Poll: Persona 3 or Persona 4?

remnant_phoenix

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Apr 4, 2011
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So I getting ready to dive in to Persona. Why the hesitance and drama? Well I've heard that they're 70-80 hour games, and I have much, much less time for gaming nowadays than I used to (busy career and kids will do that to you).

The thing is, I don't know which one to play. I seriously doubt I'll be able play both (purely because of the time expenditure, they're both $10 on PSN, so the money isn't a problem), so if I can only play one before I die, which should it be, and why?

EDIT: If I play P3, it will be Persona 3 FES on my PS2 because I already own that version (Christmas present years ago and I still haven't played it). If I play P4, I'll be d/ling onto my PS3 because that's the least expensive option and I don't have much in the way of disposable income.

I know what P3 Portable on PSP or P4 Golden on Vita may be the best respective versions, but I'm not going to spend the money I'd need to invest to access those versions.

EDIT#2: I think I'm going to start with Persona 3. The darker tone seems more my cup of tea, and if I love it (which I have good reason to believe I will), I'll have both 4 and 5 to look forward to. On the other hand, I do think that if I played 4 first, I'd have a hard time going back to play 3. I mean, have you tried going back to Metroid 1 or 2 and playing without the fill-in-as-you-go map that debuted in Super Metroid? Who wants to do that?

Thank you everyone for the input.
 

Corven

Forever Gonzo
Sep 10, 2008
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According to some people if you play p4 before p3 then you won't be able to enjoy p3 as much since p4 is just an overall improvement even though p3's story is supposed to be excellent.

So to put it simply, if you are only ever going to play one of the two go with p4, but if you are going to eventually play both of them go with p3 first so the improvements from p4 don't put you off the game.
 

scorptatious

The Resident Team ICO Fanboy
May 14, 2009
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Initially, I preferred Persona 4. However, after reading what some people had to say and giving 3 a second playthrough via FES, I found myself enjoying 3 a bit more. The party members in 3, while they don't have their own social links for the most part,they do develop on their own and their development is actually affected by and affects the story. By contrast, 4's characters do have their own social links which helps them develop, but they are optional and don't affect the main story.

Also, I feel that Persona 3's final boss was quite a bit more climactic and meaningful. 4's, I kinda felt wasn't quite as good as the battle that came before it.
Ameno Sagiri

4 was a very good game, but I prefer 3 overall. So I recommend that one.
 

krazykidd

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Mar 22, 2008
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Play 4. The story is way better.

The game play of 3 is better imo, 4 is easy as pie , but whatever challenge is no cool anymore apparently.
 

Leemaster777

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Feb 25, 2010
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I'm just going to lay it out here:

Personally, I think 4 trumps 3 in almost every regard. The story, the gameplay, the characters, the bosses, the environments, (debatably) the music, and the social links.

The ONLY area that I feel 3 was superior is the final boss fight. 4's is just kinda okay, but 3's is friggin spectacular. Oh, and 4 DOES pull a couple dick-moves near the end of the game to lock off the true ending, but that aside, 4 is just a much better all-around package than 3.

Yes, I did play 4 first. But I still played 3 after 4, and I still thought it was fun. It's just not as refined as 4 is all.
 

Elvis Starburst

Unprofessional Rant Artist
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Aug 9, 2011
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Leemaster777 said:
I'm just going to lay it out here:

Personally, I think 4 trumps 3 in almost every regard. The story, the gameplay, the characters, the bosses, the environments, (debatably) the music, and the social links.

The ONLY area that I feel 3 was superior is the final boss fight. 4's is just kinda okay, but 3's is friggin spectacular. Oh, and 4 DOES pull a couple dick-moves near the end of the game to lock off the true ending, but that aside, 4 is just a much better all-around package than 3.

Yes, I did play 4 first. But I still played 3 after 4, and I still thought it was fun. It's just not as refined as 4 is all.
That about sums up my opinion on the matter. The P3's final boss was one of my faves. I wish it was as climactic and awesome in P4. But, as said above, P4 is an improvement in every way possible, if you ask me. I love its humor, dialogue, characters, music, and all else. Great game~
 

FootloosePhoenix

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Dec 23, 2010
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Persona 4 is a great game. Persona 3 is my one true love. I seem to be in the minority with that opinion however. But you can't go wrong with either one. Seriously though, if you enjoy the formula enough, find time to play both eventually. Thanks to the main stories and Social Links, each game has some really special moments completely unique to it.
 

cowman2000

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Nov 29, 2008
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I think P3>P4
P4G>P3P
They both (all four) are awesome games, probably my two favorite games from the PS2 era, and my favorite games on PSP and PSV. It's hard to compare Golden to Portable as they are on different consoles, but I think that Persona 4 Golden is the best Persona game yet; but there is something about 3 that is just special to me. Since my favorite genres are JRPGs and Visual Novels, the latest two persona games have really worked well for me.
If you had to pick one... Persona 4, I think that there is more content in it than 3, and the game is a lot of fun. 4 is also more recent, so it has less previous gen (wait two gens ago, shit) problems, as 4 was basically a last gen game released on the ps2.
But in all seriousness, get both if you like the genre, they are both worth the time.

Also, play Catherine if you haven't. Completely different genre, but one of my favorite games, and the story is so great.
 

Avalanche91

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Jan 8, 2009
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I throw my hat in with the P4 crowd.

I did like the physical combat in P3 better, the overal theme of the game and the final boss. The physical combat is streamlined a lot in P4, which you can either like or dislike I guess, the overal theme is a little more abstract and its final boss, while pretty good, just didn't have the epic feel of PS3's finale.

In regards to pacing, characters and dungeons however, P4 kinda blows its predecessor out of the water. That and in P3 you don't control your party characters but just yourself, which may add to the feel of you being part of a group but is mostly just asinine. That and P4G has a slew of extra content, adding more fun character moments, which really makes your party feel like a group of friends.
 

ThreeName

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May 8, 2013
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I can't get into 3. 4 was great, the MC of 3 was just such a useless prick and I couldn't stick with it long enough to enjoy any of it.
 

Fractral

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Feb 28, 2012
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The two games are so close in many respects that it's hard to choose between them, especially since P3P fixed the gameplay issues that plagued P3F. If you've only got time to play one, pick Persona 4; but if you do intend to play the other at any point it's worth playing Persona 3 first, since going back is a lot harder. Persona 4 has better characters and is easier, but IMO Persona 3 has the (marginally) better story as well as one of the best final boss fights in any game. Gameplay wise they're about equivalent (I prefer P3P to P4), but if you're into the dungeon crawling then Persona 4 can be frustrating as it restricts your ability to do combat a lot.
 
Feb 4, 2014
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I can't really vote because I only played Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden. But if I have to choose I'd take persona 3 FES because well you can actually walk (I think) in stead op the dot on P3P and of course the final boss is leagues better than P4(I can only talk about the final boss from 'The Journey' and not about 'The Answer' because I never played it myself).
But the overall journey and mystery of P4(G) was awesome as well. Some characters from P3 I liked better than P4 and vice versa :3

P3 has got some nostalgia points as my first Persona game.

AAARGH this is kinda hard :p
 

Captain Sunshine

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Mar 5, 2013
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It's true, if you end up playing both, playing 3 before 4 is a necessity! There's so many tiny things they tweaked on the way over to 4 that it'll be death by a thousand cuts. Tiny things, like in 4 making social links easier, and you get stat boosts on some social links, and dungeons are tied to main characters so they're much more interesting, and you can control party members directly in battle etc. etc.

Since the Persona series stands mostly alone per game, and there's definite improvement per game, going backwards from anywhere you start is something you'll only do if this series becomes your new favourite thing ever! I don't know anyone who started at 3 who went back to 2, and I don't know anyone who started at 4 that went back to 3 without complaining a lot.

BUT, since you only have one to play, play the fourth one! While it is marginally more streamlined, they're both actually brilliant games in different ways. 3, however, is more atmospheric, creepy and dark. 4 is more accessible, fun, relatable.

I actually personally prefer 3's story, while 4 had a singular driving force in 'murder mystery' it wasn't always focused, the silly bits took over a lot, and inevitably felt quite low-key to 3's much more dramatic proceedings. But I'm just being nostalgic. They're both incredible! You can't pick wrong here.
 

Kingjackl

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Nov 18, 2009
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If you think you will only ever play one, then play Persona 4. It's generally the better game of the two.

However, I think Persona 3 is a better introduction to the series, and it has a nice, dark atmosphere that Persona 4 lacks. In the same way, I think playing Persona 4 after 3 will make you appreciate both of them a lot more. After the emotional draining that is Persona 3's story, there is nothing better than going into Persona 4 where everything is lighter and funnier.
 

Mister K

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Apr 25, 2011
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Well, ok, if you were to pick one, then go for P4. It has better characters, Social links, etc.

But please DO play P3 sometime in the future, because while it is not better than P4, it is still REALLY good. Better than FF XIII, that's for sure.
 

Mahorfeus

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Feb 21, 2011
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I personally prefer Persona 3. The plot is a lot darker thematically speaking, and while not as well-structured as Persona 4's, just feels more epic in general. I like the characters more in 3, especially with how directly interconnected they are with the plot. Their individual character development has a greater bearing on the plot, though they are admittedly harder to relate to, and their Social Links were rather lacking as a consequence of their plot involvement. The music is a lot more drab and jazzy, which I prefer (but just by a sliver) to the upbeat, poppy nature of Persona 4's track. Listening to both versions of Persona Q's battle theme is an excellent indicator of the differences of style.

That being said, Persona 4 has some rather substantial gameplay improvements - unless we are including Persona 3 Portable in the equation, those improvements alone would make me more inclined to play it.

However, as has already been suggested, I think the best way to go would be to play 3 first, and then 4. This is largely because it would be easier to adapt to the gameplay, but also because Persona 4 actually has some rather apparent Persona 3 fanservice that might not make as much sense without the proper context.
 

FPLOON

Your #1 Source for the Dino Porn
Jul 10, 2013
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Play Persona 3 FES then go watch the Persona 4 anime... It's the best of both worlds without the worrying of having to only play just one of the games...

But seriously, unless you're absolutely certain that you can only play one and ONLY one [in your whole life, basically], then just play Persona 4 and don't ask why they even make an anime of that game in the first place... Otherwise, play Persona 3 to appreciate Persona 4 in the gameplay department, at least, when you get a chance to play that down the line... The last thing you want to do, in my opinion, is play Persona 4, decide to play Persona 3 FES, and then complain about how some of the things that are only in Persona 4 are absent in Persona 3 FES... Or worse play Persona 4, play Persona 3 Portable, and wonder why it's too easy, I guess?

But honestly, find time to play both... which would mean to play Persona 3 FES first then Persona 4 for reasons already mentioned... unless you ABSOLUTELY can't, then in that case, find time to watch the Persona 4 anime after playing through Persona 3...