Persona vs. Persona

I admit I'm very late to the party on this but over the last week or so I've fallen deep into the old Persona 4 Endurance Run. I tried watching it back in the day but, for some reason, I just didn't get into it. I think mainly because that style of game, generally, isn't my thing. But I'm fully addicted now at episode 42 and going strong.  
While I don't think I'd like to start my own game of Persona 4 (the repetition of playing the same game I just watched could drive me insane. EDIT: It's not the repetitive nature of either game. I mean the repetition of watching the ER then playing P4- hence, I'm more interested in trying P3) I was wondering about Persona 3 FES. I'm thinking of giving the genre another shot. For people who have played both games: 
Are the two very similar? I assume so because it's the same series but... 
What kinds of things are in P4 that weren't in P3? Likewise, are there things in P3 that were taken out of P4? What are some of the differences? Stylistically are they similar? Meaning- hey a lot of crazy and weird shit happens in P4- can I expect more of the same Japantics in P3? Any kind of info like that would be appreciated

Well if you aren't going to play Persona 4 because of repetition you probably won't enjoy Persona 3 FES. With that said, I think it's a great game.

From comments I've read, repetition is one of P3's most glaring faults. If P4 looks too tedious then P3 will be like some kind of personal level of hell. 

" Well if you aren't going to play Persona 4 because of repetition you probably won't enjoy Persona 3 FES. With that said, I think it's a great game. "

Persona 4 is similar to 3 but refined some stuff so if you like what you see in P 4 then you can give a P 3 a chance.  Also there is just one main dungeon you go through in 3 with the occasional boss so it's not as diverse as P 4.

" From comments I've read, repetition is one of P3's most glaring faults. If P4 looks too tedious then P3 will be like some kind of personal level of hell.  "

In terms of gameplay P3 is comparatively "rough around the edges." For example; instead of ordering your underlings around directly, you have to rely on their AI to make the right decision.  Otherwise they are pretty similar. 

" In terms of gameplay P3 is comparatively "rough around the edges." For example; instead of ordering your underlings around directly, you have to rely on their AI to make the right decision.  Otherwise they are pretty similar.  "

" @Abyssfull said:

" From comments I've read, repetition is one of P3's most glaring faults. If P4 looks too tedious then P3 will be like some kind of personal level of hell.  "

@nickux: Repetition really only exists in Tartarus. If you can look past that it's really fun.  I'm a newcomer to the Persona series so obviously there's someone out there that can go into specifics better than I can.  "

Fuck yes! All through the ER I was thinking, "Damn, I want to be playing this game", and then I picked up Persona 3 FES and I'm really enjoying it. Try it out, it's still relatively expensive on Amazon (like $40) because it's Atlus and they don't make very many copies, but it's well worth it. 
 
As for similarities/differences, the menus in Persona 3 FES are the worst thing. Just equipping everyone in your party can be a big hassle, but it's definitely not a reason to skip it. The battle system is a lot more automated in Persona 3 because your other part members control themselves automatically, with you only being able to give them suggestions of what to do. I thought it would be annoying, but you get used to it, and it's just as good really. Other than that, they are very similar, but obviously different characters and a different story. 

" @InTheEnd said:

" In terms of gameplay P3 is comparatively "rough around the edges." For example; instead of ordering your underlings around directly, you have to rely on their AI to make the right decision.  Otherwise they are pretty similar.  "

You can't give direct commands? I was able to in the PSP version or was it only in that version? "

The AI is actually fine in the game. Only problem I've ever had with it is when a teammate would hit an enemy's weakness, and on their extra turn they would hit the same enemy again which knocks them out of their weakened state. Not a big deal though. You can assign many tactics to individual teammates, such as telling them to Conserve SP, attack downed enemies, attack without healing, do nothing but heal, etc.

" The AI is actually fine in the game. Only problem I've ever had with it is when a teammate would hit an enemy's weakness, and on their extra turn they would hit the same enemy again which knocks them out of their weakened state. Not a big deal though. You can assign many tactics to individual teammates, such as telling them to Conserve SP, attack downed enemies, attack without healing, do nothing but heal, etc. "

" From comments I've read, repetition is one of P3's most glaring faults. If P4 looks too tedious then P3 will be like some kind of personal level of hell.  "

" @Abyssfull said:

" From comments I've read, repetition is one of P3's most glaring faults. If P4 looks too tedious then P3 will be like some kind of personal level of hell.  "

@nickux: Repetition really only exists in Tartarus.

" @supermike6: I'm pretty sure my copy of the game was like $32 on Amazon. 
 
@SpiralStairs: Just a quick question, how long does it take to analyse an enemy? Once I give the order, can I just sit there and wait for the results? Usually I give the order to analyse, then I either attack or wait for the AI to go through their turns. Usually after a few the results are finally revealed, but it would be nice to know the statistics before going at it. "

" I strongly recommend you to buy the PSP remake of Persona 3. It fixes a lot of issues the original had, the loss of presentation is unfortunate, but not as  unfortunate as trying to equip something on your party members in the original Persona 3. "

" @mutha3 said:

" I strongly recommend you to buy the PSP remake of Persona 3. It fixes a lot of issues the original had, the loss of presentation is unfortunate, but not as  unfortunate as trying to equip something on your party members in the original Persona 3. "

I don't find it that difficult to equip stuff on people. Just a few button presses. I would prefer being able to just access a menu with everyone's name and equipment and such, but it's not a big deal to me at least. "

"

.  And while most of the Persona 4 additions are welcome I think they went too far out of their way to make P3 like P4.

"

" @mutha3 said:

" I strongly recommend you to buy the PSP remake of Persona 3. It fixes a lot of issues the original had, the loss of presentation is unfortunate, but not as  unfortunate as trying to equip something on your party members in the original Persona 3. "

I don't find it that difficult to equip stuff on people. Just a few button presses. I would prefer being able to just access a menu with everyone's name and equipment and such, but it's not a big deal to me at least. "

" @mutha3: What do you mean by manually walking? You can fast travel to different locations on the map, but you can't fast travel to shops or whatever in those locations if that's what you mean. "

" @nickux:. I don't think P4 holds up particularly well judged solely on gameplay, the grinding bits were only fun because of Jeff and Vinny's commentary. "

Not sure what else to add to this conversation since everyone in here has already mentioned all the important points. I'll say this though, P3 FES is one damn good JRPG in comparison to most other JRPGs at the time and it still holds well despite some setbacks. What do I recommend? Play P3 FES and then get P3P for the girl route plus improved gameplay.

" @natetodamax said:

" @mutha3: What do you mean by manually walking? You can fast travel to different locations on the map, but you can't fast travel to shops or whatever in those locations if that's what you mean. "

You can't insta-travel from (for instance) the faculty office hallway to the roof. In P4 you could by pressing the square button.  Which was a VERY welcome addition, seeing how the towns is basically the same from the start 'till the end of the game, and wandering around the town looking for people to S-link with is really annoying. "

" @mutha3 said:

" @natetodamax said:

" @mutha3: What do you mean by manually walking? You can fast travel to different locations on the map, but you can't fast travel to shops or whatever in those locations if that's what you mean. "

You can't insta-travel from (for instance) the faculty office hallway to the roof. In P4 you could by pressing the square button.  Which was a VERY welcome addition, seeing how the towns is basically the same from the start 'till the end of the game, and wandering around the town looking for people to S-link with is really annoying. "

You're kind of a picky guy to be honest >__>

  I mean yeah, Persona 3 has its flaws, but none of them are THAT bad. I'll admit the dungeons pale in comparison to those in other SMT games, but then again that wasn't really the focus of P3.

 And the combat system is fast paced and entertaining as well.  

 As for the AI, it should never cause any problems at all as long as you know what you're doing. I know it rarely did for me, most of the time when I died it was my fault, not the AI's. "

" @mutha3: 70% seems like a major exaggeration when describing the amount of time one spends in Tartarus.  All of these just seem like nitpicking to me. e. "

 I'm loving the game. I look past these flaws for they do not break the game

" @nickux: I strongly recommend you to buy the PSP remake of Persona 3. It fixes a lot of issues the original had, the loss of presentation may be unfortunate, but not as  unfortunate as trying to equip something on your party members in the original Persona 3. "