Persona 3 and 4...

[seawasp]

... are the subject of my On My Shelves post today!

Comments

[ninjarat.livejournal.com]

The Persona games are IMO the best console RPGs ever made. They're pretty well close to perfect.

[seawasp]

Well, I think they're a long way from perfect (a future post on CRPGs in general will discuss that) but they're definitely as good as any have yet gotten.

[ninjarat.livejournal.com]

The only game I would put up against the Persona series in terms of writing and gameplay is Chrono Trigger -- and I wouldn't do it because that would be unfair to all of the games.

I highly recommend Devil Survivor and Devil Survivor 2. The writing is good, the gameplay solid. They have relationship systems that are even more important than they are in P3 and P4: failure means losing party members. They also have timed event systems, although broken up by hours rather than the longer day periods because the games are set over the course of 1 week each, with similarly dire consequences for ignoring important events.

[seawasp]

Well, you've presumably seen my post on Chrono Trigger, so obviously I agree overall.

I'm not sure I want more time pressure. The Persona games are bad enough in that arena, and a couple of times I missed out on an event I wanted to play through because I misjudged by ONE DAY.

I'm looking forward to the expanded reissue of P4; if it's as good as P3FES I'll be very happy.

[ninjarat.livejournal.com]

DS and DS2 aren't pressure per se. Both games are designed with many runs through in mind with different endings depending on which characters you have available and the choices you make. First run is about 25 hours with successive runs being as short as about 10 hours if the "skip seen text" feature is used. Missing things is expected in early runs. That's part of the exploration of the games and the world where they are set. And even if you screw up everything there are enough characters permanently attached to the group that you won't be screwed in the end games.

All told I think I racked up about 100 hours on Devil Survivor 2. That's all the endings, all the characters recruited, all the special demons unlocked, and a complete demon compendium. Call me the completist. :)

I'd love to play P4 Golden, but it means obtaining a Vita which means giving money to Sony. I'm not keen on that.

[seawasp]

Oh. *FUDGE*. I hadn't noticed that. So off it comes from my Wish List. Bleah.

[ninjarat.livejournal.com]

So, year and change later: Atlus Japan just announced FOUR Persona games for 2014:

Persona 5 for PS3. Yes, for PS3, not 4, not Vita.
Persona 4 Dancing All Night for Vita. A music rhythm game featuring characters from P4.
Persona 4 The Ultimax Ultra Super Hold for PS3. An expansion for P4Arena.
Persona Q for 3DS. A chibi-looking RPG featuring the casts of P3 and P4.

No announcements for North America localization but I figure P5 and PQ are given and Ultra Super Hold is likely given the popularity of P4A. Dancing All Night could show up as a download-only title.

[seawasp]

That ear-piercing noise you just heard was my SQUEEEEEEEEEEEING in joy at the thought that I can play Persona 5 without buying a new console!

And I'll certainly buy Ultimax Ultra Super Hold.

I don' t remember if you saw my detailed review/commentary on Persona 4 Arena?

[ninjarat.livejournal.com]

I did. The game is on my list. I wound up making the decision a bit difficult for myself: I picked up a second hand PS3 from GameStop a few months ago. First block, 20GB, remarkably cheap. Do I get the '360 version or the PS3 version?