Poll: Persona 3

[Chancie]

Okay, for anyone that has played Persona 3, I have a question for you guys.

I've been wanting to play Persona 3 for a while now and after recently getting a PSP, I found out that there's Persona 3 Portable as well as Persona 3: FES on PS2.

Which would you personally recommend and why? I'm waiting to pick one up just because I want to know which is the better of the two.
I know P3P has a female variation of the main character, but I think that's all I know.

Opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, guys!

 

[Defense]

I didn't play Persona 3 on the PS2, but I heard that you can only control your own character. Persona 3 Portable allows you to control every character and I heard the AI was better. The female version also shows more of the story of P3 as well I think.

And of course, it's portable too. I'd definitely suggest the PSP version if what I heard was right.

 

[vxicepickxv]

The information provided is correct. You can control all of the characters in the PSP version. The PSP version also adds the option for a female main character protagonist.

If you can get FES for very cheap, I would also pick it up, because you miss a few videos that the PSP couldn't display because of the technology.


For the record I own Persona(Both PS1 and PSP versions), Persona 2:Eternal Punishment,Persona 3, Persona 3:FES, Persona 4, and Persona 3ortable

I know a thing or two about the series. The only other thing I want to know is when are we going to get Innocent Sin?

 

[Risingblade]

Also the psp version is portable!....

 

[lynx64]

Yes, the PS2 version has some of the best animated videos I have ever seen in a game, but it would be a waste to buy the game twice. Just play through the PSP one because of the better battle system and the fact that portability makes everything better and then just watch the videos you missed out on on youtube.

 

[Cheesepower5]

The information provided is correct. You can control all of the characters in the PSP version. The PSP version also adds the option for a female main character protagonist.

If you can get FES for very cheap, I would also pick it up, because you miss a few videos that the PSP couldn't display because of the technology.


For the record I own Persona(Both PS1 and PSP versions), Persona 2:Eternal Punishment,Persona 3, Persona 3:FES, Persona 4, and Persona 3ortable

I know a thing or two about the series. The only other thing I want to know is when are we going to get Innocent Sin?

Getting remade for PSP in the vain of 1, but it's more similar to EP. Fantastic game, by the way.

OT: I'd recommend Portable for gameplay, FES for atmosphere.

 

[Shadowninja100]

I'd recommend the PSP version as well. The only thing FES really has over P3P are better graphics and Animated Cutscenes, but you could just watch those on Youtube if you really wanted to see them.

 

[Tanis]

For battle I'd say P3P.

For content and graphics I'd say P3:FES.

 

[migo]

FES lets you repeatedly heal by going down to the start of the level which lets you get a ton done in one night (not to mention making you sick and allowing you to improve your courage stat easily), so there's a good option to game the system. Even though you can play all the characters in P3P, that actually makes it a bit harder than soloing everything.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

FES FES oh my god FES!!



P3P is good, very good, but lacks the integral epiloge that lets you know what actually happens. It lacks the end of the story.



P3P has better gameplay since you can control your entire party and a few extra treats in the form of the female lead BUT it presupposes you have already played FES and are familiar with what happens in the epilogue. If you have played FES then yes, get it, if you have not though you MUST NOT play it first since it will be severely less meaningful.





EDIT:

To make it even more clear since I see people here did not say this (to great surprise mind you) FES has the main game, this is what P3P has and it's better in P3P.

FES also has "The Answer" which is a thirty hour long epilogue that entails the events after the end of the main game and answers everything clearly. You WILL NOT understand what actually transpired if you do not play it and that part, "The Answer" is NOT in the psp version at all.


You could do this if you must: Play the psp version of the main story, then play the FES version of the answer. FES allows you to start the epilogue without beating the main game (because when FES was new we already had beaten the normal P3 so replaying it wasn't gonna be worth it after such a short time, in Japan it was actually sold as a standalone thing) so you can have the best of both worlds...though for it to make sense you'd have to use the boy main character for p3p.


Either way, do not just jump onto P3P without plans of experiencing the true end found in the epilogue of FES.

 

[Akihiko]

Persona 3 FES has better graphics and better cutscenes. Unlike the PSP version, the school, the dorm and other areas around the city you can go to are all in 3d, the menu is still there, mind. Also in the psp version a lot of the anime cutscenes were either removed, or just made into artwork type scenes. It also has the epilogue, the answer, which gives some extra story regarding the characters. It can be a bit monotonous though, as there's no social links to break up the dungeon crawling.

On the other hand the combat was improved in Persona 3 Portable, so you can control all party members, meaning no Mitsuru spamming Marin Karin/Tentarfoo instead of doing something useful(I can't be the only one who got annoyed by that). To top it off, playing through the game as the girl is like an entirely new experience. Majority of the social links have been changed, with new social links added, plus there is some new music for the girl as well.

It's hard to really say which one you should get, because they're both equally brilliant and different versions, which is shocking for re-releases. I'd honestly recommend you got them both, FES isn't that expensive now, and Persona 3 Portable shouldn't be either. If I had to choose though, probably Persona 3 Portable, due to the fact it's portable, and playing the game through again as a girl was far more enjoyable than the epilogue, atleast it was for me.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

The girl part was more enjoyable because you already know what happens in FES. Would you prefer to just play that and not know what happened to her in the end?


This game is all about the story and the culmination of everything lies in the epilogue, just because it's more traditional mega-ten dungeon crawling and not much else has little to do with the fact that the main story is still hanging on it's events. The epilogue makes all the other social link events all the more meaningful since it shows what they resulted in.

 

[Akihiko]

Not really. The girl part was more enjoyable because you got to see Persona 3 from another perspective. Unfortunately it doesn't matter how important the story of the epilogue is if you can't even bring yourself to get through the monotonous dungeon crawling to see the said story unveil, which was the problem I had with it for the longest time. It's a problem with quite a few SMT games as you say. It's the reason I still haven't completed Lucifer's Call(Nocturne). Consequently, out of enjoyment alone, I find it hard to recommend The Answer over being able to play through the game as a girl. However, if you read my post again, that is only if I had to choose. I did actually recommend him to get both, as they both add new and interesting things to the game.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I didn't mention it as a problem though, it's just how these games were. Persona is the deviation, traditional mega-ten is like that latest game for the DS, Strange Journey. Some religious themed story, tons of awesome grindy dungeons and whatnot filled with super awesome monsters that can't wait to turn your face into a pudding.


FES was more like that since P3 is VERY easy for a SMT game so it took away the level bonus of the social links to your personas and gave you tougher foes. Still it was a pleasant reminder of the past. I beat FES in a couple of days really, even though a bit more grind-tastic there is enough of the plot that forces ones who really are into the story to keep playing to find what happens...and the end is worth all the frustrations you may meet.

 

[Akihiko]

I didn't mention it as a problem though, it's just how these games were. Persona is the deviation, traditional mega-ten is like that latest game for the DS, Strange Journey. Some religious themed story, tons of awesome grindy dungeons and whatnot filled with super awesome monsters that can't wait to turn your face into a pudding.


FES was more like that since P3 is VERY easy for a SMT game so it took away the level bonus of the social links to your personas and gave you tougher foes. Still it was a pleasant reminder of the past. I beat FES in a couple of days really, even though a bit more grind-tastic there is enough of the plot that forces ones who really are into the story to keep playing to find what happens...and the end is worth all the frustrations you may meet.

Well, you might not see it as a problem, but I do. Not a massive fan of the monotonous, nor do I enjoy grinding. Take digital devil saga. I got through them both because I wanted to know more about the story, but the monotonany takes the game down quite a few notches. I'd never play through either again, because I was only playing for the story which I already know.

Indeed it is like how games used to be, but I don't consider it a pleasant reminder, more a vietnam flashback. In the past they had the excuse of technology. Not really the case anymore, no excuse not to make dungeons at least look different, or have different mobs every now and then, instead of only palette swaps.

Anyway I'm not really going to debate anymore. I think this is more just a difference of opinion.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Persona 3 Portable.

Playing as the girl opens up a lot of new dialogue, making multiple playthroughs even more viable.

And the combat is perfected, too.

 

[Daggedawg]

I'm going to recommend FES, partly because of better graphics, animated cutscenes, voice-over and all that jazz... but mainly for The Answer, and more particularly, a few incredible turn of events and boss battles in The Answer. It will turn everything you knew about your friends in the dorm upside down. Not to mention the music is awesome.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I tried to make as few spoilers as possible but since the above person said it, yeah, you may get another side of your friends with the girl's story, but that's nothing compared to them in The Answer. Just because a little bar doesn't fill up and you don't get an ingame bonus it doesn't mean there's no character development, quite the opposite actually, one of the characters actually evolves more in the answer than in the whole main game...and there's also a new character in the answer which doesn't exist in the main game.

 

[TheAmazingHobo]

Wow, quite interesting. Opinions seem to be split rather evenly.
Personally, I would go with Portable.
You spent most of the game fighting and this aspect of the game is a bit more enjoyable in this version.

That being said, both edition are REALLY good games anyway, so you won´t really "regret" choosing one option over the other anyway.

And if you got the PSP edition and feel like you need "The Answer", you can still buy FES.
It´s pretty cheap these days and even "The Answer" alone offers more value for your money than most other games these days.

I'm going to recommend FES, partly because of better graphics, animated cutscenes, voice-over and all that jazz... but mainly for The Answer, and more particularly, a few incredible turn of events and boss battles in The Answer. It will turn everything you knew about your friends in the dorm upside down. Not to mention the music is awesome.

wait I thought perona portable also had the answer in it

No, it´s a shame but it is only the original plot.
Might be due to memory constraints, me thinks.

 

[FalloutJack]

To confirm, the PSP version does not has "The Answer". I know this as fact. The appeal of the PSP version is that you have what you have in a compact and easy to carry form (Not bad at all.) and yes, the possible different perspective. That said, I haven't PLAYED the PSP version. Should I take this thread as a recommendation myself, as I've played FES?