Poll: Persona 3 version?

[Ryanrulez5]

Feel like I already asked this question in my last post but I wanna try out Persona 3 now that I have finished 4 want to know which of the three versions are the best all around? as for preference I just wanna experience the story of the game I wont mind if the combats different it wold just help if it would be easier.

Persona 3 Normal
Persona 3 FES - All I know is that it has bonus epilogue
Persona 3 Portable - Heard story trimmed down not as good but fixes combat and other stuff

 

[Maximum Bert]

I have only played the original but if I was to be able to choose between all 3 I would go for FES. I dont know if they made the combat any easier in FES though from my memory I had a harder time with Persona 3 than Persona 4 (both vanilla versions) in the combat as the extra limiters such as not being able to control your team mates (watch out for Mitsurus whack AI) the shorter time you can actually spend in Tartarus (you get tired) and ofc the fact that if your main character dies its game over (so a lucky hit or two can really set you back).

Great game though the story is as good as 4 imo and while I didnt like all the characters as much as 4s a few definitely equal them and surpass some of 4s cast for me, but yeah the combat er its not so good. There is a point late on where you do basically become god and literally nothing can beat you apart from Elizabeth (and she can beat you bloody hard).

 

[Avatara]

/the main draw for portable is you can choose to be male or female. It also changes up some of the social links based on your gender. FES has an extra chapter in the story. Portable you can control the whole parties actions and in FES you can only control your character. So if the combat options does not bother you and you want the extra chapter, or are going to play the male anyway go with FES. If you want to see some new interactions/social links go with Portable.

 

[ckam]

I like Portable the most because of the female storyline. Spoilers, you get to hang out with all of your crew members instead of just the females. Part of me wishes the FeMC version was the canon one, but what can you do?

FES's bonus epilogue forces you onto the hardest setting and you will die a lot. Sometimes it would be just easier to watch a playthrough of The Answer than to actually go through it. The game is referred to as the definitive P3 experience though, because we get to have closure with the surviving cast. That's nice.

 

[Fox12]

P3P lets you play as a woman. Other then that, it's inferior in every way. Graphics, story, presentation, ect. You play Persona for the story. And the story is better in FES.

 

[Kameburger]

Yeah please be warned about the portable version. Essentially all the normal world social link stuff is boiled down to a cursor and a map, even with the extra story content, it feels really really stripped for parts. Incidentally I believe that Female is introduced in the extra content in FES if I'm not mistaken. My assessment would be that FES is the most complete version. The battle fixes are not worth the complete bare bones gameplay between them.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

Yeah please be warned about the portable version. Essentially all the normal world social link stuff is boiled down to a cursor and a map, even with the extra story content, it feels really really stripped for parts. Incidentally I believe that Female is introduced in the extra content in FES if I'm not mistaken. My assessment would be that FES is the most complete version. The battle fixes are not worth the complete bare bones gameplay between them.

FeMC is not on Fes.

Basically, if you want the whole story, and are willing to eat the pain of not controlling the entire party, FES is the way to go. It conveys the story the best, and gives you a epilogue which is super nice.

If you're down for a bit more of a casual stride, like controlling the entire party, wanna see the game from a almost entirely new perspective with a unique Persona, and would love to play it wherever your at, P3P is your man.

Personally, i'd say Fes is the 'definitive' copy, but my favorite is P3P. Iunno, sometimes simplifying is better? It kinda misses out on a lot, but also gives you the general shenanigans the game is all about.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

I'd have to say P3P.

The female version of the storyline is actually better to me. >.>

 

[Someone Depressing]

P3P, without a doubt.

The female route is just much better written, and everyone in SEES gets a route. I actually consider the female route canon because of this, though Atlus has been a little shaky about which one is canon (though they've dropped a few hints that the male route is).

It's not as immersive as the original and FES was, but it cuts away a whole load of pointless junk that got in the way of the gameplay. A little sad about removing the walk around elements on the overworld, though, but that's just my weird taste.

I liked The Answer, as it's the closest Atlus has gotten to going back to the original SMT formula, though The Answer is a bit of a base breaker.

Really, both of the games have got their good points. Portable has the female route, which is so much better than the male route, but strips away a lot of content, which just kind of takes away P3's charm. FES has a better story, but aside from The Answer, doesn't have much new content. The Answer is also much harder than it has any right to be.

 

[FPLOON]

The only upside to P3P, to me, is the female MC in general, but honestly, I can only appropriate that version's aspect more once I played the male MC first in FES, which lays out the [true] canon story out for you, so you can play the "what if this version was canon after all" or something to that effect... Other than that, the only reason why you would play the original first is if you want a leg-up in FES on a higher difficulty, which after you get used to that, FES's The Answer's not as bad as it first appears...

In other words, if you care about the [true] canon story of Persona 3 in general, then go straight to FES... Otherwise, go straight to P3P and play as the female MC...