SOMETHING!?

 

Then there's that "Gourmet King" who is just... AUGH.

 

Honestly my most enjoyable Social Link had to be Aeon with Aigis. Or maybe I just like Robot Girls I dunno.

 

 

Shhhh...

 

Shhh....

 

Shhhh. No one cares.

[Mister Jack]

God I hated that fat kid. I think his name was Nozomi or something. You have no idea how badly I wanted to kick his ass every time I had to hang out with him. Kenji was a total fool too. "Ooh! My teacher has the hots for me and we're gonna hook up!" Anyone with half a brain knew that was bullcrap but you're still supposed to get his hopes up like a dick, which I have to admit I kind of enjoyed. The less said about Bebe, the better. Most of the other social links outside of SEES were just tolerable for me. Maiko was okay, even if it's kind of creepy for a high schooler to be hanging out with little girls on the playground. The old couple was alright too, since they weren't total goofballs.

 

Oh, but I liked Yuko.

 

And I loooved Chihiro.

 

At the same time.

 

[Strangelove]

Floor 98 is kind of a bitch.

Giving an enemy a high tolerance for their only weakness and THEN giving them a spell that nullifies my only line of defense is kind of cheap. Oh, and also giving them a spell that more than doubles their spell power(a spell that hits every person at that)also irks me.

It kind of guarantees you spend a long time dwindling down hp, then you just die when youre a handful of hp from killing them. Ugh. I need to level up some more I guess.

[Mister Jack]

What boss was that?

[「Advent Chaos」]

 

Oh, but I liked Yuko.

 

And I loooved Chihiro.

 

At the same time.

 

 

If I could regenerate my limbs, I'd cut off my arm and send it to you so we could bro-fist. DID I JUST TURN INTO A PERSONA SOCIAL LINK CHARACTER?

 

I kinda did like Kenji other than his hot for teacher situation though. He seems like a pretty average guy. I never understood Bebe, I mean they try to make sympathetic with his whole family ordeal, but I find it very hard to give a flying fuck. I have a hard time getting along with old people, but the old couple were just some of the sweetest parents and finding out about their son was interesting enough. Mitsuko's face creeps me the fuck out though.

 

What about Mutatsu that drunk. It's neat to see his change at the end, but through the beginnings I could only think "Why am I hanging out with disgusting creep again? (Oh yeah Mara)"

[Mister Jack]

Whenever I hung out with Mutatsu my thought was "Hey, at least this isn't Nozomi."

[Mister Jack]

Anyone else pick up The Golden for vita today? If so, is this the first time you're playing Persona 4 or did you already play the PS2 version? I skipped the ps2 one since by the time I got into the series the remake had already been announced, so this is a whole new game for me.

[TCP]

Yeah it'll be brand new for me too.

[Strangelove]

Same here.

[TheMightyEthan]

I still need to play P3P that I bought this summer.

[TCP]

I've had P3P for ages now. I even bought it again a few months ago digitally to have on my Vita. I need to accept that I'm not ever going to play through it.