Persona 3 FES due for PSN

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RaikuFA

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http://www.destructoid.com/ps2-classic-persona-3-fes-hits-psn-tomorrow-225512.phtml

I'm very excited as I have a few friends that have never played it.
 

ChupathingyX

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I have never played a Persona game, however, I am very interested in trying them out.

Would this be a good starting point?
 

AceofStaves

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ChupathingyX said:
I have never played a Persona game, however, I am very interested in trying them out.

Would this be a good starting point?
Absolutely. Persona 3 FES is the updated version of Persona 3, the first of the two 'modern' Persona games and does not require knowledge of earlier Persona games to be enjoyed. The characters and story are memorable and affecting and it's got one of the most unique, enjoyable, soundtracks in games, in my opinion. If you've ever been a fan of JRPGs I can think of no reason you would not enjoy Persona 3 or Persona 4.
 

Tony2077

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i already own persona 3 and fes and p3p so i don't think i need fes again but i recommended to anyone who wants to get into the series or doesn't have fes already
 

RaikuFA

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AceofStaves said:
ChupathingyX said:
I have never played a Persona game, however, I am very interested in trying them out.

Would this be a good starting point?
Absolutely. Persona 3 FES is the updated version of Persona 3, the first of the two 'modern' Persona games and does not require knowledge of earlier Persona games to be enjoyed. The characters and story are memorable and affecting and it's got one of the most unique, enjoyable, soundtracks in games, in my opinion. If you've ever been a fan of JRPGs I can think of no reason you would not enjoy Persona 3 or Persona 4.
What he said. There are references to 1 and 2 that are basically easter eggs but you don't need to know them to get the story.
 

Sleepy Sol

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Great news for a lot of people who have trouble finding the game now. I don't have a PS3, but did play Persona 3 Portable, so I think I got a good dose of Persona 3. However, I'd recommend FES as a great starting point for anyone on the fence about the series.

...Personally, I'm more excited for the remake of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment coming to PSP...but I'll have to wait a while on that one... :C
 

ChupathingyX

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AceofStaves said:
RaikuFA said:
Well I've never played a JRPG before so this would be my first.

All I really wanted to know was if it were a good introduction to the series and whether I would have to play the previous ones, so thanks.
 

z121231211

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Oh come the fuck on.

I already had my money geared up for Skullgirls, now I have to buy this too? Good thing it's only $10.

EDIT: And seriously if you have a PS3 and have never played this game, just get it unless you absolutely hate JRPGs. And no you don't need to play the first 2 first, it's stand-alone plot-wise.
 

80Maxwell08

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So what's better between the one for the PSP and this one? I can get either of them and I have been looking to get them so now which one do I get?
 

Kilo24

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80Maxwell08 said:
So what's better between the one for the PSP and this one? I can get either of them and I have been looking to get them so now which one do I get?
The PSP version permits playing a female protagonist which changes a number of things about the game, and also allows you to directly control party members instead of relying on their mediocre AI. It does apparently remove some of the cutscenes, but I'd still pick the PSP version over the PS2 one.

Note that I've only played the game on PS2 and am getting my information from Wikipedia, though.
 

80Maxwell08

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Kilo24 said:
80Maxwell08 said:
So what's better between the one for the PSP and this one? I can get either of them and I have been looking to get them so now which one do I get?
The PSP version permits playing a female protagonist which changes a number of things about the game, and also allows you to directly control party members instead of relying on their mediocre AI. It does apparently remove some of the cutscenes, but I'd still pick the PSP version over the PS2 one.

Note that I've only played the game on PS2 and am getting my information from Wikipedia, though.
Well did you find the AI a problem? Since I can put up with some AI problems if the cutscenes are important. I don't really like things being edited out.
 

Dreiko_v1legacy

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FES is the definitive persona 3 version because it has the 30 hour epilogue which actually completes the story, if you've only played p3 or p3p you have NO CLUE what actually happens by the end.


Yes the gameplay in p3p is better and yes you get to play the game with Hamuko too but if you haven't ALREADY played FES you have no clue what the whole of the entirety of the game boils down to thus losing all meaning. I literally was in a state of disbelief when I started playing the epilogue all those years back, I would have not been happy with not knowing what truly happened.
 

80Maxwell08

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Dreiko said:
FES is the definitive persona 3 version because it has the 30 hour epilogue which actually completes the story, if you've only played p3 or p3p you have NO CLUE what actually happens by the end.


Yes the gameplay in p3p is better and yes you get to play the game with Hamuko too but if you haven't ALREADY played FES you have no clue what the whole of the entirety of the game boils down to thus losing all meaning. I literally was in a state of disbelief when I started playing the epilogue all those years back, I would have not been happy with not knowing what truly happened.
Yep that helps me a lot thanks. Also do you know about the other PSP releases? Are those worthwhile or is something coming down the line that will be better?
 

Jumendez-sama

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Dreiko said:
FES is the definitive persona 3 version because it has the 30 hour epilogue which actually completes the story, if you've only played p3 or p3p you have NO CLUE what actually happens by the end.


Yes the gameplay in p3p is better and yes you get to play the game with Hamuko too but if you haven't ALREADY played FES you have no clue what the whole of the entirety of the game boils down to thus losing all meaning. I literally was in a state of disbelief when I started playing the epilogue all those years back, I would have not been happy with not knowing what truly happened.
Or I, as a P3PNoob, can Google what happened so I don't have to buy a PS3 (let alone a PS2), spend more cash to buy the game, play through The Journey again, then trudge through The Answer to learn what happened.

Though, if you're in the games for the plot, you're doing it wrong. The plot in general is structured in a way that it can be expanded and messed with freely just to extend your playing time of it for a few more days. I equate it to Pokemon in this regard, because plot is nothing more than a means to move the game along; instead of the game serving as a way to present a true narrative.

I doubt I think this because I haven't completed The Answer. The thing about The Answer is that it introduces the whole Butterfly Effect schtick, whereas there's nothing really in the actual plot of P3 remotely touching this factor. In P3P, they had that butterfly in the beginning, but notice how P3P was released after FES. It isn't convincing to me to say that they had originally intended to create The Answer as much as they wanted more dosh from fans.

While I admire the Persona series (well P4 and P3 anyway) for its aesthetics and gameplay (because I'm an RPG junkie), I cannot say that the plot is at all strong enough to warrant one buying the game simply for the plot.
 

Et3rnalLegend64

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80Maxwell08 said:
So what's better between the one for the PSP and this one? I can get either of them and I have been looking to get them so now which one do I get?
The basic gist is that P3P has more stuff in a sense since you can play a girl's scenario, it has more Personas, a better combat system (direct party control and guarding), at least one more bonus boss (I think), and you can get an extra scene at the end of your New Game+. Dungeon crawling is made somewhat easier since you can go back to the hub and re-enter the dungeon from where you left off rather then starting from the last pre-determined checkpoint. Oh, and there's a save point that's not in your dorm so you're not forced to save at night. It lacks a few things that might be a deal breaker for some people though.

The main character in FES can use any weapon. The MC's in P3P are limited to a sword/naginata for the boy and girl respectively. The Answer epilogue chapter from the FES is not in P3P. All of the very nice animated cutscenes are replaced with cutscenes done in-engine. As far as I know, there haven't been any news on a P3P update that adds The Answer. Personally, I'm not even there yet anyway. I'm actually on P4 since I got my hands on that first.

And on AI problems. You can kinda give them strategies to follow, but they boil down to "Do whatever," "save MP," "exploit elemental weaknesses," and "heal everyone." They're decently smart when you set them to do whatever they want, but sometimes they waste HP and MP when it's really not necessary. One party member gains spells that are situational at best but she insists on using them when a simple attack would finish the fight that's causing your party so much pain at the moment. She gains an MP drain that she rarely uses too. "Heal" characters don't always try to keep the party topped off and instead wait until they're dangerously close to dying. It's not always a problem, but it gets in the way at annoying moments, especially since the game ends automatically if the MC gets knocked out.
 

Kilo24

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80Maxwell08 said:
Dreiko said:
FES is the definitive persona 3 version because it has the 30 hour epilogue which actually completes the story, if you've only played p3 or p3p you have NO CLUE what actually happens by the end.


Yes the gameplay in p3p is better and yes you get to play the game with Hamuko too but if you haven't ALREADY played FES you have no clue what the whole of the entirety of the game boils down to thus losing all meaning. I literally was in a state of disbelief when I started playing the epilogue all those years back, I would have not been happy with not knowing what truly happened.
Yep that helps me a lot thanks. Also do you know about the other PSP releases? Are those worthwhile or is something coming down the line that will be better?
I had a longer response in which I mentioned "The Answer" (the epilogue), but the internet aether devoured it. Basically, it's a lot of content, but it's not nearly of the same quality as the main game; it's just a pure dungeon crawl with a rather large part of it (the persona compendium which lets you get back old personas) removed. That major inconvenience (which necessitates a good bit of grinding), along with the high difficulty, frequent deaths and infrequent save opportunities, led me to not getting to far in it. It does have big answers to the storyline, but I'd prefer to watch them on Youtube myself. It's just not as good as the original material, which is already a massive game in its own right.

Control over AI is a big deal especially in the harder difficulties. Though the default AI isn't bad (and can be influenced to a degree by changing each characters' general behavior), it'll often do stuff that you wouldn't do. But it's not a dealbreaker IMO; just a significant annoyance.

The portable edition does have a number of other gameplay benefits mostly taken from Persona 4, but they seem to mostly be minor (though there are many.)

There's also some more content that is portable-version only, so you will be missing out on a not-insignificant amount of content either way. The missing cutscenes still apparently are represented in other content.

If money's not an object, I'd advise getting the portable version first, seeing if you really want to go through "The Answer" on your own, and then getting FES if so. It doesn't use or need a saved game from the main game.
 

Et3rnalLegend64

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Jumendez-sama said:
Dreiko said:
FES is the definitive persona 3 version because it has the 30 hour epilogue which actually completes the story, if you've only played p3 or p3p you have NO CLUE what actually happens by the end.


Yes the gameplay in p3p is better and yes you get to play the game with Hamuko too but if you haven't ALREADY played FES you have no clue what the whole of the entirety of the game boils down to thus losing all meaning. I literally was in a state of disbelief when I started playing the epilogue all those years back, I would have not been happy with not knowing what truly happened.
Or I, as a P3PNoob, can Google what happened so I don't have to buy a PS3 (let alone a PS2), spend more cash to buy the game, play through The Journey again, then trudge through The Answer to learn what happened.

Though, if you're in the games for the plot, you're doing it wrong. The plot in general is structured in a way that it can be expanded and messed with freely just to extend your playing time of it for a few more days. I equate it to Pokemon in this regard, because plot is nothing more than a means to move the game along; instead of the game serving as a way to present a true narrative.

I doubt I think this because I haven't completed The Answer. The thing about The Answer is that it introduces the whole Butterfly Effect schtick, whereas there's nothing really in the actual plot of P3 remotely touching this factor. In P3P, they had that butterfly in the beginning, but notice how P3P was released after FES. It isn't convincing to me to say that they had originally intended to create The Answer as much as they wanted more dosh from fans.

While I admire the Persona series (well P4 and P3 anyway) for its aesthetics and gameplay (because I'm an RPG junkie), I cannot say that the plot is at all strong enough to warrant one buying the game simply for the plot.
Just a heads up, The Answer is automatically open at the FES main menu. You don't have to play The Journey over again.

I won't comment on the plot either way. If it's not your thing, then to each his own. I say that it's worth playing for the characters though. Social Links are an amazing concept. The party is essentially using aspects of their personality to fight Shadows, and the MC can boost his/hers by helping someone's character development. It's weaponized power of friendship!
 

Smertnik

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Great, I was actually considering buying the game for PS2 a short while ago. PSN should stock up on more of the PS2 classics.
 

MegaManOfNumbers

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SuperDeliciousWonderfulWhatIsThisIDon'tEven.

Dude! I need to pick this up sometime! Too bad money is scarce and university tuition is sucking me dry. D: