Persona 3 or 4?

[DeltaEdge]

Back when I first became interested in Persona 4, around late 2008-9 I guess, Persona 4 felt incredibly overshadowed by Persona 3. All of my friends vastly preferred Persona 3 to 4, and no one even really seemed to care about 4. Of course, it began to become much more popular over time and it eventually spawned an animation, a fighting game, and a remake for the Vita. And things like HiimDaisy's Persona 4 Comic Dub undoubtedly got a lot of western fans interested in the series. When I talked to my friends about Persona 4 back in mid 2011, most of them said that they now preferred 4 to 3.
Now my question to you all, which do you like better? Persona 3 or 4? Also, did you follow the same trend of interest like what I mentioned earlier?
As for me, I l kind of preferred 3 at first, but almost immediately began to prefer 4.

 

[Savo]

Persona 3. Persona 4 had slightly better gameplay (particularly the ability to control your team-mates) but Persona 3 had a better story and characters. They didn't change enough of the gameplay to actually make a significant difference.

Persona 3 had a more cliche storyline, but ultimately ended up with a more epic feeling. Persona 4 struggled in the early part of the game, but eventually ended up with a story that was a little worse than the P3 story. Also, the romantic interests in P3 were ten times better than the ones in P4.

 

[hazabaza1]

4 is a lot better in pretty much every way but I think anyone and everyone intending to play it should play 3 first, in any form.

 

[Mondai Randy]

for me , Persona 3 had a better story. but Persona 4 had better characters (for me)

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I've never played the fourth and as for the third, I've only ever played the PSP de-make on the PSP...I really liked the third but I have a lot to catch up on so maybe once I have the PS2 versions of those two games I'll be more qualified to answer. I love the concept though if that helps at all.

 

[Ultress]

There both great games but I like Persona 3's darker atmosphere and themes more. Not to say Persona 4 can't be dark but it is the happiest game about murder. Plus the story while a little slow paced is really damn good and everything works towards the central theme. In the end both are excellent and deserve every bit of praise they get.


As for your other question no I've always preferred 3 but I'm still really happy that P4 is getting some love.

 

[Leemaster777]

I've played both (P4 on the PS2, and P3P on PSP), and I have to say, I prefer 4.

Nothing drastically wrong with 3, but I just enjoyed the characters and story of 4 more.

My only real gripe with 4 is that it pulls not one, but TWO dick moves right at the end of the game, to block you from getting the true ending. But, considering how much I enjoy the rest of the game, that's easily overlooked in my book.

I'll also say this: The "Tragic Moment" in both games were great, and unexpected, but I found 4's to be much more... poignant, despite the events that followed it.

 

[Tanis]

Persona 3:FES is better, when it comes to story.

Persona 4 is better, when it comes to game play.

 

[dimensional]

I played 3 first and then didnt play 4 for ages because I thought there was no way it could top it but on having played and finished 4 a few months I would say it is the better game gameplay wise while on even footing for characters and story although my favourite character is in 4.

I just found 4 more satisfying and it didnt drag as much as 3 did in places.

 

[TehCookie]

Persona 3 has a better story while Persona 4 has better characters and gameplay. Which seems to be the most common answer looking at the people above.

While I did like the brightly colored murder mystery there wasn't much mystery there. The only time you have to think is at the end when it asks you who the killer is and I already knew the moment I got the letter. Not to mention it felt a lot more scripted like it told you how to feel. In Persona 3 it had just as much emotion but it wasn't telling you what to feel. Me and my friends disagree on the saddest part of Persona 3, but you mention the saddest part in 4 and everyone knows what part you mean. While Persona 3's characters were nice, but they felt too perfect so they didn't feel as lifelike as Persona 4's which is why I like the latter more. The gameplay is pretty much objectively better with being able to control your teammates, being able to choose a friend or girlfriend path in social links and quick travel.

 

[Spydercake]

I need to agree with Savo here.
But either way, it is pointless, as if one plays one, they will play the other. So flip a coin

 

[Palademon]

Haven't played them much, but prefer 3's tone and evokers, but 4's story is better and has much improved pacing.

 

[roushutsu]

I prefer 4 in damn near every aspect. The one thing about 3 that I loved more than 4 was the ending. 3's ending is powerful and emotional, and it really did feel like the fate of the world rested on your shoulders. 4's ending, while good, just didn't feel very grand by comparison (including the true ending). But 4 had the better gameplay, unique battle upgrades, the pacing for the narrative was more fluid and improved, the characters were more lovable and you could actually relate to them in some ways, I enjoyed the soundtrack more, and the dungeons were varied and unique unlike Tartarus where after 10-20 floors the biggest change is a new coat of paint on the walls.

 

[GTwander]

4 is a lot better in pretty much every way but I think anyone and everyone intending to play it should play 3 first, in any form.

Very true.
Playing #3 first should prove #4's superiority in every possible way.

 

[BreakfastMan]

I prefer 4 to 3. I mean, yeah, 3 is a damn fine game, but 4 is so much better in pretty much every single way. I played 4 first, then 3 afterwards, FYI.

 

[Judgment90]

In terms of gameplay, I'd have it to give it to P4, since you can actually control your party members (not counting P3P), utilizing your strategies more effectively.

Music, they're both dead even. Both games have memorable songs in their soundtracks.

Graphics-wise, I'm giving it to P4, since it was released later, the visuals look more clean than P3's. But in P3's defense, I do believe the graphics do fit the game's tone.

Theme-wise, P3 gets the advantage here. It follows the traditional SMT theme of having a darker theme. Also, near the end, the sense of the world fixing to end is more realistic in P3 than in P4.

Characters, I would also give this to P4. P3's characters feel a little too generic, with very little dynamic changes for each character except for a select few. P4 truly contains the whole "facing yourself" tone, as in each party member's Social Links, each character does struggle to recognize their hidden, negative feelings as part of themselves, and that, IMO, creates a better character.

Overall, P4, IMO, is superior due to its gameplay and characters.

 

[Smertnik]

Unfortunately I played 4 before 3 and therefore didn't enjoy 3 as much as I probably would have otherwise. Having played through both I found 4 superior in every way possible - the story is much more interesting and not as wacky, just as the characters, who are far more fleshed out and (mostly) not just some random people you couldn't care less about. The gameplay is noticeably smoother and better. And the dungeons have actual context and story behind them instead of the game telling you 'Yo, here's a tower full of shadows, have fun grinding your way to the top'
I honestly can't imagine why anyone would prefer 3 over 4.

 

[GTwander]

I honestly can't imagine why anyone would prefer 3 over 4.

Both feature some serious anime tropes, but the characters in P4 are much more down-to-earth ones.