Both amazing games. Personally, I prefer the story and themes of P3, but you cant go wrong with either
Persona 3 or 4?
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P4 Is teh bestest.
Better story, better characters, better gameplay, yadda etc.
But I'm not saying that P3 is bad. It's certainly right behind P4 in terms of quality. The use of music to adjust the tone of the game is magic.
Better story, better characters, better gameplay, yadda etc.
But I'm not saying that P3 is bad. It's certainly right behind P4 in terms of quality. The use of music to adjust the tone of the game is magic.
Plus, Nyx is a much cooler boss than Izanami.
Gameplay: 4. The fact that the dungeons were "invented" by the victims meant they had much better variety than Tartarus in 3. Also, being able to control all the characters rather than just the leader made battles much less frustrating. Other than that the gameplay's fairly similar, so the edge clearly goes to 4.
Story: 3. Both had great stories, 3 was much better though. 4 was way too happy, and the true ending was so Hollywood-esque it cheapened the more emotional parts of the story. 3 had an almost flawless balance between its tear-jerking, depressing points and the uplifting, feel-good ones. 3 all the way.
Characters: 3. This is the point where I differ from most people, as I felt that the characters in 3 were generally much more relatable. While both had flawed characters, I felt that 3's were much more realistically so. It would take way too long to explain why I feel this way, but the bottom line is the P3 crew felt as much like people as any game characters I've ever known, while the P4 gang just felt like characters in a movie. A very good character-driven movie, but a movie nonetheless.
Music: 3. This one is almost too close to call, as both games had brilliant tracks. The only reason I take 3 over 4 is that the music was used to better effect in 3. I must admit though, the one song that gets stuck in my head is the the one that plays in Kenji's bathhouse in 4.
Overall: 3. While the gameplay of 4 was more enjoyable than 3's, I got sucked into the story and characters of 3 in a way no game's sucked me in before, and for that reason I have to give the nod to 3.
Story: 3. Both had great stories, 3 was much better though. 4 was way too happy, and the true ending was so Hollywood-esque it cheapened the more emotional parts of the story. 3 had an almost flawless balance between its tear-jerking, depressing points and the uplifting, feel-good ones. 3 all the way.
Characters: 3. This is the point where I differ from most people, as I felt that the characters in 3 were generally much more relatable. While both had flawed characters, I felt that 3's were much more realistically so. It would take way too long to explain why I feel this way, but the bottom line is the P3 crew felt as much like people as any game characters I've ever known, while the P4 gang just felt like characters in a movie. A very good character-driven movie, but a movie nonetheless.
Music: 3. This one is almost too close to call, as both games had brilliant tracks. The only reason I take 3 over 4 is that the music was used to better effect in 3. I must admit though, the one song that gets stuck in my head is the the one that plays in Kenji's bathhouse in 4.
Overall: 3. While the gameplay of 4 was more enjoyable than 3's, I got sucked into the story and characters of 3 in a way no game's sucked me in before, and for that reason I have to give the nod to 3.
Captcha: friend zone. Advice forum's that-a-way, captcha.
4 in every way except the ending.
In 4 you had much more motivation to go in the dungeons,it had a sense of urgency to it, the dungeons were more connected to the story and the whole accept your true self gave me a better appreciation of the characters, also it felt a lot more mysterious and weirder with the "murder through TVs" thing it had going on.
Edit:I almost forgot to say this but, just like your friends I grew to love 4 over 3, I first played 3 and was sucked in with its "Coolness", you know, the vibe, the theme,the music, the cut scenes, the characters and so on, but when my CD got scratched half way I just jumped ahead and bought 4 expecting the same "cool" death theme I had with the other one only to be surprised by a more lighter tone game, at first I was thinking not as cool as 3 but DAMN! it grew on me, became my all time favourite game.
In 4 you had much more motivation to go in the dungeons,it had a sense of urgency to it, the dungeons were more connected to the story and the whole accept your true self gave me a better appreciation of the characters, also it felt a lot more mysterious and weirder with the "murder through TVs" thing it had going on.
Edit:I almost forgot to say this but, just like your friends I grew to love 4 over 3, I first played 3 and was sucked in with its "Coolness", you know, the vibe, the theme,the music, the cut scenes, the characters and so on, but when my CD got scratched half way I just jumped ahead and bought 4 expecting the same "cool" death theme I had with the other one only to be surprised by a more lighter tone game, at first I was thinking not as cool as 3 but DAMN! it grew on me, became my all time favourite game.
i really dont know know how people could preffer 3 to 4, can i just say Tarterus (sp?) or one of the most repetitive dungeons knowm to video games, im sorry it was a snooze fest, then there was fuukas voice, ear bleedingly bad.
But thats all minor complaints there let me get on to the story in a spoiler tag
I haven't even bet four yet, im currently playing it right now actually, but i can say now without any reasonable doubt that 4 is alot better, the dungeons have alot more depth to them, the characters were alot more interesting, and the story was actually interesting this time. Bout 40 hours in right now.
But ill have to admit persona 3's final boss was awesome, very very awesome.
Ill admit i actually preferred innocent sin to these two.
But thats all minor complaints there let me get on to the story in a spoiler tag
it was kind fo bad, predictable and rather bland, but most of all the ending was a great big kick to the balls, keep in mind i do not own fes (or as im going to call required dlc to get the full story(yep i hate 3 for that by the way, fes was not released on the psp so i could not play it) for all i know without fes the protagonist just up and collapsed and died randomly and boom cut to credits. Im not complaining that the story was sad, before anyone jumps on me for that, im complaining that its stupid, thanks game for just wasting about 40 hours of my life, slogging through a storyline with a very obvious twist, just to have the protagonist die from what i could only guess at the time was tripping over his own shoes (okay if i remember rightly he was sitting down at the time, i could have just gone for a severe allergic reaction to air, food, a robots touch, grind, any other random thing witch could kill someone in a seccond) then cutting to credits. Remind me why did i bother wasting my time on you again? Rant over.
I haven't even bet four yet, im currently playing it right now actually, but i can say now without any reasonable doubt that 4 is alot better, the dungeons have alot more depth to them, the characters were alot more interesting, and the story was actually interesting this time. Bout 40 hours in right now.
But ill have to admit persona 3's final boss was awesome, very very awesome.
Ill admit i actually preferred innocent sin to these two.
Ultimately, Persona as a series is now in a place where the heart of the games and the defining experience within the narrative is to define the moments in a window of a person's life (in these cases, the protagonist) that matter. These games are about creating purpose for one's self through their memories and relationships with others during the fleeting twilight of youth.
With that said, Persona 3's fixation on inevitable human ends and the courage to accept them puts it in an infinitely better position to be a strong, memorable, cohesive title. Persona 4's Jap-a-boo Scooby Doo could never hope to compete with it thematically. While P4 has its own defining and unforgettable instances and much of the same sentiment that P3 does, it has it in a very different and much lighter world. If you put a ton of emphasis on gameplay improvement and you don't mind being quirked out of your socks, P4 is probably the better game. If you're looking for a heavier, more threaded piece of art, I don't think P3 is touchable.
Less importantly is the suspension of disbelief factor. While being farfetched is sometimes a prerequisite of being original in video gaming, P4 loses tons of ground here, ironically not because of the extreme larger-than-life story elements, but because of how unbelievable the most simple aspects of the story are.
(****Spoilers Below!!!****)
***END SPOILERS***
Lastly, Teddie was obviously designed as a mascot first and a character second. His character arc is really superficial, anti-climactic, and he urinates slapstick on what would otherwise be impacting scenes with such force that it puts Cait Sith to shame. He is the Jar Jar Binks of Persona 4 and the game is probably more popular because of him, but definitely not better.
Despite the detailed nitpicks above, I genuinely enjoyed P4. It was a very, very good video game. Persona 3, however, was an extraordinary one.
With that said, Persona 3's fixation on inevitable human ends and the courage to accept them puts it in an infinitely better position to be a strong, memorable, cohesive title. Persona 4's Jap-a-boo Scooby Doo could never hope to compete with it thematically. While P4 has its own defining and unforgettable instances and much of the same sentiment that P3 does, it has it in a very different and much lighter world. If you put a ton of emphasis on gameplay improvement and you don't mind being quirked out of your socks, P4 is probably the better game. If you're looking for a heavier, more threaded piece of art, I don't think P3 is touchable.
Less importantly is the suspension of disbelief factor. While being farfetched is sometimes a prerequisite of being original in video gaming, P4 loses tons of ground here, ironically not because of the extreme larger-than-life story elements, but because of how unbelievable the most simple aspects of the story are.
(****Spoilers Below!!!****)
-Why do they enter the screen at the admittedly most populated store in the town? How do they know no one will see them when they come out? They go in and out hundreds of times and NOBODY seems them either way? For what purpose did Atlus make them use the most visible TVs in the entire city as the gateway when it could have literally been anywhere?
-If The Midnight Channel rumor persists for 8 months, why is it not mentioned or investigated by anyone other than the protagonists? Are they the only ones who are always watching at midnight when it rains? Other teens are aware of it and its presence is known to a huge population. The TVs are off when it comes on so it is obviously supernatural. Why not just say that it only happens on TVs that are switched on and have skeptics dismiss it as strange interference instead of suggesting preposterously that coincidentally NO ONE over the age of 16 or 17 is aware it exists?
-At the end of the game, based on what the culprit says and based on the revelation of why the people appear on The Midnight Channel appear as they do, it is apparently entirely coincidental that the first two victims were seen on there. This is the laziest aspect of P4's story which is saying something. It is a convoluted mess not because of the outlandish aspects, but because those outlandish aspects are married so unbelievably poorly to the game's more mundane aspects.
-If The Midnight Channel rumor persists for 8 months, why is it not mentioned or investigated by anyone other than the protagonists? Are they the only ones who are always watching at midnight when it rains? Other teens are aware of it and its presence is known to a huge population. The TVs are off when it comes on so it is obviously supernatural. Why not just say that it only happens on TVs that are switched on and have skeptics dismiss it as strange interference instead of suggesting preposterously that coincidentally NO ONE over the age of 16 or 17 is aware it exists?
-At the end of the game, based on what the culprit says and based on the revelation of why the people appear on The Midnight Channel appear as they do, it is apparently entirely coincidental that the first two victims were seen on there. This is the laziest aspect of P4's story which is saying something. It is a convoluted mess not because of the outlandish aspects, but because those outlandish aspects are married so unbelievably poorly to the game's more mundane aspects.
***END SPOILERS***
Lastly, Teddie was obviously designed as a mascot first and a character second. His character arc is really superficial, anti-climactic, and he urinates slapstick on what would otherwise be impacting scenes with such force that it puts Cait Sith to shame. He is the Jar Jar Binks of Persona 4 and the game is probably more popular because of him, but definitely not better.
Despite the detailed nitpicks above, I genuinely enjoyed P4. It was a very, very good video game. Persona 3, however, was an extraordinary one.
As most people have already pointed out Persona 3 has a better story in my opinion, but Persona 4 had the mechanics polished to a nice glossy shine. I definitely see why it might be able to switch back to Persona 3 after playing Persona 4, in particular the inability to control your teammates in P3/Fes is maddening after playing through P4.
While I thought the main cast in both games were fine, I though some of the side social links were better in P4 than P3. It's probably just my own preference but I thought the majority of the characters were better in P4 than P3. There are some notable exceptions (Teddie in P4 and Akinari Kamiki from P3) and there being a much more direct link between the character's development and their persona abilities in P4 I thought was a nice touch.
Overall the main plot in both games was a tad predictable but the darker themes in P3 I thought were better.
While I thought the main cast in both games were fine, I though some of the side social links were better in P4 than P3. It's probably just my own preference but I thought the majority of the characters were better in P4 than P3. There are some notable exceptions (Teddie in P4 and Akinari Kamiki from P3) and there being a much more direct link between the character's development and their persona abilities in P4 I thought was a nice touch.
Overall the main plot in both games was a tad predictable but the darker themes in P3 I thought were better.
Incidentally, I feel pretty much the opposite way. I found P4 noticeably more engaging and serious, with the whole theme of coming in terms your inner demons and far more interesting characters. P3 felt like a cartoon to me, in a certain way - you have all these wacky and/or silly characters like the three assassins, kids, dogs, robots and whatnot, the HQ, the whole subplot about the secret lab, etc. It's all so over the top that I couldn't take anything that happened seriously. Whereas P4 is much more down-to-Earth and "realistic" (most of the time, at least) which gave the conflicts at hand more brevity.The_Scrivener said:
I like both for ultimately different reasons which boils down to the relationship of the teams with each other and their motivations.
The MC of P3 was someone who as dragged into the SEES team due to his inate ability and ultimately stayed as he was a beneficial member of team. In P3 there was no choice in your involvement, you either had the powers or you didn't. While they were in the same school the characters in P3 were strangers forced to work together (with the exception of the older classmates who had some history together). They fought the shadows because no one else could
Meanwhile in P4 the characters are very proactive. Right from the start Yosuke has an emotional investment in stopping the murders and kicks off an investigation with the help of the Protagonist and Chie. Here the characters have more of a "This is my town and I'm going to defend it" mentality. The new members that join also have a bit more of a personal stake as they were all potential murder victims and are participation due to revenge and to save other victims.
Then you actually get to the characters themselves and you can see that the P3 cast was a bit more "elite" than the P4 cast. With the exception of Junpei you had...
- A skilled archer and smart student
- Daughter of a multi-billion daughter cooperation who's also the team's main financial backer and R&D
- Champion boxer
- Combat robot
- Child prodigy
- K9 prodigy
Essentially if you were going to cherry pick the students then you would have easily selected those people. Add to the fact that they had their own dorm building be their HQ and you could see how prepared they were in stopping shadows.
On the flip side the P4 cast was a bit more Ragtag. They held their meetings at a department store food court, needed the help of a third party to forge weapons and were not combat trained as the P3 cast: Chie was self taught, Yosuke doesn't really know how to handle his knives, Kanji is a street brawler and Yukiko keeps her distance with a fan.
Overall I love where both these games stand and I can't just pick one.
The MC of P3 was someone who as dragged into the SEES team due to his inate ability and ultimately stayed as he was a beneficial member of team. In P3 there was no choice in your involvement, you either had the powers or you didn't. While they were in the same school the characters in P3 were strangers forced to work together (with the exception of the older classmates who had some history together). They fought the shadows because no one else could
Meanwhile in P4 the characters are very proactive. Right from the start Yosuke has an emotional investment in stopping the murders and kicks off an investigation with the help of the Protagonist and Chie. Here the characters have more of a "This is my town and I'm going to defend it" mentality. The new members that join also have a bit more of a personal stake as they were all potential murder victims and are participation due to revenge and to save other victims.
Then you actually get to the characters themselves and you can see that the P3 cast was a bit more "elite" than the P4 cast. With the exception of Junpei you had...
- A skilled archer and smart student
- Daughter of a multi-billion daughter cooperation who's also the team's main financial backer and R&D
- Champion boxer
- Combat robot
- Child prodigy
- K9 prodigy
Essentially if you were going to cherry pick the students then you would have easily selected those people. Add to the fact that they had their own dorm building be their HQ and you could see how prepared they were in stopping shadows.
On the flip side the P4 cast was a bit more Ragtag. They held their meetings at a department store food court, needed the help of a third party to forge weapons and were not combat trained as the P3 cast: Chie was self taught, Yosuke doesn't really know how to handle his knives, Kanji is a street brawler and Yukiko keeps her distance with a fan.
Overall I love where both these games stand and I can't just pick one.
If you want to play and complete both of them play 3 first. If you go from 4 to 3 the pacing will be all off for you, plus you'll miss being able to control your team.
The only problem is that they're coming out of different systems, which makes it harder for people who are fans to get them (Myself included). I bought a Vita before they announced SMT IV for the 3DS and I don't have enough money to get one now, damnit!TizzytheTormentor said:
I liked Persona 3's story more, I thought it had better writing in general and a well thought-out and genuinely emotional conclusion. Persona 4's ending sequence sorta felt...rushed, honestly. I could go into more detail but the two points I have fairly large problems with are also huge spoilers.
As far as gameplay goes, I probably prefer Persona 4 because I played Persona 3 on the PSP and the PSP version wasn't balanced with the changes made in mind, so the game became ridiculously easy to break as a result, the challenge got sucked out. Although PS2 forced the AI to control party members and I've never liked games where the challenge comes from putting execution of a strategy out of your hands, feels like a minor kind of artificial difficulty.
Persona 4 was a more challenging game, I felt, and a better made one in terms of the dungeons since they have variety of appearance and music. Persona 3's dungeons look fairly similar and all use the same bloody music track, well that's not true, more layers get added onto it but hell if I could tell the difference as it went.
I ended up preferring Persona 3 more mostly on strength of story and characters alone, the complaints I have about what it didn't do as well in comparison to Persona 4's gameplay don't amount to as much as you'd think.
They're both fantastic games though. Play them both.
As far as gameplay goes, I probably prefer Persona 4 because I played Persona 3 on the PSP and the PSP version wasn't balanced with the changes made in mind, so the game became ridiculously easy to break as a result, the challenge got sucked out. Although PS2 forced the AI to control party members and I've never liked games where the challenge comes from putting execution of a strategy out of your hands, feels like a minor kind of artificial difficulty.
Persona 4 was a more challenging game, I felt, and a better made one in terms of the dungeons since they have variety of appearance and music. Persona 3's dungeons look fairly similar and all use the same bloody music track, well that's not true, more layers get added onto it but hell if I could tell the difference as it went.
I ended up preferring Persona 3 more mostly on strength of story and characters alone, the complaints I have about what it didn't do as well in comparison to Persona 4's gameplay don't amount to as much as you'd think.
They're both fantastic games though. Play them both.
Persona 4 obviously. Because Persona 4 is so fucking perfect! It is literally the best mystery story ever made, bar none.
It is a blend of everything I like put together. Mystery? Check. Anime? Check. Melodrama? Check. Good characters and character arcs? Check. Awesome villains and boss fights? Check. Big dramatic speeches? Check
Ok i'll stop there but you get the point.
Persona 3 was still good but it was marred by the gameplay feeling like a Persona 4: Beta Edition (which I guess it was technically) the AI was so shocking and the Main Character is a complete wanker.
To sum him up, "No matter how you play him, he's the ponciest ponce to ever ponce past a poncing parlour"
Don't you give me the "he's a blank slate so he's whatever you want him to be" crap either. There's still a solid unshakeable theme of a character underneath dialogue choices. The theme of wankery.
[sub]That sounded so much better in my head[/sub]
I loved all the characters in P3 still, ('specially Aigis but who doesn't love Aigis?) but I disliked the MC so much it took away from the actual likeable characters.
I am so sure if I had played P3 before P4 I would have looked more favourably on that loner wannabe.
It is a blend of everything I like put together. Mystery? Check. Anime? Check. Melodrama? Check. Good characters and character arcs? Check. Awesome villains and boss fights? Check. Big dramatic speeches? Check
Ok i'll stop there but you get the point.
Persona 3 was still good but it was marred by the gameplay feeling like a Persona 4: Beta Edition (which I guess it was technically) the AI was so shocking and the Main Character is a complete wanker.
To sum him up, "No matter how you play him, he's the ponciest ponce to ever ponce past a poncing parlour"
Don't you give me the "he's a blank slate so he's whatever you want him to be" crap either. There's still a solid unshakeable theme of a character underneath dialogue choices. The theme of wankery.
[sub]That sounded so much better in my head[/sub]
I loved all the characters in P3 still, ('specially Aigis but who doesn't love Aigis?) but I disliked the MC so much it took away from the actual likeable characters.
I am so sure if I had played P3 before P4 I would have looked more favourably on that loner wannabe.