I think there have been quite a few discussions about this but i really want to put my two cents out there.  First off, I have not played Persona 4, but I feel like I have by watching the Endurance Run episodes and I think that says something about the game.  i will sum it up quickly here but I think from watching this Persona 4 pretty much has brought together some of the worst things in videos games together but that doesn't mean its not an enjoyable experience, its just not a good game.
So from watching the Endurance Run, I get the feeling that you dont actually do much while playing the game except pressing x to get the dialogue moving and choosing options of what you want to do or say.  And thats where the worst parts of other games comes in.  The cut scene length in Metal Gear is notorious but Persona 4 does much of the same, just lots of dialogue, with static blinking images.  I appreciate the animated cut scenes but they feel out of place when the developers go to such little trouble to animate the characters in game.
The game itself is more like a good looking text adventure or something like Myst.  There are very few parts in the game where you get to move around and instead you make your choices of what you want to do or where you want to go, very little freedom, and so you get to do little actual playing and instead do more choosing or pressing x.  A simple take on it but thats what it boils down to.
Then you have a ridiculous set of characters who say some pretty weird or just say obvious things.  The game likes to repeat the stuff you do or repeat your choice many times as if you are not paying attention.  Perhaps the characters and story are more geared for a japanese audience because the characters and dialogue is pretty lame and silly and just weird.  But that is part of what makes Persona 4 so much fun, if you get my drift.  Watching this series of the Endurance Run, it makes me realize that the game is enjoyable because of these things, its like watching a ridiculously bad movie that is so bad its funny (or game kinda like 50 cent blood on the sand).  Because you can't actually really do much in real time except run to a spot, it is easy to share with a friend.  I doubt I would have laughed as much as I did if Jeff or Vinny had been playing by themselves, and I doubt that they could enjoy the game as much as they did if they were alone.  You can't talk about Chie in the way they did by yourself, that just makes you weird.  So even though i found the endurance run fun, it makes me realize I would not want to play this alone.
What kind of person would enjoy this kind of game alone or take it seriously like I am sure the developers intended?  Also, why does it feel like developers are just not good at developing games but instead more story, or at least an intricate one that might not actually be good?  Little in game animation, terrible at best, and the lack of actions seem to be cut corners.  though I did find the idea of developing relationships to upgrade character abilities pretty intriguing.  Wish they did something like that in Mass Effect, so that lesbian sex would be awesome to watch and would give you special lesbo abilities in combat.  Anyway, I hope I dont get bashed but so be it, this is not a good game but in the right circumstances, can be pretty fun and memorable.

I think there have been quite a few discussions about this but i really want to put my two cents out there.  First off, I have not played Persona 4, but I feel like I have by watching the Endurance Run episodes and I think that says something about the game.  i will sum it up quickly here but I think from watching this Persona 4 pretty much has brought together some of the worst things in videos games together but that doesn't mean its not an enjoyable experience, its just not a good game.
So from watching the Endurance Run, I get the feeling that you dont actually do much while playing the game except pressing x to get the dialogue moving and choosing options of what you want to do or say.  And thats where the worst parts of other games comes in.  The cut scene length in Metal Gear is notorious but Persona 4 does much of the same, just lots of dialogue, with static blinking images.  I appreciate the animated cut scenes but they feel out of place when the developers go to such little trouble to animate the characters in game.
The game itself is more like a good looking text adventure or something like Myst.  There are very few parts in the game where you get to move around and instead you make your choices of what you want to do or where you want to go, very little freedom, and so you get to do little actual playing and instead do more choosing or pressing x.  A simple take on it but thats what it boils down to.
Then you have a ridiculous set of characters who say some pretty weird or just say obvious things.  The game likes to repeat the stuff you do or repeat your choice many times as if you are not paying attention.  Perhaps the characters and story are more geared for a japanese audience because the characters and dialogue is pretty lame and silly and just weird.  But that is part of what makes Persona 4 so much fun, if you get my drift.  Watching this series of the Endurance Run, it makes me realize that the game is enjoyable because of these things, its like watching a ridiculously bad movie that is so bad its funny (or game kinda like 50 cent blood on the sand).  Because you can't actually really do much in real time except run to a spot, it is easy to share with a friend.  I doubt I would have laughed as much as I did if Jeff or Vinny had been playing by themselves, and I doubt that they could enjoy the game as much as they did if they were alone.  You can't talk about Chie in the way they did by yourself, that just makes you weird.  So even though i found the endurance run fun, it makes me realize I would not want to play this alone.
What kind of person would enjoy this kind of game alone or take it seriously like I am sure the developers intended?  Also, why does it feel like developers are just not good at developing games but instead more story, or at least an intricate one that might not actually be good?  Little in game animation, terrible at best, and the lack of actions seem to be cut corners.  though I did find the idea of developing relationships to upgrade character abilities pretty intriguing.  Wish they did something like that in Mass Effect, so that lesbian sex would be awesome to watch and would give you special lesbo abilities in combat.  Anyway, I hope I dont get bashed but so be it, this is not a good game but in the right circumstances, can be pretty fun and memorable.

Oh, dude, the forums are gonna tear you apart, I think.

Before the raging fires hit this thread I'll just say that perhaps the game just isn't for you. JRPGs in general follow similar stylings such as mashing the "confirm" button, but that doesn't immediately mean they're bad. It just appeals to a different audience.

"Oh, dude, the forums are gonna tear you apart, I think.Before the raging fires hit this thread I'll just say that perhaps the game just isn't for you. JRPGs in general follow similar stylings such as mashing the "confirm" button, but that doesn't immediately mean they're bad. It just appeals to a different audience."

tl;dr

I don't usually play JRPGs, but P4 is so damn good.  If Endurance Run didn't exist, I would have missed something truly magical.

Meh, it just means P4 probably isn't for you.  In the game's defense, though, the way the endurance run is structured means that Jeff and Vinny are drawing out the SLink and non-dungeon crawl part of the game a lot.  It's actually much more balanced between SLinking and rpg dungeon crawling when you play the game yourself.  And while the X button gets most of the workout in the game, there is a lot of strategy involved in turn-based combat that shooters or realtime RPGs cant hope to match.  It is true that P4 doesn't appeal to everyone though, and I guess this style of gameplay just isn't appealing to you.

It sounds like you're just not into JRPGs much, especially since the Persona games are some of the best ones out there(at least they're interesting in a weird way, unlike Final Fantasy 658, and they involve more actual strategy(such as status spells actually...being useful?))

"Little in game animation, terrible at best, and the lack of actions seem to be cut corners"
From this it sounds like you prefer more real-time games, which means that most JRPGs *definitely* aren't for you. I personally don't give a flip about animation quality/lack thereof(unless it's somehow so terrible that it makes the game literally unplayable) as long as the game's, you know, fun, but that's just me. :) Persona games are made fun for me by the fact that they try to tell a good story(anime though it may be) and they're actually decent at it(well, P3 was kind of a dud in that since 90% of the story happened in the last two months of the game, but the others are good), and they involve blessedly little grinding for a JRPG. Really, if you think P4's story and characters are bad, you should see P3's(EVERY TEAM MEMBER OTHER THAN JUNPEI IS A WALKING ANIME CLICHE. LITERALLY. They have the grey-haired badass who's inexplicably popular with all the girls(but doesn't care for romance), they have the snobby preppy popular girl who actually has ~issues~, they have a ROBOT and a DOG(no, really), and arghhh. P4's characters at least try to be less cliche. And none of them are robots or dogs.)

 Really, you sound like you get more fun out of games where there's more direct action than story, so I suppose you don't care about that as much. There's nothing wrong with that, it just means that you're likely to get as little enjoyment from a Japanese X-Button Pressing Game(however high quality it may be) as I'd get from playing Generic FPS 9000(even if it's Halo or Metal Gear Solid or whatever the big FPS/action game of the moment is).

"Disgaeamad said:

"AnimZero said:

"Oh, dude, the forums are gonna tear you apart, I think.Before the raging fires hit this thread I'll just say that perhaps the game just isn't for you. JRPGs in general follow similar stylings such as mashing the "confirm" button, but that doesn't immediately mean they're bad. It just appeals to a different audience."

I'll admit, I was close to posting a hate filled reply after reading the utter stupidity in his one. But I decided not to feed the troll."

Someone has a different opinion then you so they're automatically a troll? God, you're stupid. Please stay on BSHAF where I don't have to be exposed to your stupidity. "

" First off, I have not played Persona 4..."

"Milkman said:

"Disgaeamad said:

"AnimZero said:

"Oh, dude, the forums are gonna tear you apart, I think.Before the raging fires hit this thread I'll just say that perhaps the game just isn't for you. JRPGs in general follow similar stylings such as mashing the "confirm" button, but that doesn't immediately mean they're bad. It just appeals to a different audience."

I'll admit, I was close to posting a hate filled reply after reading the utter stupidity in his one. But I decided not to feed the troll."

Someone has a different opinion then you so they're automatically a troll? God, you're stupid. Please stay on BSHAF where I don't have to be exposed to your stupidity. "

Oh Milkman, how I've missed you and your constant anger filled posts.

Seriously though, I'll help get the point across, since it seems like you're having trouble reading:

TheHBK said:

" First off, I have not played Persona 4..."

So therefore, making a post based on how bad it is is either a troll attempt, or he's just as retarded as you are."

Dude, its just me coming out and being honest and giving my opinion about what I have seen.  Also, lots of people seem to be of the opinion that JRPGs are not for me and that may be true.  I am also just venting on how I see some of the story or the characters, and actually having the controller in my hands is not needed for this.  Also, since when do I need to play a game to be able to write about it?  go home and let the grown ups have a real discussion about games and not let it get out of hand with flaming.

So if I don't like JRPGs, then what do I do.  I remember loving to play pokemon and even went back to play the original.  It was light on story so it was easy to just enjoy the strategy but I want something deeper, was thinking about chrono trigger on the DS.  But just something about Person strikes me as being too far out there in terms of culture and lack of more interactivity.

"Also, since when do I need to play a game to be able to write about it?"

Well, it seems as though you decided to feed the "troll" anyway.  Even though I'm almost positive this isn't trolling, or even worth arguing about.

Whatever, enjoy your flamewar children.

JRPGs are generally boring and dull as hell to me, but I enjoyed Persona 3 and 4 even more than any rpg I've played in recent years. It isn't just RPG#100000 that doesn't do a thing to seperate itself from other games, being different is what I like about them, same with the entire SMT series. You can't put an opinion such as you just did to watching how they are playing the endurance run. Its very entertaining to watch, and I hope it continues for a long time, but its for entertainment more than anything...there's so many things that they don't even do and that they will miss and have missed already.

Seriously, don't give some vague opinion you've thought up of a game to just watching people play it for 20 min chunks at a time..its pointless, and your opinion loses all validity and meaning.

You know what, I don't really have a problem with you not liking the game. This game is not for everyone and not everyone is alike, I get it. JRPG are already a hard genre to jump into, but running straight into a persona game? That's like culture shock.

Over a year ago, I was hearing rumors and running into sites that were talking about Persona 3, so I decided to get some inside footage of this game. My first impressions were: WTF!?!  However, I was persistent in wanting something fresh, something that broke the mold of blond spiky-haired guy with big sword. I rented it off gamefly just to try it out, and if it was not for me, I would then send it right back.

I kept it for about two months and finished the game twice. What I am saying is that you can't judge a game just from observing it, you have to actually experience it firsthand. Ask yourself, what is more fun? Playing a game, or watching a game?  

JRPGs are not for everyone and the Persona series will definitely have people wondering what it is about this game that there is to like. Let me explain to you why this game strikes a chord with so many people...

First of all, Persona 4 is not a multiplayer experience. I don't have some racist/whiny/bitchy/homophobic/foul-mouthed kid shouting at me over a cheap headset every time I want to enjoy a game. I love first person shooters, but because I live overseas, I don't get a chance to play with friends. Persona 4 is a game that I can sit down to and enjoy the story.

Secondly, Persona 4 takes thinking skills rather than finger reflex skills (not saying that first person shooters don't require thinking skills but they do require finger reflex skills). I will never be on the top of a CoD4 match nor will I be kicking ass  in Street Fighter 4. I can appreciate those games but without hours and hours to practice, it's an experience in frustration.

Thirdly, I look at Persona 4 as more of an interactive movie that I can play for 20 minute chunks and come back to it later. This is why the endurance run is so popular. We get to see these short chunks without feeling like we're being overwhelmed. this is an especially important point for me with having a new-born in the house. Imagine everytime you sit down to play Killzone 2 multiplayer, you have to step away from the TV to pick up a crying baby.

Finally, since when have graphics and animation become the standard that defines what is fun and what isn't? Persona 4 doesn't have the best animation but I bet that many people still pull out their NES or SNES to play some Mario now and then. Mario's animation by today's standards ain't that hot.

OP, Persona 4 might not be a game for you, but this is definitely a great game. I hope they make another one.

Well, stay away from our games if you don't like it. Why expose yourself to the bane of you existence?