I already own the originial ps2 version (never played it) is it worth getting fes from what i gather the the answer is just a dungeon crawl, I also picked up the psp version (again never played it) from what i gather from that is the combat is better but its missing stuff.

Any recommendations?

P3P for sure

P3P is the best version, simply because you can control all your characters in battle.

I believe this question has been brought up before, but FES is my answer (har?)

I think most of the actual FES content is skippable though, so it's up to you if you want to play the original or P3P. I have many knocks against stuff lost in the translation to the PSP and the sacrifices they felt they had to make getting it there, though. There's lots more content, but much of the character and jokes are broken when simplified down to a static background with character portraits and text.

I'd say if you have the time, play the original and then a female run through P3P, but that's a huuuuuge time commitment and I'm sure one run through will burn you out enough.

I liked FES. I didn't like what they had to give up in P3P.

I played FES on PS2 and both MC's on P3P. I would go P3P with lady main character if I were you.

P3P doesn't have a lot of the walking around town that earlier versions does. If you don't really care much about that sort of thing, P3P is the much better experience simply because of the increased combat options. It also makes the game much easier.

The Answer (the additional content in FES) is very much skippable. It isn't all that fun to play and can be EXTREMELY difficult at times. If you're curious, just go and read about it on a wiki after finishing the main game.

sooo, would i be missing out on anything spectacular if i just play 4? i doubt i'll roll back to 3 after i finish 4, so i'm wondering if i should play 3 first.

That being said I wouldn't really say FES is $20 better (Amazon says FES is $20) than P3P so I'd say just play that.

@killacam: I watched the Endurance Run/played 4 first, then went back to FES, and I liked it better (minus the lack of being able to control your party directly, which I maintain isn't *as* big of a problem as people make it out to be, since the game is designed around it).

I think you should play both.

Personally, I'm not a fan of handhelds, and would rather play on a TV or monitor than the PSP so I would play FES, the not being able to control your partners isn't too bad if you've never played P4. Although getting around is much easier in P3P. As with "The Answer," there's no real reason to play it. It's just like and endless dungeon with minor plot points. Just watch the ending online if you're curious.

@AndrewB said:

@killacam: I watched the Endurance Run/played 4 first, then went back to FES, and I liked it better (minus the lack of being able to control your party directly, which I maintain isn't *as* big of a problem as people make it out to be, since the game is designed around it).

I think you should play both.

I'm mostly playing for the story and characters, and japanese shenanigans. So if FES doesn't slack in that department, I'm in!

@killacam:

If you like one you'll like the other. The stories don't connect, so the order you play them in isn't a big deal.

(For the record I thought 4 was a better game.)

I just started playing FES (only $10 to download on PSN), and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Seems preferable to paying $20 for a portable version that some people seem to think is in inferior.

Ok thank you all for your feedback im definitely not going to bother picking up fes but still considering the original or the portable.

@AndrewB:

Yeh thats a bit to much of a commitment lol. Its taken me this long to get round to playing the game at all I bought the original game on day of release. Is there a big difference between the male/female story then?

@Carryboy said:

Ok thank you all for your feedback im definitely not going to bother picking up fes but still considering the original or the portable.

@AndrewB:

Yeh thats a bit to much of a commitment lol. Its taken me this long to get round to playing the game at all I bought the original day of release. Is there a big difference between the male/female story then?

You get to date the dudes instead of the gals?

@AndrewB:I agree with you. Personally I think FES in the best version.

@killacam: There are two scenes in Persona 3 that alone make it worth it. Also, even though I had a high attachment to the P4 cast, most of the main P3 cast still grew on me. Though I will say some of the S-links are downright terrible which makes them just tedious. I guess P4 had the same problem, though.

@Carryboy said:

Is there a big difference between the male/female story then?

S-Links are about it. You get to S-Link with a few of your party members you otherwise wouldn't be able to, but yeah, you'll end up dating the dudes instead of dating the chicks. Also, the color pink for menus and such and some of the music (the male MC music is better).

@Chaser324 said:

I just started playing FES (only $10 to download on PSN), and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Seems preferable to paying $20 for a portable version that some people seem to think is in inferior.

Are the graphics up scaled to HD? I've been thinking about purchasing it on PSN to play on PS3

@AndrewB@oldenglishC Sounds like 3 has what I need. 4 will have to wait. Thanks pals.

@Carryboy said:

I already own the originial ps2 version (never played it) is it worth getting fes from what i gather the the answer is just a dungeon crawl, I also picked up the psp version (again never played it) from what i gather from that is the combat is better but its missing stuff.

Any recommendations?

For the love of God if you haven't played the game ever DON'T get the P3P version. The amount of amazing cinematics and just simple animations they had to cut out is simply not worth it. Not controlling your allies, while seemingly a hurdle, really isn't a big deal. There are times when they will actually surprise you with a pretty good call or a nice crit. They're not complete morons. In contrast, what you lose out by getting the P3P and having full allies control is a TON of beautiful cinematics as well as some fighting animations or even the ability to freely traverse the town which gets reduced to a sort of Facebook minigame.

@The_Drizzle said:

@Chaser324 said:

I just started playing FES (only $10 to download on PSN), and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Seems preferable to paying $20 for a portable version that some people seem to think is in inferior.

Are the graphics up scaled to HD? I've been thinking about purchasing it on PSN to play on PS3

Nope. Original 4:3, SD glory.

@Carryboy said:

Is there a big difference between the male/female story then?

There's a small bonus scene, plus Charlene had a little bit of personality that I thought added something to the story.

If you absolutely have to control your party members or want play as a girl then you'll want to play P3P, otherwise FES is the best.

I rarely found the party member AI to be an issue in P3 or FES. I'm playing P3P myself right now and even the hardest difficulty is incredibly easy when you can control everyone, and the many sacrifices and changes made to P3P really hurt the game in my opinion.

The original P3 is great but FES improved the game in a few ways beyond the epilogue. It added social links to two existing characters, moved around at least one social link to put less stress on a particular time of day, added a simplistic weapon crafting system, and did a few other random things.

Since you already bought the game twice the differences between P3 and FES probably aren't enough for you to bother getting it, but FES is definitely the best version of the game.

@oldenglishC said:

@The_Drizzle said:

@Chaser324 said:

I just started playing FES (only $10 to download on PSN), and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Seems preferable to paying $20 for a portable version that some people seem to think is in inferior.

Are the graphics up scaled to HD? I've been thinking about purchasing it on PSN to play on PS3

Nope. Original 4:3, SD glory.

Looks perfectly fine to me. The 2D drawn stuff is plenty sharp enough, and the 3D art style is strong and holds up very well.

Yeah Persona 3 FES is the definitive version. Sure not controlling your allies is kind of annoying. However the only real culprit that makes it bad is Mitsuru at lower levels. Because you'll look at her stats and go oh you have a great Magic stat, can heal, and seem to score more crits then any other character but 50% of the time she'll use debuffs or status effect moves. But as long as you use your commands right she'll be as awesome as she is on paper.

Also The Answer is totally worth it. It is unnecessarily hard at times but just getting to spend that extra time with the P3 cast is worth it. Plus it gives you some nice closure. It also helps to greatly clarify the ending outside of Japan. The ending seems fairly open up to interpretation but Japanese end credits song pretty much spells out exactly what happened at the end. That non Japanese speakers would have completely missed with out The Answer.

I never played P3p but I did play FES. The not being able to walk around town stuff in p3p seems kind of weird to me. Also I know as the female protagonist i know you can change some pretty big plot points. What else is different gameplay and story wise? All the dudes become S.links.

The Answer isn't all that great, a little too tough and they don't let you use the compendium.

I played P3P and watched The Answer section of FES on YouTube, I don't regret it, might be the right thing to do for you too.

I think the trouble some people have with controlling characters in P3 FES is a bit excessive. I didn't have any problems and enjoyed some of the micro management.

I'm not going to deny that P4 (and therefore P3P) improved the controls, but once you get used to it, I'd doubt you'd have much trouble. For me, the most attractive asset of P3P is being able the play as a female protagonist with some altered Social Links.

I just wanted to say that I absolutely hate not controlling party members in P3. It caused my death on multiple occasions because the AI just decided to do some truly idiotic stuff during a fight. Yes Mitsuru, I know you "can" charm bosses in this game, but that doesn't mean you should waste three turns trying to charm this boss while it tears the rest of the party apart instead of doing anything at all useful. And getting the MC knocked down and then being forced to sit there and pray that the AI heals you before you die as turn after turn gets burned with you getting up and getting knocked back down, no thanks. I know some people clearly never had any issue with the AI in that game, but it was a nightmare for me more often than it was "not noticeable."

You can fix the problem by just playing it on easy, but, ugh, easy on that game basically reads "you don't even need a party." I hope they never go back to not being in control of your party, it was awful.

P3P is the worst version. Fes is the best as far as I'm concerned.

I don't like my experiences watered down and that is exactly how I view P3P. Not to say I didn't play and enjoy my time with it, but I will never touch it again, whereas I'll be returning to Fes every couple years for god knows how long into the future (have 4 play throughs of Fes so far, expect to do #5 early next year).

yeh i havent played 4 yet (again own not played) so shouldnt be to bothered about only controlling 1 character

The non FES version is much harder. FES doesn't just add the answer, it also makes it more difficult to reverse SLs, gives you more to do outside of dungeon crawling, gives you costumes and weapon fusions. Is it worth $10 on PSN if you have a perfectly fine P3P? Only if you really want the TV experience.

FES is best; Portable is fine too.

I really REALLY liked the originial non FES verson, but hay thats just me.

FES if you want the whole canon story. Controlling teammates is for wussies. There, I said it.

original ps2 version and @Carryboy good luck in div 3 m8

P3P is far and away my favourite version. The lack of cutscenes does suck, sure, but there were barely any of them in the game, and even fewer were the occasions where having low-poly puppets walking around actually mattered. The Answer is no big loss. What I really like about P3P is the female route, and that means a protagonist who isn't necessarily a heartless social vampire who manipulates everyone around him into liking him more, the ability to choose whether or not to have a romantic relationship with members of the opposite sex, the ability to form social links with your teammates e.g. the characters deeply involved in the main plot who are supposed to be like family to you, a Shinjiro who gets the chance to be an actual developed character instead of a gruff piece of cardboard with no emotional weight to his story arc beyond the effect it has on other characters, and no more forced participation in stupid pointless bullshit where your character humiliates himself for no reason. (No, Junpei, I don't want to fucking help you harass girls on the beach, I already have a girlfriend back home.)

Also, I didn't notice until I went back to FES to play The Answer, but fights in P3P move way quicker than in previous versions. All the character animations play faster. Makes those long dungeon crawls a lot more bearable. Also, the revamped fatigue system means you have a lot more freedom with your visits to Tartarus, putting more weight on SP management like in P4. Like the ally control, it's one of those things that some people probably prefer about the original, but the game is a lot more accessible as a result. And the fact that Academics no longer takes a billion points to progress is a nice bonus as well.

I can definitely see why people prefer FES, but it's just no contest for me.

FES because who needs teammates when you can have some animated Thanatos.

That bad. Sometimes they do something dumb but you learn them and the directives to use to ensure they do mostly what you want. Everyone makes a bad decision sometimes :)

Played both and I rank battle systems higher then cutscenes. So I say go with P3P more than FES.

I can't imagine how scenes like this play out in P3P:

Well, I'm at least glad most agree that FES is the superior version and that they value presentation over what I perceive as the minor advantages of the portable version.

I think learning the how to effectivly use the tactics effectivly is almost as good as actual control, so play FES; Also you'll get all those awesome idle animations that you dont get in P3P

I would say FES, it's not the same without the animations.

Pick FES if you care about story

Pick P3P if you care about gameplay.