• Hello everybody! We have tons of new awards for the new year that can be requested through our Awards System thanks to Antifa Lockhart! Some are limited-time awards so go claim them before they are gone forever...

    CLICK HERE FOR AWARDS

So I wanna get into Persona...



REGISTER TO REMOVE ADS
Status
Not open for further replies.

ALittleNerd

New member
Joined
Dec 23, 2015
Messages
55
Location
The Realm of Darkness
Ok so, I tried finding a good forum specifically for Persona and couldn't find one. So I'm just going to leave this here in the Community Lounge of a forum I do know, and hope I'll get a reaction. Please forgive me if I'm not using this thread correctly, I've never posted on this part of the forum before.

Anyway, hello. I'm Generic Gamer/Anime Lover #183895 and I've found, for no apparent reason, a sudden urge to get into Persona. I've only played Persona 3 and did not finish it due to the sad circumstance of having destructive older siblings. In any case I'd like to ask: Where do I start? What should I know? Are the games direct sequels of one another? Cause I heard from somewhere that characters tend to be almost entirely different each game. Please tell me your feelings about the series and anything else you think is noteworthy, as I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into. I wanted to ask here because I trust the fanbase of a game series a lot more than a Google search. Thanks.
 

BufferAqua

Bronze Member
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,697
Awards
13
I've wanted to get into Persona myself. I think this is a good thread to start!
 

Noir

Bronze Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
2,417
Awards
11
Age
30
I won't pretend to be an expert on persona . I only recently played 4. However, a friend did tell me P3P is a good place to start.
However, I dove straight into 4.
 

Taochan

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 23, 2010
Messages
12,008
Awards
30
*Are you trying to get into it before 5 comes out?

*What systems do you have?
 

BufferAqua

Bronze Member
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,697
Awards
13
*Are you trying to get into it before 5 comes out?

*What systems do you have?
I might wanna answer these questions lol.

1. I dunno. 5 looks interesting, too.

2. Nintendo 3DS, Wii, PS3, and a PS4. I want a Vita, and I'm most likely gonna ask one for Christmas regardless of what anyone says.
 

KingdomKey

Queen
Joined
Sep 25, 2010
Messages
6,261
Awards
26
Age
32
I personally started with Persona 3. However, I would recommend Persona 4 because, it's a lot of fun and a bit of an improvement on gameplay mechanics.

Persona FES does connect to Persona 3 because, it's like a direct sequel to it, and one of it's side characters becomes the next main protagonist. But Persona FES does have two games in one. Whereas Persona 4 does connect to both games through subtle means. I won't go into further spoilers & details about it.


Persona 4

- You can control your party members, which is a huge improvement to the previous series!
- Alternate endings
- Likeable characters
- Humor
- Awesome soundtrack
- PS2

Persona 3

- Can't control your party members
- Darker undertones
- Two endings
- Likeable characters
- Awesome soundtrack
- PS2

Persona FES

I don't want to give away spoilers but, one of the settings isn't in a school setting and it's constant level grinding. The story itself is pretty good because, it goes into things from Persona 3. It's just not as much fun unless you're doing it to know what happened after the events of Persona 3 ending. And it's also played on the PlayStation 2.

------

If you have a Vita, you'll be able to play Persona 4 Golden. It's still Persona 4 except with extra stuff in it that the PS2 version didn't have. I'm not hundred percent sure if Persona 3 Portable is on Vita. But I do know you get to play a female protagonist instead of a male one. You get the option to choose between male or female, which is a nice feature. :3
 
Last edited:

Taochan

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 23, 2010
Messages
12,008
Awards
30
I might wanna answer these questions lol.

1. I dunno. 5 looks interesting, too.

2. Nintendo 3DS, Wii, PS3, and a PS4. I want a Vita, and I'm most likely gonna ask one for Christmas regardless of what anyone says.
5 looks great so far and will likely be a great starting point for anyone. The dungeon crawler aspect seems to be improved on by being more interactive, aka less boring.

I love my Vita, you'll get no judgment from me. xD If you do get one I highly recommend Persona 4: The Golden, it improves on the original with more content!

Persona 3 is fantastic but it's a bit more complicated with releases... I'd recommend either Persona 3 Portable or Persona 3 FES. Don't go for vanilla Persona 3!

What are the differences?

Persona 3 Portable has an entire scenario with a female protagonist which has at least one significant story change. The party is also controllable by the player,and you can defend which is a huge battle system improvement. A huge negative is that the animated cutscenes are almost entirely excluded because of the female protagonist... But the game also has different social links which are cool.

Persona 3 FES however, adds an entire new ending to the game for more closure; the new ending is not in P3P. Persona 3 FES also has a lot of features they couldn't fit on the UMD for P3P and has beautiful animated cutscenes that emotionally improve the game.

Honestly I'm hoping they make a HD P3 with all of the other editions content (and new anime scenes for the feMC).

You should be able to get either version of P3 on the PSN for a reasonable price, as they go on sale frequently.
 

Blackdrazon

Vulpes Chronicler
Joined
Aug 8, 2013
Messages
2,652
Awards
11
Nobody's mentioned the first two games, so I suppose I might as well. I haven't played 2, myself, but if you end up interested in the series, this information could be helpful:

Definitely play Persona 3 and 4 first. They're the big names in the series, after all.

Persona 2 is a sequel to Persona 1, but I'm told it's not a very strong connection, as in you can play 2 without playing 1, but it will be a little better if you play 1 first.

Persona 2, meanwhile, is split into two halves: Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. But here's the funny part: they were localized in reverse order. The only English version of Innocent Sin is the PSP remake, while the only only English version of Eternal Punishment is the PSX version released in the 90s.

You can find the English version of EP in the PS3's PSOne Classics section. Even though the game's two halves were released in backwards order, it's probably best that you play them in forwards order.
 
Last edited:

BufferAqua

Bronze Member
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,697
Awards
13
5 looks great so far and will likely be a great starting point for anyone. The dungeon crawler aspect seems to be improved on by being more interactive, aka less boring.

I love my Vita, you'll get no judgment from me. xD If you do get one I highly recommend Persona 4: The Golden, it improves on the original with more content!

Persona 3 is fantastic but it's a bit more complicated with releases... I'd recommend either Persona 3 Portable or Persona 3 FES. Don't go for vanilla Persona 3!

What are the differences?

Persona 3 Portable has an entire scenario with a female protagonist which has at least one significant story change. The party is also controllable by the player,and you can defend which is a huge battle system improvement. A huge negative is that the animated cutscenes are almost entirely excluded because of the female protagonist... But the game also has different social links which are cool.

Persona 3 FES however, adds an entire new ending to the game for more closure; the new ending is not in P3P. Persona 3 FES also has a lot of features they couldn't fit on the UMD for P3P and has beautiful animated cutscenes that emotionally improve the game.

Honestly I'm hoping they make a HD P3 with all of the other editions content (and new anime scenes for the feMC).

You should be able to get either version of P3 on the PSN for a reasonable price, as they go on sale frequently.
Thank you for the recommendation! I'll keep these in mind if I get a Vita.
 

Taochan

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 23, 2010
Messages
12,008
Awards
30
Yeah, I excluded them (P1/P2) as I don't think they're the best to start with so I only explained about the ones I think are the most accessible to a new Persona fan. :C

Unfortunately P1 hasn't aged well and P2's release was a hot mess.
 

ALittleNerd

New member
Joined
Dec 23, 2015
Messages
55
Location
The Realm of Darkness
Yeah, I excluded them (P1/P2) as I don't think they're the best to start with so I only explained about the ones I think are the most accessible to a new Persona fan. :C

Unfortunately P1 hasn't aged well and P2's release was a hot mess.

I see, that's very good to know. This likely means that after playing 3 FES and 4 (the Golden?) That'd I'd be good to play 5, which I know releases in September.

However the story seems quite complicated, multiple endings and significant story changes according to which game you buy, but I think I got that the games all together are not really a linear type of story. Are there certain versions of games, say the most recent versions, that are cannon in the overall story?

Also, I understand from Persona 3 that your decisions matter. Like if you go to Tartarus too much you neglect your poor anime friends. Is that a prevalent theme in this new version of 3 (FES) and 4 (Golden)?

And lastly, i already knew that you could date or at least charm a girl in the original Persona 3 but then a little birdy told me that Persona is a game series that promotes same sex relationships, so I must ask, is that a thing? Cause that would be great.
 

BufferAqua

Bronze Member
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,697
Awards
13
I see, that's very good to know. This likely means that after playing 3 FES and 4 (the Golden?) That'd I'd be good to play 5, which I know releases in September.

However the story seems quite complicated, multiple endings and significant story changes according to which game you buy, but I think I got that the games all together are not really a linear type of story. Are there certain versions of games, say the most recent versions, that are cannon in the overall story?

Also, I understand from Persona 3 that your decisions matter. Like if you go to Tartarus too much you neglect your poor anime friends. Is that a prevalent theme in this new version of 3 (FES) and 4 (Golden)?

And lastly, i already knew that you could date or at least charm a girl in the original Persona 3 but then a little birdy told me that Persona is a game series that promotes same sex relationships, so I must ask, is that a thing? Cause that would be great.
Yeah, I think I've read somewhere that the series has a gay character. I don't recall in which game, though.
 

KingdomKey

Queen
Joined
Sep 25, 2010
Messages
6,261
Awards
26
Age
32
Yeah, I think I've read somewhere that the series has a gay character. I don't recall in which game, though.

Persona 4 definitely had a gay character in it. You could have a social link with them, but it never goes beyond friendship per se.

I don't know if that's different in Persona 4 Golden.
 

ALittleNerd

New member
Joined
Dec 23, 2015
Messages
55
Location
The Realm of Darkness
5 looks great so far and will likely be a great starting point for anyone. The dungeon crawler aspect seems to be improved on by being more interactive, aka less boring.

I love my Vita, you'll get no judgment from me. xD If you do get one I highly recommend Persona 4: The Golden, it improves on the original with more content!

Persona 3 is fantastic but it's a bit more complicated with releases... I'd recommend either Persona 3 Portable or Persona 3 FES. Don't go for vanilla Persona 3!

What are the differences?

Persona 3 Portable has an entire scenario with a female protagonist which has at least one significant story change. The party is also controllable by the player,and you can defend which is a huge battle system improvement. A huge negative is that the animated cutscenes are almost entirely excluded because of the female protagonist... But the game also has different social links which are cool.

Persona 3 FES however, adds an entire new ending to the game for more closure; the new ending is not in P3P. Persona 3 FES also has a lot of features they couldn't fit on the UMD for P3P and has beautiful animated cutscenes that emotionally improve the game.

Honestly I'm hoping they make a HD P3 with all of the other editions content (and new anime scenes for the feMC).

You should be able to get either version of P3 on the PSN for a reasonable price, as they go on sale frequently.

Ok so, Persona 3 FES or Persona 3 Portable, does the FES include the add-ons of Persona Portable? Or do they both have extra context, but entirely different content each?

Do Akihiko or Jumpei have social links in either versions? I read somewhere that they don't.

And lastly, are the shadows, the Dark hour, and Tartarus all concepts in other games? They don't mention it in the Persona 5 trailer.

Edit: What is "The Answer"?
 

Alpha Baymax

On a scale of α to ζ.
Joined
Sep 5, 2015
Messages
4,782
Awards
23
Age
28
Location
United Kingdom
Honestly, just go on the Persona Wikia. That gives you all the information you need regarding the Persona games. Always remember, each entry is a standalone adventure akin to Final Fantasy.
 

Dr_Mario64

New member
Joined
Jul 19, 2010
Messages
474
Location
Where you'd least expect me
Honestly, just go on the Persona Wikia. That gives you all the information you need regarding the Persona games. Always remember, each entry is a standalone adventure akin to Final Fantasy.

But be sure to play Persona 4 before playing any of the spinoffs! You'll miss out on a large chunk of the story in those games otherwise.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top