I haven't written a proper blog on Giant Bomb in a while, and that's mostly because of the fact that I hardly played any games. As you can tell by the title of this blog, I've been playing Persona 3, or Persona 3: FES: The Journey to be specific. I downloaded it off of Playstation Network a few weeks ago, and if you follow me on Twitter, you know that I'm having fun with it. But I would like to go more in depth with it and maybe have some discussions, MOSTLY SPOILER FREE of course, because I'm not finished with the game yet. 
 
For those wondering where I am in the game:  
  

I loved the game also. I would recomend, if you're not doing it already, using a faq to get the most out of a playthrough.

I want to get back into Persona 3, especially now that I have put lots of time into Persona 4 Arena. It seems there's fun to be had from the references those characters make through the story. How are you enjoying the actual gameplay? I had a little trouble getting into things like not having control of my party and the physical attacks having their own special properties.

@Metal_Gear_Sunny said:

Persona 3 is a great game, and I can't wait to get more into it. I'm playing on easy, mostly because I'm just in it for the story, but I'm also enjoying the combat as well. What do you guys think? Do you agree with my thoughts on Persona 3? Have any tips for me, without spoiling anything? Am I stupid for comparing it to Persona 4, even though this one game first? Am I a baby for playing on easy?

I thought combat was less fun because of AI controlled teammates. The big exception is the Persona Fusion spells (which I'm surprised didn't make it to Persona 4).

A simple tip would just play as how Vinny and Jeff played P4, do a good balance of social linking and battling in the Dark Hour, don't just cram one day doing Dark Hour stuff (it's the most efficient method, but not really fun to play). Also sometimes if you go to the restroom, it will make you feel "Great", seriously.

Not really stupid, Persona 3 and Persona 4 play almost identical. Persona 4 is the more polished game though and if I were to choose to play P3 or P4 over again, I would pick P4.

Also, yes you are a baby for playing on easy! Nah just kidding, you bought the game, go play at whatever difficulty you want.

I really enjoy Persona 3, I'm happy someone else enjoys the dorm theme as much as I do. Plus let's not forgot train rescue music. It comes up again in operation babe hunt and makes that scene eve better as well.

@Metal_Gear_Sunny said:

@Jeust: I'm using a faq just to answer the school questions, but that's it. I like the feeling of going into the game kinda blind.

@jorojoserojas: I'm enjoying the gameplay, but it would be nice to have direct control over characters. It's not that but though, but again I'm playing on easy sooo

Then save often. Save at the beginning of each incursion into Tartarus, and make the most of each dungeon crawl, as it will leave you with plenty of time to explore the social aspects of the game.

Also each time you save, your hp restores completly.

Persona 3 is indeed awesome, though I think 4 is a bit better. Tips: Pretend Ken doesn't exist. Try and have all your elemental bases covered all the time on the main character, and all your elemental resists covered. Just leave Yukari on heal/support(assuming you use her) and everyone else on knock down usually. Playing on easy is fine, the real enjoyment comes from the story, not the combat.

As for comparing it, no, it's fair. Whenever I recommend Persona as a series, I always urge people to play 3 before 4 because some things will be annoying going backwards(the combat, some social link related annoyances).

I finished what I believe is the most important stuff of the Persona 4: Arena story(meaning I unlocked and completed Elizabeth's and Labrys' stories) and at this point I could not be more excited for Persona 5, whether it's some sort of crazy crossover, totally new, or a mix of the two extremes. I would have much rather had Junpei and Yukari in place of Aigis and Mitsuru(Akihiko is cool though), but man, they reminded me how damn good that game is.

As for the sound track...it MIGHT be better than Persona 4's. Unavoidable Battle is awesome and gets me pumped every time, but the final boss theme is probably one of the most badass VGM ever, so good!

Anyway, who's your party of preference at the moment? How about some favorite social links? I thought the social links in Persona 4 were mostly better, but I really liked the sunday only one, the sickly guy on a bench. Sun or Star I think it was. Maya was pretty fun too. And the old couple..and the monk.

Also, this kind of has some spoilers, so don't look at it until you beat it or at least get near the end, but it's awesome. http://ancret.deviantart.com/art/How-Not-to-Play-Persona-3-167314327

I enjoyed Persona 3, though not as much as Persona 4. The Journey is a lot of fun, but if you play The Answer (and I'd recommend against that), prepare for a grinding slog and characters being massive dicks.

Anyway, who's your party of preference at the moment? How about some favorite social links? I thought the social links in Persona 4 were mostly better, but I really liked the sunday only one, the sickly guy on a bench. Sun or Star I think it was. Maya was pretty fun too. And the old couple..and the monk.

I've always been interested in playing a Persona game. The only problem is I don't own a Sony platform and lack any disposable income...so yeah.

@Metal_Gear_Sunny said:

@ZombiePie: Well, whenever you do have some cash, PS2s are probably really cheap now.

EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...I mean what am I honestly going to use a PS2 for in the long run? I have to buy toasters and microwaves at this point in my life.

@Metal_Gear_Sunny said:

@ZombiePie: Well, whenever you do have some cash, PS2s are probably really cheap now.

EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...I mean what am I honestly going to use a PS2 for in the long run? I have to buy toasters and microwaves at this point in my life.

@Metal_Gear_Sunny: Persona 3 is hands down my favorite PS2 game so I'm glad you're enjoying it, but don't be stupid like me and discover half way through the game that you can buy accessories from a store in town, maybe you've already been there but during my first play-through I didn't even notice it until I was a good 30-40 hours into the game.

@Jeust I don't get it.. How does Dark Hour stuff affect daytime sociables? I'm only a little under ten hours in, but it seemed to me the two don't overlap in terms of time.

@killacam I think it's because if you spend too much time in the tower you'll end up sick the next day which might make you accidentally miss something? I dunno, it's been a while since I played and whenever I did play I would climb the tower as far as possible and then spend the rest of my days social linking it up until I was forced to go.

Hey I'm playing P3P and I really enjoy it, I grinded a bit much early on so combat is really easy now. Anyway the best song is the second school theme (after the summer holiday):

Its so goddamn uplifting.

@Metal_Gear_Sunny: I believe that 9/5 bug was fixed near the end of June. Sony issued a statement saying to redownload the game. I'd link to the page, but apparently the post is gone.

I did however find a copy of the text that was on the page.

We recently updated the package file for Shin Megami Persona 3 FES PS2 Classic on PSN in order to fix a serious bug. If you've encountered this issue, the only way to fix the issue for current consumers is to redownload the game from the PlayStation Store. This bug would crash the game at a certain point within the game, but again, it has been fixed.

Your existing save file from the previous version will still be valid, so you can still continue your progress. Simply go to the PlayStation Store, re-download the game by visiting your Download List, or just searching for it in the Store, and you'll be all set.

The development teams extend their sincerest apologies to those encountering this bug, and hope that you will continue to enjoy Shin Megami Persona 3 FES on PS2 Classics.

That's a serious bummer about the save issue though. I was thinking about getting FES, because I only have the original. Now I don't know.

It's funny I see this on the front page as I just bought the game and started playing it last night. I'm only a couple of hours in so far, though, so I don't have much of an opinion on it yet.

I'm also playing on easy.

I absolutely love Persona 3! the only JRPGs i've played are FFX and P3 and I love them both... Maybe I should play more JRPGs! :P

Watching GB play P4 I definitely wasn't a fan, it was a bit too childish and not nearly as epic.

Both Persona 3 and 4 are tied as my favorite game. Always glad to have new people experience it.

One tip I can think of is get Beelzebub. He's a devil arcana I think so level the devil S-Rank. I can't remember if it was Persona 3 or 4 that you could get him with block, repel or absorb on every damage type but he is boss in both games either way.

@ZombiePie said:

@Metal_Gear_Sunny said:

@ZombiePie: Well, whenever you do have some cash, PS2s are probably really cheap now.

EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...I mean what am I honestly going to use a PS2 for in the long run? I have to buy toasters and microwaves at this point in my life.

Do you really need both a toaster AND a microwave? Can't you just get a toaster oven to do both things or toast things in the stove instead?

I started watching the P4 endurance run after the Persona 4 Arena quick look went up, and ended up grabbing Persona 3 Portable. I'm about 20 hours in, which makes this my most played PSP game. I havent played My PSP this much since 2006, and im having a blast. I'm at the end of August, and I'm already considering what I'll do differently on my next playthrough. I also just ordered Persona 4, but it's gonna be a hassle to hook up my PS2 to play it. If Persona 4 Golden wasn't the only game I'm even remotely interested in for the Vita, I'd consider getting that. Ive seen video of Persona 2 for PSP. Is that a totally different game? Should i bother with it?

The music in persona 3 was so damn good.

@Hailinel: I didn't care much for the answer, it has difficulty spikes, and there is no compendium which is a bummer. However concerning the characters being dicks:

Persona 3 is a great game, definitely my favorite of all time. 
 
and the later parts of the game are the best, especially the last 15 hours or so.

I just got this game from PSN last week, and I'm really enjoying it thus far (you're just a little bit past me). The characters and writing are top notch, and it has some of the better fighting/leveling mechanics that I've seen in a JRPG.

@mosespippy said:

@ZombiePie said:

@Metal_Gear_Sunny said:

@ZombiePie: Well, whenever you do have some cash, PS2s are probably really cheap now.

EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...I mean what am I honestly going to use a PS2 for in the long run? I have to buy toasters and microwaves at this point in my life.

Do you really need both a toaster AND a microwave? Can't you just get a toaster oven to do both things or toast things in the stove instead?

You can't cook soup in a toaster and you can't toast bread in microwave and trying to toast bread in an oven is dicey. I also need a blender.

@killacam said:

@Jeust I don't get it.. How does Dark Hour stuff affect daytime sociables? I'm only a little under ten hours in, but it seemed to me the two don't overlap in terms of time.

You can go out at night, and be social, or improve your stats.

I actually just started playing through this again last night after hearing the menu music in Persona 4:Arena. So much nostalgia so far. Though I might restart because I actually used my New Game Plus file that was set to start a new game after I finished the game before (my dude has over 600 HP and over 400 SP. I one-shot everything so it's kinda dull). But yeah, it fun. 
 
Also, I realized just how annoying wired controllers are because I'm playing it on PS2. Wow does it get irritating when the cord gets caught on something. I keep forgetting it's there.

@sonicrift: @Metal_Gear_Sunny: I'm playing Persona 2 now and it requires a certain amount of tolerance for late 90s game design. I haven't seen space hitler yet but I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up. There aren't social links but you can sort of social link with the shadows to get cards for creating new personas, rare items or to get healed. If you fuck up the social link they will be angry and then you have to fight. I've been using the strategy of fighting if there are lots of enemies so that I get experience for them all and socializing when there are few enemies since the encounter ends when one shadow is eager, happy or scared.

@ZombiePie You can also play it on the PC.

I just started the game myself with my PS2 copy in my PC drive displaying at a 1920x1080 resolution. Super sharp polygons, although it can't help the 2D art. It also allows you to cheat a bit, with the save state function.

http://pcsx2.net/

@Metal_Gear_Sunny said:

" And the writing is basically the same. You have moments where characters realize things that are already extremely obvious to you (the team finally realizing that strong shadows come out when it's full moon, for example) and that can be a little annoying at times. Nevertheless, I'm really enjoying myself and I can't wait to see what comes next in the story.

I dunno, that stuff isn't too bad and could probably have been fixed by not revealing the Full Moon ticker until they figure that out. They're obvious to you because you play video games and know that stuff isn't often revealed if it doesn't mean anything.

@Metal_Gear_Sunny said:

Persona 3 is a great game, and I can't wait to get more into it. I'm playing on easy, mostly because I'm just in it for the story, but I'm also enjoying the combat as well. What do you guys think? Do you agree with my thoughts on Persona 3? Have any tips for me, without spoiling anything? Am I stupid for comparing it to Persona 4, even though this one game first? Am I a baby for playing on easy?


MOVE EVERYBODY MOVE THAT BODY MAKE SURE YOU DON'T HURT NOBODY

I mostly agree with you, it's a great game although I prefer Persona 4. Part of me is conditioned to believe that darker = better but I feel like a lot of Persona 3 is a little aimless. I mean, you're supposed to be saving the city from Apathy Syndrome or whatever but it never felt that way. When you get closer to a Full Moon, more people with Apathy Syndrome appear and then afterwards they disappear. Are they dead? Were they cured? Who knows? Who cares? NPCs in JRPGs are almost always made as dumb and boring as a post so I don't know how you're supposed to get invested in the idea of saving them. That's what Persona 4 did better. You were saving what felt more like real people (especially the Heaven dungeon, holy crap). Also, I liked Persona 4's cast (Party and S. Links) better. No real eloquent or articulate reasons for this, I just do. However, Persona 3's last few months are great. The shit that goes down, the build up to the final battle, the final battle itself (maybe better that you're playing on Easy, that shit is hard). You're in for a treat. Persona 4's ending didn't feel as grand, especially with the real last boss being optional.

You're not stupid for comparing the two since much of Persona 4 is an evolution of 3 and they follow the same formula. It's 3 and 4 to 1 and 2 that you shouldn't really compare. Plus, comparing things is human nature, especially of stuff within the same series. Maybe a little bit of a baby for playing on easy (I jest) but the combat in P3 is way more of a drag than P4 (and even that becomes a drag after a while) so if you're just in it for the story, it's okay.

Oh, and the dorm theme will make you want to bash your head against a spiked wall by the end of the game. So, have fun with that!

@Nottle said: The music in persona 4 was so damn good.

@Hailinel: I didn't care much for the answer, it has difficulty spikes, and there is no compendium which is a bummer. However concerning the characters being dicks:

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Maybe I wasn't paying attention to their motivations but everyone besides Yukari seemed to be reasonable. There must have been something I missed. Yukari wanted the MC back, and Mitsuru agreed for some reason. Junpei and Konomaru didn't want to abuse time travel, and Ken and Akihito wanted the same exact thing as Junpei but teamed up against him anyways? Aigis and Fuuka were clueless while Metis just wanted to protect Aigis.
Yukari was the only one that became an insane dick at that point. Right? Or am I getting Akihito and Ken's motivations wrong?

You mean Persona 3?

Also... It's been a while since I played Persona 3 FES, but I think I remember interpreting The Answer this way.

@Nottle said:

The music in persona 4 was so damn good.

@Hailinel: I didn't care much for the answer, it has difficulty spikes, and there is no compendium which is a bummer. However concerning the characters being dicks:

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Maybe I wasn't paying attention to their motivations but everyone besides Yukari seemed to be reasonable. There must have been something I missed. Yukari wanted the MC back, and Mitsuru agreed for some reason. Junpei and Konomaru didn't want to abuse time travel, and Ken and Akihito wanted the same exact thing as Junpei but teamed up against him anyways? Aigis and Fuuka were clueless while Metis just wanted to protect Aigis.
Yukari was the only one that became an insane dick at that point. Right? Or am I getting Akihito and Ken's motivations wrong?

Well, when I speak of the the characters being dicks, there's examples outside of The Answer, as well. Though you're right, in that none of it is truly as bad as Yukari being a complete assclown in The Answer.

@yyninja: Persona 4's music is great as well, but I consider the music to be the one thing I like slightly more about Persona 3 over 4. What do you mean

"you mean Persona 3?"

@Hailinel: Well yeah, they can be dicks, remember that one time Junpei got all jealous and the time Mitsuru punished all the guys because of a mistake Yukari made concerning the hotsprings? But then again the people in 4 were dicks at times too. Teenagers. Yukari being a little more uppity was in the journey, just not to the extent of the answer, regardless i should have gone with Chihiro or Mitsuru.

@Nottle: True, they are teenagers. But all the same, the Persona 4 cast didn't spend a sizable amount of the game seemingly trying to stab each other in the back.

@Hailinel: I think that is a bit of an exaggeration. Ken, Junpei and Yukari are the only problematic ones and that is part of their characters. Junpei was all about wanting to be special and how he wants to be more than some drunk deadbeat like his dad. Yukari is kind of just a bitch, but Ken's entire story was about revenge.

Akihiko and Mitsuru are pretty level headed, konomaru is a dog, Fuuka doesn't really have a beef with anyone.

@Nottle said:

@yyninja: Persona 4's music is great as well, but I consider the music to be the one thing I like slightly more about Persona 3 over 4. What do you mean

You said how the music of Persona 4 was so damn good then proceeded to put a YouTube video of music from Persona 3.

By the way, I also thought P3 music was better than P4. The final boss theme is something I can listen to for hours.

@Nottle: You know, I guess you're right. It's just been so long since I've played Persona 3 that I think that whole aspect just got exaggerated in my mind.

It's definitely a good game with some pretty big missteps, if you ask me. The sick/tired thing is just garbage since it effectively punishes you for wanting to play the game, the attributes are too easy to max so you end up with a lot of wasted nights where you're just clicking X a bunch to skip to the next day, and automatically registering a Persona you fuse BEFORE the bonus experience is applied is just sloppy.

It's still a good game but it has a few obvious flaws that were thankfully left out of Persona 4.

PS fuck Mitsuru for casting that near-useless charm spell all the time. THAT IS NOT WHY I BROUGHT YOU HERE.

@yyninja said:

@Nottle said:

@yyninja: Persona 4's music is great as well, but I consider the music to be the one thing I like slightly more about Persona 3 over 4. What do you mean

You said how the music of Persona 4 was so damn good then proceeded to put a YouTube video of music from Persona 3.

By the way, I also thought P3 music was better than P4. The final boss theme is something I can listen to for hours.

Ohhh my bad. Typo. Meant to say Persona 3. I like how the music is so funky.

So I just bought this after reading your post. For $10 its a pretty good deal considering finding a boxed copy and repurchasing a ps2 costs considerably more. I wanted to start with Persona 4 when it comes out on the Vita, but it sounds like its a good investment to start with Persona 3.

Also, for guys who've played it game, 
 

I think you are totally spot on playing on easy. I'm playing P3P and I've gotten stuck a few months after where you are(On Normal). I have a job and other responsibilities which forced me to decide to abandon the game instead of trudge/grind through its last 20 hours. I lost 45 mins or so of progress (and one time a great item for yukari) 3 or 4 times before I got angry enough to throw my psp. Stupid BS kills with lucky AI. I love the story then the AI starts to be painfully overbearing and I would have loved to just have a continue and say OOPS since this is the first time I started to die. So good on you for choosing easy. Theres no reason to subject yourself to a less fun experience just to not be called a wimp(Not that I did that but I totally thought to myself. "Im good at video games, Normal should be super easy right?").