P3P

[Veldt Falsetto]

What I'm interested in is Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable

I, much like many people I'm sure, missed out on this Ps2 game called Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, and a good many JRPG fans on this site have heralded this game as being seriously incredible.

Tomorrow (at least I think so) Persona 3 gets a PsP port released in Europe and having heard so much about it, I'm rather interested. Though I wanna know a few things.

What about this game shows that it is worth buying?

Is this more than just a JRPG set in a school?

Anyone who has the PsP version, how's the camera? The whole not having a second analog stick worries me slightly.

Anyone wanna add any information that'd sell this game to me that'd be great too, thanks.

EDIT: Some more questions, Dating Sim stuff...what's that like? Does the story really grab you? Also are the dungeons random spawning like in Dark Cloud/.Hack/Fatal Labrynth or are they all the same like in Crisis Core/Mass Effect?

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Game is worth it. School setting is about 40% of the game. Think of it this way: social sim by day, dungeon crawler by night. It has a good combat system, has you collect various mythological figures for use in battle, and has some of the best character exploration you'll find in a game.
And the camera is controlled by the bumpers. It works decently.

 

[AbstractStream]

I loved P3P! To tell the truth, I've replayed it 3 *coughormorecough* times already...(twice this month)
ANYWAY! To be honest, P3P might not be as good as it would be if you haven't played the original Persona 3. I would recommend that you play that first, but if you can't, oh well. It's still amazing.

*P3P doesn't have the cutscenes or the dorm exploration that P3 does, but the game is worth buying just for the story, characters, voice acting, and music alone.
*As for the camera, you move with the analog stick and rotate the camera with the L and R buttons.
*It is a JRPG set in a school but there is more to it to that. You spend a lot of time fighting in the dungeon called Tartarus, building up Social Links, and building up your own stats too (Charm, Bravery, and Intelligence).
*In battle, you can either control the other characters or let the AI act for you. It works out, whatever style you have.
*You have the choice of a male or female MC (as you might already know) and it changes all of the dynamics. Adding to the replay value.

Also, if you're a mythology buff, there are a lot of names and references there for ya.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Its worth it. its pretty much all thats right and good in a JRPG. Buy, you will not regret.

 

[hazabaza1]

I've been playing a shit lot of Persona 3 FES. I heard that P3P is basically that with extras.

And Persona 3 FES is so fucking awesome words cannot explain it. It is the fucking shit balls sweetness.
Get it now.

 

[sheah1]

P3P release, yay! Royal wedding so shops are closed, boo!

 

[KafkaOffTheBeach]

Persona 3 Portable is a truly incredible game.
Although this lofty statement does come from a previously complete Persona/Shin Megami Tensei virgin......
Not finished it yet, I'm about 46 hours in and counting, but I love it so very, very much - yet I can't quite place what it is....
The thing that actually struck me most about the game was how actually 'deep' it is. When I got it I was all "Oh, Persona, what an interesting, yet seemingly token sub-Freudian title." Then I actually played the game in all of its teen suicide, apathy, mental issues, actual people, value of/what is life glory. Fucking ay.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned though is the fact that it is grindy as fuck.
Grindy grindy grindy.
But hey; that's pretty much the entry fee for a JRPG.

Also this. So very, very much this.

Also, if you're a mythology buff, there are a lot of names and references there for ya.

 

[mireko]

Spoiler

Fantastic game, highly recommended.

Emotional, philosophical, psychological, awesome. Also great for crazy people, because there's symbolism everywhere, even in the female protagonist's hair. Very Jungian. To this day I'm getting epiphanies about some of the smaller aspects of the game ("Wait, I GET IT! That's what that "Thou art I" line means! Of course!").

EDIT: Some more questions, Dating Sim stuff...what's that like? Does the story really grab you? Also are the dungeons random spawning like in Dark Cloud/.Hack/Fatal Labrynth or are they all the same like in Crisis Core/Mass Effect?

People have answered the other questions, so I'll take these.

The dating sim stuff works. Seriously. I can't stand visual novels and I've never played dating sims, but the way it's integrated into this game (and P4) is genius. It's emotionally engaging and interesting, and the way it affects gameplay makes more and more sense the more you think about it. Social links actually work within the greater mythology of the game, making it that much more fascinating.

Going into why the social links make you more effective in combat (and why it's a work of genius) would require me to explain certain other things that constitute spoilers, so I won't.

As for the story, it definitely grabs you. Personally, I think the Persona 1 and Persona 4 stories are a little more solid (a lot of people will disagree with me on that), but this one is still amazing and it has a very strong emotional core.

Dungeons are a mix between plot points and Tartarus. Plot point dungeons are interesting, Tartarus gets kind of repetitive (despite evolving soundtrack, changing textures and new enemies).

Oh yeah, and P3P has the option to play as a female character. They put a lot of work into this, nearly all the social links are different because of it and it gives the game some replayability (in a game that is already close to 80 hours long). I have to give props to Atlus for making a female character option and (primarily) intending it for female players. I'm straight and male, so I wasn't exactly baying for an option to date Akihiko, but it really warms my heart to see a developer realize there's an other side to their fanbase. Doubly so when they give that fanbase what they want.

EDIT: Oh, and I bought it while visiting the US and again now that Ghostlight released it. Yes, it's that good.

 

[ten.to.ten]

I bought P3P not long after it first came out in America, but I preordered the European edition from game.co.uk because I wanted all the beautiful extras. It is a particularly good RPG and I think it works a lot better on the PSP than it does on the PS2. Saying that though, try not to let the hype spoil it for you, I can definitely see why some people wouldn't like it much, and as good as it is it is nowhere near the best RPG I've ever played on any console. Just probably the best on the PSP.

 

[-Seraph-]

The game is decent for the most part, I'll just echo what everyone else has said. Although I had two big problems with it that made the game kind of a chore to play through.

1) The game has AWFUL dungeon design, I don't care what anyone says. It's lazy, repetitive, cut and past dungeons that are uninteresting to go through. It's just one samey floor after another even when the look of them changes ever 10 floors or so. Dungeons are not fun, they're not interesting, they're a grind.

2) The main plots pacing is slow as hell. I know the social links and that stuff are part of the story, but the core narrative itself is so fucking slow that I often lost track of what was going on because of how slowly plot points come in. Like twice a month you get a plot point while the rest of the month is playing school. It wouldn't be so bad if they balanced out the social link stuff and the actual narrative better, but the main plot line takes its sweet time to develop which can be annoying.

I can see why people like it, and I intend on finishing it, but the game ultimately feels like a flawed gem in my eyes from what I have played. I'd played through a good portion of it, put it down to play other games and got side tracked, but the game just be a real chore to play sometimes.

 

[Akihiko]

EDIT: Oh, and I bought it while visiting the US and again now that Ghostlight released it. Yes, it's that good.

Glad I'm not the only one. I now own Persona 3 four times... I sort of like the cover better for the eu version of p3p.

I'd definitely recommend it. As the above poster said, the dungeons are pretty monotonous, but if you can get over that it's a great game. I'd argue subsequent playthroughs are actually better, because you can carry over your main characters level, making tartarus less of an annoyance. With the psp version you also get the girls perspective, so thats two playthroughs right there. My first playthrough on the original european ps2 version lasted 110hours according to my clear save, which tells you a bit about how long it is.

 

[Veldt Falsetto]

The game is decent for the most part, I'll just echo what everyone else has said. Although I had two big problems with it that made the game kind of a chore to play through.

1) The game has AWFUL dungeon design, I don't care what anyone says. It's lazy, repetitive, cut and past dungeons that are uninteresting to go through. It's just one samey floor after another even when the look of them changes ever 10 floors or so. Dungeons are not fun, they're not interesting, they're a grind.

2) The main plots pacing is slow as hell. I know the social links and that stuff are part of the story, but the core narrative itself is so fucking slow that I often lost track of what was going on because of how slowly plot points come in. Like twice a month you get a plot point while the rest of the month is playing school. It wouldn't be so bad if they balanced out the social link stuff and the actual narrative better, but the main plot line takes its sweet time to develop which can be annoying.

I can see why people like it, and I intend on finishing it, but the game ultimately feels like a flawed gem in my eyes from what I have played. I'd played through a good portion of it, put it down to play other games and got side tracked, but the game just be a real chore to play sometimes.

Your points worry me slightly, you think it's worth it if those two things would bother me? I'm genuinely interested in the game, the hype about how different it is interests me but if it has poor dungeons and really slow story (the only reason I couldn't get into Star Ocean 3) then I dunno if I should miss it.

 

[Akihiko]

Your points worry me slightly, you think it's worth it if those two things would bother me? I'm genuinely interested in the game, the hype about how different it is interests me but if it has poor dungeons and really slow story (the only reason I couldn't get into Star Ocean 3) then I dunno if I should miss it.

As someone who also finds the dungeons incredibly monotonous and boring, it bothered me, but I still think the game is amazing. You can break up the dungeon crawling by doing the social links, which are very entertaining and make up for the boring dungeons. Also although the big plot points are generally every month, theres still important plot points throughout each month really. Like new characters, going on trips with the cast of characters, doing investigations, etc. Plus, again the social links can be done throughout the month, padding out the story even more.