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    Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth

    Game » consists of 5 releases. Released Jun 05, 2014

    A dungeon crawler-RPG with chibi-versions of characters from both Persona 3 and Persona 4 for the Nintendo 3DS. It is directed by Etrian Odyssey IV director, Daisuke Kanada.

    Do I need to finish Persona 3 first to avoid spoilers?

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    BBAlpert

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    #1  Edited By BBAlpert

    I remember hearing that the Persona Arena/Ultimax story modes take place after the events of 3 and 4, and subsequently address major plot twists/turns from the two games. I've watched the P4 endurance run in its entirety, but am still working my way through P3 (I'm in like September, I think).

    Should I hold off on playing Q until I finish P3? I was hoping to pick it up to play on the road for Thanksgiving, but not if it'll ruin anything major in P3.

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    Corevi

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    #2  Edited By Corevi

    I haven't played this yet but probably, I can't imagine them not mentioning a specific thing. If you haven't played SMT4 yet you should get that for your trip. Devil Survivor Overclocked and Strange Journey are also pretty good.

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    Wemibelle

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    #3  Edited By Wemibelle

    I would argue that Persona 3 doesn't have much in the way of spoilers, barring one HUGE thing that doesn't seem like it's a part of PQ due to time travel shenanigans. In fact, both parties from those games seem to be brought in before any of those major events even happen. Furthermore, if you find anything in P3's story as able to be spoiled, I would be surprised. It isn't quite like Persona 4's story, with its murder mystery and slowly unraveling plot.

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    mosespippy

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    I think the Polygon review said that both the P3 and P4 parties are midway through the events of their respective games when this time travel stuff happens in PQ. That would explain certain character choices, like why P4A characters and Marie aren't in it.

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    BBAlpert

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    I think the Polygon review said that both the P3 and P4 parties are midway through the events of their respective games when this time travel stuff happens in PQ. That would explain certain character choices, like why P4A characters and Marie aren't in it.

    As long as the game takes place before whatever "HUGE thing" that @wemibelec90 mentioned happens, then I should be fine.

    Out of curiosity, roughly how far into the game does that huge thing in P3 happen? I don't want to know anything about what it is that happens, just a ballpark estimate of whether it's in the middle of the game, mid-late, or right at the very end. I ask because if it's somewhere in the middle, I might not be too far from just seeing it myself.

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    mosespippy

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    @bbalpert: I'm not sure which thing he's referring to. It could be a thing that you are pretty close to, or it could be a thing at the very end.

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    cloudymusic

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    #7  Edited By cloudymusic

    @wemibelec90 said:

    Furthermore, if you find anything in P3's story as able to be spoiled, I would be surprised.

    There are at least a couple significant "twists" in P3 that would certainly be more impactful if they weren't spoiled ahead of time. Some people might say that they're pretty easy to see coming, but that might not be true for everyone.

    At the very least, Ikutsuki and Pharos/Ryoji. Maybe Shinjiro.

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    Steadying

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    Furthermore, if you find anything in P3's story as able to be spoiled, I would be surprised.

    That makes no sense. The game has a story like any other RPG, and a really long one. I can spoil plenty of things if I wanted to.

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    BBAlpert

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    @cloudymusic: I assume I shouldn't click on that spoiler block, right?

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    hollitz

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    I don't think so. Q is non-canon.

    Without spoiling things--I hope--judging from what I've seen in the trailers so far, there's 0% chance that the events of Q follow Persona 3.

    Maybe you'd miss out on an inside joke or two.

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    Rolkien

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    I've been playing it so far and if anything it really hasn't spoiled anything so far besides a little tiny reference that anyone who hasn't played Persona 3 might know. Marie is totally in this game and she hangs around the velvet room and the P4 group doesn't really know why.

    Thus far it's been super incredible and a really fun journey. I always loved the premise of Etrian Odyssey but I could never get into it, but after I'm done with this I might actually play that copy of Etrian Odyssey Untold I have lying around.

    It's just a huge set of fan service that I could totally get behind while having a cool plot of it's own. That being said I'm only about 6-7 hours in, but watching both P3 characters and P4 characters meet are magic. So in the end I wouldn't say you need to finish Persona 3, just pick the P4 side first and play as them so you can get a better introduction of the P3 characters later.

    (When Kanji and Koromaru chill out it's adorable!!)

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    Wemibelle

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    @bbalpert: I guess you could say there are three "big" moments in the story, then--I had forgotten about the other two. That isn't to say that more doesn't happen in the story, but I feel that those moments are the ones that are things that are able to be spoiled, momentous things that will make you feel like you missed out on the surprise. The one I mentioned originally doesn't happen until the literal end of the game; the other two are around the halfway mark, if memory serves. From the preview coverage, all of these moments likely take place after the events of Persona Q, so I think you'll be safe.

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    Bocam

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    @hollitz: Q is canon

    Also if one of the big moments you're talking about is Shinjiro's death that kinda gets off handedly spoiled. The Persona 3 main character dying gets spoiled as well.

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    vasta_narada

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    #14  Edited By vasta_narada

    @bbalpert said:
    @mosespippy said:

    I think the Polygon review said that both the P3 and P4 parties are midway through the events of their respective games when this time travel stuff happens in PQ. That would explain certain character choices, like why P4A characters and Marie aren't in it.

    As long as the game takes place before whatever "HUGE thing" that @wemibelec90 mentioned happens, then I should be fine.

    Out of curiosity, roughly how far into the game does that huge thing in P3 happen? I don't want to know anything about what it is that happens, just a ballpark estimate of whether it's in the middle of the game, mid-late, or right at the very end. I ask because if it's somewhere in the middle, I might not be too far from just seeing it myself.

    All of the important plot points in P3 that people would feel shitty about having spoiled occur after the events of Persona Q, i.e. not referenced in Persona Q. The first one that I can think of happens after the September full moon incident, the period of time afterwards I leave unspecified.

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    vasta_narada

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    #15  Edited By vasta_narada

    @bocam said:

    @hollitz: Q is canon

    Also if one of the big moments you're talking about is Shinjiro's death that kinda gets off handedly spoiled. The Persona 3 main character dying gets spoiled as well.

    Wait, really? How?

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    Bocam

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    @vasta_narada: For the first one Ken tells Kanji about what he plans to do. The second Margaret tells Elizabeth what happens which inadvertently starts Elizabeth's quest to save him

    Also in Japanese version, Shinjiro implies that he knows he should be dead

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    cloudymusic

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    @bbalpert: If you haven't played 3, no, you shouldn't.

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    benspyda

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    The only major event I remember from P3 was the heavily implied Elizabeth sex scene at the end of going on all the dates with her.

    I know there were actual important twists in the games storyline but that scene will be forever imprinted in my brain.

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    BBAlpert

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    Alright, thanks for all the help, everyone!

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    FrostyRyan

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    You probably already found your answer but just to throw in my two cents, I think the biggest reason to hold off on Q is simply so you can finish your journey with the P3 characters.

    PQ celebrates both casts of characters and the impact will be more satisfying if you already spent all the time you could with both groups. So for THAT reason alone, I recommend finishing P3 first. And yes PQ is canon.

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    FancySoapsMan

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    #21  Edited By FancySoapsMan

    You should just finish Persona 3 because the ending is worth seeing.

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    bigmess

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    I've been wondering the same thing. I finished P4 earlier this year and I'm slogging through Persona 3 Portable right now.

    Does anybody know if there are any changes in the ending or overall story in the PSP version from the console Persona 3? I know FES has some sort of different story stuff. I just hope I'm not sacrificing anything by playing P3P.

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    BBAlpert

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    You should just finish Persona 3 because the ending is worth seeing.

    That actually reminds me of one other question I had. Is P3 similar to P4 in the sense that you could (I'm assuming) get a "wrong" or otherwise incomplete ending?

    I will probably hold off until I finish 3 like you all have been suggesting, but it goes so slowly. I only get a day or two of game time done in a sitting. Not because the game itself is poorly paced, but because I get all stressed out about the limited time/days thing and keep reloading if anyone gets knocked out in the dungeon, which happens more often than I'd like to admit. I don't know if I'm way underleveled, but my characters all feel really fragile (and now there are enemies that can cast stuff like mamudo and hamaon).

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    hollitz

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    #24  Edited By hollitz

    @bocam said:

    @hollitz: Q is canon

    Also if one of the big moments you're talking about is Shinjiro's death that kinda gets off handedly spoiled. The Persona 3 main character dying gets spoiled as well.

    Well, Q and Arena both can't be canon. And if one of them is, it discredits the other. Unless Q ends with all of the characters getting their memories erased.

    Edit: Wow, according to Atlus localization, Q is canon. So it basically has to end with everyone getting their minds erased. Or something like that. Which is just lazy bullshit. OR Arena isn't canon. Fuck this is stupid. This is like some comic book shit.

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    roboculus92

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    #25  Edited By roboculus92

    @bbalpert: Persona 3 has a good and bad ending which is solely determined by a choice you make near the end of the game. However, unlike Persona 4, it's very straightforward and obvious what you have to do to get the good ending so you don't have to worry about reading a faq ahead of time.

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    neokef

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    #26  Edited By neokef

    I'm over 50 hours into Persona 3 and at least two major events have happened (I'm in November.) Am I good to continue on in Persona Q? It seems like I can keep going.

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    FrostyRyan

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    @hollitz said:

    Well, Q and Arena both can't be canon. And if one of them is, it discredits the other. Unless Q ends with all of the characters getting their memories erased.

    Edit: Wow, according to Atlus localization, Q is canon. So it basically has to end with everyone getting their minds erased. Or something like that. Which is just lazy bullshit. OR Arena isn't canon. Fuck this is stupid. This is like some comic book shit.

    Please do not bad mouth comic books.

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    mosespippy

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    @hollitz said:

    @bocam said:

    @hollitz: Q is canon

    Also if one of the big moments you're talking about is Shinjiro's death that kinda gets off handedly spoiled. The Persona 3 main character dying gets spoiled as well.

    Well, Q and Arena both can't be canon. And if one of them is, it discredits the other. Unless Q ends with all of the characters getting their memories erased.

    Edit: Wow, according to Atlus localization, Q is canon. So it basically has to end with everyone getting their minds erased. Or something like that. Which is just lazy bullshit. OR Arena isn't canon. Fuck this is stupid. This is like some comic book shit.

    It's not like everybody losing their memories hasn't happened in a Persona game before. At least if everybody loses their memory in the same way as in the past then there will be consistency to it. Plus, Philemon would get to make an appearance!

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    Bocam

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    @neokef: No, something that happens at the very end of P3 could be spoiled for you if you decide to play PQ before finishing it

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    BBAlpert

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    I just came across what I'm assuming is one of the big scenes. Was Ken confronting Shinjiro (specifically what happens at the end of that scene) one of the big things?

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    FLStyle

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    #31  Edited By FLStyle

    @bbalpert: From everything I've read in the spoiler sections that people have posted here you are not to play Q until completing 3, otherwise you'll get spoiled on 3's events.

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    mosespippy

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    @bbalpert: Yes, that is one of the big scenes of P3, and it does get foreshadowed in PQ.

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    deactivated-630479c20dfaa

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    You should just finish Persona 3 because the ending is worth seeing.

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    BBAlpert

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    @bbalpert: Persona 3 has a good and bad ending which is solely determined by a choice you make near the end of the game. However, unlike Persona 4, it's very straightforward and obvious what you have to do to get the good ending so you don't have to worry about reading a faq ahead of time.

    I just got to the point where you make the actual choice, and you were not kidding about them making it clear. I was a little worried, but they really go out of their way to hit you over the head with it.

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    Karkarov

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    @bigmess said:

    I've been wondering the same thing. I finished P4 earlier this year and I'm slogging through Persona 3 Portable right now.

    Does anybody know if there are any changes in the ending or overall story in the PSP version from the console Persona 3? I know FES has some sort of different story stuff. I just hope I'm not sacrificing anything by playing P3P.

    Not really sort of. You should know P3P if you play as female is NOT cannon. The Cannon P3 protag is male and you do have to play Persona 3: FES to get the end of the story. Also yes, nothing is outright "spoiled" in Persona Q for P3 but some stuff is strongly hinted at and suggested. P3 in my opinion is also the better game cause well... the stakes are bigger and lets say there are some serious things that happen to the party. P4 there are risks and events but nothing as big as what happens in P3.

    Actually there is a conversation in Persona Q that kind of highlights that where the two parties talk to each other about why they are fighting shadows.

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    bigmess

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    @karkarov: I'm considering just youtubing the end of P3. I'm at the final boss and I'm way under-leveled.

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    Corevi

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    @bigmess: Sure, go for it. It's not like the ending changes depending on your social links.

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    Karkarov

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    @bigmess said:

    @karkarov: I'm considering just youtubing the end of P3. I'm at the final boss and I'm way under-leveled.

    You can always run the infinite dungeon thing, get the best weapons in the game, and level up very very fast.

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