There was a time I really loved JRPG. And I just stopped because well... let's just say I changed my game taste.
 
So today, I say Personal 3 FES. Heard it was a great game, loved the Persona 4 Endurance Run. why not?
 
And then... I realized you cannot control the characters individually other than the main character. 
 
Is that how it's gonna play out through the whole time? or is there a secret options that I cannot find?
 
cause... I'm kinda not digging that....

Thats the way it is. They gave you full control in P4 after people asked for it from P3. The PSP version of P3 that is coming out someday is gonna have full control. I played P3 and THEN P4 over the summer, and didn't mind it. Made things a little easier I thought since you only needed to worry about what you were doin and just give some simple commands every now and then to your squad. Plus P3 has a better story, but more redundant dungeon crawling.

" Thats the way it is. They gave you full control in P4 after people asked for it from P3. The PSP version of P3 that is coming out someday is gonna have full control. I played P3 and THEN P4 over the summer, and didn't mind it. Made things a little easier I thought since you only needed to worry about what you were doin and just give some simple commands every now and then to your squad. Plus P3 has a better story, but more redundant dungeon crawling. "

" @moztacular said:

" Thats the way it is. They gave you full control in P4 after people asked for it from P3. The PSP version of P3 that is coming out someday is gonna have full control. I played P3 and THEN P4 over the summer, and didn't mind it. Made things a little easier I thought since you only needed to worry about what you were doin and just give some simple commands every now and then to your squad. Plus P3 has a better story, but more redundant dungeon crawling. "

P3 had a better story!? Really? Are you serious? It was one of the most cliched things ever. The whole thing could be seen from a mile away. "

It's not as bad as it seems, although you do have to micromanage a bit, which is a pain in the ass. The main character does most of the damage anyways. Alternativley, if you have a PSP you could wait for Persona 3 Portable to come out, which does have direct control and a bunch of other features from P4. 
 
As for the story, I think that P3 and P4 are mirrors, in that P3 is kind of predictable until the surprisingly awesome ending (too bad they ruined it with The Answer), while Persona 4 has a great story, but the ending is kind of lame and fails to justify itself very well.

Now all we need is P5! It can surely give us the best elements of both games, yes? let's hope!
 
Also, aside from the cutscenes, Persona 3 PSP is being done in the same graphic style as Persona 1 PSP... soooo... that's kind of a downgrade from the fully 3D graphics on the PS2... 

I'm kind of conflicted, though... never having played P3 or P3:FES on the PS2, I feel like the change to the graphics might not bother me as much... especially seeign as how they have the multiple character control, and additional features...
 
Honestly, I'd just like P3:FES Super Special Edition to come out on the ps2... with all of these added new features, and the same level or possibly enhanced graphics from P3:FES

Persona 3 and 4 both had great storylines and their share of ups and downs. Overall though, I prefer Persona 4 because of the characters that really make the game so special and memorable. Persona 3 was kind of the same way, but they didn't have that much impact as P4's characters did--at least for me. Then there's the epic P3 ending, and the lackluster P4 ending. It sucked that you couldn't control your characters in P3, but I liked the challenge. Whereas P4 sort of streamlined the gameplay mechanics (control your whole party) and not as hard as P3, etc. etc. So there's lots of things to like about both games. Like some of you have already said, both games complement each other well.

" Now all we need is P5! It can surely give us the best elements of both games, yes? let's hope!  Also, aside from the cutscenes, Persona 3 PSP is being done in the same graphic style as Persona 1 PSP... soooo... that's kind of a downgrade from the fully 3D graphics on the PS2...  I'm kind of conflicted, though... never having played P3 or P3:FES on the PS2, I feel like the change to the graphics might not bother me as much... especially seeign as how they have the multiple character control, and additional features...  Honestly, I'd just like P3:FES Super Special Edition to come out on the ps2... with all of these added new features, and the same level or possibly enhanced graphics from P3:FES "

" @PureRok said:

" @moztacular said:

" Thats the way it is. They gave you full control in P4 after people asked for it from P3. The PSP version of P3 that is coming out someday is gonna have full control. I played P3 and THEN P4 over the summer, and didn't mind it. Made things a little easier I thought since you only needed to worry about what you were doin and just give some simple commands every now and then to your squad. Plus P3 has a better story, but more redundant dungeon crawling. "

P3 had a better story!? Really? Are you serious? It was one of the most cliched things ever. The whole thing could be seen from a mile away. "

Seriously, I mean I totally saw the 
 

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Main character sacrificing himself and turning into a wall

from a mile away!  Wait... what? "