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Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

Game » consists of 4 releases. First released on Aug 14, 2007

Persona 3 offers a unique RPG experience, combining elements of Japanese role-playing and dating simulations.

Going Back: Persona 3

Posted by LackLuster (707 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago

     This is my first in what I am hoping will be many installments of what I am calling, Going Back which is pretty much just me going back to games that are older and considered to be great, but I either never got around to beating them or just couldn't get into them when I initially purchased them.  I am just going to talk about my experience and really whether or not I enjoyed my time with the game.  My 1st installment is Persona 3 a very beloved game and franchise especially by the community here.  Before I begin I just want to say for this particular game I bought it when it first came out and just couldn't get into it and granted that was about 4 years ago which to some people may not seem like very long, but being born in 92 that is a 14 year old trying to play vs now an 18 year old playing through it.  I think I was just interested in it back then because it was rated M and these characters summon crazy creature by shooting themselves.  It can go without saying that I appreciated it much more now than I ever could back  then. 

 Many hours spent talking to this man.


    When I first played persona back in 2007 I didn't really have any interest in a game like Persona 3 and although i had liked many RPGs and JRPGS at the time the way this game had presented itself to me, the pre-teen that I was made me almost lose interest immediately.  My clearest memory of playing back then was seeing that when I was in tartarus and doing a bit of grinding my companions got tired, not being able to hang out in a dungeon and grind for as long as I felt like was pretty much the final straw to me back then and I never touched the game again, and I didn't really even see any of the story or social link aspects of it.

     It is scary to think about how much I have changed over the past 4 years not just in how I play games, but just everything about me.  With this change along with a craving for a long deep RPG, Persona 3 seemed like a great choice, and I was right.  It is hard for me to put in words just how much I enjoyed this game, in fact I don't think I have ever felt so attached to a game besides my nostalgic views of games like Ocarina of Time.  In the beginning the game is tough to understand because the social links are the best part of the day and to do a lot of them you must get your 3 attributes up: courage, academics, and charm.  The only way to get these attributes up in quick manner is to do things at night like karaoke, but night is also the time to go to tartarus and grind.  For a while I had put more focus on the grinding then the attributes and this was my one big with regret with my play-through, although, I eventually learned you only need to go a couple days a week i had already missed many months of time that could have been spent improving my attributes and what not.  This is regretful since I did not get everyone to the
Yeah, you do a lot of this.
max social link, which I guess is the reason that they offer a new game +, which is something I am seriously considering doing.  The fact that I am willing to go through that huge game right after I played speaks just to how good this game is and how it managed to make feel emotionally attached to it supporting cast of characters.  I did eventually get into a routine of what to do everyday until I got my my attributes to max and still got a decent amount of linking done.  As far as the combat goes it is fairly standard turn based Pokemon style combat which worked just fine, although, the lack of direct control over your party at times frustrating it wasn't the worst and it is a problem they addressed in the next game.  Fusing was something that I generally enjoyed even though most of the time it was kind of a shot in the dark when deciding what persona would fuse well, this is something that is already well documented in the Endurance Run of Persona 4.  The overall darkness of the story was welcome to me and the turn the game takes in the last couple of months is completely unexpected even though pacing becomes kind of iffy at that point, it did not matter since I was completely enthralled at that point.  So in the last couple months preparing for the final battle I just said "Fuck It" and decided I would level my guy to 99 just for the sake of it and it didn't take very long after finding out the absolutely Armageddon combination spell with Lucifer and Satan in combination with Lucifers victory cry passive trait leveling became very fast.  I kind of regret in someways going to the max level since it bumps your HP and Sp to 999, needless to say I found the final encounters to be no issue at all whatsoever.  The final cut-scene and epilogue though where satisfying enough and I am trying not spoil too much of anything, but I got choked up at the end/epilogue this is the first time to my knowledge that a game
Death. Watch out for this fucker.
has hit any chord with me emotionally and that's why I am glad I went back to this game and got to experience that.  I will remember Persona 3 just as fondly as the games of my childhood and am surprised to hear myself saying this, but I can easily call this one of my favorite games of all time.  It is crazy to say this, but I spent so much time with this game and now that I am done I think I may actually miss it.

Just a recap of what I finished with in the game:
Playtime: 92 hours
Attrtibutes Maxed
Level 99
Highest Persona: Lucifer level 99
Max Social Links: Fool, Magician, Empress, Lovers, Chariot, Hermit, Hanged Man, Death, Devil, Star, Sun, and Judgement
Main Party:  Akihiko,  Mitsuru, and Junpei

I hope this was something worth reading and as far what the next game I will play is, all I am going to say is that I think I am going to back to the N64 for it.  If you're interested in looking at some other possible games that I may play I do have list of backlog games, although, it needs to be updated quite a bit still.  If you want to suggest an obscure game feel free to do so in the comments or PM me, either is fine.  
#1 Posted by LackLuster (707 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago

     This is my first in what I am hoping will be many installments of what I am calling, Going Back which is pretty much just me going back to games that are older and considered to be great, but I either never got around to beating them or just couldn't get into them when I initially purchased them.  I am just going to talk about my experience and really whether or not I enjoyed my time with the game.  My 1st installment is Persona 3 a very beloved game and franchise especially by the community here.  Before I begin I just want to say for this particular game I bought it when it first came out and just couldn't get into it and granted that was about 4 years ago which to some people may not seem like very long, but being born in 92 that is a 14 year old trying to play vs now an 18 year old playing through it.  I think I was just interested in it back then because it was rated M and these characters summon crazy creature by shooting themselves.  It can go without saying that I appreciated it much more now than I ever could back  then. 

 Many hours spent talking to this man.


    When I first played persona back in 2007 I didn't really have any interest in a game like Persona 3 and although i had liked many RPGs and JRPGS at the time the way this game had presented itself to me, the pre-teen that I was made me almost lose interest immediately.  My clearest memory of playing back then was seeing that when I was in tartarus and doing a bit of grinding my companions got tired, not being able to hang out in a dungeon and grind for as long as I felt like was pretty much the final straw to me back then and I never touched the game again, and I didn't really even see any of the story or social link aspects of it.

     It is scary to think about how much I have changed over the past 4 years not just in how I play games, but just everything about me.  With this change along with a craving for a long deep RPG, Persona 3 seemed like a great choice, and I was right.  It is hard for me to put in words just how much I enjoyed this game, in fact I don't think I have ever felt so attached to a game besides my nostalgic views of games like Ocarina of Time.  In the beginning the game is tough to understand because the social links are the best part of the day and to do a lot of them you must get your 3 attributes up: courage, academics, and charm.  The only way to get these attributes up in quick manner is to do things at night like karaoke, but night is also the time to go to tartarus and grind.  For a while I had put more focus on the grinding then the attributes and this was my one big with regret with my play-through, although, I eventually learned you only need to go a couple days a week i had already missed many months of time that could have been spent improving my attributes and what not.  This is regretful since I did not get everyone to the
Yeah, you do a lot of this.
max social link, which I guess is the reason that they offer a new game +, which is something I am seriously considering doing.  The fact that I am willing to go through that huge game right after I played speaks just to how good this game is and how it managed to make feel emotionally attached to it supporting cast of characters.  I did eventually get into a routine of what to do everyday until I got my my attributes to max and still got a decent amount of linking done.  As far as the combat goes it is fairly standard turn based Pokemon style combat which worked just fine, although, the lack of direct control over your party at times frustrating it wasn't the worst and it is a problem they addressed in the next game.  Fusing was something that I generally enjoyed even though most of the time it was kind of a shot in the dark when deciding what persona would fuse well, this is something that is already well documented in the Endurance Run of Persona 4.  The overall darkness of the story was welcome to me and the turn the game takes in the last couple of months is completely unexpected even though pacing becomes kind of iffy at that point, it did not matter since I was completely enthralled at that point.  So in the last couple months preparing for the final battle I just said "Fuck It" and decided I would level my guy to 99 just for the sake of it and it didn't take very long after finding out the absolutely Armageddon combination spell with Lucifer and Satan in combination with Lucifers victory cry passive trait leveling became very fast.  I kind of regret in someways going to the max level since it bumps your HP and Sp to 999, needless to say I found the final encounters to be no issue at all whatsoever.  The final cut-scene and epilogue though where satisfying enough and I am trying not spoil too much of anything, but I got choked up at the end/epilogue this is the first time to my knowledge that a game
Death. Watch out for this fucker.
has hit any chord with me emotionally and that's why I am glad I went back to this game and got to experience that.  I will remember Persona 3 just as fondly as the games of my childhood and am surprised to hear myself saying this, but I can easily call this one of my favorite games of all time.  It is crazy to say this, but I spent so much time with this game and now that I am done I think I may actually miss it.

Just a recap of what I finished with in the game:
Playtime: 92 hours
Attrtibutes Maxed
Level 99
Highest Persona: Lucifer level 99
Max Social Links: Fool, Magician, Empress, Lovers, Chariot, Hermit, Hanged Man, Death, Devil, Star, Sun, and Judgement
Main Party:  Akihiko,  Mitsuru, and Junpei

I hope this was something worth reading and as far what the next game I will play is, all I am going to say is that I think I am going to back to the N64 for it.  If you're interested in looking at some other possible games that I may play I do have list of backlog games, although, it needs to be updated quite a bit still.  If you want to suggest an obscure game feel free to do so in the comments or PM me, either is fine.  
#2 Posted by Daroki (690 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago

Looks like you played the PS2 version, but do you have a PSP?  Persona 3 Portable is excellent and the differences in those characters when you're playing as a female is pretty interesting.  Also, did you play the original P3 or did you play the FES edition?  There's an extra social link (Aegis) and some slight differences in some of the things you can get for the characters (Mitsuru in a maid outfit?) but "The Answer" is a bit of a chore, although if you like the dungeon grind, it'll give you your fill and then some.  

#3 Posted by LackLuster (707 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago
@Daroki: I just played the original version.  I do have a PSP so I might have to check that out and who knows maybe even get FES as well I do really genuinely love this game.
#4 Posted by LackLuster (707 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago

Was looking for more response... Oh, well the next game I am going back to is Majoras Mask

#5 Edited by AngelN7 (2861 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago

That was your main party thats interesting , how did you handle healing ? My main Party was Akihiko, Mitusuru, Yukari, but for some reason I felt the normal dificulty was too easy , I Finished the P3 portable not to long ago , And about social Links the only one I din´t want to rank up to 10 was Yukari mostly I didn´t like her the fact that she asked for you to be popular to talk to her and the response she gave you was "I don´t want people starting rumors" , really? you care more about rumors than your buddy from the dorm who  save you... I ranked max Magician, Justice, Death , Fool, Pristess, Empress, Strength, Justice, Moon (I don´t even know why) and  Devil , that was the first time I played a Persona game and I just became a fan , I´ve already played a little bit of P4 but never finished I don´t own a PS2 so a friend of mine loan me the one he had 2 years ago

#6 Posted by PenguinDust (12172 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago

The games mechanics are definitely cumbersome, there is no doubt about that, but I liked the dark story and the characters more than in Persona 4.  I think I hit 97 before the end, but I still enjoyed it because I have no desire to ever have to repeat a level in an RPG.  I grind in every game I can to ensure that I am more powerful than the bad guys.  


Also, you might want to insert some pictures or something to break up the massive wall of text.  I have no problem with long posts, but you need something to give the readers eyes a break.  Otherwise, people might see it and immediately be turned off. 
#7 Edited by FourWude (2095 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago

persona 3 vs persona 4.... once again fight to the death.

#8 Posted by LackLuster (707 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago
@PenguinDust:  Thanks for the tip I tossed a few in now, I'll make sure to do it better for the next one of these.

@angeln7:
Mitsuru was a good enough healer for me and if it was necessary I would put Akhikio on support as well.  Yukari and her whole rumor thing is annoying, but she drops it eventually.  It was kind of necessary though because on the first day of school you walk to school with her and everyone thinks you are dating so there's that. 
#9 Posted by Marokai (1836 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago

There were alot of interesting things with Persona 3 I liked alot more than P4.

I actually bought Persona 4 and played it first before I went back to play Persona 3, and though Persona 4 definitely has ALOT of improvements, as well as a lot more personality, but I did enjoy the darker story than Persona 4, the ability to use whatever weapon on the MC that you want instead of being restricted to just swords, and perhaps most importantly, I really liked that when you hit the button to see the turn order, it actually shows everyone on the field instead of just who's next. It makes very little sense to me why they would scrap that for Persona 4.

I also felt like the music in Persona 3 was perhaps just a bit better than P4. I also got the impression that there was far more to do out in town than in Persona 4. There were several different locations to go to and spend time on aside from just a simple shopping district and a river. The optional costumes that changed the appearance of your party members in combat was also a neat addition that seemed silly to ditch in P4.

It was an interesting experience going back to see some things that were different after being spoiled by P4 but there were alot of little things that I found much more convenient in Persona 3 that seemed like a really dumb move to get rid of.

#10 Posted by AngelN7 (2861 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago
@Marokai: yeah that what I was thinking why would they scrap the costumes, even more funny was the comments your party gave you if you dress them in a funny way specially the girls , actually it was just Yukari the one who gave you dirt for putting a Santa Dress on her ... Damn Yukari
#11 Posted by natetodamax (18953 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago

There's no way I can go back to Persona 3 after playing Persona 4. The battles in 4 are much more engaging and fun than 3, which largely consisted of watching your AI teammates make bonehead mistakes.

#12 Posted by LackLuster (707 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago
@angeln7:  The only time i encountered that was when I gave Mitsuru and Yukari the High Cut armor they pretty much automatically took it off as soon as possible, but yeah little touches like that are great.
#13 Posted by AngelN7 (2861 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago
@LackLuster:  I haven´t played P3 FES yet wich I assume was the one who introduce the alt costumes?, In Persona 3 Portable you can assaing them to the party and they have to wear whatever you choose for them besides getting those isn´t easy so even if the stats were  low I make them wear it at least once just to see what they would say for once I wasn´t expecting them to acusme of a perv for having a 3 girls party (Yukari was the one who brought that up btw) now im curious to see what would they say in a all guys party playing as a female protagonist
#14 Posted by JeanLuc (3336 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago

I love Persona 3!

#15 Posted by nicky42 (16 posts) - 2 years, 1 month ago

cool review. i've been playing persona 4 for a fair while but kinda lost interest. It sounds like a good idea to go back to it though it;s doing a round with all my friends. Must have let 5 or 6 people borrow it by now. :P

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